《Darkstory》 Prologue - Bloodbath Prologue A scream bled into the air. The voices of distress mixed with the scent of despair, brought the monsters excitement. From within the cover of the trees, they approached the small clearing where over twenty well-equipped adventurers stood. The monsters closed in. Great creatures with blood-red eyes growled hungrily as they ripped apart human flesh. Eager to kill. Eager to feed. The small group of adventures quickly dwindled. Blood splashing on the grass and glistening like dew. It was a bad night for the humans. Unlucky that somehow they ended up being surrounded by beasts. Closed off from escape and outnumbered they lost any chance of survival. Blood kept spilling. Spilt until only one last blood-bag remained. Fear stricken, a tear-stained girl held a longsword within her trembling hands. She could feel it now, the moment when she would be ripped apart, the pain of death would come. The fear made her numb. She couldn¡¯t breathe, her lungs caught within a spider-web spun by terror. ¡°I¡­.don¡¯t want¡­.to die¡­.¡± She whispered meekly. They closed in. The beasts could smell the scent of her blood now. Four of the strongest Monsters eyed each other. Each vying for a chance to be the one to taste her flesh. They all pounced. The sound of flesh being torn apart resounded in the air. The girl¡¯s body was thrown to one side. Then¡­.. The girl opened her eyes. ¡°What¡­I¡¯m¡­..alive?¡± The girl looked around, under the moonlight she could barely see¡­..See the corpse of a monster lying close to where she had fell. The monster''s body had been cleaved in two, blood was pouring out from within, staining the ground. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. A gentle breeze gusted through, carrying the strong scent of blood and scattering it across the battlefield. A loud Thud rang out, the girl looked towards the source and saw a¡­. A woman garbed in a large hooded cloak standing there. Next to her was a giant double-sided great-axe held in one hand, with the blade resting against the ground She was over six feet tall and was entirely dressed in black. Her face was hidden and if not for her physique it would be impossible to tell if she was a man or a woman. A cold voice spoke. ¡°Leave. Or die.¡± The beasts surrounding the two females slowly began backing away. Then, they all turned around and disappeared into the forest. ¡°I know you.¡± The tall woman said. She lifted her axe and fastened it on her back with a belt. Then she approached the girl collapsed on the floor. ¡°You¡¯re that famous gamer, Kim right? Your father is that sword-maker. People say that you¡¯re one of the best gamers out there.¡± Contempt could be heard in the tall woman¡¯s voice. ¡°You¡¯re strong compared to most but just being a little strong in this game won¡¯t get you anywhere.¡± The woman knelt in front the girl and whispered in her ear. ¡°To thrive in this world, requires a hint of madness.¡± The hooded girl stood back up and then with a fleeting look remarked ¡°You¡¯ve soiled yourself. How disgusting.¡± Kim burned with shame as the retreating figure of the tall women was etched into her memory. A muffled sob escaped her lips. Clouds enveloped the moon. Shrouding the world in darkness. Chapter 1 - Skill CHAPTER 1 It started with a fascination. A fascination that slowly morphed into an obsession with a five letter word. Five letters, put together, making a word that would change everything. A word has the power to change you I¡¯ve come to realize. With me just that word was enough. Skill. Skill is everything to me. To me it means to be better than your best. To break past your limits. To evolve into something that only you can become, and only you will ever become. I was 10 years old when it happened. By chance I stumbled upon a video game that had me captivated from the moment I saw the 32 dollar game box in the superstore. From LIZZARD gaming, World of Corecraft. A game that at the time was played by 39 million people around the globe, for a simple one-time payment you could adventure online in an immersive and visually astounding world from your computer at home. I played and played and played, my friendships stagnated as I spent every waking moment away from school rushing to play my game. My parents grew disappointed but with my constant promises of good grades and begging, I was allowed to keep pushing how much I could play. For four years that was my entire life. I¡¯ve come to realize that people play with different mind-sets when it comes to online games. Some decided to enjoy it casually, focused on their own enjoyment rather than anything else. Others desired the company of others and spent their time socializing. There are also people who find small parts of the game and spend days focused on it, such as obtaining that one rare item or finishing every side-quest. Then there¡¯s the type of player who has only one goal in his mind. To be the best. To be better than any other player. That was me. I slaved away, often doing tasks over and over again. Completing repetitive content simply to get an edge over all the other players. All my focus was to be better, better than I could be. At that young age I spent time researching information about the game, fully focused only on Corecraft. Even during bed-time, my thoughts would remain thinking about aspects of the game and theorizing intuitive ways to use abilities in the game. Then at the age of fourteen, I became someone that was rumored to be the best. In social circles and online forums, rumors began spreading of an assassin-class max level player who was debated to be the best player in the world. The character known as <>. Assassins were infamous for being a class that although had a lot of potential, could never be fully realized in a professional level due to the difficulty of the class. Assassin game-play was focused on reading your opponents and shutting them down with crowd control abilities or nullifying threats with evasive maneuvers. Compared to the other classes, there was far too much mechanical prowess required to achieve good results. Thus it became an abandoned class by other players, often regarded as the joke of Corecraft. That was before me. All across the world people became shocked as they saw that the world¡¯s highest rated 1v1 arena player was an assassin. Videos on u-tube of professional players fighting against me popped up everywhere, players getting defeated by an assassin that played like never seen before. They even nicknamed me ¡°The Skygod¡± Slaving away for four years, somewhere along the line I had morphed into someone obsessed with becoming the best. Perhaps I am not normal. No, I¡¯m certain that I am not normal. Why do I take so much pleasure from being the best at something? Why does it mean so much to me? What is this yearning in my heart that compels me to take things too far? I don¡¯t think it will ever become enough. Why do I strive to transform myself into something¡­. Inhuman. Those four years were the best of my life. Then everything changed. Because life is a vicious and cruel mistress. One that rips your happiness away. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- On a cold sunrise, shadows crept away as the sky brightened. The sun glowed eagerly, painting the horizon in warm colors. Today on this cold Saturday a young man sat on a steel bench belonging to a lonely bus station in Hamilton Canada. The youth wore a ragged and worn-out dark green jacket. The rest of his attire was even worse for wear. Ugly sneakers with blotches of caked mud and a dirt-stained pair of jeans that alluded to a lack of proper upkeep. His face was unshaven and his hair disheveled. To those who marveled at rugged appearances, his face was not completely unappealing but considering his attire most would find him repulsive. Attractiveness after all is greatly tied to grooming and clothing, and he looked like a homeless person. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. If any passerby were to take a close look at the young man¡¯s face they would certainly conclude that he had a blank lost look, seeming as if his mind was filled with incoherent thoughts and ponderings that usually belong to the minds of the drug-addled. But dare to look closer at the young mans expressionless face and you would notice that his eyes were simmering. Not ablaze with intent and purpose but somberly simmering with a promise of great willpower. Simmering with emotions of anger, exhaustion, worry and sadness. His thoughts trapped him in the past. Replaying the same memories over and over. In the distance the sounds of an approaching bus shook the young man out of his thoughts. He looked up as the bus loudly came to a stop in front of him and opened its sliding doors. The youth walked inside and began to fish into his pockets. Slowly, one by one, change was retrieved and then dispensed into a coin machine. A green light on the machine glowed brightly, signalling that he had paid enough. A small ticket appeared from a slit on the side of the machine, which the young man promptly grabbed and stuffed into his pockets. ¡°Tickets good for 2 hours¡± said the bus driver With a nod, the youth shuffled up to a seat and sat down. After a moment the bus roared to life and took off once more. A few minutes passed and again the young man drifted into the past. It called him. Haunted him. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Have you ever felt it within you? A sudden thirst for tension. A sudden desire to change everything. Change back into when life was fun. Or change everything into something completely new. I see a place in my dreams. I would do anything to go to that place. A place that me brings me back to that feeling that I remember. Now the breath that I take seems so pointless. Every day it¡¯s the same over and over again. Look for food¡­ Find a safe place to sleep¡­Stay away from those people¡­..those people that make me do those things¡­¡­. And every day¡­... every day you dream¡­..an endless waking dream¡­..lost in those memories¡­¡­of when you were warm¡­.and happy¡­¡­..and you had them¡­¡­. Perhaps it¡¯s short-minded of me to say this but is it not particularly cruel when life gives you good fortune only to wrest it out of your hands? Leaving you broken and remembering the past. Leaving you wishing more than anything that you could just go back, back to when you felt like you meant something. Oh god there¡¯s that crushing feeling again. The feeling that leaves me breathless. Why did you have to die? Why did you have to die? Why? Why did you leave me alone? I didn¡¯t have anything besides you. I shudder, shivering not from the cold but from the dread that the emptiness inside me brings. I need¡­¡­I need to stop living in the past. I can see what it¡¯s doing to me¡­.my memories festering within my head like a cancer. Slowly losing my humanity¡­.becoming something that lives yet does not live. It¡¯s been four years now since they died. Maybe it would be easier to move on if everything wasn¡¯t just¡­¡­..wasn¡¯t just¡­¡­.. So fucked. ¡°We have arrived at Mcnab terminal¡± blared an automated message from the bus¡¯s speakers Shaken from my bitter thoughts, I got up from my seat and walked out into the cold Canadian weather. Today was the biggest day of my life. I could change everything today, I just hoped to god that it would go smoothly. Today I turned 18 years old, which meant that I could finally claim my parent¡¯s life insurance. It wouldn¡¯t be much but it should be enough for me to rent a place for a year and clean myself up. I couldn¡¯t get a job without proper ID or a proof of address so I would need money for all the identification, mainly Social Security and health insurance. I already had a bank account so at least that wasn¡¯t a problem. Thankfully I managed to not lose my passport over the years and kept it with myself. Which means that I had the ID necessary to technically get my parents life insurance and get my life back on track. I was done being homeless. I was done being cold. I was done being hungry. I was done being lost. Today it will all change. Chapter 2 - The beginning CHAPTER 2 It¡¯s been 6 months since I somehow managed to get my parents life insurance money. I used the money to try to get a job and finally I caught a break. I was hired. A TV center in downtown Hamilton hired me. I work as a janitor, I¡¯ve got two shifts 4am-7am and then later at night from 6pm-9pm. I work alongside 2 janitors both of which are kind elderly men. They spend dinner and breakfast breaks playing poker together and let me join in. There¡¯s 3 main floors to the building and I am in charge of the top floor. It¡¯s usually the busiest so I have to be very discreet and not bother any of the people as I¡¯m working or else I could get fired. The center itself is pretty amazing, they host TV shows that are broadcasted all over the world on an international online Channel Called GAMENATION. They invite pro-gamers and other famous people from the gaming world, some I remember back from when I used to play Corecraft and others are completely new. It seems that now days they all play a different game though, some game that¡¯s known for using VR tech successfully called Darkstory. I find it kind of ironic that the job I got was so closely related to my obsession from back then, what are the chances of that happening huh? Even though I got this job I¡¯ve been stressed out by my financial situation. I had been homeless for four years and there¡¯s many things that had changed that I didn¡¯t notice. Ever since the current prime minster got elected. Rent and living prices have gone through the roof. I got 20,000 dollars from my parent¡¯s life insurance and I¡¯ve already used a lot of it. It costs me 2,000 a month to pay just rent, and I live in a worn down one bedroom apartment with a kitchen, living-room and bathroom. I couldn¡¯t find any apartments with a lower price than mine, 2-grand a month was the cheapest deal I found after over a week of searching. 10 to 15 years ago I wouldn¡¯t have to worry so much. Back then there was a lot of government aid provided for the poor. Health insurance was free. Getting a Social Security number was free too, now it cost a large payment to get one. Paying to get my SS number and health insurance cost me about 10% of my money Now as an ex-homeless I¡¯m worrying that I¡¯ll be homeless again. Minimum wage is 7 dollars an hour. I make 840 dollars a month. I can¡¯t even pay for rent every month just from my job. I tried to find other work during the day between my shifts but I didn¡¯t get lucky. I¡¯ve already applied, begged and asked every place for a job around me. No degree, No qualifications or trade-skills, I don¡¯t even have a high school diploma With food, bus fare and rent I pay 2050 a month. I don¡¯t eat well either, most of my food isn¡¯t much of a step up from soup kitchens. I need to find a way to make a little over a 1000 more dollars a month before I run out of money. And fast. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It was early in the morning as Jennifer Crossly, world famous TV reporter was in the women¡¯s bathroom fixing her hair. Although her make-up team repeatedly forbid her from messing with her hair, she always snuck into the bathroom before appearing live to give it a proper adjusting herself. While she was immersed in her daily ritual, another lady walked in. ¡°Jenny! It¡¯s so nice to meet you in person!¡± A small women came up to Jennifer and they hugged briefly, Jennifer then excitedly said ¡°Kim! Oh my God I¡¯m so happy I get to finally see you! I¡¯m a big fan, I remember the first time I watched your guild¡¯s 40 man raid against that Named Monster! I was breath-taken by how well you played, truly an honor meeting the descendant of the greatest swordsmith in china and one of the best Darkstory players!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not even close to the top level, I can¡¯t really call myself one of the best. There are God-like players out there, they never coming out into the public but they exist. I am only in the top 1000th highest level players but the difference between me and the number 1 is like heaven and earth.¡± ¡°Oh come on don¡¯t be modest! Are you nervous for today¡¯s interview? Just talk to me like normal and everything¡¯s going to be fine, I promise.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not too nervous ¡° ¡°By the way, have you heard about the discount LIZZARD is offering to everyone all over the world? To celebrate their one year anniversary they¡¯re making it so for a limited time you can install a VR capsule and buy the game for fifth of its original price!¡± ¡°Yeah people all over the world who couldn¡¯t afford the 5,000 dollar price to play the game are going to buy it now that it¡¯s only 1,000 dollars. I¡¯m expecting that as soon as Lizzard¡¯s offer goes out tomorrow, even more people are going to be playing all over the world. It¡¯s already amazing that 120 million people play Darkstory. That number is going to jump up by millions after this Jenny.¡± ¡°Yeah and considering that if you¡¯re good enough you can make a living just from the game, a lot of people will want to play it¡± The two ladies continued chatting amongst themselves before departing together to begin their interview. The door next to the women¡¯s bathroom opened and out came a young janitor from the men¡¯s toilet with a mop and bucket. He kept his head down and walked to a staircase leading to the lower floors. From there he went down to the first floor, then into a janitor¡¯s closet. He changed out of his work clothes as his shift had just ended and left the building. As he was leaving the building, you could see a hopeful twinkle in the young man¡¯s eyes. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -1 week later This may be a crazy idea. There is a game called Darkstory that has a cash transfer system hosted by the company itself. You can trade gold for cash to players through an anonymous auction house system. For an average player the auction house wouldn¡¯t be of much use but to a high level player, being ahead of the curve meant that you could reap profits from trading gold for cash. From my experience in online games, earning game-currency was all about being ahead of everyone and playing efficiently. Which meant that if I bought Darkstory even though the game came out a year ago, if I caught up to everyone else and then even further surpassed them I would be able to make a living off it. But catching up¡­..and even going ahead of all the players would require skill. I would be betting everything on the fact that I could become really good at Darkstory. If I failed¡­..in a few months I wouldn¡¯t be able to pay rent¡­¡­If that happened everything would go downhill. I would end up homeless. -Knock knock knock- I heard shuffling outside my door, my delivery had arrived. I got up from my beaten chair that I had bought from a second-hand store called good-will, and walked over to the front door of my apartment. I peeked through the peephole on my door and found two deliverymen standing outside with a cart containing a huge box. I opened the door ¡°Hello is this the residence of a Mr. Skyler Valeri?¡± ¡°Yes that would be me¡± I quietly mumbled. ¡°We¡¯re going to need to see ID and would like you to sign here on this delivery form, we are employed by LIZZARD to both delivery and debrief all customers who buy VR-tech capsules for use.¡± I turned around and left to get my health insurance card from my room. Shortly after I gave it to them and they confirmed that I was indeed Mr. Skyler, they then entered my apartment with the cart. ¡°I would like to inform you that we can also set-up the capsule for free of cost if you do not want to do it yourself¡± ¡°Please go ahead then. I think here in the living room would be best.¡± I replied. With a nod, the men began cutting the box open and placing a large man-sized machine in the corner of the room. ¡°We would like to inform you Mr. Skyler that LIZZARD is not liable for any mental or physical changes that occur from use of this VR-tech. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.Also please note that one minute in the real world translates into 5 minutes in the virtual one. Also, the capsule can be used as a replacement to sleep but every 4-5 days about 8 hours of actual sleep is needed or mental fatigue and health problems will occur.¡± ¡°Additionally in any case that a malfunction happens while the machine is in use there is a safety system built in that will forcefully eject you out of VR. Please discontinue further use and immediately call tech-support on the number provided and your machine will be replaced or repaired free of cost if your warranty is still active. Your warranty can also be renewed after it becomes inactive after a year for a minimal payment of 234 dollars.¡± ¡°Also Since you have bought the Darkstory package which comes with the game pre-installed into the capsule, I would like to inform you that LIZZARD takes no responsibility of any mental trauma caused by the game. The game¡¯s best selling point is the fact that it very closely replicates real life. If you are experiencing any kind of distress you are advised that you discontinue further use of any VR-tech and seek out professional advice from a phycologist before continuing your adventure in Darkstory.¡± ¡°umm thanks¡­¡± I muttered The most important thing I got from that speech was that 5 minutes in the game only meant 1 minute in real-life. That could be huge! Considering that I could also play the game instead of sleep and play it between my shifts, I could play Darkstory for about¡­..16 hours every day! And 16 hours is only the real-life time¡­In game that would be¡­..80 hours! I went into my living room and sat in front of a small coffee table that I used as a dining table and thought about the things I would do in the future, I was going to able to play a game again! I felt filled with nervous excitement. I knew that buying this game could end up being a huge waste of money, I was working against a timeline, and I really would run out of money in a few months. But I didn¡¯t have to earn 1,000 dollars a month right of the bat, every little bit I could make would help delay the moment I couldn¡¯t pay for rent anymore. After a few hours the delivery men finished setting up the capsule, after going through the safety measures and proper use of the capsule, they both left and I was once again alone in my apartment. Thankfully since today was Sunday and I didn¡¯t have work and could start playing the game today. I felt excited. Bubbling with energy I entered the capsule and closed the see-through door in front of me. Then I put on the in-built headgear device and turned on the machine by the button on a panel to the side. ¡°Initializing dream space, please relax, keep your eyes open and look directly into our display while we transfer your awareness to virtual reality.¡± Said a monotone voice. A weird feeling took over me, a white space was shown on my display while at the same time I felt that I was being¡­.being pulled into it¡­. Suddenly I felt drowsy Then all of a sudden I became alert, as after the small moment where I was drowsy had passed, I was in an entirely different place. I was in a large empty white room. I didn¡¯t feel as if I was dreaming at all, the disconnected feeling that you usually get while sleeping wasn¡¯t there. Instead everything felt extremely realistic. I moved around the white room, my sense of touch, even my sense of smell and taste were all there. It was as if I was in the real world. ¡°Hello my name is VR-COM1 and welcome to your own VR-space, this is the first place you will be brought to upon entering the Virtual Reality. Please note that standard issue capsules only come with this white room, any additional programs must be installed for you to use them. I have noticed program Darkstory in your directory, would you like to launch Darkstory?¡± ¡°Umm yes, I would¡± ¡°Launching Darkstory, you will be re-directed shortly.¡± The white room faded away and then I found myself in a completely different room, this one had wooden floorboards, and a low wooden ceiling. A large mirror was on one side of the room and the other end had a closed door. Then suddenly, a women¡¯s voice sounded off in my mind. ¡°Welcome to Darkstory! Today is February, 16th 2032, Darkstory was launched approximately a year ago from LIZZARD gaming! The same company that brought you other great games such as Cardstone, Diablog, Suncraft, World of Corecraft and more! Working alongside another Japanese game company known as To-Software, which have their own great game titles such as the Blood souls series and Demonbourne, we created the first ever internationally successful VR-MMORPG. The vision behind the development of this game was to make something both realistic in its game-play and Visual style! What happens if humans have to fight monsters with swords in real life? Well now you can find out!¡± ¡°Now then please make your avatar! A mirror has been provided! Simply say out loud what you want to change and it will automatically be applied to your appearance. Please note that the only features you can change in your appearance are; Age, weight, height, Hair color and skin embellishments!¡± ¡°Additionally Age parameters for you at the age of 18 are set to only allow an increase in 15 years and a decrease in 5. Skin options such as hiding or adding scars and removing acne or spots are available to you!¡± I looked at the reflection of myself and was surprised to see how identical it was to how I looked. It showed a 6-foot young man with European skin (an inheritance from my dad¡¯s grandfather) staring at the mirror. My hair was black. My eyes were hazel with light gray edges and an orange ring around my pupil. I didn¡¯t have any acne though, thankfully my skin was not prone to it. ¡°I¡¯ll go with how I look¡± ¡°Next you can decide your in-game Name! Please note that Darkstory has a very different naming system than other games, only your first-name, middle-name or last-name can be chosen for your in-game name. This does mean that your name could be identical to many others but fear not! Similar to the real world, having a name identical will not be much of an issue, additionally a number will be provided and attached to your game ID making your ID completely unique!¡± I thought back to when I first bought the game. The employees told me that they required a Copy of your passport and one additional proof of ID, I guess this is why. They wanted people to play with characters using their real names. ¡°Umm, I¡¯ll just go with Skyler then, that¡¯s S-K-Y-L-E-R¡± ¡°Congratulations! You have completed your character creation! Please note that each different player starts with different stats depending on their muscle mass and body assessment! This gives a real advantage to players that train their bodies outside of Darkstory and come into the game! There are 4 main stats in Darkstory. Agility, Strength, Intellect and Stamina, only Intellect is a stat that remains completely unaffected by your real world experience! Please note that stats added from the real world only work during character creation. If you are to increase your strength in the real world and come back to the game, no additional points will be added! The base for all characters will be 0 stat points for every stat at level one, additional points are added depending on your real world specs! Also you are given one stat point every level you gain that can be freely added to your character!