《Myth Of Men》


 About the author/ Prologue

    Just a minor spoiler, this chapter contains things about me, details behind notation I will be using in the novel, and the before story build up explaining the background in the real world whilst this story takes place. If you''re interested in these things, read ahead, if you want the background, scroll down until you see the sentence ''Prologue'', it should be pretty noticeable, if you don''t care about any of this, please skip this chapter and start the first one, but you may miss out on details about the story that could make you confused.


    About the author.


    Howdy, I''m OldBegginings, the author of this novel. This is something I wrote on my own accord simply because I really like stories like Log horizon, Only Sense and No game no life, in-which people come from their own reality, and go to into more game like worlds and have to survive. I should probably say this now, but this is my first novel, and I''m not expecting a big audience or anything. This is just a hobby to me, and whereas I should be studying for school, I''m doing this instead. My sense of humor is dark, so if manage to offend anyone in the first paragraph, I won''t be surprised, but please believe me when I say that anything remotely offensive is a joke, I don''t really care enough about the issues I mock to harbor any actual hatred towards those who get offended. But if I do manage to offend you, I would advise you to drop the series now rather than later, when I''m bound to say more offensive things.


    Anyway, I think this is important to state, but I''m English. I know that most stories like the one that inspired me are from Japanese authors, so there maybe certain mannerisms that show up in my work that don''t in there''s, like addressing characters by Mr or Mrs, or spelling words correctly, like ''Colour'' instead of ''Color'', or ''School'' instead of ''Shooting range''. This may annoy people, especially Americans, but I think I''ve made how much I care apparent enough. I''m not against people using these spellings and words, I just use the English spelling to the English words that, by the way, is a language originally from England.


    I may end up referencing things by characters/ events I don''t know/ care about. I like to think of myself as politically apathetic, the details of the fiction, are just that... complete fiction. And even though I did history at school, that doesn''t mean I remember any of it. So I''ll say now, I don''t mean to offend people/ cultures, however I will be stating my ethics in this story pretty bluntly.


    If you disagree with my opinions and insights, feel free to ignore them, or just drop the series. Randomly harassing my work in the comment section with hotheaded rants triggered on single words characters say is just a waste of time. I don''t mind criticism, I know this story will have many problems, and would be happy to hear all of it, and if I agree with your reasoning, if there even is coherent reasoning, I''ll try to make steps to change them, or continue with them, but accept that some people don''t appreciate them. Also, since this is purely a hobby, I really don''t mind people dragging it to different sites, anything that helps get people to read this is fine in my books, but please don''t be a glory-robbing dick and claim anyone other than me, OldBegginings, wrote this.


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    As for the book it''s self. This story follows the adventures of a user called DokiDoki19 and his friends, playing the game Myth of Men when it was released, and ending up stuck in it. This story will change perspectives, to keep it interesting, this will be labeled with the format:


    *''(name of character)''*


    I hope this doesn''t get too confusing for those who read it, but I feel like it could add a layer of depth that would not be there otherwise. Another notation I''ll be repeating is a paragraph that is just:


    -


    This is to indicate time has taken place, and the scene has changed. Also, it''s pure compulsion for me to go to excruciating levels of details to try to get a point across. I know it''s a problem, and I''ll try to combat the amount, but it''ll seep in from time to time, so apologies.


    Prologue:


    This is the world based on earth in an assumed 2190. Basically the nations of the world became tense, and started nuclear war in 2025.


    It started from a terrorist group, taking over a military facility, then triggering a nuclear world war, by sending bombs unannounced to another nation, ending up in a war that had almost every nation in it. A bloody free-for-all that ended up with a toll of 8.2 billion people dying, meaning only 0.13 million lived. The only safe havens were in a couple island nations, who were completely forgotten about, a couple bomb shelters that were closed before the nukes hit them. Considering the unreasonable trigger, and the panic from other nations to automatically launch their nukes, it''s only reasonable that only a few survived.


    It took about 100 years for the surfaces of the main nations were usable, and took about 30 years to rebuild a sustainable ecosystem and about 10 more to get back to the technological standing they were at before the war. This time, in reference to the devastation that happened, weapon laws were made strict, and every nation was monitored very carefully, the moment a nation made anything skeptical, they were at war with every other nation in the world. Political alliances were banned, and every nation had to have a representative in a group, that literally ruled the world. Of course, this made the world very boring, and most of the nice areas to live, were still to radioactive to live in, so obsessions and addictions to drugs, games, the internet and the like went up steeply.


    In the year 2175 the first mmorpg Virtual reality was said to be in development, named The Myth Of Men. It was to be made so that the controllers would be made with gloves, seen with a helmet. They did this by making a ultra computer, that had parts in every nation that was up and running, connected by fibre optics and a series of lans, and made it have a total capacity of 19 Yottobytes (19''000''000''000''000''000''000''000''000 bytes) of hard-drive, and about 10 Petabytes (10''000''000''000''000''000 bytes) of memory. Of course, this wasn''t all used up by the games, little things like the rest of the internet wasted valuable space, but Myth Of Men had enough space to become a VRMMORPG with high levels of realism, and enough content to warrant the price tag of ¡ê1150 with headset and gloves (That''s a lot by the way).

 Chapter 1: Welcome to the world.

    *''Doki''*


    Something wasn''t right. I mean, I could feel the wind, every blade of grass on the ground, I could feel every breath I took... But... I was in a game, right?


    The last thing I remember, the game I had waited a year for, was just released. It was by my favorite company, Underscore Gaming. I had watched their alpha, beta and demos on their page, but... Could they really make something this realistic? It seemed too much for a developer to make. I mean, there was a headset, especially made for the game. It cost way too much for what it was, though. It was basically a helmet, with a screen projecting the game in front of my eyes. There were also gloves, and a mic, which was the means of navigating, and playing, the game. But... How the hell can you explain this!?


    I''m usually not into this type of game, but I heard the game would try to be hard, and was given a deal on the game, so playing it immediately wasn''t that big of a deal. It''s not like I had anything better to do anyway...


    At first, I spawned in some kind of village. It was your average village. Apart from the villagers seemed jacked, and not in the normal way; they all had similar builds, however, they seemed to be able to just punch trees down, and some did in front of me. Did this mean the lumberjack industry was a no go?


    They seemed settled into their patterns. Without the formerly mentioned aspects, you could see this as a stereotypical, cozy village. It had about... fifty, no, seventy buildings in total. I mean, some of these buildings were massive, at least ten of them had more than 7 stories. Some looked like inns, others looked like private residences. There was definitely your generic, Feudal-esk fantasy theme to the buildings, I mean, there was one building, with multiple anvils, which I assumed to be a blacksmith.


    ''Wait! Why the hell was there a blacksmith?'' I though confused...


    Looking around, I wasn''t alone, being utterly confused. A couple people were yelling at the locals, trying their darnedest to remain calm... But I guess the stress got to them. It seemed that the locals were just as confused as us.


    There was one guy; who seemed like a high-ranking local. He was, well, elderly for lack of a better term; and seemed to spew out this aura of wisdom and prestige. He was looking at us, talking to two or three people around him. We were definitely standing out. I was starting to think that they were judging us...


    Then, at that moment, I met his eyes. I didn''t see scorn or that much confusion in these eyes. More a sense of annoyance, and... Was this fear? The conflicts from before were still happening, though... So we didn''t meet eyes for long.


    The elderly man sighed, the breathed heavily in, and exclaimed ''Silence'' in a loud, dramatic voice. All the locals instantly froze, the others quickly followed. Oh boy, time for a long and dull lecture... Still, I listened in case anything actually interesting was said.


    He continued, "I don''t know who these... Visitors... are. But randomly becoming hostile won''t help anyone. They all seem far too confused and disorientated to talk this over now, and, similar things have been going on all around the island. So I suggest, since it''s already 7 pm, we let them stay in the hotel, and let the issue rest ''til tomorrow."


    He paused, then, looking at the villagers who still seem confused and annoyed, said "Look. I know that this is confusing. And none of you even knew this was happening. I heard about instances of this, far larger than the mere seventeen people here, happening from towns and cities throughout the week. Hell, I was discussing what to do with the two hundred plus ''visitors'' from Skimmington at the last council meeting, and was thinking of hosting a couple here."


    There was a moment of silence, then the villagers who seemed defiant at first, well... most of them at least, sighed and let out a collective ''Okay'' in a long, drawn-out breath. Of course, some were still glaring at us, but I felt the situation had been diffused.


    Without a further ado, the elderly man exclaimed "Well. I know this is sudden to you all, but welcome to the town of Simpson. I am the mayor, Jilbert M. Simpson. I know you''re probably tired and confused, but please wait for us to find the necessary accommodation for you."


    He then turned to the two people next to him, seemingly asking them to check out the local hostels and inns, so the two ran off without much hesitation.


    Mr. Simpson continued, "I apologize for this. We can only afford to have you stay rent free for today, and that''s because I''m personally requesting the inn owners to do this. However, tomorrow we''ll show you around, as a gage to see your usefulness. If you''re useful enough and can earn your place in this town, we''ll happily welcome you as official residents. By the way, are there any questions right now? I''ll try to answer you questions during your stay, so don''t feel rushed now."


    A tall, rough-looking man, wearing rusted armor that emphasized his chest, was the first to respond. "Here. If you mind my asking, is this town know for anything in particular?"


    Obviously baffled, Mr. Simpson replied "Um... I guess we''re known mainly for our hotels. We have a strong farming industry, and raiding industry, but we''re known in Forth Island as a resting spot for adventurers."


    Then a taller, and more lanky person nearby asked "Raiding? What, like going to a dungeon and slaying a dragon kind?"


    Still baffled, Mr Simpson stated "I don''t really understand the question, but if helps, Raiding insists of a party or clan going into a dungeon, beating the boss, and going back, there are many raid sites, and since official dungeons are ruled by deities, you just respawn and try again. These ''deities'' refill all the rooms almost instantaneously. But that''s just common sense. I mean, it''s an easy way for people to get money, items, and certain foods/ ingredients, and is a very big part of our lives."


    He stopped, noticing that everyone seemed to have a question to asked. So about ten of the seventeen people asked in unison "Wait... What?!?!? You can die, and just re-spawn?!"


    Mr. Simpson sighed, with a resigned face, and stated "Yes, you can re-spawn, as long as you die in an area protected by a deity, which includes most towns, cities, and dungeons, you can re-spawn. This is the main reason I don''t want to send you out without us teaching you about this world. You can very easily die for good outside the deity''s protection. This entire island is protected by one such deity, but if you were to go somewhere like the continent, or the unnamed desert, that won''t be the case."Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    ''Ah...'' I thought. ''So this is the PK counter-measure system, it makes sense for the NPC''s to be stating such fantasy-esk things that help make game mechanics like re-spawning seem ''realistic''.''


    And reminded by the fact this is a game, I looked at my interface. I was just dragged into this situation, but looking at this I could clearly see why there was a lot of chaos.


    There was no log-out system, and since this game used brain-waves. It''s a concept I should have learned in high-school, but gave up at the talk of individual neurons. It basically meant the people were literally trapped, as there was now no in-game feature to stop the game. This meant we could not control our bodies outside, so the chance of starving to death whilst trying to find a way out is high. Hell, the chance of suffocation in real life existed. Well, no wonder they''re so happy to know this game didn''t have perma-death.


    I wasn''t particularly bothered by this, though... The world was boring, practically everything anyone does is under watch from the government, our protection''s led to a lack of freedom... I spent most of my real life inside my room, playing games anyway... Hell, this could be an excuse to go outside or be social.


    ...


    Ha ha ha! Maybe it takes being forced into a fictional world to actually do so... Ha.


    Whilst thinking about that, Mr. Simpson had left already, and came back and announced. "Sorry, but there are only 7 rooms free at the inn, they''re two single beds in each, but this means that only 14 people can stay there. We''ve talked to people around town, and have found accommodation for the other 3, but we still need to decide who is staying where."


    With a group of 17 complete strangers, this took a while, but eventually the decision was made, and I ended up staying with another male user by the name of LOD in the inn.


    -


    I was in the hotel room, with LOD, and just woke up. Since we were strangers, and we both were really tired by the end of the sorting process, there wasn''t really a chance for an introduction, so before we headed off, I decided to introduce myself to LOD.


    I''m like the most antisocial person, so this didn''t really surprise me. It''s just this is the first time I''ve played an MMORPG, and I want to see how hard being a party leader really is... So this ''LOD'' will become the first subject in this test of mine. It sounds like it''s challenging from the people I''ve heard who preach about it.


    "Hey, LOD. I think it''s time to introduce ourselves. I mean, I can see your name, but we haven''t talked to each other yet, so I don''t know anything about you, and vice versa."


    "I guess. You especially, I mean you pretty much passed out when we were told where our room was, so there wasn''t really a chance to talk. I''m LOD, an assassin who''s major is Servant, I don''t know what that means, though... Oh, and my minor is Crafting. I know Smithing, Woodwork and Alchemy are sub-classes too, but I thought that a generic approach to making things was better. How about you."


    Oh right, this is a game. Let''s see, MythOfMen had a class system, similar to many other MMORPG''s (Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game), there were the following classes, assassin, Samurai, Tank, Battle-Mage, Healer, Pirate, Martial-artist, Succubus, and Ghost. LOD said he''s an assassin, so I assume he''s a glass cannon, with a low defense and total HP (hit points), he should have a high speed and a very high damage output. I''m not really sure, because I haven''t seen him in action yet, but the assassin class should be similar to assassin or shinobi in other games.


    And the class list did say a bit about the play-style optimal for each class, so that much should be true. I skimmed through them, though... It plays far differently than my class should be, so I think making our attacks as efficient as possible could take the time to fully plan out. But I first have to seem nice so this guy wants to join me. I''m only half-faking this right now, so it shouldn''t be too hard.


    And to explain that ''Major'' and ''Minor'' nonsense LOD was talking about was his sub-classes. You could only pick two out of a very exhaustive list, and you could only level one of them up to max, being the major, and the other one you could only level to half the max of the subclass, being the minor. He said his major was ''Servant'', I can only guess that it raises the sound level of your party or some sort of telepathy that notifies when players around you need help. I have a feeling it could be very useful in combat, but I have no clue to the legitimacy of it. As for crafting, as LOD said, we can pretty much assume that it''s a way of making low tier objects from raw material from each discipline, like how enchanting should add additional effects to any sort of weapon, but not be able to be used on something that''s not a weapon of a certain caliber.


    "Doki?"


    LOD caught me in the middle of a daze.


    "Oh, sorry. And sorry about last night too, it''s must have been a bother carrying me to the bed, when you were probably just as tired as I was."


    "It''s fine, it''s not like you''re a tank or anything. You''re not that heavy. Anyway, continue."


    "Oh, yeah. I''m DokiDoki19, I''m a Succubus who majors as a Preacher, and minors as a Herbalist"


    "A Succubus huh... Doesn''t that mean you''re hp is ridiculously low?"


    From what I remember from the description, succubus class is a class with standard armor, speed and such, but has a low base hp, but when it deals damage, it gains the hp from the person. I''m not really sure how this works, if there''s specified weapons, or just me who get these benefits, but I assumed there would be arts that take some of my hp and give it to others, like a healer, without the mp cost, and that I''d get some AOE skills I could use to bind and gain hp from multiple enemies at once.


    Whilst I''m talking about weapons, I might as well talk about them. From the interface I was looking at you get weapon affinity, in certain classes, like the samurai, would only be able to use certain weapons, whilst I can use any really, like bows, swords, and staves. I gather from the tree-like diagrams that to get skills and achievements with these, like a rapid fire for a bow, I need to fulfill certain tasks, or get enough experience with the weapon.


    The window for weapons is different to class and sub-classes, and I believe the game uses voice commands, so there''s no need of a short list of skills. but I think that blindly spamming skills is not a good idea, so I''ll refrain from doing much fighting until I know what''s up.Also, another thing to note, this game doesn''t use the traditional ''mana'', it uses ''Affinity Points'' instead.


    "Doki..."


    LOD caught me in a daze again. Paying attention to conversations is usually too boring for me... So instead I think about anything else I can...


    "Oops, sorry."


    "... It''s fine, so is your hp low?"


    "It''s about 30/30 right now, why?"


    "Ha, My hp is 90/90." ~Grumble~ "Oh... Sorry, but mind if we continue this conversation as we get food?"


    "I don''t mind. But where? I mean, the mayor was kind enough to give us a thousand coins, but we''re new to the area, and don''t even know what foods are here."


    "Let''s just wander around until we find a good shop. Starving to death deciding on a hierarchy of food would be plain sad."


    "Sorry, I''m used to having impatient siblings, so I feel a compulsion to over-plan everything." I lied, I like to plan things precisely because I like to... That''s the entire reason.


    "Also, about the word ''sorry''. Let''s make a deal that every time you say it five times in one conversation with me, you have to buy me breakfast because words loses meaning when you repeat them too much." I agree, I mainly say ''sorry'' as a blank word anyway... I''m an Angleterian... So I''m programmed to say ''Sorry'' whenever I possibly can... And I really want to seem polite to try out this ''party'' concept I''ve heard so much about...


    "Oh, sorry... Ah!"


    "And you owe me breakfast."


    "Fine. Well then LOD, let''s go and have a good day."


    "Yep."


    So with LOD, I left in search of food.

 Chapter 2: A brand new day.

    *''Doki''*


    Ugh. I''m so hot and sweaty... And not in a good way. You know, playing video games for days on end... What did you think I meant?


    I know Mr. Simpson said to explore the village, and I agree with the want for knowledge and wisdom the NPC''s, who know different aspects and insights to the world we are stuck in... But... Fuck summer! It''s way too bright for me, a hermit who''d rather stay indoors than go out, to actually see in, the feeling of sweat pouring down my arms, neck, legs... I was pretty much coated in the stuff, in a game. A, ''G, A, M, E''... This is NOT reality! These developers really wanted to create hell for me, and it shows.


    "Doki... Are you okay? You seem ready to pass out."


    Oh, yeah. This guy. He''s call LOD, and, for some reason, I need to buy him breakfast. Well, considering we''re forced into contact but the magical sorting hat of fate, I''d rather get on his good side. But geez this guy it a lot to handle.


    Excessively panting, I did my best to respond coherently. "I''m... Fine... LOD..."


    "Well, think about it like this, it could be worse. I mean, we could get sunburn."


    Yeah. Thanks. Just what I needed, another thing the developers could have put in to make this hell more hellish...


    "Grr..." I tried to express my contempt, but I was to tired to do it. "Let''s just... Go and eat..."


    Whilst saying that I remembered our first goal. Food. LOD was very hungry earlier, and, I''m with him on that. And then, I finally saw a good site. A building that released a heavenly scent, it smelled like exotic spices. I mean, compared to my own sweat, any smell was heavenly.


    So I pointed and said "Over there... Food." and we turned directions sharply, and honed into the shop. It looked like a cafe, but, it was better than nothing. LOD was drooling speechlessly, like he saw some prey, and was ready to pounce. So it was decided, we''d go there.


    The cafe had a cooling atmosphere, and a fan-based cooling system, meaning I could actually think. So cooled down, I started to think back. LOD said that apparently, the ''visitors'' were to visit the town hall at noon. Since it was about seven right now, that gave us five hours to do things. I don''t really have a plan of what to do, so I was about to bring it up with LOD after we ordered something to eat. But...


    "Oi! LOD. Stop spacing out and pick what you want to order." LOD was staring, with a similar amount of drool as when he saw the shop, but it wasn''t aimed at the food.


    "Um... Sir. Please order something, you''re holding up the queue." Said the Girl behind the counter. She was wincing, clearly distressed since she was the target of LOD''s glare.


    Oh... I get it. This guy''s like ''that''. Well, this should be fun. The girl he was ogling was pretty young too. She had long black hair, and, for a lack of better details, she was flat. Making her a perfect... Damn, what''s the word, ''Lolita'' or ''Ohime'' was it? And to add more punch to my retort, we were the center of attention.


    "LOD. I don''t think that girl is edible." I looked towards the girl in question. "By the way, I''m with him so I''d like to order some black tea, also can I have the brownie to go with that?"


    "... Okay. That''ll be 90 coins for the tea and 120 coins for the brownie. For the total... Oh, sorry, I forgot to ask, is this to take out or to stay?"


    "I don''t feel like walking around anymore, so it''s to stay."


    "Okay, there''ll be an additional charge of 15 coins per person, is this acceptable?"


    "That''s fine." I glared back to LOD, "Have you gotten out of your trance yet, if so what''ll you order?"


    "Oh... Sorry. I was thinking hard about what to order."


    "Yeah, sure you were. So what are you going to order?" It''d be a lie to say that I didn''t enjoy saying that. With the amount this guy was demeaning me earlier today, I felt like getting my revenge on him.


    "I''ll take the herbal tea and the carrot cake. Also, a smile would be tipped."


    I felt the need to instantly retort. So I did. "Don''t forget you made me pay for your meal. And I''m not covering your tips."


    "Tch!" LOD and I both looked around, to my glee, there was still a lot of glares at him. So he buckled. "That was a joke. Sorry. So what''s the total my lackie has to pay?"


    Relieved, the girl behind the counter said. "For the herbal tea it''s 80 coins, and for the carrot cake, it''s 110 coins. With you two staying, that adds up to..." There was a moment of pause, whilst I assume she added it up. " The total is 430 coins," she said.


    Wait... That''s almost half the 1000 coins Mr. Simpson gave me! With tears in my eyes, I paid the amount in full, with a 10 coin tip for good service. I had no idea about the value system behind it, so I just blindly went with it for now.


    Whilst finding a table, I glared at LOD. But I loosened my glare after a while, and we found a table. Well, it was a table for four, and we were a party of two, so I felt kinda bad, but nevertheless we put our stuff down, and I started a conversation.


    "So, what are you going to do?" I stated. I was curious about whether or not LOD would join me in my goal to be an adventurer. But as the saying goes, ''Everyone strives for new endings, but all start from old beginnings'' (this phrase is explained in the authors note after chapter 8. when it gets released of course.) , so I wasn''t going to assume he wanted to do the same as me just because he was with me.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    "About what, what I want to do after today?" I nodded, so he continued, "Well, I''d like to give adventuring a go. I mean, apparently it''s a good way to get money, items and it seems fun. Of course, it''s asking to get attacked, hurt and even die, but I think it''s worth it. If you''re the same, then I''d like to party up with you. Of course, we''ll need more members first."


    A sound of footsteps nearby caused me turn in response. There were two males standing there, seeming to be interested in out conversation. They were coated in armor, although there were slight differences in the types. And one of them seemed to be wielding a greatsword whereas the other was wielding a Katana.


    The guy with the greatsword asked, "Sorry, but do you mind if we join you two?"


    LOD and I exchanged looks, both accepting them I replied, "Sure, We don''t mind. Sit down and we''ll continue the conversation."


    "So Doki, your answer to my invite is?"


    "Oh, I''d love to. I''ve always seen myself as a rouge, but with the class I am, I need people to depend on. Making a party and fighting as a group is probably better than fighting alone." I looked towards the two strangers and asked, "So, who are you, guys."


    The guy with the greatsword who had a very masculine build with much bigger muscles than I did, I was kinda jealous, to tell the truth, was the first to respond. "I''m Titanious, and this guy here is... "Jeehan". Something about his tone was suspicious, and the look of regret on the other guy, Jeehan, who was clean-shaven, slightly lankier but just as manly in his own right, added to this suspicion. I decided to not care. For all I know his username is his pin code or something.


    But Titanious continued "I assume you want to know our classes and sub-classes too."


    He paused, but we gave him a look to convey our intrigue, so he continued again. "I''m a tank with Maid as a minor, and a minor in Cooking." I was going to explain the class and subclass, but before I could, LOD, who was laughing excessively, broke the ice and said "Ha ha ha! that''s hilarious. The toughest and manly person here, Cooking and Cleaning. What a joke. You''re lying right?" To be fair, I wanted to leave at that point, I find these sorts of things aggravating and annoying as hell. But Titanious''s response was surprising enough for me to stay.


    "And? I''m male. I have an X and Y chromosome... So!? Does this thing dictate that I''m forced to like sports and such and hate doing ''girly'' chores!? And what, you''re living as a male perfectly!? You goddamn sexist fool!" he yelled, forcing a very shocked reaction from LOD.


    Looking defeated, LOD backed down and said. "No..."


    I mean, I don''t blame him. Titanious, as mentioned before, had a very muscly world. If this wasn''t in the game world, he''d probably be able to beat you to a pulp easily. His intense glare and the ridiculous volume of his voice at the end just added to his fear-factor.


    Titanious saw and heard his response so stood up and put the nail in LOD''s coffin, "Then shut up about! Shallow views are stupid, irrational and genuinely take tenacity to merely mention! Instead, why not just shut up, and maybe not try to force your shallow thoughts upon other''s who dare to be different!"


    With his rant over, Titanious sighed deeply and sat back down, trying to get back his energy.


    As for LOD, he was practically inside the cushion on his chair after seeing Titanious stand up against what seemed like a casual joke to him.


    Yay. My favorite part of conversations, the awkward silence.


    The mood was thick, but sounding meek, the icebreaker finally came from Titanious. "Sorry... Um... I have a trauma about my likes and dislikes and my gender, so vented them out towards you when you were making a joke. I just loath jokes and such about that topic, so please don''t do that again."


    LOD seemed to take the apology well, so came back up and continued to eat his cake. "It''s fine. Sorry for the bad joke, it''s a habit I use to break tense atmospheres. I didn''t expect quite the explosive response, though. It''s fine if you want to cook and cleaning, I was just laughing because it''s ridiculously unlikely where I''m from. Gender is pressured really harshly here, so it''s relieving to see the freedom other places have. Plus it means that if you join us, you can cook and clean, so I don''t have to."


    To be honest, LOD seemed really charismatic in our conversations before. Talking to me for that long is quite the task for most. So to see him bounce back that easily, didn''t surprise me. But now I felt awkward butting into their conversation, since most of it had simmered down to apologizing...


    Whilst I was bored with waiting for itto end, I noticed how awkward and silent Jeehan had been. Since I had nothing better to do, I decided to start chatting to him, and ''kindly'' asked, "So how about you Jeehan?"


    "Um. My class is ''samurai'', you probably realized that from my sword. My major is Smithing and my minor is Enchanting. I picked them because I thought they would complement each other well. I want to be an adventurer too, and I think our group is efficient. That is, assuming the LOD guy is an assassin, and that you are a healer." he said. He started off shyly but gained confidence soon enough. He was probably shaken at my sudden prompt.


    "Not exactly correct. LOD, Titanious, do you two want to stop apologizing over and over again and join in this productive conversation?" I asked the other two in spite. Titanious and LOD were basically competing to see who could apologize the most. I wanted to say LOD owed me breakfast, but he wasn''t exactly talking to me, so I had no right.


    With the other two now listening, I introduced myself. Of course, I said exactly the same as I told LOD before. And their reactions were the same. So then LOD introduced himself, and when we were done, an hour had passed, and we had finished our food and drinks. By the way, I''m basically a cat who burns his tongue on the most tepid of water, so it actually took me an hour to finish my tea. With the good timing, we decided to leave and go shopping for supplies.


    -


    We decided out roles, that I would pose as a battle-mage, to surprise people when they found out I was a succubus way too late and get free hp from them. I got a mage''s robe, a relatively good staff Jeehan had to help pay for, and AP potions. Most of our money pool went towards LOD''s weapon, and Jeehan and Titanious''s armor and hp restore potions. And when we finished, we only had a collective 140 coins left. I mean, we looked cool and were stronger than we were before, but it''s still annoying to barely have enough for a tea between the four of us.


    There were about two hours before noon, so we decided to go outside and go hunting as a party. I mean, we needed money, and we might as well do it.


    Before going, though, Jeehan told us about the shortlist system in the game. And yes, apparently there was a shortlist system in this game. We could set a maximum of 20 skills in this shortlist from any skill tree''s we had, a collection from our class skills, sub-class skills and weapon skills. Skills on your short list were voice activated, whereas the others needed to be selected physically from the menu.


    So we each chose our shortlists of skills, which took a pretty long time. Titanious took a while to decide upon three of his twenty cleaning skills to pick, and LOD took equally as long thinking of ''witty'' words to choose as prompts...


    Eventually, even those two had finished making their choices, so we went off to the wilderness.

 Chapter 3: First blood.

    *''LOD''*


    I was on a hill, overlooking an ocean of grass, that encompassed all I could see around me. Sun beamed off the grass, creating a scene almost too bright to be seen. Wind flowed through the grass, creating waves. It all looked like a field in summer.


    If this was our reality, I''d love to sit here, relaxing, with a couple friends, maybe a girl or two, of course, pretty girls only. And just bask in nature. I mean, if it was our reality that is, and this certainly isn''t...


    This serene atmosphere was kinda ruined by all the screeching of the green figures, about as tall as my leg, screeching and screaming as their limbs and heads were torn off of their bodies. I mean, I can''t blame them. I was pretty much annihilating them and their friends with my group. Us players destroyed the atmosphere just as much as they did too, with all our yelling, shouting and laughing at the massacre they just caused like it was nothing. I mean, this is a game, but that''s taking it way too far.


    "Okay, so guys, how does this work," I asked.


    "You guys put me in charge. So I guess we''ll just walk out to the low-level area and see how combat works here. If we die, the island is apparently protected, so it shouldn''t be too bad. If we don''t, we can make some money and get some drops. So it''s a win, not quite lose situation." Said a guy, who was shorter than I. He had a more feminine build, and his curly, wild hairstyle mixed with his apathetic brown eyes, spoke volumes about his personality.


    This was Doki, a person I met on the first day in this world. I mean, ''met'' is a strong word. We sort of spontaneously became roommates, and then he passed out, so I had to carry him to his bed before sleeping myself. He seemed okay, a bit spaced out, and I had to introduce him to the world of girls. But apart from that, he seemed way smarter than I; at least on this, he cared about. He was a person who hated everyone who deemed that anything indefinite was important, and was blunt about it.


    In front of us were two guys, a guy wearing armor that glistened in the sun. He had a very masculine build, short blond hair, and about a head taller than me. He was broad, with massive biceps and triceps but was surprisingly nimble on his feet and with his hands. He was dodging blows and killing small fries whilst keeping his own pace. This was Titanious, or ''Nio'' for short. We met ballistic-ally today, I kinda stepped on a mine and we ended up with an awkward silence. He seemed like a good guy with more feminine hobbies, but as of now, I''m uncertain of his nature.


    Next to him was a person who tried to mimic him, but stuttered and tripped every now and then. He had a more strong, but he had a less flexible stance that slowed him down, so every now and then he''d run to try and catch Nio. It was sort of like a chick following its mother, so I couldn''t help but find this cute.


    I met him today too, but, he was clearly shyer. He barely introduced himself before and let Nio say the rest for him, therefore I couldn''t really conclude his personality and quirks.


    Sorry, I forgot to reference why we were here. Me, Doki, Jeehan and Titanious, the latter two I only just met today, were now walking out of the village''s protection to gain money and practice combat before our meeting with the mayor.


    We got some word from the villagers that where we were going only had weak mobs. Of course, they didn''t say what mobs, but that they were mobs we could fight at our current level. The reason, we had about two hours to blow, well, building up communication, our shortlists and getting to our location took a while, so we had about an hour remaining.


    We decided our roles earlier, I was the ''Scout''. Basically, in bigger fights, I would go into the enemy flanks and cause havoc among the battle-mages and healers, whilst the Jeehan and Titanious would tank for Doki, who was the brains the operations, and healer. Yeah, this meant the battle stories I could tell the lovely ladies after this were limited. But my noble sacrifice would not be in vain. My class gave me good speed and high damage, so it was obvious that this would be my role anyway.


    The list of skills we had was pretty weak, so we decided to go and try to level up. It was going well to be fair, for about 10 minutes we had been walking about, getting used to the mechanics and techniques behind fighting with one or two low leveled goblins. However...


    "Wait, guys... STOP! Something feels off." Said Nio, he seemed anxious, as if he''d heard something in the distance.


    "What do you mean?" Replied Jeehan, clearly curious as to the reason they were stopping.


    In the half-hour we''d spent traveling, we had only fought individual goblins as a group, Jeehan and Nio alternated the tanking role, whilst Doki used his ''Bolt'' skill or I got behind to assassinate. Considering how good our teamwork and positioning had been, we hadn''t really been hit, let alone in actually in trouble, so I could see Jeehan''s reasoning.


    But as soon as I said that...


    "... I don''t how to descri... LOD, BEHIND YOU!"


    I jumped forwards, rotating in the air. We decided this was better than just turning on a pivot because it meant I would get to see the enemy, and they wouldn''t get the initiative, as they''d assume I would turn around in a daze, and try to attack. In which case, I could punish this and gain the initiative. I saw five goblins in front of me, one with a club had tried to swing at me, not expecting my jumping rotation.


    Seeing this, Doki, who still seemed calm, simply replied in a loud, clear voice, "Oi! Formation 2, five gobs on LOD, Three gobs on Jeehan. Nio cover LOD, Bearing 90 degrees C . LOD, attack sparingly. Jeehan, hold, I''ll back you up."


    Upon his orders, I focused the five goblins in front of me. One had a small club, and four had knives, not exactly threatening weapons... Whilst waiting for Titanious to get to me, I tried to dodge their attacks. The goblin with the club was still trying to regain his control and pick up his weapon, so only the four with knives had any chance to attack me. I dodged the first attack by simply stepping back, one of the others tried to slash at my left flank, but it missed by a couple inches, so I didn''t try to dodge.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    I felt a tap on my shoulder, and I knew it was Nio. I hid behind him as he swiped, trying to get the aggro on himself. At this point, the guy with the club had come back, surprising Nio as he didn''t see it coming.


    After a few seconds, I backed away, whilst the goblins happily attacked Nio without batting an eye at my disappearance. Two of the knife-wielding goblins had died by his attacks so far, and the other two were out of breath, hopefully in the red. So I sneaked behind their flanks and said "Die" activating my Back-Stab skill onto the one with the club, finishing him instantly. A second or two later, the last one fell. Jeehan and Doki had seemingly finished before us, so we decided it was safe.


    ''Huh, I just leveled up. Let''s see what''s actually changed...'' I thought, noticing that I was now level 2. I saw that I gained about 20 in total stats, mainly going into speed and damage, and had four points that I could invest in any of them. I looked at the skill trees and sighed as I saw no differences overall.


    Everyone else seemed to be doing something similar, and since it was safe, I couldn''t blame them. After deciding where to put our three points, we regrouped and decided to leave.


    "Hey, guys. We seem to have the teamwork basics down and we spent a decent amount of time fighting, want to go back to town for the meeting?" Doki suggested. It seemed like a fair assumption to think that we''d made back the money we spent, so leaving before it getting too risky seemed like a good idea. With nods from me, Nio and Jeehan, we headed back to the town.


    I felt something strike me, and before I had time to react, I felt two, three... No five different attacks on my back. Without the ability to react in time, I just watched my health bar sink into the red. When I could finally react, I let out a... ''Scream''. Which I hoped warned the others as my hp finally reached zero.


    Huh. This isn''t how I thought death would feel like. It wasn''t a menu screen with the question ''Continue?'' in big, obnoxious letters, almost taunting me to fight again, or die for good, which I assumed would be the case. It was more like I was still there. I could hear and see Doki and the other''s anxious attempts to keep calm. I yelled, "It''s fine, go on and win." No one could hear it for some reason. So I was confused but went along with it...


    About 12 goblins were fighting with them. I assume four of them used a combo attack against my less than protected rear to kill me quickly.


    The first order from Doki was "SHUT UP! PAY ATTENTION! 12 goblins, 180 degrees. Nio, Jeehan, aggro them. Then I''ll support you."


    Titanious and Jeehan got over themselves just like that, and aggroed the enemies, with Doki standing behind them. Both swiped at the goblins, and dodged or countered their attacks whilst doing so. Jeehan made fewer attacks than Nio, but still had more power behind his blow, killing a goblin in four attacks, where Nio took six. After five goblins had fallen, Doki moved further behind the two tanks, without any of the goblins noticing him leave, so stepped away to start his attack.


    Titanious and Jeehan were still in the green, barely losing ten percent of their hp. But with Doki''s departure, the goblins ended up surrounding the two, which is when Doki started the next part of his plan.


    "Jeehan Def up on both. 3..." Doki told Jeehan to put his defense buff, which was specialized to the samurai class, on him and Titanious. Since he didn''t use skills regularly, he did this pretty much instantly to Doki''s command, whilst Doki was counting out, most likely trying out his skill ''Mass Leech''. It was a good idea because he all the goblins were surrounding the two tanks, who had more than enough health left to tank the friendly fire.


    "2... 1... [BIND]" As he said ''bind'' he activated the skill ''mass leech'', tentacles seeped from ground sprouted to a max range of about 3 meters. Nio Jeehan and the rest of the goblins, who had been exchanging blows with each other until now, had their movement stopped by the tentacles Doki summoned.


    The tentacles were sort of like thick, blood-red vines, they collapsed the ground under the people within the range, and then engulfed them, feet first.


    Luckily for Doki, there also seemed to be a minimum range of about 1 meter, so there was an area surrounding Doki that had no tentacles. Noticing this, and how he was able to move freely, Doki took out a sword and started to attack some of the enemies caught in his bind. The bind did some damage, removing another tenth of Jeehan''s and Nio''s health, but Doki''s attacks made it go by way faster.


    A moment later, after some yelling from the two tanks, Doki noticed how low the other two''s HP was. His AP was in the red too, but he cared more about his allies HP, so said "End bind". Immediately after saying that, all the tentacles went back into the ground, releasing their grips on all who were in there. He killed 11 out of the 12 goblins in that attack, and the last one only had a sliver of health remaining. A single slash from Jeehan and it turned into gold.


    Before leaving Doki used one final skill, "Heal party". And as his own HP went down, Jeehan''s and Nio''s HP went up, at about one percent per second...


    Since watching this became boring, I started to think about Doki''s attack style. His attacks weren''t as strong as a Battle-Mage''s should be, it''s more similar to a Healer''s, so I think posing as a healer would be a more convincing bluff than a posing as a battle mage. And since the plan was to aggro the players in PVP subconsciously to him so he could bind them. Yeah, that seems smarter than a mage... I''ll suggest the change to him later.


    Anyway, whilst thinking that, Jeehan''s and Titanious'' hp were both over 300, so Doki said "[End Heal Party]" to cancel it. Doki concluded the fight, saying, "look, I know it''s unfortunate that we lost LOD, but let''s retreat with speed to the village. That took about twenty minutes anyway, we should head for the town hall right now." he continued.


    -


    And as they went to the town and I followed. There were views to be seen, but I cared more about my death and respawn, so that had to wait. For some reason, I now felt Jeehan''s stare. I brushed it off as a coincidence, until...


    "LOD? When did you get here?" said Jeehan, who was the first to notice me.


    "Um. I''ve been with you all along." I responded. I was now confused. They ignored me until now, is this how the re-spawn system works?


    "Huh, that''s weird, I didn''t see you.","You were?" Jeehan said, then Titanious added.


    "Ah. So that''s how the re-spawn system works." Proclaimed Doki.


    """Eh?!""" We all exclaimed in unison. I then retorted "Okay Doki, please tell the class."


    "Okay, let me explain. Respawning''s probably done by reaching a certain checkpoint, which would be the town entrance. Basically, whilst dead and not at a checkpoint, you''d be able to view the place around you, but not be able to interact with it. It''s like one of those generic FPS games," It seemed like he was taking pleasure in taking the mick, and making himself seem as pretentious as possible...


    He paused, he pretty much said that all in the same breath, so I was starting to question whether this guy actually breathed air. But as soon as this question was answered, he continued.


    "Now, in those games, after the game has been decided, by the game being won, or leaving the defined battlefield/ game, the players who died respawn like nothing happened. Sometimes the player who died gets a punishment, like fewer points for dying compared to your allies who carried you. But..."


    "Okay professor. We understand now, so spare us the rest of the lecture." I retorted. "So basically my XP and the money I receive from the fight was less than I should have due to my defeat. And since we all went back to the town, I ''re-spawned'' here."


    "Basically. Well anyway, let''s go to the meeting now."

 Chapter 4: Life Choices.

    *''Doki''*


    ... I hate crowds. There''s just something about them that, when big enough, absorbs and rejects all sound. All with different reasons for being there. It''s disorientating, to say the least. But a must is a must. I''ll put up with it for now then.


    We went to the meeting at the town hall, only to find out that Mr. Simpson was not there.


    "Quiet, quiet," said a man in a suit. Repeating himself until the others finally realized him.


    "Okay. Before we start, Mr. Simpson had a surprise meeting in Skimmington, so I, Mr. Smith, will be your guide. The purpose of today is tutorship since we''re pretty sure that you ''visitors'' don''t know much about this world. We offer a variety of jobs, so listen carefully."


    It made sense that we, who just suddenly appeared in their world, would be clueless to how their systems worked, but that could just as easily be taken as an insult. Also, lumping multiple people together in a group, with a common name and generalizing feature, is the best way to make friends... As if! It''s just rude and leads to prejudices and unnecessary bother... I refuse to be a part of that.


    As I thought about it, Mr. Simpson... No, wait, Mr. Smith was talking about the crafting guilds and the ways by which crafters get experience and an ID.


    "Okay, I need to explain something in detail. So if those of you currently ignoring me could actually bother listening to this part. I would greatly appreciate this,¡± he said. Waiting for my attention especially before continuing, "Okay, Let me explain the id system in this world. An ''id'' is something given to all people over a certain margin. It allows for things like bank accounts, guild membership and so on, so it''s pretty important. There is one item needed to get it, and two ways to get it. Well, there are three, but the third one is risky."


    I admit, my ears perked up at the word ''risky'', but for all I know, that would just be a hassle like PKing for this item.


    "Okay, method one is for the people who aren''t considering adventuring."


    There were 16 people here, well, someone was probably late, dead or got a life already, so it''s not a big concern.


    My concern was with the disappearance of Jeehan. Actually, thinking about things logically, this does make sense. Of course, I don¡¯t need to tell myself this simple conclusion.


    ¡®No shit, Sherlock.¡¯ I thought, attempting to insult myself for not realizing it sooner.


    My ears perked up again as Mr. Smith began introducing the method I¡¯d suggest all adventurer wannabes should use.


    "Okay, the method adventurers would use is joining the guild ''Fourth_Islanders''. Yeah, the founder was ridiculously patriotic, so its name is really this uninspired. But that¡¯s not important. In this group, you would be put into groups by the officials, based on efficiency and fighting style. So your first dungeon becomes so much easier." He stopped, probably seeing if he should go on to say the third method.


    He sighed deeply and said. "There is another method, the risky one. It''s where you don''t join the Forth_Islanders guild, and make a party yourself. You beat a dungeon in the same way, and then go to Skimmington after filling it out, and you''ll get an id. Now, if you¡¯re blind and can¡¯t see the risk, allow me to fill you in. This method has no backup, or opportunity to converse with others who know this world way better than you. I profusely suggest going for the other method, and just join the goddamn Forth_Islander¡¯s.¡±


    I nodded, reaching the obvious conclusion, ¡®Hm, sounds interesting. Of course, Nio and the others may want to do the other method, but doing it this way seems like a challenge.¡¯


    Mr. Smith continued again, finally ending this lengthy lecture, "Okay, we''ll give you until five to make your choices. If you''re planning to do the third method, not caring about the risk and hassle it will cause, then you don''t need to come. It will be a line up of guilds and initiation to the Forth_Islanders and the other relevant newbie guilds."


    Mr. Smith came down from his little stage, soon followed by everyone else leaving. Before he left, Mr. Smith turned to me and said, "I''m not one to judge life choices, but please think it over before following you little idea of soloing a dungeon. I noticed you perking up at the sense of freedom, but freedom has its cost. Just remember that."


    So I thought about it, I really did... For a second before going with the third method again. Mr. Smith seems to want me to be safe, and I can appreciate that much at least. I just don''t care about being safe. I just want a challenge. Well, let''s see if the others will join me.


    -


    Me, LOD, Titanious and Jeehan all met up at the same cafe later. We''d somewhat bonded over the few hours we''d known each other, so I at least was curious as to their decisions.


    "So guys, what do you guys want to do now?" I asked, following my curiosity.


    "Well, I know your answer already. As for me¡­ Um..." LOD was still thinking. He knew I''d go clan-free, but I''m me, not him. "You know what. Fuck it! I''d be lying if I said I didn''t have fun today. I''ll join you.."


    "So you''ve realized if you''re in a clan, it''d be harder to become noticeable in girl''s views." I retorted. I knew he hadn''t thought of it, I just wanted to tease him.


    "Wait... I hadn''t thought of tha-- I mean, what are you talking about. I obviously want to spend time with you guys..." So, it was as I thought.


    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.As LOD replied his face went red out of embarrassment. Noticing Nio''s glares, and Jeehan''s fading interest, he scowled at the two. "What are you looking at! Go ahead, say your plans then, ¡®saints¡¯!"


    "Um. Well, I don''t mind going with you. Doki seems calm and collective. And you... Don''t seem that bad I guess. I mean, we got off to a bad start, but that''s water under the bridge now. Yeah..." Titanious took a while to think about it but continued. "I think it could be fun. Also, Jeehan will obviously go with me" Jeehan nodded with agreement. "So yeah, let''s destroy a dungeon together!"


    "Now then, for a guide. Let''s ask Jeehan." I asked. But he seemed scared to answer me.


    "EH?! w-why me? Couldn''t you just ask some NPC?" He panicked.


    "I could. So I am. You are an NPC, correct? That''s why you weren''t in the meeting, and why you and Nio seemed so nervous when Nio introduced you by the name ''Jeehan'' right?" As I said that Titanious put his hand to his face.


    Jeehan gave a slap to both of his cheeks, before responding with. "Argh! Fine! I am an NPC, my actual name is Jeehan Han. I¡¯m a local noble who doesn¡¯t like being just a ¡®puppet of the state¡¯. The reason I wanted to join you was to go with the chaos and fight-¡±


    I interrupted, making my own point brimming with sarcasm, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Shut up already. I don''t need your life story. I just don''t want to go around chasing random NPC''s for directions, considering the ''madness'' behind the idea of not joining the clan. Let''s put it like this, You''re an NPC, so you should know this area well. That''s the only reason I give a damn about you being one. I''m not going to kick you out or anything, I just don''t want to have an annoying experience before getting to the raid location."


    I assumed Jeehan genuinely thought the two groups, NPC¡¯s and Visitors, were actually isolated. Maybe because of the seemingly common segregation between the two groups. My own hatred of these situations bubbled up, as I finally looked around.


    Jeehan and Titanious looked thankful. I turned my head, and immediately barked a list of orders, "Okay, Jeehan will guide us, but before this. Let''s do some shopping before heading out. We did get some of the money from earlier after all. Wait, how much did you guys get? I got about 2800 coins for it."


    "I surprisingly got 900 coins exactly. Considering I died... I must have killed a lot." Answered LOD.


    "I probably got 1200 coins, actually I still had some change, so the amount I got isn¡¯t exactly that, but in that ballpark at least," replied a preoccupied Titanious.


    "I got 1440 coins exactly, by the way, now that you know I''m an NPC, I might as well say I have about 50k coins on me. It''s my savings, but I don''t mind sharing it with you guys since we¡¯re bound to get way more money later anyway," explained Jeehan.


    "Okay, well, do you guys think we should improve our equipment right now? I mean, LOD''s healer idea makes me want to get a healer¡¯s robe or something. And you guys can probably upgrade your swords and such." I said.


    "I don''t mind going with what we have now. I think getting a place to sleep is more important. We need potions and food too since we didn¡¯t buy some before ." Said Titanious. It was a good point, as we had no information on how far away, or big the closest dungeon we could viably explore was, so making plans for a short journey would be pointless.


    He continued. "Sorry Doki, I mean, we chose you to be the brains for a reason. However, I personally think we should find a place to sleep, then continue practicing. Who knows, we could level up and get more skills to make killing the dungeon mobs easier."


    "Well, I was going to state a similar plan... However, where we can stay is the question. Let''s ask around whilst shopping." As I said that, Jeehan started looking around nervous. He froze, focusing on a place where two posh-looking people had just walked in. I felt vomit rise up from the back of my neck. I assumed the identities from their age and Jeehan¡¯s glare, and oh boy was it annoying.


    "Oh, there you are Jeehan." one of the people said. She seemed like a senior female, with the higher power level. "I''ve been looking for you." She then looked around towards us and sighed. "Really? You''re trusting these ''Visitors'' over us..."


    "Howdy, such a nice introductory speech, but I believe we''ve all heard it before." I interrupted, knowing where this situation was going.


    Hearing my comment, she scowled. "And you are?" Jeehan was trying to play dead, and even LOD and Titanious weren''t moving at this point.


    Bah, I''ve done worse things based on my hatred of shallowness. I mean, I haven''t even told her to kill herself yet.


    "I''m Doki. A so-called ''Visitor'', so I''m new to this world. And since I''m new, I''m about to lead these three and myself to go to the closest feasible dungeon to clearly conquer it with just the four of us. You don''t have to worry about Jeehan, he only has a strong possibility of dying in this dungeon..."


    Without lying, I looked her straight in the eyes and just told her my plans. The worst that could happen is that she disagrees and scolds Jeehan a bit before we just walk away. I gather this is Jeehan''s mother, and the man next to her is his father. I mean, it makes sense contextually.


    "Yeah, we know..." said the man. "Jeehan''s always been obsessed with dungeons, but since the clan we belong to didn''t accept him, because of his sub-classes, he pretty much attached himself to you people. Sorry, my sister didn''t mean offense when she said ''Visitors''. We just wanted Jeehan to make the right choice, so it''s pretty hard for us to hear this."


    I looked at Jeehan. Oh, I get it... "So basically the reason you''re hiding from them wasn''t because you were related to them, and you had a falling out. It''s because they were about to say that you''re not a complete stranger and that this fact is somehow embarrassing to you."


    Still shaking, he tried to "Um... You''re wrong... T-the reason was you Doki. These are my brother and sister, and they have certain mannerisms, which you seem to despise with a passion. I mean, they managed to annoy Nio in their first conversation. I just didn''t want you hating them instantly and causing unnecessary drama since I know how easy a grudge is to get."


    "Huh." I didn''t even think about that. It seems to these guys, I''m an apathetic jackass, which is true, who actively goes into fights based on single meetings, which is false... "You seem to not get me Jeehan. I can''t get angry enough at people to have grudges."


    "Eh, I gathered you''d get angry at the mere mention of ''group'' names and such."


    "Yeah... That''s wrong. I''d have to actually care to get angry, which I don''t. Also, you are forgetting, I despise hassle, so why would I go out of my way to pick a fight that I could see coming. That would be more hassling than not." I replied.


    It''s true, I''ve never really gotten annoyed at people. Even IRL, I didn''t have enough conversations to actually get annoyed. I do hate things like indefinite questions that just have series of parroting phrases until they get grating to me, and that takes a lot of parroting. I find the idea of an original view on such topics quite funny considering that THEY AREN''T ORIGINAL AT ALL.


    But that''s my gripe, not other''s. I just leave conversations at that point anyway. Also, at this point, I was a hypocrite, so I had no right to preach and hate them just because they were shallow.


    "Well then, why don''t we introduce ourselves properly then."


    So we met Jeehan''s brother and sister and began talking about a place to rest. It turns out that their house was pretty big and close, so we could stay there for a while. So we decided to stay there until we''d beaten the dungeon, which should be a week based on the information shared.


    With the issue of a place to stay sorted out, we went shopping for consumables, tools for our sub-classes and basic ingredients. We did some practicing without much avail and then retired for a night.


    ___________________________________________________________________________________________________


    OldBegginings: [Sorry that this chapter took a long time to release. It just took long to write. With the other chapters I had sparks of inspiration, so most of the writing was done in the same day.But this one dragged on for almost a week of writing.]

 Chapter 5: Adventure? Whats that?

    *''Jeehan''*


    How did today turn out like this?


    Well... I managed to find a group to adventure with, consisting of the apathetic brains, Doki, the womanizing ninja-wannabe, LOD, and the person I trust the most, Titanious. And I''m glad about that, but, I mean, Doki found out I was an NPC easily, and my brother, Shun, and my sister, Thorborg found me whilst going to job interviews at the cafe we were at; yeah, fourth island''s names are weird. I heard from Shun, that on the third island, they call their children ''Henry'', ''George'', ''William'' and keep it consistent with name types. Whereas here we have names varying from ''Aaron'' to ''Han'' to ''Vladimir'' and everything in between.


    Well, at least things didn''t end up badly. I mean, we''re currently staying at my family''s home. Nio is staying in our guest room, and, since they were roommates already, Doki and LOD are staying in our parent''s room. Doki originally wanted to sleep on the floor and let LOD use the sofa after hearing the reason behind the room''s emptiness, but that event happened a year or two ago, so my 2 sisters, 3 brothers and I chose to let the two stay there. We do have another guest room, but we''re re-painting it at the moment, and it would be bad manners to let two guests sleep on the floor.


    We were having dinner, made by Adam, one of my other brothers, and Titanious. It was fish, made with boiled potatoes and salad. A simple dish for Adam to teach him the basics of cooking.


    "Thanks for the food," we all said in unison, as we dove into the taste. The food itself was nice, however, as Alice said, I did just meet two of these three guests today, and decided, against the will of my siblings, to travel the taboo path our parents went.


    By the way, Adam is a professional chef. He works at some fancy, over-priced restaurant over in Skimmington, but since the family house is in Simpson he sometimes just stays at a hotel in Skimmington and doesn''t come back for a while.


    I could understand why they questioned this path. But I wasn''t like those two airheads. I wasn''t about to get conscripted into this nations'' army and go to the envoy on the continent to get slain in an internationally maintained mass genocide called war!


    ... Um... I-I didn''t mean that part... If the others heard that thought... I dread the result.


    A-anyway, the four of us decided to give tonight a rest, thinking of possible strategies for tomorrow. We were aiming to do the dungeon in stages. From what I knew, it consisted of five layers, each could take an hour on average if you knew what you were doing and leveled reasonably. We weren''t though, and we didn''t want to rush. Since the dungeon was nearby, we decided to just come back here at night, and take it layer by layer. Doki said it was so we could make money and try to reassure my family that we weren''t going to be careless. It''d probably take a week, so it wasn''t that much of a burden, and it was seen as a test in its own right. My family agreed, and Titanious would be getting lessons in cooking from Adam, or Hiiro if he was free, and they''d make a decision about whether they''d let us do this.


    After the meal, it was pretty clear to my family I was spaced out. So before heading off to bed, Adam asked, "Han, are you okay?"


    I couldn''t really respond. I''ve always been like this, the moment I try to sum up my feelings, I forget what I''m feeling. It only happens sometimes, but it''s still really annoying.


    In response to this, Adam asked Doki to go outside with him. We already introduced ourselves, so I guess he knows the group''s centered around him and wants to tell him some stuff about me.


    Eh. If it''s pointless, I can trust Doki not to care, so it''s a good choice.


    As I began thinking about what Adam could tell Doki, I noticed how late it had become. "It''s late, and I''m tired. Sorry, but I''m going to sleep." said Alice. I fancied myself some sleep too, so followed.


    "Oh, by the way, Han. Sorry to sound rude, but..."


    "You''re still skeptical Alice? Don''t worry, that''s the point of doing the dungeon over the week. Even if push comes to shove, I''ll revive," I replied, with a calm look on my face.


    Alice was a manager for a clan called the Small_Class_Heroes. She didn''t fight but helped their financing and infrastructure, so was the best person for advice. With our given lack of strength and experience, given the fact they were strangers, skepticism was only natural.


    "Um... That''s not it. I don''t like these LOD and Doki guys. They seem to be on opposite vectors. Whereas LOD seems too enthusiastic, especially about me and Thorborg, Doki seems like he''d scrap you in an instant. Also, I don''t know Doki''s class, so I can''t give you advice on his fighting style. I know it''s shallow of me to judge them as they are now, but I can''t help doting on my younger brother."


    "I understand. But, please give them a chance to overturn these doubts. I want you guys to feel good about letting me follow my dream, and I know it''s your''s and Adam''s jobs to dote on our lot. But please have limits."


    She sighed, then said under her breath ''I''ll try''.


    With that conversation done, I had reached my room, after exchanging pleasantries with Alice, I went to my room.


    I was thinking a lot about the stuff that happened recently. Analyzing my associates in my head, and dreaming about the future adventures, I realized how much it all was based on my idea of Doki. This is a person who I only met today... Hm, I see why Alice doubts Doki. Well, we''ll see what he does when he does it, I''m guessing the others doubt him too. Claiming to know which one, of an infinite possibility of ideas, isn''t a good thing.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    -


    "*Knock* Ahem... Han? Are you awake?" This sounded like Adam. Or was it Hiiro? Those two sounded alike, so I couldn''t really tell. Since the moon isn''t blue, I guess it''s Adam. Hiiro is a traveling merchant, who''d travel around for months at a time, and come back for days at a time before leaving again. Since he made money, enjoyed his job, and wouldn''t miss an important date, this was fine. But, I''m pretty sure he wouldn''t be here so soon after leaving.


    "... Who... Is... It..." I just woke up, so was kinda groggy.


    "It''s Hiiro. I just arrived at skimmington, when Adam said to come back immediately."


    ''Ah, that explained it,'' I thought, knowing that Hiiro trusted Adam to a shocking degree, so if he said to come back, Hiiro would immediately do so.


    I got up and started to get dressed, continuing the conversation whilst doing so.


    "Sorry Hiiro, I just got up. Did Adam tell you much, or should I explain the situation myself?" I knew he trusted me too. But if Adam told him opinionated stuff, it''d be annoying to talk him out of agreeing.


    "I heard bits of pieces. I know that you''ve found a party, and are wanting to go to the Grassy Hills dungeon, but not much more. I''m interested in the kinds of people they are, but Adam wouldn''t tell me," he mumbled, in a self-pitying tone.


    I gave a weak smile, appreciating that Adam didn''t tell him. Although Hiiro sounded disheartened, I''m thankful Adam finally noticed how much Hiiro was blindly following his opinion, so didn''t tell him about the members to avoid his opinions spilling out.


    "I can understand why, I mean, you do have a tendency of blindly following him on any opinions he has, even when he, himself, has made a mistake, you''ll scream and shout at anyone stating he was previously wrong... I''m not saying it''s a bad thing, but Adam knows it can be bothersome, especially with a topic like this."


    "Eh?" Hiiro was confused. Let''s mask it up for now.


    "Basically I found three people to join me in making my dream a reality. They are three ''visitors'' with various personalities."


    "''Visitors''?" I was shocked by Hiiro''s response, then I remembered he''s been traveling recently, and since the ''visitors'' thing only came about a week ago, it''s possible he just hasn''t heard about them yet.


    "''Visitors'' are beings who are human, but for whatever reason, they suddenly appeared in major cities and towns. Their population is limited compared to us, but they also appear to not know why they''re here. Since they are new, and obviously don''t share certain thoughts, opinions, and knowledge as we do, some people have decided that they are a new race, and are upset with their existence. It''s one of these annoying in-groups, out-groups debacles, that just causes destruction, and gives nothing good... Also, They started calling us ''NPCs'', I have no idea of what that means, but the locals have started calling themselves that, so have I... They won''t suddenly stop with the title, so I don''t feel like trying to fight it."


    Hiiro is relatively middle ground in these sorts of things. He''s never been one to have his own opinions, so bases his reaction based on others, hence he follows Adam''s opinion on most topics.


    "Huh? That sounds weird... Well as long these ''visitors'' aren''t dicks, I probably won''t even notice. Also, ''NPCs'' has a nice ring to it... That''s probably why."


    "We''re doing a test to see their personalities and such here since I only met them yesterday. They have their quirks, but for now, they seem pretty nice." To my response, Hiiro seemed content with that explanation.


    But after a while, he gave out a deep sigh. "... So you''re actually doing it then," he muttered. I heard what he said but tilted my head in confusion, and he continued. "Adventuring is a profession only people asking to get hurt choose..."


    "Eh? I know what happened to moth..." Trying to rebuttal, but I was interrupted.


    "It has NOTHING to do with them! Adam and I thought about it when we were kids. The aspect of waltzing into areas where vicious beings actively fight you until you die. That is adventuring. You literally walk into situations, fighting beings that will attack you, to kill them to level up to kill things faster to level up to kill things faster... It''s just stupid. That''s why we were so against you doing this. We don''t want to turn into a monster Han, who expresses their joy in hot-headed moments with no remorse, after mutilating sub-humans, who are just trying to live their lives. What the heck is the difference between such a person, and the very monsters they go out to slay!?"


    "..." In response to Hiiro''s speech, I didn''t have a return...


    He was looking deeply into my eyes, egging me on to respond, but I couldn''t... It made too much sense...


    Ha... As he said, it''s blatantly hypocritical, humans are supposed to be smart, knowledgeable rulers of the world, of whom are supposedly respectable, massacring entire species for ''gold coins'' which could just be made by blacksmiths.


    I thought about my new allies before I remembered something Doki had said before. ''I believe we''ve all heard this before''. This quote in response to the visitor debarked before and stated a hatred and boredom for such hypocritical tones. I couldn''t figure out why, but it inspired me to think about different things which are equally as stupid, like ''pride'' and such.


    "You see, Those beings we epitomize as barbaric are just trying to live, and without any questioning, we massacre them. I agree with that sentiment, however, your argument also relies on humans having to lower themselves to become as barbaric as ''mobs'' are. I mean, that''s wrong. Think about it for a second. We pride ourselves on patriotism to the nation we''re born from, to the families we''re born into, and the richer the family/ nation, the more pride there is. Doesn''t that seem bad to anyone else? Flaunting money made from products with ridiculous profits. Actively ripping off all the people you sell to, and that''s a frickin'' status symbol? Ha! And you''re calling me hypocritical," I said, randomly spewing the rant that somehow formed in my mind. Did Doki possess me or something?


    "Sorry. I mean I don''t think humans are worthy of flaunting the pride they have over those they deem are lower than themselves. I personally don''t mind getting hurt, as I''ll be doing selfish things, and claiming it''s goods. You and Adam won''t get me to change my mind." I concluded. Whether it got through to him or not. These are my thought on the subject.


    ''I picked this path because it suits me. Unlike in other professions, even if I do well, there''s at least some sense of pain to tell me that this is still wrong. As life should be. ''Every time you eat, someone else starves to death. Every time you breathe, someone else suffocates. Every time you celebrate your birthday, other people mourn the death of someone who died on theirs.'' This world is unfair. For one to live, multiple things must die. This world is centered on such ruthlessness. Why the hell do I deserve to thrive so peacefully in such a world?'' I thought, summarizing my point with some correlations.


    "Hm. If you''ve thought about this path to that degree, and are still holding your beliefs to your heart, I can''t stop you. I just hope that you don''t change completely walking your chosen path." He gave a resigned sigh and left.


    With that talk, I noticed the time was about six, so decided to get up since I was already awake. I heard a commotion from the living room. So went in to join whoever was up.

 Chapter 6: Yay, more action!

    *''Jeehan''*


    For some reason, it feels really awkward to go into the kitchen right now.


