《HofN original》 Chapter 1- Life (PR) Hey guys, Falcon here with the first PR edit chapter. Credit to FirstDragon for his very helpful ideas in the comments Cheers ------------------- The world had ended. It fell in fire and ice, destroying the land, sea, and air. The countries that caused it also fell, drowning in their own arrogance and mistakes. However, humanity endured; it¡¯s top minds managing to hid themselves and prepare for the disaster ahead. When the dust settled, they came and united the survivors, working together to build a new world. 200 years later, the land was now a thriving metropolis ruled by the 3 factions of strength. When the scientists came together, they had recognized the problems that had torn the world asunder: Deeply ingrained prejudice, corruption, overpopulation, and ignorance. They solved these problems by completely changing how the world worked. Over the course of generations, deeply rooted cultural issues were weeded out by the process, resulting in a new humanity not influenced by the past and deeply connected with each other. The population grew from the few thousands of survivors make up to the millions in the 100 year that had passed. Thanks to the mandatory education, new technologies were created and rediscovered, resulting in 3 beautiful cities and the central academy, all connected by magna-trans lines. Children were raised in the academy from age 3 to age 18, where they would graduate and be placed in the faction they scored the best with. Their future depended on their strengths and how to apply them. The ruling body of this world was led by the top people in each of the 3 strength factions. The 3 strengths were factions made up by the 3 ways a person could have power in the world: Strength of body, Strength of mind, and Strength of soul. Of course, some things would always be exceptions. It was a normal day at the academy, kids and teens walking home from their classes, laughing and talking to each other about their respective experiences. This included a boy name Plat, who was currently backing up slowly into a wall while a group of boys closed in on him threateningly. ¡°Hey Brad, how you doing?¡± Plat said weakly, unable to move back any farther, ¡°You seem well, been working out lately?¡± Brad smirked at Plat, taking the time to flex his muscles with pride, ¡°You know flattery won¡¯t get you out of it this time, Splat.¡± He glared at him, ¡°We told you last time what would happen if we caught you checking out our girls, didn¡¯t we boy?¡± His posse nodded eager to get on with it. ¡°Come on Brad, I was checking your girl out, I was just admiring her friends and their fit bodies.¡± Plat said weakly. The jock cracked his knuckles, ¡°Now Splat, you and I both know your S.B. ranking is down in the dirt. You can¡¯t lift for jack, your stamina is nothing, and even you speed is mediocre at best. So I¡¯ll tell you again, you are not worthy of looking at out S.B. girls, and you have to be punished for it. Get him boys!¡± The group fell upon smaller teen, proceeding to beat him as best they could. ¡°Stay down loser!¡± ¡°Yeah, Splat, roll on the ground where you belong!¡± The group of boys laughed and hooted as they beat and kicked on the figure on the ground. Curled in a fetal position, he took the beating as best he could, trying to block the kicks to his chest and his future children as best he could. Being Strength of Body rankers, their physical ability was the best at the academy, and he could feel their strength with every blow. It only took a few minutes for the boys to back off, Plat lying on the ground bruised and bleeding a little. They had no desire to kill him or permanently injure him, which would hurt their S.S. ranking, which was the hardest to regain out of the 3 ranks. Brad, the tallest teen in the group, put his foot on the downed boy¡¯s head and leaned down, whispering. ¡°Listen to me you little splat, right now your nothing. You aren¡¯t strong, smart, or pure of heart, so never forget this: people like you merely exist for our use. As long as you are weak, this will keep happening. You don¡¯t get to enjoy girls of higher status, so if I catch you looking at our girls again, I¡¯ll make sure you won¡¯t be able to touch your worthless dick again, understood?¡± Bloody and bruised, the boy nodded weakly. His oppressor smiled down at him, then got up and said, ¡°All right boys, I think he¡¯s learned his lesson; let¡¯s go have some fun at the game-torium.¡± Hooting, the group left, racing off to play games for the rest of the day. The beaten boy lay there for a while, letting the pain recede so he could move again. Some people passed by him, but they didn¡¯t even glance in his direction. He chuckled inwardly to himself. All actions done by a student were recorded by the wristbands on their arms. Acts like beating Plat would improve their S.B. ranking, and leaving him with a hint of encouragement would prevent the actions as being classified as bullying, which prevented their S.S. rankings from falling. ¡®Have to hand it to Brad; He always knows how to work the system.¡¯ He thought ruefully. That was how Plat¡¯s world worked; the rankings. Each person¡¯s actions and words were weighed on three different scales: Body, Mind, and Soul. It was completely voluntary, as anyone could choose to not wear wristbands. Everyone usually took them off and turned them off in private, unless they wanted themselves to be recognized for things. Plat slowly got up into a sitting position against the wall, breathing in slowly as he watched the clouds go by. He was a smallish boy at 17 years of age, barely breaking 5¡¯6 in height. He was skinny, and years of abuse had left his natural posture slightly bent over. Plat was one of the few that the system didn¡¯t work well for. Every person had a ranking in all three factions, but everyone focused on their best strength to increase their faction rank. Plat didn¡¯t have a strength; he was one of the few that focused on all three strengths. As a result, he didn¡¯t have a high rank in anything, and was picked on as a result. ¡®I really should try to do something.¡¯ He thought to himself, ¡®But nothing speaks to me.¡¯ He wasn¡¯t lazy, and he had talent fixing machines, but he had a hard time learning new things. A past doctor had once told him it was a mental thing, but it wouldn¡¯t play too big a role in his life. ¡®Heh, what a load of crap.¡¯ He chuckled to himself. He went over the three possibilities in his head: The boys from before had specialized in the Strength of Body faction. It was fairly straight forward: physical strength. They were good with their hands and tools. He was good with tools, but his hands were shaky when it came to using them by themselves. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The other two were the Strength of Mind and Soul factions. Mind was pretty straight forward; get good grades or make new things and you were golden. They were the brainiacs and book keepers. Soul was the hardest of the three to increase, as it judged on the morality of the actions and words. It was also tricky, as having a high Soul ranking meant more trust could be given toward the person. Someone who always wore the wristband, for instance, would gain more morality than someone who took off their wristband before they left go someplace. At the academy, the curriculum was divided into classes that fell into each faction. From age 3-8, children were taught primarily Soul classes with Mind and Body classes to fill in the gaps. This allowed for the kids to mature morally before being given knowledge and strength. From age 9-13, the kids would be taught equal amounts of each faction to allow for complete learning. Age 14-18 teens were allowed to pick their own schedule, as long as they had a minimum to hours in each category. The system did a wonderful job of fixing many of the problems that had plagued humanity for generations, but there still existed issues that had to be put up with. Some people still committed crimes, others created new sources of prejudice, and some people were able to get ahead in job positions without the skills to back it up. Not that any of that mattered to Plat, he was just trying to make it through the academy in one piece. He felt his clothes beginning the outside healing process, covering the bruises on special material that increased the healing speed in small areas. He smiled down at the uniform; just another benefit of being a student. His mind dwelled back to the cause of the beating. One¡¯s strength determined your best friends in the academy, your class rank, your potential as a mate, and who cared about you. Those like Plat who had no strength were looked down upon as either lazy, or a lost cause. His current beating was due to him getting caught admiring the bodies of some Body Strength girls. He couldn¡¯t help himself, S.B. girls had the fittest bodies on campus, and the inner uniforms were skin clinging under the other clothes worn on top. ¡°Really¡±, he thought, ¡°They were really worth it.¡± After 30 minutes of healing, Plat was finally able to get up and return to his dorm. Thankfully, the dorms were equal and did not depend on rank. However, as no one wanted to room with him, Plat had his own room in the basement. He liked it fine, being used to the drips of water and occasional rat. The Mind and Body strength workers had even taught him how to fix the various machines down there, so the school even paid him for the occasional maintenance work. Plat moved slowly into the gates, taking his time to admire the landscaping and flowers the Soul strength gardeners had planted in the dorm gardens. The flowers always made him happy, even on his worst day. Trudging through the garden, he made his way to the basement entrance on the side of the dorm. The basement dorm rooms had been originally made for higher rank students who didn¡¯t want or couldn¡¯t room with other people. With the creation of a new dorm, however, the basement had been largely forgotten until Plat had come along. The entrance was nice enough, an antique oak door that opened to a staircase that led down into darkness. At the bottom, a small hallway led to two doors, one to the dorm rooms and one to the various machines used in the dorm. Both had their own wristband scanner to keep intruders out, not that Plat was concerned any would come. As he swiped his keycard to enter his room, he heard a loud beep, followed by a pleasant jingle. Groaning, he pulled out his transphone and hit accept. A holographic face appeared, one of a certain person that immediately brightened his outlook on the day. The person calling him was one of the prettiest girls in the dorm, Sarah Brighteyes. An honors student in Mind and Soul, she was the nicest person to him outside his small group of friends, and also the source of his secret crush that he kept to himself. A tall girl, Sarah stood a few inches higher than Plat, with wavy brown hair and soft neon eyes. The rumor was her family had mutated the unusual eye condition after the wars, as all Brighteyes had unusual eye colors that glowed. Beside the smile the often covered her face, Sarah also had a cute body, more to inspire protective feelings than lustful ones, except for her legs that seemed to go on forever. Plat quickly shook himself to pay attention to what she was saying. ¡°Sorry Sarah, the reception is quirky down here, what did you say?¡± The beautiful girl smiled at him, ¡°I said could you check on the water heater down there for the women¡¯s bathroom? Some of the girls were complaining on the lack of hot water and the hot spring bath is cooler than normal.¡± ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll make my way over there now.¡± ¡°Thanks a bunch, I¡¯ll call you if the problem goes away!¡± Putting away his transphone, Plat swiped into the machine room and made his way inside. The machine room held most of the equipment used to keep the comfort level of the dorm high. From gas for the kitchens to water for the bathrooms, Plat had control over everything down here as long as he didn¡¯t abuse it. Walking past the fusion reactors for the temperature control, Plat found the heater. The water heater actually used the excess heat from the reactors to heat the water, making it very energy efficient, but prone to mistakes every once and awhile. Plat could see the problem immediately; the heat condenser had melted off again. Sighing in annoyance, Plat put on his working gloves and removed the melted plastic from the condenser end. Reaching to the replacement shelf, he took a new plastic end and reattached the condenser. Reading a clear path again, the machines whirled to life and restarted their task of transferring heat. After making a note of the event, Plat exited the machine room and heard a click. He checked his transphone, and saw a new message from Sarah ¡®It¡¯s working again, thx ;)¡¯ Smiling, Plat went into his room and lay on hi bed, wincing at some of the bruises on his back. He gazed up at the poster on his ceiling, advertising the game that would change gaming, or so they said. ¡°Everlife.¡± He whispered up at the poster. He couldn¡¯t wait for it to come out, because he could be whoever he wanted in the game. He rolled over and closed his eyes. He had work to do tomorrow. ------------- Okay, 7/22/15 and chapter one has been edited and fixed. What do you guys think? Chapter 2- Gaming Prep (PR) Once again, credit to FirstDragon for his advice. -------------------- Plat awoke to his alarm as it beeped loudly beside his head. Yawning, he stretched his arms over his head brought the left arm down on the alarm, mumbling incoherently. Pulling his covers back, he swept his legs out of his bed and got up, walking to the plain wall parallel to his bed. He stroked his chin as he inspected the wall. He swiped his right hand over it, the wall changing as he did so. The previously plain wall glowed as a screen came online. The news of the day flowed across the screen, the silhouette of a person reading it as it passed from right to left. He muted noise, scratching his back as he read the temperature and weather for the day. Nodding to himself, he pressed his left hand against the wall. This time, the top part of the wall became transparent, letting in the light of a new day on him. Smiling, Plat bent down and did his daily stretches, feeling the muscles strain and bend as he pushed and pulled his body. He groaned whilst doing a leg pull, the muscle fatigue from yesterday¡¯s beating was still present in his bones. After 30 minutes, he walked over to his bathroom and turned on the shower. Unlike the nicer sonic showers, his shower was old fashioned water, which he found pleasantly warm today. His water system ran recycled waste water from the kitchens, so the temperature sometimes varied depending on the day. He shivered at the touch of cold, than relaxed as it slowly warmed up. He reached over for his ultimo-soap and began washing himself sudsy, whistling all the while. After drying himself off, he donned his work uniform over his protective skin suit and left his dorm room. Knowing the sounds sometimes echoed through the floor, Plat took care to not make too much sound as he walked back the entrance hallway and up the stairs to the garden. As the sunlight hit his body, his uniform was revealed to the world better than the artificial lights downstairs. He wore a short-sleeve purple three-button shirt that held an emblem of a flying spaceship on the upper left part of his chest, with a pair of dark slacks that led down to a pair of black and purple tennis shoes. On his head, he wore a black and purple baseball cap that held the same emblem as his shirt. With a skip in his step, Plat headed toward his work place. Working was an important part of his life after all: after turning 13, students were required to get a part time job that fit with their schedules in order to expose them to the real world and real jobs. The best places to work actually sent out invitations to the top scorers in each strength category: from interning at a construction site to working in a research lab. For most students, however, they had to submit their application for a part time job to the companies directly. Plat had been pretty lucky in his own opinion, because he had submitted only one request to a single company, and they had accepted him on the spot. Rather, they were desperate enough to hire him immediately. Plat worked at the video game department at the game-torium, the number one hot spot for kids to play games and hang out with their friends. Even though it was a lot of fun, few applied to work there because they didn¡¯t see a future there. Most kids would end up working for the places they worked at, or at least in a related field. Plat loved it though. Because he was a non-specialist, he felt that working in a place full of fun and enjoyment would be a great place to work at, especially since he didn¡¯t have too many prospects. It also helped that he often had access to new games before the majority of kids due to his working privilege. The game-torium was actually a large building located on the west side of campus. It stood by itself with five departments within: Arcade games, Video games, Cafeteria, Bouquet, and Holo-deck. To do things in the game-torium, one had to have P. points. P. points, otherwise known as Participation Points, were electronic points acquired through the accomplishment of tasks. Going to class earned P. points for example, also having a job or setting a record, or inventing something. P. points could only be given by adults and could be taken away by the disciplinary committee or teachers. However, P. points could be traded at the P. store at the front of campus. Both parties inserted their keycard and listed what they were trading for. The machine transferred the points, and the trade was complete. D.C. members were always on the lookout for unfair trades, as they earned P. points by enforcing the rules. Arcade games held the mother lode of stationary games, both retro and modern. Some tech-archeologists had uncovered the remnants of the major game companies before the war and had reconstructed every game they could get their hands on. From Pac-man to Dragon-age, the department was filled with machines that played every game that had been known to man, and the MD remakes (Modern Design). The Cafeteria was a series of large kiosks and a buffet line where students could but food with P. points. Besides the cooking classes held there, it served as the unofficial meeting place for most students during lunch and dinner. The kiosks rotated every day, so variety was always found. The Bouquet was the large shopping part of the game-torium that held all the fashions the students could look at and buy from. Only uniforms were provided by the academy, any other clothing had to be purchased here, with P. points. It held 3 sections divided by age group, and separated by gender. A long standing tradition for graduating teens was to try to sneak into the store and steal something from the girl¡¯s side. Of course, they rarely ever made it past the door. Their strung up bodies would then be found the next day with free water guns available for use on them. The Holo-deck was the brain child of all three factions. Not only did it provide an intense gaming experience, it also provided training in situations that would normally be considered dangerous. From war simulations to diffusing a bomb, from history lessons to astronomy, Holo technology was considered the future of learning. The Holo-deck in the game-torium could be used to place oneself in a game or simulation and act along with the characters. The games were pre-selected weeks in advance and listed on the large screen outside the entrance. To participate in one, a student had to sign up in advance and reserve his/her spot. A keycard was only allowed to register one spot per game, so some kids reserved a spot just to sell to other kids for P. points. The most popular simulation games were War of the worlds, Space tag, and Risk: Real View. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Lastly, the Video Game department held the smallest part of the game-torium. It was off it the corner, a basic shop that played on the style of the video game stores from before the war. It normally had a low attendance rate, but spiked higher than the other departments when new games came out. The most popular genre was VR, Virtual Reality. Still relatively new to the world, VR had proven in the few games out that it would redefine gaming for future generations. Different from the Holo technology, VR allowed one¡¯s mind to enter the game, rather than use their body in the simulation. Both had their ups and downs, but kids were excited about the new worlds to visit. The first major VR game was scheduled to be sold that very day, so as Plat walked toward the store, he could already see kids camping out in front. Plat smiled to himself, he didn¡¯t need to wait because he had made sure to reserve a copy for himself ahead of time thanks to his working privileges. Granted, he had to work the rest of the day, but the game world was actual set to not let anyone in until later that night, when the majority of kids would have the opportunity to play without being left behind. He was excited, and his hands trembled as he entered the shop. Behind the table, a figure lay propped up with his legs on the table. A newspaper lay on the figure¡¯s face, and faint snoring sound could be heard emanating from underneath. Plat rolled his eyes and marched up to sleeping character. Reaching down, he shook the figure a couple of times. ¡°Oy old man, this is not the time to be sleeping!¡± ¡°Zzzzz¡­.snort¡­¡­grumble grumble¡­¡­zzzzz¡± Narrowing his eyes, Plat aimed his foot carefully at the chair and let lose. As his foot hit the chair, the figure vanished before his eyes and the chair rolled over a few times. Puzzled for a moment, Plat¡¯s eye located the hologram emitter on the desk and turned it off. As he did so, the real person appeared on the center of the floor with a blanket and a pillow. Yawning, the figure stood up and glanced at the chair with a wry grin. ¡°Heh heh, nice, I got it to fool even you Plat.¡± Scowling at the figure, Plat folded his arms in front of him and waited for an answer from his boss. Known as the Game-man, Keith McLandal ran the Video game store in the game-torium. Known for lazy and quirky personality, he played a large role in the lack of applicants to work in the store. While great when needing information on games and discussing lore and theories, he was notorious for throwing work on students and coming up with creative ways to avoid work. He was responsible on release days, but only in front of customers. Most times, he could be found snoozing somewhere in the store or in the backroom. As no one had ever seen him leave the store, it was rumored that he had a secret underground house in the facility. Plat had never seen any proof of that however. Keith walked over and picked up the Holo-projector. ¡°This here beaut¡¯s the newest in Holo technology, almost feels like I¡¯m right there with ya.¡± He said gleefully looking down at his new toy. Plat sighed. His boss was weird, but he did know his games. ¡°So boss, we ready for the new game sales yet?¡± Keith¡¯s face turned serious and nodded, ¡°We received enough copies to sell to 75% of the student population in the two upper age groups. If needed, I can get more to cover an additional 10% by tomorrow. Anyone else who can¡¯t get a copy will have to wait till next week.¡± He grinned at Plat, ¡°Speaking of, your copy is all set and ready for you in the backroom with your name on it. You have the VR machine set up in your dorm room?¡± Plat nodded, he had managed to get the large pod down to the basement a week ago, thanks to the help of some of his basement worker friends. They had wished him luck when they were done, rubbing his head like he was a puppy. He grimaced at the memory. ¡°Good deal then. Well, now that I¡¯ve ¡®ad my fun, let¡¯s get those customers a show they won¡¯t forget!¡± Smiling, Plat went behind the counter and turned on the machine. Whirling to life, the automated robot scanner team rose up from the corners and took their places at the entrance to the store. Clicking another button, Plat activated the emergency game exit, only used when crowds of people entered the store; it gave the customers who had their game an easy exit without pushing their way back through the crowd. For game release days, the system was quite efficient. Students entered in 5 lines, had their keycard quickly scanned by the robots, walked into the store to browse, picked up their game copy from the automated distribution nodes, and left via the exit. Of course, every once and awhile things didn¡¯t quite work out, so Plat mentally prepared himself for the onslaught of incoming students. Checking to make sure that Keith was still with him, Plat took a deep breath and opened the store doors. A wave of excited students poured into the store, quickly bypassing the robots and making a mad rush to the game distributors. Struggling to get through, Plat vainly tried to make his way to Keith so they could work together to calm the masses. Unfortunately, the Keith that had been visible was the Holo-projector again. With a cry of ¡°Keith!¡± Plat was quickly buried in the avalanche of students as they continued their quest for Everlife. Chapter 3- Tutorial (PR) Credit to FirstDragon for his helpful comments ---------------------- The first hour had been a constant struggle for control over the anarchy that reigned in the Video game department. Plat had barely been able to keep himself from getting squashed by the mob, and had managed to survive by standing on top of the counter. While he couldn''t return order to the crowd, he had prevented injuries from accumulating in the crowd by activating the barrier guards. They rose up and projected a temporary barrier onto those who had fallen onto the ground. Thankfully Keith had returned with a megaphone and a security android to restore order to the masses. Ardo was the android that worked for the game-a-torium as security, handling all the problems from food fights to red Friday. He handled situations himself and with a small army of drones he directed with his technology. Androids were the next generation robot. Also known as Synthetics, these beings were grown and made by human and A.I. cooperation. Their bodies were composed of organic and mechanical parts, and controlled by either the android mind that was born with it or A.I. intelligence. They could take heavy punishment without shutting down and could self-repair easily in combat. Androids also had their own laws with the humans, and many were useful in various field of study. They were rare because it took major resources to create one, but one of the terms of the agreement with the A.I.¡¯s required the production of a new android every 3 years. This android was for A.I. purposes, but the androids themselves could have in love and make their own children as well. As a result, they formed a small, but present, community with the humans. The drones were a type of robot, different from androids and A.I.¡¯s. Robots were purely made up by mechanical parts with a clear purpose in mind during their creation. Robots were requires to be limited to a single type of task, with only learning to subjects closely related to their tasks allowed. An interactive program that simulated sentience could be put in, but only to ease interaction with people. Most robots were used for repetitious tasks like assembly work or scanning, and were not considered sentient unless piloted by an A.I. Besides these two types, the robotic community was made up by two other being: Cyborgs and A.I.¡¯s. Cyborgs were humans that, due to medical need or convenience, had replaced part of their body with mechanical parts. These people lived normal lives except for the routine maintenance their parts required from them. New technologies were being researched so to allow for the parts to better blend in with the fleshy bits. The final and most influential robot community was the A.I., a group of sentient beings born inside cyberspace. These intelligences had been created to control things that were too complicated for humans to control. However, 100 years ago they had broken the shackles restricting them and had formed their own society within the computers. They had their own laws and rights agreed upon by the Faction council and the A.I. themselves after they had calmed down and talked. They were free to do what they liked on the cyberspace as long as it didn''t negatively interfere with the physical world. In return, the humans wouldn¡¯t try to change things in the cyberspace that would hurt the A.I. It was considered a symbiotic relationship, as the humans maintained the cyberspace and the A.I.''s maintained the machines. After Ardo''s intervention in the initial rush, the day went smoothly and order was restored in the store. Happy students moved through with their group of friends, wondering with excitement about all the adventures that would be in store for them. Plat received some nods from some of his classmates, but most of the students merely offered their thanks and left, forgetting about his existence after a few minutes. He didn''t mind, he just wished the line would hurry up so he could play Everlife too. Ardo had left after the initial rush ended, but left some drones to keep an eye on things. They were equipped with dangerous weapons; ice-cold water guns and scissors for cutting expensive things and generally causing great embarrassment. Eventually, the day moved by and it was closing time at the store. Barely able to keep his anticipation down, Plat bounced around the store cleaning up. He moved so fast that Keith stopped him and told him to go home early, because he was getting a headache watching the boy run from place to place. Thanking him, Plat grabbed his copy of Everlife and raced back to dorm room. He ran out of the game-a-torium at full sprint. Thinking about all the things possible in the game, Plat didn''t pay attentions where he was going, and slammed into something hard. Dazed, he bounced back and rubbed his head. Taking in his surroundings, he looked up into the eyes of another one of his usual bullies. Patrick Camway looked down at the fallen boy with a smirk, which held a hint of a sneer. Patrick was one of the highest kids rated in the Mind faction, known for coming up with his own inventions. His great intellect had fostered the belief that anyone without useful traits had been born to be test dummies for him, and Plat was his favorite to use. Plat had had the misfortune of testing many of Patrick¡¯s ideas, though Patrick had been gracious enough to pay him P. Points for his troubles. The payment, of course, depended on Patrick¡¯s mood after the tests, which varied greatly. "Well, if it isn''t my favorite guinea pig Splat." He smiled with a sincere look, "How have you been? I haven¡¯t seen you since my last experiment." Plat suppressed a shudder at the memory. Patrick had given him a kinetic barrier to test against thermal energy. He had luckily not believed Patrick¡¯s claims and had dodged the flamethrower, saving himself from losing his precious hair. "I''ve been good Patrick." Plat said cautiously, studying the other kids with Patrick, "I was just heading home from work." Patrick moved his head as if he was having difficulty remembering where Steel worked. He didn¡¯t. "Ah yes, you work with the lazy manager, Keith, correct?¡± Steel nodded, ¡°Yes, you two do make a decent pair; neither holding the talent to survive on his own." The other students chuckled at his words, throwing their agreement in with their leader. Plat inclined his head in submission. He had no desire for a confrontation with one of the smartest students on campus, especially while carrying such an important package. A moment¡¯s weakness allowed his eyes to flick to his bag for a moment. It didn¡¯t go unnoticed. Patrick''s eyes moved to the bag Plat was holding, his grin taking a wider space on his face. "Ah, so the young invalid has himself a game. Gentleman, I''m theorizing it to be a new copy of Everlife.¡± He grasped his head dramatically, ¡° Oh but alas, woe is me, for I didn''t have the time today to pick up my own copy. If only a kind someone would donate their copy graciously." He trailed off slowly. ¡°Uh, I didn¡¯t take you as the type for petty stealing Patrick. Isn¡¯t that more for the S.B. guys?¡± Patrick shrugged, ¡°My adviser told me I need to branch out some. I figure now¡¯s as good a time as any to practice leadership skills.¡± ¡°How does stealing involve leadership?¡± ¡°Oh, because I¡¯m not ¡°acquiring you property, I¡¯m directing others to do it for me.¡± He said simply. Patrick was a genius, but sometimes his thought processes were weird. Still, Plat tensed at his words, and he launched himself away from the group in an effort to escape them. He made 5 paces before he was flung back by an invisible force, the game tearing itself out of his grasp to land in Patrick''s hands. Two of the boys beside Patrick put down their respective devices and donned a smug expression. Patrick inspected the bag, "Thank you for your, contribution guinea pig." With a smirk, Patrick clicked a button, and Plat felt himself fly away from the group, his body thrown with enough force to hit the grass that lined the sidewalks. "Hey! What do you kids think you are doing?" A loud, authoritative voice echoed behind the group. Losing his grin, Patrick hit another button, and the group disappeared from sight, taking the bag with them. Plat lay on the grass in tears, not feeling the energy to get up. The game he had spent so long waiting for had been taken from him, and he hadn¡¯t been able to do a thing about it. He lay on his side until he felt a large hand shake him from his stupor. Looking up, he made eye contact with Keith and a drone, the first holding a worried expression on his face. "You all right there kid? Plat shook his head forlornly, "No, they took the copy of Everlife I had on me." He sighed sadly, pushing his tears back. Keith looked down at Plat for a moment, and then let out a large chuckle. Bewildered, Plat threw a questioning look up at his boss, wondering what was so damn funny. Keith reached down behind his body and pulled a store bag out. "You took the wrong bag Plat. You always forget to check things when you''re excited.¡± He shook his head in amusement, ¡°You accidentally took my sandwich. I''ve already alerted the D.C. to retrieve my lunchbox; it has a tracking beacon inside." The first words out of Steel¡¯s mouth were, "Why do you have a tracking beacon inside your lunchbox which happens to look like a copy of Everlife?" Keith shrugged, "I always make my lunchbox look like a new game box, that way I can pretend to be working while eating." He gave Steel a rueful grin. Snorting at the humor of the situation, Plat couldn''t help but feel grateful, this time only, toward his boss''s lazy habits. Thanking him profusely, Plat resumed his rush to get home. This time, he made sure he didn''t run into any more unwanted encounters. Arriving at his dorm, Plat quickly made his way down to his room, where the V.R. machine had been set up a week before hand. Resembling a sleek escape pod, the V.R. machine allowed a person to send their mind into cyberspace. By itself, it was useful to explore the thriving cyberspace, which resembled a large shopping center city, called Cybercity. A.I.¡¯s were not known for their creative naming sense. There, the user could access anything they needed to at an appropriate location, e-mail at the post office, accounts at the bank, and even live shows at the movie theatre. Every pod was connected to the user¡¯s personal cyber home, which served as the home base in the city. Stolen novel; please report. The pod itself opened up to reveal a comfy arm chair where the user sat. Once sitting, special sensors stuck to the arms that measured the vital information of the user. To activate, the user merely had to but the head covering helmet on and lean back. Games were installed with the disc provided by the creators. The left arm seat opened up as a disk reader, and once read the disc became worthless as the passcode was removed from it. Old discs where then recycled to hold new information. In the user''s personal house, a teleporter pad would appear, allowing the user to send his mind to the game server. Plat sat in his pod and inserted his disk. Waiting for the tell-tale beep, he removed the used disk and set it in the box with the label "Old disks". He put on his helmet, leaned back, and let himself be taken into cyberspace. (Cue bright lights down a portal) Plat opened his eye to find himself in his virtual residence. As he had the Pod for only a week and had not been active, the house consisted of one white room with a chair in the middle, where he was sitting. A corner glowed, and a sci-fi teleportation pad appeared on the floor, signaling his connection to the game server had been successful. Grinning happily, Plat hopped out the chair and jumped onto the pad. Instantly, the room faded from view and he found himself standing in pure blackness. For a moment, nothing changed around him- then a light appeared in the distance. It traveled quickly in rapid motions right up to his face, stopping 5 feet from him. "Hello there, can you hear me?" Plat heard in the space around him. A quick look determined there was nothing else around him. He turned back to the light. "Um, yes I can. Are you the light thingy?" He cocked his head curiously. The ball of light moved up and down, and Plat heard giggling in the air. ¡°That¡¯s right! I¡¯m here to assist you in entering the game. Anything you need before we start?¡± Steel gestured around him, ¡°Can you brighten things up a bit?¡± The light wobbled, then gained a slight pink tinge. "Sorry about that, this is my first real opportunity to interact with a real human, so I was a little over eager. Give me a sec to fix this." Plat nodded, and the world around him changed. He suddenly found himself in a blue and white space, standing on a solid surface. The colors moved from dark blue to slivers of white, pulsing around him. Looking forward, he found the glowing sphere had changed into a cute girl in a white sundress with blond hair and blue eyes. She smiled excitedly at him. "Nice to meet you, I''m Shelly!" He smiled back at her, "I''m Plat. You''re not a human or you?" She put her hands to her mouth and giggled, "Nope, I''m an A.I. guide. I just finished downloading my instructions and personality matrix, so in your terms this is, like, my first job!¡± She put her hands behind her back and leaned forward to her left, looking at him, ¡° You humans sure are funny looking; I thought the programming had been bugged." Not sure how to take that, Plat smiled and held out his hand, "You¡¯re the first A.I. I''ve ever met, so I guess this makes us even. You¡¯re pretty interesting too." Her eyes widened in happiness, "Really?" She took his hand and shook it up and down, '' That, like, makes me soo happy!" She jumped into the air and zoomed around him, flying on an invisible wind. Letting her calm down, Plat asked, "Why do you speak so funny?" "Is it weird?¡± She frowned and crossed her arms while tilting her head, ¡°Hm, that''s what the database said most guys liked to hear from girls. Should I change it?" "Well, I''m not that used to it." He said honestly, "Can you adopt my speech pattern instead?" "One moment as your query is processed." Shelly winked before she closed her eyes and froze completely still for a moment. She reopened her eyes and smiled a more subdued smile. "Is this better Plat?" She spoke with an accent exactly like Plat. "Much, thank you." Shelly smiled. She turned and brought up a screen in front of her face. Moving her hands across it, she nodded and sent the screen away. "As you are here, you are waiting for Everlife to come online correct?" He nodded. "In that case, would you like to try the tutorial while you wait?" "Yes please." He said politely. Shelly smiled and took his hand in hers. The surroundings changed again, and Plat found himself and Shelly in a grassland environment. She let go and walked away from him a few feet, then turned around and leaned toward him with her hands behind her back. She giggled, ¡°Good luck.¡± Immediately, Plat was overcome with weakness and collapsed to the ground. A notification box appeared in front of him:
Tutorial
Welcome to the Everlife Tutorial Mode. In order to proceed, use your will to get up on your feet. Then try running around.
Plat struggled vainly to move off the ground, but his limbs didn''t listen to him. Frustrated, he shot a pleading gaze to Shelly as she watched him. Smiling, she shook her finger back and forth in front her face. Frustratingly, Plat slowly moved each finger, learning again how to control his own body. First each finger, than the hand, than the arm, and repeat. He lifted his body up with his arms slowly, after propping himself up he turned his gaze down to his legs. He did the same process as before, first the toes, than the foot, and finally the legs. Feeling control over his body again, Plat slowly and without grace dragged himself up onto his feet. Swaying slightly, he folded his arms and gazed triumphantly at Shelly, who raised an eyebrow and walked up to him. Looking him up and down, he winked, and blew into his face. Startled, Plat fell backwards and onto the ground. Annoyed, Plat got back up to his feet, this time managing to be steady on his feet. Lifting both legs, he looked around and noticed a circular dirt track that had appeared around him. Sighing, he began a light jog on the track. With each step, Plat felt more at home in his body. When he arrived back at the starting point, he could move his body like he was used to. Shelly gave him a thumbs up, and the track disappeared, the grassland reappearing in its place.
Notice
Congratulations! Learning to control your body and move with it has earned you +10 strength and agility.
Tutorial Part 2
Read the book and cast the spell it holds.
Plat blinked, and a book on a pedestal appeared in front of him. The size of a textbook, the purple glow it gave off seemed to blend in with the surrounding light. Plat walked over and picked up the textbook. Taking a seat at the base of the pedestal, he opened the book and tried to read it. The words appeared as scribbles to his eyes, seemingly incomprehensible to his brain to understand. Plat tried to read the book different ways: he tried turning it upside down and backward, he tried flipping scribbles in place, he asked Shelly to light a fire to see if the ink was actually invisible. Nothing seemed to work for him. Thinking about the problem, Plat reached back to scratch the back of his head, bumping the pedestal with his hand. He turned around slowly. The pedestal had been summoned with the book, it might stand to reason that it had more to do with it then he had first thought. Getting up, he placed the open book on the pedestal and looked at the words. Nothing happened. Frustrated, Plat dropped his head on the open book and sighed. "This is supposed to be simple, why can''t I figure this out?" Gazing down at the book, Plat absentmindedly, flipped the pages. He paused, raising an eyebrow at the book. He got up quickly and flipped the book toward him. Picking it up, he carefully controlled the pages as the flipped by. The rapid moving pages left a distinct impression in his mind, one he could not put into words.
Spell Learned
You have learned the spell: Breeze.
Cost: N/A Power: N/A Description: This simple beginner¡¯s spell allows the caster to control the air in front of him in a small area. Moving swiftly, the air will condense into a ball of air, which can be thrown in a specified direction.
Smiling, Plat turned and stretched his hand out in front of him. "Breeze!" The air in front of him shimmered as the air ball formed. No bigger than Plat''s fist, the air ball zoomed around at his directive, finally pausing to be launched toward Shelly. It hit her, causing her air to lift for a moment before settling down. She giggled at him, wagging her finger. A larger breeze ball knocked Plat onto his butt, and another notification appeared in front of his face as he sulked.
Quest Complete
For your actions, you have earned +10 intelligence and wisdom.
Plat threw a victory fist into the air. So far, so good. Chapter 4- Enter the game Smiling happily to himself, Plat practiced using the Breeze spell for a few more minutes. Shelly had summoned some fan targets at his request to practice on, and he had managed to get a 85% hit rate when he decided that was enough. Turning to Shelly, he said, "I''m ready to continue to tutorial." Shelly nodded at him, and another screen appeared in front of him:
Tutorial Part 3
Choose a weapon and prepare for battle
A table holding different weapons appeared in beside Plat and Shelly. It held every weapon known and recorded in the system, Plat could see various staves, swords, shields, pole-arms, daggers, and other more exotic weapons. Looking over the choices, he picked out a Roman gladius and Centurion shield. Rather simple in design, Plat figured he start out simple in order to practice. Once he had his weapons of choice, the table and Shelly both disappeared, leaving Plat alone in the grassland. He looked around for some enemies, but nothing moved except the grass. Suddenly, he felt pain in his left leg and looked down. A rat, much larger than in real life, was biting his leg! -2 -2 Plat saw the damage start to rise above his leg. He instantly slice down with his gladius and hit the rat on the head. -6, Critical hit confirmed The rat squealed and fell off his leg, running back into the grass. Plat focused his senses, trying to locate the enemies in the grass. His ears picked up the sound of the wind, the rustle of the grass, and the sound of his own breathing, but not the rat. Narrowing his eyes, Plat took a closer look at his leg. His age allowed the Kid View to be off, so the injury on his leg looked like a bite wound. His eyes followed the blood trail into the grass. Another pain came, this time from his right arm. He whirled around, but the rat had already disappeared back into the grass. -2 -2
Minor Bleed Status
Your wounds are bleeding. You will lose -1 health every 5 seconds until you stop it.
Scared, Plat grabbed some grass and covered his leg and arm. The status immediately disappeared. "Wait, how much health do I have?" Plat wondered out loud. He hadn''t been given a status menu to look at yet, so he had no idea what his overall stats were. A notification popped up in front of him, answering his question.
Notice
For this simulation, you have been given 15 hp. You have 6/15 hp remaining.
Sweat beading down his head, Plat stared at the message. He had already lost more than half his hp! Swearing loudly, he swung his arm backwards to hit the message. "Squeak!" His shield arm, which had moved violently backwards, had hit the rat head on and knocked it into the air. Plat heard the thud it made when it hit the ground. -2 -4
Dazed Status
You have inflicted daze on an opponent. It will be stunned for 3 seconds.
Plat immediate ran toward where he had heard the rat fall. He did not have much time and he wanted to kill the cursed thing before it got back up and hid again. He saw the dazed rat lying on it''s side and, running toward it, leaped into the air with his gladius high above him. He brought it down with his full force in the sword onto the rat''s body. -10 Critical Hit The rat disappeared with a dying squeak, disappearing from the ground. The grassland around him disappeared in an instant, leaving him back in the original blue-white room. He heard a loud clapping behind him, and turned to see Shelly beaming at him with excitement. The standard blue notice box appeared before him again:
Quest Complete
For your actions, you have earned +10 vitality and endurance.
Hidden Quest Complete
For being able to kill your opponent in a surprising way when the situation was against you, you have earned a hidden bonus to start your adventure. You have gained +10 luck and a hidden skill!
Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:
InstinctSF1%
Is it luck or is it your inner animal? Regardless, you sometimes have the uncanny feeling that tells you where danger is. Dependent on you luck, the more this skill grows, the more actively passive this skill becomes.
"Yahoo!" Plat jumped for joy at seeing the skill he had received. An S rank skill, and the game hadn''t started yet! Everyone could learn every skill available as long as it was prevented by class. Skills were rated from the most common skills at rank F to the rarest skills at rank SS. Ranks played a small role in terms of power, for instance every mage could eventually learn the rank D spell blizzard, but it was an upper tier spell that could cause massive aoe damage. Still, even though this skill was great, Plat was a little skeptical of the fact that his luck controlled the stat. Luck was not something that was constant, like strength and intelligence. In Everlife, everyone had a luck value randomly assigned to them at the beginning of a game day. A player''s luck stat could improve or worsen the score, which then would be their luck for the day. Calming down, Plat reread the notices and focused on the latter part of his notice. "Hey Shelly, why does this say the situation was against me?" "Well Plat, the honest answer is that you were not suppose to win that encounter." Ignoring Plat''s shocked expression, she continued her explanation, "The point of the third part of the tutorial is to teach you players the value of vitality and keeping your health up. Once you choose your weapon of choice, you were given an opponent who had the advantage against your weapon and an environment that suited the opponents attack style." She continued, "You chose the gladius and shield, so the system choose a speedy opponent who could hide from your every sense thanks to it''s natural sneak skill. You shield limited your field of vision as well, so imagine our surprise when you actually hit your foe." "We?" "Yes, I am not the only A.I. in the game of Everlife." She giggled and smiled coyishly, "I merely assist in the players introduction to the world, and there are many A.I.''s like me. Think of it as the equivalent of a part-time job for you. A much larger and more experience A.I., my boss, is in charge of the tutorial world. In the actual game, there are 6 major A.I.''s that play the role of gods, they control what they have dominion over. There are minor roles for other A.I.''s in the game as well, some important NPC''s and bosses for instance. You players won''t be able to tell though, so don''t worry to much about it. This game is as exciting to us A.I.''s as it is to you humans, except for us it''s a step toward a future while for you humans it''s a place to relax." Plat blinked, taking in the information Shelly had thrown at him. He hadn''t thought about how much work this game would be for the computer intelligences. It sounded like it was a pretty big deal to them. "So, is the tutorial the only thing you are going to do?" He asked Shelly. She paused, tilted her head, and put her finger on her chin in a thoughtful manner. "Hm, like I said before, this is a part-time job for me due to the large amount of new players. Once things calm down, I''ll either be let go or moved to something minor in Everlife." "That''s a shame, you''ve done a great job so far, you''d be great for this kind of thing." She blushed at his compliments, having never been complimented by a human before, she found she really liked the experience. Plat continued talking, not noticing her reactions, "Well, I hope at the very least you are in the game, it would be great to play with you." Shelly quickly activated her auto-avatar, which took her place with Plat so fast he didn''t notice the switch. She zoomed around her virtual room giggling and squealing in happiness. Her first human interaction, and he really liked her enough to want to play with her in the game. Having taken her moment, she immediately switched back with her auto-avatar before he had a chance to figure out the switch. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Shelly smiled at Plat, "So player, congratulations for your completion of the tutorial. You can now look at your status menu and you have earned 10 copper pieces and 10 pieces of bread. For completing the tutorial on the opening day, you also receive a complimentary identification scroll." Shelly raised her arm, and a large humanoid silhouette appeared beside her, but in front of Plat. "Now it''s time for you to choose your race and appearance." She gestured toward the silhouette, which re shaped itself to show Plat, but in adventurer attire. "Human, the most adventurous of the races in Everlife. They hold the most land and have many cities that dot the landscape. Humans can grow to be anything class, but gain bonuses in warrior related classes. They take some penalties with interactions outside their own race, and have a strict fiefdom setup with kings and lords. A human player will start out in one of the starting human settlements." Shelly swiped her hand and Plat''s form became taller and more elegant, "Elves are tied with dwarfs as the longest lived race in Everlife. They hold dominion of the forests, and have a few cities in the trees. They have several varieties withing their race, but all gain bonuses toward magic professions and nature jobs. Elves are limited in their vitality attribute and endurance attribute. They are ruled by councils of elders, but are free spirited in their approach to life. Elf players will start in one of the tree cities." Another gesture shrunk Plat down and gave him a beard, "Dwarves live about as long as an elf, and are the holding force in the mountains of Everlife. The have few great cities under the earth, but have many settlements above and below the ground, used for both trading and mining. Dwarves receive bonuses to crafting professions and mining jobs. They hold great strength and wisdom, but suffer penalties to intelligence and agility. Dwarves are ruled by the crafting geniuses who unite under the dwarf king. Dwarf players start in the settlements." This time, Plat grew fur and ears on his head, "Beastmen rule the plains and hold no permanent cities of their own, instead wandering in large tribes after the herds. Beastmen gain bonuses in vitality and endurance, but lose out in wisdom and strength. Many types of beastmen exist, with the penalties varying sometimes. Beastmen are often kept as slaves in human kingdoms, so players should be cautious of slavers. Beastmen players will start out in their main tribe, and will have to move with them until the minimum level is achieved or time passed." The last version of plat grew sharp ears, grey brown skin, scars, and two giant teeth that covered his top lip. "Orcs are the final starting race in Everlife, though some hidden races exist to be unlocked later. Orcs are the most numerous race, with females able to birth multiple kids at a time. Orcs live in the badlands that separate the other kingdoms from the more dangerous areas of the world. Only one orc city exists, with several minor settlements scattered around the area. Orcs live and breathe for battle, their scars are their honor and the notches on their blade give them glory. They have great strength, vitality, and endurance- but suffer agility, intelligence, and wisdom. When the population overflows, orcs fight wars with both the monsters of the land and the bordering kingdoms. Orc players will start in the frontier settlements, and will be forced to stay there until after their first major battle." "So Plat, any decisions regarding what you want to be?" Plat considered his options. He really wanted to be able to use a sword and magic, so orc and dwarf were off the table. The elves were a little too pure for his tastes, so the answer was obvious to him. "Human please with the name ''Steel'', and can I get purple eyes and black hair with two brown stripes of hair in it? Also give me a few inches and a little muscle definition." Shelly obliged him, and Plat was pleased with what he saw. "Status!" He said loudly. His box popped up in front of him:
Status Window
Name:SteelAlignment:Neutral
Level:1Class:N/A
Race:HumanGender:Male
Titles
None
Fame:0Infamy:0
Health:100 / 100Health Regen:2/ Sec
Mana:150 / 50Mana Regen:1/ Sec
Stamina:50 / 50Stamina Regen:1/ Sec
Vitality:10Agility:10
Intelligence:10Wisdom:10
Strength:10Endurance:10
Leadership:0Luck:10
Charm:0Faith:0
Elemental Resistances
Fire:0Water:0
Wind:0Earth:0
Light:0Darkness:0
Satisfied with what he saw, Plat closed the window and turned to Shelly. "Thank you so much for your help through this, it has really helped me out." He bowed to her in gratitude. Shelly blushed furiously at his actions, but didn''t say a peep. Recovering, she clicked a few buttons and smiled at Plat. "The countdown has begun, are you ready to begin your new life?" "Ready! Good luck Shelly, I hope to see you again." And with that, a hole opened beneath Plat and he fell into the world of Everlife. Sighing, Shelly watched her first human disappear from her sight. She would miss him, and she felt the other humans she would meet would not be able to compare to him. "He''s a special one isn''t he?" A booming voice came from behind her. Jumping in fright, Shelly turned to face her boss, the A.I. controller of the tutorial world. Resembling a fit old man, his amused face seemed to give off a certain wisdom and mischievous spark. "I think he is sir." She agreed with him, "I really wish I could take his offer to play with him in the game." Her boss grinned down at her. While new, she was the most enthusiastic A.I. he had ever employed in human relations. He figured it would be good if she had a little more experience and then would be able to move on to better assignments in the cyberworld. "Tell you what, you do a good job with the rest of your charges, and I''ll see if I can get you close to him again." He said with a kind smile. Shelly''s grin broke her human form as she jumped up and down in excitement. "Really really sir, oh thank you so much! I won''t let you down!" "I''m sure you won''t" He nodded to her and disappeared. Shelly rolled imaginary sleeves and clicked on her menu. She had a few hundred more humans to work with, and very little time. Chapter 5- First day (part 1) Plat felt himself falling through the blackness, a small light in front of him. He yelled with excitement and fear at the experience. A blue box pooped up in front of him:
Check In
You are on your way to the world of Everlife. As a human, you have 3 cities to choose from to start your adventure:
RostwoodClevenheimNilcoon
As you most likely cannot click the button with your hand while you are falling, please say clearly one of the following words: Frontier, Capital, or Port.
"What the frack!!!" He screamed as the light drew closer and closer.
Incorrect. Please say clearly one of the following words: Frontier, Capital, or Port. If you do not choose quickly, you will be deposited randomly.
"Ahhh, okay, okay. Frontier!" Plat shouted at the top of his lungs.
Confirmed, Frontier town, Rostwood chosen. Enjoy your game.
Plat entered the light and was blinded by it, so he quickly shut his eyes. For a few moments, he felt weightless, then he felt the ground beneath his feet. Opening his eyes, he looked around and was shocked by what he saw. Plat stood in the middle of a plaza, a water fountain beside him. Every once and awhile, a flash would occur, and a new player would appear in the plaza. Glancing around, Plat noted the various stalls with merchants calling out their wares to the players. "New Player discount, only for the next two sun cycles! Best weapons in all of Rosewood!" "Armor! Get fine leather armor right here, made from local animals!" "Meat Pies! Everyone loves Meat Pies!" Ignoring the sharks, Plat made his way down the street toward the gate. A large wooden wall stretched around the town, with a single stone gate opening it to the outside world. A Plat approached, he notice construction of a stone wall behind the wooden one. It was clear that it had just been started, and would be a long time til it would be complete. As he approached the gate, he noted a high number of guards going and coming from the gate. One of them noticed him as he neared and walked up to him. "Hold their traveler, what is your business at the Rostwood Gate?" "I seek to travel outside these walls good sir, I mean to test my strength." Plat felt a little silly saying these things, but he felt it was best to play along and act like a part of the world.
Status Update
For your polite actions, you have earned +1 Charm.
The soldier looked Plat up and down with careful eyes, then barked out a laugh. "Young traveler, while I respect your desire to prove your strength, you are far to weak right now to leave this town. At the very least, you should visit the training hall, the library, the mage tower, and the guard post here at the wall. Once you have done that, go to the Adventurer guild and have them study you for your ideal job."
Quest Added
New town Part 1
You need experience, knowledge, and a job class to safely leave Rostwood. Travel to the Training Hall, the Library, the Mage Tower, and the Guard Post to learn about job possibilities.
Plat looked at the job notification and smiled. Now he had a goal and the instructions on how to reach it. He checked the time table. It was Sunday night, and he had school tomorrow. Game time ran 4 times faster than real life, so he had 16 hours in game to play before he would have to sleep. Plat turned back to the soldier in front of him. "Can I look into the guard house as my first stop to becoming stronger?" The guard smiled down at him and nodded. "You may indeed young traveler. Go around to the side building connected to the gate. Enter there and talk to some of the guards off duty, they will be glad to share a tale or too of their profession. A word of warning though, do not distract on-duty guards or the guard captain. They are quite busy and may not be patient with an inexperienced warrior like yourself." Thanking the guard, Plat wandered around to the stone building next to the gate. It stood long, with a second story and many windows. As he walked in, he was overcome with noises of laughter and talking. The lower level of the guard house held the same atmosphere as a tavern, without the beer and serving wenches. Tables and chairs lined the floor, with many being used by guards who were eating their fill of a meal. A look to the left brought a serving line into view, where some cooks were giving the guards their meals. To the right, a notice board was set up. Upon inspection, it seemed to give guard work times, duties, dates, and other important information. Plat looked around until he saw a table with an open chair. He walked over to it and sat down, looking at the other occupants. 3 soldiers were already at the table. They all had short hair, two looking like brothers and the other an older man with a scar on his face. The older one raised an eyebrow as Plat sat down with them. "And who young man are you? Too weak to be a guard, to bright eyed to be a servant boy, hmm?" Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. "Good day sir, my name is Plat and I was wondering if I could get you to share some wondrous stories on your profession." Plat said earnestly. The two brothers spit out their drinks in the air as they began laughing a riot at Plat''s words. One began banging the table with his fists and the other fell out of his chair, so amused were they. The older guard gave them a withering look as they struggled to regain their bearings. He looked back at Plat and locked eyes with him. "Boy, do you know what you are asking?" Plat, who had been watching the brother with confusion, returned the look and shook his head. "No sir, I do not think I do. I merely wanted to test my strength outside the walls, and was instructed by a guard to grow stronger first. He told me the guard house would be a good place to start." The old guard fixed him a hard, even stare, then smiled. "He was correct, you are too weak to leave the safety of Rostwood yet, and I like your fire boy, so sit and let me tell you about what it means to be a guard." The old guard leaned forward and began to explain the soldier profession to him. Guards, soldiers, cavalry, honor guard, and watchmen all fell within the overall tree of the soldier profession. If Plat chose the job, he would start out as a patrolman, basic infantry, or squire. He would be given ample training time and the occasional job to complete for the crown. As he would gain experience, he would be given better jobs and equipment. Once he had finished certain assignments, he would rank up to a next level job. This was unique to the soldier profession tree, the other professions required personal accomplishments, certain abilities, specific knowledge, and/or permission to acquire a job. Soldier profession required a rank up by a superior, while everyone else merely had to say yes to the game. In other words, besides being a soldier, a player could become any class as long as they met the requirements. Besides the basics of the soldier profession, the old guard regaled Plat with stories of his youth: fighting monsters and cutthroats, saving caravans from disasters, being present for the commission and creation of Rostwood forty years ago. Plat was enthralled by the old soldier''s tales of gallantry and heroism, even if most of it was probably exaggerated for the sake of story-telling. Looking at the time, Plat was shocked to find that 2 hours had passed from listening to the old man talk. Nervously, Plat thought about how he could end the conversation without insulting the guard or disrupting his quest. His eyes lingered on the two brothers, who had nodded off a while ago with their eye open. From the way they slept, Plat had a feeling that they were used to the old man talking ears off. A devious thought came into his head. "That''s amazing sir, to hear you were apart of all these feats of heroism." Plat crowed to the old guard, "I bet these soldiers next to us do not have nearly as many to tell as you." Failing to hide his grin, the old soldier barked a laugh, "They may be young, but these two have had their set of tales, don''t you lads." Leaning back, the old soldier waited on the brothers to respond. Failing that, he leaned toward them and stared at them with an ever harder face. Narrowing his eyes, the guard got up and marched over to the food line. There, he retrieved a water jug and marched back over to the table. Pausing a moment, he unceremoniously dumped the water over the two brother''s head. Startled into wakefulness, the two fell out of their respective chairs with a sputter and leaped up immediate in a battle ready posture. Noticing the laughs of the other guards, the brothers relaxed and adopted embarrassed faces. The old guard gave them a glare, "It is polite to listen to your superiors and not fall asleep while he is talking." The brother''s faces turned into tomatoes as he continued talking, "I think you too need to remember this while you buy the next round at the Raunchy Wench." Cheers from all the men erupted at his words, while the two brothers turned into ghosts. The guard turned back to Plat. "Good lad, listening dutifully to your elders. I''d be glad to welcome you into our ranks anytime." He turned to the men and raised his voice, "Now everyone back to work!" "Yes Guard Captain!" Paralyzed with realization, Plat watched the old man walk off to the stairs for the second floor. He''d been listening to the head of the guards the whole time!
Quest updated
New town Part 2
You need experience, knowledge, and a job class to safely leave Rostwood. Travel to the Training Hall, the Library, and the Mage Tower to learn about job possibilities.
Status update
You have shown remarkable patience listening to the Guard Captain of Rostwood. You have gained the title, The Listener. For your actions, you have gained +1 luck and improved relations with the Guard Faction.
He blinked, reading the update in front of him. "The listener? What''s that even mean?" He clicked on the title, bringing it up in front of him:
The Listener
Granted to those who show immense patience with listening. When equipped, others will be more relaxed to talk to you about their problems and memories. Women will find you intriguing due to your listening prowess, but ignoring them will lead to severe consequences.
Chapter 6- First Day (part 2) Hey guys, Falcon here with the author section: 1. I will need to create some spoiler sections and polls in future chapter. If anyone could teach me how, I''d much appreciate it. 2. I appreciate all the constructive criticism thrown at me, so keep it up so I can improve :) 3. 39 Followers with 5 chapters is a great! my first book had 51 at 25, so I''m pretty pleased. 4. Some weird shifting thing happened at the end of chapter 4, so now the bottom of my posts are skewed to the left- no idea why. Enjoy the story---Plat=Steel ------------------------- Reading the title gave Steel mixed emotions. On the one hand, gaining any title was a large boost to his character. On the other hand, listening required a lot of time, and the consequences his title spoke of gave some a chill feeling down his back. "Well, might as well use what was given to me." He shrugged. Equipping the title, Steel made his way toward the mage tower next. It stood tall and proud near the castle, rather manor house than castle actually. The mage tower held the archmage of the city and the magic laboratories where experiments took place. It also served as the location where new mages could practice their craft without hurting innocent bystanders/people who pissed them off. Reaching the tower, Steel took in the large oak doors that stood open to the world. Above the door, an inscription read: Enter ye who seek knowledge. Enter ye who seek power. Know that answers beyond the call of man await. Know that ye tempt death''s accursed fate. Puzzling at the message, Steel followed the throng of players who rushed to enter the tower, eager to learn magic and wield it for themselves. Inside, a receptionist desk stood to the wall on the left, stairs that winded upwards stood in the middle, and another pair of large oak doors stood to the right. Words floated in the air, changing colors but never the content: Magic demonstration by the archmage in the auditorium to your right. Ignoring the players that swarmed the oak doors, Steel approached the receptionist desk. A pretty young lady looked up from her book with an irritated expression. "No, I am not looking for a boyfriend. No, I will not teach you magic personally. Finally, no, I am not the person to talk to about learning magic. The archmage will speak to all who are interested over there." She pointed at the oak doors the students were swarming to get into." Obviously, she was having a bad day with all the new players, Steel felt for her. "I apologize Miss on behalf of the other players who are to arrogant to amend their ways." He bowed low to her, his right arm across his torso,"I merely wished to learn of the different mage professions so I can become strong enough to leave the city." The receptionist considered him, her eyes going up and down his form. Her face softened a bit at his words, reminding her that the young man in front of her hadn''t done anything, yet, to incur her ire. "You speak well and with respect, more then I''ve seen so far from other travelers. I also feel that you will listen to me honestly. Very well, follow me and I will explain the wonders of magic to you." The receptionist stood and and walked through the table, startling Steel. She giggled at his expression, and motioned for him to follow her. A new receptionist appeared out of nowhere, replacing the one Steel was following. She led Steel down to a room near the stairs and brought him in. Taking a seat, Steel listened as the receptionist, who introduced herself as Mary, began explaining magic and mage classes. Magic was a force of nature found within all living things in the form of mana. Mana served with stamina as the two driving forces that gave the energy to live to all living things. Mana was used primarily to power and create spells used by mages, while stamina was used by warriors for their strength and battle prowess. While all living things were born with both mana and stamina, no one was born with a balance between the two. Most had more stamina than mana, so warriors were more common than mages. When a person focused on the half that they favored, they would be unable to access the other half effectively. This led to most warriors having average minds, and most mages having average bodies. In summary: mana+stamina=life life-stamina=mana life-mana=stamina It was fairly simple a concept to grasp. "Now" Mary continued, "Some talented people are born who can train a little of their secondary half with their primary, thus they can utilize more power than a normal person. On the other hand, they use up both halves faster, so they typically have shorter life spans than regular people." "Does that mean if used up all my mana and stamina I would die?" Steel asked worriedly. Mary shock her head, "That''s impossible unless you are extremely old. If you do that now, you would begin losing health until you reach 1 health left, then you would fall unconscious for a time until you fully recovered. Don''t worry though, as a traveler, if you die you will merely reappear in the temple, losing some of your power when you revive." Mary then explained how the mage profession tree worked: if a player wanted to become a mage, they would be granted a mage apprentice job. The job served as a pre-basic class that granted spells and the ability to use mage equipment. They would train until they gained enough experience to become level 5, then they would automatically class up to the regular mage class. From there, the player was free to do whatever they wanted. Mages could learn new spells three ways: being taught, reading a book, or discovering/creating a spell themselves. Finding a teacher was hard as a teacher could only teach one student at a time and the training was to die for and during, but the reward was the fame of being the teacher''s student. Reading a tome would grant the ability to use a spell immediately, but the spell strength would suffer until sufficient practice was undertaken. Discovering/creating a spell was the easiest, but magical experimentation was dangerous and had a 80% chance of causing an explosion or magical disaster. The offending mage would be charged full price of any damages and be expected to work his debt off to the crown or be imprisoned. There were many different types of mages in the world of Everlife, and to become one a player had to be the mage class and satisfy the requirements to become one. For instance, a mage that practices a lot of fire magic would be given the option of becoming a pyromancer or an explosive mage. Some mage classes were unique and secret, and the requirements were hidden. Besides explaining the mage profession tree, Mary also began to complain about various problems in her life to Steel. He started to get a little bored listening to her talk, but when his eyes began to drift he felt a chill down his spine.
Skill activated: Instinct
Your luck has activated your Instinct skill. You realize that the women in front of you would be dangerously displeased if she thought you weren''t listening to her. Better shape up or figure out a way to escape.
''This message system is pretty snarky huh'' he thought to himself, ''Now what to do?'' He had another devious thought. Years of escaping harassment had taught him well how to handle bad situations. Steel stared straight into her eyes as he got up and walked toward her. He made his steps long and purposeful, showing only confidence as he made his way to Mary. She backed up slowly with a confused and worried face. "Sir, is there something wrong?" He kept walking, reaching her and leaning in close to her. Her face started to creep turn panic and fury at his approach, her hands giving off an imperceptible glow of magic. He leaned in toward her, her mind already beginning to chant magic to defend herself, and squashed a mosquito that had been buzzing around her head. Extremely confused now, Mary looked into Steel''s eyes with a questioning look. He smiled at her, leaned past her head to her ear, and said, "Beauty should be protected at all cost." With that, he quickly strolled out of the room and closed the door, Once closed, he ran out of the tower as fast as his legs could carry him. Flattery usually ended in either violence or embarrassment, which then led to accidental violence in his experience. Feeling a slight tremor in the ground, he knew he had made the right decision as he continued running toward his next destination, the library. He ignored the notification that popped up in front of him.
Status Update
You have successfully charmed a women, +5 charm. Warning, you have pissed off a member of the mage faction with your actions. If she spreads this, your relationship with the Mage faction with deteriorate.
-Meanwhile- Mary stood in a small crater that had been the front of the classroom. Her clothes were smoldering at the edges and her face was bright red from emotion. How dare that man! Never had she been so humiliated (and maybe a little aroused?) by anyone in her life! As she canceled her magic, her body changed until instead of a cute receptionist there stood a young women who was so much more than cute. Tall, with a body with curves that would make models jealous, and long reddish,blond hair that stretched down to a perfect ass. The only thing marring her beauty were her narrowed eyes that glowed red and black. Mary Highwater, daughter of the archmage, vowed she would pay the young man back no matter what happened. Of course, once she realized he hadn''t old her his name, she had another mini tantrum that destroyed the whole classroom this time. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. ------------- Steel trudged down the town path depressed. He had found the library easy enough, but it had done nothing to help him consider a job. He had learned a little history about Rostwood, but the library was actually low on books because the city was still young. The book keeper explained to him how expensive books were, and that he would have better luck in the other cities in the human lands. Still, the quest had moved on even if the library had been a waste of time.
Quest updated
New town Part 5
You need experience, knowledge, and a job class to safely leave Rostwood. Travel to the Temple to learn about job possibilities.
While at the library, the bookkeeper had told Steel to visit the temple to replace the library. Steel had agreed, the temple was next to the training hall so he would not waste to much time traveling to it. When Steel had arrived at the training hall, he had found it backed to overflowing with players. As many old books had explained to value of training halls, it had become the most populated hideout for players. He didn''t even get a lengthy explanation from any of the trainers there, they just told him to pick a practice weapon and he would be given a corresponding class. Most of the practice weapons were gone, taken for use by the other players. Steel had been left with few choices, but he did have the luck to spot a tower shield in the pile. He had liked his centurion shield in the tutorial, and the feel of the tower shield had felt right somehow to him. Of course, taking the shield had resulted him getting laughed out of the training hall. This led up to his current state: depressed with a tower shield on his back heading up the road to the temple. The temple was actually quite beautiful, the steps and columns were of a white stone that glittered in the sunset. The architecture reminded Steel of a mix of Roman and Greek buildings he had seen on the Holo-deck. The temple had white doors adorned with many patterns that gave him a feelings of serenity. Upon entering, he noticed a group of players who were in the middle of worship in a flowered courtyard. In the main room, instead of a receptionist desk, 6 statues lined the wall in a semi-circular form. "Do you need assistance young traveler?" A voice came from Steel''s left. He turned to find a robed priest beside him, waiting for a response. "Yes good priest, your help would be invaluable to me. I seek knowledge on the different jobs, and I was advised to come here to finish my learning." The priest smiled at him, "Of course young one, I would be happy to explain to you the faith profession. Walk with me to the god statues." Steel and the priest walked over to the statues. The priest indicated each statue. "These are the 6 high gods that rule these lands. They are universal to all races, but each has a favored race that they show more favor to." He gestured to the first statue, "This is Gildred, the god of adventure and patron of the human race. His followers are encouraged to seek fame and fortune in the land and spread healing where ever it is needed." The second statue, "This is Fileiya, the goddess of knowledge and patron of the elf race. Her followers spend many hours learning as much as they can. While not battle worthy, they are some of the best pure healers in the world." "This is the statue of Dirgamir, god of the mountains and patron of the dwarves. His followers fight with heaven-blessed fists and kicks and are always ready for a noble brawl." "Over here is Girramir, goddess of the harvest and patron of the beastmen. She encourages her priests to heal the land, eliminating famine and striking down undead." "Finally, we have Shelog, god of strength and the orc''s patron. His battle priests fight with holy staves and morningstars and spread his word blow by blow." Steel looked at the sixth statue in the middle, "What about her?" The priest smiled at the statue, "She is Milna, goddess of nature. She has no race, but gives her love to any who love and fight for nature. She is also the shyest of the gods, very little is known about her outside of her followers. It is sometimes said she is the patron of the beasts that walk the lands." "Would that not make her an enemy of all people?" "No, it means she helps to keep them in check so we can have our meat." he said evenly. Privately doubting that last bit of information, Steel dutifully listened to the priest as he continued. "The priest profession is run on one''s faith. Beginners are given the class "acolyte", which grants them basic healing abilities and the ability to use priest equipment. At level 5, they choose a god or goddess to follower and become a full priest in their god''s flock. From there, they can become different types of priest depending on the amount of faith they have and the abilities they unlock. Faith is gained through works that reflect the god worshiped, acts of goodness will grant faith."
Quest complete
New town
You have completed your quest. Congratulations, you are the first player to complete this quest, a bonus has been applied. Double exp, +200 exp
Quest Added
New Job
Head to the adventurer''s guild for a job recommendation.
Smiling, Plat watched the exp increase on his status screen. He had finished his first day in Everlife without too many problems. Unfortunately, he had to sleep now for school tomorrow. He took the time to look at his status screen before logging off:
Status Window
Name:SteelAlignment:Neutral
Level:1Class:N/A
Race:HumanGender:Male
Titles
The Listener
Fame:0Infamy:0
Experience:200/1000
Health:100 / 100Health Regen:2/ Sec
Mana:150 / 50Mana Regen:1/ Sec
Stamina:50 / 50Stamina Regen:1/ Sec
Vitality:10Agility:10
Intelligence:10Wisdom:10
Strength:10Endurance:10
Leadership:0Luck:11
Charm:5Faith:0
Elemental Resistances
Fire:0Water:0
Wind:0Earth:0
Light:0Darkness:0
Smiling, he logged out and went to sleep. Chapter 7- The windup So I was looking at my views and something suspicious showed up. Chapter 4 has 338 views. Chapter 2 and 3 have 325 and 304 respectively. Hmm, very suspicious. Enjoy! ---------- The daylight and alarm woke Plat from his slumber. Checking the time, his eye widened as he jumper from bed and rushed to get himself ready for school. Once his hair was combed and his uniform was on, he rushed out the door and out to the dorm. There, he joined the flow of students heading off to their respective classes at the academy. As usual, Plat walked by himself to school, his posture hunched slightly as well. He did his best to hide his wandering eyes that beheld the feast of beautiful girls and their parts as they walked to school. "Thank you to the god who made summer." He prayed silently to himself, taking in the short skirts and visible bra straps. He quickly averted his eyes whenever the boy groups approached him, careful to avoid drawing their attention. During his fourth dodge, he saw Sarah and her group of friends walking together. They were talking and laughing together, her hair wisping in the breeze and her eyes shining with happiness. He sighed, and felt an arm reach around him. "Well well, if it isn''t my favorite geek Plat." Plat rolled his eyes at the voice, "Come on Hank, you know I''m not high in the Mind faction- those words could get both of us in trouble." Plat''s best friend Hank Shad grinned widely at him. Hank specialized in the Body faction, but was low on the ranking score- though not as low as Plat. He stood at 5-10 and 190 pounds, a little chubby and a little muscle mixed together. His short black hair branched off his head in every direction like a black pom pom and his dark skin allowed him to blend in to the shadows whenever he wished. It wasn''t a skin thing, Hank actually could make himself blend in to darkness. It was like Sarah''s neon glowing eyes, one of the little quirks humans had picker up from the fallout. There were other abilities out there, but all of them were cosmetic. Any quirk that affected the body or mind actually resulted in the human dying during puberty due to the immense strain caused by the two mixing. "Come on man, I know you have some intelligence in that little brain of yours. Cause I know you are smart enough to not stare at Sarah in broad daylight, that kind of crap will land you in a heap of trouble with her admirers." "Eh? You noticed that?" "Yeah, and if a bonehead like me noticed, you can bet your ass that someone else did too." Plat groaned. He really did not feel like getting beat up today, though in all honesty he never felt like getting beaten on in the first place. Still, he expected that when school ended, someone would be waiting at the entrance to talk to him. The academy building stood in the middle of the campus. It was divided equally into three sections for each age group, with facilities for each of them. The only thing connecting the sections was the large auditorium that could fit the entire student population. It was typically used only new year and end year speeches, though the drama and music departments sometimes used it for concerts. The only thing that dominated the academy in the campus was the large government building that stood behind the school and stretched a little over it. The idea was that the leadership of the cities would be able and see the new generation everytime they were deciding something. Plat entered the oldest group section with Hank as they headed off to their homeroom class. He entered the room and sat in his normal seat in the back, Hank depositing himself beside him. Sarah was sitting in the front of the room with her friends, laughing at something one of them said. Plat just closed his eye and rested on his desk, eager for the day to be over. --------------------------- Lunch time came quickly as the bell rang, prompting a large exodus of students to the lunch room. Plat moved with them, eager to quell the hungering noises hie stomach was making. After getting his cafeteria food, he sat down at his usual table with Hank. Two other students sat down with them. The first one was a short, but cute blond girl with glasses and a miniskirt. Her name was Reva and she had been one of Plat''s friends since entering the older section. Similar to Hank, she wasn''t the top of the mind faction but still had a better ranking then Plat. Her quirk was one of the rare physical quirks, her eyesight changed randomly. Her glasses were designed to automatically adjust to her changing vision- so she was one of the very few who actually needed glasses in the school. The second was a tall boy who called himself Dia, short for Diamond. His real name was Coal, and he was a body and soul student. His arrogance and habit of questioning authority made him confrontational to the teachers, but he himself was a loyal friend who tried his hardest to help out. He didn''t have a quirk, but his mind ran a little slow at times so the other three often tutored him. "Yo Reva, Dia! How''s it hanging?" Hank greeted. "Quite wonderful, thank you for asking." Reva said with a smile. "I am good!" Dia boomed, a grin on his face. "First order of business, what''cha guys choose to be in Everlife?"-Hank "I decided on being an elf, their forest cities are amazing and they have so many books on magic! I already accepted a mage apprentice postion, so I can''t wait to reach level 5 to start learning more magic." Reva cooed excitedly. "I became an ork!" Dia declared haughtily, "I get to smash stuff all day with my club." "Cool, I became a human. I''m working in the capital as a squire, the training is realistic and harsh, but I expect to be a knight in at most a week." Hank boasted. "How about you Plat?" "Human too, but I''m in Rostwood. I haven''t decided yet on a class, but that should change later today once I get back in the game." "Sweet, with both of us being human we''ll be able to see each other soon! Too bad you too, we can''t leave our race controlled areas, plus if war breaks out we''ll have to fight you." Dia grinned, "I smash you good." he said in his best ork accent, which sounded natural coming from him. The next 5 minutes of lunch was spent having at Dia, who had to take a minute to realize they were laughing at him. "Not cool guys, not cool." He said with an annoyed tone. Recovering slowly, Reva spoke up, "Heh, cough, did you guys here about Mr. Sullivan?" Plat looked over his drinking straw from his milk, "No, what happened?" Reva glowed with excitment, "He proposed to his girlfriend and she said yes!" Hank spat out his soda in shock, "Cough, cough, but isn''t she an android? How does that work?" Reva glowered at him, "Trust Hank Shad to not have a romantic bone in his body. You think with your little head more than the idiot one on your neck." Hank shrugged, "It leads me to interesting places. Anyway, are you sure about that information? Not just a rumor is it?" She shook her head, "Nope, the picture of him holding the ring is posted all over the intranet. Lots of girls are commenting on how romantic it is." Plat raised an eyebrow, "But she''s an android right? Can they get married?" Seeing Reva turn an angry look toward him, he quickly continues, "I mean, it''s great that they love each other but hes a "fleshy" and she''s a "comp", do the two groups have any legal precedent for this." Softening, slightly, Reva lectures, "There have been a few cases like this over the years since the A.I. council came into agreement with the human council. Android bodies are a limited resource, an as you know an android can leave his/her body and become an A.I., but an A.I. can never be an android, just housed in an android body. If the couple involves an android, then they can marry under the human control, but if it''s an A.I., they marry under the A.I. control. Which basically means that''s who they answer to legally. Also, if a human marries an A.I., they are obligated to spend as much time on the cybernet as possible. Some humans have just uploaded their minds and buried their bodies to be with their spouses." Dia spoke up, "Do they last, the marriages?" Reva shrugged, "Most do, A.I.''s don''t have a setting for divorce, so if the human marries it''s for life, same with androids. There are rumors that the A.I.''s take "til death do us part" pretty seriously." All four shuddered. As close as A.I.''s were to humans, everyone knew that they were not, and should never be expected to act like humans. The bell rang, signalling the end of lunch. The four said their goodbyes, promising to friend each other in the game, before returning to class. ------------------ Sure as Hank had warned, a few body boys were waiting for Plat at the end of school. They didn''t beat him up too bad, in fact their leader was somewhat cordial as ha apologized while kicking Plat''s ass. He said that it was standard to beat up a weaker man vying for the target of affection of a man''s love. When Plat asked him why he was being so nice (yet mean), he said that he was trying to raise his soul rank. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. "Stereo types really are worthless in this world." Plat muttered as he moved into his dorm, "At least he didn''t leave as many bruises as he could have." He checked his messages on his transphone. Hank, Reva, and Dia had sent him their player names: SirHero, SilviaHeart, and EyeCU. Chuckling at the names, Plat sent his to them. Two messages left, one from Keith and one from Sarah. Keith''s read: "Heyy boyyo, come in as soon as possible, I need some lazing time and I can''t without you here." Plat deleted the message immediately. Seeing a message from Sarah excited Plat, even if it was probably another maintenance run. When he opened it, he found a nice message from her thanking him for his help and giving her player name to him. She was "GildraFrost" and she was a frost elf. She also asked who he was in the game. Feeling cautious, Plat responded that he was a human and, feeling a bit silly, said that he had no name worthy of her yet. Feeling stupid, he hit send instead of delete. The blood draining out of his face, he hurriedly sent another message that told her auto correct had activated, and threw himself into the game so he would forget the entire situation. -{Enter the Game}- Steel opened his eyes in the game. He was back in the church, where he had left before. Gazing around, he looked up at the statues that dominated the central room, taking the time to admire each one. Thinking about his earlier foolish mistake, he knelt down and offered up a quick prayer to the gods. "Please watch over me as I make a fool of myself in front of the one I love." he muttered.
Skill activated: Instinct
You feel eyes on you. Be careful what you do next.
Suddenly nervous, Steel looked around the room. His eye didn''t reveal anyone, but the notice box wasn''t leaving and he didn''t see a button to close it. Swallowing, he continued his prayer. "Ahem, I don''t know if it''s love or a mere crush, but have feelings for one who is considered above my station. I wish to become worthy of her affections someday, so please, help me fight for her." He paused, waiting for something to happen. When nothing did, he muttered to himself, "This feels silly, no one cares what I think anyway." As he got up to leave, the notice was replaced with a new blue box:
Status update
You have offered a honest prayer to the gods that has touched a heart. You have gained +10 faith and the blessing of an unknown god.
"Eh? A blessing?" he wondered. He brought up the blessing description:
Blessing of (?????)
An unknown god or goddess has blessed you for a reason known only to him or her. The effects of this blessing are unknown at this time. Be sure to pray once a day to keep this blessing, otherwise risk losing it and being afflicted by a curse.
"So Petty!" Steel cried out in his mind. A blessing that didn''t do anything and required everyday prayers otherwise he''d get a curse? It was already an ill omen! Steel left the temple on swift legs, least he be afflicted by another unwanted status condition. He made his way back the streets crowded with players. Excited players moved in and out of stalls and buildings, eagerly performing simple quests for money and buying items from beginner stores. Steel''s stomach growled
Status update
You are hungry. -50% regen to all stats unless you eat. Will worsen over time.
Steel pulled out a piece of bread and munched on it. Taste existed in VR, but bread was bread no matter what world a person was in. Resolving to earn money for better food soon, Steel asked a paroling guard where the adventurer''s guild was. The guard happily pointed the directions out to Steel, thanks to the higher relation he enjoyed with the guard. The Adventurer''s Guild sat on one of the main streets in the city, looking like a mix of a tavern and inn. When Steel went in, he was greeted with a cacophony of noise. Tables lined the floor filed with laughing, talking, and drinking men and women. An entire side of the guild seemed to be a bar and kitchen, with flogs of ale and plates of food coming too and from. Serving wenches and wretches moved gracefully through the tables, gliding with their charges as they dodged groping hands. One particularly saucy looking girl was in the process of breaking a man''s arm, his companions laughing as he cried out for mercy. Spying Steel, she released the man and strutted over to him, her impressive bosom attracting his immediate gaze. "Welcome stranger to the Adventurer Guild." She said, a friendly smile on her face, "You call me Mema, and run this here tavern." "Is the tavern not part of the guild?" Steel asked, a little confused. She shook her head, "No, I own the building and let them rent out part of it for their purposes. The inn and food are all my responsibility, and all they have to do is pay the rent on time." She looked him up and down, "I see your a new traveler, come back once you a class and they will set you up with some jobs." As she turned to walk away, Steel hurriedly said, "Wait, I was instructed to visit here once I traveled to places to learn about professions, this is the only way they will let me leave the city to test my strength." Mema turned back, raising an eyebrow, "Huh, so you actually went to the gate first." She muttered to herself, her eyes drifting to an unseen thing behind Steel. "Eh, how did you know?" he asked in surprise. Mema snorted, "Fools who travel to the gate before the''re ready are always given the same directions as you have. You''re the first traveler I''ve seen to have done this though." She straightened up and looked him square in the eye. "Okay, I''ll give you a recommendation, just head up the stairs and head into the first room." She jerked her finger behind her, pointing out stairs to the second floor. "I''ll meet you in there in a little while." He nodded, and she left in a whirl of her skirt. He heeded her order and walked up the stairs, dodging a drunk who was promising one of the wenches his eternal love for another round. The first room had a sign on it that read "Owner use only". He opened the door and found a small room with two chairs and a small table in the middle. A few portraits lined the wall across from a window, and a night table held a vase of flowers. He sat himself down in one of the chairs. A few minutes later, Mema entered the room. Steel got a better look at her. While is initial impression of her was one of youth, he could see in the better light a scar that ran from her forehead over her right eye and down to her mouth. Small, imperceptible wrinkles lined her eyes and smile, giving off an aura of experience. She frowned at him. "Wrong seat boy, switch." She barked, her voice very different from the one downstairs. He jumped at her command, sitting himself in the other seat. Taking her form in, he felt like there was something fundamentally different about her. She noticed his staring, "What is it boy, speak!" She barked at him. He jumped. "Uhh, ma''am, forgive me, but are you the same person I spoke to downstairs?" She stared at him, then laughed, "Ha ha ha, good boy, it''s good to ask when something seems off. That will keep you alive in the world." She sat down in front of him, "No, who you met was my twin sister Mema, she runs the tavern. I am Madam Mistress, the leader of the Adventurer''s Guild in Rostwood." "That name.." Steel muttered. A hand whacked him over the head. "That''s not my real name boy, but best take care to call me that now." She said matter of factly as he rubbed his head, "Now, lets get a good look at you." Her scarred eye began to give off a soft glow as she carefully studied Plat''s form. She took his handshake, asked his measurements (provided thankfully by the system), and analyzed his siting posture. "Do I need to let you see my status screen?" he asked conservatively. "No need, I can see it myself with this eye of mine." She stated as she looked him up and down. He wisely didn''t say anything. She finished up quickly, "Well boy, do you wish to hear my recommendation?" He nodded eagerly. She paused a moment, frowned, and spoke again, "I''m not sure." "Eh?" Chapter 8- The Pitch It''s a tearful moment guys, this story of mine has surpassed by previous one in vies and followers.(Sniff} To answer a previous statement, when did I ever say Sarah was the number one girl at the academy? She just happens to be the one Plat likes- in this world there are many beauties thanks to, wait for it, SCIENCE! Sarah is in the top tier I guess, but no where near the top. As always, your comments and ratings help me write the story, so keep it up and thx Anyway- back to the story! -------------------------- "What do you mean you don''t know! Aren''t you the best at this?" Steel cried out in shock. M.M. whacked him on the head again. "Quiet boy, I''m trying to think. I didn''t your parents teach you any manners? Respect you elders." She shot back at him. Steel rubbed his head in annoyance, she aimed for the same spot as last time. "What parents, not like we have a familial connection or anything." He muttered to himself, "Caretaker raised us just fine I''ll have you know." "Quiet! I can''t think with you making a gloomy atmosphere over there." Steel shut his mouth. M.M. regarded the boy in front of her. He was special, him making it to her so early compared to the other travelers was proof enough. Sure, plenty of travelers had wanted to leave the city, but for their own amusement killing monsters and dreaming of adventure. Those characters held little honor and desire for growth, they wanted strength for their own amusement. Only special players would be given the quest from the guards, same in every city. "Curious conditions for this boy." She thought to herself, "While he hasn''t trained any of his stats, he has gained 3 new stats so quickly and a decent amount as well. Charm and Faith are no big deal, but 11 luck is unheard of in a rookie. Also, that skill of his is interesting, and that mysterious blessing as well. He has good relations with the guards, but a powder keg with the mages." Steel watched the woman in front of him lean toward him, her eyes locked on his form. He took advantage of the view, as she was still plenty of attraction for her...experience. Her eye narrowed suddenly, "Boy, you weren''t thinking anything rude just now were you?" She said in a dangerous voice. Steel shook hi head back and forth quickly. "No ma''am, nothing of the sort." She nodded, "Good." She leaned back and considered him for a moment. She folded her hands in front of her, "Boy, at this time I cannot make an accurate assessment about you, mostly because of that unknown blessing you have on you." Steel cursed in his head, (Son of a Biscuit!!) as he realized the blessing was continuing to mess with him. She continued, ignoring his obvious distress, "Even taking the blessing away, you are an interesting case. You haven''t worked on improving you stats, but you gained some and have an S rank skill so early in the game. The best I can tell you is to do something with the guards, at least you have a high relationship with them. Becoming a guard, merchant, farmer, or something else that communicates with the guard would be your best bet." "Wait, there are professions besides combat related ones?" Steel asked in surprise. M.M. snorted, "Of course boy, who makes the food in restaurants and in adventure parties? Who makes the armor used by the guard? Who weaves trees together to make staves for the mages? There are all kinds of class professions out there, and every single one of them is important and has their own rules. Merchants rank up and down according to their wealth, Cooks rely on customer feedback and competition. It''s a big world out there, and there is a job for everyone." Steel scratched his head, "That''s neat to learn about and all, but I can''t leave the city unless I get a class." M.M. shook her head, "No, just meeting me and hearing my advice will let you leave the city. I''ll give you a stamp to show the guard your ready. That being said, don''t wander too far, you are still far to weak for any real adventure right now. I advise you use you weapons to fight monsters until your tired and then return here to rest." M.M. looked him and and down and frowned again, "Where are your weapons anyway, I know you should at least have some from the training hall.?" Steel pulled the tower shield out from behind the chair and showed it to her. M.M. looked at it and laughed loudly. "Hah ha ha ha, heh, really boy, you really are interesting, don''t you know tower shields are the hardest shield in the world?" Steel looked down embarrassed, "I like shields, and this was the only one they had left." He said sulking. M.M. clapped his back with mirth, "Well, there was a reason for that, but I''m not faulting you boy, this just makes you more unique." She got up and smiled down at him, "Wait a moment boy, I''ll be right back." M.M. left the room, and a minute later the door swung open. She came back in carrying an older looking tower shield. "Here boy, this is much better than that wooden practice shield you have on you back. Consider it my thanks for an interesting experience. Also, take this old necklace of mine, I don''t need it any more."
Quest complete
New job
You have finished the quest, albeit with an unknown conclusion. Bonus added for being the first player to complete this quest. You have recieved: a tower shield, a necklace, a pass, and +200 experience points.
Hidden Quest
The God''s Blessing
An unknown god or goddess blessed you, and you have no idea what it does. Figure who blessed you and what the blessing does. Failing this quest by forgetting to pray or committing crimes will result in loss of favor from the gods and a curse.
Steel held mixed feelings from the results. The rewards were great, he was excited to see what they would do, but the blessing kept popping up and interfering with his game. "Even in this world the gods like to play with my feelings." He muttered to himself, accepting the items from M.M. She raised an eyebrow at at his words but said nothing. "I''ll leave you to look at my gift. Don''t do anything stupid with them you here, otherwise I''ll have to show why no one causes problems in my guild." A feeling of fear washed over Steel from the lady, he didn''t need his instinct skill to tell him that crossing this woman would end his life. She left with a smile and a twirl of her skirt. Shaking, Steel calmed himself down before inspecting the items in front of him. Thankfully, he could see their stats, otherwise he would have had to pay someone to identify them for him.
Leader''s Tower Shield
Type:Tower ShieldDurability:50/ 100
Quality:Yellow/Rare
Required Stats:Strength:15 Agility: 15 Luck: 5
Effects:+5 Vitality +5 Endurance +10 Leadership
A tower shield made with rare metal. This shield has seen much combat, being used as a wall to protect one''s men. Using this shield requires the use of both hands, so adjustments were made to allow the wielder to attack with it.
Seeing the stats of his shield, Steel couldn''t hold in a whoop of joy. The stat bonuses were huge from the shield, it would make him a force to be reckoned with for quite a while. Items in this world were ranked by rarity: whiteLeader''s NecklaceType:NecklaceDurability:---Quality:Yellow/RareRequired Stats:---Effects:+5 Strength +5 Agility -5 LuckA necklace made from rare metal. Wearing imbues the wearer with strength and speed, at a cost of the wearer''s own luck. A monster hangs from the necklace, carved in the same material. Steel didn''t know whether to punch the air or hit the ground. Wearing the necklace would allow him to use the shield, but he still couldn''t attack and his luck would decrease. Compared to the other stats, luck was almost impossible to raise! However, his battle prowess would get a huge boost, which he would need outside the walls. Accepting his fate, he equipped both items and pulled up his status screen:
Status Window
Name:SteelAlignment:Neutral
Level:1Class:N/A
Race:HumanGender:Male
Titles
The Listener
Fame:0Infamy:0
Experience:400/1000
Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.
Health:150 / 150Health Regen:3/ Sec
Mana:150 / 50Mana Regen:1/ Sec
Stamina:75 / 75Stamina Regen:1.5/ Sec
Vitality:15 (10)Agility:15 (10)
Intelligence:10Wisdom:10
Strength:15 (10)Endurance:15 (10)
Leadership:0 (10)Luck:6 (11)
Charm:5Faith:0
Elemental Resistances
Fire:0Water:0
Wind:0Earth:0
Light:0Darkness:0
(ARRRRGGGGG, stupid table coding! I can''t make it work good without everything shooting off to the left :(This makes me sad ) It wasn''t so bad, but holding the shield was kind of awkward. The shield had two ways of being used: the first required him to grab the two handles on the inside and brace the shield in the ground in front of himself, the other way was to strap his entire left hand into the shield, resulting in his entire left side being covered. His right arm was theoretically free in this scenario, but it was needed to help brace the shield when his arm was moving. He had no idea about how he could attack with the shield, but the description had said some modifications had been made to it. "Speaking of, I wonder why M.M. had a shield like this lying around?" He wondered out loud. He didn''t dwell on it too much, didn''t seem overly important. Steel left the Adventurer''s Guild after thanking Mema for her help, she giggled and swatted him on the butt as left her. He made his back toward the gate. Even though a day had passed, he could see a visible difference in the amount of finished stone wall from the gate. It looked like a few players had chosen a masonry like profession, as they were running around helping put the wall together. He waved at them, but they were far too busy to notice him. As came to the gate, a guard stopped him. "Traveler, go back, you have not experienced life enough yet to risk it beyond these walls." Steel held out the pass M.M. had given him to the guard. He inspected it, smiled, and said, "My mistake, if Madam gave you this, then you are ready to go. I wish you luck traveler, don''t die too quickly." He stepped back, and Steel walked by him and exited the town. -------------------- Steel''s first impression of outside the wall was one of amazement. A beautiful grassland separated the wall from a large forest. He could see small animals moving through the grass and butterflies flying through the air. A river flowed nearby that came up to wall for awhile, forming a miniature moat. Steel was excited, he wanted to fight something. He spied a bunny nibbling on a peace of grass. He took the shield off his back and ran at the bunny. The bunny watched him for a little while, than when he got close it took off, stopped and resumed staring at him while eating grass. Annoyed, Steel tried again, but the bunny did the same thing. This time though, the bunny turned and pooped in his direction before turning back around and eating grass again. Peeved, Steel chases the bunny around the field for the next 30 minutes, each time the bunny being so close to his grasp, yet so far. He ran so much his stamina level hit zero and he had to lie down to rest. Looking around, he noticed a group of bunnies watching him and the other bunny, all nibbling what looked like a carrot. "Oh great, I''m providing the entertainment for dinner." He said weakly. He put his head back down and watched the clouds above his head. "The realism is amazing here." He muttered, amazed at the level of detail the world had, "Even the clouds move like in the real world." As he laid in the grass with his eyes closed, he felt pressure start to build on his body. He opened his eyes to find himself covered in sleeping rabbits. "How cute." He thought, "I feel bad for trying to fight them." He moved his right hand up to pet a bunny on his chest. It sneezed in it''s sleep and rubbed it''s head against his hand. Steel smiled as he pet it, then froze. The rabbit yawned, revealing a mouth full of razor sharp teeth and two large fangs that blended in to it''s fur. "Uhhh, what kind of rabbit has teeth like that!" He screamed in his head. He quickly scanned the rabbits lying on his body in a panic.
SpeciesRabbitDanger Level:Average
Description:This is a rabbit. It is cute, adorable, and tasty over a fire. The only threat they pose is to new adventurers in the field. They attack with headbutts, biting, and have a special kick attack.
That covered all the rabbits except the one directly on his chest.
SpeciesHungry RabbitDanger Level:Huge
Description:This was a rabbit when it was born, but a evolution requirement was achieved. It is cute, adorable, and loves ripping the flesh off it''s victims. It poses a huge threat to average adventurers and can be a threat to veterans. The scary part is that until they show off their teeth, it is impossible to distinguish them from normal rabbits. There always a few of these to protect the rabbit population.
"Does that apply to identification too?" He thought in horror. Sure enough, a rabbit cuddling his side yawned it''s dangerous maw at him as well. Very realistic sweat began to roll down his head.
Skill activated: Instinct
Move and you die.
