《Legacy》 Chapter 1 - Where Is My Mind? I woke up in a room. It was dimly lit with only a few candles that were standing on a table not far from the bed. I was a bit dizzy. The room was unfamiliar and so were the clothes. They seemed strangely plain in this day and age or to be more exact, they were old fashioned, something that one would wear at a renaissance faire. They were odd shaped brown pants, a white shirt I couldn¡¯t even guess from what material it was made from and black leather boots. Needless to say, it wasn¡¯t something I wore or ever wore. I walked inside the room for a bit. I needed to make sure this wasn¡¯t a dream. I pinched myself and touched different objects inside the room before I was certain it wasn¡¯t. ¡°Hello John. My name is doctor Mathew Court and the person next to me is James Pagan.¡± On the wall next to the bed a giant screen appeared. On it two people were standing next to each other. One was wearing a white lab coat while the other was wearing a business suit. It was easy to guess who was who. ¡°I know you are disoriented but you need to listen. You have been in an accident.¡± John wanted to deny it saying his body felt fine, but he felt as if something was wrong. He started to remember something that happened before he arrived here but it was in bits and pieces. He was driving. It was dark and he was angry but he didn¡¯t remember why. ¡°We don¡¯t have a lot of time so I¡¯ll let your parents speak before we continue.¡± The doctor and the business man stepped out of the camera¡¯s line of sight his parents appeared on screen. They looked haggard. ¡°Johnny, my Johnny, I ¡­¡± His mother tried to talk but her emotions overwhelmed her. As soon as she started crying she left the line of sight and his father stepped in front, his face severe. ¡°Listen John, you have been in an accident. We just visited you and, I¡¯m not going to sugar coat it, it¡¯s bad. I pray that this message gets to you. We had to make a decision on your behalf but I¡¯m not so sure we made the right one. This whole business feels like making a deal with the devil.¡± His composure started to waver and tears appeared in his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m sorry John, please forgive me.¡± The clip changed all of a sudden and the doctor and the man in the suit were in front of the camera again. The doctor left shortly after the clip started. ¡°John, how are you holding up? My name, as the doctor mentioned, is James Pagan, vice-president of a company called Nocturne. We design and create games. Usually that wouldn¡¯t be of much help for someone in your position but luckily we could assist you this time, making you the first ever virtual reality gamer. You are hooked up to a machine that was designed by our company for full immersion. You can touch, smell, taste, see and hear anything and everything. We made the proposal too your parents and with their consent we did and are doing everything in our power to help you, but there is a catch. The capsule you are in now is a prototype and it was never tested on humans before. We don¡¯t know what to expect but there is a small chance it may produce some small problems or even some big ones, but with your help we can improve the system with each dive. Each dive is risky but less risky than the previous one. For now we will immerse you in short bursts so that we can patch the system slowly but safely without any crashes. It will feel like hours for you in there but to us it will be only minutes. It¡¯s one of the benefits of the technology. Right now we can¡¯t communicate with each other the normal way like video conference or phone calls. The system wasn¡¯t designed for that. We can however send video from one to the other like e-mails. In the corner of the eye, just out of sight there should be an icon there. Clicking it will take you to the menu. The menu is user friendly so it¡¯s easy to understand. Send us updates about problems with the system, bugs that you found or about problems related to your virtual body. You can also send videos to your loved ones, just announce at the begging of the video to whom it is for and we¡¯ll make sure not to violate your intimacy. There should be two timers in your menu. One represents how much time you have left until your dive ends and the other shows you how much time has passed in the real world. The date should be posted right under those two timers. It will be hard but we are here to help you. Be strong and Godspeed.¡± The doctor returned while James left and moved into the center of the screen. ¡°As I said before, I¡¯m doctor Mathew Court. I will be your personal physician. Right now I have the obligation to inform of the state of your real body as well as propose treatment or course of action while you go through this experience.¡± The doctor sighted. He started reading from a chart. As soon as he saw it, John knew it was his chart. ¡°When you arrived at the hospital you had: a collapsed lung, one perforated kidney, internal bleeding, external bleeding and broken bones all over your body as well as numerous cuts and bruises. These are minor problems. The biggest problem you have was caused by brain hypoxia. On your way to the hospital you stopped breathing for a total of 5 minutes and 23 seconds. That caused some brain damage and right now you are in a coma. We can¡¯t be sure how long it will take but chances are high you could wake up. You are stable right now but not out of danger. In 12 hours you¡¯ll be undergoing surgery again. You are in good hands so rest assured you will survive this. I wish I had better news for you but¡­ stay strong.¡± The video ended and John was in a state of shock. He didn¡¯t even realize he dropped to his knees until the video was over. He moved towards the table, picked it up as if it was made out of paper and threw it across the room. He destroyed anything and everything that could be destroyed and afterwards collapsed in a corner of the room while hugging his knees. He whipped his tears even though he knew that the tears weren¡¯t real and checked the timers and date.
Dive time remaining: 2 hours 33 minutes 40 seconds Real time elapsed: 41 seconds Date: November 27 2054
He felt that only yesterday it was September 12. He was on his way to his girlfriend¡¯s house ready to apologize for the harsh words and stupid mistakes one usually makes when he is angry. A few days before, he confronted her about something a friend of his told him. His friend said that she saw her with him at the movies, the same day she said she had to have dinner with her family at a relative¡¯s house. He confronted her, she denied and after an hour of arguing he left. After she stopped responding to his calls he decided to go in person to apologize but the scene he saw even now hunts and wounds him more them anything that happened before or after the accident. There is nothing worse than being betrayed by the one you love but there are exceptions. He thought he would surprise her by going to her room and apologizing with a small gift, something that she always loved and wanted, a small bonsai tree. The fact that she was cheating on him hurt but what hurt more was that she was cheating on him with his brother, someone he trusted unconditionally. ¡°EMILY! CHRIS!¡± he screamed with an almost primal rage. The bonsai tree was thrown and hit above the bed, shattering into a pieces. There was silence after that. Nobody could utter a word and there was no need for one anyway. It was pretty clear to him. He wanted to ask a million questions he didn¡¯t want to hear the answer to and in the silence of that room, he just left. He drove as fast as he could with no apparent destination. After that it was all hazy but he was sure that he had his accident then.
Dive time remaining: 1 hour 40 minutes 20 seconds Real time elapsed: 2 minutes 1 second Date: November 27 2054
He wanted to be left alone but the thought that they may think that he couldn¡¯t talk because of brain damage or couldn¡¯t understand language anymore made him reconsider so he made a short video while standing in front of the mirror. ¡°I need some time to think. It¡¯s too much to process.¡± He moved back into the corner of the room. It took some time but after a while another video message was on the wall. This time the doctor was standing next to a young woman but in different screen shots. She was about his age, in the early twenties but she looked irritated and bored. ¡°It¡¯s good to see that you are responsive. We were afraid that you couldn¡¯t get the message or that you were ¡­ never mind.¡± Brain dead thought John. ¡°The person next to me will be your new colleague. Try to get along.¡± The doctor moved aside and made room for the young lady. ¡°Hello, my name is Manna. I will be your ¡­ provider on this experiment. Everything in that room was computer generated but there might be some consistencies problems. Some objects are too light or too heavy, food might not taste the same or those flowers might smell differently. Your job is to report to us those inconsistencies but for now stabilizing the system takes priority. Your next dive will be tomorrow. From the data we gather today we will try to improve the communication system. It¡¯s good that we can exchange videos but real time information is better in the long run. We¡¯ll talk again tomorrow, until then, stop destroying the room. We may not be able to see you but we can tell what you¡¯re doing thanks to the data output. You are lucky the system didn¡¯t crash.¡± The message ended there. It was kind of abrupt but straight to the point. Strangely enough Manna made him laugh. First it was her appearance. She had straight black short hair and she didn¡¯t wear any make-up or at least any that he saw. Her eyes were a little big and brown colored and her eyelashes long. Her appearance wasn¡¯t of someone you would call beautiful or sexy but cute. Lastly her attitude was that of someone who wasn¡¯t used to yelling or giving sermons to people like his mother or father were used by now. All in all, it reminded him of a puppy barking at a stranger which made it funnier the more he remembered it. He got up and moved in front of the mirror while still giggling a little. He whipped his tears again and started another recording. ¡°To doctor Mathew Court: Thank you for taking care of me as well as your honesty. Do whatever you need to do but keep me alive. To James Pagan: I won¡¯t make you regret your decision to help me so I¡¯ll start working as soon as possible. To Manna: It was VERY nice meeting you and I hope that we can work well with each other from now on. To my parents: Mom, I need you to be strong too, so please stop crying. I¡¯m in good hands¡­ I hope. I¡¯ll try to send messages as often as I can. Dad, I don¡¯t care if this is a deal with the devil or a miracle from God. I¡¯m not ready to die so as far as I can tell, you did the right thing. Now, this is a message to the both of you, STOP VISITING. I don¡¯t want you to see me this way. I¡¯ll get better with or without you coming to visit so I think it is better just to exchange messages from now on. No more crying from now on either. I¡¯m not dead yet and from what my doctor told me I¡¯m not dying either. I¡¯m just asleep while my mind wanders off. Love you both, see you soon.¡± I ended my message with a smile. I wanted them not to worry about me but what parent wouldn¡¯t worry about their child while he lies on a hospital bed. I just hopped they would listen to my request of not visiting anymore. It didn¡¯t help me and it certainly didn¡¯t help them to see me that way. In time maybe it would just slip their mind that I was here and that maybe I was just far away living my life normally but that was just wishful thinking.
Dive time elapsed: 1 minute Real time elapsed: 1 minute Date: March 15 2056
It took more than a year but today would be the first time the time conversion would be set at 1:1 and I can communicate with the outside world through a video chat. I got used to always waking up in this same bed every time a new dive was initiated but if everything would go well today I wouldn¡¯t need to start a new dive each day but continue on this one indefinitely. The screen, as always, materialized on the nearest wall and James Pagan was standing in front of the camera. I didn¡¯t see James since the first time in November. He looked excited and as always very sharp in his business suit. ¡°Hello James. Can you hear me?¡± ¡°John? It looks like it worked. I never doubted it would.¡± Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. ¡°Sure you didn¡¯t.¡± There was a trace of sarcasm in my voice. I¡¯m sure he was just as surprised as I was that it worked. We tried for over a month make sure that the communication would work but this was the first we tested it. ¡°We have good news, great news and excellent news. What do you want to hear first?¡± ¡°Does it matter?¡± ¡°Fine, try to stay grumpy as much as you like but you will smile by the end of this day. Doctor, you¡¯re up.¡± ¡°Hi John, I am the bearer of good news today. With the exception of the machine connected to your noggin, you are of life support. No more tubes and probes. You have gone a long way from being a cyborg to being a human again.¡± ¡°I see you are sweet as ever doctor.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the truth. Your body is now 70 % healed.¡± ¡°Only 70%?¡± ¡°I said it was good news not great news. Your noggin is a different story though. We don¡¯t know when you¡¯ll wake up or IF you¡¯ll wake up. You¡¯re one of those special cases on which doctors base their theses on or medical journals are written about.¡± ¡°Please, you¡¯re making me blush.¡± The sarcasm didn¡¯t escape the doctor. ¡°Why are you always cynical and sarcastic? It is good news. You are out of danger. From now on you can only improve. Try to be happy at least. It wasn¡¯t easy for me either with you always trying to die on me the first chance you got.¡± ¡°First time I hear about that.¡± ¡°The last time you¡¯ll hear about it too. From this moment on I don¡¯t need to watch you like a hawk anymore.¡± ¡°You never sugar coat it, do you doc? I¡¯m really thankful though. Thank you for keeping me alive and I AM happy, more so than you will ever know. So, what¡¯s the great news?¡± ¡°It¡¯s about our AI development or to be more precise, it¡¯s about Manna.¡± ¡°Is she getting promoted or something?¡± ¡°You could say that. You never noticed?¡± ¡°Noticed what?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll let her tell you in person.¡± The screen went dark and returned to being a normal wall. ¡®Did we lose transmission or are they going to call me back later?¡¯ While thinking that something touched John on the back. ¡°Puppy?¡± ¡°Will you stop calling me Puppy? It wasn¡¯t funny the first time you said it and it¡¯s not funny now.¡± ¡°Why are you here Manna? How are you here?¡± ¡°I wanted to tell you in person otherwise you might just freak out when you herd it. I wasn¡¯t entirely honest with you. You see, I¡¯m a little bit ¡­different. ¡± ¡°You¡¯re an AI aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°You knew?¡± ¡°Not at first. I made the connections just now. You were able to fix the problems with the system within a day of me finding them. There was no reason to doubt you so I didn¡¯t think too hard on it but now that I know it was pretty obvious but it doesn¡¯t really change much does it.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to say I lied to you? I know what happened to you and how you got here so I thought that ¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine Puppy. I don¡¯t hate you for not telling me you¡¯re an AI. To be honest it really doesn¡¯t matter because it doesn¡¯t change much. You¡¯ll still be you the next time we meet and I¡¯ll still be me.¡± ¡°Stop calling me Puppy and for your information it does change a lot of things.¡± The screen appeared on the wall again. James was standing alone in the middle of the screen. ¡°So did you tell him?¡± James asked. ¡°Yes sir, but he took it better than I thought.¡± ¡°Then now is the time to tell him the great news. Manna is just one of the many AI created by our company. With the success of developing an AI so humanlike that it could fool you, who spend the most time with her, along with this system we are now proud to announce to you that the VRMMORPG, Legacy, along with the capsule will begin mass production in 6 months and in one year the game will be launched on the open market.¡± ¡°I understand that that¡¯s great news for you but what does that got to do with me?¡± ¡°I know that it may not seem like it but what we accomplished is the creation of a new world, John. Think about it. Right now you can¡¯t wake up in the real world so we¡¯ll just bring the real world to you. You¡¯ll be able to see and talk to people from all over the world. You¡¯ll be able to do all the things that you used to do and many more that you couldn¡¯t.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fantastic, I could ¡­¡± His smile faded as soon as it appeared. ¡°But it¡¯s still a year from now.¡± ¡°I know. It¡¯s quite tragic actually. Another year separated from human interactions. While the rest of us go on with their lives you¡¯ll be all alone with nobody to keep you company.¡± James said that indifferently like it was about some stranger in some far of land. ¡°Are you trying to annoy me?¡± ¡°Here¡¯s the excellent news. The game¡¯s launch date is in a year but the server is up and running since last week. Normally we wouldn¡¯t let anyone start ahead of the official launch date because it would be unfair to the other paying customers.¡± ¡°I get it. I can¡¯t play until the official launch.¡± ¡°Wrong. Because you were THE alpha tester, we would like to offer you the chance to become a beta tester for Legacy. Beta testing will start in a month. Try to survive the boredom until then.¡± John started smiling and in the next moment tears were filling up his eyes. ¡°See, I told you you¡¯ll be smiling by the end of the day. Well, I¡¯m an important man so I have to end our call now. As always, if you find bugs in the system tell Manna and submit a report until then, good bye.¡± Turning around, John grabbed Manna by the waist and started spinning with her. After he made her dizzy he started speaking so fast Manna wouldn¡¯t have understood if she was a normal person. ¡°Did you hear Manna? I can finally go outside and see the light, feel the breeze, EAT SOME FOOD and talk to people.¡± ¡°So you don¡¯t like talking to me?¡± ¡°I never said that, it¡¯s just that we always talk about work and you never want to talk about yourself. What do you like? What do you dislike? What¡¯s your passion? ¡° ¡°All I did until now was work. I never actually found something I want to do.¡± ¡°Then how about learning to cook? Cooking is fun AND we can find any bugs within the system at the same time. It¡¯s a win-win situation.