    "Hm. That''s a pure rationality you have there. However, I don''t care," a familiar, monotoned male voice coldly said.


    "How can you be such a cold arse!? Our parents died on duty. I''m only asking you to be slightly sympathetic to him and talk him out of doing it," a more familiar and explosive female voice replied.


    "You say that like it''s your actual reason, Alice. You guys don''t want Han to go adventuring for a different reason. I gather from the conversation I overheard earlier... Well, if you believed such a reason was important enough to stand-by, say it first. Otherwise, it seems like you don''t believe that the reason''s importance. I know your real ethical dilemma isn''t with your parents dead, it''s the fact that someone you care about will be going head on into danger in a kill or be killed environment every day, and may change emotionally into a PKer or something," the monotoned voice stated.


    Alice and Hiiro were in a room with Doki. Probably asking him to sympathize with them using out parents death as their reason. A lie that was beautifully seen through immediately by Doki. Alice''s expression was now of genuine shock, whilst Hiiro''s was filled with embarrassment. The truth was now very clear.


    "Really? You... realize how hypocritical that is right? You''re a frickin'' coach for a clan, using the funds they get from such heinous acts to feed yourself and make these ''PKers of the future'' a nice environment to thrive in. And you are a trader, who only lives to sell things, made or brought at a certain price, for as much extra you can get away with. As long as the person has funds, you''d take money off practically everyone. And you''re claiming adventuring''s bad... Ha!" Doki preached, pointing at the other two in turn, and he proceeded to embarrass them.


    And with that, Alice got annoyed and replied, "suit yourself then, but it doesn''t change the fact that you get physically hurt as you fight." Hiiro tried to butt in but was overwhelmed by the atmosphere.


    "Yeah, and there''s no risk of a loss or bankruptcy in the world of business. Business is war with money and scamming instead of emotions and violence. But is it really that much better? Also, you have to be a noob if you actually get hurt in a fight, if you''re strong and smart enough, you''ll never get hit, let alone get any significant wound."


    "Nice ego you have there. But care to explain why I should believe you''re skilled enough to make sure Han won''t get hurt," Hiiro replied, trying to point out his overconfidence.


    As a response, Doki just pointed my way and said, "Why don''t you ask you beloved brother''s opinion, I mean we''ve already fought together. Also, he''s been listening in for a while now."


    I blushed as I found myself at the center of attention.


    Flustered, I asked him, "H-how did you notice me?"


    "I heard the creaking floorboards as you were walking here. It was quite off putting whilst they told their little lie," he answered, pinpointing exactly when I started listening.


    "..." Alice, Hiiro and I were all speechless. He had paid attention to the conversation and heard the floorboards as I walked. They never creaked that loudly. It''s even stranger considering Alice and Hiiro didn''t even notice themselves, even though they''re way more familiar with the house. I mean it wasn''t that impressive to have ears, and use them to hear two things at once. But Doki seemed more than half asleep, so I can only imagine what he''s like when he''s conscious and cares about what he''s doing.


    "I can differentiate sounds pretty well. That''s just one reason I''m too awesome to die. Also, I know the parties stats and skills, and surprisingly can do maths to tell the cost-effectiveness of each one. But I''ll show that party trick at another time..."He winked at Alice and stuck out his tongue in a friendly, but mocking way. He dropped it in about a second and went back to his dead-pan face... That must have been the most emotion I''ve seen from him since meeting him.


    Hiiro sighed, half looking away at the blinding aura of the person in front of him, he said, "I''ll let you guys do as you please for now, as long as you get back safely and convince Adam and Alice, you have my support. But if you''re serious about getting an ID this way, I might as well tell you to not visit Skimmington for a while. The two strongest clans had a falling out, and are now fighting in and around the area."


    I could see the look of intrigue in Doki''s eyes, and immediately put my hand on my forehead... ''Hiiro, I love you and everything, but saying that is only going to pump this guy up.'' is what I wanted to say. But instead, I left the room to wake up the others. I don''t know why Doki''s up and didn''t wake up LOD, but I don''t even know when the rest went to sleep.


    So I woke Adam, LOD, Shun, Titanious and Thorborg up. Adam and Titanious started breakfast and lunch, whereas Lod, Doki and I were talking to my family, greeting one another and making plans for today. We''re going to the dungeon at 8:00, and coming home at 18:00 with a break for lunch, and were only going to see the layout and mob-types found in the first level today. I knew where the dungeon was, so as the allotted time came up, we started our adventure.


    -


    We had spent about thirty or forty minutes walking to the dungeon. It was a while north of the town as Alice said. I think it was supposed to be a relatively big cave about a mile before the midnight forest.


    Anyway, Doki was melting, LOD and Titanious were practically skipping and I was trying to keep up.


    "Hey, guys. Do you think this is it?" LOD said as he pointed at a cave in a cliff, it was pretty large and had the description ''Mumble Tree''s Dungeon'' on a sign near the entrance. The dungeons were names with their unique boss, and Mumble Tree was the boss of this one.


    "Yeah, this is the one Alice said to try. ~gulp~ Doki. Your advice?"


    "... Wait..." Doki was just about visible, and even though he trained his Preaching skill, he was barely audible at this distance. So we waited for him to catch up, so we could actually hear the plan.


    "Okay. Basically, we want to use the same idea as we did earlier. We just have to remember to have LOD and me forward, and you two behind us as we walk so that we don''t get sniped off like last time. We also need to keep an eye out around us."


    "Okay, is that it? I mean, are we using the same skills, or should I try using my ''Beacon'' skill." LOD said.


    As a servant, he had the ability to highlight an individual as a threat, so everyone would know when the target attacked, and who it was aimed at through audio cues. It cost a lot of AP but could be worthwhile in a battle where sight and quick reactions were key.


    "Hm. As your ''master'' I don''t really see the point since when you see a threat, it goes straight to me, and I can just tell the person being attacked to dodge or change targets. It just seems like a waste of AP, you know?" Oh yeah. LOD set Doki as his master yesterday since we wanted to test the Servant sub-class. It was basically a way of having a conversation without being able to see or hear each other between the two.


    Since we could only have 20 skills in our shortlist, this included weapon specific, class and sub-class skills, which meant the lists were surprisingly limited at our levels. By the way, I was level 13 at this point, Doki was level 9, LOD was level 6 and Titanious was level 8. I kept my level a secret and instead claimed to be level 8, but Doki saw through it immediately...


    "Jeehan, I know it''s hot, but pay attention."


    ''Oops, I got caught daydreaming,'' I thought, as I started to focus.


    "Sorry, I was just thinking about my skills." I was sorting out my skills as I was thinking, so it wasn''t exactly a lie.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    "Okay, so let''s say five minutes to do final changes to our skill set, then go in?"


    "Sounds good" LOD, Titanious and I said in sync.


    -


    We finally decided on our skills, so finally went into the dungeon. It was surprisingly bright in there, considering it''s a cave with only one way for light to get in, we could see everything. We did a ''Three layered'' formation, with Titanious in front, Doki and LOD in the middle and me at the back. We were focused for a moment, but in a bit of peace, we started a conversation again.


    "Hm. Okay, so to recap, the goal before lunch is to explore the mob types and testing techniques to fight them. We''ll take a break, in which we''ll decide whether or not we should try pushing onto the second floor. If we get to the third, we''ll retire early and go shopping. Does this plan seem okay with everyone?"


    "And if we die?"


    "Then we''re in an alternate universe in which I suck. Nah. If it''s a one-off case, we''ll either keep it a secret or try explaining to Jeehan''s family and such fully," Doki said in a matter-of-fact tone.


    "Um... So why can''t we just lie?" LOD prompted. It was a good point, I mean, we could just say that we didn''t die when we did and my family would never know.


    "Because someone, namely Jeehan, may give it away. If we just don''t say, then there''s no real reason to feel guilty, as long as we amend the reason behind our deaths, it''ll be a thing of the past. If we lie and someone else gets caught, we look like dicks, and it''ll badly affect the negotiation we''re attempting and will probably end with Jeehan being forced to leave us, which leaves a bad ratio of tanks to glass cannons. If we tell them the truth, and state why it was/ wasn''t our fault, and tell them why they should let us continue, and only do it the once, we should be fine to try once again."


    "That makes sense... Wait! Why did you specify me when you said someone may give it away!?" I asked, a bit annoyed.


    "You know them, so I assumed you''d be the one to get the most guilty if you lied to them. And guilt leads to cock-ups and obvious tells in body language... But this is that we die. Since this dungeon is supposedly easier than the others, I assume there''s no instant-kill traps/mobs. If we''re careful and keep an eye on our surroundings, we should be fine. It''s when we finally face the boss that you should worry about dying."


    "..." I looked in surprise at Doki. I was expecting sarcastic mockery, not an actual reason as to why I was specified. I guess I just judge him too harshly. As I was thinking that we were approached by some... ''Mobs''. They were sort of animal, no... Creatures, that I wasn''t familiar with.


    -


    The Dungeon, which was basically a cave, was pretty generic. It''s a large opening with a high ceiling, where all the surroundings were made of seemingly natural rocks. The layout was seemingly randomized, having countless random corridors. The lighting was dim, we couldn''t decide which of these countless corridors were the actual way out.


    Additionally, the creatures we found were... how do I put it, weird. There was this one that looked like a boar, standing on two legs, with hands wielding a one-handed sword and a wooden shield. I think Doki described it as something like a ''Hob-Goblin''. Whatever that is.


    The first one we met, was about a minute into the dungeon. I stood there completely bemused, whilst the others unsheathed their weapons. It charged on us upon seeing us, leaving us with not much time to prepare ourselves. Titanious charged at it, and I buffed him with my Defense_Up skill. The pig-like being caught him off-guard, aiming for his unprotected left arm, and about one-fifth of his health went down even with my buff in place...


    This wasn''t a fight we could joke about on. Doki started healing him, saying "Heal Titanious" to activate his, ''mass_leech'' skill was it? Anyway, whilst he was getting healed, he and the pig started clashing swords. Nio''s aggression soon changed more defensive, and as he did that LOD mumbled something, and critical hits soon left only a sliver of red. This is when the pig became more berserk, trying to annihilate whoever he could...


    Aiming for LOD, the pig turned away from Nio and struck the back of LOD''s neck. Removing ninety percent of his total health. He managed to escape, whilst Doki healed him. But when I turned to Doki, I saw another pig heading to him.


    "Oi! Jeehan, two on me. We need to give LOD time to heal properly. Nio, keep that one busy."


    There was no verbal response from the others, or me. I charged right into the other pig, and beat them to the punch, stabbing my sword through one''s wrist, and kicking the other''s leg, causing the pig to tumble to the ground, creating a loud thud. I then countered the attacks of the other one as it tried to get up, removing what I thought was half of its health in one swoop, and I hadn''t even been hit yet.


    At this point Nio had finished on his side, so came over to help, and with us two maintaining the attack, Doki finished healing LOD, so he went back into the fray, attacking the wounded one in hopes of killing it before it went berserk. His back-stab in sync with my attacks seemed to make them more powerful, quickly killing the pig-man before we should have. Doki had used bolt on the final guy, keeping him in place, and we just started attacking the guy continuously, swiftly killing them.


    Every other encounter went similarly, with one leading to multiple, so we assumed they normally fought in groups. They seemed pretty common, so we soon learned how to kill them effectively.


    Later we found three more creatures, the first of which was a red fairy with no wings and wielded a small, flimsy trident. We found one after fighting about ten more hobgoblins.


    We assumed it was an enemy, so went up to attack it. Mumbles, sounding more like squeaks, started to come from this creature. A few minutes later, when LOD, the fastest of us, had gotten within a meter of it, a light suddenly emitted from it, flying from its self to LOD who was sent back quite far. He lost about ten or fifteen percent of his total hp with that one attack, so Doki ended up using his magic, using a bolt to bind the red fairy in place.


    Once bound, all of us charged towards it, slicing and slashing at the poor guy until he turned to ashes and gold. We saw one or two more along our exploration and learned to kill them swiftly too with a similar, but more orchestrated method than before.


    There was a large chest we found at the end of one of the many branching paths about fifty minutes in. Curious LOD tried to open it...


    Wait... What?


    The chest randomly grew teeth and is now chewing on his arm. And what''s up with those massive, comedic looking eyes which sprouted on top of it? Doki and Nio''s response to this was just laughter. Loud, obnoxious laughter. I ended up questioning whether Doki had been possessed, and just stood there tilting my head.


    "Sorry..." A concerned, flushed Doki said amidst his laughter, "that was just too funny..."


    He coughed, trying to stop his laughter and his natural poker face returned. He hit the chest thing with Nio, killing it in two hits... Weird to think something this weak was here. I looked at LOD''s health and saw it fell to about eighty percent. I guess it wasn''t what weak after all then.


    The final creature type we found were some black things that came from the ceiling to attack us. We hadn''t noticed them at first, but whilst going back, Nio tripped causing a loud thud.


    The next thing we knew these black things swarmed us out of nowhere. They came to attack but darted away quickly before we could hit them. We tried to time our attacks with them but got overwhelmed by their sheer numbers.


    When it was clear to Doki that we just couldn''t hit them, he tried to bind them, using his bolt attack to cause them to stop flying and plummet to the floor. He did this to half of them, whilst Nio and I focused on the ones still flying, eventually getting the timing down to strike them as they came in to attack us.


    We continued with this, losing quite a lot of health whilst doing so, whilst I assume Doki and LOD were attacking those he had bound. After a while of hitting and missing, some of the creatures I were fighting also started falling to the floor. LOD rushed over and we continued to use skills and such to kill them almost instantly.


    -


    After they were all finished, we helped Nio with his side. I ended the fight with just over half my health, whereas Nio was in the red, with only ten percent of his total health remaining...


    "Sorry, I was late there. I just wanted to let your two have the XP since I thought you could take it... Heal Titanious. Heal Jeehan. Good try, maybe next time there won''t be that many..." He put his hand on mine and Nio''s heads and started patting them. It was quite funny to see him have to go on tip-toes to actually reach us, but his appreciation didn''t go unheard.


    After that we decided to leave the dungeon, we''re all fatigued from having spent about two hours in it so far, so it was time for a break.


    -


    It was now when we finished familiarizing ourselves with the formations and strategies to easily navigate the mobs, so left the dungeon to rest and ate. We ended up finding the entrance to floor two and going to and fro'' about 8 times in the allotted 3.5 hours we had left after traveling.


    "So guys, how are we doing for levels now."


    "I''m level 15," I said.


    We killed a lot of creatures, and so got a lot of XP. Since I was the highest level, it was my job to weaken the creatures for the others, especially LOD, to kill. Killing the enemy gave you 50% of the XP of the kill, no matter how many others helped. The rest would have their fair share of the rest.


    "I''m level 12," LOD said.


    Well, considering how many creatures he killed and how much he gained levels by using his servant sub-class, the rate of his growth wasn''t surprising.


    "I''m level 11," Nio said. He did have his flank to himself, but not as many enemies went that way, so he only grew three levels.


    "Hm. I''m level 14 somehow," Doki nonchalantly stated.


    "EH!?" We all said in sync, clearly confused.


    "Oh, wait... You didn''t get that many kills outright, but you did heal us quite a lot and got experience from your preacher sub-class and LOD''s servant subclass. So maybe that''s why," Nio said, adding some closure on why Doki gained the most levels.


    "Oh, that explains that then. Sorry, I''ll try to stop to let you two catch up." Doki replied. It seemed like he was feeling down, but I think he''s just in deep thought since this was now a bonus challenge to even out all of the levels.


    "So guys, it seems like we should be good to go on to level two after lunch, our levels have grown significantly, and we have found most of the attack patterns and mob-types found there. I doubt level two is significantly harder than level one anyway. For now let''s see our new skills and perks, rethink our shortlists if necessary, finish our lunch then go for it."


    "Sounds good," "Sure!" "Let''s do this," we replied, going Nio, me then LOD.


    So started sorting out our new skills.

 Chapter 7: Other peoples drama...

    *''Nio''*


    Well, this is dull.


    Our break was over with about... an hour or two ago, and we haven''t really had a good fight. I mean, we''ve only explored the second level, but it''s a carbon copy of the first where the enemies take maybe one more hit. However, we still didn''t want to stop quite yet. We''ve accumulated about 20k so far, and our greed has gotten the better of us, at least, apart from Doki. I can''t put my finger on it, but he seemed way too quiet like he''s listening out for something. Of course, I met the guy yesterday, so I could just be imagining things, I mean, he''s always had a bored look in his eyes anyways...


    "This is SOOOOOO dull! I mean, to repeat the same enemies as the first level, this deity obviously doesn''t have style..." said an annoyed LOD. He seemed to be very opinionated on any topic he could, but I at least agreed with him on this one.


    "Well then, we might as well start talking casually then," I replied. Wanting to get at least some sort of conversation going to prevent us getting too bored, LOD nodded encouragingly, so I asked. "So, I''ve been wondering, what is ''LOD'' short for?"


    "Lolicon of despair..."


    We all turned around to the source of the quote, and it was surprisingly Doki. Turning to LOD, I saw that his face went red.


    "That''s NOT it... It''s short for..." He seemed to cut himself off as if he''s embarrassed to tell us.


    After another while of silence, he tried again. "It''s short for ''Legend of Daruna''." Oh, it''s an obvious game reference then... I mean, it''s not as if we''re not playing a game right now, I don''t understand why he''d be embarrassed by that of all things.


    "Eh? But Legend of Daruna is a good series... I mean, the choice of a male protagonist in the newest game could have been fun, and not changed anything about the game but a visual nod to gender equality, but it''s still a solid series that dares to make changes in each game. So what''s so embarrassing about that?" Nio said, attempting to make LOD feel better.


    "... The console. My friends were in the PC master race, the mere thought of me playing on this console was the reason for complete mockery," LOD replied.


    "And? Mockery is mockery, grow a thick skin and it doesn''t matter," I added, attempting to help him shake off his friend''s jokes.


    "It''s, personal..." he replied in a cold tone.


    ''Oh... That''s great, now I feel like a dick,'' I thought, assuming that I hit a weak spot or something.


    "Well, if it makes you feel any better I generally find at least the fifth generation of SoC..." I said, thinking back to all the mockery it had caused me.


    "Wait, you like Shackles of Conscription... Wow! The series that never changes a damn thing, re-posts re-skins of previous games in the series, and charges the premium price for them..." LOD said, tearing my opinion apart with glee.


    "... You''re just proving my point LOD. I get ridiculed for having the tenacity to enjoy some games in the series since I just have fond memories of playing them with friends." I replied, slightly hurt by his commentary.


    "Silence!" Doki said, all the ''banter'' immediately stopped. I wanted to ask the reason behind Doki''s outburst, it was self-explanatory, though.


    "Ha ha ha. How cute. Newbies like you, actually noticing us. I mean, we wanted to silently kill you from behind... But we can kill you up front too. Well?" Said a man who came into the light. I could see his head over Doki, and he seemed serious...


    "Well? Are you trying to stand us? Well, kudos for not crying away like babies I guess. But your deaths are still on my list. If I were you I''d start running, you wouldn''t want to be mad enough to die putting up a pathetic fight, would you?" The same man said this, and in perfect sync, about 50 odd people stepped out of the darkness, completely surrounding us.


    There was a slight moment of pause, as I think I heard Doki mumbling something, he then coughed to clear his voice and stated. "Sorry about that, but thanks for the compliment you egotistical, hard-headed old man. But I need to correct your statement. You see, you don''t know the meaning of the word ''mad'' do you?"


    As he said this, he stared straight into the eyes of the giant of a man, completely unfazed.


    "Who the hell are you. Our gripe is with the Jeehan Family. If you don''t want to die, flee and leave Han Jeehan to us!" the thug said, reasonably angry at Doki''s insults.


    "Nah. I mean, you''re a fool who thinks it''s mad for us four to fight your entire clan," Doki replied. "Formation 2, O''s 360. Jeehan and Nio, tank and try not to die. LOD, get near me and wait for them to get weakened."


    Doki got out his staff, starting to stare the giant right in the eyes again, and then said, "Madness is the thought of your entire clan fighting, and even attempting to win against us."


    ... Wait, WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING?! As Doki finished his sentence, all of the men surrounding us started charging, their weapons flashing . I tried to fight them all, but most just ran right past me. I start to think I failed, but hearing Doki say "[Bind]" seconds later filled me with hope.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    Then, as before, the people around me and I were all stuck in a bind of tentacles, with our health being sapped away. However, Doki maintained our hp with [heal] and trapped about 20 of the 50 within the tentacles, which created a massive wall around Doki, blocking us off from attacks from the other 30.


    Oh, so he was biding his time... That made sense, but when Doki''s MP ran out, we were fucked, weren''t we? I mean Doki wouldn''t have much hp since he was continuously healing me and Jeehan. LOD''s AP was probably not that high either with how many skills he''s been using. The majority of these people who out leveled us left were still outside Doki''s trap too...


    As I saw his AP had decreased about half way, we heard something happening on the other side of the tentacle wall. There are people talking on the other side, but it sounds like nothing but incoherent muffling from in here. Was someone helping us, mobs attacking those outside, or what?


    "Wha...!" I heard the same threatening voice as before, but this time he seemed shocked and scared. Grunts and slashes pierced the walls, as a bloody battle took place outside of them.


    "Oh, they''re finally here?" Doki said. I don''t know to who, but it appears someone Doki knew had come to save us.


    "So this is where you guys were, you could have said the directions..." a familiar female voice said.


    "Alice?" Jeehan''s voice said. Wait, did Alice and the clan she works with come to save us? But why would she be here too?


    I heard lots of death, from what I presume to be the clan who tried to kill us. It calmed down, Doki ended his bind and healed me and Jeehan up to full, then we turned to the one member still alive, the person I perceived as the leader. I didn''t understand what was happening, but apparently this was something against Jeehan, that we all just got caught up in.


    "Well, Doki. Nice plan, that went as well as you said it would." Said a relieved looking Alice. Did she think we''d die or something? Just what exactly is going on!?


    "Obviously my lovingly dubbed ''Walking the blindfolded off a cliff'' strategy would work. Now then Mr egotistical fool, Care to explain what was so important that you fell for my plan so beautifully?"


    "I..."


    "Oh, sorry, it seems like I don''t give a shit." As Doki said that, the man instantly jumped to attack him, he took a step back, dodging the man''s attack, so the man just fell on the floor and sighed in defeat.


    "Wow, so jumpy. I''ve heard about your heart-breaking story of love for Alice that was crushed before it even started, and, quite frankly, I don''t care! You''re selfish and vindictive acts were the main reason she said no in the first place. Do you really think that going off on a temper tantrum and trying to kill her beloved brother would get you any chance? You just led yourself and all your colleagues to a stupid defeat to four ''newbies'' due to your hotheadedness, and you think you have the right to tell your ''tear-jerking love life''. Fuck off!" Doki yelled, concluding his argument.


    The man Doki was yelling to was silent, unable to come up with a comeback, and surrendered completely to Doki and Alice.


    "Doki, that was a bit rude... But it''s surprisingly correct. To state my view, I''m not interested in you. I wasn''t when you asked, and I''m most certainly not now! If you harass any more of my family, I will make a vendetta against you, so please stop whilst you''re ahead. Since Doki''s plan worked out so well, I''ll forgive you for this now. But I won''t be so forgiving next time." Alice added.


    ''A bit'' ? Wait, so Doki knew about this... Oh right, that must have been what he talked to Adam about yesterday.


    "To explain to those who don''t know, this is... ''Sam'' was it?"


    After Alice gave confirmation from a simple nod, Doki, who was explaining, continued. "So this ''Sam'' is the leader of a clan which had strong ties to the clan Alice accounts for. He supposedly fell for Alice during a meeting, so asked her out. She said no, so he was distraught. This is what Adam and I discussed yesterday, and made the plan. Alice tried to talk me out of it with Hiiro earlier today, but she didn''t succeed. To be fair, we could have completed the dungeon today. But seeing as how it would have taken longer for them to get us later on in the dungeon, and these guys had been stalking us for a while, I deemed not proceeding to be the best plan."


    He continued, changing his tone to a more apologetic one, "Sorry to keep it a secret, but for my master plan, I needed as many people to charge in blindly as possible, and your innocence and confusion was enough to make them."


    ... So that''s what he means by ''walking the blindfolded off a cliff.'' He made them think it was an egotistical last stand of us four, for another bigger and stronger clan to get behind them and annihilate them. Since the issue is emotional rather than important, it was clear to see why it worked.


    "Well, it worked and we didn''t die. So I can''t bring myself to hate you Doki. But, I think you missed something in your great plan..." Said LOD, pointing at where Sam was, and he wasn''t there now.


    "Well, I was told not to kill him, so instead I weakened him... I mean, we''re in a dungeon, it only takes a surprise encounter for him to die. That should be enough to get our message across. The point of this was to break the group''s morale anyway, with such a humiliating defeat, at least some members should have left, weakening their threat on our lives in the future. By the way, I think we should start to leave and go home, it''s like 7pm right now..." Doki said. Everyone looked at the time and realized he was correct. Thinking about a panicking Adam, we decided to go back immediately.


    -


    We were back at the Jeehan family house... Doki already ate and went to sleep, and the rest of us were just talking.


    "So then Alice, considering my level is 19, Nio''s level is 17, Jeehan''s level is 20 and Doki''s level is 21, do you think we could go straight to the boss tomorrow, or do you think we need to grind more to do it?" Lod asked. I mean, Doki said that we could probably have done the dungeon today, and we leveled up like crazy, with that fight in which we killed about 15 over level 20 guild members, so level ups came at a ridiculous rate. Alice also had some idea of how good our teamwork and skill usage was, and since she''s probably heard things about the dungeon, and how hard it''s boss is, it was only reasonable to ask.


    "I don''t want to spoil it, but if I were you, I''d decide whilst going through the other layers. It''s boring I know, but you might as well use them to test out the skills you''ve gotten since you last checked. I mean, from what I''ve seen, your dynamic is strange, and you overuse individual skills, like LOD''s [assassinate] skill, so added a bit more range to your attacks would probably be better. Also, you have a lot more money now, so buy yourselves better equipment, please... I mean Lod is still wearing casual clothes, and has no armor..."


    She was right, I mean, we were pretty repetitive with our fighting style, and our equipment was now beneath our levels. I think we think about what to get and sleep tonight, then go shopping tomorrow. Maybe we should also consider the pros and cons of all the skills available, to see if we could be more efficient with other skills too. After stating my plan, we all ate without Doki who ate before and went to sleep.

 Chapter 8: The Grimoire and the hassling task of walking...

    OldBegginings:[Okay, well chapter one becoming a ''hot'' topic was kind of insane, thanks alot guys for reading and especially for those who followed. I hope your enjoying the series so far, I''ve been updating weekly, but since school has ended, I reckon I can increase this rate, although I have started to get into Xenoblade Chronicles X, so I can''t promise anything...


    Well, anyway. Hope you enjoy the chapter, see you in the authors notes.]


    *''Doki''*


    Well. That was a hassle... After dealing with her personal issues, Alice demanded to be near us at any opportunity. Apparently, the noobs we beat earlier were to hurt by my mean, mean words, so ganged up with another guild to get us to apologize...


    Really? I mean for fuck''s sake. An idiot does a stupid thing for a silly reason, and it somehow doesn''t work out... And I''m the fucking bad guy! HOW DOES THAT EVEN WORK?! He could have just NOT done the STUPID THING WITH OBVIOUS FLAWS, and I wouldn''t have needed to kick his arse... But NO, he did the stupid thing and blames me for having the fucking tenacity to call his idiotic act idiotic. Just... WOW!


    ... Well, in better news, we''re actually finishing the dungeon today. We just sorted out our shortlists, and for those interested, mine looked like this. Jeehan told us about the stat menu, so I made some adjustments to that as well.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">Name</td>


    <td colspan="3">DokiDoki19</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">Class</td>


    <td colspan="1">Succubus</td>


    <td colspan="1">Level</td>


    <td colspan="1">19</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">Class skills</td>


    <td colspan="3">[''Bind'' = Mass_Leech.], [''Bolt'' = Leech.], [''Heal'' = Blood_Transfusion.], [''Intimidate'' = Vampiric_Bite.], [passive= Life_Absorb.], [passive = Attraction_Resistance.], [passive = Attraction_Increase.]</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">Sub-class skills</td>


    <td colspan="3"><"What the hell is that?" = Object_Examination.>, <"What''s this?" = Mob_Examination.>, <"Possess" = Mob_Tame.>,


    ,


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">Weapon skills</td>


    <td colspan="3">("Have at me" = Power_Charge.), (passive = Staff_Hit.), (passive = Dual_Wield.), (passive = _Magic_Boost.)</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">Additional skills</td>


    <td colspan="3">/''Stop'' = Skill_Cancellation.\</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">Achievement skills</td>


    <td colspan="3">N/A</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">Equipment</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">On-Hand</td>


    <td colspan="1">None</td>


    <td colspan="1">Off-Hand</td>


    <td colspan="1">None</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">Head-wear</td>


    <td colspan="1">None</td>


    <td colspan="1">Inner-Wear</td>


    <td colspan="1">Black_Boxers</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">Outerwear</td>


    <td colspan="1">Healer''s_Robe</td>


    <td colspan="1">Foor-Wear</td>


    <td colspan="1">Leather_Boots</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">Accessories</td>


    <td colspan="3">N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A.</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">Stats</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="2">Level</td>


    <td colspan="2">19</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">AP</td>


    <td colspan="1">12500/12500</td>


    <td colspan="1">Defense</td>


    <td colspan="1">29</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">Damage</td>


    <td colspan="1">74</td>


    <td colspan="1">HP</td>


    <td colspan="1">30/NA</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">Speed</td>


    <td colspan="1">62</td>


    <td colspan="1">Stamina</td>


    <td colspan="1">44</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="2">Spare</td>


    <td colspan="2">0</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Yeah, I know I only have 17 out of a total of 20, but I feel like I have a good balance with this set of skills, also I gather I''m going to level up, and would rather be able to add one or two interesting skill I get on the move, rather than taking up time removing one to add another. I also haven''t got any weapons equipped. And as for the underwear, please don''t ask why it shows up.


    Doing this also gave me a good chance to take a look at my sub-classes. Herbalist seems like a ''hunter'' subclass in other games, I was surprised by this since ''Herbalist'' from the name alone seems like a sub-class that only appraises herbs. But I''m also able to tame and examine mobs and examine any ingredient type item. So it seems like it is more useful than I gave it credit for. Additionally, Preacher seems like a mainly passive sub-class, for making speech more eloquent and efficient.


    Anyway, the other three and I were now outside the dungeon. It didn''t look as big and daunting as it did yesterday... It must be because I now don''t care about how many enemies could fit inside such a structure since they all sucked at fighting anyway. We equipped ourselves with weapons, and walked in, our aim being the Mumble Tree itself.


    The first two levels went far smoother than yesterday, due to our higher levels, and memorization of the mob''s move sets. The third level was just sad, though... The only addition it had was having no chests and mining zones, and only one new mob type... A hobgoblin... With a bow...


    ''SO MUCH ORIGINALITY! Not,'' were my initial thoughts, they didn''t change when looking at them in action either.


    They acted similarly to the other hobgoblins, although these had such a low accuracy that they were even weaker. And at our levels, we just crushed it in ten minutes and went to the next level, which had more chests and mining zones than the first two floors combined, but didn''t have any new mobs. Although Jeehan did fool for a mimic, so it was at least slightly comical.


    And that was it, an entire dungeon apart from the boss, done in... About 50 or 60 minutes.


    Whilst walking down the staircase to the next floor, we heard the doors close behind us. After telling Alice what happened, she realized that we were at the boss, so said ''Good luck'' and left the area with her guild. We were all alone and had no escape. It was almost tense.


    It was almost tense because I could see the boss... I mean, I''m not pink gumball, but I think this tree boss with big apples in its branches, won''t be a challenge. To test this hypothesis, we just walked to the area lit by... A sky inside the cave? Oh yeah, this was a game, fuck logic...


    The tree didn''t move and didn''t give the intention of moving, so we all attacked.


    ...


    Well, this is dull. We had no fire-type moves to burn it down and looked like the worst people right now for continually slashing a tree. Sometimes apples would fall from the tree, but there was no real indication we were doing any damage or any attacks were being done.


    "Who dares wake me!" said a booming voice. Oh, the tree grew a face... At least it wasn''t like a bad CGI monstrosity. Its voice seemed intimidating, making the LOD and Titanious shake, due to them not being above level 21 I guess.Stolen novel; please report.


    Jeehan and I were fine, so I rebutted "Us? We''re wanting IDs. Will you give them to us, or will we have to kill you?"


    "Strong words, but you are not enough to beat me..."


    "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Shut up with your egotistical taunt and fight us you coward!" I yelled, making the tree visibly twitch.


    "Fine then. Die."


    Hm. The battle right now was pretty interesting. In the regards that I''ve never fought a boss like it.


    The boss started off by awakening the falling apples into small mobs and dropped more. This quickly crowded the field. Not because we weren''t dealing with them, I was just using "Possess" to get them on our side. It seemed like it didn''t work on the boss since he was about our level, but since these enemies were only about level 5, I was able to tame them almost 100% of the time, so before long, we had about 20 on our side. The others were getting close to the tree, cutting it''s low-hanging branches and making visible slices in its bark trying to do damage to it.


    Hm. We didn''t really have any trouble so far. Bits of minor damage from the other''s attacks built up with time and numbers. And even though we did get hurt minorly sometimes from me not taming these mobs quickly enough, we got through a quarter of its health in with relative ease.


    It''s at this point the tree''s attack pattern changed. It started to shed it''s leaves, to limit our vision, and blow some leaves into us, causing damage. It was only able to do this on its face side, so I kept a lookout and warned the others before each attack. It had limited height and range, so it was pretty easy to duck under and get out of range. It still dropped the apple mobs, but I was still matching their rate of release with my rate of taming, so there was no real challenge. We got the tree down another quarter of its health without any major injuries.


    It changed it''s attack pattern again. But it wasn''t as fast or as obvious as before. It started to bind us and attack us with its roots. With the previous attacks ongoing, this was pretty hard to control. My mob army had almost completely died, and it was able to use multiple roots simultaneously to attack us. This was very hard to dodge and attack at the same time. If the roots grabbed us, we weren''t able to move freely, meaning we had to get through the roots, to be able to dodge the myriad of other attacks. I was still trying to tame the mobs that came down, but the leaves, and a constant need to watch the ground made me slow my rate of taming. We now weren''t doing much, if any, damage to the tree, and were completely overwhelmed.


    "Oi! Get close to me!" I came up with a plan.


    Knowing what it was, the others came to me.


    "Bind." A projection of tentacles came to surround us, and since the tentacles came from underground, and didn''t affect my health when attacked,


    I gathered this would block the roots from attacking us from underground... This worked... Too well. It blocked the boss''s roots, leaves and most of the apple mobs from reaching us, and somehow the bind affected the bosses health, gradually lowering it as it continued.


    The tree''s trunk was also in clear view of us, so the others attacked, as I maintained my bind, causing the tree to lose lots of hp. I was keeping a lookout to see if the wall got breached, and took care of the apple-mobs who dropped in it too. Unfortunately for my apple-mob army, no more did...


    Soon enough it''s hp was in the red. That was good and all, but we had a problem. I almost lost all of my AP. We stupidly only brought one mp potion, that I already drank, and the rate of the tree''s attacks increased, so we would be bombarded if the bind stopped working... Fuck! We had no alternative but to speed up out attacks.


    "Go all out, spare no AP, we need to kill this tree soon. Don''t stop attacking even if the bind stops, I''ll heal you all." LOD went all out, attacking in sync with my dual sword attacks to try and get it''s hp lower. Jeehan had enchanted all of us with a damage bonus, and Titanious was with him using swinging as much as possible. My remaining apple mobs which were also attacking. But it wasn''t enough. My bind had ended, and the boss still had about 200 hp left. I transitioned to healing the others since I had about 20''000 hp by now, so they continued to attack unfazed to what was behind them.


    In about half a minute the tree had lost all of its hp. There were no casualties since I still had about 3000 hp, maintaining the other''s HP and tanking for them. I also had two apple mobs survive, so I called them Pot and Luck, and dismissed them, equipping the summon skill to my shortlist, and saying "Stop summon" which reverted them to summon stones in my inventory.


    Whilst in my inventory, I saw what I assumed were the boss drops...


    ''Well, most of them make contextual sense, but what the hell is this!?'' I thought, noticing an odd addition to the list.


    As assumed, we all got our ID''s for all beating our first dungeon, and four drops from defeating the boss. This was probably because with a full party you''d get three, or that''s what I heard, but since we had 4/6, we got a bonus one. But that''s not the weird part, what was with this book I got?


    It was called ''Warp smith Grimoire''... The others drops were seeds, fruit, and equip-able items, which weren''t bad. But I had no idea what this book was.


    So, I tried using it, and it said ''Do you wish to add Warp Smith to your sub-classes. This will use up your only extra sub-class space.''


    Seeing this, my immediate thoughts were, ''WHAT!? This is a thing? Why the hell wouldn''t I!?''


    I accepted the sub-class, with a cocky grin plastered on my face. This was going to be fun.


    -


    After returning to the Jeehan family home, we told Alice and the others how it went.


    "Wow, I wasn''t expecting you to be able to do it the first time. Congrats." Adam said his congratulations and added "Sorry for doubting you guys. You passed my test, so please look after my brother."


    "Yeah, that boss gets pretty hectic at the end, I didn''t expect Doki''s bind to be that effective. And he also tamed all the smaller mobs? For four people to beat the boss anyway is pretty ridiculous. Well then, what did you guys get as drops for winning?" Alice added.


    She left as we got to the boss, probably to console us if we died, or she actually trusted us to win... Either way, it felt like we did a good job.


    "I got two ''Logs of the Great Oak'', a ''Wooden ring of triumph'' and an oak sapling." said LOD.


    "Wait, that''s... Oh yeah, you get a bonus drop for having less than six members. The logs are a unique crafting item, making a tool or weapon from that will give you a unique enchant. I think the ''Logs of the Great Oak'' gives an item regenerative abilities... But I don''t quite remember." Alice replied.


    "I got one log, two oak saplings and one ''Crown of the forest''. It supposedly gives me a bonus in a forest environment..." said Jeehan.


    "Hm, that crown is worth about 50k if I remember correctly. It''s a pretty rare drop."


    "I''m next?" Said Titanious, I nodded, so he continued, "I only got three oak saplings and ''Robbin''s bracelet''."


    "Unless you''re going to use a bow, I''d suggest selling the bracelet. It increases your accuracy at range, so unless you use ranged attacks, it''s pretty pointless."


    "Well, I got an oak sapling, a ring of triumph and a bag of herbs."


    "Wait, that''s only three Doki. What''s your other drop?"


    "A grimoire... By the way, guys, I''ve already used it..."


    There was a moment of silence. trying to decide whether or not I was joking...


    "Impossible," Alice muttered. I heard a various paraphrases of that sentiment going from person to person. LOD, Titanious and I were confused since none of us knew what it was.


    "Is it that rare?"


    "''Is it that rare?'' THERE''S ONLY THREE IN THE WORLD FOR FUCK''S SAKE!" Replied Adam.


    "Really?" I shrugged.


    ''Welp, I just used up something that would probably be worth billions... Good job me,'' I thought, finally putting my potential fortunes together.


    Adam put his hand over his face, and the others joined him, realizing that I used it up already.


    "What? It seemed cool so I used it... I felt like the additional sub-class could help me out."


    "... You know that the starting price for one grimoire is like ten trillion gold, right?"


    "Wait, ten times ten to the power of twelve or ten times ten to the power of eighteen?" Well, in Angletarian a billion was a million million, and a trillion was a million billion. But to Ameikagasshukans, a trillion was a thousand, thousand million, which made no sense to me...


    "Ten and twelve zeros," Alice replied with a cold expression... Well, that dashed my spirits... Well, it''s less money that I lost I guess.


    There was another moment of silence, but it wasn''t as tense as before.


    "Oh, by the way, Hiiro''s already left..." Alice said, breaking the silence. "This means that you can''t use his carriage to get to Skimmington. Well, you can wait if you want, or go in and risk being in the middle of the fight between the two clans... It''s your choice, but you''ll have to walk since no other transporters are willing to go there..."


    Crap. A choice of dying of boredom, or dying of exhaustion or PKers.


    Since it was noon, we decided to sort out our equipment, shortlists and supplies and go to bed, to decide what to do tomorrow.

 Authors notes, chapters prologue to 8.

    Howdy y''all, I''m here to explain things about chapters 1 - 8 that I think you may not understand. If you understand 100% of the words and phrases in this novel, or don''t want to understand them for some reason, then you can skip this. I should be posting chapter 9 soon after this, since I had alot of time waiting for the poll in chapter 7 to end.


    Okay, my first note is going to be a disclaimer. I''m not trying to offend people with any sentence of this novel. I will state what I want the characters to feel. I will also be stating my ethics, opinions and such for which I''d gladly be judge by the world for believing. I''m nihilistic though, so this will end up offending most, if not all of you at some point, including myself.(I mainly correlate things together, like calling someone who judges people based on attributes of groups formulated by anecdotal evidence that probably isn''t correct, shallow. And it is. If you some how get offending by it, then I mean to offend you, since you clearly can''t face the reality of your choices, so I won''t apologize.) I try to make it seem comedic to make it seem like I''m not a total arse who hates everyone whole-heatedly, but don''t forget the reality that I am...


    You see, my sense of logic is probably different to yours. One part of my ethics goes like this. ''Only about 7.6 million of the 55.3 million people who will die in a year die of cancer... 55.3 million of the 55.3 million people who will die in a year will die because they have lived. Therefore, why fight cancer and save the 7.6 million people per year, when you could just fight life it''s self and save the 55.3 million people per year who''d die due to living by killing all the world''s population already, preventing any more deaths of humans from ever happening?'' Of course, I''m not shallow and vindictive enough to force my opinion on anyone, so don''t worry about me trying to make this ideology a reality... I can''t do anything to change your own view points, I gather that you disagree with me, and that''s fine. If your own sense of logic contradicts mine, keep it. You''re you, and I am me. Doki follows my opinions in this story.


    Although I''m English, claiming that I find anyone else''s reason behind using any other type of English apart from English version of English  wrong, doesn''t mean I''m good at spelling or grammar. This is way better than when I got my C in English language at GCSE, but it''s still not good, and I appreciate this. I go back to edit chapters when I notice enough typos to piss me off, like misspelling my own username in the prologue, which I''ve amended now, but yeah, please don''t get too annoyed at these mistakes.


    Anyway, another thing I wish to discuss is the world of Myth of Men. The world this story happens in is not earth, but based on earth to a degree. For naming real nations, I''ve been purposefully butchering translations of the names in different languages, and claiming it to be the English name of the nation based on the nation from earth. For instance, Angleterre is England in french. So I make it Anglete, and that''s the name of the nation in this fictional world based on the ideologies and stereotypes of England. Angletarian = English people/ English language in the world too. I did a similar thing with the United States of America to make it Amerikagasshuka based on the Japanese translation of the USA. Also, I use google translate... I''m trying to butcher them anyway, okay?


    You probably have gathered that I''ve butchered game titles in the same way. SoC (Shackles of Conscription) being this world''s version of CoD (Call of Duty.) I think the names are funny personally, so will keep making stupid parody names for these game titles.Since I''m doing this as a pure hobby, and am definitely making nothing for this, so copyright is irrelevant, I just have fun doing this.


    Another thing I''ve changed is idioms. For instance ''Everyone strives for new endings, but they all start at old beginnings.'' I don''t know/ care is this actually exists, but I originally created it just for name sake because I''m narcissistic. But the meaning is basically just because someone does one thing similarly to you/ something with you, it doesn''t mean that they want to walk your path exactly, so to assume so is stupid. Of course, real idioms will be used as well, I just like the freedom this gives me...


    Now, for chapter specific problems.


    Prologue: Yes, I know. The human brain is estimated to be something times ten to the power of sixty... But that''s without compression, and is in-fact an estimate, not a fact. Also... Oops, almost said a spoiler. Basically, ignore that until the end of the series, and it might make sense, if not, I suck at writing... Also, yes, I know I''m an arse, and seem to have a vendetta against Americans... I don''t. I just know that some of the people on this site that are Americans, may read this, and the English way of speaking English may cause some problems since the two versions are pretty different. I just wanted to do it in a comical and entertaining way.


    Finally, the point of the nuclear war was that it was a reason to make every nation to increase it''s force on controlling it''s civilians, making them bored enough to the point of getting addicted to escapism through substance abuse or gaming. I could have done this in a far more interesting way, it just made sense to increase the amount of addiction so the thoughts behind the people playing make more sense. It also builds up issues in arguments wanting to leave the game, which I feel could be interesting to write.


    Chapter 1: This seems like a pretty self explanatory chapter, but I see two things that may confuse people in it. When a character is thinking, time doesn''t pause, hence when Doki''s thinking about classes, to LOD it''s like he''s frozen and ignoring him. Also ~(insert sound)~ indicates that the sound is being made inside a person not on purpose, like a natural yawn, or a sneeze. It''s pretty obvious I know, I just wanted to clarify it.


    Also for this chapter, something I should explain. At this point, the game Myth of Men had just been released, meaning the people who are playing it don''t know anything about it. Hence they''re surprised about any information about this new world, such as the fact you can re-spawn, meaning it isn''t perma-death. Sorry I didn''t make this clear, a friend reading it didn''t get this, so I can assume at least one other person didn''t get this. I edited it to be slightly clearer.


    Chapter 2: This also seems pretty clear, but I might as well explain what little there is to the currency system. Basically Gold coins are the currency. The more expensive something is, the more gold it costs... Gold in this world is a waste product, considering it''s not good for hitting people over the head, it pretty useless in this world. Of course, there is equipment made of gold, and gold ingots, but it''s pretty much just a weaker, better conducting copper in this world. Due to conducting not meaning anything in this world, it''s pretty useless, hence it''s used as a currency.


    My views of sexism, which apply to any form of discrimination. I DON''T CARE! It''s a stupid concept made by shallow idiots for prideful shallow idiots because of the shallow idiot''s anecdotal evidence... That''s what I think. Let''s put it this way, unless someone can tell me every single possible variation of the XX and XY chromosomes, explaining why no others are possible with 100% accuracy, and can quote me the exact proteins made from the exact orders of bases in all of the gender defining parts of the everybody''s chromosomes, and can therefore tell me the exact differences between the different genders, also identifying where hermaphrodites lie on this because they''re technically both/ neither gender themselves, I will never care about this issue, and call those who do Shallow, Pretentious dicks. Change these words with anything different  defining aspects of other people such as race, religion and sexuality, and you''ll instantly get my view point on those topics too. Doki and Titanious mimic these sentiments.


    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.Last thing to note about this chapter, the phrase ''Anti-charisma''. Basically, as explained later on in the series, but Doki doesn''t like holding conversations. He can''t keep a conversation going, even with people he knows alot, for long because he just gets to a point where he can''t continue. This is brought up alot, because based on my own experiences, these conversations happen way too much in real life.


    Chapter 3: another chapter I have little to say on. I''ll use this to explain why everyone see''s Doki as purely apathetic. Basically between chapters, he''s not had any meaningful conversations, and pretty much isolates himself by not joining in the other''s conversations. The only thing he''s done was decide on the battle plan, and actively shut up anyone who was trying to talk about anything else. This happens alot between chapters, so that''s why they seemingly call him apathetic and consider him antisocial when he''s been talking alot in the last few chapters. The reasons they think he''s smart is because he did all the strategy making himself, learning the other''s skills and combining them and as this and later chapters show, his plans work out well.


    Chapter 4: One minor thing. A sentence said in capital letters means that it''s being exclaimed very loudly. Also, for some reason I didn''t notice the spacing problems before writing this... Sorry.


    Chapter 5: Yeah, the first part of this chapter was a train-wreck. I''ve edited it alot, but I''m still not sure it''s that good. For reference *(insert sound)* means that the sound of someones actions affecting something else is being made. Like squishing of mud under someone''s feet, or knocking of a door.


    Chapter 6: Yeah, I was annoyed at my own countries idiocy on certain different grounds in that one, so I vented my anger out in a rant. My analogy is still perfect though, so shut up. By the way, when I say ''The Wicked Witch'' I''m referencing Margret Thatcher. Basically, a few years ago, on the week of her funeral, the song ''The wicked witch is dead'' from The Wizard of Oz was in the top 10 charts in England or something... Yeah, I didn''t expect many people to get this reference, but thought it would be funny anyway.


    Oh yeah, this affects chapter 6 and 7, but the reason Jeehan doesn''t know terminology such as Telepathy, or common mob names, is because he''s an NPC, not a visitor. I wanted to create minor, meaningless differences between the two groups to remind you of the contrast. but yeah, the mobs found in order of mention were hob-goblins, imps, mimics and bats.


    Chapter 7: Apparently Jeehan''s level 120 was persistent to stay in even though I''m sure I edited it out before... Spoiler, he''s actually level 20 at that point and that was a typo made by me with next to no sleep at midnight...


    Chapter 8: Yeah, obvious reference is obvious I guess. By the way, if you''ve sensed the pattern of Doki abusing one or two of his skills, well done. By the way, if you don''t understand my gripe with the Americanization of the English language, read the prologue again... I can''t make it any simpler that what I said there.


    Fun fact: Doki was originally going to be a gender bent character in game. Whilst writing I realized Doki wouldn''t care about his character''s looks and would skip the customization, so went for the default, which was his real world looks.


    Well... I hope you can understand things you were having problems with, and that this covers most of your miss-understandings for now. Last thing to do is state the results of the poll in chapter 7, for reasons stated in chapter 7.


    A whole one person voted yes at the end of the vote, and no one else voted, so here is the class information, I''m also adding in player stats for a similar reason:


    Player Stats:


    Level: Increased character level increases class related skills effectiveness, range and freedom of choice of skills.


    Speed: Increased speed increases dodge rate and increase speed of thrown items.


    Damage: Increased damage increases damage per hit.


    Weapon affinity: Increased weapon affinity increases damage per hit with a certain type of weapon.


    Hp: Hit points, increased hit points increase about of total damage you can take with full hp.


    Ap: Affinity points, increased affinity points increase the rate of skill usage.


    Defense: Increased defense, less damage taken per hit.


    Stamina: Increased stamina increases length of time of free movement.


    Classes:


    Assassin: 2nd fastest, highest damage, 7th highest ''natural'' hp, 6th highest ap, 8th highest natural defense. Good against individual opponents. Glass canon, takes alot of skill to use well, more to master. Most popular class.


    Samurai: joint 8th fastest, 6th highest damage, 5th highest ''natural'' hp, 5th highest ap, highest defense. Good at piercing, and standing their ground. Can use healing spells, but weak compared to healers. 3rd least popular class.


    Tank: joint 8th fastest, 7th highest damage, highest natural hp, 8th highest ap, 2nd highest defense. Good walls, skills increase their durability. doesn''t take much skill to use, but takes lots of skill to master. 2nd most popular class.


    Battle-mage: joint 4th fastest, 4th highest damage, 7th highest natural hp, 2nd highest ap, 7th highest defense. good at range. Takes some skill to get used to the spell based combat. Most skills to learn to use to be good. joint 3rd most popular class.


    Healer: joint 4th fastest, 8th highest damage, 6th highest natural hp, 4th highest ap, 6th highest defense. Bad for combat, good support character. joint 3rd most popular class.


    Pirate: joint 4th fastest, 3rd highest damage, 3rd highest natural hp, 7th highest ap, 3rd highest defense. Good basic attacker, can dual wield any weapon type without wasting a space in their shortlists, more skill is needed to pull it off. joint 3rd most popular class.


    martial-artist: 3rd fastest, 2nd highest damage, 2nd highest natural hp, lowest ap, 4th highest defense. Great at hand to hand fighting, but lacks any range and only has a couple skills to help them. joint 3rd most popular class.


    Succubus: joint 4th fastest, 5th highest damage, 8th highest natural hp, 3rd highest ap, 5th highest defense. Unlimited max hp, easily drains hp from opponent, but without it, is basically useless. 2nd least popular class.


    Ghost: fastest, lowest damage, lowest natural hp, highest ap, lowest natural defense. Good at hexes, high evasion rate, higher with skills. supposed to be weak, until someone breaks the meta, and takes extremely high skill to be good. Least popular class. Only 2 in the world. The only class that doesn''t appear for npcs. Invisible to people with less than half their speed, can possess objects and people until their ap goes down.


    Well then, hope these sort out problems you''ve had with the series so far, and continue/ start to enjoy the series.

 Chapter 9: A surprisingly peaceful day, and the empty city?

    OldBegginings:[Howdy again. I''m posting this chapter so soon, because like last time, I know some people don''t really care for the authors notes. So I want to release an actual chapter for them to read so they don''t have to wait for the next update. Btw, my schedule for updates is roughly one per school weeks, should be on Sundays. And two on  holidays, should be on Wednesdays and Sundays.]


    *''Doki''*


    Hm...


    I had just woken up, I just felt relaxed. I had nothing really to rant about this time.


    Something here was deadly wrong. No agony, no bitterness swelling up within me? The hell was happening?!


    I mean, I found it strange that I was feeling so relaxed whilst trapped in a game anyway. But feeling positive in the morning was on a whole other level of weird!


    On my way to the kitchen, I just remembered something. I covered one my eyes, and I could still see. Odd...


    In the real world I was a cyclops. The reason? Good question. All I remember I was in a class room doing a practical in science, when someone threw a something at me. And then... I was in the hospital, in chronic agony as I watched blood gush over my one remaining eye, eventually blinding me. I passed out from the pain, then woke up a month later with half my face covered in bloody bandages.


    I made myself to wear a mask, not wanting to traumatize those who saw me. Which is so fun when no one believes you, so you have to almost bleed to death to prove it to them. But in this world... it seemed like there was no need for a mask. That''s nice I guess.


    I went outside to find a reflective surface, when I saw a pond. It was probably part of a beautiful view. I didn''t really pay attention though. I''ve never been one to care about my environment, and now was no exception. So I checked my reflection on the waters surface paying the rest no mind.


    And... I was right. The left side of my face looked like it was never completely dissolved with whatever to a point where the skin couldn''t grow back.


    But, why was my left eye brown? I have greyish blue eyes. It''s strange, but I could care more though.


    "So, why do you of all people care about how you look? Something wrong? Identity crisis?" LOD appeared behind me, trying to take a jab that I was apathetic view of my own looks... again.


    "Oh sorry, did I wake you?"


    "Nah, I was already awake when I heard the door close. You seemed to be acting as if something''s odd, so what''s up?"


    "Well I just realized I have two eyes." Yes... I could have worded that way better. I had other things to think about though, like how I had two working eyes once again.


    "And you didn''t before?" A logical question he''ll soon regret.


    "I was a cyclops in the ''real'' world... Some idiot chucked something at me, and next thing I knew, half my face melted away and I was in complete agony."


    "So that''s why you''re bitter all the time."


    "Apart from the fact that''s false, it''s true I guess... No, the pure bitterness I have is for another, far deeper reason."


    "Well, everyone has their drama..." I immediately cut him off.


    "If only it was just drama. It''s more like chains forcefully tying me down. However, I don''t care to say anything about that." Yeah, that''s something I won''t even tell myself anymore, I almost managed to remain ignorant of ''that'' for so long too.


    "Don''t worry, maybe someday you''ll trust us to listen. I admit my interest is piqued now." Whilst saying that Lod''s eyes glinted with pure intrigue. Oh well, better dash his spirits now, I don''t even want to remind myself of that pain.


    "You appear to not understand. If I tell you, you and I will both be exiled and executed in game, you family and friends in the real world will die too. It''s that big of a secret, if all of that is worth it to sate your intrigue, go ahead. Ask. See what happens." I''d love to say this was exaggerated... I really would.


    LOD was now shivering... That''s good I guess. I won''t be pestered to tell him.


    "Going back to my face. For some reason, one of my eyes is brown." I said, trying to break the ice.


    "Wait. They weren''t brown before?"


    "No. My right eye is still grey." Yeah, my right eye was a pale blue, leading people to claim it''s grey. And that suits me better, so I just say it''s grey.


    "Eh? I thought you had two brown eyes. Sorry for not paying close enough attention.."


    "Did I ask you to look into my eyes?"


    "No..."


    "Then why apologize?" LOD didn''t answer the question. Eh, it''s nothing worth pushing for anyway. He was probably scared of poking a bear or something. Metaphorically of course.


    ~Yawn~ "Sorry, I overslept." Titanious greeted us, after just waking up. "Huh. Doki''s outside? Are you burning up? Are you okay?" Ha ha... ha. Very funny. I''m someone who likes to be inside, so it''s fucking hilarious to think I''m mad for daring to go outside.


    Geez, I now have a headache and feel pain in the eye that I don''t even have...


    "Oh, right. By the way Doki. What do you want to do about getting ID''s?" LOD asked, saving me from Nio''s bad attempt of mockery.


    "We have our equipment sorted out, let''s just go to Skimmington as soon as possible I guess..." I paused, remembering we were one person short. "Is Jeehan awake?" Both joined me in looking at our surrounds, to give up a moment later in failure.


    "I don''t think he is... By the way, shouldn''t we be calling him ''Han'' instead of Jeehan?" Nio commented. It was a good question, but in my mind he introduced himself as Jeehan, so he''s Jeehan until he requests me to stop. Simple as.


    As if agreeing to my sentiment, LOD shook his head as a response. "Eh. It feels awkward to change it now."


    "Well then, I may as well take a bath." I said ignoring the question... Now I don''t have a reason to not bathe with everyone. I''m still going to though... ''Banter'' has always pissed me off, whether it''s my own, or other peoples. I just get annoyed at the shit other people say, parrot or quote to seem ''cool'' and ''funny'' I guess.


    "Then I may as well take one too." replied Titanious. "Me too," LOD added.


    ...


    Ah, just as I wanted. Not. Well, hopefully I won''t come out of this absolutely hating them I guess.


    -


    Well, I was now undressed, and with LOD and Titanious, entered the bath...


    No, don''t fantasize about me being naked! I was wearing a towel. I mean jeez, get your mind out of the gutter!


    "Holy damn you''re thin Doki..." LOD stated, looking to his own muscles, then back at mine... I didn''t much care for body-building, any second I had was spent on games. Meaning exercise made up a whole 0% of my daily schedule. Maybe the reason for my good sleep is all the exercise I''ve been doing here lately, being actually fatigued when sleeping.


    I thought about this for a while, then remembered the situation I was in...


    I''ll admit,  this is just weird to me, having people see me in a bath that is. I don''t think I''ve had a last time...


    "By the way Doki, your speech whilst fighting that ''Sam'' guy reminded me of someone." The obligatory banter started...


    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Wait! Could LOD know my identity now? Eh, what am I worrying about. He wouldn''t believe it''s me anyway.


    "That ABCs dick? Oh wow, he''s good a gaming cause he clearly hacks, let''s put him on a fucking podium and destroy the good nature of the esports scene!" Nio replied spitefully. Steam flowed off him whilst he was preaching. Hm, does Nio hate me or something for being good? How cute.


    "You hate him Nio? Why? He''s awesome in the way he absolutely butchers people who claimed they were pros. I''ve been his fan since that Brash tournament. Also, it''s been proven that he doesn''t hack or cheat. The Solarcraft cameras showed his APM was like 1000 solidly and legitimately did the inputs with perfect timing..." Gushed LOD.


    Oh damn, a fan. Quick, let''s pretend that I''m not the ABC''sOfDatingSims for now, and just hope this hype dies down. A relative panic over what to do entered my mind. If people found out who I was, the number of duel requests would start again, leaving me with no time to actually have fun. Of course, my eternal poker-face maintained, I just hope LOD''s telepathy wouldn''t spoil it.


    It appears that Nio had started explaining himself. I, now feeling rude, started listening again.


    "... I was finally able to go to a SolarCraft tournament live last year, and was so pumped for some good games. Just for that fucker to join in and annihilate everyone without losing a single unit in every game he played... It just made me sad. Especially when he taunted my favorite guy be giving a timing based Piano tutorial in the chat whilst playing, and still flawlessly won in about ten minutes," he sighed, his rant over. I can understand that, he wanted to see a good match with close games in with his favorite player, just for me to annihilate the bracket flawlessly... I''m sorry you supported such a noob I guess.


    Curiosity build up in his face and body actions, and soon he continued. "Now that I think about it though, you really do look like that apathetic arsehole, Doki." Oh yeah, they showed a live-cam of the players whilst playing. Well, I guess I do surprisingly look like myself then. Without the mask though.


    "It must be a coincidence... it''s not like this look is that rare in Anglete anyway," I denied in a serious tone. As already stated, I loathe hassle. Yet, surprisingly, being the ''best gamer in the world'' comes with alot of hassle.


    Well this is a game anyway. As my brown eye shows, it doesn''t completely mirror your real looks. There isn''t much risk of them finding out anytime soon then.


    "The guy wore a mask anyway, so it''s not like I could see his face. But he had a similar build and aura to you. But this a game after all." Explained Nio with a sigh of relief. I guess his gripe is strong, too bad the target of this gripe really is the apathetic me though.


    Hm. Maybe I should go all out eventually and show these guys my true power... Nah. Maybe later when a challenge shows it''s self. Thinking that I heard some muffled laughter coming from Titanious. LOD was visibly tickling him, and started teasing him as he did it.


    "Ha. Sto. Op. It.""Such big muscles, you must be a ladies man or something!""Do-. Ki-. SAVE ME!"


    I looked at his muscles... Then my own... And seemingly out of spite, I tilted my head, then just walked off.


    "No~! Ple... please!" I got dressed in my usual garb whilst hearing Nio''s final plead, going to Jeehan''s room to see if he was awake.


    Jeehan started to leave his room as I came. What a coincidence.


    "Hey Jeehan. Everyone else is having a bath at the moment. We''re planning to leave soon, so I''d hurry up and join them. We''ll have breakfast afterwards," I explained.


    "Okay. I gather you just left, so I''ll see you at breakfast," Jeehan replied in a happy-go-lucky response. It''s good to know he''s happy, and that his family accepts us as his team.


    I recounted how much of a pain it was to make them accept us, and was thankful it went as well as it did. I went to the kitchen, and was requested to set out the plates by Adam. I did, and about ten minutes later the rest joined us as breakfast was served.


    -


    When we all finished eating, me, LOD, Nio and Jeehan went off on our journey, saying good bye to his family having promised a swift return.


    Jeehan was instructing us, and as I added the usable skills from the Warp-smith subclass to my shortlist, it hit me. I never bothered to check the options screen. I did this and quickly found that there was a not so hidden mini-map option. I equipped this and realized Jeehan didn''t know where he was going. I ignored the other options for now, since they weren''t really worthwhile to alter right now.


    "Hey, Jeehan. Are you sure this is the right way?" I asked. Knowing he should be saying ''no''.


    "Um... I should be going the right direction," he answered obviously lying.


    "You sure? Shouldn''t we be going south and not north west?" I bombarded him with questions, knowing I was correct and he was wrong.


    "How?!"