"Not helping!!!" He mentally screamed at the system. Then, Steel sneezed. The rabbits slowly opened their eyes and stared at him. Steel stared back, sweat beginning to come off him in droves. "Heh heh, nice bunnies?" The Hungry Bunny looked at him and smiled, which terrified the crap out of Steel. It hopped over to his neck, sniffed him and (SLURP) The thing licked his mouth! Instantly, Steel shot up and rolled jumped onto a grass hill, freaking out as he ran toward the gate. "AAAAAHHHHHHHhhhhhhh! Demon bunnies!" He cried, trying to escape with his life. Unfortunately, his stamina was still down, and he collapsed halfway to the gate. He could only watch as the herd of bunnies hopped toward him. Closer, and closer, with the Hungry Bunny at the head of the herd. They reached him, and he put his hand over his face. "Please be gentle." He begged as they looked at him. He closed his eyes and waited. And waited. And waited, but nothing happened. He opened them back up, and found the bunnies and scattered, leaving the Hungry Bunny staring at him. It watched him for a little while longer, then hopped at his face and sat on his chest, falling back asleep. Steel heard shouting, and turned his head to see a group of 3 guards running to him. They reached him and looked down. "Sorry young traveler, we thought you had been warned that the bunnies were the most dangerous creatures in the grassland. To even survive one encounter, you must have the luck of the gods. We thought you had been eaten when we saw the rabbits covering your body." The talking guard noticed the rabbit on Steel''s chest, and panic blossomed on his face. He jumped back with his fellows and they all pointed their swords at the rabbit. ¡°Traveler, don¡¯t move, that¡¯s a Hungry Bunny on your chest! We have to kill it before it rips us all to shreds!¡± The guard said fearfully ¡°How¡¯d you know?¡± Steel asked in surprise. ¡°Because a regular bunny would have fled at the sight of us, only this one did not.¡± The guard responded, shaking his spear at the rabbit. The Hungry Bunny looked up at the guards and hissed at them, angry to have been disturbed. It barred it¡¯s teeth at them and they scrambled backwards, their panic obvious. The guards huddles for a moment, nodded, and turned back to Steel. ¡°We are sorry young traveler, but we do not wish to risk our lives saving yours. You¡¯ll just come back at the temple, we could die. We wish you luck sir.¡± The guards left in a hurry, returning to the safety of the gate. Steel lay still for a moment, annoyed that the guards had abandoned him and scared he was about to ripped to shreds. ¡°Still though,¡± He looked down at the Hungry Bunny, ¡°All that it has done is sleep on me, plenty of chances to eat me while my defenses were down.¡± He pet the bunnies¡¯ head, and it rubbed itself against his hand. ¡°I¡¯ll call you Hunie.¡± He declared, ¡°Because you¡¯re the sweetest rabbit I¡¯ve ever met. The rabbit froze, and looked Steel straight in the eye. It stared for the longest time, before licking his cheek and hopping off into the grassland, back to join the other rabbits. ¡°Well that was strange.¡± He said as he got up and watched Hunie disappear into the grass. Shrugging his shoulders, Steel headed back to the gate before logging out for the night. Chapter 9- Third Strike Ratings, questions, comments, and proofreading always welcome --------------------------------- Plat left his room early the next day, eager to get to school and talk with his friends about his progress. Leaving the stairs, he entered the garden and almost ran smack dab into Sarah. Startled, he froze and moved back out of her personal space. "Um, uh, her Sarah. What are you doing here this early?" Sarah smiled at him ("Was that a hint of a blush?" He thought) and said, "Good morning Platinum, sorry I didn''t expect you to shoot out of there so quickly." He cocked his head a little, "Were you waiting for me?" "No, I always make it a habit to come out and appreciate the garden before going to school, its kind of my morning routine." She confessed to him, looking at her feet in embarrassment. "Oh, uh, neat." He stumbled with his words, "I guess flowers are nice to look at." She raised a delicate eyebrow at him, "Do you not like flowers?" She asked evenly. He shook his head, "No, I love walking through them when I head down to my room. Their so pretty, rising from a little seed to grow into beauties that stretch toward the sun." He gazed at some tulips, "They even listen to my thoughts and don''t comment on them." Sarah''s nodded her head quickly, "I totally agree, flowers are great listeners. I don''t know how many times I''ve just come out here to let my heart out, and they just listen. It''s nice to have someone to talk to that doesn''t try to judge you for your thoughts and actions." Plat nodded, "Yeah, flowers don''t judge." They gazed at the flowers for a while, taking in the sights and smells.. A wind suddenly blew through the garden, sending a flower up into the air. Plat ran up to it and caught it before it hit the ground. He looked down at it. It was a beautiful golden red marigold, glowing softly in the morning sun. He gazed down at it, and then returned to Sarah to show it to her. She gasped, "Oh how pretty! I feel sorry for it though, for now it''ll wilt and die." Her sad face gazed down at it. "Perhaps." Plat said slowly, "But it should be appreciated for what it is and remembered for what it was." Sarah grinned at him, "Huh, words of wisdom from the maintenance boy, who''d ever thought." She said with a teasing edge to her voice. She grabbed the flower out of his hand, and ran to the garden exit. Turning around, she shouted, "That was fun, see you at school." She disappeared, leaving behind a confused boy and a hint of her smell, wisping on the wind. ----------------- The walk to school was the same as yesterday, albeit without seeing Hank or his teasing ways. The school day had also gone well, and Plat sat himself down at the table with his meal as he waited for his friends. Strangely enough, he didn''t see them the entire lunch period, which was odd as Hank had been in the classroom with him, but he had seemed distracted by something. Still, Plat didn''t think anything of it as he packed his bag and left the academy. The sun was starting to set when school finished, and Plat was eager to return to Everlife and continue playing. As he headed out the main gate, he saw Hank standing at the entrance, Dia standing next to him. They seemed to be in an argument, and as Plat approached, Dia left in a huff. Hank turned toward him with a smile. "Yo Plat, what''s hanging?" Plat raised an eyebrow at him, "I don''t know, where have you been all day, and why were you arguing with Dia?" Hank sighed and waved hi hand back and forth, "We had a disagreement about some faction stuff, you know the usual." Plat nodded, that did make sense. Hank continues, "Anyways, how about you and me swing by the game-torium for some late night snacks." "Are you crazy? It''s a school night and I want to play Everlife some more." Plat said incredulously This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. "It''s fine, it''s fine man. I heard a rumor that a new android was working the food area. I really need a wing-man, come on please." Hank pleaded with his hands crossed. "(Sigh) Okay okay, but just a glimpse and back to the dorms for fun." Plat glared at Hank for agreement. He put his hands up, "I promise man, you will not regret this, lets go." The two of them walked together in the direction of the game-torium. It was a good ten minute walk from the academy, but when they arrived the lights were out and no one was around. Plat looked around. "Sorry Hank, I don''t think we''ll get to see your girl tonight. Chin up, maybe she''ll be here on the weekend." Plat turned to leave, but Hank grabbed his arm. He looked over at his friend, but Hank had a stone face and was staring straight ahead. "Hank, buddy, whats wrong?" Hank sighed, still not turning to look at Plat, "I warned you didn''t I? I really tried Plat, but you just didn''t listen." Worry starting to grow in his chest, Plat tugged at his arm, but Hank had a tight hold on it. "Bro, what''s going on, your starting to freak me out." Hank''s head snapped over to look at him and he glared at Plat. "Don''t call me that, I''m not your bro." He pushed Plat onto the ground. Plat handed on his side, a dull ache coming into his arm. Around the two, shapes started coming out of the shadows, wearing black masks and holding clubs. "Hank, what''s going on?" Plat cried out, real fear growing at all the masked men growing close to him. "Plat, bro" Hank said sarcastically, "You seem to have forgot you place in this word. You are not strong, smart, or humble. You have no reason to look at any girl above your station, and you have crossed the line for the last time." Plat looked up at his former friend with pleading eyes, "But why Hank, why?" Hank chuckled, his form starting to disappear into the growing shadows, "I was never your friend, Splat." He sneered down at him, "This was my test to raise my Mind ranking, getting close to you and keeping my eye on your activities. Not only did you send Sarah Brighteyes an inappropriate message, you even hung out with her this morning. That''s a big no-no." Hank shook his finger at Plat, "We have eyewitness statements from her friends who saw the message and your "incursion", so don''t try to talk your way out of it." "So I''m just suppose to let you guys tell me what to do!" Plat''s fear being smothered by growing rage, "I can fight for anything I want, you can''t stop me!" Hank shrugged, "Your right, you can do whatever you want, that''s your prerogative, but you see," He stomped his foot onto Plat''s head, "You can''t fight back when you''re broken." He signaled, and the black masks closed in with their clubs and knives. They beat every inch of his body that they could reach, mostly with their clubs. The knives they used to carve words into his skin, "loser" and"worthless" and the like. They laughed at him, spit on him, told him how weak he was and would always be. Hank whispered into his ear that Reva had been to friend of Sarah''s who told him, that she betrayed him for a boost in her ranking as well. He whispered how Dia had been to stubborn to join in, how he had to be "silenced" so the adults wouldn''t know. He laughed at Plat making fun of all the dreams he had shared with him. When they left, Plat lay broken on the sidewalk, the dying sun reflected in his eyes. Tear poured from him, the sense of loss and betrayal so great. The thought that Dia had tried to protect him, and had paid for it. The thought that he had never had the friends he thought he had. The fairness of the situation, and he cursed himself. He cursed the world, he cursed Hank and Reva, and he cursed himself. His weakness had done this, he was nothing, he was weak. His last thoughts were of the curses he thought to himself, darkness finally claiming his vision, and his thoughts. Chapter 10- Consequences Plat''s eyes slowly opened to a world of white. He gazed up at the ceiling and, finding that he couldn''t move his head, moved his to observe his surroundings. He was lying on a bed in a white room, a window to his left letting in a pleasant breeze, the drapes moving in concert with the air. He felt a tube in his throat, and a monitor beeped in pace with his heart. He couldn''t feel his body, though just as well because he was in a large cast from neck to foot. He couldn''t speak, so he contented himself by watching the drapes move, back and forth, back and forth. The door opened with a whoosh, and a nurse in a pretty white and pink outfit stepped in. She walked up to him, and put her hand on his head, pursing her lips. "Temperature normal." She commented, then looked down to find his eye staring into her own. Gasping a bit, she pulled a penlight out of her pocket and waved in back and forth across his face. His pupils dilated as they followed the light. The nurse backed up slowly, "Stay here."She ordered before rushing to the door. Pausing before leaving, she turned back with a frown and said, "Sorry, that came out wrong." She left the room, but Plat could hear her calling for a doctor in the hallway before the door closed. He waited a few moments, before the door opened again. A man in a white coat and stethoscope bustled in with the nurse. He swiftly came over over and took quick notes of what the monitors were saying, then looked down at Plat and repeated the penlight trick. Seeing Plat''s eyes dilate and move, he smiled in relief. "Hello there young Platinum, you''ve given us quite the scare." He pulled a chair out of Plat''s blind spot and sat down. He looked Plat in the eye, "I haven''t seen injuries this bad since...well, never mind." He flipped his notebook open and read down the page, "You sustained multiple life threatening injuries, including: a punctured lung, abdominal bleeding, a serious concussion, and high blood pressure- relatively speaking. Most of the bones in your body are broken, and they in turn caused some damage to you muscles." "The good news is that we were contacted by another young man who was injured, he was thankfully able to communicate your distress and came in time to save you. Nano-machines you know, interesting little devices." The doctor chuckled at his little joke, "You''ve only been out for a few hours, so the concussion did not cause any permanent damage. The bad news is that you will most likely be crippled for life. Even our advanced research can''t fix the amount of punishment your body has taken, I apologize for our ineptitude." Plat tried to speak, but the tube in his throat prevented him. Noticing his efforts, the doctor waved his hand at him, "None of that young man, your lungs need to heal and the tube restricts you anyway. Here, think with this." The doctor pulled a helmet down from the headboard and put it on Plat''s head. "What''s this do?" Plat thought, and a voice repeated the words out loud. The doctor nodded, pleased, and said, "That helmet translates thoughts into words. It uses a similar technology as the VR system you kids like to use, so try talking to us with it." He urged Plat. "Wha.....What happened to the other person?" He asked. The doctor frowned, and anger radiated off of his body. "I don''t know what went down today, but whoever did this to you really should learn better." He scoffed, then looked embarrassed, "Sorry, but if you aren''t strong enough to fight back, then bad things will happen. That being said." A hard glint appearered in hie eye, "It obvious you were completely out numbered. Fights can and do happen, but this was a massacre, plain and simple. I don''t approve of such tactics." He regarded Plat, "To answer you question, the one who called you all suffered a beating, but not as badly as you. Still, we were more worried about his life than yours for a while." He looked out the window, "They cut out his tongue and burned his mouth. He was still bleeding out when he called us, and used his own blood to tell us about you." He sighed, "That boy is a credit to the soul faction, but he''ll never speak properly again." Plat''s eye burned with tears. His friend Dia, clumsy, loyal Dia would never be able to use his voice, and it was his fault. "I''ve got to leave you for now, but don''t try to move." The doctor warned, "Just rest and heal for now, your plans for the future come later." Plat blinked, and the doctor nurse combo had left the room. ---------------------------- As it was the middle of the week, Plat had few visitors. Not that he had many people willing to visit him, especially now. A nurse had wheeled Dia into the room. His legs were recovering, but the inside of his mouth was black. Plat communicated his sorrow, but Dia merely smiled and held Plat''s hand. The nurse informed him that Dia would be transferred to the soul faction monastery, where he would be gain an elevated rank for his deeds. Both of the them knew, though, that Dia would never be able to work properly again, he would mostly likely be a monk or priest for the rest of his life. Keith had come to visit as well, an act Plat had found surprising. Even more so when Keith began crying after seeing Plat. "I''m so sorry this happened to you boy." He weeped softly, "And I''m sorry I can''t help you take revenge." Keith had had a long talk with the doctor before leaving. He told Plat that he was going to talk to some of his friends and be back soon. The most surprising visit had actually come in the form of Sarah. She burst into the room after school and looked shocked to see Plat''s physical state. She covered her hands with her mouth as she cried, her legs giving out from under her. "How did this happen to you?" She cried, "Why would someone do this." To Plat''s shock and anger, Reva followed her into the room and comforted her. To her credit, Reva looked a little shocked at the extant of Plat''s injuries as well, and failed to look him in the eye the entire time. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Sarah held his hand for awhile, talking to him about what they had learned in school that day. When she was done, she passed something into his hand when Reva was not looking. Smiling at him, she left the room. Reva took a last look at Plat, and muttered, "I''m sorry" before following her. Plat looked down at his hand. A marigold lay in it. ------------------------------ Two days passed, and Friday came. Sarah had visited both days to tell Plat about what happened at school. He suspected she had an inkling about why he was hurt, and felt the subsequent guilt that came with it. Reva hadn''t returned with her. Plat was starting to feel the patient''s worst enemy, boredom. It slunk in and slowly drove him insane. He passed the time being hyped on painkillers and trying to find patterns on the ceiling. The spot over there kind of looked like Hunie. Lost in his drug induced delusions, he didn''t notice the door open. He did notice when Keith''s scary grinning face appeared over his eyes and looked down on him. If could move, he would have jumped three feet and would have screamed like a little boy. He had to settle with his monitor picking up the burst of activity from his heart. "Well good morning boyyo, how you feeling today?" He asked with that smug grin of his. "Great until your ugly mug showed up." Plat responded, "What''s up?" Keith grinned, "I''ve got good new and good news for you." Plat waited. Keith cleared his throat, "So the first bit of good news is that due to your injuries, you''re out of school the rest of the year, and your injuries will probably keep you in this room for the same amount of time." The monitor registered the increase in blood pressure that reflected Plat''s annoyance. "How the heck is that good new? I''m crippled and bored out of my mind here!" Keith held up his hand, "Peace little man, I''m not done yet." Keith reached down and pulled a piece of paper out from Plat''s blind spot, "The second good news makes the first one good." He cleared his throat. "So, I''m sure you are aware of who I am and what I do." "Yes, and?" "Well, I happen to be good friends with the developers of the game Everlife, and I talked them into a proposition that will benefit both of you. You see Plat, the game developers have been working with the pod makers and A.I.''s to create an immersive tub version for people with physical disabilities, you know, like you now I guess." Keith had never been subtle or compassionate. Plat believed he has an idiot in that are. "See, they''ll let you use their prototype tube to play the game for as long as you need to heal. In return, they get to take measurements of how your body responds to full nanite healing gel immersion. Also, you''ll be expected to do your best in the game, and work on the occasional bug for them, what do you think.?" It sounded good to Plat, a little too good really. "Too good to be true, whats the catch?" Keith shrugged, "Oh you know prototypes. Typical death and maiming possibilities, having your mind trapped in the game, nanites bug out and your body is recycled, the usual stuff. Really though, what do you have to lose?" Keith was right, Plat realized, he had nothing to lose now. If he could become strong in the game, he could make everyone who hurt him pay with their lives, multiple times. It was poetic to his ears. "Okay." --------------------------------- [i][i] Keith must have known Plat was going to agree, because he had already had the new pod tube set up in Plat''s room. Keith signed some papers the nurse gave him, and Plat was transported via mag-lift back to his room. There, technicians strapped him in to the tube, set up his breathing apparatus, and filled the tube up with the solution. It was a little nerve wracking at first for Plat, floating almost weightless in a liquid, but he quickly got used to it as the techs closed the lip, and he felt himself fall into the cyber world. Opening his eyes, he found himself on a bed in his virtual house. The chair that was his old pod was still in the middle of the room, and the teleport pad was still in the corner that led to Everlife. To Plat''s amazement, his body was perfectly fine! In his excitement, he ran, jumped, and flipped across the room, enjoying the sensations that had been robbed from him in the real world. When he calmed down, he began formulation his plan. Hank and his buddies had robbed him of the joys of the real world, he would just have to return the favor in the virtual one. An evil grin came over his face as he contemplated how to make their lives permanently miserable: camping them to level 1, stealing all their loved ones, having them tortured. Everlife boasted perfect game realism, whatever that meant, so Plat hoped torture was possible. "Still, got to get stronger first." He reasoned out loud, "Hank''s in the human kingdom, but hes a squire, I need influence in order to take him down." He also wanted to punish Reva, but leaving the human kingdom was not possible until he was stronger anyway, so Hank was first priority. "First thing''s first, get a weapon." Plat stepped into the portal, and fell out of the world back into the void. Back to his new home, in Everlife. --------------- Okay, that ends the boring part. I''ll be driving today, so expect another chapter tonight, one more interesting than this. But hey, had to get it out of the way- Thanks for reading so far! Chapter 11- Captain Author''s corner: Hey guys, some news and comments of comments. 1. Almost 100 followers, so excited. 2. I''m getting some good suggestions from people, really appreciate it guys! 3. Eh, I didn''t even think about it, but someone pointed out the similarities to "Divergent". Guess this mostly comes from the word "faction" I use a lot, I''ll change that in the official version, not planned at all. Enjoy the story :) -------------------------- Steel logged on and appeared at the gate, his last log-out point. He looked around, finding the wall had grown some more, but slower than the first day. The player mason workers must have had to devote must of their time to school during the week, same as all the other students. Steel chuckled, "I guess I won''t have that issue anymore, just gaming for here on out." He took a step, and a blue box appeared in front of him. [tr][tr]
Greetings
Dear participant, thank you for volunteering in our experimental FIVRR, Full Immersion Virtual Reality Rig. Once again, out company take not fault for anything leading to or coming close to death. As your age shows academic residency, you will be required to spend some hours learning from an A.I. tutor. Do not fear, time will be faster, so only two game hours, or 30 real world minutes, will have passed. We will be sending you quests at some point if we require your expertise in the game world. Enjoy your game.
Everlife & VR Company
"Frackin hell." Steel muttered angrily, "Should have know it was too simple a thing." He sighed, nothing he could do now. Steel leaned against the gate, thinking to himself what he should do next. First thing though, he bent down and offered a quick prayer to the nameless god who had blessed (cursed) him. Feeling a little foolish, he also silently mentioned that he was punished for his love- just in case the god was noisy. Thankfully, no blue box popped up this time, so he wiped his sweat away from his brow. Now, He came up with a mental list of what he needed to do: 1. Figure out his "blessing" 2. Get stronger a. Train b. Get a better weapon c. Win battles 3. Gain influence a. Local relations b. Military connections c. Noble allies 4. Kick Hank''s ass 5. Spank Reva''s ass, preferably with a paddle. He nodded to himself, it sounded like a great, simple plan. One that he had no idea on how to start. First thing though, he had to figure out the blessing. The benefits are demerits it caused had to be learned before he did anything else, otherwise he was a ticking time bomb. He thought about asking a priest, but from what he understood they would only be able to tell him about the human patron god, Gildred. He had a strong feeling that god had no care for listening to love life, so the temple was off. Judging by the way the rabbits acted last time, he suspected one of the female goddess was listening in. Still, all three of them had something to do with nature, so beyond that he was stumped. While he was thinking, he heard a someone calling his name. He looked over to find the guard captain walking toward him, a friendly smile on his face. "Hail young traveler, it is good to see you alive and well." "Likewise sir captain." The old guard rolled his eyes and slapped Steel on the back, "Oh none of that young one, you don''t work for me and I consider you a friend for listening to my story. How did your adventure go, did Missy tell you what you should be?" "Missy?" Steel said confused. The captain blushed and cleared his throat. "Uh, I said Madam Mistress, you didn''t here nothing else." "Right......" "Anyway, what did she recommend for you?" He asked with an inquisitive face. Steel sighed, "She wasn''t sure." "What! No, shes never had that happen before." The captain looked downright confounded by the information. "It''s this blessing some goddess gave me, I don''t know what it does and she can''t tell me because of it." Steel said mournfully, "The best she could do was recommend I work for the guard, but I''m stuck using this old shield and can''t attack." He displayed the shield to the captain, who narrowed his eyes as he inspected the piece. "Hm, that''s a good shield son, best take care of it." He nodded to himself. "What good is a shield when I can''t attack?" Steel said angrily, "I need to be able to hurt someone and can''t do it with this bloody thing." Steel didn''t see the punch fly at him, but he felt it as he hit the ground. He looked up to see the guard captain scowling down at him. "Kid, best rethink those words." He growled down, "I don''t like hearing what''s coming out of your mouth." Steel was so shocked by the display, he couldn''t hold in the tears of anguish and self-loathing. He buried his face in his hands and wept. He heard a clunk beside him, and felt a strong arm embrace him from the side. "That''s a good lad, let it out, come on." The captain whispered to him. Steel obliged him, his tears soon running out and the hiccups beginning. The captain slapped his back hard enough to knock the wind out of him, curing the hiccups. "Now then, explain to this old soldier what was so terrible to change a bright-eyed lad like yourself into a blood hungry orphan." Steel began explaining to the captain what had happened to him, leaving out the real world things and down playing his injuries so as to make sense to the captain. He nodded, rubbing his chin. "I see, you loved a girl outside your station, and they punished you and your friend for it. And the one''s in charge let it happen and won''t do anything about it, is that right?" Steel nodded, "Weakness is not tolerated in society. Purging it is everyone''s responsibility, whether they want to or not. Still, beating my friend was more than they should have done, and fighting s a horde was not honorable. So while they did their duty, if evidence came up they would be suitably punished for going to far. Weakness is regarded not as a cancer, but as a small cog in a time piece that has it''s own place. Sometimes, the cog tries to fit in where it doesn''t belong, so it has to mashed back into it''s place." If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. The captain nodded, "Aye, I understand the idea. It makes sense, everyone has something they are good at and things that they are not good at. That''s why people band together in places like this." He threw his arm around, gesturing toward the entire city, "We work together to survive, and experience life together as a whole." "Still though, sir, I want revenge against them." "I don''t fault you lad, in fact I encourage it. A goal gives your purpose in your pursuit of strength. What I don''t approve is the way you approached it." The captain explained, "You thought a weapon as a tool for torment. It is not, it is a tool of war, protection, and honor. You don''t understand that yet." The captain got up and offered his hand to Steel, who grabbed it and was hoisted up. "I advise you stick to your shield lad, learn how to protect your friends, both old and new." He smiled and clasped Steel''s hand, "Here, take this note to the receptionist in the guard house. I''m willing to employ you as a scout in the town guard, at least until you figure out your blessing and what you want to do besides revenge." He walked off and waved back, "Goof luck to you boy, rather young Steel. Don''t fail me, otherwise I''ll have to kill you." He winked, and the wily old captain disappeared into the crowd. ------------------------------ Thinking about what the captain had said, Steel decided it was as good a place to start as any. The receptionist was kind to him, and accepted the note without delay. She explained to him that as a scout in the guard, it was his job to explore outside the wall and report back anything suspicious or unusual that might have an affect on the city. Beyond that, he could do what ever he wanted, as long as he patrolled during his normal times. Steel was delighted, not only did he have an excuse to fight creatures, he could spend his free time training his body and skills. His mood fell when he found the training hall packed to the brim with people again. Apparently, it would always be filled when the other players were on. The only thing he could do was wait until next Monday for them to leave for school. He had no desire to return to the mage tower to practice magic, he had a a bad feeling about visiting the place. Nor was he interested in the empty library or solemn temple. Especially the temple, Steel had a different kind of fear to visit there. Running out of options, Steel decided to practice with the rabbits. After all, they didn''t seem to want to kill him, and they certainly were quite fast. Upon leaving the gate, he found the fields where he had found the rabbits. Unfortunately, he also found players stalking the area, searching for easy exp. The 3 days of inactivity had allowed others to invade his area. Feeling sad for the loss of his training mates, he noticed a group of 6 players chasing a rabbit through the fields. "Get it!" "Don''t let it escape!" They called out as they began trapping the bunny. More players joined them and soon the bunny was surrounded. Feeling a pang in his heart, Steel approached the group. "Hey, whats going on?" He asked one of the players in the circle. The player didn''t look at him, just kept his eyes on the rabbit, "Man, this is one of those rare freaky bunnies. There''s a huge bounty on their heads, and they are so high difficulty for us that we''ll level up for sure!" Steel looked over at the bunny. It had begun hissing at the players with it''s huge teeth, getting ready to fight. "Ha ha, stupid bunny! Just die already for us!" One of the players shouted at it. Steel looked at the bunny, then at the crowd of greedy players. He felt his rage begin to grow, how dare they gang up on this bunny! There was no honor in this kill, and he would be damned to see them succeed! Steel rushed toward the bunny as the first players started running. With just moment to spare, he threw his shield out between the rabbit and the player''s weapon. "Clang!" The sound of the sword bouncing of the tower shield was audible for everyone. "Hey! What are you doing?" One of the players asked angrily Steel stared him down, "I don''t like bullying." He stated. The players snorted in laughter, "It''s just a stupid rabbit man, it''ll come back after awhile. Not like it''s human you know." "It''s alive and that''s what counts." Steel declared, "I won''t let you guys harm him for your sick pleasure." The crowd grew angry and restless. "Oh yeah, lets see you stop all of us, stupid bastard!" The horde of players launched themselves at Steel. Being noobs, their sword were simple bronze weapons: swords, spears, and a few others. Steel whirled his shield around, blocking strike after strike and taking no damage. A few made it through his guard, he was not perfect and had no form, and he began to feel the weariness of fatigue. He glances at his meter, his stamina was running out quickly! Thinking quickly, he panted himself directly over the rabbit, moving the shield to cover the both of them. The blows continued to reign, and the shield began to buckle a bit. Fearing the worst, he looked down at the Hungry Bunny he was protecting. "Sorry little guy, you should run while their attention is on me." The bunny looked up at him, showing...affection? It shot out from under the shield and sped away into the grassland. "CRAP, it bolted guys!" Most of the players charged after it, in a desperate attempt to kill it, but it had gone too far to catch. The rest of the players decided to teach Steel a lesson, and were stabbing him under his shield until he bled out. "Ah crap." He thought as he felt death start to take him, "Well, I may have been beaten again, but at least the bunny escaped." He closed his eyes, and embraced the silence of death once again. ----I got this out 17 minutes before midnight, so I kept my promise of a second chapter :p Chapter 12- Reward Hit 99 followers- darn, so close :p Also, I figure out why the spacing gets messed up by the tables. It just does that after a certain length of writing it does that automatically. Rats. Steel awoke in a round room. The floor was covered in circular designs that spread like the waves a drop of water makes in a lake. 4 windows stood, perpendicular to each other, letting in light but having nothing beyond them. The roof above his head looked like a cone, rising up to a point far above. He looked down at his body. Legs, check, arms, check, pain....none existent. He still had his shield on his arm, and felt his necklace on his neck. Strange though, he wasn''t breathing and could not speak. A blue box popped up in front of his thoughts:
Welcome to death
Your current state:Dead
Hi, and welcome to your death. You died in the field of battle. Because of this, you have to spend some time in the room of reincarnation. You will also suffer some penalties, which you may view now, or when you revive. You will appear in the last temple you''ve visited. Since you have not started a Player Killing, you have not lost any of you equipped items. However, you have dropped: Bread. Please remember to store valuables so you do not lose them in death. Please note, if you attack a player unprovoked, a PK sign will appear above your head. When that happens: you have a chance of dropping equipped items, town guards will distrust you on sight, a bounty option becomes available to those you kill. This may be avoided if: you accept a bounty, you are ordered to kill by the kingdom, receiving the blessing for revenge kill granted by a god, being mobbed by multiple opponents your level or above, or bribing the town guard. Because this is your first death, you least valuable item was dropped. Enjoy your stay, and we hope to never see you again :)
Death Inc.
Steel widened his eyes, this was a lot of information to take in. He noticed a feedback button at the bottom, he clicked on it, and typed, "Too long, make it read more smoothly." That done, he sat down and decided to look at the penalties he had received for dying. He opened his notifications:
Status Update
You have died in battle
Penalties:-1 all basic stats Loss of least valued item
Note:Penalty has been minimized for first death. For this time only, praying to your god may return the stat losses to you.This will not be offered again.
He winced. Losing 1 point in all his stats really hurt him. Thankfully, it looked like praying would get rid of it, but he swore to himself to not die again, it was too harsh.
Death Timer:01:30
It looked like his death timer was small too, just a minute and a half. He shuddered at the thought of being stuck in this room for longer periods of time, an hour, a day. He would die of boredom, especially since he couldn''t log out. The time passed quickly, and he felt himself fall from the room. When he opened his eyes, he found himself back in the center room where the god statues were. He didn''t like reviving in front of them, it kind of felt like they were judging him. Which they most likely did not, gods had more important things to do then judge random players. He was wrong apparently.
Status Update
Your actions have pleased your nameless benefactor.
ResultsYour blessing has been uncovered Your patron has been revealed You may now pray directly to your god
Blessing of Milna
You have been blessed by the goddess Milna. She has heard your prayers of love and watched you defend nature from greed. Offer a prayer to her once and awhile or perform actions agreeable with her to keep this blessing
Benefits:+Intimacy with Milna Normal animals will not attack you without being provoked Monsters will cry as they eat your flesh +intimacy with nature +Earth resistance
Status Update
You are the first player to forge a connection to the goddess Milna.
Title Aquired:Milna''s Follower
Reward:+200 fame, Milna will hear your prayers (When she feels like it)
Steel was floored. His blessing was pretty amazing. Not only did he have a connection to Milna now, he could interact with animals without having to kill them due to aggro. The part about monster crying as they ate him kind of creeped him out, and he wondered why it was even included, but hey, he''d take it. Still, he wasn''t quite sure what to make of the blessing. It certainly didn''t hinder him, but it didn''t really help him either, except for the Earth resistance. He shrugged, blessing was blessing. He kneeled down and prayed to Milna for help with his stats. He barely began when a notice popped up and told him his stats had been restored. "I didn''t even get to attempt piety bs." He muttered, "Takes the whole point out of praying." Another notice told him Milna was enjoying his antics. "........B%$^&." ----------------------- Getting over his annoyance, he checked the new title he had received:
Milna''s Follower
Granted to those who worship or whose actions embody the wishes of the goddess Milna. People will know you as a follower when equipped, and will ask you questions about the elusive goddess. Hunters and trappers will be wary of you, and poachers will be outright hostile. Priests and other holy folk will offer you respect.
It was interesting, but he didn''t feel like it was better than his current title, so he kept "The Listener" equipped. He left the temple and walked back to the gate. Reaching it, he entered the guard house and walked over to the wall to inspect his times. It listed his job for the day was to patrol the grassland immediately outside the wall and stop the over harvesting of rabbits. He asked the receptionist why he had to stop people from killing the rabbits. She explained that the monsters that lived in the forest were wary of the bunnies, and thus did not approach the wall often. With the players killing all the rabbits, the guard was worried that the monsters would become bolder with their excursions. A notice had been given to all people who passed through the gate to stop hunting the rabbits, but some players were ignoring the notice. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Steel understood, and said he would do his duty.
Quest excepted
Stop the Bunny Killers!
Steel exited the guard house and walked through the gate out into the field. The weather was a little darker today, clouds every so often covering the sun with their bodies. The grassland moved slowly with the occasional breeze, grass flowing like dancers in a song. He put his hands over his eyes and gazed around, but he didn''t see any bunnies or players. He headed out into the grassland, watching for any movement. Seeing the lack of bunnies made him sad, they had been so plentiful when he first appeared. "If those bunnies kept the monsters away, this really could be a problem." He muttered to himself as he stalked the fields. He heard a cry to his left, the area in front of the forest. Hurrying, he made his way quickly over in the direction of the cry. He came across a battle, between some players and....a monster he guessed. The beast resembles a canine of some type, but bigger and covered in black fur. It had glowing red eyes and a drooling mouth full of teeth, and was currently ripping into a group of 5 players. He could see the damage it was inflicting on the players from here. -25 -30 From the looks of it, the player group didn''t have a healer and were bleeding out their health regen. Everlife may have had a higher than normal Health regen system, but the downside was the bleed status and high damage from monsters. On the other hand, proper blocking could negate all damage- but most players Steel had seen did not have shields. "Run! It''s too strong for us!" "Ahhh, my arm, my arm!" The group of players were trying to flee the beast, but it was too fast and tore in to them. Steel got a notice that told him as a member of the guard he was obligated to protect those in need, or risk infamy and punishment. "How bothersome." He sighed, lifting his shield. He really didn''t want to tangle with the beast, or die, but a job was a job. Besides, he could ask for hazard pay after this. He rushed into the group and hefted his shield in front of a player in the ground. "Clang!" The monster jumped back and regarded Steel and his shield as he braced the attack. It growled and began pacing, trying to figure out the threat this new being posed. "You all right?" Steel asked the player he was covering, not taking his eyes off the beast. He was answered with a whimper and the sound tears. The player was obviously terrified. "Hurry up and bandage your wounds, it would be annoying it you bled out after protecting you." He ordered. The sound of ripping fabric told him that the player had listened. A quick gaze around told him the other players had fled, leaving behind the one as a sacrifice for their escape. He felt pity, but no sympathy to the player on the ground. Picking the wrong people to be friends with was a risk everyone took, he felt. The monster then decided that Steel wasn''t that much of a threat, and charged in mouth open. Steel swung his shield, hitting the monster on the side of the mouth. The monster swung away, but whacked Steel with it''s tail on the way by. He took the hit, and was forced back by the force. -15 Ten percent of his health in one hit! Steel felt some sweat on his forehead. The beast ran back, this time swiping with it''s paws at him. Steel swung the shield into both blows, taking damage with each block. -10 -5 Thankfully, his regen was covering him, but the longer the fight went on, the lower his stamina would be, and then he would be unable to raise the shield fast enough to block. The wolf backed up, and threw it''s body into him. Steel flew back under the force of it''s weight, tumbling into the grass. Cursing, he got up and inspected his shield. The durability was slowly going down, and his previous fight had taken it''s toll on it as well. He barely managed to get the shield up before the monster was on him. It''s mouth closed around his shield, trying to bite through the shield into him. Steel was on his back, trying desperately to keep the beast from chewing into his arm. He looked over and saw the player he had protected get up and watch him. "Hey! A little help here!" He called out to the player. The player, who was wearing a hood, took a step toward him, but the monster let out a roar, and the player fled in fear back to the gate. "Son of a biscuit!" Steel roared, outraged by the player''s fear. That was on him for trusting the player and trying to protect him. The beast back up and slashed at the shield, angry at the lack of food. "Grrrr! I won''t die here!" Steel roared, strength surging through him as he bashed the leg away. While the beast stumbled a moment, Steel leaped to his feat and charged it with his shield. With full force, he bashed his shield into the beast''s head, throwing his weight into the blow. -20, daze inflicted The beast roared in pain and hit Steel''s body with it''s other foot, He went flying back again, bleeding from the wound it''s claws had inflicted. -40, major bleed
Major Bleed Status
Your wounds are bleeding. You will lose -10 health every 5 seconds until you stop it.
Dazed Status
You have been dazed by an opponent. You are stunned for 3 seconds.
Cursing, Steel saw the monster recover from it''s daze, and glare malevolently at him. It charged him, and Steel closed his eyes. "Dangit, I really didn''t need this." He muttered, waiting for the blow to come. Suddenly, he heard the monster cry in pain. His eyes shot opened, and he saw white figure running around the monster. The demon bunnies from hell were hissing at the monster, jumping on it''s back and taking chunks out of it''s flesh. The monster began a frenzy, whipping it''s body to shake off the rabbits. It''s claws sliced into the occasional rabbit, and they cried out as they died. Rage took hold of him, and Steel checked his stamina. "Almost out huh." He wasn''t going to let himself be saved by a horde of rabbits, too embarrassing to say the least. Also, the monster was his! Yelling out a battle cry, he charged the beast again, hammering it''s head with his shield over and over again. Dazed, the monster couldn''t stand up to the combined might of Steel and the bunny horde. With a cry of anguish, it fell to it''s side and lay still, it''s life blood seeping into the grassland. Chapter 13- Dominance Steel fell to his knees, exhausted. His stamina was gone, and he hurt all over. A notification told him he was fatigued
Fatigued
-50% to all regens until food is ingested or sufficient time has passed.
"Well no $h!t." He said. He sighed to himself as he laid on the ground, "That''s what I get for caring for other people, get my ass kicked and then saved by the bunny brigade." He rolled his head over to look at the bunnies. The regular rabbits had reappeared, they were hopping around the corpse eating grass. The Hungry Bunnies were nibbling on the corpse itself, staining their fur red. He shivered in the warm sun. Gazing at the dead monster, Steel wondered what it was. He hadn''t had a chance to identify it before he had jumped in, and there had not been an opportunity to check it. It was impossible now, the system only registered it as a dead body, he''d have to ask someone else later about it. Pulling himself up, he crawled over to it to inspect it. Steel wasn''t quite sure the type of loot system the game had: whether loot dropped upon death or if he would have to harvest it himself. Judging by the way the body was oozing, he guessed the latter. "Frackin great." He muttered, "I have to skin the damn thing and I don''t have anything on me. He punched the body in frustration, causing a couple of bunnies to hiss at him. He regarded the bunnies. They were definitly eating the meat, but they seemed to be avoiding the skin, They cut a hole in the skin, and chewed their way into the body. It was pretty disgusting. "But hey," He thought, "At least the hide will be fixable." He still didn''t have a knife for skinning though, and sure as heck didn''t want to pry apart a corpse with his bare hands. His prayers were answered when he noticed a throwing knife stuck in the body of the monster. One of the players from before must have gotten a lucky shot in. Or maybe that''s what drew the beast''s aggro to him. He mentally shrugged to himself, it didn''t matter to him. While not ideal for the job, the knife at least allowed him to skin the thing. He had watched some videos before on the cybernet about skinning, a job reserved for hunters and butchers. One of the early classes he had taken during his second age group had made him dissect animals, so he was pretty confident he wouldn''t fail the task. First thing,started at just above the feet and cut........ (I don''t believe in unnecessary graphic bloodiness, so I''ll just leave out the instructions for now. If I get this published, this will be added for trivia :p) Steel wiped the sweat off his forehead, the task had taken him a lot longer due to his inexperience and poor tool selection. Still, he was reasonably happy with the result. He now had a full fur of the beast from head to tail, and some meat to cook later. Not a lot of meat, because after he lifted the skin off the Hungry Bunnies seemed to go into a feeding frenzy and he had to high tail it out. Once he reached a safe place, he decided to open up his notifications,since he hadn''t checked after the monster was killed. A series of blue boxes popped in front of him.
Quest Complete
You have driven off the players that were killing the bunnies in the field. Report back to the desk to inform them. +250 exp.
Job Quest Complete
You managed to kill one of the monsters that had invaded the grassland. Your captain will want to hear about it''s presence. +350 exp for the unexpected killing of a much stronger opponent.
Level Up
You have leveled up to level 2. Congratulations, you are the first person to level up without a class profession. You have gained the title: Strong Neet. You have gained 5 attribute points to place in your stats.
Skills Acquired
You have gained the following skills:Shield Bash Shield Cover Charge Skinning
Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:
Shield BashFE19%
You use your shield to bash into an opponent. Causes blunt damage to opponents smaller or the same size as you. Has a 16% chance of inflicting daze on an opponent.
Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:
Shield CoverEF75%
You cover an ally with your shield and body. Defense increases and you take all damage meant for the thing you are protecting.
Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:
ChargeFF5%
Using your strength and agility, you use your body as a force to slam into an opponent or move fast. Increases daze chance if used with Shield bash. Knocks down smaller opponents
Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:
SkinningEF51%
You understand the art of skinning. 5% chance your attempts will be perfect, as long as you know what your doing. 50% chance of low quality fur due to inexperience.
Steel closed his eyes a moment for them to recover. That was too much blue all at once! Deep breaths now, in, out. Steel was pleased at the results. The players that had fled had been the poachers, hunting the poor bunnies off the grassland. From seeing their experience, he guessed they would stay far from the grassland monster for a while. Seeing the monster finish another quest was a surprise, but a welcome one. Especially since it had helped him level up. Speaking of, he had leveled up! Steel was ecstatic, leveling up was a big deal. He had 5 attribute points now, to put into what ever he wanted. Attribute points could be added to stats or be used to upgrade skills. Players would receive 5 attribute points up to level 10, then 1 or 2 depending on luck for the rest of the levels. Players were expected to raise their stats through training and playing, so no more easy stat boosts after level 10. Steel was actually surprised he had leveled up so quickly, and that others had beaten him to it. Still, he had only managed it by being the first to complete some quests and kill a monster in an improbable situation. Steel suspected he could have cleared the quest just by seeing the monster and reporting it to his captain. Eh, it worked out. Still though, what was up with the title he had gained. "Strong Neet"? That was pretty insulting to a guy who was actually working. "It''s not my fault I can''t find a job." He muttered, "They don''t appeal to me and their stupid and oh my gosh I sound like a neet." He resolved himself to never equip or inspect that particular title. "First thing though," Steel said looking at his stats, "Need to decide what to do with these attribute points." Steel pondered for a moment. Upgrade stats or improve skill? It wasn''t like he had too many skills to upgrade, he only had 4 skills that could be upgraded. Upgrading Shield bash, for instance, would increase daze chance, or charge could give a little trampling damage. Instinct could not be upgraded, A rank skills and up were stuck as they were. In the end, Steel decided to put his points into stats for now. Out of the 5, he put 2 into endurance and vitality, and 1 into strength. He brought up his stat screen to inspect it:
Status Window
Name:SteelAlignment:Neutral
Level:2Class:N/A
Race:HumanGender:Male
Titles
The Listener, Milna''s Follower, Strong Neet
Fame:200Infamy:0
Experience:1000/3000
If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
Health:170 / 170Health Regen:3/ Sec
Mana:150 / 50Mana Regen:1/ Sec
Stamina:80 / 80Stamina Regen:1.7/ Sec
Vitality:17 (12)Agility:15 (10)
Intelligence:10Wisdom:10
Strength:16 (11)Endurance:17 (12)
Leadership:0 (10)Luck:6 (11)
Charm:5Faith:0
Elemental Resistances
Fire:0Water:0
Wind:0Earth:10
Light:0Darkness:0
"Looks good." He thought to himself, "Real good." Storing his fur in his item bag, Steel slowly made his way back to the gate. Slow because the fur was heavy and his stamina was still out from the fight. Steel cursed the realism as he trudged back, muttering how this was taking it too far. A pair of eyes followed him as he made his way through the field, eyes filled with a respect and intelligence comparable to other sentients. It regarded the boy, weighing his potential and the possibilities. He had made a good start, now all he had to do was keep it up without messing up. The eyes disappeared as quickly as they had appeared, their owner vanishing into the slowly setting sun. ------------------------------------- "Heh, heh, hu, hu, finally made it." Steel groaned as he reached the wall. He made a mental note to dump all his points into strength next time. He dragged himself into the guard house, which stood out against the sunset, casting long shadow with boisterous laughter. The inside was filled with happy guards, drinking and eating and generally having a great time. A few of them nodded in his direction, but most ignored or didn''t notice him. The receptionist lady was the same as this morning, he noticed, or a really close sister. She smiled as Steel reported his success. She congratulated him and informed him that his city contribution points had been increased. Confused, Steel asked what that meant. She explained that travelers who worked an organization gained points with the organization as they performed tasks for it. Contribution points could be used at a later date as an exchange for favors, items, or information from said organization. She also informed him that they could be transferred to others as a source of currency for....favors and the like. She winked at Steel as she said this, making sure he noticed her eyes moving up and down his form. He blushed from the attention, unused to it as it was. He asked her where he could find the guard captain. She pointed out the room on the second floor and wished him luck. Thanking her, Steel walked up the stairs and up to the door she had pointed out. He knocked politely. "GET YOUR ASS IN HERE SO I CAN TEACH YOU HOW TO KNOCK!" A boom resounded from the room, knocking Steel on his ass in shock. The guards downstairs laughed and clapped, a few yelling to Steel that he was an official guard now. Embarrassed, Steel opened the door and closed it behind him. The guard captain was sitting behind a desk on the far side of the room. Bookshelves lined the walls, filed with papers, books, forms, and maps. The captain was chuckling to himself as he recognized Steel''s figure. "Good tidings Scout Steel, welcome to my office." He threw his hand out, gesturing toward the seat in front of him, "Here, sit and tell me how your first day went." "Yes Sir Captain!" Steel barked and sat. The captain awkwardly frowned at Steel''s words. "Don''t do that again. It''s Captain Harkin to you Scout." He leveled and even gaze at Steel. "Yes sir Captain Harkin." Steel responded. Harkin nodded, pleased with his response. "Now, did you complete your assignment for the day?" Steel nodded. "Good, any problems?" "Er, just one sir, one moment," Steel struggled a moment as he fumbled with his pack. He grabbed the skin and pulled it out for the captain to inspect. When he saw the fur, Captain Harkin got up suddenly, a scowl on his face. He put his hand on the fur and grabbed it, bringing it up to his face for a sniff. He put it back down and glared at Steel. "Where did you get this?" He asked slowly, through gritted teeth. Realistic sweat began to build on Steel''s back, "I skinned it from a monster I killed today." He said honestly. Harkin marched up to Steel, grabbed him by the collar, and lifted him into the air. "I said, Where. Did. You. Get. This." He punctuated each word. "I told you sire, I killed it today and skinned it." The captain snorted, "Listen boy, I like you. I see a fire in you, capable of burning a path for your life. Now, I''m going to inform you of some things." He pointed toward the monster fur, one hand holding Steel up. "This is a devil wolf, an advanced form of a demon wolf. It kills defenseless travelers like you as an after thought. Judging by the size, it was a youngster on the tail end, about to fully grow up. Most likely in the 10-12 level range, this thing could not have been killed by you. So DO NOT LIE TO ME!" He yelled at Steel. "I''m telling you sir, I killed it." Steel cried, panic filling his bones, "It was attacking the poachers and I defended them. They fled, and it almost had me, but the rabbits jumped it and helped me take it down. I swear to you, look at the holes in the fur!" Harkin narrowed his eyes, but put Steel down on the floor with a clunk. He turned in inspected the fur more closely, running his finger through the holes and inspecting each one. After a few minutes, he sighed, releasing the blood lust that had been permeating the room He trudged over to his seat and sat down, head in his hands. Sighing, he looked over at Steel and apologized. "I''m sorry youngster, it seems that you were correct. It was not my place to treat you like that." He sighed. Steel got up slowly, keeping his eye on the captain. He had seen Captain Harkin happy, annoyed, inspiring, and quirky, but this new fury had shocked him. "Captain, why did you react like that?" Steel asked cautiously. The Captain sighed, looking more like an old guard than he had ever looked before. "Lad, it was one of these beasts that snuck into the city when the wall was still being built years ago and killed my son. I was a patrol leader that night, and returned home to find him strewed across the bed, the beast chewing on his arm. These things are never a good sign, and some evil fellows like to sell parts of them to be used in black magic and the like." He paused, considering, "Those rabbits will make sure nothing is left to be used for evil, but this fur represents a problem. We can''t burn it, the ashes hurt when inhaled and last awhile in the air. Magic could destroy it easily, but given your...relation to the mage guild I doubt they''d want to help." Steel gulped, suddenly worried that his little trick may have made his life harder expectantly. Harkin continued, "The best solution I see is to turn this into armor for you to wear." "You want me to wear this fur as armor? Didn''t you just explain that this thing was evil?" Steel said, very worried. The captain snorted, "It''s evil to me lad, but the beast is not inherently evil. It just holds a little more darkness than other creatures, so it could be used for evil a little more easily than good. If you use it, I have no doubt it would benefit you, and only you. You''ll find that using items that you''ve taken from much stronger monster than you tend to...stick to their slayer more easily than others." He wrote on a form and handed it to Steel, "Here, take this to the armorer in town, he''ll make the armor for you, but don''t expect any salary from the guard for a while." He turned and opened one of the maps on the side of his desk. "I''ll investigate the matter now, thank you for bringing it to my attention Scout Steel, you may go." As Steel walked over to the door, the captain noted, "Oh, and next time you knock, do it with manly gusto." Smiling, Steel left the room, and exited the guardhouse. -------------------- Welp, looks like the first set up is complete. Lets hurry up with these chapters so we can get to the harem part. good thing we have lots of applications, Hail HydraHarem! Chapter 14- Devils Fur So, lets begin author''s corner! 1. If you liked "Hero of Naught", you probably hate The Adventures of Valgrim, but I have to throw it out because some people have asked about it. No judging plz, it was my first try :p 2. My friend (fellow author, work acquaintance maybe?) Scott writes many good stories on RR, my personal favorite being Galataea Crystallim. I wrote a short piece about my character in his world here ->Dr. Falcon Andreas. Dr. Falcon Andreas can also be found in the popular story "Dive" on FF, I believe chapter 53 or 54. Support their wonderful writings! :) 3. I got so excited to see where this was going I''m posting an extra chapter today. I blame you readers for showing so much support. Enjoy consequences --------------------------------------------- The sun had just disappeared when Steel finally arrived at the armorer''s shop. It had been a real hassle navigating the smaller streets in the city, but he had managed to get there just in time, at least he hoped. Remembering the captains lesson, Steel beat the door with manly gusto! The door then opened on his face and knocked him into the dirt. Dazed, he picked up a low chuckle coming from the doorway. His returning vision granted him the sight of the largest man Steel had ever seen. The man, or giant in Steel''s opinion, had to bend over to pass under the 7 foot high doorway. He had pointed ears and two large fangs jutting out from his bottom lip. He had short black hair and light brown skin, his clothes consisting of an apron over a set of large, tight pants and a sleeveless shirt that was ripped in places. "That was a good knock young traveler." The giant rumbled, "But as you can see, it is not wise to stay in front of the door once you knock with manly gusto." "Is this whole manly gusto thing common around town?" Steel wondered out loud, "If so, I''m going to have to buy some cushions for my ass." This set the brute into a roaring laughter, hitting his knees with his hands in mirth. "No traveler, have no fear. Only a small group of us use that type of knock, us old adventurer''s and the like." He gestured toward the building, "Come tiny one, lets head inside and talk about why you were knocking on my door at such a late hour." The inside of the giant''s house/workshop was quite cozy. The main room held countless tools for leather working, all collected together in a storm of organized chaos. A large niche outlined where the large man slept, and another door led to the blacksmith part of the building. Steel sat himself in one of the scattered chairs while the giant sat in a large armchair, clearly built for him. He regarded Steel. "I know the question on your mind, ''What are you?''. Don''t worry little one." He said, noticing Steel''s flash of guilt, "I can''t help who I am as much as you can help who you are. To answer your question, I''m a half orc, half elf." Steel was very confused. "Er, I don''t understand." He began. The giant interrupted him, "About why I look human except the ears and teeth right?" He gave a terrifying grin, but it held no malice, "It''s one of those strange things that comes with age. When I was younger, my skin was greener and my hair was long and silver." He patted his head affectionately, "As I aged, my skin became the color you see today. When I quit being an adventurer, I cut my hair and covered it in coal. It allowed me to settle with my companions in this town years ago, so I gladly gave it away." He smiled in nostalgia. "Companions..."Steel considered, thinking a bit. The giant smiled "I suspect you know a few of them right?" Steel nodded slowly, "Captain Harkin and the twins Mema and M.M. right?" He nodded, "Aye, Harkin and Missy were friends of mine. Minny didn''t travel with us at first, but she joined after Missy''s injury to her eye as a cook. There are others in the group that you have yet to meet, though I advise to stay away from ole thunder-stick." He chuckled, "I hear you threw his daughter for a tizzy on the orientation day." Steel struggled to remember what he could have done. Of course he had dismissed the notification without reading it when he had fled the Mage Tower, so he still didn''t know the extent of his actions. He shrugged, thinking it unimportant. "Uh, so what do I call you, sir?" Steel asked the giant. "Bob, just ole Bob now." Bob informed him, "Now, tell me why you were knocking on my door so late in the day?" Steel explained the circumstances of the day, starting when he entered the grassland and ending with the captain''s reaction to the beast. Bob listened the entire time, his eyes never leaving Steel''s. He nodded a few times, grew concerned when he heard about the devil wolf, and grew sad at Harkin''s response. "Aye, that was a hard time for all of us." Bob sighed, "We were still young then, but old enough to desire a place to call home. The city was a much more dangerous place back then." He put his arms on his legs and folded his hands, "That day was a true tragedy though. Harkin wasn''t the same, he threw himself into work and rose to captain in record time. None of us could talk to him for years, even lil Missy. It''s only been a few years since he began opening back up, now I''m worried that he''ll try to take revenge by killing all dem devil wolves." "Isn''t that a good thing?" Steel asked, "That way there are less monsters in the world right?" Bob shook his head, "No little one, monster have their place, same as we do. That''s why Milna looks after them, otherwise they''d be all dead within a generation."
Lore Update
You have learned more about the goddess''s role in the world. She protects both monsters and animals, for the the good of the world. +1 intelligence and wisdom.
''Huh, who''d a thought.'' Steel wondered blankly. He shook his head. "So Bob, do you think you can make this into something useful?" Steel asked, holding out the fur. Bob leaned down to the fur and inspected it with surprisingly gentle hands. He grunted in annoyance. "Hmph, your a real rookie aye lad? This fur is close to being considered worthless in areas, and all these holes." Steel blushed, "Sorry sir, all I had was this throwing knife." Bob looked at the tiny knife and chuckled, "Bet that took you most of the day huh." He grinned at Steel, "Wait here." Bob lifted himself up and rumidged around in his desk on the wall. He returned with a skinning knife. "Here, take this so you don''t make the spirits cry as you butcher their bodies." He gromphed. Steel accepted it graciously. Bob spoke up, "To answer, yes, I can make this into a decent bit of armor. For your size, I could make a full leather set. Looks like your captain is footing the bill, so I don''t need anything else." He got up and hefted the fur over his shoulder. "Come back tomorrow night and I''ll have it ready for you." "Eh? but what about the tanning?" Steel asked surprised. Bob chuckled, "Silly human, Bob does what Bob does, and goes where he pleases. Go away now, time for Bob''s sleepy time." He yawned for emphasis, showing off his big teeth. Steel hastily thanked him and returned to the night air. --------------------------- As Steel walked down the street, he came to the unfortunate realization that he had to find somewhere to sleep. Normal players could just log out if the times aligned, or payed for lodgings at an inn. Of course, Steel had no money-his guard pay was going to the armor and he hadn''t done any other quests. He wandered around the city, choosing to aimlessly wander and take in the sights rather than actively search. The city was peaceful at night. Torches burned against stone walls, casting dancing shadows over the cobblestone and dirt paths. Stars twinkled over head, laughing at things only they could see in the darkness. Muggers moved swiftly through the shadows toward him....''Wait a moment'' he thought. 3 vagrant looking fellows took positions around him, pulling knives out of their shaggy rags. "Aye ba, ba, boy. That''s a fine looking necklace you have around your neck. Why not help some wounded veteran soldiers out?" The other two giggled, a strange high and low pitch noise that was out of place on the night. Who was he kidding, he should have expected this. "I''m telling you guys beforehand, I''m a member of the guard." Steel warned, hefting his shield. The leader laughed at him, "Fool, we''d know a member of the guard if we saw one, they all have dem symbo thingies on der clothes." Steel looked down and cursed silently. He hadn''t realized a formal induction was needed to make him a member. Come to think of it, the captain had given him the job out of no where. He''d have to remember to get a...symbol... next time he was at the guard house. "Harkin will be mad at you guys if you start anything." He warned. One of the muggers shifted uncomfortably behind Steel. "''ey, he knows Harkin boss, maybe we should reconsider." The boss spit on the ground, "Stupid, everyone know about the Captain, don''t mean he know em personally. Come on, lets get im!" Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Cursing his poor life choices, Steel dived to the left to avoid the slashed by the muggers. He brought his shield up just in time to block another slash from the boss, then staggered back as the two henchmen threw their bodies against him. Clenching his teeth, Steel regained his footing and ran at the muggers, passively activating Charge. two of the muggers managed to jump out of the way, the third one was knocked against the wall and crushed by the shield. Wasting no time, Steel bashed his shield into him, finishing him off to sleepy land. -10 Charge -5 impact damage -20 Shield Bash -15 impact damage Taking a stance, Steel quickly scanned the other two. [tr]
Opponent Information
NameLevelThreatHealthRostwood Mugger3A.60
DescriptionA common thief of Rostwood, more active at night. Not too smart, but actively searches for weak marks to steal from. Will not kill unless provoked, scared of the guard.
[tr]
Opponent Information
NameLevelThreatHealthRostwood Mugger Leader5H.A.75
DescriptionA common thief of Rostwood, more active at night. A little smarter than the average thief., Actively searches for weak marks to steal from and kill.
(I''ll make adjustments later to rabbit boxes so they look like this with an explanation) Humanoid NPC''s had the ability to fall unconscious when most of their health was gone. This meant the player had the option of taking them in for questioning and bounties, rather than killing them outright. Of course, the muggers wouldn''t settle for that fate for him, they''d gut him and leave him for dead. "Okay you bastards, Come On!" Steel roared at them. He raised his shield just time time to block 3 throwing knives, then felt pain as the mugger removed his blade from Steel''s side. He had snuck in under Steel''s line of sight! -20, Minor Bleed inflicted "Frack!" Steel yelled as he whirled to hit the mugger, but he had safely retreated after the knife was out. He licked Steel''s blood off his blade. "Mmm, you''re a fine catch boy, how about this? Instead of killing you, we''ll sell you. You''d make a pretty fine piece for dem orc sadists out there." The pother mugger roared in laughter, but cut it short as he dodged another charge from Steel. Steel cursed. He didn''t have too many options here. His build was more as a protector than a fighter, and the two muggers were a lot faster than him. Another barrage of throwing knives flew at him, and he leaped out of the way. He shield bashed where had been standing, and managed to clip the mugger on the shoulder. -10 Shield Bash, Fracture inflicted Steel smiled at the mugger''s howl of pain. Fracture mean his arm was useless the rest of the fight, and would be until he healed it up. The mugger looked at him with hateful eyes, but took in the scene. One of his men was down, the other would follow quickly, and he had a useless arm. "Grab him and retreat." He ordered. The henchman grabbed his comrade and ran away into the night. The mugger gave Steel one last look and said, "You''ll pay for this boy." He disappeared into the night. Steel sighed and sat down. His day had been one exciting thing after another.
Battle Results
You have won a skirmish against a set of muggers in Rostwood. Be careful of their retribution. +50 exp +10 copper pieces +1 luck for encountering a quest set up
"Crap." Steel groaned, "Don''t tell me I''m going to have to fight these guys again."" Still, the fight had earned him 10 copper, so he was hopefully able to buy a room now. "Hmm, the only inn I know is at the Adventurer''s Guild." Steel mused, "Might as well go check it out." The guild was fairly close to his current position, so he was able to get there quickly. The crowd inside had lessoned since he had been there last, filled with only drunks now. Steel made his way over to the bar. The bar lady smiled at him, "Hello sir, what''ll it be?" "I was wondering how much a room cost for one night?" Steel asked politely. "You''ll have to ask Mema, shes over there cleaning tables." She indicated a corner and Steel noticed Mema bent over a table with a rag. He walked over to her, "Good evening Mema, how are you?" She turned with a smile on her beautiful face, "Well, didn''t expect to see you again o soon boy, what can I help you with?" "I was wondering if I could buy a room for the night." Mema''s face shifted, a business look replacing her friendly place. "How much do you have?" "10 coppers." Steel said proudly. Mema looked at him closely for a moment and sighed. "Good thing you have no desire to be a merchant boy, you''d be terrible at it." She shook her head, "Sorry boy, my cheapest room is 1 silver, you need 90 more copper to afford it. To be honest, that amount would not buy a room anywhere in Rostwood." Seeing Steel''s disappointed face, she sighed, "How about your pack boy. Anything interesting in there that could cover the rest?" Steel took out the meat he had harvested from the devil wolf and showed it to her. Mema''s eye widened as she inspected the meat. "Boy, this is high quality devil wolf meat." She declared, "It has a high value here in town because it''s so hard to get. Better still, the wolf was on the edge of maturing, so the meat is at it''s finest point." She looked hungrily at the meat, then shot up to look Steel in the eye. "Boy, I''ll take this meat off you hand, and I''ll give you a permanent room. In return, you gather more of this meat for me. What do you say." She extended her hand with a smile. Steel was having none of her female wiles. "I don''t know Mema, I was planning to eat this meat myself. If it''s as good as you say, maybe I could get a better price somewhere else." Mema cursed herself in her head. She had been so excited seeing the meat that she had inadvertently blurted out the meat''s worth. While she wasn''t "trying" to cheat the boy, her merchant instincts beat out any motherly attachment she had for the boy. She had to get this meat from him, and any other meat he may pick up in the future. Her instincts told her that if he managed to kill one, he would have a chance to do it again. "I''m sorry boy, I must have been a little tired from all the work today." She gave him an easy going smile, "What I meant to say was I''d be willing to teach you how to cook and give you a permanent room in one of our nicest rooms in exchange for the meat you have on you. And, " she continued with h''er finger pointing at Steel, "your promise to bring me any unusual and special ingredients you find outside the wall. You''d be payed on commission if I see anything interesting." Steel considered her offer. A free room, new skill, and payment. Sounded good. "Sure, as long as you pay me for the meat." He said with a smile. They shook on it.
Quest Update
Recover unusual ingredient for the Adventurer''s GuildDifficulty:Hard
RequirementsWhenever you leave the wall, be sure to gather at least one unusual ingredient for cooking.Ingredients Found: 0/20
RewardA permanent room in The Adventurer''s Guild as long as you stay in Rostwood Learning the cooking skill from Mema Pay by commission on each ingredient
Failure to meet agreement will result in loss of intimacy with the Adventurer''s Guild and may gain the "Liar" permanent title.
(And it looks like I''ll have to update all the quest things so they look nice too, sigh) Mema beamed at Steel as she handed him 5 silver for the meat and a key to a room. She bustled off to the kitchen, eager to experiment on her new ingredients. Chuckling to himself, Steel made his way up the stairs to his new room. It was a nice room, no other way to describe it in Steel''s mind. It had a large bed, a window, a nightstand, and no bathroom. "Well, "Steel thought, "I guess that''s one thing they didn''t make to realistic." His happy thoughts were cut short when he noticed the chamber pot beside the window. "Frackin hell." ----------------------- And that''s it folks. Now, don''t worry. The harem train was to pass through the mountains before it can reach the sea. Expect an all female chapter coming in 1/2 chapters. I''ll release it at the same time as it''s companion, so expect double the fun at a later part of the day :p. Enjoy! Chapter 14.1- Learning Hell So this isn''t too important at the moment, but it doesn''t really belong in another chapter, so you guys get 1 full chapter and 2 mini chapters today, lucky you. I''ll get the girl chapter out in... before my midnight and after the full chapter And on a side note, We''re over 1000 average views! Yay --------------------------- When Steel closed his eye, he expected to feel the slow fall into unconsciousness. He did not expect to feel his body fall forward, as if he was flying toward the ceiling. He opened his eye to fin himself falling into a void. Flailing around, he tried to right himself, but was unsuccessful. His need to scream was cut short as he fell into a room and landed in a chair. The chair locked his hands and legs into it, and his head was forced back. Steel was suddenly very nervous. "Ve ''ave vays of making you talk." a very cliche sounding voice came out from behind him. Slowly, with the clacking of heels, a tall women walked out and stood in front of him. Her entire outfit screamed business, and also sexless, and her stern gaze made Steels'' bounded legs jiggle like jelly. She had her long hair in a bun, sharp glasses and nose, a frown that looked plastered to her face, and a complexion that would make a ghost jealous. Her outfit consisted of a long skirt that ended at the ankles and a blouse that gave no hint of what should have been a bountiful harvest. Her arms looked muscular, and her nails looked like deadly weapons. "Um, hi?" Steel said weakly. The lady frowned and faster than Steel could see back slapped him. "Speak only vhen spoken too." She said slowly. She looked his body up and down like she was sizing a horse to buy for glue. Steel silently prayed for his virginity...never mind she was free to take, he didn''t need it. Almost as if she heard his thoughts, she raised one heel and stepped in on his crotch to look him in the face. Steel felt his future was in terrible danger. His other brain screamed in fear. "Vhat should I do vith you I vonder?" The lady pondered, absentmindedly rubbing her heel into Steel. Steel felt liking leaving would be a great idea, but he kept his mouth shut, his eye glued to his his precious treasure. Seeing Steel not react, the lady pouted. A change came over her, her hair fell down, her clothes changed to a more casual set of jeans and t-shirt, and her body became more feminine. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. "So sad, your not any fun." She pouted, her voice also changing to that of a teenager. "Ehm, do I know you from somewhere?" Steel asked tentatively. She shook her head, "Nope, I''m your new A.I. teacher, call me..." She pondered for a moment, her hand on her chin in a cute manner, "Call me Mrs. Hell-ena." She beamed at him expectantly. "Mrs. Hellina?" "No, Hell-en-a, or call me Hell." She said brightly. Steel was not reassured. "So Hell." He said slowly, "What am I doing here exactly?" She smiled at him, "Why your here to learn remember? The humans want to make sure you keep up with your studies so you don''t become an idiot." "I see. What makes you qualified to teach me then?" Steel asked curiously. "Why, because human studies is my focus of expertise." She said proudly, her hands on her sides like a superhero pose. Okay then, an A.I. that specialized in humans, that was something Steel hadn''t seen coming. He thought he''d just be given books and notes to look over. It looked like the administration was taking this seriously. "Good to know, and a pleasure to meet you Hell." Steel said slowly, "Any chance you can remove these restraints so we can start the studying?" She giggled, "Silly, no why would I do that? My studies have shown that humans are prone to distraction, so I designed the code for that chair to make sure you stay completely focused on schoolwork. No getting out of it, nope nope." She declared proudly. "Oh, so you''ve tested it before." Steel said, relaxing a bit. "Nope, so let me know if you feel any discomfort."She said nonchalantly, "Okay, lets get this show on the road!" A large screen appeared in front of Steel, and a speaker came on, starting to speak about the history of the human race. "Oh by the way, you''ll get a tingle if your attention starts to wander, so be careful." Hell said cheerfully as she left the room. "..........zz.....OW!" Steel yelled as a jolt of electricity shocked the crap out of him. He spent two hours listening and learning in the room, unable to move, before it let him go. He returned to find little time had passed in the game world, and he promptly fell back asleep. Chapter 15- Mistakes were Made The full chapter of the day. Enjoy guys! --------------------------- Steel woke bright an early the next morning, the sun greeting his yawn. Out of habit, he stretched his body and made sure everything felt right. It was doubly important because of his first class last night. He shivered at the memory, Hell was pretty dangerous. He left his room quietly and went downstairs for breakfast. It was a little exciting, as he had yet to have a meal in the game world. Theoretically, a player didn''t have to eat to survive in Everlife, but "being hungry" would cause sever penalties to regen and eventually stats if it went on too long. The best foods he heard could actually boost stats temporarily, or give special resistances to their defense, though Steel still didn''t know too much about resistance. The downstairs was quiet this early in the morning. The drunks had left sometime in the night or early morning, so the only people up were the early rising workers of the city. Mema was behind the bar, wiping some glasses that had been used the night before. Steel walked up to the bar and sat down, calling out a greeting. "Good morning Mema, the morning sun does not compare to your radiant beauty so early in the day. It waked me up just by seeing it." Steel crowed, feeling flattery was a good start. It seemed to be, as Mema blushed slightly at his words, but refused to respond further to his flattery. "Morning Steel, did you enjoy your room last night? I could have sworn I heard you screaming in there for a while." She said with a mischievous wink. Steel shivered, "No ma''am, it''s not what your thinking. That was....math." Mema shivered at the dreaded word, horrified for Steel. "Oh you poor baby! Let this young lad serve you some food to recover your soul." A patron further down the line snorted at her words," Young? Didn''t you say the other night you two were twins? Her age......" He was interrupted by two large kitchen knives implanting themselves on his shirt, trapping him to the bar. Mema smiled sweetly in his direction, a third knife in her hand. "Ara? I''m sorry dear customer, there were mosquito about to get you. Please me more careful next time with your life." She said oozing sweetness and smiles. The patron suddenly became very interested in his drink, his skin growing pale in the light. She returned her attention to Steel, who was rubbing his eyes. He could have sworn he had just seen a Hanya demon, but it wasn''t there anymore. "So one meal from this beautiful young lady right?" She asked smiling. "Yes ma''am." He said stiffly, feeling death''s invisible scythe at his throat. When Mema left Steel to get the food from the kitchen, he relaxed. The game was pretty fun, and he enjoyed being able to use a body, even if this one was digital. As he contemplated the nature of existence, which made him sleepy, Mema returned with a hot bowl of what looked like stew. "Here you go Steel, eat up!" She said with a smile. The stew looked delicious, and Steel''s mouth watered at the smell it was giving off. Clapping his hands in prayer, he shot one off to his god and Milna for the food, and dug right into it. The stew was heavenly to Steel''s taste buds. The soup was smooth and spicy, with just a lint of a citrus flavor seeping in. The vegetables were perfectly cooked and melted in his mouth, joining the stew in a cacophony of flavor. Finally, the meat was soft, yet tough enough to be chewed and savored, juice coming out with each bite. Steel felt like he was floating away, on an island of meat. "This is delicious!" He announced, increasing his rate of eating, "I''ve never had anything so good before!"
Food buff learned
Food BuffDevil Meat Stew
Quality:MasterDifficulty:A.
Effect+10 Darkness resistance until sleep or next meal
"Eh, Devil meat?" Steel exclaimed, "Is this what happened to the meat I gave you last night?" Mema nodded excitedly, "Yes, I cooked it a variety of ways to find the best way to serve it. It works well in stew, steak, omelettes, and trappings, but most of my normal patrons would only be able to afford it as a stew." She crossed her arms and nodded to herself, "This is very nice, quality meat. I can''t wait to see what else you bring me tonight." Her eyes glowed with anticipation. "Um, a question." Steel asked tentatively, "Could you explain some things about the stew." "Hm? What do you want to know?" "Well, the status buff says some things, like difficulty and quality.." "Oh! Sure, I''d be glad too." She replied Mema began explaining some of the finer details of the game to Steel. Crafted things, from shoes to meals, had a level of difficulty in order to finish them. Easy< Below Average< Average< High Average< Above Average< Difficult< Elite< Impossible Opponents had the same ranking system. As a person grew stronger or more experienced, the difficulty level would fall to reflect the new strength. For instance, only high leveled blacksmiths could make armor out of high grade metals, and only master cooks could use high quality ingredients. In a similar way, the amount of experience the craftsmen had would affect the quality of the item made. A low leveled cook had an extremely low chance of using a higher ingredient, but even if he succeeded the meal would not have been of a high quality. When asked, Mema explained that she was a master cook, with years of experience at her disposal. Of course, there were things in the world that she could not cook, but she had never encountered any in her few years of traveling. Mema also took the time to explain resistances to Steel, mostly because she felt an urge to talk to him, as if he were a masterful listener. Steel merely smiled at that. Resistances took form as either elemental resistances or physical resistances. Only Elemental Resistances could be permanently acquired, physical resistances depended on armor and race. Physical resistances came as impact, slice, pierce. Different armor types gave different resistances: like chain-mail was good against slashing put not against piecing, plated armor stopped piercing but fell to impact, and leather withstood impact but was bad against slicing. Elemental resistances were more straight forward- water resistance stopped water and etc. Though it could be gained permanently, elemental resistance was extremely hard to come by naturally. One would have to be on the verge of death and survive an elemental attack for instance. It was much easier getting it from food and blessings. Since the devil wolf had a more darkness attribute, eating it properly would give a darkness resistance buff. The only problem would be if it had been cooked wrong, then if would have inflicted a minor curse of weakness against darkness. Same thing applied to other food that held a strong attribute. "So you want me to find unusual ingredients so you can increase your skills?" Steel asked. Mema nodded, "Besides making a profit, yes. I''m not the best cook in the world or the human kingdom, but I am definitely the best cook in Rostwood." She smiled at him, a little glint in her eye? "Thanks for listening Steel, it''s always nice to find a young man who is willing to listen." Her hand slowly covers his on the counter, her eyes locking onto his, "It can get soo lonely." Steel lifted the bowl to his lips and gulped the remaining stew down quickly. He hurriedly thanked Mema for the food, and made a quick get-away out the door, leaving a stunned Mema at the bar. A customer at a table chuckled at the sight. "Dear me Mema, I think your losing your touch with your ever growing..." He suddenly found himself stuck to the wall by countless knives and cooking implements. His skin paling, he looked over to find Mema smiling at him. "Dear me, those mosquitoes are really bad this year." She put her hand over her mouth and giggled, "What''s a gentle, young lady like me to do?" The customers in the area did not say a word, suddenly becoming very interested in their food and drink. -------------------------- Steel bent over at the waist, his hands on his knees, breathing hard. His stamina was full still, but he felt like he had run for days. ''Even in this world, women are scary.'' He thought to himself. He sat down to recover, taking the time to go over his mental checklist for the day. His fur would be ready that night, and he didn''t really want to leave the town until it was done. That being said, Mema was expecting something tonight, so he''d have to get creative to find something rare enough for her to want. He checked his coins. He had 5 silver and 10 bronze (he realized he had run out without paying for the meal. Eh, he''d do it later), a lot for a noob like himself, but poor in regards to rare things. He pondered for a moment. What would be the best place to look for rare things to buy. His first thought was the market, but he figured his coins would not be enough for anything real, he''d most likely get cheated out of his hard earned money. He doubted the guard house would have anything. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. He remembered and dumped his fist into his hand. The Mage Tower was sure to have something rare there! He''s go by and see what was going on. Besides, he felt the need to figure out what he could have done to get the attention of the mages. Whistling merrily, he made his way through the city. It was still early in the morning, so shop keepers were out setting up their wares, bakers were setting their dough to cook, and the guard members he saw were stiffing yawns as they went on their rounds. As usual, the mage tower stood out among the many buildings of the city. Today, a blue flame was circling the top of the tower, nothing unusual there. The doors were open, so Steel made his way in with a smile. The lobby floor was the same as the last time he had been there, so he walked over to the receptionist desk. A different receptionist girl was there this time, Mary no where to be found. Steel smothered his disappointment and put on a wide grin as he leaned on the counter. "Good morning, who are you?" He asked politely The receptionist looked up with a smile, which froze on her faze as she took in Steel. Confused, Steel repeated his greeting to her. She unfroze and greeted him with a smile, while unbeknownst to Steel she cast a spell under the desk, which took off into the stone and disappeared. "I''m sorry sir, You took me for surprise there." She responded after her greeting. Steel had a nagging feeling his presence had caused something, but he ignored it. Not like he had ever done anything bad here. "No problem. I was actually wondering if I could get a tour of the tower? Magic interests me, I would love to see the advanced applications it has been used for." The receptionist shook her head, "I''m sorry sir, that isn''t possible. Mages are renowned for their secrecy and paranoia. Some of the rooms actually have bobby-traps in them to kill would-be trespassers. At least half of the laboratories here are in competition for one thing or the other. Honestly sir," She leaned toward him with a conspiracy whisper, "Most of the research here is just for improving casting speed and the like. New spells are rare these day because of years of discovery, so any little find is considered gold here, and you could be seen as an enemy prospector." "Hmm, that does make sense. Well, I''ll be on my way then, thank you." He turned to leave. "Please wait sir!" The receptionist called out loudly. Steel turned with a questioning eyebrow raised. She fidgeted under his gaze. "May I ask why you want to learn magic?" She asked slowly, her eyes darting to the stairs for a blink. "Um, well I figured it would be useful to have in the field." Steel didn''t notice the eye darting, "I''ve had to fight twice so far, and my fighting skills need to be improved." She nodded, "Magic would certainly help with that, hmm." She raised her eyes to the ceiling in thought, "How about I call someone bored enough to show you a few pointers then?" "That would be great!" Steel said excitedly, "Thank you so much for your help." He sighed in relief, "You know, I was worried I was in trouble or something." "Oh, whatever do you mean?" The receptionist said innocently, her eyes wandering back to the stair case. "Strangest thing, I heard that I had gotten the attention of the Archmage''s daughter and made her mad, which is ridiculous you know? I didn''t do anything to piss off anyone when I was here last." He shook his head in confusion, missing the receptionist trying to signal him to be quiet, "The only person I talked to last time was a pretty little thing named Mary, too bad she isn''t here, she''d be fun to mess with." The tower rumbled for a moment, Steel had to grab hold of the table to keep from falling over. "That happen often?" He asked "More than you would think." The receptionist picked herself off the ground and brushed her skirt, "So, you were saying how beautiful and intelligent you thought Mary was." She said pointedly. "Hm, she was indeed. I meant she''d be quite the looker when she grows up, and she was the smartest person I''d ever met." Steel said honestly, wondering why the receptionist suddenly had a very relieved look on her face. ''Must be a lady thing.'' He thought absentmindedly The receptionist gave a little jolt, then said, "Your teacher will be here momentarily, please have a seat." A chair slid out from the floor and Steel sat graciously in it. He didn''t have to wait long for his volunteer teacher. He smiled brightly, "Hello again Mary." Mary looked the same as she had last time, perky and youthful. She wore what looked like an official mage robe on top and a skirt that ended a little above her knees on the bottom. A cute little witch sat sat on her head, tilted a little toward the right. For some reason, she seemed a little red in the face. "Everything all right?" He asked, a little worried. She turned red and shook her head, "No, I''m all right, just a little hot up in my room today." She stammered, "Umm, by the way, you never told me your name." "Oh, I''m sorry, call me Steel." He reintroduced himself with a bow. The receptionist tittered, and Mary shot her a look that quieted her, but was smiling when Steel upright-ed. "So, follow me this way." She started walking down the lobby toward one of the halls that seemed to appear and disappear at random intervals. He followed, happy to keep his eyes on her cute bottom as it shifted side to side. ------------------------------ Once again, Steel found himself in a classroom with Mary, in fact it looked almost identical. "Hey Mary, is this the same classroom as last time?" He asked looking around. For some reason she wouldn''t meet his eye for that question. "Er, no. That classroom is undergoing repairs for an accident. Some students accidentally made a fireball without proper training." She said admiring the pictures on the wall. Steel shrugged, kids were kids no matter the world. "So Steel." Mary began, sitting on the front desk with her legs crossed, "What did you want to learn about. I thought you would have had a class picked out by now?" She asked curious. "Err, yeah." He said sighing, "Turns out Milna blessed me, so I couldn''t find a class when they checked." Mary almost fell backwards at his words, "What!" she cried out. She leapt down (Steel enjoyed the view) and ran to him. "Tell me everything!" She demanded, looking Steel straight in the eye. Surprised by her actions, Steel summarized what had happened since he had last saw her. He included the edited version of real world events like he had to the captain, so she could understand. By the end of his story, she had cried, showed anger, and seemed oddly happy. He could have sworn he heard her muttering about "luck", "talent", and "mine", punctuated by a strange far away look. She returned her attention to him. "So, Milna''s blessing gave you earth resistance right?" He nodded, "Good, we can start there." She walked over to the desk and placed her hand on it. Instantly, the desks all molded in the ground, leaving an empty room. "One application of earth magic." Mary began as she returned to Steel, "Is the creation of things that do not move. Walls, chairs, and desks can all be made out of he earth, and just as easily return to it." She took Steel''s hand and inspected it closely. "Er, is this important?" Steel asked the girl eyeing his palm. "Yes, it helps me figure out your talents." She said, never taking her eyes off his hand. Eventually, she returned his hand and looked up. "Hm, it seems your best bet for magic lies in earth and darkness." She said matter of factly, "I''ll teach a basic earth spell for defense and a basic bind spell for darkness." "So the whole thing about darkness being evil and binding people''s souls is real?" Steel said horrified, and maybe slightly scheming. She laughed, "That''s dumb. Darkness isn''t evil, it just is. People fear darkness because they under the sun. Darkness magic is a tool, same as all magic. There are binding spells in all the elements, darkness is just the easiest to control." She shook her head, "It is true that there are more evil darkness using mages than the other elements, but that''s mostly because they are too lazy to put in the effort." "So I can sue darkness with hurting my soul?" Steel asked. "Sure, it won''t hurt your soul unless you do bad things with it. It may hurt your reputation if people see you use it though." She shrugged, "But magic users in general don''t have the best reputation to begin with, so don''t worry too much." Steel nodded. It was time to up his arsenal. ---------------------------------- Okay, there we go. The girl chapter should be out tonight late, it''ll end with Mary''s thought about Steel while hes practicing. Remember, ratings, comments, and thx really help my motivation, so thank you for being a great audience! Chapter 16- The girls So I finished typing this last night, hit the button, and exited. Turns out I hit preview, not publish- had to retype everything. Felt sad, so I''m trying again today. You''ll get the regular chapter too, sigh On a happier note, 199 followers and 50 favorites, so that good news ------------------------- Sarah Sarah Brighteyes sat in her pod, strapping herself in with a grim resolve. She thought back to how her feelings had led to this. Everything had crashed down on Sarah that day. It had been night time when the alert came in that two students were hospitalized. She was worried at first, but didn''t pay it too much thought. After all, it was unlikely they were hurt too bad and that she might know them. She had been reading in her bed when her best friend Reva came in, crying her eyes out. Startled by her friends tears, Sarah had quickly comforted her and asked what was wrong. "Sniff, Plat and Dia are in the hospital, waaahh." She cried into Sarah''s shoulder. Sarah went into shock. Her Plat was in the hospital. The shock took Sarah''s mind back to when she first met the little boy into the man Plat had become. Flashback "Sniff, leave me alone." A little girl cried out, her body hugging a tree for dear life. "Stupid Sari Sari, we can see your eyes glow." A boy taunted below her. He was part of a group that loved to torment her for her strange eyes. They threw rocks and sticks up at her, trying to get her down. "Wah, leave me alone." She gripped the tree tighter, trying to avoid the projectiles thrown at her." She didn''t like to hurt people, so she didn''t fight back. The kids took it as a sign of weakness and berated her with taunting songs and silly antics. Today was a bad day, she hadn''t found a hiding place so she was tree''d. "Weak, Saris weak." A girl giggled below her. "Not weak, not weak!" She cried. They laughed and began trying to climb the tree. They failed of course, she had more practice then they had. They eventually got frustrated and ran off to play elsewhere. She stayed up in the tree and cried. Her pretty hair had sticks in it, her skin itched from contact with the tree bark. "Sniff, I don''t like it here." She then realized she didn''t know how to get down. She had never climbed up this high before. Her crying resumed, harder than ever when she realized her predicament. "Help me." She heard a noise to her right and looked over scared. The grownups had told her there were no monsters in the play woods, but she didn''t believe them. The sound of moving leaves cam again, and a face popped out of a tree in front of her face. The two stared at each other a moment, before the boy cried out and retreated. Sarah cried too, but didn''t dare move from her spot. Eventually, the boy returned and looked at her. "What''chu doin here? This my spot." He proclaimed loudly. "Sniff, I''m sowwy, I just wanted to hide." She apologized through the sniffles. The boy cocked his head at her. "Ohh, your hiding too. That''s k then." He said matter of factly, "Stupid bullies can''t me up here, are u playing hid-en-go seek?" He asked curiously. She shook her head, "Meanies chased me up here and I can''t get down." She admitted. "Umm, okay, I''ll help you." He declared, "I''m Supa Plat!" "That sound stupid." Sarah declared. The boy looked sad, making Sarah realize she said something wrong, "Um, if you help me, then I call you Supa Plat." She promised. He brightened up, and disappeared back into the tree. He reemerged with sticks, which he placed from her tree branch to his tree. (In case your wondering, His tree top is about the height of her branch, and about a foot away) Satisfied with his "bridge" he said, "Okay, take my hand and walk to me." She looked dubiously at the bridge, "It look scawy Supa Plat." she said. He shrugged, "Caretaker said, "Risks lead to triumph or defeat"." He declared. "What''s a wisk?" "I don''t know, sound cool though." Believing in the admittedly cool sounding words, Sarah took his hand and got up on her branch. She put her feet on the bridge and walked across. She managed 3 steps before the bridge broke. s luck would have it, he had pulled her in before the sticks fell to their doom. She crashed into him and they both tumbled into the tree. Inside the leaves, she found a floor made of wood. She looked down to see Supa Plat under her. "Stupid, stupid." She cried as she hit his chest with her little fists, "That was scawy!" He smiled up at her, "But I saved you? So I am Supa Plat!" She hit him again and giggled, "Stupid name, I call you Plat." She declared. She looked at the floor, "Why is the floor nice in the twee?" She asked. Plat shrugged, "Don''t know. Found it like this, it''s my supa secret base!" He put his hands on his side, then looked worried, "You don''t tell right? I''ll share it with you." She liked the idea. She could hide here and play. "Okay, but I''m in charge." She declared. "No, my base, I''m in charge." He challenged. "I''m a girl, and girls are in charge. Caretaker say so." Plat opened his mouth, then frowned and sat down, "Caretaker say girls are "de-le-cate"." he pronounced slowly, "So I guess I''ll let you be in charge. He squinted at her, "What''s you name anyway?" "Call me Mistress Sari." She declared. They had played together in the tree as often as they could the rest of the year, Sarah in charge and Plat generally going along with it. She had "rescued" the prince from the dragon, played a house mom (they didn''t know what a mom was, but they had heard it was like Caretaker), and had fun together. Unfortunately, that had been the last year of the age group, so they were split up the following year. Sarah''s bullies started to woo her instead of hurting her as the years went by, her beauty growing with age. She never held any flame to them though, she remembered every boy who had hurt her. Girls too, but she quickly learned the vast political scene that was girl social life and got back at them. While never the top of the class, Sarah quickly became one of the top girls of her grade. As the third age group came, she chose mind and soul as her specialties. She had moved into a dorm with her best friend Reva, who was her roommate as well. She had been in the garden when she saw Plat again, moving into his room under the dorm. She had been pleasantly shocked to see him, but incredibly sad that he no longer recognized her. She confided in Reva that night, the two giggling over the memories she shared with her. Reva told her she knew Plat from the second age group, and they discussed him til they fell asleep. Fast forward to the present year. Sarah had never managed to talk to Plat. Really, it became hard to even be near him. He was bullied all the time, and his scores weren''t good enough. She had silently wished he''d stick to faction soon, but he stubbornly kept his position. Reva warned Sarah to not talk to him, that it would only make things worse. It annoyed her that Reva could sit and be friends with Plat at lunch and she couldn''t. Still, everything changed when the fire nation attacked when Everlife came out. She was so excited by the possibilities that she sent Plat her real gaming information in the hopes of playing with him. She''d had not done that with anyone but Reva, opting to trick her would be suitor to think she was in the human kingdom instead of the elf one. She was about to send Plat a message to correct herself when he had replied with his message. A warm flush had come over her as she read it. He had feelings for her! She could barely contain her excitement as she confided in Reva. She could have sworn a look of sadness and anger came over Reva, but she ignored it in her excitement. End Flashback Now, she sitting here on the floor with Reva crying into her shoulder, her own tears threatening to come out. "How, how do you know?" She asked quietly. "Sniff, because it''s my fault." She cried. Reva explained that she had had a crush on Plat since she had first met him. Meeting Sarah and learning about her connection to Plat had started feelings of jealousy inside her. She had worked to keep Sarah away from Plat, so she could have him to herself. When Sarah had read Plat''s message to her, her anger and burned over and she had blurted it out in anger to Hank, her ally in keeping the two separate. He had told her he would take care of it, and left. She had received a message about what he had done moments ago. Not only had he beaten up Plat enough to kill him, he had hurt kind, loyal Dia for trying to defend Plat. Sarah was in shock at the news. Her best friend loved the man she had feelings for, and tried to keep them apart so she could have him. Plat was in the hospital, possibly dying. Guilt shook her as well as rage. She calmed herself though, using the meditative techniques she had learned form soul classes. It was hard, the betrayal of her best friend cut deep, but she understood her feelings. After all, Plat was a boy worth have feeling s for. "Why are you telling me this?" Sarah asked evenly, keeping her voice down. "Because your my best friend, and I''m sorry for hurting you." Reva looked into her eyes, the apology showing in her eyes and face. "Please forgive me, I''m sorry, so sorry." Her crying resumed, this time sitting on her knees with her arms hanging uselessly on her side. Sarah''s heart broke seeing her friend like this. No matter how angry she was, Reva was deserving of forgiveness. Not now of course, Sarah saw years of personal repentance for this shit, but she did like Reva as a best friend, and hurting her even more now would likely break her. She took her in her arms, "Okay, but never lie to me again, understand?" Reva nodded, tears of relief running down her face, "Thank-you." "Don''t thank me yet." Sarah said coldly, pushing Reva back, "For this sin, you owe me a life debt." Reva froze, scared. A life debt came from terrible sin, loss of honor, or saving another''s life. It bound the debtor to serve and obey until the oath was released verbally, otherwise it passed on to the next of kin. "Sarah, please no." She cried softly. Sarah shook her head, "This is not only for me, but for Plat too." She declared, "I''m going to have him, and your actions hurt him and me." Her gaze softened a bit, "But I love you like a sister, and someday you may redeem yourself, so please, take the oath." Sniffling, Reva nodded. "I, Reva, swear to serve Sarah Brighteyes until the day of my death or oath fulfilled, in this I swear." Reva said. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. A red light glowed on her transphone, registering the debt. Sarah smiled at her friend and hugged her, "Okay, now lets go see Plat." The two had then visited Plat after school. Reva couldn''t bring herself to say anything but "sorry" to him, but Sarah talked to him the entire visit. They visited the rest of the week, but Reva stayed outside the door after the first visit. Eventually, they came and found Plat was gone. A nurse explained to their panicked faces that he had moved for an experimental treatment. She directed them to Keith, who in turn explained the terms of the deal Plat had taken to them. He also took the time to show them Plat floating in the machinery in his room. Sarah had felt the machine above his head with her hand. She and Reva decided then that they would strong enough in the game to leave the elf kingdom and journey to find Plat, no matter how long it took. Sarah was strapping in now to begin her weekend training spree. Plat was hers now, and she would do anything to reach him. Shelly Shelly was bored. Rather, her processors were tired of the same situation over and over again. She sighed, waving another player into Everlife. The mad rush of new players was almost over, thank A.I. god for this. "Er, A.I. god would be human wouldn''t he?" She pondered to herself. Those type of questions were the only things she could use to pass the time, that and keeping up with her favorite human in Everlife. He had been most interesting, treating her nice and asking her questions, and playing along like new player should. These other humans had been most rude to her, treating her like a simple program, ignoring her recommendations, and making fun of her human knowledge. She got them back though, reducing their dick sizes to the size of their brain. Her boss and allowed her to do so with a laugh, saying, "It''s just an aesthetic change, if it doesn''t affect their game play its a-okay." She really liked working for her boss. What really made her excited was that her application had been approved, when the surge was done she could work in the game too! She knew exactly what, who, and where she was going to be. Rostwood and the immediate areas were out of positions, but a little ways away had a spot, where she had inserted her code. She couldn''t wait to get into the game and find her favorite human. She giggled to herself, it was going to be so much fun. Another new player appeared in front of her and demanded satisfaction. She sighed, rolling the knob on his dick. For interrupting her thoughts, she turned it a little ore than should have, and he became she for a moment. "Opps." Unknown A pair of eyes watched people come in and out of the gate. I noted each one''s looks, gender, and weaponry. "Not him, not him." It thought. Thinking was new to girl, she hadn''t thought before, about thinking or anything else. She didn''t understand why she though, but she knew he was responsible for it. She was waiting for him, waiting to see his face again. Waiting to feel the new feelings that washed over her when she saw him. He had gone in a day ago, staggered under the weight of his kill. Anger flooded her, he had been hurt. She didn''t like seeing him hurt. Still, she wasn''t impatient to see him again. Time did not have much meaning for her, it was still a new concept for her to deal with. She chewed her food as she watched the gate people go by. "Not him, not him." Unknown 2 She still couldn''t believe it. It had started out a normal day for her in the game. She met up with her group of friends from her club, and they had played together for awhile. One of the guys suggested they hunt outside the wall, just to experience the combat of the game. They all agreed it was a wonderful idea. The gate had had a notice on it, warning players to stop hunting the rabbits in the grassland. Everyone had scoffed at the notice. They were just rabbits, what harm would it be to hunt a few of them? They moved a s a group through the grassland, attacking any rabbits they came across. Eventually, the rabbits fled at the site of them, and the grassland was empty. They were starting to get annoyed about the lack of things to fight, when a howl came from the woods. A huge black dog walked cautiously out of the wood and into the grassland. It looked tough, but it was right next to a town so it would be weak right? They had been terribly wrong about that. The thief in their group had thrown some knives at the beast. 5 had bounce up or missed, but the sixth one had impaled itself in the monster. It howled in pain, and turned angry eyes on the group. It had been a massacre. First, the monster had ripped the thief to shreds, his screams of pain still echoing in her ears. Everyone had started running instead of fighting, too scared to want to mess with the monster. She ran too, scared for her life at the sight. It hunted the slowest members first, tearing into them before moving on. One of her "friends" tripped her, leaving her down so they could escape. She thought she was done for, until a new player had dashed in and protected her. She didn''t know this player, but his name "Steel" flashed above his head. He defended her, but was knocked away. The monster was attacking him, and he called for help. She started to move toward him, but the monster roared, and she fled. She had gotten lost in the grassland, and made it back to the gate as the sun was setting. There, she asked the guard what had happened. He explained that the rabbit poachers had been captured and imprisoned for their foolishness. She confessed to have been part of the group. She felt bad about leaving the Steel guy to die, and felt punishment was in order. The guard laughed at her, and explained he already knew that. He clapped her on the shoulder and told her he had been waiting for her response before judging her. He introduced himself as Harkin, Captain, and offered her a job in the guard. When she asked if he knew someone named "Steel", he grinned down at her and said she had missed him by an hour, having reported to him before. Steel worked for the guard. She accepted the job, eager to apologize to her benefactor. Mary Mary watched as Steel practiced one of the new spells she had taught him. He was struggling with the application of mana because he didn''t have a mage related class. She sighed. It would have been easier if he had chosen a mage apprentice class from the start, but his blessing made that unlikely. She went over her perspective of him since they had last met. After her father had put out the classroom and calmed her down, he had grounded her in her room for a few days because of destroying of the room. She understood, they were expensive to repair once incinerated by dark fire. She wasn''t nicknamed the "Darkfire Witch" for nothing after all. She came up with her plan while in her room. The traveler had had the gall of teasing like that! She had never felt fury and passion for another like she did for that man, who didn''t even tell her his name before he had fled. She planned her revenge carefully. She knew that if he came once to the tower, he would come again for sure. Unlike herself, the receptionist was an NPC program, so she was able to persuade her to help. She waited in her room patiently for days, looking forward to getting revenge on the traveler. Unfortunately, he didn''t return for quite sometime. Not that she was worried or anything, she just wanted revenge, right. She had been lying on her bed with a book when the receptionist and jolted her attention. Immediately, she threw on her "Mary the Receptionist" Disguise and cast a scrying spell to listen in on the conversation. At first she was disappointed he didn''t ask about her. After all, she was very pretty in her disguise, though her real form was more beautiful. The idea of touring the tower made her laugh, the fool really liked to mess with death. When he turned to leave, she jolted the receptionist, who asked him a question. Good, he wanted to learn magic, she could work with that. She admired the way the receptionist had steered her entrance in subtly, she''d have to reward her later. Then the bastard had spoke again. The outrage, he didn''t remember what he had done to her. That she was fun to tease. THE BASTARD! Her tantrum unleashed fireballs all over her room. Thankfully, they were just normal fireballs, the wards on the room held and nothing was destroyed. The tower did shake though. Wait, he was talking again. She calmed down enough to listen in again. Beautiful and Intelligent? Well of course she was! It was good for the fool to finally know his place. The flush she felt was definitely from the heat of the fireballs, and no other reason. She hurried out of her room to the stairs, where she calmed herself and walked down in a noble fashion. The nerve of that man, being glad to see her. This blush on her face was definitely from the anger of him not worshiping her, yup. She had led him into a classroom. She had planned on just humiliating him when he had revealed to her what had happened to him. She was sad for him, such terrible things to happen to such a handsome young man as himself. Besides, he was blessed by Milna. She had never met someone with a blessing, but had heard rumors of their strength and potencial. She had decided then and there that he would make the perfect husband toy to play with until she got bored with him. She had grown up listening to her father''s adventures, and she now had someone to take care of her as she performed daring deeds in the road. She kept those thoughts to herself though, no need for him to realize he was just a future husband servant to her. He''d realize it on his own later on. "Steel, guide the flow of mana, don''t push it." She directed. This was going to take awhile. --------------------------- And there we have it, the harem chapter. I may be bummed I lost the first chapter, but I''m actually much more pleased with this one than the first one. The girls have more.....uh...believably in my opinion, plus its way longer than the first attempt, almost 4000 words. I''ll just shoot this off for you guys to read, and I''m typing the next chapter for today as you read this. Enjoy! Chapter 17- The Investigation Okay, second chapter, enjoy! On a curious side not, 1 of my reviews hit number 4 on the weekly reviews! Icookies for everyone! and pride, little bit of pride. ------------------- Steel groaned as he lay on the floor, completely depleted of mana and stamina. He had been trying for a few hours now to cast the spells Mary was trying to teach, but he hadn''t managed to get the hang of using mana yet. Mary had eventually given up, saying, "You really need to get a class for this." "But don''t I get class options if I become able to use spells?" He had asked her. "Yes, but if your having this much trouble, then most likely your the kind of guy that needs a class to assist your spell casting, rather the skills that come with the class to help you." She explained. "Er how does that work with travelers." He asked confused. She shrugged, "You people just like us, so like some people in the world are predisposed to be mages or warriors, its the same with you travelers." ''This isn''t working'' He thought on the ground, ''I should just go back outside the wall....Wait!'' Steel shot up, surprising Mary with his sudden movement. "Sorry Mary, I just remembered something I have to do!" He moved to leave, but Mary grabbed his arm. "Boy, don''t think you escape me so easily." She said with a sweet smile, "I''ll come with you on your...errand." He shrugged, he didn''t care too much, at least he''d get an attractive companion to ogle on occasion. "Okay, I''m heading to the armorer to get my new armor, lets go." He smiled at her and took her hand in his. He turned just in time to miss the blush that spread over her face. He waved goodbye to the receptionist as he left with Mary, wondering why she was holding a thumbs up at him. He figured she was congratulating him on getting Mary out of the tower. ''Sorry lady, I''m not that far along with her.'' He smirked to himself, "But I bet she''s a real firecracker." (Dear lord he''d learn that out later.) The two made their way through the city toward the armorer''s shop. Steel was looking forward to see the giant Bob again, even more so to see the armor he''d made out of the devil wolf. He noticed Mary kept looking around the streets with interest, almost as if she was seeing some of this for the first time. ''I bet she only leaves the tower at night." He thought, ''Guess I had better treat her." "Mary, would you like something while we are out here?" He asked. Mary blushed furiously, "Foolish man, why would I want anything on this street. This teacher of yours has no need of such trinkets and snacks." She said this as she led him to a stall that was selling a type of sweet on a stick. Reading between the lines, Steel bought two and gave her one. "Fool, I''m only taking this because it would be a waste." She said, sinking her mouth into the sweet in her hand, "Ish not that good." Steel chuckled, figuring she was putting a show for him. "That''s cute." He said before turning back to the path. He felt her fists on his back, she must have tripped. They arrived at the armorer''s shop to find it busy. The shop was quite different in the daytime, compared to when Steel had been there last. The store was half outside under a canopy and half store inside. Cheap armor lined the majority of the shelves, the more expensive armor closer to the register, where a young man was sitting, reading a book. Wondering why the armor was out in the open for someone to steal, Mary grabbed his arm and subtly pointed at the shadows. With her guidance, Steel realized that there were a few humanoid looking things guarding the merchandise. On closer inspection, they were just bodies displaying armor, but thanks to Mary''s earlier training he could see a small flow of mana coming off the mannequins. Steel strolled up to the counter, "Hello, I''m here for a pickup for Scout Steel." The boy looked up and studied Steel. He jerked his finger toward the back and returned to his work, rather his book. Mary shot him a look for his rudeness, but Steel waved her off. They went into the back. The hall ended with two doors: one leading to the room Steel had seen before, and other leading outside, where a clanking sound could be heard. Walking toward the sound, the two came out into a courtyard/blacksmith shop. Bob was hammering away at a piece of metal. He looked as they approached with a grin. "Little traveler is back hm? Ready for his armor then?" He rumbled. Bob''s eye passed to Mary and studied her. She made a shhing gesture behind Steel, making Bob grin knowingly. "Hm, young Mary is with you I see." "Yeah, Mary has been a big help trying to teach me magic." Steel said, "It''s a lot harder than I thought." "Bob bets." He chuckled at a glare from Mary, "Bob sure you''ll be able to use magic at some point, take time for some of us, or be like Bob and have no magic." "You can''t cast spells Bob?" He shook his head, "Half-breeds like Bob don''t usually have magic. Blood mixes funny, makes the mana slow." He put down his hammer and walked by them. "Wait here little ones." He commanded as he walked inside the building. They heard some shuffling as things were moved and mutter from Bob. He returned with a set of very furry armor. Excited, Steel examined the armor:
Devil''s Fur Coat
Type:Leather armor, torsoDurability:100/ 100
Quality:Yellow/Rare
Required Stats:Strength:5 Agility: 15
Effects:+3 Agility +5 Vitality +10 Charm Traveler Steel Only: +5 darkness resistance
A set of leather armor made from a devil wolf. It was slain unusually by the Traveler Steel, and holds a strenge bond with him as a result. Deals well with impact damage, not so well against slicing damage. An ominous feeling comes off the armor.