¡± ¡°That will be all for your tutorial! Note that there is an item in the game called the information bracelet that can answer questions on the game based on the content of the question, there are four levels of questions. Level 1 questions are beginner class questions and are free! Level 2 questions and upwards will deduct in-game currency to tell you the answer! You can buy the bracelet for 1 silver at any general goods trader in the world!¡± ¡°Do you wish to finalize your avatar? Please note that once finalized you will never be able to create another character, characters cannot be deleted and you are only allowed one! Say Yes if ready, Say No if you want to continue character customization!¡± I processed the information the tutorial lady just told me, then after a moment of thought I whispered ¡°Yes¡± Chapter 3 - Vensye, the city of rivers -Chapter 3 After finishing my character creation I promptly left through a door and arrived in a room with a giant window and a staircase leading downwards. I approached the window and saw an amazing sight. A large city lay before me, with many different sized stone buildings and wooden houses. The city also displayed crisscrossing channels of water. People also littered the cobblestone streets, standing at stalls or walking from place to place. Above the window lay a golden plack with the words -VENSYE THE CITY OF RIVERS - embedded in the gold. The city reminded me of other cities belonging to fantasy games and books. It was not an original idea but was breathtaking all the same. The contrast of the rivers, the stone structures, the wooden houses and the trees / grassy-areas within the city all formed together to make a beautiful scene. I noticed that I was within a tower. Eager to begin, I hurried down the staircase to arrive at the bottom of the tower. A large open door beckoned me to the outside world. I left the tower, and sounds of people talking filled the air. ¡°Selling Leather armor! Cheap leather armor here!¡± ¡°Anyone got any Wolf fangs? Willing to buy wolf fangs!¡± ¡°Need two more for leveling, doing marsh outskirts route! Level 26 or over please!¡± ¡°Selling hard-leather wrist guards! Really rare and cheap! Only taking offers over 50 silver!¡± Enamored by the atmosphere of the city, I walked around taking the sights in. Small children could be seen playing tag within a park. Archways and bridges could be seen everywhere. After a few minutes of walking around enchanted by the city, I decided to sit down on a bench and start exploring the interface. Unlike other games that had things like health bars and names over people within your vision, Darkstory was unique in the way it tackled the need for interface information like status effects, inventory and health. I looked at my hands, on both the back of my hands and my palms, glowing text and information was shown. The back of my left hand had a glowing red 100% placed in the center, from what I read in the information booklet that came with the game, this was something called blood-health. The inside of my left hand had a small table with numbers and short words. Level ¨C 1 Agi ¨C 11 Stam ¨C 7 Str ¨C 3 Int ¨C 0 It looks like I had a lot of agility, that¡¯s perfect. I was planning on playing like I did in other games and focusing on agility and speed. It was a little disappointing that my strength was so low but it made sense since I was a sickly homeless person for so long, and even now I didn¡¯t eat much. I wasn¡¯t completely clear on how all the stats work. How much does 11 agility affect my speed in combat? Where would I find out how it works? Oh that reminds me! I need to set my goals to find a weapon and then begin killing monsters for enough money to buy an information bracelet! Information bracelets are super necessary from what I remembered. Unlike other online games, Darkstory had almost all information available to you in the game directory. Some information would be blocked off by fee¡¯s but the game developers wanted to make sure that the difficulty in the game was not in how there was a lack of understanding in how everything worked, but rather how hard the combat is. Now, looking at the inside of my right hand I could see three icons. The icons reminded me of other games, the bag shaped icon probably meant inventory, the other two meant friends-list and log-out. The back of my right hand had no glowing text or icons on it, but from what the guide told me, this is where status effects and target information would be displayed. Looking back at the inventory icon I pressed it with my finger. A female voice sounded out inside my head *Inventory empty* A little unsettled by the voice, I realized that of course Darkstory would have a notification system of some sort. Well if my inventory was empty then didn¡¯t that mean that¡­¡­I had no weapon? That¡¯s horse-shit. Well I guess that means this is the first game where I start without a weapon, and what I was wearing wasn¡¯t to amazing either. I had brown trousers and leather shoes that both looked new. Additionally I was wearing a full-sleeves white cloth-shirt with cuffs. On my cuffs I noticed a small circle with an (I) icon. I put my finger on it and then glowing text appeared on the back of my right hand. {--New condition ¨C Cloth shirt ¨C Defense rating (2)--} Well that¡¯s cool, again it seems like all interface options were built to be in-world interactive. What I could see was identical to the real world. No floating health bars. No floating menu screens. I guess that made it so the game didn¡¯t interfere with your immersion, even the glowing information on your hands could be role-played to be some sort of ancient magic. The only thing that felt out of place was the voice that went off in my head. I think it could be disabled though, I remember reading about how a lot of customization options existed for people who wanted Darkstory to feel just like real life. Done with sitting around and figuring things out, I decided it was time to find a weapon. I went up to a tall bearded guy sitting at a stall selling armor and asked him ¡°Ummm sorry to bother you but could I have a moment of your time to ask you some questions? I just started playing Darkstory and was wondering if you could help me find a weapon so I could go out and level¡± "Level?" he scoffed The bearded man looked at me with a bored expression before sighing dramatically. ¡°Listen here kid, I used to be an aspiring adventurer like you before I took a claw to the knee. Now I sit around making shit and then selling my shit because it makes more money than doing something stupid like fighting those beast fuckers. You should just do the smart thing and apply as a merchant or crafter at the guild-centers. They give you a bit of cash to start out and then just do errand quests till you make enough money to buy materials or set-up a trade. If the words that are coming out of my mouth mean jack-shit to you and you''re just gonna do whatever the fuck you want, then go to the adventurers guild and sign up. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.You¡¯re going to get a weapon or some shit for free and then you can go out and get yourself killed like all the other idiots who want to kill monsters. Now fuck off, I¡¯m trying to sell shit here.¡± ¡°Thank you so much¡± I replied. Well then, that kind guy sure did help me out! Time to go find the adventurers guild! As I was walking away I heard a yell behind me ¡°HEY YOU STUPID FUCK-WIT, THAT¡¯S THE WRONG WAY. THE GUILD CENTER¡¯S EAST, NOT WEST.