    "There was a map in your home''s library. I simply read it." I stated, lying myself. "We''re going the wrong direction, since we''re going towards the forest instead of Skimmington."


    With my mutiny, LOD knowing how I actually knew through telepathy and Nio seeing though Jeehan''s obvious lie, we went back and started to leave in the right direction. We hadn''t been walking long anyway, we didn''t waste any time.


    "Sorry... I''ve never actually gone travelling, and no ones ever told me directions," Jeehan admitted, drooping over in disappointment.


    "It''s fine, we didn''t waste much time anyway." LOD said, comforting Jeehan.


    After this, the conversation ended. We ran into one or two mobs that got disintegrated by our attacks, but nothing major happened whilst walking. The others took in the scene, whilst I just walked, checking the mini-map routinely to judge our position.


    There was alot of light, indicating it was a sunny summers day. The scenery was probably awe-inspiring, with light bouncing off the sedimentation of the grass, with the wind flowing through it creating waves in a sea of green continuing for miles either side of us. But I didn''t look since, shocking nobody, I cared not.


    About half-way through our journey we found a cave. It looked out of place an mysterious, but it was also getting to be noon. And we wanted to get to Skimmington earlier than later. We unanimously voted to walk past the cave. and continued on to our goal.


    Eventually a greyish dot appeared on the horizon. When we got closer, I could make out more details. It was a wall, with the occasional roof popping out of it.


    The time now was three pm, so we had only walked for about six hours. And we were now at the gates of what I presume to be Skimmington.


    It was somewhat unguarded though, with little mobs spotted over the place.


    The buildings we could see from outside the gate were all boarded up.


    ''What happened here?'' We all seemed to ask ourselves.


    We went in further to investigate.

 Chapter 10: The same event, done differently.

    *''Doki''*


    We walked through the unguarded gate, suspiciously. We expected people to attack us at any point, but we didn''t really expect this...


    The was an empty street, which was very wide. Flattering it were two rows of almost serene buildings, with a fancy, vibrant tone to them, with grasses and flowers matching to upper-class nature to said buildings. This image was destroyed when seeing these fabulous abodes with boarded up windows, the lower parts of the facing doors partially damaged and all the grasses and flowers loving put there all trampled and withered. This was surprising enough, but the actions of the few people on this street were more so...


    For some reason two girls, with no weapons, blood gashing from multiple wounds and with a mixture of fear and dread in their eyes were ''running'', well, more like hobbling away from a group of different men. Both girls seemed to be samurais based on thier armour, and their busts, whilst modest, indicated their gender. I was doubtful I was wrong making such a conclusion...


    Anyway, the group behind had a large amount of blood-lust. Between their constant laughter and pants, of what I hope is exhaustion, I could hear them talk about some war or something.


    Hm...


    The question of whether we should stand up to them or not wasn''t answered yet, seeing as they hadn''t noticed our presence. Talking might alert them though, so we were just silent.


    I looked at their levels, mumbling ''What''s that All?'' in an inaudible tone. Now information boxes popped up for every single player on the fight. I closed the one describing me and my allies, since it would violate our ''bro code'', and looked at the rest.


    The members of the group were leveled from 30 to 60, with their leader being level 72. Quite the level gap. But what surprised me the most was what I concluded as the cause of the issue. Both girls were members of the ''Samurai_Girls'' clan, whilst the group were seemingly all members of the ''Back-hands''. I gathered it was between the two clans, and it accidentally spiraled out of control, since Jeehan''s brother Hiiro had already told us this much. I planned to stop both


    My plan was to assert my groups dominance, and force them to both shut up, letting the town open again and letting my group turn in our IDs. There was a massive level gap, but according to their skill lists, and the power of the two girls who will be invited into our party, I felt it was easy to do this.


    "Ahem." I projected to everyone, destroying the tension of the scene and alerting our presence to both the girls and the group. "This is Skimmington, right?"


    The girls, for some reason, ran and hid behind us. Thinking we''re ''heroes'' or something... Cute. The group just glared at us, neither side of the conflict, nor my allies said anything to answer it.


    "You realize you do have an ability to verbally communicate an answer, right? You don''t need to try your impressively weak lazer vision to etch the answer onto our bodies or whatever you''re attempting to do. The question is simple enough," I added in a mocking tone.


    The death-glares from the group became more intense, causing at least one of my colleagues to visibly shiver.


    "Yes. This is Skimmington. Due to the conflict of us, the Back_Hands, and the Samurai_Girls this city is closed. Now be good little boys and fuck off and run, otherwise, like the two girls behind you, you will die," ordered one of them, in a ''threatening'' tone. I mean, it was threatening. Just not to me though.


    "How cute. You think your group actually scares me. Tell us what''s going on, and I may not kill you," I rebutted with my unfazed looks, I saw veins became visible on most of the group member''s temples. Seems like my plan of pissing them off is a success.


    They clearly had no intention of answering us, so I gave no room for more conversation, adding the two girls to the party which they accepted almost instantly. I then unsheathed my weapons, the others doing the same. I set my ''home'', which was used in my Warp-Smith Subclass.


    Oh, sorry. I forgot to show you my present shortlist:


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''1''>Name</td><td colspan=''3''> DokiDoki19 </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Class</td><td colspan=''1''> Succubus </td><td colspan=''1''>Level</td><td colspan=''1''> 24 </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Class skills</td><td colspan=''3''> ["Bind" = Mass_Leech.], ["Bolt" = Leech.], ["Heal" = Blood_Transfusion.], ["Intimidate" = Vampiric_Bite.], [passive= Life_Absorb.], [passive = Attraction_Resistance.], [passive = Attraction_Increase.]</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Sub-class skills</td><td colspan=''3''> <"What''s that?" = Object_Examination.>, <"What''s this?" = Mob_Examination.>, <"Possess" = Mob_Tame.>, <"Summon" = Summon_(Name)>, <"Kill" = Teleport_Home>, <"set home"= Set_Home_(Name)>, <"Reflect" = Reverse_trajectory>,


    .</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Weapon skills</td><td colspan=''3''> ("Have at me" = Power_Charge.), (passive = Staff_Hit.), (passive = Dual_Wield.), (passive = _Magic_Boost.)</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Additional skills</td><td colspan=''3''> /''Stop'' = Skill_Cancellation.\</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Achievement skills</td><td colspan=''3''> N/A </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Equipment </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>On-Hand</td><td colspan=''1''>Steel_Scimitar</td><td colspan=''1''>Off-Hand</td><td colspan=''1''>Bone_Staff</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Head-wear</td><td colspan=''1''>Cloth_Hood</td><td colspan=''1''>Inner-Wear</td><td colspan=''1''>Black_Boxers</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Outerwear</td><td colspan=''1''>Healer''s_Robe</td><td colspan=''1''>Foor-Wear</td><td colspan=''1''>100%_Cow_Boots</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Accessories</td><td colspan=''3''> N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A. </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''> Stats </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''> Level </td><td colspan=''2''> 24 </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> AP </td><td colspan=''1''> 16000/16000 </td><td colspan=''1''> Defense </td><td colspan=''1''> 34</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> Damage </td><td colspan=''1''> 99 </td><td colspan=''1''> HP </td><td colspan=''1''> 30/NA</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> Speed </td><td colspan=''1''> 82</td><td colspan=''1''> Stamina </td><td colspan=''1''> 49</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''> Spare </td><td colspan=''2''> 0 </td></tr></tbody></table>


    So basically the majority changes are from my grimoire, I leveled up after getting it and testing the Warp-Smith subclass. I changed a couple things too, like getting new gear.


    I haven''t talked in detail about my weapons yet, so let amend that now. My Steel_Scimitar is enchanted with unbreaking 3, Heat_Resistance and Acid_Resistance. I assume this means this sword won''t break, melt or dissolve easily, meaning I don''t really have to worry about replacing it for a while. My staff has the enchants AP_Regeneration 3, HP_Regeneration 2 and Unbreaking 2. The HP regeneration decreases the rate I''ll lost HP, since I''m a Succubus that is. My AP regeneration rate also increases when I have it out.


    This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    Whilst I was thinking about this, I had stepped back, used ''Kill'', aka Teleport_Home, to send their leader to the position I had set then used ''bolt'' on him to keep him in place. I then used ''bind'' to prevent anyone from helping him. Me, and my allies were all inside the wall of tentacles, so we just started attacking him.


    I had developed my ''bind'' move quite alot. This meant it evolved to be stronger. The attack now surrounded us with a wall that started 5 meters away, and ended 10 meters away, making it 5 meters thick. This strengthened the walls capabilities to hold off attacks, and did more damage to those stuck inside. This was something that happened to most skills given enough use, things like AP cost, speed of use, damage or other aspects of a skill may become better with multiple uses of a move. Which explains why they gave you so many skills at the start of the game.


    Checking the leader''s stats, he was level 72. So even though we were doing alot of attacks and getting insane bonuses, his health only depleted slowly. With attacks coming from the other side of the wall, and the tentacles starting to shake and warp shape, I guessed it wasn''t far off getting destroyed. I stopped attacking, and focused on healing the two girls who were with us. Grunts and groans coming from all the people inside, from the motion or impact of the slices, slashes and swings of blade aimed at the leader. I had no idea what was going on outside, but figured the next step should get rushed.


    "I''m going to heal you now. So help in the fight. However don''t kill those you don''t need to. Otherwise I''ll slaughter you. I plan to end this pointless fight, not continue it!" I explained whilst healing them, I also warned them not to go too far since I had a plan it would disturb.


    After two or three minutes of constant attacks, the man caught in our trap had less that two hundred health right now, so I decided to take my next step.


    "Okay all. Stop." LOD, Jeehan and Titanious had stopped in response to my order, the two girls also looked at me with confusion. "I''m about to destroy these walls, LOD, charge up an assassination to kill him in one hit, don''t do it until I command though. The rest pay attention to meet those outside," with my command, everyone became prepared, accepting my orders.


    "Stop bind." As I said this the tentacle wall just vanished back into the ground, revealing the people who surrounded us. "So then. Your boss will die in one hit. Surrender he lives. Try to get close and he dies. Attack us with range, he dies... You get the picture?" I shouted the warning so all could hear. "What you do next is your choice, not mine." I finished letting them decide.


    I saw the remainders of the group surround us, almost completing a circle. I saw some closer than I though, assuming they had attacked the walls to thin them whilst we fought their leader. However, almost hidden in one of the streets, I saw a group of curious people.


    A series of looks were exchanged between the group of 20 who surrounded us. They sighed with dis-interest and started to attack. LOD killed the leader in one hit as response, and their group met me and the rest. The leaders scream could be heard by all of them as he turned into pixels and loose change. The men then froze, probably thinking we were bluffing. This should have killed their morale alot, since their leader, the strongest person they had, was killed my my motley bunch of noobs was quite the loss.


    A scramble of questions came from them, clearly disheartened to their bosses death. The most present was "Who the hell are you people?"


    "We are rogues from Simpson. We came here to get our ID''s certified, but with you idiots fighting and closing the entire city, we became annoyed. Don''t worry, had we met a similar scene the other way around, we''d do the exact same thing. We are politically neutral, our strength has been proven and you now need to decide. Attack us and we will probably kill you, don''t and we won''t. It''s a simple choice right? Now choose," I concluded in a matter of fact manner. My slight smirk was probably menacing to the opposition.


    With all that happened, they didn''t know enough about us to actually do anything. They knew we could assassinate people with ease, trapping level 70+ people in our traps without a problem. The wall generated was insanely thick, so the person, or people, trapped in them wouldn''t be saved for a while. If we had killed their leader that quickly, who knows how fast the rest would fall. Well, I think this is what they thought, as they now seemed hopeless to defeat us.


    "How can we trust this? You help out those two girls, and fought us without a second doubt," protested one of them, others nodded showing that they agreed.


    "Why the hell would we be having this conversation if I was lying? I mean, it''s pretty obvious looking at those people over there, that they could have attacked and killed the lot of you in a second. Had we been allies, there''s no doubt we wouldn''t have done this now. We merely wanted to step in this fight to tell the lot of you to shut up! Otherwise we''ll massacre both sides until you finally concede." I stated, pointing at the curious group from before.


    Upon a closer look, I joined those who looked before in seeing a large team of females who all seemed to be samurai. I kicked the two girls out of our party and left both groups behind proclaiming:


    "I don''t really give a damn about the drama and stuff between your two groups. Holding up an entire city for such a silly farce is really stupid, selfish and hypocritical. The strong are meant to protect the weak in this world, right? The entire reason behind this fight was over who should represent this city''s sense of power and protection of those weak, right? Did your ''power'' protect this once mesmerizing street becoming such a desolate corpse of what it once was, all the houses boarded up, all the gardens trampled on and all the people hiding inside their own houses scared? No, in fact your little temper tantrum is the cause. So why don''t you stop now, before you live to regret it. I mean, if we hear that you didn''t stop, and continued this pathetic waste of time you call a fight, we''ll come back to slaughter both sides mercilessly. Do you understand this?"


    I found out my charisma bonus increased my aura. If the aura was dark, it would intensify this. Hence when I turned back to see if my message had been heard, I saw LOD, Jeehan and Nio joined the two big groups in freezing out of fear.


    When the ice finally broke, both sides sweat, and nodded profusely. With that done, we headed through our enemies, who conceded on the spot, to the large building matrix visible at the end of this street. Behind me, I heard a babble of noise, from wood slapping the floor, to people, who were not in the conflict before, shouting in joy and celebration.


    I looked back to see both groups collecting themselves and walking back peacefully. The tacky boarders of the buildings had been discarded. People were now gradually moving into the street, as if to claim it for themselves. It appears the city was now starting to rebuild it''s self.


    My remaining party members gave off happy sighs and their smiles beamed with happiness. Probably that is, I didn''t bother to check.


    My dead cold poker face turned back to my goal. Whilst walking into the castle building before us, my mind focused on only getting the damn IDs we had certified.

 Chapter 11: The IDs and the rest of Skimmington

    OldBegginings:[Howdy, I''m back. I felt bad deleting the hiatus thread, and making a new one for chapter 10, so I just changed the hiatus thread into chapter 10 instead. Thanks for not hating me. This is a pretty short hiatus, but as explained in the other chapter posted, I may have another hiatus depending on how the meeting goes tomorrow. But for now, please enjoy both chapters 10 and 11.]


    *''Doki''*


    LOD, Jeehan, Nio and I were now walking into a plaza in the middle of the big building from before. A few shocked guards noticed out presence, but after looking outside, let us walk in awe of the fight outside ending. A quite dashing fellow in a rather rushed suit came over to us.


    "W... Was that you?" the fellow spewed the question interlaced with his pants at us.


    I met his eyes and proclaimed, "the truce between the two ''oh so fearful clans''? Yes, that was us."


    He regained his posture, then continued. "Ha. Sorry. I''m the mayor of Skimmington, Jacques Crossfield. There''s alot going on right now with forth island, and this incidence was only the peak of the iceberg of hassle we''ve suffer from. I was wanting to thank you personally, but if you''re wanting to access the guild, it''s unfortunately closed due to the ruckus outside."


    "Do we need the guild to certify our IDs?" I asked.


    "Oh, no. That''s done in administration. If that''s all you wanted, please follow me." He said relieved, then started walking forwards, ignoring the left and right options, wanting us to follow.


    We walked through a brick based, orderly building with glares pointing out our foreign nature.


    We eventually got to our destination, a monochromatic bland room that had a, for the lack of a better term, ''business'' looking man behind. A fancy, polished suit, a clean shaven face, and plain short black hairstyle with way too much time spent on it. I mean, usually I don''t pay attention to people''s looks, but with the definition of generic business man in front of me, how could I not?


    "Ah, Mr. Crossfield. What would you like?" he said in a very peppy tone, his teeth almost blinding me in the short period they were shown.


    "These four would like their IDs authenticated. They just ended the recent fight between the Samurai_Girls and the Back_Hands, therefore I''m here to make it a priority," the mayor responded.


    "Oh, really. That''s ended now? Well, all the more reason to hurry this up. My family must be worried..." he pause as he saw the mayor walk out.


    He soon continued, "okay. So you want me to authenticate your identifications, correct? Please hand your IDs over and answer my questions correctly, since lying is against the law," his peppy tone continued, but with the words of threat, an eerie smile replaced his genuine smile. Although temporary, it was very clear.


    "Okay, me first." I snatched the chance before the others could, and handed him my ID.


    Q)"Name?" A)"DokiDoki19"


    Q)"Gender?" A)"Undisclosed..." I hoped to be anonymous is as many aspects as possible. It was accepted.


    Q)"Age?" A)"Undisclosed."


    Q)"Class and Sub-class?" A)"Class: undisclosed, sub-classes: undisclosed and undisclosed"


    "You can answer everything as ''undisclosed'', but it can lead to skepticism," he interrupted the interview to warn me.


    "Thanks for the warning, but I don''t really care," I replied in my apathetic/ normal tone.


    "Okay then, let''s continue."


    Q)"Full name?" A)"First name: Doki, second name: Doki-nineteen," I answered guessing I couldn''t not have a name...


    Q)"Area of origin" A)"Not applicable, I''m a ''visitor'' so technically came from a different world." I was allowed to use this as an answer.


    Q)"Occupation?" A)"Rogue/ Adventurer."


    Q)"Clan, guild or group name?" A)"Not applicable. Our group doesn''t really have a name..."


    As I answered he noted the things I wrote them down on the ID. With the end of the questions, he stamped the piece of paper, which then dissolved into a puff of purple dyed smoke which I absorbed.


    "Okay, that''s it finished. Congratulations on becoming an official citizen, but I had no idea some visitors had the ability to beat a dungeon yet..."


    "''Different people are different'' as they say."


    "I guess they do. Anyway, other people can now view your ID if you allow them to, using the ''Show_ID'' skill which should now appear in your menu. Next?"


    LOD, then Nio, then Jeehan all followed the same questions, although they instead answered the questions.


    Q)"Name?" LOD) "LOD." Nio) "Titanious." Jeehan) "Jeehan."


    Q)"Gender?" All)"Male"


    Q)"Age?" LOD) "23" Nio)"Undisclosed" Jeehan) "17"


    Q)"Class/ Sub-class?" LOD) "Class: Assassin, sub-classes: undisclosed and Crafter." Nio) "Class: Tank, sub-classes: undisclosed and undisclosed" Jeehan) "Class: Samurai, sub-classes: Smith and Enchanter."


    Q)"Full name?" LOD) "John Smith..." Nio) "First name: Ti, second name: Tanious" Jeehan)" Han Jeehan."


    Q)"Area of Origin?" LOD) "Not Applicable, I''m a visitor too." Nio)"Not Applicable, I''m another visitor." Jeehan)"Simpson, fourth island. What? I''m not a visitor."


    Q)"Clan, Guild or Group name?" All) "Not applicable."


    With that done, we all gained the ''Show_ID'' skill. And with that done, we decided to stay in the city for the night. We didn''t really have a plan or anything, so just searched for a hotel.


    -


    We found 3... well 4, but we ignored the love-hotel. We ended up in a place called the ''The Green Goblin'', and got our rooms. I shared one with LOD, and Jeehan and Nio shared another. The rooms were really cheap, about 100 coins per night, but it was well maintained, had good service, and looked relatively fancy. So it was quite the deal still.


    The time now was only five. Jeehan and Nio were both tired at this point, so went to their room. Me and LOD meanwhile went off, armed with a basic map, to explore Skimmington.


    Well, our exploration was cut short with ''someones'' stomach growling. So we went into a tavern. It was surprisingly expected, we walked through the doors to a room, with a hard wood counter at the back with various stools, and tables with multiple chairs, on which people created havoc clearly drunk.


    We walked up to two empty stools, and sat down.


    "IDs?" The bartender prompted us to show her our IDs Surprisingly enough I wasn''t kicked out, considering my undisclosed age.


    "Whilst you wait, please choose what you want to order," the bartender said in a pleasant tone, then turned to another customer.


    The choice of food was simple really, from steaks, to fish, to pizza. I decided on fish and chips whilst LOD decided on the pizza. For drinks I ordered water, and LOD ordered a whole keg of beer, at least I wasn''t paying for him.


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    "Want some?" LOD asked, holding a cup to the keg.


    "Nah. I''ve never liked the taste," I answered. The taste of beer an alcohol was just not nice to me. Why would I drink something I don''t like?


    "Oh well. But it''s not for the taste that I drink," remarked LOD with a sloppy smile appearing on his face.


    While waiting for our food, we observed the people in the tavern.  At the back, well front, we saw a table that was made up of women wearing a similar garb to the other group from before. Meanwhile on the middle left was a table comprised of men who seemed familiar from the group that we fought. Both groups were looking at us, the girls were giggling and the men seemed anxious. Well, as long as they don''t start killing each other over spilled milk, I have no reason to care.


    "Enjoy people watching?" A voice next to us had said. Upon a closer look, he looked like the leader of the group, you know, the one we killed.


    "Somewhat. I''m also really bad at maintaining a conversation with him," I answered pointing at LOD. "So why aren''t you with your clan?" I asked back as politely as possible.


    "We disbanded. Yeah, our group lost our morale completely, so some branched off into another clan. It sucks, but what will you do," he explained. "By the way, you oughtn''t let yer buddy off his leash," he added, pointing to the table of girls, at which LOD surprisingly joined.


    "I thought he was into younger girls. Eh, we only met a week ago anyway," I replied, verbally stabbing LOD in the process.


    "I heard you were ''rogues'', is this accurate?" Curious to the answer, I felt a massive aura of intrigue coming from his question.


    "Yeah. Basically we''re here to get an ID.  Sorry for killing you, but I had heard of your mischief earlier. Since you and your group were  causing the city to be on standstill, I saw you death as the easiest means of demoralizing both sides and proving our immense strength," I explained.


    "Hm, interesting. But you''re in the wrong place to be playing hero," he stated with dread.


    "Who the hell said we''re ''heroes''? We just don''t like hassle." I replied coldly.


    He gave a pause, obviously confused. Then asked "really? You''re not interested into ''why'' I say this?"


    "Not really. It''s probably corruption, greed or politics as to why you''re warning me. It''s not that hard to fathom." I responded with a sigh. All this shit is the same to me...


    He sighed deeply, then ended with "just watch your step rogues, you wouldn''t want to spark a war." Then he left to join one of the other tables.


    I finished my food, placed the payment for my orders and left for the library. Seems like I need to do some research.


    The city wasn''t really a city, just a large town. It had a couple of different districts, in a sort of bulls-eye shape the districts went as such.


    The inside were the more important administration buildings, such as the castle-like building that served as the town hall.


    Around this was the commercial district, having most of the restaurants, cafe''s and shops.


    There were some shops mixed into the residential district, which was next and served as housing for the major population, but they minor general shops for generalized, cheap goods.


    Lastly, located on the east and west edges of the ''city'', was the industrial district where basic things were made on mass including metal works and wood-crafters, which would go into the commercial district to be sold when made. Farms were located mainly outside the walls, and weren''t as numerous as one would assume.


    The library, for whatever reason, was located at the end of a seemingly random street off the main road. Therefore that''s where I went.


    I walked down the main street, which went from the north gate to the city-hall, dissecting through each district in turn. This is where our fight earlier took place, and it was looking way healthier. The gardens were still mostly trampled, but there were now people walking the street and the carriages now traveled along the middle, unlike before.


    -


    After a while of walking, I entered a street to the left and followed the pavement down to the end where a large building stood. It was seemingly modeled after Gothic architecture and towered over the rest of the street, emitting a dark aura upon it. I swore I saw bats of something hanging off it''s roof.


    Nevertheless, seeing it was in fact a library which was open, I opened the gate and walked up to the building.


    I entered and found a surprisingly bright and welcoming room, giving way to towering bookshelves that engulfed the rest of the buildings. Few desks and chairs were located. I walked up to the counter met the Librarian on the other side.


    "Hello, you seem to be new. Would you like to rent out a book?" They asked peacefully. Their eyes having no judging aspects to them.


    "I wanted to know which books are where," was my answer with little to no negativity in my own eyes.


    "Okay, first. Here''s a leaflet that should help. If you want to take a book out, you have to be a member. Do you want to become a member?" They inquired.


    "Sure. What do I have to do?"


    "Hand me your ID, and I''ll add it to the system. Book loans last a week, and the book will go back here automatically if you don''t return it before, so don''t worry about losing books. If the book gets damaged, money will also be taken out. Is this fine?"


    "Yeah." I showed them my ID.


    A moment passed, seeming to add my ID to a list on their own interface. It looked like random hand movements to me though...


    "Finished. Thank you and welcome to the Skimmington Library. Talk to me if you ever feel like not continuing your membership."


    "Okay, will do. Thanks for the lively welcome." I said this as I left to go to one of the tables.


    I got out the leaflet the Librarian just gave me, and continued to note down areas I was personally interested in. Unfortunately this made me dart of practically every nook and cranny, since there wasn''t really a pattern in this madness.


    About an hour later I had 30 books that caught my interest, and proceeded to read them. My reading speed wasn''t slow, but I doubted my ability to read them all by closing time, at eight PM. So I read the handful I thought were important, and took out the rest.


    I read about 12 of the books in the time-frame, and with the response of ''Oh, an avid reader I see'' from the Librarian, I took the rest and  left.

 Chapter 12: A history lesson. (Not a real history lesson! Please read this... T_T)

    OldBegginings:[Basically last Thursday I requested to my school to possibly retake, I also sent a letter off to do a college course in the off chance I can''t retake. Now I need to wait another fucking week before I get to know my fate! So that warning of an additional hiatus is still on standby, apologies. And thanks for those who are appreciative of the hassle I''m going through and aren''t blaming me for continuing to whine on...


    Quick spoiler/ explanation. In the 2nd paragraph of the actual chapter I go into the races. Now I realize there may be confusion into the actual difference between the Devils and Demons. So I feel like explaining it here and now. Basically Devils are twisted humanoids, with bipedal builds, whereas Demons are are based on quadrupeds, having no arms therefore having an incapability of wielding weapons, instead adapting their bodies to have naturally formed weapons. Well with that little thing explained, let''s go to the actual chapter.


    Thanks for reading, and enjoy the chapter.]


    *''Doki''*


    I''m still in mine and LOD''s room, having spent the last two days reading books, I finally finished my research, and feel like I understand how this world works. Now here''s a history lesson for those who want it:


    Basically there was once seven dominant races: the hot-headed Amphibians, the respectable Devils, the ,now dead, Demons, the elitist Elves, the lazy Gods, the puristic Humans and the apathetic Plant-kin.


    The gods were the most dominant race, but used their omnipotence to secure the safety of each of the other six races. But eventually, out of boredom, some of them pro-created with the other races, and therefore got demoted to ''Deities'', and were forced to do the lackluster job of maintaining the world as the now fewer gods fled to space to explore stuff. (Imagine the gods being a race of One-punch mans and the others are powerless commoners in the same world, and that''s the level of power these guys have compared to the other races. This power leads to boredom, boredom leads to science, science leads to rockets, rockets lead to space. Or at least that¡¯s how I imagine it.)


    At the start of their reign, the gods dictated the countries where each of the races could call home:


    The Amphibians got the ''Dawn Islands''. It is an archipelago which is good considering they are surprisingly amphibious.


    The Devils got the, now non-existent, Hell. This was supposedly bigger than the continent, to reference their second place strength rating. Alas, it now rests at the bottom of an ocean none dare to cross.


    The Demons got the Continent, the largest area controlled by a sole race now, due to their once great power.


    The Elves got Taiki, a nation comprised of one large island. It''s comprised of a massive forest in which they make their homes.


    The Humans got The Serith Union, a series of five islands including Fourth Island (the one we''re on right now.) It''s combined military strength is probably the strongest there is. To bad they aren''t united at the moment.


    And the Plant-kin got Emrico. An area similar to Taiki made of mainly forest, but with a purer, wilder ecosystem. It''s one of the more isolated kingdoms, so not much is known about their way of life.


    With the gods gone, the Demons started to attack the other races and tried to gain the same level of dominance they had in their wake. The Deities got pissed, and with a rushed choice, sunk all of Hell, which now rests at the bottom of the ocean of ''Death¡¯. They ended up enslaving the rest to act in dungeons as bosses or minions depending on their strength, removing their previous status as a dominant race indefinitely.


    The power of the devils ended up going into it''s deities, leaving it''s actual population becoming gradually weak. And with the large amounts of mineral rich areas the Continent has, the other races ended up raging constant wars to secure the minerals for themselves. This left it''s coasts being a continuous war-zone in which the deities can''t even control all of it, so people only get revived in the center, where the devils still hold strong. With the present wars on-going, not many, if any, tourists are allowed in their kingdom. They are apparently allied to the Plant-kin, and now Fourth Island.


    A land called the ''Unnamed Desert'' was discarded by all of the races and deities alike, due to its harshness to survive in, and no real resources. Being a frozen tundra to the north. So now is home to only those who are outlaws and on the run from their respective nation. The southern desert is just as deserted, but is sometimes used by the humans for hide-outs, ice and training their military. Sources say there is one god remaining in this world, this being the god ''Death'', who, according to sources, roams the Unnamed Desert, resulting in the lack of life in the area. But that''s basically an old wives tale...


    Now onto human politics.


    It can be summed up as ''Blah, blah, violence. Blah, blah, cheap and fragile peace and order. Blah, blah, revolution. Blah, blah, insecurities. Blah, blah, other''s greed. Blah, blah, corruption. Blah, blah. Me.'' Over-used dull story-line if you ask me.


    Oh, wait... you don''t want my cynicism and want to know what actually happened? Ha ha ha! Why didn''t you tell me sooner? Silly.


    Well, to start off. Each island has independent rule, but all of them eventually resorted aristocracy, since that''s the only way they could get order into it''s people. With the battle of independence of Fourth Island, sparked by oppression over its treatment of commoners, it became the only democratic island.


    It''s only been a democracy for a while, and since the democratic nature threatened the aristocracies due to the influx of immigrants coming into Fourth Island to escape the other island''s oppressive nature, other nations have signed a treaty to remove their new found freedom. So as their army went to the Continent with the other Serith Union''s armies and died horribly to the natives, the greedy from the other islands came into corrupt them and now it''s a political turmoil, with even the Amphibians, Elves and Devils coming in to join it.


    So now Fourth Island is in disarray and is in a secret civil war amongst with input from other different nations claiming it as their own. Our introduction produces a threat to them, since we threaten the two representative clans with relevant ease.


    But I like my own story better. No bullshit, no long words attempting to hide their hypocritical nature, just the simple, unbiased recount of facts.


    Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    So basically we''ve been told not to affect the other parties before a target gets put on our heads. My response? Good luck. To them that is. I feel like this could make me try, so be it.


    I basically have four options. I could care about these new adversaries, or not. I could also use either as reason to leave fourth island, or join in the havoc. The first option was simple. Why the hell would I care? The second option, less so. I feel like leaving would make me more free, but fuck it. I want to see how challenging making an in-game democracy really is, and that''s all it takes for me to do something. Promise of a challenge.


    So the lesson''s over. Now to explain what the others are up to right now. Me and LOD split with Nio and Jeehan, only temporarily though. I stated that I wished to learn more about the area, LOD being kind enough to join me, whilst Nio and Jeehan wanted to go back to Simpson to tell Jeehan''s family about what''s going on. They used transportation, but only left yesterday. I assume they''ll stay the night over there. LOD went to a restaurant, as I said I''d be done with my research soon, he said to join him when I''m ready.


    -


    I picked up the books and dumped them into my pockets. I gathered I knew enough about the world now, so my next step was to join LOD. Thinking about that I checked out of the hotel room, and started to walk the streets I haven''t seen in awhile.


    The town now looked far healthier than the shell we arrived at. The streets bustling with humans, horses and prosperity. The clans protecting the town were now doing their job, and the social gap had somewhat closed between the officials and the peasants.


    As I walked the streets I heard something disturbing from others as I passed...


    "Kya! Who''s that cutie?" "Isn''t he like the cutest?" Similar utterances like this, and threats by people who wanted to hug me were now almost continuous... and it wasn''t just the females.


    It''s not like I have anything against people''s choices, I don''t care about others enough to do that. It''s just the fact they seem to have something against mine. I''m asexual, what do you expect me to do in response to this? Go along with it and make a harem? Hell no!


    -


    Anyway, ignoring my now expanding fan-club, I walked through the streets, arriving at a restaurant called ''Lin''s Diner'', where a similar looking assassin was now flirting with two tables of girls simultaneously... I obviously had to ruin this, right?


    I sneaked up behind him and weakly chopped his head. The reaction from his shock was great. He spasmed as he crouched, then decided to look back and realized it was me.


    "W-w-what are you doing y-you moron!" he got up, starting to halfheartedly punching me for the prank I had done.


    "Ha ha ha. Sorry ladies for this guy''s flirting, I really need to keep him on a leash sometimes..." I joked as I stopped LOD and bowed to the girls he was shamelessly flirting with. As I said this LOD started growling in contempt.


    He stopped shortly after starting, "so you''re done? That took way longer than you said it would."


    "Yeah, my conclusion is we''ll get involved, regardless of any competition that arises." I smirked thinking of the plan I had for them.


    "Well that''s a surprise. I assumed you''d leave this dump in search of something more fun." He pat me on the back as we sat at the counter. "Well, if this is what you want sir, I''ll fight."


    "Since when did I become a ''sir''? Ha ha ha." I said lightly. My expression changed to a more serious one, "don''t worry. Do as I say and we won''t lose, just don''t trust a soul apart from me. Traitors, spies and scum line the streets."


    Slightly flinching at the change in tone, a meek LOD responded by asking "What do you want? What''s the end-goal?"


    I paused, since two individuals had caught my eye. One was the person I suspected as being the leader of the Samurai_Girls, the other being another Samurai girl who seemed to spot what I had. The boss'' ear was showing, I now knew what to do.


    I rested my head on my hand and smiled again, facing LOD.


    I was preoccupied with my new plan, and accidentally slipped out "fun." Understanding naught, LOD could only tilt his head at this point, he must have thought that was in response to what he said... oops. "You''ll understand what I mean soon enough."


    I left those hollow words, and left.


    I knew representatives from the Samurai_Girls and the Back_Hands both heard, this is what I wanted.


    I walked off, and as I did, I whispered something in one of the girl''s ears. She responded in shock.


    ''We know you''re elves. Tell your boss to meet with me, I have an interesting offer to make. I''ll be waiting outside.''


    Hearing this, she panicked and told her boss as I had left. The boss followed my steps soon afterwards. I picked to tell her this since she was the one who I saw mention her ear showing to her boss.


    -


    "So you know?" she caught up with me, and said in a cold, threatening tone. To anyone else, she''d cause them to freeze in fear... I''m me though. I don''t tend to care enough to get scared.


    "Yeah, as I told your lackie, we do. Nevertheless I want to know your motives. I don''t care about racism, if you''re motives align with ours, we''ll help you out. If they don''t, our offer of massacring you is still up for grabs." I replied in a similar cold tone. "Now then, let''s discuss the rest in private."


    "And if you kill me?" Her emotions buckled, showing how threatened she was at me.


    "If you don''t give me a reason, I won''t. If you give me a reason, it''s war." I smirked as I said it, encompassing the area with a dark aura, keeping in control of the conversation. She knew I was the strongest of my group, and was very capable of killing her one on one.


    Well I probably wasn''t, but she thought I was from our assassination in the earlier fight.


    -


    We walked to my hotel room, without any conversation or irregular movements, we maintained a peaceful cold atmosphere. We walked the streets with my regular making remarks, just to stop dead in their tracks at the girl walking besides me. We ignored them and maintained pace, until we had reached the door of my room. I set the permissions so she could enter and we started sat down, staring each other down.


    "So then, your motives?" I broke the ice, demanding the answered to be stated.

 Chapter 13: Going back home.

    OldBegginings:[Howdy. Now, you may not have heard, but I have a new series. It''s a story called ''High school life in a world where everyone has superpowers</a>'' . Now, I know what your probably thinking, ''what''s that title meant to mean?'' Right? Well, I don''t really see a reason to bore you with the extremely convoluted plot in this chapter, so if you''re interested, please try reading it. You never know, you may like it or not. I know personal preferences are a thing, I just felt a shameless plug would be fun.


    Now I should state, this series is a higher priority to the new series, so don''t worry about my schedule for this getting screwed up for it, I want to update it every monday, but may release more chapters this week, since I have the first four almost done at this point. But at a point where I have to decide to work on this or Myth of Men, I''ll be doing this series over that one.


    Anyway, check it out if you want to, if you don''t, here''s a new chapter of Myth of Men. Thanks for reading and enjoy either or, better yet, both.]


    *Nio*


    LOD, Jeehan and I all met up at a cafe. Doki was apparently still in his room, according to LOD this is. This was our last meet up before we split up, it was to have breakfast and discuss things.


    The meal lasted for about half an hour, ending with our goodbyes to LOD, and the absent Doki, we left. At about eleven Me and Jeehan stepped into a carriage, we purchased a ride to Skimmington, not wanting to walk, and took a relaxing ride out of the town.


    The same path we had painstakingly walked down before was gone in a blur, the scenery outside was awe inspiring, fields and forests stretching for miles all around us. Whilst before, this path had seemed treacherous and plain annoying, it now had a melancholic serenity to it.


    Encapsulated by the scene, both of us were in silence. Nature surely was a magnificent beauty, and without the bashful LOD and the apathetic Doki, me and Jeehan could now view such sights in peace.


    Eventually an ice-breaker came from Jeehan, "so, want to talk about things? This trip will last about an hour, and with all that just happened, it''s a good chance to unwind ourselves. Now, I expect we''ll be talking about our recent actions alot at home, so I feel a more casual conversation would be better for now."


    "Why not? Well then, who should go first?" I answered relatively preoccupied glaring out of the window.


    A relatively eager Jeehan responded with a question of his own almost instantly, "If you don''t mind, I was wondering what this world''s like to you so far?"


    "Well it''s true I''ve only been here for, about a week? Well I think it''s been a week. I don''t really know how to sum up my feelings though. The best I''ve got is that this world is more peaceful than my own." My reply was delayed, since I had put alot of though into such a lack-luster answer.


    Jeehan tilted his head. "Peaceful? Did you regularly join others to fight massive monsters in your previous world?"


    It appears some explanation is in order, "I mean in the social aspect. In my world, parents force their ideologies, religion and name onto their offspring. Some parents more than others, in fact mine were really pressuring. Any freedom I had was very limited, the people I talked to were all of similar mind too. So I felt compelled to keep up a farce of believing them." I took a deep breath before continuing, "here though, I feel much more free. Especially with the group of people we have so far, I feel I can disagree and argue with people, which would be a death sentence in my old world."


    Jeehan watched me with sparks of inspiration in his eyes, when I finished he appeared to be in a trance.


    Trying to get him out of it, I prompted his response "So what about you? How''s the adventurer''s life style with us like?"


    "It''s fun!" blurted from Jeehan quickly in response.


    He paused, probably thinking about why before continuing, "Well, I just haven''t had a boring time I guess. The combat, although anti-climactic due to Doki, was still fun to be apart of and even when we''re relaxing, we''re in an unknown area I''ve never seen before which makes it still interesting. I mean, we''ve only just received our IDs, but even that was an adventure in of it''s self..."


    Jeehan dazed for a while, probably thinking back to the little time we spent like it went on forever. It lead to me doing it with him whilst looking out of the window. The trees became blurs as I payed less and less attention to sight, absorbing myself in thought.


    It felt like the last week was a month to me. Being forced out of my old life which was the epitome of grey into this vibrant, unknown game world. Meeting Jeehan, LOD and Doki, going into the dungeon, slaying the boss. This one week had way more highlights in than my old life had in it''s total... Although that wasn''t that big of a deal in this world, pain both physically and mentally would still follow.


    Thinking back to each day of the last week, the corners of my mouth continuing to curl. This lasted for minutes, until I came to the end of my summation, and looked to the vast forest forgetting my dull old world.


    -


    After about thirty minutes Jeehan was finally done recapping too, proceeding to re-spark the now dead conversation once again, "So, what do you think the others are doing right now?"


    I thought about his question, and realized I didn''t really have an answer. LOD was probably following Doki''s call, but for Doki''s...


    I shook my head in frustration before giving a resigned answer, "LOD''s probably following Doki, or hitting on girls. But I have no idea about Doki..."


    I paused, contemplating him once more. In my view Doki was an apathetic jack-ass who had a variety of plans in his head, juggling the abilities of his comrades, others and knowing what each plan needed for them to be a success. I saw his research being him start future plans, but for which, none came to mind... Damn! I feel like I should know him better than this.


    Eventually I looked back to Jeehan who seemed to be waiting for me to continue, I gave up again, asking Jeehan for his input. "I believe he''s planning on what to do next, hence the research, but what for I have no idea... What about you? Any ideas?"


    After a similar amount of time I pondered for, Jeehan responded "I have no idea. But I think it''s going to be crazy and/ or fun. For him to grab more than the 30 books already, and for them to be history books, it seems like something big is in the works. If nothing else it''ll not be a dull plan." I nodded, understanding and believing what he said.


    By now we started to see the farms we had left, Simpson was about 10 minutes away.


    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    I thought it would be fun to use this time talking about pointless things, and asked "By the way, Jeehan. If you could sum up our groups personalities by mobs, which would you use?"


    I felt this was a random enough question to make Jeehan think, his answers would either be entertainingly comical, or interesting.


    The curve-ball made Jeehan pause for a second, and after repeating the question he soon understood and answered after a bit more thought.


    "Well, I don''t know about myself, maybe a goblin? Useless by myself, but with a good group I can make my way. You would probably be a um... a bandit maybe? You have your own ethics disregarding those who you grew up with, and given no resilience would be a pain in the neck for those wanting to live a different way to yours."He put a hand over his mouth, with his eyes almost tearing. He was laughing... I decided to make his just as ludicrous.


    Thinking about it, I''d actually agree with a bandit, but the reason is way off!


    Still laughing, he fakes apologies then continued. "For LOD, probably a... What was it again, a ''sob-goblin''? More confident with others around him, but still strong compared to those his level alone. And for Doki, probably a ''mimic''. As long as you don''t get in his way, or too close for comfort, he''ll ignore your existence, otherwise he''ll bite your face off without a second doubt."


    "Reasonable choices... I disagree with mine though," I replied bitterly. I continued to add my own opinion to his own, "also, I was thinking a bat for LOD, since he avoids confrontation until he feels his position is good, hiding in the background until the time comes. But yeah, I''d agree with your choices for yourself and Doki, your as harmless as a goblin anyway."


    The person controlling the carriage interrupted, asking for where we wanted to be dropped off. Now on the outskirts of the town, only a few farm houses and fields of crops were visible at this point. We asked to be dropped off there, asking to be picked up tomorrow at a similar time. As the carriage went off, we started the trek to Jeehan''s home.


    -


    It was about one pm, the scorching heat getting countered by the strong winds, Jeehan and I continued on foot to the Jeehan residence, continuing our little conversation.


    Jeehan started off where we had left off, asking me "So, what would you consider yourself then?"


    "To be honest, I''m not sure... I probably agree with your bandit idea, it''s just the reason makes me feel like a dick," I answered casually.


    We walked for ten minutes or so, bringing up small snippets of conversation as we walked. Eventually we got to the familiar mansion of a house Jeehan called home, Thorborg was outside. Noticing us, she beaconed us to go to her.


    She slapped Jeehan, then gave a rather deathly glare in my direction, tears forming in her eyes.


    "That''s for making me worried sick, I heard from Adam that you went to Skimmington. Didn''t Hiiro say there was a battle going on there? I feared that you''d die or get seriously hurt..." she explained, tears now gushing down her face as a smile emerged. Considering her brother just went away without so much as a goodbye, going to a potential war-zone for the sole reason of getting an ID, her reaction didn''t surprise me.


    "Sorry... I forgot you weren''t there when we said our fair wells." He hugged her as she cried.


    I stood with relative jealousy, my family were never this close...


    -


    I eventually left them be, going inside to tell whoever was in that we were back. I met an Alice, who seemed to be a mixture of annoyed and grateful that we had returned. She probably managed to hear of our deeds through her clan or something.


    "You guys seemed to have fun... Wait, where are the others?" Alice initially spoke in spite, but noticing I was the only one, this turned into confusion.


    I took the liberty of explaining upon myself, "the carriage only had two seats, since Doki wanted to read a couple hundred books anyway, we felt like we should split to meet up later. They express their condolences. Only me and Jeehan are here, Jeehan''s currently making up with Thorborg. By the way, you heard about our actions?"


    "How could I not? Your actions are buzzing across the entirety of Forth Island at this point. With the fight that happened, and the idol like Doki grabbing the girl''s attention, it''s not hard to see why." She explained with relative annoyance. Wait, what was that about Doki?


    I tilted my head in response, "What about Doki, are you sure you don''t mean LOD?"


    She returned an equally confused look, and replied "No, I mean the cutie in the healer robes, Doki. Have you not noticed the girls squealing around him?"


    "If it''s not clear enough, the answer to that''s no. I''d assume such squealing was about the flirtatious LOD instead, Doki is relatively cute, but idol levels? I have my doubts," I said in explanation to my initial confusion.


    At this point Jeehan and Thorborg had joined us, the latter joining in the conversation.


    "Wait, they were talking about you four!?" she screeched shocked, turning around and slapping Jeehan again. "You guys did something that reckless!?"


    "Okay, okay. Calm down little sis." She got up to pat her on the head, and explained to her. "It seems like they planned it out pretty well, my sources state they didn''t even get hit in the fight."


    Reassured, the fumes coming out of Thorborg ceased.


    "So wait, does this mean Skimmington is open again?" Sparkles appeared covering her aura, "Yay, I can go to get my ID certified too."


    Jeehan was surprised at the words coming out of his sisters words, bombarding her with questions. "Wait, what? You have an ID?"


    With Alice proudly petting her head harder, she flinched before replying, "Yeah! I finally got over 10k with all my jobs, and brought one yesterday from Alice''s guild."


    Alice added, still petting her sister, "She was a very diligent, good girl. I''m proud to see her hard work finally pay off." She finally let Thorborg go, sighing in awe of her little sister. "I was about fifteen when I finally got one, to see you get yours at thirteen makes me so proud." Attempting to hug her sister she leaped towards her. She ended up missing and became a little bit depressed with tears in her eyes.


    "Well congratulations. But how will you get to Skimmington to certify it?" I asked confused. She could use a carriage like we did, but I don''t think there are any here. She could risk walking it, but I feel like Alice would never let her do that, so that left...


    "Actually, we wanted to ask you guys to escort her." Alice got up by herself, replying before I could finish my thought.

 Chapter 14: End of discussion.

    OldBegginings:[Well, appears I''m going to college. I don''t know how this affects my schedule, but hopefully it will give me enough time so that it won''t change. I believe I start tomorrow, so this series is going back to weekly updates on sunday, unless I make an exception.


    Also, since I''ve been having problems writing grammatically and dialogue issues, I was wondering if any of those who read this would be willing to become my editor, or start proofreading these chapters, I won''t tie you down to such offers, any help, if only temporary, will help me massively. It can be as simple as posting quotes of where I made a mistake, and point out what it should be instead, or you could sort out a deal with me through the comment section or private messaging and making an official partnership. I''m grateful for those willing to do any of this, but I''m by no means trying to force people to do this.


    It''s enough to me that your reading these chapters every time I post them, and hopefully my fiction is interesting enough to make you keep reading. I will start mass editing soon regardless, but I am prone to missing things and if people are willing to help me point out this stuff, it will almost certainly become better to read than what I can do by myself.


    Just a quick point though, I don''t have the money to offer people payment right now. I have no occupations myself and am doing this series as a hobby and nothing else, so those willing to do it will have to keep in mind it''s voluntary. I''m sorry, but this is way it''ll be for the foreseeable future.


    Anyway, sorry for ranting on. I thank you for acknowledging my offer, and hope to see something become of it. I hope you enjoy the chapter.]


    *''Doki''*


    "So then, your motives?" I broke the ice, demanding the answered to be stated.


    The leader of the Samurai_Girls paused for a moment.


    "No answer is the wrong answer my dear. State your motives." I rephrased my original question.


    "W-we don''t really have one. A certain decision was made in Taiki many of it''s clans didn''t agree with, so they just left. Some went to the unnamed desert, others to Emrico, but we went here because we found out what a ''democracy'' is and assumed it wasn''t a racist thing, and therefore we could have freedom too," she blurted out shyly.


    "A reason to believe you?" I asked coldly.


    "Well, if we were here to colonization, would we have been this peaceful?" She replied.


    "Considering when I arrived here I had to stop a pointless combat between you and another guild, what would this ''peaceful'' mean?" I countered, remembering the big fight that ended up causing the entire city to shut down due to this girl''s clan. Yeah, peaceful...


    "U-um... We didn''t start that fight though. It was a gender based debate where the other clan refused to accept our strength and attempted to obliterate us due to it. Do we not have the right to protect ourselves?" Doki sensed a bit of a lie in her recount, but didn''t know where it was.


    She seemed to sense this doubt, and changed the subject quickly. "And you? What is your group''s motives?"


    "Didn''t you hear what I said back there? I want some ''fun''." I replied.


    It was met with a confused look, so soon I continued to explain.


    "''Fun'' to me is a challenge. Something which I need to work for, something I could actually fail. Like making a democracy in this world based on aristocracy. My plan is to make a council of strong guilds, like yourself, to dictate how this country is ruled and to protect it from other''s harm, to replace the simplistic mob-mentality ruled system right now," I paused to see if she got it all, she nodded and I continued.


    "I see too many ways this system can fail easily. The council I plan would include different clans in there to represent different aspects of the population, like the crafters and businessmen, having a vote to see who represents these different sections every so many years. This, to me, seems like a far more stable system. This is my own goal, but since this will help out with your aim too, then you should make an mutual agreement with us. If you help us, we''ll help you. If you don''t, we won''t assure freedom from racism. It must be hard to always hide your ears to be liked by others." No stutters, no pauses, staring right at her with a look of sincerity. The dark aura around me disappeared around me, and was replaced with a warm and welcoming one.


    She paused again, trying to dissect my words to locate any lies. She kept like this for a moment, then sighed. "And what evidence do we have to trust you?"


    "You have none. We are mainly comprised by ''visitors'', so we don''t have any attachment to any nation or race in this world. We simply want what we want, and don''t want what we don''t want, removing the latter by any method deem fit. That''s the truth of the matter. You can trust me and continue these talks, or walk out declaring war. It''s your choice, not mine, that matters now." I gave her a rhetorical choice, since I knew her answer before saying it.


    - (Doki''s plan and reasoning behind it.)


    I thought about a strategy whilst reading, finding a council to be the most stable way to artificially implement a democracy in this world. Forth Island''s infrastructure now was based on mob mentality, it''s easily destroyed by mistrust, mistrust being fabricated by idle gossip, corruption, opinionated leaders... It''s just too weak right now to maintain it''s self, that''s why I want to change it''s structure into a council based system.


    As I said, this will probably be a challenge to even me. In the earlier steps, where I was now, I was the main problem in my plan. A single move of mine that doesn''t pay off will be fatal. If my group now dissolves? I will seem weak, and my bluffs will be less convincing. If a clan rejects me, and states the meeting publicly? Every other negotiation will be ridiculously hard. I can pull it off if I''m careful, but right now I need to put a bite behind my bark.


    The first step will be making allies. As for the spontaneous nature behind this? It''s simple. The more time I lead people with bluffs alone, the more chance someone calls me out. I''m level 26 right now, most other clans here are in the seventies. I''m not cocky enough to state I''ll win each battle, so I''ll start making agreements with those who I can make my allies easily, like a clan whose motive can be solved in my scenario. My power base will spiral from there until it''s stable enough to do power-plays. Simple enough, I just have to keep in mind there are those who I can''t trust.


    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    This is where the Samurai_Girls come in. They''re elves who just want freedom, refugees who were forced into fighting. Promises of freedom from racism, and they''ll help me out. Mixing threats from my assumed strength and they don''t have a reason to not help me out.


    Back in my world, I was infamous for my knowledge behind other''s thoughts. When something came up, I could quickly solve it. If I cared enough that is. But I usually saw through people by sublimating logic into their scenario, a twisted logic, but a logic nonetheless. It seems like this ability applies to the AI of this world too.


    - (Back to the conversation at hand.)


    After a moment of silence, probably contemplating how trustworthy I was, she shrugged saying "I accept your offer. My hands are tied, and if you''re telling the truth, I want to help." She paused, a stern face appearing. She continued. "But if I every get evidence to suggest you''re lying, I will declare war on you without a second doubt."


    "Well then. Let''s start. Here''s the plan..." I told her what I was going to do, and what I wanted her to do whilst I did it.


    After this she left to rejoin her guild. I left soon afterwards to find LOD, wanting to tell him about the plan whilst fore-shadowing out alliance in a public place.


    I walked to the same restaurant, under the assumption that LOD was either waiting for me or was still trying to hit on the girls there. As I walked I started to think about my plans for now, attempting to find the words to describe it to LOD and the others when I needed to tell them.


    - (Even more of Doki''s plans and reasoning.)


    Simply put, the plan for now was for the Samurai_Girls to train their skills as well as possible. I suggested trying a dungeon so they could practice and gain money at the same time. I gave her about 50''000 gold as a kick-start although it''s not that much. LOD managed to steal about 1M from killing the leader of the Back_Hands, and shared it with the rest of us, so we had alot of money to throw about now.


    I was first going to regroup with LOD and the others, this was to get through a local dungeon we should be able to do. My next step was to get the Back_Hands on our side, trusting Alice''s guild would join us later without hassle, and then start researching other clans.


    I had a good idea about the power balance of Forth_Island. The main clans were in Skimmington, as it serves as the capital city, these included the Samurai_Girls, the Back_Hands, Forth_Islanders and the council of deities being the most influential groups at the moments. There are other cities I''ll need to visit later, but for now monopolizing Skimmington seems like the best place to start.


    My research told me that the council of deities seems to be the strongest and most influential, since each of them has power comparable to the gods of old, and substituted their place now. Getting them to join me seems like the end goal of my mission.


    Practically all of the over level 100 clans left for the continent, all dying permanently in the process of fighting there in attempts to gain more resources, leaving the less powerful, still growing clans in charge. This explains why the Samurai_Girls, Back_Hands and Forth_Islanders are so influential now, even though they really aren''t that strong. They''re the most powerful ones left, since the more able went to war with Devils.


    There are hundreds of smaller clans with their own motives and opinions, but they seem easy to over power if I have the stronger ones with me, so I''ll ignore them for the most part for now. I also realize I do have infamy from that one group with the pervert who failed horrendously to me... but I''ll be doing this mainly as a shadow king, so it shouldn''t bother me.


    -(Walking through the streets outside.)


    I walked half consciously, crowds still gasping in awe at my apparent cuteness.


    Ironically, as I finished my mental summary, I was right in front of the restaurant, easily spotting LOD inside flirting like always.


    Jeehan and Titanious were still on their trip, which hopefully went without incidence. I walk behind LOD, prepared to chop his head and embarrass him... but some of the girls started gawking at me, so LOD noticed my presence and reacted before I could.


    "Tch... Hey LOD. I need to talk to you, so could you stop flirting with every female you meet and come with me." I said, managing to embarrass him but not as well as I wanted to.


    After a bit of a pause, LOD sighed and accepted to follow me."Fine, but where to?"


    I tried to explain what was relevant, whilst not with releasing too much information to the people around me. So simply said, "I was thinking to go back to our room. I have finished the setting up here, and feel like we should leave today to tell Jeehan and Nio about this. I need to discuss something with Alice and the others anyway."


    LOD went to the counter to pay for his orders, coming back to join me.


    As we left, he asked. "Seems like you have a plan set in motion. You will explain to me what your up to though, won''t you?"


    "I''ll explain when it''s relevant. You''ll just have to trust me until then," I replied coldly.


    "I''ve trusted you this far anyway, so there''s no reason to not for now. But if I sense you doing something evil, I swear. I''ll split from you and declare war against you."LOD said hollowly. His threat seemed like it should matter, but to me, it was just a bark with no bite.


    I thought about it for a while. Even though I''m used to mistrust. My plans usually seem so complicated and outrageous those who I tell don''t trust me to keep to them. LOD, knowing how limited my strength was and why I had it, was the biggest thorn by my side. His ability isn''t weak, but it''s his knowledge that actually makes me hesitate. My motives are pure, but my methods not so much. If I insult him through my actions, I risk everything getting ruined.


    -


    I ended up coming to the conclusion of telling LOD the main part of my plan later on, but first we needed some transportation to Simpson.


    We went to our hotel room, and checked out of it for good after grabbing the stuff we stored there, and went to the main-street. The main street was littered with carriages for rent, without much hassle, we found a rider willing to go to Simpson, payed their costs, and left.

 Chapter 15: Reward for a quest.

    OldBegginings:[I started college this week, didn''t really do much ''Electronics'' related things though. I also only have school on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday so my schedule won''t change, unless I get an assignment which requires more time on since I gather most work is done outside the classroom. If this happens I''ll just not have a chapter to post, post it later or post a comment on the previous chapter to tell you if my leave is long enough. According to how I''ve been told the system goes though, it shouldn''t be that bad.]


    *''Titanious''*


    "Eh?!" Jeehan exclaimed to his sister, Thorborg.


    "As I said, your sister wants your group of friends and you to escort her to Skimmington," Alice said, resting her head on Thorborg''s, hugging her tightly as she spoke. The latter''s response was apathy at this point, assuming the former wouldn''t stop, she stopped reacting. Content with this, Alice continued "Well? Will you or won''t you?"


    Well, my thoughts are thus: there was no monetary reward, and we were lacking Doki and LOD, who were the main force behind us, we had a prepaid carriage to catch tomorrow and wanted to sleep here tonight. so I rejected the offer quickly. This is Jeehan''s younger sister though, so blood relations may get in the way of him accepting me rejecting the escorting quest.


    "Ahem." I cleared my throat loudly, reminding everyone of my presence. With everyone''s attention, I continued."We were wanting to stay the night anyway. Could we possibly talk it over later and come up with a conclusion then, or are we forced to choose now?"


    Still hugging her sister, Alice gave Titanious a minor stare, asking, "I don''t see why you''d need to though... Care to explain the reasons you can''t help out Jeehan''s darling little sister?"


    Ignoring her glare, I replied bluntly "Sure. Firstly, we had a carriage with two seats carry us here, already paying the rider for a return trip, it would be a waste of money and the riders time if we just canceled this. We''re also pretty tired, as traveling without much rest does to a person. This means we''d rather hit the hay quickly. We also left the other two waiting, without them we can''t assure our success. This stuff is trivial to a certain degree, but I feel like it''s unfair to spring this upon us, dictating we have to throw out all of our previous promises to walk her there and back."


    Alice''s glare intensified, but she got cut off by Thorborg before she could respond.


    Thorborg, who slapped herself in the face in preparation, spoke up and gave a stammered response. "Um... It''s fine really. I don''t mind waiting to get more money to get a carriage or anything, I was the one who originally wanted it anyway..."


    I cut her off at this point, I talked to Thorborg to start off with but switched to talking to Alice at the end of my response. "Sorry. What I said earlier doesn''t mean we won''t. We just don''t really know what to do. That''s all, we don''t know how to transport you and keep our previously made promises yet, so wanted some time to come up with something. We also know death could happen, and we don''t want to have you die too based on a rushed decision. So can we have tonight to think?"


    In response, Thorborg relaxed starting to blush and Alice stopped her glare and started nodding content. Well, we successfully bought ourselves some time, hopefully, we''ll think of something since the pressure is only going to build...


    -


    With the conversation over, Jeehan and I took a bath. We were alone, being the only males and not perverts, and started to talk about our plan. I''ve been in it before, but it''s size still bothered me. The bath was more of a hot-spring than an actual bath the way the steam covered the area, spiraling into the air like a white flame was awe-inspiring and the atmosphere was peaceful, almost absorbing me into the silence.


    Jeehan started by accusing me of being lazy. "So wait, there''s a possibility we can''t help my sister? Why were you so negative?"


    I replied in a mocking tone. "Oh, so you want to die for the first time with your sister then? How cute. Have fun, I won''t go with you."


    "..." Jeehan was speechless, trying to get me to help his sister out now, but couldn''t argue against my point, so opted to stay silent instead.


    I broke the silence, explaining what my actual point was. "As I said, we need time to plan this stuff out. We don''t have Doki, so we can''t rush into things assured there he can quickly tell us what to do if we get stuck. We are over-powered compared to most of the mobs on the street, but it''s the ones we aren''t that are the problem. We''re also associated with the guy, having that clan out for him and all. We probably have the same target on our backs as he does. If we don''t plan, we will probably get killed by mobs or assassinated by the angry clan."


    Jeehan looked at the ground, clearly seeing my point. He was silent for a while, I used this time to wash my hair and body and got out as he continued. I was tired, so went straight to bed. We couldn''t think like this anyway, so sleeping on it was a wise idea, I think.


    -


    I woke up to someone burst into the room. I overheard a conversation coming from outside between Alice, and a male voice I felt was familiar, but couldn''t really place.


    "You''re insane!" Alice exclaimed, pausing and continuing a bit later. "You''re actually trying to do that? You know that this isn''t a game, right? You will actually die if you try doing that much!"


    After a bit of time, I heard a male voice mumbled something. I couldn''t really make most of it out, but what I could make out went like this, "I know all of this."


    I saw person peering through the door was LOD, seeing if we were really asleep. I don''t know why they''re here, but it helps with the quest. If LOD''s here, then is the other guy is Doki?


    "Nio, are you up?" he whispered to me, probably Jeehan was still asleep, and LOD didn''t want to wake him up. I nodded, and started to get up.


    I headed out to talk to LOD, trying not to wake Jeehan in the process. I looked at my HUD whilst leaving the room, it was about seven PM. So that''s why I feel so sluggish.


    We went to the kitchen to talk, but he was still not very talkative until the door was completely closed..


    This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    LOD began to explain why he was here. "Okay. Let me explain what''s going on. After doing some research, Doki came to the conclusion of talking to you two and Alice. Hence we''re here. He didn''t tell me much, but his final goal is to try making a more stable democracy here in Fourth Island or something. It went in one ear and out of the other... His sporadic actions with unexplained motive confused me, like talking to the boss of the Samurai_Girls for no real reason in private. He''s also been really private about his plans, stating that ''Traitors, spies, and scum line the streets'' or something. So I have no idea what he''s doing right now," LOD shrugged to show the fact he gave up trying. I thought the two of them were pretty close, I guess Doki''s more skeptical than I thought...


    ~Hm~ I thought about it for a while, later replying "I don''t really know how this world works, but as long as he doesn''t do anything completely bad, I''ll trust him. He didn''t tell us any of his other plans anyway, but they all worked flawlessly. It could just be our ignorance is a part of his plan or something..."


    LOD nodded in agreement. Then another round of shouting came from the kitchen. We subconsciously listened in.


    "What?! They''re on your side?! How?!" It seemed Alice was shouting at Doki again.


    Doki''s voice, clearer this time, calmly changed the subject to Alice''s dismay,"You remember how the other two were sleeping, right? Think they''re still awake after all of the times you''ve raised your voice? I also know for a fact LOD is listening in, I think one of the others is with him from the sounds of it..."


