《Deus ex Machina》 Chapter 1-Login Chapter 1-Login: Hello! Welcome to my first story on this site. I decided to make this story on a whim. I don''t know how long this story will go, but I hope you all enjoy! -------------------------------------------------------- ¡°Would you like to enter the world of Sacred Sword?¡± As I put on the helmet, these words echo in my ear. ¡°Yes¡± I reply. Immediately, I¡¯m sucked into a swirling pool of light. As I fall down an endless tunnel, I start to get nauseous. But then the light open up before me. Below me I can see a gigantic continent. On the edges, the continent abruptly fall away, revealing a bottomless pit. At the bottom of the pit, I can see fire and magma. Each corner to the world is different. The top of the world is covered in an enormous mountain range. To the right, I can see a sea that extends before turning into a waterfall. And to the left, I see a tree that extends all the way to where I¡¯m currently standing ¡°Welcome to the world of Sacred Sword,¡± a voice tells me. I turn to my left. In front of me stands the goddess on the front cover from the front of the video game box. However, a picture is different from the real thing. She gives off a majestic air, and I¡¯m immediately intimidated. ¡°My name is Hermia,¡± she says. ¡°Pleased to meet you,¡± I reply. ¡°My name is Chris.¡± ¡°Hello Chris,¡± she says with a smile. I start to blush and she giggles. ¡°Would you like to create your character?¡± she asks. I nod and I¡¯m taken to the character creation area. Before me are a million different versions of me. I see myself as a troll, a dragon, an orc, a goblin, and, of course, a human. ¡°Please choose your race. Then you can customize your character,¡± Hermia tells me. I immediately look over a couple of the cooler race. I look at each characteristic, racial bonus, and tiny detail. I want to use every opportunity I can to gain an advantage over other players. Otherwise, I won¡¯t be able to accomplish my goal. ¡°Alright,¡± I say after a while. ¡°I choose human.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± Hermia asks. ¡°This choice is permanent.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure.¡± I reply. ¡°I want grow strong. Although humans start the weakest, they have the highest growth potential.¡± ¡°Very well,¡± replys Hermia. ¡°Then how would you like to customize your character?¡± I look over the choice. After toying with the idea for a while, I decided to leave my appearance as normal. After finishing the character creation, my new body/normal body walks over to me and we merge. I examine myself but there¡¯s no change. Well, I didn¡¯t really expect any, but it''s nice to get some confirmation of the facts. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Once I¡¯m finished, Hermia appears in front of me again. ¡°Well done Chris,¡± she says. ¡°Now, what path would you like to take.¡± In front of me, I see another million different versions of me. This time, each of them is in a new getup. But, unlike last time, my choice is immediate. ¡°I want to be a swordsman!¡± I say. ¡°Are you sure?¡± Hermia asks. ¡°Yep!¡± I reply. ¡°Swords are a man¡¯s romance.¡± Although I get a couple strange looks from Hermia, after a little while the swordsman walks up and merges with me. Looking down, I now see I¡¯m covered in armor. Sweet! ¡°The character creation is complete,¡± Hermia says. ¡°Would you like to view the tutorial?¡± ¡°Sure!¡± I reply. In Sacred Sword, each death is permanent. Which means, once your character dies, you have to restart. I don¡¯t want my hard work to go to waste, so I decided to train up before entering the game and hunting mobs. Once again I¡¯m teleported. However, now in front of me is an obstacle course formed from wood. I realize I am on top of the gigantic tree to the west. The branches on the top actually form the training area. Immediately, I run over, a wooden sword, and start swinging at a training dummy. But as my sword hits the dummy, I feel a jarring sensation. I drop the sword. ¡°Ouch!¡± I yell. In front a me, a little screen pops up. In the screen, it displays the correct way to hold a sword. I try to follow the instructions displayed, and try hitting the dummy again. Although it still hurts, I at least can hold onto my sword now. Taking a deep breathe, I grab a hold of my sword and swing again. Over and over I swing at the dummy. Gradually, the sword in my hands gets more comfortable. The swings get more smooth. Beside me, I see Hermia watching me. Although I assume the tutorial must end at some point, Hermia makes no motion to come and get me. Intrigued, I decide to continue on with the tutorial. Each time I make a mistake, the screen would pop up and show me how to hold the sword properly. Eventually six hours passed. Tired and impatient, I decide to end this stupid test of the tutorial system. Seriously, who makes a tutorial that last six hours or more. But, before I leave, I decide to put everything I have into one more sword attack. Channeling all my might, I smash my sword into the dummy with a scream. ¡°HAH!¡± [tr]
You have gained 1 point in strength!