¡± ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - 1 hour later Well this is embarrassing. It took me an hour to find the guild center. This city is easy to get lost in, lots of alleys and roads going everywhere. The guild center was this massive plaza with three separate sections. The merchants guild section had an intricate and well-designed water-fountain featured in front of the main building, which was a tall sky reaching structure. Easily the tallest building in the city, the merchants guild also had many people coming and going. On the other side was the crafters guild, which consisted of many different work-shops and establishments. Having one main building in the center, the crafters guild was open to all sorts of different professions. Alchemists, tailors, blacksmiths, leather-workers and many more. Then in the center of the plaza was the adventurers guild. Easily the guild with the least amount of traffic, few people could be seen sitting outside on the benches near the guild. One medium sized building was all that consisted of the adventurer¡¯s guild. Feeling courageous I strode past the entrance gate labeled - ADVENTURERS GUILD - and went inside. Inside an environment belonging to a bar greeted me. Over to the left were couches and chairs positioned around tables. Up ahead of them was a bar, stools were positioned in front of a counter. From the bar, a lady dressed in a blouse and corset was bar-tending. A large amount of bottles and bar-tools lay on another counter behind her. The guild only had a few heavily-built men seated inside. They had large swords, shields and chain-mail armor lying by their sides, drinking somberly. On the right side of the guild however, were two booths both attended by women similarly dressed as the one at the bar. I went up to the booth and said to the worker, ¡°excuse me, I would like apply to be an adventurer¡± ¡°Please sign this form of consent. This form states that you are officially endorsed by the adventurers guild and will be added to our world-wide ranking system, although your name will be hidden you will be given a rank based on your level. The higher your rank, the more accommodations the adventurers guild will make for you! Top 5000 players will receive a monthly salary of 5 gold. The top 1000 players will be awarded with VIP privileges! Also all adventurers will have their own magical storage. Arrive at any of the three adventurer guild centers and you can access a storage box that contain all items placed inside. Please be warned that the storage does have a limit.¡± ¡°Additionally all new adventurers are allowed to pick second-hand weapons from our selection. Do you wish to pick a weapon?¡± ¡°umm, yes¡± I quickly read through and signed the form. ¡°Exit out of the building from the main entrance and circle around the back, there you will find a man named Randy sitting in-front of a tool-shed. Please give him this ticket and you will be allowed to get your weapons.¡± I got up and took a good look at the NPC, she seemed so lifelike¡­..She even had human-like facial expressions and mannerisms. Then I left the building and followed the attendant¡¯s directions, shortly arriving at the back. An old man with a weathered face sat on a chair looking at the wall. I went up to him gave him the ticket. Without a word he took the ticket and opened a shed behind him with a key, then he said ¡°You can take two things outta there. No more than two.¡± I walked into the shed and saw a variety of weapons. Swords, shields, axes, maces, daggers. I went up to a sword and lifted it. Heavy. Disappointingly I set it down, yeah, I wouldn¡¯t be able to fight with swords. I wasn¡¯t strong enough. Looks like daggers it is, I could go for short swords but I wouldn¡¯t gain much from using them. My attacking speed would just be slowed down from the extra weight. A bad trade just for a little more reach. I picked up two daggers, Oh, There was a small (I) icon on the hilt of the daggers, similar to the icon on my shirt and other clothes. After pressing it the following information was shown. {-- Battle Scared ¨C Iron Dagger ¨CAttack rating (1)--} The other dagger showed the same information. It seems like there is some sort of item condition system, my shirt is in new condition and these daggers are battle scared. Maybe the condition effected the performance of the weapon? Also it was evident that the weapons were worse for wear, chipped and rusted the daggers were far from their prime. Despite the bad condition of my weapons I felt eager. Nothing could affect the great mood I was in. I was in another world! It was like I was playing a game in real life! This¡­.this could be it. What I was searching for all along. It could even be the answer to my money problem! For the first time since my parents died I felt hopeful The future could be¡­.. It could be fun again. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Skyler approached the grassy outskirts of Vensye. The outskirts were home to two types of beasts. The deer and the dogs. Seeming to be simple cannon fodder and practice for new players, in truth they were actually known as the first trial. Also dubbed as the dream crushers, the deer and the dogs had caused countless adventurers to return to the city. Bloody and broken. Chapter 4 - Dogs -Chapter 4 *Leaving safe zone, entering combat zone* A short distance away from the city walls, the notification rang out from inside my head. This voice would take some getting used to. I was surrounded by a grassy plain, scattered around me I could see¡­.deer and dogs, the dogs would periodically attack the deer. Each dog was unique, some were bigger, some smaller. Different colors of fur wrapped around each different animal. Even the deer were distinguishable. They mostly stayed in packs and from what I could see only a few deer strayed away from a pack. Those few deer would usually get picked off by a dog. How odd. It all felt so strange, the dogs would chase the deer but immediately back away if they couldn¡¯t wound or kill them before they managed to flee to pack of deer. Although each dog seemed more formidable than the deer, I felt as if attacking a deer would be more troublesome. A feeling in my gut told me that the deer would group up and attack me if they saw me hurting a fellow deer. Otherwise why would a dog back away once its prey ran close enough to a pack of deer? Pack of deer? Aren¡¯t dogs supposed to work in packs too? This is all so strange. Well better to not question it, I¡¯m sure the game developers had some sort of idea when they made these creatures¡­.. I approached a brown-furred dog carefully, armed with both my weapons I proceeded to engage it in combat. As soon as the dog saw me, it snarled ferociously, turned its body towards me and swiftly pounced at me. It was fast! In the blink of an eye it was within striking range, somewhat flustered I dodged backwards. Following my movement, the dog continued its charge and lunged for my throat. ¡°ARG!¡± I managed to get my hand up and protect my neck, but it bit into my arm and blood splattered onto the dogs teeth. Re-focusing, I stabbed downward with the dagger in my other hand and plunged it into the dog¡¯s neck. Killed instantly, the dead dog still had its teeth still embedded within my arm. Wheezing with pain, I pried its mouth open with my other hands and threw the corpse on the ground. I looked at the numbers on the back of my left hand and noticed that my blood-health had dropped from 100% to 92%. The number then dropped to 91%. Looks like I needed to stop the bleeding or I could lose all my health. I didn¡¯t understand all the intricate details of combat as not much had been mentioned in the guidebook. I would have to fight blindly till I made enough money to buy an information bracelet. Speaking of which! I should have gained some money for killing that dog! Wait, how to I check how much money I have? I looked down at my right hand and pressed the inventory icon with my finger This time instead of a voice saying ¡°inventory empty¡± glowing text appeared on my right palm. {1 copper --- 0/20 slots in use} 1 copper? Does that mean I need to kill¡­..a hundred dogs before I can buy an information bracelet? That¡¯s a little stupid. Wait how do I check my experience? I looked at both my hands and noticed a small black colored percentage on the back of my left hand, under my blood-health that showed 1% That must be my experience? All this information on my hands was getting confusing. Okay so left hand back, blood-health and experience. Left hand palm, stats and level. Right hand back shows nothing unless I look at an item or get hit by status-effects. Whatever that means. Also, I could apparently target things too? Target information was also supposed to show up on the back of my right hand. Right hand palm has three icons, inventory, friends-list and logout. Also, if I pressed the inventory icon, the other icons would fade and my inventory would pop-up. That¡¯s pretty neat, it¡¯s easy to use and once I get the hang of it, I don¡¯t see how it would hinder me in battle. I could see my health, status-effects and target information just from the backs of my hands. Which meant if I was wielding a weapon, I wouldn¡¯t have to drop it to see those things. Honestly they were the only things that seemed important for combat anyways. Maybe I would need to open my inventory in combat? Well I don¡¯t think it would be much of an issue. I glanced down at my blood-health and noticed it dropped down to 90%. Shit! I was so busy thinking about everything I forgot I needed to stop the bleeding. Umm, let¡¯s see. How do I stop the bleeding again? Maybe I should head back to the city? Blood-health 91% Wait what, it just went down to 90% and now it¡¯s showing 91%? How did that happen? What the fuck? How does this shit work? I seriously need to get that information bracelet. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Well apparently even though I was clearly still bleeding I wasn¡¯t going to eventually die at least. A short while later my blood-health jumped back up to 92%. Maybe if I¡¯m out of combat or something my HP regenerates? That could be a possibility. Also the bleeding had eventually slowed down. Despite it being a deep wound it didn¡¯t see like I was in any danger of dying from it, despite what I had originally thought. Well, time to continue killing dogs I guess! Ignoring the throbbing pain in my left arm, I adopted a serious attitude and began making plans of action. The dogs were fast, much faster than I had thought. I had also noticed that the deer prancing around were actually even faster than the dogs, I doubt I would be able to catch one. I kept getting the feelings that the deer were basically just bait. They ran around like idiots, then would find someone gullible enough to chase them. From there they would run to the pack so they could gang-bang whoever was stupid enough to chase a deer. Also I had yet to see a dog over-chase a deer, they always backed off before a certain point. A growling sound came from behind me. I quickly turned around and saw a dog, crouching low within the grass stalking me. It noticed that I had become alerted to its presence and jumped out of the grass and rushed at me. Oh no, not going to catch me off guard this time. I bent my knees and adopted and aggressive stance, ready to counter-attack. As it lunged at me I spun my body and dodged the flying canine. It flew past me, seeing an opportunity I took the chance to raise my arm and run it through with my dagger. A wet sound sprung out as I tore fur and flesh apart with my blade. Dead in one hit again. The dogs were similar to large Doberman, a dangerous breed fully capable of killing a grown man. If it managed to bite into my vitals I would die. Thankfully I had higher than normal agility, being fast was always my greatest advantage. I remembered those days on the streets. Often times¡­.it was only thanks to being fast that I still lived to this day¡­. I shook my head, chasing away my old demons. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - 2 hours later Breathing heavily I looked at my inventory, finally. 99 copper gained, that meant the next dog that I killed would bring me up to 1 silver. Enough money to buy an information bracelet. Also I was at 99% experience. Next kill I would finally be level 2. This was really fucking hard. My blood health was now at 47%, constant scratches and bruises covered my body. Also I had noticed that the more tired I got, the more a glowing blue percentage rose on my right hand. ¡°Status effect¡­¡± I didn¡¯t know what this blue number meant but I wasn¡¯t ready to find out what happened when it hit 100%, it was currently at 56%. It seemed to rise the more I fight. If I took a break it would slowly go down. Which meant that after every 2 or 3 kills I would need to take a rest to let my blood-health go up a little and my blue number go down. Just getting to level 2 was a nightmare. The dogs would often outmaneuver me and attack me with suicidal charges, biting into my body. Although I would be able to kill them at that moment, it was often a bad trade. Killing them was taxing, it all came down to¡­.how I wasn¡¯t fast enough. I felt like I was significantly slower than the dogs. I approached a black-fur dog. We both glared at each other, then as always, the dog decided to be the first to move. It circled around me and drew closer and closer. Anytime now it would charge at me. It shifted from idle to top speed instantly, leaping at me, going in for the kill. The moment before it reached me I moved. Without any wasted movements, I dodged with the tiniest of margins. I was so focused. Now. I jerked my hands upwards, gutting the dog from below. Fresh blood sprayed onto me, mixing with the dried blood. Painting my clothes and arms with red and copper hues. I tossed the carcass to the side. Somewhat disgusted with the act of killing. Even though this was a game, the blood¡­.The life¡­..It was all so real. It left a bitter taste in my mouth. To be fair I wasn¡¯t fighting monsters yet, at best these were just animals. Exhausted, I limped back to the city. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 5 - Information -Chapter 5 I was seated on a small stool in front of a water well, using a bucket of water to wash off the blood on my body. I was bare-chested as I had removed my shirt to wash it a moment ago. It was draped over a bench a few meters away from me. With one last rinse of my hands, I got up from my seat and placed the bucket of water back in the well. I then went over to my shirt and put it on. Despite the shirt still being somewhat damp, I felt refreshed rather than uncomfortable. Thankfully the weather was nice, if it was windy or cold I would probably be shivering. Right, my injuries had somewhat recovered and my blood-health was now at 72%. Despite feeling a little sore, I felt that I could easily go back to the grassy outskirts and fight for an hour. Deciding against that for now, I began roaming around the city, looking for a general goods store. ummmmm, where¡¯s the general goods store? I remember someone telling me that I could get the information bracelet from a general goods store but I have no idea where it was. Wandering somewhat aimlessly for a few minutes, I began to get more and more exasperated by the enormity of the city. It was impossible to find anything! Shouldn¡¯t there be a map somewhere? Wait¡­.there is a map! I didn¡¯t think much of it at the time but I remember when I was exploring the city, in Central Square there was a large map. -20 minutes later Alright, even though it seems simple enough to just walk over to the center of the city, it still took me 20 minutes to finally get here¡­.Maybe my sense of direction was just bad? Standing in front of a large wooden board, I saw the map of the city. General goods store¡­.general goods store¡­..Ah! Found it! It was in the eastern corner of the city, close to guild center. Taking a closer look at the city map I also found other interesting places. A library, a weapons shop, trade supplies store, a cathedral and a large palace marked on the map called the royal castle. I should really check out the library later, I wasn¡¯t too keen on just sitting around and reading all day but I¡¯m sure skimming through a few books would help me learn more about this world. I proceeded to walk away from the map and in the direction of the general goods store. The vibrant and lively atmosphere of the city still amazed me. Little things like birds chirping up in the trees and the flower pots placed in the window sills of houses, giving a pleasant and fresh aroma, brought the world to life. The game developers really did do an amazing job from what I had experienced so far. Strolling along and enjoying myself, I shortly arrived at the store. A large sign was placed above a small wooden building. The sign said G-G store. I entered the store and found myself in a room with many different items placed on shelves. Vials and boxes containing items that I could not understand, metal gears lying around and¡­.Wait, is that a first aid kit? I walked up to a counter and began talking to the middle-aged man behind it. ¡°Hi, I was wondering if I could buy an information bracelet, also would it be possible to get a list or something of what you sell here.¡± ¡°Yeah sure, here¡¯s a catalog. All the items in the store are listed here with a small description of what they are used for. Here¡¯s an information bracelet as well. That would be 1 silver please.¡± ¡°I opened my Inventory and¡­..wait how do I take out money? I pressed the glowing text on my hand that said 1 silver, and then a small silver coin appeared in my hand. That¡¯s cool! I still needed to figure out how to place items inside my inventory, my daggers were both uncomfortably placed in the sides of my shoes. I handed the money over to the merchant and he gave me a metallic bracelet. The bracelet had a small (I) icon on it, similar to the (I) icon on my equipment and weapons. Before leaving the store I skimmed through the general goods catalog, they sold salve potions, gears, bandages, leather strips and many more things. Most of which were too expensive for me to buy any time soon. As soon as I left the store I eagerly pressed down on the (I) icon on my bracelet. The female voice began talking inside my head *Hello! Since this is your first time using the information bracelet I will quickly inform you of its functions and options. The information bracelet can change your user-interface options and notifications, simply hold down the icon on the bracelet and speak a command and the system will automatically accommodate you! Additionally the main feature of this Bracelet is that game-related questions can be asked. Again simply hold down your icon and ask a question and it will be answered! There are four levels of questions, level one questions are considered Basic or beginner questions and require no fee. You will be informed if the question you are asking has a fee.* Right let¡¯s get started then! ¡°How do item conditions work?