¡± ¡°What am I, your wife?¡± ¡°Yes, you are my one and only Manna, my cute and fierce little wife.¡± Manna blushed at the bold statement. ¡°Stop kidding around.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not kidding. Without you around, I would have given up a long time ago and would still be willowing in self-pity even now. I don¡¯t want to do this without you. So¡­ do you want to explore this new world we helped create, together?¡± She stood silent for a moment and then fidgeted around a bit. She wasn¡¯t sure how serious he was. Was he just messing with her again? She wanted to complain again that she didn¡¯t like being taken for a fool but the look in his eyes was genuine. ¡°You have to say it clearly then.¡± She gave him a chance to reconsider, to tell her he was kidding or to say he jumped the gun while being overwhelmed by emotion. She¡¯ll be hurt but, in the long run, they¡¯ll both be happier. Without any second thought, he kneeled in front of her and took her hand. ¡°Manna, will you mar¡­¡± ¡°Yes.¡± It was their first kiss and also the first kiss in a new world. It was a long one. While holding each other the room lit up along with the materialization of the screen. ¡°What are you two doing?¡± On a split-screen doctor Mathew and James appeared. James was grinning. ¡°I think we both know what they were doing doctor but let¡¯s hear their explanation first.¡± A bit embarrassed, John couldn¡¯t look them in the eye at first feeling Manna tightening the grip on his hand, all the hesitation left him. ¡°I love her.¡± James looked at him and then at Manna. She was a little bit nervous too, like a daughter presenting a boyfriend to her father. ¡°I¡­ I also love him.¡± A few minutes pasted in silence while James was thinking. The doctor didn¡¯t have anything to add and was just waiting in silence. After he made up his mind about something, James clapped his hands. ¡°Congratulations. Well, carry on then.¡± ¡°Wait, James.¡± John tried to stop him before he ended the call. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°I know it¡¯s asking a lot but I really did fall in love with Manna so please let us stay together.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that for Manna to decide?¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you technically her father?¡± ¡°You are so old fashioned but asking the father for his daughter¡¯s hand in marriage is a nice touch. Manna is yours from now on but don¡¯t forget that she is special in more ways than you can imagine. Cherish her or else¡­¡± James was either business like or very lax. Right now he was showing a different side, that of a dotting parent. It wasn¡¯t hard to imagine what he could do to him but it was never the less scary. All John could do was nod. James ended the call then and after that and the doctor started to speak. ¡°I was going home when all of a sudden alarms go off that you have a very elevated pulse. I rush back to monitor your vitals and call James and what do I see?¡± John couldn¡¯t speak. It wasn¡¯t how he wanted to tell the world he found his soul-mate but it still happened that way. ¡°Congratulations on your engagement but next time, warn us. You really gave us a scare.¡± ¡°Sorry doc.¡± ¡°Not so cynical now, are you?¡± with a laugh the monitor disappeared revealing only a wall. When the call ended the couple couldn¡¯t help but be relieved. The past several minutes were mentally exhausting. ¡°I still need to call my parents.¡± ¡°Are you sure that¡¯s wise? What if they don¡¯t approve?¡± ¡°Then they¡¯ll have to live with it besides, what can they do? Nothing short of pulling my plug will make me give you up.¡± It was reassuring but it still made Manna nervous. ¡°John, is that you?¡± his mother appeared in front of the monitor. ¡°It¡¯s really not the best time. We have guests.¡± ¡°Mom, where do you keep the napkins?¡± His brother, the one who hurt him the most, was there. He knew that it was impossible for his parents to stay mad at him, especially when there was a chance that he himself could die. It was strange but after all this time it was great to see him again. ¡°John, listen, I wanted to ¡­¡± ¡°Chris, it¡¯s good to see you. I wanted to talk to you too. Can you get dad too, I want to¡­¡± ¡°I married her!¡± Chris almost screamed the words at him. He didn¡¯t expect that. ¡°When did that happen?¡± ¡°We got married on the 5th last month. We didn¡¯t tell you because we thought it would only upset you but I need you to hear it. I love her. You are my big brother so I also love you and under normal circumstances we would have waited until you got better and ask for your forgiveness and your blessing before we got married but¡­ She¡¯s pregnant.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to be an uncle?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry for what we did. We just fell in love at some point and without even noticing we hurt you. We wanted to tell you but there was never a good time and eventually you found out in the worst possible way.¡± There only the sound of Chris¡¯s sobbing echoing in the room. John waited until Chris regained his composure which took some time. The sound of his wailing drew the attention of his father as well as Emily. They were having dinner when he called. She averted her eyes when she saw him on the monitor but still entered the room. ¡°So, is it a boy or a girl?¡± Chris and Emily were shocked. They didn¡¯t expect him to be so civil. They expected screaming and yelling as well as multiple cursing. Having John standing there, just smiling made them feel worse. ¡°Why won¡¯t you scream and yell? Why are you just smiling? We deserve anything you throw at us. WHY DON¡±T YOU HATE ME?¡± ¡°It¡¯s been a year. I don¡¯t think you noticed but I have a lot of free time. I thought a lot about this and¡­ I don¡¯t want to hold a grudge, especially against you two. You are both very important to me and I don¡¯t want to lose you, either of you. I spent a lot of days thinking it would be the last and I realized that I didn¡¯t want to end it on a bad note. Anyway, this isn¡¯t why I called. I have good news, great news and extraordinary news. Which do you want to hear first?¡± Next Chapter > Chapter 2 - Welcome To The New Age Chapter 2 ¨C Welcome to the new age
Dive time elapsed: 936 hours 34 minutes 22 seconds Time conversion: 1:1 (R:V) Date: April 23 2056 Server: Home
Sometimes it¡¯s easy to forget that you are living in the world of 1¡¯s and 0¡¯s, especially when you stayed there for more than a year. If you stay in a different country for that long amount of time, you start picking up the language, habits and traditions but if you stay in the virtual world, even for a short amount of time, you start picking up weird habits such as forgetting to eat or sleep. Right now I¡¯m having breakfast. In the real world, when you have to eat at least three times a day to stay healthy, you¡¯ll never forget to eat. You¡¯ll always get hungry at some point. I, on the other hand, have to reform this bad habit. It¡¯s not that I really need to eat or that I really want to eat but I really love having Manna cook for me. As much as I hoped that my family will approve of my new wife, it didn¡¯t go as well as I have hoped. Suffice to say, if I wasn¡¯t in a hospital already, my dad would have put me there by now. Strangely enough, we weren¡¯t the first couple of Human and AI to want to get married. Years ago a Japanese man married his video-game girlfriend. Of course, this is the first time the AI could say ¡®I do¡¯ with full knowledge of what that means and implies. We are still engaged but we¡¯ll wait a bit more until my dad cools off and gets over the oddity of the whole situation before we have a ceremony. Our home changed a bit. We couldn¡¯t stay inside a small room with nothing to do all day except finding bugs in the system so we built, or to be more exact coded, a house. It has one bedroom, a kitchen, a living room and a garden. I can now watch TV or explore the internet from an interface in the living room. One your ago I longed for this kind entertainment. It¡¯s strange how it¡¯s less entertaining than I remember. I used to spend hours in front of the TV or computer but now I got into the habit of reading books more than watching movies. The first books to be materialized were obviously cook books. Teaching someone who never ate anything in her entire life was more than difficult. I had to start from scratch and teach her things like one would teach a newborn. It was a lot of fun and I discovered that she has a sweet tooth just like I do. I¡¯m glad we¡¯ll never get fat in this virtual world. We enjoy most of our days by exploring the system, reading books or by talking for hours about all kinds of topics ranging from cooking to philosophy to coding. Today however was a special day. The beta testing of Legacy was going to start so we were both thrilled. I was going to be the first time we left our house in a long time. ¡°How much time do we have left?¡± I asked while still eating some poached eggs Manna made. ¡°About 7 minutes. We should start creating our avatars soon.¡± ¡°Have you thought of a user name?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll just go with Manna. It would feel weird being called anything else. What about you?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a surprise but I think you¡¯ll like it.¡± ¡°Just don¡¯t choose a weird name or I¡¯ll deny being married to you if people ask.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll choose Puppy Master.¡± ¡°If you do that I¡¯m calling off the engagement.¡± After I teased her a little bit more by proposing silly or stupid names, we connected to Legacy. The world has opened its gates and it was time for us to step through the gateway.
Your Legacy awaits you. Do you wish to claim it now?
YesNo
¡°Yes.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have an account. Do you wish to create a new one?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°The number of unlocked races is 1. You will be given the default human race avatar. Avatar customization is available.¡± It looked just like him. The John before the accident, the avatar he normally used inside the house. In this past year he would have changed a little. ¡°Increase the height by 5 cm. Add a few gray hairs. Undo. Increase hair length by 2 cm. Add wrinkles. Undo. Keep the changes.¡± ¡°Please choose a name. Be advised that obscene names or names that promote racism or prejudice will be penalized.¡± ¡°Frost.¡± Everything went dark and John felt like he lost consciousness. What materialized in a crowd of people was a man in his middle twenties. He was black haired and had green eyes. His body was lean and unlike most people that were in the crowd, he was stable on his feet. ¡°John, there you are.¡± ¡°Manna?¡± Manna looked a bit different too. Her hair was shoulder length. Her chest was a little bigger too. There were subtle changes all over her body but all in all she still looked like Manna. The only difference was that while the normal Manna was cute, this Manna was more mature, radiating femininity. The word cute didn¡¯t suit her anymore. She was a beauty that caught your eyes while she entered the room making heads turn. ¡°Wow.¡± ¡°Why so surprised? All girls like to play with makeup. Do you like it?¡± ¡°You look beautiful.¡± With a spontaneous kiss, words like ¡®showoff¡¯ and ¡®bast**d¡¯ were heard in the background but they barely registered. ¡°I like your name.¡± ¡°I remembered it was your favorite poet. Robert Frost would have been too long so I just shortened it. See, I pay attention.¡± With the arrival of the last beta testers, in the sky, a screen very much like the one that appeared on the wall of his room popped into existence. In the center of it was a man in his sixties and someone really famous especially to this crowd of people. ¡°Hello everyone. My name is Ramos Cipher, president of Nocturne and creator of Legacy. A few short words before I let you start on your new adventure. First of all, Legacy isn¡¯t just a game. It is more than that. It¡¯s a new world and the tool through which you will find your weaknesses and your strengths. Many of you have hidden talents that not even you are aware of. Legacy will unlock that potential. The world will challenge you in ways you could never imagine. You will be reborn. There are many paths to choose from, many of which lead to glory. You can walk the path of the righteous or the path of the depraved. You can be merciful or merciless. You can be good or evil. It is your choice. Find out who you want to be and who you don¡¯t and remember: This isn¡¯t just a game, it¡¯s your Legacy.¡± With the end of the message the screen disappeared and screams of excitement sounded all around. People tried to run in all directions but not many succeeded. Because they weren¡¯t used to their virtual bodies, people were staggering or falling down. In the mist of all the chaos, two people were silently walking around while looking at different objects and scenery while talking and laughing. ¡°How the hell are they able to walk? I can¡¯t even stand.¡± ¡°It feels so weird just to stand. I get dizzy from only just a few steps.¡± While they were walking around, Manna and Frost were stopped by a player that managed to crawl to them. She looked almost normal except for her fiery red hair. ¡°Wait. Please wait. Is there a trick to moving around in this body? Most of us can¡¯t even walk. Can you give us some tips?¡± ¡°Well, in your virtual body you¡­¡± It was the first conversation that Frost had in a long time. While trying to talk he bit his tongue. The pain wasn¡¯t as intense as in real life but it still cut the conversation midway which left people staring, making it even harder for Frost to resume talking. See that he was struggling, Manna continued from where he left off. ¡°In your virtual body you are basically like a newborn. The more you changed the appearance, the harder it become to control.¡± Seeing Manna talking to a total stranger made Frost regained his composure and started talking again. ¡°You should start slowly. Move your fingers independently at first and then use your hands to massage different parts of your body until it doesn¡¯t feel so stiff and numb. Trying to walk will be trickier. You¡¯ll feel like your drunk for the most part but you¡¯ll be able to run in no time.¡± ¡°You guys seem pretty knowledgeable. I¡¯m Rose. The one over there that is trying to walk while holding the railing is my friend Sage.¡± A few meters away, there was a boy that looked a bit green faced and had white silvery hair. ¡°My name is Manna. This is my fianc¨¦ Frost. Do you want to be friends?¡± ¡°Yes please. This isn¡¯t like most games so I would love to have some knowledgeable friends. As soon as we get used to the game, we¡¯ll PM you. Maybe we can go hunting.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think we can go hunting.¡± said Manna. Rose was a little disappointed and her enthusiasm died down a little. ¡°It doesn¡¯t have to be hunting. We can go on a quest or look for treasure.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what she meant.¡± While Rose was panicking and talking as fast as she could, Sage joined their conversation. ¡°We aren¡¯t allowed to leave the city for the first game month.¡± Frost and Rose were both surprised. Neither of them heard about that. ¡°How do you know that?¡± Frost wanted to ask that but Rose was quicker. ¡°It¡¯s in the tutorial in the system message box.¡± Looking like he was about to hurl, Sage turned around while grabbing the railing with both hands but fortunately, nothing happened. After about an hour, players started walking. Although they were walking kind of funny and unsteady, it was still considered walking. Frost and Manna separated from Sage and Rose. They wanted to explore as much as they could so after they registered each other as friends they gone their separate ways. ¡°So what do we do now?¡± asked Manna. ¡°We should probably watch the tutorial.¡± ¡°I already did.¡± ¡°You were watching it while we were walking around?¡± ¡°I can multitask.¡± ¡°Then, can you give me the cliff notes?¡± ¡°It¡¯s easier if I show you. Show Status Window!¡±
Status Window
Character NameManna
RaceHumanAffiliationNone
ProfessionNone
Level1Fame0
Satiety65%Infamy0
TitleNone
Health100Mana100
Stamina100Agility10
Vitality10Strength10
Wisdom10Intelligence10
Endurance10Luck0
Attack1-2Defense5
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
Equipment bonus: Novice Pants : Defense +1 Novice Shirt : Defense +1 Novice Boots: Defense +1 Novice set: Defense +1
¡°The most important thing you have to remember is that you need to eat. Once your satiety goes under 50% your mana, health and stamina regeneration will slow down. When it gets under 25% regeneration stops and when it reaches 0% you will lose 3% of your health every minute until you die. You¡¯ll die of hunger if you don¡¯t pay attention to it.¡± ¡°Health represents how much of a beating you can take. It¡¯s determined by how much vitality you have as well as your profession. Vitality also determines how fast your health regenerates.¡± ¡°Mana is the energy necessary to use supernatural abilities such as spells. It¡¯s determined by how much wisdom you have and your profession. Wisdom also determines how fast your mana regenerates.¡± ¡°Stamina represents the energy necessary to perform a strenuous physical activity. It¡¯s determined by the amount endurance. How much stamina is consumed depends on your profession. For example: To run, a mage will use 20 stamina points per minute while a warrier will consume only 5 stamina points per minute.¡± ¡°Agility determines how fast you move, react and attack in this world while strength determines how much you can carry as well as how much physical damage you can give. For those that use martial arts these are the most important stats.¡± ¡°Intelligence determines how much damage you can deal with supernatural skills as well as how much defense you have against those same skills. For those that use arcane arts this is the most important stat.¡± ¡°Luck changes probabilities. The more luck you have the more it looks like the world is looking out for you. If you have enough luck you can find unique items, avoid lethal attacks, get rare quests or beat monsters way stronger than you. For those that use the hidden arts this is the most important stat. The problem with luck is that you can¡¯t distribute points to it. Your luck increases when you get the favor of a god or a demon-god and decreases when you invoke their wrath.¡± Because most of the people either didn¡¯t notice the tutorial or didn¡¯t open it, Manna drew in a big crowd. People were listening intensely at what Manna was saying while opening their Status menu and checking.
