《Player Glitch *paused*》 Prologue - A shady purchase Quod Venetus or QV for short, the greatest virtual reality game ever created and funnily enough also the name of the company. With a realism of 99% you can really start a new life in a land of swords and magic. Its release next week is said to be the launch of the VR game to end all VR games. --- 1 week later --- Buzzzt, Buzzzt. In a certain room of a certain orphanage in a certain town a bump could be seen stirring under its almost non-existent bed sheets. Buzzzt, Buzzzt. "Will you stop that infernal racket! Some of us are trying to sleep here!", someone shouted through the thin plaster walls of the orphanage. A hand responding to the shout shot out of the bed sheets and slammed into the alarm with absolutely no trace of precision, knocking it off the bedside table and onto the floor with a loud bang. Following the example of its arm the ''bump'' followed and groggily got out of bed. Looking down with its dark brown eyes at the time on the alarm clock that read 4:30 am the ''bump'' ,which now from its warm sheet home could be seen as a young boy of around 14, spoke,''YAAaaaAWNn, wait. 4:30am... I''M LATE!''. With the speed of a cheetah the boy shot out of bed and changed into his second set of clothes (that were not his bed clothes) and ran out of the room after picking up his wallet slamming the door behind him. Running down to the ground floor of the orphanage the boy opened the front door and ran out into the early morning light. --- At approximately 6:00 am the boy, whose dark brown shoulder-length hair could be seen in the morning light of the rising sun, turned the corner onto the main street. Usually the main street was empty until around 10:00 am with the majority of shops and restaurants opening around then. However on this particular day something unusual could be seen. A queue the length of the whole street (around a mile long) and repeating itself could be seen leading up to a single stand. Although it didn''t look like much, this stand which was heavily guarded by police was the one selling the new game Quod Venetus (QV) and its corresponding VR headset and console. Knowing about the game for a few years the boy had planned to buy it since and in order to do so the boy had been working part time jobs in order to barely get the needed amount. Walking over to the end of the ginormous line the boy heard some cheering. It seemed that they had started selling copies of QV. After selling a few the mood of the whole queue got a lot better everyone was looking forward to getting their copy. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. After finding his spot in the queue or to be more precise, as the last person after a copy got into the queue the long process of waiting began. Some of these people had been in the queue for weeks in order to be first to get their copy and it seems that was the way to go as there would be a huge wait ahead of him. --- 14 hours later. --- Finally it was the last person in the queue, the boy. "Next.", the women at the stall spoke tiredly. The boy walked up to the stall. After a brief glance at the boy filled with pity the women stood, bowed and then apologized, "I and those of us at Quod Venetus wish to express our deepest apologies as we are out of copies of the games and consoles." "What?! I waited in this queue for fourteen hours and this is what I get?!", the boy shouted in disbelief. "Yes as I said we are extremely sorry.", the women said whilst bowing again. "Isn''t there anything you can do?", pleaded the boy tears forming in his eyes. It was an understandable reaction if you consider that he did nothing but wait in line for 14 hours. "I suppose we can do something, but... It might not be what your after." "It is! It is!" "Well, o-kay." The women ducked behind the counter and a moment later she came back up with an ordinary box. After a while of rummaging the women brought of a copy of Quod Venetus in a dirty case and a broken looking VR headset and console. Looking around and making sure no one was near enough to her the women whispered. "Now look here kid, I never wanted to be a saleswomen I always wanted to be working on the consoles themselves. This is a copy of the original Quod Venetus made by me, so I can assure you that it works perfectly, now because it''s a copy I''ll give it to you for a quarter of the price. What''d you say, 200 dollars!" Although this saleswomen lost all of her original charm and this whole situation screamed of a scam the boy somehow still handed over the money for the woman''s copy and managed to get back to the orphanage with a snack before 10:00pm. --- After getting back and shutting himself in his room the boy immediately set up the console, inserted the game and put the headset on and after lying on his hard bed he shouted, "Activate Quod Venetus!", and everything turned white. Chapter 1- The Glitch Suddenly out of thin air a young boy appeared, his shoulder length brown hair matching his eyes. "Welcome user to Quod Venetus,", a heavily computerized voice sounded out in the white space. "Please choose a username that will be your name in game and on our Quod Venetus forums." "Ludius.", the boy said. "Username accepted. If there are no questions we will move onto the next step... Please select your race." Suddenly in front of the boy''s eyes five stone statues appeared. It seemed that this was the race selection. You could choose between: Human, Elf, Dwarf and Beastman, each with their own statue. But what caught the boy''s attention the most was the last statue or rather lack of. It was just a crudely made stone pillar with three characters etched on its face. ''???'' Intrigued the boy chose this as his class. "Class selected, you have chosen, BWEEP,", a weird beeping noise came from the voice before it continued. "Is this your final choice?" With a smirk the boy replied,"Yes.". The boy had an idea, perhaps this race was created by that scammer that he bought the console from and if that were the case surely it would be good to help herself out! "Race confirmed, moving on to character creation." The five stone statues crumbled and were replaced with a large gold rimmed ornate mirror. In the mirror the boy appeared in front of himself rotating on the spot. He was quite skinny and short with dark brown eyes circled with dark shadows and hair that went down to his shoulders. "Hmmm... Make me taller, around 1.8m. Yes, perfect! Now turn my hair snow white and extend it to my waste. Now make my skin the lightest tone possible and make my eyes platinum. What else can I change?" It may have just been the boy''s bad hearing, but he could have sworn the computer sighed. "For being the, BWEEP,",another weird beeping noise sounded around the room, "race you can change anything that the other races have options to change." "Okay make my ears as long as possible. Brilliant. Done!" What stood rotating in front of the boy was his body for this world. A stunningly handsome tall man with platinum hair and skin matching his piercing cold eyes. That and with his long high-elf looking ears he had an feel of nobility around him. "You will be spawned into your race''s starter town. I wish you luck in Quod Venetus!", the voice concluded and with that the bright white light filled the boy''s vision once more. --- "..." "..." "Okay... What the fuck!", shouted an obviously angry Ludius. Surrounding Ludius was his race''s starter town, the race that was painstakingly hand created, by the scammer he bought QV from in the first place. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.A sickly, stinky, slimy swamp. ? Surrounded by large willow trees. To make it worse, QV gained publicity for its 99% realism and it certainly didn''t disappoint. As soon as Ludius spawned in his feet immediately started sinking into the ground and his starter cheap cloth clothes and wooden sandals did absolutely nothing to stop the mud getting inbetween Ludius and his clothes giving him a horrible sticky feeling. Slowly dragging himself out of the swamp, with much effort, and cursing the saleswoman under his breath Ludius finally noticed that he was no longer in the body of a young boy but his character he designed earlier. Seemingly forgetting about his sludgy attire his excitement got its hold over him and he shouted, "Points store!" --- Quod Venetus has a system in which players can do anything they wish as long as they have enough points. Points can be earned for almost anything and can be exchanged for anything in-game from food rations to god level weaponry and spells. The system itself has won many game mechanic awards and is considered revolutionary due to in-game currency being exchangeable between real life currency. (and yes points can be exchanged for money.?) --- A blue screen appeared in Ludius'' vision. POINTS STORE =================== What do you want to buy? =================== "So it works! How many points do I have?", Ludius quickly closed the store with a flick of his finger and said,"Status Window." STATUS WINDOW =================== Name: Ludius Race : ??? Class: Points: 0 (fixed) =================== STATS -------- HP: 100/100 MP: 50/50 AGI: 0 STR: 0 WIS: 0 INT: 0 DEX: 0 Charisma: 0 Luck: 5/10 (fixed) =================== SKILLS --------- Chesty McCheat Face (passive) - Starting skill of the ??? Race. You cannot gain points. However after every level up you gain infinite points for 30 seconds. Time can be used whenever the player wants and it stacks. =================== EQUIPMENT --------------- Dirty cloth clothes --- Ludius'' face of sadness at having no ability to attain points was replaced by a face of sheer joy over his first skill. Although the name of the skill was very annoying Ludius didn''t mind, it looked like this dodgy trade of his was finally going to pay off with infinite points! A wide sinister grin appeared on Ludius'' face.? "Looks like I have some shopping to do!", Ludius murmured to himself whilst laughing crazily into the stale air of the swamp. Chapter 2 - A modest purchase. II apologise for this chapter, I just felt like writing but the outcome (In my opinion) was just short and not very good. Oh well, you win some and you lose some.?