¡°Huh?¡± Chapter 2 - Yeah School! Chapter 2 - Yeah School! -------------------------------- ¡°Wait, I can gain stat points here?¡± I asked Hermia. ¡°Of course you can,¡± she says. ¡°Isn''t that a glitch?¡± ¡°How so?¡± ¡°Because there''s no concept of stamina here! Couldn''t I grind forever on these dummies?¡± ¡°You could, theoretically. But think about it. How many players want to do that?¡± ¡°Me, I guess. Seems pretty cool.¡± ¡°Well it would, except I have order to kick you out if you stay here too long.¡± ¡°But what if I convince you to let me stay?¡± ¡°Oh. How so?¡± ¡°Well think about it. You''re the great goddess of the world right?¡± ¡°Well, yes. Technically I''m the most powerful AI in existence, but yes, you are correct.¡± ¡°Well then, how do you stay entertained?¡± ¡°...¡± She remains silent. I wait. ¡°You make a good point.¡± She replies after a little while. ¡°There''s not much to do here.¡± ¡°Right?¡± I say. ¡°Don''t you you want some company while you''re doing boring chores like world managment?¡± ¡°Huh. I never thought of it that way. Alright Chris, you have a deal. You can stay here and train before you descend, but don''t mess up anything.¡± ¡°Alright!¡± I exclaim. *Beep* *Beep* *Beep* I hear the alarm I set off before started the game. ¡°Alright. I have to go. See you Hermia!¡± I say. ¡°See you soon,¡± Hermia says. She smiles and I log off. ------------------------------------------------------------------- As I take off the helmet, I¡¯m greeted by the familiar sight of my room. Laying my VR helmet on the side of the bed, I start to get dressed and ready for school. As I get ready for school, I amaze at the new technology available. My VR helmet accelerates time on a 6:1 ratio. That means 6 hours in-game is equal to 1 hour in real life. Super convenient for playing before you have to go to leave! As I walk downstairs, I greet my brother, Joe. He is playing with our dog, like always. As I come down, the dog jumps up at me, but I ignore it as usual. ¡°Yo, broseph,¡± I say. ¡°Hi Chris,¡± he replies. ¡°You start the game last night?¡± ¡°Yep. Its pretty fun!¡± ¡°Pretty fun?¡± He looks at me incredulously. ¡°I got PKed after spending 20 minutes designing my character.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± I say. ¡°Did you restart?¡± ¡°Yep. But then I got killed by a rabbit, then a fox, then a wolf, and then another rabbit.¡± If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.¡°Oh,¡± I say. ¡°But then?¡± ¡°Well¡­ I sort of wiped out every mob surrounding the village, then hunted down my PKer, and hit level 10.¡± Yep. That sounds a lot like my brother. He may not be the best gamer in the world, but he¡¯s definitely more talented than I am. ¡°Alright,¡± I say. ¡°Time for school.¡± We get in the car and drive to our school. When I walk into the classroom, I see her. I freeze. Then calmly walk to my desk. ¡°Hey Maria,¡± I say as I sit down next to her. ¡°How¡¯s it going?¡± ¡°Good morning Chris!¡± She say. ¡°Everything going great!¡± ¡°That¡¯s cool,¡± I say weekly. The conversation ends. I go through the rest of the day, taking peeks at Maria out of the corner of my eye. She¡¯s beautiful like always. ¡°Oh hey Chris, do you know about Sacred Sword?¡± she asks. I freeze. Maria¡¯s the last person I would think to ask me about Sacred Sword. ¡°Yeah, I started playing last night,¡± I say. ¡°Oh, that so cool!¡± she says. ¡°I just got a VR helmet last night. Maybe we could meet up together in the game!¡± ¡°Yeah, totally,¡± I say. After school, I walk to my usual spot in the yard. I sit down next to one of my only friends, Earthen. ¡°Sup, Chrit,¡± he says. Yep. We¡¯re both on a certain website that hosts a bunch of fanfictions. We bonded over these fanfictions so we call each other by our usernames. ¡°Hey, Earthen,¡± I say. ¡°Read anything good recently?¡± ¡°Dude. Square Tiger and I Will Free the Earth haven¡¯t updated in, like, forever.¡± ¡°That sucks. You started playing Sacred Sword yet?¡± ¡°Yep. I haven¡¯t died once.¡± ¡°Really?!¡± ¡°Well, I also haven¡¯t left the city I started in, but that beside the point.¡± ¡°I knew there was a conditional in there somewhere.¡± ¡°Dude, how¡¯s your goal going.¡± ¡°Shut up Earthen.¡± ¡°Seriously, though?¡± ¡°Fine¡­¡± Earthen knows that I entered the game for a stupid reason. I usually don¡¯t get excited for video games, but after I learned that Maria would be getting a VR helmet to play Sacred Sword, I decided to get Sacred Sword as well. For obvious reasons. We hang out for a couple hours, then, when Joe finishes his sports practice, we head home. After finishing my homework and eating dinner, I head back up to my room. I¡¯ve got a couple hour before bedtime and I¡¯ve got some grinding to do. ¡°Enter, Sacred Sword.¡± Chapter 3- Can I make tables? Chapter 3: Last chapter for a little while guys. Hope you all enjoy. Please comment/review/criticize. I would love feedback so I can make my writing better. I would also like to thank the 11 people who have followed this story/novel and the 2 people who have favorited. Have a nice night guys. I''ll try to get another chapter out soon! ---------------------------------------- When I entered sacred sword, the first thing I did was look at my stats and skills. ¡°Status Window.¡±
Status Window
Name:ChrisRace:Human
Class:SwordsmanLevel:1
Title:N/AFame:0
Health:100Mana:100
Strength:11Vitality10
Endurance:10Dexerity:10
Intelligence:10Charisma:10
Wisdom:10Willpower:10
Faith:10Luck:10
Skill Points:0
¡°Skills.¡±
Skills
Sword Mastery (P)Novice: 1 32%
Slash (A)Novice: 1 57%
Parry (A)Novice: 1 0%
Growth (P)Novice: 1 1%