For explaining the fundamentals of the world to a large group of people your intelligence and wisdom have risen by 1. You have gained 5 Fame.
¡°If it isn¡¯t the strolling couple. Are you giving a lecture about stats?¡± ¡°I wanted to thank you for the advice. My name is Bond. I don¡¯t have anything right now but if you ever want to party than please PM me. Do you want to be friends?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve watched the tutorial but this was a lot more helpful. Do you want to be friends? Maybe we can exchange information sometime.¡± ¡°This may seem like a stupid question but what are the hidden arts?¡± ¡°Do you know how to get a knight profession?¡± They were bombarded with questions. Some just wanted to befriend them and left after that while some stayed to talk. They talked about Legacy at first but soon they were talking about games they played, hobbies, activities and many more other things. All and all they talked a lot about nothing in particular. After the crowd dissipated Manna and Frost had more than 30 friends each.
Because you have made more than 25 friends you have gained 5 Fame.
¡°We¡¯ve met a lot of people today didn¡¯t we?¡± said Manna. ¡°Yeah¡± said Frost. He was smiling but it wasn¡¯t the smile he usually showed her. There was a bit of sadness mixed along with it. Although he would never admit it, Frost liked being surrounded by people and so, the thought that after three months, when the beta testing ended it will be just the two of them again was bitter-sweet. ¡°I was thinking that maybe we should form a guild. Do you know what a guild is, Manna?¡± ¡°A guild is a gathering of people with the same interests. In most MMORPG people can achieve more things if they become a part of a bigger community. A mage guild can help members learn magic while a merchant guild can loan you money to start your own business. There can be numerous types of guilds such as Fighting Guilds or Thieves Guild but they aren¡¯t limited to professions. As long as they have the same goal in mind, any gathering of people can form a guild.¡± ¡°Was that in the tutorial too?¡± ¡°No, I read about MMORPG¡¯s while I was looking up information about Legacy. One of the topics of discussion was guilds and guild battles. Forming a guild this early in the game will be really difficult. ¡± Frost seemed hesitant to speak but revealed a gentile smile and spoke none the less while holding Manna in his arms. ¡°You know, at first when I heard that I was stuck in the virtual world I was glad. I didn¡¯t want to see or talk to people. Although I forgave my brother for what he did I was still hurt and I didn¡¯t want to feel that way ever again. I was glad I had a place where I could be alone, a place to hide from the real world but since I started living with you, I started missing those days in which I would talk for hours about stupid things with my friends. I know that you get bored sometimes too. I watch you sometimes and see how restless you become when it too quiet. I was thinking that maybe if we make a guild maybe we could get used to people.¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid to talk to people¡± said Manna after a few moments of silence. ¡°It didn¡¯t seem that way to me. You seemed to be doing a fine job of having a conversation with those guys back then.¡± ¡°That was because we were talking about games and stats and things I¡¯m familiar with. I¡¯m an AI. I never had childhood. I never experienced the things that you experienced and sometimes I lack common sense. I¡¯m afraid that they¡¯ll find out am an AI and they¡¯ll start treating me differently.¡± ¡°Why would they do that?¡± ¡°Your parents did. When they found out that I was an AI their whole attitude changed.¡± ¡°My parents don¡¯t even know you. If they knew how smart, funny and caring you were I don¡¯t think they would be so thick headed. Those people we talked to today liked you for who you are. If being an AI changes their opinion of you than maybe they aren¡¯t people we would want as friends. You are right, there are a lot of things that you don¡¯t know but I want to be the one to show them to you. We can¡¯t hide in our little house forever and besides, I want to show my wife to the world. Let¡¯s go on this adventure together.¡± Manna¡¯s face became redder and she couldn¡¯t look Frost in the eye. Frost got closer and while gently holding her waist moved his face closer. ¡°What are you doing in the middle of the town?¡± Besides the two of them someone appeared out of nowhere. This startled them so much they both jumped back a few feet in a comical way. While looking at them a laughing stood Rose. ¡°Since when were you standing there?¡± Screamed Manna, a little angry and embarrassed for being seen while in a vulnerable moment. ¡°I got a new skill. It¡¯s called Sneak. It lets you escape people¡¯s line of sight by staying in their blind spots. It¡¯s very handy when pulling pranks.¡± ¡°Is Sage not with you?¡± ¡°We split up to explore more of the city. I got to do a quest on the way. It was to play hide and seek with a kid. I got the skill as a reward. Anyway, what are you two doing?¡± ¡°We were thinking of starting a guild.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a bad idea. It costs 100 gold to form a guild and you need to build or buy a guild house which costs about 100000 gold. Many people were thinking of making a guild but most gave up.¡± ¡°How do you know that?¡± asked Manna. ¡°I listen in on other people¡¯s conversations.¡± ¡°You know that¡¯s a bad habit, right?¡± The sum of 100100 gold isn¡¯t something a low level player can acquire in only 3 months of beta testing. The game was built on the idea of being a new world but just like in the real world, if you don¡¯t take care of your body you will die. You needed to buy new equipment, buy food as well as pay for lounging. Although the time conversion was 1:4 (meaning that one hour in the real world meant four hours in the game), even for one full year of continuous playing that wasn¡¯t enough time. Manna expected Frost to be disappointed but he was smiling and looked strangely excited. ¡°Are you okay Frost?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine. I didn¡¯t think that it will be easy to make a guild but that kind of sum is impossible for us at the moment.¡± ¡°So, what are we going to do?¡± ¡°We¡¯re going to explore this world as much as we can, because when the game is launched, the first thing I¡¯ll do is build a guild.¡± ¡°Then maybe you two shouldn¡¯t just stand around doing nothing. If you space out too much the beta testing will be over.¡± While being pushed by Rose from behind, I started to run. We didn¡¯t have a destination but now we had an objective. We had a house but in this new world, we will build our home. That day started a little shaky for most of the players. Like newborns, they were a bit unsteady on their legs but ready to face the world. Ramos Cipher was right. We were reborn. In those three months we got to know each other, we got to know ourselves and we did leave something behind. We left behind a strange rumor. If you ever want help in Legacy then just ask the couple that¡¯s on a date.
Thank you for participating in the beta testing!
< Previous Chapter Next Chapter > Chapter 3 - Hey Brother Chapter 3 ¨C Hey Brother
Dive time elapsed: 9072 hours 14 minutes 2 seconds Time conversion: 1:4 (R:V) Date: March 28 2057 Server: Legacy
In the world of Legacy, there are numerous species that have numerous countries on different continents. Right now, there is only one known continent, Atum. From the map provided by Nocturne on their website, Atum is divided into 11 parts. In the north are the savage lands. The savage lands belong to no race in particular and like the name implies, it¡¯s infested with monsters with incredibly high levels. Nothing is known about the savage lands but it is presumed that beyond them lays a new continent. South-west of the savage lands is the holy land of Aceso. Aceso has as many churches as there are religions and the people there specialize in holy magic. Out of all the religions that exist, the most prominent is the belief in the goddess Aine, goddess of love, growth and light. South of the savage lands and east of Aceso is the kingdom of Erebus. Out of all the kingdoms in Atum, Erebus is surrounded by 6 of them and yet it succeeded in maintaining its land for the last hundred years. The reason for that is because of their specialty which is poison and subterfuge. East of Erebus is the knight kingdom of San Kavar. They worship their deity, Kavar, the saint of the sword and shield. The people of San Kavar have strong bodies and are the most honorable of all human kingdoms. Demetoria is south of Aceso. It is a republic that stabilizes the whole economy of the continent. It is vastly rich, second only to Boros, kingdom of the dwarves. On the forums it is called the merchant paradise. East of Demetoria is Mnemosinia, the magic kingdom. It is ruled by a high mage that rumors say he has lived since the creation of the kingdom 500 years ago. Their main export is in magic items and more than 80% of the population knows magic. Almost nothing is known about the dwarf kingdom Boros. Their vast territory is covered in mountains and their people live underground. They are expert blacksmiths and craftsman and are on bad terms with the elven kingdom Doridon. East of Boros lays Doridon. The elves respect nature and life, and most of their land is untouched. They are at odds with the dwarves who exploit the riches of the land and believe only in their technology. Further east is Heraverde. This land is occupied by warrior orcs. Although they live on one land, the orcs are divided in several tribes each with a chieftain. Because of internal discord, they never succeeded in conquering San Kavar or Doridon. They lose millions with each attack every year but because they have a high birthrate, their population never decreases. Lyssa is south of Mnemosinia. The people here are the strongest physically out of all the human territories. The land is filled with warriors, swordsman and weapon masters. This is the birthplace of martial arts. In the southernmost part of the continent lays Ladon. Ladon¡¯s land is 56% surrounded by water and trades with every kingdom or state that has a port. It¡¯s infested pirates but because it has numerous beaches and attractions it gains more money out of tourism than trading. In the kingdom of Erebus, in the town Nightwood, there is a store called ¡®Pots, potions and peculiarities¡¯. The shopkeeper is a man that looks bored and dejected which doesn¡¯t match well with his handsome traits, making him look almost unapproachable. The name of this person is Frost. To understand why he is so dejected we would have to go back in time almost a week, to the official launch of Legacy.
Dive time elapsed: 8904 hours 57 minutes 12 seconds Time conversion: 1:1 (R:V) Date: March 21 2057 Server: Home
¡°That¡¯s why I say that the most important skill is the Identification skill¡± said Manna. Manna and John were practicing hand to hand combat and were having a discussion at the same time. In the days of beta testing, they realized that although attack skills improved with each use, passive skills such as sword mastery didn¡¯t. After thinking about it they realized that the reason sword mastery didn¡¯t improve past beginner level 9 was because no matter how many time you swing a sword, if you do it wrongly you would still be called a beginner. For the last 9 months they started training in different things such as swords, archery and of course martial arts. They did some of them for fun while others became hobbies. Because they couldn¡¯t get hurt, they used all kinds of weapons in their training when it became boring. It became a ritual to solve all their quarrels with a sparring match. John found the whole situation kind of funny. He remembered something his dad told him long ago. ¡°Son, your wife will always be right, even when she¡¯s wrong.¡± Of course that was a joke his father said and he didn¡¯t actually mean it but the fact that out of 134 spars, John only won 12, he thought that maybe his father¡¯s words held some truth. While he was thinking of this, he got distracted and with an accurate Brazilian kick to the chin, he fell on his back. ¡°I win¡± said Manna while sticking her tongue out. He couldn¡¯t help but smile while looking at that cute face she was making. ¡°Fine, I admit that the Identification skill is the first skill that you need to get, just to make your life easier, but what about the repair skill? Remember the Lagos Labyrinth? When we got out of there half of us looked like beggars while the other half looked dead. Some of us actually were.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, but you said THE most important skill. In a party the person with the highest Repair skill usually repairs all the weapons and armor. There are also mages and archers that wear robes and leather armor and the repair skill is useless to them, hence the most important skill is Identification. Identification at a high enough level has numerous uses such as identifying curses, traps, poisons, edible plants and monsters. This is the skill that will keep you safe most of the time.¡± ¡°Ok, I admit it. You ¡­ are ¡­ right.¡± Coming closer to Manna with each step it was obvious what he wanted. With a tight embrace and a deep kiss, you wouldn¡¯t have guessed that these were the same people that were fighting only moments ago. ¡°It¡¯s almost 8 o¡¯clock.¡± ¡°Already? Have you talked with James yet?¡± ¡°He¡¯s not answering. His secretary says he¡¯s away with business. We have a message from him though. He said ¡®I expect great things.¡¯ He also sent us two copies of Legacy.¡± ¡°He¡¯s always busy these days isn¡¯t he? ¡° ¡°Today is the launch of Legacy. It would be strange if he wasn¡¯t busy.¡± I was a bit sad to know that he was so busy he couldn¡¯t even say hello. There were a few things I wanted to talk about with him but I was incredibly giddy at the thought of playing Legacy. ¡°Then, shall we milady?¡± ¡°We shall.¡±
Your Legacy awaits you. Do you wish to claim it now?
YesNo
¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Connecting to your account. Your avatar is ready for customization. Do you wish to modify it?¡± ¡°Make him 3 cm taller and save changes.¡± ¡°Welcome Frost. Your Legacy awaits you.¡± Just like in the beta testing, he lost consciousness for a few moments before he materialized.
Welcome to Legacy. You are in Atum continent in the Erebus Kingdom. This is the beginner town Nightwood. Please note that for the next game month, or for a week in real world time, you will be forbidden from leaving the beginner town. Please follow the tutorial for more information.
The message was new but the tutorial was the same as the one in beta testing. Looking around he saw that there were a lot of people that, just like in the beta, were unsteady on their feet. The difference was that this time people weren''t falling down like drunks and could slowly walk. What he didn''t saw was Manna so he decided to go to higher grounds and look from above. The stairs from the plaza led to a stone paved road surrounded by shops on one side. From above you could see that the plaza was square shaped and looked as if it was dug into the earth. In the center of the plaza was a massive stone ring. The ring was called a town portal. If you needed to travel anywhere within a kingdom, all you needed to do was pay 20 gold and you would arrive there in moments. John waited for half an hour before he decided to log off and ask Manna directly where she was.