    Alice''s voice became softer as Doki told them. "Really?"


    Doki explained to what I assumed was a bemused Alice, "I think I heard him talking to someone in the kitchen, I think it''s Titanious from the voice, but it could be Jeehan. They stopped just as you shouted, though. You guys can come in then I guess... It''s not confidential anyway if Alice keeps shouting it."


    After Doki''s jab, LOD and I joined them. We were overheard overhearing anyway, or however that works, so actually being present wouldn''t change much.


    I apologized off the bat. "Sorry, we didn''t mean to overhear you. When one of you is shouting, we can''t help but hear it, you know?"


    Ignoring us and talking to Doki, Alice re-started the conversation. "I see one massive problem with your plan so far Doki. You''ve told me your basic plan, to get the powerful clans in Skimmington to join some council, since it''s the capital, and expand outwards. But Skimmington isn''t the capital of Forth Island anymore. Duskin is instead."


    Met with a lost look from Doki, she explained. "It changed about three years ago, and Mr. Crossfield got annoyed since it was his fault it happened, so banned any mention of it in public space. Buying up and burning any books stating it from the library, and taking the costs out of the library''s funds. Basically, he''s a dick who''s actions almost destroyed the democracy here, through his corruption and bullying tactics. His racism is awful too. This is why I agree with your goal. If that cunt can be a mayor, any can. I have serious doubts about your ability to achieve them, though. I know you''re not dumb, but you''re not as threatening as you think, even with your allies. Another point, why are even you here? To brag to me about your plans?"


    Doki took in the information for a few seconds, before answering her questions. "Hm. Well, that makes sense to why they had lots of problems. Also, I came here to ask for a lesson in how the world works. I have a basic knowledge based on how I think things work, but I came asking for any corrections and information into the smaller clans. I want to see which I could add to my make-shift alliance, and which I would need to be cautious of."


    Alice smirked mischievously, "Really, that''s it? How about this, since I wanted your group to do a job for me anyway. How about I make that a reward for it?"


    "If it''s the one you told me and Jeehan already, about transporting your sister to Skimmington and back, we accept,"  I spoke first, accepting it since I knew what it was. LOD and Doki were confused, obviously since they hadn''t heard what the escort mission was. Thorborg was asleep already, so we decided not to wake and, instead informing her when she was awake in the morning.


    "It''s the same task, but didn''t you say you needed to plan?" She brought up my defense from last time with spite.


    Making up another one, I pointed to Doki and said. "Well, at that time it was just us two, not knowing who was the leader. Now we have Doki, so he can do all the work." I said it in a playful manner, but it was true. The synergy between me and Jeehan was good, but we were basically pawns doing as Doki said. It worked so we don''t mind, but with of us substituting the king piece, we were probably screwed...


    "Oh, so that''s how it is. Well, good luck to you all, I''m pushing my sanity staying up anyway," Alice said as she tried to leave.


    I started visibly deflated as she left, feeling relieved things work out.


    Then Doki objected. "I refuse this deal. Instead, I want the reward to be meeting the clan you work as an adviser for. We technically met them before anyway, but I feel like they''re better sources that you are. No offense, I just feel like you''re more preoccupied financing, so you clan knowledge would be less that those who actually experience them."


    With his new conditions stated, everyone froze for a second.


    She gave an annoyed expression in response. "I was going to do that anyway, but sure... We''ll make it official. Is that all, or do you want me to officially introduce you to every member in turn..." She paused for a second, hastily adding "That was a joke!" before leaving for good.


    Alone in the room, the other two looked towards me. I knew what they were going to ask, so told them the reason we needed to get Thorborg to their destination. Doki had heard our conversation, so tried to state his plans in an easier way, it didn''t help though... the goal, the methods, it honestly made no sense to me, so I stopped listening partway through. I think LOD did the same.

 Chapter 16: An interrupted stroll.

    *''LOD''*


    Doki and I were now back with Jeehan and Nio. After a night of talking, it turns out not much happened between our pairs as we were separated. We paid the rider we asked to pick us up, stating we had a change in plans, the other two did the same with theirs. And without much more waiting, we started our quest.


    We were now with Thorborg walking the path we had walked before, passing farms and fields as we went. Going by looks, she was a teenage girl, having similar blonde hair to her sister''s, which flowed behind her as she walked. She had a petite build and lacked her sister''s bust. No matter what Doki says, I''m NOT into that. No, I mean it, I prefer her sister''s body to hers any day.


    Anyway, the sun now was relatively low, and with clouds blocking its light we couldn''t make out much of the scenery. The little we could make out was a relatively bland path, surrounded by fields of crops on either side. I couldn''t identify which crops, though.


    Thorborg had been hyped about getting an ID, seeing her diligent work paying off with a bit too much enthusiasm, so we started early for her. It was about 7 am now, so Doki Jeehan, and I were still half asleep, the brisk winds keeping me just conscious.


    Since all we were doing was walking anyway, I started a conversation to prevent falling asleep. This was bound to be a less than interesting escort mission anyway, so maybe the stimulation would help liven us up.


    I faced Thorborg and asked, "Sorry to seem rude, Thorborg, but is anything nicknames or shortened versions I can call you. I find long names awkward to say..."


    I droned off thinking of possible shortened versions, somewhat missing her answer. ''Thor''? Sounds too burly for a girl, especially a girl who crafts. ''Borg''? Doesn''t work, sounds too robotic and antagonistic. ''Thobo''? Sounds too odd. ''Tho''? Yeah, that''s a decent name, sounds a bit like ''Flo''.


    After giving up, and looking around. I noticed everyone, but Doki, had waited for me. I forgot I stopped moving whilst talking...


    "Oh, sorry. I got sidetracked... So what did you say was the answer?" I improvised an excuse for my sudden stop. I mean, I was sidetracked, but that isn''t much of an excuse to ignore people.


    We ran a bit to catch up to Doki, who seemed to be on autopilot, as Thorborg answered my question for the second time.


    She turned to me with a wry smile, sighed a bit, the answered. "Oh, you didn''t catch that? Well, some people call me Thor, Thobo or just Thorborg... but most of my friends call me ''Bo''. I don''t really mind what you call me, as long as I can tell it''s me anything''s fine." I nodded as she finished, as I decided to call her ''Tho''. "Oh, but don''t make it insulting..." Tho added in a panic.


    A moment of silence followed. We heard the growls and footsteps of mobs nearby, but they weren''t attacking, mainly due to the level difference. We kept a look out, wanting to do our job protecting Tho, but after deeming our safety, our client broke the ice.


    She stopped for a moment, all of us, but Doki, stopped likewise.


    ''Is that guy sleepwalking, or does he just not care?'' I thought as I scorned Doki''s impatience.


    "So wait, you''re ''Visitors'', right?" She looked at me, I nodded to her in return, she then continued. "What''s up with that? You suddenly popped into existence, I assume you can''t leave. So how are you so calm? You''ve dealt with situations, that trouble natives like me, with such confidence. Hell, that ''council'' stuff Doki suggested sounds really smart and hard to understand..."


    I was shocked at the question, looking around I saw a similarly confused expression from Nio and Jeehan seemed interested in out answers. We thought about an answer, as we paused, trying to word it correctly.


    Nio answered first, "It''s a reasonable question, but since it''s convoluted and hard to explain, you''ll probably not believe my answer. Basically, we''re from another world , we signed up for a form of interactive media called a ''game''. Specifically, a game called ''Myth of Men''. It was supposedly a ''game'' where we could go into to interact with the in-game surroundings, and role-play as a person in the world of the game. Having whatever body, race or occupation you wanted. But something went wrong, and we became stuck in here..." He stopped himself, seeing if Tho and Jeehan understood.


    With a nod from Jeehan and an intrigued expression from Tho, he continued. "The reason us three are so calm is that even though this feels realistic, we can still play it like a game. Mechanics, themes, and the user interface are similar to the games we know, and since the ''getting stuck in games'' is popular for... ''Authors'' in our world to write about, I guess we just had an immunity to it." Nio shrugged, emphasizing the word ''Authors'', justly so if you ask me.


    I continued to walk whilst thinking about it, I guess I have read a lot of novels, cartoons, and animated films. This includes that genre of stories where a protagonist goes from their own world into another, like L*g H*riz*n, S*O as prime examples, being my favorite genre. From happy go lucky harem kings, to the nitty gritty realism wannabes, I''ve pretty as many of these stories as I could. Some being great and some making me doubt if the writers could be called ''Authors'', or just chimpanzees with a keyboard. It gave me countless enjoyment regardless, the fun quirky ideas that had limitless imagination behind them, which I found lacked in the more popular novels, made me read on regardless of the quality.


    To be honest, compared to most of the stories in this genre I''ve read, the reality, so far, isn''t that scary, it seems more relaxed than the most of the stories. There''s no permadeath, no sadistic gods wanting to toy about with you due to the boredom of omnipotence, there are a lot of ways that this could be worse. That''s a good thing I guess, but for it, I sacrifice the swarm of girls wanting to join my harem which sucks. Well, at least I''m still male with my flawless physique.


    -


    I continued these random thoughts of what-ifs for a while, then I realized something. Doki was nowhere to be seen. It could have been that he was just really far ahead of us, but the path for the next mile was relatively straight, although we were coming up to a forest area, we still should have seen him. He couldn''t have gone that far without us, could he?


    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    "Where''s Doki gone?" Nio asked. So I wasn''t the only one who noticed...


    "Eh?" Jeehan cocked his head to the side and paused for a moment. He looked around and saw no signs of him. "Wait... Yeah, where did he go?"


    We were about to get to the section of path that cut through the forest, so we all decided to stop before it. The noise of branches snapping under countless footsteps we now audible. There were some mumbled voices from one of the sides which we couldn''t hear properly, the clanging of metal, thuds and louder voices followed. What the hell was going on?


    As if answering my question, the heads of a group of malicious people started peering through the branches, scanning our characters and then walked out to greet us. They were the same guys from like a week ago, the ones who attacked us in the dungeon. Wait, about forty to fifty people were visible. Did they grow in numbers?


    All of us froze on the spot, as we saw this wave of people stroll out of the trees with menacing grins. As the numbers grew, the amount of blood-lust went up accordingly. Without Doki, Jeehan and Tho began to squirm. When their numbers stopped growing, we got back to grips with reality. About eighty people stood before us, but the main guy from before wasn''t there. Odd, but I guess he was with Doki.


    laughter and mean-spirited jokes poured from their group, destroying any morale we had as they waltzed over, weapons in hand.


    "W-who are these people?" Tho, clearly scared, asked. "A-are they bandits, or..." I gagged her with my hand. We didn''t need to hear the rest to know what she meant.


    Attempting to keep face in spite of this, I egotistically described our adversaries motives. "This is probably the clan hellbent on making Doki fail. You know, because the leader had a thing for your sister, with the inevitable rejection he tried to kill her family. ''Cause that''s the best way to win a girl''s heart."


    My words failed to have any impact if anything making their grins grow. I guess my acting hard wasn''t working. I wielded my weapons, if only in vain, I wanted to at least try. If we gave up we definitely died, if we fought them, the chance of winning existed. The other two joined me, and we got into position. To my surprise, Tho was now calm as if she trusted us to win.


    There was now a stalemate, army of men faced our small group, keeping about twenty meters between us. I looked into the structure of the enemy. Swordsman, martial artists and people with various other weapons were lined up, some people in the background wore similar hoods to Doki, obviously healers.


    The stalemate was forced on their side, no reason was stated, no egotistical preaches, no declarations of war were made... I was now confused. Could it be that they''re waiting for Doki to be finished before attacking us? They seem to have the strength to kill us right now, so why don''t they?


    The forced peace was kept by both sides for a while, glares between sides turned into bored expressions. The blood-lust faded and both sides seemed to be wanting to leave.


    At the point of our patience breaking, a red wall appeared. It engulfed half of their men, including all of their healers. Panic now spread through their flanks, in sync, me and the other two acted. Charging unannounced into their lines, we assassinated the assassins, knowing they were the biggest threat and easiest kills. Due to the panic, nothing stopped us, so we continued, massacring ten or so men before we met any resistance. Oh, so these guys are really weak, way lower in level compared to us.


    With a boosted morale, we went into attack more of them. Meeting the tanks with force, turning them to into pixels and loose change. I started to think, whilst automatically using my arsenal of skills and weapons to kill my foes. I was clearly being sloppy, as one of them managed to hit me, a resounding ten health being taken away. This made me confused, beginning to go on auto-pilot as I tried to find answers.


    ''Could this really be this easy? Weren''t our adversaries meant to completely outnumber and out-skill us? Then why are we cutting through them so effectively? And why are their attacks so weak?'' a barrage of questions littered my mind, with such great numbers I couldn''t focus on one in particular, so I lost focus on what I was doing as a result.


    With my mind blank, I notice Tho in the background, covering her ears and crouching, eyes fixed on the ground. This didn''t surprise me, her brother and his friends were massacring a large group mercilessly. I can understand why she''s become scared. Our eyes cold with a sick sense of annoyance that made us seem driven to kill, probably made us look like monsters. I can emphasize with that, but what did she expect?


    -


    After another while, the army of eighty seemed like a mirage. Only one person stood in the place they started, sheathing his weapons and walking to us. The remainders of the army he was on top of had died and disappeared, or fled for their lives.


    "You couldn''t fight these level five bandits by yourselves?" a taunting voice came from the person walking to us. It was Doki.


    "They were bandits? No wonder they died so easily." I said with a sigh. Everyone else was relieved, even Tho. Well, I suppose that bandits were outlaws, considered to not even be human to the NPCs, so the lack of remorse was reasonable.


    "Yeah, I saw the distance between us, so used my time waiting to explore. It seems like a bandit colony set up here recently, they''re so weak and small they somehow weren''t noticed until now, they seemed to have noticed you coming, so as I came most of them left to fight you. I assumed you could fight them, so killed some at the base. By the time I killed the leader, you still weren''t there so I headed back to you." Doki explained.


    He continued, in a more mocking tone, "By all means keep up the caution, we are still yet to meet up with that one clan. But please look at the people''s gear and such before freezing in fear. They had wooden swords for goodness sake! We didn''t even have such shitty weapons at level one! Are you really that thick?" he asked rhetorically, ending his lecture. Doki continued walking, feeling like idiots, we dropped our heads and followed.

 Chapter 17: Evidence of Corruption.

    *''Doki''*


    ''This is just one of those days...''


    I sighed deeply.


    ''My companions are incompetent scaredy-cats, and we''re on a fetch quest. Talk about boring.'' I thought whilst dragging myself down the dirt path in front of me. Somewhere far behind me being the idiots I work with, the idiots that went on full panic because of some bandits, the same idiots that get distracted by everything causing them to stop. If they could walk ANY SLOWER I may give them an award, if the game didn''t give them an achievement beforehand.


    Maybe I was a BIT annoyed at the lack of trust they had in me. Maybe I was frustrated at trying to explain my motives, for it to fall on deaf ears every time. But I think the fact that I only just remembered how the clan out for us went to another city, so all this caution is really for no reason, is my true reason behind being annoyed. I mean, without their presence the others wouldn''t walk at a snail''s pace, turning over every rock before daring to continue!


    I internally ranted about the situation I was in, trying to make my own entertainment whilst we escorted Thorborg to her goal. I could hear gossip and laughter in the background, but I didn''t bother to pay attention to it, now walking ahead of them.


    We, well I, could see the ''city'' of Skimmington on the skyline, about thirty or so minutes away. I took this as a chance to rest, grabbing some bread from my pockets, I sat down on the field next to the path.


    ''It''s about noon anyway, it''s their fault for being so slow.'' I thought, condoning their over-caution as I ate happily in spite.


    I was used to the chill wind flowing through my hair, airing out my sweaty body as I relaxed. A mixture of the hot summer''s day, the cooling winds and the peaceful location made me feel so good that I managed to fall asleep whilst there.


    -


    I woke up to loud voices tearing through the peaceful atmosphere.


    As I looked around to make sense of it, the booming voices continued.


    "Y-you traitorous scum! Y-y-you WILL pay for this!" A familiar voice shouted, clearly distressed. As Doki tried to think of who this voice belonged to, an unfamiliar voice butted in.


    "We already have Mr. Crossfield. You''re the one who forced my hand. This ''diplomacy'' and ''freedom'' is a joke, your only job was to end it. This world was made to be ruled, not released. If you don''t let us have our way, we will kill you and all the happy go lucky fools under this fake banner. Oh, wait." the voice paused for a moment, the scrumping of paper could be heard.


    "P-p-please, give me one more week... PLEASE!"


    Harrowing laughter broke the silence."Ha ha ha ha ha ha HA HA HA! You''ve made too many mistakes already, Mr. mayor. It''s time for a new puppet to be made, or better yet. War. Consider this us cutting ties with you. So long traitor!"


    Without thinking, I followed the voices. The clinging of weapons started and ended swiftly. By the time I arrived, the mayor, Jacques Crossfield, was starting to vanish. Across from him, a bulky devil in a fine suit handed his weapon to one of his colleagues. He turned his back to the scene in disgust, walking away with his posse of fellow demons.


    As I was about to butt in, a hand grabbed my shoulder. I turned around and met LOD''s stare.


    An awkward silence was maintained between us until the devil had gone for good.


    Completely confused, LOD broke the silence, asking "W-what was that? W-was that... The mayor!? And what the hell was that thing!?"


    Thinking about the situation, I released a mumble in awe, "Hm. Interesting..."


    "Eh?" LOD tilted his head at this mumble.


    "Turns out this place is a juggling act of corruption. The being you saw before was a devil, with the elves I saw earlier, it''s the second race I''ve seen trying to make Fourth Island their own. Seems like things are truly this bad. By the way, keep this from the other two. It''d be bothersome for it to become public knowledge at this point, are they''re bound to spill the beans with exclamations." I explained, hoping that I wouldn''t have to repeat myself.


    Nodding in content, LOD noticed my glare.


    Sometime later he worked out that it was his turn, so started to explain why he was here, "We were just behind you when you got up. Being the lazy gits that they are, they asked me to chase you. They should still be in the field from before."


    I started walking to where I was, with LOD in the lead. Constantly wondering how deep these devils were into this country.


    After a moment of walking, the familiar laughter and chatter that surrounded me for the last week reached my ears again. It was the other three, who soon noticed us appearing out of the treeline.


    "Where did you go Doki?" "Didn''t you notice us coming?" Jeehan and Nio, in that order, asked me their questions without time to answer either.


    I shrugged off their questions with a half-arsed answer, "I heard something in the trees, sounded like a bear. It was just a hobgoblin."


    They tilted their heads, demanding more. I sighed and continued walking to the city. They begrudgingly followed me.


    -


    When we got to the city, we waited to let Thorborg take it in.


    Her eyes were wide, trying to take in as much of the city as she could.


    An awkward silence built up before she finally screeched, "T-this is a city!? Wow!"


    It was as loud as I expected, leading to a few stares from onlookers making the situation that more awkward. With some awkward smiles and arm movements, the onlookers soon looked elsewhere.


    Looking around the city was still going on strong, the main street we were on was obnoxiously loud. Hundreds of people socialized with others on the pavements, the roads were filled with carriages carrying various supplies, smiles and laughs were spread throughout them.


    ''Hm, seems like our little fight made this city a bit too carefree.'' I thought, after seeing the fragile nature around their happiness and peace was built on. Thinking back to how the mayor of this city working with devils and all, who then declared war on him.


    I reached the conclusion ''Actually, it''s probably best for them to make the most of this peace. Not like it''ll last long anyway. I might as well join them for now, who knows when I''ll get the chance to annoy people this casually again?''


    Whilst thinking, the other three seemed to be planning a tour of the city for our client. I missed a lot of the conversation but picked it back up near the end.


    "Wait, so where do you wish to go first?" Nio asked, talking over the other two''s attempts to dictate our path.


    Whilst being asked, Thorborg''s stomach started to grumble. As a result, she blushed and meekly replied, "I don''t mind going to a cafe or something."


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    With that said, we continued to walk straight, dodging other people as we walked down the street. We were heading for the commercial district, and whilst Jeehan and Nio taught Thorborg the ropes, LOD and I broke into our own conversation.


    LOD caught up to me, and lightly jabbed me in the side whilst exclaiming, "So where are your fan-girls Doki? The sight of people only looking at you is unusual, to say the least."


    I flinched, as about one-third of my health was removed. Noticing this I replied relatively angrily, "Huh. You realize that actually removed health from me, right? Mind if I take it back?"


    Without giving him time to answer, I swiftly chopped his headless lightly. I got my health back, I considered it successful and giggled slightly.


    Without answering his question, I changed the topic to a more deep one, "By the way, I''ve been wondering. Do you three actually trust me or not?"


    Taken aback, LOD paused for a while thinking of his answer. I was curious since their actions dictated that they seemed to not trust me, but they actually try to stop me...


    He tried to delay his answer for as long as possible, not wanting to annoy me, but sooner or later my stare broke him.


    "W-we don''t. Sorry, but we''ve known each other for like a week, and your apathetic stance and habit of thinking miles ahead of us makes it really hard to emphasize with you. That''s our reason for doubting you..." he sheepishly answered.


    I shrugged, understanding but still annoyed at their antics. I''ve tried to explain it how many times again? At least three to my knowledge, and not a single time did it go through their thick skulls!


    I sighed in despair, my sigh was met by an awkward silence between us as the others talked and laughed with glee behind us.


    We got to the commercial district about a hundred meters ahead of the others, maintaining an atmosphere so thick you could cut it with a knife. We both decided to wait for them since we didn''t know where our client wanted to go.


    -


    Jeehan noticed us waiting, so they sped up a bit, catching us up in a minute. I was bored by then, so decided to playfully annoy our client.


    "So where do you wish to go, mistress?" I asked, successfully hiding my sarcasm and swallow my ego whilst saying it. I was curious as I saw her reactions, so was let down when she only blushed mildly.


    If she was in my fan-club I''d expect her to start drooling or something. Pity, my attraction bonus isn''t that strong on her. It seems to work differently on different people.


    I followed it up with a bow, still out of curiosity. Her reaction of feeling wheezy, making her lose balance made me content, I guess that was her type of something. She didn''t fall, fortunately, but had to be supported by Jeehan to continue walking again.


    Her brain still melted by my little act, she gave up on trying to talk, instead pointing to a shop called ''La Cafe de Soleil'', so we went entered with a little bell ringing as we did.


    "Welcome masters," two girls wearing a full maid ensemble greeted us on arrival. They looked at us with flawless smiles aimed at us. Their eyes brought out by the colour of their dresses, and the cat ears on their heads. I noted how professional they seemed to act, effortlessly giving out such a pure aura.


    I was only looking to see their response to me, an incubus who was cheating with an attraction bonus, compared to their natural prowess.


    I wasn''t let down, as their smiles turned to wide open mouths, probably in awe, when they met my eyes. They both broke character, starting to look me over. They noted each article of clothing I wore with annoyed clicks of the tongue, becoming more infatuated with me by the second. Their eyes fixed into deep, emotionless stares.


    I puffed out my chest as I concluded my victory over them. I couldn''t help but feel like playing around now. It was good stress relief and since I was bound to get tied down in the war between the races anyway, removing stress now seemed like a good thing.


    Now waiting for them to end their trance, I looked around at the cafe itself. I seemed really fancy, with glossy white wallpaper, pristine tables with fresh flowers in the middle. Even with all of this, people around them and food in front of them, the majority still looked at me... Was the attraction bonus really that high?


    LOD stabbed my back with his elbow in a jeering taunt. "You sure you should be an adventurer? Even professionals can''t match you in terms of cuteness."


    I noted that this was the second time today he called me ''cute''.


    ''Is he just jealous, or was he switching teams?'' This question popped into my mind, as I tried to find my answer to both. Both would serve to be annoying, but the latter would be more so since I have no interest, and risked him breaking from the team in response.


    I thought back to my now numerous fan-club and sighed in defeat. I wasn''t interested in any of them either, so one more face to ignore wouldn''t really matter to me.


    As I made my conclusion, the two girls got their posture back.


    "S-sorry masters, let us show us to your table now. A party of 5, correct?" one asked, scouting the free tables to find one to fit us.


    "Correct. We have no real preference on where our table is, so don''t worry about giving us the best one." Nio replied, as casually as possible.


    He seemed to glare at the cat-ear a little too much, was he into that sort of stuff?


    "Oh, don''t be so modest masters. We have one or two large tables to spare, so please pick which one you want." the other maid asked, moving her arm as to welcome us in.


    There were two large tables, one was a window seat and the other was near the back. Not wanting to be watched by people walking by, we decided the back table was the better option. With another annoyed tongue click, the maid surrendered and allowed us to sit there.


    When we had sat down, we were handed a menu. And looking at the prices, a cold sweat broke out on most of our faces.


    ''Huh. So who''s paying for this again? It better not be me...'' I thought, in the hope that the others would forget that I had over 100k in my pocket.


    It wasn''t that I couldn''t pay, but compared to the other restaurants that would charge maybe 500 gold for a top tier cup of tea with limitless sugar and milk, they instead charged 1200 gold for the bare minimum. To say this cafe over-priced things was an understatement. I was only going to get a soft drink, so to foot the bill for everyone else''s meal didn''t sit right with me.


    We made our orders, the other''s costing ludicrous amounts and talked whilst waiting for it to be served, we discussed things from where we were going next, to how nice the summer weather was.

 Chapter 18: Lead up to a war.

    Almost to the point of physical reaction, I kept ''socializing''. Or in my case, being in the background as the others talked.


    By the time they finished there, the topic segwayed so much that the original conversation was completely forgotten. An hour or so had passed by this time and the hassle of my eavesdropping was now my focus.


    Thinking about it whilst the others talked, I concluded that it was likely an event. This wasn''t really a ''game'' anymore, but events and quests seemed to still be in the world. Less formally and less static, albeit, but they were still there. Like the battle between the two clans, this just seemed to be set up so perfectly that it couldn''t just be a coincidence... so even if I did tell the NPCs about it and showed them the screenshot I took, it would probably just trigger the event and not cause that much damage. At least, that''s what I hoped as I started to leave the group.


    Thorborg noticed, however, "Doki? We''re going this way, not that way."


    "I need to drop off a few books I borrowed. I could wait for them to disappear, but I''m nearly at full inventory... You''re going straight to the town right, I''ll try to meet you there as soon as possible. Until then, bye," I casually lied, walking off down a nearby street.


    -


    I didn''t look at their reactions, but I gather they were filled with suspicion. Shrugging it off, I broke into a sprint. Creating ripples in the air as I dashed towards the city center, my outrageous speed paying off as I saw the city defining building in seconds.


    There was a commotion going on, completely blocking it off as guards tried their best to peacefully stop the crowd. Shouting and screaming of individuals... protesting? I was about a hundred or two meters away, so couldn''t make out any words at this point.


    Driven by curiosity, I walked closer until I could make out their voices. Soon enough, my question was answered, "How the hell can you just declare something that serious and just hide in your castle!?","That fucking corrupt mayor, come out and say something you coward!", "Yeah, come out and face us!"


    ''Seems like my ''news'' isn''t very new, huh. Am I even necessary at this point?'' I thought, slightly annoyed at the idea of wasting my time.


    I saw a small group slowly backing itself away, so chose to ask them, "Hi, I just came here... Is the bank closed?"


    In a moment of confusion, the group froze before realizing my presence. When they understood my question was serious, which it wasn''t, one of the male members tried to answer it, "We just came from the bank, but that was before... whatever you''d call this happened..."


    With their lack of words, a female member continued the story, "I think there was an announcement or something recently. We''re crafters, so have no idea what it''s about, though..."


    Ending abruptly, the new speaker shrugged before calmly getting away. Followed by the rest of their group, it seemed that none of them could add to it.


    A minute or two of waiting, I gave up trying to get information out of the constant yelling and fled to the library. I didn''t want to get caught by my group since it would get awkward quickly.


    -


    At the library, I came in and deposited my books. With all the junk I had accumulated from the mumble tree dungeon, it was probably for the best.


    Walking towards the exit, I noticed that today''s paper had a dim title, ''The mayor... and Demons?!'' It went on to describe the meeting that took place whilst we were at Jeehan''s, in which he announced his relationship with a demon criminal organisation called ''The Grimms'' and how he started an impending war with them. The article went on to quote protesters and announce an active conscription that Jacques initiated for all the local clans.


    ''Seems like a grim event, huh. So he announced this before the demon killed him? No wonder that guy seemed so pissed...'' I thought, getting ever more distracted by my reading. A series of ping eventually kicked me back into reality, well... game reality. It was a PM from LOD, so I answered.


    "Oi, Doki! What''s keeping you?! We''re here at the center, but..." although he tried, the volume of the other people now made his voice completely incoherent.


    "Uh... Can you hear me? I sure can''t hear you now," I replied as loudly as possible.


    "... Sorry, what. It''s a bit loud here," he said. I was going to ask him again, but with death glares from the handful of people here, I just returned the paper and left the library before continuing.


    As LOD continued, he seemed to have left the crowd so I could hear him and vice versa, "So, you were saying?"


    Seeing it as pointless to repeat my previous question, I answered the question he asked instead, "Yeah, I''m at the library like I said. I know, there''s a crowd and the cause is a meeting that took place whilst we weren''t there. The thing we saw earlier seems to be a response to that meeting, and so are these protests."


    "Wait, how do you know that!? I was going to tell you that we''re staying in town for a while due to this large crowd... We didn''t get what the chaos was about or anything," he explained.


    "Yeah, I kinda lied. I sprinted to the town center before you but went back to the library when it seemed like you''d appear. I know about the meeting from a paper I read here," I answered nonchalantly.


    "Wait, you sprinted here!? We didn''t dawdle or anything and you went the opposite way, how did you beat us?" his voice rose with a sense of anger as he asked this.


    "I sprinted. Surprisingly enough, I''m pretty quick right now. Anyway, so why are you not leaving here?" I asked in return.


    "Thorborg doesn''t want to go back without her ID since she refuses to break her promise," he answered, removing his angry tone from before.


    "Seems problematic with a war going on. I''ll try to find out when this battle should take place, in the meantime, try to tell Alice and co. what''s going on, if they don''t know already. It says there''s been a mass conscription, so she probably does know about it. But just do it to be safe," I stated before closing the call.


    I opened up another with the leader of the Samurai girls and she accepted.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    "Doki? Why the hell are you calling, you should know we''re busy here!" she yelled in order to be heard above the intense clashing going on.


    I replied swiftly, "Seems you''re busy so sorry to bother you. Mind talking to me in a break?"


    "Sure, should be in an hour," she answered and ended the call.


    In the meantime I setup my stats. I gained two levels from killing hundreds of bandits, then checked the statuses of my stuff through my ''Object_Examination'' skill. With a bit of delving, I found that my skills and weapons also had an independent leveling system, in the interest in wasting time, I spent some time looking into them too. Here''s how my stuff looks now:


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''1''>Name</td><td colspan=''3''> DokiDoki19 </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Class</td><td colspan=''1''> Succubus </td><td colspan=''1''>Level</td><td colspan=''1''> 24 </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Class skills</td><td colspan=''3''> ["Bind" = Mass_Leech.], ["Bolt" = Leech.], ["Heal" = Blood_Transfusion.], ["Intimidate" = Vampiric_Bite.], [passive= Life_Absorb.], [passive = Attraction_Resistance.], [passive = Attraction_Increase.]</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Sub-class skills</td><td colspan=''3''> <"What''s that?" = Object_Examination.>, <"What''s this?" = Mob_Examination.>, <"Possess" = Mob_Tame.>, <"Summon" = Summon_(Name)>, <"Kill" = Teleport_Home>, <"set home"= Set_Home_(Name)>, <"Reflect" = Reverse_trajectory>,


    .</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Weapon skills</td><td colspan=''3''> ("Have at me" = Power_Charge.), (passive = Staff_Hit.), (passive = Dual_Wield.), (passive = _Magic_Boost.)</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Additional skills</td><td colspan=''3''> /''Stop'' = Skill_Cancellation.\</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Achievement skills</td><td colspan=''3''> N/A </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Equipment </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>On-Hand</td><td colspan=''1''>Steel_Scimitar</td><td colspan=''1''>Off-Hand</td><td colspan=''1''>Bone_Staff</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Head-wear</td><td colspan=''1''>Cloth_Hood</td><td colspan=''1''>Inner-Wear</td><td colspan=''1''>Black_Boxers</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Outerwear</td><td colspan=''1''>Healer''s_Cape</td><td colspan=''1''>Foor-Wear</td><td colspan=''1''>100%_Cow_Boots</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Accessories</td><td colspan=''3''> N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A. </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''> Stats </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''> Level </td><td colspan=''2''> 26 </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> AP </td><td colspan=''1''> 16000 </td><td colspan=''1''> Defense </td><td colspan=''1''> 36 </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> Damage </td><td colspan=''1''> 101 </td><td colspan=''1''> HP </td><td colspan=''1''> 30/NA </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> Speed </td><td colspan=''1''> 88 </td><td colspan=''1''> Stamina </td><td colspan=''1''> 61 </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''> Spare </td><td colspan=''2''> 0 </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''1''> Name </td><td colspan=''3''> Krest''s_Well-made_Steel_Scimitar </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''> Description: A steel scimitar made by a Semi-proffesional blacksmith called Dogh. </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> Stats </td><td colspan=''3''> Physical damage caused by this scimitar does 288% of your damage value. </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> Durability </td><td colspan=''3''> 100% </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> Bonus </td><td colspan=''3''> None. </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> Enchants </td><td colspan=''3''> N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A and N/A </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''1''> Name </td><td colspan=''3''> Dogh''s_Mediocre_Steel_Scimitar </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''> Description: A steel scimitar made by a mediocre blacksmith called Dogh. </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> Stats </td><td colspan=''3''> Physical damage caused by this scimitar does 166% of your damage value. </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> Durability </td><td colspan=''3''> 46% </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> Bonus </td><td colspan=''3''> None. </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> Enchants </td><td colspan=''3''> N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A and N/A </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''1''> Name </td><td colspan=''3''> Kami''s_Mediocre_Bone_Staff </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''> A bone staff made by a mediocre blacksmith called Kami. </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> Stats </td><td colspan=''3''> Damage of magical attacks is given plus 83% of your damage value (ontop of spell''s effect/ buff). </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> Durability </td><td colspan=''3''> 94% </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> Bonus </td><td colspan=''3''> None. </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> Enchants </td><td colspan=''3''> N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A and N/A </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''2''> Weapon affinity </td><td colspan=''1''> (Used only) </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> Weapon type </td><td colspan=''1''> Level </td><td colspan=''1''> XP </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> Sword </td><td colspan=''1''> 5 </td><td colspan=''1''> 12/2500 </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> Staff </td><td colspan=''1''> 1 </td><td colspan=''1''> 481/500 </td></tr></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''3''> Skill affinity </td><td colspan=''1''> (Equipped only) </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''> Skill name </td><td colspan=''1''> Level </td><td colspan=''1''> XP </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''> Mass_Leech </td><td colspan=''1''> 8 </td><td colspan=''1''> 103/4000 </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''> Leech </td><td colspan=''1''> 4 </td><td colspan=''1''> 92/2000 </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''> Blood_Transfusion </td><td colspan=''1''> 10 </td><td colspan=''1''> MAX </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''> Vampiric_Bite </td><td colspan=''1''> 1 </td><td colspan=''1''> 0/500 </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''> Life_Absorb </td><td colspan=''1''> 10 </td><td colspan=''1''> MAX </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''> Attraction_Resistance </td><td colspan=''1''> 8 </td><td colspan=''1''> 877/4000 </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''> Attraction_Increase </td><td colspan=''1''> 10 </td><td colspan=''1''> MAX </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''> Object_Examination </td><td colspan=''1''> 2 </td><td colspan=''1''> 200/1000 </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''> Mob_Tame </td><td colspan=''1''> 2 </td><td colspan=''1''> 900/1000 </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''> Summon </td><td colspan=''1''> 1 </td><td colspan=''1''> 200/500 </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''> Teleport_Home </td><td colspan=''1''> 1 </td><td colspan=''1''> 0/500 </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''> Set_Home </td><td colspan=''1''> 1 </td><td colspan=''1''> 0/500 </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''> Reverse_Trajectory </td><td colspan=''1''> 1 </td><td colspan=''1''> 0/500 </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''> Volume_Increase </td><td colspan=''1''> 8 </td><td colspan=''1''> 730/4000 </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''> Power_Charge </td><td colspan=''1''> 2 </td><td colspan=''1''> 6/1000 </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''> Staff_Hit </td><td colspan=''1''> 1 </td><td colspan=''1''> 0/500 </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''> Dual_Wield </td><td colspan=''1''> 7 </td><td colspan=''1''> 155/3500 </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''> Magic_Boost </td><td colspan=''1''> 1 </td><td colspan=''1''> 406/500 </td></tr></tbody></table>


    After doing all of this I had wasted about half an hour, so I went into the town for the rest. I had over 100k, so replaced my scimitars for fresh ones and as I was about to go to the clothier to repair or increase my clothing, the expected ping came to stop me.


    I accepted the call, but was beaten to the first word by her, "So, what do you want?"


    "I would like some information. I gather you''re busy because you''re joining the fight, but how soon is it?" I asked.


    "Oh, we don''t really know for now. He said in the conscription notice that it wouldn''t be in the next week, but apart from that, it''s sketchy. If you''re going to join, train now. Those demons seem vicious, their leader should be near the max level. By the way, we''re training to go through a dungeon tomorrow, but I''m still not confident. Since you''re our supposed ally, mind filling some gaps? We only have twenty-one members currently, and the dungeon is a raid dungeon..." she answered in a dramatic tone.


    "Sure, I only have four members and a crafter with my at the moment, though... Where and when should we meet up?" answering for my group, I accepted it. It''s not like we''ll be doing anything else until the ''war'' is finished anyway...


    With that, she ended the call and I left to my group to tell them the news.

 Chapter 19: Heading out.

    I had bumped into them soon enough at the same hotel that we said in before. I explained the situation as we walked to our room, but their reactions were less that satisfied.


    """What?!""" Jeehan, LOD, and Titanious exclaimed in sync in reply to my suggestion.


    "Doki, are you mad!? We can''t do a dungeon like this, we still have Tho''s quest to do," Nio asked.


    "Well we can, since this chaos about the war means that we can''t really get her ID and she''s too stubborn to go home and wait there, we don''t really have anything to do, do we. And given that this ''war'' ends badly, we''ll be killed by demons anyway. So this is probably the best plan of action, or are you going to correct me?" the other three stumbled after I explained.


    "... I can''t argue with that. But that doesn''t mean I can''t argue at the risk!" Nio yelled back. It was loud enough to make multiple heads to turn in our direction.


    Shrugging as I walked past them, I immediately started to test his argument with a series of questions, "Have we died before? If not, then what ''risk'' are you talking about?"


    He countered with another question, "Well. Do you know what dungeon we''re doing, what level the mobs are and the classes, skills and abilities of the group we''re joining?"


    I bluntly answered as we reached our shared room, "no. But do you? Then there''s a risk, yeah, but it''s not like we didn''t have one in our earlier dungeons. Unless you want to put the blame on Thorborg or something for this time being such a crucial exception."


    -


    The others froze, probably unable to trump my point without insulting Jeehan''s sister, so I opened the door first. Our room was different to the one before. It was a different hotel for a start, with its own furniture set and, unfortunately, price...


    A regal red carpet was laid on the floor, with four single beds which were tucked beside the left wall, a window on the far side letting in a refreshing breeze. Each had a set of mahogany drawers to the side, a lamp standing on each, with enough room inside to fit most apparel types besides armor. A shower and bath on suit gave the room an added bonus that our former one was lacking, which somewhat made up for the fact it cost ten times as much for one night as the other cost for a week.


    "I call dibs on this one," LOD said, running over to the one closest to the window.


    "Such a child..." Nio mumbled under his breath, though it was loud enough for everyone to hear regardless.


    That sparked a debate between the two, whilst me and Jeehan just climbed in the beds closest to the door. Soon enough the bickering voices died as sleep washed over me.


    -


    Nudged for the nth time, I instinctively awoke to be almost deafened by nearby snoring. I looked over to the source, it was Nio or LOD... maybe both of them were snoring, I didn''t look at the two for long enough to tell. Because, in addition to their sleeping bodies, I saw Jeehan''s arm reaching over to me.


    His head facing me, stopping when he realized I was awake he started to whisper to me, "D-doki? Sorry, b-but can we leave the room. I''d like to discuss this stuff about a raid over," his stuttering voice telling me the probable reason for him not speaking up beforehand.


    Leaving the room, he followed and we reached the empty inn bar in silence. There, I waited for the question he was undoubtedly waiting to ask. It took him a while, and some shades of red in his face, to finally do so, "A-are you serious about doing a dungeon, a-at a time like this?"


    "Yeah. I made it today, they said they''d go tomorrow but didn''t have enough people to feel safe with going. I doubt the levels are going to be a problem since it''s a ''raid'' dungeon. Whatever that means..." I honestly replied.


    Jeehan''s eyes widened, his mouth agape until he exclaimed his hysterical questions, "Eh!? A r-raid dungeon!?"


    The resulting shout hurt my ears due to its sheer volume, once I recovered I tried to understand his reason by asking him, "Yes, I think that''s what they called it at least... Is there something wrong with that?"


    "A-according to Alice, they''re group tried one and died seven times... It seems to be an intense dungeon with... like a million mobs ganging up on the party constantly. The five of us wouldn''t even get through the first group alone," he visibly shivered as he almost whispered his explanation.


    "Yeah, but we''re not alone. I think we have about thirty people coming with us, and we should be able to mooch kills off them to get leveled up quickly. Plus, there are two main reasons why Thorborg should agree to it if that''s your problem."Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    He inevitably asked ''what reasons'' and after explaining them to Jeehan, he nodded in agreement. In the end, even though we tried, we couldn''t sleep with the infernal snoring, so gave up and started talking about our respective worlds until sunrise.


    -


    Thorborg, who had her own room, came to ours in the morning and as we went for breakfast I stated my suggestion.


    Her reaction was, surprisingly, negative. So the debate happened as she stated her doubts, "What!? You realize I''m a crafter, right? I can''t fight..."


    "And that''s not why I''m inviting you. You..."


    Before I could start my explanation, she rudely interrupted me with more confusion, "Eh!? If you''re not asking me to fight, then what''s the point in my presence?"


    Annoyed, I replied bitterly, but it died down quickly into monotone as I explanation, "As I was about to say, there are two reasons I think you''d be interested in going. One, you get the dropped materials from the fighting for free. And from our previous experiences, there''s a lot of them... And for the second, you get to see your brother at ''work''. Your family may be biased to the danger the of adventuring, so you can judge it for yourself first hand. You don''t have to fight, and you will be protected by us, if not by the rest of the group."


    "Hm... I see. Well, when is it?"


    "Today, I expect to get a message soon with the meetup location and details," I answered her question as soon as she asked it.


    As if on cue, a familiar ping came from the Samurai_Girls leader. I stopped the conversation to read their message. We were to meet at the south exit of town at noon. I also got information on the dungeon we were doing, it was called ''Ulgaf''s Tower'' and supposedly had level 30 - level 50 monsters. They weren''t one hundred percent certain on this because they hadn''t beaten it, but it didn''t seem like their levels went too high.


    I relayed this to the others, who loudly sighed with exhaustion. ''Were they really so confident that I''d lead us into a suicide mission?''


    "Well, now that it''s not certain that we''ll die, let''s have breakfast and go shopping for supplies. I could use a new sword, and Tho, do you have the stuff needed for crafting?" Jeehan was the first to comment, proving my doubts with his suggestion. Thorborg started to make seemingly random hand movements, probably interacting with her inventory.


    "Yeah, thanks for the vote of confidence," I remarked.


    Soon after I did, Thorborg answered Jeehan, "Yeah, I don''t have any equipment... I also don''t have any money, so could someone help buy me stuff?"


    "What ''Stuff''?" LOD asked.


    "As a minimum, I''d need a pickaxe, a portable furnace, tongs, a hammer and possibly some strength potions... I know it sounds like a lot, but it shouldn''t be more than two thousand gold. If someone can spot me, I can do repairs and such for free," Thorborg explained.


    "So Jeehan, why haven''t you offered to the same? You''re a smith, aren''t you?" LOD rebutted, giving Jeehan a dirty glare.


    "I-I''m just not really good at it. I didn''t really level it after getting sp exhausted whilst doing it as a youth... This is one reason I thought adventuring would be a good idea," he said in defense.


    "And how comes you haven''t been crafting stuff?" Nio, seeing this as a chance to annoy LOD, took it without any delay.


    "I have, we just haven''t needed what we''ve crafted so I sold it all. I''m almost max level with my sewing skill, hence my armor''s durability is still perfect," LOD replied, a dumb grin appearing on his face as he spins to show off his apparently perfect armor. Somehow the leather armor glistened with his spin, the other''s gasps and attention fueling his ego.


    Interested in who was footing for Thorborg, I prompted them to say how much they had, "So how much do you guys have. I have about sixty-thousand. I''ve just bought nothing so far..."


    I lied since I had over one-hundred-thousand, but I was surprised that I still had the most with my lie...


    "About one-tenth of that. My armor and swords cost a ton if you didn''t know, that''s what sucks about being such a specialist class..." Jeehan claimed.


    "I have about fifty-thousand, but I have enough stuff to sell that it''s more like seventy thousand," LOD announced, seeming a bit sad that I had more.


    "I have ten-thousand. So Doki pays," Nio replied.


    Accepting it with a sigh, I looked at Thorborg, "Okay, so do you just want the two-thousand, or do you want something better?"


    "The next tier of smithing gear costs... huh, I think it was ten-thousand but I''m currently at the third tier so forgot. Anyway, if that''s fine with you, then I''ll gladly repay that, once I get the money, and do repairs for free. I should be able to smelt most normal ore-types with that."


    I gave her twelve thousand, giving her a small buffer with her guess, and we left for the shopping district.


    -


    On our way, two of their stomachs growled. Meekly, Jeehan suggested grabbing something to eat. Everyone agreed. By the time we left the cafe, it was about ten. We didn''t know how long shopping would take, so split up for efficiency. I went with Thorborg and LOD to buy generic crafting stuff and , Jeehan and Nio went to the blacksmiths for possible upgrades. We met up at eleven, promptly heading to the south exit where we met a group with mostly familiar people.


    There were about twenty people, all female and mainly Samurai but had the occasional Assassin and some other roles. As we came close to the group, most of them were staring intently at the group. But mostly me.


    "Cutie, long time no see," one of the countless girls in armor similar to Jeehan''s called out to us. Before I even tried place a name to her, she noticed Thorborg and continued, "So, is this little Missy the crafter you talked about"


    "Yeah, we''re on an escort mission, but the whole ''war'' thing kind of blocked off the town hall. There are a couple reasons she''s here, but she won''t be fighting but offers to do free repairs on any armor or weapons if needed. She can keep ores that she mines in return, can''t she?" I replied, talking for Thorborg for the sake of speed.


    "Interesting. Yeah, that seems fair," the same girl mumbled, before reaching for Tho''s hand to shake.


    "So, who are these guys?" another girl asked, this one, based on her armor and weapons, wasn''t a samurai and seemed like a pirate or something.


    We spent some time introducing ourselves, getting introductions from those we didn''t know, then headed off to the dungeon at twelve-fifteen.

 Chapter 20: Ulgafs tower part 1.

    I was riding in a carriage with six others, my three regular colleges, Thorborg- who turned out to be a healer - and two girls who wore armor similar to Jeehan. Talking to us soon became awkward with LOD saying something cringy. The tension soon shattered since something came into view, casting everyone into a hypnotizing trance as they became glued to the windows.


    Even though there was a carriage that was supposedly leading us, it was rendered pointless due to the monstrous, cylindrical tower that dominated the skyline. It''s height insignificantly enhanced by the hill it was built on, getting even bigger as we closed in.


    When we eventually got to the tower''s base, we emptied the four carriages before becoming enthralled by the sheer scale of building in front of us. Relatable to thirty to forty stories tall, it dwarfed the previously tallest building I''ve seen in this world by doubling. Yet, even with its cloud-piercing height, it''s width wasn''t anything to be mocked either. From end to end, it looked like its circumference was one-hundred-and-sixty meters long, with a series of arches stretching its base out even further.


    Minutes passed until the first few people broke from their trance, and with their assistance, everyone refocused soon after. A couple of people checked their statuses before the majority impatiently forced the start of the dungeon.


    -


    Inside, we immediately split up into our pseudo-parties. Grouped as the following: Group One, (comprised of one tank and four samurai wielding katana''s) Group Two and Group Three (containing five similar samurai in each) Group Four (comprised three assassins and two pirates), Group Five (containing four samurai archers and one mage) and Group Six (comprised of me, Alice, one samurai archer with an emphasis on healing and one mage.). We had a full party of thirty before this and all thirty health meters were displayed on the party menu, so I was confused with the others who put the thought in.


    I was forced back to ''reality'', as the front-most group met with the first major rush of enemies. Fifty or so mobs that contained a mixture of zombies and skeletons. The spacious room with flaking, but stable, walls soon became claustrophobic with the oncoming hoard filling the entire width of the hall.


    Our pseudo-party was elected as the most central, so the mage in our group became the so-called ''strategist''. And following her role, she started barking her battle plan towards the other groups, "A medium wave of undead to the front with a melee focused. With groups, one and two already engaged. No obvious flanks of mobs on any other side. So commit to plan A until told otherwise."


    Attempting to make the most of the space, Group Three covered a gap that gradually opened up between Group One and Two''s position as the others moved into place.


    The original groaning of the zombies and creaking of bones were soon coated by the clanging of blades, the mumbles between the mini-parties and countless footsteps.


    Exchanges between the tanks and the ever growing number of mobs to each of them started off well for the tanks. Efficiently attack and countering the handful of attacks thrown at them to do way more damage to their opponents than with them. Each tank enough space to between them to actually dodge if they needed to. And it looked slightly better when we came to support them, dealing with large groups in the nearby with magic and arrows and successfully delayed their push.


    A wall of my tentacles aimed at some of the taller undead actually did a good job of buying time, and the mobs who were cut off almost died off completely. A massive fire also engulfed the rear of their hoard, not managing to really kill, but spreading continuously to reached up to half of the mobs.


    But the tables quickly turned when my wall was inevitable destroyed, since the rate of the mob''s charge increased past the rate of projectiles, meaning the tanking members rapidly lost their maneuvering room. Thankfully their armor was strong enough to make their individual attacks almost meaningless.


    Group Four dashed over to the most intense areas to give some support, dealing with some of the mobs and weakening a lot of others. Their efforts soon proved fruitless, as the tanks began to be forced driven back.


    In addition, the spamming of our ranged attacks had almost stopped completely, as most people''s AP was almost diminished, and I resorted to healing and only binding those around the front lines. Even then the pressure from the hoard was so intense that most of my binds dissolved in seconds, forcing me to stop healing.


    Our side was gradually losing the endurance match, new orders came in from the nearby mage, "Groups five and Six change to melee!"


    We did so, merging the back line with the front line to save on AP and maintain damage output. Though my AP was almost full again, I still obliged for the sake of doing damage.


    The transition succeeded, for the most part, killing the mobs immediately attacking the tanks faster than having no supporting attacks. None of the tanks had reached orange health yet, and a bit of space opened up for them to move in. The enemies left were all previously wounded from at least the fire, so they lasted for even less time.


    Five minutes later, the reinforcements were finally stopping. Most people who needed it had recovered a decent amount of AP and signs of being sluggish were only now making themselves apparent between people in the back.


    Last full line of mobs facing the front line, the next death buckled their formation and we simply pushed into them and surrounded the remaining individuals. They didn''t last long and we soon regrouped.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    Although I leveled up twice during the fight, and others probably did the same, we only waited for some necessary heals then walked down the rest of the fifty-meter room to the sole connecting room.


    -


    A brighter room with similar width but shallower to the first was through the door. Another difference to the first room was that there weren''t any mobs waiting for us. Instead, three other doors connected to the room.


    Halted as some of us pushed for a random choice, one of the samurai girls mumbled something then pointed in a direction which we all followed.


    Discussing it with the mage in our group, it seemed that there was a cartography skill that people used in dungeons to find the exit quickly. It seemed sort of pointless since the same subclass only had passives that affected how effective food was and how much stamina specific actions would do, but Preacher is a similar level of pointless so I''m not one to judge.


    We went through the left door and followed it around. We followed a path curling around the room to the middle until we reached the staircase.


    There was a small room in the corner of the third room which threw us a bit off guard. The door was wide opened and the small chest inside was opened too but had it''s item still in there.


    Speculation broke the focused silence of the group, but nothing solid was really found. This situation had re-sparked my interest with our missing member, who definitely seemed like they did this. I checked the names of each member on the group to the party list and narrowed down the missing member to someone called ''Ox''.


    Curious, and bored of walking, I said ''Eh'' as I focused on their name in the list. To my genuine surprise, this worked, giving me the following pop-up.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">Name</td>


    <td colspan="3">Ox</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">Class</td>


    <td colspan="1">Ghost</td>


    <td colspan="1">Level</td>


    <td colspan="1">22</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">Gender</td>


    <td colspan="1">Female</td>


    <td colspan="1">HP</td>


    <td colspan="1">1000/1000</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">Skills</td>


    <td colspan="3">(You cannot see the skills of intelegent races at your level.)</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">Do you wish to view further details?


    Yes or No.</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Both the strategist mage -whose name I didn''t know - and Alice gave me a wondering glare, which turned into a wide-eyed confused look when I said ''Yes'' in reply to the prompt.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">Stats</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="2">Level</td>


    <td colspan="2">22</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">AP</td>


    <td colspan="1">4900/4900</td>


    <td colspan="1">Defense</td>


    <td colspan="1">27</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">Damage</td>


    <td colspan="1">27</td>


    <td colspan="1">HP</td>


    <td colspan="1">270/270</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">Speed</td>


    <td colspan="1">200</td>


    <td colspan="1">Stamina</td>


    <td colspan="1">47</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="2">Spare</td>


    <td colspan="2">5</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    "Hm... interesting. So Ox is a ghost, rushing ahead to loot stuff?" I murmured slightly louder, which loud enough for the six people nearest to me apparently to overhear.


    "Who''s ''Ox''? Alice wisely asked.


    I was a bit surprised that she heard me but answered after I escaped my daze, "Ox is the missing party member. I just checked her stats, and with two-hundred speed, I guess they, well she, just ran through the mobs or something. If her class gives her actual invulnerability, in which case it would just be easier for her to skip rooms."


    "So this ''Ox'' somehow replaced Megan and is now just looting stuff. It was kind of this ghost to at least saved us the contents of the chest they didn''t want," the mage commented.


    "Megan?" Alice stopped and fiddled with an invisible console.


    Doing the same with eyes continually scrolling up and down, the mage answered, "Yeah, Megan Hestlie. It''s surprising that she got replaced since she''s one of the Samurai_Girls, but I guess she got paid off or... Yep, she definitely isn''t on this list."


    This is where the conversation ended, however, an awkward silence replacing it until we reached the wide staircase that cut to the center room. A room identical to the first appeared at the top.


    -


    Weirdly, there were already enemies there, but they were surrounding something and paying us no mind. We walked up to them with curious looks across our face.


    Though, we backed off in silence as the ghost finally attack. Exploding a ten-by-ten area around her, she sent most of the skeletons surrounding her flying past the edge of the mob circle with a single attack. I looked at the menu, and her health wasn''t going down at all, and by the time they got back into close range she just knocked them off again.


    Eventually, the mobs noticed us, but the ten that actually charged at us got decimated by their attacks. The rest worthlessly mobbed the invisible person to die as they did, who didn''t seem to notice us at all. But I wasn''t in the mood to just let this person move on.


    I walked into the fray and used ''bind'' as I got within the correct range. The pattern of explosions stopped, so I gathered that I had successfully bound her. Watching her health go down as a result, I stopped just before I would''ve killed her. The rest of the party used this as a sign to interfere, and room was cleared soon after.


    Clearly annoyed at my actions, a female voice soon yelled at me, "Oi, who did that?! And who the hell do they think they are?! That could''ve killed me!"


    I became the center of attention, so calmly replied, "That was me and you deserve it. You rushed ahead of us without bothering to communicate, you would''ve taken loot that''s worthwhile to you, and stole tons of EXP for yourself. Even though you shouldn''t really be here."


    There was a moment of silence before she begrudgingly accepted it, "Well, I did ask and compensated the member I replaced."


    "And who else? You could''ve at least mentioned it to the rest of the party," one of the numerous female samurais asked. The others seemed to be on my side regardless of my independent action.


    There was no response. A while later he ghost''s voice finally came back but changed the topic without answering the clearly bad move, "Who are you in the healer''s robes?"


    "I''m DokiDoki17, a succubus," I answered.


    "I''m Ox. That''s the first time in a while I''ve been hit, so, how the hell did you do so? And with a bind no less..." the same voice asked.


    "AoE binding attack," I swiftly replied.


    Ox paused before asking, "... What''s your speed?"


    "Eighty-eight. I doubt that speed really affects binding attacks," I explained.


    I still couldn''t see her, but I gathered she was really baffled by this due to her next comment, "Huh? But mine''s two hundred... How the hell does that work?"


    I tried to explain my ''theory'' about why it worked whilst walking to the next room, doubting she would understand it, "I assume that since you didn''t get out of the range of tentacles, that they sort of enclosed you by rising up where you were not. Since you have a physical shape, the tentacles would go where you aren''t then start squeezing the spaces, including where you were, and caused you damage. Though I haven''t attacked myself with the attack, so I don''t know for certain."


    Shocking me for the second time again, she replied, "Oh, that makes sense. That''s quite a stupid attack then..."


    Ox continued to hang around us, occasionally asking questions or just talking with some of the people from the party about what happened. We got to the third floor without finding anything except for empty rooms.

 Chapter 21: Ulgafs Tower part 2.

    We finally found the staircase, albeit that the last one made of smooth stone which could easily fit the whole group. As this one was crumbling after everyone stepped on each step and we soon found that the rest of the floor was similarly withered.


    "So, what''s happening here?" LOD said, asking someone in the distance. The rest of the group was in dead silence, so his relatively quiet voice carried all the way back to where I was.


    "Oh, right. You guys are new to this. The walls are just fragile, so expect backup from other walls to swamp you easier," someone in his group explained.


    "So, we won''t just fall through the floor or something?"


    "We could, but unless we''re using exploding attacks or something, it shouldn''t be an issue," another voice replied this time and no more questions were asked.


    Finally getting to the next floor, we were greeted by a small hoard of fifty goblins and were swarmed by some arrows fired as soon as we entered.


    Our ranged attacks, with my binds and lots of AOE magic from the mages, easily delayed the few that attacked us and their arrows were either dodge or tanked by the front-lines as we got into our positions. We took up positions, but three tanking groups were more centralized than before with the other parties closer behind them than in the previous floor.


    The ranged attacks, accompanied by the myriad of arrows from our archers, quickly killed most of their original group. And by the time our tanks met their group, the remaining ten died in only a few clashes of blades. But as the final archers died, the walls crashed from all around.


    What seemed like a hundred more goblins now swarmed us, and our tanks immediately changed their positions to surround the other parties. The rate of our magic and ranged attacks increased, but covering all of the charging mobs proved impossible and they barely got into positions before we were half surrounded.


    Soon enough we were completely surrounded, a barrage of arrows rained from the skies from unseen archers from the other room. And, although they had slaughtered their own men with it, the damage they did to our members took massive chunks out of their health.


    The arrows soon stopped as a wall of tentacles enclosed around us. Our tanks ignored it, since focusing on their own conflicts was their only concern, but the few mages still focusing on their magic cried out in confusion. That is, before coming to their senses and calling me out for not doing that earlier.


    With the fear of their arrows whittling us down out of their minds, the rate of their attacks had lowered. In it''s place, a series of precise and fatal spells which were aimed at helping the most wounded tanks, so they could get more dodging room.


    It clearly worked, because even though my wall was constantly barraged by arrows, melee attacks and the pressure of more goblins charging at it, it lasted long enough for all of the mobs inside to die by our attacks with time to spare. So by the time it initially burst open, we were in a position to wait and allow them to surround us again before I reissued the surrounding bind.


    This time was also used to regain our formation and, with my useless surplus of health, I started healing two of the more battered tanks. Then I recast the bind before the gap in it was large enough for arrows to rain upon us again.


    Holes in this one appeared far quicker than the last one. Well, it seemed to since most the goblins inside now were at full health, or near to. With only a few of the front-most ones starting at low health because of my previous bind. So by the time it collapsed, there were still goblins actively fighting within.


    Repeating this format, we managed to maintain ourselves long enough for the melee mobs to die, but reaching the archers proved to be just as hard. Since speed wasn''t the forte of Samurai, which made up most of the melee in out party, it took ten or so waves of arrow fire before all of them died, or were at least tied up in melee.


    I wasn''t really involved in this, instead of trying to rush up and help the rest, I spent my time checking how many levels I grew. Surprisingly, it was twelve, adding to a running total of seventeen level ups in the dungeon so far. Thinking back to the fight, I did do a decent amount of healing and assisting kills with my binds. So, I guess I deserved it.


    -


    When the battle was finally over, we proceeded to the next room. There, unlike the other floors, we were bombarded yet again by arrow fire. On the good side, we had healed up before leaving the room and found the staircase to the next floor without much exploring. But, since the attacks came from the top of that staircase, their archers had a massive advantage on us since we couldn''t currently counter, or even see them.


    Our party as a whole didn''t have a plan for such a fight, so it took us a few volleys of enemy arrow fire to finally decide on a retreat. With the plan of dragging them onto more even grounds. So we went back into the central room we started. Though, we quickly ran into another problem whilst waiting for them to follow; I didn''t have the health to heal any of the people attacked, so most of them had to wait on Thorborg''s under-leveled healing spells or for some samurai with minor healing abilities to make up for it. Which didn''t work with the little time we had.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Holes soon poked through the nearest wall, until it completely crumbled with the surge of goblins dashing their way madly. And unlike the other floors, the goblins wielded long swords and spears and rode in on boar-like monstrosities.


    The mounts weren''t overly armored and they only numbered 20 odd, but their speed closed the rather significant distance between us without even flinching to our range. Our fractured front-line was demolished the moment they touched it and our smaller parties were split up into two main groups.


    Group one couldn''t escape in time, so got hit the hardest and completely isolated from the rest. Due to this, their health fell dramatically without much the other groups could do about it. Thankfully, Group two managed to support my group and enclosed us against the wall. As for the other groups, I couldn''t really see them from where I was, but by glancing at the health meters, they seemed to be together on the opposite side of the room.


    My binds refused to work since the tentacles took so long to rise from the ground that their mounts could simply run out of range of it. And doing an area of affect bind was out of the question since our parties were separated to such a degree. Therefore, I could only attempt to get some health with a melee attack every now and then from behind their lines.


    The individual conflicts between the tanks and the mobs were remarkably stable, with their ignoring their mounts speed and fighting blade to blade for the majority. Occasionally one or two would dart away, building up speed to crash into us but our formation was strong enough to rebound them with minimal delay every time this happened.