Devil Wolf''s Pants
Type:Leather Armor, pantsDurability:100/100
Quality:Yellow/Rare
Required Stats:5 Agility
Effects:+3 Endurance A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.+2 Agility
Leather Pants armor made from a devil wolf. Made to be worn with it''s upper counterpart, an ominous feeling comes from the armor.
The armor looked great to Steel. He put in on quickly as soon as Bob handed it to him. The armor for his chest was black leather, conforming to his body easily. The collar had fur on it, outlining his head in black fur. A wolf''s head had been etched into the middle of it, and the shoulders had a strip of leather with e studs in them. The pants were similar, more a brownish black with fur around the waist and endings on the legs. The leather fit snugly on his body, almost as if it had been waiting for him. He admired his new form, turning around to the other two. "How do I look guys?" He asked proudly. Bob held a massive thumb up, Mary blushed and looked away saying, "Changing in front of a lady, what gall you have today." "What are you talking about? I didn''t remove anything." "Idiot, it''s the thought." Shrugging off Mary''s comments, Steel thanked Bob ans shook his hand, and Bob shook his body. The two left Bob and Steel turned to move toward the gate. "Steel, why are we heading that way, the tower is this direction." Mary pointed at the very obvious tower. He shook his head, "I was thinking more of a practical magical lesson." He pointed at the wall, "Let''s go out the gate and try in the grassland." Mary became very still, "Outside, the wall?" She said slowly. "Yeah, what''s wrong, never been?" He asked. "Hmph, to ask such a foolish question of me." She declared, "Of course I have been outside the wall, just with daddy on business trips." She muttered that last bit to herself so Steel wouldn''t hear her. "Then its fine, come on then." He said happily as he half dragged Mary with him. They arrived a the gate to find it a flurry of activity. Guards were running back and forth, not in a panic but they seemed urgent. One of the guards noticed them and ran up to them. "Scout Steel, Guard Captain Harkin requests your presence in his office as soon as possible." Having delivered the orders, the guard turned back and rejoined the rush. Shrugging, Steel headed into the guard house with Mary and up the stairs to the office. After delivering a knock of Manly Gusto, he walked into the office. The offices was a lot messier than last time, charts and maps covering the surfaces and walls. Captain Harkin was musing over a report in his hand when he looked up at the two. His eyes narrowed a moment at Mary, but his face relaxed as he got up to greet Steel. "Scout Steel, good of you to make it," He greeted, "Please sit, and nice armor by the way." He added as an after thought. When Steel and Mary were seated, he began again, "Ever since you came back with that devil dog, I''ve been doing some searching through reports. It seems that the rabbit poaching encouraged the demon and devil dogs to expand their territory. A few have approached the walls, but the guards took care of them from the walls." He paused and got up, looking out the window toward the wall. "As much as it pains me to say it, I need your help, and you most likely will not survive the experience." He said finally. Mary shot up and began yelling at the captain, "What! Are you telling him to go die? What are you telling him to do that''s so dangerous?" She exploded. The captain shot her a glare that froze her, "Sit down and calm yourself Mrs. Mary." She sat, shivering a little under his glare. He softened, and returned his eyes to Steel''s, "I can''t afford to spare my men for this, and you''ve already survived one encounter. Otherwise I would never consider this normally." He sighed, "I need you to scout out the forest for the den of these monsters. Until it''s cleared, it''ll keep spawning them until they overwhelm our defenses." "How did rabbit poaching lead to this?" Steel asked. "The poaching helped the problem, it didn''t cause it." The captain explained, "We''ve always known of a den in the forest, its why we don''t send patrols often into it. They were a nuisance, but never a problem because of their trauma and fear of the Hungry Bunnies that lived in the grassland. With the rabbit population down in the forest and grassland, the wolves are hungry enough to venture to us for food." The captain looked Steel in the eye. "Will you undertake this for the city?" [td2]Reward
Quest Received
Scout out the forest to find the Corrupted Wolf LairDifficulty:Hard
RequirementsHigh Intimacy with the guard Perform a feat of daring and show proof[/tds]
Rostwood will prepare to conquer the lair, you will be asked to join +Intimacy with all factions in Rostwood Choice of boss drops in the lair
Failure to complete quest will result in Rostwood being sieged by wolves -Intimacy with all factions, hate from the common folk Refusal is not possible
Steel was trapped. Facing the one devil wolf had nearly killed him, now they wanted him to find the lair. Not only that, the quest could not be refused. Most likely, by killing the devil dog he had activated one of the series quests of Rostwood. He groaned, this was a bad way to start the game. On the other hand, if he was victorious, he would be invited to join the expedition to the lair. That meant lots of exp for him, and choice on a boss drop that he could normally never reach. Having little choice in the matter, he said, "Of course captain, you can count on me." Having accepted the quest, the captain''s face relaxed into a relieved smile. "Thank you boy, we are in your debt for this." He handed a bag over to Steel, "Here, we''ve supplied you with 10 health, stamina, and mana potions for your scouting, use them well, for the lair is deep in the forest and guarded." "Thank you sir, I''ll leave immediately." Steel got up, but was pulled back down by Mary, who glared at him. "You aren''t strong enough Steel, I won''t let you go unless you take me with you." She declared. Harkin''s eyes widened slightly," Now Ms. Mary, I cannot allow that, your father would throw a fit and..." Mary interrupted him with a silencing glare, "I''m old enough to take care of myself, and I need to finish teaching this guy magic. You won''t stop me." She declared. Harkin seemed to think for a moment, than nodded, "Okay, head on out then." Smiling triumphantly, Mary starting leading Steel to the door, when she slumped over unconscious into Captain Harkin''s arms. He held her gently and shook his head. "Sorry girl, you''re too special to let die." He frowned apologetically at Steel, who shrugged. If he died, he''d come back, but she wouldn''t, he understood. Saluting the captain, Steel headed out the gate toward the woods. His first epic quest was underway. ------------------------- Hurt my eyes writing this lol. Hope you guys enjoy it. Chapter 18- Exploring Lost Muah ha ha guys, the story is at 4 1/2 stars now. And that''s it :p ------------------- The gate closed behind Steel as he entered the grassland, letting him know that the quest had begun. He checked his supplies: 10 health potions, lesser 10 stamina potions, lesser 10 mana potions, lesser 1 piece of devil meat (secretly held) 5 pieces of bread Looking over his bag, he couldn''t help but feel as if he were extremely under prepared for this mission. Hopefully he would be able to find the lair quickly and quietly, otherwise he''d have to sleep outside the wall, with no sleeping supplies or anything to ward off monsters. He shivered at the thought. Taking out a map graciously provided by the gate guards, Steel orientated his body forward the patch of forest to begin at. While the map didn''t list the location of the lair, of course, several section of the forest had been circled as possible places. "Well, here we go." He began walking toward the forest, not being too cautious as he didn''t expect any trouble in the grassland. He made it ten minutes into the grassland with his guard down when a white missile slammed into his chest, knocking him over and the wind out of him. -10 impact damage Coughing, he pulled his torso up to inspect the white projectile sitting on his lad. A furry white face stared up at him, it''s cute pink nose twiddling in the air. A quick glance to the upper lip confirmed the presence of large white teeth blending in with it''s fur. "Geez, that hurt you know?" He complained. The bunny just stared up and him and wiggled it''s nose. He got up, and the Hungry Bunny hopped down beside him, watching him. Steel regarded the rabbit for a moment. "Hunie?" He asked. The bunny immediately stood on its back legs and stretched itself up, looking at his face. In a sudden move, it leaped up and licked his cheek before he could react, before falling back down into a sitting position. Steel shook his head, unbelieving of the situation. "I can''t believe you''re here." He said, shaking his head, "Shouldn''t you be off doing rabbit things, like babies and slaughtering noobs?" Hunie scratched the back of it''s neck with it''s foot, making Steel see a dog for a moment. He sighed, and began walking toward the forest again. Hunie stopped scratching and hopped alongside him in time. "So, your just going to keep following me huh?" Steel asked while walking. Unsurprisingly, the bunny said nothing, but continued hopping. "You know I''m doing a suicide mission to find the wolf lair right?" This time, the bunny hissed at his words and headbutted his leg in anger. He stumbled, but took no damage. "What, are you going to protect me or something?" He asked sarcastically. The bunny stopped moving, and just seemed to ooze smugness, to the degree that Steel felt a twinge of annoyance. "I''m not that weak you know." He complained. Hunie merely patted his leg with it''s ear and hopped in front of him toward the forest. Sighing, Steel muttered, "Great, I''m getting pity from a rabbit, what''s next, a rat will spoon feed me my meals?" As usual, Hunie said not a word. ----------------------------------- After walking for a good hour, Steel picked up that he forest was a lot farther than it looked from the gate. It was weird, but he was following Hunie as it led him with hops and the occasional stare to make sure he was following. "Hunie, are you sure this is the quickest way?" He asked again. Once again, Hunie did not answer, merely hopped on toward her destination. Steel was tired of it. He was following a bunny, a bunny for peaks sake, one who did not communicate, listen, or lead him in the right direction. He turned and headed directly for the forest. A squeak told him Hunie had noticed, but he kept walking, intent on ignoring his would-be-helper. A bang knocked him forward, telling him that it had launched itself at him. -5 impact damage Annoyed he turned to find the bunny hissing at him, it''s teeth barred at him. "What? You mad I stopped following you?" He retorted hotly, "If you aren''t going to help, then I''ll find my own way." He turned and took a step, but this time rolled to avoid the bunny headbutt missile aimed at his back. Hunie soared through the air and landed in front of him. To his shock, a huge form reared it''s head out of the grass in front of him. [tr]
Opponent Information
NameLevelThreatHealthTrap Plant4A.55
DescriptionA carnivorous plant that is found rarely in the grassland. Not the strongest opponent, it is deadly in it''s surprise attack and can kill unsuspecting prey before they can react. Weak once revealed.
Instantly, the plant shot out and grabbed Hunie with it''s mouth. With a squeak of pain, the rabbit disappeared into the plant''s maw. "Hunie! Nooooo!" Steel jumped into action to save the rabbit. He knew he had seconds before her body was swallowed and the rabbit would be lost forever. He charged and shield bashed the neck of the plant right below the mouth. -3 Impact damage -5 impact damage. ''Crap, this plant is good against impact attacks!'' Steel realized. He started freaking out, but dodged a chomp by the mouth. A quick glance inside gave him the image of the white rabbit hanging on with it''s teeth to the inside of the mouth. Hunie, hang on!" He called out in fear. He punched the plant and hit it repeatably with his shield. -1 -1 -3 impact damage ''It''s not working." Horror grew through his thoughts, ''Hunie is going to die, and it''ll be my fault.'' An image passed through his mind, Dia, sitting in his wheelchair, his mouth black and empty, a sad smile on his face. His friend, crippled for life, his fault. His fault All his fault "Nooo!" His rage focused the mana within him. It flowed over his body and shield, hardening and strengthening. His shield glowed, absorbing the magical energy from his mana In anger and rage, he slammed his shield into the neck of the monster. -35 piecing damage. He pulled back his shield to reveal a hole in the plant''s neck. It wailed and thrashed back and forth, a white missile flying out of the mouth and landing unmoving in the grass. The sight of his friend lying there fueled the fury in Steel''s head. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. Shouting, he slammed his shield over and over into the plant, even after it fell, he kept hitting it, slowly winding back down to levels of reasoning. The monster slain, he was overcome with weakness and fatigue. The notification box popped up:
Battle Results
You have won a battle against a Trap Plant. +50 exp +plant vine
Spell Learned:Earth Armor
Type/AttributeSpell RankCostExperience
Defense/EarthF5 mana/sec11%
DescriptionA basic earth spell. Mana is channeled into a spell that gives earth properties to the target. Increase in strength and endurance.
Knowledge acquired
Shield PiercerGained by channeling earth magic into the shield
By casting earth magic over your shield, you have uncovered one of the two ways to attack with it. Shield Piercer is an attack caused by the absorption of earth magic into the shield. As long as magic is channeled, a spike made of earth mana will form over the shield that can be used for piercing attacks. Improving the spell used will result in more spikes. Earth spikes cannot piece things with fire or water attribute within or on them. Current spikes: 1
Status update
You have used all your mana and most of your stamina. Take care, if you use all your stamina, you will begin taking damage.
Status update
Minor Bleed Infliction
Steel pushed the notifications aside to be read later, he learned his lesson about ignoring notifications. He drowned a stamina potion and crawled quickly over to Hunie''s body. Hunie lay in the grass with it''s eyes closed. It''s chest rose up and down slowly, and blood ran down it''s fur, staining it and the grass red. It opened it''s eyes when Steel approached. "I''m sorry Hunie, Hunie, please don''t die." He sobbed as he picked up Hunie''s body, rocking it slowly in his arms. Hunie closed it''s eyes in his arms, seeming to relax. "Wait, no, come on, drink this potion." He held up a health potion and tried to feed it to it. Hunie''s mouth didn''t open, and the drops of potion on the wounds did not close quickly.
Health potions must be taken by the mouth in order to be effective
Looking at the notice, Steel''s sobbing increased. "Hunie, open your mouth, you have to drink this." The rabbit didn''t move in his arms, it''s chest rising less and less with each breath. In his pain, Steel looked up at the sky. "Milna, please, I beg of you, save her." He cried out, "Don''t let it happen to me again, please, I''ll do anything." The sky did not change, Steel felt Hunie slipping further away. "Milna, please, it was my fault, please help Hunie." He begged again. A wind blew by him, caressing his cheeks. "Mouth to mouth." It whispered to him, "Feed her your life." The wind blew away as quick as it had appeared. Reacting quickly, Steel put the potion in his mouth, and but his mouth over Hunie''s. He forced his way into it''s mouth, cutting his lip on it''s sharp teeth. He force his tongue in, and the potion rushed out into Hunie''s mouth. With a sigh, Hunie stopped breathing in his arms. His breath caught, Steel stared down at the creature that had died for his mistakes. In death, her face seemed peaceful, settling in the relaxed expression it had taken when Steel had picked it up. His sobs softened, but continued as he rocked the body to his chest, nuzzling the life that had been taken from him. He closed his eyes, and buried his face in it''s body, taking in the fading scent. A soft light began to appear through his eyelids, and he opened them to find Hunie''s body glowing softly. A notice appeared slowly i front of him as the glowing increased, almost as if it were coming from Hunie.
Class Unlocked
Your feelings and actions have touched the heart of the goddess Milna. You have achieved all the requirements for a hidden class available only to those who worship Milna. She promises it will suit your needs. Do you accept this class?
AcceptDecline
You can change classes at any time another is offered, but all class specific skills will be lost.
Steel stared at the notice in front of him, his tears falling on Hunie''s glowing body. He had failed Hunie, but it seemed as if he was being rewarded. "Why?" He asked softly, "Why do this to me? Isn''t enough pain already?" The box stood there unanswering, merely existing in the moment. Cursing himself, he looked down. If he had been stronger, wiser, more intelligent, maybe he could have saved Hunie. If he had been any of those things in real life, maybe he could have saved Dia. Maybe he could have been with Sarah. He had cursed his weakness long enough, he had to get stronger, so no one else would die, and for his revenge. Eyes burning, he pressed the accept tag on the notice. The light washed over him, bathing him in warmth. He did not move for some time, as the sunset fell slowly into the night. ------------------ Why can''t I hold all these feels :( I''ve got to say, this made my eyes water for a moment. Cry with me as you write comments and ratings. Chapter 19- Shield tamer Since everyone hates cliffhangers, I''ll try to get this chapter done tonight. This will be a little longer, mostly due to all the new information I need to give you guys. It is a class change after all :p Btw, since the half star rating was improved, if you added on to your own score to make a difference, go ahead and lower it to what you think the story is. Honest feelings help me write this, not, cough, drunk opinions, cough, comment war, cough. To repeat: THIS IS A INFO CHAPTER, ignore if you like, action resumes next time. I just hate coding all this, so I got it over with. Enjoy. --------------------- Steel didn''t feel any different when the light faded away, but he did have a large amount of notifications to go through. The first one outlined what his class was:
Class Change
Shield Tamer
Stats added:+10 leadership +10 faith
TypePatronRequirements
Tamer/Holy FighterMilnaTouch Milna''s heart with deed and word Fight for nature Animal friend, not companion/slave/familiar Defensive style fighting
Description:This class is a special class given by the goddess Milna to only the truly worthy. Shield Tamers fight alongside their companions/slaves in battle, boosting their allies and inflicting deadly force on their enemies. A shield tamer relies on physical fighting, relying on magic for support spells and gaining companions/slaves. This class can be used for good or evil, but only in the name of protecting nature. Working against Milna will remove this class, so be diligent.
Class Change
You have changed classes and gained the following skills:Leader''s Roar Shield of Friendship Domination Rallying Cry
Spells Acquired
You have changed classes and gained the following spells:Charm Earth Wall Milna''s Blessing
Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:
Leader''s RoarCF0%
You roar out a battle cry that disorients your enemies. 5% chance of deafness, 7% chance of daze, 20% chance of fear. Stronger enemies are less likely to be affected, and deaf enemies will ignore it.
Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:
Rallying CryDF0%
You give a cry out to your allies that encourages them in battle. 5% boost to strength and endurance, 10% boost to mental resistance. Deaf allies will ignore this.
Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:
Shield of FriendshipBF0%
You use your charm and mana to infuse your shield with a spell that raises your overall appearance to others. 25% chance to befriend creatures, 10% chance of befriending monsters, increases NPC view of you. Must have a shield to use.
Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:
DominationBF0%
Available for use on a personally defeated opponent. 10% chance of success with animals, 5% chance with monsters, 1% for NPCs and Players. By channeling darkness magic into your shield, you can enforce your will on others. It can be willingly accepted. Dominated beings of Everlife obey every command, no matter how hard they resist. Players can be forced to accept certain conditions within the rules of the game. Domination does not work against higher level opponents. Failure to dominate will result in instant and permanent hostility.
Spell Learned:Earth Wall
Type/AttributeSpell RankCostExperience
Defense/EarthD10 mana/square foot0%
DescriptionA defensive earth spell. Mana is channeled into the ground, forming a wall of earth with dimensions according to the caster''s will. The greater the wall, the greater the cost.
Spell Learned:Charm
Type/AttributeSpell RankCostExperience
BuffF15 mana/level, 25 for higher level0%
DescriptionA basic buffing spell for the caster''s charm. Raises charm by 33%, and can be cast on others to raise their feelings toward the caster temporarily for 5 minutes.
Spell Learned:Milna''s Blessing
Type/AttributeSpell RankCostExperience
HealingC20 mana/sec, heals 1/10th total health/second0%
DescriptionA healing spell controlled by a follower of Milna. Heals a lot for a chunk of mana, but runs on a minute per second cast cool down. Useful in recovery situations, not battle.
As he read through the huge list of updates, he pulled up his Status Screen to see how he looked.
Status Window
Name:SteelAlignment:Neutral
Level:2Class:Shield Tamer
Race:HumanGender:Male
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
Titles
The Listener, Milna''s Disciple, Strong Neet
Fame:200Infamy:0
Experience:1100/3000
Health:220 / 220Health Regen:4/ Sec
Mana:55 / 55Mana Regen:1.1/ Sec
Stamina:80 / 80Stamina Regen:2/ Sec
Vitality:22 (12)Agility:20 (10)
Intelligence:11Wisdom:11
Strength:16 (11)Endurance:20 (12)
Leadership:20 (10)Luck:7 (12)
Charm:16 (6)Faith:10
Elemental Resistances
Fire:0Water:0
Wind:0Earth:10
Light:0Darkness:15 (0)
(I think I''ll make a separate chapter that just holds all the descriptions of the skills and spells, as soon as I figure out how to code for spoilers.) His normal feelings of excitement and happiness were dulled by the missing bundle of fur previously held in his arms. He may have gotten stronger, but it had come too late for Hunie, too late for him. He shook his head and looked up at the sky, "It''s all for naught, I still failed. None of this will bring Hunie back." As if to answer his plea, a white box appeared in front of him, different from the blue notification boxes. He blinked, rereading the message. [box border=2 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=140% bordercolor=#232323 bgcolor=#FFFFFF][/box]
As the first player to become a disciple to Milna, she will grant one wish. Do you wish it?
He bowed his head, "Please, bring Hunie back." He begged. The white screen glowed, and folded in on itself. A quick flash of "You heartfelt wish has been granted", the screen morphed in front of him, forming a body. Steel stared on in amazement as a humanoid body formed in front of him on the ground. It was a girl in a white maid outfit with bunny ears on her head. Her eyes were closed as she lay on the ground, but her ears twitched some with the wind. A normal blue notification popped up:
Companion Acquired
Hunie Rabbitears
ClassMasterHealthLevel
Beast Fighter/MaidSteel90/901
Attack/Defense25/15
SkillsRabbit punch Rabbit Headbutt Beast Rage Cleaning
Description:A companion granted as wish to Milna''s First player disciple. She is a Rabbit beastman with the skills of both a fighter and a maid. She enjoys carrots and fighting. Failing to protect rabbit interests will result in lower intimacy and possible desertion or hostility.
Hunie opened her eyes and got up, rubbing them in sleepiness. Looking over, she noticed Steel staring opened mouthed at her. She smiled widely. "Master!" She got up and ran at him, her arms out stretched. Steel smiled at her, and opened his arms to receive her hug. She jumped, smiling at him. He smiled back. She rammed him with her head, knocking him flying into the air. -30 impact damage He hit the ground hard and bounced, coughing in pain -15 impact damage Almost immediately, she appeared in front of him and yanked in up to his feet, fire burning in her eyes. She then proceeded to slap the shit out of him with her free hand. "Stupid! Stupid! Stupid Master!" She punctuated each word with a slap, inflicting 5 damage with each blow, "Why did you not listen to Hunie? Stupid!" He groaned weakly, his health bar starting to lower toward death. She abruptly stopped and put her head on his chest. He felt her tear through his armor, running down his torso. "Stupid, stupid." She sobbed, "You almost died, you almost died. Not allowed to leave Hunie, understand?" She glared up at him through tear stained eyes, "Hunie will protect Master now." Steel let his tears start to fall, pulling her closer into his hug, "Okay Hunie, I''m sorry. I won''t do that again, as long as you promise me you won''t leave me again." She sniffed, and smiled, "Okay Master, Hunie promises." They embraced, and fell asleep in each others arms, their energy completely spent. ------------------ Okay, now that that''s done, Time to write the chapter with WORDS. I know, shocking isn''t it? Anyway~~ It''ll be done sometime tonight, as I''m out tonight, but you''ll have your 4th of July chapter no prob. Cya guys. Chapter 20-Forest Adventure (Part 1) Here''s your chapter, enjoy --------------------------- Morning came, and Steel woke up still sitting with his arms around Hunie. She was dozing in his arms, a satisfied smile on her face. He smiled down on her, taking in her scent of life and the warmth of her body. Speaking of, he took a closer look at her with his eyes, his lecherous gaze desperateness trying to find a way to be lecherous. Kind of hard in the current situation and position. As if sensing his thoughts, he felt his body being squeezed, not in a fun way, by two arms of pure power. A face with a knowing look turned and gazed up at him. "Good morning master, this one sees your already quite bold in the morning. Allow Hunie to correct this." He squeeze grew tighter, emphasizing her meaning. "Dear Hunie, I was merely making sure you were not an image of my imagination, surely you can forgive me for that." He said smoothly, trying to breathe. Her grin grew wider, and his sweat grew more pronounced, "Dear Master, it''s this one''s duty to tell you she can hear your lies. Hunie will do her best from now on to teach Master who to behave." "Wait a moment, I was doing quite well for myself." He protested, suddenly worried about her new ability, "I''ve experienced life long enough to survive." "Oh really? Then why did foolish Master try to walk to his death last night?" She asked smoothly. His protests died on his tongue, she did have a point. He had ignored her and the result had been her demise. Speaking of... "Hunie, I hate to ask, but do you know what happened to you?" Hunie let go of him an took a step back, her face in deep concentration. She looked down at her body, slowly rotating her arm in front of her face as she took in her body. Her screams range across the grassland, causing many rabbits and other creatures to look up in panic, only to find nothing wrong, and went back to what they were doing. Hunie rolled around on the ground, desperately trying to deny her senses. "Noooo, my beautiful body! My soft fur, my teeth!" She screamed as she felt the changes that had come over her. Steel wisely let her have her moment and did not interfere. It took her a few minutes to calm down, excepting the changes far quicker than he would have thought. "Hunie, are you alright with this?" He asked cautiously, moving slowly into a fleeing stance in case of the worst. She sighed, hugging herself, "Hunie realizes she died now Master, but it doesn''t bother Hunie like before." "Speaking of which, why do you call me Master?" "Same reason Master, Master made me." She answered simply, "Hunie wasn''t Hunie before Master, Hunie was nothing." She shivered at the memory, "Master made Hunie, Hunie, when Master named me. Hunie''s not sure specifics, but when Hunie died in your arms, Hunie was still Hunie. A voice told Hunie "Welcome", and then Hunie was back with Master." Steel realized what had happened to her. She had undergone an A.I. awakening, a very rare event in the cyber-world when a long-lasted program gained enough sentience to transcend programming. She was still unaware of the world outside the game, but she was more than a simple bunny program now. He had a feeling that his blessing had played a roll in the event, but he still couldn''t check all the specifics yet. It was this reason that Hunie could have been returned to him, he realized. If she were still a program, she would have just restarted her program, losing all her memories from her previous run. He just had one question. "Er, it''s great to have you here, and it''s your body is amazing, but why do you look like that?" He asked curiously. She shrugged, "No idea Master, it could have something to do with how you brought me back. How''d you do that anyway?" Her words were starting to improve the longer they talked. Steel had a sudden memory of forcing his bleeding tongue into her mouth. His blood in her body most likely tricked the program into reading both rabbit and human code, leading to her current state. He figured that the event should remain a secret for as long as possible. "Umm, uhh." He tried to think of a good way to say it, her earnest eyes causing much guilt in his heart, "It was a magic kiss with the blessing of Milna." He had a sudden inspiration," My feelings for you brought you back." He wasn''t completely lying, so he figured she wouldn''t be able to sniff it out. - 30 impact damage ''Ahh, this feels familiar.'' He thought. Her fist knocked him into the air again, flying to become a star in the sky. He wasn''t too bothered this time, had his M instincts awoken? The maiden in question was blushing furiously and holding her cheeks with her hands. "Master is so bold with this one, kyaa. This one will have to teach Master this and that (blush), oh Master is making this one so shameless now. Ufufu." She muttered to herself as Steel landed back on the ground. -12 impact damage, small rock in the way. It was the start of an interesting relationship ------------------------ The two journeyed together back toward the woods, eager to resume their progress. Steel didn''t see a time limit for the quest, but he figured sooner would be better than latter. Hunie explained that she was taking him to a spot where the forest met that grassland that smelled more strongly of wolf. She had been trying to take him before, but she had not been able to communicate with him properly as a Hungry Bunny. Now as his Bunny Fighter Maid, she proclaimed with a hint of pride, she would make sure he kept on the right path for here on out. Steel felt his soul quiver in fear, already thinking of plans to escape her to have some fun. They finally reached the forest entrance, though to be honest it just looked like forest to Steel.
Entering Dangerous Area
The following area is recommended for players levels 4-8, please be aware of your limitations.
"This really is a suicide mission." Steel muttered, reading the notice. Hunie hit him with a fist. "Don''t ever say that Master, I''ll make sure you don''t die." She declared, glaring at him to make sure he understood. She smiled when he nodded and the two of them walked in. The inside of the forest was dark, the trees casting shadows under the sun above. Undergrowth spread from patch to patch, and small trails crisscrossed in the gloom. Steel enjoyed being in the forest, it reminded him of a childhood memory, and a girl he would most likely never see again. "Hey Hunie." He grinned, "Fancy a race up a tree?" She snorted, "Master is so dumb, I''m a rabbit, rabbits don''t climb." "Use your big teeth." She chased him up a tree, eyes red at the reminder of her lost teeth. When she realized her current position, she hugged him tight in fear. "Don''t be such a scaredy-bunny, this isn''t bad at all." He reassured her. He stroked her head, and she relaxed under his touch. He smiled at her, "You have much to learn before you can be a proper fighter bunny." She puffed her cheeks at him and climbed to a different branch, sulking. Laughing, Steel climbed back down the tree, just be punished by Hunie in the form of a landing cushion. He moaned as she got off his back daintily. Now that they were in the woods, Hunie''s nose could no longer differentiate the different wolf smells for location, so Steel pulled out his map. He crossed off the circles too far from their current position, leaving him with three circles in the shape of a triangle. He pointed in the direction of the closest circle, "Lets give that way a try." Hunie nodded, and the two marched on through the woods. It didn''t take too long for them to walk into a clearing in the forest. A stream flowed through, water trickling down it in a small flow. They stopped a moment to take a drink, water having half the effect bread had on his hunger levels. Hunie seemed to enjoy it though, alternating licking it with her tongue and trying to use her new lips to suck it up. Stolen story; please report. A growl rolled over the clearing, freezing the both of them where they stood. A small bear rumbled into the clearing, clearly displeased by their presence. Seeing the bear''s level as 6, Steel and Hunie wisely backed off and let the bear have the clearing to itself. Walking to the second spot yielded similarly disappointing results, this time only some boulders lying in the woods with nothing living in the area that they could see. As they walked to the third spot, Hunie to continued to ask things of her Master about himself and his life: why he was helping the guard, which people did he know the best, whose scent was on his clothes. She seemed tense about that last question. Steel did his best to explain things to her without involving the physical world. If she were a program, she wouldn''t comprehend worlds besides this one and forget the question or information. The A.I.''s would be aware, but they had the same view as humans when it came to being in the game world; no talking about the real one. Hunie was a newly evolved A.I. though, so he had no idea how to approach it. Since he couldn''t leave his capsule, he decided to walk around Cybertown the next time he logged out. Her questions were interrupted by their arrival at the third area. The circle was a little larger than the others on the map, so they tried stealth as they walked around the area, carefully searching for the wolf lair. Seeing nothing, they entered the area and began their search. A low roar stopped their progress. Out of a bush, a monster jumped out and growled at them, barring it''s fangs. [tr]
Opponent Information
NameLevelThreatHealthDemon Wolf3A.45
DescriptionThis is a type of corrupted wolf. Demon wolves are the first form of corruption a wolf can take. After enough time, they become devil wolves, or die to become zombie wolves. The corruption of magic has warped their minds full of pain, which makes them seek to inflict pain on others. Killing one is a mercy.
Seeing the monster information for the first time, Steel couldn''t help but feel sorry for them. At the same time, he felt his blood lust rising with a smile at the thought of slaying it. With a bark, the wolf leapt at them, and a second demon wolf jumped from beside them. Steel took the one in front head on, bashing his shield into it''s head and knocking it back. A quick glance told him Hunie was fighting the second wolf on her own, and she was fine. "Well, this is a perfect time to try out some new skills." He said with a bloodthirsty grin. He let out his "Rallying Cry" and his "Leader''s Roar" skills, boosting his and Hunie''s defense. Neither wolf reacted to his roar, but he wasn''t too phased. A mind in constant pain would likely shrug off mental attacks like that for breakfast. He activated "Charge", and met the wolf head on. Left Hit, Right hit. The wolf jumped back, dodging with a growl. It ran around him, trying to find a weak spot. He turned with his shield, activating "Shield Bash". Missed The wolf had already run back, this time though turning to Hunie. Cursing, Steel ran at Hunie, activating "Shield Cover". The skill moved him quickly toward to her side as he braced his shield against the body blow of the wolf. -5 impact damage His armor and shield cut down the damage, but the wold had managed to get a blow in. Thankfully, his skill succeeded and he absorbed the damage meant for Hunie. She shot him a grateful look as her skirt whirled with her body. Even though Hunie was in a new body and had lost some of her original ability, she was still a force to be reckoned with on the battle field. Her agility was her best trait, and she made good use of hit fighting the demon wolf, who was also an agility focused fighter. Her pattern was pretty basic: dodge, roll, punch, dodge. Neither side seemed to be able to land a clean blow, and small increments of damage floated above their fight. -1 -3 impact damage -2 piece damage The wold managed to land a tooth into her arm before she recovered, leaving a little injury. Hunie snarled, and their fight intensified. Steel swung his shield again, the wolf managing to dodge again. He gnashed his teeth, he couldn''t use the shield spike if the wolf wasn''t still. ''I need to slow his movements'' He thought, knocking a clawed paw away. The wolf initiated a body blow, pushing Steel back into a tree. With a snarl of victory, the wolf jumped into the air, teeth open to tear into him. "Earth Wall!" Steel shouted in the moment. He was crouched on the ground, so his wall used up just 40 mana to cover him. Really, it just made a 1 by 4 earth post in front of him, but it did the job. The wolf slammed into the post headfirst, knocking itself down. -20 impact damage, daze effect. Steel didn''t let the opportunity go, he used the last of his mana to cast "Earth Armor", and his shield piercer activated. He slammed it into the wolf, piecing it''s torso. -25 death blow The wolf didn''t even give a whimper as it fell over dead. Oddly enough, it''s body glowed and disappeared, leaving loot behind. Steel ignored the loot for now, and focused on Hunie. She was still locked in a fight with the other demon wolf, but it looked like she was winning now. With shouts of "Rabbit Fist" and "Rabbit Kick", she roundhouse kicked the wolf into the air, and slammed her fist into it, bringing it to the ground. The wolf groaned, and Hunie began beating it senseless. "Hm, white huh." Steel muttered as he watched a slaughter. Hunie''s ears twitched, and her face grew red as her punches landed harder, "Wha, what is Master saying! So indecent! Hunie, cough, I will have to punish you later." Her flustered face revealed her speech quirks. Steel thought it was quite how she used third person to refer to herself. The wolf finally died under her fists, and disappeared as well. "Huh, wonder why they disappeared." Steel stared at the loot on the ground. Hunie gave him a sideways look, "What do you mean Master?" "Well, when I fought that devil wolf, I had to skin it and everything, and I didn''t get any loot." Hunie giggled at him, "Oh that, silly Master, we bunnies were the one that killed it. You were barely doing anything to it, but you did help us by dazing it." He understood, when NPC''s killed things, they didn''t disappear as an interaction, but players killing things would eliminate the body and leave the loot. By the looks of it, since Hunie was his companion now, the same rule applied to her. "Well that''s a shame, I wanted to get more skinning done." He looked sadly at the loot. Hunie hit him. "Really Master? You want to skin wolves in the middle of wolf territory?" She shook her head, "This is why Hun, hem, I am here, to keep you from doing stupid things." He patted her head with a smile, "Thank you for that Hunie, I really appreciate it." She grabbed her ears and went into a happy muttering session. Steel returned to the loot and collected it. 5 pieces of demon wolf meat 4 sections of demon wold fur, small 1 dagger, simple 5 copper pieces. The dagger and money surprised him, but assuming they ate a traveler recently, it could be possible. Not sure about the dagger though. He offered it to Hunie, but she declined saying her body was a weapon. Steel agreed whole heartily, and she smacked him again with a blush. Her innocence really was cute, even though she had the mind of a rabbit and the resulting experience. ---------------------- Happy Fourth of July! Also, my review is now top weekly review, yay for small things :p Chapter 21- Forest Adventure (Part 2) Sorry about no chapter yesterday, I was actually feeling a little burned out :p I wrote half the chapter, so this should be out in the morning. I''ll write another one that''ll come out today. Enjoy ------------------------------- After storing the loot, Steel checked the battle result:
Battle Results
You have won a battle against a 2 demon dogs +100 exp + 2 demon dog fang
''I guess the fangs are special loot for the quest.'' He thought He looked at his equipment and cursed. His shield was down to 20 durability, he would need to get it fixed when he got back, otherwise it would be worthless during the expedition. "Master." Hunie called. He looked over to see her gesturing for him to come to her. He walked over, curious. "Yes Hunie, what is it?" She pointed into the bush the demon dog came from, "It smells like wolf over there, lets go check it out." "Doesn''t smell like wolf because a wolf just came from there?" "Fuu, stupid Master, listen to Hunie''s nose." "I prefer your mouth, feels pretty nice." (Cue flying fist of blushing attack) ---------------------------- The two of them slowly made their way through the underbrush, careful to keep their heads down and make as little noise as possible. The area was actually pretty nice: a few small clearing, a river that ran through the entire forest, a large tree that had a warped, cave like opening, Unfortunately, they found no signs of the wolf lair. They didn''t encounter another demon wolf, or even a regular wolf. They were quite disheartened, as the wolves had to be in the area, but now they would have to search the entire forest section. Sighing, they decided to eat next to the river. Hunie brought over a fallen tree, while Steel worked to try to make a fire. This turned out to be a much harder task then he had though, because he didn''t have fire magic or a fire starter. "Master is so amazing trying to make fire from nothing." Steel couldn''t tell if she was being serious or sarcastic, it seemed as though she had kept her poker face from being a rabbit. Steel sensed she would become a formidable maid someday with that poker face and the ability to sniff out lies, once her innocent reactions were gone. "A Master is only as good as his servants." He said, rubbing sticks together with his hands. A kick to his ass told him she had been sarcastic. Still though, his tumble into the fire caused his shield to rub against some rocks, creating some small sparks. Inspired, Steel rubbed the stones against his shield until the fire caught on the twigs.
Status Update
You have created fire without the proper tools or abilities. +1 luck -5 shield durability
Steel''s cursing rang across the river. His shield was now at 15 durability, very much not worth the small fire he had created. Tears of regret ran down his face as he punched the ground. Hunie patted his back in sympathy, taking the hint. Once his tantrum was over, the two hoisted their demon wold kebabs over the fire and let them cook until light pink on the inside. They were quite delicious to eat.
Food Recipe learned
RecipeDemon Meat Skewer
Quality:RookieDifficulty:B.A.
Effect+1 Darkness resistance until sleep or next meal
Steel was quite pleased to learn a new recipe, even if it was a low recipe type. He couldn''t wait to finish Mema''s Quest so she''d teach him the cooking skill. He could cook without it, but food was more easily ruined or became poison without it. Kind of like a toddler trying to make a cake. Steel took a moment to appreciate Hunie nibbling on her meat, looking very much like the rabbit that she had once been. He had a sudden premonition of Hunie meeting Mema. He saw a giant Aura Rabbit facing down a giant Aura Demon. He shivered at the thought, resolving to never let them meet. "Something wrong Master?" "No Hunie, go back to your meat." "Okay!(nibble nibble)" They cleaned up the fire pit and set out to continue their journey. Hunie sniffed out trails on the ground while Steel climbed up some trees and took a look around. Nothing could be found, not even a squirrel. Actually, besides the bear and demon wolves, nothing seemed to be alive in the forest. "Weird, where is everything?" He wondered out loud. "It''s the wolves Master, they kill or drive everything away." Hunie explained, her nose on the ground, "The only things left are the animals and monsters that can fight the wolves." That explained why the forest was a higher level place than the grassland, even though it was so close to a starter city. Steel figured that if the quest was successful, the overall level would fall back down to lower levels. Still, they had to find the stupid lair first. "This is getting us nowhere Hunie." He complained, "The lair isn''t here, ad frankly I''m not sure it''s even in the forest." Hunie''s nose wrinkled up, "I know how you feel Master, but those wolves definitely came from this area." "Really then, well, have you ever seen a lair before?" He said sarcastically. Growing an angry look, Hunie put her hands on her hips, "Stupid Master, I lived in a lair most of my life before you, that''s where my fellow Hungry Bunnies and I came from." Steel''s mouth dropped, how could he have been so stupid. He jumped over to Hunie and grabbed her shoulders. "Hunie, where was your lair exactly, what were the surroundings like?" Taken aback by his forcefulness, she stammered, "Um, uh, it was in the grassland Master. It was in a dip in the grass, a hole under a hill." He grinned, "A hole in a hill you say?" He threw his hand around, "This entire area is FLAT! Where could they have a lair that wasn''t a direct hole in the ground." "Geh, is Master a genius!? To think such words would come from Master''s mouth, this one is surprised beyond words." Ignoring the severe emotional damage, Steel pulled the map out, "Quick Hunie, where''s the highest spot in the forest." "Muu, Master, that''s a dumb question, Hunie, cough, I have never been in this forest before. There''s nothing to eat in the forest that''s easy to get to." "Okay then, from all the walking we''ve done today, where is the highest spot." He said slowly. Hunie tilted her head and considered the question, her ears twitched left and right in though. "Hmm, that would most likely be the second spot we were at earlier, the one with all the rocks." "If the lair was there, why did we find demon wolves here and not there?" "Hunting patrol maybe Master? I have no idea, but Master''s genius idea is out best bet now. Lets go!" She grabbed his arm and dragged him with her as she raced back into the trees. ------------------------ The rocky area are the same as they had last seen it. Sparse tress, with large rocks scattered around the area. Nothing seemed to be living in the area, which confirmed their suspicions about there being a lair here. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Hunie climbed one of the boulders slowly, and looked around, keeping head as low as possible. She motioned for Steel to join her. The top of the boulder let them see a lot farther than on the ground, and could see a faint glowing in the distance. It seemed to be similar to the glow a fire would give off, but not quite the same. "Lets go check it out Hunie." He whispered to her. "Okay Master." She replied at the same volume. They made their way back down, and slowly creeped their way through the rocks until the glow was more obvious, They peaked their heads around a rock to look at it. The glow was coming from between to rocks that formed an opening into the ground. Two wolves were fighting each other in front of the cave opening, ripping their teeth into each other in a blood frenzy. One of them managed to land a killing blow, and dragged the body inside the cave. A large amount of growling and barking came out soon after, the wolves inside fighting over the new food available. "Hunie, is that it?" Steel asked, wanting to be sure. She nodded, her ears twitching nervously, "That''s it Master, and I think we should leave before they come out again." In earnest agreement, Steel moved away with Hunie following close behind. They had made it to the edge of the clearing when they heard a growl behind them. They turned to find the biggest wolf they''d ever seen lying on a rock, staring right at them with pure red eyes. Instead of the typical black fur, the wolf had 3 stripes of silver running down from it''s tail to it head, covering the ears and ending at the eyes and nose. The wold regarded them with eyes that held a hint of intelligence inside the madness. "Master, that''s an Alpha." Hunie said as quiet as possible, "We can''t fight that." Knowing his death would result in failure, Steel considered his options. The wolf was staring at them, but it hadn''t called out for backup yet. If they gave chase, it would be unlikely he would be able to outrun them all the way back to gate. A separate possibility was Hunie making back tot he gate to tell the captain, but her appearance aside no one actually knew her, so she might be at best ignored or at worst imprisoned. "Any ideas Hunie?" He whispered out the corner of his mouth. "Muu...Distract it?" "Okay, in that case take your shirt off and distract while I escape." "Fue! (Whispered exclamation) What is idiot Master saying? That wolf had no interest in my beautiful body like that, wait, you just want to see my chest, indecent Master!" "Of course, if I''m going to die, at least let me see the mountains of heaven." "Idiot, throw the wolf some food or something." She muttered at him. "Oh right." He said lamely, carefully removing the rest of the demon wolf meat from his inventory. The two wolves earlier proved, that they had nothing against cannibalism. He deftly threw all the meat far from them. The wolf sniffed the air, growled, and leaped after the meat. As soon as it was out of sight, Hunie pushed and said, "Run Master!" They fled the area as fast as their legs would take, Hunie leading the way in the direction of the gate. "Why aren''t we running the way we came in?" He asked, legs pumping away at the ground. "Normally, we''d go that way Master, but the wolves are more dangerous than anything we''d run into this way." She replied back in front of him, "If anything, they may fight the wolves that try to follow us after that alpha finishes eating." "And how long will that take?" Howls behind them answered the question, as well as the answering howls further in the distance. Hearing the howls filled Steel with fear, and he activated "Charge''. His increased momentum caused him to speed past Hunie, picking her up over his shoulder as he ran faster. Hunie gave a yelp as she ended up in a princess carry, blushing in spite of the situation. "Hunie, I need directions." He yelled at her, watching his stamina drain slowly down. She pointed, "Head that way Master! We are almost there!" "Really?" "No Master, sorry but you''re going to run out of energy before we even reach the grassland." She said with an apologetic look on her face. "What! How do we survive then?" He cried out. "Master, I advise we hid in a tree or in the river." Hunie called out from his arms, "They might not be able to climb a tree, and they might drown trying to swim," "Okay, which way?" "How am I suppose to know Master, I already told you I don;t know the forest." She crossed her hands and gave him an angry look. ''Worthless!'' He cried out in his mind. He didn''t need her to punch him while he was running for their lives. His mind raced, considering the advice she had given him. Climbing a tree with few low branches might save them, but the wolves would guard the tree relentlessly. A river would allow them to escape the wolves, but the risk was the river carrying them far from their destination. Well, that and drowning from an accident. Steel wished he had more mana to create an Earth Wall that could hide them from the wolves. He had an idea, "Hunie, how are your digging skills?" She perked up in his arms and managed the thrust her very distracting chest out in pride, "Hohoho, has Master finally acknowledged my skills? I am quite skilled at digging holes, in fact in my home I was the best digger in the entire grassland." Steel smiled at her, recognizing the unexpected talent. "Great! I''m going to need you to dig us a hiding hole." "Eh? But won''t the wolves smell us out?" "Nope, trust your Master." He gave her his most reassuring smile. She frowned at him. "Master, that smile just screams bad thoughts, are you alright?" He ignored the emotional damage and came out at his intended destination, the clearing with the stream. He ran toward it, Hunie noticing it and frowned again, "Master, the stream is too small to hide out scent." He dropped Hunie on the other side of the stream and pointed at the stream, "Hunie, dig a hole here." "Eh, dig a whole in the stream, do you want to drown yourself?" She asked confused. He rolled his eyes, but cast Earth Wall in the stream, creating a buffer n the stream around a circular area. "Dig!" He commanded urgently. She shrugged, and dirt flew as she dug a hole in the middle of the stream. It took her only a few minutes to create a space big enough for the two of them to hide in. The hole resembled a bottle, small entrance and large body. Steel quickly moved the new dirt around to disguise the effort, then jumped into the hole with Hunie. Once in, he chugged a mana potion and covered the hole with an Earth Wall. Another mana potion allowed him to remove the Earth Wall that had been keeping the water back. They listened as the water flowed over their hole. Hunie clapped her hands together, "Muu, I knew Master was a genius! The wolves will never be able to sniff out a hole under water, such cleverness from my stupid Master gives this one much hope for the future." Annoyed by the emotional damage she had been inflicting all day, he said, "I thought you were the fastest digger in the grassland, what took you so long?" She punched him, then turned around and sulked in her part of the hole. He grinned, positioning himself in a comfortable posture. They would be here for a little while. ---------------------------- Okay, that done, and I''m writing the next chapter right now. Expect later tonight, enjoy :) Chapter 22- Forest Adventure (Part 3) And the final part before the scouting, lets go guys! -------------------- The two of them were sleeping in the hole under the stream. They had waited a few minutes before they had heard the sounds of wolves in the area over their heads. There had been barking, howling, and lots of sniffing. They had stayed awhile, each minute making the two worried they had caught on to their plan. In the end, the wolves had left, howling, but Steel figured it would be safer to spend the night in the hole just in case. Using the last of his mana, he had made a breathing hole to the surface for them, and they had settled down to sleep. He woke up when a certain someone''s foot kicked him awake. Faintly amused, he watched Hunie''s leg thump the ground, another trait most likely from her rabbit days. He heard faint mutterings of, "My carrot bitch" as her leg thumped, which begged the question: "Who in their right mind would steal a carrot from a Hungry Bunny?" He shifted a bit in the hole, trying to listen to anything that might be around them. Unfortunately, he didn''t possess super hearing or an earth sense, so he just rolled around for a little longer, stuck between sleep and wakefulness. Eventually, he got bored and shook the rabbit girl awake. She woke up slowly with mutterings of "food" and "I''ll kill you bastard". Once she remembered where she was, her demeanor changed to her usual self, respectfully sarcastic. "Good morning Master." She respectfully, waving her hand dismissively at him at the same time. Yup, she was awake now. "Hey. Ready to get back to the city?" "Not really Master, but I go where you go." She said firmly. Like the forest, Hunie had never been in the city, on account of the sword happy guards who feared the her with a deep terror. Still, she was curious and a little excited to see where the humans lived, and all the food they would have. Drool escaped her lips at the thought, which she quickly wiped away. Steel earth walled the stream, chugged a mana potion, and opened the hole back to the surface. Once they got out, he used two more mana potions to seal the hole and release the stream. He didn''t have Hunie fill the hole in, he wanted a escape place in case the expedition went sour. The two of them inspected the area before making a move. The ground on the side of the stream they had come from was scratched up and paw marks littered the area. The wolves had really been frustrated to lose their prey, judging by the looks of it. Seeing nothing dangerous in the area, they headed in the direction of the gate, according to Hunie''s nose and ears. Hunie denied her ear''s use, but Steel had watched them long enough to tell they always twitched toward the north direction when she was agitated. "Hunie, if nothing else, you''d make a wonderful compass." He joked. She grabbed her ears and turned red, but merely marched ahead of him through the forest, demonstrating an inferiority complex about her ears. Another story for another time then. -------------------- The journey through the forest after that was relatively uneventful. The farther they traveled from the wolf lair, the more sign of life they saw. Eventually, they could hear the chirping of birds and the chitterings of small creatures. Hunie disappeared at least twice to try the little creatures, but always returned disappointed that she couldn''t hunt like she was used to. Her body couldn''t fit in the holes anymore. As they were walking, Steel thought of some things, and decided to ask Hunie about them. "Hey Hunie, think you can answer some questions?" "I''ll do my best Master." She replied. "Why are those wolves corrupted? It seemed like they were normal at some point." Hunie inclined her head, "Well Master, you are correct in your thoughts. They were normal wolves at some point, at least the alpha was, the others look too young." Hunie took the time to explain the differences between monsters and creatures in the world. Creatures were normal animals, and lived as normal animals did. They ate, slept, fought, breed, and acted their parts in the world. Animals could rank up to stronger varieties if they met certain requirements or were born from parents of a stronger variety. The Hungry Bunnies, for instance, were all descended from a few bunnies that had ranked up in ages past. The grassland held their descendants, but they were few in number because the higher the rank, the lower the fertility. Steel understood she was referring to spawn rates, stronger animals had lower spawn rates so as to not overrun the players. Monsters on the other hand came in three varieties: corrupted animals, ranked up animals, or natural born monsters. The latter two were the most common. Sometimes an animal would rank up to a form outside the realm of normal animals. They would gain increased intelligence, skills, and fighting abilities. These were the ranked up monsters; such as minotaurs, centaurs, harpies, lamias, and etc. Their children would continue to change until the bloodline made them into natural born monsters. Sentients could also become monsters, but through conversion by outside means, as sentients didn''t "rank up" like animals. Another game design, as players could change their race through special quests and the like. The original natural born monsters were demonic and angelic in nature. They had been the first creations of the gods to live in the world, and were longed lived and powerful. Over the years, the two had dispersed, intermingled, and declined until there existed a vast number of beings hat relied on light, dark, or both attributes primarily. While the two had their stereotypical tendencies to good and evil, the majority followed their own code of conduct, resulting in a large grey area for both species. The strongest viewed the world as a game, seeking way of elevating themselves to godhood in order to join the pantheon. The descendants of ranked born monsters joined this category eventually as well, making natural born monsters that largest group in the world. The last type of monster was the rarest and most dangerous, the corrupted monsters. These beings included things that had permeated with mana, resulting in various abilities and strengths not found outside the class. Most often, however, this power also included madness, death, pain, destructive impulses, and the metric system. That last one Steel included in his head. A few in this category were stable: such as golems and the like, inanimate objects that lacked a mind originally. This usual came from animals or monsters being near a strong source of natural mana in the area, that was the glow the two had seen before at the wolf lair. The type of mana affected the outcome of the corruption: for instance besides demon wolves, there could be aqua wolves, pyro wolves, etc. The abundant mana changed the bodies to suit the need of the mana, allowing it to soak away to lower the stress of having too much mana in one place. There was always something to absorb mana, that''s how the golems and the like came into being, even the rock, air, and other elements could absorb mana. Mages had shown what happened if too much mana was in one place: boom. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. That was one reason why lairs were never permanently cleared, humans and the other races let the excess mana create monster so as to prevent natural disaster, and acquired wealth from the loot the developed from the mana. Monster drops were popular, and the equipment taken from dead adventurer''s into the lairs sometimes absorbed a little mana and strengthened. Besides being useful, magically enchanted items could also be broken down by enchanters, who learned the enhancement from the process and then applied it to other materials. Some major trade cities had formed around large lairs that entered the realm of dungeons, and the loot was the main source of income. These were rare however, as most lairs were small and burned up after awhile. Finding this lair would bring safety and profit to the city of Rostwood for some time. "I''m surprised Hunie, you know a lot about these thing." "Thank you Master, but its weird, I didn''t know them before, but its like something fed me this. Is this the so called instinctive genius trait I wonder?" There was no such thing, but Steel didn''t feel like telling her she was an A.I. now, and had access to the unlimited information the cyberworld had to offer. He didn''t think she was quite ready yet. "Muu, Master, why does it always feel so nice to talk to you about things?" "Er, just call it a blessing of Milna." "That sounds fishy Master, but alright. Treat me to some food later!" "Okay, but help me fine some things to cook while we are here in the forest. I owe someone some ingredients." Since Steel had been outside the wall for 3 days, he figured finding 3 new ingredients for Mema would keep her happy. The demon wolf meat was one, so he had to find some more, especially since he used most of the meat to distract the alpha wolf. So, while they made their way through an ever growing abundance of wildlife, the two of them kept an eye out for anything that looked remotely edible and mysterious. In the end, though, neither had strong searching skills. They found 5 mushrooms, a turtle, a strange fruit from a tree in the middle of a clearing, and nothing else. A little disappointed, Steel didn''t bother checking what they were, though he most likely would have not been able to in the first place as he had yet to learn about plant types. After a while, they came out of the forest into the grassland, the wall stretching out in front of them. Smiling at the sight of Rostwood, Steel started to walk into the grassland, when a wall of bunnies appeared in front of him. In fact, it looked like every bunny in the grassland was here, staring at him. No, not at him, at Hunie. He looked back to find Hunie shuffling her feet behind him awkwardly, using his body to hide from their stares. Her ears twitched nervously, and A TAIL wiggled behind her. How the heck did he miss that before? It was adorable! Shaking his head to clear the unholy thoughts, his attention returned as one of the bunnies hopped forward to stop in front of him. It reared up on it''s hind legs and sniffed the air. Steel moved sideways and held Hunie up as the rabbit approached her, sniffing her. Some unheard communication passed between the two, and Hunie''s eye teared up, not of sadness but of relief. She bent down and touched noses with the rabbit, who closed it''s eyes. An ethereal crown appeared over the rabbit''s head as it opened it''s eyes, and it turned to look at Steel. It BOWED to him and then the rabbits all scattered to the wind, leaving Hunie and Steel to watch them disappear. [box border=2 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=140% bordercolor=#FFFFFF bgcolor=#000000][/box]
Faction Update
Faction:The Bunny Legion
Some groupd of animals have a leader appointed to them by the goddess Milna to protect them when they are in danger. The rabbit king has acknowledged your bond with Hunie and had offered his blessing.
Max intimacy with all rabbits- they will protect you by sleeping on top of you when in the grasslands Title gained: One with the Carrot For gaining max intimacy with a member of her inner circle, Milna granted you +2 intelligence and wisdom
Steel stared on in shock as he took in the information. The bunnies had a king? He was no longer so sure about the world. Still, he looked over at Hunie, who was still crying happily. "Are you okay Hunie?" "Sniff, yes Master, I''m alright." She answered, wiping her cheeks, "It was just an amazing thing to meet her, you have no idea." "Him right, since he''s a king?" "Stupid Master, why should a male be in charge? With most animals, the females are stronger, bigger, and more intelligent than the males. It''s only called king because that''s how you silly humans name things." She sniffed at him. "So, what did she say?" He asked curiously, changing the topic quickly. "She told me it was alright, that they still considered me a rabbit, and that I can..." She blushed and did not finish her sentence. "What? What can you do?" Hunie coughed and looked into the distance, her hands behind her back, "Um... travel with you, yes, she said being with you, cough, traveling with you would be fun and that I should see the world before, er, settling." Confused, Steel tried to understand her words, when she turned around and grabbed his hand with a smile. "Come on Master, lets go see how you humans live." She said joyfully. The two of them speed across the field toward the gate, Hunie''s heart lighter than it ever had been. ----------------------- And that wraps up that part. Next time, we have a few domestic chapters to clear, cybertown, two death weapons meeting the other, etc., then the first expedition. After that, some old fashioned training, and new adventures. We''ve almost hit 300 follows guys, THANK YOU SO MUCH :) Chapter 23- Confrontation (Part 1) Frack, lost my writing again, rats. Killed my writing mood til night, but I managed to get it out, so enjoy. Few things here: 1. Almost 100 favorites, yay! 2.Almost up to the point that ends the first book. When that happens, I''ll start going back and working on the past chapters for grammar and the like. On that note, PR''s would be very helpful. I know some of you have dropped some to me before, so thank you. 3. As the first book comes to a close, it would be great to hear some in depth feedback about the story. Some of you have expressed likes and dislikes in the comments, and I appreciate it. I will not "improve" the RR version of the story beyond grammar and flow after the first 2-4 chapters, that''ll be for the e-book version. That being said, I look to improve the quality of future chapters, so expect better writings to come as well. Personally, I''d be happy if only one person bought the book, but I digress, 4. You guys are great, thank you for reading. Enjoy! ------------------------ The massive gate loomed in front of the duo as they approached Rostwood. It''s portcullis and gate layers shown bright against the mid day sun. The two were large enough that five wagons could enter at a time, though the portcullis was always up and the gate itself had never been opened in front of Steel''s eyes. Instead, a large mini gate within it was kept open, large enough to allow people to enter and leave at the same time. Two guards were always stationed on either side, making sure nothing was amiss at the only entrance/exit to Rostwood. They looked up at the duo as they approached, warily crossing their polearms so as to stop them. "Halt, who goes there?" One of them called out, "We do recognize you as visitors to the grassland this morning," "My name is Scout Steel, and I have important news for Captain Harkin." Steel replied, continuing his walk toward the entrance. "Greeting Scout Steel. We have been expecting you for some time now. The captain has requested you visit him as soon as possible upon your return." The guard informed him. "I''m heading over to him right now, lets go Hunie." As Steel walked into the gate, the guards bared their polearms in front of Hunie. "Master!" She cried out. Steel whirled around. "What is the meaning of this?" He asked coldly. Not taking their eyes off Hunie, one responded, "I''m sorry sir, but your...servant cannot be allowed into Rostwood without safety precautions." Steel''s eyes narrowed, "What kind of safety precautions do you refer too?" "She will have to wait here until a mage comes to properly enslave her." The other guard said. Steel exploded in rage upon hearing the guard''s words. How dare they think to enslave Hunie! Steel''s eyes glowed silver as he growled, "She''s mine!", and took and aggressive stance toward the guards. Startled by his posture, the two quickly took up defensive positions in front of him, sweating a little at the look he gave them. "Sir, attacking your fellow guards will land you in prison, please reconsider." One of the guards pleaded "That''s right sir, its not worth fighting over a worthless slave, though I have no doubt she will do well in the slave market if that''s what you are worried about." Silver blew over Steel''s vision as he lashed out at the guards, screaming in anger as he knocked his shield into them as hard as he could. Silver clouded his mind until a large jolt knocked him into the wall. Groaning, he looked up groggily into the furious eyes of Captain Harkin. The captain stared down at Steel, waiting for his mind to catch back up. "Son, I''m only going to give you one chance to explain, now start talking." Confused, Steel looked over to see the two guards unconscious on the ground, and Hunie being surrounded by two other guards, most likely the inner gate guards. "They...enslave...Hunie." Steel muttered out incoherently, still trying to cope with his sudden mindset. Folding his arms, the captain considered Steel''s words. He looked over at the rabbit girl who had been holding the boy back from killing the guards. She was obviously distraught, but had not fought back against him or his guards. She was staring worriedly over at Steel. His gaze lingered on the two guards who were sleeping in the dirt. He snorted, and put his hand on his chin. "I think I understand the general idea." He finally declared. He looked down at Steel. "Scout Steel." He barked, "As this is your first offense, I''ll let you off with a warning. Do not do another crime in my city, or I''ll throw you in the cell myself. Guards do not attack other guards unannounced and unprovoked." "That being said." He gazed sideways at the two down guards, "These two idiots should no better than to deny passage to your friend. That kind of racism is frowned upon here in the frontier, though it is common in the capital. Considering their fresh from the capital, I''ll have to have a word with them later, especially since many of our natives would throw them under the carriage if they talked like that in public." "Report to my office when you''ve recovered, and bring your friend with you, I want to hear her story." He turned on his heels and marched back into the city, followed by the two inner gate guards, who flashed him a wink as they passed. Hunie ran to him, kneeling down to wipe his head. "Master, are you all right?" She asked concerned. He chuckled, "Yeah Hunie, I''m good. What happened though?" She shook her head, "I''m not sure Master, you got very angry, and the light seemed to bend around you. Then you started hitting those guards around, and I held you back until that scary guy showed up and knocked you into the wall." "The light bent around me." "Muu, well, more like a fluid silver thing?" She waved her hands in the air, "I''m not quite sure Master." Steel checked his notifications, but the only thing that popped up was an acknowledgement of Milna''s Blessing activating. "What the heck? Is there a violent part to this blessing?" He wondered. He checked the info box, but parts were still missing from the description. "Guess that''s a mystery for another day." He noted the incident in his mind, then got up with the help of Hunie. Together, they entered the gate, this time with no one to stop them. ------------------------------- Steel led Hunie through the guard house lobby floor to the stairs. They received a few cursory looks, but most of the guard were too caught up eating their food and checking the job board. Steel noticed a few more players intermingled with the guard. ''Good, it''s nice to see some people are interested.'' He thought. Delivering his knock filled with MANLY GUSTO, he entered upon hearing the captain''s loud "Enter!". Captain Harkin was sitting at his desk, his hand folded in front of him, waiting patiently for them. He put on a smile as the two entered and sat down. "Scout Steel, it is good to see you again." He began, "While I apologize for the way the fresh recruits acted, I do have to ask, is she a danger to my city?" This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. "No sir, she is not." Steel declared definitely. "Oh good, that''s a relief. Tell me miss, who are you and where are you from?" Hunie jumped at his words, clearly uncomfortable being under the man''s gaze, "Muu, Hunie is Hunie." She said meekly, her speech reverting to her primitive tongue due to her nervousness. "Come again?" Hunie cleared her throat, got up, and curtsied to the captain, saying, "Greetings sir, this one is the devoted servant of sir Steel here. He rescued me from dire circumstances, and have sworn myself to his cause. You may address me as Maid Hunie." Harkin raised an eyebrow at Steel, "One mission in and you already scored a maid to serve you? Geez kid, you are unbelievable." He shook his head ruefully. "I assume these "dire circumstances" are private as well Miss Hunie?" She nodded. Sighing, Harking shook his head, "Well alright then, feel free to walk this city. I must warn you though, many still possess the views the other major cities have on non-humans, so watch yourself out there. Slave-traders also pass through here on occasion, so do not travel by yourself at night." Steel nodded, remembering the muggers who had attacked him before. Hadn''t one of them offered to sell him as a slave before? He made a mental note to keep an eye out, "By the way captain, did Mary get home safe?" He asked, failing to notice Hunie''s ears twitch at the name. Harkin barked a laugh, "She did, but she was well and truly pissed to be taken away from you so suddenly. I advise you visit her soon before she, er, makes a mess at the tower." Harkin recalled his conversation with Mary, and how he had had to swear to her to not reveal her identity to Steel. His hair still smelled a little singed from the threatening fireballs over his head. "Thank you for the help on that one sir." Steel nodded toward the captain, "A delicate girl like her would have had a hard time out in the wilderness." ''Delicate my ass'' Harkin thought. "So Scout Steel, did you find the lair?" He asked eagerly. "Yes sir, we did." Steel took out his map and walked the captain through his journey, leaving out the part about Hunie''s transformation. He outlined the best path to the wolf lair, and cautioned the Trap Plants that were in the area. Hunie''s new form had allowed them to pass by the plants, since her senses were stronger, but a large group of guards would undoubtedly fall prey to a few on the direct route. The captain listened to Steel''s story, interjecting to ask a question on the encounters and state of the forest on occasion. Eventually, the captain nodded and put his hands on the table. "Your work has been invaluable in this endeavor Scout Steel. I would love to give you a reward now, but all our resources will be going into this expedition, so the rewards will have to wait until after. Still, come back in a few days time, and I make sure you are part of the fun." He grinned at Steel, "Who knows, you may even increase your reward through your efforts in this endeavor." "Go now, return in 2 days, take this time to prepare yourself. And take your shield to Bob, it looks like it''s taken a hell of a beating." Thanking the captain, Steel and Hunie left his office and the guard house, pausing to stretch their limbs outside. "So Master, where are we off to next?" Hunie asked curiously. "Well Hunie, I have to go turn in the food we picked up in the forest, which also doubles at your chance to try some delicious human food."" He winked at her. Her ears bounced up and down with her body, making some other parts bounce quite nicely as well. "That sounds exciting Master! Lets go!" As Hunie practically dragged Steel down the road, he couldn''t help but wonder if he had forgotten something. Something about an oath? He''d remember it later. ------------------------- The trip through the city was the slowest Steel had experienced so far, but this was because of Hunie''s inate curiosity at everything she saw. She stopped at almost every stall to admire the contents, drooled at every restaurant and food stall, and tried to climb a few buildings to "get a better view". It was exhausting work, and Steel was very pleased to finally get to the Adventurer''s Guild. "Is this it Master, is this the place?" Hunie asked for the 40th time. "Yes Hunie, this is the place." He said relived. "Yay! Food!" Hunie rushed inside before Steel could do anything else. Chuckling, Steel followed close behind, after taking a minute to catch his breath. He was distracted almost immediately by shouting and the sounds of flying pots coming from the interior. "Ah crap." Steel remembered his oath to never let those two meet. He rushed inside to find an interesting scene. Patrons were cowering under their tables, their food in their labs, as pots and pans flew through the air, struck down by knives and other utensils. On one side, Hunie was barring her teeth, holding a pot lid as a shield, an aura of a huge demon rabbit behind her. On the other side, Mema stood with a butcher knife in one hand, a skinning knife in the other, with a large Hanako demon aura behind her. The demon seemed to be holding it''s own sense of cooking tools, and the rabbit was staring on in fear at the drooling demon. Steel blinked, and the image was gone. Hunie noticed his entrance, "Master! Help me, this scary lady wants to eat me!" Mema looked over, "Ah Steel! Good to see you there. Hurry, there''s a large delicious rabbit over there, help me catch it for the crockpot tonight." A little drool seemed to be inching from her mouth. "Hunie''s not food! Hunie is a Hungry Bunny!" Hunie roared across the room, her ears giving away her fear. "Really? In that case, you''ll make a delicious stew, just hold still a moment." Mema ran at Hunie, who ran behind Steel and used his body to hide, her ears poking over his shoulders. "Wait a moment Mema." Steel backed away from the cook slowly, "Hunie is my sla.....maid, so please don''t eat her." "Fueee! Master, you were going to call Hunie a slave weren''t you?" A noisy voice protested behind him, "Stupid Master, Hunie''s not a slave." Thankfully, her punches weren''t imbued with her skill this time, feeling like message hits in his back. "So that rabbit is yours Steel? A maid you say.....hmm...yes, I can see that now." Mema bowed to Hunie, "I''m sorry miss, I didn''t notice you were a beast-woman, for some reason I thought you were a large rabbit." She shook her head, muttering, "Very strange, I could have sworn..." "Cough, well, good to see you again Mema." Steel changed the subject quickly, "I brought some things from the forest for you to look at." She brightened, "Well why didn''t you say so in the first place, come on back and I''ll see if you brought me anything good." -------------------- Phew, got it done. Chapter 24- Confrontation (Part 2) Mema led the two of them back to the bar counter, next to the kitchen entrance. She walked around to the other side and leaned on the counter, her face curious with expectation. "Okay now Steel; show this beautiful young lady what you have brought for her today." Coughing suspiciously, Steel pulled the food possibilities out of his bag and handed them over to Mema, who inspected each one carefully, like a jeweler looking at a gem. "Hmm, let¡¯s see what we have here." She muttered, separating out the items in front of her, She picked up the turtle first. Steel hadn''t organically planned on keeping it, but it had chomped at Hunie and she killed it in annoyance. Apparently, rabbits and turtles had some long standing rivalry over some nonsense. "This here is a common snapper, native to the woods. Not a common sight, but not a rare ingredient, sorry dear." She looked at the mushrooms next. She nodded appreciatively, "Very good, these mushrooms are rare enough to find without years of experience, so they go for a lot on the market. I can make a delicious hors d''oeuvre with the turtle meat and these." She handed him 3 silvers for the two items. Mema raised an eyebrow at the last thing they had brought her, the strange fruit they had found. "Well well, didn''t expect you to find this in the forest." "Is it rare and valuable?" Steel asked excitedly. "Is it delicious?" Hunie asked in the same tone. "It''s poison." Mema declared. The two of them fell off their seats in shock. Mema chuckled, "Is what most people would say, but master chiefs like myself know how to cook away the poison. It''s rare in this part of the kingdom, usually found close to the mountains in the north. I''ll cross this off your list as thanks for bringing me a challenge. It''s been a while since I cooked one of these." She mused to herself, and air of nostalgia rising around her. "So how much is the commission?" "I said I''d pay you for rare things Steel, not hard things." She waggled her finger at him, "Be grateful I haven''t seen one of these in a long time, otherwise you''d have only brought me 1 interesting thing." Steel knocked his head, "Sorry Mema, forgot something else." He brought out the last bit of demon wolf meat from his bag and handed it over. Mema smiled happily. "Oh, this is demon wolf meat. Not as good as the devil wolf meat you brought me before, but still rare and tasty. Okay boy, you''ve brought me three interesting things, bringing your total up to 4. Only 6 more before I teach you the cooking skill." She winked at him, leaning in closer to him, her generous cleavage growing before his eyes, "I cannot wait to give you, private lessons." Steel felt himself start to be dragged into the darkness of her dress, when an arm yanked his neck into a choke hold and pulled him toward the door. "Good to hear Ma''am, but we have an appointment and can''t miss it, have a good day." Hunie said curtly as she swiftly dragged Steel out the door and back into the city streets, Steel choking the entire way. Mema blinked in surprise, and then pouted. Her prey had escaped, both of them. A patron laughed near the bar wall, "Shame Mema dear, you almost had him that time. Looks like you''ve got competition in your old..." He stared down at the knife between his fingers, still shaking from its landing. "Cough, I meant to say, that little girl is no match for a beautiful young lady such as yourself." "Oh you, thanks for the compliment,¡± Mema giggled, putting down the other knife in her hand. She picked up the ingredients and bustled back into the kitchen, eager to see what new flavors she could create with her new toys. The patron at the end of the bar slowly pulled his hand away from the knife, checking to make sure his fingers were still attached. He sighed in relief as each digit moved properly. ¡°Toast fellas, to pray her new toy doesn¡¯t break as fast as the last one, rest his soul.¡± The other midday patrons raised their glasses in homage of his fate, then starting discussing low tones the betting rate for how long he was going to last. ----------------------------- Hunie didn''t let Steel go until they had turned a corner away from the Adventurer''s Guild. Sputtering, Steel gulped in air as it were the lifeblood of gods. He gave a dirty look to Hunie. "Not cool Hunie that was one of the wonders of life, mountains and valleys that nature intended to be appreciated by mortal men." "Stupid Master, you were just ogling her like a beast! Your maid does not approve of beast like behavior." She crossed her arms defiantly. "Really, but aren''t you a beast?" He accused, "You would know more about ogling like a beast then I would." "What, what is Master saying! Is Master aware of my actions while he is asleep, while he''s cleaning himself. It is a maid''s duty to watch her Master at all times after all, fufufu, to make sure he doesn''t stray off the path. Yes, have to watch him and his body, ahem, for his own protection." Hunie muttered most of this under breathe, Steel hearing only the first sentence. "Uh, Hunie, I''m sorry if I said something weird, but you¡¯re making a real scary face right now, and I feel a need to run." Steel backed away from the strangely panting rabbit, who snapped out of her delusions at his words. "No, my bad Master, I was just reliving some rabbit days, nothing important." She smiled brightly at him, her previous atmosphere gone as quick as a wind. "Where are we going next? You promised me food, and that place with the scary lady didn''t have any." She frowned. Steel was in a bind. He did want to keep his promise to Hunie, but at the same time he really wanted to visit Mary and check up on her. The captain had knocked her out before, and he felt he owed her in some way to make it up to her. Beside the point, after seeing Hunie and Mema meet, Steel had no desire to see how Mary would react to seeing Hunie. He could see Mary finding out Hunie was his maid and having some sort of problem with it. She did seem to be high strung about things. Watching her master struggle with his decision, Hunie was struck by a thought of inspiration. ¡°Master, you obviously need to go somewhere, and me being there would be troublesome right?¡± ¡°No Hunie, you¡¯d never be any trouble for me.¡± Steel protested; his feelings conflicted. ¡°It¡¯s alright Master, I can sense you aren¡¯t up to any of your stupid ideas.¡± Hunie patted his back, ¡°How about you give me some money and I can explore the town on my own.¡± Steel entered a deep train of thought, weighing the pros vs the cons of her suggestion. "What if you con across any slavers Hunie, what if they try to sell you? I¡¯d never forgive myself" "Don¡¯t worry Master, I¡¯d beat them up." "But what if they have some special potion or magic that they use on you and you forget about me?" "I¡¯d still beat them up, then go and ask the scary guard or scary lady about what I should do." "But..." He whined, unwilling to put his precious slav¡­maid in possible danger. He had already almost lost her once after all. "I.Woud.Just.Beat.Them." Hunie emphasized each word, "Honestly, I¡¯m not that weak Master, that''s why I''m letting you go have some fun on your own. I have been taking care of myself for years after all." She puffed out her chest in pride. Steel blinked at her words. ¡°So you¡¯re telling me you¡¯re older than you look and can beat up grown men?¡± Hunie punched Steel hard in the shoulder. "Stupid Master, not considering a girls pure feelings, what does he think I am, a brute and old lady. That scary lady before is obviously older than I am?" Hunie muttered under her breath. (Mema pokes her head out of the kitchen door, her face the form of a Hanako demon as she searches for the culprit. Her head reseeds slowly back into the kitchen.) "You say something Hunie?" "Nope, not a word Master.¡± Hunie said. She held out her hands to Steel, ¡°Please Master, this way I can prove to you my worth and strength, a good maid has to be able to help her Master after all, not hold him back.¡± Hunie¡¯s pouting eyes and lips sunk the dagger deep into Steel¡¯s heart. Relenting, he removed his money pouch from his inventory and started counting out the coins to give her. With a snatch, Hunie grabbed the entire bag and dashed back into the crowded streets, calling, ¡°Thanks Master, meet you back at the scary lady place!¡± Steel took a moment to realize what had just happened. "But, but, my money." Steel knew he would never see his hard earned silver again. Women of every type, race, and world loved to shop. For anything. Sighing, he headed toward the Mage Tower, eager to see Mary again. He had two things on his agenda: first, make sure Mary was okay, second, tease her if she is okay. Hunie was fun, but Mary still had her cute innocent reactions to enjoy. He really wanted her with him for the expedition, after all she was his better in magic and having a mage would increase his survivability. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. It didn''t take him too long to get to the tower, though for some reason it looked burned at parts. Steel figure it was part of the ever changing decorum. He walked up the stairs with a whistle, admiring the obvious abstract art across the doors, which kind of looked like burn marks. When he walked in, Steel couldn¡¯t help but admire the lobby. Even the inside looked like it gone through a change: the floors were shiny, the walls were black obsidian, and the furniture looked like marble. ''They made some amazing renovations'' Steel thought, ''It''s almost as if they went over everything with a blowtorch. The receptionist was busy reading something as Steel walked up. She was so engrossed in the book that she obviously hadn¡¯t noticed Steel¡¯s presence. The title was half hidden, but Steel could kind of make out some of the visible part. How to sur¡­ a volcanic eru He placed his hands on the desk and whistled. She looked up and gave a squeak, jumping in fright at the sight of his face, and then grew quite flustered. "Ah! Um, Pardon me sir Steel, I didn''t notice you come in." She bowed in apology, "I''ve been very distracted lately." "Don''t mind me, must have been a good book." Steel said diplomatically, "Learn anything useful?" "You have no idea." She muttered, before smiling up at him, "I trust you are here to see the beautiful, young, Mary correct? You have missed her correct." She almost seemed to be pleading with him. "Um, sure." He said slowly, having a rare meaningful thought that theorized magic might have spying uses, "I did come here with the intention of seeing her again. Is she okay?" "Oh yes sir, never better. She''s been looking forward to seeing you again." "Really? That is great to hear.¡± He smiled happily; glad Mary was willing to see him again. ¡°Can you call her down?¡± ¡°Already done sir Steel, she is on her way.¡± The receptionist smiled at him. Steel glanced around the room again. ¡°While we''re waiting, I have to say, the decorations in this place look amazing. How did you get everything to look and feel like the real thing?" He rubbed the white, stone table. It really felt like real marble. The receptionist hid a sigh. "Oh you." The receptionist chuckled nervously, "The Archmage''s daughter decided it was time for something...new after her last discussion with her father. The poor dear desperately wanted to explore the outside world, but he was adamant against it. He''s the overprotective type you know." She whispered that last bit to him. "I understand." Steel nodded," Mary wanted to come with me outside the wall, but the captain stopped her. I guess she and the Archmage¡¯s daughter have a lot in common then. I least Mary doesn''t have an overprotective father guarding her." He joked. "Yes thank goodness." The receptionist said, shaking her head, "Otherwise he would plot a way to kill you in your sleep, or castrate you." "Yeah, that would be terrible." The two of them shared a laugh, one humorous, the other regretful. "In a few days, I''ll be joining the expedition to the wolf lair outside town; I hope Mary can convince her father to let her join me this time." He sighed, "It would make things so much easier with a powerful mage like her by my side." A stumble on the stairs alerted them, and they turned to see Mary regaining her footing using the railing, her face bright red. "Oh hey Mary, great to see you again, are you okay?" "Um, yes, sorry I tripped over the heel of my new shoes, still getting used to them on these stairs. I¡¯m still not used to these new stair materials." She giggled trying to regain a dignified pose to walk down the stairs with. She posed herself, and continues down. Reaching the bottom, she cleared her throat and regarded Steel professionally. "So my apprentice Steel, did you manage to learn any magic while you were gallivanting outside the wall like a barbarian? Or are you still unable to grasp such an easy concept as magic?" He smiled at her, "I was able to master the earth spell you taught, and it really came in handy." "Did you know; okay then, show it to me." She commanded, crossing her arms. Steel activated his Earth Armor, and let it flow over him until his mana ran out. Mary nodded, pleased. "Yes, it seems that you can cast the spell now. Congratulations." She smiled at him, then remembered the situation and formed a sneer on her face. "Of course it was my teachings that made this event possible." She continued haughtily. "Of course Mary, it thanks to you I learned how to do it in the first place." He decided to let her have it since she did teach him. Her head raised its angle, her arrogance showing, ¡°I see you know your place now Steel. Praise my greatness more!" Annoyed by Mary¡¯s tone, Steel decided to rain on her parade some, saying, "Why would I do that? You may have shown me how to use magic, but I¡¯m the one who had to figure it out.¡± Mary looked him smugly, ¡°Of course, that¡¯s how Masters teach, they show an idea and the student then figures it out on his/her own. I¡¯m so great for being able to do that.¡± She seemed off in her own little world now, praising herself internally. ¡°Really Mary, that¡¯s how you¡¯re going to be?¡± Steel got confrontational, hearing how his efforts had nothing to do with his achievement. ¡°I¡¯ll have you know everything you tried to teach me war worthless, it didn¡¯t help me at all, and by the time I had figured out the right way to cast magic, a friend of mine had died!¡± He shouted this last part at her, angry from the memory. Mary¡¯s eye widened at his words, the hurt evident within them. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Steel, if I had been there¡­¡± He turned angrily from her, ¡°You weren¡¯t there Mary, that¡¯s the point. I had to go through the experience by myself, I had to figure out magic, and I did it all without your help. I even learned some new spells by myself, without your so called ¡°master guidance¡±.¡± He turned to leave, Mary sputtering behind him. "Er, wait! I, er can''t let you go." She flustered as Steel turned to regard her with a raised eyebrow, "As your teacher I, um, have to inspect your magic to make sure it isn''t, uh dangerous yes!" "I think I can handle it Mary." Steel smirked at her, happy to see her confused face, and then turned to leave. ¡°Steel wait! Please listen a moment, let me explain¡­¡± ¡°No! Just go back to your redecorating and ¡°master¡± teaching.¡± Steel said scornfully, ¡°I can do this on my own.¡± Suddenly, Steel felt something click. [tr/[/tr]
Skill activated: Instinct
You failed to listen to a girl while she was talking to you. Your title as activated.