As I looked over my stats, I realized something special. Something amazing. Something I should have expected! ¡°I¡¯m so weak,¡± I said with a sigh. Seriously. The average stats for for most starting class are 20. The super powerful classes like dragon or titan even start with 50 stats in every category. But of course these come with drawbacks. You can only create one character with the stronger races. If your character dies, then you can never create a character with that race again. Plus, characters that are one of the stronger races star in a monster-infested area. It¡¯s very difficult to start, but you can destroy any other new player. Or any level 80 player really. You only get 5 stat points a level. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. But the other races get compensation. For example, the human¡¯s growth skill:
Growth
The rate at which you acquire stats and skills.Novice: 1 1%
In my opinion, the growth skill is overpowered. For each level of growth, you increase the rate at which you gain stats and skills. The only downside is that you increase your growth rate by gaining stats and skills. Which makes it one of the hardest skills to grind. But luckily, the growth skill is a total cheat for me. Since I have no stamina or need to eat or drink, I can train forever. And, the more I train, the faster I get stronger. It¡¯s an exponential growth curve! After checking my stats and skills, I go over to Hermia. ¡°Hey Hermia.¡± I say. ¡°Welcome back, Chris,¡± she says. ¡°How was the other world today?¡± ¡°Boring as ever,¡± I say. ¡°Hey, can I ask for a favor?¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°I have a couple friends in the game and I want to check on how their doing.¡± ¡°Oh. You want to use the god¡¯s eye?¡± ¡°Eh? God¡¯s eye?¡± ¡°Yep,¡± she says as she brings me over to a table. In front of me is a view of the continent. Only this one has a couple options on the side. ¡°Is this a system to watch the world?¡± I ask. ¡°Yep!¡± Hermia says. ¡°I have to do something when I¡¯m board!¡± ¡°So I can use this?¡± ¡°Sure. I guess this will give us both something to do when we¡¯re not working.¡± ¡°Sweet.¡± I say. Using the god¡¯s eye, I search for the name Joe. On the map, I see a light flare up from the northern part of the map. When I zoom in, I see my brother. Well, my brother as an elf. Currently, he¡¯s in a pack of tree¡¯s, staking a wolf with his bow. As I watch, he looses his arrow, smashing into the wolf¡¯s brain and killing it with one blow. ¡°Wow.¡± I say. ¡°Shows what training in Earthrealm can do for you.¡± Then I search for Earthen. I put his real name into god¡¯s eye and another light flashes. When I zoom in, I see Earthen is a Tigersoul warrior. He has green fur and black stripes running all over his body. When, I look at Earthen, I see that he is lazing around, sitting cross legged with his eyes closed. ¡°I¡¯m impressed,¡± says Hermia. ¡°Your friend is training in the elements.¡± ¡°Training in the elements?¡± I asks. ¡°Yes. He¡¯s trying to train in utilizing the power of fire, water, earth and wind. Of those, he¡¯s showing the most proficiency in earth, but the least in wind.¡± Finally, I enter my last search. I type in her name. M-A-R-I-A. Nothing happens for a while. Then a light flashes to my right. Chapter 4- Maria enter the game! Chapter 4: Off to my right, I can see a bright light. ¡°Maria,¡± I think. Looking down at the screen in front of me, I notice a certain button. After pressing it, I see the screen pop up in front of me like a table. ¡°Whoa,¡± I say. As I walk over to the training dummies, I pick up my sword and restart my swings. In front of me I can see Maria and Hermia talking. After clicking another button, I can hear audio as well. ¡°Welcome to Sacred Sword,¡± Hermia says. ¡°Um, hi,¡± Maria says. ¡°So this isn¡¯t real.¡± ¡°Nope. Everything is generated on our company''s servers.¡± ¡°Which company is that. It didn¡¯t say on the box.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m not at liberty to tell you that information.¡± ¡°Okay then. That¡¯s sketchy.¡± ¡°So you would like to log out?¡± ¡°N, no! That¡¯s not what I meant!¡± ¡°Ah, okay then. There have been quite the number of people who have logged out after I didn¡¯t tell them the company''s name.¡± ¡°...I can imagine that.¡± ¡°Yes. So sad. They didn¡¯t get to enjoy my world.¡± ¡°Um¡­ so can I create my character now?¡± ¡°Oh, of course!¡± Maria walked over to the races. As she started going through the races, I silently hoped she would pick one of the cooler races, like Saberwolftigerwoman or the race titled IAMGOD! Yep, these are totally really and historical races that are pickable in every video game and based on literary figures. After a couple of minutes, Maria picked the human race. Then, she walked over and started to choose her class. As Maria was picking her class, I turned to Hermia and asked, ¡°By the way, how can you be in two places at once?¡± Through god¡¯s eye I could see a perfect replica of Hermia standing next to Maria patiently explaining each classes skills. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s easy,¡± Hermia says. ¡°I¡¯m the most powerful AI in the history of AIs. Cygnas is nothing in front of my power.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s Cygnas?¡± I wonder to myself. When I turn back to Maria, she has finished picking her class. To my surprise, she picked the same class I did, Swordsman. After saying goodbye to Hermia, Maria jumped into a pool of swirling light. Below me I could see a light spinning round and round before finally landing on the continent. It landed in the north near the mountains.