¡± *There are three item conditions. New, Well-used and Battle-scarred. The worse the item¡¯s condition the lower its effectiveness is. For example, a New Iron dagger will have an attack rating of 3. A well-used dagger will have an attack rating of 2 and a battle-scarred dagger will have an attack rating of 1. Certain magical weapons are immune to item degradation.* ¡°Umm, attack rating? How does rating work? Also what do you mean by magical weapons? How do I find those?¡± *All weapons and armor only give you attack or defense rating. Defense rating, or D-R for short, will reduce the amount of damage you take from an attack. To give an example, common-quality cloth armor with a defense rating of 2 will do little too nothing in providing protection from attacks. Whereas chain-mail armor will provide a defense rating of 30 and will stop attacks or reduce damage if the armor is struck. Please be warned that the defense rating on equipment will only provide protection if the covered areas are struck. Similarly A-R (attack rating) increases the amount of damage you deal with your weapon.* * There are four types of armors and weapons. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. Common, crafted, rare and legendary. Common and crafted quality items both suffer from item degradation from over-use. Rare and legendary items are considered magical items and are immune to it. Additionally rare and legendary equipment have far superior attack rating and defense rating compared to crafted and common quality equipment. Both rare and legendary armor and weapons can be found in the world. From special monsters or hidden in certain locations.* Crafted equipment can be gemmed with magical gems to increase their effectiveness.* Woah, information overload there, the item system is pretty cool though. Unlike other games which had stats like additional agility or strength on armor/weapons, Darkstory made it simple with only one stat on weapons and armor. Also from my understanding, even if equipment had higher attack or defense rating it didn¡¯t mean it was better. Wouldn¡¯t I become really slow wearing chain-mail? There was no way I was strong enough to fight freely wearing something heavy, or using a large weapon. Clearing my throat, I then asked, ¡°How does blood-health and combat work? What are status effects?¡± *Blood-health is the amount of blood you can afford to lose before death. If you get cut and start bleeding, blood-health will decrease. If it reaches 0% you die. Additionally there are many other types of damage you can receive that can cause death. If attacked with a blunt weapon with enough force, you will can be inflicted with trauma damage. Trauma damage often stuns you, leaving you unable to move for a few seconds. Also blunt damage with enough power can break your bones. Broken bones cause difficultly in movement. Break enough bones and you will become unconscious, leaving you unable to move and vulnerable. * *Status effects are shown on the back of your right hand, they include exhaustion, fatigue, frostbite, poisoned, fear and heat-exhaustion. Exhaustion is blue, Fatigue is yellow, Frostbite is white, Poisoned is green, Fear is purple and Heat-Exhaustion is orange. All of them are shown as percentages on your hand. You can be inflicted with more than one status effect at any given time and they all work differently. Exhaustion increases the more you fight, run, and use energy. Once it reaches 100% you are effected with fatigue. Exhaustion can be managed with taking breaks between fights. Also increasing your stamina slows the speed at which your exhaustion builds up. Once your exhaustion reaches 100% you are affected with 10% fatigue instantly. Fatigue takes an hour of rest to reduce by 10%, while fatigued all your agility, strength, stamina and intellect and reduced by 25%. Additionally at 100% fatigue you die. Frostbite is caused by cold, it reduces your movement speed and causes trembling, once at 100% you die. When poisoned, you constantly lose blood-health, the higher the percentage of poison, the faster you lose blood-health. Fear causes a reduction of 25% in all your stats, the more you are effected by fear the more your stats are reduced up to a total of 100% stat reduction leaving you with 0 agi, str, int and stam. Heat-exhaustion immediately causes 10% fatigue and slowly rises up until you cool yourself, additionally at 100% heat-exhaustion you die. Also there are 3 different states your body can be in, the rest state, the idle state and the combat state. Combat state is activated once an enemy notices you or if you do any kind of strenuous activity. Idle state is activated after combat state ends. After entering the idle state if you¡¯re calm and not using energy for 30 seconds, you will enter the rest state. In the rest state your exhaustion and fatigue fall, additionally your blood-health begins rising and your wounds regenerate. Please note that very serious wounds will not recover and it is entirely possible for you to bleed out and die if medical attention is not given.* Wow! The combat mechanics of this game¡­were so detailed! It both felt like a game and not a game at the same time. Darkstory was actually fairly realistic in its delivery of how combat worked. No wonder the game was considered so difficult, not being careful and getting affected by status effects, or stunned or even taking a big hit could all kill you. All of a sudden I felt like going back and leveling! Finding out about the intricacies of combat made me appreciate it so much more. Also trauma damage was really interesting, I don¡¯t have to cut enemies into pieces. A good kick or head-butt might be able to stun my opponent, leaving me with an opportunity to finish off the weakened foe. I was only level 2, my first priority was to level up! Oh, speaking of leveling up¡­. ¡°How does leveling work?¡± *There is only one way to gain experience in Darkstory, from killing level appropriate enemies. Each similar or higher level adversary gives you 1% experience with the exception of special Named Monsters that can give up to 50% experience. Monsters one level lower than you only give you 0.5% experience and monsters two levels lower than you give you nothing. Also, unlike other games, quests in Darkstory only reward the player with money, items or equipment. There is a group system in place where people on your friends list can be invited and a party can be made. The experience is split evenly among all members, meaning a party of two people would only get 0.5% experience per kill. If you are not in a party and multiple people fight the same monster, the player who lands the killing blow gets all the experience.* So that meant¡­..every single level from now on I would have to basically kill a hundred monsters my level? That¡¯s crazy¡­.. And exciting. I was liking Darkstory more and more, it was difficult. Just the way I like it I left the city once more. Returning to the grasslands. Ready to begin slaughtering these animals. Ready to move on-wards. To continue treading this path. The path that I decided for myself. The path that would lead me to the top. Chapter 6 - Rib -Chapter 6 ¡°Ha¡­¡­¡­.ha¡­¡­¡­..ha¡­¡­¡­Finally¡­¡­level 4¡± Panting I sat down on the ground and calmed myself so I could enter the rest state. Lying on the ground next to me was the dead body of a level 3 dog. I had previously asked the Info bracelet on how to target something. It was actually so simple! I just have to be looking at what I wanted to target and tap the back of my right hand. Then the level, Blood-health and name would show up on my hand. The dog next to me showed, {-- Level-3 Dog ¨C B-HP 0 %--} The dogs in the outskirts ranged from levels 1- 3. I had to be careful not to fight dog¡¯s lower level than me as they would give me less or no experience. It had taken me 5 hours to get to level 4. After getting to level 3 I returned to the city to take an hour long break to let my B-HP (blood-health) rise and my wounds to recover. Then I had returned to the grassy outskirts to get to level 4. My arms felt sore from the constant fighting, although I wasn¡¯t wounded, many bruises covered my body. The dogs had become easier and easier to dodge and kill the more I fought. I hadn¡¯t taken any damage in the last 50 kills. Now I was done with this zone. Here in the grassy outskirts, the weed-like grass reached up to my knees but far in the distance I saw a rocky plain where the grass was short. I could also make out¡­.boar-like creatures. I was probably meant to move on into that area to challenge level 4 enemies. Carefully avoiding both the dogs and groups of deer, I made my way to the rocky plain and shortly arrived. The rocky plain had brownish furred boars grazing on the grass. I looked at the target information on one of the boars. {-- Level-4 Boar ¨C B-HP 100 %--} Level 4, I was in the right place. Although it was possible to find and kill higher level monsters, there wasn¡¯t any point as they gave me the same amount of experience as a level 4 monster. Also, I¡¯m fairly certain that the higher level a monster, the stronger it would be. Oh! That reminds me! It completely slipped my mind but now that I¡¯m level 4 I should have 3 stat points! I looked at the palm of my left hand. Level ¨C 4 Agi ¨C 11 Stam ¨C 7 Str ¨C 3 Int ¨C 0 Stat points ¨C 3 Before I began adding additional stats to myself, I wanted to find out how they worked exactly. I held down the button on my info bracelet and asked. Almost instantly, a reply sounded off inside my head. *Four main stats exist in Darkstory. Agility, Stamina, Strength and Intellect. Agility increases your movement speed. Strength increases your attack power. Intellect increases your magic damage and reduces the cool-downs of all class abilities. Stamina effects your exhaustion, more stamina will enable you to fight for longer periods of time. One stat point is obtained every level. Also every 10 levels 4 additional stat points are automatically added to your highest stat. Additionally After landing the killing blow on special Named Monsters known as Boss Monsters, a boss essence can be obtained which increase all your stats by 1. Certain classes also have methods of obtaining extra stats.