    Additionally, magic wasn''t as useless as my binds, so individual foes would occasionally be frozen solid, allowing the most wounded front-liners a break from their attacks. So, although it looked originally bleak, our side at least was holding out well. And the enemies'' numbers thinned out rapidly when we noticed how well the other team of three mini-parties was beating their share. It wasn''t really surprising, since they had both groups four and five who were more focused on doing damage, than tanking and healing like the two that made up our formation.


    What actually shocking me was how well group one had done, who were undoubtedly in the bleakest position. Not only had their health almost evened out due to a mixture of defensive buffs and minor heals, they had also maintained their position solidly in spite of being bombarded by the archers who finally joined the fight and the constant shoving of the mobs near them.


    -


    The number of attackers my crowd was facing diminished, so we finally started to push forward and help group one. And even if we were really only kill stealing at that point, they seemed grateful for the help.


    Letting groups two to four chase down those who remained, my group healed group one with group five giving ranged support. The archers put up a surprising amount of fight considering the circumstance, yet when it came down to it, they practically dissolved when the combined parties got into range.


    We regrouped soon after to descend to the next level, which, in a nice turn of events, was completely unguarded this time.


    As we entered the sole room on this floor, one aspect of it was really highlighted. It''s sheer height probably made up half of the tower''s as a whole, two staircases wrapped around the walls to the next floor.


    Looking up in sheer awe, it became clear that one of the two ways up had a massive gap in it. With a stone or two trickling down on a step on the other. The problem of working out which one lead to the dead end wasn''t easy, mainly because of how dim the room as a whole was. But one of the members with cartography lead us up the correct one.


    -


    After painfully walking up every single damn step, and trust me, there were a lot, we came one last room. This one was in even worse state than the last, almost the entire roof being left on the floor as mere rubble, almost making a makeshift podium in the center.


    And, standing on this pile of rubble, a single goblin stood. Though, unlike the others who were archers and warriors, this one wielded a long but flimsy stick and had a comically large black witches hat that completely hid her head. Well, the slight cleavage from her seriously revealing robes was a thing I almost wished I didn''t have to see. I analyzed her as we moved out, into the room with her.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''1''> Mob_Name </td><td colspan=''3''> The Grand Goblin Necromancer </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> Species </td><td colspan=''1''> Goblin: Necromancer </td><td colspan=''1''> Level </td><td colspan=''1''> 50 </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> HP </td><td colspan=''3''> 2000/2000 </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> Skills </td><td colspan=''3''> Reincarnate, Staff hit, Shrouding aura, Summon_Basic, Undead_Healing, </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''> Do you wish to view further details?


    Say ''Yes'' for further details, say ''No'' to exit.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Clearly wary of our approach, she dramatically stood up and a thick fog formed around the pile. Seconds later, we heard the sound of rocks rolling down and an eerie low-pitch grumble.


    But even if it was completely obvious from her being a necromancer, I was still staggered by the sheer amount beings that appeared from the fog. Well, when the fog finally revealed them, I was more than impressed at the forty or so zombies that limped towards us.


    They weren''t all goblins, with even more basic rats emerging from beneath the rubble. However, I became less impressed with their stats since the rats were about level five, and the goblins were between level twenty and thirty.


    In contrast to our fighting style before, in playing the defense, our melee members just charged at the central pile. I used individual binds on the zombie gobs, seeing the rats as insignificant and doubting my bind could hold the boss. Though I eventually did try the latter, and it was broken out of almost instantly. I shrugged it off.


    The rats, albeit without affecting their fellow rat''s morale, died instantly when stepped on by our tanks and rapidly became extinct without us even trying to. However, the goblins did put up a fight, with something removing speed for some respectable attack compared to their brethren we fought on the earlier floors.


    It made sense, since their weapons and armor were remarkably pristine, regardless of their prior deaths. And, whilst watching their health due to curiosity, their health was sporadically falling, with some instances of actually rising due to the necromancer healing them.


    Regardless, we kept up our attacks, slowly getting a further advantage. That is, until the pile of rubble randomly collapsed, throwing everyone, but the necromancer, through the air.


    Some unlucky goblins were thrown so hard, that they managed to fly through the weak walls to plummet to all the way down the tower... Seeing that, everyone who could brace themselves for the next phase did so, whilst the others tried getting back on their feet.

 Chapter 22: Ulgafs tower part 3.

    *''Doki''*


    Allies and foe alike, both flew from the central mountain of rubble and crashed unceremoniously into the walls. With an unlucky zombie or two punching though them to enjoy a long descent down the tower, all of our group - well, those who were able to - faced the cause with mixed reactions, though, most were awe-struck at the sight.


    As the dust settled, three human-sized golems rose from the pile of rubble. They loomed over the remaining goblin-zombies with normal-ish proportions, they had a murky cream tone accompanied by patterns that mimicked the very brickwork of the tower.


    Adding to the image, the ground shook, almost unable to take their sheer weight, and it only shook more as they made their move on my group''s members. And in seconds, they closed the gap, crushing some of the remaining zombies as they moved to their nearest enemies. All of which turned out to be in the tank groups, fighting off the zombies before facing their new foes.


    Though, we didn''t have any way of reacting to this new mob-type. Due to this, the party haphazardly gave priority to the golems and split up into the groups from earlier.


    With limited magic capabilities, a battle of endurance started. Buying time for the rest of the parties to get in their formation, individuals tried to hold their using any abilities. However, as demonstrated by the lady I was healing, she used her sword to strike it. Surprisingly, it barely left a scratch and for that, she was thrown to the wall with a single punch. Making my job of healing her harder. But, thankfully, another nearby tank got the golem''s aggro so it didn''t start attacking us.


    I personally was reduced to healing for the most part, binding whoever I could to get the health to do so. By the way, I did try to bind the golems, but like the necromancer, they broke free before much damage could be done. I say that, but it was surprisingly still more effective than using swords against it, which lead me to consider doing it regardless.


    By the time I began acting upon this, all of the parties had converged, and with minimal conversing, a new plan was set up. The tanking groups distracted the golems by swarming it with all six members and cycling between attacks before ducking out to get healed, which was my group''s primary job. Though, personally I was just looking around for the most part. My role was rather dull and all, plus, it gave me a better insight to how the fight was going.


    Group four started by targeting the remaining goblins, except for the necromancer who was out of their reach. They slaughtered all but one of them with no trouble, but since the necromancer healed the last one, all of the party had to be present for it to finally die.


    And group five focused on the necromancer herself, who was somehow standing at the peak of the mound, even with the golems destroying the most convenient paths to her. Ox had joined them, since rocks would be occasionally thrown at the goblin and rocked the mound - with the rest of the floor - every time. One-third of her health bar vanished almost instantly due to this and without any reaction, only half of it remained minutes later.


    But as her health became orange, the golem''s attack pattern changed. Becoming more aggressive, all three started to simply walk past the tanking parties and moved to group five. This didn''t stop the ghost''s stone throwing, but forced group five to flee. Reducing the damage done to the necromancer by half.


    In addition, the previously defeated goblin-zombies simply came back up and rejoined the fight. The rats did too, but predictably died as fast as the last time. This resulted in the battle becoming chaotic once more.


    The tanking groups dissolved, some chasing the golems and others facing the zombies. All the members of group four joined the latter, with me too focusing on the zombies. I mean, it gave me a reliable amount of health to heal with, and helped those attacking them get stronger attacks off. So bound ten or twenty of them with a few chants and healed five nearby tanks simultaneously.


    Group five also separated, individually leading the golems in different directions whilst getting pot-shots at the necromancer whenever they could. It resulted in a bad hit ratio, but made up for lack of damage and lead the golems to change target before they could even land a hit.


    Ox, who seemed like she was trying to with her attacks, finally topped the remaining pile of rubble. The necromancer tumbled to the floor, and with the zombie number depleting rapidly, she became the prime target for the nearby swordsman which included LOD.


    By now the party had split into two, with most surrounding the necromancer. The rest, like me, helped mop up of zombies. The golems, they fell back and started to fight the former part of the party, which let group five rain damage upon her from afar, pushing the necromancer''s health to red.


    I personally got bored of my role in the mop up, thus looked around at how the others were doing whilst spamming my bind on anything I could. Thorborg was diligently healing Jeehan and wore a pained expression whilst doing so. To be honest, I should''ve probably watched over her more than I have, but I just didn''t really care to do so during any of the fights before... Her complexion was a bit pale and I definitely saw the sweat starting to build around her forehead, but was still doing her best to hang in there, which I silently commended her for. Titanious was near me, fighting some of the few unbound zombies with a bit of help from two other tanks.


    The remaining zombies were taken care of by the time my daze came to an end, therefore, I just watched the spectacle pass from where I stood. In my defense, I couldn''t do any real damage to the remaining mobs without being close to them, and with the hoard of my party members around her already, my low damage and resulting low healing force wasn''t worth my presence.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    It wasn''t a long fight from that point anyway. The bundle of swordsman disbanded once the golems arrived, opening the necromancer up for some hard-hitting magic attacks that decimated the nearby vicinity followed up by a hail of arrows, all fired by all the groups archers simultaniously. The hatted-goblin vanished from the site, the golems following her disappearance.


    An inevitable sigh of exhaustion erupted from the party, and with no other floors in sight, we all made the random hand movements needed to access our inventories and shared news of our loot.


    However, just before we made our reveals, Ox spoke up to the group, "Sorry, can I have a moment?"


    She got the attention of all the members, so continued, "The sole reason I''m here is for a certain item that''s said to drop here. From those I''ve asked, it''s called the ''Ulgaf''s Hoody'' or something. It''s part of an item group that only work for ghosts, and, since I''m the only ghost here, I''d appreciate if anyone who get''s it would trade it with me."


    A few murmurs sprang from the group, but they soon died down and we individually announced our loot. It seemed like adventurer etiquette, so we followed suit when out turn came.


    Forming a circle, the leader of the samurai girls went first and the order went clockwise from then.


    The common items received included: rubble; which was actually a consumable item that contained a random amount of ore or coins, a variety of tattered furniture and banners, a Necronomicon; which was just the name of a series of books, a wizards hat and wizards robes. Incidentally, I got one piece of rubble and two Necronomicon as my loot and most got the same.


    For rare drops, Seven people got ''the wand of Ulgaf'', three got ''the tower''s eye'' and both LOD and Thorborg got ''Ulgaf''s hoodie'', which was genuinely a ghost specific item. But since she didn''t need two, she bought the latter''s at random in return for an unknown amount of gold. At this point, the other party members, one by one, came up to Thorborg to dump their materials to her as they said they would earlier. And by the sheer amount alone, she made a small smile and a bow to each of them.


    With that out of the way, we all headed back down the tower on foot... yeah, I was barely able to feel my legs when we finally escaped. But, for the price of growing twenty-two levels in one dungeon, I was forced to mentally shrug it off.


    -


    Thankfully now in the carriage, we rode back into town with the same seating arrangement.


    Titantious started talking to us, specifically to Thorborg, "So, how was that experience?"


    She shrugged with a complicated expression on her face, "Well, it wasn''t as bad as I originally thought. I expected there to be a different atmosphere entirely but being in the background of the fights, I didn''t get that tone from the rest of you. Well, I say this... I could never be the one actually fighting."


    "''A different atmosphere'' huh... Could you explain you mean?" Jeehan jumped into the conversation with another question...


    Without room to answer, LOD interjected with another, ignoring Jeehan in the process, "Yeah... Anyway, how much did that ghost end up paying you?"


    "Um..." Tho tried to speak up but was cut off by one of the other girls in the carriage.


    "This girl is the crafter, right? Well, did you get materials you needed? You seemed pretty happy about it," the girl, though probably not by purpose, just added to her confusion.


    Seeing the train-wreck of a conversation in front of me, my attention turned to the window near me. The walls of Skimmington were on the horizon, the sky indicating that it was rather late now. Though I was trying my best to ignore it, smatterings of the conversation around me were still loud enough for me to hear.


    I then remembered that I had something better to do, sorting my stats out. I also minorly changed my skill list, so they became like this:


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1"> Name</td>


    <td colspan="3">DokiDoki19</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1"> Class </td>


    <td colspan="1">Succubus</td>


    <td colspan="1"> Level</td>


    <td colspan="1">48</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1"> Class skills</td>


    <td colspan="3">["Bind" = Mass_Leech.], ["Bolt" = Leech.], ["Heal" = Blood_Transfusion.], [passive = melody_of_screams], [passive = Life_Absorb.], [passive = Attraction_Resistance.], [passive = Attraction_Increase.]</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1"> Sub-class skills</td>


    <td colspan="3"><"What''s that?" = Object_Examination.>, <"What''s this?" = Mob_Examination.>, <"Possess" = Mob_Tame.>, <"Summon" = Summon_(Name)>, <"Kill" = Teleport_Home>, <"set home"= Set_Home_(Name)>, <"Reflect" = Reverse_trajectory>, .</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1"> Weapon skills</td>


    <td colspan="3">("Have at me" = Power_Charge.), (passive = Staff_Hit.), (passive = Dual_Wield.), (passive = _Magic_Boost.)</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">Additional skills</td>


    <td colspan="3">/''Stop'' = Skill_Cancellation.\</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">Achievement skills</td>


    <td colspan="3">N/A</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">Equipment [/td1]</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">On-Hand</td>


    <td colspan="1">Steel_Scimitar</td>


    <td colspan="1">Off-Hand</td>


    <td colspan="1">Bone_Staff</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">Head-wear</td>


    <td colspan="1">Cloth_Hood</td>


    <td colspan="1">Inner-Wear</td>


    <td colspan="1">Black_Boxers</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">Outerwear</td>


    <td colspan="1">Healer''s_Cape</td>


    <td colspan="1">Foor-Wear</td>


    <td colspan="1">100%_Cow_Boots</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">Accessories</td>


    <td colspan="3">N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A.</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    [tr][td4] Stats


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="2">Level</td>


    <td colspan="2">48</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">AP</td>


    <td colspan="1">27000</td>


    <td colspan="1">Defense</td>


    <td colspan="1">58</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">Damage</td>


    <td colspan="1">183</td>


    <td colspan="1">HP</td>


    <td colspan="1">244/NA</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">Speed</td>


    <td colspan="1">184</td>


    <td colspan="1">Stamina</td>


    <td colspan="1">103</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="2">Spare</td>


    <td colspan="2">0</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    My reason for switching ''Vampiric Bite'' with ''Melody of Screams'' was because I just didn''t use the former at all. The latter was also a passive, and since it sounded like a personal buff, I was interested in using it. What is meant by ''screams'' was confusing, but I gathered that would be me getting an enemy to red health or something, so it could be helpful in killing wounded foes.


    I also maxed out Leech, so when I looked for new skills, I found a few variants of it that I could choose out of but it would replace Leech if I went for any of them. It felt awkward to just ignore them, but since I''m content with standard Leech, it''ll have to wait.


    -


    After making the finishing choices of my stats, I felt everyone''s eyes focus on me. Seems like the conversation from before had changed already...

 Chapter 23: A painful return.

    *''Doki''*


    "So... Doki?" Thorborg asked.


    She probably had said it repeatedly, but in changing my skills, I didn''t really notice her until now. I simply nodded, awaiting her to continue.


    "Um... You''re not planning on fighting in this war, are you?" she asked again.


    LOD and the others were also looking my way with a mixture of keen and worried complexions. So I gave the honest answer, "Are you worrying about why I accepted this dungeon request? Well, I just wanted XP and something to waste time. This so-called war seems hassling, and to be honest, I don''t really see someone of my level being so key in winning such a fight."


    "I wouldn''t be thinking that if I were you Incubi..." one of the girls sharing the cart cut to comment.


    "What do you mean?" I asked in a slightly aggressive tone.


    "You really think that the guards don''t know who your party are by now?" the girl asked rhetorically.


    In retaliation to the lost look appearing on my face, she continued to explain, "You are part of the group - which numbered only five - that beat the Big_Eyed_Puppies, who were the second strongest clan in the area. Second to us by the way, our request rate was trouncing them at the point you came in. Anyway, there''s also an extreme lack of healers, and with your current aesthetics, I wouldn''t be surprised if you to be conscripted."


    I sighed heavily from hearing that, surprisingly, though, no one got mad at me for doing so... The girl who told me the news even seemed sympathetic with me.


    "Wait, what''s your current level?" I was skeptical at random her question, so waited for her to explain why before answering. "There''s a chance that they won''t make you go to the front lines, though, is protecting the country from an invasion really so bothersome?"


    I fabricated an answer to the first question, thanking the creators of my auto-correct skill for making me not seem like an arse, "It is definitely bothersome since we''re sort of on an escort mission. It''s not like Thorborg has any real risk of getting actively killed, but we can''t really complete the request if we actively force her to join a war or desert her completely... And since her brother''s in the party, we don''t have a choice to really drop the request."


    Thankfully she brought this, mumbling ''I guess that makes sense...'' under her breath.


    "Oh, I''m level 48 by the way. Hopefully, that''s not high..." I said this, but simply looking at the surrounding looks, I realized such a possibility didn''t exist. I showed this understanding by cursing under my breath.


    -


    The conversation died from there and within a few minutes, we reached the gates. They were being heavily guarded and trivial things like IDs, which weren''t necessary to hand over before we left, we now mandatory. The scale of which was evident from the outrageous single-file line reaching from the south exit to the stables.


    We left our carriage and rejoined the rest of the groups who did the same. With a few congratulations and farewells being spilled from the members of the collaboration over, Me, Jeehan, LOD, Thorborg and Titanious were left as a group of five and joined the lengthy queue back in.


    It felt like hours had passed by the time we were finally at the gate, and what should''ve been a smooth entry turned into an unnecessary interrogation. Starting with the first wave of three male guards that greeted us.


    "Names." a loud, mono-toned voice demanded.


    Without much of a wait, we gave them. Then he called for our IDs, which we also obediently gave. However, the guard who received them passed them over to the two men behind him, and upon reading mine, one of them pointed at a direction.


    Noticing a minor pause, the first guard gave us a succinct order, "Go there."


    Upon waiting for a few more seconds, the previously emotionless voice burst with annoyance and barked, "Now!"


    There wasn''t a need for more, as we headed where we were ordered whilst accompanied by the other two guards.


    A while of walking inside the city walls lead us to a small alcove that had yet another queue leading towards it. We couldn''t really see what the counter was for, but my main guess was some sort of recruitment center. The guards turned slightly hostile when I asked for clarification, so I gulped and obeyed their orders until we reached the start of the queue.


    At this point, the accompanying guards gave us back our IDs and ditched us, and in silence, we waited.


    And waited and waited...Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    The wait was mind-numbing, mainly due to the lack of conversation from the rather large crowd gathered and ten or so minutes every single step took us. With every place forwards, more conversations could be heard. Similar dry voices kept repeating large chunks of information, and I soon got close enough to fully hear said voices clearly. So in the end, I found my guess of being conscripted was correct an hour before I was finally called in by one of the automated voices.


    Following the voice''s order, I entered one of the many booths and was met by a rather boring suit who broke the ice with the first of many orders, "ID?"


    I obliged, the suit paused to skim over my card before looking at me in the eyes.


    "Hm, you''re strong for your class. Do you have any healing capabilities?" his unforgiving glare effortlessly broke through my charisma.


    After he noticed I was frozen, a clench of his fist soon prompted me to answer, "Yes, I have blood_transfusion equipped."


    I wanted to explain the problem with my healing capability, but decided not to waste time in doing so. Without any further questions, the sound of hurried scribbling followed.


    Revealing the full page of writing, the suit started to explain what was going on in a livelier tone, "So... Dokidoki19, you are strong enough to enter the front-line, and with your healing capabilities taken into account, you will fight as part of the First_Brigade. Sign this contract to finalize this, or have you and the group you came in executed for treason."


    My head tilted as I ran those words through my mind, thinking, ''The hell is this guy on, does he not see how stupid that is?''


    Without thinking much further, I vocalized my confusion, "So, wait a second here... This city is in a war with a devil army, so your actively conscripting with the threat of making yet more possible enemies if one dares to refuse this conscription. Am I the only one who sees the hypocrisy in this or something!?"


    Unfazed by my rebuttal, the man simply replied, "If we had the time to care, we''d care. We don''t though. In a matter of days, a large army of devils will come, and only our full might has a chance of even holding out for back-up. Hence rather crude conscription is completely necessary. In our desperation, we don''t care about further points, now shut up and sign the damned contract!"


    On cue, I grabbed the offered pen and signed.


    Relaxing his frown ever-so-slightly, he started to state what I needed to do next, "Congrats on making the more beneficial choice, for the both of us... Anyway, now that''s signed, let me explain. You are, as of now, apart of the First_Brigade, who are made up of most of our elites. Tomorrow, at noon, a full meet up will be made at the barracks, which is east of the northern exit. There you will get told you''ll be patrolling, the necessary information in what we know of their force and be forced to train with your fellow adventurers hopefully before the fight breaks out. Being in the main force of our army does mean you''ll be active twenty-four seven, but you just signed away your right to complain. Understand?"


    Even though he said that remarkably fast, I mentally noted the important pieces and prepared myself for the oncoming hassle.


    Well... I tried and barely didn''t fail. But I counted it as a success due to the current situation.


    -


    Escaping the recruitment, I happened upon the others who made pretty happy faces. So when I came in with a near-death look on my face, they could only find pity for me.


    Anyway, after spitefully demanding it out of them, their stories were pretty reasonable. Thorborg managed to get completely out of it by protesting she was a crafter, and with her low level, she was ignored despite being a desperately needed healer. Jeehan was just as lucky since he was a weak samurai the suit judged him as weak compared to the Samurai_Girls and having no healing capabilities, and therefore allowed him off completely to fulfill his body-guard request. Finally, Titanious and LOD had similar fates. With their relatively low levels and lack of healing, both were ordered to be city guards who had no real relevance to the war itself. I was understandably annoyed that I was alone in this pain, but was forced to bit the bullet on the ordeal.


    -


    Due to the obvious stress I was going to go, Jeehan offered to buy dinner at a place I chose. I just picked a random bland cafe and we talked about a cacophony of different topics before returning to the war.


    "So Doki, any idea what you''ll have to do?" Thorborg asked, catching my attention from my own brooding.


    Annoyed at having to repeat myself, I returned her question, "Didn''t I already answer that?"


    "Well, you did... I was just wondering what your role in the party would be. I mean, I''ve never heard of a succubus before meeting you, and it seems like an odd addition to an army." she explained.


    "I''ll probably just be in the back binding the weak or something, though, I sort of hope the real fight will be more interesting than what we did in the dungeon," I stated.


    Cocking her head to the side, Thorborg repeated my phrasing, "''Interesting''?"


    "The mobs we fought were linear as all hell, hopefully so-called ''sentient'' species like devils will put up more of a fight... But the elites I''ll be fighting with may make it way easier," a pseudo-rant replaced my previously calm demeanor.


    Jeehan butted in with yet another question, "Wait, you''re fighting with elites?"


    "Yeah... The hell did you think the front-line was made up of, people weaker than the city guards or something?" my stress was already showing itself through my random lashing out. I wasn''t in the mood to talk, so maybe that''s why... One or two more questions were asked my way, but I ignored them.


    With their question pool emptied, silence filled our table. I was contently eating my sandwich whilst the others seemed rather anxious of talking around me.


    By the way, unlike LOD and Titanious, I didn''t have alcohol with my meal. Titanious surprisingly being the one to be the drunkest by the end of it. However, both became rowdy by the end of our stay, so we had to fight against them to leave the cafe.


    -


    I went to sleep early, waking up at about ten AM with LOD flopping across the floor in his sleep. Apathetic about his condition, he awoke from my first kick, emptied his lungs with profanities aimed at me and begrudgingly followed me to the meetup.


    The only thought on my mind was, ''And this is why I don''t drink...''


    We met up with the others to have breakfast, choosing a completely different restaurant from any we''ve had before because Nio demanded it. There they served a wide variety of curries, so we all left feeling more awake. Mainly due to our tongues burning...


    Walking off the fiery sensation, I separated from the group and headed towards where I assumed the barracks was; the guard from the other day said the wrong cardinal direction, though, so I was barely on time when I finally reached it.

 Chapter 24: A friendly spar.

    *''Doki''*


    I walk towards the main barracks; the building I was ''asked'' to arrive at in ten minutes.


    It stood out from a distance, being an orderly block of concrete with the occasional window plastered on its walls. About three stories from the sheer number of said windows, it smothered its neighbors with its height.


    Getting closer to the building, the dots that previously represented people formed their respective shapes. Even I was shocked at the pure numbers of people queuing there; at least a hundred figures in my view currently with more definitely inside.


    With stress and anxiety growing from the nauseating conversations simultaneously happening, I fought back what tried to sliver out of my mouth and joined the intense line, I spaced out for most of the waiting part, so remained in auto-pilot for every step I moved until the moment I was at the front. From there I was personally called out and my instincts kicked in to do what my almost unconscious body couldn''t.


    After handing over my letter of conscription, I got permission to enter the building and from there the number of people only grew. From a mere hundred to what I''d assume to be five, the temperature rising only added to my lengthy list of problems facing me.


    The reward for my patience and internal struggling? An hour or two long preach spent solely on filling everyone in the room with patriarchy. Muffled audio punching through the crowd as it echoed off the walls, continuous mentions of the words ''freedom'' and ''honor'' and having sat right in the front row; right next to the obnoxious git speaking didn''t help with my displeasure. Hell, at a certain point into his illogical one-man play, I''d swear my allegiance just to leave with my a sense of hearing... It was just that unbearable.


    I''ll omit most of my mental rant, nit-picking every individual sentence the man spewed. Though, for the sake of referencing, it would''ve been just as long as his original speech. By constantly thinking up this rant, the ordeal was over in a blink of an eye... well a relative blink of an eye.


    Anyway, after said preaching the speaker announced the situation. That said, the precise nature of his description still took up another hour for a rather simple premise. This being: splitting the bulk of the force up so they can do shifts and have those deemed as ''elites'' divided with them, I somehow was included in the latter. Most of the happenings for us so called ''elites'' would happen in the city, mainly as a means of keeping our strength together.


    Most of it sounded rather smart given the situation, but this optimism was defused when we were sorted into our groups. They smartly kept the Samurai_Girls and Back_Hands as parties of their own, but then they haphazardly put everyone else into random groupings. For example, my party contained eighteen assassins, nine level tanks, two mages and myself as the sole healer. And, although you could claim that was due to lack of healers, another party had fifteen tanks, seven pirates, two assassins and six actual healer which made no sense to me!


    With that in mind, the people in my group was hands down, the most stressful part. Our full group was escorted to a bunker labeled ''15'' by three people, a pirate, a mage and a tank. They seemed to be annoyed at the sight of us, but the real reason was probably something to do with the babble of conversation that started when we grouped.


    -


    After five minutes of walking, we entered the building through the only entrance, a very large and heavy door.


    Inside, it was large and spacious with minimal lighting, our group, from a lined entry, soon dispersed and filled all the space. Whereas I didn''t move far from the entrance, most of the party loosely grouped up near some walls, a group of seven assassins filled the center of the room, five facing two as bickering filled the room. A mage joined the two assassins, seeing as he leisurely walked there.


    Both fronts snarled at one another until one of them broke the ice.


    "So, even you lot are here. How cute, well I now know why they bothered giving us a healer," a female voice growled, the person who said this was in the line of five. And even though it wasn''t expressed loud, the words echoed across the room regardless.


    The mage spat out a response, clearly letting the insult get to him, "Ha! Aren''t you getting that backwards? For a group that managed to die in Leroy''s Lair, you sure are cocky!"


    All of the people from the larger group clicked their tongues. In the temporary cool down, I mumbled ''Who''s that'', repeated it for everyone and glanced through the tables. The five assassin''s levels ranged between 42 and 47, the two assassins being level 45 and level 48 with their mage being level 54. Looking at the others, this mage had the second highest in the party.


    After a moment''s pause, a male assassin on the end took a jab, "So, how did the dire wolves treat your B party again?" Another pause before the same person continued, "They died twice and gave up with a massive loss of money? Sorry to hear that."If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    Before the smaller group could give a comeback, however, a male tank, who was previously standing near me, walked towards the center and yelled, "You guys... Shut the hell up!"


    The people involved turned from one another, scowling at the person who dared to interrupt them. In the tense atmosphere, three of them on the larger side reached towards their swords, anger plastered on their faces as they did so.


    "And who are you to demand that, you meat shield wannabe!?" someone in the angry crowd said.


    Understanding that he made the situation way worse, he too reached towards his sword. Lots of people near me were making similar movements, though, the people designated as our trainers seemed intrigued with this fight, looming near the entrance with thoughtful expressions.


    The middle assassin from the five made the first move. Brandishing her weapons: a handful of throwing knives and a basic sword, she showed the gap between their speed by practically danced towards the outspoken tank, hitting his face with the knives before reaching him and slicing his arm with her sword.


    The other four got out their weapons, looked back to the three they argued with and moved. The latter doing the same, and so a fight between them started. More tanks and the rest of the assassins, all of which seeing how silly this was, soon interjected. But instead of forcing the battle to end, all of them ended up just joining the chaos instead.


    Moments after it started, the tank and two of the assassin''s health was in the red, with the majority of the rest of the crowd being somewhere in the orange. The assassins from the beginning found themselves darting around additional tanks, being chased by more assassins, all of whom matched their speed and damage and being engulfed in frost, fire, and water from the mage who was almost unscathed at this point.


    Only me, the three instructors and the other mage were out of the conflict. All of us saw how long this would take, so fighting occasional explosions, crackling of fire, clashing of metal and shrieks of pain, we started a conversation.


    The latter started the conversation, picking her words wisely as she asked me, "So, um... why is a healer in this group?"


    To which I bluntly replied, "No idea..."


    Having nothing to add to that, I faced one of the instructors and asked, "What was the point in this? If it''s about discipline, then they''ve failed already. If this has another reason, wouldn''t be a good idea to tell us rather than letting most of the people die and therefore not hear it?"


    The mage was the first to answer, "Oh, don''t worry about that. This is a training room, so if someone dies they''ll instantly respawn outside. The entire purpose of this is to test everyone''s abilities, so technically the only two not fulfilling the purpose is you two. And yes, I''m including you too, succubus."


    Our parties mage seemed confused before his mouth fell open and a question poured out, "You''re a succubus, why pretend to be a healer then?"


    I internally forced myself to ignore the tangent, instead, spending my next words questioning the instructor''s method, "Well that figures. But even if you say that, are you sure such a sporadic free-for-all is the best way to showcase this?"


    The pirate butted in before the mage could answer, "Are you saying that this war isn''t going to be this sporadic?"


    "There are at least defined sides in a war, this is just a pointless cluster-fuck based on random hostility," I stated.


    Met by laughter, the mage tried to debate this, "You clearly are new to this world, are you a visitor or something?"


    I nodded, making the mage continue his explanation with widened eyes, "Really? A visitor like you is nearly level fifty!? You''re representing a country you''ve only been in for a month at most!"


    To show my confusion at his awe, I countered his question with another, "Is that really surprising? I didn''t really try to raise my level to this degree, it just happened..."


    Sighing, the assassin-classed instructor, who was previously lurking just outside, finally butted in, "You... It''s taken us years to get to this level. How suicidal were you and your party?"


    I tilted my head to the side, "''Suicidal''? I''ve only done one dungeon and a raid dungeon... Oh, and that one event in Skimmington."


    The assassin mimicked my action, singling their point of confusion, "''Event''?"


    "Well, there was a sort of fight between those two clans, the Samurai_Girls and the... Ha... I''ve forgotten their name,"


    The mage-classed instructor prompted me, "Do you mean the Back_Hands?"


    Clapping my hands, I nodded. But before I could continue, the first scream from the crowd dominated the room. Most of the fighting stopped to check who released such a noise, swiftly isolating the source as the tank who first tried breaking up the fight.


    The conversation came back in sync with the mass clashing of swords, the non-instructing mage''s mouth agape for some reason with me in his sight. Was he staring at me that entire time or something?


    Slightly stuttering, he soon voiced his reason, "Um... y-you wouldn''t happen to be the guy who decimated the Back_Hand''s leader with the bind trap, would you?"


    Yet again I tried arguing against this undeserved praise, "Is it that special? I mean, it took my entire group of four to kill him that quickly, I just trapped him there..."


    I failed, as the sparks in his eyes dictated. One of the instructors, I think it was the pirate, patted me on the back for some reason...


    It was explained after a moment of thought, "Well, anyway. The heat of the fight seems to have simmered, do you mind actually showing us your all now?"


    Amidst our discussion, I noticed the rate of spells launched by the fighting mage had slowed, so I assumed the fight had calmed down a bit. But I was still surprised at the reality behind it. From the looks of it, the people previously scared at his damage swooped in and swiftly defeated him in close combat. He died seconds after our conversation ended.


    Overlooking the slug-fest as a whole, I saw that everyone, par one cowardly assassin hiding in the corner, were at orange health. Everyone now focusing on individual duels rather than fighting everyone simultaneously, though, chaotic attacks out of said duels were still common. The total deaths numbering four, with five or so people nearly joining them, so the previously fast-paced brawl now looked more controlled and manageable for everyone.


    With the fact that my opponents were mostly wounded, I took the chance to join the fight. I used some honor in taking on the mage who joined with me first. After making eye contact with him, we both counted down simultaneously. Pacing towards the heart of the fight with every count, we eventually both reached zeroand faced one another. Without any delay, we both attacked.

 Chapter 25: A tedious fight ended by the bored.

    *''Doki''*


    The mage and I both face one another, our palms faced outwards as we both used our skills.


    His magic, which was in the form of a couple balls of water each the size of my fists, narrowly beat my ''bolt'' to the punch since he was stationary unlike me. However, the spread of these balls and their slow space made it easy for me to sidestep, whilst my bind was so sudden that he couldn''t react.


    As the water splashed against the wall behind me, another group, who were near-ish to where we were, stopped their infighting to pester us with numbers. I was a tad focused on the mage at the point of their attack, but with my speed, surprising to even myself, gave me the time to dodge them regardless.


    I made a few sudden movements which completely dodged the four simultaneous swipes made at me. Other assassins in the group who didn''t even attack seemed wary of my speed as I started my retaliation. I used this time to take out one of my swords.


    One of the three males in the group paused, starting a rather odd and insulting conversation in the middle of the fight, "Pah... Dammit! You''re not a healer are you?"


    A female chimed in, not needing such a break to insult the previous speaker, "Well duh, idiot. But a succubus, huh? Die!"


    Upon saying this, her daggers glowed goldenly and she lunged towards me. However, underestimating my speed, her eyes widened when she saw that I dodged them, but rather than giving up, she attacked once more with still glowing swords.


    I ducked under this one, making her barely nick the male behind me. The golden glow disappearing from the daggers, wrapping around the receiver''s arm and violently crushed it, before he could complain or even grunt, his body turned to particles.


    She clicked her tongue at another miss, and softly groaned as I hit her twice in return.


    The rest backed off, probably seeing me what just happened as proof of my speed, since I only used one sword to do that.


    Taking out my other sword, I calmly stepped towards those who didn''t outright flee but was stopped in my tracks by a whooshing sound coming from my left. In response, I leapt back to watch the fire whiz past me within a second of me doing so.


    I spat out the command, "Bind."


    Seeing the familiar forest of tentacles engulf half of the room, I focused back on the assassins and pounced upon them. They, who didn''t really get the time from that distraction to escape the range or attack further, darted away, attacking the walls with a few killed tentacles being their only response.


    Two of them did stay with me as their focus, poising their swords in my direction and sticking their ground. Both matching my next steps with a flurry of swings, of which, all either missed or got countered by my own.


    Their sidestepping, matched by few who rejoined the fight, annoyed me, but with my swords, I could do little but block.


    Mumbles by some of them made their swords glow, whilst others said similar things to dodge my swings with mad acrobatics. The first didn''t do anything since they still missed, but the latter just made me even more annoyed. My blocking didn''t falter and my health was about 500, but my time was now spent solely defending rather than doing any attacks, which was rather annoying since I was also on a time-limit.


    Soon enough, with a stalemate being reached by the people inside my walls, a crackle of lightning interrupted, coming from behind me. It overwhelmed the grunts, mumbles, and clashes from us, marking the first breach of the walls. Similarly, loud splashes of water and the whistling of wind followed from another direction.


    The people who were congregated around me took the chance to flee, each becoming a target of the magic bombarding my walls, and with their absence, I put one of my swords away and starting spamming bolt on the remaining assassins.


    My health built up dramatically, even giving me room to attack those caught, further increase this gain. Though, since they initially blocked the mage''s attacks, their eventual deaths lead to a sketchy situation.


    Instead of going for small, manageable attacks like fireballs, the first mage attacked me with an AOE attack, following it with a water one. I don''t know what happened to the other mage, since fleeing from the attacks took priority for me, but as it was loud in their general direction I assumed they were busy over there.


    I dodged the flames barely, getting grazed by a stray flame lapping at my heel for about a hundred hp, the water attack I didn''t get so lucky, though. It had a higher range and my previous graze both distracted me and removed some of my movement speed.


    As it pounded my chest, my health shrank dramatically from over one-thousand to only two-hundred and I was sent flying towards my wall due to it. The impact removed further health, leaving me with 20.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    Barely in the fight, another hole opened up behind me, a female tank, whose axe was currently buried in the ground, seemed to be the cause. Without giving her a chance to free it, I struck her left arm, putting me back at over five-hundred health with only that one attack.


    I mentally noted this and bound her, swiftly killing her with no hint of a struggle. Given a second''s break, I then dismissed the remaining wall of tentacles from sapping even more AP from me.


    With actual vision on what everyone was doing, I saw a large group of assassins surrounding one of the mages in a fight that resembled a hurricane sweeping up small pieces of metal, and another group made of mainly tanks surrounding the other


    A few minor scuffles happened between individuals as well, however, I chose to intercept the latter group instead, mainly due to the lack of projectiles flooding them. Whilst charging towards the group, I bound three tanks within the time it took me.


    By the time I made my first attack on someone in the group, the assassin receiving it knew I was there in spite of my rather ludicrous speed. This didn''t matter that much since, except for an initial block, my sword swings and movements outpaced theirs to a massive degree and the more attacks they took, the easier the next was to hit.


    Noticing me, the same male assassin from before yelled, "How the heck are you still alive?!"


    His question brought me to the attention remaining unbound members of the group, distracting one of them mid-swing of their finishing attack on the mage. They all promptly made me the target of their attacks.


    Of these, the only two that actually hit me were tanks. The assassin''s blades I blocked, and the rest were closer to hitting other members of the group rather than me. This included more golden glows which almost blinded me in their frequency and brightness, especially when some transferred to others through grazes, crushing, debuffing or outright paralyzing the people hit. Three of four pixelated, adding further to the already obnoxious light pollution that blinded me.


    This actually worked in my favor, since I was neither hit, nor attacked by those affected. The few people still bound were now freed, but their presence wasn''t that important considering they were tanks with awfully slow attacks which dealt pathetic damage in the first place.


    Although I was doing well, it still took a while to whittle the tanks down, and with the remaining assassins actually dodging me, only the mage, who somehow survived, died in the next minute of the chaotic combat.


    Even in ten minutes of frantic attacks in the existing clusterfuck, there were still half the people in the group fighting. So long was spent in the fight that some of the tanks even passed out before reaching the red.


    Only three more people died in our group before a prompt eventually popped up.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''1''> PVP in this room has been turned off.


    Please stop your fighting now. </tr></td></tbody></table>


    A loud clap dominated the room, snapping most out of their trance like states.


    "Ha ha ha... This was certainly more chaotic than we expected. Good job all, but, it seems like someone here forgot to savour their AP. Don''t forget, we are technically in a war right now. The real fights could start at any time, so if you used too much, use a damn potion to regain it now," a familiar voice announced. The source of it, the ''tutoring'' mage, was glaring at me.


    "Ah..." I mumbled, finally realizing why everyone wasn''t just spamming their abilities. I checked my current AP, but seeing as it was still over twenty-thousand, I simply shrugged nonchalantly.


    "Well, anyway. This was a successful test of your skills, nobody failed so badly that I''d consider kicking them but everyone should have points to improve. With that, dismissed," the pirate tutor added, gesturing to the door we entered from with a relaxed smile.


    Most of the others, except for me and maybe some others, bowed in the tutor''s direction before heading out. I just headed out, my reaction met with scorn from the tutors and others alike.


    The tank was waiting outside, handing everyone a piece of paper that turned out to be our schedule for the foreseeable future and a badge.


    For now, the same schedule said ''rest'' until six pm... realizing I got the night-shift, I couldn''t stop a deep groan from escaping my mouth. After I was satisfied with that, I thought to myself how I was going to spend my free five hours until the shift started. I concluded to head out, get lunch go shopping.


    -


    Walking to the shopping district, I got bored so explored menus. This included looking at the ''friends'' page, which was empty. There didn''t seem to be a ''call'' option, though, since it might open when I eventually bothered to add someone, I kept it in mind for later.


    Then I opened my inventory, and apart from a metric ton of mob drops, nothing spoke out to me. I did have a grand total of eleven-point-five-million gold, but not knowing pricing, I shook that fact off too. None of the other menus I explored offered anything remotely special, even my stats, given that I only leveled op once during that whole session.


    Lunch too was dull. Sitting alone and eating some snacks from a random cafe was dull and slightly lonely. At this point, despair kicked in when I realized I was being so social in this... game, another world?


    The despair turned to frustration when that question came up, which shocked me far more than I previously was.


    -


    Moments later I finally shook it off my mind, finishing my ''meal'' and heading elsewhere for upgrades. Being the sloth that I am, I entered the first smith I saw.


    I was greeted by a drab and mono-toned "Welcome," by the poor sap behind the counter.


    Cutting right to the point, I asked, "What kinds of swords do you have?"


    The employee droned through the list on the verge of yawning, "Bone, iron, steel... Damascus steel, mithril, and Hell-stone. We have... from mediocre to well-made ranks..."


    Not understanding most of the options, I queried the price of a random one, "How much would a mediocre Damascus steel sword cost?"


    Yawning loudly, they replied, "Depends on the enchants... Three-point-one... million for a standard one,"


    "Two with unbreaking two and sharpness?"


    "Eight-point-nine-million..." this was accompanied by yet another yawn.


    Knowing it left me with only a fifth of my funds, I accepted in a tone mimicking the clerk''s, "Done."


    They pointed over to one of the stands and using my analysis skill, I found two matching my criteria and brought them over. Once checked by the almost unconscious clerk, they nodded, handing them back and receiving my money. After counting to make sure, they gave a half-arsed wave and sent me on my way.

 Chapter 26: Unfortunately being right.

    *Doki*


    "You''re here again?" the man behind the counter asked in a rhetorical tone.


    I, who was standing in the doorway, made my way to the same counter and sat on one of the many stools.


    Shaking his head, he sighed deeply then asked me a question for real, "Regular?"


    My eyes moved up to greet his, with his black hair concealing one of them behind a large spiked bang.


    "Sure..." I muttered, returning the sigh.


    He nodded, and, in an attempt of small talk, stated, "Seriously... Without you, I''d be able to close this damn shop hours earlier. Is your job really that dull?"


    I looked at my surroundings, the familiar pattern of chairs and tables greeted me, with an overall theme of wood. Of course, all the tables were empty since the windows released the darkness of night upon the areas near them.


    "It''s not the ''job'' I mind, it''s the paperwork afterwards that''s annoying... I''ve told you that before though," I bluntly replied.


    "I know... But for real, how the hell do you keep escaping?"


    "My ''group'' actively ignore me until the paperwork starts..." I explained, getting rather dull of the silence myself.


    "Of course they''d do that, you''re a healer, no? You''re supposed to be the support in the background... Oh well, not my place to belittle you for that. However... as a citizen, it is my duty to yell at you for leaving your post though. I mean, why the hell do you keep coming here out of every place you could!? You''ll drag me down with you if anyone finds out..."


    "Yeah, all the people here will find out..." I refuted, beckoning my surroundings as I did so. Deeply sighing, I added "I''m not even the only one who hates being forced to do guard duties in the wake of the real ones who went to the actual war-zone. I''m just the only one who gets forced to do the paperwork."


    "Well, that doesn''t excuse you being the only one going AWOL. I mean, this building is next to the south-east city gate," he replied, then pounded the table with his hands as he exclaimed, "You know, the one you should be patrolling for the sake of the city and country!"


    Spitting out a sigh, I explained once more, attempting to make a valid reason for my laziness, "If anyone bothered to patrol this area, then I''d agree. Anyway, my defence for coming here is that this seems like a prime area for those wishing to attack and get into the town... ''city'' with no resistance. Hell, there''s even a forest over there which seems perfect for making and hiding a camp, it seems way too suspect no?"


    Sweat coated the employee''s forehead as he made a rushed counter-argument, "Yeah, but that''s..."


    I cut him off, rebuking what I assumed was his point, "I know the stories surrounding it too. Still, I highly doubt the people... ''Devils'' trying to enslave us for their own greed will care about a little local myth. With how recent half of it is, I''d go as far to bet they''re the ones who fabricated it."


    The man sighed again. With an awkward silence indicating he gave up, he handed me a cup then a pot of tea he just brewed.


    Yet again, both he and I seemed to get bored in sync, though, he was the one who restarted the conversation.


    "Wait a second, aren''t you a visitor? Ha ha ha, as a citizen, I know way more about my city and my world than you do. You really don''t seem to know what''s going on, so as a citizen who trusts in my own country''s intelligence, allow me to accept that bet. Unless you''ve changed your mind by now that is."


    "Fine, what''s the prize?"


    "If I win and the kingdom of Azril''s scouts don''t attack from here, you pay double of your tab from the days you''ve already been lurking here and the rest until that point. If you win and they do, I''ll refund the same amount. By the way, it''s currently at 3150 gold, Sound fair?"


    Although I secretly that I was going to lose, I accepted it to keep up appearances, "Sure. It''s a bet."


    His hand forcefully grabbed mine, and we shook on it. The conversation between us died there, and I drank pot after pot of tea content with the knowledge that I could spend tonight lazily.


    -


    After the nth pot, sometime around midnight, a person entered the door. From the sounds of cloth fluttering in the wind, I turned around to briskly see a cloaked figure around the height of the bar-keeper. Said cloaked covered almost all of their face, but a random gust of wind uncovered a blood-red horn from beneath their silver hair.


    ''Crap...'' was my only thought when I saw this, though I was confident that my poker-face was strong due to their reaction.


    Their head darted from left to right off the bat, then I turned around once more, hearing the person''s soft footsteps come near me.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    "Is this seat free?" a deep mumbled voice asked, and no one answered.


    Probably after seeing the barkeep, who didn''t see or just ignored the horn from before, gesture to the absence of people, the figure sat down next to me and ordered some alcoholic drink. At the same time, my focus returned to my drink.


    A while passed, and only the sounds of sipping could be heard, however, that was awkwardly interrupted by the hooded devil near me, who suddenly asked, "So, who are you?"


    "What''s this? Oh, me... I''m an insomniac," I faked momentary deafness then bluntly answered. Their table popped up as I met their red eyes, that barely peeked beneath their hood.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''1''> Name </td><td colspan=''3''> Claire De Pride </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> Class </td><td colspan=''1''> Tank </td><td colspan=''1''> Level </td><td colspan=''1''> 57 </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> Gender </td><td colspan=''1''> Female </td><td colspan=''1''> HP </td><td colspan=''1''> 3380/3380 </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> Skills </td><td colspan=''3''> (You cannot see the skills of an intelligent race at your level.) </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''> Do you wish to view further details?


    Yes or No.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Their volume raised when they repeated the question, a clear female voice in place of the mumbles, "Seriously. Who are you?"


    Rolling my eyes, I made a ''playful'' comment, "No. I mean, I could ask you the same question, though, the answer would be the opposite, wouldn''t it, Ms Devil."


    Both the other two froze due to my comment, so I used the time given to comment, "Hoods don''t really work on windy days. Anyway, there''s no reason to assume I''m your enemy. Only the Azril Kingdom are at war with fourth island, no? Unless your..."


    "Thunder Smash!" Cutting me off, a metallic blur swung into my stool and smashed it to pixels. I dodged it only because of my reflexes and speed, as expected against a tank. My swords were drawn by the time she picked up her weapon.


    The barkeeper, seeing the current scene, cried out, "Stop! What the hell is going on here!?"


    "Die," she coldly stated, ignoring the previous outcry. "Fury Swing!"


    She vertically swung her war-hammer at full force towards my direction. I ducked, slicing her shoulder with my previously unused swords. The drinks from earlier flew off the counter, cascading to the floor with a noise that competed with the hammer swings.


    This moment was cut short by her consecutive swings. Each concurrent rotation increased in speed until even I couldn''t hit her during them. Hence I remained duck, noticing my health was only passed 200 barely after seven hits.


    Eventually, she stopped, opening herself up for a counter-attack from the dizziness caused by the attack.


    "Have at me. Bolt," I muttered.


    Familiar tentacles rose from the floorboards and engulfed the devil and a significant radius around her. I poked both my now glowing blades through one of the few openings in the bind, tripling my health with the single attack. From there, I did one more jab with both of my swords and leapt back, using my opponents verbal grunts as an indication that her tiredness wearing off. Taking a breath, I looked at my health, which was now about 900.


    Without much delay, a snapping sound came from the binds. First, the tentacles surrounding her arms and legs got torn apart, swiftly pixelating with the rest of tentacles surrounding her. Her hood was shredded and the armour around her left arm was scarred critically.


    Raising her weapon above her head, she cried "Thunder Hammer!" until the sparks and darkness shrouded the hammer''s head. In the seconds this took, I lunged in for one more attack, bouncing back just as quickly once the damage had been done.


    Once her movement came back, she immediate yelled "Earthquake!". A blur of her hammer battered the ground, releasing a wave of wood and other debris that destroyed the wall previously behind me in a single blow. With the span of carnage, I couldn''t find any safe spots, so blocked as much debris as I could with my swords and crouched in the corner.


    As the attack reached me, I could only watch to see how much health left me.


    The dust lifted, revealing the fact that every table in the room, even the massive counter behind her, vanished. The roof above creaked and shook haphazardly.


    The demon in her now battered armour loomed in the crater''s epicentre. Grunting as she pulled her embedded weapon free, she searched surroundings with her thin, dark eyes.


    "Where the hell is she!?" she bellowed, I heard this but didn''t listen as I was slightly preoccupied with getting myself up.


    Eventually, I stumbled to my feet, barely maintaining my footing with only 28 health remaining and deep breaths that immediately revealed my location. Additionally, my swords were glowing even brighter than they had before, allowing her to home in on my position the instant her eyes scanned the area.


    When my eyes refocused, and I realised that I still had an opportunity to attack, then made a mad dash for her location. Both of my battered blades maintaining their shine as I did so.


    As the last few inches of her weapon dislodged the wood burying them, I closed the distance between us.


    Giving as powerful of a swing as I could, I struck her shoulder with one sword and hit her back with the other. I couldn''t check how much health I gained since the devil''s hammer slammed down on my position instantly after.


    With good footwork and twisting my body, the hammer missed, thudding to the floor and became implanted beneath the fractured wooden floor.


    "Have at me! Bind!" I yelled, unable to control how loudly I pushed out the words with my current level of fatigue.


    Another set of tentacles wrapped around her, with a flurry of stabs complimenting it. I observed my health as the bombardment continued, and was surprised to see it now at over one and a half thousand.


    This bind lasted longer than the previous one, and even with my ever more sloppy movements I easily surpassed the two thousand health boundary when she finally broke it.


    Assuming the fight was near its end, I swapped my right-hand sword for my staff and yelled "Bind" once more. This time the tentacles swarming the devil''s figure were thicker than previously.


    Knowing my limits were nearing me, I spat out the words "power charge" and swung once more with my left-hand sword. I sliced her shattered between the human-thick tentacles, gaining a couple hundred more health in doing so.


    I drew my sword to struck her one more time, however, my next strike only hit the pixels dissipating from her dead body.


    Three pop-up screens stating I levelled up greeted me, as a begrudgingly escaped the crater that was now the leftovers of the cafe room. The faltering roof seemed barely stable enough to support itself, but I was way too tired to care at that point.


    -


    After leaving the remains of the building, I found a group of ''soldiers'' outside. My hood was as good as gone, with my top joining it, so when the mob saw me scrabble out of the door.


    The first voice I heard was a familiar sorcerer, the only one of my group I had actually added to my contact list, "What the hell happened here, you weren''t right, were you!?"


    I collapsed before I could reply.

 Chapter 27: The secret dungeon: Part 1.

    I woke up to many voices loudly overlapping, a few I knew came to my focus as I opened and saw some members of my ''team'' arguing. I heard some words about an evacuation, but there weren''t enough details for me to really understand.


    One of them, a mage called Quincy, noticed I was up and spoke up, silencing four other people who clearly didn''t, "Are you okay?"


    "Uh... mind explaining what''s going on?" I asked back.


    "You know how you were right? Turns out there''s an A rank dungeon in that forest which had its entrance destroyed by the devils hiding there," the sole Assassin explained, Sam, spitting out sighs between her words.


    "How the heck did a visitor like you know that anyway?" the other mage, Draco, demanded.


    "Shouldn''t we ask why he passed out first?" Grant, the party''s sole pirate, tried to change the subject and asked.


    I answered both in the most bitter way I could, since I was genuinely angry with all of the people in the room, "First, it was an unlucky guess since that was where you guys weren''t. Second, you bastards made me do all the paperwork for the stuff you actively did without me, with him of all people... Seriously, I haven''t slept in three days because of you lot."


    They all responded by questioning it, with even our reserved tank Aria joining in. Then they seemed to have started thinking back, since they shut themselves up shortly afterwards. In the meantime, I looked around the room and found a window letting the sunlight in.


    Checking in my inventory, I found the time to be about 10 am, so broke the silence with another question, "So, why are you here? Hell, why are you guys even up right now?"


    "Shifts don''t matter, since its kind of an emergency," the assassin stated, ignoring the first part.


    Shaking his head, Draco sighed deeply then admitted begrudgingly, "There''s a rush of monsters from the dungeon wrecking havoc over here... Screw it, we need you personally since your class seems perfect for this."


    I got up from the bed I was somehow in, stating, "Fine, you good to start now then?" before stalling for a bit. This is because I saw some familiar pop-ups noting me that I levelled up three more times, and one new one.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''1''> You have defeated someone of an intelegent race.


    Pick one item to steal from them.


    (Say ''Open'' to see their inventory)</td></tr></tbody></table>


    "It''s the south east gate, right? I need a second, so can you let me catch up?" I queried, surprised to hear the others accept this and leave. Once alone I whispered, "Open."


    In the inventory, there were many items, from potions which actively said I couldn''t use them with my class, to her battle axe and demolished armour. So, I picked the obvious choice and tried to take her Warhammer.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''1''> This won''t fit in your inventory, or on your person. Please pick another item. </td></tr></tbody></table>


    So, I ended up looking in my inventory, finding and dumping two pages random rotten items, and then grabbing the Warhammer. Then I sorted out my stats, given my new level-ups.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''1''> Name </td><td colspan=''3''> DokiDoki19 </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> Class </td><td colspan=''1''> Succubus </td><td colspan=''1''> Level</td><td colspan=''1''> 24 </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> Class skills</td><td colspan=''3''> ["Bind" = Mass_Leech.], ["Bolt" = Leech.], ["Heal" = Blood_Transfusion.], [passive = melody_of_screams], [passive = Life_Absorb.], [passive = Attraction_Resistance.], [passive = Attraction_Increase.]</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> Sub-class skills </td><td colspan=''3''> <"What''s that?" = Object_Examination.>, <"What''s this?" = Mob_Examination.>, <"Possess" = Mob_Tame.>, <"Summon" = Summon_(Name)>, <"Kill" = Teleport_Home>, <"set home"= Set_Home_(Name)>, <"Reflect" = Reverse_trajectory>, .</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> Weapon skills </td><td colspan=''3''> ("Have at me" = Power_Charge.), (passive = Staff_Hit.), (passive = Dual_Wield.), (passive = _Magic_Boost.)</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> Additional skills </td><td colspan=''3''> /''Stop'' = Skill_Cancellation.\</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> Achievement skills </td><td colspan=''3''> N/A </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''>Equipment [/td1]</tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>On-Hand</td><td colspan=''1''>Demascus-steel one-handed sword</td><td colspan=''1''>Off-Hand</td><td colspan=''1''>Demascus-steel one-handed sword</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Head-wear</td><td colspan=''1''>Cloth_Hood</td><td colspan=''1''>Inner-Wear</td><td colspan=''1''>Black_Boxers</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Outerwear</td><td colspan=''1''>Healer''s_Cape</td><td colspan=''1''>Foor-Wear</td><td colspan=''1''>100%_Cow_Boots</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>Accessories</td><td colspan=''3''> N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A. </td></tbody></table>


    <table><tbody>[tr][td4] Stats </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''> Level </td><td colspan=''2''> 56 </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> AP </td><td colspan=''1''> 31000 </td><td colspan=''1''> Defense </td><td colspan=''1''> 66 </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> Damage </td><td colspan=''1''> 202 </td><td colspan=''1''> HP </td><td colspan=''1''> 30/NA </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> Speed </td><td colspan=''1''> 202 </td><td colspan=''1''> Stamina </td><td colspan=''1''> 140 </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''> Spare </td><td colspan=''2''> 0 </td></tr></tbody></table>Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    After clearing this up, I ran out of the room to follow the others, bumping into them waiting for me at the entrance.


    -


    From the Bank building in the city centre, we walked as the party through the now abandoned shopping district and headed south-east, past the ruined cafe where I made a ''home'' point at and we made it to the gate.


    Once we reached the gate, the reason for the chaos was immediately obvious. The gate itself was demolished, with parts of the wall and some of the farms surrounding it sharing the same fate. Other groups from our guards were already in the heat of combat, fighting the numerous golden slimes bouncing all over the place, giant wolves charging in packs to the front and a few trolls lobbing boulders from the background.


    Upon checking their levels, the slimes and wolves ranged from level 50 to 60 and the trolls were level 60+. Both the first two also had insanely high speed stats which rivalled my own, making most of the volunteer fighters unable to even hit them, and the trolls decent damage and an absurd amount of hp, making them like sub-bosses.


    "See the problem?" Sam asked rhetorically.


    When I nodded in response, the rest of my party all unsheathed their weapons as I walked behind them with only my staff in my off-hand.


    They reached a pair of battered tanks who were trying, and failing, to fight off ten or so slimes since the slime''s bouncing speed was insane compared to Sam''s, let alone my own.


    "Bolt," I said, aiming at one of the slimes, doing the same with another one by the time the tentacles had grabbed the first and repeating this cycle even when they inevitably broke free.


    Due to me doing this, the tanks, with Grant and Geoff, could actually connect their swings, whilst Sam darted to the slimes I couldn''t bind, catching a few of them with pretty damn precise movements and the two mages who were with me in the back used their magic from range. With Draco using his most powerful wind spells on one of the slimes bound and Quincy spamming low-level water and ice spells on the slimes Sam was unable to chase.


    However, since Draco, with his powerful spells, killed a few of them, the slimes started to ignore the front-liners and started directly attacking us. This made me have to draw my swords, which limited the amount I could bind, making the slimes even harder to hit for everyone apart from me and Sam.


    Another problem also followed, with a larger party in the front falling back to us, bringing a Troll with them.


    "Doki, start healing them dammit!" Grant ordered, taking over my position.


    I put back my swords, put my staff back into my off-hand, and aimed my "heal" at the two tanks on after another, who were now fighting off the troll with far more ease than the slimes.


    My health diminished rapidly, so I had to re-equip a sword on my offhand and started to spam out bind as I slashed, which was thankfully easy due to the weakened Slimes breaking the binds slower than before.


    The other party was heavily wounded, so I found myself healing more people which soon went out of hand. Yet, it soon balanced out as I prioritised healing to those who needed it the most. And by using the same strategy over and over again, with backup from Grant and Sam, the three of us handily kept the slime''s attention as the others gradually transitioned to fighting the troll instead.


    We couldn''t kill the slimes quickly enough though, because, as the last three slimes went into the red, more parties had moved back, bringing over another troll, seven more golden slimes and twelve wolves, which added more chaos to the fight when people started dying.


    Starting with most of the other parties falling back further due to injuries, we soon had our party''s first casualty, with Grant being smothered under one of the boulders thrown by the trolls before being able asking for help, with Aria swiftly following because of a wolf suddenly charging into her and critting, almost killing her outright, leading straight into another wolf which bit at her arm.


    With those two pixilated away, we had to rely solely on the other parties to get aggro for us and I was forced into a full healing and binding role due to most of the assassins who were here all fleeing.


    Gritting their teeth, more and more parties called to fall back, but since we knew that we were the last line between the monsters and the town, a few parties, including ours, forced ourselves to fight on regardless, with Sam and Draco barking rebuttals to the fallback calls made by other parties.


    -


    Gradually, even our endurance died down. Down to the last three parties, with six, five and three people left with our party having three due to Draco dying because he aggroed too much in desperation, though he did manage to kill more than ten monsters with his last major attack.


    Only myself having the AP and health to continue fighting for our party, and only four or five able to actively help in from the others, our out-numbered, out-leveled force was looking ''slightly'' bleak.


    The battle was so focused that no one dared look back to see if another line had been formed yet. On my end, continuing my role of binding individual slimes or wolves was almost pointless in wake of the numbers that kept devastating our remaining people, so I ended up having to fight with swords only to keep up with my other role, healing. For which, I had to keep ten of the remaining people on life-support with my healing.


    Puffing with exhaustion, more and more people were stating their doubts amidst blows. Even Quincy and later Sam admitting their wish to do the same.


    Stopping my job for a moment, I spat out the skill "bind," which, at level 10, encircled the entire opened area, with the outward tentacles destroying other parts of the walls. I then demanded, "Who wants to leave!?"


    Most of the people I was with were confused by what happened, and thankfully, so were the mobs. Eight people I was healing, and some I wasn''t, raised their hands, so I teleported each of them back to the cafe with the command ''kill 9'',


    Then I explained in a shout to the panicking remainders, "I didn''t kill them! I have the warp-smith Grimoire, which I used to send them somewhere behind us. Say now if you wish to join them, the rest, join me and continue!"


    Two more said yes to this, and so two more left the area, leaving only me, two unknown assassins and an unknown mage fighting inside my tentacle-walls. The mage, who had multiple AP potions left, spammed medium level area of effect fire magic on the slimes and wolves attempting to break my walls, both of the remaining assassins defended him against the mobs he aggroed, with me, in a suicidal attack, charging straight into the last five trolls at the back in order to wipe out their ranged attacks.

 Chapter 28: The secret dungeon: part 2.

    I charged to the far side of my make-shift arena, my offhand sword drawn as I forced my way through a few wolves who had actively been chasing me, with sheer speed and damage from the few swipes I made. A few leaping bites from those I dodged simply by stopping awkwardly right as they pounced since my movement was faster than their''s, yet I still felt control over each step.