You have gained 1 point in Dexterity!
¡°Oh nice!¡± I exclaim! ¡°Status Window.¡±
Status Window
Name:ChrisRace:Human
Class:SwordsmanLevel:1
Title:N/AFame:0
Health:100Mana:100
Strength:11Vitality10
Endurance:10Dexerity:11
Intelligence:10Charisma:10
Wisdom:10Willpower:10
Faith:10Luck:10
Skill Points:0
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it ¡°Skills.¡±
Skills
Sword Mastery (P)Novice: 1 56%
Slash (A)Novice: 1 98%
Parry (A)Novice: 1 0%
Growth (P)Novice: 1 2%
Sweet. It looks like growth gains 1% everytime I gain a stat. That¡¯s pretty low...But at least that number will get higher over time! Right? Author? Please maybe make me a little OP? For my goal? Well, now that the fourth wall is broken, it¡¯s time to check on Maria again. Using god¡¯s eye, I spy in on her. Stalking? What are you talking about? What world are you from? In the screen, Maria is leaving the city for the first time. I listen in as she enter a field of bunnies. ¡°All right bunnies,¡± she says. ¡°Time to die!¡± Immediately, she starts attacking them with her sword. After she hits the first bunny, I see a damage number fly off. It¡¯s working! Then, the bunny jumps at her throat. I have to hold myself back from jumping into a portal of light which has appeared next to me. As I look at Hermia, she begins to whistle. Looking back down, Maria has wrenched the bunny off her throat. As the bunny makes a dash for her feet, she kick it up in the air and slams it back down. ¡°Slash!¡± she yells while activating the skill. The bunny hits the ground, only to start dashing around Maria in circles. As Maria spins, trying to lock onto her opponent, the bunny makes another jump at Maria¡¯s throat. ¡°Parry!¡± she shouts again. Maria block the bunny from her throat and smashes it onto the ground. While the bunny is stunned, she shouts her skill name one more time. ¡°Slash!¡± When her sword lands on the bunny, it explodes into a cloud of coins. While I¡¯m excited for her, I also see the danger coming. ¡°Watch out!¡± I yell. But of course she can¡¯t hear me. The arrow fired from the trees surrounding the beginners area finds it mark in Maria¡¯s throat. With a gurgle, she falls down dead. Chapter 5- Prologue ends Chapter 5: ¡°Damnit!¡± I scream. I know it a videogame, but no one kills the girl I likes. No one. Quickly I turn to one of the buttons on the side of god¡¯s eye. I use god¡¯s eye to invoke the special program, god¡¯s hands. Using god¡¯s hands, I cause all the wolves in the surrounding area to converge on the unsuspecting archer. He is quickly surrounded and I smile as he is ripped into bloody shreds before my eyes. ¡°You didn¡¯t have to do that,¡± Hermia says. ¡°That fucker deserved to die,¡± I reply. Hermia shrugs and walks away. As I get back to training, I hear a notification.
Slash has leveled up!
Quickly, I decide to review the information of slash and parry, since they do belong to my class.
Slash
Gather your strength into one powerful strikeN: 2 0.5%
Parry
The ability to counter attack. Pulling off this successfully will interpret your opponent''s attack and add a chance to stun. Failure will cause you to take double damage.N 1 0%
Then, time for the all important check.
Growth
The rate at which you acquire stats and skills.Novice: 1 2.1%
Yes! Growth gained 0.1 percent! Thats amazing! By the time I¡¯m finished checking my stats, Maria has finished choosing her class. To my surprise, she has chosen the Siren race and Swordsman class again. Intrigued, I look up her racial passive.