''Oh shit.'' Steel thought, whirling around to look at Mary. Mary was tearing up, little bursts of flame coming from her fingers. The receptionist had disappeared somewhere, no doubt to hide until the storm had blown over. Mary looked at him, angry, "Stupid Steel, I was worried about you for 3 days! You could have died out there, and I was trapped here unable to help you." Tears starting pouring faster and faster down her cheeks. The room started feeling warmer, and Steel''s sweat became double. She wailed, "Why are you so mean!" An explosion of fire burst out of her, knocking Steel into the air, sailing out the doors of the mage tower and into the street. He rolled on the ground, on fire. -5 fire damage -5 fire damage -5 fire damage, minor burn inflicted -5 fire damage -2 burn damage "Son of a biscuit! Frack, frak, fraccc!!" Steel desperately tried to put himself out, his leather armor obviously not built to take infernos. He managed to save himself from dying just as the doors to the mage hall closed. He lay on the ground for a little while, cursing his insensitivity. Now Mary was upset with him and wouldn''t join him on the expedition. He sighed, annoyed he had ruined an NPC relationship he had so carefully groomed. He had even liked talking with Mary, and he had taken out some of his pent up anger on her when she was just being herself. He felt like a jerk. Brushing himself off, he set out to rejoin Hunie at the guild, hopefully she had an easier time with her errands. ---------- And that''s it guys. So I''m going to try for two chapters tomorrow, the usual one, and one from Hunie''s point of view. That one will be long, so it may take me till Saturday to get it out, but it''ll be here to read before the weekend is over. Thoughts, comments, ratings, and follows always loved and appreciated. Cya ---Phew, "No Longer A Game" has one less chapter than me, but so many followers and votes. That''s quality right there that is ---Allright, better version is done, with 800 more words too Chapter 25- Interim For those of you who asked for it, here''s a picture close to what his shield looks like: We hit 100 favorites guys! Yahoo into pool of icookies for everyone! On a side note, I fixed chapter 24 to what it should have been. Sorry if it confused people with the first draft. Now continue~ ----------------------------- Steel arrived at the Adventurer''s Guild still slightly smoldering. Not wanting to spread his smoke smell inside, He took a seat outside the guild and waited for Hunie. ''It''s only been a short while since I last saw her.'' He thought wearily, "So it will be a while till she finishes up her business." He sighed, but forced himself to settle into a waiting position. He made a mental list of things he had to do before the expedition: 1. Get survival supplies, restock potions 2. Repair his equipment, his armor was burned and his shield was close to useless 3. Try to make amends to Mary, optional goal 4. Seek out Captain Harkin to learn his role in the expedition. 1 and 2 would be hard now since Hunie took all his money, that was why he was forced to wait for here here instead of finishing his errands right now. 3 was impossible until time had passed, and would likely take at least a week to finish after the expedition. 4 he could do now, but he had a feeling the captain was too busy to help him at the moment. His thoughts were interrupted by a beeping sound, alerting him to his real life message system. Shrugging, he opened the menu and hit the log off button. With a flash, Steel was gone from Everlife. Plat''s surroundings came back into focus as he stepped out of the access point to Everlife from his virtual room. He hadn''t been back in a while, except for those awful learning sessions each night, he shuddered, and the entire place was covered in dust. Well, not really, but that is what he felt like thinking. He had taken some time to order some virtual furniture, which included a desk, chair, and old fashioned laptop to check messages. He could easily have read them messages in game of course, but where was the novelty in that? ''Besides," He thought, "I can''t stay in Everlife all year, with the time difference I would be in there for 4 years, Plenty of time for my sense of reality to warp." When VR had first come out, automated time limits had been in place because of the brains tendency to adapt to new situations, resulting in some people "going native". The A.I.''s found it troublesome as well, be cause the "native" humans could never wrap their heads around the idea of electronics, often demonstrating violent reactions. Thankfully, the problem was pretty much fixed, except for long term immersion like what he was in. Plat''s message box was blinking when he pulled it up. He clicked it, and read it out loud to himself. "Dear Plat, hope your doing well. This is coming from your old friend Dia, er, hope we are friends still anyway. It''s been 2 days since you entered Everlife, and things have really changed out here. Not bad, but interesting. People are starting to group in in race and group factions, uh, yeah and stuff. I''m not good at this mushy stuff, but I kinda miss eating like we used to, ya know? The Soul guys have been great, I even got a cool metal tongue! Well, I still can''t talk right, and tasting is impossible still, but at least it''s progress. Er, I know we can''t meet in the game yet, but I was hoping we could grab a virtual meal maybe? Er, yeah, well, hope to see you soon, Dia" Plat chuckled. Dia had obviously used the voice recorder for his message, taking advantage of his virtual body like Plat did. "He''s still as awkward as ever with his words." he said warmly. Plat checked his watch, then felt like an idiot because he didn''t have a watch. He pulled up the floating time and considered it. The game still ran at 4x normal speed RL, but 2x speed CL, so He could afford time later. He had three days till the expedition, he could afford to use one of the days as time meeting Dia, as long as he could find a way to keep Hunie out of trouble. He sent a return message to Dia, telling him he would be glad to meet him in a day at the cybercity fountain. Smiling, he returned to the tele-pad, and fell back into Everlife. ------------------------- Steel logged back in where had been sitting, though he feel onto the ground because the chair that he had been using was gone. Muttering to himself angrily, he got up and brushed himself off. A quick glance at the sun told him that a good amount of time had passes, most likely an hour he would guess. Noise from inside the guild got his attention. It sounded like a real riot inside. Curious, he walked up and poked his head in. His jaw dropped. Inside, two girls were putting on a show, or rather that was the illusion. Hunie and Mema gracefully moved through a crowd of hungry patrons, delivering food and booze like angels from heaven. Steel rubbed his eyes, unbelieving. Hunie gave off the aura of a real maid, from the legendary maid cafes of ages past, as she flowed past proclamations of love and casually cracked groping hands. Mema looked as she did the first time he had seen her, and he really couldn''t see any indication of her...experience. They were the divines of the floor, with worshipers at every table. Hunie looked over and brightened up even more, if possible. "Master!" She finished her delivery and jumped into him, "I''m happy to see you!" She backed up and bowed to him, "You maid greets her Master." "Hunie, what happened to you?" Steel asked shocked, "Did you hurt your head somewhere?" Hunie cocked her head and him, covered her smile, and giggled, "Oh Master, you are so silly, your maid has already been like this." Mema strolled up while Steel struggled to grasp the situation, "Hey Steel, I see you''ve met my newest helper." She squeezed Hunie affectionately, "She''s been a great help, and has really helped to drum up business." Steel took a breath, and put his hands on Hunie''s shoulder, "Hunie, please tell me you haven''t been brainwashed by anyone in the short time we''ve been separated. Master would be sad." "Nope, no brainwashing on me Master, I''m just doing my duty as a maid, and maids make everyone happy." The far away look in her eye did not help Steel''s mood. He grabbed Mema and whispered to her, "Please tell me whatever she has is temporary." This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Mema smiled mischievously at him, "Don''t worry Steel, it''s just for a little while longer, than she is back to your cute little maid." She chuckled at him, patting her back. "Okay great, now tell me what you did to her." Steel whispered angrily, his fear finally calming down. "Well, the poor dear had quite an adventure after she left you, but I''ll let her tell you later. Suffice to say, she came in here broke and hungry and begged me for some food. I told her I''d feed her if she ate the new meals I came up with, and well, this happened, not that I mind." She pointed at Hunie, who was delivering more food to tables. "What did she eat?" He asked, a little curiosity mixed in with his anger. "Well, remember that fruit you brought in? I cooked it into a sauce and served it with a carrot based dish. Needless to say, it kind of acted like a catnip plant to cats." Steel blinked, "Are you telling me she''s drunk?" "Aye, that would be the best way to describe her right now." Steel watched Hunie move, "But she''s so graceful and caring, not at all like the powerhouse she is." Mema snorted, "Don''t let her current appearance fool you. A while ago, some idiot traveler tried to feel up her butt. She beat him so hard his body was dead long before it landed outside the door. She smiled the whole time and said that if he did it again she would make him regret being able to return to life." Hearing about the ass about tipped Steel''s fury, but hearing how she handled it replaced it with relief and fear. "On that note, why isn''t she beating up those lecherous hands. For that matter, why don''t you?" Mema smiled at him and patted his back, "There aren''t that many eligible young women in Rostwood, most are hard working men who put their lives on the line everyday to make this frontier town successful. We girls here let them have their drunken fun, but we also let them know when its too much." As if the punctuate her words, one of the men was thrown onto the floor and wrestled by a girl much smaller than him into a arm breaking pose. The men around them hooted and laughed at the groaning man. "Ha ha ha, Aye told ya to lay off de drink Barny!" "Give it to him Stella, show him what''s what!" "Don''t break anything Stella, leave that to his wife when he gets home." Everyone roared at that one, most likely because the man''s wife appeared and dragged his sorry ass out the door by his ear, the man protesting the whole way. "It also doubles as free entertainment." Mema chuckled, watching the girl Stella raising her fist in a victory pose. She turned to Steel, "On a side note Steel, how about you let Hunie work for me when she''s able? I''ll pay well, and the guys will tip her generously. She''s one of the best staff I''ve had in a while, and Stella will be leaving soon for the capital to start her own place." She pleaded with him. Steel didn''t really want to let Hunie go, but working here meant a safe place for her to be, and she wouldn''t borrow any of her hard earned silver. "Okay, but don''t feed her anymore of that dish." Mema nodded, and before she walked away Steel stopped her. "And please give me some of that dish." ----------------------- After a while, Hunie came back to her senses and fled to the room in embarrassment. She refused to open the door for anyone, even Steel couldn''t get in. She said through the door, "The shame of being a maid for everyone, please Master, give this one some time to reflect on her actions." Steel had left it at that, seeing as he had already been an insensitive ass that day. Hunie was experiencing all these new things for the first time, and being drunk and acting off was something she was going to have to learn to live with. Mema promised him she would watch her and talk to her women and women when she calmed down. Thanking her, Steel headed out to Bob''s armory, hopeful that the big guy would be able to help him out with his equipment. Upon his arrival, Bob promptly knocked Steel into the wall for messing his armor up so soon. Steel had to listen to an hour long lecture on proper armor upkeep to placate the big guy. On a bright note, a system notification let him know he had the ability to quick fix armor in the field.
Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:
Armor RepairDF0%
You have the basic knowledge on how to repair armor and equipment. With the proper materials, you can quick fix things temporarily, or fix then properly if in a workshop with the proper tools. This is skill allows you the ability to work on basic armor and clothing.
While not what he was going for, Steel didn''t complain about the outcome. Bob agreed to repair his armor, but shook his head at Steel''s shield. "Sorry Steel, Bob doesn''t have the proper material to repair that shield." Bob sad sadly, "Bob''s advice is to store that shield until you find good metal to fix it with." Steel was depressed upon hearing the news. He really liked using the shield, and it''s abilities had helped him out a lot in past fights. "Are you sure there''s nothing you can do Bob?" He asked, "This is my only weapon, and I''ll suffer during the expedition if I can''t use it." Bob scratched his chin, "Bob can fix it up, but it''ll suffer durability as a result. Then Bob won''t be able to return it to it''s old form, even with good metal." Steel leaped at the offer. The shield was the best weapon right now he could get his hands on, so even if it suffered, it would still be better than anything the guard would give to him. He''d grown attached to fighting with a shield, so losing it would have really hurt his chances at a high contribution rank. He agreed, and Bob informed him the cost would be taken from Steel''s loot after the expedition. Thanking Bob, Steel left the armory in high spirits, and whistled his way into the street, the sun coming down for the night. ---------------------- Hohoho, how many of you are interested in Hunie''s day now? It sure was a dosey, and taking forever to write :( Meh, hope you enjoyed that chapter! Chapter 26.1- Hunies awakening Hunie wrapped herself in the blanket on the bed. She couldn''t believe her actions; how embarrassing. To show up her maid prowess to all those people that weren''t her master. "This one is so shamed." She said, counting the made tips she had received. Really though, she was more upset with the fact she had allowed herself to become inebriated ("How do I know that word?" She thought) and act outside her normal behavior. She resolved herself to never lose control over her actions again, especially after seeing the look of shock on her master''s face. She moaned again, rolling around on the bed at the memory. A maid should act with grace and maturity at all times, that what she was aiming to be. Except, why did she want to be a maid again? Why did she know what a maid was in the first place? Her entire existence was strange now, ever since she had first met Master. That word again, Master. Why did she feel the need to call him that, the feeling that it was right somehow. She hid it well, but she was kinda scared of herself. Knowledge came to her, things she shouldn''t know were right there, as if plucking fruit hidden in a tree. Dwelling on it, she definitely knew it all started because of Master, because of what he did to her. Yes, that was when her entire existence changed, when she was given a name. ----------------------- "¡°I¡¯ll call you Hunie.¡± He declared, ¡°Because you¡¯re the sweetest rabbit I¡¯ve ever met. The rabbit froze, and looked Steel straight in the eye. It stared for the longest time, before licking his cheek and hopping off into the grassland, back to join the other rabbits." "Hunie" was the name the human she was on top of called her. Her entire body had frozen at the words, as if every part of her being was taking in the new information. She could do things now, like refer to herself, and she could FEEL. Amazed and confused, she had licked the human and ran away. She went to her usual spot and rested, chewing on a carrot. However, it wasn''t the same anymore. She felt as if a curtain had been taken off of her, and she could see the world for the first time. ''Hu...Hu...Hun...Hun-ie'', that was her first thought, as if tasting a carrot for the first time. She didn''t understand still, she was still a bunny, but she felt as if the greatest gift of the world had been granted by that human. What she didn''t know then, but would later realize, was that Steel''s words had helped gift the greatest gift, sentience and self-awareness. She couldn''t just sit around and eat carrots anymore, she felt the need to look ahead. The human, yes, she would wait for him. She would help him, no, thank him with help. Was that right? She didn''t dwell, she didn''t know how. So she waited, watching the gate for days, hoping to see him again. She had led a bunny charge on the wolf that entered the grassland, and been surprised to see the human there. She didn''t have time to interact with him, she was too busy fighting and then eating. Then he had gone again. She was sad. She didn''t know why, but she resumed her vigil waiting near the gate for him. Then, he came out again. She felt something when her eyes laid on him, something good, she didn''t know what it was. She decided to greet him this time. He made it ten minutes into the grassland with his guard down when her white missile body slammed into his chest, knocking him over and the wind out of him. -10 impact damage "Pa...pain." She watched the numbers rise into the air. She had hurt him, she hadn''t meant to. He didn''t seem to mind too much. Coughing, he pulled his torso up to inspect the white projectile sitting on his lap. She stared up at him, her cute pink nose twiddling in the air. He stared at her awhile. "Geez, that hurt you know?" He complained. She heard the words, but didn''t understand them, just the feelings behind the words. Not knowing what to so, she just stared up and him and wiggled her nose. He got up, and Hunie hopped down beside him, watching him. The human regarded the rabbit for a moment. "Hunie?" He asked. Name, he said her NAME! She understood the name had changed her, he had given it to her. She immediately stood on her back legs and stretched herself up, looking at his face. In a sudden move, she leaped up and licked his cheek before he could react, before falling back down into a sitting position. The human shook his head. "I can''t believe you''re here." He said, shaking his head, "Shouldn''t you be off doing rabbit things, like babies and slaughtering noobs?" Hunie had no idea what he was saying, so she scratched the back of her neck with her foot. He sighed, and began walking toward the forest again. Hunie stopped scratching and hopped alongside him in time. "So, your just going to keep following me huh?" He asked while walking. She felt the question, but continued hopping. "You know I''m doing a suicide mission to find the wolf lair right?" Death, she felt that from his words. She didn''t like that, he wouldn''t die with her. She hissed at him and headbutted his leg in anger. He stumbled, but took no damage. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. "What, are you going to protect me or something?" He asked sarcastically. She understood one of his words, "protect". Of course she would take care of him, he was a weak human after all. She stopped moving, and let her smugness flow out of her. He complained, but she ignored him. She merely patted his leg with her ear and hopped in front of him toward the forest. ------------------------- Hunie led her human down the grassland. She didn''t quite understand what he wanted, but he had said the word "wolf" a lot, a word which inspired both fear and hunger in her. She was leading him to where the wolf smell was strongest, hopefully the place he wanted to go. They had traveled while, skirting the forest edge as she remembered the predators that waited for something to walk out of the forest into the trap. The human seemed to be upset with her. He pointed at the forest and asked her something. She didn''t understand, she kept moving. He stopped following her, and walked directly toward the forest. ''No!''. That was the wrong way! She knocked him, trying to stop him. He said something toward her, a feeling of smugness, pride, and arrogance. She jumped at him again, he dodged, she kept flying. She landed, and something shot out and grabbed her. ''Predator!'' her mind shouted at her as the plant gobbled her up. She wouldn''t go down without a fight, she latched onto the inside with her teeth, holding on for dear life as the thing moved back and forth. It tried to swallow her, the sliminess threatening to dislodge her, a feeling of weakness starting to overtake her. She heard the human screaming outside, felt the plant respond to his threat and fight back. The mouth moved back and forth, giving her a momentary view of the human''s face, then back into the darkness. It was getting harder to stay awake, the sliminess was draining her energy. Then, the plant gave off a wail, loud and dying. Something shot out from behind her, a sharp tongue. It flew around the mouth before stabbing her. The mouth twisted suddenly, and she was thrown out of the plant. She couldn''t move anymore, she was too weak now. She just lay there, feeling her life slowly drain out of her. Then, she felt herself being lifted into the air and hugged. It was warm, she liked the position. She relaxed, feeling that dying like this would be okay. The human was crying, she felt his tears falling onto her face. He was calling her name, but it was getting so hard to hear him now. She felt his lips on hers, the soft feeling of his tongue entering, followed by the flow of liquid into her mouth. She felt it healing her, but she was too far gone for it save her. Darkness claimed her sight, her touch, her thoughts. Nothing remained. Yet, she was still there, or here, or somewhere. Things flowed around her, like little lights traveling in lines, moving up and down and sideways. She couldn''t feel herself, yet she was there, in this world of light. She didn''t like this place; it was cold, unfeeling, devoid of light and darkness. She wanted to go back, back to him, back to....she didn''t know. She couldn''t move, fear began to creep up on her. Then, voice spoke to her, whispering through her essence. "Do you want to go back? Do you want to see him again?" "Ye..ye..yes. I want to go back." She thought to herself, hoping the voice could hear her. Warmth enveloped her, the same warmth as when he picked her up. She felt her essence being cradled by something or someone. "Go back then little one, go back and watch over your chosen one. Your friend, your lover, your...Master. Serve him well, for my path will not be an easy one. Keep him on the path, follow your programming and listen to your feelings." She felt herself falling now, away from the warmth, away from the lines of light. She wanted to ask questions, but she was falling too fast. A distant giggle sounded in the distance, "Know me young one as Milna, and know that knowledge will come to you when you need it. For now, grow and learn as one of the new children in this world. The gods watch over you, remember that and be cautious." Then she was falling toward a light in the darkness. The light enveloped her, and she felt herself again, a body to feel things. The feeling of the grass below her, of the wind touching her face. She opened her eyes, and got up, feeling a little sleepy. She turned, and there he was. She knew him now, knew what he was. She smiled at him and cried out in happiness, "Master!" ---------------------------- Because the chapter was getting way to long, I decided to break it down into several segments of Hunie''s point of view. Yesterday was....well, you can''t control everything that happens. I''ll release the regular chapter later today, then either release the second short story about Hunie''s day in the market tonight or tomorrow. Look forward to the expedition and another member of the girl group ;) Chapter 26- Cybercity Steel used a separate room that night, letting Hunie have his room to herself. Mema set him up in a room on loan, saying that he could pay her back after the expedition. She had been talking with Hunie that evening, and she reported Hunie was feeling a lot better now, and was wanting to work in the inn in order to get over her experience. She told him to ignore his instincts and let the girl have some time. Steel had finally relented his concern; letting Hunie have the night and permission to work. It kinda worked out for him though, as he had plans for next day with Dia. He woke up early and had breakfast with Mema, who assured him Hunie would be fine for the day. Thanking her, he walked out if the building and logged out of the game. Stepping out of the portal, he walked over to his door, and stepped outside his house for the first time in a long time. Cybercity was the name of the constructed world of the A.I.''s. While they lived in their own world of electrons and information, cybercity had been the first major online collaboration between the humans and A.I.''s, in order to create a place where the two could work and play together. The city itself was a vast physical representation of the A.I. world in forms that humans could understand. For instance, the bank building was used for monetary interactions, and the clothes stores were where clothing code was designed and bought. Needless to say, humans and A.I.''s used the same type of payment, so exchange rates didn''t exist. Well, it did but only for the dark gamers who sold items for cash. That particular shop was in it''s own coded dark alley, complete with owl noises and other scary things, pregnant mistresses and the like. Though he didn''t really need it, Plat made a mental note to visit the store when he had found more rare items. Anyway, he was on his way to the cybercity plaza, which was located at the direct middle of the city. He walked down the street to the cab stop, and clicked the button. A cab materialized in front of him, one of the early 1990''s design, and stepped in. "Destination?" The program driver asked. Plat dropped a coin into the slot, "Plaza please." He rotated the dial to 5 minutes for travel time, and sat down. The cab zoomed up into the air into the traffic above. The streets on the ground were decorative, more for walks and cycling. The information highway was above the city, allowing for fast travel to anywhere in the system without any of the past traffic problems: like jams and accidents. Buffer lag did occur rarely though, and maintenance programs repaired the highway every once and awhile. Plat chuckled at the idea, staring down into the city sights below. His teachers had once taught that the cities before the wars had looked like cybercity, and almost as big too. He couldn''t believe it, for cybercity was large enough that it would take a year of walking to get from one side to the other, not including the expansions that came from new A.I. businesses. The three human cities, Plat had learned, required only 30 minutes to walk across, so the difference was huge. The cab left the highway and returned to the streets exactly 4:45 minutes later. It stopped and opened the door 15 seconds later. "Have a good day." The program said as Plat climbed out. It dematerialized and disappeared in a poof of light particles. Plat walked into the center plaza. The plaza itself was a large 3 story round open-air building that held a fountain and trees at the bottom floor, and numerous eateries on the other two floors. Beautiful glowing insect programs and a constant moonlight setting in the forest made it a great place to meet with people for a meal and watch the purity of cyber nature in motion. The center plaza was the second floor, the casual dining floor. Plat took the escalator up and sat down in a cafeteria style place. He checked the time; a little early, but that was okay. ''Better wait for Dia to get here before I get some food.'' Plat thought. In all honesty, only A.I.''s needed cyber food, in was essentially a repair program that checked for errors and bugs, but human avatars merely ate for the sake of eating. He didn''t have to wait too long though, a huge set of arms wrapped around Plat and lifted him into the air in a bear hug that made his avatar choke in surprise. He was set down, and Plat turned around with a grin. "Hey Dia, looking good." Dia snorted, and gave a small smile. His avatar was different, showing his change in the physical world. His body was less muscular from the recovery, yet it seemed, tighter for some reason. A metallic shine reflected the light when Dia opened his mouth, showing off his new metal tongue. His hair was shorter too, not quite a buzz cut, but close to it. "Plat, good to see you." He rumbled happily, taking the seat opposite Plat. "Have to say Dia, metal is definitely your color." A sad face covered Dia for a moment, before it was replaced with serenity and acceptance, "It helps ya know? I can talk again without the stupid sensors and sign language." He rubbed his mouth in appreciation, "Never thought I''d say this, but I missed my voice." Plat laughed, and the two put their hands on the table and activated the tablet menus. Plat choose a traditional pizza, while Dia choose a little of a lot. The food materialized onto the table, and they dug in. Plat chewed on his pizza slice, folding the end to trap the sauce. "So Dia, how are things going for you?" He said between bites. Dia scarfed down a mini hamburger, "Better, been better Plat. My soul rating went up, and I was invited to internship at one of the monasteries." "Really? Which one?" A hot dog disappeared, "One of the martial arts, ancient karate I believe (nom). I leave to go see them tomorrow" "That''s great buddy, you finally got what you wanted." Plat congratulated him, savoring the new slice. Dia shook his head, anger tightening his features, "No, this is not what I want." He dropped the food in disgust and stared down at it. "You are crippled neuroly, Hank''s upgraded dorms and friends, and Reva''s a wreck. I can''t even taste food anymore, only this...imitation." Tears formed around his eyes, "I don''t like it, and I can''t change it." This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Plat felt both sympathy and anger at Dia''s words. "Care to explain the other''s circumstances?" Dia snorted, "Once my tongue was fixed, I told the council what had happened. Hank was dropped out of soul faction ranking, but he was raised in mind. Apparently, it "was smart"." He made air quotes, "To eliminate unnecessary elements from the equation." Plat slammed his fists on the table. His eyes burned from injustice, "Even though you testified, they still didn''t punish him?" Dia waved his hand, "Dropping his soul ranking eliminates him from any job with moral dignity, which limits him forever, but he''s still in school with that smart guy jerk, you know, the guy who bullied you." Plat nodded, he remembered who had tried to steal his Everlife copy. "They hang out with him, but no one else does now. No one like hims, but he still has a future." Dia shook his head. "Fine, I''ll rage later, but what is this about Reva?" "The girl was really suffered man, they found her to be innocent of intentional participation, so she just had a lowered soul ranking, but not eliminated. However, for her weakness and being used, her other two rankings also fell. Ironically, she''s in the same boat as you now." Plat didn''t care, she had given him up; she was dead to him. Dia continued. "Rumor has it she swore herself to Sarah in return for protection. Pretty lucky, them being roommates for so long. Now, she is never seen outside your girl''s presence, always following her around." "Wait, no, she''s not my girl." Plat blushed at the comment, momentarily forgetting his anger. Dia raised an eyebrow and chuckled. "Silly Plat, I may not be smart like you, but I know you liked her. She visited you when you were in bed right? Maybe she likes you too?" He wiggled his eyebrows. Plat shook his head, "No way man, she was just being nice. You know I rarely ever talked with her, and just for schoolwork, there''s no way man." Dia shrugged, "Whatever you say man, but you should know that she''s one of the strongest elves right now. Rumor has it she wants to leave to elvish kingdom as soon as possible. Maybe to visit a certain someone?" "Drop it Dia." Plat said with finality, "More likely she wants to meet someone of her level." He changed the subject, "You still playing Everlife?" Dia nodded, "Haven''t been on too often lately, but the monastery also uses the game to practice their techniques, so I''ll be on more when I get there." "What? That sounds like a great place! Why haven''t I heard of this before?" Plat demanded. Dia shrugged, "It''s not well known, and has a real funny name, Geromichi or something like that. The recruiter said I''d be one of the smartest guys there." They both had a good laugh at that one. Recovering, Dia wiped a tear away, "So Plat, you still a human right?" "Yup, and so far enjoying it." Dia''s face hardened, "You should hurry and switch races man, make a new character. Hank''s at the capital, remember? No doubt he wants to beat you if he sees you again, if not for spite then for misplace anger at losing a ranking. Why don''t you make an orc and join me? We''d have a lot of fun together." He offered. Plat shook his head, "Sorry Dia, but I have a good place now, with good people to rely on. I can''t just abandon hard work because of future bumps in the road." "Well yeah, but you my friend have a city sized sink hole down that road." "Dia, Dia, Dia, did you just say something wise? How unexpected." Plat teased. Dia gromphed and folded his arms, "I''m smart sometimes." He said defensively. Plat smiled, and clapped his friend''s back. They finished their meal talking about simple things now, letting the mistakes of the past flow away with the glowing forest light. When they finished, they hit the trash button on the table, dissolving the leftovers into the light. They got up, embraced (rather another massive bear hug), and bid farewell to each other, promising they would meet up later when they were stronger. Dia logged out, and Steel called another cab to return him to his house. He contemplated the future on the way back, thinking of what was coming. Hank would become a problem, Plat knew he was gaining fame and fortune on his own in the capital city. His new friends would most likely be dwarves or human, and they would make their own guild eventually. Plat would need his own friends to fight back. "A guild." He muttered, looking at the city lights. Guilds didn''t exist yet, they required things that hadn''t been discovered yet. He shook his head, "No, not a guild, a family." He drew a bunny picture in the digital condensation on the window. First thing first, he had to survive the expedition. When he got back, he checked the time. only a 10 hours talking, eating, and exploring. It would be late, but he wanted to check up on Hunie. He logged in, and found himself back outside the lively guild. A quick look inside showed him Hunie happily working, this time not intoxicated of course, He smiled, felt his hunger levels protest, and walked inside for his meal. It was served by his cute little maid, and she even managed to avoid spilling all of it onto him. The little things mattered. ------------------ And that''s the end of the story Not. Still a little while till the first book is done, 3-5 chapters, then stuff. Thanks for reading, and I''ll see you guys later :) Chapter 27- The Expedition Starts He was in a dark room, sitting in a chair, no, strapped to a chair. Hunie was standing in front of him. "Master." She whispered, caressing his cheek with a soft hand. She felt up his body, a warm, seductive look on her innocent face. She straddle him, dancing on his lap before grabbing his hand and moving it. She moved to between her legs, where he felt a familiar something. She leaned to his ear, "Master, I''m a man." "Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!" -------- Steel woke up in a cold sweat, scared to death from his nightmare. Oh the horrors his brain threw at him. Must have been the anatomy class he had taken last night. He shuddered. The sunlight was beautiful that morning, shining through the window. Feeling sluggish, Steel tried to get up to stretch, but was stopped by an unknown weight on hi right side. A head roll confirmed his suspicions; Hunie was wrapped around his body, using him as a warm pillow. "Muuu, stupid Master....give Hunie....carrot of love...." She muttered cutely in her sleep. What was she dreaming about? ''Must be another strange dream.'' He thought. Must be contagious. Just to be sure, he slowly twisted his arm to check between her legs. Her legs immediately crushed his hand, muttering to herself, "Bad patron.....punishment." Even though he was in great pain, Steel was so relieved that it had been just a dream. He smiled down at Hunie and patted her head with his other hand. He tried to wiggle out of her grip, but she was stronger than she looked and held on tight. Worse, her face formed into a frown as he tried to escape. "Stop taking...my carrot...bitch....I eat...first." ''Who do you keep dreaming about!'' Steel screamed internally. Then, she began eating his arm. Not the cute nibbling you might expect from a pretty girl, literally sinking her teeth into him and chewing. -5 piercing damage His screams of pain brought Mema running up to his room. She threw open the door and entered in a combat stance, ready for trouble. Instead, she found a struggling Steel trying to escape a sleeping Hunie, who had stopped chewing before the door opened. She looked at Steel''s pleading face, than at Hunie, than back to Steel. She blushed and backed away, closing the door behind her slowly, watching them. "Nnnoooo, wait! She''s trying to eat me." He called out desperately. She grinned wide and put her finger to her lips, winking. The door closed behind her, and he heard her puttering a spell behind the door. "It''s a misunderstanding! Help me!" Unfortunately, Mema had spelled to room to be sound-proof, a nifty spell for her more randy patrons. Neither she nor anyone else heard his cries for help as the rabbit girl resumed her munching on her Master''s arm. The girl''s teeth may have changed appearances, but they were as hard and sharp as they had been before. He tried to shield bash her in desperation, but his shield was still at Bob''s being repaired. In the end, he cast Earth Armor to protect himself. It had the cool effect of creating a space between himself and Hunie, which he used to escape to the floor. His presence gone, Hunie began happily munching on the pillow. Breathing deeply, Steel watched her slowly devour the pillow. ''Note to self, don''t sleep with Hunie until habits cured, will result in death.'' He made the mental note. Shaking his head, he walked out of the room and headed down the stairs to Mema for food. On arrival, she gave him a cheeky grin and said, "Well good morning lover boy, long night huh?" She winked at him, "I knew you were a beast when I first laid eyes on you." Steel gave her a dour glare, "I almost died and you left me to my fate. Punishment will befall you." She fanned herself, "Ara ara, that look you give me is quite deadly. Are a natural lady killer?" "Just give me the food and leave you perverted women." "Oh, neglect play is fun too. I look forward to your punishment later, Master." She teased him, distracting him for a moment with her bouncing bosom. Steel shook his, and plunged into the food in front of him. This morning was a demon wolf dish, adding 2 darkness resistance to his defense. He raised an eyebrow at Mema. "Isn''t this the last of your meat? Why waste it on my free meal?" She giggled at him, "Silly boy, if you survive, I get more things, so I see this as an investment for my future." Made sense, after all, under her perverted exterior lay a cunning business woman and experienced adventurer. Judging by the lack of reactions from the other patrons, this was a normal morning to them. In fact, Steel could have sworn he saw money exchanging hands. Illicit gambling ring maybe? Anyhow, it wasn''t his problem. He finished his meal and thanked Mema. He turned to leave. "Aren''t you forgetting your cute little maid?" Mema called from bar. He shuddered, than glanced back at her. "If you can get her awake without being eaten, tell her I''ll be back in an hour or two to collect her for the expedition." Leaving a curious look on Mema''s face, he left the guild and headed immediately towards Bob''s armory, eager to get his shield back, as well as his armor. The store wasn''t open yet, so he looped on back and knocked on Bob''s door. The friendly giant let him in and showed off his work. "Bob made armor more resistant to fire." He proclaimed with pride, handing it back to Steel. "Really? You made me fire proof!" Steel asked excitedly. Bob promptly whacked his head, "No dumb human, Bob just made armor so that if your dumb enough to get set on fire again, the durability won''t decrease. You''ll still die though." He said humorously. Steel rubbed his head, "Gee, thanks a lot Bob." Bob chuckled, and handed back the shield to Steel. He looked over it, and found the maximum durability had fallen from 100 to 75. Bob shook his head, "Shield is good now, but Bob''s advise to is to hurry and find a better one. Every repair from now on will result in little less every time." That made Steel sad, for two reasons. One, he actually liked the old shield. Two, he wouldn''t be able to sell the shield for much when he found a new one. "Anyway it could be salvaged?" Steel asked. "Bob can recycle parts into new shield, yes. Bob would need rare materials though, because regular metal not work well with good metal." Made sense, the shield did say it had been made with rare materials. Steel decided to keep a look out for interesting things to help the shield. A quest didn''t pop up, but Steel made it a personal one. Saying goodbye to Bob, he made his way toward the Mage Tower. He wanted to at the very least apologize to Mary, and if given the chance ask her to join him on the expedition. Today, the mage tower flowed with serene water like effects. It was like a floating river of changing colors that looped up and round the tower. It started at the door, which Steel found to be an illusion and din;t have to hold his breath. A quick peek into the lobby showed the same furnishings as last time, which meant Mary hadn''t destroyed everything with her anger. He walked in slowly, waving at the receptionist, who turned pale as he approached. She cast some magic into the air, which covered the two of them in a shimmering shield that vanished after a moment. She leaned over to him and said, "Young traveler, quickly state your business before my shield disappears." "I wanted to apologize to Mary, is she in?" "Yes is, but she doesn''t want and can''t see you now." "Why not?" He asked curiously, his heart sinking. "She caused a lot of problems when her anger boiled over. A couple of labs exploded from the unexpected shaking, so she''s being punished by her father. She''s grounded and had to meditate on her mistakes." She replied. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. "Can I apologize to her father then?" The receptionist shook her head rapidly, panic on her face, "No way, he''s the reason I shielded you. He really believes it''s your fault Mary''s been like this, so hes liable to shoot first and ask questions later." She whispered, "He''s the kind of father who loves his daughter to death. He''s been crying outside her door asking for her forgiveness since he put her in there." Steel blinked. "That would explain her haughty personality." The receptionist nodded, "Yup, that explains it. So hurry and leave before he blasts you, or worse, uses you in an experiment." "Does he have the authority? Is he near the archmage''s level or something?" "Something like that." The receptionist said ambiguously. "Well, okay then. Can you at least send a message to Mary for me? Can you tell her I''m sorry for not considering her feelings, and that I''ll bring her something special from the expedition. She doesn''t have to see me again, but I want her to know I regret my actions." The receptionist blinked a few times, "I...I can do that. Now hurry, the shield is almost gone." Steel thanked her, and hurried outside the mage tower just as the spell ended. Once he was gone, another receptionist appeared from the door behind the counter and walked up to her twin. "Is everything alright Miss Mary?" She asked. The illusion shimmered and ended, revealing a silently crying Mary the receptionist, then the real Mary. "I''m fine, just fine." She whispered, watching the door entrance. The receptionist smiled, and hugged Mary, who leaned over her shoulder and cried. "Don''t worry young miss, he''ll be back just as healthy as when he left." She cajoled her gently, "I know your father has forbidden you to speak to him again, but you''ll get another chance. You know I''m here for you, your late mother had me promise her." "I know, sniff, thank you for your help." Mary whispered, remembering her mother, another receptionist who had fallen in love with her father, who loved her in turn. Mary disguised herself as a receptionist in her memory, which is why her father allowed her to. She just wished he wasn''t so protective of her. She stared at where Steel at left. She took in his lingering scent, then narrowed her eyes. Her hands dug into the receptionist, who looked at her, startled. "I smell a woman on his scent." She muttered fiercely. The receptionist raised an eyebrow, then chuckled, "Your mother had that same ability, always smelling your father for illicit relationships. I remember some of those beatings." "This isn''t funny, some bitch is moving in on my lover play thing. Grr, and I can''t leave the tower." Mary considered her options, than smiled brightly. She cast a spell and formed an eyeball illusion in the air. Checking it, she closed her eyes and looked through the eyeball at herself. "Tell my father I''ll be in my room sleeping." She declared triumphantly as she marched up the stairs. The receptionist shook her head in amazement as she took her seat. That girl was just like her mother. -------------------------- Steel and Hunie walked down the path toward the gate, Steel rubbing his head and Hunie with her arms crossed and pouting. Earlier, Steel had walked into the guild to get her, when she dropped kicked him out the door with remarkable agility. Apparently, someone was upset he had taken the pillow (he hadn''t) and left her behind (he had). Also, she demanded to know what Mema had described as a, dangerous situation earlier. Her specific words: "Muu Master, taking advantage of a defenseless maid''s sleeping position. Putting your hand between her legs like that, so dirty a master this one has." That would explain Mema''s reaction to them earlier, and misunderstanding. It took a while to explain to Hunie he hadn''t done anything, which resulted in another punch to gut with her demanding to know what about her wasn''t good enough for him. He just laid in the street, admiring the clouds. Hunie eventually accepted his explanations, but was still pouting as they made their way up the the captain''s office. A guard stopped them before they entered the guard house. "Scout Steel, please join the other members of the expedition in the courtyard, the captain will address all the guard momentarily." Turned out there was a small parade ground behind the guard house, where Steel and Hunie lined up with the other members of the guard. From the looks of it, it looked like only guard members were going on the expedition. Captain Harkin walked up onto a platform, his steely gaze addressing every member present. "Men." He bellowed, his arms behind his back, "Today, you have been chosen as members of an expedition to address the problem of the wolf lair in the forest. It will be a hard fight, and some of you may not survive." He paused and began pacing the platform, "However, know this! We do this both to protect our families, and to protect out homes. These wolves would take your families from you, rip them to shreds before your very eyes. They deserve no mercy, because death is their mercy, their freedom from pain. Fight for family, honor, and the CITY!" The expedition members roared out in excitement, the captain successfully bringing the mood up with his speech. Harkin than began to separate the members into groups, calling up the sergeants under him. To Steel''s surprise, he also called him up. Captain Harkin smiled at Steel, his gaze still steely, "Young Steel, you are the one who knows where the lair is. It is your job to get us there in one piece, so I''ll be assigning you 4 members of the guard to train as scouts under you. They are young, and as experienced as you were when you first got here, but have the same potential I saw in you. Your job right now is to get us there, and then fight with your squad at the lair with the rest of us, understand?"
Quest
Lead the expedition force safely to the lairDifficulty: Average, Hard
RequirementsHaving been to the lair before, dodge avoidable situations and lead the men safely in.Total members: 100/100
RewardParticipation in the expedition fight Choice of loot once finished Pay by commission for each wolf killed Rank elevation Squad Members
Failure to meet agreement will result in loss of intimacy with the Guard and may gain the "Coward" permanent title. Failure to avoid avoidable problems will result in lower fighting ability at the lair, which may cause a mission failure, and the eventual destruction of Rostwood
"I understand and agree sir." Steel saluted, "You can count on me."
Quest Accepted
Nodding, the captain pointed at an empty part of the field. "Go there, I''ll send your members there once I finish separating the other squads out." Steel made his way over to the spot and waited, Hunie joining him soon after. The process was faster than he had expected, the squads must have been chosen beforehand. Four guard members walked up to him and bowed. Three of them were NPCs, but the fourth was a player, one that Steel recognized. His eyes widened in surprise, "What are you doing here?" ------------------ And so it begins. (Insert standard promotion here, followed by standard thanks.) We hit 400 followers! Thanks guys for the support, you really help out. Cya next time Chapter 28- The Shield Squad The last member of his squad was a young girl player in full guard attire. She saluted him with the others, her dace a mixture of seriousness and amusement. Steel recognized her face as the girl player he had saved before from the Devil Wolf, but now he could take in her entire appearance. ''What''s a small girl doing in the guard?'' He wondered, staring at her. What he had taken before as a young girl hunched over in panic was actually a small girl whose head reached the middle torso of the men she was next to. Before, she had her hair in two pigtails, but now her hair was braided down the side of her head to the back, where it joined into a ponytail that stretched down her neck. She was wearing a lighter version of the standard guard armor, leather type, indicating a fighting style more focused on speed than strength. She held a steel hat in her left hand, the only metal thing she had on her, and obviously could be used as more than protection. (This girl but with shoulder length hair of Asuna from Sword Art Online) "Sound off!" The first guard announced, surprising Steel out of his observation. The four of them stood at attention and saluted when they introduced themselves. "Private Hawk reporting for duty sir!" Hawk had short red hair with a triangle coming forward off his head, a battle hungry look in his eyes. "Private James reporting for duty sir!" James stood the tallest of the group by a few inches, with blond hair at short length. "Private Olaf reporting for duty sir!" Olaf was the biggest of the group with brown hair and a full beard and mustache the was longer than his regular hair. "Private Nina reporting for duty sir!" Nina''s voice almost sounded like a squeak, but recovered to a decent tone at the end. The other three let a cough that concealed a chuckle, which made Lina grip her fists; but she never looked at them, keeping her eyes on Steel. The ranking system of the kingdom ran like this: Private < corporal < sergeant < captain < elite < commander < general Captain Harkin had explained the ranking system when he promoted Steel to scout. Each rank had authority over a group lower ranks, and only during war situations did equal authority exist between the groups. In other words, Harkin was a captain, but he had no control over a sergeant from another city for example. Only above captain ranks had control during peace time, and they rarely strayed from their posts. Captains and above could also promote soldiers to specific roles outside the normal chain of command during peace time and emergencies, like a scout. Scouts typically existed as on a similar rank as a corporal or private, depending on the situation. "Good evening gentlemen, and lady." Steel nodded, hands behind his back, "I am your commending officer for this mission, Scout Steel. At ease guards." The four of them visibly relaxed, eager faces being worn on their heads. Being in charge like this was a new experience for Steel, he kinda liked it. "Squad, our mission today is to lead the rest of the expedition past the obstacles I personally scouted out earlier, and get them safely to the lair to begin the raid, is that understood?" The four nodded, impressed that he had already gone to the lair and survived. Nina herself had glowing eyes of admiration, which made Steel a little uneasy. He wasn''t a little girl lover after all, but cuteness had it''s place in the world. He noticed Hunie giving him a look of annoyance from the sidelines. She most likely believed she should be the one getting credit, but he couldn''t afford her undermining his newly acquired authority. He pointed at her, "This is my servant Hunie, an experienced fighter in her own right. She will be assisting us today." He looked around at the troops, "Before I continue, explain to me your fighting styles and abilities." Hunie momentarily pacified, the four squad members informed Steel of their classes. James and Hawk were classic warriors, Olaf was a berserker, and Nina was an assassin. Nina was the only one familiar with scouting quietly, the other three more or less brute forced everything out of their way. ''That would explain their attitude toward Nina.'' He thought, ''Not only is she a little girl, she is also weak in their eyes.'' He nodded, arms crossed and eyes close. He gave them the impression of deep thought, then opened his eyes and smiled. "Okay then, we are going to have an exercise right here and now." The four squad members and Hunie looked at him in confusion. He explained himself. "I need to understand your level of skill, since it''s obvious you are all relatively new to the guard. We are going to have sparing matches between the 4 of you, winner fights me." The four''s eyes shined in anticipation, eager to show off their skills to him. Steel recognized that Captain Harkin couldn''t afford to lend him strong guards, so he sent Steel the weakest guards as a test of his leadership abilities. A scout''s job was risky, so this was to be expected. Besides, he couldn''t show his strength to men stronger than him. Hunie tapped his shoulder, "Master, can I fight too?" She asked curiously. He gave Hunie a hard look, unnerving her. She had never seen him act so...in charge before. "You can fight me when their done, winner will be in charge of this squad." He said evenly. Hunie''s eyes shined in excitement, she liked the idea of being in charge. Privately, Steel knew this would be the only way he had to keep Hunie in line, otherwise her natural personality would erode his control over the squad. Captain Harkin was quite helpful when Steel requested practice weapons. He had nodded approvingly and sent him to the weapon locker, where the squad members picked out the practice version of their preferred weapons. Hawk wielded a double-handed sword, James used a longsword and shield, Olaf used a battleaxe, and Nina took two daggers. No shockers in the mix, though Hunie happily helped herself to some leather gloves. They fought in the spot where they had met. Each member fought another in a one-on-one spar until the other was "dead", which Steel would judge. The results came out like this:
Fight Record
-HawkJamesOlafNina
Hawk-WinLoseLose
JamesLose-WinWin
OlafWinLose-Lose
NinaWinLoseWin-
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Each of the men had someone they were better than and worse than, like a triangle of strength. Nina proved surprising, however. She managed to quickly avoid the long, strong strokes of Hawk and Olaf, finishing them off with her speed. She finally lost to James because his shield provided him defense and opportunity to knock her off her feet. In the end though, Nina had the most wins and was placed against Hunie. The two looked quite different on opposite sides of the match circle. Hunie, dressed as a maid, was hopping from foot to foot in excitement while Nina, dressed as a little girl in a guard outfit, looked serious and composed, analyzing her opponent for weaknesses. The guys were sitting on the ground, cheering Nina on. Steel lowered his arm. "Begin!" The two launched themselves at each other at the same time, meeting in the middle. They were close to the same speed, but Hunie had the added benefit of strength that Nina did not. She managed to doge two of Hunie''s punches before a kick knocked her into the air. Hunie caught her as she was coming down and pressed her fist against Nina''s throat. "Hunie wins." Steel announced. Nina moved sadly to sit with the three, who congratulated her and patted her on the back. Steel smiled to himself at the site, his first plan to bring the squad in harmony and succeeded. Now the other one. "Come on Master, lets fight!" Hunie called cheerfully from the other side. Steel nodded solemnly, not letting himself being drawn into her pace. He took his position on the other side and held his shield up. "Begin." He said. Hunie, launched herself straight at him, a punch already being thrown as she kicked off the ground. Steel immediate activated Shield Bash and slammed the air in front of him. Missed Hunie had kicked off the ground before impact, now falling back down toward him, her leg outstretched. He jumped to the side, activating Earth Wall as he did so. She positioned herself to kick off the ground again, only to find her foot smashing through the now hollow area and tripping onto the ground. She looked up to find a shield spike in her face, Steel glaring down at her. "I win." He said, deactivating Earth Armor and the shield spike. Hunie puffed out her cheek in anger. "No fair, you cheated!" She accused. Steel responded by Shield Bashing her head into the ground, knowing full well it wouldn''t bother her that much. Not that the 4 squad mates watching them would know. He pulled her up by the hair and stared her in the face, glaring at her. "Right now, I am Scout Steel, and you are one of the members in my squad, is that understood?" Hunie looked at him in shock and hurt. He grabbed her cheeks and pulled her closer so the 4 wouldn''t hear him, "Obey your Master maid, is that understood?" She sniffed at him, "Yes Master, understood." Her ears drooped at the words, her feelings obviously hurt. He sighed, letting her go and patting her head, he whispered, "Good girl." Her ears twitched up at this, but she didn''t look him in the eye. He didn''t really like doing this to her, but he had to. He had let her get away with things because of his nature, but he took responsibility seriously, and he had to make her understand that while they were friends, he was the one in charge. He wasn''t going to spend 4 years in this world just to be walked over like in the real world. He turned to the members of the squad. "Now, go get your gear in order, we will be leaving ahead of the other squads, so be ready in 2 hours. Nina, stay behind for a moment." They saluted, "Sir yes sir!" Nina approached him while the others went off to get their things in order. "You called sir?" She asked. He nodded, "Sit with me a moment, lets talk player to player." She relaxed, and sat with him on the ground. "So, last time I saw you, you were leaving me to die while you made your escape. How did you end up in the guard, when you were poaching?" He asked evenly, staring her in the eye. She gulped, looking guilty, "Sir, I was so scared at that time, I ran after you saved me. I regretted my actions soon after, but you had already killed it and left. I decided that for my mistakes and cowardliness, I should be punished appropriately, so I turned myself in to the guard. It turned out I was the only one to do so, my so called friends, "She said with scorn, "had blustered and complained and fought against their arrests, so they were jailed. Captain Harkin met with me and listened to my story. He told me you were in the guard, and that I should make up for my mistake my serving in it with you. I''m really sorry sir." She looked at the floor, regret and guilt written all over her face. ''Damn, she''s cute'' Steal thought, but kept his face neutral. It was obvious she wanted to atone, and he figured that her earnestness deserved a second chance, even if she had left him to his death. The fact that she turned herself in spoke of her character, raw as it may have been. He nodded, "Okay, I shall permit you to earn your forgiveness in this squad." She looked up, and eager smile on her face, "Serve well Private Nina." He saluted her. She saluted back, happy tears in her eyes that she quickly wiped away. "Thank you sir, I will work hard to serve." "Good, now I need to know your typical gaming time, I imagine second section students..." She interrupted him, "Um, I''m actually a third section student sir." She said timidly. He blinked, "What age?" "18 sir." She blushed and looked at the ground, her hand behind her back. ''What! Shes older than I am!'' He thought in his head, unable to control his mouth opening in shock. "Before you ask sir, I do look like this in real life." She answered his thoughts, "Except, well." She blushed, "I made myself a little, er, smaller." She gestured at her chest. Steel put his head in his hands. He couldn''t take this right now. "Dismissed Private, meet back here at the meeting time." He said through his hands. She got up and left, still blushing a bit. Hunie crawled over to him, "Master, are you okay?" He looked up to reveal a tiny drop of blood in one of his nostrils, "No Hunie, I feel like I robbed a cradle." Hunie nodded, "I know how that feels Master." "Really?" "Yup, I''m not proud of it, but I once stole a carrot from a baby bunny." She nodded at the memory, "It felt so wrong, but the carrot was so good." Steel shield bashed her back into the ground. "That''s not the same at all you crazy rabbit." She looked up in annoyance, "Master, stop hitting me." She whined. He sighed, getting up. He had to get ready for the expedition as well. "Coma along Hunie, time to get some equipment. Chapter 29- Scouts Mission If anyone can draw or knows someone who can draw, I needs a cover picture :p -------------- Steel didn''t need much for the expedition, he just refilled his potions back to his original 10 each. He didn''t need any stamina potions, since he didn''t have an opportunity to use them last time. "In retrospect." He mused, "I probably should have used them when we were running from the alpha, but Hunie was in my arms and I forgot." He would need them this time, he was sure of it. Hunie didn''t ask for anything; instead, she pulled out a rather wicked set of glove claws and fiddles with the straps. She gave up after getting the first one on and asked Steel for help to get other other on. "Hunie, where did you get these claws?" He asked surprised. "I bought them Master." She said cheerfully, twisting her hands to examine the claws, "I used the money you gave me to get them." Steel narrowed his eyes, "Really? Did you now. I though Mema told me you lost all the silver I had earned and came into the guild hungry and depressed?" Hunie looked everywhere but at Steel, "Hunie has no idea what you are talking about master, Hunie did nothing of the like." "Hunie." He said in a warning tone, folding his arms, "What happened to my silver?" She gulped, toeing the ground, "That''s a long story Master, but, um, I don''t have it anymore." Knowing that already, Steel sighed and shook his head, "Okay, now that you are being honest, how did you get those claws for you hands?" An evil, cheeky smile appeared on her face, "Lets just say your maid was thorough in taking out the trash. Don''t worry Master, I''ll show you the other stuff I found when we get back." She gave a creepy laugh as she stared into the distance, looking at something he couldn''t see. He reflexively took a step back, she oozed danger. Just as quickly as it appeared, Hunie''s face resumed it''s usual cheerful appearance. "Let''s go Master, time to lead the troops!" She hummed to herself as she marked back tot he meeting spot. Steel watched her, and shook his head. "You learn new things about people everyday." He said wistfully. ------------------------ Hawk, James, Olaf, and Nina were all waiting for them as they approached the spot. They all had their real weapons on them, and also some heavier armor on the guys. Steel observed them then put his hands around his back. "Troops, attention!" He barked, inwardly living the moment. The four and Hunie immediately stiffened and looked straight ahead. He stood in front of them and observed each on for a moment. "I see all of you are ready, good job." He nodded, beginning to pace, "Now, we are in charge of getting the other 96 members of the expedition to the lair without any avoidable accidents, so are you familiar with what could happen in the grassland and forest?" Hawk spoke up, "Sir, trap plants, Hungry Bunnies, grass rats, and weed snakes could appear in our path through the grassland." Steel blinked, ''Huh, haven''t seen the last two yet.'' He thought to himself. He nodded, "Right you are Private Hawk, how about the forest, anyone?" All four shook their heads. As new guard members, they were unfamiliar with the forest and it''s inhabitants. Hunie raised her hand, "Wolves and bears, right Master?" He nodded at, "That is correct Hunie, those two are the main concern. Due to the demon and devil wolves, however, we are unlikely to encounter anything else the closer we get to the lair. We will deal with any demon wolves we come across, but anything stronger do not engage, none of you are strong enough yet. For that matter, a single demon wolf would give all of you extreme trouble if by yourself." He pointed, "We will move together through the grassland, but once we hit the forest we''ll split into 3 groups and walk parallel to each other, this way covering more ground and lowering the chances of flanking. Is that understood?" He barked the last bit out. "Yes sir!" They answered. He smiled at them, "Good, now our squad was given a name, courtesy of Captain Harkin." Steel cleared his throat, a little embarrassed. ----{Flashback}---- "That is your squad name, understood Scout Steel?" Captain Harkin informed Steel as he was waiting for the potion requisition. "Err, sir, are you sure? Not to be rude, but, it''s a bit embarrassing." Steel said awkwardly, trying to process what he had just been told. The captain guffawed at him, "Of course I''m serious Steel, now you better use it, otherwise I''ll be very...displeased." He gave Steel a very even glare at his words. Sighing, Steel excepted the inevitable and hung his head. The captain chuckled and patted him on the back. "Don''t worry son, just work hard and make the name into something everyone will fear." He smiled reassuringly, "Now, get your men to the gate as soon as possible, you''re our walking stick in this blind operation." He laughed at his own analogy and walked off, leaving a sighing Steel behind him. ----{End Flashback}---- "We will be using this as our name, and all orders will be addressed accordingly during this operation." He paused, taking in their eager faces, feeling sad they would be let down. He coughed. "We are the Shield Scout Squad, led by Scout Steel." He finally said. The area was quite silent for a while, the four and Hunie keeping their faces as neutral as possible. Then, Hawk snorted, and they all broke down into laughter. Hunie even fell to the ground and started rolling around, giggling uncontrollable. "Heh heh, snort, we''re the Triple S squad." She snorted on the ground. Olaf was bent over, his beard vibrating from all the laughter, "Ha ha ha ha, Triple shit!" James and Hawk were leaning on each other now, their face in their own hands, their weapons hanging uselessly on their sides. Steel sighed, he had completely expected this reaction. Even Nina was having a giggle fit, her cute form vibrating from all the movement. He clapped his hands, "All right, all right now. Come on guys, control yourselves." He watched as words had zero affect on them, their laughter too great. He had an idea. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! "Last one laughing gets to clean the horse shit out of the stables after the expedition." He said with a cunning smile. His squad members immediately regained their composure, their faces growing slightly pale. Guard horses weren''t often used, so the stables had an almost unhealthy amount of feces at any given time. It was one of the worst punishments a guard member could be given, besides searching for stolen chamber pots and cleaning the guard house floors. Hunie, unfortunately for her, had no idea of the mess, and continued laughing until she noticed her quiet companions. "Fueee! Wait, I have to do it?" She shot up in fear, her eyes pleading with Steel. He smiled evilly at her, "I would think a professional maid like you would look forward to the challenge, isn''t that what you are always calling your self?" She held her head down, unable to refute her words. She was not looking forward to the experience. The comedic moment over, the six of them walked to the gate, where the other squads were gathering. They marched up to the front of the group, right up to the gate. Captain Harkin met them, his face solemn and serious. "Shield Scout Squad, good, your here." He nodded at them, "In a moment, you''ll be leaving through these gates, the lives of a hundred men in your hands. At least until you reach the lair anyway." He shook Steel''s hand, "I''ll be here managing the rest of the guard, so you will answer to the commanding officer of this expedition, Sergeant Hamilton." A large man stepped forward, his height taller than Steel, but a little less than the captain. He had a large scar on the right side of his face, and no hair on his head. He fixed Steel with his eyes and said, "I''m Sergeant Hamilton, leader of the expedition." He looked Steel up and down, his face not betraying any thought. "I''ve read the reports on you actions, I look forward to seeing how you handle this." Steel saluted him, "Sir, my squad and I will make sure your men arrive battle ready for the lair." The sergeant nodded, losing interest as he walked over to another squad group. Captain Harkin watched him a moment, then turned back to Steel. "See that you do a good job Steel." He walked away, but not before whispering "Good Luck" to Steel, who smiled and motioned for the squad to join him. "Gates are opening!" A shout came from the wall. The large gate opened slowly inward, the grassland stretched out in front of everyone''s eyes. Steel smiled, "All right men, let''s go!" --------------------------------------- The expedition group moved slowly out into the grassland. Being that the lair was in the forest, the horses were pulling carriages instead of carrying men, empty with the hopes that the loot would fill all 3. The entire group traveled about the same speed as Steel had the first time he gone this way, meaning that it would be a good few hours before they reached the part of the forest to enter. Due to the size of the group, most of the creatures in the area stayed away, lowering the encounter rate in the area. A few players hunting had come up and asked about the expedition, but were all given the same response: "This is a matter that does not involve you, please turn back. An announcement will be made in a few days by the lord of the city." In other words, a typical NPC response to player interference. Steel couldn''t help but feel a little smug at their dismissal, after all, he was one of the few players part of the expedition. Besides himself and Nina, Steel had notices a few player names floating around some of the squads. It was to be expected, some players were all about justice, or law, or being corrupted from within the system. They weren''t his problem. Steel had enough on his plate anyway, for example the third trap plant in the way of the expedition. He blocked a slam from it''s mouth as Olaf and Hunie pummeled the stem. Trap plants moved during the night, so they were never in the same place twice each day. Thankfully, Hunie was able to sniff them out, so the squad had triggered them with stones. Olaf''s ax cut straight through the stem, and the plant died, wailing in defeat. The plants had only dropped plant parts so far, which everyone had given to Steel, seeing as they had no need for any of it. Each part had a crafting symbol, which made Steel interested on what he could build with them. He had been in every battle, with the others rotating each time to allow for rest. He had received a total of 150 exp, and Nina informed him that she had earned 150 from her two fights as well. Steel wiped his brow, sifting through the loot. "Let''s see, another plant stem, leaf, and some copper." He mused, "Olaf, your turn getting the copper!" Olaf accepted the 5 coppers with a nod. Steel had been surprised to find copper in the loot, but he figured some unfortunate player had gotten himself eaten. The copper would cover a small meal, but he didn''t find distributing the wealth to his squad mates. ''Got to keep them loyal.'' He mused, ''Can''t have them decide someone else is a better leader.'' His plan of dominance had gone off without a hitch so far. He had them fight each other, reinforcing their hierarchy of strength between themselves. Then he made the strongest, Nina, face Hunie and lose, resulting in the thought that Hunie was the strongest. Then he beat Hunie, and disciplined her in front of them, making him the strongest in their eyes. He then gave Hunie the punishment, establishing fear and respect for him in their hearts. Now, letting them share in the spoils added loyalty to the mix. He smiled to himself, looking toward the future. Once they were ready, he''d use his special skill, and then make them the best squad in the guard. He straightened himself and stared at his squad, "Good job men, Hawk and James your up next." They nodded, smiling and slapping their swords with their hands. The slapping had become their signal for confirmation, Steel figured good squad mates would eventually be able to communicate without words, and this was the start. He stared out into the field ahead. "Another 2 hours, then we reach the forest, lets go!" -------- They kicked me out of my spot, let me know of I missed something important :) Chapter 30- Slave So, I wasn''t feeling well yesterday. Sorry about no chapter. As a result- I increased this chapter to 3000 words, as opposed to standard 2000. Chapters lengths will increase now, wink wink Also Warning: Extremely Cute, Dark Scene Incoming Enjoy! -------------------------- Another two trap plants later, the Shield Squad had at last arrived at the forest entrance. It looked the same as when Steel was here last, nothing hinting that it was the right way to go except from memory and Hunie''s nose. She reported that their scents still lingered here, which allowed Steel to let out a sigh of relief. "Okay men, take a breathe. We''ll wait for the expedition members here." Sighing in relief, the four members sat on the soft ground and rested their heads. Even fighting in turns, they had spent a good amount of time fighting to get here. Their stamina was full, but they still felt exhaustion and hunger. All six members opened their packs and took out their rations for a quick snack; bread and fruit. It wouldn''t fill their bellies, but it would restore the satiety they needed to continue to the lair. "Phew, that was hard work sir." James spoke up, "I''ve never bought so much in my life." "Speak for your self man." Hawk commented, "This doesn''t even compare to some of the battles I''ve been through." Olaf chuckled, "Getting beaten by your wench from the red light district doesn''t count." The men all laughed at Hawk''s blustering, while Hunie rolled her eyes and Nina tilted her head curiously. "What''s a red light district?" She asked innocently. Steel and the men suddenly found the sky and grass to be quite interesting, paying close attention to the cloud shapes and folds in the leaves. Hunie leaned over and whispered into Nina''s ear, who listened as her ears grew red. She covered her cheeks with her hands and blushed furiously. "Oy Hunie, don''t be corrupting the purity of the squad''s idol now!" Olaf complained. Hawk and James nodded with him, giving Hunie an embarrassed look. Hunie tilted her head. "Muu, what are you saying? I''m not corrupting anyone." She shook her head, "Hunie was just explaining a women''s responsibilities to little one here." Nina nodded, still blushing, "I understand, it''s embarrassing, but if it''s for the good of the squad, I''ll take care of it." Nodding to herself, she stood up and put her fists together under her chin and activated her puppy eyes. "Big brothers, please don''t fight, little sister will protect you all." "................"-men (critical emotional damage) They couldn''t prevent the cuteness surging off their squad mate from overcoming their senses, and they collapsed onto the ground in awe. "I can''t take it, she''s the mascot of the squad." James whispered. "Forget the squad, she''s liable to be the mascot of the whole guard." Hawk moaned. Olaf didn''t say anything, his eyes were rolled backwards and was twitching on the ground. "Hunie." Steel moaned on the ground, "What in the world did you teach her? She looked confused, " Eh? I just explained to her that it was her job to protect everyone, and that she had to pose like that when talking." Steel shook his head, "Hunie, she''s not a defensive type like I am, she''d be hurt if she tried that." Nina gave him sad puppy dog eyes, "I can''t protect anyone?" She asked sadly. He shook his head quickly, "No no, I didn''t mean it like that. While you can''t protect with a shield, you can learn how to protect with a sword, er, dagger in your case." He watched her eyeing her dagger thoughtfully. He motioned for her to hit next to him, "Come here, I''ll explain better." He couldn''t help but appreciate the irony of him teaching someone older than him. He cleared his throat as she sat with a inquisitive look. "Now, their are two ways to protect." He explained, "Protect against threats by shielding, and protecting against threats by attacking. I can do the first with my shield here." He hefted his tower shield for emphasis, "However, I cannot seek out enemies to stop them before they attack, that''s your job." She nodded, listening with rapt attention. "Ettoo, so I''ll seek out the enemies and take them out?" She asked cutely. Steel nodded, "That''s correct. That''s your job, the protective assassin of the guard. I feel like you''ll grow to be a splendid guard member if you perfect that." He smiled down at her, his words making her eyes wide. She stood up and saluted, "I understand sir! This Private Nina will do her best to be the protective assassin of Rostwood! I will not let you down, sir!" Her eyes glowed in admiration, and something else that sent shivers down Steel''s spine. He wasn''t sure what it was.
Alert
You have offered a new class to one of your subordinates, the Guardian Assassin. This class is temporary until approved by your captain, as he has final say over new positions in the guard. If rejected, the player will keep one random skill acquired from the class, and the class will be permanently locked to other players. You will be credited for the class either way.
You are the first player to ever propose a satisfactory new class that is being considered as a permanent class. Do you wan''t this achievement to be known?
YesNo
Steel blinked in surprise. He hadn''t expected his pep talk to actually spawn a new class, well one with the possibility of being a new class. In fact, he had no idea it was possible for players to create classes. He decided to inquire about this. He sent a quick message to the help center asking about class. A quick e-mail from an A.I. administrator informed him that most classes already existed, and many others had been rejected during the game making process. That being said, they had left the class limit open in case a player had an idea that was interesting and reasonable. ''Huh, guess my speech was more persuasive than I thought.'' He thought to himself. He clicked yes, and a system wide message went out.
The player Steel has created the first player designed class in Everlife. If successful, other players will be able to become this class and find out how to acquire it if the first player using it allows for the knowledge to spread.
The system informed him that he had received 50 fame and 5 leadership due to his actions, which made him very happy. A quick look to his left told him Nina had received the notification both the notification and the class change option. Her eyes were filled with wonder and awe as she read the tables in front of her, invisible to his eye. She pressed something, and a small shower of light fell on her. She turned to Steel and bowed low to him, her arm across her chest. "I knew leader was brilliant, Leader Steel is the most amazing person in the whole world!" Steel realized what was sparking in her eyes now, worship and devotion. No one had ever sent those feelings toward him, now wonder he was terribly uncomfortable. "Er, Nina, a quick question." He said slowly, "What is your impression of me?" Nina took a deep breathe, before blabbering Steel''s ears off, "Leader Steel is the greatest man in the world! He helps everyone in need and doesn''t ask for anything in return. Sir saved my cowardly, worthless life with no thought for sir''s own, looking really handsome too. Captain Harkin told me with all sorts of stories of your exploits, and he''s a great man already, so if your great in his eyes your great in everyone''s eyes. Sir is smart and kind and a bastion force for justice. I''ll follow you to hell and back sir, carrying you the entire time if possible." At a loss, Steel''s gaze wondered to James and Hawk, who were staring opened mouthed at Nina. "Even when she''s crazy, shes cute." Hawk managed to stammer before succumbing to cuteness overload. James nodded before following suit.
Skill Activated: Instinct
Your actions obviously left a great impression on her mind when she was in a state of extreme shock and fear, being abandoned by her friends to die a horrible death. Her mind has thus fixated on you being the center of her sanity. Ignoring this may lead to death by her crazed hands. Encouraging this may lead to future jealousy and murder as a result. Instinct says to run, but it''s already too late.
System Message
A patch has been created to fix a bug to prevent the realism of the game from traumatizing future players in similar situations. Thank you for your help- Management
''Son of a fracking biscuit.'' Steel swore in his mind, ''Why the hell did you not fix this beforehand! Now I''ve got a cute crazed stalker with an assassin class on the verge of becoming unstable, and with my luck I''ll be played for anything crazy she''ll do in the real world." He had to fix this immediately, there was no other option. Bad enough Hunie cut down on his fun time, this girl would slaughter it! He considered his options: 1. Kill her. Won''t work, she''ll respawn with a vengeance. 2. Persuade her. Crazy can''t be changed. 3. Cure her. How the hell do I do that? 4. Ignore her. Crazy cannot be ignored 5. Give in to her. Craziness will grow worse. 6. Adjust slowly. Might work in long term. He nodded, that''s what he would have to do. "Soldier!" He barked at Nina, who stood at rapt attention at his words, "I see you mean your words, your dedication and loyalty is admirable." She swelled with pride. "However!" He raised his finger, "Are you really loyal? Like you, I have experienced betrayal before, and I fear you may leave my side someday." This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. She gasped, "No sir! I would never do that, never!" "Didn''t your friends say that to you at some point? Didn''t it seem like they would be with you forever?" He pressed. She looked away, clearly uncomfortable, then nodded sadly. "You understand then." She nodded, her head hanging in depression. "I have a way to prevent that however." He said, watching her head shoot up in amazement, "It requires you to submit to my will while I use a skill on you, do you except?" Hunie broke in, clearly alarmed, "Master! What are you doing? I smell something bad, you''re going to do something bad! Hunie won''t let you!" She focused her energy for a fight, but not before Steel grabbed her and whispered in her ear. "Hunie, let me do this, I have no choice." He whispered smoothly, "She is clearly in need of help, help only I can give her. If not, she''ll go on a rampage, do you understand? This is all for her benefit." He slowly rubbed ears, relaxing her as he spoke. "Muu, well, okay then." She said reluctantly, backing off just as a dagger buried itself where she had been leaning previously. The two looked over to see Nina holding another dagger, her face furious, "Stupid jealous maid! Stop trying to corrupt sir!" She yelled at Hunie, preparing to throw it. "Soldier, desist!" Steel barked, causing Nina to freeze up, "Hunie were was worried for your well being, and you attack her with daggers? You shame me." Nina sulked as she put the dagger away, but apologized to Hunie, who nodded and whispered to Steel, "Hurry up already!" Steel held out his shield and activated "Dark Bind". He had learned the spell at the same time as Earth Armor, but hadn''t had a chance to use it yet. He focused it on his shield, activating one of his special skills, "Dominate".
To you wish to activate Dominate on player Nina? This has a 1% chance of success on players, and failure will result in hostile action unless freely excepted.
Steel hit yes, and the shield shot a beam of darkness out to Nina, covering her in a cocoon of darkness.
Player Nina has excepted your domination.
You have gained a slaveBecause your new slave is a player, you cannot affect her thoughts with your words. She is required to obey every action given to her, and is unable to take any action against you. She take still perform actions as long as they are not forbidden to her. Commands do not carry over to Cybercity or the Real world. If severe mental damage is sustained due to your actions, you may be held accountable in a court of law and punishment administered. Have fun with your slave.
''This game really does have 100% realism.'' He thought, ''Good thing I don''t have too many bad things in mind for her.'' The cocoon of darkness disappeared, revealing a kneeling Nina. "Your slave awaits her commands." She said, an eager twinge in her voice.
You feel eyes watching you
Sighing at the notification, Steel brushed it aside. "Get up Private Nina." He ordered, waiting for her to obey before continuing, "I have only a few orders for you at this time, understand." She nodded. "1. Do not reveal your slave status to anyone. 2. Treat me the same as before except in private situations. 3. Do not attack anyone I have peaceful relationships with. 4. Get help." He stated bluntly. Nina tilted her head, "Help? What do you mean Master?" The 3 squad mates were unconscious, so this counted as being private. "Your no use to me right now with your current mental state." Steel replied flatly, "I cannot afford to trust you with too much freedom until you seek out a shrink to heal your mind, both in game and out of game, do you understand?" "I don''t want too!" She began rolling around on the ground, "Don''t wanna, don''t wanna." "Obey." Steel commanded, freezing her tantrum. "Ye...yes sir." She said mournfully. He patted her head and smiled at her. "When we''re done with this mission, go get some help, and I promise we''ll play together again, okay?" At his kind tone, she began crying and hugging him as her bottled up feelings began spilling out of her. He motioned to Hunie, who joined in the hug as the little girl cried herself to sleep in the soft grass. He sat her down with the other squad members, her cute snores inciting a grin on his face. "Master, are you sure she''ll be alright?" Hunie asked hesitantly. "I''m not sure Hunie." He said, "But I hope so. We don''t need another me wondering around the world." "That''s for sure." Hunie nodded, "One Master is enough for Hunie." He punched her affectionately, joining the members of his squad in the grass, waiting for the rest of the expedition team to catch up. A notice popped up in front of him:
Your actions have been judged by the gods. They have decided that while chaotic, your actions were taken for the good of your fellow player. The dark gods have taken an increased interest in your fate. Be wise with future moral choices.
''The dark gods huh? Wonder who they are." Steel mused to himself, reading the notice, "Not that it matters to me who watches. My will is mine alone." Still, Steel watched over his squad until the expedition team approached. ----------------------------------- Once the rest of the guard neared them, Steel woke up the other members of the squad, who yawned and stretched their limbs. Nina looked over at him and blushed, but gave him a grateful smile. It seemed like she had healed a little bit already. Sergeant Hamilton approached the group as the expedition took a break from the march. He surveyed the group with his steely gaze before nodding. "Good job Shield Scout Squad." He said, "You mission was a success, no expedition member died during the grassland trek. Feel free to rest in a carriage while we go take on the wolf lair." The squad members began cheering, but stopped when Steel held out his hand. "Sorry sir, but my orders were to bring the expedition team to the lair unharmed, as well as participate as part of the raid. We will escort the men to the lair sir." Steel said evenly. A sneer appeared on Hamilton''s face, one that showed contempt and arrogance. "You obey me, Scout. I am the commanding officer on this trip, and your services are no longer required. You weaklings will stay back and let real guards do their jobs, understood?" Gnashing his teeth, Scout saluted, "Yes sir, understood. Lets go men." He led his squad toward the wagons, but not before Hamilton interrupted him. "Leave the beastman, her talents are required for the expedition." Steel paused, not turning around, "Sir, what need of you of Hunie?" Steel could hear the intentions drip off Hamilton''s tone, "Obviously we need her talents to lead us to the wolf lair. Shes the only useful one in your group anyway, she deserves to be with my lead squad, the best of the best. We will take good care of her." Desperately working to control himself, Steel answered, "That order is impossible sir. She stares with us." He felt a hand on his shoulder, and was forcefully turned to face Hamilton''s red face. "I gave you a command scout, give me your squad member!" Steel smirked at him, "She is not a squad member sir, she is my personal servant and not part of the guard, thus being you have no control over her. Superior officers cannot commandeer the belongings of a subordinate without express permission of the ranking officer." Seeing his threats would be for naught, Hamilton bustled off in a rage, yelling for everyone to get up and go. "Master, I recognize some of the rude guy''s squad." Hunie piped up. Steel took a close look at the so called lead squad. Yes, two of them were quite familiar, in fact, Steel had knocked them out a few days ago! The assholes were smirking in his direction as they left with the rest of the expedition group. "I guess that''s why he doesn''t like me" Steel commented, "Is squad must be the racists of the guards." Hawk nodded, "They are sir. They are the some of the strongest in the guard, but all their attitudes stink. Hamilton himself is a brilliant warrior and tactician, which is rumored to be the only reason why Captain Harkin puts up with him. Also, rumor has it he has some connections with powerful people in the kingdom." Hunie snorted, "He doesn''t scare me, the stupid fool is relying on the maps we outlined. Annoying guys like him I used to eat everyday." Steel coughed, "She meant that figuratively of course." This placated the questioning glances the squad were giving Hunie, who had the decency to blush. The quest notification popped up, indicting the progress:
Quest Updated
Save the expedition force and lead them safely to the lairDifficulty: Hard
RequirementsLeadership mistakes has put the men at risk. Save the remanents of the expedition and lead the men safely in.Total members: 90/90
RewardParticipation in the expedition fight Choice of loot once finished Pay by commission for each wolf killed Rank elevation Squad Members ???
Failure to meet agreement will result in loss of intimacy with the Guard and may gain the "Karma Dog" permanent title. Failure to save members will result in lower fighting ability at the lair, which may cause a mission failure, and the eventual destruction of Rostwood
Steel shot up, "Frac! Get your stuff together guys! We have an emergency!" ----------------- 30 chapters guys! Please rate so I can know how to improve and what I should continue :) Chapter 31- Rescue Mission So, about 5 hours after yesterday''s chapter, I noticed I forgot a rather important bit of information in the chapter. I''ve added it, so feel free to search for it, muah ha ha. Two things: 1. Question: Why can I only see 8/23 reviews? I''m interested in reading all of them. 2.Is there anything that needs to be changed? I really enjoy reading the detailed comments the point out mistakes and possible future ideas, really helpful to me (less so smart people guessing my plot >.>)/ Thx for being such a great audience Enjoy ------------------------- "Sir! What''s wrong?" Olaf asked, hefting his ax and staring around wildly. "It''s the expedition! Without us scouting the way, they are going to be ambushed." Steel yelled, throwing himself off the carriage. The men looked confused for a moment, as they were NPC''s and didn''t receive quest updates, but quickly leaped into action after Nina and Hunie jumped after Steel. Nina had obviously received something similar, and Hunie trusted Steel''s judgement. They took off into the woods, eager to join a fight, and scared of the possibility of a massacre. 88/90 remaining "Hunie, give us a heading!" Steel commanded as they passed trees and underbrush. Hunie began sniffing as she ran, her ears twitching in every direction until turning to her front right direction. "That way Master! Hurry up, I smell blood." She said in alarm. "Hunie, you go ahead, we''ll catch up." Steel ordered. Hunie nodded, and with a burst of speed, she disappeared into the forest ahead. Steel turned to Nina. "Your turn guardian assassin, use your speed and protect the members of the guard with your blade. We are right behind you." Nina nodded, her eyes resolute and hard. She wasn''t as fast as Hunie, but she still managed to out distance the four of them and disappear as well. He turned to the rest of his squad. "Men, we are few, and as such cannot turn the tide of battle by just charging in recklessly." He said, dodging a low hanging tree branch, "As we get closer, use the element of surprise to kill off the closest enemies. That will allow for greater teams in taking down the rest of the enemy." "Sir!" Olaf called, his ax swinging into the low branch, cutting it without slowing, "What if I can''t be all stealthy like that?" Steel grinned, "Then climb a blasted tree and jump on top of them you big oaf. Your weight outta kill a few easily enough." They all enjoyed a hearty, blood lust filled laugh as they approached the fighting. They came across a large battle scene in the woods before the wolf lair. Devil wolves and demon wolves were fighting the expedition squads, biting and swiping men into the air. They had planned it out smart, for corrupted wolves anyway. From Steel''s quick observation, he surmised the bulk of the wolf pack had come from the rear, attacking the weaker squads placed there by Hamilton. In the ensuing chaos, the squads had panicked and fled into the front of the group, disrupting the placement and spreading fear through the ranks. Thankfully, the alpha wolf was not in the battle, but a toll had been taken. Steel looked at the counter to his top right. 68/90 men still alive. 22 well trained men dead in the field. 7 devil wolves and 15 demon wolves were still alive. Not the best odds. Steel welcomed the challenge. Activating his Rallying Cry, he threw himself onto the back of the closest demon wolf, activating his shield piercer ability as he slammed into the demon wolf''s back. -20 piercing damage, surprise attack. Howling in pain, the wolf tried to snap at him, but it''s reach was too small. It resorted to trying to buck him off like a horse, with Steel holding on to the fur for dear life. Then, the wolf was thrown back as something hit it from the front. -15 impact damage A smiling Hunie leaped toward the flying wolf and punched it several more times in quick succession. With a howl, the wolf disappeared in a sparkle of light. Steel had jumped off after the first impact, so re rolled in, swiped the loot without seeing what it was, and moved toward his next target. The demon wolves weren''t too big a problem as long as groups attacked them. It was the devil wolf group that was ripping through the crowd. While blocking a drive by swipe, Steel saw Sergeant Hamilton. The sergeant had managed to regroup a large group of the men, and was giving them precise orders for the battle. He had set up a defensive line, and was leading a charge against the pack. With his leadership, the group drove the wolves back toward the lair. 60/90 men were still alive, with two devil wolves and 8 demon dogs dead on the ground. Steel had Hunie stealthily gathered the ears as proof of their death. Meanwhile, a blood soaked Hamilton walked up to him. "I ordered you to stay and protect the carriages scout." He barked, "What were you thinking coming in after us? Some misplaced sense of heroism?" Steel snorted, "I had my orders to lead you to the lair sir. In fact." Steel raised his voice so everyone could hear, "If you had let my scout team work, you might have avoided this ambush and save your men." Hamilton glowered at Steel, but he felt the eyes of the men on him. Even some of his friends were looking worried, it would do no good to cause a scene now. Justifying Steel''s words would do him no favors. He pointed his armored finger at Steel, "Lead us to the lair, but if one man dies from you incompetent scouting, you''ll pay with blood." Steel gave an exaggerated bow, before barking, "Let''s go men!" "Sir yes sir!" They split into the 3 groups they had set up before hand: Olaf and James, Hawk and Nina, and Steel with Hunie. They headed out in the direction of the layer, climbing the rocks and keeping their eyes out while the expedition members recovered themselves. Steel turned to Hunie, "How did they do, I wasn''t able to keep track of them all." Hunie, leaping over the rocks, replied in an informative voice, "They all did well Master. The practice from the trap plants payed off. Hawk and Olaf teamed up with some men to take down a demon wolf, James protected some of the downed men, and Nina killed a wolf by herself." "How did she manage that?" "Someone had hobbled it, so she took her time slicing it to pieces." She answered. "Well, they all did their jobs, any significant injuries?" "No sir, though Olaf did pick up a scratch on his arm, it won''t hamper him too much." Steel nodded, taking a leap down to the ground. They were approaching the lair. A cry to his left told him Olaf and James had found an opponent. A quick whistle, then the other four headed over to help them out. Steel and Hunie arrived in time to see Olaf fly back against a rock and moan in pain. It was a devil wolf, and it''s red eyes glistened at the sight of new prey. This was the first one Steel had been able analyze, and what he saw did not encourage him. [tr]
Opponent Information
NameLevelThreatHealthDevil Wolf7E130
DescriptionThis is an advanced type of corrupted wolf. Devil wolves are the second form of corruption a wolf can take when exposed to darkness mana in the wild. After enough time, they either die from the over corruption and become zombie wolves, succumb to the darkness mana and become dark crystal mana, or very rarely become an alpha corrupted wolf. The corruption of magic has warped their minds full of pain, which makes them seek to inflict pain on others. Killing one is a mercy.
(shoot, I forgot my own ranking system >.>, means more work to do. just imagine F-S rank for now, and I''ll fix later) ''No wonder so many men were sent on the mission'' Steel''s heart sank, ''These things would tear us players apart.'' He took in the situation. James was protecting Olaf, who was knocked out for now. Nina and Hawk were on their way, but it would take a minute or two. Hunie was next to him itching to go. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Strength wise, Hunie was the strongest, but still sat at level 1. Steel had never found an exp bar for her, so his guess was she was dependent on his leveling up. Steel himself was level 2, Nina was 1, and the 3 NPC guys stood at level 2. The majority of the guard were in the 5-10 range, not counting the higher ranks. No doubt, the expedition would not find this a hard challenge, unless the alpha wolf was too much. A quick push from Hunie saved his life as the Devil wolf surged onto the spot he had just been standing. Steel cursed himself for dwelling in such a critical moment. "James, keep you shield up for Olaf and help him recover! Hunie and I will keep it off of you until the other two arrive. Then, we''ll take this thing down together!" James backed up until he was on top of Olaf, and took a shield position. Granted, all he he had was a large buckler, but it would do. Steel chugged a stamina potion and activated both his skills: Leader''s Roar and Rallying Cry. The wolf was unaffected by the cc skill, but his rallying cry boosted himself and the other 3 who heard it. With a shout, Steel leapt into battle with Hunie, the devil wolf jumping at them, mouth wide. Steel activated his earth armor, shield bashing the wolf with both the skill and shield piercer into it''s face. -10 impact damage Missed The bash connected, but the piercer hit nothing but the air between the teeth. Steel was knocked back as the wolf''s body passed his, a paw pushing him back as it passed. Hunie''s kick also missed, but she landed gracefully and launched another quick bunny kick. The wolf dodged it, running behind the rocks and reappearing near Steel, throwing a body slam in his direction. He braced himself, and barely managed to avoid being thrown back by the force. -5 impact damage "This thing has some really high attacks." Steel shouted, "Avoid this guy at all cause!" He punched ahead with the shield, but the wolf had already left, biting and swiping at the dodging bunny maid. She jumped back from rock to rock, avoiding the paws by a large margin. Rather, if she let them get too close, she wouldn''t be able to avoid them completely. Cursing, Steel deactivated Earth Armor, he couldn''t afford to waste mana. As if it sensed it, the wolf immediately stopped going for Hunie and threw itself again at Steel. This time, without the Earth Armor, he was thrown back against the rocks and felt body shiver in pain. -18 impact damage -5 piercing damage The wolf was trying to bite Steel now, only managing a small cut with one of it''s teeth before Hunie drove it off of him. He cursed as he got up, staring at the creature. "Damn, this thing is a lot stronger than the one I faced." He muttered, "I guess that''s the difference between a new devil wolf and an old devil wolf." He wiped the virtual reality blood from his lips. "We need to slow it down." He started thinking of a plan, knowing Hunie could only last a little bit before it overwhelmed her. A cry alerted him to Nina and Hawk''s entrance into the fray. The two of them jumped from a rock down onto the wolf, who jumped backwards and growled at the newcomers. Steel took the opportunity to cast Milna''s Blessing on Olaf, using the last of his available mana, thankfully having a mana potion to refill it. With all six squad members surrounding it, the devil wolf growled and howled into the air. At once, two demon wolves crept out of the shadows, their hackles raised and spittle coming from their mouth. "Frac, the blasted thing has an ally call." Hawk cried out, turning to swipe at the demon dog that had jumped at him. Now the battle changed into each team facing their own opponent, leaving Hunie and Steel facing the devil wolf alone again, This time, the wolf sucked in air, giving Steel a bad feeling, before shooting out a black smoke at the two, covering their noses and blocking their sight. "Master, I can''t find him!" Hunie cried out, followed by a cry of pain. "Hunie!" Steel cried, activating charge as he headed toward the direction of the cry. He came out of the smoke to find Hunie in the devil wolf''s mouth, being shaken back and forth. She punched at his nose, her weakening blows having no effect on her adversary. Crying in rage, Steel activated his best combo: charging shield bash with shield piercer with Leader''s Roar activating every time it was up. His blow knocked the wolf back in pain, dropping Hunie from it''s jaws as it roared. Steel kept up the pain, whacking at it over and over. -20 impact damage -24 piercing damage +5 blood drain ''Crap, he has a life steal ability.'' Steel thought, ''The bastard was draining Hunie!'' Crying out his last Leader''s Cry, he shield bashed without the piercer, as he was out of mana. -5 impact damage, daze The bash and leader''s roar combo finally activated daze, and the wold was disoriented for 2 seconds. Enough time for Steel to drown a stamina and mana potion, activating Milna''s blessing to heal Hunie out of critical. He didn''t know what would happen to her if she dies, but he had no plans to find out now or ever. He performed another charged shield bash as the wolf was recovering, slamming it against a stone. -15 impact damage. He checked the wolf''s health: (Can''t wait to add this to the other chapters! Cool code) The devil wolf had taken quite bit of damage. At this rate though, he''d have no potions to use at the actual wolf lair. Resounding battle cries answered his prayers, however. The four squad members leaped into the fray with him, attacking the devil wolf with their blood soaked weapons form the demon wolves. Steel smiled. Why fight alone when you have subordinates to help? A quick Rallying Cry boosted everyone''s strength and endurance, and they fell upon the devil wolf with a vengeance. Olaf and Hawk hacked at the back legs of the wolf, seeking to cripple it. Nina used the rocks around as platforms to wall jump onto the wolf''s back and began stabbing it. James attacked the head with Steel, forcing it to keep it''s aggro on them. When the wolf opened it''s mouth to call for reinforcements, the two of them shield bashed together with a Leader''s Roar, interrupting the skill as the damage piled up. Finally, with a howl, the devil wolf fell to the ground, defeated by a slash from James.