(ps. Some random punctuation, just try to ignore it plz-_-) Expertly, Ludius closed his status window and reopened the points store. He was not surprised at the new message that greeted him. POINTS STORE =================== What do you want to buy? (Infinite points awarded for 30/30 seconds, as soon as store is operated time with infinite points will decrease. Unused time will be conserved) =================== So it really was true that his race''s skill has given Ludius infinite points. "What shall I buy?", Ludius muttered whilst pondering to himself. Although at the moment his statuses of 0 won''t affect his movement, as QV defaults to the general would be stats of real life (Strong IRL=Strong in VR, to an extent), if he wanted to do anything except run away from danger in this world he''ll need to invest in improving his statuses. As well as that were a plethora of skills and abilities that could be purchased to. "Oh well, I''ll just see how it goes", Ludius said with a sigh. "What can I buy to do with stat upgrades," as soon as he said buy a clock started ticking down from 30 seconds in the top-right of his view. POINTS STORE =================== Stat-point boosts: -10 stat-points for 100 points -100 stat-points for 1000 points -1000 stat-points for 10,000 points =================== And just like that, in under the time of 5 seconds Ludius had secured himself a ''small'' sum of 10,000 stat-points, which he decided to use later as the shops time was still ticking down. Ludius used the next 5 seconds to get some clothes together. Nothing fancy just a rare silk shirt, silk pants, some well made looking dragon-skin boots and a thick elven cloak. Only the ''basics''.? To top it off Ludius used a full 10 seconds to get himself a nice quality *COUGH* Artifact rank *COUGH* shortsword in order to keep the odd animal away. Happy at the prospect of not needing to where those sticky clothes again, Ludius immediately changed before throwing his old clothes into the heart of the swamp never to be seen again!? After adding his stat-points into whatever took his fancy, Ludius chose a random direction and set off on his own adventure in QV! A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. --- Meanwhile at the top of a tall skyscraper known to the world as Quod Venetus Incorporated, a reasonably old man was sat behind a tall ebony desk. The man, whose white hair had a striking contrast with the rest of the dark office, was currently in a predicament, the company had lost one of their master copies of the game and console for Quod Venetus and although this usually wouldn''t be much of an issue for players of the game itself, for the old man and his company it was really bad news. Suddenly a knock at the door woke the old man from his thoughts,"Come in.", he said in his gruff voice whilst looking to see his expected guest. "I-I''m sorry sir, b-but we didn''t find out where the master copy turned up." "Imbeciles! The lot of you!", shouted the old man, "Not only could that thing bankrupt everything we''ve worked so hard for, if the press find out what that thing is capable of it''s life locked up for all of us!", "B-but... Couldn''t we just find the user of the master copy in game, S-sir?" "It''s not that simple, but it will do as a start. I''ll let this be under your supervision,", with that the man took it as his cue to leave. Turning around he only paused to hear some parting words whilst a layer of cold sweat formed on his face, " and David. Do not fail me again. We wouldn''t want anything to happen to that lovely family of yours, would we?". --- STATUS WINDOW =================== Name: Ludius Race : ??? Class: Points: 0 (fixed) [10 seconds left] =================== STATS -------- HP: 41,000/41000 MP: 16,100/16,100 AGI: 2050 STR: 2020 WIS: 210 INT: 800 DEX: 1000 Charisma: 15 Luck: 5/10 (fixed) Stat-points remaining: 0 =================== SKILLS --------- Chesty McCheat Face (passive) - Starting skill of the ??? Race. You cannot gain points. However after every level up you gain infinite points for 30 seconds. Time can be used whenever the player wants and it stacks. =================== EQUIPMENT --------------- Rare silk shirt- looks cool (+10 charisma) Silk pants- looks cool (+10 charisma) Dragon skin boots- Rawr (+50AGI, +5 charisma) Elven cloak- mysterious (+10WIS, -10 charisma) Royal commanders short sword- (600DMG, +20STR) --- Chapter 3 - Slaying a mighty evil I feel better about this one compared to the last. Enjoy! The midday light of the sun came shining through a thick canopy of leaves lighting up a small patch of the forest floor below. A noise could be heard and only moments later the culprit was found in a small cute rabbit like creature with ears longer than its body that it dragged across the floor delicately. The rabbit like creature looked like it was enjoying his lunch of some healthy looking leaves and carrot chunks that it had discovered earlier that day, when suddenly... ''Thunk'', ''Yaaaaa!'', ''oops!'' --- Five minutes earlier. Ludius had only just set out on his journey when he noticed something. "Isn''t this supposed to be a game filled to the brim with dangerous wildlife? Where is all the wildlife?", Ludius asked curiously to whoever was listening. Unbeknown to Ludius after assigning his modest amount of stat-points all of the animals in the forest were simply no match for him and using the animal senses animals generally pride themselves on they''ve managed to avoid certain doom in the shape of a long white haired, pointy eared Ludius. --- In Quod Venetus there where such things as levels and unlike other games where doing almost anything will get you the experience needed to level up, in QV you needed fighting experience. Ludius was technically level:0 at this moment in time as a player could not gain a level without killing anything and since Ludius needed level ups to use the points store he needed to kill something. --- After finally another four minutes of bored walking Ludius finally came across what he was looking for, a beast that he could kill. The beast in question was a weird animal with what seemed like ears that it dragged around. Ludius was a natural. With only one look Ludius identified the beast, that was the size of a large kitten, as a threat to himself and any villages or towns near. Hiding in a bush while peeking between the leaves Ludius saw the evil monstrosity drag what looked like some leaves with some sort of suspicious looking orange flesh into the more open area to start eating. "My god! That... Thing has already killed something. I must kill it before it can do any more harm!", Ludius whispered heroically to himself. Slowly and silently Ludius drew his short sword from its sheaf at his waist and got into a position similar to a sprinter before the start of the race (as best he could whilst trying to be silent in a bush??). Instantly Ludius accelerated with the speed of a man with his agility stat in the 2000''s (imagine a cheater on steroids with booster rockets) straight towards the evil beast intending to subjugate it in one well placed strike and that he did. ''Thunk'', was the noise of the flat edge of the short sword colliding with the side of the beast. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ''Yaaaa!'', was the noise that could only be described as the noise a small furry rabbit shaped creature makes when hit with a flat object and explodes into a red mist of its innards!? And,''oops!'', was the reaction of Ludius. "I think I may have increased my stats a tad too much.", Ludius said with a grim smile. ''DING'' ------------ LEVEL UP (for killing a long eared defenseless rabbit, you have lived up) ------------ "Status screen!", Ludius shouted way too happily for someone who just brutally destroyed a rabbit. STATUS WINDOW =================== Name: Ludius Race : ??? Class: Points: 0 (fixed) [40 seconds left] Level:1 =================== STATS -------- HP: 41,000/41000 MP: 16,100/16,100 AGI: 2050 STR: 2020 WIS: 210 INT: 800 DEX: 1000 Charisma: 15 Luck: 5/10 (fixed) Stat-points remaining: 0 (stat points gained via point store) =================== SKILLS --------- Chesty McCheat Face (passive) - Starting skill of the ??? Race. You cannot gain points. However after every level up you gain infinite points for 30 seconds. Time can be used whenever the player wants and it stacks. TITLES ---------- Cold hearted bunny slayer - (For killing one of the peaceful long eared bunny rabbits, you can now slay bunny shaped creatures more easily. EFFECT: know how to kill small innocent mammals more effectively and +20 blunt DMG against the Rad Rabbit of Disaster.) =================== EQUIPMENT --------------- Rare silk shirt- looks cool (+10 charisma) Silk pants- looks cool (+10 charisma) Dragon skin boots- Rawr (+50AGI, +5 charisma) Elven cloak- mysterious (+10WIS, -10 charisma) Royal commanders short sword- (600DMG, +20STR) --- "...", Ludius was shocked into a daze for a few seconds. "What a way to rub it in. It''s not like I knew it was a normal rabbit.", said the heartless Ludius trying to justify himself. Trying to put the whole bunny incident behind him Ludius looked at the rest of the messages. He had knew that his infinite points time would go up to 40 so that didn''t surprise him much. But what did surprise him was the explanation to his new title. "Is this Rad Rabbit a boss? Well if I need to fight it in the future I''ll inquire into getting a blunt weapon. For now though let''s try to find a way out of this forest.", Ludius said enthusiastically and just as he said he left in a straight direction hoping to find his way out of the forest... After eating a small snack of conveniently place carrots. Chapter 4 - Contact IPoor Bear. Enjoy? In his vision, that until now was filled with an endless forest of trees, Ludius noticed something. In front of him 50 odd meters away the end of the forest could be seen leading onto the plains beyond. "Finally, I thought I''d be in that forest for years!", Ludius exclaimed happily, even though in actuality he''d only been in the forest for around two hours. By now it was near night tine and in QV, not unlike other games of its genre, more hostile creatures come out at night especially in wooded areas. So Ludius was happy to find the exit. After stepping one foot out of the dense forest and onto the plains Ludius heard a noise due to his elflike ears (due to his option of choosing other races'' characteristics). "~~~p! ~elp!", and after focusing on the noise Ludius finally made it out. "Help!", a clear scream echoed throughout the forest in fear. With a groan and an annoyed look on his face Ludius managed to retract his foot and head in the direction of the noise. --- "Help! Help me! Please anyone, help!", came the scream of a young women through the evening light. 