Dive time elapsed: 8905 hours 34 minutes 37 seconds Time conversion: 1:1 (R:V) Date: March 21 2057 Server: Home
¡°Where were you?¡± Apparently Manna already logged off and had the same idea as him. ¡°I was waiting at the top of the stairs. Where were you?¡± ¡°At the top of the stairs. It couldn¡¯t that we just missed each other right?¡± Realizing something, Manna had a panicked look on her face. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± asked John. ¡°What¡¯s the name of town you are in?¡± ¡°Nightwood. Why?¡± ¡°Because I¡¯m in the beginner town Spiriton. In what kingdom are you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m in Erebus.¡± Dejected, Manna answered ¡°I¡¯m in Mnemosinia. They are close to one another but we still won¡¯t be able to play together for a while.¡± Going back to the present, this was the reason why Frost looked like that. They decided to meet once a week in the Home server but after getting used to seeing Manna every day for the past year, he felt incredibly lonely. Someone entered the shop. Seeing that he wasn¡¯t a NPC he didn¡¯t give him second look. Because the game just started, players were poor and didn¡¯t have a need to buy mana or health potions because the month restrictions haven¡¯t ended yet. ¡°Hello brother.¡± Frost looked at the player. He was well built and had blond hair and dark purple eyes. Above his head floated the name ¡®Fallen¡¯. ¡°Chris?¡± asked Frost a bit uncertain. He looked a lot like Chris but he looked different enough to question if it was truly him. ¡°Hi John.¡± ¡°CHRIS!¡± With a well-placed kick in the solar plexus, John knocked the wind out of Chris¡¯s lungs making his gasp for air. While stepping on his foot he pushed him, making him lose his footing and fall on his back. In the blink of an eye he was already mounting him. ¡°WHAT THE HELL! I THOUGHT YOU SAID YOU FORGAVE ME?¡± ¡°I LIED! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU WANT ME TO SAY IN THAT KIND OF SITUATION AND IN FRONT OF MY GIRLFRIEND?¡± Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. ¡°I JUST WANT TO TALK.¡± ¡°Let me beat you up first and then we¡¯ll talk.¡± After the ¡°fight¡± was over they were both laying on their backs. Chris barely had any health while John consumed all his stamina.
Due to incredible effort you have gained 1 endurance point.
Fallen started laughing. ¡°Why are you laughing?¡± ¡°I got a new stat called Toughness because of that beating.¡± Frost started laughing too. ¡°I got an endurance point.¡± If anyone looked inside of the shop they would have seen a strange sight. Two people on their backs, one beaten to a pulp while the other barely able to move, laughing their hearts out. ¡°Are we even now?¡± asked Fallen. ¡°Not even close but I¡¯m willing to talk to you now.¡± ¡°We couldn¡¯t reach you for over a year.¡± ¡°I was beta testing Legacy from April to July and I didn¡¯t get any messages since then.¡± ¡°We left a message with Mr. Pagan telling you to contact us when you were available.¡± ¡°I never got the message. James has been busy since a while back. I think it slipped his mind.¡± ¡°It¡¯s good to hear that you¡¯re not ignoring us. Let¡¯s go for a drink and talk more then.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t. We have to wait until closing hours. It¡¯s the last day of the contract. If I don¡¯t do it properly, I won¡¯t get paid.¡± ¡°Then, let¡¯s meet up at the ¡®Tipsy Witch¡¯ after you close the shop. There are a lot of things to talk about.¡± Although it was true that he needed to get his last payment, there was another reason why Frost didn¡¯t want to close shop early. After it became dark and there were barely any foot traffic outside, an old man walked inside the shop. This was the owner of ¡®Pots, potions and peculiarities¡¯, Damian Troy. He looked the same as ever, like he drank a little too much of the potions he made. He looked as mad as a hatter but he paid incredibly well. ¡°Frost my boy, have there been any problems?¡± ¡°No sir.¡± ¡°Today is the last day of work isn¡¯t it? It¡¯s sad to see you go but I know it¡¯s hard for young people to stay in one place for too long. Before I give you your last payment there is something I want to teach you.¡±
Damian Troy offers to teach you the skills Identification and Brewing. Do you accept?
He was expecting to learn the Identification skill but because he had a good relationship with the shop owner, he offered to teach him the brewing skill. ¡°I¡¯ll gladly learn anything you have to teach. I¡¯m still young.¡±
You have learned Identification.
Identification (Active, Beginner level 1) By using this mystic art, you can ask the divine about earthly matters. Mana consumption: 10
You have learned Brewing.
Brewing (Active, Beginner level 1) Brewing potions, poisons and drinks is a skill given by the god Dionysus himself. It is said that the secret to immortality is hidden in this art. Mana consumption: 0 Requirements: Alchemic tools.
¡°You are different from the other youngsters. You stayed long hour, you helped me with my experiments and you never complained no matter how unreasonable I was. I was wondering if you could help me with a job.¡±
Quest: One apple a day
People are dying because of a mysterious plague inside the town and nobody knows the cause of it. Damian wants you to find the cause of these atrocities and report back to him. Difficulty: Unknown Quest requirements: Familiarity with Damian Troy at least friendly. Rewards: Unknown Time limit: 7 days Failure: upon death or being unable to find the source before the time limit Rejecting this quest will reduce your familiarity to acquaintances.
¡°Of course I¡¯ll help in any way I can.¡±
You have accepted the quest.
¡°I knew I could trust you. Let me just give you your final payment and I¡¯ll let you go on your way.¡± After he got the generous pay of 2 gold coins, the first place went to was the general goods store to buy a specific item. From his job he acquired a hefty bag of coins. Right now he had 24 gold, 10 silver and 80 copper coins. A good meal costed about 5 copper coins while the cheapest meal costed about 2 copper coins. Damian paid 2 gold coins a day but the reason why nobody wanted to work for him was because he was moody, insane and he would occasionally use you for experimentation. He made Frost drink so many bad tasting potions that he gained the skill Iron Stomach. Normally people would quit after a session like that but after gaining the skill, Frost would volunteer to drink the concoctions that Damian made just to increase the level, which increased their familiarity.
Iron Stomach (Passive, Special, Beginner level 7) Only the gods may know how hungry you were to eat what you did. The gods have blessed you with an indestructible stomach and a taste for things that normal people would regard as inedible. Effect and duration of poison decreased by 14%. The taste of food does not bother you.
Arriving at the general goods store he already prepared 5 gold coins in advance to buy something so essential normal RPG¡¯s offered it for free from the start. What he brought was ¡®Adventurer¡¯s traveling bag¡¯ also known as the inventory bag.
Adventurer¡¯s travel bag Description: Enchanted magic bag from the kingdom of Mnemosinia. Effect: The bag is bigger on the inside then on the outside. The bag won¡¯t change its size but the weight will increase with each item you put inside it.
The Tipsy Witch bar was a short distance away from the bar. As always it was full of sketchy characters and players that wanted to relax after a good day of working and doing quests. Fallen was a sitting alone at a table drinking a beer. ¡°Did you wait long?¡± I asked. ¡°No, I just got here a moment ago. Did you order anything?¡± ¡°I ordered a beer. So, what is it that you wanted to talk about?¡± Where do I start? Emily gave birth a few months back. It¡¯s a healthy baby boy and we named him Samuel.¡± ¡°So I finally became an uncle. No wonder you wanted to meet at a bar. This is a cause for celebration.¡± ¡°The reason I called you to a bar was to get you drunk so that I can tell you the rest of the news.¡± ¡°What other news?¡± I asked a little bit angry and fearful that I may not like the answer. ¡°Dad had a change of heart and realized that he overreacted.¡± ¡°That¡¯s an understatement.¡± ¡°He wants to meet with you.¡± ¡°He¡¯s here too?¡± ¡°Yes, he¡¯s in Demetoria working as a merchant. He wants you and Manna to meet him there.¡± ¡°What if I don¡¯t want to meet him?¡± ¡°He¡¯s really trying to get over the oddity of this whole situation. He realized that you can¡¯t have a normal life so he wants to make amends. Would you please meet him?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not promising anything but I¡¯ll talk to Manna first and then decide what to do.¡± ¡°All I¡¯m asking is that you at least consider it. He¡¯s in Silk city in Demetoria. If you ever decide to meet him, then please go there. By the way, where is Manna?¡± ¡°She¡¯s in Spiriton in Mnemosinia.¡± ¡°That¡¯s harsh. Emily¡¯s in another kingdom too. She in San Kavar in the city called Serenity.¡± ¡°I¡¯m surprised that dad plays Legacy.¡± ¡°We all are. Not just dad and I, Emily and mom play too. Mom¡¯s an alchemist in Demetoria. She makes potions and dad sells them. They make a pretty good team. Emily and I are both archers. We take turns playing so that at least one of us keeps an eye on Samuel.¡± ¡°So you profession is archer? You always had good hand eye coordination. You just might be suited to be an archer. I still can¡¯t believe that mom plays Legacy.¡± ¡°I know, right. After all those years where she told us games rot our brains, she started playing too. The reason why I entered you shop was because she asked me to buy recipes for her. Imagine my surprise when I saw you standing there¡± The discussions continued until Chris had to log out. They were both a little drunk and unsteady on their feet but they left in high spirits. John didn¡¯t know if he wanted to meet his father but it was good to see Chris again and this time he meant it. Although he wanted to go to an inn and sleep until the drowsiness wore off he needed to do something else first. People were dying for an unknown reason in this town and he had to find out why. ¡°Let¡¯s see what kind of boogeyman we uncover.¡± < Previous Chapter Next Chapter > Chapter 4 - Running Up That Hill Chapter 4 ¨C Running Up That Hill While John and Chris were having their discussion and drinking at the Tipsy Witch, in the city of Spiriton, in the kingdom of magic Mnemosinia, a person was quietly reading in dimly lit room. She was working as a librarian in the biggest building in the city, the ¡®Third Eye¡¯ library. A place so big being used only for her seemed like a blessing. Although it was only the seventh largest library in Mnemosinia it still had close to a million books. In the beta testing and even now, the librarian job was the least favorite job in all the game the reason for that was because it was very boring. For people who bought the game with high expectations, seeking a thrilling adventure, this tedious job was unbearable but for people like Manna this was a dream job. Like in all libraries, it was very quiet. The thought of reading books repelled most players and some only entered out of curiosity but never stayed too long. ¡°There¡¯s my favorite bookworm. Did you think about my proposal?¡± A group of 4 players entered the library. They all were wearing stylish clothing, very different from the beginner clothes that most people were wearing. The reason for that was because of their leader, Gallant, who invested a hefty sum of real money to start the game with enough funds to feed a quarter of the city for a whole day. The other reason why this place was empty was because their group frequented the library a lot and they liked to stir trouble with anyone who displayed even the smallest intention of getting close to Manna. ¡°Yes. I thought of your proposal. I would rather date a pig than date you. How many times do I have to reject you before you get the message? I told you already that I have a boyfriend.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe you do. Each time I log in, you are here. Why would someone who loves her boyfriend so much play games all day?¡± That statement irked her. Because they needed jobs and doing quests took time, she and John scheduled to meet only so often so that it wouldn¡¯t interfere with their gameplay. It was better to progress in the game than meet more frequently. After the one month ban was over and they could leave the city to hunt that won¡¯t be an issue but until then she had to endure it. The fact that Gallant implied that she didn¡¯t love John made her incredibly angry. She rose from her seat. Her fingers were already clenched so tight they became white. Fighting four people at the same time would be hard but knocking Gallant¡¯s teeth in would be an appropriate reword. ¡°Hey. Are you four going to just stand there all day? You either read a book or get out. This isn¡¯t a bar. If you want to pick up girls, go to the red district.¡± The one who spoke was Jojo Birch. As far as NPC¡¯s go, he is the strongest existence within the city. He¡¯s a well-respected fire mage capable of advanced level magic. Even if Gallant was incredibly rich, opposing Jojo would be foolhardy. ¡°Just go on a date with me. Who knows? Maybe we¡¯ll make some happy memories together.¡± With a grin, Gallant left with his party. Manna was boiling with rage but managed to calm down with a bit of difficulty. ¡°Thank you master Birch.¡± ¡°Bah. In the old days this place was filled with scholars and magicians that pondered and researched the mysteries of the universe. Seeing those riff-raffs just waltzing around in here is repugnant. By the way, have you finished the assignment I gave you?¡± Another good thing about the librarian job was that unlike other jobs you didn¡¯t have to look for quests, the quests would come to you in the form of chefs looking for recipes or villagers with strange and diverse questions.
Quest: Dusty Old Book
Master Jojo Birch has asked you to look for a cure for Rock Joint Syndrome. He is certain there is a book in the library that has the cure but he doesn¡¯t remember which one. Find it and bring it to him. Difficulty: C Quest requirements: Librarian job Rewards: Unknown Failure: abandoning the quest Rejecting this quest will reduce your familiarity.
¡°It wasn¡¯t easy but I think I found what you are looking for.¡±
You have finished the quest: Dusty Old Book.
You have gained a level.
¡°Ah, thank you Manna. I knew it was here. My advice to you, never get old. You start losing things bit by bit each year starting with your mind.¡± She was a bit disappointed that after all that effort all she gained was one level. Out of all the quests that she took while she worked here, this was the first one and she had high expectations. ¡°You know Manna; I didn¡¯t expect anyone would ever find this book. It¡¯s hard to find anything in this huge place, not to mention a book whose name I forgot long ago in a pile of books this size. As a special reword I want you to meet a friend of mine. She lives near Pendle Hill at the edge of the city. Please give her this letter when you decide to meet her. I¡¯m sure you two would get along.¡±
Chain Quest: Dusty Old House
Master Jojo Birch has asked you to deliver a letter to a friend of his. Difficulty: E Quest requirements: None Rewards: Familiarity with Master Jojo¡¯s friend Failure: abandoning the quest Rejecting this quest will not produce any repercussions.
¡°I¡¯ll go meet her after working hours.¡±
You have accepted the quest.