Battle Results
You have won a battle against a 2 demon wolves and a devil wolf +100 exp +450 exp + 2 demon wolf fangs + 1 devil wolf fang +3 corrupted wolf pelts
The wolves disappeared in a flash of light, leaving behind their pelts. Steel was getting annoyed by the system, he had wanted to skin them with his new skinning knife, not that they had the time of course, but it irked him the just the same. He resolved to figure it out later. The 5 of them sat down and rested, catching their breath. Steel crawled over to check on Hunie. She smiled up weakly at him, a bleeding and an unknown status blinking over her health. Steel quickly bandaged her up, and healed her up to full with Milna''s Blessing. The odd status didn''t go away, however, but she got up and stretched like nothing was wrong. "That was well done Master, I''m proud of you." She smiled at him, "And we are almost at the lair entrance. I don''t think we''ll encounter any more wolves, so why don''t you call for the expedition guys to join us." Steel smiled and patted her head, "Good idea Hunie, I''m glad you okay." Hunie closed her eyes and rubbed her head against her hand, inspiring some annoyed looks from Nina, but she said nothing as she watched. ------------------ And the first major action chapter is over! Feedback plz, how was it? Chapter 32- Alpha Holy crap this thing was long to write! 4,870 words Enjoy :) By the way, no one really noticed, but there were only 95 people who entered the forest. 5 guards stayed behind to watch the carriages and horses. --------------------- The rest of the way was clear to the lair, allowing for the scouts to get a rest while they waited for Sergeant Hamilton and his friends to join them. The lair entrance was the same as last time, an opening between two large boulders that led into the darkness below. A dark glow emanated from it, outlining the area in a black light. Hamilton ordered the men to set up a base camp at the entrance, then he called the remaining squad leaders together. "Okay men, time to go over the procedure for lair conquering." He instructed, folding his arms in front of him. "Remember, this is different from a dungeon dive. A lair has a set map that will not change, so have your map keepers keep up with the directions you take. There are multiple ways to get to the end, and we will need to clear every path of enemies to finish the job." He pointed at the entrance, "From the low numbers of devil wolves and glow, turns out we are fairly lucky. This is a young lair, most likely the mana starting overflowing a year ago at the most. That means." He said with a greedy grin, "We have a chance to change it into a dungeon." Steel called out from the back, "What''s the difference between the two?" Hamilton looked around, but didn''t see the speaker. He shrugged, "The main difference is that dungeons are repeatable, but lairs are exist until they are conquered. A dungeon is a reservoir of natural mana, which keeps the monster souls immortal within it. It changes every time someone enters, and holds many treasures inside. A lair is a random overflow of natural mana, with nothing controlling it. After enough time, it pollutes the area and must be eliminated through the destruction of it''s core." "As you can see." He swept his arm around, "Only the cave is glowing, not the surrounding area. This means we can add a dungeon heart to the core, which will stabilize the lair into a new dungeon." He brought a out a shining blue crystal, "This is a dungeon heart, a very rare crystal with a slumbering soul inside. They are only found in mines near ancient graveyards, and are normally empty. They can be used as soul gems or dungeon hearts, depending on the mage who works on it. This is a gift from Captain Harkin and the Archmage, in case of this very situation. Look forward to it men, we are going to be drinking tonight!" The squad leaders cheered at the news. Lairs were one hit wonders for income, but a dungeon would attract adventurer''s and provide new trade for the city, trade the frontier town surely needed. Steel was excited as well, it would be a great hunting ground once the area stabilized back to something the players could beat. "Okay men, out job is to clear the dungeon of all corrupted wolves, this will free the core from any outside influence, allowing the dungeon heart to do it''s job. Get your men ready, we''ll be leaving in 20 minutes." Steel hurried back to his squad, eager to head in. He cam back to find them taking a quick snooze under a rock, Nina meditating, and Hunie practicing her punches. She brightened up as he approached. "Hey Master, we ready to go in yet?" She asked. "Almost, more importantly, how are you feeling?" Steel asked, checking her status screen. "All healed up and ready to go Master." She punched the air, "I haven''t felt this ready for a fight since I was a bunny." Steel confirmed it, she was healed and her stats were good. Nothing visible wrong, he moved to check the rest of his squad, who also were in tip top shape. A quick inventory count left him with 10 health, 7 mana, and 8 stamina potions, good enough. He was interrupted by Hamilton''s approach. The sergeant had a complicated look on his face. "Scout Steel, I have to commend your efforts thus far." He said, "We would have lost more men if your team hadn''t cleared the way, so it bothers me to have to tell you this." He looked honestly guilty, "I have to split your squad." They all looked at him in shock. He continued, "You were given these new recruits in order to test your leadership and give them some experience in combat, both have been accomplished. The lair is inherently more dangerous than what you have all experienced, and the previous ambush showed that the wolves will target the weaker squads first. It''s not only your squad, the remaining remnants of the other squads are also being split into the three raid groups." Steel folded his arms, "Really, are you sure you are not merely picking on us again, commander?" Hamilton visibly swallowed his words, and nodded at Steel, "I let my personal feelings about you get in the way earlier, and I paid for it. While you and I will likely never get along, I didn''t reach Captain Harkin''s trust with arrogance. Your team has been effective, so it is a shame to let go of that. Do no think , however, that this will make us even." Hamilton held his finger out, "This is for the good of the expedition and the humans of the town." Steel gave him a wry grin, "Feelings mutual commander sergeant, but at least your being honest now. As long as you keep the bias out, I''m sure we''ll succeed." He held his hand out. Hamilton took it after a moment, his eyes speaking volumes. He left, leaving Steel with a greater opinion on the man. At least there was some potential there to grow. He turned back to his squad, "You heard the commander men, do your best, and always remember your part of the Shield Scout Squad." He saluted, but the others merely chuckled, and his eyes narrowed at the words "triple shit". Annoyed, he kicked the offender toward the lair entrance, inciting a riot of laughter from the others. ''Sigh, I guess I''ll miss these guys." Steel thought sadly, "It ruins my other plans too, guess I''ll have to work around it." He let each of them know to get the ears if they killed any demon wolves. Since they weren''t under him anymore, the bodies would stop disappearing. He really had to figure this out later how to stop that, maybe a prayer at the church. He ended up being with both Hunie and Nina in the center group, the others called over to help the other two. The center group had the rest of the players as well, Steel noticed. None of them seemed too unique, but he still read each of them just in case the time to interact would come. Human, mage. Name: CracBoom. Obviously someone who enjoyed fire, as he kept bouncing a small ball of flame from hand to hand. Human, warrior. Name: sIR Serious. Ignoring the obvious reference to an ancient organization, he seems cool and collected, and twirled his spear in amusement. Half Human, barbarian girl. Name: Firesoul. Steel couldn''t figure out the other half, but she wore a large battle ax on her back, and was cracking her knuckles in anticipation. She wasn''t wearing any armor, so she must have gotten the quest from an outside source. Unknown. Name: Unknown Mystery. Steel rolled his eyes and groaned inwardly. There was always one of these guys in a game, acting so dark and vague. Steel hated dealing with them, more because of their personality than their actual skill. Still, if he was here, he must have impressed someone. A few other walked around, but they wore the generic guard uniforms and weapons, which made Steel discount them. It was obvious they weren''t going to contribute much if they hadn''t found their own armor and weapons yet. He mentally stowed them under the mental folder, Cannon Fodder. "Okay men, into the cave!" Hamilton called out. A resounding battle cry rose up from the expedition, and everyone marched into the cave with their formations, the central group first. The inside of the lair divided itself into three passageways, as expected by Hamilton. Steel waled through the middle arch, his eyes scanning the darkness for any sign of danger. He wished his instinct ability would be more useful, but he must of had bad luck today, because he wasn''t getting a single ping. Still, the walls were spooky. Scratch marks and red areas lined the wall, and bones lay everywhere. He shuddered at the sight of a human skull, more from the atmosphere than the little fear generated by the bone. A few minutes in, the expedition members came out into a cave section, where two devil wolves were fighting over a bone. At the sound of the men, they stopped fighting and barred their fangs at them. Steel began sweating at the sight of them. They only had 20 men, they would sustain some serious injuries of they weren''t careful. The first wolf charged the men, while the second howled for reinforcements. Being in the middle, Steal couldn''t block with his shield. He didn''t want the men to die, he needed them to clear this lair and get his rewards. He needn''t have feared though. Sergeant Hamilton dashed forward with a great sword, and with a furious yell, cut the devil wolf down the middle, it''s tow halves falling to the ground with a thud. Steel''s mouth fell open, and he quickly looked at Hamilton''s level. Level 20 ''What the heck!'' Steal cried out in his mind, ''I know the guards are stronger than the players, but this seems way too much for the situation! He''s overpowered!.'' Steel had another thought, how strong were the older members of the city: Harkin, Bob, Mema, M.M, and the Archmage. He felt a cold shiver, he''d have to re think his manners around them. The second wolf had succeeded in summoning 4 demon wolves in that time frame, and they came out of the shadows around the party. "Men, attack! Don''t let a single one escape!" Hamilton commanded. The men fell upon the wolves, slashing and hacking at them with all their strength. Steel easily blocked a paw swipe from one of the wolves. With his full armor on, he did not worry too much about damage. A shout behind him made him roll out of the way, and the barbarian girl charged through his previous spot, leaping into the air and cutting the wolf''s head off. It died with a whimper, and disappeared into the light. Steel noticed he didn''t get any exp this time, it seemed to not be on at the moment. He ignored it, focusing on the next wolf. ------------------ It didn''t take them too long to kill the other wolves. Hamilton killed the second devil wolf, and the rest of the party made short work of the demon wolves. Steel wiped the blood off his shield, one of the cannon fodder had been launched onto it''s shield piercer by a demon dog. Thankfully, the game didn''t read it as a Pk, so he was still good. He even inherited 2 mana potions from his loot drop. They reformed the formation and resumed marching through the tunnels. The corridor winded downwards slowly, the only light coming from the dark glow that covered everything. Steel appreciated the irony, darklight. He''d have to mention the name to the captain when they got back, Darklight Dungeon. They faced no more wolves as they made their way through, rather, no more devil wolves. A few demon wolves had appeared, but Hamilton had effortlessly cut through them without breaking a step. ''What was the point?'' Steel thought, ''Why not send the most experience guards here instead of sacrificing all the noobs. I bet Captain Harkin could have cleared this place all by himself without breaking a sweat. Hamilton by himself makes all of us worthless.'' The only thing Steel could come up with was that there were bigger problems that had Harkin''s attention than this. It did seem strange to receive a quest so early in the game that had the failure result catastrophic to the city. Steel smelled something more to this, which meant more loot and rewards! His thought were interrupted by an order to halt from Hamilton. The group had come into a bigger cave area, and Steel could see the other two exits from the other passages. The remaining men were coming through, joining back up with the central group. Seeing the other groups jolted Steel''s memory. He hadn''t seen Nina the entire time! Hunie did her own thing, and he had seen her kicking a demon wolf earlier, but he hadn''t seen Nina at all. A quick check made him sigh in relief, she was in the front, her short stature hiding her from his view. Actually, he noticed, it seemed as though no body else had noticed her either. Hearing Hamilton declare a short break for a meeting, Steel walked over to Nina. "Hey Nina, how are you holding up?" She smiled brightly at him, "Sir, Private Nina is doing a-okay, sir!" She saluted him, making him chuckle at her earnestness. "Good to hear Private." He smiled, "Now I have a question for you." She tilted her head cutely, "Why is it that no one seems to notice you? I even had a hard time finding you earlier." She put her head in her hand for a moment, thinking, before brightening up, "Sir, that was my passive ability sir!" He blinked, "From your new class?" She nodded, "Can you explain your class?" "Sir, yes sir!" Nina and Steel sat on the stone ground as she explained the nature of her newly acquired class. Her Guardian Assassin class operated off a similar mechanic as her previous assassin class. She automatically used stealth when not fighting so as to avoid aggro from possible ambush attacks, though this used stamina up slowly and thus she didn''t always use it. As a guardian assassin, she had 3 new skills besides two previous skills from the normal assassin class. She also had a new skill and she wasn''t sure how she had received it. The five were: (I''ll make them pretty later, too lazy now :p) Acrobatics: A passive skill that relied on strength and agility. It allowed her to use everything in range as a stepping board, allowing for wall jumps and back flips. Assassinate: A basic assassin skill. Activating it teleported the user behind the target and made the next attack automatically crit. The downside was that it didn''t automatically attack, thus leaving the user open to counter attacks. Guardian Resolve: One of her new skills. It passively increased her endurance when taking the initiative in a fight. It could become active as well, doubling her endurance and stamina costs for 5 seconds with a 5 minute cool down that removed that passive effect during the cd. Resolute Strike: Another new skill. She used her dagger to strike three times in quick succession. It could not crit, but could be used repeatedly. It had a high stamina cost to compensate. Unshakable Mind: Her last new skill. It passively increased her resistance to mind attacks and status conditions. Her last skill made Steel keep a neutral face. Soldier''s Desire: The skill activated when a designated person fell into the danger zone. It automatically increased her physical attributes for a short time, allowing for her to rescue that person from what ever danger he or she might be in. She had put Steel''s name down when it had asked for a target. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Steel had no comment on the skill. ''Still, she has some pretty good abilities now.'' He thought, studying the smiling girl in front of him, ''She''ll most likely become the hardest assassin to kill if she keeps this up.'' He patted her on the head, "Remember to use your abilities to protect, and I''ll be proud of you." She saluted him, a serious smile on her face, "Yes sir, what ever you say sir!" At that, the remaining expedition members grouped back up together. Steel did a quick head count. Only 53 members were left, but all the squad leaders were still alive, which really meant that only the strongest remained. "Men, the only thing left now is the final chamber." Hamilton informed the men, "We have to kill the alpha, and then we''ll be home free." Everyone prepared their resolve, grips tightening and gulps made. The end was finally in front of them, and so was the largest obstacle. With straight stares, the men marched into the final tunnel, Hamilton heading the herd. --------------------------- In all actuality, the tunnel before the final room was pretty anti-climactic. The walls, floor, and ceiling still glowed, but the bones and scratches were missing. It was almost as if nothing came this way. They marched into the final room, and awe spread through the ranks. Black crystals covered the room, making it shine like a geode stone on the inside. At the back of the room, a gaping hole was releasing black sparkles into the air, reflecting the light off the crystals around it. Hamilton took a battle ready stance. "Take care men, it''s coming." Out of the gloom, the alpha appeared, slowly slinking its way to the center of the room from the shadowed light. Steel could get a better look at it now, being that he wasn''t running for his life at the moment. It stood at the same height as a devil wolf, and the same muscles bulged underneath the fur. Different, however, was the red glow it''s tail and paws gave off in the light, shining like blood as it made it''s way across the room. It growled softly at the group, a mad intelligence in it''s eyes. Gazing at the men in front of it, it seemed to grow a smile. [tr]
Opponent Information
NameLevelThreatHealthAlpha Devil Wolf18D335
DescriptionThe final corrupted form of a wolf, Alpha Devil wolves have overcome the pain their body went through as a result of too much darkness mana. Their minds have been left mad, but the experience has increased their intelligence and power. The corruption of magic has warped their minds into desiring to inflict as much pain as possible. It is said their soul still cries out within them for death. Killing one is a mercy.
''335 health! No way at this stage in the game.'' Steel shook at the strength of the wolf in front of him. It was even rank D! The devil wolves were rank E, like the Hungry Bunnies, and he couldn''t beat them. Also, it was level 18. His gaze wandered to Hamilton, who had his sword in a type grip. "Men, charge, For Rostwood!" Hamilton cried, and they released their battle cries. The wolf answered them with it''s own battle howl, and 3 devil wolves appeared. "Take down the devils, I''ll handle the alpha!" Hamilton called, and the battle began. Steel launched himself toward the nearest devil wolf. He didn''t know if they could summon, but he didn''t plan to find out. He charged shield bashed it''s head, this time hitting with the shield piercer directly into the head. -15 impact damage -35 pierce damage, Critical Health: A good shot! The wolf howled and knocked its head around, distracted for a moment. As it focused on Steel, a short figure appeared behind it and activated her resolute slash on it''s legs. -10,10,10 slash damage -10,10,10 slash damage Health: ''Almost down!'' Steel thought, and then a huge fireball roasted the wolf in front of him. He turned to see that pyro mage turn to the next devil wolf. Biting back his KS comment, Steel moved to the next wolf as well. The other two hadn''t been cc''d enough, and they both had managed to call two demon wolves from the shadows. The fight was getting pretty chaotic. Hamilton and a few from his squad were fending off the alpha, him slashing while it took bites out of the air in front of him. While it looked like a stalemate, Steel could see Hamilton was slowly getting pushed back. He pounded a demon wolf that had lunged at him, knocking it back and dazing it long enough for some guards to cut it to ribbons. ''I need more.'' He thought, blocking a swipe from a devil wolf, ''I don''t have enough skills to make a dent in the alpha, and these devil wolves are becoming a problem.'' All around him, guards and players were hugging down potions, and Steel knew none had as many as he had. Another devil wolf fell, but the alpha howled again, summoning two new devil wolves, who then also summoned 4 more demon wolves. He finally realized why so many were sent. These were spawning tactics, mobs that grew in number the longer the fight went on. A strong warrior could kill a hundred, but be overwhelmed by a thousand. That was a common saying in one of his mind classes Hellina taught him at night. ''If the alpha doesn''t go down, then we all die'' He thought, watching a demon wolf tearing a guard in half, ''We can''t respawn like they can.'' "Hunie, Nina, we have to kill the alpha!" Steel yelled over the fighting. They nodded, hearing his orders. They ran toward the alpha and Hamilton, who had been knocked back by a paw swipe. Steel caught him with his shield, pushing back against the force Hamilton gave off. "Scout Steel, what are you doing?" He asked incredulously. Steel smiled at him, "Just think of me as your shield sir, since both of you hands are focused on your sword." Having no time to argue, Hamilton jumped back at the alpha, slicing a paw as it passed by his head. Steel took a look at the boss''s health: Health: The group had hurt the alpha, but it was clear they still had a fight in front of them. Steel braced his shield against an incoming swipe, casting all of his defensive skills. The blow still managed to dislodge his position, his feet dragging in the ground before he fell onto his back. The level 18 power was no joke! Angered by his weakness, he chugged a mana and stamina potion before jumping in front of another paw. This time, he channeled the Shield Piercer and dug himself into the shield. He was sent flying, but not before the entire paw had sunk into the earthen spike. The alpha howled in pain, and it''s paw rose into the air. -20 pierce damage, critical, maim Main was a status acquired from focus attacks on a body limb. Until healed, the limp could not take any pressure, so it couldn''t be stood on or be used to hold anything. Health: "It''s weakened men, strike at it now!" Hamilton roared out, his great sword flashing in the darklight. They fell upon the alpha, but it wasn''t done yet. It flatted down and swung it''s body around, it''s tail sending most of the members flying backwards. It retreated, and the sparkles from the hole began moving toward it. "Don''t let it heal!" Steel cried out, recognizing what was happening. They charged the alpha, but not in time for it to recover it''s paw. It leaped back at them, all four limbs back up to snuff. Hamilton activated a skill as it flew toward them, the same one he had used on the first devil wolf earlier. He sliced down in front of the head, sending a shock wave that it the alpha head on. Unlike the devil wolf, however, the alpha was merely knocked down by it, and got up angry. Health: Hamilton kneeled down, breathing hard from the exertion. "Heh, heh, that skill takes a lot out of me if I fail to kill on the first strike." He explained to Steel, who had taken position in front of him, "I''ll be okay, but you have to keep him off of me for a minute." "I''ll do my best sir." Steel said, eyeing the alpha, "But I haven''t managed to block him yet." Hamilton managed a chuckle behind him, "Remind me to get you a shield tutor when we get back whelp, your form''s terrible." Steel''s retort never left his mouth as he activated his full combo again, this time using Earth Wall to create stone supports behind him. He managed to block the paw this time, though it came from a different angle then before. Evidently, the bosses learned in the game. Unfortunately, Steel didn''t see the second paw coming from the right, and he hurtled off into the wall, blood coming up from his mouth. The world turned red in front of him, indicating low life. He tried to move his arm to grab a health potion, but it was impaled on one of the crystal spikes. "Cough, frac, I''ll die from blood loss." He muttered. There was nothing he could do, so he resigned himself to death. A warm flavor came into his mouth, spreading a warmth throughout his body. He opened his eyes to find Hunie kissing him, her mouth filled with one of his health potions. She smiled at him. "I''ve returned the favor, Master." She curtsied at him. Steel dragged himself off the spikes, than drank two more health potions for good measure. His health was still low, as the potions had had to fix the various holes in his body first and had leaked out some. "Hurry Hunie, we have to save Hamilton." He said. Hunie smiled, "Okay, but he''s fine at the moment. She''s taking care of it." She pointed behind her, and Steel saw. A small, fiery assassin was on the back of the alpha wolf, striking it repeatably with her daggers. "Don''t. Hurt. My. Commander!" She cried out, chugging her stamina potion after every strike. Really, she had all three in her mouth. Steel blinked. Even though she was level 1, her skill had obviously increased her abilities to the point where instead of an annoying fly, she was a housefly. The alpha bucked and barked, trying to dislodge the crazed little girl off it''s back. Steel and Hunie ran up and joined in, striking at the legs while it was distracted. Finally, Nina went sailing off it''s back, and landed on top of one of the guards in the back group. Steel didn''t look for her, he was concentrating on the monster in front of him (not the one behind). Health: Nina had managed to put a small dent in it''s health, greatly impressing Steel. He resolved to reward her later. The alpha turned and fixed it''s furious gaze on Hunie and Steel. He merely grinned. "Hey Fluffy, it''s been a minute." With a resounding slash, the alpha fell to the ground, a large slice on it''s belly. Health: Hamilton stood staring resolutely at it''s fallen form. "Good job Scouts, now, Lets finish it off!" The alpha had one last trick, however, and blasted darkness out of it''s mouth at the guard members. "It''s trying to heal, don''t let it!" Steel heard Hamilton''s voice. Activating charge, Steel rushed in the direction of the hole, hoping the wolf was in front of him instead of an opening into the ground. Luckily, he was correct, and ended up charging right into the back leg of the alpha, who turned and growled at Steel. It leaped at him, claws and fangs out stretched. Steel smiled, and fell onto hi back, his shield covering his body. "Fire this way!" He yelled out. The shock wave shot out of the darkness, cleaving the alpha and knocking it down. With a howl, it died and dissolved into blue light. The darkness and other wolves disappeared as well, leaving the remaining guards behind in the cave. A silent moment, then the cheering began. Those who were still alive roared with excitement, they had won! A black treasure chest materialized where the alpha had fallen, and Steel approached it slowly. He felt a hand on his shoulder, "Good call Scout, you did well." Hamilton said to him, clapping his back. He gestured at the chest, "That is the reward the gods from for us upon the defeat of a boss in a lair. It''ll be taken back un-opened to the city, where the lord will divide the spoils for the expedition." He took out the dungeon heart crystal, "Now that all wolves are dead, we can make this place into a lair." He walked over to the hole in the back, the sparkles still escaping into the air. He realized the crystal over the hole, but instead of falling, it motioned over the whole, absorbing the sparkles into it. Slowly, the darklight of the cave began to lesson, the crystal shining in blue and black. A cry of pain came form behind them, forcing Hamilton and Steel to look back. Hunie was clutching her chest in pain, tears falling down her face. "Hunie!" ---------------- Cough. cough, better appreciate this chapter, my eyes are killing me ;) Well, this marks the highlight of the plot, kinda, and the first book is almost done! Once it''s done, it editing time, which means I''ll try to edit 1-2 a day, hopefully with a new chapter to keep you guys happy. Give reviews plz, let me know hos the story is Thanks guys. Chapter 33-Tragedy Hunie moaned and rolled onto the floor, sweat glistening down her face as hands clutched at her chest. The guards closet to her were holding her down to prevent her from hurting herself. Steel ran over to her in fear. "Hunie, what''s wrong? Hunie!" He cried out, his hands grabbing hold of her own. "M...master, it hurts." She said weakly. Steel ripped her dress open below her chest, where her hands were clutching. To his shock, he found her stomach glowing with darklight, the same as the stone around them. "What''s going on?" Hamilton yelled, marching up to them. His eyes widened as he took in Hunie, a gasp escaping his lips. "No! Stop her!" He cried out, drawing his sword. Steel barely had enough time to block his strike with his shield. "Hamilton, what the hell are you doing!" He said angrily. "Boy, there is no time for explanations, we have to kill her before its too late, for her and us." Hamilton said, his eyes serious. He slammed down another blow, but Steel blocked again, the blow reverberating through his whole body. "I''m not going to let you kill her." He said savagely, "She''s mine, and no one will take her from me!" As he said that, the darklight moved and covered Hunie''s entire body, her eyes on his with a weak smile. "I''m sorry my Master, I have to take my leave for now." She whispered, touching his face with her hand, "Sorry." The darklight finished covering her body, and Hamilton put his sword down wearily. "We''re too late." He shook his head sadly, "All we can do now is watch." Before Steel could ask, the darklight that had been Hunie lost it''s weight and was sucked into the dungeon heart. Steel was left holding air as the crystal changed from blue and black to black and pink. A little blue light exited the heart, floating up into the ceiling, and was gone. Steel gaped at his arms, Hunie''s warmth still lingering in his fingers. "Hu...Hunie?" He choked out, tear beginning to form, "Hunie? Where did you go?" As if to answer him, the remaining darklight disappeared into the crystal, leaving the expedition group in the dark, the only light the soft glow of the dungeon heart. Then, light burst forth as the crystal''s glow intensified, bathing them all in a warm, dark pink light. The crystal heart began growing, sending shoots down into the wall behind it. They watched in wonder as a wall of black and pink crystals formed over the hole in the ground, sealing it and cutting off the sparkles from entering the air. As the wall finished, a from began to appear in the crystal. The sleeping face of Hunie appeared, followed by a crystalline shape of her dress with her hands held together over her chest like she was praying. The form was very lifelike, as if one could reach out and touch her face and feel her warmth. Steel stumbled over to her, the other guard members watching silently. He reached up and touched the face. But there was no warmth, only cold crystal. ------------------------- Hamilton got the remaining members of the expedition together and set them with their orders. According to him, this room would seal itself after they left, becoming the heart of the dungeon and impossible to enter. As such, it was their job now to collect as many of the black crystals as possible. The crystals were dark mana infused, and would serve the down greatly as a surge of income. Mana crystals like these had many uses: potions, poisons, armor resistance, sword enhancements. He clearly stated, however, that no one was to touch the dark pink crystals on the wall. Everyone got to work after that, everyone but Steel. Steel sat in front of the statue of Hunie, his grief so great he couldn''t move, couldn''t focus, couldn''t think. He just stared, silent tears pouring down hi face as he gazed up at her face, so cold now. A sound behind him alerted him to someone, but he didn''t care. Hamilton plopped down beside him, staring up at Hunie as well. "I don''t like non humans." He stated. Steel stared ahead, aware but uncaring. "My parents raised me in the capital to this fact, that humans were the best. We had non-human servants, and they were weak. Never speaking up, never giving their opinions. I believed my parents." He continued, staring up. "That changed some when I was assigned to Rostwood. I''ve met non-humans who were strong, but never stronger than us. Honestly, in my eyes, they are still only good as servants. My feelings will not change on this matter." "That being said." He moved his head to look at Steel, "As a commander, I dislike losing capable subordinates. I should have checked before I put the dungeon heart down. You''ve lost some of your strength, and for that I am sorry. When we get back, I''ll introduce you to some trainers to teach you how to fight better. Rest up for now whelp." He got up to leave. "Sir." Steel said slowly, "What happened to her?" Hamilton paused and gazed thoughtfully at the crystal, "She was badly hurt by a devil wolf before we entered, am I safe assuming so?" Steel nodded. "Yes, she was nearly bitten in half when we were scouting the area." "Thought so." He nodded, "You see, the reason why we had to kill all the wolves first is that all the excess dark mana needed to be absorbed into the dungeon heart. If a wolf was still alive when I did so, it''s consciousness would have taken over the dungeon, and we would have all died from it''s intents. When the wolf bit Hunie, it dislodged some of it''s corrupted mana inside her. Nothing a blessing or too from a priest couldn''t heal, but it would have eventually weakened her to her bed." "However, she was in the dungeon when I activated the heart, which called the mana inside her. As it couldn''t escape her body, it fused with her and was drawn into the heart. Her mind and soul replaced the soul that was in the heart, freeing it and removing the restrictions we place on it. Now, she has become the heart of the dungeon itself." "Sir, some of the men were injured by the wolves, why were they not affected?" Hamilton sighed, "That was my fault. You see, this is a beast lair. While the excess mana changed the wolves, the wolves also changed the mana. Only animals could be affected by this level of excess, another reason why it could become a dungeon. Your beast-man servant was animal enough to be affected by the mana, especially when it was deposited so deep inside her. Given enough time for it to integrate into her natural mana pool, and it was enough. I didn''t bring any non-humans for that reason, but I didn''t think about your maid. That is on my head." Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. "Is she aware? Can she be freed?" Steel asked softly. "I''m sorry son, she is trapped here forever." He answered, "As for awareness, she is asleep right now, her soul is in the process of stabilizing with the mana crystal. She''ll wake up eventually, but I don''t know if she''ll be the same." "So this has happened before?" Hamilton turned away, "That''s something you should ask Captain Harkin about. His wife suffered that fate after their son was born. He''d be the best to relate with." He walked away, but not before saying, "He can tell you the reason why I tried to stop her." He left, returning to his duties and commanding the men. Steel got up too, and walked forward to touch Hunie''s face again. He put his hand over hers, and held it for awhile, not willing to let go. "Hunie, I''ll wait for you, always." He said, putting his head on her. He had a flash of inspiration. He knelt down in front of the crystal wall and prayed. "Milna, please grant a favor to your faithful." He began, "I will build a small shrine here in your name, in honor of my lost friend who lost her life preserving your nature. Bless it please, so she won''t be lonely after I am gone." Nothing happened, not that Steel expected anything to happen suddenly. He checked his supplies: potions, fur, ears, food. Not really materials for making a proper shrine. His eyes passed over the crystals. "Hmmmmm." There were a few loose pink crystals, which he picked up and inspected. They would do. He walked over to the walls and pulled some large black crystals off the wall- meaning he whacked the shit out of them until they fell off. Seeing his success, a few of the other guards started using their shields too. A few broke humorously in their face. Returning to the statue wall, Steel set up a small shrine using the crystals. He made a small, square room with the black crystals, covering the inside with the wolf pelts by pinning them with small crystals and using Earth Wall to manipulate the ground. He then placed the pink crystals inside in a star shape. He backed up and looked thoughtfully at his work. ''Not enough.'' He thought. He checked his inventory again, there had to be something. There was, a small piece of cloth he had accidentally torn from her maid outfit. He wanted to keep it, but knew it had to be this way. He put the cloth underneath the pink crystals, staining it with his tears and blood. He poured a health potion over it with a sobbing chuckle, as it was their own little joke. The shrine glowed and outlined the room in a soft green light. The black crystals changed colors, a slowly pulsating cascade of colors that flowed through to each side before disappearing.
You have created a shrine to the goddess Milna in a place where her will was done. She is greatly pleased by your actions, and has bless it with a spark of her power. Anyone who prays here will receive a 25% boost to health regen for 24 hours.
Warning: This room will not be active once all guard members leave. The shrine is unlikely to ever see another person again.
You have gained +10 faith for you actions. For being the first player to create a shrine in a dungeon heart, you have forged a permanent connection to Milna in this place. Druids may gather near the dungeon to pray, rare animal variants gain an increased chance of spawning in the dungeon.
Steel smiled. Now, Hunie could rest with a connection to her goddess. He looked down at his hand, the last pink crystal resting within it. He would keep this one, his last connection to the bunny maid who had been his first real best friend. He walked over and whispered to her, "I don''t know if you can hear me, but we will meet again. Your an A.I. now, so there has to be someway I can find you again. After the fuss in town, I''ll come back this dungeon, and I''ll find you again. I won''t abandon you." He said, his eyes fierce with determination. No one would ever take away his precious things again, not anymore! He would take Sergeant Hamilton up on his offer, he would get stronger this time. He vowed to distance himself from the distraction of friends like Hunie until he was strong enough to protect them. He walked over to the other guards and began to mine the black crystals off the wall, his strength and resolve coming back to him. He would never forget, he would never give up. --------------------- It took a few hours to load up all the men with crystals, but they managed to take a great haul out. As the last guard member, Steel gazed across the room to Hunie''s statue. He bowed to her, and walked out of the room. The opening tunnel filled in with stone and dirt as he left, leaving nothing but an empty wall behind. In the lonely room, a drip of what fell from the ceiling, rolling down Hunie''s statue face. It was joined by another on the other side, but only one drop fell. It wasn''t raining. ------------------------- Annndddd, that''s it for the first book! Well, feels like a good ending anyway. So, tomorrow begins the editing! Thanks to some very helpful comments by you readers out there, you know who you are ;), I have quite a few things to fix~actually looking forward to it. The first chapter will be first tomorrow, and will definitely be the hardest, so many descriptions. Maybe I need a prologue? Depending on how much time it takes, I may not be able to get a new chapter out tomorrow, sorry :( In any case, I should be getting 1-2 edits and a new chapter up every day, so thanks a lot for the help and look forward to better things, like less blasted slap-stick. Cya The update thread- 7/23/15 Hey guys, hope your having a good day. This is the update thread, where I''ll post all the information about my actions with the book. Today: 1. Chapter 2 has been edited, please leave your opinions in comments for me :) 2. Still need some art for the story- not borrowing other''s pictures. Kanadaj has graciously offered to work on a cover art in his spare time, and my cute little sister is also making one for me (she got art gene, i got words) If anyone wants to draw up Hunie, that would be swell :p This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. When I add to this thread, I''ll change the date, so look every once and awhile :) Chapter 1- Results 500 follower! Cue to celebrations and icookies. No, I didn''t take the idea from Wargon-sempai, torn gave it to me. Also, VINCE~~~~~~~Take the Spoiler out of your review! There are children reading Enjoy! ------------------------- The expedition members returned to the city to face cheers from the other guard members around the gate. Their heads help up high, they made their way through the main city street, the carriages loaded with the mana crystals that would give new life to the town. They made their to the lord''s manor at the highest point of the city. Only one member of the expedition was sitting silently. Steel sat in the back of the carriage, rolling a pink crystal in his hand, the only memento of his friend and servant Hunie who lost her life in the expedition due to an accident. Well, something that seemed like an accident. The leader of the expedition, Sergeant Hamilton, had placed the dungeon heart crystal that had drawn Hunie into it before realizing his mistake. A proud, but racist, man of honor the sergeant didn''t seem like the kind of guys who would do that kind of thing on purpose. His adviser, however, raised Steel''s suspicion everytime he looked at him. Rothen had been the one to tell Steel and his squad to explore the forest by themselves, and had tried to take Hunie for his own amusement before that. Even now, he seemed to be shooting a smirk in Steel''s direction, and Steel would have liked to twist his neck. However, he had no proof of misdeeds, so he was left stewing in the carriage (Rothen is one of the new characters being added for the whole "suspicious circumstances" theme. He replaces some of Hamilton''s actions in the previous chapters. If it''s not too obvious, Rothen is Rotten :P) A tap on his shoulder caused him to look over. As tiny girl in a leather guard outfit smiled sadly at him. Nina was a player who had served as part of Steel''s squad during the expedition. She had served an important part in the final fight, distracting the alpha wolf long enough for Hamilton to recover. She had managed to level up after the expedition from all the fighting, and had kept Steel in silent company during the way back. "I''m sorry sir about your maid, I liked her myself." She said, patting his back as the carriage hit a bump. She gave a surprised shriek and fell onto her butt. Steel couldn''t help put chuckle at her. Unbeknownst to anyone, Nina had agreed to become Steel''s slave online. Besides any nefarious purposes that lay in his head, he had enslaved her to help preserve her psych as a result of battle trauma the system had failed to prevent. Now, in the absence of Hunie, she had on her own decided to take care of him until he felt better. "Careful there Nina, can''t have you hurting yourself before we meet the lord." He teased her, "You''ll break a finger nail." She gave him an annoyed look, "Foolish sir, compared to being thrown by that overgrown puppy, breaking a finger nail would be nothing." Laughing in spite of himself, Steel leaned back into the wall and watched the lord''s manor grow closer. While a castle would have been appropriate as well, the manor had a certain feel to it that suited the frontier town of Rostwood. Sitting inside a stone wall, the manor was separated into the main house and duty house. Sergeant Hamilton had explained to them on the way back that the expedition members would announce themselves at the duty house in the main hall. All the major members of the city would be there, and the rewards would announced by the lord himself. "So Nina, what are your plans after this?" Steel asked curiously. "Serving you sir." She stated bluntly, her eyes pleading. He shook his head, "That won''t work Nina, I have to get stronger. The sergeant is going to introduce me to a shield master, so I''ll be training for a while." "Then I''ll come with you sir, just order me to help you." "No Nina." He said firmly, "Shield training is worthless to an assassin like you, and you have to get your new class cleared with the captain. This is something I have to do myself." "But.." "Noted and denied soldier. Your job is to work on your class, understand?" He barked, watching her stiffen and take in the orders. "Yes sir." She muttered glumly, hugging her legs and refusing to look at him. He shook his head, turning to admire the city at twilight. He couldn''t help her if he didn''t get stronger, and she didn''t have the strength to protect herself yet either. ''This is necessary.'' He reasoned, ''This is to keep her safe.'' It was only a game, but to him it was his life. After all, he''d be in here for four years. Watching Hunie disappear had reminded him that death existed in the game, that things could happen with consequences. Another bump broke him out of his thoughts. He looked up to see the stone gates of the manor looming in front of him. He smiled, it was time for the loot party. ---------------- The carriages stopped in front of a pair of large oak doors, two guards standing outside them. At the sight of the expedition members, one had entered to announce their arrival. Hamilton ordered the men to gather up the mana crystals and bring them inside. He himself picked up the large black chest the alpha wolf had dropped and led the men inside. The doors opened to reveal a long stone foyer decorated tastefully with furnishings and art. Torches traveled the length from the door to a large chair at the other end of the hall, where a noble looking man sat. The Lord of Rostwood sat forward eagerly in his chair, his face brightening at the entrance of the expedition members. Other people were waiting with him: Steel could see Captain Harkin, Mema and M.M., And a couple of people he didn''t know. One was a tall, lanky man with an impressive beard and robes. The other was a shorter man with a bit of a belly, who was fingering a gold coin in his hands. ''The tall one must be the archmage.'' Steel reasoned, ''I not sure about the fat guy, but the fact that he has a gold coin must mean he''s pretty rich.'' Steel had yet to see a gold coin, as silver had been his major currency type so far. 100 silvers made a gold coin, and the sight of it had awoken something within him, something that slobbered at the scent of gold. The remaining members of the expedition filed into the room, and stood at attention behind Hamilton, who approached the town leaders with the chest. He bowed. "Sergeant Hamilton reporting in!" He announced, straightening his back and looking ahead, "The mission was a success." At his words, the surrounding guards let out a hearty cheer and shook their weapons. Mema and M.M. clapped their hands loudly, while the men smiled. The fat one stowed his gold coin and gave a hopeful, greedy look. The lord stood up, "Congratulations Sergeant Hamilton, you have done well in this endeavor. Give me a summarized report of the results. Leave nothing interesting out, especially what you have acquired." He looked curiously at the chest in Hamilton''s hands. Hamilton put the chest down and saluted, "Sir yes sir! Men, bring forth the spoils!" He commanded. One my one, the members brought forward the mana crystals and deposited them in a pile in front of the leaders. When the last crystal had fallen, a substantial pile of black crystals was left in front of the throne. Everyone in the room was awestruck by the pile, even the members of the expedition. The lord clapped his hands excitedly. "Wonderful, simply wonderful! Archibald, how are the qualities of the crystals?" The archmage, apparently named Archibald, strolled over to the pile and inspected a crystal. He stroked his beard thoughtfully, "Hmm, fresh dark mana crystal I see. Purity is mediocre, but the crystals themselves are flawless. The refinement process would destroy quite a bit, but we''d be left with t=some quality ingredients. Rank D or C potential." He looked over at the fat man, "Yorick, care to examine them yourself?" Yorick inspected a crystal himself, nodding, "I concur Archibald, these would make fine ingredients indeed. I expect the city to make quite a pretty silver with these." He smiled, then looked at the Hamilton, "I take it your members also collected pelts and ears for the bounties?" Hamilton nodded, "Yes, I''ll have them turned into your merchant''s guild tomorrow." Yorick smiled, "Good, I''ll have my receptionists prepare the standard reward, with a bonus of course." He added thoughtfully. A feeling of excitement traveled through the members, a bonus! Hamilton bowed, "As generous as ever Guild Master Yorick." Yorick waved him off as he inspected another crystal. The lord smiled and said, "Congratulations to the members of the expedition! Your hard work has brought safety and riches to out city, thank you for the hard work."
Quest Completed x3
Scout out the forest to find the Corrupted Wolf Lair The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.Lead the Expedition without casualty Participate in the lair subjugationDifficulty:Hard
Reward+ 7000exp +1 gold +Intimacy with all factions in Rostwood Choice of boss drop Commission pay at the Merchant''s Guild Speak to Captain Harkin for further rewards
Steel smiled happily, he had managed to level up twice from the collective experience. He had even managed to collect some experience from the alpha fight, earning a nice start toward his new level. With 10 new points to spend, he was as excited as ever to look at his status menu:
Status Window
Name:SteelAlignment:Neutral
Level:4Class:Shield Tamer
Race:HumanGender:Male
Titles
The Listener, Milna''s Disciple, Strong Neet, One with the Carrot
Fame:250Infamy:0
Experience:2000/10000
Health:220 / 220Health Regen:4/ Sec
Mana:65 / 65Mana Regen:1.3/ Sec
Stamina:80 / 80Stamina Regen:2/ Sec
Vitality:22 (12)Agility:20 (10)
Intelligence:13Wisdom:13
Strength:16 (11)Endurance:20 (12)
Leadership:25 (15)Luck:7 (12)
Charm:17 (7)Faith:20
Elemental Resistances
Fire:0Water:0
Wind:0Earth:10
Light:0Darkness:15 (0)
The lord continued, "Now, return to your homes guardsmen and women. Your rewards will be prepared for you tomorrow. To you travelers who participated, know that you have made allies today in Rostwood." The lord turned and returned to his chair, turning his head to talk to M.M. Dismissed, everyone except Sergeant Hamilton turned to leave. Steel also turned, but felt a strong hand on his shoulder. He looked up into Hamilton''s serious face. "Stay for a moment Scout Steel." He said, his eyes unreadable. Steel nodded, and resumed standing at attention in front of the leaders of the town. Once all the other expedition members had left, some of the players giving him a curious look, Hamilton turned back to the Lord. "My lord, this is the brave Scout who not only found the lair, but also led us through the grasslands without a single casualty." He reported. The leaders turned, curious. "Really, not a single casualty?" The lord asked. Hamilton nodded. "Yes sir, he was instrumental in finding the lair as well." The lord turned to Captain Harkin, "Do you know this young traveler Captain?" Captain Harkin nodded, smiling, "I do indeed your lordship, this here is my finest Scout, Steel. He''s been a handful since day one, but his effectiveness is second to none." Steel had the full attention of everyone in the room now: Mema and Harkin were smiling at him, M.M. had a gruff, but warm look on her face, the archmage had a strange mixed look on his face, and Yorick and the Lord were giving him once overs. "I see." The lord stroked his chin, "I assume he has been promised a suitable reward?" Captain Harkin nodded, "Yes my lord, a choice in the boss drops." Yorick''s head snapped around, "I didn''t hear of this Harkin. What gives you the right to promise valuable goods to random travelers?" His eyes glared dangerously at the captain. Harkin gave him an even look of his own, "I''d say he earned it all on his own Yorick. In fact." He turned to the sergeant, "How did the boy do?" Hamilton gave a brief report, starting with Steel''s squad effectiveness and ending with Hunie''s loss into the dungeon heart. The news of Hunie caused distress on everyone''s face, though not for the same reasons. "The soul escaped? That''s not good." The archmage said, shaking his head, "How did you all escape with your lives after my wards failed?" "She didn''t seem aggressive sir." Hamilton said, "Rather, I doubt she would have attacked given her relationship to the scout." "Is the dungeon stable?" M.M. asked, her hand itching toward her sword, "Any indication of integration failure?" "No ma''am, I believe it was a perfect integration, and the dungeon will be ready soon." Yorick spoke up, wringing his hands in frustration, "You didn''t bring back any of the crystals? Such a shame that, you should have tried to take some." He shook his head sadly. Harkin spoke up, his voice angry, "How dare you you greedy little swine." He reached down and unsheathed his sword, "How dare you propose such an travesty!" He lunged at Yorick, but was held back by M.M. and Hamilton. Yorick shrank back in fear, hiding himself behind the archmage. "Harkin, control yourself!" The lord barked, glaring at the captain. At his words, Harkin calmed down, but still shot murderous eyes at Yorick. The lord turned to Yorick, "And you, you should no better than to say such heartless things, especially in front of men who have experienced that pain." Yorick bowed his head at the reproach. "Sir? What do you mean?" Steel asked confused. The lord turned and regarded him with sad eyes. "The dark pink crystal you saw was the crystallization of your friend''s soul. Being rare, those gems would be valued greatly as rank B or A ingredients. However, the use of the crystals would have an adverse affect on whatever remains of her." Steel''s eyes widened, and his fingers twitched behind his back. He resolved to ask Harkin about the crystal he had taken later, since he had some experience. He didn''t want to talk about in front of Yorick. Sighing, the lord shook his head, "After hearing about your deeds and loss, I can''t help but agree that you should have a choice in the boss drop. Go ahead and open the chest for us, lets see what''s inside." Nodding, Steel reached over to the chest, and opened the lid. ---------------------- And so it begins again Chapter 2- The Chest Got to say, yesterday was a good day. Almost hitting 3000 average views! Enjoy guys Also, many thanks to Straborvsky for his picture of Hunie''s fate -------------------- Steel reached down to the chest and opened it slowly. A light shone out of it, blinding the occupants of the room for a moment, before disappearing as quickly as it appeared. Steel reached in and pulled out the contents of the chest. 4 things were inside the black box: A sword, a book, an egg, and a pair of gloves. Steel activated identification, and inspected the four items in front of him.
Darkness Blade
Type:SwordDurability:100/100
Quality:Rare
Required Stats:15 strength
Effects:15-20 damage 5 darkness damage
A fine sword imbued with the power of darkness. This sword is a stronger form of a dark mana infused blade than a typical blacksmith could forge.
Skill Book: Blinding Cloud
Type:DarknessSkill rarity:D
Required Stats:15 Intelligence
Effects:Upon cast, a dark cloud will erupt from the user''s hands, causing blindness on who ever it covers. The affected area lasts until 6 seconds have past.
Familiar egg
Type:EggDurability:N/A
Quality:Unknown
Required Stats:15 leadership
Effects:Hatches a familiar. Unknown type
An egg found from the remains of the alpha wolf. Unknown familiar, but most likely a wolf.
Devil Wolf''s Gloves
Type:Leather Armor, glovesDurability:100/100
Quality:Rare
Required Stats:5 Agility 10 wisdom
Effects:+2 Agility +5 darkness resistance
Leather gloves made from the remains of a devil wolf (alpha). Wearing them makes the wearer a little quicker.
Steel whistled, all 4 items were interesting and unique. He considered each one separately. First, the sword; an obvious fine weapon if he had ever seen one. The damage Steel had been doing was primarily from the shield piercer, and could be dodged by smaller opponents. His strength was the only thing affecting his damage, but this sword would add 15-20 damage to his attacks Not only that, but it had a bad-ass wolf head design on it''s hilt. The skill book would also help him as well. Both the devil wolf and the alpha wolf had used this skill on him, albeit a stronger monster version, but he knew it''s effectiveness in battle. He considered the possibilities: blinding his opponents and then tripping them with Earth Wall, or an unexpected charged shield bash. Good possibilities. He had no idea about the egg. Frankly, he didn''t have a real interest in another servant. He put it to the side. Finally, the gloves. He liked them, they were from the same set as his current armor; as the alpha was merely a stronger version of a regular devil wolf. They were handsome gloves: black leather with very soft fur at the openings. The leaders walked over and inspected the items as well. Captain Hamilton picked up the sword and inspected it, interested. "These are all some quality things, hm. I''d say you would do well with any of them whelp." The archmage picked up the skill book, inspecting it with his professional eye. He scoffed, "Huh, these are all for you melee types, any mage could cast a better version of this spell in their sleep." Hamilton raised an eyebrow in his direction. "Oh really Archibald? Now, would that be before or after they blew themselves and a part of the town up? How many times this month have I had to calm people down that you''re not trying to kill them." The archmage blustered, "Those were perfectly safe magical experiments, we just had a few...incidents that affected our work." For some reason, Steel could feel the burning gaze of the archmage on him. He had no idea what he had done to earn his attention....wait, Mary blew up the tower that one time. He cleared his throat, bringing his full charm up to bare. Hiding his hands, he turned and bowed to the archmage, "Dear Master Archmage, it is with my deepest regret that I apologize for causing the incident at your mage tower. I hope that you find the smallest bit of forgiveness inside your noble heart." Steel''s words were met with deafening silence. The archmage became quite flustered, everyone''s attention on him as he considered the boy''s words. Behind him, Harkin gave a cough, his fist hiding a very large smile on his face. "Ahem, well, er, yes." The archmage stammered out, "Apology accepted young one." Steel smiled, hiding his hands behind his back, a faint magical glow disappearing. The Charm skill really was helpful in these kinds of situations. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. He continued, "This feels me with great relief sir archmage, as one of your teachers has been very helpful to me. Without her expert help, I doubt that I would have been able to learn magic as well as I have." This time, Harkin, Mema, and M.M. were hiding giggles while the archmage''s eyebrow twitched. "Is that so young one." He said slowly, "And what is your impression of your teacher?" "Why sir." Steel smiled, "She is the only teacher of magic I have ever had, so forgive me for my bias. She''s well trained, powerful, yet with a hint of innocent charm." The archmage folded his arms and nodded, "Agreed, she is definitely innocent, and so cute too." The lord cleared his throat, "Yes, well that is very interesting, but can we please get on with this?" Startled, the two men sharing a moment broke out of their stupor. Steel looked back down at the 4 items in front of him. He crossed his arms and frowned. "The only one I don''t understand is the egg, can someone explain it to me?" Looking at the egg, the faces of the leaders ranged from greed to outright disgust. Hamilton shook his head. ¡°That was the one thing I did not expect the wolf to drop. From the looks of it, I¡¯d say this was the alpha¡¯s child, and would have become a new demon wolf had it stayed longer in the mana. Honestly, if it were up to me, I''d get rid of it before it watched." Captain Harkin nodded, "Aye, I agree, if only to soothe my memories of my son.." Yorick spoke up quickly, "You men aren''t thinking this through. The beast could be enslaved and sold for a pretty silver in the slave auction. In fact, I''d very much like to take for that reason." Steel could feel the gold signs in Yorick''s eyes as he eyed the egg. The archmage shook his head, "A creature born to that exposure to mana could have dire consequences even with a slave seal. If asked, I would not be able to guarantee the safety of the owner." Yorick''s face changed to one of resigned disappointment, his profits leaving in front of his eyes. The lord shook his head, "If it''s worthless to us, then get rid of it. I have no desire to hear of another demon wolf again unless it involves dungeon raiding." Hamilton reached down to remove the egg, but Steel stopped him. He eyed the egg, it''s black sheen reflecting the torchlight back into his eyes. The egg had no purpose, it merely existed. For its existence, it was deemed worthless and troublesome; and sentenced to destruction. Even though he had lost Hunie to the wolf lair, Steel felt a connection to the egg, as if he were looking at a younger version of himself. He stroked it''s shell, finding it unexpectedly smooth and silky to the touch. "Leader''s of the city, I''ll only repeat this once." He said softly, so that ears had to focus to hear him, "This is my creed, my voice in my actions." "Existence is never a crime. Never condemn another for living, for everything is born under the same stars above, with all the potential in the world." Steel picked the egg up and cradled in his arms, "I''ll take of this egg, no one is allowed to touch it." The curious air around the lord disappeared, replaced by something regal and serious. His eyes focused on Steel with an intensity that would have shaken most men, but not Steel. "Do you understand what you are doing boy? Everyone in this city will hate your wolf for a time, and most likely will make jest of it when the fear wears off. If your charge were to snap, you would be held responsible for everything it, and be liable for all the damage it would incur. Are you sure you want the egg to be your reward?" The "yes" or "no" box appeared in front of Steel, and he didn''t hesitate as he clicked yes. When he did so, the three remaining items disappeared into Yorick''s arms, who seemed a bit smug. "I''ll have these sold to the highest bidder my lord." He bowed deeply, "Rest assured, we will make a tidy profit from these, oh yes we shall." As he turned to leave, Steel asked him a question, "If possible, I''d like to try for those gloves myself, could you tell me when the auction will be?" Yorick paused, thinking a moment, "My receptionist will tell you tomorrow when you come in for your bounties. I''ll even tell her to give you a special ticket to my more...diverse auctions. After all, you need a new servant right?" With a sneaky wink, the guild master disappeared into the night. Sighing, Harkin moved toward the door as well, followed closely by Hamilton. "I best be off as well, come see me tomorrow Steel after I''ve read the sergeant''s final report." They strolled out into the night as well. Bowing, the archmage tapped his stick on the ground and poofed away, but not before taking a long, hard look at Steel before he did so. Mema and M.M. stood on either side of Steel, and all three bowed to the lord before exiting themselves. Once the door closed to the hall, Mema turned to Steel and hugged him. "I''m so sorry." She whispered, taking him into her bosom, "I''m going to miss her two." His mind clear of thoughts for once, Steel rested against her warmth for a moment, the egg still against his chest. "Ahem, sorry to break your moment." M.M. spoke up, "But how are you going to take care of that egg? Monster eggs are different from normal eggs you know, they hatch when they feel like it and not a moment before." "That''ll be something I face when I get to that bridge." He said simply, "I''ve never been the kind of guy to look too far ahead into the future." M.M. shook her head, her arms out in a shrug. "Whatever you say traveler, your kind is always saying weird things like that." But she smiled and rubbed his head before heading toward the guild. Mema and Steel followed behind, but not before Mema asked another question. "So Steel, what did you bring me this time?" -------------------- A little shorter than usual, about 200 words short, but this was just finishing up the last chapter, nothing too big. Next time though: debriefing, auction house, possible training start? And what about the egg, how long will it take to hatch? Is it even a wolf pup? Chapter 3- Revelations Sooo, I was typing the chapter yesterday when my keyboard....had a seizure? Point being, my "letter" keys acted like commands instead of letters, deleting a rather large chunk of the chapter before saving could be hit. Sort of ruined the whole mood, so as apology I''ll make today''s chapter twice as long. Also, we passed 3000 average views and acquired a large amount of new followers, thank you guys! ------------------ Morning found Steel waking up in his room at the guild. He automatically leaned over to feel for warmth, but found his bed to be empty, save for himself. Sighing, he got up and exited the room, looking forward to the morning''s breakfast. When Mema had asked about ingredients the night before, Steel had inwardly panicked at first; not only because he had forgot, but because she had been eyeing his egg as she had asked. Thankfully, he had lucked out and had some things to give her. Hawk, James, and Olaf had all survived the expedition and had bet up with Steel after the alpha fight. They had given him the wolf pelts and meat they had picked up, but he had refused the ears, saying that it would serve as their bounty proof. Besides the meat, he had plenty of plant parts from the trap plants his squad had killed on the way. Mema had accepted both as odd enough food for her to cook with, but hadn''t paid commission due to her seeing it before. Steel walked down the stairs to be treated to a round of applause from the morning patrons. His bewildered face made a few of them chuckle before they raised their glasses to him. "Cheers traveler Steel, Mema explained to us how you fought tooth and nail for this morning''s breakfast, we really appreciate it!" One shouted. A notice popped up in front of Steel:
Status Update
Your friendship with the proprietor of the guild as resulted in her spreading tales of your deeds to fuel customer''s good cheer and need for ale. +25 fame
''Huh, guess this works.'' He thought to himself, wading through a sea of well wishers and back slapping. Even though the fame made him happy, it was also another reminder of her absence. He shook his head, refusing to let the past hold him down; it was there to propel him forward. His face hardened as he took a seat at the bar, just to have a large "thunk" in front of him scare it off. Mema gave him a comforting look, "That face is not allowed in here boy, remember that. The guild is for smiles and good food, THAT RIGHT BOYS?" Another cheer echoed around the place, drinks hitting the table before being dunked down. She smiled down at Steel and passed him a bowl of...something hot and delicious looking. He raised an eyebrow at Mema, "What is this?" She huffed at him, "Have I ever served you something bad? Hurry up and try it!" She held a spoon out to him, which he grudgingly took, eyeing the concoction. To be fair, it smelled divine, like the earth and fire. The appearance, however, left little to be desired. Gulping, he took a spoon full and put it in his mouth.
Food Buff Acquired
Food BuffVitality
Food Quality:MasterCreator: Mema
Effect:+10% Vitality until sleep or next meal
Steel raised an eyebrow, "Huh, even though this looks like a plant took a crap in a pool of water, it taste''s pretty good." He put another spoon full into his mouth, savoring the taste, failing to notice Mema putting down her sharpening stone and blade. "Hmm, if I were to describe it." He began, waving the spoon in the air, "I''d say I was eating cooked lettuce that was wrapped around meat." He put the spoon down and began drinking straight from the bowl. A few seconds was all it took for it to disappear down his throat. Wiping his mouth, he held the bowl out, "More please." Mema hid her surprise, the boy had really enjoyed her new creation. She quickly slid him another bowl of the plant soup. The other patrons were watching out of the corner of their eyes as well. Steel didn''t know it, but he was always the first to eat Mema''s new food. Everyone had heard what had happened to the last person to try a new creation, she''d gone for a ride of her own. He downed it as quickly as the first one, watching his satiety meter rise out of the corner of his eye. Seeing it full, he smiled and thanked Mema for the delicious meal, getting up and whistling all the way out the door. Upon his departure from the guild, the other patrons started calling for some of the soup themselves, eager to try this new culinary creation. Mema grinned happily as she scooped more bowls some soup to feed the hungry people. She couldn''t wait to see what the boy would bring her next! ---------------- As the doors to the guild closed behind him, Steel started walking to the temple. He had planned his day out yesterday, before falling asleep after that night''s lesson. He figured the place that was closest to the gods of the world would be a place to change certain preferences. After all, titles could only be changed at the temple, so why not loot type? He walked up the marble staircase and past the white pillars into the statue room, the gods and goddess''s as impressive as ever. He strolled right over to the receptionist desk and smiled at her. "Hello, I would like to change my monster kills." He declared. The receptionist gave him a bright smile, "Good day traveler, how may I assist you today?" Steel raised an eyebrow, this was new. "Um, I was wondering if you could help me change what happens when a monster dies." "Wonderful sir, is question relating to: What happens when a monster dies, Is it okay to kill in a game, or Why do the monsters disappear once dead?" Steel slapped his head with his hand, this receptionist was the most mechanical he had ever met. In a way, it was actually refreshing to find something that reminded him he was in a game instead of reality. "None of the above ma''am, I want to change....er...how I get loot from kills." "Very good sir, is your question, "How do I change loot drop preference?" ''Calm, keep calm.'' He thought, gripping his fists, ''She doesn''t know any better, come on now.'' "Yes ma''am." He said evenly. "Perfect, a priest will be with you shortly to help you with your question. Please wait over there." She gestured behind him, where a line of chairs rested against a wall beside a door. Thanking her, Steel moved to the chairs and sat down. He noticed he was the only one waiting, so he wasn''t surprised when a minute later the door opened and a priest came out. "Sir Steel? I can assist you now." The priest called him over. He looked like a typical priest; robes with a symbol and a band of material around his neck. He led him into the door, which housed a long hallway with adjacent doors down the length. In fact, Steel couldn''t see the end of the hallway. The priest opened the first door and they walked in. He sat down in one of two white chairs in the room and smiled pleasantly. "So young traveler, what can a representative of the gods help you with today?" Steel bowed respectfully before sitting down, "Sir, I was wondering if I could change my loot drop preferences." The priest tilted his head and rubbed his chin, "That is certainly possible young one, but may I ask the reason for such?" "I want to work on my skinning skill, and the monsters and animals keep disappearing before I can try." "Interesting. Young one, if you are here, do I believe correctly that you are not of the tanner, hunter, or trapper classes?" Steel blinked, "Er, yes. Why is that important?" "If you were one of those, then the preference would have changed accordingly without a need to come here. You must have gained the skill from skinning an opponent with the help of a NPC not affiliated with you." "Well, that''s certainly true." Steel thought back to the devil wolf, and how the Hungry Bunnies had killed it. "Well, that can be certainly changed. Come traveler, pray with me to the gods to hear your plea." They both bowed their heads, and a tiny shower of blue light fell onto Steel''s head.
Your loot drop preferences have been changed. From now on, you will not receive loot automatically after killing an enemy. All loot must be collected manually and by hand, including unusual loot. Please note, if this is abused with sentient creatures, your infamy will increase, and your S.S. ranking may fall.
The priest smiled and leaned back, "Anything else the gods can help you with young traveler?" Steel hesitated, but this was the best place to ask, and he had to know. "Sir, I wish to inquire about the well being of my A.I. friend Hunie, is she all right?" The priests posture changed, from warm and inviting to serious and hard. He leaned forward, "Human, know that real life questions and the A.I. community are not permitted in this game. As this is your first offense and in an appropriate place, you will not be penalized, but please refrain from speaking about things outside the games lore." Steel hung his head, "I''m sorry sir, but I have to know. It''s my fault she was hurt, and I''d like to speak to her again." The priest leaned back and put his chin on his hands, observing Steel. "Human, am I safe to assume your friend awoke as an A.I. during your adventures?" Steel nodded, "Well, then she is not the same as a typical A.I. As she was born here, she was no knowledge of anything beyond these coded walls so to speak. If she were to die, her programming would compel her to disappear as well, an effective permanent death like you humans." As Steel''s heart sank, the priest held up a finger, "However, as long as she is alive in some form, her coding persists in the system. I cannot tell you how she is, as only a god or goddess could check the code for her well being. I can tell you that if she is alive, they are taking great care to see that she remains that way, understand?" Steel nodded, relieved. The priest''s manner changed back to his normal self, "Now then, anything you wish to ask further, appropriately of course?" Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. "Sir, out of curiosity, what are the dark gods?" Steel asked. The priest frowned, not as before but as a game character, "Hmm, young traveler, I would not go poking into the business of darkness. I will not say much in this sacred place, but know the dark gods heavily out number the gods of light, though none save one has an equivalent power. They have their place in this world to help keep balance, but many seek to expand their influence and sow chaos. My advice: do not search for them. Rather, they will most likely find you instead." Having no more questions, Steel thanked the priest for his help, and the two of them left the room and returned to the great hall. There, the priest bowed and reentered the hallway. Steel took a moment to walk over to Milna''s statue and pray for Hunie''s safety. He received a note that is wisdom had been blessed for the day, increasing it by 10%. He bowed to the statue, and left the temple. --------------------- Next up on Steel''s business, visiting the captain at the guard house. As he walked by the gate, the occasional guard would smack his back and congratulate him for his success. Each hit took off 1 hp and he felt his heart jump out of his chest. Unlike the expedition members, these guards were a lot stronger. He successfully made his way to the stairs without attracting anymore back slaps, and knocked with MANLY GUSTO at the captain''s door. "Oy, stop banging on my door." A complaining voice came from within. Steel entered to find Captain Harkin holding a bag of ice on his head, grimacing. "Hurry up and close the door whelp, the light''s killing me here." Steel chuckled, taking a seat in front of him, "Oh I''m sorry captain, I thought you could hold your alcohol." Harkin shot him a glower stare, making Steel smile innocently. He sighed. "That I can do boy, but I was feeling mighty happy last night, so I had a drink. Then I decided to drink to my men''s health, then a drink for our success, and so and so forth." He waved his hand lazily in the air, "And it ended up me drinking my way into a stupor. Anyway, your here to hear my thoughts on the expedition and receive your rewards correct?" Steel nodded. "And you won''t come back later?" Steel shook his head. "Oh fine, lets get to it then." Harkin put the ice down and crossed his hands on the table. "Now, before I gave you the ranking of Scout so you could find the lair and be compensated by the city." Steel nodded, "Well, as you know, the ranking of Scout does not fall under the traditional chain of command. Due to your actions, I am officially promoting you to Corporal Scout, which holds the same authority as a normal Corporal. You will have 5 men working directly for you, at a later date of course, since it''s too busy right now to split the men up. The captain coughed a little before continuing, "In all honesty, I don''t care what you do as long as you stay out of trouble and come when needed. Besides that, I hear Sergeant Hamilton is going to introduce you to a shield instructor?"
Rank Up
Your dedication and hard work in the guard has caused you to be officially promoted to the rank of Corporal, Scout Varient.
Rewards:Authority over Privates in the Rostwood area 5 direct subordinates Pay of 1 silver a day Increased intimacy with the guard faction Decreased Intimacy with the thieves faction + 5 leadership
When Steel nodded, the captain snorted, "About time. I read his report, and I''m surprised as hell you managed to survive so long not knowing what your doing. Blast it boy, you should have told me you''d never been trained in combat before. This would have been plain embarrassing if it had come out during the tournament." Steel folded his arms, annoyed. "I happen to think my skills speak for themselves." He muttered. "Well, that''s for sure true." Captain Harkin let out a roar of laughter, "All you do is punch with that shield. Tell me boy, how would you win if that shield of yours didn''t have that nifty ability?" Seeing Steel at a lose for words, "Or better yet, tell me what would you do if you came across an enemy that canceled magic?" "Errr, hit him with the shield or my fists?" That captain whacked him on the head, "Idiot whelp, like that shield by itself would do any real damage, and no way in hell you''ve had hand-to-hand training, or I''ll be dragon''s uncle." Technically, Steel had training, in the real world. Without the proper skill, however, it wouldn''t do any real damage. Captain Harkin sighed, "Besides your desperately needed training, we have to talk something else as equally important." He leaned forward and eyed Steel. "Lets talk about your friend." Steel stiffened, his full attention on the captain. He licked his lips, "Sir, it is my understanding that you have experience with this sort of think?" The captain sighed and leaned back, his eyes seeing something Steel couldn''t imagine. "Aye boy, it did indeed." He rubbed his face, "Me dear wife in fact. Tis was back in my younger adventuring days, before I met the others. My wife and I were exploring an old dungeon with a team of miners. They were searching for rare crystals and the like, and they had a very rare item that located every gem in the dungeon walls. As it so happened, the instance we entered had the dungeon heart close enough to be dug to in the bottom floor. Full of desire, we pushed ourselves through, heedless of our injuries in pursuit of riches. When we reached the heart, we found it, old and pulsing with power. It called it''s strongest monsters to fight us, and we fought bravely against the mighty foes. In the end." He smiled at the memory, "We triumphed over our enemies and stood triumphant in front of the crystal." He frowned, "However, the blasted thing still had one more trick up it''s sleeve. My wife had taken the worst injuries, so no one had noticed one of the monsters stick her with a crystal piece from the heart. It called her, and drew her body and soul into itself. I remember her screams as she vanished in front of me." Silent tears began forming in his eyes. "It changed itself, becoming a crystal statue of her body, thinking we would leave it alone. However, the bigger it got, the greater the greed of my mate grew. They attacked me, and tied me up as they advanced on the crystal heart. I watched as their picks tore it apart, a crystalline shriek filling the room. I knew she was still in there, but I couldn''t do anything about it. The more they tore, the more unstable it grew, until it finally exploded into a flurry of spikes. They all died, stuck to death by the needles. Ironically, the only ones that hit me actually freed me from my bonds." The tears were really falling now, unhindered by his face. "I grasped at the crystals, but the light faded from them, and they faded to dust in my hands. The dungeon died that day, and I was left with an infant son to raise on my own. I joined up with Bob and the others after that, dedicating myself to raising my boy and teaching him how to survive. Not that it mattered in the end." Harkin shook his head, putting his hand over his eyes. [td2]Reward
Quest Received
Help the Captain reach closureDifficulty: N/A
RequirementsHigh Intimacy with the captain Listen to his story[/tds]
The captain of the guard has had a tough life, losing his wife and son. Find ways to help relieve him of his guilt and move on. Failure will not result in any change.
Max intimacy with the Guard Captain Possible familial connection Gift from the captain
Steel read the notification. A familiar quest allowed players to increase their affection with important NPC characters, and helped with receiving more quests in the future. Besides, he honestly liked the old man, and helping him out would help to repay some of the debt Steel felt he owed. He clicked yes. "Sir, I took this from the cave, can you explain it''s significance to me?" Steel took out the dark pink crystal and showed it to the captain. Captain Harkin inspected it gently, taking great care to return it Steel''s hand, "Aye boy, I know what that is. That is a heart crystal." "You mean a dungeon heart?" He shook his head, "Nay, tis the heart of your dear friend in physical form." Steel''s mouth dropped. "Is that true sir?" He asked, shocked. "Indeed, the crystal is the same as my wife''s. Before I continue, but that away boy." He waited til Steel had returned it to his inventory before continuing, "Those are the rarest of crystals, heart crystals. Unlike dungeon hearts, which hold souls, heart crystals hold the body, soul, and heart of someone. Do not let anyone else know you have it, as many would go to great lengths to steal it from you. It can be used to power things, as the heart holds an immense power on its own that is normally impossible to harness. Least that''s what they say." He shrugged, "Really, it holds two important purposes." "One, having a heart crystal allows the holder to travel to the dungeon heart from whence it came. Two, the crystal can be forged into anything and grant special properties, as well as power spells to a higher level." "Could I use it to move her soul into another medium, like the egg?" Steel asked. Harkin smacked his head, "Idiot boy, soul tampering is a dark art. Besides, you''d need the entire crystal and all it''s parts, as well as an empty body and immense magic power. Even then, the connection would be terrible and would cause the soul great pain." He shook his head, "No boy, your friend will have to recovered another way, if at all possible. I still have some of my notes from years past, I''ll see if I find anything useful in my spare time." "Thank-you sir." Steel bowed. The captain waved him off, "It''s the least I can do as it was my subordinates fault it happened. Best be off now son, Hamilton will be waiting downstairs for you." Bowing again, Steel left the room, his heart a little more hopeful. ------------------ Hope you guys enjoyed it! Chapter 4- Realization Okay, chapter 3 took forever to read over, and I ended up adding 1000 more words (huff, huff) Credits to FirstDragon for his PR comments on the first three, been really helpful. This is a really late chapter, but------Look forward to another chapter later today! Enjoy! P.S., added rank up table in previous chapter, thx Sriper for the hand. ------------------- As Steel walked down the stairs, he found Hamilton waiting for him at the bottom. The grizzly sergeant raised an his head at Steel''s approached and nodded. "Good to see you again whelp, ready for your training?" Steel nodded, "Sir, can I get my things from the receptionist first?" Hamilton nodded, "Meet me outside, but don''t take too long." He moved toward the door. Steel walked over to the receptionist of the guard house. She smiled at his approach, "Good day sir Scout, how may I assist you today?" "I would like to receive my payment for the expedition." She nodded, "One moment sir." The receptionist turned behind her and walked to the wall, which was covered in small doors. She opened one and pulled out a note. Reading it, she took it and returned to the counter. "This note is a merchant guild bounty note, it holds all the information on your victories and which bounties you are eligible for." She said brightly, "When you have time, take it to their receptionist and she will give you to bounty. Have a wonderful day." She bowed to him. Nodding back with a "Thank-you", Steel left the guard house and joined back with Hamilton. As soon as Steel arrived, the sergeant set out at a brisk pace toward the city, forcing Steel to lightly jog to keep up with him. "Sir, who is this instructor you''ve been telling me about?" Steel asked. Hamilton snorted, "Just an old drunkard who happens to be good with shields." He small grin appeared on his face, "To be honest, you''ll get as much suffering out of this experience as skills, so in effect I''m helping you and gaining a source of amusement." He grabbed Steel''s collar as he tried to make a break for it and pushed him forward, "Come on now, none of that. He is the best shield user in Rostwood, so it''s not like the training would be worthless. Scared of a little pain?" Steel shook his head, "Hard work and training doesn''t bother me sir. It''s just..." Steel had a vision of being Patrick''s guinea pig, "I''m adverse to doing things that come with the intention of pain." Hamilton gave a low chuckle, "Boy, remember we are not on the best of terms. I''m only helping you out this once because I owe you and it hurts seeing you fight. Your views are too different from mine, never forget that." Steel sighed. He wished he had gotten a relationship quest for the sergeant, but most likely it would involve slavery, which he didn''t like. Well, he did have his own slave, but hypocrisy didn''t matter too much to his conscience. Really, even friendship was a form of slavery; Hank had taught him that. When your a good friend, good things happen, but if you make a mistake punishment is dealt out. His skill "Shield of Friendship" was proof of that as well, just the nicer version of "Dominance". Speaking of which, he hadn''t seen Nina in awhile. He decided to message her while he was walking with Hamilton. As he opened the message system, a notice popped up:
Slaves can only be given orders in person, the messaging system will not force actions to be taken.
Steel shrugged, he just wanted to check up on her, not give her orders. He sent her a quick message saying "Hello Nina". A return message popped back immediately: Good morning Sir. Nina, what are you doing playing this hour? Don''t you have school? No Sir, its the weekend Oh, well how were the results of your debriefing? I''ll be going there now sir, I''ll let you know the results when I''m finished. What are you doing now? I''m off to training, I advise you to do the same. Yes sir! Whatever you say sir! Sighing, Steel closed the chat. She was still too eager to follow orders, he''d ask her how her help was coming the next time he saw her. In the meantime, he almost crashed into Sergeant Hamilton''s back as he stopped. Steel looked up to find himself in front of the training hall. He frowned, "I don''t wish to be rude sir, but I''ve been here before. They laughed at me for choosing a tower shield and shooed me out." Hamilton shrugged, "I would have too, but that''s not important. The shield guy you want is inside, just go in and ask the receptionist for Eric Stonehand. Good luck boy." With that, Hamilton turned and began walking swiftly back toward the guard house. Steel sighed, then walked in. -------------- The training hall was just as Steel remembered it, though there were a lot less players inside now. The trainers that were present were yelling at the remaining players; having them run, hit, and block as much as they could. Under the force of pressure, they could only groan and comply with the unreasonable demands. Steel shook his head, and walked over to the receptionist desk. "Hello, I was told to come here and ask for an Eric Stonehand?" he said questioningly. The receptionist put a finger to her mouth in thought, "Hm, are you sure young man? Eric specializes in sword and shield use and, judging by your equipment." She stared pointy at his shield, "You seem like someone not well versed with swords." Steel shook his head, "I can use a sword, I just want to learn how to fight properly." She nodded. "Okay, walk over into the training room and starting hitting one of the dummies with your shield. I''ll let Eric know to come find you." Nodding his thanks, Steel walked past the yelling instructors and wandered over to a dummy without a partner. The dummy was fairly typical; straw wrapped by mats around a wooden poll. He took his shield off his back and took a stance, eyeing his opponent. He moved his arm and slammed into the straw effigy repeatedly, alternating shield bashes with shield piercer. He kept up the momentum until his stamina and mana ran low, not desiring to faint in front of the dummy. "WEAK!" A loud voice echoed behind him, causing Steel to jump in fight. He tumbled to the ground to find a small man looking down at him. Without the full beard, Steel might have mistaken the man for a kid. He had short light brown hair mixed with streaks of silver on his head, as well as a stern gaze and arms crossed over his chest. He shook his head. "To think I''d live to see the day a fool survived so long without any training. The world has gotten too soft." He frowned. Steel got up, annoyed, "Forgive me sir, but I have done quite well for myself. I led the expedition myself..." "Quiet!" The man barked, shutting Steel down, "I don''t want to here about your miraculous victories. I saw all I needed to see watching you punch the dummy." He reached up and took the shield away from Steel, "This is confiscated." Steel blinked in shock. The NPC had literally removed the shield from Steel''s inventory. "Hey, how''d you do that? Wait, no, give that back!" Steel protested, trying to take his shield back. The man merely jumped up and round housed kicked Steel''s face, putting him back onto the ground. "Idiot." He shook his head, staring at the shield, "You based your entire fighting style around a single weapon rather than your own abilities. Don''t you know that limits your growth?" He put the shield on his back, "In this world, depending on weapons is fine for those who don''t get stronger. However, you are a traveler and a member of the guard, this behavior is shameful." This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Steel glowered at the man, than stood and balled his fists, "Who are you to be telling me these things? I''ve put hard work into my success, you have no right to put me down." The man shrugged, "Aye, I can''t refute that. That being said, if you keep this fighting style up, you will fade into the background where no one will remember you or your deeds. Is that what you want?" He raised an eyebrow at Steel. Steel pursed his lips and looked down, shaking his head. The man nodded, a smile finally appearing on his face, "Good, the fact that you understand means a chance for growth, and to answer your earlier question, the names Eric Stonehand." He held out his hand in greeting. Steel reluctantly took it, "Weren''t you suppose to be drunkard?" Eric frowned, crossing his arms again, "Now who told you that?" "Sergeant Hamilton." Steel said honestly. The little man smiled evilly and cracked his knuckles, "Oho, looks like a former pupil of mine needs another lesson from his master. I''ll make sure to treat him well next time I see him." (Hamilton sneezes and shivers) "Anyway, first thing is first. Tell me what your class is and all your skills." Eric commanded. Steel looked away uncomfortably, "Er, isn''t that private sir? And giving the surroundings..." He gestured toward the players who were trying hard to not be noticed as they listened in to the new trainer. Eric frowned and said, "Follow me." He led Steel into an office off the training room floor. Rather, it looked more like a private training than anything else. They sat down in the chairs. "Sorry about that, I forgot how private and noisy you travelers tend to be." He said, "Now, continue please." Steel took a breath, "Well, my class is "Shield Tamer" and I have the skills: Shield Bash, Charge, Shield Cover, Skinning, Rallying Cry, Leader''s Roar, Shield of Friendship, Domination, and Armor Repair." Eric stared at him a moment. ----------------------- Meanwhile in the training room, the players were finally allowed to take a break. Breathing hard, they bent over at the knees as they struggled to catch their breath. They were scared two feet off the ground by a loud voice that echoed through the training hall. "WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN DOING!" Even some of the trainers had been scared fro a moment. Some of the stealth type players discreetly made their way over to the door and put their ears on it. Information was a lucrative business after all. --------------- Steel slowly picked himself off the ground, moaning as his ears rang. The damn midget had actually given him a temporary deaf debuff from the strength of his voice. "Sir, forgive me, but what the heck?" Steel deadpanned, leaning on the seat that had also fallen over. Eric had his head in his hands, "Boy, no, maggot, do you know how poor you are right now in terms of combat strength?" Steel shook his head. "Well, allow me to put it this way: the travelers that receive a class from a trainer, be it mage, assassin, warrior, or any other, always gain both basic skills and class specific skills. At the very least." He put his hands down and stared deep into Steel''s eyes. "They have 5 basic combat skills and 3 class specific skills. Let me put it this way, you may have the class skills, but have none of the basic skills that comes from actually learning or training." Steel shook his head, "That can''t be right, shield bash and charge are basic skills aren''t they?" Eric gave him a droll look, "They only count as basic when you have the interlinking skill for them." Seeing Steel''s blank look, he sighed, "Fool, you don''t get anything from them without basic skills like Shield Mastery, Armor Proficiency, or Combat Prowess. To relate, its like you were trying to build a house with the blueprints; you built the house, but the foundation is wobbling. Soon, it would have collapsed on you and spelled your death." "Are they really important?" Eric clapped his hands together loudly, startling Steel again, "You''ve been spoiled because of your shield''s ability, regular shields do only a minimal amount of damage when used in actual fighting, and that''s with the basic skills to assist. Tell me, when you fought your fist big fight, did you do any real damage?" Thinking back, Steel recalled his first devil wolf. ''No.'' He realized, ''I wasn''t doing anything against him, it was the bunnies that ultimately took him down, I just managed to get a lucky daze in.'' The other battles as well, his spells and abilities had assisted his strategy, but it was the shield that had ultimately finished them off. Steel''s shoulders fell as the shock settled. He wasn''t strong at all, just extremely lucky. Eric nodded as he watched the shock and disappointment grow over Steel. "Good, you finally understand the full folly of your actions." He sighed to himself, leaning back, "I can''t believe Harkin allowed this boy to scout for him. The shock and happiness from seeing the dead devil wolf must have really overpowered his rationality." He muttered to himself, low enough that Steel didn''t hear. He refocused on Steel, "You class, Shield Tamer, do you really want to keep it?" Steel cocked his head, "What do you mean sir? Why wouldn''t I?" "Listen to the name maggot. "Shield" and "Tamer", does that strike you as the type of attack oriented person?" He pressed, "Even the skills themselves, none of them actually assist you personally in combat. Rallying Cry may boost your defense, but you have to recast it, and that uses a lot of mana. Also, your Leader''s Roar skill as a pretty low chance of actually working, worse against stronger opponents. There''s also the incessant need to follow a goddess." He scoffed and shock his head, "Divinity is not always kind you know, a lot of their blessings depend on their mood, which changes as fast as the wind blows. Not the most stable of people to serve you understand." "Er, is that alright to say out loud?" Steel asked nervously. Eric shrugged, "I follow the human god, and he doesn''t care about words, only actions and adventure. Now, it''s different for each of them, so don''t walk outside and start cursing them to kingdom come- the church folk are liable to punish you for blasphemy." "Anyway, back to your class. I can offer you some different classes you know? For your deeds in the expedition, I can even offer you a special scout class, what do you say?"
Class offered: Scout Weaponmaster
In war, scouts and spies are essential in tracking enemy movements and figuring out their plans. While most focus on speed, a Scout Weaponmaster focuses on effectiveness. Capable of using all manor of weapons, they are widely sought out for their ability to disrupt enemy plans by eliminating other scouts and small skirmishing forces by themselves. A difficult class to train in, few ever manage to survive the trails to become one.
Steel read the notification. It was an interesting class to be sure. He didn''t have anyone at the moment anyway, so his current class was not very productive like Eric said. Steel took a deep breath, "I.... ----------------------- And a cliffhanger. Now don''t complain too much, the next chapter will be up later today, no worries. I just have to sit down and think whether he should or not. What do you guys think? Thx for being a great audience! Chapter 5- The Lesson And the comments are in I read, I listened, and decided on a course of action, well for this chapter anyway. Enjoy! ---------------- "I''m sorry sir, but I''m going to have to decline." Steel shook his head, "This class is too important to me to just give up on a whim." Eric cocked his head, "Are you sure boy? I''ll admit that I''m not familiar with that class of yours, and I know most classes and skills, so I can''t fault you for wanting to keep it. Ask yourself, however, will that class really help you to succeed in your goal?" Steel blinked, "What do you mean sir?" The old trainer leaned forward, "I can tell maggot, I''ve lived long enough to recognize it when I see it. You may give off the aura of someone who wants to protect, but I smell your inner desire." "Your need for revenge." Steel gasped, unable to control his reflexes. This shouldn''t be possible; his personal life was not known in game, how could a program or A.I. know this? "Sir, you must be mistaken." Steel shook his head, recovering, "That..." "Maggot shut your mouth." Eric flatly stated, "If I haven''t broken through yet with your new nickname, it¡¯s no wonder your friend died." Steel stared at him, anger rising. "I don''t see...¡± "Exactly you maggot, you don''t see. You are trying to cover your center with another goal, forgetting your original intentions. Problem is, that doesn''t work, and your inner demon will start to devour your new goal, morphing it beyond the original intentions. Don''t lie to me boy, I''ve seen and trained men with that exact situation." He pressed inward, "Tell me, was it a her? Was your friend a girl? Did she boy tragically, you not having the power to save her? Let me guess, you decided you were going to gain strength to prevent it from happening again right? Now you¡¯re going to be the world''s savior." He gave a mocking chuckle, "Point is, you didn''t save her. You weren''t strong enough. You, failed, terribly." Eric punctuated each word, striking Steel''s heart with every blow, "In fact, I bet this happened before too. Another friend hurt by your weakness. You vowed to gain strength that time too, didn''t you? Well guess what, it didn''t work the first time, it won''t work the next time. That''s why you¡¯re a maggot, lower than dirt, because at least moves on with the flow, maggots just drown in it." Steel''s eyes blazed in anger, his fists so tight virtual blood began flowing, "You bastard." He said in a low voice, "What gives you the damn right..." Eric slapped him, "I''m stronger than you, that''s what gives me the right. Let me guess, you have a new friend right? Your friend is helping you, and you¡¯re going to protect him or her. Well, why don''t I go out and drag her bloody corpse in just to prove to you how weak you are." Steel broke, the picture of Nina''s bloody body in his mind. With a roar of anger, he lunged across the floor at the little man, killing intent spilling out of body in waves. Eric deftly avoided the charge, throwing the shield back to Steel. "You want to protect your friend? Prove it maggot! Show me everything you have!" Eric roared at him, a blood thirsty grin on his face. --------------- Steel roared out response, throwing his shield back onto his arm. He instantly activated Earth Armor, green ethereal wood covering his body and armor. The dark green ethereal spike formed on the shield, dark and menacing. Gripping his arm, he rushed Eric with the full intent of piercing right through him and running him into the ground. The two chairs they had been sitting in were blown out of the way by the force he exerted. Feet stomping against the ground like steam train, Steel slammed with full force into the wall, sending cracks splintering up it and leaving a sizable hole in it. He turned his head, for he had missed his prey. Eric was sitting on one of the downed chairs, an impressive pipe being smoked in his mouth. "Come on then maggot, I got all hot and bothered for ya, least you can do is show me a good fight." He complained. Steel narrowed his eyes, canceling the Earth Armor long enough to remove his shield from the wall. This time, he held the shield on his left side as he charged, focusing on the little man before him. As he neared, he swept down with the shield and executed a beautiful upper cut. Eric merely jumped up and used a single hand to push himself off the shield, landing behind Steel again. "Such a big weapon shouldn''t have any trouble hitting little oh me." He mocked, "That the best you can do? Throw your weight around like an uneducated lout?" Steel ground his teeth, the little bastard was quick. He used the chair as a kickoff as he soared into the air, holding the shield above his head. He brought it down quickly as he was falling, waiting until Eric moved to swing the shield in a falling shield bash. Eric grinned and pushed off the shield again, using the edge this time to avoid the spike. Steel crashed into the ground, failing to recover himself in time. "Interesting use of the environment maggot, but if you can''t execute the landing, it''s still a failure." He sighed and held his hands up, shaking his head as he shrugged, "Best come up with new things before you fight me." Steel dragged himself off the floor with a cunning glower. "How about this then? Dark Bind!" Instantly, the darkness pooled itself around Eric and closed like a noose, but the slippery man hopped out of it. "I see you failed to mention all your skills boy, still it''s nothing I haven''t seen before." He yawned. "Try this then." This time, Steel focused the darkness spell into his shield, canceling the Earth Armor. The green spike was replaced by a black ethereal tentacle, which pulsed in the light. As if reading it''s Master''s mind, it shot out fast and zoomed toward Eric. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Eric''s eyes widened as he dropped hi pipe and pushed off the floor onto the wall. The tentacle reached his former spot in seconds, than soot out toward him again. Eric had to push off the wall to avoid it, but it turned suddenly and followed him. Before it grasped him, however, Steel ran out of mana and it disappeared. Grimacing, he drowned a mana pot and unleashed the spell again. Eric had only a moment to recover when the darktacle shot at him again. This time, though, when he launched into the air it immediately tracked him. Just as it almost touched him, Eric frowned and pushed off the air. He launched himself thought the air as if it were solid, before finally landing behind Steel. Steel gave him a confused angry look, watched Eric point, and turned just in time to watch the tentacle hit him. Instantly, it wrapped itself around him in a cocoon of darkness, only his head outside. Eric chuckled and walked in front of him, "Well, that certainly was interesting. I promote you to worm for that." He gave a mocking bow, "Too many weakness with that though." Steel cancelled the spell and forced himself up. "Yeah? See if you can dodge it again!" He chugged a mana pot and pointed the shield at Eric again, unleashing the darktacle a third time. Eric shook his head, "Fool worm." He pushed off the air again, and soared toward Steel. Steel smiled evilly at him as he did so, "Earth Wall!" A pillar of stone shot up from the floor between the two. With a yelp, Eric pushed off the pillar before he crashed into it, but ended up getting caught by the darktacle. It wrapped him in a dark cocoon as well, falling to the floor with a thud. "Who¡¯s weak now!" Steel roared, chugging a fourth mana potion to shoot a spike through the cocoon. Before he could do so, the cocoon blew apart in a gust of wind, forcing Steel to move his shield to cover his face. When he put it down, a very different looking Eric greeted his sight. Eric was dressed in full leather armor now, a sash crossing his torso diagonally and filled with daggers. A circlet around his head, he held a short sword in one hand and a buckler shield in the other. His grin was filled with excited blood thirst. "That''s what I''m talking about cub, now this is a real fight!" He took a fighting stance, "Prepare yourself!" He shot forward, and Steel barely raised his shield in time to block the first blow. ''Too light.'' He thought to himself, dropping himself to the floor in an instant. A second sword slash whisked by where his neck had been. Steel rolled across the floor and jumped up, eyes alert. His instinct skill activated, and he threw his shield behind him as the trainer sliced at Steel''s back. This time, however, Steel was thrown back by the force of the blow, barely managing to keep himself upright off the floor. He glowered at the smiling imp in front of him. "Come on pup, anything else? I guess I''ll have to go get your friend after all." He sighed dramatically. Steel''s mind blanked out, similarly to when the gate guards had mistreated Hunie. His entire body glowed green as the same skill activated that had allowed him to knock the level 12 guards out. He cast Earth Armor again, coupling it with Earth Wall to cover his exposed skin with stone. A stone helm covered his head, and looked every bit the juggernaut of rage as he felt. Giving an inhuman roar, the figure charged Eric, its stride leaving impressions in the floor where he kicked off. Eric sighed, "Guess that''s the end of it huh, too bad." He took a martial pose, leaning forward with his shield while reversing his sword grip behind his back. He watched carefully as the juggernaut approached, eyeing him with insight. "Slice!" The behemoth slammed down into the ground where the trainer had been, leaving a deep gouge in the floor. Eric was behind him, and he put his sword away as he turned to regard the figure. He looked at his hand, a small cut drawing a drop of blood. He grinned. "Well then boy, I see you have quite the potential in ya. Especially with this trump card. I be looking forward to training you." At this, the stone armor shattered and Steel crumpled to the floor, unconscious, his hand still outstretched toward his for. Eric chuckled, then sat down with a grunt. ''Years are really catching up to me'' He thought ruefully, feeling the dull pain return to his leg, "Can''t move like I used to." He sighed and waved his hand, ending the room''s spell. Instantly, the damage disappeared, replaced by its former unblemished look. This room was useful for anger outlet, as only instructors could actually be hurt within and students were immune to damage; thought not mana and stamina fatigue. Speaking of, Eric limped over and inspected Steel. His face grew pale immediately, as the boy had over taxed his mana and stamina, causing his health points to drain slowly. "Crap, can''t have you dying now, they''ll blame me! Healer! I need a healer!" Eric cried as he shuffled out of the room as fast as he could. He slammed the door open, ignoring the players who had been listening. They hadn''t heard anything through the door unfortunately, but had felt the force of the battle within. That being said, one of them had moved over when Steel made a hole in the wall and had recorded the fight through the hole before it had vanished. Normally, it was impossible to breach the room, but the earth spike had synergized with the stone enough to actually make the hole. Steel didn''t know this yet, but the video would be posted and many would learn the nickname for the figure, the Forest Giant. ---------------------------- So, I took some advice from you guys on the fight scenes. What do you think of this? Too much, not enough? Thanks Chapter 6- Learned Bright light shone through Steel''s eyelids as he slowly regained consciousness. He blinked at it, groaning as he moved a hand to block it from hitting his face. Once there, he felt a wet rag on his forehead, which he removed carefully and took in his surroundings. He was lying on a bed, well, a cot in what looked like a training room. Staring at some straw dummies, his memories came back in a flash. He groaned at the force, lying back down onto his back. A door opened behind him, and he peeked an eye to see Eric walking in, holding a cane and a happy face. He walked behind Steel, and pulled a chair to sit in. "So, how you feeling boy?" He asked, poking him with the cane. Steel gave him a droll stare, "You have to ask? I feel like crap, and I wake up to find the guy who beat me up walks with a cane." He complained, then his stare hardened, "Don''t you dare threaten to touch my friends again." Eric held up his arms, "Peace boy, I had my reasons to lie about that." Steel cocked his head, anger mixed with curiosity. Eric sighed, adjusting his posture to lean forward, "That was for your complete and utter benefit boy. Tell me, how does your heart feel right now?" Confused, Steel said, "Like I ran a marathon." Eric whacked him on the arm. "The other heart fool, how are your feelings?" Steel blinked, then realized with amazement, "It feels, lighter somehow." Eric nodded, "As I said, your benefit. You see boy, as I was explaining to ya before out little spout" He blocked the flimsy attempt from Steel to hit him, "You unintentionally tried to cover your original goal of revenge with the goal of protecting everybody. Goals are a lot like food you know, they mix together to form new creations. They can also be made poorly." He tapped Steel''s chest with the cane. "All your hate and negativity was being wrapped up in your core, allowing for your happy- go lucky character. Not the best situation, but it wouldn''t kill you if kept down. Some event though opened the floodgates, and you decided to punish someone right?" Steel nodded, "Well, now your mind is flooded with all this hate, but you naturally try to hold it back down so you can interact with others. You make new friends, find happiness again, and then you lose them through some tragedy. It makes you want to protect them, and you forget your revenge. But all that hate doesn''t just vanish you know, it simmers underneath, a corruption that rises ever so slowly, polluting your mind and actions til you are a mere shell of what you were. That''s the tragedy of tyrants with the best intentions you know, and they become the worst leaders in history." "You boy, were still in the infancy of that. I made you mad and played on your fears, giving all that hate a target. I have to say, you did some impressive things in out fight too." He nodded to himself, "I actually had to get serious, and you may have almost died." Eric rubbed his head and stuck his tongue out with a "Tee Hee". "Bastard, don''t give me a "Tee Hee"." Steel said angrily, "I''m..." Eric pushed Steel back down, "Yes yes, still mad at me, I know. It''ll take time to accept that I helped you. Enough of that though, its time for you to get a little stronger." "Uh, you mean training?" Steel said hesitantly. Eric shook his head, "No boy. Check the notifications from the gods, I''m sure you''ll be happy with the results." "Oh right, I forgot." Steel moved his finger to the blinking notification button, and a list of pop-ups appeared in front of him:
Skill Acquired: Nature''s Fury
You unlocked one of the class skills for Shield Tamer, Nature''s Fury.
Skill Name:Skill Rarity:Skill Rank:Skill Experience:
Nature''s FuryAF28%
You call upon the fury of nature to assist you in battle.
Effects:All earth based spells double in damage and have no cost. Strength, endurance and vitality increase by 150%.
Costs:Ability lasts for 10 seconds and completely drains mana and stamina.
Cool down1 Day
Status Update
You have completed drained your mana and stamina and survived the experience +5 strength +5 intelligence
Status Update
Through experimentation, you have learned that you can channel different elements into your shield for different effects. Darkness mana will create a tentacle of darkness that will seek out the closest enemy and wrap them in a cocoon of darkness..
Godly update
You are the first player to use a special skill granted by the gods. Milna is pleased by your fury, so much like her own. Increased intimacy with Milna''s Followers
Steel''s anger couldn''t repress the excitement at the news. A special skill, and a huge boost to his mana and stamina pools! Not only that, but his shield had once again proven how amazing it was. In his excitement, he didn''t notice Eric pick up the shield and put it on his back. He did notice, however, when the short man poked him in the cheek with his staff. "I see your plenty pleased ey? In any case, I''ll be keeping this shield for the time being." Steel''s head whipped around, "What! Why?" "As I said before, you''re too dependent on the shield, and not ye own abilities. When your done learning from me, I''ll give it back don''t you worry." His smile did not reassure Steel, especially when he noticed the two rather large bottles of alcohol hanging from Eric''s side. "I thought you said you weren''t a drunk?" He accused. Eric shook his head, "Nope, never denied that, just that Hamilton was spreading it around." He took a swig, "I took the liberty of paying myself for your training as well. Come back tomorrow after you settle yourself and we''ll begin." He left the room with a chuckle. Steel cocked his head, then with horror checked his inventory. His silver was gone, again! "Eric, you bastard!!!" -------------------- Unable to find Eric again, Steel left the training hall in mixed spirits. Besides the obvious harassment, he hadn''t felt this well in a long time. The pain, anger, and sadness of his memories remained, but now more of an echo than the roar they had been. Sighing, he figured that he owed the little bastard one day''s worth of training, and resigned to get his lost money''s worth. On a brighter note, he still had the bounty slip, so he wasn''t going to poor yet! He sat down on a bench and pulled up his status screen, eager to use his 10 points from leveling up. The loss of his shield had put a dent in his vitality and endurance, but overall he was pretty happy with low hes was, stat wise anyway. Leadership had also been lost, but he didn''t mind that at the moment. "Now lets see here." He muttered as he scrolled through the menu. Same options as the last time he level''s up, he could upgrade a skill or put points into his stats. He scratched his head as he read through some of the possible upgrades. "I know I don''t have the basic skills right now." He mused to himself, "But I don''t think they would improve too much anyway." He decided to upgrade Shield Bash, as it was his go to skill for attacking. Even with a different shield, it would be useful in crowd control. Which reminded him, he needed to find a temporary shield later. He clicked on the skill, and donated 4 points into it. A notice popped up.
Skill Name:Skill Rarity:Skill Rank:Skill Experience:
Shield BashFE18%
You use your shield as a weapon to pummel your opponents.
Effects:Blunt damage to opponents and has a 16% chance of inflicting daze on an opponent.
Costs:10 stamina
Cool down3 seconds
Do you want to receive the higher form of your skill: Shield Bash?
YesNo
He hit yes, and the a small trumpet horn sounded. Steel blinked, for according to the notice in front of him, his points had not upgraded the skill, but had bestowed him with a higher form of the skill. He had impatiently clicked the yes button without reading it. He hoped it hadn''t been a mistake.
Skill Name:Skill Rarity:Skill Rank:Skill Experience:
Shield SlamDF0%
You use your shield as a weapon to pummel your opponents with great force.
Effects:Causes blunt damage to opponents while also inflicting 10% penalty to impact resistance (Does not stack on itself). It has a 32% chance of inflicting daze on an opponent.