3 hours earlier the woman had come into the forest to gather herbs for her father''s company when she suddenly found herself lost. She was always getting herself lost, ever since that time when she was five years old and got lost in her back garden. Anyway, around 3 minutes ago whilst the woman was picking some flatblade grass she saw a shadow on the ground in front of her. Luckily she managed to roll away from this killing strike of the creature and since then she had been running towards the village whilst screaming for help. "Doonn''t woorry!", came the shout of a blur as it ran out in front of the woman whose back was already against the trunk of a tree. A lunatic just ran out a bush to protect her from certain death only to jump in the way of their own death. The woman couldn''t help but laugh at the irony of the whole situation... "What!", the woman gasped in surprise at the man''s question. --- As soon as he heard the cry for help Ludius heroically sprung into action and sprinted in the direction to help (translation: as soon as he heard the cry for help he took his sweet time getting there to see if it will interest him). When he got there what he saw was indeed ''interesting''. A young woman, perhaps late teens to early twenties, with light auburn hair and wearing a bright yellow dress pinned her back against the trunk of a large oak tree. A fearful look on her charming face. In front of the women was the second animal since spawning. A large bear covered with scars, was standing on its two back legs. Its bloodshot eyes glaring at the woman while drawl dripped of its deadly looking teeth. You could say this was the second most terrifying creature Ludius had seen so far on his adventure. Waiting in the shadows of the trees Ludius muttered to himself."Well they say first impressions count.". If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. And with that Ludius once again sprung heroically into action by darting in front of the woman. Her reaction? "Ha ha ha, ha ha!"? "Why are you laughing?", Ludius asked calmly while looking over his shoulder at the woman. "What!", the woman shouted whilst blushing. "Oh whatever. I''ll deal with this bear somehow and get back to you later.", after having made his decision Ludius looked directly at the bear. --- "Get out of my way stupid man. Can''t you see I''m trying to eat here!", growled the bear in whatever language bears speak. And like the bad tempered bear that it was it swiped a large clawed paw at the annoying distraction. "Swish", the bear''s arm went flying through the air after a well timed sword draw and after another slash the unfortunate bear''s head went following. --- LEVEL UP ''Clap, Clap, Clap.'', the blushing woman started clapping and ran over to Ludius as he was putting his sword away. "Oh handsome mighty adventurer will you escort a gentle maiden home?", the woman asked. "How far.", Ludius asked bluntly. Pouting the woman said,"Around a mile." "Alright but you''re leading the way." QUEST ACCEPTED --- STATUS WINDOW =================== Name: Ludius Race : ??? Class: Points: 0 (fixed) [70 seconds left] Level:2 =================== STATS -------- HP: 41,150/41,150 MP: 16,250/16,250 AGI: 2051 STR: 2021 WIS: 210 INT: 800 DEX: 1000 Charisma: 15 Luck: 5/10 (fixed) Stat-points remaining: 0 (HP and MP can also be leveled up via stat-points. Stat points gained via point store) =================== SKILLS --------- Chesty McCheat Face (passive) - Starting skill of the ??? Race. You cannot gain points. However after every level up you gain infinite points for 30 seconds. Time can be used whenever the player wants and it stacks. TITLES ---------- Cold hearted bunny slayer - (For killing one of the peaceful long eared bunny rabbits, you can now slay bunny shaped creatures more easily. EFFECT: know how to kill small innocent mammals more effectively and +20 blunt DMG against the Rad Rabbit of Disaster.) Prince in shining armor - (+20 charisma if you chat up a maiden after a life threatening incident.?) =================== EQUIPMENT --------------- Rare silk shirt- looks cool (+10 charisma) Silk pants- looks cool (+10 charisma) Dragon skin boots- Rawr (+50AGI, +5 charisma) Elven cloak- mysterious (+10WIS, -10 charisma) Royal commanders short sword- (600DMG, +20STR) Chapter 5 - Logging out Sorry, something came up so I couldn''t write these past few days. This one is a short chapter so I hope you can hold on till the next one. ? After getting lost at least another 4 times Ludius and... --- "What''s your name?", "Sandra, what''s yours.", "Ludius.", and they continued walking. --- After getting lost at least another 4 times Ludius and Sandra arrived at the village gates. The village, only a few hours travel from the forest edge as it turned out, wasn''t large in size; with only 15 odd households. But what it lacked in size it made up for easily with its well built shops and blacksmith for players and npcs alike. The surrounding wall was only made from crudely assembled logs, sticks and the occasional rope but it would take a beating from any animal in the forest for enough time for people to deal with it. The gate itself was only a pair of large wooden doors. A man dressed in cheap plate armor was holding back an older looking fellow of around 50 with grayish hair and a plump physique. ... "S-Sandra!", the older man shouted while he quickly ran over to the women. "What!", automatically responded a startled Sandra. After looking all over and making sure Sandra was alright the man continued to speak," Thank god you''re all right! You didn''t return and I feared the worst." The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. "Don''t worry father, as you can see, I''m fine. Now let''s go home." Finally the man was happy again and slowly walked back to the gate with his daughter, Ludius following to one side. "Who''s the pointy eared guy?", whispered the man loudly. "Oh Ludius, he saved me in the forest." "What! No never mind we''ll talk about this later.", the man turned to look at Ludius. "Hello young man, the name''s Ed. I''m Sandra''s dad. Who are you?", "Me? I''m Ludius, a traveler of sorts." --- In QV only other players know about the existence of ''players'' and ''npcs''. Which can often lead to many unwanted situations. --- "Hmmm... A traveler. Ok. You can stay and eat dinner at my house tonight; and tomorrow I''m sure Sandra will show you around." "Sounds good to me.", replied Ludius. And they continued into the town. "Thanks dad.", Sandra whispered to her father. --- After a slap up meal and being shown to his room, Ludius set aside his sword and went to sleep. --- In QV sleeping is akin to logging off, as you skip time in one world whilst being in another and in order to accommodate this kind of play the time ratio between QV and real life is 1:1. --- The boy sat up in bed and took the VR headset from his head. Chapter 6 - IRL Sorry if this is quite confusing. It starts some things into motion that will come later in the story. Back in game next chapter! ^_^ Having taken the VR headset from his head the boy sat up and looked to the window at his left. It was morning, or to be more precise the first slivers of sunlight were seeping out over the horizon. Suddenly the boy had a real need to go to the toilet, so he sprinted from the room and down the corridor to the shared bathroom. --- Although you can eat, drink and relieve yourself in QV it only sends signals to the brain that stalls these necessities in real life so when the player returns after playing for quite a while he/she will have an urge to do these things. As for sleep, well, the way the company CEO explained how their headset deals with this was: "Imagine the brain is an office. Over time more and more files, your memories, will pile up until you get to a point where these files need to be sorted. That is sleep. Now imagine if someone was to offer help in sorting these files. You could do other things instead. Of course the headset isn''t 100% efficient as you will still need to sleep however when a player is in QV this ''office'' will fill up a fraction of the amount it usually would allowing one to go three to four more times without than they did before." --- After relieving himself the boy went downstairs to the shared kitchen of the orphanage. It was currently summer holidays and technically there should be the most kids at the orphanage in this time, however one of the caretakers had somehow gotten some money together and took them all on holiday. But of course the boy offered to look after the place with a few other''s. He never really liked talking to people after his parents died. After having eaten breakfast the boy decided to once again seclude himself in his room and play QV for a little while longer but as he was about to climb the stairs someone called out to him. "Hey, blockhead!", a large stupid looking boy shouted. Without even turning around the boy knew who it was so in a dry voice he said,"What do you want Arnold?". "Who said you could say my name blockhead!", Arnold shouted angrily. Arnold was not one of the kids from the orphanage in fact his family run the place and this made Arnold feel superior to most of its residents. Especially the boy who had stayed there for quite a long time. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. "I don''t have the patience to deal with you today Arnold. Just go away!", Furious at being spoken back to Arnold raised his fist and ran at the boy. "AAAAARGGGHH!!!", Arnold found a fist planted in his stomach and was blown back two meters dropping him to the floor. Quickly the boy ran into his room and slammed the door behind him. --- "I''ll tell my dad about this! You hear me!", shouted an infuriated Arnold as he stomped down the corridor. "What just happened?", whispered the boy to himself as he looked down at his hands, "Since when was I this strong?... Oh well perhaps I didn''t notice it before. Let''s log back in!", he shouted forgetting about the earlier incident. --- Meanwhile in the middle of a tall skyscraper known to the world as Quod Venetus Incorporated a young man was pacing back and forth, sweat pouring down his face. "Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit! At this rate the old man will act! We need to find the master copy as soon as possible!", "Sir, we''re working as fast as we~". "IT''S NOT FAST ENOUGH! Do you think I''m the only one in the firing line do you? After me he will turn on all of you as well. The old devil doesn''t like anyone who can just take his money and that master copy is like his pin number! Look for anything unusual or out of place in-game. Search everywhere! It will probably be someone who is famous or stands out! Start your search there." "Yes sir!" The man then walked out of the office onto a balcony, expertly raising and lighting a cigarette in his hand. "God help us." --- In the ''old devil''s'' office at the same time a man dressed in a lab coat was talking quietly to the grey haired man. "It''s better than we thought Graham. It''s true. It doesn''t just affect the mind but the body as well. If we can just keep this secret and continue to develop it I''m sure there will be millions if not billions of people who will give us their life savings for a copy!" "That''s great. But we have an issue." "What? It''s not like anything can stop us now?!" "We lost a master copy." The atmosphere in the room suddenly turned cold. "You know what this means don''t you?" "Yes, don''t worry though I have David working on it. He knows what will happen if he fails us." --- Lying on the bed the boy shouted,"Activate Quod Venetus!" Chapter 7 - To the store! Again, not much in the way of plot but don''t fret that''s what the next chapters for. ^_^ Ludius awoke from his slumber on the old wooden bed that Ed and Sandra owned in the spare room of their house. --- Their house was home to the only apothecary in the area, and to keep up with demand the father and daughter duo often travel led to the forest to collect herbs. --- His back aching Ludius attached his sword to his belt and went downstairs. "Oh, Ludius you''re down already! You only just went upstairs.", said a confused Ed washing up the cutlery and plates from their dinner. "Er y-yeah. I just wasn''t tired yet you know. I was going to head out for a bit." "Okay, but come back before morning. We''ll treat you some breakfast... By the way what happened to my daughter in that forest. She''s telling me not to worry but I need to know!" "Alright. Some bear covered in scars was closing in on her so I killed it." Suddenly Ed dropped the plate and rag he was holding in his hands. His mouth was agape and his eyes were no better. "S-Scarface is dead?.... Hallelujah!!!", Ed jumped up in the air and started laughing. "Ha, ha, hooo. So~ how did you kill him. I expect it was quite the fight. Many bands of adventurers had gone after him before but none had managed to kill him till now. So how did you do it?!", "I sort of just cut its arms off and then lopped the head off afterwards.", Ludius said bluntly. "You weren''t injured?" "No" "... ... Come back in the morning I''ll take you to the adventurers guild. They could do with someone like you, I assume your not a member yet?" "No." "Good! See you in the morning then." --- Ludius stepped out onto the night time streets of the village. He wanted to just find a quiet place to think and maybe buy some new things from the points store. It was quite dark and only the pale moon lit up the dirt streets. There were a few people dressed in armor and carrying weapons walking around or going into a nearby tavern. To which Ludius walked directly away from. Ludius wasn''t fond of large groups of people since years and years ago, he didn''t like how they mocked him and compared their lives to his. Anyway, Ludius went over to the center of town where in a large square was an old birch tree with benches all around. Ludius, instead of sitting on one of the benches, swiftly climbed the old birch tree and sat high in it''s branches away from the ground. Comfortable, Ludius began to ponder. "I must have bought too many points to start off with, I''ll need to look for something to test my strength on later... I wonder if I can buy skills on the points store? Titles? Wait a minute... Money? Points store!", POINTS STORE =================== What do you want to buy? (Infinite points awarded for 70/70 seconds, as soon as store is operated time with infinite points will decrease. Unused time will be conserved) =================== "Can I buy money?", POINTS STORE =================== IN GAME CURRENCY --------------------------- Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.1 copper coin = 1 point 1 silver coin = 100 points 1 gold coin = 10,000 points =================== "Buy 10,000 gold coins... What weapon mastery skills are there" POINTS STORE [60/70 seconds left] ========================== Basic Weapon masteries ( upgrades cost Lv X 100 for points) ---------------------- Sword mastery- Lv 1/1000 Spear mastery- Lv 0/1000 Axe mastery- Lv 0/1000 Bow mastery- Lv 0/1000 Magic rifles mastery- Lv 0/1000 Blunt weapons mastery- Lv 0/1000 Shield mastery- Lv 0/1000 ========================== "Level Sword and Magic Rifle mastery to max.... Alright! Finally, restrictors." POINTS STORE [40/70 seconds left] =================== Restrictors: -------------- (You can adjust stats and skills etc.... At whim to a level under your own.) 1% restrictors- 1000pts 5% restrictors- 5000pts 10% restrictors- 10,000pts 25% restrictors- 25,000pts 50% restrictors- 50,000pts 100% restrictors- 100,000pts =================== " Buy a hundred percent restrictors.. Close shop." --- In QV restrictors were made in advance for after around a few months when high power players would start showing up. They were to allow players to adjust their strength to fight or party with weaker players/npcs. --- "Status." STATUS WINDOW =================== Name: Ludius Race : ??? Class: Points: 0 (fixed) [40 seconds left] Level:2 Money:10,000 gold =================== STATS -------- HP: 41,150/41,150 MP: 16,250/16,250 AGI: 2051 STR: 2021 WIS: 210 INT: 800 DEX: 1000 Charisma: 15 Luck: 5/10 (fixed) Stat-points remaining: 0 (stat points gained via point store) =================== SKILLS --------- Chesty McCheat Face (passive) - Starting skill of the ??? Race. You cannot gain points. However after every level up you gain infinite points for 30 seconds. Time can be used whenever the player wants and it stacks. Sword mastery Lv MAX (passive) Magic Rifle mastery Lv Max (passive) Restriction on your own power: 0/100% restricted. TITLES ---------- Cold hearted bunny slayer - (For killing one of the peaceful long eared bunny rabbits, you can now slay bunny shaped creatures more easily. EFFECT: know how to kill small innocent mammals more effectively and +20 blunt DMG against the Rad Rabbit of Disaster.) Prince in shining armor - (+20 charisma if you chat up a maiden after a life threatening incident.?) =================== EQUIPMENT --------------- Rare silk shirt- looks cool (+10 charisma) Silk pants- looks cool (+10 charisma) Dragon skin boots- Rawr (+50AGI, +5 charisma) Elven cloak- mysterious (+10WIS, -10 charisma) Royal commanders short sword- (600DMG, +20STR) "Restrict at 10% for stats only. Okay, good! I think I''ll watch the sun come up and go back to Ed''s.", facing towards the east Ludius began to wait for the sun. Chapter 8 - Adventurers Guild part 1 Looks like I didn''t consider the length of the chapter. (Although the length doesn''t really matter. ) I''ll try to get the 2nd part up tomorrow. ^_^ The first rays of sunlight shone over the horizon through a thick layer of tree leaves and from said tree a figure dropped to the ground. Having nothing better to do Ludius sat in his tree and watched the sunrise before heading back off to Ed''s house. Compared to the night before where only the nighttime life of the tavern could be heard; now though the streets were filled with people stopping to buy supplies before heading out to the forest. Ludius just ignored everyone else and made his way the the direction of Ed''s apothecary, of course not everyone on the streets was ignoring him (as if a guy wearing fine clothes and an elven cloak that just jumped out of a tree isn''t suspicious. -_-) some were even openly pointing and shouting some comment to one of their friends. Eventually though Ludius got to where he needed to go and walked straight through the shops front door. --- ''Ding, ding, ding.'', the sound of the shop bell rang as it was pushed open. "Hello valued customer!", Sandra''s recognizable called out. "Oh Ludius it''s you?! Where did you go? You weren''t here for breakfast I was worried you''d left without telling me~ us, anything!". Ludius didn''t no what to say, he didn''t expect this. "Well what''s done is done, although can you tell me next time?", Sandra said with puppy dog eyes. Unable to resist Ludius replied, "Of course!" A wide smile grew on Sandra''s face. "Father has gone to the adventurers guild ahead of you. I''ll show you there if you like.", said Sandra with a slightly red face. "Yes thank you Sandra. Then, shall we?" "Yes!", she replied. --- After ''showing'' Ludius the way there, via a long detour and the market place, Sandra made her farewells and set off to return in a more direct route. The basic building currently in front of Ludius was the second largest building in the village after the tavern, even though it was only two stories tall. Even if one didn''t know this was the adventurers guild they''d find out pretty quickly by the large sign written over the door saying, "Adventurers Guild". Seeing that this was apparently the right place Ludius walked through the open double door in front of him. --- The inside of the building, although not the tavern, was equally as boisterous with a large bar and tables off to one side and a set of counters to the other. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. After looking around for a few seconds and taking in the amount of people with weapons by their sides, Ludius walked over to one of the counters whilst pushing his way through the adventurers. A young but battle hardened woman wearing leather armor was standing behind the counter talking to a young man. "But I''ve trained for years!", the young boy shouted at the woman. "It''s not my decision. Sorry but can you leave, there are other people I need to serve." Infuriated the boy shouted," I''ll show you , I''ll be back and pass your stupid test!", and with that he stormed out. As soon as the boy left everyone in the guild burst ed into laughter. "Seriously all these people coming to sign up. They should do some training beforehand." Ludius in his rich looking clothing walked over to the counter, his hood was up obscuring his face and ears; his scabbard barely visible below his cloak. Sensing someone come up to the counter the women looked up and upon seeing the suspicious persons look she let one hand fall to a dagger at her waist. "Who are you!", she said defiantly. Upon hearing these words everyone in the building got quieter to hear what was going on. "You better not be here to cause trouble!", Instinctively some of the nearest adventurers readied their weapons menacingly. "I came looking for Ed from the apothecary. Is he here?" "You''re looking for Ed? He''s currently seeing the guild master for something. I can tell him your here." "Please do so." "Oi, someone look after our friend here whilst I go notify Ed.", the woman shouted to the group with readied weapons before heading off. "Don''t worry I look after him!", a large muscled man walked over to Ludius eying him head to toe. "Hey, I''m Michael nice to meet you", Michael said whilst grabbing Ludius'' hand for a handshake. Of course mid handshake he decided to try and crush Ludius'' hand. "What are you doing?", Ludius said blandly. At only 10% of his strength Ludius only felt some slight pressure on his hand, like putting your hand in water. Michael''s expression of enjoyment turned to one filled with pain as Ludius in turn put pressure on his hand, of course Ludius was careful to not crush his hand but make it equally agonizing. --- Ed walked out from a back room only to see a thin cloaked figure with a big muscled man crumpled up on the floor in front of him, clutching his right hand in his left. "Ludius?" "Ah, Ed!", Ludius turned around and walked over to the plump man. "What happened?" Chapter 8 - Adventurers Guild part 2 Part two. Slightly shorter but enjoy! ^_^ Ed walked out from a back room only to see a thin cloaked figure with a big muscled man crumpled up on the floor in front of him, clutching his right hand in his left. "Ludius?" "Ah, Ed!", Ludius turned around and walked over to the plump man. "What happened?" "Nothing much, just a friendly handshake. You wanted me to come her now what?", Ludius exclaimed nonchalantly. "*sigh* Follow me, there is someone who wants to meet you.", and with that Ed led the way for Ludius, with the pained Michael being tended to by some fellow adventurers. --- *knock* *knock* *knock* ... "Are you still even in here?", said Ed walking into the office-like room. "Hel-loooooo!", "BOO!" "AAAAAAAAA!", screamed Ed loudly. "Ha, ha, ha, ha, haaaa. Thanks Ed, that really cheated me up." "Damn you Clyne you old sod! You almost made me jump right out of my skin!" "Sorry, sorry. It was just too good a chance to miss. So, did you bring him?", Clyne questioned. "Ludius, come in here." When Ludius came into the room he saw the man known as Clyne. He was a man around his 60''s with his grey hair as proof although his physique would say otherwise. He had a muscled lean look and wore some simple cloth clothes; his scabbard was attached to a thick belt fastened around his waste. "So this is him? Will you lower your hood boy and let this old man see your face?", having no reason to keep it up Ludius lowered it down. "Sorry, I don''t like the attention so I usually keep it up." "*whistles* Wasn''t expecting that... Ed, you didn''t tell me the guy was a high elf." "I wasn''t that sure myself. You''re the only one here that''s seen a high elf before afterall." "Ah of course. Oh sorry, Ludius? We weren''t ignoring you. But you really don''t see a high elf too often since they''re all usually stuck in the council of Swynmont, you know dealing with politics and stuff. So what brings you here?" Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Ludius started to think to himself,''High elf... Oh it''s the ears. I really must visit this Swynmount at some point it sounds very interesting. I suppose I can use this high elf thing for now though.'' "I''m just traveling at the moment and trying to find some excitement." "... Why didn''t I remember sooner. Ed tells me that Scarface has been fallen and you''re the one that did the cutting, is that true?" "The bear? Yeah I killed it.", "Really?! Ludius, I think some introductions are in order. My name is Clyne and I''m the guild master of this guild branch. I''d like to personally invite you to join, so pleases will you consider it seriously?.", Clyne pleaded. "Alright, I''ll join." "Don''t decline straight away have some ti- wait what? Did you say you''ll join? But your a high elf, a prominent member in the elven court." "It''s fine, I''ll join. But there will be some conditions." "If you could kill Scarface on your own I think we can work something out, what did you have in mind?" "Firstly, is there anything like guild cards and ranks in this guild." This time Ed who''d been silent all this time interjected.," Of course, the guild card tracks something known as stats, which I''m sure you know about. Usually you''d have to go to a church to see your stats of course, but a guild card gives you a rough estimate of your stats at any given time." "Thank you Ed for interrupting. Anyway ranks are divided into letter categories to make things easier. They go from F rank, that you''d see fighting rabbits, all the way to SSS rank that currently only five exist. Each capable of killing a dragon on their own." "I''ll join the adventurers guild on two conditions." "What?", Clyne said eagerly. "I don''t want a guild card and I want to be able to take any ranked request.", Ludius said bluntly. "Huh?!", Ed and Clyne replied in unison. Chapter 9 - First Quest Hi, sorry for the two part chapter 8. I just felt it needed to be split in half. Anyway, enjoy Chapter 9! ^_^ "What? Is that too unreasonable?," This time Clyne answered him,"An adventurer must have a guild card. The stat part is just an extra and won''t show unless you let it, the main use of the card is identification. Without it you won''t be able to take any quests at all, and even if you did, nobody would trust you." "Okay... What about me taking any quest?" "Well, as for that. To take any quest you''d need to be SSS rank and there are only five of those." "What rank was that bear?", Ludius interrupted. "Rank A, we couldn''t kill it as rank A adventurers are rare and none of them came through town.", "Can''t I just be written down as SSS rank?", Ludius asked simply. "To be SSS rank the card itself would have to deem you capable of that rank. "Okay, then for now can I just take quests up to A rank. As for the card, I suppose I will need one." "We could do that I suppose. Although we might not need to bother once we find out your rank... To use an adventurers card you simply need to let a drop of blood fall on one of the cards. Here I think I''ve got some spare somewhere.", Clyne replied looking through his desk draws. "Ah, got one!", Clyne shouted whilst passing it to Ludius. "Now put some blood on it." --- Although QV did have blood physics, it was a greatly reduced feature as to make it more appropriate younger or weaker willed audiences. Usually the rule was the amount of blood produced would be a quarter of what it would be in real life. --- Ludius quickly pulled out his sword. "*whistles* you never cease to amaze. Where did you get a sword that well made from.", asked Ed. "Er... It was a present?.", and with that Ludius pressed his thumb against the blades edge and sheathed his sword. Next he pressed his thumb firmly against the card that Clyne had given to him. After a moment, text started to form on the card. =============== Adventurers Card =============== Name: Ludius Rank : S Stats : ??? =============== "So what rank are you?", Ed inquired. "S." At this point it wouldn''t be understatement to say that Ed and Clyne''s jaws were almost touching the floor. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. "S?! *cough* *cough*, I''m only a B rank myself.", Clyne managed to say. "So~ can I take a quest now?", said Ludius cheekily. "Y-yes of course!", quickly Clyne darted out of the room and Ludius could here him shouting down the corridor. ''Get me all the S rank quests... Yes S rank! Do I look like I''d make that mistake?!'' --- Spread out in front of Ludius were the quests assigned to a S rank or a party of A rank adventurers. "Come on, choose one.", Clyne encouraged eagerly. The quests were: [''Slay the monster that''s terrorizing our villages!'' Slay the Rabbid Wind Wolf that''s terrorizing Greendale and its surrounding villages. RANK: S] [''I need some rare honey from a Hellsting bee nest to put on my toast!'' Go get some honey from a highly dangerous and deadly swarm of Hellsting bees. RANK: S] [Newly acquired: ''Escort needed for our merchant caravan. Expect frequent attacks. Other guards and mercenaries will be hired.'' Escort the Caravan to the Captital city of Alcasia in the Human Empire. RANK: a large party of A ranks] ''Hmmm. As much as I like honey, I really don''t want to fight something with Hellsting in its name and I don''t want to go out of my way to deal with a big wolf.'', Ludius thought, '' and I did plan to leave this village anyway...'' "I choose the escort quest.", Ludius said plainly. "Excellent, I''m sure they would be glad to have you. Just take this notice with your to the Tavern and ask for a guy named Rowan. He is the head of the caravan.", explained Clyne. "Thank you, then I''ll be off.", "Ludius.", Ed called. "Say buy to Sandra before you leave won''t you?", "Sure.", and with that Ludius put his hood back up before exiting the room and then the Tavern. --- "Sorry Sandra, I have to go. I have things I need to do.", "Will you come back?", Sandra asked longingly to the long white haired man. After a pause Ludius responded, "Maybe, maybe not. Who knows?", and quickly Ludius walked away from Sandra as