    Inching my way due to being pressured by the hounding wolves to slow my pace, three more wolves and a slime who were scraping at the walls previously, joined their pursuit half-way to the trolls; this made my journey to the trolls more torturous. But, since I was healing the assassins and couldn''t get many hits due to the sheer amount of foes attacking me, I didn''t have the health to tank any hits, so it was necessary to do the dodging I did.


    Regardless, with a few close calls from the now clusterfuck of attacks spewing at me, attempts by the wolves to encircle me were thwarted by the slime, which collided with half of the wolves mid-air, dealing friendly fire which I followed up with slashes, which were made in a rash frame of mind.


    Previously unsensed by me, another wolf took the opportunity to jump at me, diminishing my health and, somehow, cause physical pain to me, which I had thought to be impossible after the acid incident...


    Finally noticing this curiosity, my brain focused more on why I felt pain than my current condition, letting another two hits land before I snapped out of this.


    My swords now glowing and my health bar now a mere dot of what it used to be, I countered the attack with a swipe with my off-hand whilst grabbing my other sword for a follow-up which killed the two target wolves instantly.


    I mumbled, "Save point." Before raising my voice uncontrollably to yell, "Have at me!"


    With my swords now glowing bright red, I attacked the others, one-shotting two and throwing the slime a couple meters away before continuing my trek. At this time, I noticed the bombardment of boulders being hailed at me, to which I frantically dodged, managing - with some fault of the physics - to keep my swords which were practically floating near my hands.


    Looking back for a split second, turns out that their attacks had been constant from the start of my charge, they just missed until this sudden halt.


    This temporary distraction let the wolves who barely tanked the bombardment recover, and begin the chase again. But this time, there were less chasing me, so I progressed faster and eventually reached the trolls.


    Meeting my appearance with smacks of their clubs, I sussed out their arsenal of attacks quickly, removing my main-hand sword.


    With this, I started countering their club swings with dodges and stabs then, when one slammed down on the ground with their''s, I bound them trying to retrieve their submerged weapons which prolonged the length of the bind and the retrieval process. Although the other trolls tried to force me away with their own attacks, I still got the chance


    Repeating these interactions whilst ignoring the few remaining aggroed wolves who, after all my antics, persisted their chase; my health went from a couple hundred from my arrival to over twenty-thousand, however, none of the three trolls died yet.


    However, this is when I noticed that my health was going down way slower than before, which I assumed the reason being one, or both, of the assassins dying, but I didn''t get the chance to confirm it with the blitz of attacks surrounding me.


    Having set up a few save-points around the combat, I eventually yelled, "Have at me!" when I considered my health, judging from their 200+ damage stats, enough to tank their attacks with weapons and skills taken into account, and promptly got beaten over the head with a rock, then a club to the back just to add insult to my injury.


    Barely crawling up again, made more daunting accompanied by the forgotten feeling of pain, I grabbed my now yellow glowing swords and waiting for the counter opportunity.


    One such opportunity swiftly came, when the troll I seemed to remember hitting the least attacked with a full-out slam on the ground. It took one swing of both of my swords to get my about two-hundred health to become over fifteen-thousand. The remainder of my attacks on it increased my health ten-thousand more and killed the troll that received it.


    The other two, clearly enraged by this, attacked without any limit, dragging any and all allies in range into the pain they previously reserved for me.


    This, however, didn''t work for them as I simply fled, baiting them to groups of other mobs who got exterminated by their frenzied spew of their bouncing clubs. And every time either of the trolls used the stronger attack, a flurry of my swings, the tentacles of my binds and the other troll''s club battered them.


    It only took three such occasions for the second troll to fall, then the wolves and slimes join me in killing the last, ending their life in a minute and getting me even more health.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Seeing the slimes and wolves now duke it out, the already chaotic scene turned even more hectic. With countless attacks hitting enemies and allies alike. Less and less focused on my walls and the internal conflict spread throughout all of the mobs inside.


    Through the crowds, I saw balls of fire engulfing entire packs of wolves and two figures flying into air-borne enemies, showing me that the other three were still alive, but unfortunately not being healed.


    Escaping the disorderly in-fighting between the mob factions, I abused my speed advantage over them to get back to the three, now with just under twenty-thousand health.


    Things weren''t as positive as I gave them credit for, since they demanded, "Let us out!" as soon as they noticed me.


    So I did, taking both of my swords off and using "Kill 9" three more times, the mage, then both the assassins left.


    Alone, I viewed the mayhem for myself, got as many kills as I could get to the epicentre, replaced the battered tentacle walls with new ones and aimed my palm at myself whilst saying "Kill 9". Letting my walls continue to drain my AP in fear of delaying being necessary to conscript a new frontline.


    -


    For only a second, my vision turned dark, then got complimented by light with numerous colours popping into it. Soon I could see again, and I was outside the ruined cafe with the outside of my tentacle wall greeting them.


    On contrary to my fears, more people formed out here than I saw fighting in the beginning. Some of the people from before joined new parties and created a massive flank of twenty-odd tanks outside the tentacle walls.


    Upon looking deeper into the crowd, I saw a familiar face. Followed by two more when I looked at different parts of the groups since I spotted Nio, LOD and Jeehan all somewhere in the crowd.


    Before I could ponder walking up to them, however, I was interrupted by the assassins and mage from before, one of which crept to my shoulder and asked: "Gonna take it down then?"


    Turning around, I saw it was the mage asking, and responded by mumbling "Stop bind."


    Immediately after saying it, the tentacle wall pixilated into nothingness, revealing the infighting between the mobs which seemed to be reaching its end.


    Those seeing this for the first time were seemed confused at first, but after a few mobs attacked, they threw away their cares and started their attack.


    "So, you gonna continue, or just leave it to them?" one of the two assassins still near me nonchalantly asked.


    "You care?" I countered.


    After a small pause, they replied, "You''re right. I don''t." Then waltzed back into the fray with the other two.


    ''Am I tired?'' I silently asked myself, reaching the answer ''not really'' soon afterwards, so walked towards the crowd who were actively exterminating all the wolves and slimes from the area.


    It only took about three minutes until the remaining mobs all fell, leaving the hyped and merciless group of people here confused.


    In amidst the crowd, someone; who I assumed was male based on voice, played the role of group leader and yelled "Silence!" Then he pointed to some parties and announced, "You five parties stay back and help with the clean-up, you three check around the wall for other breaches. Everyone else with me, the groups from Deslot will join us in the forest. Go!"


    I wasn''t pointed at directly so assumed I was with the last group and followed them.


    Since I was assumed to be a healer, I had to stay at the back with one party of Tanks and the other healers. The terrain was fields, hills and trees dotted around sparsely, so even though the sun was decent and the temperature wasn''t boiling me alive, complaints boredom and discomfort quickly spread around those around me. And apart from one instance of a large pack of wolves with one troll engulfing the entire group whole, it was all travelling on our part.


    Boredom spread around us healers the fastest, and soon the others got me involved in their mindless conversation, "... So anyway, what''s up with this guy?" one of them said, directly pointing at me.


    "I have no idea. Oi, you!" another said, actually receiving my attention. They continued, "Yes, you. How did a healer wearing such low-level shit even get here? What level even are you? Seriously, is that seriously a magic-wood staff on your back, and what''s with that damn hood?"


    "Um... Level 56 for now. Don''t think it''s updated about the battle that just happened though." I replied, truthfully.


    "Bullshit," the same person stated, turning around to one of the tanks ahead of us and asking, "Oi, Jan, you have herbalism right? Check this noob for us, will ya?"


    "Sure... Observe." Jan replied in a monotone.


    Their head cocked to the side, and they soon yelled in a high-pitched, but male sounding voice, "Eh? Um, sorry. But why the hell are you posing as a healer?!"


    "I can heal. Plus, I don''t get hit when posing as one."


    "Wai'', she ain'' one ov'' us? ''o tah hell is she ''en?"


    "I''m male..." I muttered under my breath. Then turned my head to ask ''Why the hell do I care again?'' to myself, taking a deep breath after answering ''stress''.


    "Succubus," the tank answered.


    ''Incubi...'' I thought, wanting to correct them. Then gave up before verbalizing it since, in this world, the word incubi probably didn''t exist anyhow.


    "Huh?" the entire group asked in tandem, their mouths agape in a somewhat overreaction.


    "The fuck is a... uh... succubus?" another healer asked, somehow having a bigger build and more armour on than the tanks supposedly guarding him.


    A healer who was one of the quietest from the start, started mumbling. And since no one else had any idea, there wasn''t anyone to block their answer from being heard by the whole group, "That class? It''s a class I''ve only seen once before... Haven''t seen it before visitors came and rumour has it, it came with them." They increased their volume and asked, in a grated female sounding voice, " So, one sec, are you actually a visitor?"


    "I am," I bluntly stated.


    "A visitor huh? Didn''t think anyone could get so high in such a like month," one of the other tanks butted in and stated, seems to be more reasonable than most of the others. Though his voice cut-off or overpowered some other comments which, from what I could hear, were very much toxic.


    One of the members who seemed the most hot-headed randomly blurted out another doubtful question, "She can''t really be that level, right?"


    "Said she was," the tank from before said, then spat out a small sigh. Others quickly checked and started nodding at it, confirming what they said.


    Shrugging my shoulders, I simply responded with "I am this level and a so-called ''visitor''. Want to fight me about it or something?"


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''1''> The human Harold Henksly has challenged you to a duel.


    You are in the middle of an event, so it has been automatically rejected.</td></tr></tbody></table>

 Volume 2 :Chapter 1: Welcome to another world.

    *''???''*


    I opened my eyes... And was treated to the scruffy cluster-fuck I call home. Litter being scattered over scrumpled paper engulfing half of the room, my games of every console scattered randomly on three bookshelves and thick cobwebs coated the corners.


    The reason my room''s such a pig-sty? I''m just lazy. I mean, I spent the last 9 days being fully awake for 7 of them playing a game, then sleeping in a comatose state for the next two. Just in time for a package to arrive. And, I''m in University right now, the honor dorm to be specific...


    Anyway, after waking up and unpacking, I signed up for a game, creating my character and username. It was supposed to be a revolutionary game that uses an engine to completely immerse the user in the game world. This was Myth of Men. I watched the alpha and beta builds for the game. For some reason, I made lots of money playing other games, so I bought this game thinking it could be a good time sink if nothing else.


    ''Well, now the question is what I should do as the game processes my neuron waves, or whatever the hell it''s actually called. Let''s see, I''m on campus, so... I guess I could get something to eat.''


    *Knock* "Hiiro? Are you there?" A female voice came from the other side of the door.


    To cut a long story short: I''m on the scholarship of Henchang University, which I use to skip lectures altogether. In this dorm are only three people: me, Yun, the president of the student''s club association of Henchang University, and Shun, Yun''s twin brother, and the vice president of the same group. The name of the association is way too long, so I just call it the student council.


    The girl behind my door right now was Yun... And, oh boy was this going to be ''fun''.


    "Hiiro?"


    "I''m here... And what does the princess require this time?" I said, subtly insulting her as she probably deserved.


    During the time it takes her to work out my insult, let me explain. Yun is obsessed with me for whatever reason. Here, I''ll list a few things she''s done in the week since we''ve met: She tried making me re-sit my entrance exams on seven different occasions, I got full marks on all of them and added to her rage. She''s also tried to force me to take up the role of vice president, and she gave out a petition to get me to attend one lecture. Thankfully everyone hates me, so it fell way short.


    Even I''m starting to get that she has a thing for me, and I''m the antisocial hermit who spends way too much time playing games. Should I try telling her the truth, that I''m an asexual and the only thing we share is an address so it''ll never work?


    Yun huffed, finally reacting, "Don''t call me princess. I just don''t like the idea of one of the best three students the rest of the school should look up to being an anti-social hermit."


    "And your problem is?"


    "Just because you''ve got a famous name, doesn''t mean you can let it crumble to dust..."


    "I''m not letting it crumble away, I''m just trying to play games since that''s what this ''famous name'' is famous for. I''m only a scholarship student because I''m smart, and because of this, I don''t have to attend any lectures, just tests. This means that my way of life is acceptable to the school and my own interests. Nothing is forcing me to go to school and be social, so I don''t. There''s no point in trying to change the god-like being called me anyway, so just don''t try..."


    "Yun, if Hiiro doesn''t want to go out, don''t force him. Or it''ll backfire like the last time." A male said, interrupting the conversation.


    Oh, Shun was still up. He seemed more level headed, and since he wanted a place near his sister, he didn''t mind filling in for me at times like this. Actually, he might hate me due to jealousy at this point.


    "You know what? I could do with something to waste my time princess. Care to at least explain what''s going on now?" I unlocked the door, escaping my own hand-crafted tomb as I finished that thought. I realized the self-deprecating nature of doing this, but I needed to fill eleven hours anyway...


    "Oh, I conscripted you into an inter-school tournament. It''s SolarCraft 2, and since you''re you, this should be a breeze to get through," she replied.


    "And when does this tournament start?" I asked, devoid of any emotion.


    Let me explain, SolarCraft 2 is a viral game around here. It''s a real-time strategy game which has enough balance to make it E-sport material. Hangou, where I am right now, has it as their national sport for crying out loud, so to say it''s ''popular'' is a bit of an understatement.


    The reason I''m here, and the reason I''m shrugging off this tournament, is because I''m the ABCsOfDatingSims, the winner of last year''s world championships. To say I''m ''perfect'' at the game isn''t far off the truth. I played every race, and only lost about ten units a game, compared to my opponent''s three hundred plus losses. I''m also the world champion of Brash, PoP and hold the world record for having the most world record speedrun times.


    "It starts next week. I''ve got transportation already prepared, so we wanted to have a team meeting. It''s the first inter-school competition this year, do well or I''ll hassle you even more." Really? This girl does as she likes.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    I sighed, before replying with, "I''ll go to the tournament, but I don''t care about the practice sessions or ''team meetings''. I don''t need them considering who I am..."


    "And don''t conscript me again for noob-tier tournaments like this. Promise me!" I quickly added. I started recording her response as I said this, knowing she''d go back on her word later.


    "Sure. But what counts as ''noob-tier'' to you, though?''" She pledged... Knowing her for the week I''ve known her, though, it''s anyone''s guess of how quickly she breaks it.


    In answer to her question, I bluntly stated "All of them." and sighed again.


    "By the way, what was that package yesterday for?" she pondered whilst I was grabbing some food.


    Since I''m lazy, I reheated the lunch I didn''t eat a couple days ago and waited for it to finish.


    "It was the headset and console stuff for The Myth Of Men," I answered. "I spent the last hour setting up my character. But the game is only playable at seven. Hence I have a lot of free time."


    "Eh? You''re playing a VRMMORPG!? why? I thought you hated socializing." Shun repeated in spite.


    He was pretty into gaming, especially in MMORPGs, so he understood the concept pretty well from Run Escape. But since he could tell I''m anti-social with his impressive telepathy skills, no wonder he was confused.


    "They''re paying me as a play tester. It''s about 100k won (about ¡ê67) per hour. The stuff sent yesterday was given to me for free. Also, I''m going to mainly be a rouge, since the game apparently allows for such a play-style. I''ll just pk if other people get annoying." I said as I thought back to the deal I made.


    Underscore_Gaming originally scouted me a year ago during a tournament, and since then, asked me to play test the game. I mean, I still had to pay for adapters for my computer since it''s slightly different to others. But the pay is good for the little work I ''need'' to do, plus the console I got free. Apparently, they''d be actively updating, so I could ask them to make things challenging for me if I got bored anyway.


    "Oh, so you''ll play the VRMMORPG as a single player game then... I mean, it kind of defeats the purpose if you ask me." retorted Shun. I understand that playing it alone is like being a T-total person going to rehab for some since they''d argue the games about the social and economic interactions of the players as a collective. But I don''t really see myself breaking this, I wouldn''t be completely self-sufficient crafting wise considering my build anyway. I''d just be adventuring by myself, or with anyone who wanted to go with me for whatever reason. I just wouldn''t actively create or join a clan.


    "Hm, how about you? Are you going to try the game out, or not?" At this point my meal was finished, so I picked it up out of the microwave, and sat down at the table to eat it. It was just rice with a selection of seafood, but it was enough for me.


    "Maybe, but aren''t I too late?" Hm. It''s true that the game had already sold all of its original batch because Underscore_Gaming was completely unattached to its eastern audience, but I heard they''d just make another batch. Solved. Plus they sent me an extra one...


    I pictured the devs thinking of me as social. I laughed to myself, almost choking on a shrimp.


    "They sent me two headsets and gloves... Although I only have one set of adapters." I said, still slightly wheezing from the laughter.


    "Bu... Oh wait, you''re you. But still. Can I really have it? You could just sell it for a ridiculous amount online," he asked, seriously thinking that a multi-millionaire would care. I didn''t by the way.


    "It''s fine, I''m still setting fire to money for warmth," I replied, attempting to convey it comedically.


    It went over his head as he asked, "You are? Isn''t that treason?"


    "Yes. When it actually happens and isn''t a joke that is..." I said succinctly. In reply there was but silence, so I stated the truth bluntly, "Anyway. It''s fine, but you''re paying for your own adapters."


    "Oh really? Well, I''ll give it a try then, thanks for this. By the way, what''s going to be your in-game name? I might want to pester you if I can."


    "DokiDoki19. I could have gone with my usual ABCsOfDatingSims, but I chose this so I wouldn''t get hassled... Don''t go yelling it. It''ll destroy the purpose."


    "I won''t so don''t worry. I''ll order the wires soon, but I have to prepare for a meeting now." he said, ending the conversation as he walked off.


    With that, I''d finished my food and Shun just left the room. Yun left ages ago since she just didn''t play games, so didn''t care about it. She was also probably busy, not like I cared. So I washed up my plate and went back to my tomb.


    -


    I wasted like nine hours playing games like Radiation Scepter, Bunni-Bunni, and to my surprise, a new volume of KittyDice was released on Ice. So I immediately bought it and completed it. I''m not the ABC''sOfDatingSims for nothing you know.


    It was relatively fun I guess, keeping to the pattern that you can only sleep with two of your sisters, who they can''t call sisters for taboo reasons, each volume. Oh yeah, incest is a taboo subject for whatever reason, and looking at the forums, you could tell how many people shallowly disagreed with the topic in general. Truthfully I couldn''t care less about such topics in general. They''re all shallow, vindictive and stupid, and anyone who disagrees is just as stupid. But I guess for the whole zero people who want me to, I''ll use up some time, giving my opinion in a rant and post it in the forums...


    ''Everyone is blood-related to everyone else to some degree anyway, who the fuck are you to claim blood relationships are bad, to still have the same with someone you have blood relationships with. Yes, I''m pointing to you random person on the internet, with your head up your arse because you believe in ''equality'' between race and gender, just to disregard people''s opinions, emotions and thoughts as two closely related people have the fucking tenacity to dare to fall in love with each other and even think about wanting to consummate such a relationship for your own equally shallow reasons as those who disregard genders or races, hypocrite. I mean, how many incestuous relationships happened after the nuclear war to get the population back up to 3.4 million again? Lots, that''s the answer whether you like it or not. I get the increased risk, but isn''t there a risk of such things anyway? I think it''s better than abusive, smoking or other types of bad parents.''


    Getting that rant out of the way wasted more time, only about a minute or two, meaning I still have two or three hours left.


    I''d better get to social media. Hm, seems like it''s full of duel requests from noobs who want to prove themselves to be less nooby again... Deleted. Now then, any problems on personal fronts?


    Oh yeah, I might as well inform the dev who contacted me about my username. With a response of ''acknowledged'', I explored further on the internet.


    ...


    After finishing my emails, NovelPunch and Bratter, I realized it was almost time. I got on my headset and gloves, and lied in my bed, waiting to join the world of Myth of Men.

 Volume 2: Chapter 2: Logging into the new day.

    OldBegginings:[Sorry for releasing a chapter so quickly after the authors notes. I wrote most of that chapter waiting for the poll to end, and I also wanted to give people who didn''t care about the authors notes something to read. I know the pacing''s quite slow, especially how it seems like I''m recapping myself rather than moving forwards, I appreciate this but all I can really ask for is patience. Hopefully I''m good enough at writing to make it worthwhile later, but for now, I hope youenjoy what''s written.]


    *''Hiiro''*


    Hm. For a tacky looking headset, and gloves... This isn''t half bad. I just went through the extensive loading screen, and was about to enter the world of Myth of Men. But before that, I was sent to a blinding white room with someone else inside... Maybe spending the last nine days straight in my dim room was a bad idea. I couldn''t see a thing, but at least movement seemed natural.


    I got up from the chair my body was place in, moving my hands as I would normally, I went over to the other person to see what was going on.


    "I''m guessing your my boss." I said. It would be pretty obvious that this person was in charge of updating the game, since I''m a game tester and this room seems out of place in a fantasy based world, it seems like they''d be my boss.


    "Yeah, welcome... ''Hiiro'' was it? What an unusual name for an Angletarian..." they said in a deep, but welcoming voice. I got used to the light now, and this person seems male, but I could be wrong, I mean, it''s a game for fuck''s sake.


    "I''m not really Angletarian, I just grew up there. Anyway... The reason I''m here?" I said, diverting the conversation. The less said about my name the better...


    This guy is one of few admins of Underscore_Gaming, even I didn''t know much about this group after watching over their stuff for the last few months. Their nationality and identities are unknown, and certain conspiracies link them to national governments... But who cares. If they made a good game is my job to decide, anymore is rude and hypocritical. My life''s just as unknown to them.


    "Oh, sorry. Uh... Basically your job is to play. Your work requires you to help us by stating what could be improved upon. Don''t forget that this game is made for everyone though, a challenge is good now and then, but the newbies need something to be able to complete too." He paused, seeming to ask whether or not I had that noted down. I nodded, confirming, and he continued. "Well that''s it really. We''ll tell you dates and times for events, we won''t tell you any more than that though. I must say though, it''s a pleasure working with you. I understand the name change, but why are you a succubus? Wouldn''t an assassin be more suitable?"


    "To me it was between succubus or ghost, but not wanting to become too strong, I chose succubus since it gives a good opportunity for me to die. I got bored of all the other classes, and immediately dismissed them. Sorry, I''m curious based off one interview of yours I saw. Are you guys actually making a Myth of Women game, or not?"


    "Well, to each their own I guess. Also no. It won''t be a full game, more like a piss take mod that only changes the menu screen or something. We called the game MythOfMen because we based it off ''man-kind'' being short for huMANkind, and men is the plural of man. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the game, I''m the admin ''_______'', message me whenever to talk, but don''t get me confused with ''________'' though... That guy''s pretty temperamental." Seeming proud of his ''original'' name, he puffed out his chest, with eyes full of self-gratification.


    "You guys really wear your name on your sleeves... Well anyway. Now that''s out of the way, mind letting me go and start working?" I said. I mean really, I get they''re underscore_gaming, but do all the admin''s names have to have only underscores in them? I mean, even the owner is called ''_____'', since names have to be 5 characters long.


    "Oh, sure. Well, it''s been nice meeting you, hope we get a good working relationship. We know that the amount payed isn''t that much, but we aren''t expecting you to help us out much either, we know your busy with other things, like school. But if we feel like you''ve done your work well, we''ll pay you more."


    With that said, the room around me vanished into a black void... With that little ball in the corner of my screen and a line... COME ON! This is a fucking vr game, and you have two small gifs as your fucking loading screen! And look at the bar! It''ll take another hour to fill at this rate!


    -


    I woke up in a small village... Weird. I expected to be at a castle or something with hundreds of noobs whining about not knowing what to do. But I guess this is for the better. It took three hours anyway, so I would have probably starting massacring people if that was the case.


    I opened the menu, hm, a shortlist system... Wait. I have that many skills open to me right now? I assume they''ll be upgraded later... But to have about fifty skills off the bat was surprising. By the way, I''m a succubus who majors as a Preacher, and minors as a Herbalist. As for skills, let''s see what my play-style should be...


    About five minutes later I had my list selected. It looked like this:


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">Name</td>


    <td colspan="3">DokiDoki19</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">Class</td>


    <td colspan="1">Succubus</td>


    <td colspan="1">Level</td>


    <td colspan="1">1</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">Class skills</td>


    <td colspan="3">["Bind" = Mass_Leech.], ["Stun"= Leech.], ["Heal" = Blood_Transfusion.], ["Intimidate" = Vampiric_Bite.], [passive= Life_Absorb.], [passive = Attraction_Resistance.], [passive = Attraction_Increase.],[passive = melody_of_screams]</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">Sub-class skills</td>


    <td colspan="3"><"How cute..." = Object_Examination.>, <"Eh?" = Mob_Examination.>, <"Possess" = Mob_Tame.>,<"Summon" = Summon_(Tamed_Mob)>,


    </td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">Weapon skills</td>


    <td colspan="3">("Have at me" = Power_Charge.), (passive = Staff_Hit.), (passive = Dual_Wield.), (passive = _Magic_Boost.)</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">Additional skills</td>


    <td colspan="3">/''Stop'' = Skill_Cancellation.\,/"LogOut" = Log_Out\</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">Achievement skills</td>


    <td colspan="3">N/A</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">Equipment</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">On-Hand</td>


    <td colspan="1">None</td>


    <td colspan="1">Off-Hand</td>


    <td colspan="1">None</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">Head-wear</td>


    <td colspan="1">None</td>


    <td colspan="1">Inner-Wear</td>


    <td colspan="1">None</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">Outerwear</td>


    <td colspan="1">Ragged_Clothes</td>


    <td colspan="1">Foor-Wear</td>


    <td colspan="1">Ragged_Shoes</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">Accessories</td>


    <td colspan="3">N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A.</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.I think this is good for now, well, I have to buy two swords and a staff for the weapon skills to be worthwhile, also I don''t see ''Heal'' being that worthwhile, I''m going for the summoner army approach, but I still don''t see ''Heal'' being that effective... Eh, I''ll switch it if I need to later. I also skimmed over what they all do, so I find it pointless to digress and state them all here. Anyway, now I need to go shopping, and I''ll ask for directions to a dungeon whilst shopping.


    Whilst walking around, I realized something. There wasn''t a constant pain... Odd. I was pretty sure I was still in the middle to bleeding to death in reality. Maybe this world couldn''t make me in constant pain or something... I''ll check that stuff later. Anyway, now it''s time to actually go shopping.


    ...


    Problem: it appears I don''t have any money... Response: let''s massacre shit until that changes.


    I was doing the flawless strategy of walk in a random direction until things happened. A few minutes from starting, a little green fellow popped his head out. This seemed to be a goblin. With slimes, they''re the most laughable mob in rpgs, but somehow still have fan-fictions about them. Don''t ask... I have way too much time on my hands.


    This little guy seems perfect for my army, but also for my wallet... Choices, choices. Whilst deciding, the goblin finally noticed I was like two meters away from it, and called over it''s friends. Hm, what a pity, I don''t like pets that bite.


    "Bind." I binded the green possy, and it appears I can still move, but they can''t. Perfect. A punch here, a punch there and eventually everybody died. My wallet became 140 coins better off, and I gained a level. This surprised me, I expected to work for a level up, but casually killing five goblins did it instead. It''s at this point I realized I used three quarters of my AP, so stated "Stop Bind." and the bind stopped. Also, last time I remembered, Leeches weren''t red, spiked tentacle like beings, but more small, smooth. slimy black things... This is a game though, fuck logic.


    After about half an hour of pissing about, I accumulated about 4500 coins, and ten more levels. I met more goblins, a boar or two and some bandits and pkers. The boars had the smartest AI though. It was also pretty boring , since the same strategy worked flawlessly for all of them, and I now had over a 1000hp. Look, I know I''m a so called ''Pro-Gamer''... But this is still way too easy. Anyway, now I should have enough to buy stuff.


    I was walking around this peaceful village, taking a nice stroll as I was finding where the blacksmith was, when I saw a building with an anvil out-side... I walked in.


    "Howdy and welcome! Are you here to shop or use the anvils?" I was almost knocked out of the building with the amount of enthusiasm in those words, said by the sweaty clad-dressed lady behind the counter. She was thin compared to what I was expecting, but looking at my arms, she still had bigger muscles than I did. Eh, it''s not size, but how you use them... is what I wanted to think, but I think not caring is more necessary. Though if I did care by god I''d be jealous...


    "I''m here to buy weapons. I''d like two swords, but I don''t know what I can get for what I have... Also, do you sell staves, if not, could you direct me to where they would be?"


    "Well. For your first point, we have Bronze, Bone, Iron, Ebony, Steel and Lead swords here, in order of tier. Single-handed swords are priced at 50, 150, 200, 400, 500 and 1000 in order of tiers. Mind you, this is for basic, not enchanted swords made by rookie blacksmiths. And to answer your question, no. We don''t sell Staves or bows here. The wood-worker''s is next door, they should still be open."


    "Thanks. Sorry I''m new to swords, what is the main difference between Bone and Iron?"


    "Don''t be, we''re all new to things once. Bone is a natural material, meaning it''s lighter and more durable, and enchants have more effect on bone based things compared to iron based things. The main reasons why it''s considered lower tier though, is that Bone can''t cut through bone, whereas Iron can, and basic sword vs basic sword, Bone does marginally less damage than Iron does. Basically it depends on what you use it for."


    "Okay, can I have two Bone one-handed swords, with a durability bonus enchant?"


    "You can, but it costs 300 coins each, totaling to 600 coins. Also, do you want armour? Same tiers, but base prices for full sets are: 300, 700, 800, 1400, 1600 and 2200."


    "I do, can I have a full set of notenchantedBone armour too?"


    "Okay, the total is 1300. Is that all?"


    "Here. That''s all. Thanks for the service." I said... Although I felt like throwing up after saying it, I felt that it would be better to make this person like me, so pushed myself to be nice. She was also generally kind enough to teach me the tiers and such. Now I''ll never have to do it again.


    "Alright, thanks for coming, come again." She waved as I left.


    Now, the wood-worker was next door, right?


    A guy about a head taller than me was behind the counter this time. They seemed to be reading something, but when the door closed, they noticed me. I say ''they'' because I could only see their head, and this is also a game...


    "Welcome. Are you here to buy stuff, or do you want to use our crafting room?" They sounded male, so I went with that for now.


    "I heard you sell staves. Which kinds do you have?"


    "Hm. In order of base tier, we have Magic, Pine, Oak and Mahogany. Do you know which you''re buying?"


    "Depends, what can I get in the range of 1000 to 2000 coins?"


    "Any really. Since that gives your alot of freedom, would you like to tell me what you''re after, so I can suggest something?"


    "I want something with high power, I''ll be using it quite alot, but I won''t be completely relying on magic to get kills."


    "How about trying a mediocre-made Magic Wood stave, with durability 3, power 2, AP regeneration 2, mute enchants for 1950 coins?"


    "What is ''Magic wood''? Also what''s mute?" I''m curious since ''magic wood'' was the lowest tier of wood, but it''s being suggested for this price range, I mean, staves weren''t that expensive, were they? Also Mute seems like a disadvantage, not allowing me to use my skills on my shortlist, why was it on this staff if that''s the case?


    "Magic Wood is a relatively common type of wood, at default, it''s the worst tier, but it makes up for it by having way more enchantment spots than the others, normal ones have a max of 5, but this has a max of 10. Normally it''s durability is a liability, and it''s attack power isn''t enough to make up for it, but with enchants, it''s better than the others we sell. As for mute, it allows the user to say shortlisted skills without anyone hearing what''s been said, even a preacher can be almost silent with this enchant."


    "Interesting, I''ll take it." I handed out the money, and he gave me the staff. Okay, I like this build I have going. Mob army here we come. "Oh, by the way, is there a nearby dungeon I can test my new gear on?"


    "The Mumble Tree is pretty close if I remember, it''s starting level is like 10, but it''s boss is level 25. It''s hard to do without a party though. It should be about half a mile from the east of the village..."


    "Okay, I''ll check it out tomorrow. Thanks for the advise."


    -


    I left the shop, and logged out. I''m feeling tired, it''ll be about a week until I can do a week straight again, so I went to sleep.


    I''ll go and complete this dungeon tomorrow, and see if it''s more difficult or not. Then I''ll complain to ______... wait, it''s ________?


    Fuck those guys with their ridiculous names! Anyway from my experience so far though, apart from the whole giving me all the tools of the trade off the bat thing making the game way too easy, the game was really immersive, feeling realistic with movements and animations, the character modelswere well made, and pain you previously had disappeared whilst playing... Seems like fun.I thought, whilst driftingoff to sleep.

 Volume 2: Chapter 3: Breaking a dungeon, and a foreboding flashback.

    OldBegginings:[Howdy, I just wanted to state real quick that this chapter is the first that has two different main characters. I think it works out for what I was going with, but do tell me if it is just annoying. Thanks for reading, enjoy the chapter.]


    *''Hiiro''*


    Hm. So this is a dungeon...


    I was looking at a building that seemed to have been built into the side of a mountain, I''m gathering there''s a series of cave-systems to this, but it''s still weird... Right?


    I looked at the front, and a name plate over it''s main entrance stated ''Mumble Tree''s Dungeon.'' Well, this must be the place. I''m surprised I found it so quickly...


    That''s what I was I really wanted to say, but I doubt three hours is ''quick''. Being told it''s some distance away from a town in one of four possible directions makes it quite hard to find specific things, especially when it''s as well hidden as this place.


    I digress, I''m here to beat this dungeon and test my weapons, and maybe get money to buy more. I''m alone, I''m only level 13, when the boss is supposed to be level 25. This should be at least interesting to see if I can get an army set up. I open the door to the dungeon, and with a menacing smile cracking my face, I accept this challenge head on. I wanted a challenge, so wanted to tame every mob I could. If it was impossible, I''d treat the dungeon seriously. Simple.


    The first mob I ran into is a Hob-goblin, it had many weak spots in it''s armour, but seemed like it would be a fun addition to my army to be. You know what, fuck it. Let''s try to tame it. It worked... Not. And now the bemused mob seemed enraged, and attacked.


    It missed though. "Way too slow son. Let me teach you a lesson in how to win a fight. First you don''t fight me. That is all." I preached, taunting the hob-goblin whilst slicing it''s arm where it''s armour had a gap. Hm, that did quite alot of damage, removing about half it''s hp in one hit. Now then, for science, I decided to try tame again... Nothing. "Tch!" I dodge it''s continuous attacks, waiting for another opening. I could just bind it, but I want to test my off hand swing too.


    After about three more attacks, the hog-goblin finally seemed tired, allowing me to attack it risk free. I didn''t really want to get hit by the first mob I saw, so was patient in beating it. This attack was weaker than the last, but not by that much, leaving the poor mob with only a sliver of health. For science I try taming it again... It worked. Perfect. It''s like BeaPoke. Wait... I gained a level? Beautiful!


    I meet a couple more. And (un)fortunately the exact same strategy worked with them all.


    By the time I had ten hob-goblins in my arsenal, the dungeon finally spiced it up. A small imp came into the fray. It should be a flying, magic based mob... "Bolt." As my attack hit the imp, it fell down about a meter or two away from me. "Bind." And it was now the waiting game... About two minutes later "possess." And the imp was mine. Nice. Now I unsummoned it, like I did the others.


    A while later I found a random chest, looking awkward and out of place... Hm, "possess." And it worked... I now had a mimic in my army, perfect.


    Now to repeat this flawless strategy. After about ten minutes, I moved to another level. Did the same, it was slightly more AP and time consuming, but it was just as good. I was greeted by the same enemies again, the difference was it took slightly more to tame them. I ended the level off with a team of 14 hob-goblins, 2 imps and a mimic. I''ll need to train them, but this will be the basis of my perfect army some day!


    I moved to the third level about seven minutes after reaching the second, once I had the strategy down, I gained levels and recruits easily, so cut through the mobs on the second floor quickly.


    The third level at least had something new. A hob-goblin with a bow... Which missed me ten meters away, with six shots no less. Good job William Tell, good job. I simply stood three meters away and hit this poor excuse for an archer, and I never got hit by an arrow. Yeah, I think this guy''s just broken. For science, I tamed it though. I wanted to see if I could train it to actually hit something...


    Apart from that revolutionary new mob type, there was nothing new. I saw bats on the ceiling, but they never attacked me, and what good mob army had bats in? None, that''s the answer!


    Soon enough I had gotten through the entire level, and went to the fourth. My meta strategy had no bounds. How long was this dungeon anyway? I might get bored soon.


    My question would soon get answered, as I reached what I assumed was the boss door. A long staircase leading down, and a door slamming behind me. And what I saw was undermining... Yeah, that''s the word I''ll use for now, ''undermining''.


    "I''m not gumball, but I can still beat this guy, right?" This thought escaped my lips, and it was enough to wake this tree up. I couldn''t look, since I dreaded seeing the bad CGI face on trees from movies, but when I got the guts to look, my fear was unknown... It looked normal. That''s a relief I guess.


    "Who dares wake me!" A voice Boomed from the tree.


    "Me. I want to conscript you into my mob-only army. Do you want to join, or shall I kill you with what were once your own men?" I replied. I had no idea how witty the banter was with a talking tree boss mob, so had to at least try.


    "Ha ha ha! You are not enough to fight me. Your cockiness in coming here will be your undoing. Die!" The tree started it''s attack by... Summoning apple mobs?


    "Possess." I tried to tame one of the mobs, and did so. These must be pretty weak or something. I did this about... fifty times, and unsummoned all the guys I got.


    Wow, now even I''m bored. Let''s end this. I binded to give me room, and started slicing the tree with my right hand, holding my wand in my left. I came to a realization that the AP regeneration on the wand was enough to permanently maintain the bind, so abused this to prevent the deadly apples from touching me.


    I continued this for a while, and when it''s hp was about a quarter down, it used a new attack. It blew leaves around, blinding and damaging those who got hit. Too bad that the bind made a pretty high wall around me the leaves couldn''t pierce, so I kept attacking without being hit.


    When it was about half dead, it made roots come out of the ground, I think. The wall blocked them, and appeared to block the roots from underground... Meaning I never got hit. I think this move is broken. With this I got it down to a sliver of health, and tried to tame it... It failed. ''Oh well'' I thought, and killed the boss out-right.


    "Wait, what?" I asked, confused.


    The source of my confusion was one of my drops. I got a log, two saplings and a book. The book was the reason I was confused. ''Mimic Grimoire'' was the title of this book.


    I selected the book, and a prompt came as assumed. ''Do you wish to add Mimic to your sub-classes. This will use up your only extra sub-class space.'' What was ''Mimic''? Out of curiosity I accepted the new sub-class. Oh, perfect!


    If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    It appeared Mimic let me changed the shape and size of my hit-box. I assume there was a catch, like I couldn''t wear armour and couldn''t attack, but I still saw this as OP. It seemed like I could make a maximum of 100 different models, and equipped <"Form" = Mimic_Form_(name_of_form)> to my shortlist, giving me 20/20 skills in the shortlist. Perfect.


    You see, having armour is only useful if you get hit, and with the ability of changing my hit-box''s size and shape, I could see myself never getting hit, so not needing armour. So I spent an hour or two making different forms, so that I could abuse this new sub-class perfectly.


    *''_____''*


    I was looking at a screen. It seemed like your average SolarCraft 2 tournament, but for some reason I was watching it. I was on a break, wanting to scout out a few play-testers for my new game. Recently there was a player making all the big names in gaming scared.


    The dreaded ABC''sOfDatingSims. He''d already won a Super Brash Smothers tournament last month. He came in like a flash, and now everyone can''t shut up about his name. The reason? He won it flawlessly doing stupid stuff. For instance, he called himself ''BoredNow'' as he played as the lowest tier character, and won flawlessly against one of the world''s best players only using one, ridiculous attack multiple times, the infamous ''sleep'' move. He tied his hand behind his back against another, and won a ditto flawlessly out maneuvering the player he fought, and whilst simultaneously playing as two different characters, won a two player tournament with himself. And this guy is supposedly playing in the tournament I was watching.


    SolarCraft 2 is an RTS, basically the national sport of Hangou, but is pretty popular elsewhere. It is one of the most developed competitive scenes of any game, having regular million dollar pools up for grabs. Players play for years to even get a grasp for the pools, developing their own ways to overcome other''s strategies. The game play is high tier, and I''m now watching the world championships, and in it, there''s only one foreigner, a wild brown haired guy wearing a mask who''s going against the person who took the title last year.


    The game just started, but damn. The guys started by typing lyrics to a song, but is still out-pacing his opponent. What the hell? His opponent has a solid APM of 800, which is ridiculous considering the normal for a casual player is like 50 - 100... But he has a solid 1200-1300 APM... What? A camera under his screen is showing the ridiculous speed his fingers are moving at, it''s like he''s on a different key in each frame of the recording... He''s micro''d his workers so that they get resources faster than I thought possible, and is getting perfect timings on building. Is this guy even human?


    The three minute mark, and his army is confronting the other, it''s a pretty one sided fight though. He has like 150 units compared to the army of 50 his opponent has. They get in range, the army of his opponent has died, the 150 units all survive, and game over by conceding... In the next game his opponent changes race, and gets serious. The foreigner seems defeated, he had more resources, but wasn''t spending them for whatever reason... The other guy sends 100 men to his base, but loses when he realizes this guy had dropped 150 men into his base whilst he was moving his army, and that all of his building were destroyed... It''s a best of three series, in a single elimination world championship, so the previous world champion just lost in the first round to a foreign noob. The crowd went wild, and as they slow-down the footage to see if this guy cheated, they realized he didn''t... He legitimately pressed every button during the games...


    I stopped watching, not wanting too long off work, and continued to code the game.


    Whilst working, I could only think, ''hm... This guy has skill, I''ll give him that. I wonder if he''d play if I asked him to.'' So invited him to be a play-tester of my game after he won the tournament. With a ''Why not'' response, I became pumped to finish the game.


    -


    Skip a year, and my game, the MythOfMen was released yesterday. I somehow got the guy who impressed me last year to become a play-tester for 10k won an hour. Although he only gets payed for each hour he spends doing events. He renamed himself to DokiDoki17, and I''ve been watching his game-play out of morbid curiosity at this point. He''s apparently only punched some goblins and talked to some NPCs at this point, but for whatever reason he''s now going into his first dungeon. I mean, the other DokiDoki17 just woke up, and is now at a cafe being boring and social, so I stopped paying attention to him. You know, it''s confusing having two of the same person to comment on. I''ll call one Doki 1, and the other one Doki 2. It''s a simple solution without any drawback.


    Doki 2 is socializing like a boring person, whilst Doki 1 found the dungeon, just as I logged on. And for some reason started by trying to tame a mob who are higher level than him... The response? A very confused and annoyed hob-goblin. Wait, what? This guy dodged all of it''s attacks, and is still trying to tame it... And after a while it worked, the hobgoblin joined him, and somehow he still got a level up out of it.


    Confusing, but I guess I don''t know how most of the skill interactions work in this game. It''s his job to find them out, not mine... Though I gather a mix of his attraction boost from being a succubus and the weakened state of the hob-goblin could explain it. Doki 1 is now doing the exact same thing again, and again...


    As I start to complain about how dull it''s getting, an imp appears. Well, at least this should be different... Nope. But at least Doki 1 needs to dodge more and use magic... Oh, he just binded the guy and is just slicing the imp until it''s on low hp, and tames it successfully. Sorry for opening my mouth, but what is with this guy taming so many mobs? I''m trying to listen into the footage, but he''s basically silent, and probably isn''t talking to himself about his reasons anyway...


    And like that, this guy just completed a layer of this dungeon, gaining 14 hob-goblins, 2 imps and a mimic... ''Cause why not at this point?! This guy''s starting to bore me at this point. I want to see awesome sword fight, or a flawlessly thought battle where he, under-leveled, took on 20 hob-goblins at the same time for no reason but he can! Not a BeaPoke game...


    The second, third and forth went the same way, he simply didn''t get hit by the hob-goblins with bows, and tamed them all the same. Now up to 26 hob-goblins, 11 imps, 3 archer hob-goblins and 2 mimics, his army of mobs seems pretty potent. Hopefully he actually bothers to fight the boss.


    He''s saying some stuff making it seem like he wants to go... And starts taming the apple-shaped mobs the Mumble Tree summons. This is dull! My patience gave out, and I logged off, annoyed. Hopefully he isn''t so boring the next time... I could only pray.

 Volume 2: Chapter 4: The forced log-out, and the surprise tournament.

    *''Hiiro''*


    ... Phew.


    I finished about twenty of the one hundred different forms I could use. I used the skill Create_Form from the menu, and painstakingly molded each form into something truly beautiful. As an example, Form_2 was my basic model, without a head. It had no eyes, ears, mouth or nose, simply because I didn''t want to make something out of a b-rated horror movie, but was made so that people couldn''t decapitate me. Literally all I need to say is ''Form two'' and I''ll change into it in about a quarter of a second.


    I mean, that one''ll be fun to test out, but I''m more curious about Form_1, a dandelion puff. For some reason I could set my form''s mass, so I made it as light as possible. I wanted to use abuse this is many ways, such as creating a minor wind from my hand movements, and seeing if I can fly up mountains...


    But before I could test it, I was rudely interrupted by a forced log-off. There was a button on the helmet that would automatically log the person inside off. This was implemented so that bugs that could force people to stay in, wouldn''t make you unable to leave. However, there were certain types of operating systems that didn''t have this. Since this was a game that operated on a brand new system, I assumed it didn''t have one. But I was proven wrong!


    "Oi! Hiiro! Get up!" Boomed a familiar voice.


    "Grr... What is it Yun?" I grumbled out of a mixture of annoyance, and genuine tiredness.


    "You know the tournament I told you I conscripted you into? It starts in an hour. I''m here to give you the warning." She said in a joyful tone.


    "Eh?" I looked at the date. It''s Monday. "Oh, so that''s what you meant about it being next week. I assumed it would be in the weekend, since you were talking about attending practice sessions, and you only told me yesterday, on the Sunday!" I explained bitterly.


    "Yeah, I know it was cheap to say it that way, but I also knew you had your new game, so didn''t think you''d accept it any other way. One of the board members wanted you to join it, so gave me the task of making it happen. Sorry." She reasoned her actions, with a pretty solid reason at that.


    "Okay. I get your point, now leave so I can get freshened up, I was about to break to have a bath anyway." I surrendered. It wasn''t going to be a challenge anyway. I''d still rather take a bath and change clothes before it than after it.


    "Oh, okay." With nothing else to say, she simply left. Remembering something, she turned back and added "by the way, expect some animosity from the other team members. They know you''re in it, and who you are."


    "I gathered."


    I went to the bath, thinking about Myth of Men, and the new disguises I''d make in-game.


    -


    Hm, this must have been the first time I''ve been to the University since the enrollment day/ enrollment exams. There are way too many people here though, and since I was with Yun, the joint most popular person in the school, I was the heart of attention.


    People were mainly confused as to who I was, which was reasonable since I was only in for an exam, then left. But then I heard the whispers of insults... You know, the kind where someone tries summarize your entire life story based off your looks, and ''rumors'' that they heard someone say someone else said, because their lives aren''t interesting enough to talk about themselves but still want to seem relevant and cool... And this is why I''m not social, I find most types of people annoying...


    Anyway, I digress. Me and Yun were at the school to go to the club-room, where we met the others.


    By the way, if you''re expecting, fat hairy nerds, with doritos and mountain dew, you''re dead wrong.


    This is a room of avid SolarCraft 2 players in Hangou, this room is full of people who are anorexic, clean-shaven gamers. I know, your mind is blown by their relatively good physique. These people are pseudo-pros. Noobs to me, but miles above casual players and the new. And pseudo-pros are the kind of people who spend about 8 hours a day playing online matches, using so many short-cuts that their fingers move about a mile in distance, not displacement, each game. Yeah, this level of play uses alot of energy. And as the saying goes, ''if you have time to eat, you have time to play. So most them pick games over


    When entering the room, they immediately knew who I was. I felt a mixture of scorn and awe coming from the group, which was understandable.


    "Howdy, you know who I am already, if someone wants a friendly match during or after the tournament to see my skills first-hand, tell me." I said. I wanted to put off more of a friendly tone, but it ended up seeming egotistical.


    The room was silent, undecided on whether or not I was a complete arse or not. So I simply followed Yun going to the coach that''ll take us to the venue of the tournament. Only about ten of the club members actually went, the others just continued staring at their screens. As for why the non game playing Yun was here? She was organizing the travel and such, so came with us to sort out the administration stuff. I was sat next to one of my fellow players, so I started to talk to him. I thought I might as well try and get information now, rather than finding it out later on and getting hassled by it.


    "Mind if I ask ''what do you main''?" I asked.


    "You''re the person claiming to be the ABC''sOfDatingSims, right? The person who''s world champion, and only here because you were forced into this tournament by Yun... Why do you care about my main?"


    "Intrigue more than anything. I know the game pretty well, and thought that I could get through the day without major death glares if I at least tried to see if I could advise you guys to make your plays stronger. Nothing major of course, just minor pointers like how to cheese effectively... Giving a Terran advise meant for a Zerg against Protus would be pointless. Do you have a problem telling me or something?"


    This was a semi-lie. It was true that I wanted these guys not to hate me, but I mainly wanted to play nice so Yun would accept my way of life.


    "No, I was just thinking you had better things to do, than talking to me. So was confused. I''m a Terran by the way."


    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    "Which kind, bio or mech?"


    "I mainly go bio, since I don''t know the mech timings. I sometimes get tanks to secure ground, but mainly go for marines."


    "Hm, but that won''t work against certain builds. How would you counter Ghosts?"


    "People use ghosts?"


    "They''re a unit, so yeah. I use them mainly to harass my enemy and keep them from fully committing to a fight, but I have used full armies of them in someones base to great affect. Not many people expect them, so people rarely have counters for a simultaneous charge and ghost infiltration with twenty plus ghosts." I said, semi taunting the guy. I referenced a play I, as the ABC''sOfDatingSims, did regularly. I did it in the world championship a year ago, and it basically kick-started a new meta.


    "So you''re adamant on the fact you are him them..." He muttered in a voice almost too quiet to reach me.


    "You can believe me and ask for advice now, or not believe me and I''ll shut the hell up. Your choice."


    "Sorry, there''s a limit to what I can believe... Someone that flawless being a normal university student, is beyond that limit."


    I replied with silence, which maintained until we got to the venue. It was a relatively large area, but as it turns out, we were basically entered into a pro-tier tournament. But rather than being scared, most of the students were pumped, wanting to win a game or two to prove their school proud... And then there was me, not caring.


    I was somehow in the first game against someone from another school. We entered the lobby, me under my main in-game title ''ABCsOfDatingSims''. And you know how it went. I was protoss, so cannon rushed his natural early, then built up an army around that, as he desperately tried to stop the rush unsuccessfully. At eight thirty I pushed in with an army of 150 2-2 zealots, and he conceded. The next game I was Zerg, so went for the zergling harass, massing up 100 by the five minute mark, and going all in. He didn''t have enough marines and conceded. I didn''t lose a single zergling in the attack, and with my title, the room was wild for the entire time. Even the skeptics were starting to believe it was actually me.


    I did similar cheese-based strategies for the entirety of the tournament. All in all, my school''s team barely cracked the second round, with only two others getting through to the round of 64. Only one other school had a single person get through to that round, who I ended up beating in the next round flawlessly.


    I ended up with solely pros, but obviously won, and started taking the piss by accepting requests for songs to type out.


    Someone said Ave Maria, and I said why not? So excruciatingly typed out keyboards in text to say which notes were to be played. I tried to maintain the tempo of the piece, and simultaneously did a skytoss domination on my opponent.


    Similar shenanigans later, and I beat all my foes. The entire room recognized who I was in my first game, so accepted their defeats in game as just the existence of the massive skill gap. I got a trophy, and about 2M won, and then went back on the coach.


    "Congrats Hiiro." Practically screeching in joy was surprisingly the club owner. "I''m a fan of the ABCs, but I didn''t trust that you were really him until the first game. Congratulations, and sorry for not trusting you. Your plays were flawless, and you APM was so high, you started taking the mick out of all the pro-gamers as the true ABCs should, which was hilarious. Thanks for showing me all the good games, it was fun."


    "Yeah..." I sheepishly responded. I''m not used to having fans, but critics and cynics all claiming bloody murder because I''m somehow not worse than them... It''s all the same to me, so to hear someone swallow their pride and congratulate me is relatively surprising. "It was more of a time waste than anything though. I''d like to be playing MoM right now to be honest."


    The other guy laughed it off, and the coach reached the school. I left for the dorm with Yun.


    "Hm, so was that tournament fun?"


    "Not really. Finding out what Ave Maria, and giving a piano tutorial whilst playing was pretty challenging though. The plays were predictable, and skill was just not comparable, and it was honestly disappointing that the pros were just as bad." I took a long, deep sigh. "But I guess it''s worth it if I''ve proven who I am to the masses... But as I say, this is an exception. I''ve done my part, keep your end of this too."


    "Fine. To be honest, what I said about the board governor was correct, but I mainly wanted to see you actually try. Even though you only tried to joke about and taunt all those you crossed, it was still worth it to me to see one of us three being so dominant in a competition. Sorry for today and thanks." With a wink, she ended her trail of thought.


    Looking at me, she suddenly asked. "By the way, what is with that mask?"


    "Huh, I swore I told you about the incident. I guess not... Eh, I''ll explain again now. Years ago an incident happened, and half my face is now missing, replaced by a constant hole that almost shows my skull. I wear a mask so that nobody gets traumatized by it." I answered. Truthfully I don''t actually know what exactly happened. One day something happened in a science lesson, and I passed out. When I came to, a month had passed and I only had half a face.


    "Eh? I didn''t know anything about that..."


    "Well now you do. This is why I have this mask, it acts like a fake layer of skin, keeping my blood in me, and not letting me bleed to death..."


    "Huh. Anyway, it''s getting late, we should probably pick up the pace." Yun claimed, ending the dialogue.


    We ended up walking the rest of the path, in the city at night. With an almost melancholy nostalgia encompassing us.


    I finally got to the dorm, but ended up really tiring myself out. A mixture of sun-stroke, socializing and walking I guess was the cause, but I ended up spontaneously falling asleep in the lobby.

 Volume 2: Chapter 5: Not where I thought Id wake up...

    *''Hiiro''*


    "Ow..." I woke up on something soft, I''m sure I fainted on the floor. I looked and saw a white room encompass me, my neck cracks... Not a good sign. I sat up and touched my face, and my mask wasn''t there...


    Fuck! I started to feel anxious. I stopped myself before I started screaming like a hooligan.


    Okay, I''m calmed down now. Let''s think. I put my hand to my face, trying to survey the problem.


    I felt I had new bandages covering my face, it was about time to replace them anyway. I felt slightly light-headed, which was fine and all. I probably lost a gallon or two of blood. Not a big deal. I just hoped I wasn''t passed out for too long. It felt tranquil here, but I''d rather be at the dorm I called home.


    "Hello~? Anybody there?" I asked, to a empty room...


    I looked outside, contorting my body to do so, and was greeted by the same dark sky I had walked through before. I probably was out for a few hours, nothing more. But now I felt that everyone had left. What should I do about going home?


    There should be someone here, right? Wait, was this the hospital or the school infirmary?


    ...


    I thought about it for a while, realizing leaving would most likely be my downfall. I checked my pockets...


    Oh wait, I don''t have a phone. That would warrant me being social. I laughed to myself. "Well that was a waste of time." I bitterly remarked to myself.


    I sighed deeply... Then I heard footsteps.


    "Oh, you''re up? I was checking on you because I''m about to leave. How are feeling?" said someone I presume is a man... I can''t see clearly though. I guess this is the school doctor.


    "A bit light headed, but it''s not that bad. I think I can get up..." I say. I felt slightly disoriented, but stood up nevertheless. "How long was I out?" I asked whilst stretching my legs.


    "Two hours at the most. The little lady carrying you seemed pretty distressed about your condition, ''Yun'' I think. They said to call when you''re up." The doctor gave me his mobile.


    It connected with Yun. I told her I was fine, though she seemed not trusting at first. Eventually believed me and was audibly relaxed. Now that''s out of the way, I might as well ask more questions about my situation.


    "So how much blood did I lose?" I turned to the doctor and asked... If it was too much I was probably staying here for the night.


    "About half a liter. Yun was pretty quick getting you here so don''t worry. The thing is, your mask cracked into pieces. I tried replacing your bandaged, and I think I''ve bandaged you up pretty well, but I don''t have a mask to lend you. Sorry. The bandages will only hold the blood in for a while, so what do you want to do?" They replied, clearly seeing why I wore a mask. Half a liter isn''t that much blood, so I''ll be fine going home.


    "Well depends, are there many people still here? I have a few spares at the dorm, I just need to get there without people seeing me. I don''t want to traumatize people, or bleed to death for that matter." If I traumatized people, it would be a pain to deal with, even for Yun and Shun dealing with the people affected. And if I bleed to death...


    Eh, it would suck. But I didn''t really care. I''ve never seen life as a ''score as high as possible'' game which quantifies achievements and how long you live as records of how good your life was. Was it even possible to have a ''bad'' or ''good'' life? I doubt it. As a wise (undisclosed aged) (undisclosed gendered) person once said '' You live to die, everything else is up for individual interpretation.'' I agreed, in my interpretation my life was great. I lived in the fun of today''s technology, not stuck in a perpetual war-zone, or dying as a fetus. My life could be far worse.


    "Oh, are you back then... As I said, there isn''t anyone left, it''s about ten pm right now. You''re Hiiro Johnson from the scholarship dorm, right?" I nodded, and they swiftly continued."I can take you to your dorm in my car if you want, it''s not far off my normal path home anyway." Their eyes seemed honest, with a shred of pity... You know. I think I''ll ignore the ''pity'' part and just accept their help.


    "Sure, if you''re willing." I said, with a half-baked smile on my face, accepting his offer. It was better than walking or waiting. There was no reason for me to not...


    As we were walking, the doctor suddenly asked "by the way, I''ve been quiet about this, but what exactly happened to your face in the first place?"


    "Do you not have that on a database?" Yes... I''m someone who answers question with other questions.


    And yes, I know it''s stupid to ask since their question points to the answer no. I find it equally stupid to assume one isn''t lazy enough to not read something they don''t have to when they could just ask. This question just prompts the lazy to accept her or his sins, or just read it meaning I don''t have to say.


    "Your folder is empty. It''s weird, like someone doesn''t want people to know how to possibly save your life. But I guess people have different definitions of weird." And that answers my question. Simple. Don''t worry, I knew who was covering it up... I just didn''t care about those cunts.


    "I don''t see the harm in discussing it. It was an incident years ago in a science lesson. It was a practical, someone threw something, that thing hit me in the face... I then woke up in hospital with half a face, in a hospital bed in crippling agony... That''s literally all I remember. That much is fine to tell you, but I probably can''t tell you much more."


    "I won''t ask then."


    -


    We got to their car, and drove in silence. They tried to talk, but the conversation ended there... I was horrible at small talk, and years of isolation don''t help the matter. After a few minutes that felt like hours, we finally got to my dorm. They dropped me off, and I entered the dorm...


    If I had a key that is... Fuck, was Shun or Yun in? I rang the door bell and waited for a response. about a minute later Shun, half asleep, answered the door.


    "WOULD YOU... Oh it''s you Hiiro. You''re outside? What happened to the universe?" he ''Said loudly with enthusiasm'' sleepily...


    "Did Yun not tell you I was at the hospital because I was in the middle of bleeding to death?" I said in a mono-toned voice. I was annoyed, yes, but showing this annoyance at someone not in the know was stupid.


    He got out of his slumber-some state and replied "Wait, really? I noticed Yun left in a panic, but I don''t think she''s back yet."


    Really...


    I put some things together, and boy was it a hassle.


    "Shun, can you give me your phone please." He tilted his head.


    Then it clicked and he went and got it. He can be quite thick when he''s tired.


    I called Yun''s number and explained the situation to her. "Yun... The doctor drove me home. Did he perhaps not tell you and you are now waiting in the room thinking something bad must be happening since I wasn''t there?" I said in the same mono-toned voice.


    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    I immediately threw the phone across the room to Shun as she responded on the other line...


    I could hear the ''Eh'' given off by the phone from here... Shun fully woke up from that. He spent the time it took Yun to get back yelling at me for doing that...


    I tried to flee into my room to grab a mask, but Shun blocked me off from doing that... He then looked into my eyes...


    "Y...Y...Your face..." he was visibly shaking...


    "Yeah, there''s a reason I wear a mask... So can I go and grab it now?"


    "S-s-sure... G-g-go ah-ahead..." he stuttered, I responded by going into my room and grabbing a mask.


    I came back in the room, just as Yun came back. She ran up to check if I was okay.


    "I''m fine princess, don''t worry. By the way, thanks for cleaning up and taking me there."


    "I came back for a while whilst you were sleeping. I felt it was time to clean. Cleaning up blood is mentally tiring though. Add the time wasted from running around after you, and I''d say I''m pretty tired right now. I''ll go to bed now."


    "Me too... I was woke up from your knocking. Sorry for shouting."


    "It''s fine. I''ll have an early night too."


    So we all went to sleep at a reasonable hour for once.


    -


    I woke up feeling pretty good. For the first time in a while that is. I usually wake up groggily, but today was somewhat different, I felt like I wasn''t forcing myself out of my bed... Weird.


    Well anyway, less time spent fighting my own body, the more time I can play I guess. I logged into Myth of Men and was greeting with a some-what angry message from _______. I guess he wanted some feedback earlier. I guess I''ll explain the situation. I invited him to a friend call, and he accepted.


    "Hey, could you send me to a private room so I can discuss things?"


    I was absorbed in a beam of light, and found myself in the same blindingly white room I was taken to when I first logged in. The same light blinded me, and the same person I couldn''t make out was standing before me. I think at least...


    "So then, why weren''t your here earlier? The first patch work has started already.." They asked in a relatively threatening tone...


    "Well, I was conscripted into a tournament I didn''t know the date of yesterday morning, came back late to faint, woke up in a hospital room after almost dying of blood-loss. When I got home and felt tired so slept... So you can say it was a pretty bad day as a whole. Sorry for not being here earlier." I answered in a relatively enthused tone. I said the last bit in a serious one though.


    "Huh, that actually happened?" They probably tried to intimidate me with a stare to make me submit... It didn''t work since I couldn''t see them and I wasn''t lying. "I''ll trust you, you have no real reason to lie anyway. Sorry I''m used to scum who''d lie to get a minute off work..." They probably were genuinely apologetic. Yet again though, I couldn''t see them to tell for good...


    "I see... Well then. Let me ask you the questions I have and tell you what I think so far."


    "Go ahead."


    "Okay, my first question, Why do I have two eyes? And why is one of them brown?" Character models were visible in the armour page of the interface. So I found out what I looked like when I equipped my armour and weapons yesterday.


    "Hm, is that odd to have two eyes?"


    "When you lost one in an incident years ago it is." I put it bluntly because I didn''t really feel like repeating the story three times today...


    "Oh. Hm, I guess we just make base character models like that... Did you originally have a brown eye?" I shook my head. "Hm. Weird. Sorry, I have no idea. If it''s a major problem then we can sort it out pronto."


    "It''s actually nice. It was just really random for it to give me sight in an eye that''s missing."