¡°There¡¯s no need. Since I plan on reading this and it¡¯s almost closing time anyway, why don¡¯t you leave early?¡± After getting her payment for the day and saying goodbye to Jojo, Manna started walking to the bad side of the city. Near the periphery of the city limits were the slums. People here were poor and because of that there were many thieves. Users avoided these parts of town and only entered here if they really needed to. The sun was setting and the cool breeze of the night was refreshing. The sunset painted the sky in different tones of yellow, orange and red. It was so breathe taking that one couldn¡¯t stop and admire it. ¡°If it isn¡¯t miss librarian? Are you out for a walk?¡± Gallant came from behind along with his three friends. As always, he had a smile on his face and was talking in a way that irritated people. Still fuming from what he said earlier, Manna lost her usual coolness. The thought of beating him senseless entered her mind a few times. ¡°Fuck off. I¡¯m busy.¡± The smile on Gallant¡¯s face faded a bit. His friends couldn¡¯t help but hold their laughter when he was so brutally rejected. After shooting then a glare each they regained their serious demeanor and Gallant put his fake smile back on. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right. You have a boyfriend. Someone who plays games all day and all night has a boyfriend. You clearly love him very much but I wonder if he feels the same way. I mean, he doesn¡¯t see you for days. Do you think that maybe he has someone else to keep him company. Right now he might just be having the time of his life making sweet, sweet love to some girl he just met. That is if he truly does exist. I still don¡¯t understand why you won¡¯t just go out with me. It¡¯s not like you¡¯ll lose anything and besides, it¡¯s just a game. It¡¯s not like your boyfriend will ever find out.¡± It took everything Manna had not to kill him. She was so full of rage she almost started crying. ¡°My boyfriend isn¡¯t a pig like you who would just chase skirts all day. You said I wouldn¡¯t lose anything? I would lose dignity for associating myself with vermin you. Here¡¯s an idea for you. How about you take all that money you have and go buy yourself a good personality. While you¡¯re at it, go buy yourself a brain too because you clearly don¡¯t understand that words: I¡¯M¡­NOT¡­INTRESTED.¡± Gallant¡¯s face was all red with rage. On his face, his smile was replaced with disgust and anger. The fact that the other three were bursting with laughter didn¡¯t help to calm down the situation. With a wicked smile, he took something from his bag and threw it towards Manna. She avoided it but he kept throwing then randomly until one of them hit her.
You have been poisoned. You have been paralyzed for 5 minutes.
¡°You know Manna; I really wanted to do things the easy way. I wanted to take you to a nice restaurant, get you drunk and go to a nice inn but you just had to PISS ME OFF.¡± For the first time in her life Manna was scared. The thought of what this sleazebag was going to do to her made her sick. While crouching next to her he took a bottle from his bag and dangled it in front of her face. ¡°Those darts I threw at you were expensive at about 20 g each but this is really expensive. Do you know what this is? This is the same poison that was in those darts. The only difference is that those darts contained only a small dose of poison, a little more than a drop. What do you think would happen if I made you drink this whole bottle?¡± Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
You can¡¯t log out while you¡¯re in combat.
She tried to run away but the fact that she couldn¡¯t log out surprised her. The surprise was probably written on her face because Gallant started laughing. ¡°You can¡¯t get away that easy. We¡¯re in ¡®Battle¡¯ right now. You want to know the greatest thing about the battle system? All the other pesky systems like the one for sexual harassment are turned off so now instead of having a nice night alone with me, you¡¯re going to have a nice time with the four of us.¡± She couldn¡¯t move. She couldn¡¯t scream. Only one word could describe what she felt at that moment: Terror. ¡°So this little bottle contains paralysis poison?¡± Out of nowhere a woman with red hair materialized. In her hand she had the poison that Gallant had only seconds ago. ¡°Who¡­?¡± Before he could utter any more words she cut his throat and kicked him in the stomach. While he was pressing against the wound with both hands to stop the bleeding she flinged his head back and poured the whole bottle down his throat. ¡°Pigs aren¡¯t allowed to talk.¡± While this was happening, a guy dressed in black was hacking away at the other three and killed them with ease. With the paralyzing hex finally over Manna started crying. She felt so many emotions in such a short amount of time that she barely knew what was happening anymore. When she looked at her savior she relaxed and leapt into her arms without a single thought. ¡°ROSE. Rose. Rose.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay now. You¡¯re safe.¡± ¡°I was so scared.¡± ¡°I know.¡± She stood there for a long time while Rose held her. When Manna finally calmed down, Rose went next to Gallant¡¯s body and took everything he had, leaving him almost naked. ¡°Tricks, can you take this ¡®thing¡¯ to the warehouse and tie him up?¡± The guy dressed in black called Tricks only nodded and dragged Gallant away like a sack of potatoes. Rose took helped her stand and took her through a few dark alleys before they arrived at a bar. When they entered, everyone was a little tense until they saw Rose. ¡°Welcome to ¡®Howler¡¯s Moon¡¯, the thieves den of Spiriton. I¡¯m sort of a local celebrity. I already made a name for myself and have a poster.¡± Drown on a poster on the wall there was a woman with the face covered by a mask and hair similar to Rose. Below it the words ¡®Wanted: Red Will-O-Wisp¡¯ followed by the reward. ¡°You have a bounty of 5000 gold?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been busy. What about you? Are you still a mage?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Although Manna calmed down she wasn¡¯t her usual bright and cheerful self. She used to be noisy and talkative and asked a lot of questions but now she stood silently in her seat, barely responding. ¡°I never told you how I got my name did I?¡± said Rose breaking the silence. ¡°When I was in secondary school, I always felt like I was being watched. I told my parents a few times but they said I was probably imagining it but it turned out I was right. One night while I was walking home from school this strange guy appeared out of nowhere and pushed me to the ground.¡± ¡°What happened next?¡± ¡°I fought back and screamed. A cop in the vicinity heard me and the guy got arrested. But after that I wasn¡¯t able to talk to or look at guys. The doctors called it androphobia. I recalled what happened that day each time a saw a guy and when the boys in class found out about my condition, they made sure to make my life a living hell.¡± ¡°How did you got over it?¡± ¡°My brother took me to this old boxing gym. He put gloves in my hands and told me to start hitting until the shaking stopped. The next time the boys in class tried to tease me, I was beating them up senseless. After that I realized that I wasn¡¯t afraid of men. I was afraid of being powerless.¡± ¡°Wait. That doesn¡¯t explain how you got your name.¡± ¡°Sure it does. Rose is my boxing name.¡± After that they had a long conversation. Rose talked about how she and her brother used to get in trouble every week for getting into fights, about how she met Sage in real life and got hooked on videogames and how she and Sage applied for beta testing and ended up playing Legacy. At the end of the conversation, Manna wasn¡¯t 100% her usual self but she wasn¡¯t shaking anymore, if anything she looked determined. ¡°I have to go. I need to have a ¡®conversation¡¯ with our captive and then talk to the GM about the flaw in their system. Will you be alright?¡± ¡°Yes. I need to finish a quest first but afterwards I¡¯m going back to work.¡± ¡°Call me if you ever need help or just to talk. Once the one month restriction is lifted, we should go hunting together like in the beta days.¡± With a puff Rose disappeared. Her Sneak skill was already intermediate level so people could only see a red blur only if they paid attention. After a deep breath and a sigh, Manna left as well and finally arrived at the house on Pendle Hill. The house looked abandoned and in the darkness of the night gave off a creepy feeling. On the door there was a knocker shaped like a demon. The sound it made resounded in the whole house and far into the distance. With a creak the door opened by itself, inviting her inside. A woman stood on a chair, drinking tea. She had long black hair and pail white skin. Her eyes were cold and strangely colored that gave her bewitching kind of beauty. She only looked at Manna for a second before losing interest. ¡°May I help you?¡± asked the lady uncaringly. ¡°Master Jojo Birch sent me.¡± ¡°Did he say why?¡± ¡°He gave me a letter to give to you.¡± This surprised the black haired beauty. With a questioning look she took the letter from Manna and started reading. When she finished a smile appeared on her face.
You have finished the quest: Dusty Old House.
¡°It seems that Jojo thinks that you are worthy of becoming my disciple. I do remember asking him to send someone talented my way. I¡¯m surprised he still remembers. I thought for sure he forgot all about me in his old age.¡± Her voice was melodic and sensual, almost seductive to the ear. Her eyes no longer had that same coldness and her smile gave people a gentle warmth. She gestured to an empty chair and Manna took the cue to sit down. ¡°Let me introduce myself. My name is Viviane. To whom do I have the pleasure of speaking?¡± ¡°My name is Manna. Did you say you wanted to make me your disciple?¡± ¡°That depends on you. I¡¯ll have to ask you a question first and I want you to answer truthfully. Are you willing to become a monster in your search for power?¡± This question took her by surprise. A few hours ago if she was asked that, she would have said no right away. Right now though, she was pondering the question. ¡°I don¡¯t want to become a monster but if I have to choose between being a monster and being scared, then I rather do the scaring.¡± ¡°In that case, there is something you need to do first.¡±
Profession Quest: Ritual of Power
In order to become Vivien¡¯s disciple, you need to perform a human sacrifice. Bring someone back to the house alive to perform the ritual. Difficulty: D Quest requirements: None Rewards: Vivian¡¯s unique profession Failure: abandoning the quest Warning: Doing this quest will increase you infamy by 2000. Rejecting this quest will lower familiarity with Vivien.
¡°I need to kill someone to get this profession?¡± asked Manna confused. ¡°Yes. It¡¯s better to choose someone strong too. Don¡¯t you have someone you really wish to see dead?¡± said Vivian with a wicked smile. While thinking of Gallant, Manna had a wicked smile of her own. This was the start of a very good teacher-student relationship. < Previous Chapter Next Chapter > Chapter 5 - Part 1 - I See Demons In Erebus, in the beginner city Nightwood, Frost and Fallen were standing in the training hall. Frost was playing with a beginner alchemist kit that he bought while Fallen was shooting arrows at a scarecrow. The string of the bow would occasionally snap Fallen¡¯s hand which subsequently made Frost smile. ¡°You can at least pretend that you¡¯re not happy when this happens.¡± ¡°It does make me happy¡± said Frost smiling. ¡°You said that you would help me with my profession. All you did was watching me get hurt.¡± ¡°If you shoot all the arrows in your quiver, I¡¯ll tell you what you¡¯re doing wrong.¡± ¡°You¡¯re an asshole. What are you doing anyway?¡± ¡°I¡¯m raising proficiency.¡± With that said, Frost took a glass with a strange mud-green liquid that smelled even worse than it looked and drank it.
Brewing (Active, Beginner level 3) You are able to create low quality potions, poisons and drinks. Mana consumption: 0 Requirements: Alchemic tools.
Iron Stomach (Passive, Special, Beginner level 9) Effect and duration of poison decreased by 18%. The taste of food does not bother you.
¡°Did you progress on your quest?¡± asked Fallen while preparing to shoot another arrow. ¡°Yes and No. This quest feels more like it¡¯s out of a mystery game than a quest in a fantasy RPG. I went to the library to see if maybe I can find more about the incidents but the symptoms are really strange and none of the books that I read talked about it.¡± ¡°What are the symptoms?¡± ¡°All the people that died had slitted irises like a cat. Some had clawed fingers and the last two victims even had wings. I think that it may be a curse but there is no curse like that in any book I read. It¡¯s really strange.¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s even stranger that you read books. I¡¯ve known you since we were little and I have never seen you read a book.¡± ¡°Manna has been a good influence on me.¡± ¡°Clearly. If it¡¯s not a curse than maybe it¡¯s a disease or maybe they ate something strange. Why don¡¯t you talk to the town physician, Dr. Nemo?¡± ¡°Sometimes you do say something smart. I guess I could tell you what you¡¯re doing wrong. You need to buy something called a vambrace or a bracer. It¡¯s an arm-guard specific for archers and it will help you avoid getting slapped by the bowstring. To aim better, you need to find out which eye is the dominant eye. The dominant eye judges distance better and usually if your left eye is the dominant eye you use your left hand to pull the string and vice-versa. Your feet need to be shoulder-width apart and your body needs to be side-ways so your feet form a line towards your target. Use three fingers to draw the arrow near your eye for better aim and stability and relax your hand when you want to shoot.¡± Fallen did exactly as instructed. He positioned the arrow and after concentrating for a few seconds released it. The arrow unfortunately missed the target by a large margin. ¡°Now all you need to do is practice.¡± Frost left in a hurry. Fallen had a look as if to say ¡®You tricked me¡¯ even though the advice he gave was spot on. It was early in the morning and the town was brimming with life. Merchants were yelling that they had the best prices in Erebus and that their products were the best. Users were busy running around doing all kinds of quests. The guards were sleepy but stood just as tall and imposing as ever. After asking around a few times he arrived at the doctor¡¯s house. It was hard to describe it as a house. It looked more like a mansion that a noble might own than the home of a physician. It was pristine and in good taste. It gave people a good feeling, like it was blessed by gods. Frost went inside the garden in the front and before he even reached the house, the door opened and a man in his forties was standing in front of him. He gave off an air of nobility. He was imposing but still greeted Frost with a smile. ¡°May I help you?¡± ¡°Good morning sir. My name is Frost. I was wondering if maybe you could answer a few questions about the recent murders.¡± ¡°Yes, of course. Why don¡¯t you come in?¡± The house was just as beautiful on the inside. There was furniture made from reddish-brown wood and dark colored silk. There were also a lot of paintings and sculptures with strange writings on them. Some of them captured moments in time such as farmers being happy on harvest day, travelers on a dirt road sleeping in the tall grass and children playing in the snow in the winter. Others had a darker theme. There was a woman crying while her husband was going to war, people with solemn faces sharing a simple meal and a statue of a woman that was praying with tears in her eyes. The room gave of a pleasant but sad mood. Atop the fireplace was a large painting. A younger version of the doctor stood in the middle. On his right was a beautiful woman with red hair that was holding a baby boy. On his left, holding onto the doctor¡¯s leg, was a young boy that looked like he just started walking. ¡°Enjoying my art collection?¡± the doctor came in holding a tray with two cups and a teapot. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to pry. You have a lovely family.¡± The doctor just smiled and poured tea in a cup and handed over to him before sitting on a nearby sofa. ¡°What is it that you needed to talk about?¡± ¡°It¡¯s about the recent deaths in town. Do you have any idea what might be causing this?¡± ¡°I might, but I¡¯m curious why you are so interested in the deaths of those people.¡± ¡°Damian Troy asked me to see if I can uncover anything about these incidents.¡± Nemo chuckled a bit. He took a sip of tea looked outside for a few moments before resuming the conversation. ¡°Mister Troy has always been a rather curious fellow. He¡¯s a brilliant man when it comes to alchemy but to normal people he may seem¡­¡± He took a few moments to carefully choose his words. In Frost¡¯s mind, the words insane, crazy, irritating and obnoxious and many others perfectly described Damian. ¡°¡­odd. Yes, he¡¯s a really odd person.¡± ¡°That¡¯s kind way to put it¡± replied Frost while laughing. ¡°What do you know so far about the deaths?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think that they are accidents. From what I saw, they died in an unusual way. The strange thing is that all the victims had physical changes that made them look like an extinct race, demons. I think there¡¯s a cursed object involved or a serial killer with a very unusual poison or curse.¡± ¡°So you know about demons. There are only a hand-full of people that still remember then these days. There¡¯s not much I can tell you about those incidents. As a physician I can tell you for sure that there¡¯s no way to change someone¡¯s body with only alchemy, even if it is advanced alchemy, and if a cursed object was involved, wouldn¡¯t it still be in the possession of the victims after their deaths? Moving a cursed object is extremely difficult so I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the case.¡± ¡°So that means there really is a serial killer out there.¡±
Quest update: One Apple a Day.