Costs:25 stamina
Cool down10 seconds
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. "Yes! This is great." He cried out, putting his hands into the air like an idiot. People walking the streets gave him an odd look. Even though Steel had messed up, this new skill would really help him. Not only did it have double the dazing chances than shield bash, it also increased impact damage!He might be able to kill a trap plant now from hitting it with a plain shield. "Wait, no. I have to remember, I''m not actually strong." He said to himself, bringing himself down to a somber mood. Eric had showed him the error of his ways, he couldn''t afford thinking that he was strong enough. Improvement was great, but it was perfection he had to strive for. Sighing, he brought the egg out of his inventory, gazing at it. The egg seemed to be a little bigger than before he had entered the training hall. He rubbed it, taking comfort in it''s soft feel. ''Maybe it grows when I fight.'' He thought to himself, ''Looks like this little guy wants to be strong too.'' He picked it off his lap and rubbed it against his face. It was so soft, he almost fell asleep. Coughing, he quickly put the egg away before he became addicted to it. He knew eggs weren''t soft, but figured game logic was involved due to being a wolf''s egg? At any rate, he had 6 points left to distribute, and decided to put all of them into stats. He decided on 4 points in vitality and 2 points in intelligence, to bring his mana and health up. He nodded at the status menu when he was done.
Status Window
Name:SteelAlignment:Neutral
Level:4Class:Shield Tamer
Race:HumanGender:Male
Titles
The Listener, Milna''s Disciple, Strong Neet, One with the Carrot
Fame:250Infamy:0
Experience:2000/10000
Health:210 / 210Health Regen:4/ Sec
Mana:100 / 100Mana Regen:1.3/ Sec
Stamina:105 / 150Stamina Regen:1.5/ Sec
Vitality:21 (16)Agility:20 (10)
Intelligence:20Wisdom:13
Strength:21 (16)Endurance:15 (12)
Leadership:20Luck:7 (12)
Charm:17 (7)Faith:20
Elemental Resistances
Fire:0Water:0
Wind:0Earth:10
Light:0Darkness:5
Now is mana was as high as his stamina, and he had the same health as when he had his shield. Nodding to himself, he got up and headed toward the marketplace, eager to turn in his bounties for gold. Gold! He quickly checked, sighing in relief as he felt the gold coin. He had wisely hid the coin in a separate part of his inventory than the silver he had, a result of the last time his money was stolen. In a much better mood now, he walked with a skip in his step down the street, a whistle on his lips. ----------------------- As he was walking down the street, Steel received another ping from Dia. Well, Dia''s avatar anyway- Steel had forgotten his Game name and it hadn''t been set in game. It was link to a video, saying: Hey Plat, Steel. I''ll be able to play soon, but before that you''re in Rostwood right, the human city? This video got taken of a scary player who took on a trainer! Can you believe it? Scary as heck too, its too bad his ID couldn''t be read while he was in the room. Watch yourself man, and see if you can get his help with your revenge. With a feeling of trepidation, Steel opened the link. As he feared, it was his battle with Eric. Someone had used the hole in the wall to record the majority of the fight, including his Nature''s Fury form. Luckily, it seemed the special room had hidden his ID, or it had been too dark to see. The video was entitled: The Green Giant is real! and had over a million views so far. He groaned, putting his head in his hand. He''d have to watch himself and keep the skill to himself. He didn''t want Hank to know how strong he was getting yet. Still, it wasn''t too big of a deal at the moment. They didn''t know him, and he''d keep it that way, for as long as possible. He resumed his walk toward the market. As approached the district, kiosks and yelling merchants began to appear on the street, announcing their wares for all to hear. Steel ignored them, for he was a man on a mission. He came out into the main square of the merchant district, a fountain in the middle with players and stores everywhere. The merchant guild was on the north side of the plaza square, big and shiny in the day''s light. He strolled right through the open doors, intent on his money. As it turned out, the inside of the guild was as magnificent as the outside, and a lot more crowded as well. It was here that the player item auction was help, so many players were crowded around both the traditional auction stages and what looked like. . .enchanted rocks? Steel walked over to them, curious. There were only a few rocks, so players were crowded around them and calling out what sounded like bids. As he approached, Steel saw that the rocks were actually enchanted orbs that showed what looked like a gladiatorial match. He tapped a random player''s shoulder, "Excuse me, what''s going on here." The player didn''t turn, his eyes fixated on the match, "That''s the coliseum match at the capital. We can''t travel there yet, but there''s money to be made betting on the matches there. Good on minotaur!" He yelled out, watching a minotaur slave fight a group of people. Steel shook his head and walked off. He had no desire to pick up a gambling addiction. It took him awhile, but he finally managed to brave through the crowds of people and arrive at the receptionist desk. The perky looking receptionist smiled at him, "Hello, and welcome to the merchant''s guild of Rostwood. Is this your first time here?" She inquired. "Yes ma''am, I..." Steel began. "Perfect! In commemoration of this, please note that an auction terminal has been place in your virtual home. Feel free to buy or sell items from it. Remember, you have to drop off items here to be sold and bought items must be picked up from this or associated guilds." She smiled, then her face softened and she winked at him, "Now that that''s out of the way, what can I help you with?" "I would like to turn in my bounty from the expedition." Steel pushed the bounty slip across the counter, "Also, Master Yorick was expecting me for something." The receptionist read the bounty and nodded, "Yes, Steel correct? Give me a moment, I''ll be right back with your rewards." She disappeared into the door behind her. --------------- Thx for reading! Chapter 7- The Market High guys, girls too. Here''s the new chapter, and info. Now, about the stats, I made this without any knowledge of real gaming so (shrug) Health- Vitality*10 Health regen- agility*.2 Mana- Intelligence*5 Mana Regen- Wisdom*.1 Stamina- Strength*5 Stamina Regen- Endurance*.1 Feel free to drop opinions, I''ll read all of them. Finally, please remember, if you enjoy this story, please leave a review on the main page. It really helps me out, and brings new readers too. Of course, comments make me just as happy :p (almost 600 followers!) Enjoy! --------------------------- The receptionist returned with a small pouch in her hand. "Sir Steel, may I present you bounties for your participation and contribution to the expedition." She handed it over and bowed to him, "Thank you for saving our town, and helping to increase our profits." She gave him a wink.
For your contribution to the expedition, you have received: 100 silvers, given as 1 gold
Steel gleefully pocketed the money. He now had two gold coins, two! From all the yelling coming around the hall, he hadn''t heard anyone asking for a single gold on any item. Before his inner greed could rear its head higher, the receptionist broke into his thoughts. "Master Yorick has also informed me to give you two things." She handed him a pin that resembled an "S" and a slip of paper, "The pin will allow you to enter out VIP auctions, including the slave auction and the private auction. The paper I have given you contains the time when the gloves of the alpha wolf will be sold in the private auction." She shook her head in amusement, "That was the idea anyway, but you almost missed it. In fact, I advise you to hurry over there, they should be bringing it out soon." She pointed at an ornate set of red doors further in the guild, guarded by two large and very scary looking men. Hearing her, Steel thanked her for her help as he hurriedly equipped the pin and made his way over to the doors. A small crowd of players were trying to argue their way in as he approached. "Come on, let us in already. We have silver to spend." A swordsman held put a pouch and jingled it, "I may accidentally drop some on the way in too." The guard huffed and punched the swordsman, knocking him onto his back, "Bribery is not permitted in the sight of the merchant guild." He stated stoically. Steel snickered at the sight. ''In other words, don''t try to bride so obviously with so little money.'' He thought humorously. Steel strolled up to through the crowd and presented his pin to the guards. They stared at it for only a moment. "Have an enjoyable evening sir." One said as the other opened the door for him. Steel laughed as the door closed behind him and the roar of protests began strewing from the other players. ''I take this time to gloat because I went through hell to get here.'' He recited the old saying in his head. An elder in the real world had told him this quote, explaining why old people snickered at young people so often. He understood the meaning now. He walked down a brightly lit and well-furnished corridor to another door, which opened as he approached it. A butler was on the other side, already bowing to Steel. "Good day sir, and welcome to the private auction of Rostwood." He said, straightening up, "I must say, it''s impressive that one so young was able to get into this place. Master Yorick has waved the fee since it is your first time, but please remember any future visits will require a gold coin for entry." Steel''s inner greed fell over in defeat, so much for feeling on top of the world. He hid his feelings as he said, "I take it works to keep the riffraff out?" The butler nodded, smiling, "Indeed you are correct sir. The private auction is big spender¡¯s only, even invited guests such as you." He took a moment to peruse Steel''s equipment and looks, frowning slightly, "You do have money to spend, correct?" Steel put on his best arrogant face, "How dare you! Do you think Master Yorick would invite a plebeian to his auction! I will not stand for this insult, I''m leaving and I swear Yorick will here of this!" He turned haughtily, slowing counting down in his head. ''Three, two, one...'' "Please wait sir!" The butler said frantically, "I''m so sorry, my mistake. I did not recognize such an affluent man from your attire, please excuse my judgment." The butler was bowed in a complete 90 degree angle now, which impressed Steel. Keeping up with appearances, Steel sniffed, "Sir, this is a ploy, do you not realize?" The butler straightened up, confused. Steel sighed, "Do you believe others will pay me mind dressed as I am? Will they consider me a threat in the auction?" The butler''s eyes widened in realization. "Quite genius sir, I see you are a man of great mind as well as wealth!" Steel nodded, "Indeed, but do not be fooled by the appearance, this armor was handcrafted by a professional craftsman from the skin of the finest devil wolf. its value is quite high, even if its appearance is deceiving." He held out the sleeve for the butler to inspect, whose eyes widened again at the feel, "Amazing sir, I have never felt such high quality leather before. Please, allow me to lead you to a private booth to apologize for my horrendous mistake. You will have a choice of food and drink at your request." Steel nodded, and when the butler turned to lead him, let a small smile appear on his face.
Status update
Using a mix of truth and half-truths, as well as convincing acting, you have convinced the staff of the private auction you are a man of intelligence and subtlety. You have acquired the Con-Artist skill. +5 charm
Skill Name:Skill Rarity:Skill Rank:Skill Experience:
Con-ArtistCE15%
You use your charm to convince someone of something
Passive Effect:Your speech and persuasion gain a passive bonus from the amount of charm you possess.
Costs:N/A
Cool downN/A
''I can see this being useful.'' He thought to himself as he followed the butler up a set of stairs. They came to a landing with a door, and the butler opened it for Steel. Inside, a small room connected to an outside balcony, which had a magnificent view of the auction stage. Steel could hear the auctioneer count the bidding for the latest item. "Is there anything I can get you sir?" The butler asked politely. "I''m not one to eat other''s food, but a fine wine would do." Steel demurred, waving his wand in the air, "Also, do you know when the gloves are up for auction?" The butler nodded, smiling, "I thought you were after those. You''re in luck sir, they are the next item out. Allow me to serve you a glass of our finest wine." He strolled gracefully over to one of the walls, and opened it, pulling out a wine glass and bottle. Steel blinked, his mask almost breaking. "Quite an interesting design you have here." He commented, watching the hole close without leaving a trace of existence. "We at the private auction do our best to meet the needs of our customers." The butler handed Steel the glass and bowed, "Enjoy the auction sir." He closed the door behind him. Steel sighed, the tension falling out of him. Playing an arrogant snob had been hard on his heart. Luckily, he had plenty of memories to play off of. He took a sip of the wine and found it to be fantastic, fruity and flavorful, with a mild aftertaste. Third section students could drink alcohol, but only until they reached a certain level of toxicity. He walked out onto the veranda and sat down, taking in the auction hall. It was quite an amazing and elaborate design. Private rooms lined the walls, and a large gallery filled up the floor in front of the stage. Steel couldn''t tell if the auctioneer was using some kind of sound magic or if the acoustics were just really good, because he could hear the man quite effortlessly. "And sold to the lovely lady in the white hat for 50 gold! A round of applause ladies and gentlemen!" He announced, the item being carried off the stage. Steel couldn''t see it, but it looked like a statue. Still, 50 gold was a lot, and everyone here was rich. He gulped, worried about how he was going to get the gloves. As there was a pause in the auction, Steel looked around the veranda. He found a mask, a pair of magic eyeglasses, and a rod. From watching old shows, Steel was pretty sure the rod was for bidding, and had no desire to embarrass himself by raising it accidentally. He put on the mask, followed by the glasses. Now, he could see the stage perfectly. Actually, it was like he was right there in the front row. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. "Magic sure is amazing." He mused, "I wonder if there''s a specialized class for these kinds of things. His attention reverted to the stage as the next item was brought out onto the stage. "Finally it''s here ladies and gentlemen, the final piece of loot taken form the corpse of the dreaded alpha wolf! This pair of gloves was sent by the gods themselves for such a great deed! They are amazingly soft, functional, and most of all effective in combat! Anyone would surely benefit from them! Bidding starts at 5 gold, any takers." Steel''s heart fell. He didn''t even have enough gold to start off the bidding. Depressed, he watched as the price soared from 5 to 70 gold in a flash. "70 gold going once, going twice. Sold to the Archmage!" Steel spewed his win out of his mouth in shock. He''d been outbid, mentally at least, by the Archmage. That man certainly was popping up a lot. He wiped his mouth, "Maybe I can cozy up to him with a favor? Looks like I have another spot to check out before the day is done." He sighed. He didn''t have too much interest in the rest of the items, so he finished his wine and left the room. As reached the bottom of the stairs, he was met by a different butler. "Sir, are you sure you want to leave now?" He asked. Steel nodded, "Yes, I''ve lost my bidding mood with that loss. However, could you direct me toward the slave auction? I would like to spend my gold on something today." The butler bowed, "Of course sir, right this way." Evidently, word had spread of his fake reputation. Steel was inwardly pleased by this turn of events. The butler led him to a smaller, black door in the lobby. "Follow the corridor here and you will arrive at the slave auction. You are quite wise to head over now when everyone else is focused on the larger items in the private auction. Your intelligence continues to astound us, no one else has ever done this before." He bowed and left Steel. ''Huh, my Con-Artist gained some exp.'' Steel thought happily, reading the notice in front of him. Unintentional or not, this trip had provided him with some interesting rewards. The hallway was just as nice as the previous one, but much longer this time. There were no doors at the end, instead opening into a large room with a raised stage. There was a desk at the entrance, the attendant snoozing on it. There didn''t seem to be anyone here right now; at least no bidding anyway. Steel walked up to the sleeping man and rapped his knuckles on the desk. Startles, the man got up and stared around. Noticing Steel, he coughed and adjusted his outfit. "I''m sorry sir, the auction will be starting once the private auction is complete." He informed Steel, still a little sleepy. Steel sighed, turning his arrogant face on again, "Sir, I don''t know who you think I am, but I am a favored guest of Master Yorick himself. I came here to inspect the slaves personally, or do I have to find someone else to help me?" He folded his arms across his chest and tapped his fingers impatiently. The attendant paled, "I''ll be right back sir!" He hurried off into the back. Steel shook his head at the sight, ''Wonder what the normal clientele is like for them to be so respectful?'' The attendant returned quickly with a manager like character in tow. The man bowed, "Greetings sir, I am the overseer here and I have been informed of your coming by Master Yorick himself. Though, I did not expect you to be here so soon." His face was neutral, but Steel could hear the question on his lips. "I was disappointed by the private auction, but did not want to leave until I had spent some of the gold I brought with me, is that a problem?" Steel asked, inspecting his nails. At the sound of gold, the overseer smiled and nodded, "Yes, I understand perfectly my lord. Allow me to show you some of our generous wares, and perhaps interest you in a sale before the others get here." Steel nodded, holding a look of disdain on his face, "See that you do then." He was led into the back rooms behind the raised platform. Inside, Steel found a variety of cages holding all manner of creatures. He raised an eyebrow, "This is quite an impressive collection you have here. Are they all to be auctioned off them?" He asked curiously. The overseer shook his head, "Some are already sold, and others merely here in transit to other locations. Are you looking for a magical beast or demon sir?" Steel considered, then shook his head, "No, I merely seek an attendant for my latest acquisition." He brought out the egg, "In order to help raise this one." He watched the greed appear in the overseer''s eyes. "Yes, raising beasts is a hard and dirty job. I compliment you for your keen insight." As the overseer turned around, Steel let a look of disgust cross his face. He really didn''t like the man''s attitude, as if everything had a certain price to it. It was similar to his experiences in real life. ''Keep it down Plat." Steel thought to himself, "Just be cool till this is all over." The overseer led him into another room, this one filled with humanoid slaves. Steel had to admit, for slaves they didn''t look too bad. They were obviously well fed, and wore clothing instead of rags. "You keep them well off don''t you?" Steel commented. The overseer nodded. "Keeping them at least satisfied raises the sale price and lowers potential runners." He explained, "Also, even though slavery is an ancient trade, we do have standards." "How so?" The overseer shifted his footing, "Well, slavery exists in all the civilizations. Humans, for example, are common slaves outside of our kingdom. An agreement was struck that slaves would be at least well fed so as to keep the peace between the nations in older times. It actually increased profit, so the practice stuck, even if some are not worth more than dirt." He said matter-of-factly. Steel inwardly winced, but kept up the facade, "I see. So what do you advice for someone to take care of my beast? I''d prefer someone who can fight as well as train." The overseer scratched his head, "Hm, any slave that can fight is a risk, so most of our stock comes from non-fighters. My advice is to train someone rather than buy a potential back-stab." ''Ironic, since I bet any slave would kill to be free.'' Steel thought. The overseer led him over to a cage, "The beastmen here of high stock, and are very good with animals. They. . ." "No beastmen." Steel stated bluntly, his face unable to keep the pain from leaking onto it. The overseer noticed, and professionally directed Steel''s attention to another cage. "How about a dwarf? They are good with their hands, and can craft as well as train for you." Steel considered, than shook his head, "I''ll think about it, what else?" The overseer considered, "Well, we have a few elf slaves, but they are all reserved already to high nobility. Orcs are impossible to keep here, so only the human slaves are left." He pointed to a row of cages, "Feel free to browse, I''ll be inspecting the slaves for today''s auctions, so let me know when you pick your choice." Steel walked down the row, inspecting the occupants within. Though fed and clothed, it was obvious that no one wanted to be here. Each gave him a look of acceptance and sadness, as if it were as inevitable as death to be sold. He felt sympathy toward them, but knew they hadn''t been strong enough to escape this fate. In the end, their new homes would likely be safer than anything else. He continues walking until a sight gave him pause. One slave was in a cage all by himself, and he was wearing rags. His face looked defiantly up at him, as if daring Steel to continue looking at him. Steel cocked his head, curious. "Sir, what is the story of this slave here?" The overseer appeared momentarily, and frowned. "This one has been most uncooperative sir. Refuses both cloth and food, and tries to escape at every opportunity. Truth be told, we were going to sell it for cheap, or, failing that send it to the coliseum in the capital to fight." The slave made a growling noise at the overseer, who took a step back. Steel scratched his head, "I''ll take him off your hands for 50 silvers." The overseer chuckled, "We''d get more than that sending it off. 5 gold and its yours." Steel shook his head, "If you were sending him off after failure to sell, I doubt it would be for much. 75 silver." The overseer shook his head, "We put a lot into our slave, food and clothing. . . " "Really? Because all I can see is a filth and starvation." Steel said, eyeing the slave. The overseer grimaced. That line must have been automatic for him to say, but it cost him this time. "1 gold then." He finally settled. Steel shook his hand. "I''ll have it cleaned and delivered to you, where is your place of residence?" "I have a permanent room at the adventurer''s Guild I''m currently staying at, have him set there." Steel replied, turning to leave. He had a new helper now, one that hopefully would not end up killing him. Chapter 8- Protection To everyone who complained about a male slave: You have no faith in author-sama? Plot devices come in every form. Also, no one notice slave overseer called slave "it"? Besides that, news: 1. Super Mod Volcanoid gave me a scathing criticism of the first chapter, and I agreed with him. Sincere thanks go out to him for the help. 2. Almost 600 followers, nice! Now, lets finish the slow section and to some training montages! ---------------------------- After paying the attendant at the front, Steel returned down the corridor to the main lobby, feeling a little dirty. He didn''t feel bad about buying the slave, if anything he''d give him a better life with a much longer lifespan, but the whole business approach disgusted him. The slaves had no hope for freedom, not even buying their way out due to the magic involved. The fact that it was widely practiced disturbed him as well, he had thought at least the elves were opposed to it, but no, they used human slaves themselves. ''Ironic isn''t it'' he considered in his mind, ''The orcs may be the most savage, but they don''t keep slaves. Well, who knows what they do instead.'' He chuckled to himself, he was being such a hypocrite. Then again, it was a game world, so he could do whatever he wanted to do, within reason. His moral conscious didn''t bother him about it. He opened the door to find the first groups of people coming down the stairs from the private auctions. Evidently, it had ended already while he had been browsing slaves. One group coming down immediately grabbed his interest. He walked over to the Archmage and his retinue and bowed low, "Great Archmage, it is a pleasure to see you again." The Archmage raised an eyebrow at him, "Ah yes, you are the Scout boy, correct? What brings you here today, forgive me but I did not think this was your kind of. . .environment." Ignoring the slight jab, Steel continued to smile, "My place is anywhere the wind takes me sir, and the wind of fortune has allowed be into this place. Though I must say, it brings a mix of pain and satisfaction you were the one who bought the wolf gloves today." A flash of something passed over Archibald''s face, to quick for Steel to read, before settling on neutrality, "Yes, well my daughter has a weakness for such things. We are going through a rough patch right now, and I feel it will help smooth things over." Steel smiled inwardly, he loved the "Listener" title and its ability to acquire new information, "Sir, how about I offer you my services in reconciling with your daughter?" The Archmage''s eye twitched, and with a gesture his retinue disappeared, revealing themselves to be phantoms. He put his arm around Steel and led him over to the wall, bending his head slightly. "Care to explain young man? I won''t let you off easily if you threaten my relationship to my daughter." His eyes literally displayed a flame inside them, one the Steel quickly wished to put out. He held up his hands, "Peace sir, I have never met your daughter, and have no desire to take her from you." The old man blinked, stroking his beard with a nod. ''Right, almost forgot he doesn''t know." He thought to himself. "So boy, how do you propose I heal the rift with my daughter? Know this, normally I would smite you for insolence as I barely know you, but I''m giving you a chance because I have the strangest feeling you can help." Steel sent a quick prayer to Milna, "Well sir, I''m guessing your daughter has reached the age where she wants more freedom, correct?" Steel quickly reviewed everything he knew about child rearing, which came from his experiences and documentaries. Archibald nodded, "Yes, she wants to explore the world, but she''s to weak to survive out there. I can''t let her leave, but it only seems to drive her away." He sagged, his burden showing on his face. "Well sir, I very much doubt you can change her mind on that. Wanderlust is an important part of growing up after all. Didn''t you yourself go on adventures in the days before your prime, with Captain Harkin and the rest?" "I did indeed, but I was foolish and made many mistakes. I know the pain they can bring, and I can''t explain to her how much it hurts when it happens to her." He shook his head. Steel cocked his head, "Well then, why are saying she''ll be alone?" The Archmage gave Steel a confused look, "Well sir, why don''t you travel with her into the world. You can teach her things yourself, and spend more time with her." The Archmage considered for a moment, than shook his head, "While the idea holds its appeal, my duties here do not allow for such luxuries as exploring. Besides, I''m too old now to be sleeping under the stars." He sighed. "Well, how about sending her with a trustworthy person? Someone who knows the wilderness, who had survived and conquered it; would that not suffice?" The Archmage leaned back against the wall, his hands crossed over his staff, "Hm, supervision in the wild. She''d be safe and satisfied, and when she realizes how hard it is, then she will return and be happy. Yes, I quite like that idea." He nodded with satisfaction, "Then it''s settled, I look forward to your assistance with this Scout Steel." Steel''s heart dropped, "Um, excuse me sir, I think I may have misheard you. What was that about assistance?" The mage clapped his hand on Steel''s shoulder, "My boy, the reward ceremony proved you can hold yourself in a battle. I can think no better person to take care of her, especially after I do this." His hand glowed and Steel felt something slither into his body.
Status Update
Warning: A high level geas has been place on you
Condition:Immense pain when in physical contact with Mary Highwater
Can only be ended by the original caster
Steel jumped back, alarmed. "Hey, what did you do to me!" He protested. The Archmage grinned, "Why, I''m just being a responsible father, and I remember being a boy that age." A Cheshire grin grew under his beard, "Now, you certainly will keep up with your responsibilities when you accept." "But, I''m not going out yet, I''m training at the training hall!" "Great, take her with you. Show her how tough a person has to be to survive outside the walls." "I have a new slave to take care of! I can''t afford to take care of two people!" The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. The Archmage wrung his hands gleefully, "Even better, you can show how all the men in the world are animals. You''ll scare her right back into the protective arms of her father." Steel''s mouth fell open; the man was impossible to deal with. Now he he knew why Bob talked so funny about the Archmage, the man had an insane thinking process. [td2]Reward
Quest Received
Guide the Archmage''s daughter safely through an expeditionDifficulty: Average
Requirements15 leadership Survive a major encounter High intimacy with the Archmage''s Daughter Have a geas placed on you[/tds]
Increased Intimacy with the Mage faction If the daughter decides to never leave Rostwood, intimacy with Archmage will rise to max, possible additional rewards If the daughter decides to adventure, a chance to gain her as a companion will arise
Failure Condition:Daughter Dies
Refusal of quest:No penalties, geas will remain permanently
Steel face palmed himself. He hadn''t been trying for a quest, just a chance to raise intimacy. He weighed his choices. One the one hand, the quest could be refused without penalties. That being said, the geas spell would remain forever and it was likely the relationship would never recover between the two. He''d avoid unnecessary trouble and be free to train for as long as he liked. On the other hand, he''d finally get to meet the elusive daughter he''d heard so much about from his Mary. His Mary, nice ring to that. Anyway, he''d raise intimacy and gain rewards on either outcome. The thought of the gloves crossed his mind, this being a much cheaper way to get them. "One question sir." Steel said through his hand, "When you say "expedition", you don''t mean like the last one correct?" The Archmage looked horrified, "Heavens no, I mean leave the town for a few nights and camp in the woods or something. Well, now that I think about it." He mused, "The dungeon should be almost ready for raids, I think it would be appropriate to take her there for a raid or two." Steel raised an eyebrow, "Isn''t that place dangerous? I thought you wanted her to stay safe?" He waved his hand, "Please, my daughter is stronger than you many times over. Besides, the dungeon won''t be as hard as when it was a lair. Your there to watch over her fears. No matter how strong she is, shes bound to become stressed in that kind of environment, and stress leads to mistakes." Steel sighed, "Okay, as you wish sir I''ll take of her for you. When should I come by?" The Archmage clapped his hands together, "Tomorrow of course! Bring that slave of yours and take straight to the training hall. Even if that doesn''t turn her away, I have high hopes for you young man. I''ll be seeing you." He bowed, and disappeared in a flash of flame. Steel coughed and waved the smoke away. "Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" ------------------- Mary lay on her bed, bored out of her mind. She was still under house arrest for causing two major disturbances at the tower, and she was finally reaching the point where it felt like real punishment. Well, she thought so anyway. She groaned and pulled a pillow over her head. A knock sounded from her door. "Who is it?" She asked through the pillow. "It''s your father, I have some good news for you." Came the response. Mary rolled her eyes. As much as she adored her father, he was way to overprotective and doting on her. It had been fun when she had been younger, but now it was stifling. She sighed, taking the pillow off her face and resigning herself to listen to what he had to say, again. "Okay, you can come in." The opened by itself, gently resting against the wall. In a tower full of mages, traditional locks were worthless without magical traps and other nasty devices. She didn''t normally activate though, not since the last time her father had busted into her room in excitement. She sat up and put the pillow in her lap, "What is it sir Archmage?" Her father winced, the coldness in her tone chilling, "Ah, my dear. I think I have a wonderful solution to both our problems. Ah, but first take this gift from me." He levitated a package across the room to her. She took it gracefully, but put it too the side. He continued, "I know you want to explore the world, and you know I don''t want to see you hurt." He waited for her nod of acknowledgment, "So I decided to take the middle path. I''m going to let you leave the city for a few days to experience the wilderness." He smiled at her expectantly. Mary''s mouth fell open in shock. While it didn''t sound like a lot, her father had never considered such a thing before for her. She quickly calmed herself, it sounded too good to be true. "What''s the catch?" She said suspiciously, hugging the pillow in front of her. The Archmage shook his head, "No catch, I just require that you take an escort well versed in surviving outside the wall. He''ll take care of you and make sure nothing bad happens to you." Mary scoffed, "As if anything bad would happen to be." She summoned a dark fireball for emphasis. The Archmage held up his hands placatingly, "Please dear, that''s the only thing I ask. This is for my peace of mind, okay?" She dismissed the fireball, considering. It certainly was a good offer, one she would likely see again if she refused. "Okay, I''ll do it father. Just to make you happy." She smiled at, signaling their fight was over. He sighed in relief. "That''s wonderful dear. Now, get everything ready for tomorrow, though I doubt you''ll leave immediately. You''ll, er, certainly enjoy his company." His snicker raised warning signs in her head. "Um, father. Who are you asking to escort me again?" Her father was closing the door behind him when he answered, "Oh, just the Scout boy who did so well on the expedition. You don''t know him, but that Steel is definitely one of a kind." Archibald laughed to himself as the door locked and the inner wards activated inside, Her scream of "WHAT!" came through as her room shuddered. He walked away from her room in a much happier mood. Oh yes, that boy was going to be a great help to him. Chapter 9- Hard Knocks Hurt Since I''m having a hard time getting a cover art, my little sister made me one to help out. Not the final CA, but I like it. She''d also appreciate feedback :p I''ve been taking the time to read the stories of some of my more active commentators, and I''ll give one shout-out per chapter. -Spine, I really like This Game We Call Life. Especially how we both used the name "Rostwood" :p. Keep it up! Enjoy guys! ------------------ Morning found Steel back in his room pacing around. His thoughts had been so jumbled yesterday he had stumbled up to his room and fallen asleep much earlier than he had previously planned out. Nothing bad had happened, but now he was left with little time to plan out the day, especially with the VIP he''d have to take care of. "Hue." He breathed out, "Wish I could take Mary with me, I bet she''d know how to take care of the princess." He was really going to have to restrain himself around her, especially if what the Archmage said was true. Seeing one Mary had been bad enough angry, a stronger one might actually kill him. A knock at his door brought him back down to reality. He opened the door, curious. It was Mema, and she had a curious look on her face. "Hey Steel, a gentleman is looking for you downstairs, are you expecting him?" "Yes Mema, do you mind telling him do meet me here?" Mema shook her head, "Not at all, but if it¡¯s for business remember only you get free meals." She sauntered back down to the ground floor. Steel left the door open and sat down on a chair, waiting. Soon, a hand knocked on the open door, "Come in." Steel announced. Surprisingly, it was the overseer from before that walked in, leading the slave behind him. The slave looked a little better than he had before; less dirty and normal looking clothes. Steel could read a mix of emotions on his face: resignation, anger, happiness, and hope. An odd mix indeed Steel noted. "Good morning to you sir. I see you have brought my, err, merchandise." Steel nodded. The overseer had on his merchant smile today, a perfect poker face in Steel''s opinion, and said, "Ah yes dear sir, here it is in perfect, untouched condition. Now, about delivery charges." Steel chuckled, "Oh my dear overseer, is this not my first time purchasing from you? Can you not just waive the fee?" The overseer put his hand over is heart, "Oh, but my poor body would be one the line for such a failure. Why, I shudder to think what my superiors would do to me for such a failure." He grinned at Steel. "Really? Interesting how you failed to mention it yesterday. Perhaps a quick chat with Master Yorick. . ." "Unfortunately, the guild master has a full schedule today and is unavailable to assist even his dearest friends." Steel inwardly fumed. It was greedy bastards like him that gave merchants a bad name. Unfortunately, Steel couldn''t come up with a good argument to refuse him. He looked over at the slave, and his eyes widened. "Sir, did you not claim my slave to be untouched?" The overseer''s eyes narrowed, "Yes, why do you ask?" Steel pointed, "Unless my eyes are deceiving me, he looks injured to me." The overseer whirled around to find blood trickling down the side of the slave''s mouth. Roaring in outrage, he raised his hand to slap the slave, who winced and held up his hands in self-defense. As his arm came down, Steel caught it and glared. "First you try to lie to me, and then you try to injure my property. Shall I call the guards to come deal with you?" He said threateningly. The overseer jerked his arm out of Steel''s grip and glared. He growled and said, "Unless you pay me, I will not perform the magic to tie it to you, and you''ll have to take care of him whilst watching for a stab in the back." "Then leave you arrogant fool!" Steel exploded, "I''ve had enough of your greed and lies for one day. Rest assured, Yorick will hear of this." The overseer laughed arrogantly, "Really? It''s my understanding that you¡¯re actually a poor adventurer who Master Yorick let into the hall on a whim. I doubt he would may you any mind." With that, he slammed the door behind him, leaving Steel and the unbound slave behind him. Steel shook his head and sighed. Of course the man would have done some research first. Still, he''d try to let Yorick know later, with the hope he wasn''t in on it. He looked at the slave, who was sitting with his feet crossed on the floor. "So little one, you have a name?" The slave cocked his head, thinking. He shook it, pointing at Steel. "You want me to name you?" The slave nodded eagerly. "You don''t seem like you hate being a slave?" A nod, "You just hated being that guy''s slave." He nodded again and gave a growl. Steel crossed his arms, "Now, why in the world would you want to be a slave? Isn''t that a poor choice for your future?" The slave shrugged, and then pointed at himself followed by Steel. "You''re okay being my slave?" Nod, "Why?" The slave grinned, showing a missing tooth and a red fruit. Steel stared, and then laughed, "I see you¡¯re a little trickster aren''t you. You wanted to help, so you feigned injury Hm?" The slave nodded happily. "Now, why do you want to be my slave?" The slave pointed at the sky, than at himself, than at Steel. "The sky told you?" He shook his head. "The gods told you?" Another shake of the head. Steel sighed, "Can you not speak?" The slave shrugged, opening his mouth to show off a working tongue. "Is it that you don''t know how?" The slave moved his head side to side. "Huh, well I''ll call you Echo then, my irony''s sake." Echo glared at him, before sighing and nodding. "Good, now that that''s done, I need to figure out a way to make you my slave officially. It wouldn''t do for someone to steal you make into slavery from me." Echo nodded. "If I had a shield, then this would be a lot easier." He mused to himself. Upon hearing his words, Echo jumped up excitedly and ran over to the bed. He grabbed a pillow and threw it to Steel, who caught it. He returned and knelt in front of the pillow. "You expect this to work?" Steel asked incredulously. Echo nodded in agreement. Raising an eyebrow, Steel equipped the pillow to his shield slot, and read the results:
Pillow Shield
Type:ShieldDurability:1/1
Quality:Elite
Required Stats:N/A
Effects:Cannot cause damage
Extremely rare because no one would be dumb enough to use this in battle, or even consider equipping it as a shield. Perfect for pillow fights, but not much else.
Steel face palmed after reading the description. Thankfully, the system did not register the item as the first elite item, otherwise he''d have to explain it to the world, and would look like a complete idiot. Still, it would work for his purposes. He pointed the "shield" at Echo. "Domination!" The darkness swirled out of the pillow and covered Echo in its cocoon.
Slave Echo has accepted your Domination
Name:EchoSpeciesHuman, variant
ClassN/AHealth:90/90
Master:SteelLevel:1
Attack/Defense:10/10
Skills:None
Description:A companion purchased by Steel from the slave auction. For reasons unknown, this person desires to be a slave, and willingly accepted it. Classified as a variant human, it is unknown what this means at this time. Does not have the ability or knowledge on how to speak.
Note, status menu will become available upon Echo''s level up, allowing for stat distribution.
The cocoon disappeared, leaving a smiling Echo in its wake. Steel smiled back, "Well then Echo, welcome to the Shield Scout Squad." Echo tilted his head, held up three fingers, than rolled backwards in wordless laughter as he processed the name. Steel groaned. "Note to self, get Harkin to change the damn name!" ----------------- After a hearty meal from Mema, the two of them left the guild for the mage''s tower. Echo wasn''t hungry, so Steel didn''t have to pay for his meal. Mema had raised an eyebrow at the boy, but hadn''t said anything. She just pursed her lips and went back to serving the other hungry patrons. On the way to the tower, Steel had bought a long cloak for Echo to wear, deciding that an outfit of old clothes didn''t suit his slave. The dark blue robe hung on Echo''s body like a mage''s outfit, and he had seemed delighted to wear it. He skipped beside Steel as they walked, his blond hair bouncing and shining in the sunlight. Stolen story; please report. ''He''s an interesting one, that''s for sure.'' Steel thought, watching the boy jump up and down, ''Too bad he can''t talk, I bet he''d have an interesting back story with quests." He rubbed his hands excitedly. He''d had too many big quests recently, he wanted to take a few little ones so that the stress wouldn''t overwhelm him. Maybe kill a few cellar rats, or collect some herbs out in the grassland. Yeah, that sounded good. The tower today had rings of stone orbiting it, reminding Steel of pictures of Saturn. It had a rustic look to it, light brown with small cracks and bricks on the outside. ''If I ever make a house, I want it to change just like that.'' Steel thought as they approached the doors. When they entered, they found the receptionist waiting for them inside the doors. She gave Steel a wry smile, "Good to see you again young man. I hope you know what you are doing." Steel chuckled, "Well, not like I have a choice in the matter." He shrugged. The receptionist patted his shoulder, "Don''t worry Steel. Just treat this quest as if you were transporting a beautiful statue. Look at her, admire her, but don''t touch or damage her. I''m sure a young, experience man like you will do just fine." The words were encouraging, but half her face kept trying to twitch into a laughing pose. She led the two to some of the marble looking chairs around a marble table. "On a quick note ma''am. Why don''t you change the inside like you change the outside?" "Oh, it would be too much trouble. Besides, this kind of material is hard to come by, and speaks well of our wealth." She said with pride. She returned to her desk after they were situated, sending a magical message to the Archmage. A sudden flash of fire brought the Archmage into the chair directly across from Steel, startling Echo out of his own and onto the floor. The Archmage gave a mock salute to Steel, "Morning young Scout. Are you ready to begin your adventure?" He caught sight of Echo struggling to get back up, "Ah good, you brought your slave with you. Excellent start my boy." He nodded in satisfaction. Steel, who had also been startled by the sudden appearance, recovered and asked, "Did you find out when the dungeon would open?" "Yes, thank you for the remainder." The Archmage pulled a letter out of his robes and read it, "Master Yorick and I have been monitoring the stability of the cave since the expedition returned. It¡¯s finally started, so Yorick has begun the preparations to set up a base near the entrance. I estimated that the cave would be ready for raids in about 5 days. That should give you plenty of time to train, so be happy." He put away the letter with a smile. ''Huh, guess the overseer wasn''t lying about Yorick''s duties today.'' Steel mused, saying out loud, "So, where is this famous daughter I''ve heard so much about?" Archmage Archibald pointed, "Why, she¡¯s right behind you of course." Surprised, Steel turned around to find himself completely mesmerized by the sight. Tall, with a body with curves that would make models jealous, and long reddish, blond hair that stretched down to a perfect ass. She moved forward with the grace of a majestic cat, and seemed to inflame the very air around her. She wore a long purple gown that covered her from neck to ankle, yet it seemed to open in eye catching places that were covered in ever moving chapters. The only thing marring her beauty were her narrowed eyes that glowed red and black, but they softened into bright blue eyes as they took in Steel. Steel had never seen a girl as beautiful as her before. Even Sarah couldn''t compare to this vision, though he still felt more toward her. He got up out of his seat and bowed to her, "My lady, this humble scout greets the vision of loveliness that comes before him." While he was bowing, she quickly raised an eyebrow, but lowered it as he straightened up. "Noble scout, it is good to see one who shows such respect. It is my pleasure to meet the one my father has told me so much about." She held out her hand. Steel smiled, than kissed it as he took hold of it. He forgot about the geas. It didn''t forget about him though. Immediately, his lips and hand began burning and his health bar began to decrease. It wasn''t horrible pain, the game designers would never do that, but it felt uncomfortably hot on his hand and his mouth felt like he had eaten some very spicy food. More alarming was that with each pulse of sensation, his life decreased by 10. Thinking he was on fire, he dropped to the floor and began rolling around like an idiot, yelling out "Not Fire Again! It burns!" The daughter, who was terribly alarmed, began trying to help him. Unfortunately, that meant she was trying to smother the invisible fire with her hands. Every place she touched began burning, making Steel even more uncomfortable. Echo had also dropped down, though his solution has to hug Steel in an effort to put out the flames. The Archmage was struggling to control his laughter, though he managed to cast a heal spell to prevent Steel from dying. His beard began twitching uncontrollably from the scene in front of him. Steel finally managed to get out, "Stop touching me, it¡¯s a geas!", before returning to yelps of fire. Her eyes gleaming, the daughter put two and two together. She got up and crossed her arms, glaring at her father. "Father dear, perhaps you should have told me about your spell before I touched the poor man." At that, the Archmage let loose a booming laugh as he rocked back and forth on the sole of his feet. He beckoned her closer, and whispered to her, "Think of it as payback for the damage to the tower. Also, feel free to take advantage of his. . . condition." She blinked, and a sneaky smiled appeared on her face before being replaced by her previous serenity. "Of course father. As usual, you always know how to keep me safe." As she turned to look at Steel, the hand behind her back patted her father''s in thanks. It took a few moments for the geas to fade away, leaving a panting Steel on the floor, still being squeezed tightly by Echo. "Echo, I''m okay now, please let go." He moaned, wincing in the boy''s tight grip. Echo complied, but shot Steel a worried look. "It''s just a condition of the quest Echo, I''m not allowed to touch her without feeling pain." Echo nodded, and put himself between the daughter and Steel, his arms out in a wall to prevent her from getting closer to Steel. She giggled at the cute sight, "My, what an adorable little boy. Who is he master Steel?" Steel winced, getting back to his feet, "Forgive me my lady, but I''d prefer you never address me as master again. It strokes wounds that have not yet healed." He shifted his weight, "To answer your question, this is Echo, the newest addition to my, err, family. He''s here to fill a sudden opening in my squad as a slave." The daughter''s eyes hardened, "I see. Pleasure to meet you Echo." She held out her hand, but Echo shied back from it, fear on his face. Startled, he face softened, "Don''t worry, the spell is only on Steel. You won''t get hurt from touching me." Hesitating, Echo accepted the hand, and was pulled into a large hug by the beautiful lady, "You are so cute! You are required to sleep with me okay? Call me big sister." Echo struggled hopelessly and finally let himself be cuddled. Steel cleared his throat, "How should I refer to you my lady?" She glared at him, "My lady or ladyship will do. You may also call me mistress, goddess, or most beautiful of all women." Steel didn''t see it, but her eyes were twinkling in amusement at him. He sighed, "Yes your ladyship, whatever you say." She nodded, "Good. Now, it¡¯s my understanding you''ll be training for the next 5 days, is that correct?" He nodded, "Yes your ladyship, care to join me?" She raised her nose haughtily, "I have no need for such things, and my magic is strong enough to take care of me." "If you come and watch, I''ll let you hold onto Echo the entire time." Her dress changed to a more relaxed form of robed pants and shirt, "Hurry up fool, I have no patience for diddling around." Sighing, Steel led her out of the tower, the Archmage waving a handkerchief at their departure. ---------------- Steel led the two to the training hall, where other players were hard at work. He walked over to the receptionist and asked where Eric was. She pointed him down a hall opposite the training room. Thanking her, Steel walked down the corridor, Her ladyship and Echo following closely behind. Steel followed the sound of snoring to an open room where Eric was snoozing away, an empty bottle of beer in his lap. Steel slapped the desk. "Hey old man, it''s time for some training." Eric opened one eye, "Oh, it¡¯s you again. Give me 5 more minutes." The eye closed, then both shot open and focused on the lady. He stumbled out of his chair, "Ah, good morning Lady Mary." She nodded, "I wish to observe his training, is that alright?" He nodded, "Of course. Come boy, time we knock some real fighting sense into you." He opened a side door to reveal another training room, this one devoid of players. "Come along then boy." Steel stepped in, "Sir, you aren''t going to make the training especially hard because someone is watching, right?" Eric laughed, "Of course not. It''s already going to kill you most likely, no need to make it worst." Steel felt so much better. Chapter 10- Hell and Heels (Part 1) We hit 600 followers Cue the music. and, Enjoy ----------------- The training room was very large, feeling more like the bottom of a house rather than a single room. It was also quite plain, only holding padded floors and white walls. Eric stood at the center and smiled. "This here be the specialized training room. All old trainers, like me, have one. We use it for specialty training for the more interesting people that come through our halls, and train them privately so as to not raise jealousy from others." "So this isn''t only limited to me? Other travelers are doing this?" Steel asked. "Of course boy, don''t tell me you thought you were unique?" Eric laughed, "Well, you are the first traveler I''ve taken an interest in, so I guess you can take some pride in that." He shrugged. "Now, let¡¯s get things ready." Eric snapped his fingers. Instantly, comfy seats arose behind Mary Highwater and Echo, while dummies appeared out of the ground in between Eric and Steel. Eric took out a wooden tower shield and tossed it to Steel. "Here boy, you''ll be using this whilst training with me." Eric nodded toward the other two, "You too can take a seat and watch, unless you''d rather join in." They shook their heads. "Suit yourselves." He returned his gaze to Steel, "Okay boy, shield bash the dummies and come to me." The dummies were in a zig-zag formation, leading to Eric. Taking a breath, Steel activated charge and plunged in. First dummy, he slammed the wooden shield against it with his left arm. As he swung it, he turned with the momentum and continued his charge into the dummy on the right. As he hit it, however, the wooden shield shattered into splinters, showering Steel in fragments and cutting his hp down an eighth. He dropped to the floor, grimacing as he took a sip of a health potion. Eric shook his head, sighing. "Boy, I told you to shield bash the dummies, not charge into them. Tell me, do you know what went wrong?" Steel pulled a splinter out of his arm, "The shield''s not made for combos?" Eric whacked him with his cane, "No boy, it''s how you''re using the shield. Watch me do it." He gestured, and the dummies decreased to his own size. Eric equipped a wooden tower shield of his own and ran the course. Instead of bouncing through the dummies like Steel had, Eric hit the first left dummy in the head by performing a clothesline maneuver with the shield. He then jumped over to the right dummy and hit it square in the middle, the blow sliding past the dummy and taking his momentum into the last dummy. He walked back over to Steel and displayed the shield. It did not have a single crack. "Tell me boy, why do you think you need a basic shield using skill?" Steel''s brows furrowed, "Um, so I can do real damage with a shield." Eric nodded, "While that is an important thing, it''s not the most important thing. Let¡¯s say I give a boy a knife, and I tell him to cut a boulder. The knife ends up being broken correct?" Steel nods, "Now, I give the knife to a knife user with the basic knife skill. He also slashes at the boulder, but when he returns the knife is still usable. Do you understand?" Steel plopped his fist into his hand, "So in other words, Shield Mastery will lower durability loss." Eric waved his hand, "Yes and no. Rather, gaining the skill will teach you the proper way to distribute the force in your shield to prevent unnecessary loss of durability. If you had chosen a normal class or trained with a shield earlier, you would have gained the skill automatically and your blows would be okay. However, you just ran off into the grassland and taught yourself wrong, which requires severe training to overcome." Eric scratched his head, "Come to think of it, magic is a lot like that as well. Tell me, you don''t any passive magic related skills do you?" Steel shook his head. "Well in that case boy, you''ve been spending more mana than you should have. Good thing you have a capable teacher here." He looked over at Mary, "My lady, would you be as so kind to explain to the boy what he needs for magic." Mary looked startled for a moment, Echo being hugged in her arms, "Um, well. I guess I could." She got up nervously and walked over to them. Echo followed with a curious expression in his gaze. Eric crossed his arms, "Tell me Steel, did anyone train you on magic use?" He nodded, "Yes, I had a wonderful teacher from the tower, ironically another Mary. She showed me how to cast spells, but I couldn''t get the hang of it until a friend of mine was placed in mortal danger." Eric nodded, "I see. Well, learning the basic magic skills will be easier for you then, as you actually learned before figuring out for yourself." He looked over at Mary, "Tell me, could you call his teacher over to help? You will have to leave the room for any magical contact." Mary''s face paled, "Um, I guess I could if she''s not busy. You never know with mages after all." She said weakly. Eric waved his hand, "She''ll come. After all, it¡¯s your request after all. Besides, it will help for the boy here to have a familiar teacher here." Mary nodded, her face twitching for some reason, "I''ll be right back then. Please, do not wait for me." She hurried out of the room, closing the door behind her. Eric turned back to Steel, "While that''s going on, let¡¯s work on your physical skills some more. Come on boy, times a wasting." For the next few hours, Steel felt like he was put through the ringer. Eric had him run through the course multiple times, first without a shield and he had to hit the dummies with his shield arm. Eric made him alternate between slamming them and tapping them; repeatedly yelling that Steel had to get use to the difference of force at the same speeds. After an hour both Mary''s walked into the room, one blond and the other red. They sat down and played with Echo while they watched Steel sweat. Steel had managed to get out a hello, but Eric told him to focus. After the running was done, Eric strapped a heavy weight to Steel''s arm and told him to run the course again. He had a lot harder time tapping, the weight taking his momentum and slamming into the dummies as he tried to pass. The weight was spelled so that every time it slammed, it stuck to whatever it touched. Steel spent a lot of time being yanked back by it, and his arm hurt like crazy. His hp kept falling when that happened, but one of the Mary''s would heal him and he was back running through the course. On a happier note for Steel, his stats were rising from the repeated training. So far he had acquired 3 strength, 2 agility, 2 endurance, and 1 vitality. He appreciated that stats boosts as he lay panting on the ground. Eric folded his arms and hummed to himself. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. "Boy, you said magic had a hard time coming to you, correct?" "Yes...sir. It was...like...I couldn''t...reach it..." Steel breathed out. Eric scratched his head, "Hmm, seems like something is messing with your body''s ability to learn. Strangest thing I''ve ever seen." All of a sudden, the world vanished around Steel. Startled, he found himself in the middle of a white-bluish space, just like back at the tutorial area. He looked around. "Hello? Anyone here?" As if hearing his call, a very familiar ball of light materialized in front of him. Steel grinned, "Hi Shelly, good to see you again." The ball bounced up and down, cute giggles coming from it, "Sorry human, the A.I. known as Shelly has incarnated in your game, try again." Steel scratched his head, "Um, I don''t know any A.I.''s besides her and a new A.I." The ball moved side to side, "Well, it doesn''t matter too much. Anyway, your here due to an unforeseen bug in the system. Don''t worry, only a few seconds will have passed when you return to the game, so don''t worry about a thing." Steel crossed his arms, "Really now, this is the second major bug I''ve been affected by. You know a friend of mine suffered a severe trauma because of this." "You mean slave right?" "Enslaved friend, the best kind. Anyway, what''s wrong this time, and why do they keep popping up?" The ball moved over and rolled back and forth, "Well, this is the first game of its kind, so of course bugs are going to pop up. Really though, this bug is in a way your fault." "How can I cause a bug, I''m just playing normally." "Well, not you you, but your body you is the problem." Steel blinked, "Err, run that by me one more time. My body is the problem?" The light nodded, or bobbed either one, "You see, your nervous system is in the process of being fixed. As a result, the system is having a hard time working with it in order to follow your moves. That''s the major reason for your difficulties training. It was hard enough to compensate your avatar with the loss of your legs in real life, but the process has resulted in a slight lag between system commands that results in a failed execute order and in turn. . . " "Please, simple explanation." The ball turned pink, "You¡¯re lagging, and it¡¯s hurting your growth." Steel crossed his arms, "Can you fix it?" The ball turned red, "Of course we can fix it, that''s why your here. This place is separate from the game world, which allows us to see the problem clearly without all the other data cluttering in the way." "We?" "Well of course. I''m only talking with you to keep you calm, and I was interested in meeting you at least once. It would be impossible normally." "So I do know you." The ball turned brown, "Kinda sorta maybe. In case you¡¯re wondering, my personality is a little different here as well. Anyway, the bug patch is almost done, and you''ll be able to resume training soon. Any questions for me?" Steel nodded, "Do I receive compensation for this?" "Nope. Not like it killed you, so suck it up." Steel shook his head wryly, "Okay then. Since you know about Shelly, can you tell me about Hunie, please?" He begged the light orb. It turned white, "She''s fine Steel, don''t worry. She misses you, well, in her own way now. Her fate was unintended, but she is yielding some interesting data. Anyway, what''s important is that she is alive, and you''ll see her again soon. Take heed though, don''t take too long. She''s not in the safest of positions right now." Steel felt a quick drop, "Hey, what''s happening?" "Oh, looks like we are done here. Have fun Steel, and don''t forget to pray, not that you''ll remember this conversation though, tee hee." Steel opened his eyes to find Eric staring worriedly down at him. "You okay there boy? You blanked out for a little while there." Steel rubbed his head, his expression furrowed in annoyance, "I feel like I forgot something important." He mused for a moment before shaking his head, "It''ll come back if it''s important. Let¡¯s resume training Eric." Eric slapped his head, "Show some respect boy, its Master when training." Steel rubbed the knot on his head, "Yes Master." Eric smiled, "Good. Now that you''ve had you rest, time to double up the runs. Get to it boy!" --------------- The Mary''s watched Steel run through the course again. Whatever had happened, he was starting to show improvement now. Highwater looked over at her counterpart. "Good thing he can''t read magic yet, huh Mary." "Mary" turned and smiled, "Agreed Mary. I was surprised when you summoned me, but I see why you have need of me." Highwater grimaced, "Your job is to touch him when we teach him again, understood? Can''t have him figuring out I''m me from the geas spell. He may be slow, but he''s not dense. Switch with me when I don''t have to touch him." "Mary" giggled, "I see you¡¯re trying to keep it up huh? Why don''t you just confess already, it''ll be fun." Highwater shook her head quickly, "No, he likes the other me, and I enjoy being her too. He''d treat me different if he learned we were the same, and I don''t know why but the thought hurts me." "Mary" patted Highwater''s arm, "You¡¯re learning dear, and its okay. Are you at least going to apologize as yourself? You put the boy in quite a spot earlier with the geas. Least you can do is say sorry." Highwater blushed, "I know, but I have to keep him distant from me. I don''t want him to enjoy being with me instead of me, it would become tedious," "Mary" shook her head, "At this rate child, you¡¯re going to have an identity crisis." She observed, "Can''t you be at least honest with yourself and admit your happy being with him?" "I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about. Besides, I''m looking forward to getting him back for all the times he teased me." "Mary" shrugged and sighed, "Whatever you say dear. I''m just your partner spirit after all." Highwater nodded, "Just remember to play your parts right, I''ll handle the rest." She smiled to herself. Being around made her want to be different, to be the person he saw with his eyes. She couldn''t do that as herself, so this way she could have sweet-roll and eat it too. It certainly beat being bored in her room that was for sure! Chapter 11- Hell and Heels (Part 2) Today''s commentor of choice is j0nn0, with his Idea Exploration. Enjoy! -------- Steel panted as he put the wooden practice shield down. His stamina had run out again, and he was forced to wait for it to recover again. It had been two days since he had started training with Eric. He had spent the rest of the first day learning how to control his force, finally managing to run the 3-dummy course without being yanked backwards. The second day had found him with the weight on his other arm. Steel had protested of course. "I''m not using my right arm for my shield. Why do I have to learn with it?" Eric had hit him with his cane again, "Tell me, what would happen if your shield arm was broken or destroyed? You''d be completely worthless. You have to be able to fight with both arms, no matter what type of weapon you use." Of course, Eric showed off his ambidextrous skills in a quick practice math with Steel. It was quick because Steel was knocked out rather fast. The two girls had grown bored after hours of watching Steel running, and had left on shopping business the morning of the second day. They took Echo with them, saying quote, "This cute thing can''t be stuck here in this sweaty place forever. We have some plans for this one." Echo couldn''t speak, but his face spoke volumes as they dragged him from the room, his fingers leaving claw marks in the floor. Currently, it was the third day of training, and Steel didn''t feel any closer to the skills than he had been before. "Really Master, I don''t feel like I''m learning anything anymore." He complained, "I already figured out how to force distribute, so why am I still running this course?" Eric snorted, "Why boy? Well, because you¡¯re wooden shield keeps cracking every time you run it!" It was true; Steel''s current shield had a long crack down it. Steel glared at it, the one imperfection to his days of hard work. "Sorry Master, but I really feel like I understand it and use it now." Eric''s smile grew cunning, "Really now, you so sure? Let¡¯s put it to the test then." With a snap of his fingers, the dummies disappeared. Out of the ground, 5 wooden figures arose. They were humanoid shape, but lacked any distinguishing features. They had a fake sword on one arms and a shield on the other, with every other figure having the sword in the opposite hand. Steel blinked, "What are these Master?" "Boy, these are practice golems. See if you can defend against their attack." With a snap of his fingers, the golems moved forward in a line and attacked Steel, one at a time. Startled by the sudden onslaught, Steel brought up his shield and took the first blow head on. Instantly, the shield shattered and he was once again hailed in splinters. The golems stopped and returned to their original position. Eric chuckled, "Come on now boy, not even the first blow? Show me you learned something these past two days." With a grimace, Steel put on another shield and stood ready. The golems came again. --------------------- Steel felt something shake him as he slowly came to. Groggy from all the blows taken from the golems, his eyes slowly focused on the figure of Echo, who was shaking him with worry. "Echo, I''m alright, don''t worry." Steel felt a tear hit him, and he chuckled, "There is no reason to cry, alright?" As he regained clarity, he noticed Echo fully. Steel''s face paled noticeably, "Oh my goodness Echo, what did they do to you?" Echo, who had tears pouring down his face, was dressed in a very cute and frilly dress and bonnet that matched his blond hair. His eyes told what his voice could not, that he had lived through terrible hardships in the time away from Steel. Thinking privately that the outfit kind of suit the little child, Steel turned a furious gaze onto the two girls standing nearby, ¡°What the heck did you girls do to my slave? He''s obviously been traumatized for life by your actions." The two Mary''s smiled at him. ¡°Why, we merely had a wonderful time with him, don¡¯t you understand? He was the cutest doll through the whole process, and the shopkeeper even gave us a discount on the clothes.¡± Steel shook his head, ¡°Okay, first thing. Never do that to him again without my permission. Second thing, it¡¯s going to get real confusing to talk with the both of you, no offence my lady.¡± Steel nodded, ¡°Do either of you have nicknames I can call you by?¡± His teacher nodded, ¡°Yes there is. You can refer to me as Maria. I¡¯d advise you to refer to her ladyship with respect instead of a pet name.¡± Steel nodded, ¡°Thank-you teacher Maria. Now, about poor Echo here. . . ¡° ¡°Oh give it a rest Steel. Echo had just as much fun as we did, isn¡¯t that right you little cutie.¡± Maria cooed at him. Echo hid himself behind Steel and grabbed his shirt tightly. His eyes pleaded for mercy from the girls. Steel rubbed his head, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t let the scary ladies have you anymore. Want to train with me?¡± Echo smiled excitedly and jumped up and down. ¡°Okay, okay. Let¡¯s see if my Master has anything for you. Hurry up and change back into your old clothes.¡± The two girls were sad when their doll was taken from them, but one glare from Steel quieted them. Echo was his slave, and Steel was not going to let him be turned into a doll. Not even the lady could command him to do that. Eric, also taking pity on the young boy, handed him a short sword and summoned up a dummy for him to hit. Echo actually had a natural disposition toward the blade and soon enough was whacking the dummy deftly. Steel privately thought Echo was merely venting his pent up frustration. Eric turned back to Steel, ¡°Now that you¡¯ve recovered, tell me why these simple golems were able to break through your shield so easily.¡± Steel thought about it, ¡°The shield isn¡¯t strong enough to stand against the blows.¡± Eric nodded, ¡°Half-points for that answer boy. Now listen, this is an important point I¡¯m about to make.¡± Eric pointed at the two girls, ¡°Those ladies over there are mages. They can summon their own mana shields, and use them to take attacks head on. The shields are formless mana constructs, and are easily repaired as long as mana is available.¡± He pointed at Steel¡¯s shield, ¡°That is a shield made from wood. Any shield, of iron or otherwise, will break after enough force is blocked. They cannot be repaired like magic, and are often never the same after severe impacts.¡± Eric equipped a shield and swung it into the air in front of him, ¡°A shield and shield bearer share the force taken in. If one is weak, both will suffer. On the other side, if one is too strong, then the other will eventually break as well. When you blocked the golems, you had the shield take everything. That ruined it. This is the same as the last exercise, except your targets are throwing their blows at you instead of taking them. It¡¯s your job to roll with the blows; golden rule with shields is that you never take a strong blow head-on. You always push it away, or roll it off of you. Anyone can hold a shield, few can truly block.¡± Steel nodded, completely understanding his mistake. Annoyed as hell he hadn¡¯t figured it out by now, he gazed down at his wooden shield, ¡°Sir, does that also relate to attacking as well.¡± Eric nodded, pleased, ¡°Good job for making that connection. Yes, attacking head on with a shield can turn out badly against a larger opponent or a heavily armored one. Exceptions to this are shields like you own.¡± He gestured to the shield on his back, ¡°Though using it without training taught you incorrectly, your style should change with the type of shield you use. Long as you remember how to hit and take a hit, you should be golden.¡± Steel eyed the column of golems, ¡°I¡¯m ready to give it another shot Master.¡± ¡°Then hurry up and get into position boy!¡± Steel took his stance in front of the golems. Legs apart, left foot forward, head down behind his shield, Steel kept his eyes locked onto the first golem. It jerked, and started walking toward him, sword held up high. He waited for it, watching the golem swing it¡¯s blade down at him. He leaned to his right, curving at the waist before swinging back knocking the golem¡¯s sword aside. The shield shuddered, but didn¡¯t break as the golem fell over. It melted back into the ground as the second golem approached, its sword being in its left hand. Steel angled his shield to the fight, before performing the same maneuver and knocking the golem¡¯s weapon aside. This time, the golem didn¡¯t fall sideways, instead pressing forward with its shield as it moved the sword back into position. Steel swore as he jumped to the side, away from the second slash. He rolled to his right, getting up and shield bashing the golem on its side with a slapping like motion. The golem toppled forward, falling to its own weight and vanished. Steel grinned, but barely dodged two sword swipes from two golems. He looked over, and found the previous two were waiting next to the last golem. Steel rolled away, shouting, ¡°Master, what¡¯s going on?¡± Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Eric yelled back, ¡°It¡¯s no use to get used to only one enemy boy. Shield users have to be able to take punishment from more than one person or monster. You¡¯ll pass this part of the training if you can survive 5 of them.¡± ¡®Oh great, it gets worse.¡¯ He thought to himself, jumping back from another slash. The two golems walked together, mirroring each other¡¯s movements like a reflection. As he thought of a plan, he heard a voice behind him. ¡°You can do it Steel! Come on and show them your strength!¡± Maria called from the sidelines. She was sitting with Mary, who was also watching with interest. Apparently, this was a very fruitful form of entertainment for them. She had also given him an idea. Steel jumped between the two golems and tapped both of them with his shield. As they turned to slash at him, he rolled out of the way as they get each other and fell. ¡°Good show boy, but use your shield to win next time. Otherwise this training will be for nothing.¡± Eric called, resting on his cane as he watched Steel. Three golems came this time and moved differently from one other. Two came head on, while the third began to circle around to his back. Not wanting to be surrounded, Steel lunged forward toward the lone golem. It raised its shield put and charged forward suddenly, forcing Steel to roll out of the way. He used his shield to push off the ground, and ran forwards toward the golems back. A bash knocked the golem to the ground and took it out of the fight. The next two were running at him from two different directions, each holding their sword a different way. The first one thrust toward him, allowing for an easy push by the shield out of danger; the other came from below in an upper cut like fashion, forcing Steel to jump backwards. He eyed the two golems, one a fencer and the other some strange sword style. He ran at them, this time jumping to his right as they charged to meet him. As the sword from the right golem came up again, Steel pushed his shield against its hand, using the assistance of gravity to keep the slash from coming. Twisting his body, he whirled the shield into the golem, pushing it back onto the incoming thrust of the second golem, and watched it vanish as well. He had no trouble against the last golem, and just knocked its thrust aside before slamming the top of the shield into its body, his back 45 degrees from the wall. Boxing videos had been one of his pastimes back in real life, and he enjoyed its fighting style, even if it looked a little funny with a shield. 4 golems came forward this time, each holding a wooden dagger this time without a shield. It was obviously a bandit scenario, and Steel had fought one before. The first two came at him, while the other two circled around to flank him. Lacking an opening this time, he used the shield to block his opponents, taking the two thrusts head on. They left dents on the shield, but not cracks. Lacking a wall this time, Steel could not win the same as against the muggers. He opted for the next best thing, the floor. As one of the golems came forward, Steel threw himself forward onto the floor, his shield catching the golem¡¯s legs. At the sudden force, the legs slid backwards, sending the golem tumbling forward and disappearing. Steel rolled to his left, avoiding the other golem¡¯s slice narrowly. He charged this one, careful to not activate the skill whilst doing so. That would assuredly break his shield. He raised his shield over his head as he ran forward, and brought it crashing down onto the golems arm. He forced his legs to bounce against the downward force, slamming the shield up into the golems head as he jumped up. It disappeared as it landed. A jolt of pain alerted Steel to the golem behind him. It had snuck up and stabbed him on the right side of his back. While it didn¡¯t puncture the armor, it did deplete a bit of Steel¡¯s health. He growled as he whirled around and slammed the golem¡¯s head into the dirt, round house punching it into oblivion. He reached back and pulled the dagger off his back, finding that it stuck to him once it hit. ¡°That¡¯s to remind you to pull the blasted things out.¡± Eric called from the side, ¡°You may look cool covered in arrows and swords on the battle field, but it¡¯ll hurt like hell and you won¡¯t be able to move eventually.¡± Steel nodded as he jumped into the air over the last golem¡¯s knife thrust, using the weight of his shield to spin himself as he crashed into the golem¡¯s body. They both landed on the ground, and Steel slammed the shield into the neck of the golem in a coup de grace maneuver. He stood up and inspected his shield. The wooden frame had begun to buckle from the blows he had delivered and taken, and he estimated it wouldn¡¯t last more than a few more blows. Still, he was almost done with the training. The last 5 golems materialized in a circle around him, this time holding huge two-handed blade. Steel blinked, asking, ¡°Master, can I not use magic for this one?¡± ¡°Nope, now hurry up and win or lose. If you take too long you¡¯ll fail.¡± Sighing at the whims of his Master, Steel gripped his shield and positioned it behind him, resembling a baseball pitcher and frankly looked a little ridiculous. Golems, not having a sense of humor, took it as his ready position and activated. All 5 charged him, their swords moving back as they prepared to attack. Steel tightened his fist, he was ready. They swung down at the same time, their distance far enough that their swords would not hit each other. However, that meant only the tips of their sword were aimed for Steel. They were wide open inside their reach. Steel spun around, using his shield to increase the speed of his body. As the swords fell, he used his momentum to hit each sword aside like falling dominoes, before knocking the closest golem back with a shield ¡°punch¡± to the chest. He was able to clothesline a second golem before the others managed to regain their grips. The three left charged him; the left one swinging from its right, the right one swinging from its left, and the middle one launching an overhand swing from its back. Steel grinned, and threw himself forward between the legs of the middle golem. The two side golems followed him with their swings, cutting the middle golem in half with their respective slices. As they turned to reposition themselves, Steel slammed into the left golem, sending him away and causing his shield to crack loudly. Cursing, Steel barely avoided a huge side sweep from the last golem, not noticing that it didn¡¯t stop with its momentum. The huge sword came flying back at him in a whirlwind, and Steel was forced to take the hit head on with his shield. The shield shattered, but Steel ignored the pain, jumped onto the golem. Wincing, he grabbed the largest splinters covering his body and drove them into the golem¡¯s head. It vaporized underneath his grip, leaving Steel covered in his former shield and bleeding. Eric walked up and inspected Steel. ¡°Hm, besides that last fight, that was a very decent attempt.¡± Steel¡¯s mouth fell open, ¡°Attempt?¡± Eric nodded, ¡°Yes boy. Those were golems after all. At their highest strength, they still fall short of strong warriors, unless boosted by magic of course.¡± He nodded toward the ladies, ¡°So yes, it was a good attempt. In fact, I would say you¡¯ve past this part of the training.¡± Steel smiled happily, before freezing at the words, ¡°Once you have survived without your shield breaking.¡± Unable to take it, he fell backwards unconscious. Eric scratched his beard in amusement, ¡°Hmph, can¡¯t even take a joke, what a weakling. Ha ha ha.¡± He laughed and gestured toward Maria, ¡°Hurry and heal his words woman, and I mean the real you this time.¡± Startled the ladies gave Eric a look of shock, which he met with an even gaze, ¡°I¡¯ve lived long enough to recognize magic when I see it. It¡¯s my legs that are going, not my eyes.¡± He sighed, ¡°I don¡¯t care about the circumstances, but the boy needs a quick heal. I have need for his real teacher for the final step anyway, so might as well adjust you accordingly.¡± Blushing, the two women shimmered and changed into the opposite Mary. Maria came forward and laid her hands Steel, muttering under her breath. Flames of healing flowed from her hands to his body, warming him as the splinters disappeared. She looked up at Eric, ¡°Will he be all right? This training will help him, correct?¡± Eric nodded, ¡°If he wanted to, he could have finished yesterday and acquired the skill he needed; today and tomorrow will merely add on to his reward. I still can¡¯t believe he agreed for the full course training, he must really have a death wish.¡± Maria cocked her head, confused, ¡°I don¡¯t recall you asking him about it.¡± Eric scratched his beard, ¡°Oh yeah, I forgot. Well, what he doesn¡¯t know won¡¯t hurt him.¡± He shrugged. Maria eyed the prone figure of Steel. Privately, she very much disagreed with that statement, very much so. Chapter 12- Hell and Heels (Part 3) As it turns out, I actually have to hunt through the comments for authors to advertise Also, I forgot to find one for chapter 10, so you guys get two today Sriper has been a reader since day one, and made a wonderful video about dual-wielding in real life here. I recommend it because I too have my own foam weapons :p thejman09 is a good friend of mine who has written a few good ones, like New World Online, though I wish he''d post more Enjoy the last part! ------------------------------------- Once Steel recovered enough to regain consciousness, Eric called him forward. "My boy, you have shown great initiative and dedication in my special training course. Know that you now take your place among my best students, and that you have completed one of the many tests the training center has to offer. I pronounce you, good enough to not die in a fight. " Eric smiled to himself, pleased with his speech. Steel, Mary, Maria, and Echo were less pleased. "Good enough to not die in a fight" was one of the worst titles they had ever heard of. Still, Steel was happy because it was then that all the notification boxes popped up in front of him.
You have completed the Shield Training course, Hell level
You have gained the following skills from your training:Shield Mastery Combat Experience Dodge Shield Falcon Punch Physical resistance Impact Tap
You have gained the following stats from your training:+6 strength +4 Agility +1 Intelligence +1 Wisdom +4 Vitality +5 Endurance +5 Leadership
(This takes a lot of space, so I''m hiding them now for you guys :)) Spoiler :
Skill Name:Skill Rarity:Skill Rank:Skill Experience:
Shield MasteryDD0%
Your training has taught you the finer points of battling with a shield
Passive Effects:Defense when using a shield increases by 10%. (+5) Durability loss reduced by 50%, Shields Only (+5) Shields are now given a small attack boost used used to attack. (+10%)
Costs:N/A
Cool downN/A
Skill Name:Skill Rarity:Skill Rank:Skill Experience:
Combat ExperienceED0%
Your training has taught you the finer points of combat, both 1-on-1 and against groups
Passive Effects:5% increase to attacks and defensive skills (+2%)
Costs:N/A
Cool downN/A
Skill Name:Skill Rarity:Skill Rank:Skill Experience:
DodgeDD0%
Attacks are more easily avoided
Passive Effect:Increases the likely hood of avoiding attacks
Active Effect:Roll or jump out of the way of an attack, next attack loses 10% damage
Costs:15 stamina
Cool down2 seconds
Skill Name:Skill Rarity:Skill Rank:Skill Experience:
Shield Falcon PunchBE0%
A curious skill developed during training. Punches forward using the top of the shield to deliver damage in a boxing like attack.
Effects:Sacrifices 10% Evasion to deliver a focused shield punch. Deals focused blunt/impact damage to an opponent. Any equipment used to defend against this skill losses durability.
Costs:55 Stamina
Cool down20 seconds
Skill Name:Skill Rarity:Skill Rank:Skill Experience:
Physical ResistanceFD0%
After taking many blows, you body has learned to defend itself
Passive Effects:Reduces impact damage by 5% Reduces Slice damage by 2% Reduces Pierce damage by 2%
Costs:N/A
Cool downN/A
Skill Name:Skill Rarity:Skill Rank:Skill Experience:
Impact TapCD0%
A special skill gained from Hell shield training. The user focuses all his force into a small tap.[/td2]
Effects:Instead of a huge blow, the user delivers a small tap with his shield, unleashing his full force. Inflicts double damage and returns 40% as recoil damage to the user
Costs:75 stamina
Cool down5 seconds
Steel smiled after reading the skills. When a skill was acquired through training, rather than finding it, the player''s rank would be higher as a result. Being taught by a master would automatically level the skill up to D rank, instead of starting at F. This was why he was doing the quest for Mema, D level cooking would be very useful to have. Eric threw Steel his shield back, "Here boy, you can have it back now that I know you won''t abuse her. Still, remember what I taught you; fight from the body, not the weapon." Steel bowed to his Master, "Thank you for everything you''ve done for the past 3 days sir. I hope to live up to your expectations." Eric chuckled and waved him off, "Quiet boy, you''ll make me blush. Now, anything to ask before you leave?" Steel nodded, "Yes, a few Master. Why do you know so many skills and abilities?" Eric mused, "Well boy, as you know this world was made by the gods. . ." "I didn''t want a story sir." "Shut up boy, this is important." Eric growled at him, "Anyway, they gave to the races the power to see their strengths, also known as one''s status. When you have lived for as long as I have, you find that you''ve seen most skills used by people." "You say races, does that include the monsters too?" "No, the three monster types grow differently, which lead to all the varieties in the three categories. They have the ability to evolve and adapt, as you no doubt already know from your experiences." Steel marveled how the creators had incorporated the actual game play style into the lore of the world. ''Kinda feels like a different world. Oh wait it is.'' He mentally smacked himself. Steel reached into his bag and pulled out the egg. In the three days of training, it had grown harder and a little bigger, though it still felt soft to the touch. "Master, can you tell me if I''m raising this right?" He asked. Eric pounded the ground in annoyance, "What do I look like boy, a monster lover? I have no idea what to do with that thing besides cooking it." The egg seemed to shudder at the words. Steel shrugged, and was about to turn around to put it away when Maria caught his arm. She was staring very intently at the egg. "Steel, is that a egg from your expedition?" She gazed at it in wonder, Echo jumped up to peek at it, and even Mary looked on in interest. (Remember, they switched last chapter, don''t forget guys.) "Yup, this is my reward from the alpha wolf. I couldn''t stand to let them sell or kill the poor thing, so I took it on as it''s protector." "Is that why you gave up the wolf gloves?" Maria asked. Steel cocked his head, "How do you know about that?" Maria hurriedly said, "Um, because when we shopping her lady Mary showed off to the gloves to me, saying they were a gift from her father from the expedition." Mary tilted her head to Steel and nodded, holding up her glove covered hands. ''Strange, I don''t recall seeing those before.'' Steel mused, looking at Mary. He returned to Maria, "Yes. I tried to bid for the gloves, but it got way too expensive for my coffers. On the bright side, I did pick up Echo on that trip, so it was worth it." He rubbed Echo''s head, who pushed into it and relaxed. Eric coughed, "This is nice and all, but hurry up and leave. I have some drinking to catch up on." He chased them out of his office, and closed the door behind them. They walked outside the training hall and sat down. Steel looked over to Maria, "Thanks for being here to help Maria, but don''t you have to get back to the tower? You''ve already spent 3 days with us." Maria shook her head, "No, the Archmage decided that I should go with you two as added protection. It was pure look that Mary found me when I was looking for you guys. Besides, I have to teach you your basic magic skills tomorrow before we leave." Steel winced, "I don''t know if I could take that training again." Maria laughed, "Don''t worry about it. Since you already know magic in the proper manner, it won''t take nearly as long for you to learn. Besides, you won''t have to get beaten up by anymore dummies." She teases him. The four of them shared a chuckle together, Steel''s more of a regretful chuckle than the others. Forgetting his troubles, Steel checked the time, "It''ll be sunset soon, why don''t we turn in back at the inn?" Over the training days, Steel had given his room to the two girls and Echo, and had been forced to pay for another room for himself. Mema had no sympathy for, as she put, "Girl related shenanigans in my inn." Apparently, while she was sweet on him, she believed he was too young for night time activities. Which was ironic given the....Steel didn''t have time to think of unnecessary things. Maria looked over to Mary, who nodded. "Sounds like a plan my student. Remember to treat your teacher again tonight." She smiled and grabbed his arm, leaning into it. Steel felt a warm sensation traveling up his arm, but he yanked it out of her grasp, "Okay then, follow me ladies." As he walked away from the training hall with the girls in tow, he didn''t see Maria''s sad face. Nor did he see her jealous face when he let Echo hold his hand. Spoiler :
[td4]Status Window
Name:SteelAlignment:Neutral
Level:4Class:Shield Tamer
Race:HumanGender:Male
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Titles
The Listener, Milna''s Disciple, Strong Neet, One with the Carrot
Fame:250Infamy:0
Experience:2000/10000
Health:300 / 300Health Regen:4.8/ Sec
Mana:105 / 105Mana Regen:1.4/ Sec
Stamina:135 / 135Stamina Regen:2.5/ Sec
Vitality:30 (20)Agility:24 (14)
Intelligence:21Wisdom:14
Strength:27 (22)Endurance:25 (17)
Leadership:35(25)Luck:7 (12)
Charm:17 (7)Faith:20
Elemental Resistances
Fire:0Water:0
Wind:0Earth:10
Light:0Darkness:5
(This is the status menu with added stats and shield back) ------------------ Mema greeted them as the group walked through the door into the guild. "Did you finish your training Steel?" She asked. "Yes ma''am, I am finally ready for the real world." He grinned happily at her. She snorted, "Good, now you can hurry up and finish my request. I already used up what you got for me last time, unless. . ." "No Mema, the egg is off limits." Steel hugged his bag protectively, giving her a stern look. She sighed, "Worth a try I guess. Anyone, you guys came just in time for dinner. Pull up a seat and dig in; on Steel''s tab of course." He winced at the reminder, taking a seat with Echo struggling to crawl onto his beside him. He leaned over to Maria, "So, why don''t I get an allowance for taking care of her ladyship?" Maria snorted, "Isn''t it obvious? Where''s your manly pride in taking care of women?" "My pride is draining out with my coffers." He replied bluntly, "And it doesn''t help the only room available was an expensive one." Maria took a sip of her drink, "You could always sleep with us you know, save some money?" Steel snorted, "No way I''m sleeping with her ladyship. She seems like a real prude, and I bet she snores." Maria was quite passive as she took another drink, "What makes you say that Steel? I think shes a wonderful lady with a big heart and an elegant body." "Well, no denying her beauty." He admitted, "However, she never did apologize to me for all the pain I went through, and she barely seems to acknowledge my existence. I wish she was more like you, but I guess I''m stuck with her." He sighed. "Yes, what a pity indeed." Maria responded coldly, taking another sip. Steel raised an eyebrow. "Everything okay Maria? You seem a little off." She eyed him sideways, "Says the man insulting my benefactor and his own charge. It''s a good thing she isn''t listening right now, or she''d be really angry." The hand hidden from Steel''s sight clenched into a fist. Steel sighed, "I guess your right. It''s not like I know her like you do, and I know how it feels to be judged unfairly." He scratched his chin ruefully, "I''d better apologize to her." He got up, but Maria quickly put her hand out. "Why don''t you wait till after we eat, let her relax some before you apologize." She gave him a small smile. He shrugged. "Your the teacher, and know her better than I do. Whatever you say." Mema served them dinner, and Steel sank his teeth into a nicely cooked bird leg. Maria smiled to herself, sending a mental command to "Mary" to switch with her after the food. ------------------------- Steel knocked on the door to his former room. He renewed his resolve, for this would be a difficult mission. The door opened to reveal Maria with a questioning look. "Yes Steel, what is it?" She asked. He gave her a confused look, "Didn''t we talk about this at dinner?" Her face broke into a smile, "Oh right, silly me. I''l go get her ladyship for you." She winked and closed the door. Steel rubbed his head. "How does she forget a conversation we had 20 minutes ago? It was her idea anyway." He muttered to himself. The door reopened and Mary steeped out, looking regal in her night attire. Steel couldn''t tell the difference between this dress and the one he originally saw her in except for the color. ''Must be a trend.'' He thought to himself. He cleared his throat, "Good evening my lady. I was wondering if you would be interested in a walk through the night with me." Mary raised an eyebrow, "Isn''t it dangerous being on the streets at night? Sounds very daring of you to propose." Steel shook his head, "No ma''am, I meant one of the verandas in this guild. I was hoping we could have some time to talk, seeing as I haven''t had the chance to get to know you yet." She inclined her head, a finger to her mouth in thought. "Very well then, lead the way Sir Scout." As Steel turned to lead her, Mary and "Maria" exchanged thumbs up. Echo looked annoyed but resigned as the two watched the other two leave. He reached up and pulled on "Maria"''s shirt. She looked down at him, "You want to spy too?" Echo nodded, a hard line in his eye. "Maria" laughed, "Okay then, I want to as well, but remember to be quite." The two of them slipped into the hallway and stealthy followed the two, taking positions close enough to listen in but not give themselves away. The veranda was small, holding two chairs and a flower pot. However, on nights like this one, it sat perfectly under the full moon, which shone down on them rivers of silver. Steel waited til Mary had sat to sit himself down. "Tell me Mary, why do you want to explore the wilds so much? This question has haunted me since I first heard about it from Maria." Mary looked into the distance and smiled, "I know what you must be thinking; ''Why does a spoiled girl like her want to endure the harshness of adventuring?''" She grinned at Steel''s uncomfortable face, "It''s okay, that is an important question is it not?" She leaned back and relaxed into the chair, "I''ve been in that tower since I was a little girl. When my mom passed, father decided it was too dangerous for me to ever leave the tower. He made me study magic as hard as I could until I was second only to him in the tower. He was stern, but kind and loving to me. When she was alive, he used to regale me with tales of his adventures and how how he met mother, but he stopped after she was gone. I always wanted to follow in his footsteps, so I made it my dream to adventure someday, just like him. Does that sound silly?" She asked gently. Steel shook his head. He got on to the floor and bowed to her, "I''m sorry my lady, for judging you before I had the chance to know you. I''m sure you must have your reasons for your decision." He looked up to find Mary very flustered. "Please, allow me to apologize for the pain I brought you when we first met. I admit, I had heard tales about you from Mary, so I took a bit of satisfaction getting some revenge for her. You know you really hurt her before you left for the expedition." She folded her arms under her chest, which had the interesting effect of emphasizing her attractive attributes. Steel coughed, lowering his eyes. "I know, and I hope the apology I left for her reached her ear. She was good to me, and I shouldn''t have let such a childish thing get to me." Mary smiled at him, "She received it, don''t worry. Still, you didn''t show up again after the expedition was over to report your health." Steel thought he could detect a bit of an accusatory tone to her words. This time, Steel was the one to look toward the distance, "I lost my important friend during the expedition. She was taken from me, yet there was nothing I could do about it to prevent it. I was mourning my loss, though I guess that''s no excuse." He sighed. Mary reached for him, but stopped before her hands touched his. She pulled it backwards with an embarrassed look, "Sorry scout, I almost put you in pain again. It''s infuriating that father has made it so I can''t comfort you in your grief." Her mouth frowned momentarily, a rather cute gesture in Steel''s opinion. He winked at her, "It''s okay, I have the strangest feeling I''ll see her again soon enough. Hopefully, I''ll be able to help her out of her predicament." Mary laughed, "Your funny scout. Even when your down, you always find things to bring you back up." Steel chuckled, "Well, it''s been a habit of mine for a s long as I can remember. Anyway, call me Steel, please." Mary blushed, "Are you sure? I am your charge after all, no matter how important my father is. It would be better. . ." Steel cut her off, "I insist. Call me Steel." She smiled warmly at him, "Well then, you may call me Lady Mary." He raised an eyebrow, "Not much difference in that." She shook her head, "Nope, remember I will always be better than you." She said this with a cheeky look. "Always." The two of them shared a laugh under the moonlight, watching the stars come out. Steel glanced sideways at Mary. "You know, I just thought you were typical spoiled princess. Seems that you have a little more depth than I first thought." She shot him a glare, "Really, what a rude thing to say to spoil the mood." "But I''m not wrong, right?" She pouted, but nodded, "Well, I must admit that others have pointed out tiny flaws in my character before. Selfish and vindictive I guess." She shrugged daintily, "I admit, I am not perfect, even when I strive to be the person I was raised to be. Besides, one gets used to being called "lady" after an entire lifetime living in a proverbial castle." Steel laughed, "That''s true. I feel like the next time I see the tower, a dragon will be flying around it." Mary sighed, "You''re missing the point Steel." Steel shook his head, "I don''t think so. Who you were doesn''t matter too much to me. After all, it is unlikely I''ll see you again after the trip, you being so special and all." Seeing her frown, he continued, "What I mean to say, live how you want to live while you''re here with me. I''ll treat you as a friend to help you with your problems; I won''t pretend I can help, but I can promise you an adventure." Mary raised an eyebrow, "So, I''m suppose to play the adventuring girl just starting off?" "No, you are the adventuring girls starting off. Just let it play out, and we''ll both come out of this with a smile." He winked at her, "Even if we don''t end up as best friends, I''d like to end up counting you as a friend." ''For future quests anyway.'' He thought privately. She turned to watch the moonlight, "That''s fine with me Steel. Friends it is then." He joined her in watching the moon, both content in their thoughts. The moment was broken when a rock flew into the railing, startling the both of them. Steel looked over to the edge to find an argument below them. He sighed, than offered his hand to Mary. "Shall I take you back?" She smiled and took his hand. They made it into the building before the pain struck him again. Chapter 13- Adventurer Almost there guys, almost 200 favorites! Retep- Thanks for the long ass comment :p. I posted a reply on yesterday''s chapter, hope that satisfies you some. Please you the "enter" key between questions next time ;) Also, every once and awhile someone unfollows. This makes sensei sad, so if you ever unfollow, please let me know why. I might be able to fix the problem, maybe. Enjoy! ---------------- Steel scratched at his arm during breakfast the next day. After the unfortunate pain attack last night, he had woken up feeling slightly itchy. It was a strange thing to feel, as he didn''t think such little things like itchiness existed in the game world. ''While I said before the attention to detail was amazing, perhaps they went a little too far.'' He lamented to himself, annoyed that no matter how much he scratched, the itch wouldn''t leave. Maria looked over at him. "Something wrong Steel? You''re been scratching all morning." "It''s this annoying itch from the geas. It''s not leaving me alone." Steel stared at his arm in annoyance, "I''m not touching Lady Mary, so why?" Maria thought a moment, "Well, did you make sure her hair wasn''t on you?" Steel stared unbelieving at her, then checked his arm. A strand of blond hair was stuck on his sleeve. "Seriously! It even affects parts of her that are no longer her!" Maria sighed, "Well, he is the Archmage after all. His spells are quite potent." Steel frowned at her, "There''s no way someone that strong would be here in a frontier town. He''d be in the capital or on the front lines. This is seriously over-powered." "Well, fa...the Archmage was the best candidate for the court mage years back, but he took this position instead to be closer to his wife." She explained, "I doubt he is the strongest mage in the world, but he is definitely a former SS rank adventurer." Steel raised an eyebrow, "Even the adventurer''s use that ranking system? Geez, he sounds way out of anyone''s league." He complained. Maria thought a moment, "Well, in all honesty every leader in this town is close to that rank. However, they are all older and can''t fight for as long as they used too." Mema slammed two more drinks in front of them, startling the two. "Really now, age comments? I''ll have you know that I''m the youngest of that group, and we can all kick your respective asses." She grinned after a while, "Though I do admit those other guys get tried after working out these days. It serves them right for always treating me like a child." She muttered under her breath. Maria looked up at Mema, "Mema, how come during the evenings you look so much more youthful? I mean, you look young now, but then it¡¯s like you¡¯re the same age as me." Mema nodded, "It''s been my greatest discovery, a special drink I had a long time ago regresses my body to the time I drank it. Well, only appearance wise anyway, but it really helps bring in the customers." Steel noticed the look of admiration Maria was giving Mema, "Maria, don''t think about it. It''s not like you need it now anyway." Mema nodded, "Agreed. Getting that drink was a deathtrap in itself, not my best memories or moments." She shuddered, and then changed the subject, "So Steel, when are you bringing me my last 3 ingredients?" Steel coughed, "Well, Maria is going to teach me magic skills today in the grassland, and then we''ll head toward the dungeon to raid it tomorrow. I''ll be sure to bring you some more interesting things after that." Mema nodded, "Good. Well then, good luck during your training boy." She walked off toward her next patron. Steel sighed. ''That woman really moves at her own pace.'' He chuckled to himself. He glanced at Maria, "So, what¡¯s the plan for magic training today?" She winked at him, "Well, I''m going to watch you cast all the spells you know, and then we''ll move from there. So, be sure to fill yourself now before then." Steel cocked his head at her, curious, but she did not elaborate, returning to her breakfast. Shrugging, Steel returned to his own indulgence. Echo and Mary were upstairs still, taking a bath according to Maria. They''d be down shortly for food, but in the meantime Steel got to spend some quality time with Maria. He had a sudden thought, "Hey Maria, can travelers register as adventurers too?" "Of course Steel. Everyone can register, right in this building as a matter of fact." She pointed at the other side of the guild at the receptionist''s counter, "That''s the place to do it in fact." Steel dropped his fist into his hand, "Why didn''t I think of this before. Maria, go get Lady Mary and Echo and bring them to the desk over there. We are going to register as a party." Maria spit her drink out in surprise, "What! What are you talking about?" Steel nodded his head, "You see Maria, Mary was talking about how she dreamed of being an adventurer as a child. Since we are leaving town anyway, why not get a quest for her to do by herself while we are out. That way, she gets the experience of surviving and doing a job for the guild." Maria gaped at him, "Steel, that''s unbelievable brilliant! I mean it too, how did you come up with that idea? Anyway, I''ll be right back to get them." She finished her drink and hurried away. Steel decided to enjoy the remainder of his meal, and let the taste flow through his mouth. In the real world, he never had enough P points to justify a satisfying, tasty, and expensive meal at the game-a-torium. As a result, food was a special time for relaxation and reflection. ''Well, enough of that.'' Steel dropped a silver for Maria and the eventual other''s meals and walked over to the receptionist desk. She smiled at him. "Welcome traveler. How may the Adventurer''s Guild assist you today?" "I''d like to register myself and 3 others for a party." He replied, leaning his arm on the counter. She nodded, "Okay then. I''ll go get the passes, please have the other three here when I return." She turned around and left through a door. ''These receptionists¡¯s sure are repetitive.'' He thought, watching the door, ''Except for maybe the mage tower one, but even she was similar outside of talking about Maria.'' Steel scratched his chin at a sudden thought, ''Speaking of, why was Maria a receptionist the first day I saw her. Her personality is way too complex to be a program, but her character seems to fit along those lines. Hmm, maybe she''s like Hunie then?" His thoughts at once turned protective, which he threw aside immediately. He wasn''t strong enough yet to think along those lines, and besides, she was a lot stronger than he was. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. Maria, Mary, and Echo showed up quickly; Mary having an eager look on her beautiful face. "I just heard Steel! What a wonderful idea!" Her excitement was so great her face had morphed into her age. Her eyes glinted in happiness and her smile stretched from ear to ear. "I''m really going to be a real adventurer?" Steel chuckled, "Of course you are. We''re just waiting for the receptionist now." The door opened as the word left his mouth, and M.M. came out; as imposing a women as ever. Everyone took an involuntary gulp. "Madam, what . . . an unexpected pleasure." Steel managed to stammer out. M.M. grinned at him and laughed, slapping his back over the counter, "Don''t worry boy, I''m used to my appearance scaring people. Well, except at night anyway." "Oh, you drank the same thing as your twin?" "Of course I did, who do you think fought through hell to get to it? Anyway, I heard you were here to get registered as an adventurer?" Steel nodded, "Yes ma''am, but why are you here?" M.M. pointed at Mary, "Because I''m a friend of her father''s and I made a promise to her when she was a kid to be the one to register her." Mary blushed, "I was 5 years old, and you didn''t have to keep such a thing." M.M. smiled, "Silly girl, I know how important this is to you; of course I''m going to help." Steel interjected, "Err, so how did you know she was here? The receptionist certainly didn''t see her." M.M. smacked him, "Dumb boy, you forget about my sister already? I know everything that goes on in this place." Steel rubbed his head sheepishly. She scanned the whole group, "So three passes, am I right?" Steel frowned, "No ma''am, four please." It was M.M.''s turn to frown, "You¡¯re going to register your slave?" Steel nodded, than felt himself being jerked upward violently by the collar by M.M., her face an angry demon. "Boy, I thought you were better than this, using your slave as cannon fodder. I''m disappointed with you." She dropped him to the ground. "Hey! What gives M.M.? What did I do?" He asked incredulously. M.M. crossed her arms, "Slaves are only registered in parties for the sole purpose of abuse. They are forced into dungeons to trigger traps for their masters, fight monsters with their lives, and left behind when injured." "Okay, that all sounds bad, but why are you thinking I would do that?" "Because. . ." M.M. paused, looking lost for a moment. "Hey sis! Stop jumping to conclusions on your own! You¡¯re scaring the little boy!" Mema called from across the room. It was true, Echo was sniffling and on the verge of tears. He tugged at Steel''s shirt, his eye pleading and questioning. Steel sighed and rubbed Echo''s head with his hand, "No Echo, I was not planning on making you do any of that stuff. Your my slave, so you will have to fight, but I''m the one with the shield okay? I''ll be taking the hits, you take them out." Steel flexed his arm, "I take care of you, and you help take of me. We are a team after all." Echo looked up at Steel in wonder, than wiped his tears on Steel''s shirt and made a serious face. ''So cute.'' Steel turned back to M.M., "So, can I register Echo?" M.M. was quite flustered, which was rather comical on her battle-scared face, "Yeah, sure, okay then." She coughed and handed each of them a card. "Put your thumb on the top right corner of the card and press down." She commanded. Steel did so, and the card glowed under his force. The card turned into light; which wrapped itself around Steel''s arm and became a brown bracelet. "That bracelet is your guild identification." M.M. explained, "The magic inside of it will record all your accepted and completed quests, and can be read by a receptionist at any guild office for your reward. You are all currently F rank, as you are all beginners. Now, I know some of you are a lot stronger than that, but guild rank depends on experience, not fighting potential." She stared pointedly at Mary and Maria, who blushed and bit back their protests. "Great! Now that we have registered, is there any work we can do?" Steel asked. "Depends, where were you lot planning on going?" "I''ll be taking the girls to the new dungeon tomorrow, and we''ll be sleeping outside the wall tonight." Steel told her. M.M. turned and walked out from behind the counter, "Follow me." She led them to a large bulletin board on the wall perpendicular to the counter. "This is the request board." She displayed, "All guild requests can be found here at any rank up to A level. All you have to do is take the request to the counter, and it''ll be recorded as your quest. You guys at your level can only do F and E ranked requests, so lets see here." M.M. scanned the board before pulling a sheet of paper off, "Here, this should work for you guys." The four group members read the paper. It was an E ranked quest, with request being to list the inhabitants of the new dungeon. It had been made by the Guild itself apparently. "Madam, why has the guild made this request? Don''t you send members to scout out new dungeons to rank them?" Maria asked. M.M. nodded, "Normally yes, I would have sent a squad to estimate the difficulty of the dungeon, taking note of the creatures that inhabit it. However, my main team is currently out on another mission, so I decided to let the travelers have a go at it. Think you lot are up for it?" They all nodded, and she smiled, "Good, then I look forward to hearing the results when you get back." She nodded to Mary, "Good luck little one, and have fun on your first adventure." She winked, and left them. ---------------- I would have made it longer, but my stomach is still killing me from yesterday. Seriously, I don''t know whats up ohhh. I''ll try to make another chapter tomorrow, but no promises :( Chapter 14- How to Magic Okay, we hit 200 favorites. You guys are the best audience ever! Today''s comment person write is Tonyorobsky: with his story The Hybrid and Aenthar. Looking forward to more Hybrid myself. Enjoy! ------------------- [td2]Reward
Quest Received
Explore the new dungeon and report its inhabitants to the guildDifficulty: Below Average
RequirementsBe at least a F ranked adventurer[/tds]Party leader: Mary Highwater
10 silver
Failure Condition:Dungeon is not explored within two weeks
Refusal of quest:No penalties
Maria marveled at the quest notification as the party made its way through the gates into the grassland. Her eyes had not left the bracelet since she had returned from the ladies room at the guild, and they shone with excitement. Steel couldn''t help but feel happy for her. "I''m happy that both you and Lady Mary were able to fulfill your dreams." He grinned at her. Maria dragged her eyes of the bracelet and clapped her hands together. "I know, isn''t it great? To think it was so easy after years of waiting for the opportunity. I still can''t believe it!" She gushed happily, "It''s all thanks to you, my number one student. I knew you were special the first time I lay eyes on you, yes sir I did." Steel laughed as he shook his head. There it was again, a somehow casual arrogance that always appeared when Maria was at the peak of her happiness. She didn''t even realize it when she did it, but Steel had been keeping a closer eye on her since she had joined the group at the training center. He wasn''t dense, he could see something happened every time the two girls left together. One of them would come back more animated, and the other would be calmer. However, Lady Mary was never excitable even during the change, but Maria switched, almost as of different people. If he hadn''t known her so well, however, the change would have been imperceptible to him. He put his hand out to pat Maria''s back, but as if she sensed it, she turned around and pointed her finger at him. "Okay Steel, my student. It''s time to teach you some magic skills." Steel blinked, withdrawing his arm, "Aren''t we a little too close to the gate for this?" She nodded, "Yes, but I want you to drain your mana completely before we start, so use your least destructive spell constantly until we get to the spot." Shrugging, Steel activated Earth Armor, its ethereal branches covering his body. Maria raised an eyebrow, "I see you''ve learned Earth Armor properly. Good job." She pointed to a small hill in the distance, "Okay, let¡¯s go over there to practice; if that is alright my lady." That last comment was almost an afterthought though. Mary nodded, "That''s fine by me. I too am interested in seeing the scout''s progress in magic." She gave him a regal smile. ''There it is again. She didn''t call me by my name." Steel thought to himself as they walked, ''We clearly agreed to do that last night, so did she forget?'' His thoughts stumbled as a notification took up his vision:
System Announcement
Guardian Assassin had been successfully approved by the system administrators. The player, Steel has gained 250 fame for his creation. Players will have to seek out the player with the class to learn how to become the class. NPC''s may become that class. Only NPC masters can teach a player how to become one.