    "Well that''s good. Next?"


    "Okay, I understand the wish for freedom of choice off the bat to make your play-style better, but why is the mass_leech so over powered? I blocked all of a boss''s attacks with it when he was five levels higher than mine..."


    "Hm. I guess it wasn''t meant to be abused by someone like you. Should we put a higher AP cost on it, or put a limit to it''s length?"


    "You probably should do either... I think the time limit would be more fair, but I think the higher AP cost would be more fun. It would make players think smartly about their placement in a fight, since there''s the meter radius that acts as a blind spot. This means fighting a high level opponent would require more skill, and prior knowledge of the class skills. Also there are barely any people with the class Succubi, so making a good move in their arsenal would attract more players, leading to more pressure on thinking of back-up strategies and counters. So I see it as fair in that sense." I looked up the rough numbers playing each class. Most were Assassins, only two people played ghost. I think sixteen people played Succubus out of a total of  about a million. Yeah, this game was so popular, 25% of the humans alive today were playing it.


    "I guess. I''ll call upon my men to change that that it. Any more?"


    "What''s up with the Grimoire I found? It seems really broken."


    "Which one did you get?"


    "Mimic..."


    "That''ll be fun. They''re really rare, there are only 10 possible types, and only one of each can exist at a time, so the fact you''ve used it up means that there can not be another mimic in the game. They''re meant to be top tier stuff that work as a basic status symbol. Although I didn''t see someone getting one so quickly." He paused. probably thinking of a bad joke to say. "So, where''s the horseshoe? It must hurt."


    See? I''m correct... I''m psychic!


    "Very funny... I''ve never relied on luck to win before, so this is quite surprising to think I had some. I usually use my immense skill to do so."


    "Well you are you I guess. Any more?"


    "What do I do with an ID?"


    "Oh, yeah, we didn''t explain that well, did we. Basically you go to a city, and it''ll turn into a true ID that you can use to use certain services."


    "Seems like a good idea, but you really need to make it clearer, add it to the item description or something..."


    "Noted. Well then. Does that conclude things so far?"


    "No, I was wondering how a male becomes a Succubus? Isn''t that an Incubus?"


    "Is it? Oops... Oh well, we don''t really care enough to change it. Is that all?"


    I thought back... "yeah, that''s all." I couldn''t think of anything to add so far. "I''ll tell you if I find something else."


    With that said I was swallowed into darkness, and plopped back to where I was.


    Well then. I need to ask for directions to the nearest city. So walked around talking to the local NPCs.

 Volume 2: Chapter 6: The event, and the walking to get to it.

    OldBegginings:[Major thanks to Jinkaku and Nexus wolf for their reviews. We did a review swap in which I gave them ''some'' help, and they''ve given me quite alot of help especially with the skill lists. I think I''ve fixed most of Jinkaku''s problems already, and I''ll start editing for Nexus'' problems later today. But anyway, thanks for their criticism, it was definitely not as harsh as I thought it would be, and thanks for explaining the major problems with enough details to correct. If anyone else has anything to add, please say it. This fiction is in a state of constant improvement, or attempt to do so... So any pointers will be taken on board whilst doing this.]


    *''Hiiro''*


    Hm. I was thinking whilst trying to pin-point the actual direction and distance to the closest city, which I presume is Skimmington, that this would be WAY easier to find with a map.


    They said Skimmington was roughly north west, in the range of 1 mile to 50 miles... So helpful. I had to find a better way of locating things, or spend the entire day continually looking for this city.


    ...


    Hm, maybe I should try finding a map. Let''s think...


    After exploring the basic menu, I first checked the options, since I''ve seen all the other parts of the interface at this point. If a map was hidden, it''d probably be somewhere I never checked. I was surprised, but not confused with the lack of graphics settings. Eh. It didn''t really matter...


    I was more surprised to see the ''mini-map'' option. I turned it on, and a little mini-map popped up in the corner of the mini-map. I see if I can interact with it...


    I find skimmington, and point at it.


    Ooh, nice. A marker was placed on the map. I now zoom in the map, and as expected, an arrow shows me the most efficient way to get there...


    The map also showed me dots, red dots probably stood for ''figures'' who were Programmed to hate me, green showed those figures who weren''t Programmed to hate me as I stand. It gave me some nice closure that I wasn''t going to be snuck up and annihilated when I eventually took a break.


    And I wasted my time with the NPCs, what a rookie mistake of mine...


    With this knowledge in hand, I set out to go to the city.


    -


    The journey is long, considering I was just walking, I saw an inconspicuous cave on the side of the road. Seems like a perfect training area for my mobs, which were now walking besides me. I was followed by 5 hob-goblins and 5 imps, I had summoned for the illusion of company on this long journey... Not much more to be said.


    The path has been one thin, but long dirt path. I passed some fields with different crops, like maize earlier on the journey, probably belonging to the farmers of the town I was in, but now it was just oceans of grass, and not much else...


    This cave wasn''t labeled, unlike the other, so I assume it''s not a dungeon. I was reasonably bored walking for the hour or two I had been, so felt like taking a break to test my mobs.


    As I walk up to the cave, there was snoring coming from inside.


    A bear maybe?


    I turned my mobs back into their non-physical forms, so they wouldn''t make a noise, or randomly attack the enemy I supposed was in the cave.


    The cave it''s self was dark... Duh, it was another being cave in which they''re probably sleeping. I practically tip-toed into the cave, and reached a large room with-in. I made out a figure lying there... And there''s no way that''s a bear.


    It looked way larger, and I could swear the outline was more lizard like, with what appeared to be a long, smooth and pointy tail coming out of one side of it... I think it could be a dragon.


    I whisper ''How cute'' making an almost inaudible sound, and checked it''s stats...


    ''Hm, maybe I shouldn''t fight this with my army of merry mobs?'' I thought this for about a second before going on, looking at the statistics shown. It was a dragon. A level ??? one at that... Yeah, I definitely couldn''t beat it...


    Then the devil on my shoulder reminded me, ''If I beat it, I''d get so much XP for me and my army, it wouldn''t be true!''


    A nagging feeling started to make me feel unsure though. reminding me ''If you fail, you go all the way back to the town you started in, another hour or two walking... Do you really want to sacrifice that and forget the likelihood of you losing just for tons of experience?'' Oh, I had an annoying decision to make...


    I stood there, thinking in frustration, the two sides of the argument were yelling at me inside my head to go either way... ''What, are you weak? You can surely kill it with your amount of skill coward...'' seemed to be switching with ''If you die, you''ll have to walk for two more boring hours... And if you get hit you die.'' as the argument built up in my mind.


    I calmed myself down, knowing rash thought is a major killer in games, and thought about it. Which is more important, the possibility to level up massively, or the possibility of getting an ID and being able to go to another continent?


    After a moment of thought, I chose the other continent, with the final reason being ''I can still get lots of XP out of it later. It''s strong, so I doubt it''d die that easily''. I left the cave without waking up the sleeping dragon, and continued with my mobs towards Skimmington.


    -


    Eventually after the countless hills and forest areas, I could eventually see the city on the skyline. It was pretty large, not real-world city size of course, more like a large town side. My mini-map was almost in range to see the city too. Finally my journey had finished.


    That was when a message popped up on my screen.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''1''>Event: Fighting between clans.</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''>(If you don''t want to get caught up in the event, don''t enter this city.)</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Huh... This was unexpected. I would have thought the admins would have told me about an event like this...


    Oh, wait. That''s probably why _______ told me to go here in the first place. He could have told me about the mini-map though...


    ''Well, I might as well go to see what the event is.'' I thought as I continue to the ''city''. I stop momentarily to turn off pop-ups, so I wouldn''t get distracted. I then continued, looking cautiously around as I did.


    -


    The city was pretty big, as stated before, and had a wall encompassing it. I was now at the gate, and was surprised that no one was watching over it... I guess the event must have something to do about it.


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    I walked through the gate... The first scene I see?


    A desolate street, with two groups on either side... One having multiple females in samurai garb, the other having males with multiple different armour types. The bickering from both sides reach me, about 200 meters away... Oh boy, what a hassle.


    The member''s of each group were glaring onto the other side, with their hands quivering over their weapons, ready to get out their weapons instantaneously... I look at my mini map, and see that I''d have to go through this conflict if I was going to get the town hall, where I assume I have to go to get registered.


    I sigh deeply, go into the skill menu and activate both Volume_Increase and Auto_Correct, then confront the groups. Startled by my present, both groups glare at me, with a babble of noise, most saying things like ''This is our fight, back off''... I slap my cheeks metaphorically and start talking loud enough to be heard.


    "Ever heard of the saying ''Don''t bother people with your personal problems?" I state in a mocking tone. The intensity of the death glares increase, but not caring about that, I continue. "Really? You''re not going to stop... You realize that your stubborn little temper tantrum is disrupting this entire city, right?"


    Surprisingly one of them decided to respond with words... "It''s their fault... Trying to mock us with their imaginary strength, they''re only women you know?" A giant of a man said, with his allies standing proudly besides them... I feel like I''m going to gag soon.


    "And? We''re stronger than you guys, hence we''re fighting you. You reject our challenge request, and continue to mock us on our weakness. Grow some balls and head us straight on if you''re oh so powerful!" Responded one of the many girls wearing samurai-like armour on the other side... Her allies raising their weapons, pumped to start the fight.


    "And why does ''strength'' matter again?" I asked the first question in my head, but met with confused heads, I decided to explain what I meant... "Surely being the wisest, or most skilled, or the better fighters would be more of an appropriate title for you to be competing at, rather than only the strongest... If it''s only strength you care about, have a weight lifting competition or something that might prove who can lift the most weight, since that''s all strength is. And maybe not this fight that ends up wasting the entire cities time for your own selfishness and stubbornness."


    Some of the confused faces turned to anger, unsheathing their weapons, the others looked some-what embarrassed, taking their hands off their weapons... Seems like they didn''t know what strength actually was...


    I examine some of the people from both sides. And they seemed to all fit between level 30 and level 60, with the supposed leader of the male group being level 63, and the leader of the female group being level 75. The male group looked undeniably weaker... But I definitely couldn''t fight this head on...


    Both sides lacked any range, with only a handful of battle mages on the male side, and none on the female side. My looks resembled that of a battle mage, or attack focused healer... So maybe they''d not get my actual class. But it''s still one hit no kill. If I abused my mimic sub-class then I may stand a choice, or my skill at the game alone might easily win the fight. But should I confront, or not? Failure probably results in me re-spawning close, but I have no idea how much will be robbed off me...


    As I analyse them, they remain silent, glares turning to stares, both sides are in a state of stalemate. With seemingly confused faces scattered between both crowds, I think they''re trying to rethink what''s happening.


    My remaining question is why both groups fight unquestioned... No one''s even trying to prohibit this, just an empty street with no obstructions. There''s no damage to any building, are they perhaps the strongest groups here?


    Oh, I see now. A message popped up on the interface. Since I turned them off, I had no idea... It''s easy to see why there was such an awkward silence...


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''5''>Pick which side you wish to join.</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''>Samurai_Girls</td><td colspan=''2''>Back-hands</td><td colspan=''1''>None</td></tr></tbody></table>


    Hm. Those are the names of the most powerful clans? Also I could help both sides? Wasn''t this meant to be the battle of the genders?


    Questions rushed into my head in quick succession. Way faster than I could answer them. I decided to look at the groups. From the conversation earlier, the female side seemed to have both the stronger motive, and the stronger clan, so joining them was the obvious right idea... But I didn''t really want to join either. Joining one to be harassed by the other seemed like a hassle... And both were leading the the problem I wanted solved.


    I know they''re NPC''s, but they''re realistic enough for me to treat seriously in this debate. The main question is what happens when I answer, do they start fighting for good, or just continue debating again... If they start debating I had a chance, if not I was screwed.


    The awkward stand-off maintained like a freeze-frame, both sides surprisingly not getting bored at me thinking for a couple minutes so far... Hm. I''ve waited long enough, I think I''ll go with my ego.


    I selected the ''none'' option, and looked back at the two groups. They glared back at me as if I was an enemy...


    "''Those who aren''t our friends are our enemies...'' Kind of a stupid remark to think, right? Both of your groups stand for stupid rash decisions, idiotic ideals and ridiculous commitment to these stupid things... And you expected me to join one of you? How funny!" I remarked. I wanted to get out of this without violence, so tested this to see if they worked. My Volume_Increase and Auto_Correct seemed permanent, since both were still working.


    One of the two leaders rebutted my statement."You interrupt our argument, and preach your own shallow ideologies, and you think you''re not our enemy? If you''re so smart and wise, win against us... Or shut the hell up!" The other group nodded in agreement.


    I smirked in response... I guess I''ve got to go all out on these noobs to prove who''s the best. We all draw out weapons in sync, both sides turning to me first.


    ''Oh boy this is going to be fun.'' I thought as the battle started.

 Volume 2: Chapter 7: The battle of the Clans, and me of course.

    OldBegginings:[Howdy all. I''m just here to point out, I''m still in the process of re-writing the combat scenes from earlier chapters. Currently up to chapter 7. I''d like to thank Nexus for the criticism, I didn''t realize it was so dull before... But I''d also like to blame him for the massive pain it is to go back and re-write the scenes completely. (I know it''s my fault for not writing them well enough in the first place... I still want to blame him though.) So thanks again... Hope you enjoy the chapter. Until the next time. :P ]


    *''Hiiro''*


    I continued smirking... The first shot of the battle came from one of the battle mages, firing a bolt in my direction. I side-stepped and dodged. I now knew that auto aim wasn''t a thing, so I had a chance to win. I wielded my staff in my good hand, and one of my swords in the other, watching people from both sides charged to my position in near perfect sync...


    I was in the middle of the street, which was about fifteen meters wide. There were no buildings here, so I decided I could go all out if needed. Though, I had no reason to win, or to fight for that matter...


    I didn''t care about being the strongest. I didn''t really have any pride to give away...


    I just wanted a challenge. One moment of my waste life, I could claim was worthwhile. Where I didn''t have to hold back, where I actually got things wrong, and got hurt for doing so. Although, mainly something I found ''fun''.


    This was my entire reason of fighting. I would have just logged out if I didn''t want to fight. I could have just allied with the Samurai_Girls, knowing the inevitable outcome... But that''s dull to me. I give everyone one try to make me care. I don''t really mind if it''s a new player wanting to prove themselves, or someone proficient at a game, doing the same. However, this principle of mine died down when receiving ten thousand plus challenge requests daily though...


    I decided I was only going to use my grimoire if necessary, instead... "bind". The reddish tentacles rose from the ground again, and, surprisingly, still making most of the characters freeze. However, some of the players were just too strong, breaking through the bind and continuing to close in on me. The spell still prohibited the others from advancing. To my shock, my health refused to budge the instant they burst through the wall.


    ''So those tentacles weren''t part of me. Interesting...'' I thought, as the first of this group who got through got completely free, and made their move.


    I had finally met the players strong enough to get through to me, seven in total, including both leaders.


    "To think his class was a succubus." Someone muttered whilst walking to my direction.


    "He''s so weak though,¡± another replied with a louder, more taunting tone. ¡°It''s almost comedic."


    A similar cocky grin became plastered on all of their faces.


    I continued to smirk, simply kiting all of their attacks. They were on opposite teams, so making them attack each other was easy enough. I¡¯d then face the side that won, weakened, with my chances of winning increased. And somehow my speed and stamina were good enough to maintain the constant dodging. Since their attacks were somewhat organised, gauging where and when they''d strike was child¡¯s play.


    I led most of their attacks toward their enemies while also trying to get the stronger attacks aimed at the strongest fighters. All of the people inside my makeshift wall were weakened, with only one exception. The leader of the Samurai_Girls who just lingered at the edge. Whenever I tried to get any attacks to hit her, she''d just parry them or dodge them completely. She was onto my shenanigans...


    It didn''t matter though since I had another plan. My AP was maxed, since the AP regeneration buff on my staff made my regeneration rate higher than the cost of maintaining the Bind skill. My health stood at about five thousand since I caught so many people in my bind, continually sapping health from them. But I then decided otherwise, starting the next step of my plan.  "Stop Bind."


    I proceeded to swap my staff for my other sword and acted worn-out to make it seem like I''d almost ran out of AP. This illusion worked, so I just had to pay attention. If I needed to, I could use more AP based attacks, which should catch most off-guard.


    I could now see outside. The people fought each other, unaware of what was happening inside. The flurry of attacks from the gradually dying group continued, but some of the battle mages then turned their attention back to me and begun attacking. Perfect!


    Multiple bolt-like spells flew from the other mages into the fray, but with my dodging, they only ended up hitting their allies or the other group, hence the battle becoming even more chaotic. With a couple swipes from me as counter attacks, I managed to prevent my hp from dropping and continued to annoy those around me. Even the leader of the Samurai_Girls got hit. Being unable to react to the cluster-fuck of attacks spewing from practically everywhere...


    Most of the people caught in my bind were stunned at first, and mowed down with all of the attacks, and the ones outside mostly fighting each other, so payed the combat surrounding me no mind. The constant clashing of metal, cascading steps, and mumbles of skills being used built up a very dense atmosphere. Reminding me about one hundred people who still stood against me...


    "This could take a while" I grumbled under my breath.


    Most of the people around me were now just under fifty percent, as such, they started to play more cautiously. The Samurai_Girls started to use defense buffs, and so they attacked less, and the Back_Hands were also attacking less... Starting to see what I was actually doing. The spew of spells stopped knowing how they all missed me, and so focused on the many other fights around us, attempting to affect those instead...


    It continued at this pace for a while. Dodging was made easier, meaning I could take a rest, and I still managed to damage those near me as they missed their attacks.


    The endurance battle hadn¡¯t even started though, seeing how most of the battles outside of this had already had their winners and losers, so more and more people gradually came back to this combat. Increasing the pace of my dodges once again. These new people were wounded, but still were threatening to me, as my space to maneuver steadily declined.


    I maintained my little dance, evading the blows that only increased with number after every round... Until a point where the first leader fell.


    It seems like the Back_Hands leader finally died. Being in the heat of the action from the start, it''s not surprising. His final scream erupting a pure silence, that had been cast on all the members of both clans. All the people on the Back_Hand''s side surrendered moments after. Discarding their weapons, running away from the combat in defeat...


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    All that was left was me and the remaining thirty plus members of the Samurai_Girls.


    They stopped fighting, forming a line facing me.


    "Surrender, or continue the fight... Your choice. You only prove to be a hypocrite to fight anymore. We were only trying to prove our rights. We''ve done our task. But for honors sake, if you want to continue, we''ll beat you too. That''s all your choice." The leader of the clan stated, beckoning her sword, that was hovering over it''s sheath.


    My smirk vanished, replaced with my usual straight face, with an annoyed glare directed at the person speaking.


    I bitterly remarked. "How cute. You think you''ve proven something with that one guy dying. You realize the reason he died was all on me... What were you specifically doing during the fight, Deary? Oh, yes. Standing in my shadow, just dodging and waiting. I was the one who got attacked, your brethren just missed me and hit him due to my dodging skill. Both full clans even attempted to gang up on me, whilst all of the members individually out-level me, and it''s ''YOUR'' win? Considering I got through without getting hit once...  Don''t kid yourself."


    I sheathed my weapon, and walked past the awe-struck group to the town hall.


    No one ''won'' that fight. We just solved our conflicts before ending it. I have standards in those I fight. These people, hiding behind total numbers to dictate ''their'' win, doesn''t fit my standards, and after my preach, I''d be hypocritical to continue. I don''t care if this makes me seem like a whiny child, who runs away from a challenge... It wouldn''t be the first time, nor the last.


    The group left in my wake could only stand there. Confused. The silence behind me, seeping from the group to encapsulate the entire street, told me this.


    Instead of bothering to hear the rest, I went over to the large building on the other end of the street. The so called ''City Hall''. It was a huge, eight story building, that definitely garnered attention. This castle like thing standing at the center of this walled city gave the ''I would not like to be the one to attack this'' vibe.


    I walked through the daunting entrance, that was guarded by so many men, I felt cautious every step I took. I guess that was their response to the combat in the streets...


    I went further, and found myself at a literal cross-roads. An area to my right which seemed ripe with food makers and sellers, an inconspicuous area in front which seemed like an administration building, and an area to the left I payed little attention to. I went forwards, and asked around for where the registration area was.


    I eventually found the area in which I could register, and was met by an overly groomed guy, who''s hair seemed to unnaturally sparkle with the sheer amounts it was glossed... Usually I wouldn''t even notice such a thing, but this was a different case.


    "Ahem." The man demanded my attention with this one utterance. Noticing he had it, he beckoned me to explain my purpose.


    "I''m here to officially register as a citizen of forth island. I have an ID, and just need authorization from a city official. Could you please help." I felt it was courtesy to make it more of a request than a job... Or maybe that''s just my Angletarian upbringing...


    Either or, his response was "okay, I''ll see what I can do." and put out his hand, "ID please." he then ordered.


    Complying to his order, I handed him the ID I gained from beating the Mumble Tree. A barrage of questions followed suit:


    Q)"Gender?" A)"Undisclosed." I didn''t really care about my gender...


    Q)"Age?" A)"19 years of age." I went with my real age.


    Q)"Class and sub-class?" A)"Undisclosed, undisclosed and undisclosed..." I didn''t bother with a third subclass.


    Q)"Name" A)"DokiDoki19" I assumed this was place for my username.


    Q)"Full name?" A)"Undisclosed..." Apparently there was also a real name section. Damn it, I really wanted to keep anonymous though.


    Q)"Invalid choice... again, full name?" A)"First name Doki, spelled D, O, K, I. Second name Doki-one-nine spelled D, O, K, I, the number one, the number nine." I mean, it was apparently accepted as a name...


    Q)"Area of origin?" A)"The town of Simpson." At least according to the name on the map this was the case...


    Q)"Occupation" A)"''Adventurer''?" I guessed...


    Q)"Clan, Guild or other members of your group?" A)"Not Applicable."


    After each question, he scribbled something down, I assumed he was writing on my ID. With the questions ending, he stamped the piece of paper, which turned it from the paper into a wisp of magic, that got absorbed into me...


    "Okay, we''re done here everything has been filled out, congratulations on becoming a citizen. You can now show your ID to those who ask, and get many services only allowed to official citizens. Any further questions?" The shiny haired man asked.


    "Two. Firstly, Where, if possible, can I start up a bank account?"


    "Okay, you know the main entrance, instead of going straight, which is the exit, go left, to the main guild building. There should be a place labeled ''Bank''. Head there. Don''t worry, it''s an independent guild made to organize those of any guild or background. You don''t have to join any guild to make one if you don''t want to. Also guild registration is done there... But you probably don''t need to know about that yet. Next?"


    "What hotels are in this city?"


    "There are four in the major hotels. ''Tarus'' head'', ''The Green Goblin'', ''Omega''s Inn'' and finally ''The Devil''s Horn''. But I''d suggest not going to the latter, it''s a so called ''love hotel''..." He said the final part in a semi-serious tone.


    I was surprised that such a concept as a ''love hotel'' would actually exist in this fictional world... I really tried my hardest not to judge the game creator''s love life. I really did.


    "Okay, where are the other three located?"


    -


    I''ll save you the details, but soon enough I remembered I could just leave by logging out, making the inns completely pointless... I logged out when I finally remembered this, and actually made something to eat. Cooking up another lunch I cooked earlier myself yesterday.


    I later played another mmorpg, the Planet Of Peace. I later realized that the games were remarkably different, and it just felt awkward playing a non-vr mmorpg. So I quit only half an hour in, and went into a slumber.

 Volume 2: Chapter 8: Brand new hassle.

    *''Hiiro''*


    I woke to pain, like most mornings. Great.


    I Ignored it and went to get breakfast, leaving my tomb to go to the kitchen.


    As I walked up to the fridge to see what I could cook up, noticing Shun had joined me.


    I greeted him, wanting to know if he started playing or not. "Hey Shun."


    "Oh... hello Hiiro," he responded. He gave a deep sigh before adding, "I doubt you have, but have you heard about Jeong from first year?"


    He asked intrigued, with a slight tilt of the head. But this disappeared soon after saying it.


    "I haven''t," I said, answering the almost rhetorical question. "Why?" I tilted my head to show my confusion.


    "It appears she''ll be joining us next term in the scholarship dorm, getting a 93% in the last test, and according to teachers and students, she''ll get a 95% or higher in the next one almost definitely. I assumed you would be curious to who she is."


    Oh, so that''s why.


    "Hm, then I would like to know basic information about her, yes. But no gossip please." I accepted his help since my interest was piqued, but idle gossip was going way too far.


    "Are you sure about the ''no gossip'' thing? I haven''t really met her in person, and gained all my knowledge second-hand. So you''d have to forget the whole ''appears she''ll be joining us'' part, since it¡¯s all based on gossip."


    "Guess I don''t have a choice then..." I paused before  begging, "but please only tell me the relevant things. I care not for her love life." I asked the last part half seriously, but the visible droop of his face as I said that was kind of disappointing...


    Was her love-life important to him or something?


    "Okay, as you say. Stop me if I go too far." he paused for a second, as if waiting for me to continue him. Our eye contact with holding, he eventually continued.


    "The Jeong I''m specifying is Jeong Hyeon. She''s supposedly daughter of a famous author and an equally famous artist. Being the only person not in this dorm to get an over 80% score makes her the only real candidate, so far, to enter the dorm. Her personality screams ''posh'', having a small but elite friendship group. This included Yun, who told me about this. She''s acting as our secretary, but doesn''t seem open to guys. This is why we haven''t really met. From the meetings we''ve had though, she seems outspoken. Mostly arguing with Yun over what would be best. And bringing up your existence at least once a meeting. She''s been more quiet about it since the tournament though."


    Probably another person who hated me out of jealousy then. No wonder Shun wanted to tell me about her.


    But more surprising was the fact she''s the only person to score 80% apart from us. It was an easy test, tricks for those not paying attention, but no BS marks or anything like that, I learnt most of it in high-school.


    Argh! This makes no sense! I mean, I''m saying this as a person who got 100% in that test, but still...


    I thought about it for a while, before concluding ''must be a weak year then'' and paying attention to Shun again, who probably assumed I needed to add her to an exhaustive list of people who hate me or something, so waited patiently. This isn''t the case by the way. Since I have many haters, it''s the opposite way round. Noting the people who seem not to hate me instead of those who do.


    "An elitist then?" I think it''s an easy conclusion to make with her choice in friends, and constant discussion of me.


    "Pretty much. If she makes it in the end-term test, we can make pretty sure she''ll make your life even harder. So be careful when talking to her... Ha, sorry. I almost forgot who you were." He joked, trying to end this bad news in a nice way.


    I grabbed some leftovers from a meal one of the other two made, and was about to go back when Shun called out. "By the way, I got the adapters you texted me, I''m a bit confused about how to set it up though. Care to help me?" Beckoning me to follow him.


    I was going to waste my time anyway, so why not. My door glistened out of the corner of my eye, trying to entice me to go back in my tomb for my next eternal slumber...


    I humbly rejected it, going with Shun to his room. Leaving the now dismayed door, and the room on the other side to rest. Well. That is, until I finally grovelled back into it to waste even more of my finite life-span deadlocked between screens...


    Inside his room, it was surprisingly normal. I''ve never looked inside either''s room, so had assumed nothing... as I didn''t really care. Caring though, I wouldn''t expect anything like this. Oh yeah, to make my judgement seem fairer, these twins are the offspring of the ruling emperor, or prime-minister or something. Yet again though, I didn''t really care...


    But no chandeliers, no princess beds... my eyes were treated to a neat, crease-free monochromatic bed, with appropriate furniture to give a humble, but still cultured vibe. The computer system is was rather big though.


    It had two monitors, some brand logo I assumed was expensive and quite the setup for gaming. I, myself, had a spew of consoles encapsulating my room. So I didn''t really spend much money on my computer, mainly sticking to the five year old obsolete computer. But he only had the PC, and the setup he used was taking up over a quarter of the room.


    Whilst I was gawking at his room, Shun proceeded to get out the headset and gloves and hand them to me. He then grabbed the wires that came with, the adapters mixed up with them in a jumbled mess...


    "Sorry, I got confused with which wires went there, and ..." He noticed me ponder off, and stopped.


    "One second." I exclaimed, as I went back to my room, grabbed a small booklet, and came back.


    -


    "So I have a question. Do you have this little booklet, that instructs about how to properly wire up the system?" In response was nothing but an embarrassed look, trying to hide itself.


    I pulled my palm to my face, questioning whether this guy is seriously that dumb. And then dropped it, glaring at the whimpering man-child in-front of me.


    No words needed to be spoken.


    After fully reading my thoughts from body-language alone, Shun put up his hands, and pleaded, "I didn''t even try to read it... Sorry."


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    Accepting his fault, he quickly drew a similar booklet from a nearby bin, dusted it off and proceeded to read it.


    In about ten minutes, the booklet was dropped, then he flawlessly did what he had failed to do earlier... After a while spent untangling all the wires and discerning which were which though.


    I finished eating my breakfast as he finished on his end. I had assumed he''d ask about classes, sub-classes and stuff. So stayed idling around until he was done.


    He proceeded to put on the helmet and gloves and lied down. Seemingly losing his ability to move, with only breathing and slight twitches of the muscles making his body move. I assume he¡¯s now configuring, since that¡¯s what I did first. This took only two minutes, he then took off the helmet and gloves, sat up and looked to me.


    "How¡¯s the movement lag?" I pondered curiously. When I underwent it, the lag was very noticeable, so I had to adjust my movements to make it less awkward. I wondered if his was the same.


    "Non-existent... I didn''t accidentally hit you, did I?" The anxiety on his face seemed legitimate.


    Hm, the motion in the system is very realistic. So confusing it with real motion is pretty reasonable.


    "There were a couple spasms in your arms. However, you never got up from lying down, let alone hit me." As I recounted he visibly calmed.


    "So what class would you suggest for me?" He queried. I knew he''d ask me sooner or later, but still had no idea on an answer...


    "What play-style do you want?" I countered his question with my own. I mean, how am I meant to know what he''d enjoy?


    "Probably someone at the back, with decent range, but the capability to hold off in combat."


    "Hm..." I thought of an answer whilst stretching that sound...


    My lungs gave in, forcing me to declare my failure. "I don''t really know. Any class can use bows, and since weapons have their own skill system. I can limit a few, but I don''t really know a singular answer... Could you be more specific?"


    "Huh, really? Well then. Someone who doesn''t take a lot of skill to use then? I enjoy playing MMORPGs, I''m just not that good at them... I always enjoyed socializing more anyway."


    I¡¯m not really sure how partying works. Considering the freedom of weaponry, groups probably used style of play as position markers rather than just the class they had. I mean, it¡¯d be far more efficient for them.


    This could be false, but asking me, a solo-player, about parties is stupid in the first place.


    To me, someone like a tank who mainly uses a bow would be placed well with the healers, soaking up damage they might take, could be a possible match for him. It would take little skill, be able to hold it¡¯s own if caught in a melee, and would be mainly behind the swordsmen who probably made up the front-line.


    "Makes sense, then maybe you go tank then. I don''t think they have many instantaneous class-skills to use, mainly just passives that help with certain types of attacks, if I remember correctly. I''m not one though, so don''t know for certain. What about sub-classes?" I vaguely recount the information box under each class stating something similar...


    "I''ll pick out the ones I find interesting enough. I gather it says a word or two on it." As he said that a light on the helmet started flashing, indicating the processing had come to an end. "Okay, I''ll set up my character now then. Thanks for the help, I hope I didn''t waste too much time..."


    "Okay, have fun."


    Huh... those words feel weird coming from me. With an internal check, making sure my emotions hadn''t been hacked, I thought about why I actually helped him, knowing it was a hassle...


    I guess it''s because I just like noobs. They usually come up with more unique and fun ways of playing a game, maybe using strategies unheard of but the tryhards. All the tryhards do is mimic the ''meta'' without much thought to making the style theirs. An unbroken cycle of copying and only changing something when the rest do... yet unlike them, noobs seem more focused on having fun rather than winning, leading to, personally, more interesting fights...


    After getting that straightened out, I had finally gotten back to my door.


    I instantly turned to the familiar helmet and gloves on the table, and went back into the game.


    I was welcomed with the same blinding light, as a world of pure white welcomed me.


    "Hello Miss or Sir." I greeted. I still had no idea about their gender, so felt like vocalizing it to see the response.


    "Just call me Underscore #5. Now then, how was the event?" So he did know about the event, skillfully dodging my question.


    "You made the NPCs too human, so I chose neither, disagreeing with both of their motives and methods, then technically won the fight..." I stated the truth. I won on efficiency, since unlike the Samurai_Girls clan I didn''t lose any health or AP during the fight, whilst they had quite a lot of deaths... I''m not trying to brag though.


    "As expected... Well was it fun at least?"


    "Not really. I guess for those without my strong ethics it''s passable, but for me... I had no ''fun'' going through the event. It wasn''t that challenging considering the level gap, I can understand that it''s a starting quest, and most people aren''t like me in their understanding of the game yet... but still. I mean try to spice it up with the guards at the town hall attacking you when certain damage is dealt or something like it, please. It seems way too unnatural to have the entire city just accept this disaster that holds up the entire street."


    I took a breath, letting him take in my criticism. It was clear my rant was over.


    "Well, if that''s what you thought. We''ll try to make the next event better. You''re first pay-check should be coming soon."


    "Okay. Thanks for accepting the criticism, I hope I won¡¯t rant about the next one." I ended the conversation, curious to what happened next.


    Poof. As I ended my response, I left the white room. My eyes instead still developing the scene of the ''city'' I was still in. Hm, let''s see the aftermath of that fight.

 Authors notes, volume 2, chapters 1 to 8.

    Okay, in a similar fashion to before, without the rants obviously, I will be going through the points I think are important to state. Whether to point out things that will affect the future, or things that affect the chapters here. This is the last authors note chapter, since I don''t feel like alot will be necessary in later installments. I''ll add any more notes onto the chapters it''s needed on.


    I now want to explain the names. I find it ironic that Nexus references hiiro from Konjiki no Word-master in his review, since I made Doki/ Hiiro''s name before basing him off this character. I want to think I only took this character''s name, but I think a few other aspects of him seeped into mine. I named Shun and Yun based on the names of the MC in OSO, Han Jeehan was based off the MC in The Gamer. I believe that''s all the references I made in names though.


    Oh yeah, the names _____ and such for the admins were references to the company Underscore_Gaming you may remember were the makers of Myth Of Men. It''s definitely not that I''m bad with names, so wanted to make it easy on myself or anything... of course not.


    And for countries names, the only one unexplained so far is ''Hangou'', although obvious, it''s a butchering of the traditional Chinese for South Korea.


    I might as well go into the game parodies I created, going from first mentioned, only the ones in volume two though, as I think I covered volume 1''s earlier. SolarCraft 2 is obviously StarCraft 2. Radiation scepter is Nuclear throne, Bunni-Bunni is Rabi-Rabi, BeaPoke is PokeMon and Planet Of Peace is World Of Warcraft. By the way, the MOM POP thing wasn''t on purpose, I''ve never heard anyone actually call their father ''pop'', ''papa'' or anything really starting with a ''p''. Not to offend those who do, I''ve just not met one of you elusive creatures.


    By the way, I know calling the different story-lines volume 1 and volume 2 is weird and confusing... I just couldn''t think of anything else to call it. The next chapter will be volume 1 chapter nine, labeled as just chapter nine. As I said, I didn''t want this to become too confusing, but wanted to do it in an alternating fashion. I also didn''t want to put it under a new fiction, as it would mean months of no updates on either end. So I think personally this works for now.


    As I said, if I''m good enough at writing, this hassle will pay off. If not, I''m sorry for trying and failing.


    Also, if you think I''m not ranting as much anymore, like no nihilistic rant in the first few paragraphs, you are probably correct. It''s not like I''m not able to come up with new rants. I''m just starting to feel like nonsensical ranting isn''t a good thing. Although most of them were pretty relevant, I''m not really at points to do any more and not repeat myself. So sorry for the masochists reading this who really want to be continuously offended by me, but that''s the way the cookie crumbles.


    Another thing to note is the fact this is series is based on a University, not a high-school. It''s obvious from the many times I''ve stated it already I know, I''m just saying. This specific University basically allows it''s scholarship students to go rent-free in their dorms without having to go to any lectures, just tests. They''re expecting 95% or higher in pretty brutal tests in which the average is about 40%-50%, and a single drop will end this for them. And Hiiro/ Doki abuses this to just play games all day, since he finds the tests easy.


    I think the chapters are pretty self explanatory, so I''ll just explain the reason for there being two different story-lines. Basically, I love Log Horizon, but became curious to what they were doing physically out of the game at that point. I also didn''t like how the majority of stories in this genre don''t end (especially anime like Log Horizon). So I wanted to have a series that mixes the forced in-game life thing with what is happening to the real world MC too, and get to a good finishing point, which I have planned. I''m also using this as a chance to let Anime and manga build up so I binge them later. So it''s a win-win for me. I''m planning for this series to get about 80 or 90 chapters, so I won''t be done for a while. I can only hope it''s done well so I don''t feel compelled to re-write it...


    My final point before going into the chapter specific points is that I''ve reworked quite alot of the previous chapters. This is a warning for those who haven''t been re-reading and read chapters as they were released, and kept up with the series per update. The major things I''ve changed are that I''ve put the skill lists in a table, with the equipment. Stat values aren''t included, since I dubbed it a hassle to keep them accurate, but everything else should be there. I also changed the combat scenes, so there is actual descriptions and suspense in the fights. I didn''t originally see these as problems, thanks to the two I did review swaps with for pointing them out.


    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    There are some chapter specific things I might as well point out now:


    Chapter 1: *''???''* meant to point out a new person''s POV, even though, SPOILER ALERT, it''s Doki from another story line. I thought it''d be funny to do this, as it adds in an unnecessary suspense as to who this brand new character is. Also, ??? calls their room his ''Tomb'', basically to reference that they knows they spends way too much time in there, and their death in those four walls is inevitable... they care not though. ??? also claims to buy the game, whilst it was given to them for free. Basically it didn''t come with adapters, and those adapters cost so much ??? claims to buy it anyway. Just a warning for a future spoilers, ??? does lie about their self, but which parts? I won''t say now, as I have like 80 more chapters to do so. Finally, NovelPunch is FaceBook and Bratter is Twitter.


    Chapter 2: Nothing here to really point out. Apart from the fact that because he''s alone, he actually thinks it''s important to see what the NPCs say whilst shopping, unlike his other self. I might as well admit, I don''t know if there really are Goblin or Slime fan fictions. You''re free to look up the answer yourself, though you may get yelled at for linking them here, and I''m not covering for you.


    Chapter 3: William Tell was a medieval archer who''d name is synonymous with good aim. For the gaming terms: RTS = Real Time Strategy, a video game genre. APM = Actions Per Minutes, a measurement of speed whilst playing games. ''Micro'' is a term used to describe movements done for individual, or small groups of units, whereas ''Macro'' is a term for large scale movements of whole armies.


    Chapter 4: Again, not much to point out here. Mainly just references to unit types and armies from Starcraft 2.


    Chapter 5: I''ll explain the in-game populations, there is about 1.1 million people playing the game, roughly one quarter of the real world population (If this is different in any other chapter it is an error). I could go into detail behind many more things, but since they''re brought up later too. I see no reason to spoil them now.


    Chapter 6: There isn''t much to explain here that won''t be explained later. Though Clan names are made without spaces, causing those creating them to not put spaces, or use underscores instead.


    Chapter 7: Okay, a couple of points here. First, Hiiro/ Doki has alot of ways to fight, being able to fight head-on with an OP move-set, a mediocre move-set or fighting with his mob army. At this point he wants to test out his own strength, knowing his mob army hasn''t been trained that well. And this is kind of the point I want to make with this. The character of Doki is OP, his rare and good skills do have faults making them even, but it''s Doki''s personal skill and ability to make the best choices quickly that makes him OP. There however will be other chapters based in other people''s POV to make up for it, like chapters in Shun''s POV. So sorry for making him seem too good, hopefully other chapters will make up for it..


    Also, apparently according to members of WriTE, the name ''Hot Clan on Clan action, with me in the middle...'' was way too saucy for a chapter title. Hence I unfortunately changed it to what it is now. Sorry for this, not keeping the not-pg 15+ market 100% pure with my daring antics.


    Chapter 8: Nothing to say. If you think I was introducing multiple different points to try and create suspense for what happens in the future of volume 2, well done. I''m not spoiling what happens though. Have fun waiting. <3


    The classes and stats work the same as said in the last authors notes. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy the rest of this fiction. I feel like the second volume went smoother than the first and hopefully I''ll make all the other chapters is even more smooth.

 Volume 2: Chapter 9: An unexpected reaction.

    OldBegginings:[Yeah, I can''t do maths... Sorry. And sorry about the ''lateness'' of this chapter too. I didn''t specify a time, I do try for releases at noon my time, but this one was just a grind one reason or another. There''s nothing wrong, at least I think, with the chapter, it''s just my attention was always elsewhere for some reason.


    Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter.]


    *''Hiiro''*


    Familiar streets formed around me as my eyes adjusted. Blurs around me turning into humanoids, as they came into focus. The babble from a nearby street poured in, mixed with a multiple, more faint, noises which made me almost lose my orientation. I walked towards the noises in the distance, wanting to see what had truly changed.


    The main difference from before were the people, now swarming around me. Hundreds of conversations happened, each sounding like whispers to me. The buildings sparkled with new found life and any signs of fear in the people''s faces previously had been replaced with more positive emotions. This ''city'', even though it looks more like a town, seemed to be at peace again.


    I walked around, following my mini-map towards the direction of the city gate, as I watched the people around me. I couldn''t really care about comparing this world to reality, but it surprised me to see every one of the numerous people have their own purpose.


    The animations didn''t seem stilted or repeated, so the people looked more realistic and lively than most that I''ve met. Everyone seemed to have their own emotions and personalities, slightly, or very, varied from the people near them. I judged this mainly on body language, but the atmosphere of the game seemed more lively than most streets I''ve seen, even here in Hangou.


    ''Well, it''s not like that''s challenging, since I usually walk at night, or at the earliest in the afternoon, and most of the people I''ve met were locked in a schooling system...'' I thought as I shrugged, dismissing my own comparison as soon as I started it.


    -


    Eventually, through a series of sporadically placed backstreets and alleys, I got to a large street that seemed even more familiar to me. Certain marks from the fight were yet to be removed, but for the most part, the road was completely fixed and filled to the brim with people. I saw two familiar groups dotted around the street, now seeming overly friendly. I saw that one of them, a group of ladies with similar armor, was blocking my way to the gate.


    I felt it would be a hassle to bump into them again, since our last meeting went so ''well''. So I took off my defining hood and proceeded to sneak through some groups and alleys to hide from them.


    Mimicking the pacing of a larger group going in the same direction, I walked with them to an opening, a backstreet that my map said would lead me into an alleyway, hiding me from the street. Using it, I managed to get behind the main group and the exit seemed to be within my grasp...


    I mean, it would have been if I hadn''t have bumped into one of them by accident, and had them remember me instantly. An awkward smile crossed my face, as I faced my only minor defeat in the game.


    ''Fuck! I knew I should have actually played that game with the guy in a box...'' I thought, remembering how I had never actually finished, or even started, a stealth based game. I was suggested many titles, mainly Heavy Connector Gaseous, but they all seemed dull to me since I just didn''t enjoy their pace or their easy difficulty. Why would someone who couldn''t care less about war, human emotions or patience based games play a game which included all of them?


    During the time it took me to get that out of my system, both of the groups surrounded me, making any attempts to escape fruitless.


    I looked around, seeing nonhostile glares from everyone. I assumed I wasn''t in immediate danger, so casually started talking.


    "Um... Hi? Can I do something for you?" I asked in my usual monotone, stuttering to clear my throat.


    "Oh, it''s you. The cute little incubus who interrupted our fight," one of the girls said.


    It was met with a ruckus of sound, with the entirety of both groups joining in. From threats to proposals, I pretty much heard every possible response I expected.


    "Ahem, do you wish to repeat that little scuffle, or actually have something important to say? If it''s the first, I''ll leave one way or another, even if it''s with your deaths," I said, raising my voice as I silenced the babble.


    Most flinched, as others began smirking. A silence resulted until it was broken by laughter from both leaders.


    Not knowing who was going to start, the male leader gestured for the female leader to start.


    She waited for her laughter to stop before stating her view, "Nah, we want to thank you instead. Don''t mind our bitter brothers and sisters in battle. We were idiots to fight there anyway."


    She stopped there, egging the male to take over.


    He gulped, as he proceeded to swallow his pride, "Yeah, we may both be prideful and competitors, but we at least have some common sense and decency. We were fighting for who had control over the security here, it was mainly our fault for ignoring their claims anyway. Things shouldn''t have gotten to that stage, it just took us way too long to realize it."


    With his decree over, both groups met my glare. They were less intense than before, which, although nice and all, made me bored...


    The congregation around me swiftly departed and with my new found freedom, I finally left the city, skipping through the crowds as I did so.


    -


    At the exit, I looked at my map and scanned my surroundings. I could go back to Skimmington, but there''s little there. The forests, the other towns, and settlements nearby all seemed pointless too. Well, I say that. One area seemed to be a port, if nothing else, I might be able to go to another island which could be more interesting.


    ''Huh. Well... I''m only level 24 now, should I wait until level 30? Actually no, this could end with a hassle, or with me getting less pay...'' I thought, trying to plan out what I could for fun. Then I remembered that I could just ask the devs, plus I need to get to the events they set.


    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Imagining the hassle of explaining how I got ''bored'', and how they could just teleport me back here if an event required me to stay. I logged out, wanting to ask him before wasting time wondering around pointlessly.


    -


    I got up from my bed, removing the helmet, then the gloves. My senses adapted to the familiar surroundings of my room quickly, the lag between the two was now almost impossible to make out.


    ''I have to give it to them, this game is very immersive. That lag from before has also gone, seems like the updates have done their work...'' I noted, as I checked that my mask was still on.


    With that confirmed, I pushed myself up onto my feet. I walked the surprisingly long distance from my bedside to my computer, I dubbed ''my ticket to society''.


    Almost in reference to how important I find being social, its specs are... well, awful. It doesn''t even have a reasonable graphics card, still having it''s built in one from five years ago. The dust-coated top tried to show how truly old it was.


    Regardless of it''s tacky, outdated looks with its almost rusted touch-pad, it was surprisingly quick. Still loading up almost instantly as I tried to log in.


    First, I checked my emails, asking _______ about whether I was allowed to leave the starting island or not. There wasn''t an instantaneous response, so I looked at all the other sites that may have had updated. I was surprised with how many people agreed with my ''pro-incest'' rant, with a few people calling it out for it''s apparent ''harmful'' message. If mocking other''s life choices wasn''t just as harmful. I ignored them and went to my Punch Novel and Bratter accounts, each had numerous challenges that spewed forth no matter how much I deleted them.


    ''Should I just delete these accounts? It''s been at least a year since I''ve even done anything on Bratter... And when the hell did I think making a Punch Novel account would be a good idea?'' I cynically myself, watching the number of posts go from zero to five hundred in mere moments.


    -


    I was about to continue doing this mind-numbing and grating task when my stomach interrupted me. I left my room, doing my usual walk to the fridge to get food.


    The living room seemed lively, the sound of pencils and pens scraping paper was escaping beneath some conversation.


    "No. That equation goes there... no... Are you asleep Shun! It goes before there. yes, there," Yun yelled.


    ''Oh, they''re revising now? The exams are at least a month away, why are they starting now?'' The questions entering my head made me feel a certain level of curiosity that I couldn''t ignore. I slightly shrugged as I considered how I was waiting anyway, and scouted out what was happening.


    I tilted my head and walked in, another voice made me confused, since usually they''d refuse others access to the dorm.


    When I could make out the contents of the room, my confusion was justified. There were four people now sitting at the main table, Yun standing over Shun on one side, and two girls I either didn''t know, or forgot, opposite to them.


    The door was opened, and these other two girls had seen me. They both had brunette hair, both had similar glasses, both wore their school uniforms and both had similar length to their hair. With the only real difference being either extremely minor, I concluded before meeting them that I was going to get confused between them.


    I didn''t want to interrupt them, so waited for them to stop before knocking. It was clear from the way Yun was leaning over her brother, that the two of them were very close. This fact was evidenced by how the other two looked at them with an almost innocent awe to them.


    I cleared my throat as I walked up behind them. They now turned around, finally noticing me.


    I started with an apology before stating my curiosity with a few questions, "Sorry to interrupt since it''s clear you''re revising, I mean, there''s no problem with wanting to revise early. But aren''t exams in another month? You haven''t learned most of the unit yet, have you?"


    Blank reactions crossed their faces.


    ''Ha, they seem to have mistaken that for me caring... no wonder they''re so surprised.'' I thought, noting their reactions as ''funny''.


    "Um..." one of the unknown girls broke the awkward silence, taking a moment to think through her words before following up her stutter.


    "W-who is this guy? Someone you guys know?" she asked, seeming to grab the other girl''s attention as Shun and Yun''s faces turned to them.


    "Oh, this is the resident NEET, Johnson. Well, he''s technically at this school. And his inevitable 100% score will prove to mock our hard work..." Shun answered, as spitefully as possible I may add.


    "Thanks, for the flattering introduction Shun," I replied, trying to match Shun''s spitefulness. He flinched as a result.


    Clearly getting nowhere, Yun''s impatience showed as she swiftly answered my question, "We were going to tell you, but you were playing that game. From the backlash from last time, I chose to let you be. It''s a homework task, Shun and these two were struggling on it, so it came to this. The exams, as you said, are in fact in a month."


    Before I could butt in or escape, she asked her own, "By the way, why are you here? we haven''t caused a ruckus, have we?"


    "Don''t worry, you didn''t. I was going to eat something and noticed you guys here, so my curiosity got to me and here we are." I said, trying to not seem contradicting as I explained.


    With my curiosity sated, I asked a final line, hoping it was rhetorical, "Well unless you want some help with teaching them, I''ll be going. Sorry for disturbing you and I hope it goes well."


    Wit no interruptions I left towards the exit to grab some food.

 Volume 2: Chapter 10: Glitching 101.

    *''Hiiro''*


    After talking to Shun, Yun and their guests, I ate something. Well, that ''something'' being a single packet of crisps, and went back to my room. The same room with a set of screens in the corner appeared before my gaze, one of them illuminating the entire room in a white glow.


    I swiftly danced to the glow as I effortlessly dodged the jumbled mess things that cluttered the room. From Wires of the countless electronics popping up like weeds to the series of still unopened boxes containing upwards of fifty games each, all these potential tripping hazards were completely ignored by my precise movements.


    On the screen, after noticing the reply to my question, I spent some time talking over what I really need to do and where I need to be to do them.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">ABCs: _______? Are you there? I need to ask something about travelling.</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">_______: By ''travelling'', do you mean going to a new area or country?</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">ABCs: New country.</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">_______: Well, you can now that you have an ID. Didn''t I say mention that earlier?</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">ABCs: You didn''t, but that''s not what I meant...</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">ABCs: Wouldn''t I possible miss out some of the events by moving?</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">_______: Oh, that''s why... Don''t worry about that. There are similar events happening in each country at the same time, otherwise it''d be unfair that some races getting better chances than others.</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">ABCs: Ah...</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">ABCs: Wait, there are other races?</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">_______: Did you not try researching the world, or at least notice other kinds of people?</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">ABCs: Clearly not....</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">_______: And you think you''re ready for going to a new country? Yeah, this world is pretty complicated, at least read an in-game book or two before leaving...</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">[_______ left the chat room.]</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">ABCs: ...</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">[ABCs left the chat room.]</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    -


    Leaving the awkward conversation, I went back to my bed, equipped my helmet and gloves, and went back into Myth of Men.


    I logged in and loaded into the game. I was facing the outside of the city, night consuming all the greenery from before.


    I turned back, met with a gate in my face. It blocked me from an eerily similar street, now silent.


    ''Okay... now what do I do?'' I asked myself, clueless. I knew I had to go to the library to head off, but what if the area I dismissed as a newbie''s area was actually deeper. I mean, there was that one level ''???'' creature, and a large expanse of land from earlier. Should I really be leaving?


    With these questions and doubts in my mind, I looked around the dark, dead streets around me. My footsteps echoed in a metronome fashion, as I tried to think of something to do...


    After only minutes of thought, I narrowed down my choices to two, leave or explore more...


    On one hand, given that there are different races, there may be more interesting cultures or at least a fight I could mindlessly win. On the other, I might be annoyed if I had to backtrack in the future...


    More thinking, and I couldn''t come to a single conclusion.


    -


    At some point later, I heard close twigs snap around me.


    ''Okay, enough thought!'' I yelled at myself, knocking all of my confusion and pondering from my mind. My eyes narrowed as I focused on my sense of sound.


    The sound of my breath got replaced by the noise of muffled laughter. Without thinking, I wielded my staff in one hand, and a sword in the other, turning around towards three silhouettes standing before me, followed by tens more from nearby trees.


    "Ha ha ha ha... What''s a little kid like you doin'' on our turf? And at this hour too? Are you lost or something little kiddo?" one of the larger, closer figures said this, in a cold, unfamiliar tone.


    I stare blindly at them as I hear clicks coming from them, a weapon like shapes added to each of their silhouettes followed.


    The tense stalemate was broken with a yawn from me. They became hostile, charging at me with burning glares. A very long and thin sword was the first to swipe at me, skimming my hair as it rushed passed. A wider, slower swipe followed, completely missing me as I dodged.


    "Bind." A familiar wall of tentacles sprouted from the ground, encapsulating the trees around me. The attacks became faster, almost matching my dodging speed as they became desperate.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    Three figures were on the inside with me, so I swiftly began my attack.


    I chose to release my first swipe, slicing the closest of the figures across the neck. I slide under his arm as they tried to retaliate and smacked his leg with my staff. The others stood there, wanting to not get in the way.


    ''My health''s about one hundred, so my attacks were doing a mere twenty damage each...'' I thought, noting how slowly my health had risen. I didn''t know how much health they had, but it was probably in the six digits.


    The heat of the moment had given way, and my adversaries had started to attack more strategically. Giving me barely any room for attacking them.


    Slashing and yelling from outside the walls sounded closer that I''d like, giving me a new sense of pressure...


    ''This is hopeless... Fuck!'' I thought, shaking my head as I started going on the defensive. Time for my exit.


    I was now sandwiched by two of them, dodging the thin blade slashing at my back as I parried the slow-moving great-sword at my front.


    Slipping out from between the two of opponents, I aimed my hand, palm out, in their direction.


    My absence caused them to accidentally hit each other. I used this to bind them, whispering "bind" as a tentacle sprouted around both of them. I used it again to try and cement them fully, and as they squirmed I scoured the area for the third.


    He was behind the mess of tentacles, about five meters away from me. With the other two now trapped, and my health now rising rapidly, I made my final move.


    I put my weapons in my sheaths and started to talk to them.


    "It''s been fun gents. Who''d have expected blindly walking to end up like this... I have to make my getaway, maybe next time I''ll actually kill you. I''ll meet you again~," I said.


    I followed it up with a bow, waving one of my hands upwards as I mumbled "Form one."


    My body glowed, and I suddenly could feel a massive force from beneath me as I floated upwards. My vision stopped as the glow faded, seeing nothing but darkness. My arms, legs, and other bodily parts were now numb, and I started to feel anxious as felt my acceleration continuing for ages.


    I got bored of this very quickly, the lack of stimulation strained me mentally as I tried to imagine time passing... It was like I was frozen in time, my brain started spasming to get some stimulation, and I had to keep bluffing to myself that it was part of the plan.


    Some time later, I felt a new force pounding into me, I didn''t know what it was, but it helped me escape my own mind rotting, so I was grateful for it. The new force pushed me was roughly perpendicular from the previous force, likely adding a horizontal velocity as I flew.


    With my lack of senses apart from touch, I couldn''t tell how fast I was going, or how far I had traveled. I could only feel cold and air rushing past me, but by now I was anxious, and the boredom had returned.


    I tried to access the HUD with thought alone... It failed. I doubted my skills would work with my current situation, so didn''t bother to try. I continued to helplessly accelerate in a direction... I couldn''t even tell if it was up or forward, only that it wasn''t towards the ground and didn''t hit any trees.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">Having fun?</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    ...


    A random message popped up, with a cross in the corner almost taunting me...


    ''Of course not!'' I yelled, trying to react to the message. Without a mouth, though, it was just a thought aimed at me...


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">Congratulations on finding a game breaking glitch Mr. game tester.


    But I have to question your motives... Really? A weightless dandelion puff?


    You''re a very funny guy Hiiro.</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    ''Huh... is this my boss? I mean, he''s probably the only admin to know my name anyway...'' I worthlessly thought, trying to sate my now growing boredom.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">


    Don''t worry, I''ll forcibly log you out for now and tell Seven about this glitch.


    I''m Five by the way, the head of Underscore_Gaming.


    Pleased to meet you Hiiro, I''m a fan of your previous shenanigans.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    -


    As he said that, a rather dull light coated the previous darkness. I heard my breath, felt my arms and all my other limbs as I rose from lying. I peeled my gloves off, removed my helmets and flopped back down on my bed exhausted...


    "..." I was speechless.


    I didn''t know such a thing could happen. Feeling a cold sweat down my back, I realized I was scared.


    ''Huh... this scared me? The last time that happened was... That time.'' I shrugged off my ''almost bleeding to death'' as a reasonable exception, as I thought back.


    I wasn''t the kind of guy who cared enough about things to get scared, or even feel any emotions. I haven''t cried, been ''angry'' or even ''happy'' for years to prove it. To think something like getting stuck in a game was so scary to me... if it had happened any other way, I''d just laugh at myself.


    But not his time.


    -


    I was in a slump for a while, before regaining a modicum of strength and pushing myself up. I went to the bathroom and splashed my face with water.


    I forgot I wore a mask...


    "Ha ha ha ha, ha ha ha ha, HA HA HA HA HA!" I involuntarily started laughing at my own stupidity, as my fingers ran through my wig.


    I laughed long and hard about it for minutes, eventually getting stopped by knocking at my door.


    "Um... Doki? I hear some emotion coming from your room. Are you okay?" Shun''s voice said from outside, he was clearly distressed by the laughter.


    "Sorry, I realized I''ve been playing MoM for way too long..." I replied, still bubbling from laughter left over.


    "What finally made you realize that? I mean, I''m now shocked..." he asked, seeming annoyingly serious as he did.


    "Ha ha ha... Oh, sorry. I tried to wash my face, forgetting I had a mask." I answered.


    "Huh, you don''t wear a mask in the game?" he asked, now seemed more lighthearted.


    "Yeah..." I said, later recounting things that previously happened during my time playing. This lasted a while, since he seemed genuinely curious as he added more questions.


    After a while of talking through the door, we exhausted the topic and stopped the conversation. As a sudden fatigue swept over me, I stumbled to my bed and collapsed. Falling asleep instantly as a result.

 Volume 2: Chapter 11: Maintenance

    *''Hiiro''*


    "Ow," I mumbled as I hit my head as I attempted to raise it. I tried to feel what it was, and it seemed like something made from metal. A bar of some kind?


    I squished my limbs towards the rest of my body as I pivoted my head, trying to make out my surroundings. It was dark, a small amount of light came from one side of me, a less intense light came from a gap almost above me. I started to feel a heat, that quickly becoming unbearable. It was then I realized where I was.


    ''So wait... I pushed my bed from the wall, and rolled through the gap? What the hell?'' I thought, trying to piece together what happened. I wasn''t used to moving in my sleep, but that''s apparently what I just did...


    I scrambled my limbs as I tried to get out. There were some boxes of junk and what I thought were my covers trying to stop me, so it took a while to finally sliver out.


    The light rushed into view, as I proved I did wake up under my bed. Something like this hasn''t happened before, so whilst contemplating the reason it happened, I had a quick shower to cool myself off.


    -


    I couldn''t reach a conclusion so shrugged it off and after changing, my mind became blank. After my stomach kindly reminded me to eat, I went to grab some. Being me, though, I just grabbed some crisps and called it a meal.


    There weren''t any surprise encounters of the twins, so I ate in the peace as I attempted to plan out my day. Well, that was the plan...


    I ended up rapidly devoured them, finishing the large packed in seconds without thinking of anything. I threw the packet away and went back to my room.


    Well, I mainly wanted to check to see what happened with the glitch, but I''d probably check up on social media with it.


    I looked on the forum and saw no one on.


    ''Well that''s odd... there''s usually an admin or two on now, I heard seven usually has break now too. But they''re not here... What happened?'' I thought, confused to the reason why I was the only one in the forum. I soon remembered that they were admins, responsible for fixing glitches. And I just found a game breaking one...


    Putting the pieces together, I stuck my hand to my face, soon peeling it off as I picked up some familiar gloves, and put on an equally familiar helmet.


    -


    As I tried to log on, I was greeted by a black screen and a message.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">Your character is currently in a broken state, so it''s now in maintenance.


    This will likely take a couple of hours at the very least,


    so please remain patient, and we hope this doesn''t happen again.</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    After being kicked out of the game, I just stayed lying in my bed. I didn''t really have a plan B for today, because like other days recently, Myth of Men was usually enough to fully sate my boredom for hours straight.


    ''Well that was a thing, can''t they just reset my character or something that doesn''t require it to go offline?'' I asked myself, curious to why such a glitch required this much maintenance. I knew little about game development, but surely they had an easier way to fix it.


    ''Wait a second, now that MoM has kicked me out, what do I do now?'' I finally considered my position, since I was mainly using Myth of Men to waste the vast amounts of free time I had at my disposal...


    I forced myself up and looked around my room. Examining the three bookshelves that were completely filled with my vast collection. I walked up to them, and looked at the titles, hoping


    I could''ve wasted time by playing any of them, but I''m either the world champion at them or there boring or their concepts just bore me.


    ''Hm... maybe I should get more? But, there hasn''t been many releases lately.'' I was reminded of the lack of news. It was between console generations right now, the hype of the three or four new consoles was starting, causing a massive outcry between fans of the different companies.


    I scoured through my shelves of console games, hoping to salvage at least something of interest... Nothing. I then searched Ice, hoping for some interesting sale or a new game... Nothing again.


    Sighing deeply, I attempted to convey my hatred for my new found boredom. Now to the point of looking at all of the releases on each system in hopes that missed something, I realized I did.


    An entire console. It was some portable console from an unknown company, that seemingly came up without me knowing. I looked at its current games and was surprised to see none I recognized but some had massive hype regardless.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ''Interesting... It''s not usual for anyone but the main three to release things. Seems like I have found something to do then.'' I thought, changing into something more formal as I left the dorm.


    -


    The sunlight blinded me, unsurprisingly. I''ve been cooped up in my room for a couple days straight, so I had expected such a reaction to happen. It still hurt my eyes, though.


    After a while of stumbling around blindly, my eyes adapted to the new levels of light, and I continued on my way swiftly. I looked around as I headed for the heart of the city. There weren''t any major differences from when I originally came here.