¡°I¡¯m sorry I couldn¡¯t be more helpful.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay. It was more than enough.¡± While leaving he turned around one more time to look at the house. He didn¡¯t know why but he felt calm and safe in there, like the house he spent his childhood in. ¡°Visit me again if you have more questions or just to talk.¡± With these parting words, Frost went back to the alchemist shop, ¡®Pots, potions and peculiarities¡¯. It has been four days since he got the quest but because he couldn¡¯t find anything more and he needed a few days to prepare before the one month restriction ended, he decide to end the quest early. Damian was sitting at the counter. He probably couldn¡¯t find anyone foolish enough to accept to be experimented on while dealing with his unusual requests. ¡°Frost, how are you doing? Have you finished my request?¡± he greeted him with a smile. ¡°I have. I¡¯m sad to inform you that this was the doing of a murder that employed the mystic arts to do his bidding.¡± Some NPC¡¯s offered a bigger reword when the user was a bit more melodramatic so Frost was talking a bit strange. ¡°A murderer you say? Do you know who or how he did it?¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid not. This was all that I could find out in this short amount of time but of what I did find I am certain. I¡¯m sorry I couldn¡¯t find out more.¡± ¡°No, it was enough. It was a selfish request on my part. Please accept this as a token of my gratitude.¡±
Quest completed: One Apple a Day.
You have gained a level.
You have gained a level.
With a reward of 20 gold and two levels, Frost was more than happy with his gains. If he found the culprit and the method of assassination he probably would have gained a lot more but he lacked to time or the patience at the moment. With a strange hand movement and a few words, he logged out of Legacy for the first time since the game began. It was a bit earlier then the time he and Manna promised to meet but he couldn¡¯t stand it anymore. His cozy virtual home appeared in front of his eyes. It was just the same as how he left it. There was no surprise there. Nothing really changed inside this house without their consent. There was however a pleasant scent in the air. Someone was making food. He already knew who that someone was so he hurried to get to the kitchen. With her short hair and sleepy eyes, Manna looked like she was lost in thought. ¡°You¡¯re early. I¡¯m so glad you¡¯re here early.¡± He said while staring at her cute dazed expression. In moments, she was wide awake and ran into his arms. The kiss they shared was the longest they ever had. It contained inside it all their thoughts and feelings. ¡°I have missed you so much.¡± ¡°We only have to be patient for a few more days; afterwards we can leave the city and use the town portals.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t leave the city right now. I got a new profession and it comes with a rather unconventional teacher.¡± ¡°In that case, we¡¯ll come to Spiriton.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s we?¡± ¡°I met my brother in town. Apparently he and the rest of my family decided to play Legacy.¡± ¡°Great.¡± Somehow John knew she didn¡¯t think it was great. It was probably because their first meeting went horrible. Surprisingly, Manna became better at sarcasm, almost as good as him. ¡°It gets better. My dad wants to meet. He¡¯s in Demetoria and he wants to give us his blessing.¡± ¡°And you want to go there?¡± ¡°I do. You don¡¯t want to meet him?¡± ¡°That depends on how well you can persuade me.¡± She whispered the last sentence in his ear in a seductive way. His heart rate probably increased because he got a message from the system asking if he was alright. In truth, he didn¡¯t need to be seduced. After almost a month of game time he was already at his limit. He quickly led Manna to the bedroom. Later, Manna also told him what happened to her. To say that John was mad would be an understatement. He had a burning desire to see Gallant burn in hell. It took Manna a long time to calm him down. What calmed him were the fact that Manna told him, repeatedly, that she was fine and nothing happened and the fact that she told him she murdered him in a brutal way for her profession. She didn¡¯t say what her profession was because she wanted to be a surprise but she did give away a few details. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. After they ate dinner, which was long forgotten on the stove, they went back into Legacy. There were things that needed to be done. John needed to get a profession before he left town. The question was which one? Last time he was a swordsman while Manna was a shaman. They made a good combination. She would buff him while he would be in the front, fighting monsters but now Manna decided to have a more active role so he was thinking to change things a bit. In a way it was better, it kept things interesting but he still wanted to be the one protecting rather than the one being protected. ¡°I¡¯ll just wait until the last moment to choose.¡± He decided to go the doctor¡¯s house. Physician was a variation of the alchemist profession that had better support skills such as bandaging and an increase in the effect of potions. Everybody could learn crafting skills up to intermediate. Only a few people learned crafting skills in the beta and almost nobody chose a crafting profession. Learning a few new skills would let him improve his party¡¯s overall performance so it wasn¡¯t a bad idea.
System message! The server is updating with a new patch. Please excuse the inconvenience. Hopefully this will be the last update. All problems related to the game will be fixed automatically by our new AI after the patch. ~ Ramos Cipher, CEO of Nocturne and creator of Legacy.
It was surprising that Legacy will not have any new system updates after this. The game was fairly new so bugs would appear from time to time or exploits would be found making the game unfair but with how powerful their Ai¡¯s were it was possible that this was in fact the last update. ¡°Status window!¡±
[quart=Character name,Title]Frost,N/A[/quart][quart=Race,Affiliation]Human,N/A[/quart][quart=Profession,Level]N/A,4[/quart][quart=Fame,Infamy]0,0[/quart][quart=Affinity,Satiety]Poison,87%[/quart][quart=Health,Mana]120,120[/quart][quart=Stamina,Vitality]140,12[/quart][quart=Wisdom,Endurance]10,14[/quart][quart=Strength,Intelligence]12,12[/quart][quart=Agility,Luck]11,0[/quart][quart=Attack,Defense]3-4,5[/quart]
Stat Window
Equipment bonus: Novice Pants : Defense +1 Novice Shirt : Defense +1 Novice Boots: Defense +1 Novice set: Defense +1 Unused points: 15
¡°Skill window!¡±
Identification (Active, Beginner level 4) Brewing (Active, Beginner level 3) Iron Stomach (Passive, Special, Beginner level 9)
With a sigh of relief that everything was alright with his stats and skills he was on his way to the doctor. Fortunately, he was home. ¡°Have you come with more questions regarding the murders?¡± ¡°No, this is more of a social call. I was wandering if we could talk.¡± ¡°Certainly, I don¡¯t get too many visitors these days except for a few people that can¡¯t get healing at the temple or those that want better potions than those that are at the market.¡± For a NPC the doctor liked to talk a lot, especially about his glory days. From what Frost could tell, he was a soldier in the army before he decided to retire and change his profession to that of physician. They talked for almost 3 hours but Frost didn¡¯t mind. His stories were entertaining if not a little bit exaggerated in some parts. ¡°Do you have a wife?¡± the doctor asked out of the blue. ¡°I¡¯m engaged for a little over a year.¡± ¡°What¡¯s stopping you? Is it money or cold feet?¡± ¡°My family is a bit judgmental toward our relationship so we postponed.¡± ¡°She¡¯s of a different race?¡± ¡°You could say that. My father wants to meet and make amends but I¡¯m not so sure it¡¯s a good idea.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Frost took a few moments to sort his thoughts to explain the situation better. ¡°I love my family but they have a tendency to always hurt me. Manna was always there for me since I met her. She picked up the pieces after I was broken hearted and hid from the world. I¡¯m scared to meet my father because if the meeting goes wrong, I would rather break all ties with my family rather than lose Manna.¡± Nemo smiled, took a sip of tea from his cup and looked Frost straight in the eye. ¡°I can¡¯t tell you what to do, but as someone who lost his wife I can tell you this: go to the meeting. Having to regret not doing anything will be harder that regretting doing something.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry for your loss.¡± ¡°It was a long time ago and I have already mourned her for much of that time. I¡¯m glad I finally had the chance to talk to someone about that.¡± The mood became heavy after that and so Frost decided to leave. ¡°I never asked you what your profession was.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have a profession. I haven¡¯t decided what to do yet.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good. I think I have just the profession for you. It¡¯s a bit more subtle compared to that of magician or swordsman but it¡¯s incredibly useful. What do you say? Are you interested?¡± Was it hidden profession? Frost knew that Manna gained one but he didn¡¯t even hope to get one himself. From what he knew of hidden professions, they were incredibly hard to come by. Manna spent a lot of hours reading through the books in library. Her reading speed was incredibly fast. It would have taken a normal person at least three times that amount of time and not to mention the fact that it was very boring to do it every day. A normal person wouldn¡¯t go that far for a C ranked quest. This was unexpected. ¡°Yes, I would love to learn it.¡± ¡°In that case there are a few things that you have to do for me first.¡±
Quest: Doctor¡¯s trials
The town physician has taken a liking to you and is willing to teach you his unique profession if you can pass his three trials. Difficulty: ??? Quest requirements: Identification skill, Brewing skill, high familiarity with Dr. Nemo. Rewards: Unique profession and maybe even something more Failure: abandoning the quest
¡®Of course it wouldn¡¯t be that easy¡¯
Quest accepted!
¡°What do I have to do?¡± ¡°I have to look after a few patients today but I also have to create a new batch of potions. Since you can¡¯t make potions as potent as mine, I need you to treat the 10 patients I have for today. I won¡¯t tell you how to treat them but I¡¯ll help you a little bit.¡± The doctor took a big book and placed it Frosts hands along with a few potions and alchemy ingredients. ¡°Hop to it.¡± Unlike in the real world where the patients came to the doctor, I had to run around town and visit each of the patients in person. It was understandable because most of them couldn¡¯t even walk. The first patient was a miner. It was easy to understand what his problem was. He drank a little more than he should have had the night before and now he suffered from alcohol intoxication. In short he was hangover. The cure for that was a weak antidote potion. The second patient was a young girl that broke her hand while playing. It took almost 3 healing potions to cure her but there weren¡¯t any problems with her treatment. From the third patient onward, in became more difficult. A merchant passed out in the middle of town. Because people were afraid he might have had some kind of disease, he wasn¡¯t moved from there and a crowd formed. After using the Identification skill a few times on him I found out what the problem was. Apparently he traveled a long way and passed out from a dehydration hex. The cure was obviously water. The forth patient was a fisherman. It was tricky to find out what his problem was because the Identification skill only listed his symptoms so I had to search the gigantic book. Apparently it was only a common cold. The cure was simple: Feed the patient until his satiety is at least 85% and then give him a health potion. After I cured him I got a new skill.
First Aid Treatment (Passive, Beginner level 1) You are able to save someone from certain death and give him a chance to live. +5% increase in effect of potions and healing spells. Number of known treatments: 1
The patients 5 to 9 were difficult to diagnose or treat. It took me a long time before I cured them. I had to deal with a burn victim, a guy who swallowed poison by mistake, a little boy with internal bleeding, a farmer with a broken leg and a hunter that got too close to a pack of wolves and needed stitching. The problem was with the tenth patient. I had to help a woman give birth. This game shouldn¡¯t be so real.
You have gained a new skill.
Diagnosis (Passive, Subskill, Beginner level 1) You are able to identify ailments of the body. Requires: Identification skill
When I got back to the doctors house, it was almost midnight. The lights were on in the doctor¡¯s house so I went inside. ¡°Have you cured all the patients?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to see you so soon. It should have taken you at least two days to cure them all. Anyway, are you ready for the next trial?¡± ¡°Is it going to be like the last one?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry; this one will be a little bit easier. There¡¯s a group of thieves at the edge of town. They harass the locals and some of them got injured. I want you to kill all of them.¡± The first thing I thought was: ¡®What kind of doctor are you?¡¯ but then again he did say he fought in the war and almost massacred an entire army all by himself. I should probably avoid breathing the fumes when I¡¯m doing alchemy otherwise I may end up like him and Damian. ¡°I¡¯ll be back when I got rid of them.¡± After Frost left, Nemo had a smile on his face. His eyes turned a dark red and horns grew on his head and on his back, bat like wings were visible. ¡°I wonder if he¡¯ll be a good little demon.¡± < Previous Chapter Next Chapter > Chapter 5 - Part 2 - Icy Demon Frost went to the edge of the city and found the bandits hideout with some difficulty. He observed them from a safe distance. Their hideout was nothing more than a wooden shack. Inside it, from what he could see from the window, were 5 thieves. Using his Diagnosis skill on each of them, he found out their maximum health and satiety. It wasn¡¯t a lot of information but he could guess what level they had based on that. Four of them had about 350 hp and considering they were thieves that needed Agility and Endurance rather than Vitality, they were probably between level 10 and 15. The last thief had 600 hp and he was probably the leader. His level was probably somewhere in the early or mid-20s. If Frost didn¡¯t know any better he would have thought that they were drunks that were having a party. While he was watching them their Satiety never went below 80% and one of them would always go and bring more beer and wine from time to time.
Diagnosis (Passive, Subskill, Beginner level 6)
Identification (Active, Beginner level 8)
¡®At least my proficiency increases, but how the hell do I kill them?¡¯ With a 10 level difference, any of the thieves could easily kill him and the boss could even kill him in one shot. After thinking hard for while he decided to at least go to town and buy a weapon. He at least needed something to defend himself in case things turned for the worst. He bought a beginner sword that gave him +15 Atk and a knife with a + 9 Atk and no additional advantages. All in all it only costed him about 70 silver coins. While passing in front of a bar a thought came to his mind and he opened the book that Nemo gave him. After he found what he was looking for, with an evil smile on his face, he went into the bar and brought 3 bottles of the most expensive wine. It costed him 15 gold but it was a good investment if everything went well. He went to a few more places to make his final preparations and then went back to the thieves¡¯ hideout. On the road to the hideout, one of the thieves was going on another beer run. He had an unpleasant look on his face and he clearly didn¡¯t want to leave the shack. While he was close to the city a guy carrying 3 bottles of wine come into his sight. He smiled and took out his knife. ¡°Those bottles seem heavy. How about you leave them here and scram?¡± ¡°Shit!¡± said the guy. He dropped everything and ran as fast as he could. The thief just took the bottles and returned while humming a song. When he returned with the wine words of praise were flying left and right along with melodramatic acting. ¡°Good job!¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know you loved us so much.¡± ¡°I never saw such a beautiful sight in my entire life.¡± ¡°This is probably the best wine in town. Where did you get the money for it?¡± ¡°I took them from a guy that was wandering outside. He wanted us to have them from the bottom of his heart. I have never seen a guy run so fast in my entire life.¡± They started drinking and laughing while the thief told an embellished story about what happened. After a while the shack became silent. They thieves had their weapons unsheathed and while they stood in a five way standoff. ¡°Who the hell are you ugly bastards?¡± ¡°Get out before I cut all of you to pieces.¡± ¡°Nice sword you have there. My friend has one just like it. I think I¡¯ll take it after I kill you.¡± ¡°Normally I would ask you to leave everything you have on you and scram but somehow, your faces piss me off.¡± While they we killing each other, a safe distance away, Frost was reading from his medical book a chapter called, ¡®Disorientation and anxiety¡¯. ¡®Beware of potions and ingredients that affect the mind. They are dangerous when you are alone and devastating in large groups. In recent history many battles were lost because soldiers of the same side started killing each other after eating such ingredients. The cure for these types of illnesses are difficult to prepare and even more difficult to administer, do to the patient¡¯s tendency of being highly uncooperative. The following list contains ingredients and potions that may cause such effects.¡¯ After reading the paragraph, Frost went inside the shack. Inside only the leader was still alive. With barely 5% of his health and covered in the blood of his friends, with whom he was just talking and laughing, he was really shocked. Raising his sword at Frost, he started yelling. ¡°You, what the hell happened? Did you do this?¡± ¡°It¡¯s scary what you can do with a few bottles of ¡®Liquid rage¡¯ and ¡®Potion of mild confusion¡¯. ¡°Die you devil!¡± The leader died after a few sword hits. He was barely able to walk let alone fight.