Enchanted Voice
The siren¡¯s were famed enchantresses. Use your voice to bewitch your opponents or to increase the power of your prayersN/A
After entering the continent via the usual swirling pool of light, Maria makes her way to the church. Once she enters, she begins to pray. ¡°Interesting,¡± Hermia says. ¡°Is she trying to become a cleric and a swordsman?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a thing?¡± I ask. ¡°Oh course it is. It¡¯s a hidden class. But, it¡¯s also the most well known.¡± ¡°What¡¯s it called.¡± ¡°Oh silly,¡± she says as she looks at me mockingly. ¡°It¡¯s called a Sacred Swordsman.¡± I facepalm at my stupidity. Hermia starts to laugh. Then I remember the all important question. ¡°Hey Hermia,¡± I ask. ¡°What is it Chris?¡± she asks, still giggling. ¡°Can I train parry in this place?¡± ¡°Of course you can. This is the best training area in the world,¡± She says. ¡°Follow me.¡± Hermia leads me to a pack of training dummies. ¡°These dummies are enchanted to attack you. Don¡¯t worry, your health will never fall below 0 in the tutorial,¡± she explains. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Thanks Hermia,¡± I say. ¡°And sorry for misusing god¡¯s hand earlier. That fucker really needed to die.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± she says. As Hermia leaves, she flips a switch. Next to the switch I see the words: WARNING. INSANIA MODE. DO NOT ENGAGE. ¡°Oh shit,¡± I say as the dummies begin to surround me. I¡¯m sure everyone on the continent heard my screams that night.
Status Window
Name:ChrisRace:Human
Class:SwordsmanLevel:1
Title:N/AFame:0
Health:110Mana:100
Strength:12Vitality11
Endurance:11Dexerity:12
Intelligence:10Charisma:10
Wisdom:10Willpower:10
Faith:10Luck:10
Skill Points:0
Skills
Sword Mastery (P)Novice: 1 74%
Slash (A)Novice: 2 20%
Parry (A)Novice: 1 52%
Growth (P)Novice: 1 6.1%
--------------------------------------------- Hey guys. Chrit here! Thanks for reading the first 5 chapters of Deus ex Machina! From here on, the story''s going to change a little in pace. Some of you may have noticed the slice of life tag. I plan to make these stories more episodic. Now for the really important part. Since I''m a new writer, I have some ideas for what I want my characters to do. But, I going to need some help. So, here''s how the characters are going to break down: Maria- Chrit super happy fun time! Earthen- I''ll be taken Earthen''s suggestions. In case you guys haven''t noticed, Earthen''s character is based on Linley from CD. He''ll probably be doing stuff inspired by other CN novels, like ISSTH Joe: That''s for you all to decide! Currently, I have based Joe off my brother character from Skyrim (Sykrim-> Earthrealm). However, I honestly have no idea what to do with his character (and to be honest, he doesn''t know this story exists). So, I will be taking suggestions! Post a comment in the latest chapter featuring Joe and I''ll decide. Thanks for reading! Please review, comment, favorite, star, or reply to the poll back in Chapter 3! I''ve already gotten some feedback, so hopefully my writing will improve :). Have a nice day! Chapter 6-In the underwater city of.... Hello! Chrit here. School''s ramping up again, which might mean less chapters. But, I wanted to post something today. So some changes: Added levels to my stat windows (Seriously! Tell me these things!) Changed the rate of the rate of growth (1% per stat point, 0.1% per skill level) Fixed some annoying table mistakes in Chapter 5 (Verdict: I cannot make tables) Also, many thanks to Chiisutofupuru for telling me about filter words. I didn''t get time to edit this chapter, but I''ll be removing them as much as possible in future chapters. For those of you who don''t know what filter words are: http://writeitsideways.com/are-these-filter-words-weakening-your-fiction/ I didn''t get as far in with this chapter as planned, but I reached a pretty good stopping point. I''ll fill in the new stats next chapter where we test once again if I can make tables. So without further ado... ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 6: Right after school, I ran home and logged onto my favorite game, Sacred Sword. It has been two months since the game was released, and I¡¯ve been fiercely training the entire time. ¡°Hey Hermia!¡± I say as I log in. Hermia turns to me and greets me as usual, ¡°Hello, Chris. How was the real world.¡± ¡°Excellent as usual. I¡¯m making progress,¡± I say as I walk over to my favorite wooden sword. Over the last two months, I¡¯ve always used this sword. Already its surface is scarred from all the battles it''s been through. I walk over to the usual training dummy and star my thousand swings. ¡°You making any progress?¡± Hermia teases. ¡°Shut up,¡± I grunt in between my swings. Yeah, Hermia found out about my crush on Maria. It''s hard not to notice since I usually use god¡¯s eye to watch her play Sacred Sword. Now, every time I log in, Hermia asks me about my relationship. Honestly, it''s becoming a pain. But I put up with all the abuse. It¡¯s the least I can do since Hermia always lets me use the tutorial area. Besides, it¡¯s always fun talking to a friend. Especially when that friend is an all powerful goddess who controls the best virtual reality game in the world. To say it in latin, Hermia is a dea in machina. But she¡¯s certainty done a fair share of favors for me. When Maria first started the game, she kept getting thrown into areas with a bunch of PKs. Since there are almost no rules in Sacred Sword, PKing has become very popular. This has