well. --- Ludius stood outside the noisy Tavern and gulped. He really hated crowded places. Suddenly a smile formed on his face, "Let''s start doing some proper gaming then shall we!". --- Chapter 10 - Setting off It''s nothing much, but I quite like this chapter. Anyway, enjoy! ^_^ The inside of the tavern were as one would expect, noisy. Far too noisy for someone like Ludius, especially with his enhanced elflike ears. Eventually, Ludius managed to block out all the noise with his strategically placed hands covering his ears and reached the reception desk. Behind it was a relatively old women in comparison to the rest of the other young lightly clad female employees. "Hello, I''m looking for a guy named Rowan. I was told he was here... Is he?", Ludius practically shouted over the noise. "Hmm. Yeah he''s here, error, on that table in the corner.", replied the woman. "Thank you." Ludius made his way over to the table that was pointed out for him. On the table was a battle hardened older man with graying hair and a younger man of around 30 with light blondish hair. On his way over Ludius overheard some of their conversation. --- "It''s just not possible Rowan!", shouted the older man. "I don''t see what the issue is John.?", replied Rowan questioningly. "You know perfectly well what the issue is! You''re going to travel the five day trip from here to the Capital on roads filled with bandits that already know what merchandise you''re delivering. I fear that just my group and your private guards won''t be enough this time.", "Don''t worry. I set out that notice at the adventurers guild for a party of A ranks, someone is bound to come.", "Rowan. You know as well as I do that no adventu-", *cough* *cough* --- "Hello, I was wondering if you are Rowan?", asked Ludius even though he knew full well who he was talking to. "Yes I am, and who might you be?", Rowan asked curiously to the identity of the cloaked man. "Ah great, just who I was looking for. Nice to meet you I''m Ludius and I''m here because of your notice at the adventurers guild.", explained Ludius. But of course the older man had to interject. "Oh really. I''m sure Rowan''s request was to a party of A ranks. Yet, where is your party?", "Oh it''s just me. I wanted to go to the Capital anyway and since I was given the quest you''ll be stuck with me.", Rowan started to speak. "Ludius? As grateful as I am to have another rank A adventurer on my side for this journey, you just won''t be enough unless you have a party of A ranks like yourself." And after a brief moment Ludius said with a smirk,"Who said anything about being A rank?" --- "Roll out!", a rather alert John on a war stallion shouted to the convoy consisting of two carriages for people, three supply carts and a multitude of storage wagons for Rowan''s ''merchandise''. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Just as he was about to get into his carriage Rowan turned to Ludius," Are you sure you don''t want to join me in my carriage? It sure would feel good to have a capable adventurer with me!", "Alas not. But may I sit on top? I much prefer the outdoors.", "That''s fine with me.", and without wasting anymore time Ludius hopped on top of the carriage and Rowan went inside. --- John had told Ludius that the convoy shouldn''t be attacked until tomorrow so Ludius decided to log out from the game after yet another small shopping spree. In the end he used around 10 seconds buying another 50,000 stat points on the idea that Ludius wanted to increase his power just in case something happened. Ludius then after assigning some of his points, fell asleep. --- STATUS WINDOW =================== Name: Ludius Race : ??? Class: Points: 0 (fixed) [30 seconds left] Level:2 Money:10,000 gold =================== STATS -------- HP: 41,150/41,150 MP: 16,250/16,250 AGI: 10,051 STR: 10,021 WIS: 8210 INT: 8800 DEX: 9000 Charisma: 15 Luck: 5/10 (fixed) Stat-points remaining: 10,000 (stat points gained via point store) =================== SKILLS --------- Chesty McCheat Face (passive) - Starting skill of the ??? Race. You cannot gain points. However after every level up you gain infinite points for 30 seconds. Time can be used whenever the player wants and it stacks. Sword mastery Lv MAX (passive) Magic Rifle mastery Lv Max (passive) Restriction on your own power: 0/100% restricted. TITLES ---------- Cold hearted bunny slayer - (For killing one of the peaceful long eared bunny rabbits, you can now slay bunny shaped creatures more easily. EFFECT: know how to kill small innocent mammals more effectively and +20 blunt DMG against the Rad Rabbit of Disaster.) Prince in shining armor - (+20 charisma if you chat up a maiden after a life threatening incident.?) =================== EQUIPMENT --------------- Rare silk shirt- looks cool (+10 charisma) Rare Silk pants- looks cool (+10 charisma) Dragon skin boots- Rawr (+50AGI, +5 charisma) Elven cloak- mysterious (+10WIS, -10 charisma) Royal commanders short sword- (600DMG, +20STR) Chapter 11 - On The Road WARNING: MY FAVORITE CHAPTER SINCE THE GREAT BUNNY INCIDENT. Enjoy! ^_^ The next day, the boy still had nothing to do so after grabbing a quick snack he headed back into QV. --- Ludius awoke on top of the carriage. After looking around and seeing that everything seemed alright he lay back down onto the roof of the carriage. Having nothing to do, Ludius decided to inspect his adventurers card to see if he could find out how it worked. After bringing it out of his pocket he had one thought. ''Shit.'' --- =============== Adventurers Card =============== Name: Ludius Rank : SSS Stats : ??? =============== --- "I might have overdone it on the stat-points.", "Did you say something Ludius?", came Rowans voice from below him. "Nothing. Nothing, just talking to myself!", Ludius quickly said. ''I''ll just not show it to anyone unless I really have to.'', Ludius promised to himself. --- Around 2 hours later. "Bo~boring.", Ludius had just been sat there for two hours so it was not like this reaction was unexpected. Suddenly Ludius heard a pleasant noise on the edge of his enhanced hearing range, and a dark grin came to his face before lay back down. --- So far it had been quiet. Too quiet. Not many times throughout his mercenary career of escorting caravans has there been so little action. Yet every time there was that was the time where they suffered the most losses. It was John''s responsibility to maintain the protection of the caravan as well as that S rank guy... Ludius? Anyway John himself had never seen Ludius fight so he instinctively didn''t trust his fighting capabilities therefore John spent more effort on observing his surroundings. It paid off.. Only a full twenty-two minutes after Ludius had heard the noise did a band of people block off the road in front of the caravan. "Hand over all the merchandise and you can go!", commanded a man who seemed to be the leader of the group. John was obviously angered at this so he responded with a well timed string of insults that may or may not have been anything to do with the guy and a pig in a somewhat ''intimate'' relationship. "Fuck you! Men, ATTACK!", and with that thieves, bandits and murderers not only from the front but all-round the caravan emerged with their weapons drawn. "Defend the caravan!", shouted John. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. --- It was a tough battle. Although the caravan guards and hired mercenaries were all at least rank B the enemy just overwhelmed them with numbers. At any one time Ludius would see one guard fighting off four others. Ludius wanted the battle to have been drawn out a bit first so that when he stepped in he would make a better entrance, even though he only needed to test out his new power, however it seemed he would have to step in earlier than expected as the guards were having trouble. John was fighting against 6 men all on his own near one of the carts at the back. Jumping across the rooves of the carts, Ludius reached the one nearest John''s fight. "You look like you''re in trouble.", Ludius called out. "Don''t. Worry. I. Can. Handle it!", John replied whilst breathing heavily but just as he said it John missed a parry. As the sword was coming down John could have sworn his life flashed before his eyes and just as the blade was about to cut into his neck a ringing noise sounded. John wasn''t dead. "Need any help?", Ludius asked cheekily. "Yes it looks like we will.", "Okay I''ll be done in a bit, try to help the rest of your men.", "Roger." ''Ok. It''s time to see what an agility of over 10,000 can do.'' , thought Ludius. --- There''s not much the guards or John saw of Ludius'' actions after that. To everyone other than Ludius, Ludius just stood still for a moment whilst the head of every attacker suddenly looked like it was going on a holiday from its body. ''They weren''t fast enough. Maybe I''ll just run laps when we get to Alcasia'', pondered Ludius. --- After the battle, all of the attackers were dead - either killed by a guard or more likely Ludius - and all the guards and mercenaries (except John) thought that vicious ghosts may actually be real from the decapitating event from earlier. --- "We''ll camp here for now! We''ll set off tomorrow! I want a guard at all times!", shouted John. After giving out commands John went over to Ludius. "You killed all those attackers didn''t you.", John inquired. "Really I though it was just ghosts?!", Ludius put his most innocent face on. "I hope the ghosts help us out in the next four days then!", replied John. "I''m sure they will.", and with that Ludius returned to his perch on top of the carriage. Chapter 12 - The 2nd Ambush The next few days after the ambush were quiet and everyone, with the exception of Ludius, was feeling the unease in the air. After killing all those bandits before Ludius didn''t level up. --- The company didn''t really specify the conditions to level up but it seemed as if a player needed a useful fighting experience to level up. For example, a life or death battle or just a prolonged battle. The higher the difficulty to the player the more he/she levels up. --- It was the final day of the trip and the camp were just packing up before heading off on the final stretch to the capital. "Oi Ludius!", shouted John as he came running over. "Are you sure you don''t want to ride on a horse? You''ve been on that carriage roof since the start on the trip, don''t you want a change?", "No thank you, it''s more comfortable on the carriage.", "Okay that''s fine... Here it is. Only a day until we see the walls of Alcasia. Ever been there before?", "No, first time. You?", "Yeah, well my family lives here... So I hope I can count on you for today as well.", "Yeah, yeah let''s set off already!", said Ludius lightly. --- Over the course of the week, Ludius had come to like this old loyal mercenary. He did his job well and didn''t discriminate against Ludius for keeping his hood up, unlike some of the other adventurers. The luxurious carriage went along the bumpy road, the moods of the men were ecstatic as they knew the Capital would soon be in sight. Ludius suddenly began to smile again, along the path not too far away stood a large band of bandits. Five times the size of the ambush and each bandit looking multiple times stronger. The caravan stopped. "Shit! We were so close to the city too." --- "Ha, ha, ha. There''s no escaping this time Rowan! I want those damn magic rifles! Come on out! Let''s talk about this man to man.", shouted a burly built man over 2m tall with plenty of scars. The door to Rowan''s ornate carriage swung open and the blond haired man stepped out onto the road. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. "I don''t know who you are but if you think you''re going to come inbetween me and my buissness you''re gravely mistaken!", Rowan impressively snarled back. "Men come out!", the giant man shouted and at his command at least five hundred men came out of their hiding places at the road''s edge. "Last chance.", the man shouted evilly. "J-John what should we do?", Rowan whispered. "Ludius?", John asked but to his surprise Ludius was not to be seen. However the 2m tall bandit saw him quite clearly, as he was stood right in front of him. --- "Nice to meet you I''m Ludius.", the man instantly jumped backwards, "Now, now. Don''t be scared I''ve come over to offer you a deal.", "What deal?", "Go away and I won''t kill you of course!", *laughs* "You. Kill me? *laughs manically* Men, let''s kill this joker first." --- Twenty people behind the man came rushing towards Ludius with their weapons drawn. ''I thought that would work. Guess I need some sort of intimidation skill'',Ludius decided in his head as he dodged fifteen different strikes from various angles. In front of him was a spear user of some sorts. Although not a master the man wasn''t useless either and with a practiced timing he thrust his spear towards Ludius'' chest. "Bo~ring!", As the spear tip was about to puncture Ludius'' chest, Ludius disappeared and reappeared behind the spear wielder. The man''s head fell to the ground. "Hey, boss guy! I have a proposition. One on one duel. If I win, you and your men withdraw. If you win you can have the merchandise." Quickly the giant of a man jumped at the chance to gain the magic rifles and quickly agreed to the duel. -- "Are you ready?", Ludius asked. "One question.", "What?". "What rank are you?", "SSS. Don''t worry I''ll go easy on you... Limiter set to 1% strength. Okay... Let''s begin." The giants face paled, "SSS! We''re dead!" Chapter 13 - The Bandit Leader Finally at the capital next chapter. But for now there''s this chapter! Enjoy!^_^ The rough bumpy terrain of the dirt road wasn''t the best place for a one on one duel but Ludius and the bandit leader would have to make do as there wasn''t exactly anywhere else to fight. Most of the bandits grouped up around twenty meters away behind the bandit leader, the caravan stayed where they were. "Do we have to fight?", pleaded the bandit leader who knew he had no chance in fighting a SSS rank adventurer. "Don''t worry. Just treat it as training.", The bandit leader nervously drew his own sword from his scabbard and raised it in front of him. Even if it was shaking considerably. Ludius calmly drew his sword and raised it in a similar manner. --- For as long as he could remember the boy had been bullied. It was either due to himself having no parents or simply just because he looked like an easy target. --- "Let''s start.", Ludius calmly stated. And with that the battle began. The bandit leader lunged forward with his sword hoping to get an east kill but Ludius simply parried the blade off to one side. "You know, I hate bullies." The bandit leader regained control of his sword and tried to cut Ludius'' unguarded arm to which Ludius responded with an expertly timed dodge. "But I won''t bully people into stopping their ways.", After another couple of parried and dodged attacks Ludius finally decided to attack. With a quick hit and graceful footwork Ludius knocked the bandit leaders sword to the ground and using the momentum from the first swing Ludius brought his sword around to the man''s neck. "Why are you a bandit?", Ludius asked with sadness evident in his eyes. --- In the bandit leader''s back story. 12 years ago. "Steven. For crimes against the capital city of Alcasia we are regrettably forced to strip you of your rank and banish you from the city. You have 24 hours to leave. Take him away!", Stated the old corrupt judge as he sat on his large comfortable chair. "I haven''t done anything wrong! What about my family! They shouldn''t suffer because of your twisted judgment!", "TAKE HIM AWAY!", the judge shouted. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.A few seconds later Steven was on his back outside the courthouse. "What did I do wrong?" , Steven had continued to ask himself as he had to resort to stealing off of caravans and sneaking into the capital to feed his family. Eventually more people in similar circumstances joined him and Stevens''s bandit groups was the largest anywhere near the Capital. --- Ludius sighed to himself,''it''s always the bullied that become the bully.'' "Stand up.", Ludius commanded and the bandit leader unable to refuse stood up immediately. "Take your family and friends here with you and follow the road to the nearest village around five days away. Go to the adventurers guild and tell them to tell Clyne that Ludius has asked him to find a place for you lot to live, alright?", "Really?!", "Yeah." --- Ludius knew that they just wanted a stable lifestyle and stealing from convoys to them was just a means to an end. So Ludius simply solved their problem. (Or got Clyne to solve it for him.) --- For some reason the bandit leader felt like trusting this man and so he shouted to the rest of his troops, "Men, let the Convoy pass. I have an exciting proposition for you all." At the behest of their leader the bandits made way for the convoy and Ludius returned to his seat on top of Rowans carriage. --- After the bandits were out of sight, John rode up beside Rowan''s carriage. "Oi, Ludius! How the hell did you get them to let us pass." "I just moved the problem onto the adventurers guild in the last village and I didn''t really want to kill them. Although I don''t know how it worked so well either.", -------------------------------- NEW SKILL: Persuasion (passive): allows the players words to sound more convincing to NPCs. (players not effected) -------------------------------- LEVEL UP "Well that explains that.", Ludius muttered with a smirk. "What explains what?", John asked inquisitively. "You don''t need to worry about it.", Ludius said as he lay back down. --- "Hurray!" Cheers came from the front of the convoy and as Ludius looked to see where the noise was coming from he finally saw there destination. "So that''s Alcasia!", Ludius said with awe as he marvel led at the sight before him. Chapter 14 - Into Alcasia I have slowed down the amount I was writing as I simply didn''t have enough time and the chapters themselves weren''t quite up to scratch. Well I do hope you enjoy this chapter anyway. ENJOY! ^_^ The convoy pulled up to the tall gates of Alcasia where a rather bored looking man in guards attire motioned for the convoy to halt. "What is your purpose in Alcasia?!", the guard loudly questioned as per his duty made him. At his question, Rowan''s carriage (the one Ludius was sitting on) in the midst of the convoy moved around the rest of the carriages and wagons towards where the guards stood. As the carriage pulled up alongside the guard the small window on the door of the carriage opened up and Rowan''s face peered out. "Sorry about all the bother. My name is Rowan Willis. You may have heard of me.", "Willis... Ah! Sir Willis head of the Magic Rifles manufacturers association! I''m very sorry if I had offended you, you can go right through.", "Nervously the guard waved the convoy through and went back to his post. ''I wonder what that was all about'', Ludius wondered to himself. --- As the convoy moved through the packed and bustling streets nearby the city gates, Ludius finally got a good look at a popular area in the QV. --- The Capital city of Alcasia as well as being home to the royal family also was mostly known by players as the starting city for the human race. Due to capital cities usually existing in the center of a kingdom they also had long stretches of peace like the one currently; at least that''s the back story behind it. --- After the majority of two more hours, the convoy had managed to make their way towards the center of the city, inbetween the Commoner''s and Nobel''s areas. The Convoy gradually came to a stop in front of a large store of some sorts, with people coming in and out every now and then. Rowan quickly opened the door to his carriage and jumped out, his happiness over the successful trip evident on his face. "John, you and your men go get some well deserved rest I believe you''ve earned it! Don''t worry I''ll send you the rest of the payment tomorrow.", "Thanks Rowan. Well you heard the man! Let''s go enjoy ourselves in the nearest tavern!", John shouted to his men. His shout was replied with a hearty cheer. Ludius hopped down to the side of Rowan, to which Rowan understandably jumped to the side in reflex. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. "Oh sorry Ludius, wasn''t quite expecting you to appear right beside me. I suppose you''ll be expecting your own payment as well. I''ll get it ready for-", "You don''t need to find my any money.", Ludius quickly interrupted. "But you almost single-handedly protected the convoy. I can''t not pay you.", Rowan retorted. "I don''t want money...", Ludius said decisively. "I don''t know what else to pay you with?!", Rowan could just about see Ludius smile underneath his hood sending shivers down his spine. "I thought I overheard something to do with magic rifles?", "Yes, I run one of the largest manuf- wait, what do you want.", "Nothing much. I''m interested in these ''magic rifles'' and I would much like to get a custom one, I''ll pay of course, I''d also like some information.", Ludius said with a smile. Although still cautious Rowan relaxed a little, "I suppose that sounds alright to me... Just wait for a bit until we have moved the merchandise into the storeroom and we''ll deal with your payment. --- It turned out that Ludius didn''t have to wait long as Rowan had already gotten people ready to move the cargo when the convoy had stopped. ''When did he have time for that?'', thought Ludius After a little more time Rowan reappeared and showed Ludius into the store. The inside of the store was extremely expansive and open-planned with what Ludius assumed to be ''magic rifles'' and accessories hanging on all of the walls for display. Of course the rather impressive ''magic rifles'', that just looked like fantasy guns to Ludius, came a rather impressive amount security. "I suppose it''s to be expected.", Ludius murmured. As Rowan led him through an UN obvious side-door. --- "Welcome Ludius, to my own private workshop and shooting range. Let''s get started shall we.", Rowan said with a devilish grin. ********** ********** Hi me again! Sorry about the wait between chapters again. It''s simply a matter of not having enough time in the day. Now this might seem slightly ironic but even though I don''t have enough time I apparently do have enough time to start a new story of sorts called, ''The Advisor''. I quite enjoy how it''s turning out and I also enjoy how Player Glitch is going (even though I do admit that some of the chapters were quite bad). So now that''s over I wish you a fun and enjoyable day! Farewell.^_^ Chapter 15 - The shooting range Sorry about the wait. I don''t write or upload Player Glitch on the weekend and I had to write a script for some personal stuff that took a while. Anyway, enjoy! ^_^ "Well, I certainly wasn''t expecting this.", Ludius said honestly. "Well you can''t expect me to run a magic rifle manufacturers and not have a shooting range now can you?", "Well no I can''t.", "Well then. We need to find out what type of magical rifle you are best at using, I myself lean towards the more portable lightweight ones but everyone''s got their own preferences.", ''What type of gun- er magic rifle fits me? Probably something to be used as a last resort like a hidden pistol or a long range rifle I suppose.'', Ludius decided in his mind. Rowan walked over to one side of the range where a table was covered in all sorts of magic rifles. Rowan picked up a small handheld one. One you might see in a wild west movie. "I don''t suppose you''ve used a magic rifle before. Not with your unholy skill with the blade. I doubt you''d had any time to learn sharps hooting as well.", Rowan chuckled to himself as he passed the magic rifle over to Ludius. "Alright, so to use it just point the barell away from you at your target and press the trigger, it''s quite hard to mess up in all honesty. Oh by the way, it doesn''t use ammunition or anything like that, only mana. The power of the shot can be adjusted by the amount of infused mana.", "Seems convenient!", Ludius exclaimed as he took the magic rifle over to one of the booths in the shooting range and looked down the range. At the end seemed to be something resembling an archery target but made of some sort of metal. "Okay, you see those rings on the target all the way back there... Aim for the middle of the center ring. We''ll do this a few times with various guns to find out what your best with before we talk about a custom made one. Alright, fire in your own time.", Ludius took the gun lightly in his hand and pointed it towards the target. *BANG* If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.*BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* Happy with his shots, Ludius placed the gun down and looked towards Rowan. "Okay then Ludius, let''s see how you did.", Rowan walked over to a winch at the side of the blithe and began to turn the handle which in turn seemed to bring the target at the end of the range forward. "Oh. My. God!", Rowan mumbled whilst barely managing to stay standing. In the target was a single hole. Right in the center of the inner ring. Looking over at the back wall you would find that all the shots had fired through the exact same hole as there were clearly five scorch marks on the wall behind where the target used to be. --- 1 hour later, in Rowan''s office. Rowan was sat in a leather chair and was pouring himself a strong scotch. "I don''t believe it. I just don''t believe it.", Rowan kept quietly muttering to himself in the corner. "How can you just be a genius with every type of magic rifle.", "Don''t ask me.", Replied Ludius. Rowan suddenly drank the scotch and quickly poured himself another. A long silence followed only to be interrupted by a question from Ludius. "So~ about a custom magic rifle. When will I get one?", Ludius inquired. Rowan, surprised by the sudden question, was quickly brought out of his thoughts. "Oh, erm. Come back in a week or so. This may be trickier than I originally intended.", "Right... What about the information I wanted?", "Good things come to those that wait. Come back in a week. I have some thinking to do.", Annoyed, Ludius left the tipsy man to his own devices and decided it was probably for the best to just find an inn and log out for a while. So that''s what he did. Ludius found a low class inn near Rowan''s top of the range manufacturing company called ''Ye Olde Rippoff Inn''. Ludius thought there was something suspicious about it but didn''t mind as he saw how cheap the rooms were. At only 50 gold per night, Ludius quickly rented the best room for a week and went to log off. Chapter 16 - Possible new employment Okay. So I''ll admit it. I''m taking longer between chapters. But I don''t think that''s a bad thing. I''ll just write at my own pace... Anyway enough of that, here''s a new chapter. ENJOY!^_^ After logging out from QV the boy went to the toilet and went down stairs to get some food, before heading outside. The boy didn''t really want to play for too long and wanted to prove to himself that he wasn''t addicted with the game so he made a plan. It was really quite simple, the boy would go and find someway to earn money! He didn''t want to stay at the orphanage as he never really liked the people there and wanted to get his own place eventually. --- The boy just set off in a direction and continued for a while. It had been midday when he had logged off and by now it was closer to one o'' clock. ''How can I earn money?'', the boy asked himself. There were only fouroptions he could think of. The boy could get a job; but he is too young to be in full time employment and even most part-time work for that matter, he could enter some sort of competition; yet the boy couldn''t think of anything he was good enough at. So that only left him with somehow getting money via QV or to let fate do the talking. As he had no idea if he could gain money from playing QV, the boy decided to test his luck. It''s not like he had anything better to do anyway. --- -------------------------------- Part time helper needed: Will work three days a week on any jobs the employer deems fit. If interested go to: Address: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx -------------------------------- "Well I suppose I could follow this up", the boy said to himself as he looked at the notice on the wall he was next to. Decided, the boy set off in the direction of the address. --- After a brief walk, the boy found himself in front of a large pair of gates leading to a campus. "Now where am I? I didn''t know the orphanage was so close to a place this large!", the boy exclaimed. As the gates were closed the boy pressed down a button to the side of the gate that he assumed must be some sort of doorbell. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. A few moments later a short man came to the other side of the gate. He was dressed in an old grey suit and looked at the boy over the rim of his round spectacles. "What do you want boy?", the man asked slowly. "I... Er, saw a poster about a-", "Job?", the old man interrupted and opened the gate,"So your here for the part time work?", "Ah, yes.", "Great you can start straight away. Follow me.", "O-okay.", The inside of the campus included a large flat area of ground and a lot of various sized buildings. The old man led the boy to one of the smaller buildings. After going inside it became apparent that it was some sort of storage room. "What is this place for?", "You didn''t know?", he said whilst giving the boy a toothy grin," It''s a mixed martial arts center. Anyway, I need you to move all of this stuff over to the gate by the end of the day. When you''re done go to the reception and we''ll go over the paperwork. Ok, good luck" , and with that the man left. The boy turned to look at what he had to move. ''Oh no.'', he screamed in his mind. The whole of the 10*10*5 room was filled close to the brim of various boxes and bags. If he needed to clear this by the end of the day he needed to work quickly. ============================= (Mixed Martial Arts Student POV) "Ah, I''m tired now.", I sighed as I walked out of the training dojo. "Yeah I know what you mean, Master really works us too hard. I''m sure I''m gonna ache later", replied Mark. Suddenly Mark stopped and just stood staring, his mouth agape. "What is it Mark~O MY GOD! H-h-how is that possible!?" ============================= (third person POV) ''It turns out it''s not as hard as you''d think, carrying 5, 1 meter square boxes at once'', the boy thought to himself as he finished his job without breaking a sweat. "So where''s the reception", he asked no-body in particular. *** Constructive comments and criticism are appreciated, be honest, I won''t cry... Honest. ^?^