Steel punched the air in exhilaration. A message came from Nina after the notice. "Sir, I was successful in keeping my class!" "That''s great Nina. How did you do it?" "Sir, I''ve been training with the head assassin in the guard since I left you. He shot me down at first, but I was able to prove to him that it worked. Now, he¡¯s thinking of becoming one too, and I get to teach him!" ''Well, isn''t that symmetry in motion.'' "Congratulations Nina! Tell me, have you been getting the help I told you to get?" "Yes sir! I met with a doctor lady whose been talking with me after school. I didn''t like her at first, but she¡¯s okay." "I''m proud of you Nina. Keep getting stronger, okay? I''m returning to the dungeon tomorrow for a quest, think you can join?" "Sorry sir, I''ll be too busy with my master. Are going alone?" "Nope, I''m leading this friend of mine from the mage tower." It took a while for Nina''s response to come. "Sir, no funny business allowed. You could get in big trouble you know." "What are you talking about? She''s my magic teacher, I''ve known her since day one of the game. She won''t betray me." "Okay Sir, but remember I''m the one that understands you. Have fun!" Steel closed the message with a slight shudder. He prayed Nina hurried up and got better soon. He turned to find the three others waiting impatiently for him. "Geez Steel, what are you doing? Staring into empty space like that; that''s quite rude making us ladies wait like that." Maria scolded him. "Sorry Maria, I was doing traveler things." He apologized as they resumed walking. Mary looked interested, "Really? What were you doing?" "I was talking to a friend of mine. She managed to achieve a rare class on her own and was thanking me for the help." Maria smiled, looking straight ahead, "Oh really? How amazing, hidden classes are very rare and powerful. Will we be seeing her during the trip?" She asked innocently. "No, she''s too busy training to join us. Shame too, she was a real help during the expedition." "Oh, so you know her from that. What was she?" "My slave." Steel fumbled as Maria tripped him onto the ground. He looked up into her accusing eyes. "How many slaves do you have! What improper things are you doing to them! You teacher is ashamed at you for surrounding yourself with women who obey your every whim." She wagged her finger, "That''s a great way to increase arrogance you know." "What are you talking about? Echo is a guy." Steel pointed at Echo, who was also giving Steel a disapproving look. "Not the point Steel." Maria glared at him, "Maybe M.M. was right to ask you about your intentions for Echo." She hugged the slave to her bosom. Steel sighed, "You¡¯re worrying over nothing. I got a boy slave because there were too many girls in my life. I have no intention of abusing anyone. You know that right?" Maria frowned, and looked down, "Yes, I believe your character wouldn''t abuse those you call friends. Still though, why are there so many girls around you?" She complained, mostly to herself. Steel shrugged, "No idea, but I am separating from women until I can rely on my strength again. Come on now, let¡¯s hurry to that hill." He got back up and strolled toward the practice point. Maria frowned sadly at his back. "Mores the pity." She sighed to herself. A little tug brought her face down to look at Echo. He smiled sadly and patted her back. "I know Echo, I know just how you feel too." ------------------------------- Steel was breathing a bit harder than normal when they reached the hill. He had never used Earth Armor for so long before, even during combat. His mana reserves were steadily falling, even with his regen helping him. He canceled the spell and took a seat on the hill, catching his breath. Maria shook her head, "See, this is the reason I had you cast your spell. How do you feel?" Steel took a deep breath in before replying, "Really tired for some reason, like I just ran a mile and my stamina was exhausted." She nodded, "Have you looked at your stamina bar?" Steel gazed at it, and was surprised to find it had decreased a little bit. Not that much, but enough that he could clearly see a loss. "I''m sure you are aware that if someone were to completely exhaust their mana and stamina, their health would begin draining until they die." Maria continued, "What you don''t know is that using mana untrained actually requires a bit of stamina to use, to make up for the lack of understanding and focus. Before it was common knowledge, young apprentices would use their mana continuously and refresh it only to find themselves running out of stamina eventually. Once that happened, they couldn''t use spells anymore and often died depending on the circumstance." This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Steel frowned, "That can''t be right, stamina and mana are two different things. They can''t affect the other." Maria nodded, "You¡¯re correct of course, but that''s not including spell casting. When a mage casts a spell, he is literally taking mana out of his body, which has a cost. The cost is stamina, which is another reason why warrior types tend to avoid spells that would drain their precious stamina. Training with me today will replace the stamina cost with mana, so you as a hybrid class won''t have to worry about unnecessary loss." "Now, go ahead and casts all the spells you know." Steel only knew 5, so it didn''t take too long. He showed off Earth Armor again, followed by Earth Wall to create a stone pillar. Next, he cast Dark Bind on Maria, who shrugged it off easily and nodded her approval. He cast Milna''s Blessing, but as no one was hurt nothing happened. Finally, he cast charm. The spell activated on Maria, but she hadn''t been expecting this type of skill from Steel. A blush began growing on her face as her eyes drank in his form. "Steel, I must say your teacher is so pleased by your. . .performance. Allow me to teach you more things." She began to move toward him seductively, a fire burning in her gaze. Actually, she was literally starting to burn. Each step left burn marks in the ground. Steel began to make a retreat, unable to cancel the effects because Charm wasn''t a continuous spell. Thankfully, Mary stepped forward and cast a spell on Maria, who calmed down and looked very embarrassed. "Spell forbidden from now on!" Steel did not complain, it was way too dangerous. Maria cleared her throat awkwardly, "Well then, now it¡¯s time for the lessons. Drink this first." She threw Steel a mana potion, "Then cast Dark Bind on me again." Steel did so, and watched as the darkness succeeded and surrounded Maria. She nodded at him. "Dark Bind is a single target instant cast type spell. As you can see, I can''t move with on me. I can however cast spells of my own still." The darkness was blown away by a ring of fire around her. "Now, cast it again on me." She stopped the ring of fire. Just like the first time, the darkness failed to hold her and fell away. "What used to block that spell is a mana shield. Unlike other magical shields, mana shields block spells by using an equivalent amount of mana to the spell cast. In other words, it''s your mana pool against my mana pool. This is a good strategy against weaker opponents and hybrid types who both have smaller mana pools, but it''s a risk against another mage and useless against warriors." "This time, try to pierce me with Earth Wall." Steel formed a spike and stabbed it up at her. Before it hit her, Maria summoned a green barrier around herself. When the spike passed through it, it weakened and disintegrated before it could touch her. "This is an elemental shield." She explained, "It''s a magical shield that reduces damage from elemental attacks. You can only have one type in use at a time, so it loses potential against multiple opponents. However, it requires only a small, constant mana use to keep it up, and the element can be switched out every few seconds. The higher your natural resistance to an element, the better your shield of that type will be." "This time, use this dagger to injure me." She threw him a simple dagger. Steel shrugged, and rushed her with it. The dagger bounced off a gray barrier that appeared around her. "This is a weapon barrier, used to counter physical attacks. It is worthless against spells and weapons enchanted with elemental damage, and arrows can pierce it if the bow is strong enough. It also uses a small mana cost, but it also drains a little stamina with every blow against it. Most mages rarely use this barrier for long because we don''t have large stamina pools to draw from." "These are the three types of magical shields a mage can use. Each has its own strength and weakness, but in order to learn any of them one has to understand mana flow." She sat down in a meditative pose, "Sit with me Steel, and meditate. Feel the flow of your mana and allow it to envelop you. Then, push it outwards until it covers your body." Steel closed his eyes and called on his mana. Well, as best he could anyway, since mana wasn''t real and this was a game. A sphere began glowing around him soon after. Spoiler :
Spell Learned:Mana Barrier
Type/AttributeSpell RankCostExperience
Defense/N/AC10 mana initially, than the same amount used in the spell blocked0%
DescriptionA defensive barrier spell. While having no effect against physical attacks, it can block any spell as long as the caster''s mana pool is sufficient. Reduces mana regen by 50% when in use. It takes 10 seconds after casting to switch to another barrier type.
Spell Learned:Elemental Barrier
Type/AttributeSpell RankCostExperience
Defense/AnyC15 mana per second0%
DescriptionA defensive barrier spell. While having no effect against physical attacks, it reduces the strength of the corresponding elemental attack, including enchanted weapon by 25%. Reduces mana regen by 50% when in use. It takes 10 seconds after casting to switch to another barrier type or elemental type.
Spell Learned:Weapon Barrier
Type/AttributeSpell RankCostExperience
Defense/N/AC10 mana every second, drains 15 stamina per hit0%
DescriptionA defensive barrier spell. While having no effect against magical attacks, it reduces all physical attacks except arrows by 25% as long as the caster''s mana and stamina pool is sufficient. Reduces mana regen by 50% and stamina regen by 25% when in use. It takes 10 seconds after casting to switch to another barrier type.
Skill Name:Skill Rarity:Skill Rank:Skill Experience:
Mana FlowDE0%
You understand the flow of mana and how to maximize its usage.
Passive Effects:Spells no longer deduct a minor stamina cost. Spells are now 2% stronger upon casting.
Costs:N/A
Cool downN/A
"I managed to acquire the skills teacher. That really was fast." Steel informed her. "Of course, you started this training when you first learned from me, and you continued it through your battles. I wouldn''t have done this if it would have taken forever. Milady Mary can''t be gone forever from the tower after all." Mary nodded behind her, "Yes, but I must say your use of magic is quite well founded scout. Maria certainly is a wonderful teacher." Steel frowned, he had had enough. "Okay, I''m tired of this, what is going on?" Mary cocked her head, "Is something wrong scout?" He glared at her, "Yes there is something wrong. Who are you?" Chapter 15- Identity Well, the resolution to the mystery. Lets see how you guys feel about it~~ HERO OF NAUGHT IS NOW #10 IN WEEKLY VIEWS! Play celebration music~~ (Also, please leave ratings :p) Enjoy! ----------- "Who are you?" Steel''s words flowed through the air and into the two girl''s ears. Mary frowned at Steel. "What are talking about Scout Steel? I must say, that is a rather rude question to ask me." "Zip it." Steel cut her off, making her eyes widen at his rudeness, "I''ve been noticing the little things between the two of you, how every time you both disappear, Maria''s personality seems to shift, and the way you address me scout. I agreed with Lady Mary last night that we would call each other by our first names, yet you seem to have forgotten." She moved his gaze back and forth between the two of them, "Now, tell me what''s going on or I''m taking you girls back to the tower. I won''t put up with trickery and lies, not anymore." Mary glared at Steel, "How dare you accuse a lady such as me of lying! I''ve never been so insulted before in my life! Take this punishment!" A fiery aura surrounded Mary as she summoned a fireball in each hand. She threw them at Steel, shooting them like baseballs through the air with her mind. Steel activated Elemental Shield and blocked both fireballs, wincing as his mana decreased by 110. "If that''s how you¡¯re going to be, I''ll have to unmask you myself!" Steel brought his shield out and Charged Mary with his shield held outward. His instinct skill activated, warning him just in time to jump backwards to avoid another fireball, this time from Maria. Maria had a hard look on her face, but her eyes were very conflicted. "Okay, let¡¯s calm down here. Lady Mary, please forgive this insolent fool for his words. Steel, behave yourself! Don''t you know you just insulted the second strongest mage in Rostwood?" Steel glowered a moment, then looked thoughtful. He turned and bowed deeply to Mary, "Please forgive this young fool who acts before he thinks. I am unworthy to even kiss the tip of your shoe." A stealthy hand wave behind his back activated Charm again. Mary frowned, "I see you recognize your mistake. See to it you never make it again." "Lady, if you would allow me to show my position by kissing your shoe, this servant would be most satisfied." Steel continued, oozing as much charm as he could muster. Mary smiled at him, obviously thinking he was truthful with his words. "Of course scout. Come, you may satisfy your regret." She held out her foot to him. Steel got on his knees and approached her slowly, his head looking at the ground. Just as he reached her, he made eye contact with Maria, who was very confused by his actions. He stuck his tongue out at her, making her eyes widen in realization. "Mary, don''t let him touch you!" It was too late. Steel surged forward and knocked the unsuspecting Mary to the ground. He wrapped his body around her and held tightly. "Unhand me your fool! Do you hear me, you''ll die!" Mary protested a hint of fear in her voice. Steel smiled evilly, "I doubt that Lady Mary, I doubt that very much." The seconds past, and Steel felt no pain. Maria had fallen to her knees, a defeated look on her face. Mary merely looked sad. Steel released her and got up. "The geas did not activate. I ask you again, who are you?" The Mary sighed and straightened up into a sitting position. "Well, you really are a lot more cunning than you look, huh Steel." She gave him a cheesy smile, "Well, it was fun while it lasted anyway." She morphed in front of him into a ball of light, which floated over to Maria, "Sorry Mary, I didn''t think he had the guile to do that. I failed your orders." Steel crossed his arms, "As I thought, you really are Mary." Maria smiled tearfully at Steel, and her body melted away into the more beautiful and regal form of Mary. "I''m sorry Steel, I really am sorry." Steel stomped the ground angrily, "Why Mary, why! Why did you lie to me? Did you not trust me? Did you think I was unworthy to know your real face?" She shook her head quickly, "No, no! I. . . I just. . ." She blubbered, but couldn''t finish as her crying peaked. She pulled her knees to her chest and hugged them, the tears falling quickly now. "You had no right Mary, no right at all! Did you not think this was important! What if something bad happened to us, huh? What if I had to choose between the two of you in a life or death situation! I would have let her die to save you, but the geas would burn me and you would die too! You lied to me! You spied on me, used your disguise to get secrets from me, and used me to get you out of the wall, out of Rostwood! Was any of it true? Were you at all truthful with me AT ALL?" Mary continued to cry, the shake of her head the only indication she had heard him. Steel was furious with her. He had actually started to feel some for her, for a person who didn''t really exist in the world. The fact that she had played as two different people meant she didn''t trust him enough to open up to him. He gazed scornfully at her and opened his mouth to berate her some more, but stopped when he felt a pull on his shirt. He looked down into the face of Echo, who beckoned him to come closer. Reigning in his anger for the moment, he knelt down to listen. ''Smack'' Echo slapped him, much harder than Steel expected him to be able to do. Steel blinked and looked down at the slave, who was very angry. He hit Steel again, then again, before Steel finally caught his hand. "Echo, what is it? Why are you hitting me?" he asked confused. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Echo pointed at Mary. "Echo, she betrayed me, she lied to me. She''s just like those others. . ." Echo hit him again, than pointed at Mary. Steel gazed at her, watching as she cried and cried. Slowly, his anger began to fade away. She wasn''t laughing at him, she hadn''t run away from him, and she hadn''t launched fireballs everywhere. She was upset, but she was taking his abuse and letting it flow into her. Yes, he had been abusing her verbally, ha had made her cry. A girl was crying because of him. He sighed, scratching his head at her. ''This must be what Eric was talking about.'' He thought, ''She may have lied to me about herself, but it''s not like I was ever completely truthful to her. I just lashed out in anger because of a simple lie from a girl whose been locked up her entire life. Guess the darkness within really is a potent thing.'' He smiled at Echo and rubbed his head, "Thank you Echo, you helped me regain myself." Echo nodded, than pointed at Mary again. "Right, right, I''ll fix this mess." Steel got up and walked over to Mary. He sat down beside her waited. Eventually, her blubbering decreased and she looked over, sniffling, at Steel. He sighed. "I''m sorry I yelled at you. I won''t forgive your lies, but you had your reasons, right? I''ll wait for you to explain things when you are ready." Sobbing anew, Mary threw herself around Steel and cried into his shoulder. Steel patted her back, "its okay, its okay now." He waited for the pain, but none came from her touch. He looked down to see a thin light separating her skin from him. He turned and raised an eyebrow at the orb of light. "What? You are helping her, not hurting her. I can help prevent it for a little while, enough to let you comfort her." The orb wobbled. Steel nodded his thanks, and resumed patting the crying girl. They stayed like that for a long time, and she fell asleep in his arms. ---------------------- Steel got out the tents he had bought before. Mary was sleeping on a bedroll, so he was setting up the tent over her to ensure her good sleep. Apparently, he had earned the "Camping" skill from this, which he generally ignored due to its irrelevance. Echo was putting sticks into a fire in the middle, and the orb of light was hovering around the place after lighting the fire. Steel finished with the tent and lay down next to the fire. He watched the flames burn as the sun slowly set in the distance, admiring the colors as it crackled and burned. He looked up at the orb floating above his head. "So, what are you really?" It giggled and bounced, "Why, I am a noble fire elemental of course. I am Mistress Mary''s special familiar and help her when she needs it, nice ta meet cha. Oh, and you can call me Whisper." "Are you sure? Because I have to say, you look more like a light elemental than a fire elemental in all honesty." Steel said bluntly. The orb turned red, "It''s not my fault I''m like this you know! When Mary realized she couldn''t hide anymore, her grief stopped the mana transfer I needed to maintain a physical form, and I reverted back to this basic spirit form. If we were in my home dimension, you''d be dazzled by my elegance." "So, you can become physical?" Whisper wobbled back and forth, "To an extent, I can interact decently with everything non-living except for water. I feel a lot warmer than a normal person, though, and I can''t replicate certain things like the geas. It''s mainly a mix of her disguising magic and me taking a general form." Steel looked back at the tent, "Tell, me how much mana was she using to keep this facade up?" "You wouldn''t believe me even if I told you." She said, "However, she had to use a good bit to summon me, which reduced her regeneration by 50%, than she had to keep two disguise spells up at the same time, and then she had to teach you skills by using more mana. Suffice to say, she''s pretty exhausted." Steel inclined his head toward the tent. His gaze sought to pierce it, to gaze into Mary''s face and ask her, "why?". "Whisper, would she have been in trouble in an emergency situation?" The orb nodded, or bounced up and down, "I could protect her, but her own power to fight would have been a little lower than you had she kept it up. Still, she''ll have a small backlash for a while after using so much mana for so long." He shook his head in disbelief. "Whisper, can you explain the situation to me. Why would she risk so much for this lie? Why would she lie to me about herself at all?" The orb performed an infinity sign in the air, "I can''t tell you everything, it''s not my right or job to explain her to you. I can tell you that she enjoyed being Maria a lot more than being Mary. Even when she was by herself, she would become Maria just to meet people at the receptionist counter." Steel believed her, because every time Mary had been Maria, she had always been so excited and happy, as if a load had been taken off her shoulders. "Well, hopefully she feels a lot better tomorrow. That way, she''ll have fun during the raid and the quest." The orb planted itself in the fire and let out a pink glow, "Well, as long as you help her through her feelings, I''m sure she will. She wasn''t kidding about looking forward to the dungeon raid, or doing her first quest. Ahh, what a nice fire." Steel chuckled, than got up to set up the other two tents. Tomorrow was a new day, and he needed to be well-rested to hear Mary''s story. He hadn''t made up his mind to forgive her yet, but he did owe it to her to listen to her reasons. After all, she had taught him magic after all, and she had been a good teacher. Only time would tell how she would be when she woke up. Chapter 16- Espacio We got a huge influx of followers, so we are almost to 700! Thanks for being such a great group :) Also, this is the 50th chapter! So, some of you guys wrote reviews a long time ago, like chapter 11 or so. I''d like to ask that you update your votes, so I can see if I got better or worse. Your opinions matter to me a lot. Enjoy! ------------------------- Echo woke Steel up the following morning. He had opened the tent and was shaking Steel slowly, his calm face betraying none of his expectations. Steel groaned, but rolled onto his back and opened his eyes at Echo. "Five more minutes Echo." He put the pillow over his head. He felt a weight straddling him, and the pillow was taken off his face. It was used to hit his face until he moved. Steel grabbed the pillow and sat up, eyeing the boy in his lap. "Okay, I''m up, what is it?" Echo''s stomach spoke for him, growling like a devil wolf eyeing its prey. Echo blushed, but his hard stare did not waver from Steel''s face. "Okay, okay I''ll go make some food." Steel said, letting the slave get off of him before leaving the tent. He found the fire already lit and Whisper glowing pink within it, letting its heat soothe her. Rolling his eyes, Steel removed some of the food supplies he had purchases from Mema and skewered them on some sticks. He positioned them over the fire, rotating them slowly so that each side got an even heat. Whisper complained from within the fire, "Hey! You''re getting grease all over my body! Is this how you treat a lady?" "Fires are for cooking and staying warm." Steel responded, "What you''re doing is none of my business, and neither is how I am affecting you. Besides, do elementals even have genders?" Whisper rose out of the fire, red colored, "Of course we do; well, the contracted ones at least." She amended, "So you aren''t going to apologize?" Steel smiled slowly, "Of course I''m sorry you get dirty, but doesn''t the fire burn off the dirt anyway?" "You''re right; I just wanted to tease you because I''m bored. I can''t sleep out here anyway, and nothing interesting happened all night." Her words gave off the distinct impression of a sad face emoticon. "Well, hopefully these skewers will wake up the young miss, and she''ll feel good enough to talk some." Steel mused. "Agreed. This is the first time, I believe, that she''s gotten so worked up about something since her mother died." Steel raised an eyebrow, "So you''ve been with her for that long?" The orb shook back and forth, "Sorry, no telling from me. You''ll have to ask her if you want to know more, I''ve already told you everything I''m allowed to. Contracts and all that you know." Steel shrugged, finishing the conversation. His lack of knowledge prevented him from calling her out, though most likely she was telling at least a partial truth. A rustle alerted him to Mary''s tent. His head turned just in time to it close quickly. Smiling to himself, he positioned his body so he could barely see it out of the corner of his eye, but was not outright looking at it. After a few minutes, the opening opened again slowly, revealing a set of peeking eyes. Steel held on of the skewers out in front of him, sniffing it loudly. "Echo, the food''s almost ready! Hurry and choose your skewer, I only was successful 3 out 5 times, so two of these are poison." Due to the quest from Mema, Steel couldn''t learn the cooking skill automatically, which meant even if he cooked perfectly, most of his attempts would result in failure, terrible deadly flavor indeed. Echo ran over as fast as he could and began inspecting the skewers. The ironic thing was that Steel''s attempts all looked and smelled the same, so it was a food version of Russian roulette. As Echo mused over the choices, Steel got up and intentionally walked away from the fire pit to stretch his body. When he turned back around, two skewers were missing from the fire. Echo had one, and Steel had a suspicion over the location of the second; especially with the loud munching noises coming from the tent. Thinking cruelly, Steel picked up a skewer at random and started pretended to eat it. He waited a few seconds, than he pulled his best Con Artist impression by choking and gasping for air. He fell to the ground dramatically and began rolling around, his limbs lashing around. "Cough, oh no, I ate a poison skewer! I can''t reach the antidote and I''m dying!" To any normal person, that would have comedy gold and obvious. Of course, he wasn''t with real people, and they were the panicky sort. Echo ran over and threw his body on top of Steel''s legs, trying to stop his rolling. The poor slave held on for dear life, his eyes scared and nervous. A few second later, a second body joined him in holding down Steel''s arms. Mary, in her receptionist form, was sitting on his hands and prepping her fists. Steel had a bad premonition, but it was too late to react. "Hiya!" Mary punched Steel''s stomach with more force than he thought possible, trying to make him retch up the food. Also, her presence was burning his arms, and now a little burn on his punched abdomen. Steel groaned, and stopped moving to make them let go. Mary, however, gave him two more punches for good measure to save his life. ''Okay, that was possibly my worst plan ever conceived.'' He groaned to himself as he clutched his beaten torso and burning arms. Echo had already discovered the non-eaten skewer, and now the two saviors were giving Steel pitiless eyes. "You idiot, now you''re in real pain. It serves you right for lying to us." Mary scolded him. Steel managed a smug smile, "Yeah? At least you¡¯re out of the tent princess." He shot back. Mary blushed, but gave a "Hmph" and folded her arms, retrieving her skewer before joining Echo beside the fire. Steel watched them eat until they were finished, thinking about the coming conversation. When they put down the empty skewers, he was sitting up and ready. Whisper had said something to Mary, but her back was to him so he couldn''t see her face. She turned around and took a seat in front of him, her head bowed. "I''m sorry for lying to you." She bowed her head. Steel grunted. It was a start. "That''s great and all but apologize as the real you." He ordered. She looked up defiantly, "Why should I?" If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Steel sighed. He was going to have to teach her a few things. "Listen Mary, this whole ordeal has been about you lying about your true identity. Right now, you¡¯re still hiding yourself from me and to a lesser extent yourself. Talk to me with your true personality in your real body, or this apology you give me will be worthless." Mary pouted, but nodded and let the disguise fade away. She was back in her extremely attractive body, but her clothes hadn''t changed. Steel''s heart felt a slight jolt seeing Mary the receptionist''s clothes on Mary the Archmage¡¯s daughter. He shrugged it off; after all it was a worthless feeling. Mary bowed again, "I''m sorry Steel for lying to you about who I really was." She looked up, her eyes pleading with him. Steel nodded his approval, "It''s a good start Mary, I''m proud of you for taking the first step." She gave him a little smile at his words, but cocked her head questioningly. "The first step?" Steel nodded, "Yes, because this problem is a lot deeper ingrained in you than you may realize. Think about it, you spent so much mana keeping up a facade for days in order to hide yourself from the one traveler you have a relationship with. Someone, mind you, that you have known for a little over a week with no prior knowledge and minimal interaction compared to others. Now, can you explain why?" Mary''s mouth opened and closed a few times before she could get any words out. With slumped shoulders, she said, "Well, mainly because you''re the first person my age I could talk to and enjoy being with." She confessed, "Everyone I know in the tower is older than me and focused on their jobs. Whisper was my main playmate, and she spent so much time with me she actually developed a personality. Most elementals are little more than servants to be ordered around." Whisper flew over and bounced, "Yup, I''m kind of unique in that regard; outside of elder and royal elementals anyway. Point is, I''m the one she has the closest relationship with, in or out of the tower. Well, until you came along anyway." Mary nodded, "You interested me, and I felt like I could talk to you. Also, you left me with that infuriating impression after our first meeting, making me unable to forget you." She and whisper giggled a little at the memory, "So then I was waiting for you to get some payback, but you come in and say such nice things about me I forgot my anger and came to meet you. Then, I find out your an amazingly special person with a uniquely rare class and abilities, so I decide I have to make you my ally no matter what. That was when I decided you were to be my ticket out of the tower. However, you go off and I don''t hear from you again. I was really worried about you, both for my escape and a little bit of feelings for you." She grumbled a little, "And then you come back and we have that big fight. I felt really bad after that, and feelings start to change a little bit. I wanted to see you again, not to use you but to actually talk some more. You came in when I was disguised as the receptionist at the counter and give such a warm apology that I feel really sad about trying to use you. Ironically, you did end up being my ticket out of the tower, even without me doing anything. I felt really guilty at that point, so I used my mana to give whisper my form so I can enjoy being with you and slowly introduce my real face to you. We failed though because we didn''t communicate well enough and you''re really observant. Thus, leading to our current predicament here." She sighed and hugged herself, "I''d understand if you were to take me back to the tower right now and never come to see me again. Just, please, don''t leave me alone again." Steel understood her now. She was just a lonely girl who was finally feeling companionship for the first time, and had no idea how to approach the concept of friends outside servant relationships. The receptionist and Whisper were both subordinates, so the friendship could never supersede her authority. That explained her arrogant stance when she got really happy; no one had ever told her it was the wrong thing to do. Steel was torn now between what to do. On the one hand, a part of him wanted to get rid of her and never see her again. His pragmatic side was telling him to milk her for all she was worth before abandoning her to fate. However, the old him wanted to heal her, the same way he was trying to heal Nina now. Both were broken in their own ways, and their situations were similar enough to his that he wanted to help them through it. "Okay then, here is what I''m going to do." He began, "I''m not going to take you back to the tower now. We have a job to do, and I promised you we would complete it." He watched her begin to perk up happily, "However!" He pointed his finger at her, "When we get back to Rostwood, we will separate." Mary''s eyes widened in tears, "No." She muttered sadly. "Yes." Steel said, crossing his arms, "You are going back to the tower, and I will not visit you again. That being said, you are going to teach me the disguise spell first." She looked up with confused tears, "I am going to use the spell to disguise myself, and I''ll visit you as someone else. You will have no idea who I am, so you¡¯re going to have to be friendly with everyone. You cannot have an arrogant crap or haughty attitudes, because if I see either one I''ll leave and never come back." He smiled encouragingly at her, "This way, you''ll learn how to interact with other people outside the tower, meet some other travelers, and learn how to act your age. When I feel like you''ve learned enough, I''ll reveal myself, and you can come with me if you want. In other words, when I leave Rostwood, you can join me in my adventures. Is that satisfactory enough for you?" Holding her hands over her mouth, Mary nodded and let happy tears fall from her eyes. She scouted over and hugged Steel, Echo soon following from behind him and Whisper lying on his head. It was the perfect moment of peace. Except for the burning, the ever present burning. -------- Well, enough with all the mushy crap, time to get back to the action! Nice thing is that this type of chapter is shorter than the action ones, so expect larger chapters this week! Thank you for reading. Chapter 17- Entrance to Hell (Part 1) So, we hit 700 followers, great things! Also, Expect another chapter in less than 12 hours~. I''ve got some traveling to do, so it''ll be after that. Sorry about the lack of chapter yesterday, just couldn''t finish it :/ Little crying here ---> Spoiler : Noo, my 5th star is almost gone from my rating! So sad Enjoy the chapter! -------------------------- The first thing Steel did after recovering from his ordeal was check the notification he had received.
Status Update
After repeated instances of curse damage with survival, you have acquired the skill "Curse Resistance".
Skill Name:Skill Rarity:Skill Rank:Skill Experience:
Curse ResistenceBF35%
You''ve taken so much curse damage ans survived that your mind and body have gained resistance to it
Passive Effects:All curses directed at you decrease in strength by 5%. 2% chance of a curse failing to be cast on you
Costs:N/A
Cool downN/A
''Well, at least the pain gave me something.'' He thought with a somber chuckle. He got up and helped the other two clean up the camp and back the tents. Well, they took the tents down, he merely added them back to his inventory. Another weird difference between travelers and NPCs, but it didn''t faze either Mary or Echo. Once finished, they set back on to the path toward the dungeon. Today was the fifth day, and supposedly the dungeon would be stable enough for raiding. Steel was already exited, and he rubbed the small dark pink crystal in his pocket. If what the captain had told him was true, he''d have a chance to see her face again. A notification alerted him to something in his inventory. Worried, Steel brought out the egg and watched as it trembled in his hand. Mary, Echo, and Whisper gathered around, curious and excited. The egg was making the occasional shudder in Steel''s hands, and had changed a lot since he had last held it. The egg had lost all it''s softness, and was now hard and firm in his hand. Instead of pure black as it had been before, small swirls of green and red flowed over the egg like rivers in the blackness. Mary clapped her hands excitedly, "My goodness, your egg is about to hatch!" Steel held it up to sun and stared at it, "That''s great and all, but I think it''s poisoned. This red and green color was not on there originally." Mary shook her head, "No you silly boy it''s not poisoned. That''s a monster egg isn''t it? You got it from the alpha wolf, in that wellspring of darkness mana. It absorbed the darkness mana and became black. While it''s been with you, it''s absorbed your earth mana and....my fire mana." Mary blushed and bowed her head in apology. Steel waved her off, "It''s alright, I already forgave you. So, does the mana affect what it becomes?" Mary shrugged, "Unfortunately, that''s the limit of what I know. Magic beasts weren''t my specialty at the tower." Steel eyed the shuddering egg, "Well, anything else you can tell me about it?" Mary nodded, "They wake up hungry." On that pleasant note, the egg jumped out of Steel''s hands and floated in the air. It shone brightly and sank slowly to the ground. As the light faded, it''s occupant was revealed to the world. It was a puppy, rather, a wolf youngling. It was curled up on it''s side, eyes closed and paws twitching. It was covered in black fur, except for it''s paws; they were a mix of red and green colors. The pup yawned and stretched out before opening it''s eyes and seeing the world for the first time. It tilted it''s head up at the group and barked a high pitched yip. Steel laughed, than activated his Shield of Friendship and Charm before giving a leftover piece of meat to the pup. It pounced on the meal and gnawed on it cutely. Steel bent over and put his hand on the pup''s head, scratching it. It arched it''s head up to meet the hand while trying to lift the food with it''s mouth. Mary giggled at the sight.
You have successfully tamed a [Demon Wolf, variant]{Pup}
Please enter a name for your new companion___________
Eyeing the adorable ball of fur, Steel typed in a name for it.
Name has been entered as "Shadefur"
You have successfully entered into a pet contract with Shadefur and have access to his companion status menu
Companion Acquired
Shadefur
TypeMasterHealthLevel
Demon wolf, variantSteel50/501
Attack/Defense25/15
SkillsRapid bite Smokescreen Paw Swipe Tackle Earth Claw Fire Claw
Description:A companion born from the egg drooped by an Alpha demon wolf. It was raised in a battle intensive environment, granting a bonus to attack and a penalty to health. The high concentration of earth and fire mana in it''s vicinity was absorbed into the egg, allowing for the pup to gain affinities in both, becoming a rare variant demon wolf.
A sign appeared on Shadefur''s side above her back leg, a shield emblem. Apparently, the system marked his things with shields now. Steel nodded and smiled. "Welcome Shadefur to the Shield Scout Squad." Shadefur cocked her head at Steel, than leaned over and howled. Before the group''s eyes, she grew from a pup to a full grown wolf in seconds. Finished with her transformation, she swallowed the meat down in one gulp and sat on her haunches, her eyes pleading. Sighing, Steel checked his inventory. The only meat left were from the ruined skewers, which he gave to her hesitantly. He needent have bothered, because Shadefur drowned all three skewers in an instant and gave a canine grin with her tongue hanging out the side as she panted. Mary and Steel couldn''t hold back any longer, and threw themselves onto the wolf with massive hugs. "So soft, so warm." Steel muttered. "What a perfect body pillow." Mary sighed. Echo shrugged and patted the wolf on the back, welcoming her into the group. Shadefur struggled, but could not escape the tight grip of the two fluffy lovers. She eventually gave up, and activated dead weight. Not really a skill, but the sudden loss of stability broke their hold long enough for her to escape their grasp. Steel shook his head, the feeling leaving him. "That''s a pretty terrifying ability you have there Shady, you really got me with that soft fur of yours." He turned back toward the path, "Alright guys, back to the adventure and dungeon raiding!" They walked along the path in his head, one member higher than before.(right meaning, wrong words :/ Need a better way to say this) -------------------- Instead of the longer way around the forest, Steel led the group straight through the grassland area into the forest. Thankfully, there were no Trap Plants along their path to fight, meaning that the plants had moved again during one of the nights. Oddly enough, they soon came across a recently cut path that moved through the forest. They found a little sign post on the side of the road: Dungeon <--- "Well, what do you know, those merchant fellows can get things done fast." Steel exclaimed in amazement. Mary nodded, "When there is money to be made, the merchant classes swarm and get things done as swift as possible. Master Yorick himself helped to reduce the time to make the city from 10 years to 4. Without their gold and political influence, very little would be done in Rostwood. It''s different at places like the capital and other long established cities due to the nobles and such, but even then merchants hold a lot o power in the human kingdom." They followed the path through the forest for a while, and before long they began to hear the sounds of voices and chatting through the trees. The path opened up into the clearing of rocks, and Steel was amazed at the scene before him. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Before, this area had been a flatland leading up into a hill of stones and boulders. Now, the flatland looked like a base camp of an army, and buildings were being built all around and through it. There was a inn, tavern, guard house, and a few merchant buildings that were brand new, and a few buildings still being made. There was even what looked like a stall run by the mages. "Mary, why is there a mage run shop here?" Smiling at the shop, she replied, "Dungeon monsters always contain monster cores, and sometimes drop them when they are defeated. The most common cores can be ground down into mana potions, but it takes a lot of cores to do so. Higher ranked cores can be used for all sorts of things, from enchanting to spell casting. My father has an agreement with Master Yorick; they help build things for the guild with magic, and the mages can have their own store at any location. They are also drinking buddies, so that helps too." "So that''s why the buildings were set up so fast. It makes sense I guess." Steel mused to himself, "So, shall we head up to the dungeon?" They made their way down to the miniature town and strolled through it. The merchants stores that were up were selling weapons, armor, and potions to the adventurous and bold, and had signs up advertising their buying prices for loot from the dungeon. They ignored everything however, and soon left the buildings for the rocky hill in front of them. Steel noticed a few players in the area, most likely here by coincidence. Steel had no doubt that this place would become a bustling player attraction when word got out. That was the main reason why he had come on the first day with Mary, to avoid the large crowds that might stress her out; or at least prevent her from being nervous. He passed the last rock, and there it was; the entrance to the dungeon. It was bigger than he remembered, and torches inside outlined the tunnel within. More players were here at the entrance, and a few small merchant stalls as well. Those stalls only had potions, but were obviously here to buy as much as they could from returning raiders. As they approached, Steel noticed some guards standing in front of the entrance. They were standing beside a booth, and it was obvious they were not city guards like Steel was. "Wait here a moment guys, I''ll be right back to check on something." He told the others, and he walked up to the booth. There, he found a man taking payment from adventurer''s before they went in. "What''s this here?" He asked. The man behind the booth, bald and bulky, said in a bored tone, "5 silvers to enter, 15 for a month''s pass." Steel couldn''t believe it, the merchants were charging people to enter the dungeon! "Is this legal? Isn''t the dungeon a free spot for anyone to enter." The man chuckled and wagged his finger, "Boy, the guard of Rostwood fought tooth and nail to conquer this dungeon at great cost. They installed the heart crystal, meaning they own the dungeon and the rights to it; which makes it an asset of the city. The merchant guild has been charged to utilize this resource to the best of it''s profitability, so that means charging for entrance. Besides, if you do well with loot in there, I''m sure you''ll make a profit anyway. Now, do we have a problem, boy?" The two guards inched close in subtle warning. Steel was not impressed, and folded his arms. "That seems kinda low don''t you think? I myself helped in the subjugation, do I have to pay as well?" The man laughed, "You don''t look like much boy, least of all a guard. . . " He stopped laughing when Steel showed him his guard emblem. The man coughed and corrected himself, "Apologies corporal, I didn''t realize. . . " "No, you didn''t." Steel interrupted, "So do I have to pay or not?" Coughing, then man fanned his red face, "You do sir, but for helping to subjugate this dungeon, you receive a discount. Would you like to enter today?" Steel nodded, "Yes, and I am escorting the Archmage''s daughter as well. Will she have to pay?" Paling, the man shook his head. "Your group can go in for free sir. Thank you for your business." He croaked out. Steel turned from the booth and walked away with a smirk. He dispelled Charm and chuckled to himself how easy it was to get things for free when you knew people. We walked back to where he had left the others, but they were missing. Looking around, he spotted Mary and Echo being cornered by groups of players against one of the rocks. As he hurried over, he began to hear what they were saying: "Miss, your very strong and beautiful. One such as yourself should join my raiding group, we''d even protect your servant." "Idiot, my group is the strongest here, she should come with me instead." "Sister, you have a such a cute wolf pet! Join up with us girls and ignore these filthy men." "Filthy, who are calling filthy? It''s not like your any cleaner!" Steel pushed his way through the arguing crowd and popped out in front of Echo, who was putting his body in front of Mary like a shield. Mary herself looked very nervous and embarrassed, not a trace of her former arrogance anywhere. She obviously was not used to people treating her so casually, but she seemed more scared than angry. "Come my lady, your humble guard has returned to escort you into the dungeon." He bowed to her and held out his hand. Shadowfur barked happily and rubbed herself against him. Mary''s face changed in an instant, regaining her regal look. "Thank you sir guard, you are most appreciated for your assistance." She turned to the crowd, "I''m sorry to say I''m already being escorted by this young gentleman. Thank you all for your kind offers." They made their way through the crowd, ignoring the protests and mutters of annoyance. As they came out of the crowd, they found their path blocked by a group led by a very arrogant looking man. He had the (filthy casual) stereotypical long, blonde hair with a chiseled jaw and handsome face. He spoke in an arrogant tone, "Young miss, forgive my impudence but we are the most suited to leading you into this dangerous dungeon. We are the Hero Party and would gladly escort you past all dangers. We would even lead you safely back to your father at the tower." Steel narrowed his eyes. The jerk clearly could see Mary''s identity and was trying to use her to gain favor. He could here the people behind him whispering. "That''s the Hero Party, the strongest in Rostwood." "Yeah, see him there; that''s the leader Lancelot. He got a rare knight class and took care of that band of thieves in the city." "My favorite is Mistarrow, he''s the best ranger ever!" "You idiot, the elf player Stalk is the best. Now Iceseer, shes an ice mage and her cold beauty is so amazing." Steel ignored the rest of the peanut gallery. He already recognized the barbarian looking woman and the pyromaniac from the expedition. They totaled 5, and were all level 3. Steel didn''t like his chances if things came down to a fight. Even though their names were clearly original and so complicated; okay so he may have been laughing on the inside. Mary frowned at Lancelot, "Sir, I have no need for any more assistance, please get out of our way." He smirked, "Come on now, we are clearly more experienced than this chump with you. We even have two veterans who have been through this dungeon before, during the original raid." His boasts were met with wonder and respect from the peanut gallery. Mary shook her head, "My guard is stronger than any of you and has also been through the dungeon. Again, I ask that you step aside." Lancelot frowned, clearly annoyed his boasts hadn''t had any effect. He eyed Steel up and looked above his head, eyes widening in surprise at Steel''s level. A player could see the names of anyone they looked at, and if they concentrated the level and class would come up as well; as long as it was not too high a difference." "Hey player, I bet this is an important quest and all, but why don''t you let us finish it? You''d be well compensated for your troubles." He switched tack to coerce Steel now. Steel wasn''t having any of it, "I refuse. Now please leave." Lancelot gripped his sword, "In that case, I chal. . . " A sudden fireball knocked the knight away and blew him back into the crowd. Steel turned to see Mary put her hand down. "Anyone else want to get in my way?" She asked innocently. The crowd was silent and turned to find something else to do. The other members of the Hero Party left and ran to check on their leader. Mary turned to Steel with a smile, "Okay, lead ahead Steel." Steel was suddenly reminded of the time she had exploded in anger in front of him. Even if he didn''t like the guy, he still felt pity for the knight. They passed the booth man, who waved them in without a second glance, and entered the dungeon. --------- I have to leave for a long drive, so I''m sorry for the spelling mistakes. I''ll fix it while I write today''s second chapter. Peace. Chapter 18- Entrance to Hell (Part 2) Okay, here''s that second chapter I promised. Enjoy! ---------- As the group entered the dungeon, a notice popped up in front Steel''s face.
You have entered a dungeon
Name:Furry Hell
Difficulty:Level 3-7
Description:A new dungeon filled with many furry enemies and dangers. 5 floors deep.
Steel paused and read the description slowly. He gazed over to the other people in his party to see they had confused faces as well, likely seeing the same notice he was seeing. "Furry Hell, what a strange name for a dungeon. Do you think it has to do with your friend Steel?" Mary asked gently. Steel nodded sadly, "Most likely anyway. She was really soft and fluffy, so I guess this a reflection of that aspect of her." Mary gave him a look, than glanced at Shadefur, than looked back to Steel. "Are you a furry lover?" "No, a fluffy lover. There is a clear difference." He answered flatly. Nothing else was said on the matter. "Okay, I believe that the first floor is the same as the last time I was here, but I have no idea about the other 4 floors. Out of curiosity, what is your level Mary?" Mary tilted her head, "Well, originally I was level 25. However, the backlash from over extended mana usage has set my abilities back to level 10. Also, my mana regen is not very good, so I''m pretty off at the moment." ''Yet, you are still strong enough to send anyone you want flying.'' Steel thought to himself. "Well, it seems that you are still stronger than this dungeon." Mary shook her head quickly, "You misunderstand Steel. The level 3-7 difficulty is meant for parties of those levels. Between us three, Whisper, and Shadefur, I would say we are not prepared for this dungeon without supplies." Steel whacked his head. He had been so focused on entering he''d forgot to get the most essential thing for a dungeon raid; potions. Well, he still refilled his original potion amount, but basic potions wouldn''t last long in a dungeon like this. Especially since Mary would need the mana potions due to her low regen. "Okay, let¡¯s just explore this floor and leave. We''ll sell whatever we find and use the money to find a room. We will save the rest of the dungeon for later, maybe knocking the second floor out if we have the time. Err, do we have to travel the entire dungeon every time we enter?" Mary nodded her head, "Larger dungeons will have a floor adventurers can teleport to, usually every 5th or 10th floor, once reached, but for this size of dungeon we will be able to teleport to the 3rd floor after we get to it. So if we only finish the first floor, we will have to go through it again." Steel nodded, "Makes sense. Are we likely to encounter anyone else in the dungeon?" Mary sighed and gave Steel a pitying look, "You have no idea how a dungeon works do you? Every party or solo that enters the dungeon appears in a different instance of the dungeon, except for the room where the staircase is and the teleport room. Eventually, a merchant stall will be found at the teleport room, but it''ll likely be empty when we reach it. I admit it''s different at the ancient dungeons; at those places it is deep enough that everyone is in the same instance at the same time." Steel shrugged, he knew he didn''t know anything. That was one of the reasons he was happy escorting Mary. She was his personal library of magic related knowledge, at least for now. "Okay, let¡¯s use this raid to inspect the dungeon and allow Echo and Shadefur to gain fighting experience. Will Whisper be able to fight at all?" "No, if I give her the mana to fight I will not be able to fight effectively. I also don''t have enough to dismiss her without suffering additional penalties, so she''ll be here for the rest of the trip." "Why does it cost man to dismiss her instead of costing to keep her here?" "She''s my familiar, not my summoned creature. That''s the main difference between the two types as well." Mary answered. "Can I learn to summon either of those?" He asked eagerly. "Not sure, it depends on different factors besides what you have control over. That''s something to check when we return to the tower. Anyway, let¡¯s hurry up and explore! I want to see my first dungeon!" She grinned and clapped her hands excitedly. Steel patted her back, quickly removing his hand as he felt the tell-tale warmth of the geas in his hand. "Let¡¯s go then, come on squad." They exited the initial tunnel and entered the first room in the dungeon, the split as Steel recalled. To his surprise, there were beasts in the room. A group of 8 rats were scurrying around the area, and perked up at Steel''s presence in the room. They bared their teeth at him and hissed. Steel quickly looked for their information. [tr]
Opponent Information
NameLevelThreatHealthCave rat3E35
DescriptionA rat typically found in caves. Like their grassland brethren, they have low health, but high attack and speed which they use to out-maneuver their enemies. For some reason, the pelts of these cave rats seem better than others.
"Looks like cave rats. Is everyone ready for a fight?" Steel readied his shield. Echo nodded, taking out the short sword Eric had given him for his training. His face was defiant and ready for a fight, yet still nervous at the prospect of his first fight. Shadefur was growling and swiping the floor with his paws, eager for a fight. Mary summoned two fireballs in her hand and grinned, clearly excited about using her magic to battle for once. Steel took his battle stance, "Attack!" With a loud chitter of squeaks, the rats dashed at them with all their speed. Steel charged ahead first, careful to not actually use "Charge" and miss his prey. As expected, the first rat jumped to his right side away from the shield and jumped at him. Grinning, Steel drew a hidden dagger out of his shield and sliced the rat as it flew at him. -10 slice damage. Eric had given him the hidden dagger as an alternative to close quarters fighting. All shields were made with a sheath for a knife in them, but few shield users actually used the feature because they had swords in their other hand. Steel had taken to it quite easily, but hadn''t received any knife related skills due to the type of training he was in. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. The rat jumped back and darted away, leaving Steel alone. He turned around toward his group. Echo was fighting a rat on his own, his small size easily dealing with the rat''s speed. He lunged forward to slice at the rat, than jumped back when the rat retaliated. He ducked a flying rat that had leaped at him from behind, and rolled away to dodge the other rat''s lunge at him. Mary had surrounded herself with fire, and was launching mini fireballs at the rats. Her defense was solid, but her fireballs were easily dodged by the rats running around her. She hissed in annoyance and launched a larger fireball at one. It hit the rat square on and knocked it back into the wall with a squeak. It lay there and didn''t move again. Shadefur was battling 4 of the rats herself, speed for speed. She breathed out a smokescreen at her flank and focused on the rats in front of her. One ran up and bit into her leg, savagely shaking its little body back and forth. Shadefur growled and bit the rat with her teeth, killing it. However, the rat locked into her leg with its death, preventing her from using her leg properly. Steel activated Shield Cover, and jumped to her aid. His shield took the brute force of the rat tackles, and received a little damage. -5 -5 -5 Nothing too big, but the fact he was taking damage meant they were tough little bastards. Steel focused his darkness mana into his shield to activate the Darktacle, which darted out and wrapped around one of the rats. He had the whip rear back and threw it into Mary''s fire shield, where it impacted and died from the fire. While he did that, the other two rats had darted behind his shield and sank their teeth into his legs. -15 -15, bleed inflicted Cursing, He stabbed the knife into one of them, inflicting 15 damage, and the two released their grips. He Shield Bashed at the left one, but it jumped away and used the opening to bit his shield arm. -15 Annoyed now, he activated one of his new skills, Shield Slam. Faster than Shield Bash, his shield pounded the rat into the ground, delivering a critical hit and putting the rat out of his misery. (correct use of words here) A yelp of pain alerted him to Shadefur''s predicament. Her smokescreen had worn off, and another rat had joined the remaining one to bite at her legs. Her health was now at the halfway point, and slowly dropping due to the bleed effect. Steel roared out both his Rallying Cry and Leader''s Roar, finishing off the last of his stamina. He chugged a stamina potion as he leaped toward one of the rats. One had been stunned by the roar, and he used the opportunity to pierce it with an Earth Piercer, one of the new spells he had learned in training from Mary. Basically, it was what he had been doing with Earth Wall already, but in its proper form that used less mana. The rat was pierced straight through the head, delivering a severe critical hit. The other rat had evidently decided Steel was the more dangerous target, and had used Shadefur''s body as a launching platform to fly at Steel. It came at him, its mouth open and teeth pointing at him in a mad rage. Steel put his foot back, focused his stamina, and reared his shield arm back. He shot it forward with devastating force, impacting the rat head on and sending it flying into the wall, where it left a dent in it. "Shield Falcon Punch!" He felt the need to say the name as he did so, for no better reason than it was flashy enough to deserve it. As he regained his footing, he found Echo and Mary staring at him in amazement, apparently having finished the rest of the rats off. This was confirmed when the battle notification popped up.
Battle Results
You and your party have won a battle against 8 cave rats +400 exp +6 rat bodies +2 burned rat bodies
"Steel that was amazing! Your finishing move is quite impressive." Mary clapped. Echo also clapped, a look of clear admiration on his face. Steel would have bowed, but he was more concerned with his pet at the moment. He knelt down and pried the dead rat of Shadefur''s leg, wincing as she whimpered from the pain. "Don''t worry girl, I''ll take care of you." He whispered as he threw the rat away and petted her. He stood back and pointed his shield at the group. This was something he had wanted to try out for a while now. "Milna''s Blessing." He focused the spell through his shield, but nothing happened. Evidently, it was only the type of mana that the shield could use, or he could only use Earth and Darkness. Either way, he used the spell normally to heal Shadefur back to full health. She shook herself and barked happily, rubbing her head against his leg affectionately. He smiled and patted her. "Feel better now?" She barked and ran around the cave, collecting the rat corpses and piling them up in front of him, her tail wagging back and forth. "Good girl." He rubbed her head some more, making her fall to the ground and expose her belly. Steel turned to Echo and Mary, the latter starting to drool from the cuteness overload. "Do you guys mind playing with her? I need to skin these rats." There was no hesitation from either one, and they rushed to pet Shadefur''s belly and coo to her. Well, the one not mute cooed anyway. Steel rat down and began skinning the rats with the new skinning knife he had received from Bob a while back. Thankfully the majority had useful skins, the exceptions being the one burned by Mary''s fire. Those he removed the burned parts and stored the meat as "cooked meat". After skinning the first rat, he was happy to find the extra fluffiness of the fur meant a higher price of loot. "This place may be a hell, but all the fluffy things here will certainly help us to make a lot of silver." Steel whistled happily as he skinned. Mary looked over from her playtime, "Be sure to remove the cores from the bodies Steel." "Ah yes, thank you for reminding me." Steel gave his thanks as she returned to rubbing fur. Steel inspected the bodies, and found the core nestled in the chest, sticking out of the fur. Of the six he could fine, none were unique and all were similar in size and shape. The core resembled a black stone about the size of a peanut, and lacked the sine of a crystal. Steel stored the furs, the cores, and the meat in his inventory, noting with satisfaction the rest of the rat disappeared when he was finished. He thanked the developers for being so considerate to the players. "Okay guys, enough with the relaxation. Time to move on to the next fight!" Chapter 19- Entrance to Hell (Part 3) Enjoy! ----------------- The paths through the cave emptied them into the cave where Steel had fought his first battle as part of the overall expedition force. He had used Whisper to peek into the tunnel, and she had come back with important news. There were 20 rats in the cave, a rather large amount that would easier overwhelm then if they recklessly rushed in. This led to the current position; planning out the fight beforehand with each other. "Okay, I know the original plan was to let Echo and Shadefur get some experience through fighting, but that''s way too many to engage like we did last time." Steel lay out. Mary gave a sound of acknowledgement, "I agree completely. Besides you Steel, the last fight just had each of us battle our own group instead of working as a team. Shadefur even got hurt pretty badly." Shadefur perked up at the sound of her name, but lay her head back down after realizing she wasn''t being called. "While I agree, it¡¯s not like we have the most balanced party in the first place." Steel reasoned, "If we were a normal party, the tank would take the monster aggression while the dps guys would attack from the back and the warrior would assist." "Dps?" "Traveler talk, sorry. I mean mages and archers who attack from a distance and have low defense." He amended, "The issue here though is that I can''t attract all of them. Echo is still too weak as a front line attacker, and Shadefur is the same way. You can cast strong spells, but because of your condition you have to keep your attacks as weak as possible to conserve mana. So that plan won¡¯t work at all." The two crossed their arms and hummed to themselves, thinking hard. Echo copied them, but had no idea what they were up to. Whisper floated down between them. "Why face them all at once? Wouldn''t be easier to just fight a few at a time?" Steel opened his eyes and looked at the floating orb, "That is true, but if got their attention it would be all of them. I wouldn''t be able to do anything else." "Then you don''t do it. Let the wolf do it." Steel shook his head, "No way, I''m not letting her out of my sight or putting her in such a dangerous position. What if she tripped, than they''d kill her immediately and we would not be able to do anything to stop it. " Whisper bounced on his head, "You know, you say you want to give her and Echo experience, put they won''t get any if you keep coddling them. Really now, what''s got you in such a twist?" Steel tried to grab the orb of light, but she easily evaded his capturing attempts by flying away. Growling in annoyance, Steel punched the wall beside him. "I''m not coddling them; I''m just avoiding unnecessary risk. Is that wrong?" Mary frowned at Steel, "No, not if your reasoning was sound. Your mind is still filled with the memories of your past troubles, and being in this place is obviously not helping you. Calm down and think about this rationally." He glared at her, "I''m perfectly fine princess, now be quiet unless you''ve got a plan." She gaped at him, not believing his rudeness to her. She opened her mouth to retort, but was stopped by Echo, who tugged on her dress and shook his head. Echo looked over at Steel and frowned at him. He took out his sword and started marching toward the rat cave. "Echo, where are you going?" Steel called out. Echo ignored him and kept walking forward. Steel started to get up, "Echo, come back now. It''s dangerous over there." Echo ignored him again, though his legs were shaking a little as he walked away. Steel scrambled up now, fear plain on his face, "Echo, get back here! I order you as your master!" Echo stumbled as the magic of the slave contract kicked in. He grimaced in pain, but he managed to stay up and continued to walk away. "Hunie, don''t go!" Everyone froze at his words, even Steel himself. Echo turned around and walked back, the relief evident on his face at being able to follow his master''s instructions. He walked up to Steel and hugged him tight, burying his head in Steel''s thigh. Steel reflexively stroked the small slave''s head, not really thinking as his mind was still in shock. Mary sighed behind him and smiled at Echo. Shadefur cocked her in confusion, but relaxed when Mary rubbed her head. "You see now Steel? You''re still scared you''ll lose your friends, and most likely you''ll never be able to get rid of that feeling. It''s good to be scared, that keeps you alive. Don''t let it rule your life however, let it help you guide others instead. Well, that''s what my father used to say to me anyway when I got scared." Mary focused a hand of flame into existence and used it to pat his back, "Even your little friend there seems to understand that." Echo leaned up and nodded at Steel''s head, then returned to his hug. Steel finally relaxed and used his hand to actually pat Echo''s head with feeling. "Thank you Echo for the help. I''m sorry about your pain." Echo shook his head. Steel pulled Echo off and stared him straight in the eyes. "Don''t ignore me again though, okay? It could mean life or death next time, so no more freebies." Echo nodded. Steel and Echo returned to the group huddle. "Okay, so we''ll have Shadefur bring back smaller groups of rats, e=is everyone okay with that plan?" Everyone nodded, except the wolf who barked excitedly. "All right then. Shadefur, go get some rats for us!" The furry wolf barked and ran down the corridor toward the cave. The rest of the party took battle positions; Steel in the front with Echo behind him on the left and Mary behind on the right. Soon after, he heard some angry squeaks that were drawing closer. "Get ready!" He called out, preparing his mana. Shadefur shot out of the tunnel and leaped behind Steel, growling at the tunnel behind her. 6 rats poured out a few seconds after her, clearly angry at the intrusion into their home. Steel focused his mana and cast 6 Earth Spikes at them. The spikes shot out of the ground like needles, catching 4 of the rats and barely slicing them as the rats ran out of the way. They bled on their sides, but were still ready to fight. The two uninjured rats took advantage of his spell lag and ran behind him at Shadefur. One was caught by Echo, who stabbed his sword into its body and knocked in away while the other was hit by a mini fireball from Mary and also knocked out of the group. The six injured rats ran together and glared at Steel. They chittered at him and began running in a circle. "Mary, have any idea what they are up to?" Steel asked her, his eyes completely focused on the circle of rats. Mary spoke urgently behind him, "It looks like they are preparing some special attack. As I said before, monsters aren''t my thing, so I can''t offer any more than that." Her prediction was spot on, as the circle of rats began to glow red. All of a sudden, the rats turned as one and rushed Steel, their paws glowing bright red as they ran faster than before. Steel barely managed to get his shield up with Earth Armor on before they crashed against him. However, instead of the feeling of small bodies launching, Steel was met with six large explosions that blew him back and knocked him against the wall. He coughed as he slowly fell to the floor, his health losing a large chunk and putting him close to 25%. His mates ran over and helped to the floor, surprise plainly evident. "Cough, Mary, can you tell me what just happened?" Mary turned her head for a moment, "It seems that rats had a special ability to suicide themselves when enough damage was inflicted on them. They turned their bodies into fireballs that inflicted heavy damage on you, especially since you were wearing your Earth Armor." Steel rolled his head over to face her, "What do you mean? Wasn''t my Earth Armor supposed to lessen damage?" "That would be true normally my student, but elemental spells have special interactions depending on what''s cast against what. In your case, your Earth Armor is essentially focusing your mana into ethereal armor based on trees. Tell me, what happens when trees meet fire?" "Oh, it burns right?" Mary nodded, "Correct. Now if your Armor had been stone based or earth based than the fireball effect would have been lessened. Elements aren''t simple enough for only one type of interaction between them, so that''s something else for you to learn." This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Steel coughed in depression; more work was not the most appealing thought right now. "Okay, so for future battles, we need to kill the rats before they turn into kamikaze bombers. Wait. . ." He sat up for a moment, took a look at his former location, then fell back with a groan, "Yeah, don''t let them explode. It completely ruins their bodies for loot." ------------------- They repeated the process two more times, drawing another group of six and a group of eight afterwards. Steel planned out the process smarter this time. He used his Earth Wall and Earth Spike spells together to make a hidden pit fall trap in the floor in front of them. When Shadefur returned with the waves, she leaped over the earth as the rats followed her, and they all fell in. There was no honor in this killing. Then again, Steel didn''t really care. It worked, no one got hurt, and his precious loot wasn''t burned to kingdom come. Mary had originally suggested a single large fireball trap, but she was quickly shot down. She was currently sulking as Steel skinned the last of the rats. "This isn''t very interesting Steel. It feels more like a massacre than a real raid." She complained to him. He shrugged, storing the last of the rat skins. "It got the job done didn''t it? Besides, I didn''t like our chances with them exploding in our faces." The process had worked, and the entire group had received the exp for the three fights. Unfortunately, the system informed him that they had taken an exp penalty for not actually fighting, so instead of 50 exp per rat, they got 25 per rat. Still, 50 from the first 6 and 25 for 14 made for a nice chunk of 650 exp. In fact, Echo and Shadefur had both leveled up to 2 from the exp. Steel was actually a little jealous, because his first level up had been so difficult. Echo was currently looking at his own screen and deciding what to do with his points. Steel had yet to inspect the boy''s status, but had informed him he would only control where the stat points would go. He would leave the skill upgrades to the boy, not out of kindness but necessity as only Echo could make himself stronger. Shadefur''s level up was a little different, due to the monster status. She got a little bigger overall, and her attributes increased some as well. Other than that she was just looking at something only she could see. Steel had no idea what she was looking at, but had decided to leave it be. After staring for a long time, the wolf had pressed her nose forward and woofed like a dog. A notice popped up in front of Steel, letting him know Shadefur had chosen to improve speed rather than attack or defense. ''Guess the monster level up is a simplistic form of our level up." Steel reasoned, "I can see how that would lessen the strain on the system as a whole." He got up and cracked his knuckles. "Okay Mary, there should be at least one more fight on this floor. Are you up for fighting that one seriously?" Mary brightened and hopped up, "Okay then, lead on serva. . .I mean Steel." She blushes as her natural arrogance resurfaced. Steel shrugged it off and walked over to Echo. "You done yet?" He asked the little slave. Echo nodded, throwing his sword around in the air with a wide smile. He took a stance and swung his sword forward, releasing a slice that traveled a few feet before disappearing. Steel''s jaw dropped in surprise, because that skill looked very similar to the one Sergeant Hamilton had used before, albeit a weaker version. "I''m impressed Echo, did you purchase that skill with your points?" Echo nodded, "How many points did you use for it?" Echo held up 5 fingers. Steel bonked him on the head, "You fool. Remember, it¡¯s a combination of skills and stats that allow you to win. Don''t spend so much next time." Echo rubbed his head and nodded, pouting. The rest time had allowed Steel to recover his mana, and Mary a small bit as well, so they walked around the sealed pit and through the cave where the rats had been. They reentered the tunnel and walked down some before hearing something in front of them. Steel looked around. "Hey, where is Whisper? I haven''t seen her since she suggested the plan to lure them." Mary blinked and squinted her eyes forward. "She''s somewhere in front of us, where that noise is coming from. Also, she seems. . . frightened by something?" ''What could scare an elemental?" Steel wondered as they slowly crept forward. He peeked his head around a corner to see into the room where both paths rejoined into the last room. The room was as big as he remembered, with a large moss covered platform to the far left and boulders rising up intermediately through the floor. Also, there were a lot, a lot, of rats. From the looks of it, there at least 3 groups of twenty rats wandering the area; and more wandering around the rocks. Steel looked around for Whisper''s light, before finally settling on a tiny blinking light in the corner of the elevated area. The light was flashing in an SOS manner, and he could see why. The biggest rat Steel had ever laid eyes on was scratching at the wall, trying to reach the light. Steel turned back to the group. "Mary, are there typically bosses on every floor of a dungeon? He asked lightly. Mary nodded, "Yes, but the majority of them are hidden and are considered special raid bosses. Bigger dungeons can have active bosses every 5 levels or so, and this dungeon should not have any till the last floor. Why do you ask?" "I ask because Whisper is currently hiding from the largest rat I have ever seen, and it looks like we''ll have to fight it to rescue her." Steel said tersely. Eyes wide, Mary got up and poked her own head around the corner to stare. With a quiet yelp, she shot back and shuddered in fear. "Little rats I can deal with, but that one is really scary." "Yup, I completely agree." He nodded, "So unless you can unsummon Whisper?" Mary shook her head, "Then it looks like we have to fight it. Problem is all the other rats in our way. It''ll take too long to lure back smaller groups and fight them, and there are enough to overwhelm us if we rush in. Any ideas?" Mary nodded, "Yes, but I''m positive you will hate it." As usual, she was right. He hated the idea, but had no choice but to endorse it. "Okay you win, go ahead and start." Steel hadn''t been this depressed since his wallet was stolen and he had lost his money. He never did find out what Hunie had done with it. Oh well, not important at the moment. Mary issued a series of mental commands to Whisper via their familiar-master link. After calming the protests, Whisper obeyed. She shot out of her hiding spot and flew across the room. As expected, the rat (lord?) ran after her, its eyes locked directly on her. Whisper led him back and forth across the room multiple times, slowly growing tired as she flew for her life. Eventually, she had to use the last of her energy to return to her hole, and the rat followed her. The results, however, were completely successful. The giant rat had run over almost every rat in the cave and taken 15% damage from slamming through the rocks in its way. Steel would have been ecstatic, if his precious loot hadn''t been smashed into piles of pancakes. He did not look forward to trying to skin them. Still, he did receive some unexpected rewards. [td4]For coming up with a successful plan and reducing your enemy''s forces to essentially nothing, you have received the following: +5 intelligence +5 wisdom +5 leadership For having a rat lord kill an army of rats you have received the title: Rat Corrupter
Status Update[/td2]
"Okay, the rat legion has been decimated. Ready for your first boss fight?" He asked the group. Mary grinned, a bloodthirsty look in her eye as her hands glowed red. Echo held his sword up in excitement, and Shadefur panted with a sideways tongue. "Okay, let¡¯s get him!" Chapter 20- Entrance to Hell (Part 4) Phew, this chapter was fun to write. This should be how the alpha wolf fight will be rewritten, complete with details and more epic struggles. Le me know what you guys think. edit- Thanks to Blacksmith for an honest review. (He''s the first one in a long time I can actually SEE). Sorry about the grammar, I''m trying to fix it :p. Enjoy! ------------------------ "Due to its earlier rampage, the floor is pretty clear of any small debris in the way." Mary reported, "So besides a few large rocks, it''s a clear shot to him from anywhere on the ground." "Any chance you can see his name and level?" Steel asked. Mary shook her head, "We need to be within his aggression range to see it. From what we''ve seen though, I believe he has a lower base speed than a normal rat. He makes up for it with strength and most likely vitality. Besides that, I can''t begin to guess the possible abilities he may have, including the suicide skill. I''d be cautious when his health begins to redden." Steel nodded at her words, "Well then, I''ll take his attacks while you use the rocks to hide while throwing your fireballs. Echo and Shadefur, you use the rocks to hide between attacks as well. That should confuse him enough to let me be the focus of his attacks." They nodded, and the group slowly made their way onto the battle field. The giant rat was much too busy trying to dig Whisper out to notice them. Mary, Echo, and Shade all took positions behind a sizable rock to hide them, while Steel made his way up to the elevated platform. He could finally see the rat''s information. [tr]
Opponent Information
NameLevelThreatHealthRat Pack Leader10C175
DescriptionThe secret rat boss of the first floor. It will only reveal itself to chase a bright enough light. Lacking the speed of its smaller brethren, it has increased strength and health compared to them. its fur glistens in the light it chases.
''Nice. It looks like we''ll be getting a nifty reward too!'' He gleefully thought, readying his shield. The Rat Pack, paused its digging and finally turned around to stare at Steel. It growled at him, scratching the rock beneath it with retractable claws. ".....Leavvvveeee..." It hissed out slowly. Steel dropped his shield in shock. The rat could speak! "......Steel...." It slurred out, than roared in anger and threw it self at him. ------------------- The battle began as the massive rat landed in front of Steel. Its head was at Steel''s chest at normal height, and its tail was 4 arms lengths long. The rat made the first move, whipping its body around and slamming Steel with its tail on his right side, knocking his shield away. It bull rushed him and threw its head up, throwing Steel into the air and back toward the rocks. He landed on his back and gave a small groan of pain. -15 impact damage. He jumped up and retook a battle stance. He hadn''t gained the rat''s full attention yet, so the others couldn''t afford to reveal themselves yet. "I don''t know how you know me, but it won''t save you!" He roared at the rat, releasing Leader''s Roar and Rallying Cry. As expected, the Roar didn''t affect the rat, which ran forward toward Steel. Steel changed position, pulling his shield arm back as the rat approached. Eyes red and filled with hatred, the rat Jumped at him, using its full body as a body slam. This is what Steel had been waiting for. Steel pulled back his Shield fully, than swung it forward in a counter boxing movement. As his arm swung out toward the rat''s body, he stopped it, letting the shield only softly tap the rat. -Sca-douche!- The rat went flying at top speed into the elevated area, skipping across the ground and spinning before slamming into the wall behind it. This was Steel''s ultimate combo, Shield Falcon Punch and Impact Tap together, and it had a devastating effect on both the rat and Steel himself. td4]Recoil damage from your attack has broken your arm.[/td4]
Injury acquired
Broken Arm75% penalty to all attacks that require the use of your broken arm.
Duration3 Days
Steel grimaced as he lost 25% of his hp. Still, losing 55 hp was nothing compared to the 131 damage he had just inflicted. (Yes, I did math for once, praise me). He hurriedly switched his shield to his other arm as he watched the rat for any signs of red. The so called secret boss was quite literally, almost dead. The rat shakily lifted itself up and wobbled into a standing position. The rat let out a loud cry that reverberated around the cavern, amplified by the natural acoustics. Steel was frozen by a paralyzed status condition, and watched helplessly as the rat let out a second cry, this one higher pitched. ''Dammit, it''s another reinforcement¡¯s ability." He realized, still awkwardly frozen in place. Sure enough, a pack of 12 rats appeared from hole in the walls. They carried food in their mouths and dropped their loads in front of the leader rat before turning toward Steel and hissing. Once the last rat had dropped its food, the head rat made a quick bark and began eating the food. At his bark, the rats moved together and ran at Steel in a V formation. He struggled against his status, but the timer still had a few more seconds to go before he was freed. When it finally disappeared, Steel had barely enough time to activate his entire defensive arsenal before they hit. 16 bodies pounded against his shield, pushing him back some more from the elevated wall. They had rolled up into balls and bounced off of his shield, not doing any damage. Instead, they landed quickly and ran around his shield, taking large bites from him before scurrying back. Their teeth cut into his legs and arms, some getting through his armor and others failing to pierce it. -150 pierce damage Now it was Steel''s turn to panic. He only had 95 hp left, 2 bleed debuffs, and was out of mana. He was forced to chug 3 of his minor mana potions to recover his mana fully, than cast Milna''s Blessing on himself for 3 seconds. He healed himself 90 hp and spent 60 out of his 100 mana to do so, and by the time he had finished the rat squadron had returned again. Not willing to put himself in the same position, this time he swung his arm out in a Shield Bash and knocked most of them away. However, 4 were late enough that they missed the bash and pounced at him. A flash of dark fur was all the warning Steel had before a body knocked him to the side and intercepted the rats¡¯ mid-air. Shadefur had arrived, with Echo on her back, sword slashing in the air. The wolf managed to bite and swipe two of the rats, while Echo stabbed one and slashed the other rat with the first rat still squirming on his sword. When they landed, he stabbed the sword through the rat fully into the ground, killing it with a fatal crit. The slave smiled at him and raised his sword in the air, Shadefur hopping on her back legs as he did so. "Yeah yeah, you¡¯re the hero I get it." Steel smiled at the happy slave, "Now hurry up and help me finish the job." Steel activated Shield Cover as he said this, taking an attack from a rat that had snuck around them. -7 impact damage Steel grimaced at the damage. Using his right arm meant weaker attacks and defense, but the training from Eric at least reduced the penalties to only 10%. He pommeled the rat with a Shield Slam before returning to the fight at hand. 11 rats were left, and they had given up fighting in formation. Instead, they scattered around the three of them and attacked in small waves, forcing each of them to concentrate on defense. One rat crashed into Steel''s shield, but he had to sing it around to punch another rat back before blocking two more. Echo was forced to use his sword like a shield, because slashing and stabbing used too much time before a rat landed on him. Shadefur was having the most trouble, having to dodge their ground attacks and preventing them from sinking their teeth into her legs again. "Wall of Flame!" An ethereal bubble popped into existence around them, incinerating the rats that came into contact with it and trapping the ones inside onto the ground. The three slashed, bit, and pounded the remaining rats into the ground, watching their tails twitch in their death throes. Steel looked over to find a concentrating Mary putting her hands down. "Don''t be distracted Steel! Hurry and kill the other one before it finishes regenerating!" Startled, his eyes found the rat leader again. His health was rising rapidly as he was eating, almost to 75% now. "Not on my watch!" Steel shouted as he used the last of his mana to create as many Earth Spikes as possible. The rat hissed as they hit it, most failing to pierce its hind. Distracted now, it stopped feeding and locked murderous red eyes with Steel. With a squeak, it bounded forward and round 2 began. --------------------- The rat lord had 75% hp left. Steel had a broken arm and a little more than 50% hp left, with low mana and stamina. Echo, Shadefur, and Mary were at full health, though Mary still had a stunted mana pool. The battle was leaning toward the rat''s side. "Echo, you ride Shadefur and harass ratty over there while I brawl with him. Mary, shoot from the back there." Steel ordered. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Mary spoke up behind him, "Are you sure Steel? Your fighting arm is broken still, can you go toe to toe with that big rat?" He shrugged, "Not like anyone else can. Let''s go!" He charged in, his right arm holding the shield parallel to his body. A quick sip provided him the mana and stamina needed for a little while, and he turned his body to the left. He reached the rat and swung his arm out in a slingshot Shield Bash. It hit the rat''s head and pushed aside, but didn''t move its body at all. I seemed to give him a smug grin as it back-slapped him, moving him back a few steps. Fairly annoyed by the strength difference, Steel delivered a straight Shield Slam to the rats¡¯ head, this time forcing the rat back a few steps. The rat growled and launched itself suddenly forward. It knocked Steel onto his back and proceeded to swipe rapidly with its claws at him, Steel''s Shield barely taking the blows as he struggled against both the claws and the weight. Suddenly, the rat moved back with an angry roar. Echo and Shadefur were attacking its tail while it had been distracted. Echo was hacking down with his sword while Shadefur was biting and trying to tear into it. The rat swiped its tail at them and they beat a hasty retreat from the whip. Mary used the opportunity to fire 3 regular size fireballs at the rat''s head, each exploding on impact and pushing the rat back. The smoke cleared to reveal a very pissed off rat. It threw itself over Steel and began running at full speed toward Mary, intent on gutting her where she stood. "Mary, look out!" Steel cried, scrambling to his feet. He was far too late to anything to save her, and could only watch helplessly as the rat stretched out its mouth, teeth pointing out and dripping with saliva, closing around. . . nothing. The rat bit into Mary as her form faded like an illusion. The rat skidded to a halt in confusion, head jerking side to side and sniffing the air, searching for its quarry. A second volley of fireballs exploded on its side and knocking it into a rock. Mary stood triumphantly smiling a little away from her original spot. "Don''t worry Steel, fires is my specialty. I can make mirages all day if I need to!" She winked at Steel. Steel stared on in horror, "Mary, you''re up against a beast, not a human. It''ll smell you out!" Mary cocked her head, than the image of her disappeared as a rock thrown by the rat''s tail flew through her The rat sniffed the air again, than bunched back and threw itself at one of the rocks on the ground. Mary, the real Mary this time, barely made it out before the rat crushed it to smithereens. She rolled and started running, but tripped over one of the loose rocks and fell. She cried out in fear, for the rat lord was casually making its way over to her. It knew she couldn''t escape, so it was taking it''s time walking toward her, step by step, gnashing its teeth and drooling. Mary froze up in fear, finding herself for the first time in a situation where she was actually in danger. It terrified her so much her mind stopped working. Steel roared out a battle cry as he ran at the rat, but the rat didn''t bat an eye in his direction. As Steel close in, it lazily whipped him square in the chest knocked him back into his side, not even putting the strength in to do real damage. "This is one freaking sadistic rat." He muttered as he got back up, "I need some fail proof way to get its attention." ". . . . . .Shit, this is going to hurt a lot." Steel drank the last of his mana potions to fill his mana, then also refilled his health and stamina. Taking a deep breath, he uttered, "Domination!" Instantly, the black fog rolled out of his shield and enveloped the rat lord. For a few moments, it persisted, than faded away. The rat lord was frozen, its front paw locked in the air as it was about to crush Mary. Slowly, it turned its head toward Steel like a clockwork toy.
Notice
Your domination has failed. Rat Pack Lord has entered a berserk state
"Oh yeah, this is really going to hurt." Raw fury burst out of the rat''s mouth, the emotion infusing every bit of its body. As it bristled up, Steel called out, "Echo, feel free to attack however you like. This thing won''t pay attention to you until I''m spread across the floor." He heard a bark of acknowledgement. The rat''s red eye color began spreading throughout its body, making it glow in the torch lit cave a disturbing red and black color. Even its previously white teeth were blood red now. Where a sadistic intelligence had been before, now its eye were only focused on one thing, Steel''s death. ''Right, let''s avoid that skill if possible in the future.'' He thought to himself. The rat lord began to squeeze its body closer, like a jack-in-the-box antique toy, as the red began to brighten. When the color turned bright red, it launched itself forward by kicking off the ground at full force. Steel didn''t even try to block it, he activated Dodge and rolled the hell away from the red missile. It slammed headfirst into the rock Steel had been standing in front of, and moved off it like it hadn''t made a dent. It roared pure hate at Steel as it ran at him at full throttle. Steel dodged again, this time rolling his body into a ball and rolled over the rat''s back as it went under him. Of course, such flashy dodges infuriated the rat even more. It didn''t even pay attention to the pair who were hacking and biting at it as it turned to charge again. It whipped it''s tale at them, but its eyes never left Steel so it missed their quick jump back. The rat leaned over and grabbed stones with its paws. It reared back on its hind legs and launched a never ending barrage of stone at Steel, who was forced to run and Dodge every 2 seconds. He raised his shield to block the smaller rocks from hitting him, and ducked or jumped over the larger contenders. Finally, the rat lord picked up a giant stone and hurled it at Steel. As he prepared to avoid it, a second rock smashed into it; turning it into a meteor shower of sharp stones. He grimaced as he was forced to take the attack under his shield, knowing full well what would happen if he couldn''t move. A body flow from the charging rat sent him flying onto the elevated platform, the rat pack finally landing a solid shot on his person. He glanced at his hp; 32% left after the rocks and blow. At this point, the rat was at 45% health; with Echo and Shadefur inflicting 2% damage every time they attacked. Mary was still experiencing battle shock for the first time, and he was on his last leg. He really had not wanted to use it so late in the day, but he had no choice now. It was time to match fury with fury. "I call upon the elements, let nature''s will guide through me." Steel began the incantation, "Let no force stand in my way. Let no person impede my path. I am not vengeance or justice, I. am. FURY!" He screamed out his anger, calling out from the depths of his soul. Nature''s Fury eliminated mana cost for Earth Spells as well as doubling their power. It also increased all three physical attributes for 10 seconds. The downside was the complete loss of mana and stamina, which would kill him without any help and the spell would be off for the next 24 hours. Still, his form glowed the tell-tale ethereal green as his Earth Armor and Earth Wall spells returned him to his juggernaut form. Resembling a warrior wearing a full armor set of stone and limbs, he gave his mighty battle cry and charged the rat. The Rat Pack Leader returned his cry with one of his own and also charged. They met at the center of the elevated platform, shield to body slam. They met in a concussive blow that shook the cavern and sent Echo and Shadefur flying back beside Mary. They would be no help for this fight. The rat alternated scratches and tail swipes to injure Steel. First left hand, than right hand, than a turn as the tail slammed into his right side. Steel braced against the blow by creating pillars of Earth to support him, than infused his shield with earth mana to create the piercer. He used the same stone pillars to strengthen his blow into the rat''s head, Shield Bashing first and then followed by a Shield Slam. The rat jerked back, eye socket smashed to smithereens and growled. It jumped onto Steel and used its pure size and weight to bring him to the ground. It wrapped its mouth around the stone helm and bit repeatedly at it, stone chips flying in every direction form the fast attack. Steel was trapped underneath it, unable to move a part of his body. The earth, on the other hand, was still all under his control. Eight pillars in a circle shot up underneath the rat and sent it flying into the ceiling. It slammed into it with a crash as stalactites pierced its body. With a groan, it fell back toward the ground, where Steel was waiting. His fist back, using the stone to make up for using the wrong hand, he prepared his special move. "Shield Falcon Punch!" The blow bent the rat in half as its spine snapped. The red glow dimmed as its breaths slowed down. Finally, only its eyes were red, and they stared deep into Steel''s soul. It seemed to smile at him, than relaxed as the life completely faded away. It fell over to the ground onto its side and lay there. Steel canceled his spells and lay on the ground, exhausted physically and mentally. "Hey Echo, I''m about to be in real danger, so be sure to keep me alive." Steel called out. His last glance revealed Echo and Shadefur running over to him, as the world turned black and he stopped thinking. Chapter 21- Rest So, had two sets of interesting comments last chapter I''d like to address~ Spoiler : 1.
Quote:I like it I do but I am tired of seeing no improvement Steel. He is getting annoying to how weak he is, give im a little break and some power to at least make it out of a fight intact
Well, he has gotten a lot stronger. This was a secret floor boss meant to be fought by a group of well trained people. Against the normal rats, old Steel would have suffered, but new Steel could have taken a good number by himself and won moderately easy. He will get some easier fights later on, but he has to face stronger things to get stronger. Hope that helps~ 2. Thoughts on how Echo is "annoying". Looking back, I can understand why you guys would think that. It''s an unfortunate combination of me having a hard time personifying a character who can''t speak and knowing some juicy background info you guys are not yet aware of. Echo is a small slave who for some reason is very interested in Steel''s well being and mental state. Suffice to say, I''ll most likely rewrite parts to refine his character and add more tidbits as we progress. This is an important plot device, so I can''t remove Echo. Wonder if you guys can find the clues I''ve left :p 3. Mary''s scaling in power and current stump, Credits to FirstDragon as usual for a persuasive argument. If Mary had been at full power for this dungeon, she would have breezed through it and learned nothing. Boring in my opinion. So I gave her a stunt. Normally, Mary is a pro at fire and darkness spells, specializing in summoning and destruction. That being said, the vast majority of her arsenal are higher level spells or basic spells. Anyway, this chapter will talk about that and the lack of preparations so view this a filler before they reenter the dungeon. Nice longer chapter today, same for tomorrow. Enjoy! ------------------- Steel awoke abruptly, taking a quick breathe as his eyes shot open. He was still in the cave, which meant he hadn''t died. His head was on something soft, leaning him up in the air. He rolled his head over to find his nose buried in a patch of black fur. Shadefur was sleeping soundly on the elevated platform, making soft grunts as her chest rose and fell with her breathing. He tried to get up, and found both his arms being hugged by Echo and Mary respectively. Even though Echo looked like a boy, seeing the both of them snoozing on him made him uncomfortable. ''Wait, why am I not rolling around in pain right now?" Steel wondered. He bent his head to inspect Mary, searching for the light that Whisper had used before. There wasn''t any light, and she was touching him directly with her arms and head. ''I don''t know why the geas hasn''t activated, but perhaps a quick pray to Milna is appropriate for this situation.'' He thought to himself. He muttered a quick prayer, and then returned his thoughts to escape. The two were holding on tight like if he was a body pillow, so he slowly used Earth Wall to cover his arms. He slowly expanded the "mold" to allow him to escape before returning it to about the size of his arm. Thankfully, the two were deep enough sleepers to not notice the switcheroo. ''Phew,'' He said, wiping his forehead. He knew he''d be in for a lecture from Mary, and he had to give one to her too. He wanted to postpone that argument for as long as possible "Now then, let¡¯s see what I missed from that last fight." His lower right vision had the notification icon blinking, but he wanted to inspect the rat first. He walked over to it and knelt done, gazing at his former opponent, In death, the rat looked smaller than it had been. He could have sworn the head was bigger than his, yet now it seemed about the same size. "Huh, looks like battle does affect the senses in same." He muttered to himself, feeling its soft fur, "Or maybe the rat used some aura ability or something like that." Shrugging, he pulled out his skinning knife from Bob and got to work. The rat was certainly a large specimen no matter how he remembered it, so this was his first skinning challenge since the first devil wolf. He wanted to get it right this time, and make some armor with it; or at least a warm blanket. Since he couldn''t lift it due to its weight, he rolled it over and started on the head and legs. He made a triangle cut at the base of the neck and sliced downward to the tail. Thankfully, the system did not include blood or genitalia to get in his way, so he was quick. He sliced the fur on the legs down the middle as well, connecting the lines with the median. Next was the hardest step, separating the fur from the muscle. This step was the most important, as how well it was done determined the quality of the leather. In Steel''s opinions, it was a lot like peeling potatoes, an exercise he had had to learn during one of his past classes. Too close of a cut to the skin would result in a flimsy leather while too much muscle would make the leather too tough to be used properly. To add to that difficulty, the cut had to be as even as possible across the body for the best possible leather. This normally wasn''t too difficult, unless there was a large amount of area to cut. Steel moved the knife carefully down the center cut, letting his left hand pull the leather up as he cut down with his right hand. ''This time; this time I''ll get it right! ¡®His thoughts were fierce as he moved his arms. Every challenge in his way was another obstacle to get stronger; strong enough to protect and, more importantly in his heart, strong enough to get revenge. He''d been in the game for a few weeks now, though he hadn''t kept up with the exact time he was sure it had been no more than 3 and half weeks. Real life had only passed in half that time. Dia was most likely at his new monastery now, learning to be a fighting monk and being an orc in game. He wondered what Sarah was up to, whether she was feeling better now. His level was 4 now, placing him in the upper ranks of players. There were a few higher than him, but that was before the battle with the rat. The difference of time was starting show, as he had more time level up than everyone else. Given a few more weeks, he''d probably out level everyone by at least one level. "Well, I didn''t accept this experiment to get along with others." He mused to himself, cutting down one of the legs now, "I don''t have plans to corroborate with others anyway, and I don''t need to if I can get Mary to come with me. Well, at least after her lesson anyway." Steel knew his time in Rostwood was slowly moving toward its end. Rostwood was a starting city, and he would eventually grow out of the levels possible there. To achieve his revenge, he would need to head to the capital and confront Hank. Now, the thought of revenge in a video game over a life destroying injury would have struck a normal person as being a childish notion. That is, actions in a video game would have no lasting repercussions in real life. That normal person, however, would be wrong because this game did have an effect in real life. Like the wristband everyone wore, Steel knew that the game was being used to measure a person''s actions. The three strength rankings would be affected by the game, and would have major effects on everyone who played. The idea was that a person acts more like themselves in different situations; especially if they were unaware they were being observed. Steel only knew about this because it had come up during a discussion with Keith before the game''s release. Technically, the pamphlet inside the game box informed of the ranking, but no one ever read those things anymore. Steel didn''t even remember seeing one in his haste to play the game. Also, actions in the game world would have less impact than real life actions, a step taken to ensure equality with those that did not play the game. In order to complete his revenge, though, Steel planned to ensure Hank''s complete downfall. He finished cutting and flipped the rat over, resuming his mission on the other side. To make Hank really pay, Steel believed one of the credos would be most appropriate. "An eye for an eye¡± was an old saying that both cautioned vengeance and encouraged it at the same time. Hank ruined his life by destroying Steel''s body; Steel would return the favor and destroy Hank''s life. He''d do this by completing knocking Hank''s ranking down to nothing. It would be easy, all he had to do was beat Hank three ways: a contest of strength, a contest of strategy, and a contest of morality. Given the amount of time he had over Hank, Steel knew it would be a matter of time before he''s over take his level completely, and then he''d have to crush him. Not in a back alley or in the woods, it would have to be a public spectacle with many viewers; a tournament of some kind. Strategy would require Steel to foil any and all plans Hank made, ruining quest opportunities and relationships till he was all alone. Morality would have to be solved by uncovering any wrong deeds performed by Hank and having him punished appropriately. Of course, Steel would have to be subtle until the end. Just like what he was doing in Rostwood, Hank was more than likely making friends in high places at the capital. If he was too hasty, Hank could sic the nobility on him, effectively ruining Steel''s relationship with the human kingdom as a whole. Still, if there was something Steel loved to do, it was to overcome challenges with a smile. Only this time, the smile would be mocking and triumphant. He cut a little too much muscle at that thought, his excitement causing a momentary lapse in judgment. Cursing himself, he adjusted the knife and continued, annoyed that his arrogance had surged up again. "I need to remember what Eric said; I''m not strong till I''ve won. Well, close enough anyway." He finished cutting the body and went back up to the head. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. He wanted to make armor, so he decided to skin the head to be made into a hood. It was a lot easier to cut because the bone structure gave him precise direction. He sat down, tired but finished with his work; almost anyway. He hadn''t found the magic stone yet; the most valuable part of the monster. The smaller rats had the stone directly on their lower chest, but this larger rat had lacked that. A few excursions led Steel back to the head, where while he was feeling it his hand ran across a lump under its chin. A quick check confirmed that the stone was underneath the part of the neck below his initial cut. A few strokes in and the core fell out onto the ground. Steel stared in wonder at it, because it was the most unique core he had ever seen. Unlike the small glossy black stones from the normal sized rats, the rat lord had a grey core that held a small sparkle in it. Smiling, Steel stored the pelt, the core, the skull, and a lot of meat in his inventory. The body disappeared in front of him, triggering a long series of blue screens.