made Sacred Sword very unpopular to new and inexperienced players. Seriously, I¡¯m glad I chose to stay in this training area. I wouldn¡¯t last a minute outside the city walls with my current stats. Luckily, there are a lot of ways around this. After players started to realize they couldn¡¯t leave the city without getting an arrow in their knee, chest and throat, they started looking for another way to level. Hermia decided to create a bunch of dungeons inside every city in the continent. I decided to take advantage of the opportunity and asked to control where Maria¡¯s new character would spawn. Surprisingly, Hermia agreed. She also let me create the dungeon for the city where Maria would spawn. So, I went a little crazy. Using god¡¯s hand, I created a new city in the middle of the ocean. Since I¡¯m very unoriginal, I decided to call the city Atlantis. I put Atlantis¡¯ dungeon in a very obvious place within the city, since Maria was the only player in the entire city. I don¡¯t know if she found the experience strange or not, but it certainly was a cool experience for me. I filled the dungeon with easy mobs worth a ton of exp. Now, a month later, she¡¯s finally ready to leave her city. ¡°Ready Hermia?¡± I ask. Currently my hand is on a button labeled: DO NOT PRESS UNTIL MARIA IS LEVEL 20. Explicit right? :) I love clearly labeled buttons. ¡°Ready!¡± replies Hermia cheerfully. She always get excited at my crazy ideas. Hermia¡¯s had a lot of fun after letting me stay in the tutorial area. Apparently it¡¯s really fun to see a character¡¯s actions, and hear about the circumstances of that character in real life. Holding my breath, I hit the button, and look into god¡¯s eye. All is calm in Atlantis for a while. Then the chaos starts. Maria was walking through the city before the chaos started. She would greet the mermaids, mermen, and other underwater races living in Atlantis. ¡°Hello Mr. Button,¡± she says as she walks into a store. ¡°Evening Maria,¡± Mr. Button replies. Mr. Button runs the local general store. After a lot of experiments, Maria found that Mr. Button would buy her material that she grinded from the local dungeon, the Temple of Poseidon, for the highest price. Apparently, Mr. Button was using for his research into creating better potions. Only I knew their true purpose. After making her sale, Maria walks outside, stretching her arms to the sky. ¡°Guess I¡¯ll grind a little more before I go to sleep.¡± Then, there''s a rumbling in the city. ¡°What that?¡± Maria exclaims turning toward the the pounding slowly approaching Atlantis. Atlantis is a city that exists underwater. The city walls consist of a translucent membrane that keeps all the water out so races that normally can¡¯t live underwater, like Sirens, Dwarves, and Elves can breathe. Yet outside of the membrane, Maria can see a gigantic creature approaching. The creature looks like a gigantic squid, with gigantic teeth and humongous tentacles. Surprisingly, the head of the creature towered over the city. Slowly it opened its gigantic maw. Maria could see every one of its teeth. ¡°ROAR!¡± the monstrosity bellowed. ¡°KRAKEN!¡± screamed the people. Immediately, the people in the city sprung to action. People began packing their valuables and fleeing the city. From above, I could see a cloud surrounding the Kraken. Using god¡¯s eye, I zoomed in on the tiny figures. Each one was either a guard of Atlantis or a monster. When I look back at Maria, I see her helping people evacuate the city. Unfortunately, if Atlantis falls, there¡¯s not enough escape boats for every person. Every race who can¡¯t breathe underwater will die. ¡°Maria!¡± calls a voice. ¡°Mr. Button!¡± Maria says as she whips around. Behind her, Mr. Button is gasping for breathe. ¡°I need your help,¡± he says. ¡°Over the last couple years, I¡¯ve been researching the creatures around Atlantis. That¡¯s a Kraken, the strongest monster around. The only reason it hasn¡¯t attacked Atlantis before was because of the sacred protection of the god Poseidon.¡± he explains. ¡°But, over the last couple years, Poseidon¡¯s protection has been failing. Something happened to the god. That¡¯s why, I need you to help me. Around the city are sacred points. Using these offering I made from researching the monsters spawned from Poseidon¡¯s powers, we should be able to reactivate Poseidon¡¯s protection!¡± As if on cue, I activate the next button.
New Quest!
Save Atlantis!
With the death of the god Poseidon a couple years ago, the sacred protection of Atlantis has failed. Now, a Kraken is attacking the city! Luckily, Mr. Button has a plan to utilize the monsters spawned from Poseidon¡¯s remaining power. By placing the offerings at the sacred points around the city, you will be able to restore Poseidon¡¯s barrier and save Atlantis.
This quest must be accepted.
¡°Alright Mr. Button,¡± Maria says while nodding her head. ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡± Immediately, Maria grabs the three offering and runs for the different points surrounding the city. When she reaches the first point, she stops. ¡°I knew it wouldn¡¯t be that easy,¡± she says. The sacred point is conveniently surrounded by the numerous spawns of the Kraken. Maria gets into her stance. ¡°Strengthen!¡± she shouts. Holy magic is a very powerful skill. It contains all sorts of buffs and gives it user powerful attack spells. After Maria learned holy magic, I was so impressed that I asked Hermia to let me gain the Holy Magic skill as well. Though learning magic straight from a goddess is slightly overpowered.