You have gained a level x 6
You have gained a new skill.
Manipulation (Passive, Beginner level 1) With a few words and actions you can make someone do you bidding. You have a higher chance to make people do what you want. +5% Familiarity
You have gained a new stat.
Deception +10
Deception Stat that increases the effectiveness of Illusion Magic and some skills that affect the mind.
¡®This skill and stat seem useful but kind of evil.¡¯ Regardless of what his conscience told him, he leveled up 6 times and gained a lot of items and money from the thieves so he was happy. The thieves dropped a knife and sword, along with a skill book, a rope and some kind of rock.
Nightshade Knife
Type:Short SwordDurability:36 / 52
Quality:Uncommon
A good Short Sword made by a skilled blacksmith. It has a black blade that becomes undistinguishable in the darkness of the night. Requirement: Strength 20+ Agility 30+ Equipped: +10 Agility +5 Strength
Black Bone Sword
Type:SwordDurability:47 / 70
Quality:Uncommon
A good Sword made by a skilled blacksmith. The material is light but durable. It is unknown what kind of bone was used in the crafting of this blade. Requirement: Strength 25+ Vitality 10+ Equipped: +20 Agility
The rope was an ordinary rope that you could buy at the general goods store but the rock and skill book couldn¡¯t be identified. Afterwards Frost spent more than an hour searching the shack. As he guessed, there was a lot of loot hidden around. He found 276 gold, 45 silver and 2 copper coins along with 9 low quality gems. He used all his funds into making the potions and buying the wine. If he didn¡¯t find anything in the shack he would have been broke. Going back to the doctor¡¯s house he found him wide awake again. It was almost breaking dawn but the doctor was making coffee this time and already poured two cups like he was expecting him. ¡°So, how did it go?¡± Nemo asked in his usual cheerful self. ¡°The thieves are gone¡± said Frost showing the leaders black sword. ¡°You have to tell me all about it.¡± The doctor listened to every word of his story from what he did to what he thought and how he did it. At the end of the story he started laughing. ¡°Hahaha, you made them kill each other? That is so evil.¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Frost felt a pang in his heart. He was once an honorable swordsman who fought fair and squire with each and every adversary. The cowardly methods he used felt like a betrayal to that part of him and gave him a bitter taste in his mouth. ¡°Well, regardless of your methods, you did really well. Are you ready for your last test?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a little tired. I haven¡¯t slept in a few days so, I¡¯ll do it tomorrow.¡± ¡°The last test is nothing too exhausting. You just have to answer a few questions. If you¡¯re sleepy then drink some coffee. That¡¯s why I made it.¡± Frost took the cup and drank it in one gulp. ¡°So, what do you want to ask me?¡±
- You have been paralyzed - Iron Stomach skill proficiency increased - Iron Stomach reached Intermediate level 1 - Due to the effect of Iron Stomach effect and duration reduced by 23%
¡°What the hell, you bastard?¡± ¡°You can still talk? That¡¯s strange. Usually I don¡¯t mess up when making potions. Well, I think it is better this way. You can answer my question right after I finish my story.¡± ¡°Why did you have to paralyze me?¡± ¡°So you wouldn¡¯t run away obviously. Now, try not to blink.¡± Nemo¡¯s eyes turned a dark red and horns grew on his head. The bat like wings that appeared on his back began stretching like one might stretch his arms after staying in an uncomfortable position for a very long time. Above his head the name changed from Nemo to Marbas. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°It¡¯s so much better in this form. It¡¯s incredibly hard to maintain a human form for a very long time.¡± ¡°Did you kill all those people in town?¡± screamed Frost. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t lie to me! Did you kill all those people?¡± ¡°I told you I didn¡¯t kill them. They were acquaintances. If I wanted to kill someone I would have done a better job, don¡¯t you think?¡± ¡°Then, who killed them?¡± ¡°The church probably killed them. There is a chance that bounty hunters, assassins, dark mages, witches or any number of people I offended over the course of my life who tried to find out my whereabouts killed them. I really don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°What do you want with me?¡± ¡°I want you to hear the whole story about what happened to the demons before you judge us. Demons have lived on this continent for a very long time. We used to live in the place your kind calls the Savage Lands, in the country named Tartarus. Our kind had strong bodies that were blessed with an affinity towards magic so our society flourished and we created the most powerful artifacts in the world, the Heaven Breaker series. One item out of the series was enough to make a man as strong as an army and if anyone wore the full set, they could even challenge the gods themselves. I didn¡¯t care too much at the time about a few pieces of junk the old farts made. I was a count and had my own territory to look after as well as a human girl who decided to marry me after many years of dating. In the spring of the following year, after my wife had my first child and the second one was on the way, I was summoned to the battlefield. Apparently the gods were so scared of what we could do with those artifacts that they declared all of our kind evil and the first ¡®Holy War¡¯ started. It¡¯s hard to imagine all the slaughter but millions of our kind died in that war. Women, children and even our elderly who couldn¡¯t even defend their selves died just because the gods decided that it was risky to let us live. Eventually I got involved in the war as well. I had an obligation to the king and left for the battlefield. When I returned home my wife, my son and my unborn child were dead along with all the villagers in our happy little town. The war wasn¡¯t over but I didn¡¯t have the strength to continue fighting. The war continued and at the end of it, only a hand full of us remained. We hid all the Heaven Breakers and went into hiding ever since. Tell me, were we in the wrong? Have we done something so unforgivable that the only choice left was the extermination of our entire race? Did my wife have to die just because she was married to a demon? Are there such things as children born in sin?¡± The doctor had a stern look. It was hard to see him as the same doctor who was laughing moments ago. ¡°Let¡¯s just say that I believe what you just told me. What do you want from me?¡± ¡°I want you to choose. I didn¡¯t lie. I think my profession suits you well but I can¡¯t give it to you in good conscious if you¡¯ll become my enemy. You need to choose a side.¡± ¡°From what you told me, you weren¡¯t so enthusiastic about joining a war that had nothing to do with you either. What makes you think I would want to join something like a war with the gods?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a war. It¡¯s extermination. Only 72 demon lords, including me, survived. I don¡¯t want you to fight in a war; I want you to help us survive. We are friends, are we not? Are you fine with seeing a whole race die for the sins of a few?¡± With a sigh, Frost gave up on his arguments. ¡°We are friends. We have been friends since the day I came to visit. If you say you have to fight the gods then I¡¯ll fight them together with you.¡± In wasn¡¯t good to go with the flow of the conversation but he didn¡¯t had the mental strength to continue to argue. ¡°Excellent. All you have to do to pass the last test is survive the process.¡± ¡°You said I only had to answer a few questions.¡± ¡°I may have lied.¡± With a flick of his hand, flames erupted from under the floor, forming a circle. The fire danced inside it. It formed strange letters and two small circles on opposite sides. Just as sudden as it appeared, the flames died down and left only smoke in its wake. ¡°This is your last chance to walk away. Once you step inside the small circle there¡¯s no turning back.¡±
- Paralysis Poison has worn off
¡°This better be the best profession in the world.¡± ¡°It is. You¡¯ll love it. I think it fits you perfectly.¡± Frost moved inside the magic circle. It felt strangely cold like walking into a freezer. His breath became visible and he started to shiver. On the opposite side of the circle stood Marbas in his demon form. His wings were fully extended and he looked truly imposing. ¡°There¡¯s one more thing I would like to say. Be a good little demon.¡± ¡°What are you¡­?¡± Frost tried to run because he had an ominous feeling. The moment he tried to speak the magic circle shone bright and a feeling like his blood rushed to his head overcome him. His stomach churned and it took everything he had not to vomit. He became dizzy and his body became numb. The moment the magic circle stopped shining; Frost fell limp on the floor. The doctor walked over to him and smiled. ¡°Just sleep for now. You¡¯ll feel better tomorrow.¡±
- Quest completed: Doctor¡¯s Trials
With these words his consciousness started to fade and all the accumulated exhaustion and sleep deprivation caught up to him. It felt like an eternity since he last slept. When he woke up it was already night. The bed he was sleeping in was incredibly soft and the sheets felt like silk.
- You are well rested - Health, Mana and Stamina have been restored - Health, Mana and Stamina regeneration have increased by 25% for the next 3 hours
The system said he was well rested but he felt like he was hit by a train. His head especially hurt. It felt like the worst hang over of his life. While he was massaging his head he felt something hard on his head. A thought went through his mind which made him panic. ¡°Status window!¡±
[quart=Character name,Title]Frost,N/A[/quart][quart=Race,Affiliation]Demon Lord ,Demon Race[/quart][quart=Profession,Level]Surgeon of Death,10[/quart][quart=Fame,Infamy]0,0[/quart][quart=Affinity,Satiety]Poison,43%[/quart] [quart=Health,Mana]120,120[/quart][quart=Stamina,Vitality]140,12[/quart][quart=Wisdom,Endurance]10,14[/quart][quart=Strength,Intelligence]12,12[/quart][quart=Agility,Luck]11,0[/quart][quart=Attack,Defense] 12,10[/quart]
Stat Window
Deception10
Equipment bonus: Novice Pants : Defense +1 Novice Shirt : Defense +1 Novice Boots: Defense +1 Novice set: Defense +1 Unused points: 45 Racial traits: -10% to all stats during the day +20% to all stats during the night
He got out of bed and was a bit unsteady on his feet. The balance was a bit off and his feet felt heavy. He realized he was still in the doctor¡¯s house. The art work and the color of the walls was a dead giveaway. Going downstairs he found the doctor sitting in his chair reading a book. ¡°Don¡¯t you ever sleep, doc?¡± ¡°Only when I¡¯m bored. I see that you¡¯re feeling better. How¡¯s your head?¡± ¡°It has horns! What the hell?¡± ¡°You were right. I don¡¯t want to fight in this stupid war anymore but I can¡¯t condemn an entire race because of my selfishness so I needed a replacement. If you want to fight then you can fight as much as you want. If you want to rebuild our civilization then rebuild it. If you want to challenge the gods then by all means, gather all the Heaven Breakers and fight them head on. You can do whatever you want, but I think you¡¯ll do the right thing.¡± ¡°Why would you do this to me?¡± ¡°I¡¯m tired of running from assassins and mercenaries. I don¡¯t want to fight anymore. I¡¯m old and I think I¡¯m entitled to go see my wife and kids.¡± When Frost looked at him, he looked unlike his former self. His eyes were clear, his hair was white, his face was wrinkly and he could barely hold the book. Anyone who looked at him would say that this wasn¡¯t the face of a demon prince; this was the face of a dying old man who wanted to see his wife. As much as Frost wanted to hate him, he didn¡¯t have the heart to do it. ¡°Congratulations on your new profession¡± said Marbas while smiling. ¡°Thanks.¡± ¡°Can you keep me company until my time comes?¡± ¡°What kind of friend would I be if I said no.¡± They stayed in the room and talked for most of the night. When the first light of day went through the window, Marbas went into a deep sleep and slowly disappeared in a gray light. ¡°Good bye, doc. Say hello to your wife for me.¡±
- The ¡®One Month¡¯ ban has been lifted. - You are free to leave the city as you please.