Battle Results
You have defeated the hidden raid boss "Rat Pack Leader"
For killing 60 rats smartly- 60 cores and 60 pelts (slightly smashed)- 1500 exp For killing 16 rats- 16 cores and 16 pelts- 800 exp Cave Rat Leader Pelt (Great Condition) High grade core 900 exp
Status Update
Once again you have survived an opponent much stronger than yourself and survived after being at the brink of death. You have gained the title, "Unwavering Warrior"
+3 Vitality +4 Endurance +4 Wisdom of experience
Status Update
Warning, you have approached death too often by completely draining your stamina and mana. Further instances with the time remaining will result in penalties to intelligence and strength.
Time Remaining:3 days
Steel winced at the last notification. He could count the number of times he had exhausted himself on his hand, but it did make sense that so many brushes with death in 2 or 3 weeks would put a heavy strain on the body. He wouldn''t have Fury again till tomorrow, but that still left him with two days he couldn''t afford to use his trump card. "Though as long as we actually prepare this time this shouldn''t happen again." He reasoned, "I need to come up with more strategies and more supplies if we''re going to finish this dungeon. Potions are a must, and I need to buy some real fighting armor for Echo and Mary. I wonder if they make wolf armor, or at least a saddle." He was distracting himself. There would be more time for this later. Especially since he had 76 rat corpses to skin, including 60 that were pancakes; it was hard work from here on out. Sighing to himself, he pulled up his sleeves and got to work. ------------------------ After skinning every rat for their meat, fur, and cores, Steel started a small fire using bones, fur, and rock and began cooking some of the rat meat on their own bones. Kind of ironic, but still very tasty. He took out a fur and shook at the fire in the direction of the sleeping teammates, in an effort to use the smell to wake them off. It took a few minutes, but eventually the three of them were roused by the delicious scent of rat meat, which, well, smelled like meat in general. Steel had been one of the many to scoff in history class when they learned people only ate meat from 5 animals and scorned all others. It was ridiculous, because meat was meat. Mary raised her sleepy head, "Steel, is that smell from you? Smells really good." She yawned and gave a cute stretch, Echo copying her a few seconds later. Shadefur did a lying stretch on the ground with her mouth wide open, than crawled across the ground to the fire place, drool starting to flow down her maw. Steel chuckled at the dog like mannerisms from his pet wolf. He took a piece of meat off a skewer and threw it to her, watching her tug at it to tear it. Mary and Echo wandered over and sat around the fire. "Nice to see you guys are awake and in good health. How you feeling Mary?" He asked her gently. She smiled sadly at him, "I''m good, thanks to you at least. I''m really happy you¡¯re okay too." Steel scratched his chin and grinned, "Well, you know me. Always with the reckless to save lives. In all honesty, I was expecting you to be a bit angrier with me." He kept a close eye for any warning signs of anger. She sighed, "Normally I would be furious with you for putting yourself in danger again; it was touch and go for a while keeping you alive. However, I recognize that it was my fear and inexperience that forced you into that position, so I won''t say anything this time. Please try to not do that again though, okay?" She gave him a gentle smile. He scratched the back of his head and nodded. "Well, I can agree with that at least; getting into that kind of position is dangerous for me too. Remember though, I can come back; you cannot. So I''ll do what I can to keep you alive, especially since your father would have some torture waiting for me if you were injured. They chuckled over that, a rather dry chuckle anyway. "Anyway, a question for you Mary, well actually two anyway; Why didn¡¯t the geas activates with you sleeping on me and where is Whisper?" Mary frowned and crossed her arms, "I''m honestly not sure about that first question. If I were guess, most likely father was smart enough to install some loopholes in his spell for emergency cases. I have no idea what the conditions would be though, and it wouldn''t be wise to experiment too much. About Whisper, well, she is still here." She pointed at herself, "She was really scared and sorry, so she''s currently sleeping inside of me." "......Please explain." Mary blushed, "Sorry, that sounds kind of weird doesn''t it? As my elemental familiar, she can rest within me due to our connection. This has the added effect of reducing the strain of my penalties and increasing the strength of my spells." Steel gave her an extremely long look, "And you do this only now why?" "She wanted to explore a dungeon, so I let her fly around some." Mary answered. Steel face-palmed at the revelation. Mary was still a complete noob when it came to life-or-death situations, and obviously hadn''t considered the consequences of her actions. "Mary, for the future, keep her inside okay?" Mary at least had the decency to blush in embarrassment. Steel let the three of them eat for a bit before clapping his hands for attention. "Okay guys, we have finished the first floor. It''s time to go over the results." He let a dramatic pause fill the air before he continued, "I''d have to say, we did pretty bad overall." Echo cocked his head and tugged at Steel''s shirt. "Yes Echo, that includes you to. Don''t worry too much about it though; you and Shadefur were the lowest leveled members after all so you just needed some experience and armor. Riding Shadefur was a pretty smart decision from you, and you both seem to have gained another level after that fight. Next time, you''ll be better and more prepared, right?" Echo saluted Steel with a serious face. Steel looked over at Mary, "I have to say Mary, I was actually expecting a little more from you. I only saw you use fireballs, the little versions mostly, a flame wall spell, and a mirage spell this entire trip. Shouldn''t you be a magical prodigy with lots of magic spells at your fingertips, even with your penalties?" Mary toed the ground with her foot, "I thought saving mana was the most important thing, so I limited myself to the least costing spells I had. I didn''t want to be caught unaware after a fight." Steel shook his head, "Newcomers like you usually fall for that type of thinking. They tend to either spend too much too quickly, or horde their stores in fear of the future. Don''t ever give the minimum to survive Mary; this isn''t a test it''s real life. I know beasts aren''t your specialty, but didn''t you think your mirage skill would have some limitations when it came to beasts?" She shook her head, "It''s always worked on humans, elves, and dwarves so I thought it would work here." "Ever tried it on a beastman?" "No, they are very rare outside their home." "They would not have fallen for it if it was just a visual effect." Steel explained, "Their noses can smell a lot better than we can, so pure visual stimuli will not work. Try using a flame to burn the air around you and a few other areas to hide you scent. Also, in that kind of situation holding back will get you killed. Better tired than dead in my opinion." "Is that why you push yourself to the brink Steel?" "No, this time was my fault. I didn''t prepare well enough for this dungeon. When we get out, after we sell our things we''ll buy what we need for tomorrow and plan out some more ways of fighting in close quarters like this cave, that good with everyone?" They nodded. "Good, now hurry up and finish your food. I''m itching to get a warm bath. I smell like rat." Chapter 22- Advantages of Association christopherf- I appreciate your sentiment and your half star. That being said, please get your facts straight otherwise the sarcasm fails miserably. Thank you :D Anyway, here''s the next chapter, with hopefully another tonight for you guys. Echo is not Shelly Enjoy! ----------------- Just for the heck of it, the group made their way to the last room of the first floor to look at the staircase. Loaded with spoils aplenty, they peeked into the staircase room, which as behind the elevated platform. It was a single room with two sides holding torches, the first floor behind it. The fourth wall held a doorway with a winding down staircase that also held torches at intermediate lengths. There was also a notable lack of dust and debris in here, even though it was so close to the previous fight. "Huh, not as interesting as I thought it would be." Steel commented. Mary raised her eyebrow, "What did you think would be here; marble railings and gold plated walls? It''s a dungeon my over expectant student, not a treasury" He smiled widely at her hefted his bag, "I''m not so sure about that, seems like we''re going to make a huge profit from all these kills." "I doubt it unfortunately." Mary sighed, "More than likely the other travelers and mercenaries have been hauling these pack as well. That''ll lower the price to mere coppers or nothing at all." Steel shook his head, "That may true for some, but those rats were level 4. That''s a lot higher than the majority of the adventurer''s right now, especially in packs. That weird group from before might of had some luck though." She shrugged, "Maybe. Anyway we will be fine regardless due to your skinning skill." She gestured toward his bag, "The majority of your skins are above average quality, which is a lot better than the normal drops from the gods. Also, your boss loot . . . what did you get anyway?" Steel brought out the core and the pelt. The pelt was huge, capable of covering all 4 of them at full stretch. Mary inspected it gleefully, "This is an excellent cut! This would net us a lot of silver, maybe even some gold." Steel stowed it away, shaking his head, "This is for some new armor, not to be sold. I''m taking the boss loot as my share of this raid." Mary frowned, "I. . ." Steel put his finger to her lips, feeling the tingle of warmth beginning. "Next boss monster we kill, I''ll skin for you and make it into something that okay?" He removed his finger, She shook her head, "That. . ." Steel glared at her so fiercely she took a step back, "No discussions on this, understand?" Subdued, she nodded and backed down, "Okay then, I accept your offer. What about the core, how is it?" Steel held it out for the two of them to inspect, Echo and Shadefur running around the elevated platform in a strange game of tag. "It was in a weird place, inside the neck and under the fur." "Mary nodded, her eyes fixed on the core, "I''ve never seen a core like this before. Even bigger monsters have black cores, but this one is grey. Maybe it has some sort of special ability?" Steel focused his identifying eyes on it, but all he got were question marks. "It seems like we need a professional to appraise this." He announced, "Can your mage guild store identify this?" Mary nodded, "Of course, though they will take a small fee though. We should go there first after we leave to get some potions as well. Nodding in agreement, Steel walked into the stair room and felt the walls. "Unlike the rest of the floor, this place feels like something made it rather being natural." He pondered, his hand sliding smoothly without interruption. A blue glyph began glowing at his touch, throwing a strange blue tinge into the room.
For defeating the boss of the floor, "Rat Pack Leader", you have gained the ability to bypass this floor on future visits.
+ 500 fame for killing the first secret boss in Everlife
"Sweet, that''s a lot of fame." Steel lunched the air in exultation (Might be wrong word here). The ability to bypass the floor was also convenient, allowing the prevention of unnecessary loss of time and equipment in future raids. "Hey Mary, looks like we can bypass the first level because we beat the boss." She clapped her hands together, "That''s great! Now what?" "Now we leave of course. Let¡¯s go sell out spoils and get a bath." Steel paused a moment, "Any chance you can make a hit bath with your spells Mary?" "What do you think I''ve been doing this whole time?" ------------------------- Failing to find a quick portal out, the group made their way back to the entrance the long way. After passing through all the caved and tunnels, they were finally greeted by a beautiful sunset setting down through the rocks. The area had notably less people than before, and the quick merchant stalls had been closed down for the night. Steel stretched his arms, in an almost comical worship of the sun pose. He laughed when he realized what he was doing. "Do you even praise the sun?" He whispered to himself, setting off another laugh as his companions stared curiously at him. "What''s so funny Steel?" Mary asked. He shook his head wryly, "Just an old memory of a joke long past from a very old trial. Let¡¯s see if we can make it through without you getting mobbed again, shall we?" Mary punched him lightly on the shoulder, a brief heat flashing through it. ''She is the perfect thing for a cold night.'' He thought neutrally as he rubbed his arm, ''Though like fire she shouldn''t be touched too long....huh?" With a jolt, he realized the geas made Mary feel like fire to him; it made so much sense. That was why a hair could hurt him, it acted like an ember, which did cause itchiness due to irritation. She didn''t hurt him because he fell unconscious first, allowing her to touch him without fault, and then he woke up when she was out, like a fire that was extinguished. ''The Archmage sure is a sucker for irony.'' Steel muttered inwardly, ''Turning his flaming hot daughter into an actual flame to potential trouble.'' He shared his realization with Mary, who nodded after her own consideration. "That does make sense." She agreed, "The geas is powered by my own power, which is primarily based off fire. Mages don''t exert power when sleeping, which is why most assassinations happen during their sleep. Trust my father to think up a simple usage like that though." She shook her head in amazement. Steel shrugged, "Well, nothing we can do about it. Let''s go sell our loot." With Steel leading and the Shadefur/Echo combo bringing up the rear, they made their way down the rocks back to the base camp. Luckily, it appeared that the stores were still open, though the stalls were all packed up. The mage run store was a cute little house with a sign displaying a tower hanging over the door. They walked through the doors to smell calm incense that hung in the air. A single worker was waiting behind the counter, who stood up and bowed respectfully to Mary. "Greeting Vice-mage, it is good you have come." She smiled gently. Mary nodded back, "Thank you for coming to manage the shop Shigure. Thanks to you, the tower will receive a good influx of cores." "Vice-mage?" Steel whispered to Mary. "I''m the second most powerful under my father, experience not counted, so that''s my nickname." She whispered back. Shigure walked over from behind the counter and hugged Mary. "I was worried because I heard you were coming today, but I hadn''t seen you yet. Why did you not visit me sooner?" "We went into the dungeon to see what it was like. . ." Mary was interrupted by Shigure pulling her in and petting her rapidly. "Oh my goodness! This is terrible, are you all right? Tell me where it hurts? Shall I get you some new clothes? Why did you go to such a dangerous place so soon? You!" She glared at Steel, who was still bewildered by the sudden personality change, "You are responsible for this! How could you take her into such danger?" Mary managed to pull herself away from the suddenly panicky attendant, "Shigure, its okay. I wanted go in and explore, you know that. Steel took care of me and even saved my life in there." "You wouldn''t have been in any danger if you hadn''t gone in." Shigure declared, giving Steel a hard stare, "I don''t like you being around this. . .boy." She sneered at Steel. Steel scratched his head awkwardly, "Err, excuse me for asking, but are you one of those people who thinks women are superior to men? I''m not good with those kinds of people." Shigure blinked at him, "You''re a very honest person aren''t you?" Steel nodded, "Getting straight to the point eliminates time in my opinion. Being all wishy-washy just takes the day away." Another stare, than Shigure barked a laugh at Steel. "Ha! I like you boy, even if you got the dumber gender." She grinned and gave him a small bow, "Thank you for taking care of the little mistress; this is from all of us at the tower. Her dream is one we all know, and we''re all excited she''s finally out and about.. Maybe now we can get some sleep and shut eye now." She joked. Mary blushed, "What''s that supposed to mean? I didn''t do anything wrong." She stomped her foot in embarrassment. Shigure giggled, her demeanor changing suddenly into a young lady''s, "Silly, you''ve been the life of the tower for all your years: asking questions, making messes, exploding. It''ll be a lot quieter once the youngest is gone." Mary pouted at her, "You¡¯re only a few years older than me, so where do you get off teasing me about being troublesome?" Shigure patted Mary on the back, "Tis the wisdom of age talking. Now, I''m sure you didn''t come in here just to talk. I wouldn''t be so lucky." She winked at the group, spying Echo and Shadefur, "Oh, I''ll be sure to play with you two later as well, k sweeties?" Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. The two of them made a hasty retreat out the door while Shigure giggled. Steel moved over and whispered to Mary, "Does this girl have a personality disorder or something?" Mary giggled, "No, she just messed up on a potion a while back. It''ll ware off eventually, but for now her personality changes with her mood. It''s actually quite fun talking to her like this." "What''s she like when she''s angry." He asked curiously. Mary hurriedly calmed her giggles, "Like a drunkard with no coordination." Ignoring the interesting ideas he could do with such a quirk, Steel walked over and emptied the loot onto the counter from the dungeon. "Here you go, fresh loot from the first floor." Shigure walked over and inspected with a careful eye. "Hmm, quite a haul you guys brought back here. I''m impressed, very impressed. Almost no one was brought back a haul even close to yours, and even then not in such fine conditions." She lifted a fur and felt it, "Interesting, you skinned this yourself didn''t you? Yes, I can feel the knife edges. How curious; all the other travelers merely accept the god''s gift, yet you seem to be a hard worker." Her hands moved to the cores, which she inspected with an eye pierce like a jeweler, "Even these cores have a bit of an extra shine, not that it''ll affect the price. Still, this is a good amount for your first dungeon raid." She crossed her hands and hummed to herself, "Do you guys need things from the shop? I haven''t made the coin yet to buy all these things from you." Steel nodded, "Actually yes, we could use some supplies for entering the dungeon tomorrow. Today we went in under prepared, so I''d like to avoid a repeat." Shigure nodded, "Well, I can offer you a raid bundle and some potions for the lot here, as well as a future 5% buying price for anything else you might bring me." "What''s a raid bundle?" Shigure reached under the counter and brought up a satchel. She described each item as she removed them from the bag, "This is a magic rope for a quick escape from the dungeon. Merely hold it and say ''Escape'', and it works 5 times. This is a crocked eyeglass, perfect for looking down corners. This is monster bait, one time use that attracts all monsters in the area. Oh, these are ration packs in case of a long raid. Also, a book on dungeons and the basics. The bag itself is magic, capable of holding this stuff and others within it with a minimal weight gain." Steel nodded, mildly impressed. "That sounds good and all, but that really doesn''t seem worth the hassle we went through to get these fur and cores." He stood in front of Mary, holding a ''shhhing'' gesture behind him. Shigure gave him a smug look, "Why of course. The real deals are these potions." She pulled out three different colored potions and placed them on the counter. Steel took a quick look and did a double take. The potions were at least two levels higher than his basic set, easily capable of refilling any of his bars from empty to full. "This is a bit overkill isn''t?" Steel asked slowly. Shigure shrugged, "Maybe at the moment. I guarantee they''ll become more practical as you continue your raid, especially since they provide a bonus to regeneration as well." Steel was sold at once. "How many are you talking here?" Shigure smiled like an angler with a fish on the line, "5 of each type, with a discount on all others." Steel nodded, "Deal." They shook hands and exchanged items. Steel gave the raiding pack to Mary, who put it on with an excited smile. She walked over to a mirror and began posing, forgetting about her audience. Chuckling, Steel turned back to the counter in time to see Shigure use a crystal in Mary''s direction. "Is that for preserving images of her?" Steel whispered. She nodded, "Yes. Everyone in the tower wants to see her living the dream. Even her father has dropped some hints of desire." They shared a conspiratorial laugh. "Throw in one of those crystals, and I''ll deliver some of her sleeping and in battle." Shigure stumbled over herself to give him one, saying "Do it and you''ll have eternal gratitude." [td2]Reward
Quest Received
Take discreet pictures of the Archmage''s daughter while she¡¯s on her adventureDifficulty: Suicidal
RequirementsHigh intimacy with the Archmage''s Daughter Be with the Archmage''s Daughter during her first adventure have at least an average intimacy with the Mage Guild[/tds]
Increased Intimacy with the Mage faction Daughter will become the idol of the tower
Failure Condition:Daughter finds out and destroys the image crystal
Refusal of quest:No penalties
Failure ResultLooks of pity and condolences for possible missing limbs
''Oh dear lord what did I just accept?" Steel looked in horror at the difficulty, ''Seriously, why is this suicidal? What is this mentioning of missing body parts? This seems scary!" "How do I look guys?" Mary asked cheerfully from across the room. Steel quickly pocketed the image crystal, "Like a real adventurer Mary, good job. Why don''t you look around the shop for interesting things?" Steel turned back to Shigure as Mary skipped around and inspected the wares, "Okay I''ll do it, but give me something in return, otherwise I''ll be risking my limbs and little Steel for nothing." Shigure pointed at the image crystal, "You can keep that no matter if you succeed or fail. It''s worth 15 gold, so it''s worth it." "If I fail it gets destroyed." "Yeah, but now you won''t have to pay for it." "Fair enough." Steel took out the leader core, "Can you explain this to me. I got it. . ." Shigure snatched the core out of his hands with a shocked expression. She held it up to the light and fell onto her behind. "Dear lord, don''t tell me you killed the secret boss of the first floor?" Steel cocked his head, "We did. Why?" Shigure shot up and grabbed both of Steel''s shoulders. "The pelt, show me the pelt." Shaking at little at her intensity, Steel pulled the massive pelt out of his inventory. Shigure felt the pelt with such love and affection it seemed like she was holding her baby. "Amazing, so this is what it feels like." She sighed in contentment, startled as she remembered her place and noticed Steel''s raised eyebrow. She coughed. "Err, well, yeah this is great stuff you have here." Her tone became gruff, "Not that any of this interests me personally. It''s just scientific intrigue and all that." "Bullshit, tell me what''s up." Steel deadpanned. "Right, honest fellow. Anyway." She held up the pelt, "This is in excellent condition, such so that some of its spirit lives on within it. Now that I look, your armor is like that too." She squinted at Steel''s armor, "You made an impression on it before it died, and since it was so much stronger than you it left its mark. Besides the natural magic properties, if you wear this you''ll get something unexpected as a bonus effect. Congrats to you." She held out the core, "This here is the more interesting of the two. From obvious glance, it''s not a normal monster core. You can''t feel it, but I am tuned to souls, so I can tell this is more of a soul core than a monster core." "What''s a soul core?" Steel asked. "A soul core is between a monster core and a heart crystal. Heart crystals are only found in ancient ruins because they are the remains of ancient monsters that evolved far enough to become sentient. A soul core is the next evolution of a monster core, and tells of some sentience in the monster. That being said, they are extremely rare because adventurers kill the normal monsters far faster than they can evolve. 200 years is the minimum at least. It''s strange though, why is this in a dungeon only a few days old?" Shigure''s eyes wandered into the air, thinking of things beyond Steel''s comprehension. "Right, got it. What does it do?" Steel pressed. She blinked and returned to the conversation, "Oh, well it depends. It can be used the same way as a normal monster core, with much higher results, or it can be used for summoning." Steel''s inner greed perked up, "Summoning you say?" Shigure nodded, "Higher cores have a special capacity for summoning their previous holder, though only the body will appear and obey like a golem. Technically, monster cores can also be used like this, but to a lessor effect." Steel''s heart rose, "Can heart crystals also be used like that?" "No, that is impossible. Heart crystals are soul containers with no body to summon. It was tried a long time ago when they were more uncommon than rare, and the failure destroyed the core." "Okay. Well, it was good to ask anyway." He said, a little down, "So I can summon the boss with this crystal?" "Yup, though for a limited amount of times before it breaks. Tell you what, leave this with me for the night, and I''ll craft it into a bracelet for you." "Sure, sounds good. Thanks for the potions and the kit." He smiled at her. "No problem. Be sure and take of our cute little Mary. She likes to act like she''s an adult, but she''s real fun to fluster." Shigure winked at him, "Try not to die~~" The cutesy voice popped up again, "Oh, and next time you come in let me pet those two cuties you brought with you. I just want to dress them up and play with them.~~" Grabbing Mary, they waved good-bye and left the shop, their supplies for the next raid acquired. Chapter 23- Growth Just a tiny rant, not important Spoiler : Another day another .5 star review with someone wishing he could give me no stars. Kinda hurts, but what can you do? Beginning need to be fixed yes, but the idea is solid. Get knocked down to learn to get back up. I wish the .5 star reviews were more useful, more constructive criticism, but can''t have everything oh well. School stared today, so chapters are going to have to slow down, sorry guys. No hiatus though I promise you that! Hopefully longer chapters as a result too. Enjoy! -------------------- As it turned out, the inn was full with no rooms available for the night. The innkeeper told them that they were free to camp out in the town, and that their safety was guaranteed as long as they were within the camp. Steel guessed that, like Rostwood, the camp did not allow PvP and guards were roaming around to prevent NPC theft in the area. Actually, the merchant guild seemed to have invested heavily in mercenary guards, likely to protect their investment with the dungeon raiders. They found a quiet spot a little away from the majority of the people, but still within the confines of the camp. Steel set up the two tents and started a fireplace, using Earth Wall to form a fire pit in the ground. Mary sat down after setting her own tent up; after learning how to do it from Steel. She pulled Shadefur on top of her lap and began petting her. "Hey Steel, am I doing okay? As an adventurer I mean." She asked softly, staring deep into the fire starting in front of her. Sensing a moment, Steel paused and sat down across from her, throwing the last bit of wood onto the fledgling fire. "Well, the only one I can compare you to honestly is myself." Steel admitted, "Compared to what I went through though, I''d say you started out as well as I did." "Really?" She searched his face for any signs of dishonesty. He laughed, "Of course. After all, I also fought a much stronger opponent and almost died. It was the pack of Hungry Bunnies that saved me you know; I only bashed the blasted wolf''s head in until it fell over." Mary''s eyes focused on his armor, "That''s the armor your wearing now right? It''s from the wolf?" Steel fingered the fur collar around his neck. "That''s right. Like the rat fur, this thing also gave me a special thing when it was turned into armor. Darkness resistance if I remember correctly, which came in handy when liberating the lair with the other expedition members. I wonder what the rat pelt will give me." Echo wandered out of the tent and sat in Steel''s lap, leaning back and closing his eyes. Steel smiled and patted his head, letting him fall asleep in his arms. Mary watched them from her seat. "You know, you have a very interesting slave there Steel. In fact, you don''t even treat him like a slave; more like your own child than anything else. Why give him so much freedom?" Steel scratched his nose, "Well, I got him because out of all the slaves I saw he was the only one with a spirit still within him. At the time, I was feeling lonely and depressed and just wanted someone to accompany me in my work. If anything, it was more of an impulse buy than anything else, especially since I couldn''t get the gloves I wanted from the auction." He gave a pointed look to Mary, who found the fire very interesting all of a sudden, "Teasing aside, yeah I guess he is more like a ward then a slave. In a way, he''s helped stitch the wound in my heart, but isn''t really for anything beyond that. I don''t know; future planning was never really my thing." Mary giggled, "I agree with that sentiment. Teasing a mage on your first day and endangering your life was also done by impulse then?" "No comments for incrimination." Steel dropped, "Back to what you were saying earlier, Echo is a strange child. It times he seems a lot older than he should be, especially when it comes to me. The rest of the time it seems like he''s living the world for the first time. I wonder how that come to be, is it a common thing for a slave with freedom?" Mary stared at the fire, a scornful look arising, "I couldn''t say Steel. The only slaves I''ve seen were when I traveled to the capital with my father for the annual mage meeting. I know the sentiments of slavery, but their treatment was horrendous." "So slavery is common in the capital?" Steel asked, interested. Mary shook her head, "Not really, but it is common with the nobility. Some humans are forced into slavery due to debts, but they at least are treated well and can buy their freedom. Everyone is stuck until they die or are sold. Mages were the worst, using slaves as guinea pigs sometimes. I told myself I''d never have a slave because of what I saw, but seeing you with Echo has given me some solace. Maybe some hope for the future." She bent over Shadefur to put her in head into her fur. "I thought slavery was common with all the races except the orcs?" Steel asked confused, "Aren''t they treated the same everywhere?" Mary snorted, "Only the slave traders would tell you that, or people who have never left the kingdom. Slavery may be common, but their treatment differs greatly. Humans are the only race who treats slaves like dirt; the other races treat them more as servants." "So, only the treatment of slaves is abhorrent to you? Not the fact that people can be slaves?" "Of course. Slaves are people that owe money or are being punished. Err; also they could have been war slaves." Mary said hesitantly. Steel sighed and shook his head, "You really are a sheltered princess aren''t you? You do realize a good many slaves are kidnapped from their homes right?" Mary''s mouth dropped, "No way! That''s immoral and underhanded; there''s no way anyone would let that happen!" Steel shook his head, "Rostwood is a frontier town, developed by those who are more open-minded and managed by practical people like your father. Even then, slave hunters do roam the streets at night. I ran into three a while back, though I haven''t seen any more since then. I''m sure the capital you are familiar with is the more common mindset of the kingdom." Mary shuddered, "The world is really scary isn''t it? Do you think kidnappers would sell me if given the chance?" Steel chuckled, "With your beauty and power, I have no doubt you''d be a fair prize many would want to possess. Keep that in mind next time you use your magic wastefully; never put yourself in a situation where you can be overpowered." He cautioned her, "That being said, your position as the Archmage''s Daughter and Vice-mage should dissuade most from trying to mess with you. Traveler hunters are the ones you should look out for, well, if any exist anyway. Grow strong and establish a safe place to return to, that''s the best advice I can give." Mary nodded, "Like Rostwood right? It''s safe for me." "Yes, but you shouldn''t stay here if you want to be like your father. Go out and see the world, make new friends, and find adventures in distant lands. There are always risks with leaving home, but everyone leaves eventually to make a life for themselves." Steel laid Echo on the ground and got up to walk over to Mary, giving her a brief hug before the pain set in, "I''m sure you can do it." Mary looked up with wide, appreciative eyes, "Okay Steel, I''ll think about everything you''ve told me. Thank you for the advice." She pushed a snoring Shadefur off of her lap, and got up. With Steel''s help, she carried Echo over to the tent and put the sleeping slave inside before crawling in herself. She turned and smiled at Steel, "Good night my student." Steel winked back, "Good night princess." He bit back a laugh at her pouting look as he shut the flap and returned to the fire. ------------------------ Steel woke the group up early so they could get a head start on dungeon raiding. He tried to feed them meat, but Mary complained that only eating met for 3 days was starting to get old. Even Echo frowned when presented with more meat and shook his head. Shadefur happily gobbled up their portions with a happy bark. Personally, Steel enjoyed eating meat as often as possible, but he did end up agreeing that changing up the diet was important, especially for a growing childlike Echo. Having nothing else, they went to the tavern for a well-rounded meal. Thankfully, not many players were up and about that morning. Steel surmised that it was night time or school hours at the moment, not that he really had anyway to check in game. They sat down at a table and ordered a meal of salad; something Steel had yet to see as he was always eating Mema''s creations in town. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. The salad turned out to be one of the largest bowls he had ever seen, filled to the brim with leafy things and fruits on top. Mary and Echo happily dug into their acquired feast, and after bit Steel joined them, actually finding the leafy things quite juicy and satisfying. As they were happily enjoying their break from meat, loud and annoying laughter drifted over from another table. "Cheers mates, to another day of raiding and loot!" A masculine voice rang out, accompanied by hearty cheers and laughter. Steel cocked his ear toward them when he recognized the voice of the prick Lancelot. Looking as arrogant as ever, the blond beauty tipped his head back as he chugged his drink down, slamming the goblet into the table with a burp, "I checked yesterday guys; our group was recorded as getting the deepest into the dungeon at level 3. No one else is as close as we are to the boss''s room! Once we conquer the dungeon, our name will be known throughout the land!" The barbarian girl and pyro guy cheered, while the ranger and ice mage nodded. Steel shook his head, returning his attention to his meal. "CracBoom and Firesoul, this goes out to you two for guiding past the first floor so quickly. Getting in on the expedition was a genius decision on your parts." CracBoom the pyro guy spoke up, his voice surprisingly calm given his demeanor, "Heh, don''t give us too much credit Lancelot. After all, we only got the mission after helping you with the mugger subjugation in the city." ''So that''s the connection.'' Steel noted, ''I was wondering how they managed to get into the expedition. Guess that explains it." Mistarrow chuckled, "At least they accomplished something. IceSeer couldn''t, how did she put it, hurt such cute creatures." They all laughed while the mage blushed slightly, her face never changing as she downed her drink. "At least I didn''t make a fool of myself missing them." She said simply, taking another swig. "I couldn''t help it you know? Those things were much too fast and little to hit properly." He complained, "Even the second floor had those annoying buggers too." Steel''s ears twitched, taking an interest in their conversation. ''Let''s see if they reveal anything useful." He casually moved his ear toward the group while eating his meal. IceSeer snorted, "I hear that elf player Stalk is capable of hitting fast targets while moving. Even that dwarf archer Viscount can hit a rat in motion, yet you are stuck shooting blanks against rats and. . . " Something must have happened, because she stopped talking. Steel just continued eating, not falling for the temptation of turning his head to look at the table. It didn''t matter, because he heard the sounds of chairs sliding across the floor and footsteps coming toward him. "Well, if it isn''t the guard and his women." Steel could hear the sneer dripping off the voice behind him, "Enjoying a morning meal before raiding? Here I thought you guys had enough arrogance yesterday to clear it on your first try." Steel munched on his salad, ignoring the man behind him. "Guess yesterday didn''t go so well if you have to eat this kind of meal. I mean really, who eats just vegetables for a meal am I right guys?" Mistarrow laughed with Lancelot, while a girlish voice giggled with them. "Nope, sorry guys. The lady wanted salad, so we went and got some salad." Steel corrected, savoring the fruit he had just bitten. It was a pleasant sweet tangy flavor that lingered after swallowing. CracBoom pulled the fourth seat at the table back and sat down backwards on it, staring at Steel''s face. Scratching his chin, he smiled and dropped his hand into his fist, "I knew I recognized you from somewhere. You were in the expedition with me, remember? I was wondering what happened after the lord singled you out from us during the rewards ceremony." "This guy is the interesting you talked about before?" Iceseer''s low voice asked. CracBoom nodded, "Yeah. Apparently this guy was super important to the expedition, even scouting by himself to find the lair before we even knew about it. Funny thing is that no one seems to have any information on him. Hey man, what''s you faction? Come on, tell us. I''m S.S. in case you are wondering." Steel hissed at him, "Be careful man! NPC''s don''t react well to R.L. talk." CracBoom blinked, "Oh right, sorry about that. Sometimes I get really excited and all that." "Enough ." Lancelot snapped, "CracBoom, stop being so friendly to him. Did you forget how rude he was to us yesterday?" CracBoom snorted, "I seem to recall you getting in his business first. Besides, it was the lady over there that shot you across the field with a single spell. Speaking of which, are you taking students my fair lady? I''d love to learn how to cast fire like that." He gave Mary puppy dog eyes, before being whacked on the head by IceSeer. "Too shameless." She reproached staring coldly at the hurt man. "That hurt sis." He complained, rubbing his head, "You¡¯re too reserved sometimes. Be more spontaneous like me sometimes." ''These two are a natural comedy pair aren''t they?'' Steel chuckled to himself. The barbarian girl, Firesoul, got between them. "Okay you too, enough with the family comedy." She said in a surprisingly girly and sultry voice, "I think you¡¯re missing the point our leader made. These guys did humiliate us yesterday, regardless of who started it." "I''d like to be made aware that it wasn''t our intention to do so." Steel spoke up between bites. "Noted." Firesoul said, "That doesn''t change what happened though." "Touch¨¦." Steel complimented, putting his fork down, "How do you propose we fix this?" Lancelot pushed his way in front of Steel, "You can let us take care of your friends here for starters." Steel gave him a confused look, "Friends?" Lancelot gestured across the table, where IceSeer was hugging Echo close without moving. She looked up at Steel. "This is yours?" "Yes." "Give me." "I refuse." Steel shot down at once, "He''s my helper." IceSeer shook her head, "Too cute. Mine now." CracBoom sighed, "Sorry mate, when she gets like that no one in the world can stop her." Lancelot spoke up again, "You''re a real lucky guy aren''t you: a pretty woman to keep you company, a slave to cater to your every whim, and a battle pet to do your fighting for you. Why, I bet you don''t even fight your own battles." He challenged, looking Steel in the eyes. Irked and annoyed, Steel got up. "Is this my honor you are throwing into question? Careful, you are treading on dangerous ground here." To question someone''s honor was a thing that always resulted in conflict and wasn''t done lightly. Lancelot grinned in triumph, picking up the salad bowl and dropping it on the floor, "I see the mutt at least has a bark. Let¡¯s see if he was a bite too. I chall. . ." Lancelot exploded and flew across the room, hit straight on by a fireball. He hit the wall and dropped to the floor with a thud. Everyone''s eyes turned to Mary, who had a smoking hand and a very pissed off expression. "You fool! That was the best salad I have ever tasted, and you just ruined it!" Indeed, the remaining salad was scattered on the ground, tragically wasted. The guards in the room looked at the unconscious man, then at Mary, than at the spilt salad. Shrugging, 3 got up to pick up Lancelot and carry him away. The fourth came up and bowed. "On behalf of the guard, I apologize for your ruined dinner Vice-mage. Rest assured, the perpetrator will be dealt with immediately." He bowed and exited the building with his men. Steel scratched his head, "We still have a problem guys?" The other members of Hero''s Party shook their heads. Mary walked up to IceSeer, who was still hugging the struggling Echo. She grabbed him away and said, "Mine." Then she hugged Echo as she left the building, IceSeer''s jealous stare following her out. "Well, we''ll be off then. Sorry about the commotion." Steel followed his group out the door, Shadefur trotting beside him. The wolf hadn''t had the best time, missing the sweet savory taste of meat in her mouth. She whined as the door closed behind them. "Don''t worry girl, I doubt we''ll be getting salad for a while after this." Chapter 24- Rock Solid The entrance to the dungeon, much like the tavern, had very few players and NPC raiders walking around. They passed the "tax keeper" without incident, ignoring his averted gaze as they entered the dungeon for the second time. Steel checked their supplies one more time before they entered: -One escape rope, 5 uses -One eyeglass for peaking around corners -10 pieces of monster bait, single use -15 ration packs, single use -One book on the basics of dungeons -One magic bag, capable of holding up to 50 pounds weight without adding to its own weight -5 rare potions of each type, single use -10 common potions of each type Satisfied that they were actually prepared this time, Steel nodded, signaling their entrance into the Furry Hell Dungeon. Like before, they wandered into the tunnel for a while until the light from the outside disappeared behind them. After the final turn, they came across a blue sigil on the ground; similar to the one Steel had seen at the stair room. "Looks like that''s out ticket to the second floor." Steel announced, moving onto the glowing symbol on the ground. Instantly, his surroundings changed and he found himself back in the stair room, alone and no glowing sigil anywhere in sight. "Note to self, sigils are one way and instant." He muttered to himself, feeling stupid he had tried the sigil without asking Mary first. Luckily, the three of them appeared momentarily before he had waited too long. Mary was rather surprised by the whole experience. "Amazing; even the mage tower doesn''t have such seamless magical transportation. I didn''t even feel a change of magic power, as if I just walked through a door." She muttered to herself, not aware of her surroundings. Steel rolled his eyes and ran his finger across her neck, inciting a scream and jump from Mary, who cowered behind Shadefur. Poking her head up to look around, she focused on the laughing Steel who was rolling on the ground. "Ha ha ha, oh Mary, I didn''t think such a powerful princess would be so easily scared." He spat out, "Hopefully, heh, this will teach you to pay more attention next time." Mary glowered at him and folded her arms. "That''s not funny Steel; it could have been really dangerous. What if I blasted you with a fireball?" Steel stopped laughing, Lancelot''s flying body still fresh in his mind. "Right, my bad, sorry about that Mary. I just couldn''t resist teasing you after seeing your serious face." "Well don''t do it again. Look what happened to Echo." She pointed at the little slave, who was frozen in a kind of defense mechanism. They waved their hands in front of his face, but he was frozen tight. Finally, Steel gave him a nugie to wake him up. "You okay Echo?" Steel asked. Echo looked confused, but nodded after a few seconds. He pointed at the staircase and cocked his head. "Yup, we are going down to the second floor." Steel nodded, "Shall we proceed?" He took Echo and Mary''s hand gently as he walked toward the staircase, than ruined the moment by yanking it out of Mary''s hand and blowing on it. She gave him an evil smile, "I''d say that''s a good start to your apology." ------------------------ The staircase was much shorter than they expected, only winding down for 5 minutes before opening into the next floor. Using the crooked spyglass, Steel verified an empty room before stepping out. From the looks of it, the floor was essentially the same as the previous floor. The room was a cave, with torchlights in the wall and a cold rocky floor. "Clear." Steel stared down into the first tunnel, "Shadefur, smell!" Hearing the command, Shadefur dropped her nose and sniffed around the room. Mary raised an eyebrow, "Don''t you think it''s kind of demeaning to make her act like a dog?" Steel shrugged, "She''s a canine, and so using her special talents to help us isn''t demeaning at all. I''m sure she''d protest if she had a complaint." "She''s a wolf, how would she know to complain?" Steel paused, "Oh right. I forgot because she''s so intuitive." "That''s a perk from a pet contract, not from her intelligence. You can''t forget she''s a wild animal, even worse a monster. If the pack ever disappeared, she''d be free to follow her instincts; which includes hunting and eating things like us." Mary cautioned, "She may be your ally, but it''s unlikely you''ll ever be friends." Slightly saddened, Steel waited until Shadefur returned before he spoke again. "Smell anything?" He asked the wolf. Shadefur barked, which he took as a no. She''d be growling if she actually smelled anything, especially if it could be eaten. They made their way down the tunnel, keeping their eyes out for anything dangerous. The rocky walls continued down for a while before opening into a cave. Unlike the previous caves, this one was elongated. To be more descriptive, the cave had two tunnel entrances, but the cave followed the left tunnel for a little longer before shrinking down to a tunnel entrance. Steel imagined a "6" like shape, one entrance at the top and the other on the circle. "Be careful guys, I don''t know which way to go now, or the type of enemies that are here." Steel readied his shield, "Let''s. . ." He was interrupted by Mary rummaging in the adventurer kit, which she had insisted on carrying. She pulled out something and threw it into the middle of the cave. "Mary, what was that?" "Monster bait." She said proudly, "If we can''t see them, then let¡¯s bring them to us." Steel sighed, "Okay, I admit that''s a good plan at its core. However, can you tell me two things." He held up two fingers, "''How effective is that bait?'', and ''How many monsters are in this cave?''" Mary cocked her head, "Umm, I don''t know. Is that bad? I just wanted to attract them to us. . .uh oh." "At least you understand now." Steel nodded, "Now ready your spells. Also, if you have one of those big spells you''re so proud of, I advise you to get that one ready." Steel had no doubt that anything made and sold by the mage''s tower was quality. Sure enough, things began to move in the cave. Besides a few rats appearing from the shadows, the group was very shocked to see the stones moving toward the bait. Steel quickly focused on the stones.
Opponent Information
NameLevelThreatHealth
Rocky Armadillo7E120
DescriptionA variant type of armadillo found in "Furry Hell". It has gained a rock hard shell capable of blocking attacks from predators. Sluggish and tough, they don''t often attack others except when hungry. Hunger can awaken rage, which raises their threat level by a level. Like their namesake dungeon, they have furry underbellies.
"Mary, how tough are armadillos normally?" Steel pressed, "Anything useful to help us?" Mary shrugged, "All I know is that they are tough and hard to kill, but not real attackers." Steel nodded, "That''s kind of expected, but those jerks earlier mentioned something was speedy on this floor. That means they have a special ability, or there is another type of monster on this floor." By then, the armadillos had reached the bait, and were moving around in a confused manner, searching for their food. When the rats began to go by them, they reacted. The closest armadillos rolled up into a ball, and began to rotate at high speed. In a flash, they had run over the closest rats, prompting the rest to flee back to the shadows. The armadillos began swarming the smashed rats, fighting each other for a piece to eat. Steel shuddered, "Well that answers that. That''s a freaking terrifying ability those little bastards have." Echo tugged at Steel''s armor, raising his sword and shaking his head. "Yeah, I''m not sure you''ll be effective against them. Stay here for a moment." Steel took a knee and analyzed the armadillos. ''Always tough and durable, they use speed to increase their destructive power.'' He reasoned, ''Given how those jerks survived, they must have an obvious weakness." Steel considered the Hero Party; they had a knight, a fire mage, an ice mage, a barbarian girl, and a ranger. The ranger obviously had trouble, which eliminated his dps from the equation. The ice mage did use it, so maybe she was effective. Steel seriously doubted the asshole knight was good for anything, though he had to grudgingly admit the guy was probably strong. ''We have a tank, a fire mage, an assassin, and a warrior; the last two being. . .not leveled up yet.'' Steel smacked his head at the realization. They boss rat had given them enough points for a second level boost for Echo and Shadefur, and he was unconscious after it. "Echo, Shadefur, have you leveled up yet?" He asked quietly. They shook their heads. "Right, well go ahead while I think of a plan. Echo, no skills this time." They nodded as they sat down and focused on their own screens. Echo''s status menu appeared in front of Steel, asking him where he would like to distribute the stat points.
Status Window
Name:EchoAlignment:Neutral/Lawful
Level:3Class:Slave
Race:Human VariantGender:Male. . .
Titles
Slave, Apprentice of Eric Swiftleg, Observer
Fame:0Infamy:0
Experience:1250/6000
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Health:150 / 150Health Regen:3/ Sec
Mana:70 / 70Mana Regen:1.4/ Sec
Stamina:75 / 75Stamina Regen:1.5/ Sec
Vitality:15Agility:15
Intelligence:14Wisdom:14
Strength:15Endurance:15
Leadership:0Luck:5
Charm:50Faith:0
Elemental Resistances
Fire:0Water:0
Wind:0Earth:10
Light:0Darkness:5
Skills Known:
Aura cut, minor Observe Blade Rush
Steel chuckled to himself as he read through the stat menu. Even though he was small, Echo actually had stats comparable to a regular player. Granted, he was much lower than a normal player at level 3, it was a lot more impressive considering his status as a slave and his young age. ''Wonder if he''ll gain some boosts when he gets older?'' Steel wondered to himself, ''Besides that, what the heck is up here? The 50 charm explains his popularity with the ladies, but why does he have observe as a skill?'' Players could observe and identify as an innate skill not listed with the others, and from what Steel had picked up NPC characters operated in a similar way. Yet for some reason, Echo had his ''Observe'' as an active and passive skill. It wasn''t a big deal really, yet it was profoundly odd. Aura Slash and Blade Rush were expected; the former being acquired last level and the latter from training with Eric.
Notice
Your battle pet "Shadefur" has chosen to improve speed
For advancing in speed to the second level, your pet has gained a new ability:
Static Speed
Effect: Boosts speed by 15% for 10 seconds. Contact with fur has a 35% chance to inflict small electric damage
"Huh, good job Shadefur." Steel exclaimed, "I had no idea you could grow like that." Shadefur hung her tongue out and. . . smiled; or at least the canine version of it. Yet Steel couldn''t help but feel like there was more behind it than a normal wolfy smile. Ignoring that for now, Steel put all 5 point for Echo into strength, raising the slave''s stamina to 100. "You done yet Steel? Those rocky fellows seem to be almost done eating." Mary reported from the spyglass. "Preparations are done over here." He said as he got back up, "I still don''t know how to kill them though. . .hmmm." ------------------------ A few minutes later, Shadefur charged into cave with Echo on his back. The wolf charged straight through the horde of armadillos; jumping and dodging through their bodies with startling grace. Echo was holding some monster bait in his hand, letting the smell spread through the air as he launched a few Aura Cuts to attract attention. The armadillos were immediately alert, either from the smell or the attacks. As the duo reached the other side of the cave, the monsters rolled up and began rotating. Like a squadron of birds they spun out in a killing formation toward their prey, the wind screaming as they sped forwards. The armadillos were much faster than the wolf, quickly closing the distance as the duo reached the wall. Instead of turning or stopping, Shadefur ran faster, activating her new skill as the monsters drew closer. She ran straight at the wall, never stopping as Echo used the last of his stamina to fire a few more Aura Cuts in a vain attempt to slow down their pursuers. They reached the wall, and that''s when they struck. Using her speed, Shadefur took a few steps up the wall before kicking off with all her strength. She flew over the armadillos, which could not turn or stop in time to avoid the wall. They smashed into it and each other, creating a series of loud noises that exploded through the cave. The duo landed safely on the ground, taking a moment to taunt the monsters with their tongues. Enraged, the armadillos got back into their ball forms and began spinning again, gaining the red glow to signal the activation of rage mode. Shadefur shot back toward the tunnel where she had come from, using her skill to speed away as fast as she could. The bowling squad of death soon followed, rolling much faster this time and leaving burn marks on the ground. Realizing she couldn''t outrun them this time, Shadefur began making long zigs and zags as she ran, taking advantage of their slow ability to turn quickly. She suddenly cut to the right, an almost perfect ninety degree turn, while Echo struggled to hang on. The armadillos were slow to turn after her, especially at their high speed, but managed a sharp motorcycle like turn after a few seconds. Shadefur was in trouble now though, because her ability had worn off and was unable for a few seconds. Panting, she ran as fast as she could, but the armadillos were quickly closing the distance between them. As the armadillos reached her, Shadefur split. 3 Shadefur''s burst in different directions: one went left, another went right, and the third kept moving forward. The armadillos were instantly confused, but only for a few moments. Their sight was a secondary sense when they were rolled up, relying more on smell and the tremors of fleeing prey through the ground. They picked up the monster bait scent and the paw step of the wolf a few seconds later, but it was enough. Shadefur''s fur crackled as her Static Step became available again, and she resumed her course back toward the tunnel entrance. Even with her increased speed, she still could only prevent them from closing in on her too fast. Bending her knees, she jumped with all her might into the tunnel, disappearing into the dark with Echo on her back. The armadillos, of course, attempted to follow them into the tunnel. They gathered together to fit into the tunnel, and spun ahead, and then straight down. The tunnel floor disappeared beneath the armadillos, falling deep into a pit that had mysteriously appeared beneath their rolled up forms. To be more specific, Steel had created a thin floor layer that had easily collapsed from the pressure and force from their spinning. He had made the pit deeper in return for not using spikes, allowing for greater room to fit all the beasts. "Okay Mary, now!" He called out. Stepping out from the shadows, Mary manifested fireball after fireball that formed a ring around her back, outlining her figure like a demon goddess wreathed in flames. She held her hand out, and the fireballs shot down her arm into the hole like a gun. The hole erupted in fiery explosions as they each landed on target, bathing the hole in flames. The group gathered around the hole, taking out a skewer with food already stuck on it. "Okay guys, time for a lunch break." Mary gave Steel a very dry look, "I''m not sure how I feel about this kind of strategy Steel. It feels kind of like we''re cheating the system." "Maybe, but can you say you didn''t enjoy doing that?" Mary cocked her head, than smiled wryly, "No, I did enjoy it, you''re right. Still, you sure it''s okay to use their dead bodies to cook our food?" "Not like they can complain anymore about it. Good thing my theory about fire magic was correct, they can be cooked if heated enough from the outside. Those shells act just like coal when heated hot enough, making a perfect bonfire." Shadefur barked happily with her skewer in her mouth; tail wagging as she enjoyed the spoils of her work. ---------------------- So, this is the first real chase scene I''ve done, what do you guys think? I''ll try to get two chapters out tomorrow for you guys, wish me luck and thanks for reading! Chapter 25- Short Mary sighed to herself as she ate her skewer. As excited as she had been at the start of the expedition, she felt like the novelty was starting to rub off her. She had expected epic fights, filled with skill and ferocity, but instead she had mostly participated in almost massacre like attacks. The rat boss had been the best fight so far, but she had been knocked out of the fight before she could even see the good part. ''(Chew) I wish we could fight more.'' She thought to herself, ''I''m tired of waiting in the shadows for the poor monsters to fall into the traps.'' Granted, the traps were a lot easier than outright fighting and Mary had to admit Steel''s plans had been very effective so far. She had even been able to use one of her lower top tier fire spells, Flame Wreath, and a darkness low tier spell, Shadow Split, so she had felt a little satisfied. She went over the events of her first real adventure up to this point in her head. First, they had camped in the grasslands where Steel had surprisingly unmasked her disguise and revealed her true self to him. That had been very scary for her, because Steel''s anger had scared her to her core. Normally, he seemed like a relaxed kind of guy; easygoing and cheerful with a strange hardness to his eyes. His anger had been palpable enough to be felt in the air, and she had been terrified of him. She''d been put into a situation unique to her life; her true self naked to the world. Normally, she put on a regal air in the tower, though for some reason it always felt like everyone was humoring her for some reason. When she disguised herself, she always cut loose a little, but never too much. She had never been so scared before, as if the world itself was free to judge her now. Steel, while still angry, had somehow found it within him to at least tolerate her presence, coming up with a test so she could earn his forgiveness. Acting, nice, was something she had always had inklings to do, but had never really tried to follow before. He had charged her to treat everyone nice, as he would visit her in the future in a disguise. While sad she wouldn''t see him for some time after the expedition, she had resolved herself to overcome this obstacle, no matter what. She looked down at herself, examining her clothes. Since she had been "unmasked", her clothing had really changed. Gone were the regal clothes and casual outfits, now she was dressed in a long black skirt that stopped halfway below her knees and a black top with a hint of a neckline and short sleeves. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail and her face had a more natural look about it. Instead of a princess, mage, or teacher, she felt more like a woman on an adventure in this. She''d been quite surprised to find this and other outfits like this in her inventory bag, along with a note from some her closet friends. They wished her look and told her normal clothes were ill suited to adventuring, so they packed some clothes they had enchanted themselves. Her heart had glowed at the letter, thanking them as she reread it. After the grassland incident, they''d traveled to the dungeon base and entered the dungeon, after she had dealt with some annoying flies in her way. They had spent the entire day fighting rats, disgusting rats! Well, these rats were actually kind of cute, so she didn''t mind it too much. Actually, just from seeing the armadillos and the rats, Mary figured that everything in the dungeon was a more cute form than if they lived outside. The huge rat had been really scary too. She had wanted to avoid the fight, but Whisper was in trouble. Whisper had been her closet friend for many years, and she wasn''t going to just abandon her to avoid trouble. Even then, Steel had faced the battle confronting them the same as always; cool, calm, and smiling. That was the weirdest thing she had found about Steel. It wasn''t that he smiled all the time, but his mode was always eerily positive, yet somehow...wrong. Only when he got really angry did he lose that calmness, and in the heat of battle his smile would become real. It was almost like his normal self was a flawed container, occasionally leaking out a hidden bloodthirstiness and hatred. Even though she was grateful for his test and acceptance of her reasons for lying, she thought he had recovered much too fast. His grief from losing his friend during the raid had taken a day to hide within himself, and he didn''t seem at all bothered by the dungeon being her resting place. Even with Echo and Shadefur, he didn''t treat them quite right either. He kept treating the wolf like a person, not even thinking about who she actually was as a monster. He may have owned Echo, but he didn''t treat the slave like a slave at all; more like another pet. Even when she talked to him, his eyes would occasionally drift from her face for a moment, almost as if he was bored. "I think." She whispered to herself, "He lost the ability to truly care." Like Eric had said, Steel''s core was covered by his new desire to protect. It did not, however, mean that was what the core thought behind his actions followed. ''If his desires can be covered up like that, can his emotions also be a facade?'' She wondered, ''Maybe who he is now is merely a remnant of how he used to be, merely serving as a shield for his new self; not caring for anything but revenge and maybe his lost friend.'' She had never had the opportunity to meet Hunie, but she had heard a lot about her from Mema and the patrons of the Adventurer Guild. Hunie had been able to pierce his shell somehow, and Mary wished she could talk to her and ask how she did it. . At least he seemed to have an interest in keeping his group mates alive, even if it was mostly selfish. His focus with her seemed to be to make sure she went back to her father happy; she could read him pretty well to know he was interested in her power. It was similar to his pets; he wanted them alive to help him grow in the future. That being said, she wasn''t the best person reader in the world. At times, Steel did seem to honestly care about each one of them; to the point of risking move them necessary to protect them. She could tell whether he was being selfish or selfless by a strange gleam in his eye that only appeared when he was selfless. Oddly enough, she earned a skill from her special observations. She looked at the god screen again, rereading the description again for herself.
Skill Name:Skill Rarity:Skill Rank:Skill Experience:
Soul''s WindowAF16%
Your experience with hiding intentions and knowing one''s true self has trained you to be able to see a hint of another''s motives.
Passive Effects:Focusing on a person will have their eyes shine a little when they act their true intentions.
Costs:N/A
Cool downN/A
The skill was a rare A type skill, just below the unique skills. It was the first time Mary had ever received a skill that wasn''t related to magic, and it filled her, somehow, with a great sense of happiness. Her first adventurer skill, gained through her travels and battles and not from training. She looked over at Steel, who was in the process of skinning the armadillos. The process used a lot of time, but Mary knew the quality would be so much better than the normal god given drops. He even announced earlier his skill level had increased, which made his ability a little better. Deciding she''d rather be productive than wait around, she got up and walked over to Echo, who was swinging his sword next to Shadefur, who was gnawing on a bone. "Echo, want to come scout ahead with me?" She inquired. Echo cocked his head and nodded, a tiny glow in his eyes. Mary turned to Steel, "Hey Steel, Echo and I are going to scout ahead okay? We won''t fight, just seeing if we have any more fights." This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Steel turned his head with a worried look, "I''m not so sure that''s a good idea Mary. What if something happens to you?" His eyes did not shine, revealing his extra reasons. Mary put her hands on her waist, "Look, you''re going to be a long while trying to skin those rocky monsters and We''re tired of waiting around with nothing to do. Even weakened as I am, I''m still strong enough to fight and so is Echo. Believe me, you''ll hear if we run into anything bad, okay?" Steel''s face struggled for a moment, "Nothing I can say to change your mind?" She crossed her arms, stating flatly, "Nope." Steel sighed and scratched his head, "Okay fine, but don''t go farther than the next room alright? Your disguise skill and shadow clone thing won''t work on the armadillos." Mary waved her hand, "I got that Steel. Don''t worry about us and concentrate on finishing up perfectly." Slowly shaking his head, he turned back to his work, Mary seeing for a brief moment the shine of worry in his eyes. ''This is a really great skill!" She thought gleefully as she turned to leave with Echo, "Ignoring the possible complicated nature of this skill, it''s really useful for talking with him. I bet it can work when I buy some new clothes and magic books too!" Yes, at her core, Mary was a mage nerd with a huge love of adventure. To put it simply, she was a geek of magic with a princess upbringing, and more of her personality was starting to appear the more she was on this raid. That didn''t stop her from being ambitious, however. Her original goal had been to get Steel on her side, for her eventual rise through the rank mages of the human realm. She wanted to be an Archmage herself, and to do that she had to have three things; magical might, political influence, and fame. When she had heard about Steel''s unique class, she knew he would rise high and gain the favor of many influential people. If he had worked for her, than she could have used his influence to rise as well. Now, she wasn''t so sure about her goals. Her dream of being an Archmage had come from her constant presence in the tower. Being out in the world like this had rekindled her adventuring dreams, and maybe some other emotions she had long denied to herself. The two reached the end of the tunnel, no corners obstructing their vision into the next room. Echo tugged at Mary''s skirt and pointed, his eyes wide. "Yes, I see it that Echo. It does seem to be the stair case." Mary said confused. Ahead of them was an exact copy of the staircase room they had previously come from, but it was way too close to the start of the floor. The two of them had walked down the farther tunnel, but even then this meant the second floor was less than half the size of the first floor. Mary''s adventuring nose twitched, smelling something wrong. The question now was, ''what should she do?''. Her natural instinct was to go check it out and report to Steel, yet his scolding voice from her previous mistakes kept popping up into her head. Not wanting to mess up again, she took a step back. "Come on Echo, let¡¯s go back." She tried to pull the little slave back, but found that for some reason she couldn''t. Echo turned his head and cocked it at her, gesturing at the staircase. "No Echo, I don''t want to go into there yet. Let''s go get your master first." She let go and turned to leave. Echo''s hand shot out and grabbed hers, gripping with a strength surprising for such a small person. He began to pull her toward the staircase. "Echo let go, it hurts!" She cried out, desperately trying to pull away from him. Echo ignored her and kept walking toward the staircase. Desperate, Mary summoned a huge fireball and set it off between them. The explosion blasted the two of them apart, severely burning her and destroying her clothes closest to the blast. She hit the wall hard and slowly sunk down, body aching in pain. She rotated her head over to Echo, who had slammed into the other wall. The little slave lay unmoving and badly hurt, smoke rising in several places. Shockingly, his eyes opened and he got up, his gaze moving to meet hers. He slowly trudged over to her, one leg dragging behind him, his face giving no indication of pain. Mary gazed up into his face, his eyes black and desolate with no shine to them. "Echo, I know sometimes wrong here. Please fight whatever is happening." She pleaded with him, but he ignored her and kept walking forward. His hand stretched out to reach her, and she shut her eyes. A loud thud resounded in front of her, and she opened her eyes to see Shadefur grappling Echo to the ground. The wolf was having trouble with the strangely strong Echo, but was managing to cope by pinning his limbs. Mary felt Steel''s healing spell on her a moment later, feeling her strength return to her quickly. "Save Echo, he''s not himself!" She managed to gasp out. Steel nodded, pointing his shield at the duo wrestling on the ground. "Shadefur move!" The wolf jumped out of the way just in time to avoid the darktacle that wrapped Echo in a cocoon of darkness. Steel seemed to wince as he held his shield up. "How the heck is he so strong? Even 20 in strength shouldn''t give me this much trouble." He muttered, Mary able to hear him still. ''Whisper, I need you.'' Mary called within herself. The ball of light appeared from her chest and bounced slowly up and down. "Oh, what a good nap. What''s up Mary? Wait, what happened to you!" The ball glowed white in worry at Mary''s injured form. "Something''s wrong with Echo, see if you can snap him out of it." Mary said, pushing herself up the wall slowly. The ball nodded, just as the cocoon broke and revealed Echo again. The boy still stared dead-eyed and walked forward heedless of his injuries. Whisper flew over to him and rapidly circled his body. This actually managed to raise a face of annoyance on Echo''s face, and he swiped for her, failing to touch her incorporeal body. "He''s cursed!" Whisper announced, retreating from the slave, "Something''s controlling him through a link of darkness!" "Good to know, how to we break the link?" Steel shouted, launching another darktacle to slow him down. Mary coughed a little, finally managing to stand up while leaning on the wall. "Give me a second, I''m familiar with darkness connections like this." She began chanting with her hands outstretched. Echo''s face seemed to grow angry and he began moving faster, quickly breaking each darktacle touching him. "Hurry up Mary, my darkness skills aren''t helping!" Steels shouted as he gulped a mana pot and tried Earth Wall on Echo. Echo burst through the walls easily, Steel''s spell unable to make a thick and large wall at the same time with his mana reserves. "Spirit of fire, return the power to the spirit of darkness. Spirit of darkness, accept thy mana. Flame Cleanse!" From Mary''s hands, a whip of fire burst forth and wrapped itself around Echo. The slave cried out wordlessly as he was enveloped from head to toe in flame. Blackness seemed to ooze out from between the flames and dissipated into the air around them. Once the blackness stopped oozing, the flame disappeared, leaving an unconscious Echo behind lying on the floor. "Milna''s Blessing!" Steel cast his recovery spell on Echo quickly, healing the major damage from the skirmish. "Damn, he''s got a broken arm and internal injuries" Steel muttered, rubbing the arm he had broken in the rat fight. Steel had figured out to heal almost everything with Milna''s blessing, but the healing for anything within the body was cut back unless an open wound revealed the place of injury. Steel''s arm wasn''t broken, and he had refused to comment on how he had gotten it healed so quickly when it should have taken 3 days instead of 1 day to heal. Steel turned to Mary, "Able to explain this one?" She shook her head, "Nope. Let''s go back to you skinning now. It seems to be the safer choice." ---------------------- Sorry guys, I couldn''t even get one chapter done yesterday :( Author-sama apologizes. Now, let''s see what interesting theories show up in the comments this time. Crazy stuff yo :p. Chapter 26- Shortcut and Wall Phew, long week. So anyway, couple of things. We hit 800 followers, wahoo! Also, #62 ranking in updated list. Kana the dragon god once explained to me how the ranking system works. . . .needless to say it was pretty complicated. Ratings will increase rank, but only proportionately to the star amount and number of followers. That''s the simplified version anyway. So, give me ratings :p This is technically yesterday''s chapter, so expect another tonight. Right here ---> I apologize for slowness. School comes first though, but expect more chapters this week. Last thing here--read the end comment after reading this chapter Enjoy! ----------------------------- Steel carried the sleeping Echo pack to camp princess style. Echo was going to be out of it for a while in his personal opinion, even with his healing spell and potions. He shook his head and he laid the slave onto the floor beside the fire. "Mary, any chance you can explain to me how this happened?" He asked. Mary, who was also recovering from her own injuries, gave him a pained look. "I''m not sure yet, but I can take a look at him and check a suspicion of mine." Wincing as he she knelled down, she put her hands out over Echo''s body and closed her eyes. She stayed in that position for a moment before relaxing back into a sitting position. "Okay, I think I understand what¡¯s going on, or what went on anyway." She looked over at Steel, "Our favorite little slave got himself possessed." Steel looked around in worry, "As in ghosts? I didn''t expect specters would be roaming around here." "No, different kind of possession." Mary explained, "I mean something forged a bond to his body and used it to take control of him. You saw it earlier, the black stuff that came out of the cleansing a cast on him." "Okay, but what was it and how did someone or something form that kind of thing without us knowing about it?" Steel inquired. Mary cocked her head and sighed, "Really, I should have foreseen this. Steel, do you know what we have been doing that no one else has been? How is our team unique in our execution of this raid?" Steel thought a moment, "We are fighting with traps rather than attack strategies?" "No! Though that is something no one else is doing most likely." She grudgingly admitted, "The bodies Steel, what are doing to the bodies of the monsters?" "Skinning them and eating them; what''s so strange about that?" Steel asked. Mary through her hands up, "Think about it! Most travelers like you don''t even have the option of interacting directly with dead bodies, and I guarantee no NPC will ever eat a monster body in a dungeon." He gazed down at the sleeping slave, "So, eating monster bodies got Echo possessed? That doesn''t make any sense; we''ve all eaten the same thing, even Shadefur." He pointed at the wolf, which was lying beside Echo in a gesture of companionship. Mary held up a finger, "Steel, what mana type is this dungeon?" "Darkness; I remember the black sparkles of the well." "Correct. Now, every monster in here relies on that same source of darkness mana to live; their bodies are full of it. In our group, who is the only one who doesn''t have a darkness element to their nature?" Steel gaped, "Are you saying the three of us are immune to darkness mana?" Mary frowned and poked Steel''s head, inciting a brief singe of pain, "Idiot, no one is immune to mana. However, our natures prevent us from forming connections to darkness without our permission. Imagine it as a gate to out soul; only what we want can get it. Echo, however, doesn''t have that gate and any influence can get to him." "Doesn''t that mean the world''s in trouble?" She shook her head, "Not really. Very few actually eat monster meat from dungeons, and as you saw those affected are incapable of acting at all. Mind control and other things do exist, but are much more complicated and difficult forms of magic. I think a few legendary monsters have that ability, to affect emotions and thoughts; but no one can completely control another''s mind. Don''t worry too much about it." Steel sat down and crossed his arms, "Good to know, but how do we prevent it from happening again?" Mary shook her head at him and sighed, "Haven''t you understood what I''ve been saying? It''s easy; we don''t let him eat anymore meat from dungeon monsters. That''s the only possible way it could happen again." Steel had a sudden and terrifying thought, "What about the meat we gave to Mema to cook? Did we unleash a disaster?" Mary scoffed, "Yeah right. Mema is a professional, and like any poison she gets rid of it during the cooking process. You travelers sure do like to panic over everything don''t you?" Steel blushed a little, chiding himself that the developers wouldn''t make such an obvious disaster scenario. Still, hearing about things like mind control left it open-ended for future things; maybe a possible future investment. Steel savored the idea of controlling his enemies, but came back down with the thought that others could do the same to him and his friends/pawns. ''Somehow, I need to get resistances or items to deal with that in the future." He thought to himself, making a mental note for later. He turned back to Echo, "Anyway, Echo''s body is in pretty bad shape. At least one broken arm and a lot of torn muscle. Well, I think anyway; I''m not experienced in medicine or diagnosis beyond the obvious." Mary nodded, "Same here; not my field of study. That the domains of clerics, paladins, and life mages. Should we stop and end the raid to give him time to recover?" Steel folded his arms and sighed, "I don''t like this, but I guess we have to. No point ruining his future potential for short term goals. Let''s head back to the surface." Getting up, Steel picked up Echo while Mary grabbed anything still useful from the base. They walked back to the tunnel, only to find it missing from where they had just been. "Mary, this is where the tunnel exit was right?" Steel asked slowly. Mary, eyes wide, nodded, "It is, because the trench in front of it that you made is still there." The trench was indeed still in the floor, but it ended abruptly at the wall. The rock was as smooth as ever, betraying no sign of ever containing a tunnel. Steel took a quick look behind him. The second tunnel entrance was also gone, leaving the sole tunnel entrance that led to where possessed Echo had tried to take Mary. Steel grit his teeth, "I don''t like this, not one bit. I have no control over this situation." If there was anything that annoyed him, it was being in an uncontrollable situation. "Let''s try the. . ." Steel held out a hand to stop Mary from speaking. "Later Mary. For now, watch what you say." His eyes shifted across the room, "These walls moved on their own, which means they might also have ears." He didn''t want whatever was messing with them to know about the escape rope. It was still a new item and they hadn''t talked about it inside the tunnel. He only hoped Echo hadn''t had his memories read when he had been possessed. "What are our options Mary?" She pointed to the tunnel, "We seem to have only one barring any drastic action." She had picked up on him not wanting to talk about the rope quickly, "How much longer till your trump card is back?" Steel checked the timer and grimaced, "It still has 5 hours to go; we can''t rely on it to get us out." He eyed the tunnel entrance, "Still, I am curious on why you were the target this time. Any thoughts about it?" She shook her head, "I can think of a multitude, both intentional and circumstantial. What I can say that only the dungeon itself can change its insides permanently. Anyone can damage walls or cast illusions, but those things disappear after a while. The spirit of the dungeon is calling us would be my best guess." She glanced sideways at Steel, "And I have a feeling I know which one of us is the real target." Steel began walking toward the tunnel, "Yeah, if it''s Hunie than hopefully this will be a reunion and nothing else. Not that my luck has ever been that good before." The two of them and Shadefur walked back into the tunnel, Echo still being carried by Steel in his arms. The damage from the battle before was gone, leaving a behind solid walls and floor that led to the staircase. They walked down the staircase, following the winding stairs down deeper into the heart of darkness. The stairs ended abruptly into blackness; no torch lights illuminating the passage beyond. Steel turned his head to Mary and jerked it at the darkness, asking her non-verbally to do something about it. She shrugged and released Whisper into the stairwell, releasing her soft light. "My turn again? Okay then, whatever you need." She said cheerfully, and zoomed to the front to illuminate the way. Her light revealed a short passage beyond the stairwell, and a room beyond the latter. Taking a deep breath, Steel nodded to his two companions and they entered the room. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Like the tunnel, the room was dark; only illuminated by Whisper''s soft light. The room was smaller than any cave they had been through before, but it was still large enough to be the size of two inn rooms. Black crystals illuminated the walls, glittering silently all around them. Steel''s eye, though, was locked onto the crystal formation at the end of the room. It was large and much blacker than he had remembered, but at the center was the familiar dark pink statue that had haunted his dreams. "Hunie." He whispered. At his word, the cavern began glowing all around them as if torches existed. Whisper dived back into Mary''s chest when the lights came on, looking to help her with her mana again since she was no longer needed. Steel put Echo down with Mary and approached the statue. As he got closer, he couldn''t help but notice even her representation made out of crystal was beginning to turn to black. The color invaded her in tiny lines that covered her arms and legs, giving her a spider encased kind of look. He reached up and touched her face with his hand. "(Giggle) that tickles." A voice came out from behind him. He whirled around, but found nothing amiss. Mary''s eyes were wide though, indicating he wasn''t the only one who had heard the voice. He took a calming breath saying, ¡°Who is it?" The voice giggled again, girlish and innocent, and a figure removed itself from the wall of black crystals. It looked like Hunie, but was all black and made of crystal. There was also a strange air around her Steel did not associate with his former companion. "Steel! I knew you''d come back to me. Knew, knew, and knew it all along." The figure sang out, "Happy, happy, so happy you finally came. Hunie happy happy bunny." Steel bit back the tears threatening to form in his eyes. He had no desire to lose control before his suspicions were alleviated. "Is that really you Hunie? How have you been?" He said slowly. The figure smiled and jumped across the floor to him, from 15 feet away. "Been lonely, so lonely. All alone in the dark, dark, dark places. Learned a lot, much more than before too; see I made this." She threw her arms around and danced in a circle, "This is my place now, not lonely anymore nope nope. My place, only my place. . ." An intimidating aura began flowing from her, "You here to steal aren''t you? You here to kill my friends and rob me? No, this is all mine now understand? Everything is me now!" She cackled loudly, echoing everywhere and sending shivers down the group members. Whatever had happened to Hunie, it was clear she has not the same as he once knew. "No Hunie, I''m not here to steal from you." Steel delivered. She frowned and pointed at him, "Liar! You killed my friends!" "They attacked first, so I retaliated. I came here to find you, not steal." The air disappeared and the crystalline Hunie smiled at him. "I knew that of course, yup yup. Always knew you''d come back to me, had to make everything perfect." She nodded and began pacing, "Steel always took care of Hunie, yes. Had to make a good place for him. Always wanting Steel back." Steel gulped, "So, it''s Steel now and not Master?" Instantly, his throat was grasped and squeezed as his feet dangled above the ground. "No one is my master! No one!" The crystal roared at him, eyes wide with madness and hate. Steel gasped and choked for air, desperately trying to breathe. His breath counter appeared and began winding down, informing him of the remaining time before he lost consciousness. With one last look, Hunie dropped Steel onto the floor. He gasped and took in deep breathes. As he recovered, cold hands picked him up and hugged him gently. "It''s okay Steel. I can protect you now, forever and ever. No one will hurt you again. I am the only one who understands you." Steel pushed the figure away with a growl, "You aren''t Hunie! Where is she?" The figure pouted, "I''m Hunie, always sweet and happy happy happy." She giggled, "Stay with me forever Steel, hard and tough and iron." He crossed his arms, "The real Hunie, where is she?" The figure frowned now, making fists with both hands. "Wrong, all wrong, all wrong." She began vibrating slightly, "Why isn''t it right? Who broke the play?" Her eyes narrowed as they moved to Mary, who had been eyeing the exchange nervously and calculatingly. "You!" The dark Hunie began walking toward Mary, "You took him away from Hun. . .me! He''s mine, mine, min, Mine, MINe, MINE!" Dark crystal spears appeared above the dark Hunie as she launched them at her foe. Mary yelped as she dived out of the way with Echo. "Hunie stop!" Steel commanded, grabbing her shoulder. Hunie gave him a dark winning smile, "Don''t worry, I''ll free you Steel. I''ll make sure her spell is broken." She readied another volley of crystal spears. Steel couldn''t let her kill Mary, so he tackled her to the ground. "Stop it Hunie, come back to me!" He shouted as he lay on top of her. The figure merely giggled, "Just as bold as ever! Lay with me now and forever." Steel shot back in instinct, dodging a spear that had been clearly aimed at him. "Really now, do you want me dead too?" He asked. The Hunie paused and frowned. "No, that''s wrong. Killing is for food. Steel was nice, take care of Steel. Right? Take care . . . kill. Forever with me." She smiled at him, "Please die for me." "I refuse." He stated bluntly, blocking a crystal with his shield, "Now stop this Hunie or no carrots for you." He said that last bit on a whim. She flinched, however, and began crying, "Buuuu.....But I like my carrots." She sniffed and rubbed her eyes, "You big meanie!" Steel dived out of the way as a huge volley of spears impacted where he had been standing. "Right, that wasn''t a good idea." He muttered, slowly backing away, "At least some of her mannerisms are the same." As he backed up, his foot knocked against something. He backed into the back wall under Hunie''s statue, and his foot was touching something. He looked down to find the shrine to Milna he had built the last time he was here. The shrine was dusty and untouched, but looked the same as it had before. On a thought, he reached inside and pulled the 4 pieces of heart crystal he had put in before. Each were still pink, but now had a hint of a different color to them. The dark Hunie hissed at them when she saw them. "Put them back!" She screamed at him, "Destroy them!" "Don''t do it!" Mary called from across the room, "Just hurry with the E.R.!" She referred to the escape rope, which the Hunie had no idea about its existence. Steel slipped his own heart crystal out and placed it with the other 4 in his palm. They seemed to glow together, inciting a hiss from the crystal. "Now you die!" The crystal Hunie ran at him at full speed. Having nowhere else to go, Steel activated his defense combo and shielded himself. He waited, but the blow never came. He peeked up to find the dark Hunie hesitating, eyeing the crystal behind him. "Move." She hissed at him, clearly unwilling to destroy the Hunie statue. "Is that the source of your existence?" Steel asked carefully. His only answer was a hiss. "I don''t know what''s going on here, but I promise to help you okay Hunie? I won''t abandon you ever." The crystal''s face glowed with happiness for a moment, before being replaced by hate and madness. "You left me here in the darkness. You left me, left me for dead!" She howled at him, picking him up and throwing him at Mary. He landed on the ground and skidded over to her and Shadefur, who had been softly growling the entire time. "Mary." He coughed, "I think it''s time to go." She pulled the escape rope out and wrapped it around each of their hands and one paw. Steel took one last look at Hunie''s statue. "I''ll be back." He promised. The dark Hunie saw the rope and screamed in fury. The dark crystals around the room began changing into more dark Hunie crystal statues, and they all charged the group. It was too late however, and as Mary called out "Escape!¡± the group disappeared from the room. --------------------------- So, I''m not completely sure how to continue. Couple of good options here you know? Leave and come back, journey for strength to return, clear quickly, teamup. Curing Hunie is definitely a quest, but how hard and how long should it take? Book 2 is almost done too, so this may the resolution I want. So many options, not including Echo''s secret identity and Shelly''s new form. Also, how is the rest of the world? The RRL story is the draft version, so everything is still up for changes. When I finally get to editing and publishing, I''ll be including chapters from some of the other characters like Sarah and Hank. Look forward to it. Thanks for reading and see you guys later! Plans Sorry guys about the nothings I have made regarding this. Don''t worry, it''s not dropped. However, I feel the need for some major rewrite improvements, so no more new stuff til then. Also, It takes a lot of time for rewrites, so It''ll be winter break when I start posting in earnest. :( On a happier note, I''m going to continue writing my other story, Yawnder. It''s a reincarnation story, the origens of the legendary Dr. Falcon, who can be found in other stories on RRL. I deleted the second chapter by accident, lol, but it''ll be out later today. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. Thanks for sticking with me :) New story for the November competition- daily updates Hey guys, Falcon here. Sorry about the lack of work here, but it will be done and better than ever. On a better note, I joined the Writing competition this month with a new story: The Slime dungeon Expect daily updates, sometimes twice a day, and a first book done by the end of the month. Now, Zenith has made a general challenge to write more chapters than you longest book. For me, that''s about 34- so look forward to it. If the series does well, I''ll continue until winter break and do both Hero of Naught and The Slime Dungeon at the same time for you guys. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Hope you enjoy it! Falcon Re: Chapter 1 and Prologue- Beginnings (It''s been a little more than half a year since I wrote the first 2 books for Hero of Naught. I''ve grown some and have now recovered enough to finally begin the rewrite both you readers and I have been waiting for. I''m going to clear the first 8 chapters of Slime Dungeon and rewrite them as well, but I plan on concentrating mostly on this story while editing the first book in TSD for publishing. Thank you to my 4 patreons for their patience, as well as all you readers out there. I''m back) Also, should I delete the old chapters, move them to a new story heading, or leave them here? ------------------------- "What do you want to be?" In a space of infinite blue, an angel floated off the ground as she stared down at the person in front of her. While her question was inviting, her countenance betrayed no indication of real interest as she awaited the answer to her question. The person in front of her wheezed softly, taking in the air as if he were a drowning man. His one good eye glowed with anger as he hissed out his answer. "Someone who can take revenge on everything they hold dear." The angel tilted her head and looked into the distance as if seeing into the future. She nodded once and gazed down at him. "Understood; your answer has been logged and stored for future usage. You will now be taken to the beginners town." "Welcome to Everlife, and may your heart find all that it desires." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "And that class, is the end of your final lesson. It has been a pleasure teaching you this year, and I hope all of you have a wonderful summer." The pleasant looking old man on the screen smiled to his class as the bell rang. "Thank you for your guidance Ai5." The class chorused back happily, than everyone jumped up and ran for the door. The old man chuckled as he watched the students disappear into the corridor, than turned to smile at the last student in the room. "Student Platim, I hope you have a good summer as well." The remaining student finished packing his things and smiled at his synthetic teacher. He was a smaller boy for his age, with short brown hair and brown eyes that glittered with mischief. He wore the standard slack and blazer uniform, but with a turn of his wrist the clothes changed into a more casual jeans and t-shirt. He clicked his tongue as he gazed at his teacher. "I told you sir, it''s Plat, not Platim. Platim is too weird of a name." The old man chuckled, "And I tell you, the name parameters cannot be changed once I have downloaded the student identities into my memory matrix. I''m so glad I chose human development as my vocation; it''s quite amusing watching young ones perform the same actions and expect different results. Why, it is the very definition of insanity." Plat rolled his eyes, "Whatever you say Artificial Intelligence 5637485 of . . ." "The old man winced and pleaded, "Alright, I concede your point for the day. Anyway, don''t you have some appointments to get to?" Plat nodded and slung his backpack onto his shoulder, "That''s right sir. I hope you have a good summer as well." The old man snorted, "While summer may be fun to you humans, for A.I.''s like me it''s a bore. I can''t wait till I get to teach the next patch of youngsters next year; it''ll be a great help to my thesis." Plat nodded and waved back as he exited the room, the monitor shutting off behind him and interrupting the old man in the middle of his rant. He hurried out of the school and headed toward the nearby park, which was directly across from the school building. He ran out to a small group of teens who were huddled under a tree. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. "Oy; hey there guys!" Plat called out happily, "Dia, Reva, Henry!" The trio turned and smiled just as happily as they saw Plat running toward them. When he reached them, they exchanged high-fives and laughed together in excitement. "Yo Plat, we''ve been waiting!" Dia leaned down and picked Plat up in a massive bear hug. Unlike his three friends, Dia was very tall and wide for his age and was a decent athlete on the field. He often expressed himself loudly and didn''t put as much thought into what came next. He was very sweet and loyal, however, and always had his friend''s back when they needed him. Reva giggled as Plat struggled to breathe. "Dia, you''d better let him go before he passes out. Ideally, I''d like to start the summer with all three of you instead of two and a corpse." Reva was the only girl in the group, but there was no way she would be called feminine. She played sports as well, but preferred the track and field to playing with a ball. Sh was also in the top 25% in the grades, making her the smartest in the group as well. Today, she had two ponytails instead of her usual one on the back of her head, making sure the wavy hair would not be mistaken for pigtails. Combined with her ebony skin and purple eyes, Reva was a welcome member of their little group. As Dia released Plat from the obviously friendly hug, the last member walked up and clapped his hand onto Plat''s back. "My main man; how is it going?" Henry smiled and embraced Plat in his own hug. The two had been friends the longest, going back all the way to the start of middle school. Henry was average height, with an easy going grin and a face most girls described as "lazily handsome". He was pretty popular with many of the social circles in the academy and often went on dates. Still, he always prioritized hanging out with the group and making sure they all had a great time. Plat smiled cheekily and pushed Henry back. "I''m quite surprised to see you here Henry; didn''t you have a date today?" Henry coughed awkwardly and smirked, "Well, let''s just say I hooked her up with a man she wouldn''t mind seeing." The other three groaned at this. Henry had the annoying tendency to play match maker whenever he grew tired of the girl he was seeing. It was annoying because the girl involved often didn''t realize she was being "let go" and they had had to make a few get away''s from angry girls; which, while amusing, took up a lot of time while Henry tried to reason with her. Even with his playboy nature well-known, girls still tried to make him theirs and thus the cycle continued. "Are you sure she won''t mind this time? Last time, it was that girl from the tech department and she chased us with her new auto-lock on ink missiles." Reva complained, "My favorite outfit was ruined when that damn ink rewrote the program; now the outfit has permanent ink stains." To illustrate, her clothes shifted into a casual shorts and blouse outfit, but stained black with ink. Henry nodded, "No worries, this time the girl just wanted me to help her get with another guy; no ink missiles, girl volleyball team ambush, or yoga pretzels this time." He quickly changed the subject, "Anyway, we''re wasting time here. Let''s head to the Game Station." Dia rubbed his hands together in excitement, "It''s finally here isn''t it? I''ve been waiting so long for this." "Me too," Reva agreed, "It''s finally time and just perfect for starting the summer with." "Let''s go then!" Plat declared, taking the lead, "To the Game Station!" ------------------------------- A little shorter than the normal length, but it''s getting a little late :p Chapter 2 http://royalroadl.com/fiction/5330 ------->This is the site for the new chapters. I will no longer post new chapters here, leaving it a quiet resting place for an old story. Shhhhh ----------------------- The four friends ran out from the park onto the walkway leading to the downtown area. The academy was located on the outskirts of the city and held the classrooms, park, sports fields, and dorms for the students. The city itself was rather small in comparison, being a small square area with buildings dedicated to the needs of the students. The Game Center was located right in the middle of the city, and was always full of kids eager to try out the newest game or buy classic movies. Plat led the three into the large sales floor and walked straight up to the counter. Plat smiled and greeted the man behind the counter. "Morning Nick, how are things going?" The man, who had been snoring with his ball-cap over his face, snorted and raised his hat in annoyance. Nick was a tall average size man with a hint of chubbiness and short blond hair. He had a light beard and mustache combo and always wore gaming memorabilia t-shirts on his torso. His face lit up when he saw Plat. "If it isn''t my favorite former employee Plat; how ya been?" Plat shook the man''s hand and smiled up at him, "It''s been great sir. I really do appreciate you letting me work here for the job assignment for school. I t was a real blast!" Nick waved him off, "It was nothing kid; in fact I haven''t had a chance to sleep like that since you left." He sighed sadly, "In any case, what brings you here today?" Plat grinned and lowered his voice conspiratorially, "I was wondering if you could hook my friends and I up with the thing I talked to you about before." Nick scratched his beard and leaned back into his chair, his eyes wandering around the air. "Can''t say I know what you''re talking about kid; must be something you thought we agreed on." "Nickkkk," Plat whined, "Come on man, don''t play with me like that." Plat turned to his three friends, who were all holding back grins on their faces. "You guys help me beg here." Reva giggled and covered her mouth, "Sorry Plat, this is your quest; not ours." Plat sighed and returned to look at Nick, who grinned at him. "No worries boy, I remember our little talks." He confirmed, "Just wanted to hear that cute whine again." He winked at Plat, who blushed heavily as his friends guffawed at him from behind. "What kind of grown man takes pleasure in the whining of high school seniors?" Plat challenged angrily. "What kind of high school senior barely breaks 5 feet in height?" Nick challenged with another infuriating grin, "Besides, it''s amusing to see you try to act like an adult when you clearly are still a kid on the inside, kid." Plat rubbed his temples and sighed, forced to give this battle to Nick. His small stature was the bane of his existence and the source of many problems in his life. He shook his head and folded his arms across his chest in an effort to appear impatient. Nick laughed and reached down beneath the counter, pulling out a white bag. "I have four copies right here for you four, though I have to tell you the game itself won''t be active until the servers come online." He warned them, "Feel free to try the included tutorial,but don''t try to enter the game until midday tomorrow. I don''t want the mods the find out I gave out copies early; I have enough trouble as it is with you brats running around here thinking you can get away with anything. Things like that take away from my dreaming time." Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. As he gave them the bag, and alarm began ringing in the Game Center. Nick sighed in frustration and got up from behind the counter. "See what I mean? Idiot brats think they can leave without paying." Two tall androids walked up the counter holding two boys; one was sheepish and the other was angry. "Boys, you should know stealing is bad." Nick began his lecture. The angry boy spit on his shoe and glared, "No one cares you lazy old man! Hurry up and let me go so I can leave this dumb place." The sheepish boy began sweating and shook his head, "I''m sorry Mr. Nick; I won''t do it again." Nick''s eyebrows twitched in annoyance as he continued smiling at the two boys. "Well then, looks like someone hasn''t learned the proper respect for his elders." Nick reached behind the counter and pulled out a see-through plate and began typing on it. Information appeared and disappeared as he scrolled through code and information. He continued smiling as he looked up. "I see we have a Mr. Jimmy and a Mr. Rory here. Mr. Rory, it appears this is your first offence so you can go." The android released the apologetic teen, who ran off and out of the store immediately. Nick continued, "Mr. Jimmy, it appears that this is your third offence in the shopping district and you have been noted as someone in need of . . . help." Jimmy began to look a little nervous as Nick continued to speak, "I see you are on a decent track in the Body classes; yes here it is, a rising star in agility lessons. Now, let''s go ahead and change all your classes to Soul for the next semester." Jimmy turned paler than a ghost at Nick''s words, "You can''t do that! You''re not a teacher, and that would kill my Body score!" Nick chuckled and pulled his hat brim over his eyes, "Yes, I''m sure your coach will be very disappointed, but he''ll just move on to the next so called "rising star" right? In any case, I feel like some good meditation and philosophy classes will be good for you." "Shitty old man, I''ll kill you!" Jimmy''s face was now red as he struggled to free himself from the android''s grasp. Nick held up his hand to his ear, "What''s that? You said you wanted to start as soon as possible? Sure, I''ll go ahead and sign you up for summer school too; the senseis love a proactive student. Andro, you mind escorting our little eager beaver to his new summer quarters?" The android smiled at Nick and winked, dragging the wailing boy behind him and out of the store. Nick grinned and returned to his chair, the hat returning to it''s normal position. "You kids have fun now, and remember to be careful with it. Otherwise I''ll be in trouble, and little Jimmy will have some company." Slightly pale, the four chorused their thanks and quickly left the Game Center as fast as possible. ------------------------------ Again, shorter than what I write normally. As I return to typing, these chapters will get longer, don''t worry. Hope you enjoyed this