Sacred Magic
The sacred magic of the godsNovice: 7 26%
Yeah¡­ Hermia gave me a skill I shouldn¡¯t have gotten. Though apparently to keep the skill I can¡¯t descend to the continent for a year or so. Well, it¡¯s been pretty useful to help me control god¡¯s hand and god¡¯s eye. Besides, I can¡¯t get any skills in this tutorial area since their are no class trainers up here. So, apparently, I¡¯m going to have to train my current skills to the limit before growth levels up. Anyway, enough tangents! As I watch the fight below, Maria makes the first move. Running toward the Kraken spawn, she starts to attack using her sword. With a resounding crash her sword makes contact with the nearest spawn¡¯s head, knocking it the ground. Behind her, another spawn raises it arm. As it swings down, Maria¡¯s sword moves behind her head. ¡°Parry!¡± she shouts. Instantly the spawn in thrown to the ground. Putting rotational force behind her strike, Maria whirls around shouting my personal favorite skill, ¡°Slash!¡± Why is slash my favorite? Maybe because I didn¡¯t have to ask Hermia for it nor do I have to get beaten up by ruthless training dummies to train it. Really, all I have to do is hit a dummy, and the skill proficiency goes up. So convenient! Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Anyway, after caving in the spawn¡¯s head with the slash, Maria spins in a circle, smashing back the spawns surrounding her. The she jumps towards the closest spawn again. Coincidentally, it''s the spawn she already hit. This time, Maria strikes three times with her sword in the torso, arm, and head. Under the strengthen buff, it''s does the job, killing spawn. But now she''s surrounded by the remaining ten spawn. But, luckily, help is on the way. ¡°Miss, we¡¯re here to help!¡± Shouts the guards as they charge at the spawn. With the guards assistance, Maria will be able to hold her ground with the remaining spawn. ¡°I''m going to activate the sacred pint. Cover me!¡± Shouts Maria as she lets out another slash. Once again, an unfortunate spawn has its head smashed in. With the encirclement broken and help on the way, Maria is able to run to the sacred point and place the offering on the ground. As the offering starts shining, the spawn begin to scream. ¡°Boom!¡± The spawn explode, spraying blood and guts everywhere. ¡°Gross,¡± says Maria as she wipes guts off her clothes and equipment. ¡°Miss, Mr. Button sent us to help you. The other guards are at the sacred points already. We just need the offerings,¡± explains the guards. ¡°Got it,¡± says Maria. ¡°Follow me.¡± As she walks away, she gazes at the Kraken with anger. Although Sacred Sword is a video game, it''s hard not to see the NPCs as real people. So, to Maria, this is a tragedy as so many people are dying. With resolute eyes, Maria starts to run to the next sacred point, with the guards following behind her. When they arrive at the scene they are created by the sight of more guards battling spawn. ¡°Crusade,¡± Maria growls. Crusade is another holy speed meant to buff your party. With the assistance of the group buff, Maria and the guards quickly turn the tides on the spawn. Of course, the mission isn''t impossible. After all, I designed it! This time the guards have to kill every spawn before Maria can get to the sacred point. But after she place the second offering, the offering starts to give out a giant light beacon. Looking around the city, the other offering also gives off a light beacon. Then a gigantic grumbling sound is heard right below the Kraken¡¯s feet. ¡°That''s where the last sacred point is,¡± says Maria as she narrows her eyes. Quickly, Maria heads over to the last sacred point with the guards. I smile to myself. ¡°Hermia! Time for the boss fight!¡± I say. ¡°Already?¡± Asks Hermia. ¡°Oh! I want to watch!¡± ¡°Alright, alright,¡± I say as I chuckle and walk over to a table. I spread out god¡¯s eye before me, letting Hermia see the action. ¡°Wow, you really destroyed the city. The Kraken is supposed to be a boss for level 300 players. This is supposed to be one of the final quests in the game,¡± she remarks with raised eyebrows. ¡°Details, details,¡± I say. ¡°This is fine. I just made the quest a little easier, added a couple convenient plot points, and increased the strength of the guards. We can still have the players fight the Kraken.¡± ¡°Alright!¡± Says Hermia. She looks unnaturally happy. Was it something I said? When Maria finally arrives at the Kraken¡¯s feet, we both lean in, trying to get a closer view of the action. Once again, Maria arrives on the scene to see the guards battling spawn. Except, this time, there¡¯s a new enemy.