    All of the shops I remembered were all there, still looking as monochromatic and dull as possible. The streets were as crowded, neat and tidy as there were back when I came, brimmed with cops every couple meters and cameras on almost every brick.


    The crowds were doing their usual things, walking up and down with their own individual agendas. Conversations escaped from every direction, layering on top of one another to create a very deep atmosphere where all sound was lost.


    The noise got worse the further I went, so I soon put headphones in to block out as much of it as I could whilst continuing.


    I managed to get to the main shopping district before too long, turning left as I came to the first gaming shop, or I think it is. My languages aren''t my strong suit, especially with the written language. I can bare through basic conversation with prior knowledge and a small booklet, but when it gets complicated... it sounded like gibberish to me.


    I was confident in my assumption, since the shop''s window was coated in gaming memorabilia, mascots and new game releases in a colorful display. It was pretty small compared to the rest of them, seeing it squished between two large general stores was quite funny to be fair.


    Upon entering I was proven correct, and they did have the consoles for sale. The typical shelves of games greeted me and the staff seemed normal as the helped the equally normal shoppers purchase thing. But something caught my eye.


    The prices. They were ridiculously cheap. The new console itself was only ?15000, about ¡ê100, which was about a third of the price I expected for a brand new, factory sealed one. I concluded that this was a third-party console, or it was just a dead console like the others. I didn''t really care about which was the case, so bought it regardless. I could easily get more money from competing anyway.


    -


    In total, I only spent about ?70000, about half of what I brought, as I continued to leave with two massive bags over my shoulders.


    The streets were even more crowded than before now, as the adults from before were joined by the annoying shrimps you call kids. Large swarms of them rushed past me, as the proceeded to run into the streets recklessly. Their annoying high-pitched chatter pierced my eardrums, even through my headphones, as they proceeded to paint themselves as the pests I knew them best as.


    I darted into some back streets in an attempt to escape them. I followed the dark, twisting curved alleyways as I cut through the streets that lead me there.


    But as I sore the exit I needed to take, my phone rang. I was puzzled since I had forgotten I even had one, so checked it.


    It was as I had suspected, I didn''t know this phone, let alone own it. It was a blue version of the newest ''smartphone'', which cleverly increased it''s repertoire for ways you could easily break than it''s predecessor. This version had a massive backlash after randomly blowing up in people''s hands, blue screening whenever you had more than one tab. Yeah, let''s just say it was never worth ten won, let alone the twenty thousand they sold it for...


    Curiosity got the best of me, and I soon regretted it.


    I looked at the text.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">You have one text from ''His magesty''. ''Hello son.''</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    I checked the number of the sender, hoping it was just a prank. I recognized it, immediately becoming enraged at the memories that flooded back. I dropped the phone and proceeded to stamp it into the ground, finally kicking it into a wall as I walked off without looking back. I left the back alleys, my anger immediately fading as if it never existed.


    -


    I soon made it back to the dorms and without distraction, I left for my room. I dumped my bags on the floor and took out the new console. In doing so, I could now see why it was so cheap.


    It was a blatant rip off of another console. I think it was supposed to be inspired the Cruc, but it looked like every other hand-held console, that it was hard to differentiate. With a generic black pattern, it was a slim with a screen in the center of one side. Buttons, labeled with 1, 2, 3 and 4 and two thumb-sticks decorated the sides, whilst the logo of the company that created it took up the entirety of the back.


    I looked at the titles of the games I brought, yeah... they were ripped off other consoles too. Titles like ''Mini huge world plus'' and ''Wapeach Cart'' were the clearest examples, but others were more subtle in their ripping off, like ''Self Golden''.


    Oh wait, that one was obvious... Never mind then, this is just a rip-off console. But I have nothing better to do, so let''s play them regardless.


    -


    After ten minutes all the initial comedy in these low-quality carbon copies wore off, so I just dumped in the corner of the room I never used and looked up other games I may find interesting.


    Nothing new sprouted from my search, but the initial reactions of MoM were starting to come out. I was surprised how contested its reviews were. With some coining the game as a ''marvel of gaming'' and others called it a ''hollow shell, using its new controls to overcome its lack of originality'', and even split divided players and stirred up debate after debate.


    It makes sense that all of the admins weren''t there then since they seem to take these reviews harshly. The game admin''s comments seemed very sporadic as they tried to control the chaos of the internet, making me feel genuinely sorry for them. The mechanics and controls were solid, the NPCs were ridiculously realistic and, even though it was currently easy to just spam attacks, it has the promise to be a real challenge. But, I guess others are entitled to their own opinions...


    With that conclusion reached, I went scoured through the videos and started to nick-pick people''s criticism. Wasting hours as I managed to wreck havoc on social media outlets all over the internet. I started laughing to myself maniacally as I indulged in my new sadistic hobby since I found annoying people completely hilarious.


    -


    After crashing half of the sites I posted on, I was interrupted by a message on the Underscore_Gaming forum. The maintenance was now over.

 Volume 2: Chapter 12: Further Examination.

    I opened the tab I had for the forum after hearing a ping. I soon saw that the servers were back up. Although, it was followed by a slew of insults thrown my way. Seeing intellectual types try to insult someone is quite funny, so I stayed, hoping to see what they could come up with.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">______ : @ABC''s ! The maintenance is finally over you dolt!


    But seriously, you thought something like that, without any senses or muscles, could possibly work? Are you really the ABC''s?


    Thanks for making my holiday so ''relaxing''...</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">_______ : Sorry ______, and the others... I just couldn''t deal with the workload by myself. You saw how much work there was.


    Anyway, thanks for discovering it @ABC''s. As you can guess, it was enough of a headache that we had to call in our whole staff to do it. It turns out your ''mimic'' class wasn''t the only one to be affected, some class skills like ghost skill ''vanish'' had similar problems, but thankfully no one got stuck for too long.</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">______ : I know, but I''m still pissed!


    I mean, where the fuck is eight!?</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">_____ : Oh, she''s apparently deep into her pregnancy, and plus she''s an artist.</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">________ : Really? Well damn... I knew she got married, but...


    Well, let''s congratulate her when she comes back then. What about ten? Also, hi, I just got a coffee.</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">_____ : Welcome back. Want to insult ABC''s for making you work? He''s online now.</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">_________ : He is? He hasn''t said anything...</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">ABC''s : ^</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">_________ : Oh, guess he is then...


    Well, if everyone else is doing it, I''m gonna insult you too you arse.


    I know this is your job, but couldn''t you have just not found such an annoying glitch! I''m the fucking social media guy, not a coder!</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">ABC''s : So you guys are here to blow off steam, correct?</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">_____ : Basically. I think they ran out of insults, so you should be free to leave.


    Thanks again for finding this bug before people actually became trapped, and I hope you like the next event. :P</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">ABC''s : Oh, I''m just doing my job. Also, what''s this about the next event?</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">_____ : No spoilers. But it should be more entertaining for you than the first one.</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">[ABC''s has left the room]</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Soon after leaving the chat room, I closed down my computer and started up MoM again, hoping for it to actually be day-time by the point I logged in.


    Going through the same, uninspired loading screen, I was soon happily surprised, I was placed neatly in front of the library, with no punishment imposed or anything taken from me for ''breaking'' the game.


    I looked around and saw I was on a normal street, with one large building serving as the library in the center of my view.


    The crumbling Gothic architecture hanging the ''library'' sign on its door was in front of me, towering above all the buildings around it. The grey rain clouds intensified around it, making it look haunted. All it needed was some lightening, and I would''ve given it an Oscar for its performance on the spot.


    The image was contradicted by some people scrambling into it in a panic. I was initially confused to why, but as cold droplets started to land on me, I quickly asked my own question.


    I stood there, getting soaked as I mentally punished myself for my idiocy. I even saw the people there


    Like them, I too soon rushed into the building, now quite chilly, as I stepped into the door. Initially, the insides were as dim as the exterior. Few candles lit the cramps corridors, grey stone coating every inch. There was a staircase immediately to my left, and a door, which I assumed lead into the main building, was up a couple tall steps.


    I went to the door, which was large, wooden and open, and peeked inside. I was greeted by a warm looking wooden room, bookshelves towering over the far side of the room, as the front was crammed with rows of seats and tables, a counter, with a masked fellow behind it, stood left of me.


    There wasn''t a queue, so I greeted the fellow as I walked up to then, " Hi. This is the library correct?"


    The fellow mumbled something, before actually looking my way.


    I saw their large, deep green eyes identifying every detail of me for a while, before finally replying. "So what race are you supposed to be then? Humans don''t wear hoods sonny," they asked, completely ignoring my question. I''d say they sounded masculine, but their voice was too croaky to really tell.


    I looked at them confused, I mean, they too were wearing a hood which hid most of the mask they wore. Compared to me, this guy was way more suspicious.


    They noticed my inquiring look, and succinctly answered, "Oh, sorry. I''ll show if you show."


    "Sure," I replied, knowing that I was indeed a human. "Shall we go somewhere private, or is this place good enough?" I asked, noting only a handful of people off in a corner.


    "Here''s fine. On a count of three, let''s reveal," they said, grabbing their hood as they started to count.


    "One, two, three..." when they said ''three'', we both revealed. Two pointy ear poked out of her head as her hood came off, followed by a full head of long black hair. Her large green eyes becoming even larger as she saw my ''human'' head.


    "B-b-but, y-your even wearing a hood!" she protested, quickly hiding her ears as she brought attention towards herself.


    "I''m a human, who doesn''t care about fashion or race. Anyway, onto the library. Mind giving me a tour?" I asked, swiftly changing the subject.


    "It''s also unusual for humans to go here, those people in the corner are also elves..." she said, somehow in disbelief still.


    "I''m a human who wants to read something. Unless that''s taboo or something, in which case, I guess I could care less," I said, attempting to express genuine apathy in my tone.


    She shrugged, realizing the fruitlessness of her words.


    "I get it. Please wait to find the blessed forms..." she finally said, rummaging around her desk as she spoke.


    She stopped soon after and gave me a small booklet with illustrations inside.


    "This is a guide to the library. Now, unless you want to become a member, enjoy reading," she explained, finally ending the conversation.


    -


    I rummaged around a few shelves, finding all I really needed to continue.


    I assume there''s a bit of lying or overstatements in these, but I get the basic picture now. There are five dominant races, including Humans, Devils, Elves, Amphibians and plant-kin. Each having their own countries as a result of their sentience. The devils, supposedly being a sixth that got demoted.


    Confident in my knowledge, I to read some ''lore'', books about specific clans and armies, and how they were successful. I skimmed through about twenty, realizing they were basically the same story.


    These groups were primarily phalanxes of tanks, samurai and sword users with some healers, with battle mages being in the back. This made sense, and I learned how some of the skills worked.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    For instance, one clan called ''Doom_Bringers'' specialized in only samurai and healers. The samurai used layering buffs, like ''protection'' and ''sharpening_stone'' on themselves, stating how such moves are slightly more effective on the samurai with the skill than when using it on others for some reason. The armies also seemed to favor area of effect attacks over normal targeting ones, since everyone hit counted towards the combo bonus, which is a thing by the way.


    Reading about these, I saw no mentions of similar attributes with my classes skills. Hell, I only read one or two mentions to Pirates being in such clans...


    I thought about it for a while, before checking my own skill list, currently standing at this.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">Name</td>


    <td colspan="3">DokiDoki19</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">Class</td>


    <td colspan="1">Succubus</td>


    <td colspan="1">Level</td>


    <td colspan="1">31</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">Class skills</td>


    <td colspan="3">["Bind" = Mass_Leech.], ["Stun"= Leech.], ["Heal" = Blood_Transfusion.], ["Intimidate" = Vampiric_Bite.], [passive= Life_Absorb.], [passive = Attraction_Resistance.], [passive = Attraction_Increase.]</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">Sub-class skills</td>


    <td colspan="3"><"How cute..." = Object_Examination.>, <"Eh?" = Mob_Examination.>, <"Possess" = Mob_Tame.>,<"Summon" = Summon_(Tamed_Mob)>,


    ,<"Form" = Transform_Form_(Form_Name)></td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">Weapon skills</td>


    <td colspan="3">("Have at me" = Power_Charge.), (passive = Staff_Hit.), (passive = Dual_Wield.), (passive = _Magic_Boost.)</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">Additional skills</td>


    <td colspan="3">/''Stop'' = Skill_Cancellation.\,/"LogOut" = Log_Out</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">Achievement skills</td>


    <td colspan="3">N/A</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">Equipment</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">On-Hand</td>


    <td colspan="1">None</td>


    <td colspan="1">Off-Hand</td>


    <td colspan="1">None</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">Head-wear</td>


    <td colspan="1">None</td>


    <td colspan="1">Inner-Wear</td>


    <td colspan="1">None</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">Outerwear</td>


    <td colspan="1">Ragged_Clothes</td>


    <td colspan="1">Foot-Wear</td>


    <td colspan="1">Ragged_Shoes</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">Accessories</td>


    <td colspan="3">N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A, N/A.</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    As I looked at it, I finally realized something. There weren''t any stats to go with them, so I couldn''t really decide which ones were necessary. I can''t believe I didn''t bother to look for them earlier, but since I had time now, I used some to look for these evasive stats...


    -


    After scouring through my inventory, I soon realized why. There was a different table for skills and EXP of weapons and skills.


    I genuinely slapped my own face for not realizing it sooner, causing me to apparently lost 10 hp. Better not do that twice more...


    I soon opened them all, the Stat''s table, the Weapon Affinity table, and the Skill affinity tables, to see what they looked like. I seemed weak, especially for my level, especially damage wise, so I wanted to find the cause, and hopefully remove it. And I also wanted to see which skills I haven''t used, so I could change them for skills I might use to replace them.


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">Stats</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="2">Level</td>


    <td colspan="2">31</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">AP</td>


    <td colspan="1">16000/16000</td>


    <td colspan="1">Defense</td>


    <td colspan="1">36</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">Damage</td>


    <td colspan="1">36</td>


    <td colspan="1">HP</td>


    <td colspan="1">20/30*</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">Speed</td>


    <td colspan="1">98</td>


    <td colspan="1">Stamina</td>


    <td colspan="1">31</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="2">Spare</td>


    <td colspan="2">160</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">* - Your class prevents you from upgrading your base health.</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="2">Weapon affinity</td>


    <td colspan="1">(Used only)</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">Weapon type</td>


    <td colspan="1">Level</td>


    <td colspan="1">XP</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">Sword</td>


    <td colspan="1">5</td>


    <td colspan="1">261/2500</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">Staff</td>


    <td colspan="1">2</td>


    <td colspan="1">823/1000</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="3">Skill affinity</td>


    <td colspan="1">(Equipped only)</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="2">Skill name</td>


    <td colspan="1">Level</td>


    <td colspan="1">XP</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="2">Mass_Leech</td>


    <td colspan="1">7</td>


    <td colspan="1">376/3500</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="2">Leech</td>


    <td colspan="1">3</td>


    <td colspan="1">211/1500</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="2">Blood_Transfusion</td>


    <td colspan="1">9</td>


    <td colspan="1">896/4500</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="2">Vampiric_Bite</td>


    <td colspan="1">1</td>


    <td colspan="1">0/500</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="2">Life_Absorb</td>


    <td colspan="1">10</td>


    <td colspan="1">MAX</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="2">Attraction_Resistance</td>


    <td colspan="1">7</td>


    <td colspan="1">829/3500</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="2">Attraction_Increase</td>


    <td colspan="1">7</td>


    <td colspan="1">829/3500</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="2">Object_Examination</td>


    <td colspan="1">1</td>


    <td colspan="1">0/500</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="2">Mob_Examination</td>


    <td>2</td>


    <td>600/1000</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="2">Mob_Tame</td>


    <td colspan="1">5</td>


    <td colspan="1">200/2500</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="2">Summon</td>


    <td colspan="1">3</td>


    <td colspan="1">0/1500</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="2">Barter_Increase</td>


    <td colspan="1">2</td>


    <td colspan="1">910/1000</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="2">Power_Charge</td>


    <td colspan="1">3</td>


    <td colspan="1">188/1500</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="2">Staff_Hit</td>


    <td colspan="1">1</td>


    <td colspan="1">310/500</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="2">Dual_Wield</td>


    <td colspan="1">3</td>


    <td colspan="1">777/1500</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="2">Magic_Boost</td>


    <td colspan="1">2</td>


    <td colspan="1">103/1000</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="2">Form</td>


    <td colspan="1">3</td>


    <td colspan="1">300/1500</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    After looking at them clearly, and noting them down, I soon made sense of the numbers.


    The stats seemed to be related to the level plus five or something. Stamina literally being the level. The more I used weapons, the higher my level with them, although I didn''t really know what that meant, or the rate of leveling, but it seemed to be the same with skills.


    I examined my stats closer and realized my first major fault. I didn''t really know the scale of the stats but compared to my Speed, my damage and defense skills seemed really low. Since I could dodge, I didn''t really need defense, but my lack of damage was worrying. I then saw I had about 160 spare points, that I''ve never used, and I slapped myself again...


    With some thought, I decided that boosting my stamina and attack would be beneficial, so put sixty points in both. With my remaining points, I put thirty in AP, which gave me a bonus three thousand instead of just thirty, and put the remaining ten in speed. Confident in my picks, I accepted them immediately, and a bit of a lag during it...


    My stats now looked like this:


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">Stats</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="2">Level</td>


    <td colspan="2">31</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">AP</td>


    <td colspan="1">19000/19000</td>


    <td colspan="1">Defense</td>


    <td colspan="1">36</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">Damage</td>


    <td colspan="1">96</td>


    <td colspan="1">HP</td>


    <td colspan="1">30/NA</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="1">Speed</td>


    <td colspan="1">108</td>


    <td colspan="1">Stamina</td>


    <td colspan="1">91</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="2">Spare</td>


    <td colspan="2">0</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    I then looked at my skill''s affinity table, but after an hour of thought considering my new stats, I didn''t want change any of them in case I started to use my unused abilities. I had the same conclusion with my weapon affinity, although I had less choice with that.


    After this, I just packed up and left the library, wanting to go somewhere to test my new strength. The was a dungeon a couple miles south of Skimmington, so went there.

 Volume 2: Chapter 13: Grimer the Slime King. Part one.

    *''Hiiro''*


    Illuminated under full daylight, a large wooden door stood before me. I started to doubt my ability to open it, it was that big.


    Managing to reach halfway up the monstrous cliff it was placed on, it''s width was equal to that of barns. Glimmering expectation filled me as my gaze darted to the cliff wall to the side. A normal sized name tag read ''Grimer the Slime King''.


    I nodded with satisfaction before removed the large bolt that held the door shut, and entered.


    A tall narrow corridor was on the other side, it''s walls comprised of stone with a couple wooden beams. As the door closed behind me, the level of light plummeted. Although there was the occasional torch here and there, they were very sparsely located. I proceeded, occasionally tapping the ground to check for pits.


    -


    ''Slime king... well I wonder what the main mobs here will be. Hopefully, they won''t be too weak,'' I thought as I reached an intersection.


    There were three ways to go, forward, left or right. I saw similar bland passages every way, each cut into pitch black before showing me anything distinctive.


    Looking at the situation, only one conclusion came to mind, ''Oh god, this is a maze, isn''t it?''


    I picked to go left, with no reason behind my choice.


    -


    Soon the straight path opened out into a larger room of equal dimness, the outlines of a few circular figures could be seen.


    The figures suddenly became bigger, accompanied by splashing and thud. I rushed back towards the corridor and picked up a torch, realizing the vast numbers that hid in the shadows.


    "Eh?" I said, focusing on one of the slimes.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''1''> Mob_Name </td><td colspan=''3''> Yellow slime </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> Species </td><td colspan=''1''> Slime: Basic </td><td colspan=''1''> Level </td><td colspan=''1''> 42 </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> HP </td><td colspan=''3''> 1000/1000 </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> Skills </td><td colspan=''3''> Bounce, Excrete, Roll </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''> Do you wish to view further details?


    Say ''Yes'' for further details, say ''No'' to exit.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    "Y... NO!" I said, soon remembering that tens of these things were slowly gaining towards my direction.


    Instead of looking into their intricate nature and stats, I assumed that most of their stats but speed were greater than I and brandished my staff in my free hand.


    "Bolt, bolt, bolt, bolt!" I said, targeting as many slimes as I could with my bind.


    When all of the fearsome balls were trapped, I watched as they struggled to be free.


    For minutes I laughed with cockiness at their fruitless attempts, that is until I heard some cracking from their direction.


    Curious to the source, I soon noticed that some of the tentacles holding them had been snapped in two, as the slime''s attack seemed too much for the tentacles to hold off. My HP was 2339/2339, and with twenty of them bound, that meant about a tenth of their health went down with that one attack.


    ''Huh, my AP''s full again, so why not repeat it? It clearly works...'' I thought, quickly saying, "Bolt," in rapid succession as I repeated my previous attack.


    This time, as the tentacles broke they were replaced by another use of Bolt. My AP regeneration was high enough to maintain it. So I just stood there and waited for their inevitable deaths.


    -


    When they kindly chose to die, I was bombarded by six different pings, each time adding another pop-up to say I leveled up. I considered myself pretty safe right now, but still chose to leave stat management for later, and explored the rest of the room. My mini-map, which was originally blank, filled up with every section I went to. So I knew I wouldn''t get lost.


    ''Wow, talk about lucky...'' I told myself, seeing the entrance to a staircase jutting out of one of the nearby walls.


    With the label of ''Floor exit'', I felt relieved that I dodged a maze. Without a need to explore more, I rushed down the steps to face my next challenge.


    -


    The room at the bottom initially blinded me since the light was so much brighter than before.


    My eyes eventually adjusted to a point where I could make out some details. I was facing a large, circular room which had lots of light sources attached to its walls. In the center was a shallow podium on which stood two chests neatly spaced apart. A red carpet revealed steps, which I used to walk up to the chests.


    "How cute..." I said whilst looking at the chest on the left. I had gathered I''d at least use my skill to see if I could tell what was inside it.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''1''> It''s a heavy wooden chest. It''s probably hiding something neat inside. </td></tr></tbody></table>


    I was speechless at this games bluntness. But I still examined the second one for Completionist''s sake.


    "How cute..."


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''1''> Error: This is not an object. </td></tr></tbody></table>Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ''Huh...''


    "How cute?" Confused by the error message, I tried it again.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''1''> Error: This is not an object. </td></tr></tbody></table>


    "Again? The... Eh?" I cut myself off, realizing the elephant in the room.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''1''> Mob_Name </td><td colspan=''3''> Chest Mimic </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> Species </td><td colspan=''1''> Slime: Mimic </td><td colspan=''1''> Level </td><td colspan=''1''> 50 </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> HP </td><td colspan=''3''> 100/100 </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> Skills </td><td colspan=''3''> Bite </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''> Do you wish to view further details?


    Say ''Yes'' for further details, say ''No'' to exit.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    "Yes!" I yelled, slightly annoyed that even a mimic had more base HP than I did.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''> Stats </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''> Level </td><td colspan=''2''> 50 </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> AP </td><td colspan=''1''> 0 </td><td colspan=''1''> Defense </td><td colspan=''1''> 5 </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> Damage </td><td colspan=''1''> 750 </td><td colspan=''1''> HP </td><td colspan=''1''> 100/100 </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> Speed </td><td colspan=''1''> 5 </td><td colspan=''1''> Stamina </td><td colspan=''1''> 50 </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''> Spare </td><td colspan=''2''> 0 </td></tr></tbody></table>


    ''What is up with that ridiculous Damage!?'' I thought, as I saw how minuscule it''s other stats were in comparison...


    "Oh beloved brothers of mine, please forgive my murderous hand," I preached with a massive dose of sarcasm, kneeling down before it. I replaced my torch with a sword and threw it at the mimic. The last thing I wanted was for it to bite me since that would be embarrassing...


    Surprisingly the sword flew across the room at a ludicrous speed. Upon hitting the mimic, it created a miniature explosion, instantly killing my poor brethren.


    With no distractions left alive, I then opened the real chest.


    Inside was a standard wooden staff, with some kind of chest on top of it.


    "How cute," I mumbled as a started towards the other exit.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''1''> Name </td><td colspan=''3''> Mimic_Staff </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''> Description: A staff that resembles that of a chest mimic. </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> Stats </td><td colspan=''3''> Damage from magic attacks times ten, speed divided by five. </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> Durability </td><td colspan=''3''> 100% </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> Bonus </td><td colspan=''3''> Reveals any form of mimic </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> Enchants </td><td colspan=''3''> Na, Na, Na, Na and Na. </td></tr></tbody></table>


    I tilted my head, not really sure what to make of it. I looked at the chest above the staff in more detail and did resemble a mimic, although only with two small fangs from the opening. Thinking about the stats, I soon questioned whether or not I should use it. My style didn''t favor my immense speed, so maybe using it all in damage would be more beneficial...


    "How cute... Saying that this much is really awkward," I said, this time looking at my equipped staff''s stats.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''1''> Name </td><td colspan=''3''> Cara''s_Mediocre_Magic_Wood_Staff </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''> A staff made by Cara Ashfell, a novice. </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> Stats </td><td colspan=''3''> Damage from magic attacks times five, initial casts cost double AP. </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> Durability </td><td colspan=''3''> 94% </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> Bonus </td><td colspan=''3''> None </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> Enchants </td><td colspan=''3''> durability 3, power 2, AP regeneration 2, mute, Na, Na, Na. </td></tr></tbody></table>


    ''Hm... With my insane AP, my current staff doesn''t really have a downside. But is the speed worth the lower attack?'' I thought, juggling both staves pros and cons in my head.


    I decided to stuff the mimic staff in my inventory and descended to the next level.


    -


    As I got to the next level, the darkness of the first floor came back. I soon brought the torch back out, so I could actually see things.


    The walls had a similar pattern to the first, but the difference soon made itself apparent. At an intersection, I saw a stream of yellow gloop down the right path. The forward path had some of the same viscous liquid dripping down one of its walls and the left path was clean.


    I assumed the liquid was bad, so chose the left path. It was straight and soon opened up into a larger room, mirroring the first. And like the first, this room had numerous slimes. They looked different to the ones earlier. Some were smaller, and some were larger and misshapen like blobs rather than balls.


    "Eh?" I asked, aiming at one of the larger yellow slimes.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''1''> Mob_Name </td><td colspan=''3''> Paralyze Slime </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> Species </td><td colspan=''1''> Slime: Status </td><td colspan=''1''> Level </td><td colspan=''1''> 47 </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> HP </td><td colspan=''3''> 2500/2500 </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> Skills </td><td colspan=''3''> Bounce, Excrete, Splash. </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''> Do you wish to view further details?


    Say ''Yes'' for further details, say ''No'' to exit.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    "No," I said, knowing just from the name what was in store.


    The smaller ones were very fast, almost twenty had surrounded me before I could close the table.


    "Bind!" I yelled, cutting off larger slimes so I could focus on the smaller ones. I switched my staff for a sword and started to take swipes at them.


    Their speed made me miss most of my swings, but my speed allowed me to dodge theirs. The numerous thuds from outside my walls got louder the longer I took. Creating a window in which I had to kill these infernal slimes. The hits I got seemed to instantly kill them, but by the time my tentacles finally died, most of the small slimes still lived.


    I panicked, relying on making more walls to give myself enough time, and focused on each of my attacks. A group of ten small slimes was attacking from the same direction, so I waited for them to jump at me before slicing at them. I hit three, getting hit by four of the attacks I simply couldn''t dodge.


    The sudden pain made me scream out loud, which made my sword glow. I swung my sword relentlessly, my hotheadedness taking over. I hit a lot, but took some hits I should''ve easily dodged...


    "Shit!" I screeched as I tried to control myself. If I kept like this I would probably let myself die, so tried to refocus. It was hard, but I gradually regained control of myself. My brain almost fried from a game of all things...


    I eventually succeeded and started to play defensively. But with all that time wasted, my walls crashed open again, revealing fifty more slimes.


    "Intimidate!" I yelled, in hopes that it would at least do something. It did, resulting in most of the smaller ones madly hopping away in random directions. Though, the larger slimes didn''t and started their attacks.


    A large, green slime splashed green liquid towards me causing my to jump back.


    "Bind!" I created another wall, leaving that slime, and two others, to be the only ones fighting me.


    "Bolt, Bolt, Bolt," I repeated, soon binding all three slimes in tentacles.


    Their attacks temporarily stopped, leaving mine with an opportunity. I ran up to one of them, and continually slashed them. It quickly died. I did the same with the other but didn''t get the kill before it freed itself. It''s brethren finally broke my wall seconds later, revealing ten more large slimes. A series of smaller slimes started to race towards me too.


    "Intimidate. Bind," I said, fabricating a new wall.


    Now there were ten large slimes with me, and before I could bolt them, they all splashed and coated the entire area in slime.


    I somehow dodged all of the yellow gloop. But as a bit of the green hit my leg, I got an annoying popup.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''1''> You have been poisoned, you will lost one percent of your health every second.


    This will last for ten seconds.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    The pain caused me to grunt, and I lost control of my actions again. The same glow coated my sword, and I unconsciously charged in.

 Volume 2: Chapter 14: Grimer the Slime King part two.

    *''Hiiro''*


    I sprinted over to a group of three large slimes, leaping over smaller slimes and side-stepping splashes of yellow and green liquid as I quickly closed the distance. I swiped at one, somehow killing it in one attack as I move onto the other. The poison had worn off at this time, alleviating at least one cause of my rage.


    After swiping at it like the last, this one didn''t die, instead of becoming enraged and spammed splashes of the viscous yellow liquid from before. None of it hit me but I didn''t track how much HP it gave me, nor did I look at the clearly faded glow on my sword. By the time my head finally cooled off, I noticed how dire my situation was.


    My bind had ended, letting smaller slimes come straight towards me. I panicked, realizing I couldn''t fight them all off. A few larger slimes were also uncomfortably close, forcing out dodges instead of attacks. Quickly realizing that I didn''t have the ability to deal with this.


    Opening my menu mid-fight, I dodged whilst desperately searching for options.


    Before long, I yelled "Bind, Summon all!"


    Twenty slimes were now trapped in my walls, as the fifty-odd mobs, I tamed spawned all around. I controlled them telepathically, thinking of my basic strategy before letting the AI take over, and it was really good at differentiating different roles of each mob-type.


    I couldn''t shake the feeling that my mobs were very different from when I got them, though. The apples were bigger and used skills to attack now, they still got killed in one shot, though. The hobgoblins also seemed stronger, each withstanding multiple attacks before completely dying. The archers seemed more accurate and killed a small slime in two hits. The others also seemed way stronger, killing one of the large slimes in only three hits.


    ''Did they scale somehow or what? I didn''t even try training them,'' I thought, scratching my head as I saw my mob wall devour the slimes.


    The mimic didn''t end up playing a part, but the twenty opponents quickly dissolved due to the others attack. I only lost two apples in the process.


    This was all good, however, the part I found the best was that every attack they did, counted as my own. Which meant I got healed by it. My health was now about thirty thousand. I used this as a chance to attack the rest outside.


    "Stop bind," I said, revealing the thirty odd slimes that were left.


    My archers soon spread their shots out, throwing the status slimes backward in the middle of its jump. This gave the rest a chance to charge in, massacring the smaller slimes before they could bounce at us.


    This had become a one-sided fight, as the once daunting slimes were torn apart with ease. Cocky, I managed to get one or two status slimes on my side, before the rest died by my side''s sheer numbers.


    Minutes later, five loud pings attacked my ears as I realized the fight was over this quickly. I guess taming was really a good idea with my lack of range and health.


    Curious, I checked some of their levels. The hobgoblins I examined ranged from forty-six to level fifty, the apples, actually called Manchineels, ranged from twenty-nine to thirty and the mimic was level fifty-one.


    "How the fuck!?" I shouted.


    Echoes formed, as I soon heard another hoard incoming. This time only ten small slimes appeared. It took my ten archers half a minute to kill them all.


    -


    I proceeded with my mob based party, the exit wasn''t in this large room which annoyed me. Half an hour of crawling through the same floor later, I suddenly got a ping showing a friend request from an ''Orokami01''.


    My mobs were automatically dealing with everyenemythat came my way, so boredom compelled me to open it whilst hunting for the exit.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''1''> Orokami01 has sent a friend request


    Accept? Please say yes or no.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    ''Huh, could this be Shun? Better add him if that''s the case,'' I shrugged, soon saying "Yes" in confirmation. Another ping quickly followed, this time it was a private chat request.


    "Is this Hiiro? It''s Shun. Yeah, don''t ask why I picked this name..." a familiar male voice said. The quality was iffy since he seemed to have lots of people on his side. But I could tell it was definitely Shun.


    "Yeah, it''s me Shun. So why the sudden request?" I replied.


    "Oh, right. I joined a group recently and we''re thinking of doing our first dungeon, but... w-we don''t have a healer or much money, so could I ask you to join us?" Shun requested.


    "How many people?" I threw in another question, knowing my healing ability was limited.


    "Oh, me and three others. We''ve been told six is a good number and we do have a guild we can rely on, but they won''t lend us a healer since they only have one themselves," he explained.


    "Okay, seems like good advice. Well, I have one more question. Can you wait?" I asked, trying to finalize the deal if necessary.


    "W-why am I bothering you?" Shun asked, his voice becoming shaky.


    "I''m in a dungeon right now. Don''t worry, I''m getting bored of walking around so thanks for making it slightly more interesting. I don''t mind doing it, but I''d like to complete this dungeon first. If you don''t mind that, I''ll be sure to join you after that." I explained, trying to calm him down in the process.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    "W-well, we were planning to do some training anyway. Any idea how long it will take?"


    "Nope, I''d gather an hour or two. It''s a pretty high-level dungeon anyway. Well, I''ll try to rush through it whenever I find this goddamn exit, so see you then," I stated, swiftly turning the call off as I started to dash off.


    -


    I started to sprint, going through the majority of the corridors before finally finding the exit to the level twenty minutes later. All of the enemies I bumped into gave me another three levels, and four status slimes to add to my collection.


    Despawning all of my mobs, I continued down the staircase at a gradual pace. At the bottom, a similar circular room greeted me. It was completed by a similar podium and red carpet that led towards the next set of steps on the opposite side of the room. But this time three chests lied on top.


    Knowing the chances of mimics, I switched to the Mimic Staff. Doing so caused all of the mimics to bite simultaneously. And yes, I do mean ''all'' and not ''both''. I gave a round of applause to the dick to made this room before massacring the mimics by throwing a torch and both of my swords at them.


    With the room cleared, I grabbed a nearby torch, picked up my swords and climbed down the staircase clearly cautious. Noticing the warm, orange glow at the bottom, I threw the torch away.


    -


    ''Well, this is new. No need to examine these then,'' I thought, seeing the orange slimes bouncing in and out of the magma that flowed was enough information for me. Fire check.


    The room was very open, streams of this magma separated the different paths of walkable stone, fumes from them created a small fog-like dimness which very slightly obstructed my vision. I found the ending wall very blurry but could tell there was a room on the opposite side.


    The room itself was wide and seemed long. The ceiling having, even more, slimes clinging from its stalactites, waiting to pounce if I made the wrong move.


    I stepped out of the small alcove, attempting to gauge how many there were. Immediately blocked off by an army of . I clenched my fists, knowing that this would quickly become a hassle.


    I decided to flee towards the other exit, seeing as how the orange swarm was ridiculously slow moving. I sped off towards the front, clearing a line of slimes and streams of magma with impressive large jumps.


    I treated dodging the magma a priority. Soon finding the slimes annoying too, as more popped out of nowhere before me.


    About half way through the room, the distances between the paths became insane. Even with my ludicrous speed, I barely made most of them. One slime managed to hit my foot with a well-timed jump, almost causing me to fall into the scalding liquid. Others tried, some barely missing as I somehow maintained my constant sprint.


    Near the end there were some jumps I knew I couldn''t make, so had to make a detour whilst their numbers amassed. At the final jump, a wall of slimes quickly submerged themselves, splashing waves of magma that seemed impossible to cross, forcing me to go even further around.


    I finally got to the exit, meeting ten slimes who refused to budge. I neared them and hopped, which caused them to bounce upwards. Using this chance, I jumped over them in the delay, darting down the thin tunnel they were fortunately too fat to follow me down.


    -


    At the bottom was another similar circular room. One chest stood on a podium in the middle, a similar red carpet highlighting it compared to the surroundings.


    But this room was different in two ways: One, there was no exit. Two, the massive blue ball hanging from the ceiling. Knowing the inevitable trap, I stepped towards the podium. Managing to mount it before a large whoosh came from above me.


    I leaped back, summoning all of my forces as I saw the crown above the massive blue ball.


    "Eh?" I mumbled as the fight barely began.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''1''> Mob_Name </td><td colspan=''3''> Grimer The Slime King </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> Species </td><td colspan=''1''> Slime: Unique </td><td colspan=''1''> Level </td><td colspan=''1''> 80 </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> HP </td><td colspan=''3''> 7433/8000</td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> Skills </td><td colspan=''3''> Bounce, Roll, Divide, Combine, Collapse </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''4''> Do you wish to view further details?


    Say ''Yes'' for further details, say ''No'' to exit.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    "No," I said, seeing the king starting his attack.


    My melee mobs had already reached him on top of the podium, the archers getting lots of shots off before I had the chance to look at its health. For a while, it seemed to not make any actions and we went all out. A minute later, though, this came back to haunt me.


    Abruptly, the king became coated bubble-like bumps, each bump tore itself from the main body, leaving sixteen smaller slimes in theKing''s place. They bounced around madly, killing a couple of my hobgoblins with one hit. I bound a few of them, but they broke out of it before anything really happened. Then I too became surrounded by the mess of blue slimes. Barely dodging the barrage of slimes as I tried to connect some hits of my own.


    After a while, I noticed that my status slimes were getting a lot of damage on the slimes by spreading their paralyzing and poisonous gloop. They covered half of the podium with both types with a permanent coating, causing the enemies to get poisoned and stunned indefinitely. My mobs also were immune to this, so finished off five or more of the slimes.


    Three hours ticked by before only six parts remained, they combined, creating a Slime King about half the size of the one before.


    "Eh?" I repeated, seeing that its health was now five thousand.


    It bounced, creating an earthquake on its return. Whilst I removed my mobs from the field posthaste, parts of the roof collapsed crushing me and its self in a suicidal move. I tried to dodge the debris, but the area above me was too big for me to effectively dodge.


    -


    I screamed in agony as I crawled from beneath the rock that almost killed me. I had less than one hundred health left and my mobs and I had glowing weapons. I didn''t manage to close the window in that chaos, and looking at the updated boss HP was less than two thousand, my confidence grew.


    I summoned my mobs once again, promptly seeing the largest piece of debris being thrown against a far away wall with the Slime King lurking from under it.


    ''So that''s how it lost so much HP... Well, this is it. One hit I''m dead. You know, fuck letting myself die this far into the fight,'' I told myself, attempting to fill myself with motivation as the final part of the fight commenced.


    The terrain was now rough, with most of the status gloop flowing between the gaps in the rocks. Regardless, two of the slimes got hit by paralysis, soon poisoned. The other two scattered around the room, effectively thrown off by the archers and hob-goblins without me getting hit once. To be honest, it was mainly by pure luck that this happened.


    Guarded effectively by the gloop surrounding me, my health gradually rose to over one thousand five hundred when the two paralyzed parts finally died after another hour of fighting.


    I started to realize how cheap status effects really were, as the battle reached its conclusion. The king combined again, with three hundred health remaining. It sped up, fully raged as it attacked anything it could. All the archers now missed, and even I couldn''t keep track of it for long.


    It sniped my most of my hobgoblins without needing to touch the floor and soon started aiming for me.


    Now ducking, the status slimes started to periodically to splash both oozes above me trying to hit the cowardly king. Both colours hit him, completely coating him in a greenish yellow.


    I sighed as my remaining forces devoured the last of his health and gave it to me. I laughed, loving the thrill that came from a slime dungeon. Levels had a lot to do with it and by all accounts, I should''ve lost. But, with the twelve pings bursting my ears, I had shockingly come out as the victor.


    An exit opened up in one of the walls. I checked my loot, being two paralyzing potions, one vile of poison and Grimer''s Cape, before leaving for the surface.

 Volume 2: Chapter 15: Working with others, part one.

    *''Shun''*


    Fields glistened in the twilight of sunset, as my group and I were near a forest east of Skimmington to level up. There were five of us, three being in close combat with the goblins we competed with and the other two were behind them, trying to snipe them with magic and arrows. I was the archer, with one specific goblin about fifty meters off that I was aiming for. I drew back the arrow...


    And I heard a ping, which threw off my aim dramatically. The goblin in my sights soon caught up to me and I was forced into another annoying sword fight.


    Using my cumbersome great-sword, the blade soon collided with the goblin''s skull and went right through. With a bitter tone, I looked at the ping to find out it was Hiiro and accepted the call.


    "Hey Shun, sorry if I''m interrupting something. I just finished, so do you still need me?" he said, his tone surprising containing intrigue rather than the pure annoyance he usually expresses.


    Backing off from the action, I explained our position, "Yeah if you don''t mind. We started training in whilst waiting for you, so we should be at the required level when you come. We''ll meet you in about half an hour at the south exit of Skimmington if you can. Since there''s a nearby dungeon called ''Ya-avich''s dungeon'' which we picked to be our first. One of our members has a ''Herbalism'' subclass and there''s a skill in it that allows us to examine the mob levels. Their levels seemed to be around the twenty/thirty mark, and we''re mostly around level twenty border. So we''re grinding be..." I cut myself off, realizing the call was already canceled.


    I shrugged it off, announcing the news to my four companions, "Okay guys, my friend''s finally done and can become our healer when we go in."


    "Huh... Wait, do we really need a healer? I read up that they really aren''t necessary considering we have two samurais," a male voice said. It belonged to Nx30t, an assassin currently killing three low health bandits with his two swords.


    "Yeah, but didn''t we decide that their focus should be elsewhere? I mean, those mobs were about this level and we''re still struggling to get kills with all of our attention. Maybe having two more swords will be a good thing," a female voice added. This one belonging to Troll73, a samurai currently holding off six more goblins which encircled her.


    "She''s right Nx, I think I''d prefer to fight rather than be forced to heal. So anyway, how strong''s your friend Oro? Scorch!" NarutoLoverEXT added in, sounding more suspicious with her tone than curious. With a key word said, a line of fire connected with two of the goblins Troll was facing. It enveloped them in an intense flame that fried their remaining health instantaneously.


    "I''m not sure EXT... I know that he''s already got his ID, so he''s probably higher than us. He also just beat another dungeon solo. But... that''s all I know," I started to aim my bow mid-sentence which caused me to slow my speech in concentration. I managed to hit a goblin''s head whilst finishing, but it had a sliver of health remaining which disappointed me.


    "Huh, a solo player. Well, I hear that the Sky_Dogs got someone to level sixty, so I guess that the limit but... Well, let''s hope he''s not that high then, otherwise, he might scare mobs away," Nx30t stated, rushing over to cover Troll''s position.


    "I wouldn''t be so sure Nx. If you knew him like I did, you''d probably say the opposite. But he''s usually not one to hang around boring areas in my experience, so it should be fine regardless," I replied, attempting to soften their doubts as I took aim again.


    "Well, as long as he doesn''t take the pointless XP then I don''t mind. He''s a healer anyway, right?" EXT asked cautiously.


    "He didn''t say he''s not, so who knows? We can ask him when we meet him. Anyway, is that it?" I answered, shrugging as I looked around the now empty battlefield.


    "Should be, so let''s move on further. Wait, does anyone need a potion before we do?" Nx replied. Nobody said yes, so we quickly moved on.


    We defeated the remaining goblins, before getting quiet to listen out for any more possible enemies to make their moves. Nothing. So we shared our loot before moving to another area to do the same thing. We did this for a while, eventually achieving our goal of becoming about level twenty-five.


    -


    "Um... Are you DokiDoki19?" I asked a boy standing at the south entrance. They wore a robe synonymous with being a healer but... their eyes were the point of confusion. In real life, Hiiro''s always seemed dead inside. But the boy''s... t-they sparkled elegantly with the fading sunlight. If I had to sum it up, I''d say that this boy seemed way too ''cute'' to be the Hiiro I knew, and the others quickly caught onto this cuteness with minor blushing or all out gushing at him.


    "Yeah, you''re Orokami, right? I could use real names, but that''s taboo in-game," he replied, his voice and sarcastic tone made me end my confusion.


    "My, my, my... Aren''t you a cutie?" EXT spouted, blushing and turning away from Hiiro''s intense gaze that followed.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    "Sorry, I should introduce myself. I''m DokiDoki19, please call me ''Doki'' for ease. Anyway, I''m a friend of Orokami''s IRL and a solo healer, you are?" Hiiro replied.


    "Wait... A solo healer, how''s that possible?" Nx interrupted, soon mumbling something that I doubt anyone else heard.


    "I''m Herbalist, so tame. I used to use my staff to hit stuff, but that started to take too long for me. I''m level 54 right now but don''t worry about me stealing XP, I''ll only summon in the direst circumstance and heal only when necessary. Anyway, you guys are?" he said succinctly, quickly changing the topic and his eyes scowled my group members.


    "Huh... Well, I''m Nx30t, an assassin who also has Herbalism. I gather you know Orokami, so I''ll name the rest. The mage over there is NarutoLover EXT, the female samurai is Troll73 and the other samurai is Hahaha933 from the clan we''re wanting to enter. We just need an ID to actually join them, hence we''re doing this," Nx said, pointing to all the members, par me, in turn.


    "Can you confirm his level Nx? It seems like an ego boosting lie to me," Troll asked, clearly doubting Hiiro''s story.


    "I confirm his level. It''s his class that''s the lie... he''s really a succubus," Nx answered quickly.


    """"Eh!?"""" Troll, Ha, EXT and I all exclaimed in sync, all of us seemed confused at the unexpected news.


    "I never said my class was a healer, I just heal using a specific skill from my class. Should we get going, or shall we discuss this integral point in even more detail?" he explained coldly before sarcastically taunting everyone to move on.


    "He''s right. We have everyone so let''s go," I said, attempting to reason my friend''s dickish attitude.


    "Yeah... So who has the map again? I think it was still in Troll''s hands," Ha asked, looking at Troll as he reminded her.


    "Map?" Hiiro asked, tilting his head in confusion at the pretty obvious point.


    "Yeah, it''s a thing that shows the entire area and directions. We brought from the library. Troll has the Explorer subclass, so tells us where to go," Nx explained.


    "Go to options, there''s a mini-map option that makes cartography skills pointless outside of a dungeon," Hiiro replied succinctly.


    There was doubt at first, but after looking at this menu, we eventually all found the option and activated it. We set our location. And as tears fell from the corner of Troll''s eyes, we found the way to the dungeon.


    -


    We eventually traversed the path shrouded in the night, defeating a few bandits as we got to the door we visited before. The nameplate saying ''Ya''avich''s Dungeon''.


    "By the way, what is ''Ya''avich''?" I asked curiously.


    "It''s the bosses name, probably... Both of the dungeons I''ve completed had the same naming system. Well then. Anything you guys need to do before going in, or is it fine to go now?" Hiiro answered, changing the topic yet again.


    "Sorry, mind if I check my stats? I might''ve forgotten to change them," I responded, EXT and Ha doing the same as the others waited.


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''> Stats </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''> Level </td><td colspan=''2''> 23 </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> AP </td><td colspan=''1''> 2800/2800 </td><td colspan=''1''> Defense </td><td colspan=''1''> 51 </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> Damage </td><td colspan=''1''> 73 </td><td colspan=''1''> HP </td><td colspan=''1''> 1800/1800 </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> Speed </td><td colspan=''1''> 28 </td><td colspan=''1''> Stamina </td><td colspan=''1''> 33 </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''> Spare </td><td colspan=''2''> 0 </td></tr></tbody></table>


    ''Oh, right... I did remember to change it after all then,'' I reminded myself, looking gleefully at my high HP value.


    "Okay, seems like I''m ready," I announced. The other two followed with similar conclusions after checking that their own stats were in order.


    Without further ado, we heaved open the creaky door and continued into the dim corridors that were there.


    -


    We sneaked down the linear corridor, which was illuminated just enough to see in, whilst talking over things.


    "So Doki, why did you pick Succubus? I mean, I doubt you''re bad, but isn''t that the second worst class?" Ha asked Doki out of the blue.


    "I picked it because it was interesting. I mean, this attraction boost skill is kind of annoying and it doesn''t really have many good magic attacks. But I''ve grown to like the snares and getting near infinite HP out of letting my mobs kill stuff. It''s really good at ambushing, and with blood transfusion, I can heal people when I get health. But I obviously need health to do that..." Doki explained, cutting himself off before he started preaching. He was remarkably clear, considering I can barely hear him most of the time, even when he stands next to me.


    I shook this doubt off, and changed the topic, "Here''s another question Doki. Why did you accept my request? You know that you''re way more powerful than the foes here, so doesn''t it do very little to you?"


    "Well, I didn''t really have anything better to do. There are also some skills that get XP every time you use then, which I''d like to get better with. Like Object examination with Herbalism," he answered, a bit of impatience revealing itself in his tone.


    "So... is Doki this cute IRL Oro?" EXT asked, clearly having her priorities straight.


    "No. It''s a damn Succubus class skill I use unless you find a mask wearing nerd with half a face romantic," Hiiro begrudgingly admitted.


    Everyone became speechless at his response, the spark from EXT''s eyes immediately left, as we all thought about how stupid that skill was. Without any enemies to interrupt us, the atmosphere surround us became thick and cold.


    This finally stopped once we reached an intersection. There were three directions that opened themselves up, all looking identical to the way we came from. because of the fact that we couldn''t see very far down each of them, we soon turned to our minimaps.


    "Wait, why is the minimap blank?" I asked.


    "It''s blank for us now because we''re in a dungeon. This is why I said that Cartography skills aren''t completely useless, just outside of dungeons," Hiiro answered.


    "Ah, I''ll use one then. Locate Exit!" Troll said, soon pointing down the path we just went down.


    "Try ''Locate Staircase''," Hiiro prompted.


    "Oh, okay. Locate Staircase," she repeated, soon pointing to the left corridor. "Set target, staircase."


    Nx butted in, asking, "Wait, why ''staircase''?"


    Hiiro sighed before continuing, "There''s a staircase at the end of every floor which leads onto the next. So if we follow this way, we''ll be going the fastest way through the dungeon, although it may get confusing next time..."


    "Hm... Well, do we want to grind or get through this floor quickly?" Troll asked before starting a vote.


    -


    With a four to twovote, we headed right.

 Volume 2: Chapter 16: Working with others, part two.

    We headed right, with Troll and Ha led the rest of us through. When we were here before, we met the mobs - in the form of a sole goblin - as soon as we opened the door. However, there was currently no sign of any which we found confusing...


    "So... What the hell is happening? Why aren''t they attacking us yet?" I asked at the end of my patience.


    "Oh, right... One second," Hiiro said, the glitter like sparkles that coated the walls around him diminished completely.


    In mere seconds after he did that, we heard the footsteps and groans of oncoming foes. The corridor was illuminated well, but the problem came with our positions which the goblins rushed to exploit.


    Nx was with me standing in the middle of the group, and with the two samurais at the front, this left Hiiro and EXT left in the back. Neither having the health to really tank the oncoming hoard and with the corridor being so thin, there wasn''t any room to get past her and Hiiro.


    I did my best to cover them, firing arrows on mass which killed one or two. EXT killed a further two with a good connection with Scorch and wounded a third. But two managed to graze her with their knives regardless. She was defenseless as the two devastated half of her health before she could react.


    Using the little buffer room the Samurai had opened, Hiiro quickly stepped back in the hopes that Nx could pass through. He sprinted at the opportunity, quickly reaching the battered mage as Hiiro did nothing. EXT quickly backed off the let the assassin cover the melee, and one of the samurais on the other side buffed him with defense.


    More goblins bombarded both sides, so I quickly switched with EXT to tank for Nx. Though, it was completely pointless in the end. With his ridiculous skill combos and EXT''s intense magic attacks, the reinforcements turned into XP before I took a single hit... Well, better safe than sorry I guess.


    With no more coming through, we stayed in our current formation and went onward.


    "So guys, are dungeons usually this hectic or were we just unlucky?" EXT asked, still regaining her health after taking a potion.


    "The one I went through wasn''t this mad, but I guess it could be a quirk of this dungeon?" Ha answered, clearly unsure.


    "I don''t think it''s always that bad. It''s probably due to me scaring them off that they built up in such numbers. Sorry, I didn''t notice sooner," Hiiro added.


    "It''s fine, but... what did you change to suddenly start making them attack us?" Nx faced Hiiro with intrigue loudly written on his face.


    "I deactivated the ''attraction_increase'' skill. Although it seems dumb, it seems to do more than just cause me to look cute, it also seems to help with intimidation. Or at least that''s what this example shows me... I''m still unsure about a lot of this skill''s mechanics," he answered, scratching his head.


    "Huh... I haven''t heard that on the forums. Though, most of the Succubi deleted their characters soon after playing due to their low starting health," I said.


    "Oh, right. You guys actually use the forums. Meh, I like playing underrated classes anyway," he replied in a bored monotone.


    "Makes sense. On a different topic, why didn''t you heal me? I mean, you''re supposed to be the healer..." EXT asked, annoyance overcoming her usual lax nature.


    "I''m a succubus. The skill I use to ''heal'' is called Blood_Transfusion and requires me having hp to donate to you. Since you weren''t going to die, I gathered you''d prefer me to not steal your XP to get health to heal you with. You had potions anyway..." Hiiro explained, as we finally reached the end of this dead end.


    There were no alternative paths, so we were forced to turn around and go towards the exit already. EXT, Troll and I all leveled up in the process, so we didn''t complain as we took the long stroll back.


    -


    A couple of encounters with individual goblins took place as we got back to the split paths. We double checked with Troll, before marching to the next level with only more individual mobs standing in our way. The were quickly disintegrated by EXT''s fire magic before they could even notice us, so we kept our pace unhindered towards the staircase.


    The seemingly endless staircase eventually led us to a slightly dimmer floor with the same wooden beams on stone aesthetics. We crossed our fingers that it would get less dull before continuing down the sole corridor we could see.


    This time ,however, we only got five minutes in before seeing a branching path with three options. And one of the options seemed to clear out into a large, bright room.


    "Locate Staircase," Troll murmured, her hands soon pointing towards the way we came from and the right option which lead into a long corridor.


    "So... since we''re grinding, should we check out the large obnoxious room first then?" I asked although we were already moving that way before I did so.


    We found the source of the light before entering, it was due to the ludicrous amounts of torches hanging on the walls.


    As we entered, a skew of arrows struck us with shockingly bad aim.


    The source of those arrows? About twenty goblins holding small, flimsy bows with three rows of ten goblins wielding knives in front of them.


    "Want me to do anything, or should I keep standing here and looking pretty?" Hiiro asked, reaching for his staff.


    "Help us if we need it, I assume you can do that, no?" Nx replied.


    He put his hands to his sides and answered "I can. If needed, I''ll summon."


    With this, the goblins charged. Breaking their formation as the hoard came streaming across.


    They swarmed us with about ten goblins each, dramatically reducing our movement capabilities as the archers kept their arrows coming. Everyone focused on their own fights, so our teamwork and formations also broke. The occasional hit arrow added to the looming defeat that our individual work had been for.


    Without any delay, some weird, tentacle-like growths sprouted from the ground and engulfed some of the numerous goblins surrounding us. I ignored them, focusing on the free mobs surrounding me and cut their numbers down as I made myself some room. The binds stopped when the others had fallen, and with one hit, they fell too.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    I looked around at my allies. The tentacles also affected some of their mobs too. both Hiiro and Nx were already free, the latter rushed to help EXT with her group as former healed her.


    Whilst looking at them, I realized the archers were still shooting. So I took out my bow and started to pick them off. I used a skill called ''Cross-hairs'' to increase my accuracy. I hadn''t used it before, so I tried to kill the goblins faster with it. After four successful headshots, which killed four goblins in four shots, my AP ran out and my next shots became more and more sluggish in turn.


    Luckily for me, everyone else was freed from their individual fights now, so charged at sixteen archers that remained. They died without a putting up a fight, EXT now being at full health to spite her almost dead status.


    -


    We regrouped after the fight, and questions sparked from everyone.


    "What the hell were with those tentacles?" the now angry mage asked.


    "That was me. Most of my binds are made from tentacles for some reason... I guess the devs just had to get in some fetish into the succubus class or something," Hiiro shrugged as he announced.


    "That was you? B... but there were like twenty of those going off simultaneously. Shouldn''t that drain your AP like mad!?" she yelled.


    "It should, but I have so much AP that it doesn''t matter. For the record, I have a max of thirty-one thousand AP. And per second, the bind cost about forty to cast or maintain. Also, with my insane AP regeneration, I''ve maxed again. That''s what leveling does guys." he explained.


    "Thirty... Thousand!? I''m a mage and I have about nine thousand. I didn''t spend many free points on it, but that''s still stupid for you to have that much more AP than me!" she protested.


    -


    When her rage finally died down, we delved further into the room. The fact that we found no branching rooms and no treasure disappointed us. There were no other mobs, though, so we used the time to sort out our levels and have a small break.


    -


    My stats now looked like this:


    <table><tbody><tr><td colspan=''4''> Stats </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''> Level </td><td colspan=''2''> 28 </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> AP </td><td colspan=''1''> 2900/2900 </td><td colspan=''1''> Defense </td><td colspan=''1''> 61 </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> Damage </td><td colspan=''1''> 78 </td><td colspan=''1''> HP </td><td colspan=''1''> 2300/2300 </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''1''> Speed </td><td colspan=''1''> 33 </td><td colspan=''1''> Stamina </td><td colspan=''1''> 38 </td></tr><tr><td colspan=''2''> Spare </td><td colspan=''2''> 0 </td></tr></tbody></table>


    "All done?" Hiiro asked everyone as they seemed to stop touching the interface.


    Everyone else nodded, so we made our way down the other way. Although long and seemingly empty, it eventually opened out to a small room with five archer goblins and a chest. The goblins died instantly and we closed up on the chest.


    I looked at Hiiro, who was mischievously smirking, and called him out on it, "So why are you, being you, smiling like that?"


    "I don''t know what you''re talking about... Ah," he replied, looking at Troll who tried to open the chest.


    Large teeth impaled her arms, as googly eyes appeared above the chest.


    "Oh yeah, something you should know about the people who made these dungeons. They love mimics. Thank your respective god that a samurai opened that up. Heal Troll73," he explained, trying not to laugh as he watched his allies health go from full to red in seconds.


    Troll fled as soon as her arms were freed. Nx cut through the mimic in one swipe and the remaining people glared at Doki.


    "If you knew it, why the hell didn''t you say anything!?" Troll screeched as her health gradually crawled up.


    Accepting the hate, he calmly defended himself, "Well, if you wanted me to tell you a spoiler, ask. I assumed I was here for moral and healing support, not to walk you through the fucking dungeon. Also, I like how you''re only hating me, considering Haha is still laughing his arse off over there."


    To the shock of all of us, tears streamed down Ha''s eyes as he continued laughing under his hand. The hatred surrounding Hiiro passed for now, as we justly scorned Ha for his lack of remorse. Though, once we walked back to the intersection, we were all laughing with him.


    -


    With no more enemies on the floor, we rushed down the staircase to the next one. This floor opened up to a large, circular room which was very well lit. A large goblin sat on a boar, with four smaller goblins on wolves around him.


    "''o dares kill mah bros!?" the large goblin roared.


    This one sentence successfully intimidated Nx, who started to shake and almost dropped his weapons in this guy''s wake.


    "Huh? We killed your bros?" I asked, tilting my head as I said that.


    This served only to fuel his apparent rage, causing him to reply by shouting even louder, "Ya tau''tin'' sacks of skin! Ya kill mah bros and DARE to lie to ME!? ''UT UP AND DIE!"


    We scurried into formation before the big guy charged himself at us with full force. Steam fuming from his warty nose and the mad look on the boar''s face froze Nx solid. I grabbed him as I leapt away from the boar''s path, the others did similarly.


    When he passed I shot him with my bow, not realizing the other four followed him. As a result, a spear clunked against my helmet and I lost fifty HP. My shot hit but only did a sliver of damage to the boss.


    Nx recovered from being scared in the nick of time, managing to slash the rear of the rider who attacked me for a quarter of his health. Flame magic in combination with both samurai''s katanas managed to kill one of the wolves. But before they could finish the goblin off, another wolf rider turned around and darted to them.


    With my attention elsewhere, the one that charged at me returned, this time going after Nx with the boss. We tried to connect some hits, but I reacted too late.


    On its next attack, we tried again, but their movements were too quick and random for us to hit. So we played the dodging game, hoping some of the others would soon help us.


    Jumping out of the way for the fifth time, both the riders went for the others instead. Using this freedom, I looked around. EXT and the two samurais were taking on three wolf riders, and the other one and the boar went against Hiiro.


    Continually sidestepping, he proved way too fast for the boss. With them distracted, I took some shots at them. But even though he didn''t even try to hit either enemy, and my arrows ate away at the minion''s health, it took it forever to aggro back to me.


    Anticipating the charging wolf, I went back to dodging, exchanging the occasional blow with the wolf riding goblin. The boar didn''t join in, so I gathered he was still distracted by our pacifist healer as Nx and I destroyed this wolf rider''s health.


    His wolf soon died, and before he got another hit, we slashed him into pieces and were joined by another one. This one was already battered, though, so we made quick work of it and backed up the samurai. Well, we tried...


    Once we got there, those three had finished off the last goblin on their side. So all that remained was the boss that was still chasing down Hiiro.


    EXT''s magic and my arrows flew across the room, hitting the boss with almost all of them. The others took some potions before charging to the healer''s back. When they began to attack it, the bosses health was in the red.


    It furiously began ramming towards the swordsmen, only hitting Ha once in the process. After ten more arrows and three more spells, the boar eventually fell. The leader on a sliver of health died to a single attack by Nx.


    As the goblin boss vanished, a crumbling wall revealed a new exit.


    In the wake of the bosses death, there was a moment of deep panting before our breathing evened out.


    "W-was that it? Where the hell was the boss!?" Troll asked. Everyone tilted their heads whilst facing Hiiro.


    "I have no idea. It just aggroed to me randomly, so I just dodged it. My speed is pretty high, so I just walked around it as it came in to attack. I didn''t want to steal the XP and it just refused to stop attacking me without my input," he explained, joining in the confusion.


    Ha, knowing that this would never end, prompted a new conversation, "So, what drops did you guys get?"


    In the order of me, Nx, Troll, and EXT, we answered his question:


    "I got an ID, a Tooth Necklace, a wolf summon and a stick bow..."


    "An ID, two necklaces and a pouch of herbs."


    "I gather we all got IDs, but I got a wolf summon and two... Sweaty Socks? Gross! I-I don''t want to even touch their icons..."


    "Eh, there''s such a disgusting drop? I guess I''ve got good luck in getting an ID and three Pouches of herbs then."


    We left the dungeon before we found out the other two''s drops, but apparently, they weren''t so impressive. After saying goodbye, we all logged out.