* That¡¯s cool. Wait did she just say classes? ¡°Which classes exist in this game? How do I choose a class?¡± *That is level 2 information. Do you wish to pay the 1 silver fee of access?* Oh. Apparently that information¡¯s blocked. 1 silver was 50% of my total savings¡­.Oh well, the curiosity was killing me. Even though it took me 100 kills to get that precious 1 silver, I just had to know. ¡°Yes, I would like to pay the fee¡± *1 silver has been deduced. Many different classes are available to players fitting all types of archetype¡¯s usually present in fantasy settings. Upon reaching level 40, certain locations within the three great cities will allow you to choose your class. A large quest must be completed before you can become said class and obtain additional abilities. Also, each class ability or spell comes with its own quest that must be completed before the ability can be learned and used. Most abilities also have level requirements. The initial classes available are Mage, Warrior, Assassin, Priest and Hunters. There are also additional class advancements that require many pre-requisites. Mages can advance to become shamans, necromancers or warlocks. Warriors can advance to be shield-masters, Berserkers or Sword-saints. Assassins cannot advance. Priests can advance to be Paladins. Hunters can advance to be Druids or Rangers. Each class has unique abilities that suit the class fantasy. Class advancements are not considered better versions of the original class, but rather additional customization choices. For example, both necromancers and mages have certain strengths and weaknesses. Necromancers lose all freezing abilities gained from their time as a mage and the benefits of such frost magic. Instead they get other abilities with different strengths. It is possible that other secret class advancements exist. All this information and a more detailed look at each class can be found within the libraries of any of the three great cities for free.* Ummm¡­¡­Did she just tell me that I could¡¯ve gotten that info for free? That¡¯s bullshit. I¡¯m definitely going to the library before spending hard earned cash next time. Well time to start fighting! I quickly added all my stat points to agility, raising it up to 14 and jogged along into the rocky plains. I approached a boar. Intent on taking the initiative, I raised my dagger and charged it. The boar quickly realized that a hostile human was approaching and immediately turned to face me adopting an aggressive stance. The boar kicked the ground with its hind legs and in an instant was tearing through the air, diving at my chest. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.-Crack! Searing pain shot through my body as the boar crashed into my chest. I felt my ribs crack from the sheer weight and power of the boar. My body was flung to the side and the boar continued soaring through the air, falling a few meters away. With shaky breaths I got up and faced the boar, I had failed to even counter-attack. The dive-attack had left me stunned from the impact. Blood was also dripping from a gash that ran across my shirt. The sharp tusks of the boar had managed to inflict a light wound on my chest. If the dive-attack was more of a direct hit, my insides would have been gouged out from those tusks¡­..Probably fatal damage. The boar was fast and strong but it wasn¡¯t very large. Smaller than the dogs in the previous zone. That would be its weakness. I began circling around the boar swiftly, staying on its sides. I was circling closer and closer to the boar. The boar then abruptly turned and dived towards me. Quickening my pace, I dodged the attack. Not willing to give up my chance to kill, I scrambled to follow the boar¡¯s charge. It landed on the ground and I pounced. With both my daggers high above my head, I stabbed downwards, aiming at the un-protected back of the boar. -Squeal! With a tortured screech, the boar fell on its side. Lifeless. Looks like a good hit killed these boars instantly. I noticed that the boars were similar to the dogs, glass cannons. Ugh! Throbbing pain shot through my chest¡­. Looks like I cracked a rib. It hurt to move around. Maybe I should go back to the city and wait for it to recover? I mean my B-HP was still fine¡­ Oh well let¡¯s just continue farming these boars. I quickly adopted my circling strategy on the other boars and the battle become uneventful. From the practice that my experiences with the dogs brought me, I felt that I was more than capable of handling these beasts. By circling and taking advantage of the boar¡¯s only method of attack being to charge at me, I uneventfully started grinding through the mobs. Ugh¡­. The pain in my chest was getting worse and worse¡­. I needed to get my cracked rib some medical attention. ¡°What ways are there to heal besides just normal regeneration?¡± *Bone potions and Blood potions are renowned for being adventuring essentials. Both potions only work in the rest state and cannot be used in combat. Bone potions restore all Bone-related injuries slowly over time and Blood potions greatly increases your blood-health regeneration. Additionally Combat-Salve and bandages are recommended to be applied directly on serious wounds so a full recovery can occur. All these items can be bought from the general goods store. The cathedrals within any city also have Priests on standby that can restore you to good health with healing magic for a small payment of 1 silver.* Ah fuck, everything cost money. Doesn¡¯t that mean if you took fatal damage before you earned enough money to heal, you would just¡­.die? Feeling a sense of foreboding I then asked, ¡°Are there any penalties for dying?¡± *After dying the player is immediately logged out and not allowed to login until 12 hours real-time. Upon logging back in the player will be re-spawned to the closest graveyard with 50% fatigue and his experience for that level reset to 0%. That does mean that if a level 9 player were to die at 99% experience, the player would then re-spawn as a level 9 with 0% experience. Woah, that¡¯s harsh¡­. Dying was really bad then. I was thankful that I didn¡¯t drop items or lose money but¡­.having your experience reset meant that I would have to be very careful while leveling. The pain in my chest was distracting, but I was at 87% experience¡­ I¡¯ll just head back to town after getting level 5 real quick. Adopting a focused attitude, I rapidly approached another boar and engaged it in combat. It charged, I side-stepped, never letting it lock-on properly by continuously circling. Then counter-attacked with a well-timed stab. Ah easy, 88% Again. Another boar. 89% Side-step, thrust under the belly. 96% Dodge. Finish with a wide-slash into the boars head. 98% Just two more to go, nonchalantly I advanced towards my last boar. Here it comes, its charging at me. I twisted my torso, intent on dodging the boar. A twinge of pain shot through my chest. My broken rib. Slightly unbalanced, I tried to remain calm. The words from before suddenly popped up in my head. If I die now¡­ I would lose 98 boars worth of experience. Fuck I¡¯m distracted. A moment¡¯s hesitation. It was all the boar needed. It slammed into my gut. Its tusks pierced into my flesh. Twist. Twist. ¡°ARRRRRRGH¡± The boar gouged further inside my stomach. Dark and wet blood burst out onto it¡¯s fur. Fuck. I need to kill it. Kill. Somehow I still had both my daggers grasped tightly. Kill. I plunged my daggers into the boars head. Blood sprayed into my eyes. Blinding me. Fuck I can¡¯t see Fuck¡­.it hurt so much. I gripped the lifeless frame of the bloody beast and in panic pushed it out. ¡°AAAAAGGGGGGH¡± The bloody corpse was no longer embedded inside me but¡­ Blood flowed from my stomach. I put my hands over my stomach. Applying pressure. My hands were quickly stained red. My blood-health was dropping¡­ ¡°Fuck¡­.¡± I need to get back¡­ I looked in the distance¡­. the city was¡­.. so far away¡­¡­. ¡°Fuck.¡± -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------