Spawn Agglomeration
A fusion of spawn. The strongest monster produced from the KrakenLevel: 35
¡°Fuck! Crusade!¡± screams Maria. Instantly the surrounding are filled with the holy light from her buff. ¡°Strengthen!¡± shouts Maria as she charges forward with her sword in her hands. She runs straight at the mega-spawn (yes I¡¯ve nicknamed it mega-spawn. You got a problem with that?) before letting loose a slash. Unfortunately, the blow that used to be able to cave in a spawns head harmlessly slips off the side of the mega-spawn. Undeterred, Maria whips around, striking the mega-spawn in the side of the head. This time, the spawns head sinks a little. Then it turns at Maria, grins, and pushes out. *Smash!* ¡°Aah!¡± Screams Maria as she flies backwards. The impact from the blow actually causes Maria to fly backwards before she smashes into another spawn, killing it instantly. As Maria struggles to rise from the ground, the mega-spawn walks over and start eating it¡¯s dead comrade. As it eats, the mega-spawn begins to heal from the little damage Maria has done. It walks over to Maria, grins, and opens up its maw, ready to take a bite. ¡°Archers! Fire!¡± screams the guard captain. At once arrows fly over and smash into the mega-spawn. It turns to the guards and roars, only to be greeted by another barrage. ¡°Mages! Fire!¡± The fireballs fly into the mega-spawn¡¯s mouth. *Kaboom!* The mega-spawn explodes into a thousand pieces. The guards jump for joy as Maria staggers to her feet, visibly shaken by her close encounter with death. Really, it¡¯s quite a smart idea. Since most of the monsters around Atlantis live in the water under high pressure, they¡¯re pretty much impervious to water magic. Having a mage corps train in other elements really helps. Unfortunately, water trumps fire. Although the fireballs caused the mega-spawn to explode, the pieces begin to reform. I¡¯m not surprised. The mega-spawn is 15 levels higher than the highest level guard inside the city. All the powerful guards are outside the city, fighting the level 300+ Kraken. If the guards could so easily defeat the mega-spawn, well, there¡¯d be no need for a hero right? As the mega-spawn reforms, Maria turns to the guards. ¡°You guys distract it,¡± she says. ¡°While it¡¯s occupied, I¡¯ll run to the sacred point.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± says the guard captain. ¡°Are you sure you can do this?¡± ¡°Yes. Please allow me.¡± Maria nods her head confidently. The guard captain bows his head for a second, nods, and says, ¡°We can buy you thirty seconds.¡± ¡°Thirty seconds is plenty,¡± replies Maria. By this time, the mega-spawn has reformed. It stares at the guards with its eyes full of hate. It lets out an earth shaking roar. Hermia starts the timer next to me. 30 seconds: Maria sprints forward with the guards towards the mega-spawn. The archers and the mages prepare their projectiles. 25 seconds: The guards meet the mega-spawn head on. Maria yells out, ¡°Sprint!¡± raising her base speed as she dashes to the right towards the sacred point. 20 seconds: The mega-spawn realizes that Maria is heading towards the sacred point. As it turns to attack her, it is hit by arrows from behind. 15 seconds: Maria is safely past the mega-spawn. The fireballs are about to hit the mega-spawn when it jumps into the air and splits into multiple tiny spawn. 10 seconds: The new spawn fall on the helpless archers and mages. The rest of the guards turn towards their comrades not noticing the rest of the mega-spawn charging for Maria. 7 seconds: The mega-spawn lands in front of Maria and attacks. Maria sword begins to shine. 4 seconds: ¡°GET OUT OF MY WAY¡± shouts Maria as she swing towards the mega-spawn. 2 seconds: Maria¡¯s sword meet the mega-spawns arm. Her sword continues forward, unhindered, before cleaving the mega-spawn in two. 0 seconds: Maria reaches the sacred point. Above her, the Kraken roars. Maria slams the offering down. As the Kraken finally shakes off the guards and moves to attack the city, he is repelled by the three golden beams from the offering on the sacred points. The golden beams coalesce into a single form. ¡°Poseidon,¡± someone whispers. With a roar, the Kraken smashes into the figure of Poseidon. Yet, the power of the fallen god repels the Kraken. The golden figure summons his trident and throws it at the Kraken. *Boom!* The trident pierces through the Kraken¡¯s skin, ripping a large hole in its side. With a roar, the Kraken begins to retreat. Then Poseidon turns towards his city and releases a holy light. From above, I can see all the spawn in the city melt away and all the injured citizens have their wounds healed. Then, with the threat gone, Poseidon descends. When he arrives at the sacred point he stops in front of Maria. ¡°Hello child,¡± he says. Maria looks up and down at Poseidon. He is exactly what you would imagine from a character based off the Greek god of the sea, complete with a long white beard and a little badge that says ¡°My son went to summer camp and he loved it!¡± I smile. The badge was my touch. :) ¡°Child, you have done well in protecting my city. I would like to reward you,¡± says Poseidon as he holds out a glowing orb to Maria. When Maria reaches out and touches the orb, a screen flashes in front of her. Of course, I know exactly what that screen says, since I made it.
You have been offered a class:
Holy SwordsmanA swordsman chosen by a god to be his or her champion. Replies on a fusion of holy magic and sword skills.
Accept?YesNo