< Previous Chapter Next Chapter > Chapter 6 - Bad Day After Marbas died, four items dropped. There were two books, a key and a letter. The letter was a quest item that probably activated a quest relating to the demon race so I didn¡¯t activate the quest because I already had enough on my plate as it was. I needed to go to Spiriton to meet Manna. Afterwards I needed to meet my dad and I still wanted to create a guild. If I had to revive a whole race on top of it all I would start to lose sleep. The key was to Marbas¡¯s house. The thought of selling it and building the guild crossed my mind but I liked the house. It had a good atmosphere and I felt at peace inside it. There were other ways in which I could gain money and there was no rush. The two books were named ¡°Demons: Powers, Weaknesses and Abilities¡± and ¡°Death¡¯s Door¡±. The first book told the tales of a holy knight that fought different types of demons on his journey through Tartarus after the holy war. It had detailed analysis of each demon and how to kill them. It was useful but very detailed, especially the parts that included blood, gore and ways to torture a demon. It was a book that gave me the chills. The second book was written by Marbas. ¡°Death¡¯s Door¡± included ways to cure and kill as well as many different spells and curses that Marbas discovered. It was equally bloody but it didn¡¯t target me specifically so it was easier to read. It explained a few things about my profession which made me curious about my new skills. ¡°Skill window!¡±
Identification (Active, Beginner level 8) Diagnosis (Passive, Subskill, Beginner level 6) Iron Stomach (Passive, Special, Intermediate level 1) Brewing (Active, Beginner level 6) First Aid Treatment (Passive, Beginner level 2) Manipulation (Passive, Beginner level 1) Blade Mastery (Passive, Beginner level 1) Medical Knowledge (Passive, Beginner level 1) Dark Surgery (Active, Beginner level 1) Soul Conversion (Active, Beginner level 1) Demonic Pact (Passive, Race Skill, Max level) Contract Bound (Passive, Max level) Soul Gathering (Passive, Max level) Mana Affinity (Passive, Race Skill, Max level) Night Vision (Passive, Race Skill, Max level) Flight (Active, Race Skill, Beginner level 1)
PM to Fallen: ¡°Meet me at the doctor Nemo¡¯s house as soon as possible. Buy a cloak from a shop. I¡¯ll pay you back when you get here.¡± PM from Fallen: ¡°Are you in some kind of trouble?¡± PM to Fallen: ¡°I¡¯ll tell you about it when you get here.¡± With a way to hide his appearance, Frost relaxed a bit and tried a few skills. The first skill he tried was obviously Flight. Differently from what he expected, his feet barely lifted from the floor and it consumed 10 Stamina/s. After about 10 seconds of ¡°flying¡± he dropped on the floor hard, barely able to stand up. Flight sounded like a good skill to have but at such a low level, it was useless and consumed way to much stamina. Blade Mastery was the same as Sword Mastery in a way. It increased attack power and attack speed but unlike Sword Mastery, you could use any weapon that had a blade and it gave a permanent buff. It increased the choices for weapon so it was extremely useful. Medical Knowledge didn¡¯t do much except increase the effects of his medical related skills and Dark Surgery had a 100% chance to give a status effect of my choosing if used with a specific weapon. The status effects I could grant at level 1 were: Bleeding, Blinding and Silence. Bleeding costed 25 mana, but the effect small. It drained 10 health per second for 10 seconds. Blinding and Silence did the same thing as their name implied for 1 minute. The skills Soul Gathering and Soul Conversion just like Demonic Pact and Contract Bound were connected. Thanks to the Soul Gathering skill, after killing a monster, he could take its soul and with Soul Conversion turn it into Health, Mana or Stamina. How much it converted into depended on the level of the monster and the level of the skill. Demonic Pact was, as the name implies, a skill that let him create contracts with other players. I could ask for anything in exchange for doing a favor for the player, be it money, weapons and even their souls. The last skill forced both parties to respect the terms of the deal. The skill description didn¡¯t say what would happen if the contract was broken but it did say ¡®Dire consequences will befall those who break a demonic pact¡¯ without specifying what those consequences were. I¡¯m not sure if these skills are related to my profession or my race but they¡¯re good skills to have. Mana Affinity made it possible to learn any spell but without a magic profession but unlike a magic profession it was hard to raise proficiency just like most skills that do not belong to your profession. These were good skills but what I didn¡¯t understand however was why I only had seven skills that were given by my profession. ¡®Death¡¯s Door¡¯ talked about many skills that Marbas used in different combinations to achieve his level of infamy. The fact that I had to learn or find each skill book to complete my profession skill set made me incredibly nervous. Learning all the skills related to your profession gave you a title and allowed you to learn a new profession if you wanted to, but you gained proficiency half as fast. It was called a double profession and it was just as good, if not better than a unique profession. If I didn¡¯t gain any new skills, never mind getting a new profession, I would easily get killed by someone lower level then me. The fact that people could kill me without repercussions even though I didn¡¯t have any infamy didn¡¯t escape my mind either. The more I thought about it the more I got the feeling I got the short end of the stick. PM from Fallen: ¡°I¡¯m in front of the house.¡± PM to Fallen: ¡°Come inside then. The door is open.¡± PM from Fallen: ¡°Won¡¯t the doctor mind?¡± PM to Fallen: ¡°Just come inside. I¡¯ll explain everything later.¡± Entering the house, Fallen was mesmerized by the beauty of the artwork. The color of the walls and furniture were in tune with each other and made the sculptures and paintings even more stunning. He felt as if he was in a museum more than someone¡¯s house and had some second thought about entering without an invitation. ¡°Frost, are you in here?¡± ¡°I¡¯m in the living room.¡± When he entered the living room and saw Frost in his demon form for the first time he took out his bow lightning fast and readied an arrow while aiming at his head. ¡°Wow, it¡¯s me. Put the bow down.¡± Although Frost said that Fallen lowered the bow only for a second and then raised it again. It wasn¡¯t like Frost didn¡¯t understand what he was thinking. He had horns on his head, wings on his back, a tail, pointy ears and slitted eyes. If someone said ¡®I¡¯m your brother¡¯ while looking like that, you had the right to be skeptic. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°It¡¯s me, Frost.¡± ¡°What¡¯s your other name?¡± ¡°For god¡¯s sake, it¡¯s me, John.¡± Fallen finally lowered his weapon after he heard that but kept looking at the horns on his head. The stare was so intense that it annoying. He opened his mouth a few times as if wanting to say something but immediately closed it without uttering any words. ¡°Did you get my cloak?¡± With these words, Fallen finally came back to reality and handed him the cloak without a single word. Frost quickly put it on and although he didn¡¯t look completely normal he could pass off as being an eccentric human. ¡°Why do you look like that?¡± asked Fallen. ¡°I changed my race to that of a demon.¡± ¡°That explains a lot of things, but why are you wearing a cloak?¡± ¡°Demons aren¡¯t too loved in this city or any other city for that matter. I don¡¯t want to die hence the cloak.¡± ¡°Which brings me back to my first question: Why do you look like that?¡± ¡°The short story is that the doctor promised me a unique profession if I passed his trials. I passed his trials and then gained that said profession but the doctor was a Demon Lord and decided to change my race to that of Demon Lord as well so now I look like this and have to clean a big mess a whole race created. Does this make any sense to you?¡± ¡°Vaguely. What do you want to do now?¡± ¡°Remember those killings I tried to investigate? All those people were demons. I think it¡¯s best to leave the city as soon as possible.¡± ¡°I¡¯m all set to go. I wanted to go hunting with you before we left but let¡¯s just go meet Manna in Spiriton. We can go meet mom and dad after that.¡± ¡°I actually needed a few things before we leave but I might as well buy them in Spiriton.¡± Walking through the city wearing a cloak gathered a lot of attention especially when what was in the cloak had a weird shape but nobody stopped him although some of the players gave him some strange looks. It only took a few minutes to arrive at the town portal but Frost was already mentally exhausted and a bit embarrassed. The town portal was unused. Because there were no more restrictions, most people were out hunting and most players didn¡¯t have enough money to use it any way. ¡°Greetings travelers. Where do you wish to go?¡± said a young woman as they approached the gate. ¡°Good day Gatekeeper. Can you send us to Spiriton in Mnemosinia?¡± said Frost. ¡°That won¡¯t be a problem. That would be 25 gold per person.¡± Frost paid for the both of them and the Gatekeeper opened the portal. A rainbow colored swirl formed in the center of the gate and grew bigger until it encompassed the gate fully. This attracted the attention of the few players that were loitering around. ¡°See you on the other side.¡± With that said Fallen already jumped through the portal and disappeared in flash of white light. Frost on the other hand just walked slowly, turned around once more to look at the city and then followed Fallen through the gate.
You cannot use the Town Portal. Relations between your race and the human race needs to be at least neutral.
If someone looked at Frost¡¯s face at that moment he could clearly see the very definition of a blank expression. He stood at the other side of the gate, unmoving, his brain still trying to process what happened. ¡°You must be from a different race. I¡¯m sorry but at the moment no race other than humans can use the gate. I¡¯ll give you your money back. It may take longer but I think you can find a caravan to take you to your destination if you wait a few days.¡± Frost took the money and randomly walked around the city. In his mind he wanted cursed Marbas along with the game developers for his situation. When he arrived in front of the General Goods store he got a message from Fallen. PM from Fallen: ¡°Where are you? It¡¯s been more than 10 minutes.¡± PM to Fallen: ¡°Apparently other races can¡¯t use the gate right now.¡± It took a few minutes before Fallen replied again. PM from Fallen: ¡°I¡¯ll meet Manna and tell her what happened. What do you want to do?¡± PM to Fallen: ¡°I¡¯ll get to Spiriton even if I have to walk all the way there.¡± PM from Fallen: ¡°Do you want me to come back?¡± PM to Fallen: ¡°No. Stay there and wait for me. It may take a while but I¡¯ll definitely get there.¡± With a plan formulated in his head he entered the General Goods store and brought the things he needed. If he couldn¡¯t leave the city he might as well grind some levels until a caravan showed up. When he left the city gate a guard approached him. ¡°Hey you, I want to ask you a few questions.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m busy at the moment. Could you ask me some another time?¡± The guard tried to stop him and grabbed his cloak and revealed his head that had two horns and pointy ears. The guard was shocked upon discovery. He took a few steps back and drew his weapon. ¡°Stop demon! In the name of the gods of light, you are under arrest. Surrender and you will have a fair trial.¡± The commotion caused by the guard drew the attention of the players that were fighting rabbits and foxes in the vicinity. ¡°Hey, is that a monster?¡± ¡°The guards are attacking it so it must be.¡± ¡°Maybe it¡¯s some kind of event?¡± ¡°If we help kill it maybe we¡¯ll get a reword.¡± ¡°Maybe it will drop a good item as well.¡± The situation escalated fast. Frost took a few steps and tried to equip the Black Bone Sword.
You do not meet the requirements to use this weapon.
Although he was level 10, he forgot to use his unused stat points because he didn¡¯t know to which stat to distribute them. In a panic he started running while distributing points to Strength, Vitality and Agility. He didn¡¯t get too far away before he was surrounded by a dozen players that looked at him like hungry wolves would look at a fat rabbit with a broken leg. Because they were beginners they didn¡¯t attack immediately and that gave Frost enough time to distribute his stats and equip the Black Bone Sword and Nightshade Knife. ¡°Check out his weapons. I hope he drops the sword after death.¡± ¡°The knife looks good as well.¡± ¡°Mages prepare your spells, Healers stay in the back, and the rest of us will attack at the same time.¡± Before Frost could utter a word half a dozen players started attacking him with swords and spears. The good news was that they were unorganized and their attacks were straight forward and easy to dodge. He had a lot of experience from the beta testing and all the fighting he did with Manna, and after distributing his points he had 60 points in Agility which made it a piece a cake to avoid the attacks. ¡°Stop. You¡¯re making a mistake. I don¡¯t want to fight you. I¡¯m not a¡­¡± Before he could finish his sentence the mages finished their spells and although he avoided most of them a fireball hit him straight in the head which created an opening and he was stabbed by a sword. Although his health only went down by a quarter the players didn¡¯t continue to attack because he started acting strangely.
You have gained a new stat.
Killing Intent +10.
Killing Intent You can stop or slow down weaker opponents only with your blood lust. You are prohibited from distributing stat points to this stat and it rises spontaneously depending on the user¡¯s actions and mental state. Weaker monsters may faint if they are subjected to a powerful Killing Intent
Frost was already in a fowl mode since earlier. He wanted to peacefully resolve the whole situation but since the negotiations failed, or to be more precise never even started, he threw away any pretense of solving this amiably. He unequipped the cloak that didn¡¯t do anything anymore except impede his movement and roared while extending his bat like wings. ¡°I¡¯m going to kill you all.¡± Thanks to his killing intent and the shock the players got when he displayed his true form in all its glory, he went past the melee fighters and went straight for the healers. Since healers didn¡¯t usually have much health, they died after only three hits each.
- You have gained a soul.
- You have gained 100 infamy.
- You have gained a soul.
- You have gained 100 infamy.
¡°He killed our healers. All tanks protect the mages. Everybody else, coordinate your attacks.¡± Frost looked at the guy that was giving instructions. He was clearly the leader of the group. ¡°Diagnose.¡± With the effect of Medical Knowledge, not only did the health bar but also the mana bar, stamina bar and even the level was displayed over every person¡¯s head along with any buffs or status effect they had. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. The highest level player was level 9 and it was the same guy that was the party leader. Everybody else had a level between level 4 and level 7. They were all obviously much weaker than him but they were well organized and had numbers on their side. ¡®What the hell do I do now?¡¯ Being surrounded from all sides by people with swords and spears while the mages in the back started to cast their spells, Frost became nervous. If he took damage from a spell, his health would drop to 0 incredibly fast and if he tried to rush past these people and run for it, he would get stabbed a few times too many. Just when he was about to panic, a thought came to mind. With a smile on his face that couldn¡¯t be called anything other than devilish, he started speaking while raising his sword in the air. ¡°O spirits of the night, I, your master, summon thee to vanquish my enemy. Cast your rage upon these mortals that dare to oppose a true master of the night. Release your fury! ¡± ¡°He¡¯s casting a spell. Mages to the front, use Mana Shield to block it.¡± Frost obviously didn¡¯t know any spells but players didn¡¯t know that. They thought he was some kind of boss character that appeared for some kind of event so why wouldn¡¯t he act like one. As soon as the mages were in view he made his move. ¡°Dark Surgery: Bleeding.¡± His knife and sword started emitting a dark red smoke. Frost couldn¡¯t kill all the mages at the same time but he could give them some nasty status effects to keep them busy. The mages noticing that their health started to dwindle fast, started to panic and run around like headless chickens.
- Your proficiency in Manipulation has increased. - Deception +10 - Killing Intent +5
¡°Don¡¯t panic! Tanks, go aggro him. Mages, drink your health potions.¡± Their leader was trying to calm them down but in the confusion Frost slipped past their encirclement and already killed 3 low level people in the group. It was a gruesome scene. Four people were running around, splashing blood everywhere while people were being killed incredibly fast in the background. Never mind aggroing, the tanks had a hard time keeping an eye on Frost. ¡°Soul Conversion: Health; Soul Conversion: Mana.¡± While he was hacking people away, he decided to restore all his Health and Mana back. There was only one more thing he had to do to make his escape, and that was to kill their leader. He was the only person who actually knew what to do and didn¡¯t panic even when something unexpected happened. If he decided to continue hunting him, his escape wouldn¡¯t be guaranteed. Because of all the commotion, the leader didn¡¯t realize when Frost got near him. ¡°Dark Surgery: Silence.¡± He barely avoided the sword but he still got cut by it. It was a small cut but it was enough to activate the skill. When he got the message that the skill activated, Frost sprinted for the woods, killing the four mages that barely had any health left, while passing. It wasn¡¯t impossible to have a complete victory and kill the whole party but the guard that stopped him at the gate returned with a whole group of reinforcements. He reached the woods just in time to hear the sound of several arrows and spell hitting the trees behind him. Even barely being brushed by a spell took more than half his health. If he was directly hit, he would have been pulverized. Out of curiosity he turned his head around to see what level the guards had. At the average level of 70, never mind the whole group, even the weakest member was enough to kill him in one shot. ¡°Sir, shall we continue the pursuit?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t! That was a demon lord. The knights that came from San Kavar warned us about him. In the last holy war he apparently decimated a whole battalion all by himself. We¡¯ll wait until the knights come back to town and decide what to do then.¡± ¡°He didn¡¯t seem that strong. Won¡¯t he escape by then?¡± ¡°They already have the whole forest surrounded. If he wants to leave this region he¡¯ll have to fight through a whole battalion of knights. I almost pity him.¡± I ran as fast as I could and fortunately the soldiers never came after me. I was running low on stamina and health so I hid in a bush and waited for them to replenish but no matter how long I waited, I didn¡¯t gain any health or stamina. ¡°Status Window!¡±
[quart=Character name,Title]Frost,N/A[/quart][quart=Race,Affiliation]Demon Lord ,Demon Race[/quart][quart=Profession,Level]Surgeon of Death,11[/quart][quart=Fame,Infamy]0,600[/quart][quart=Affinity,Satiety]Poison,18%[/quart] [quart=Health,Mana]110(260),110(110)[/quart][quart=Stamina,Vitality]0(130),25-2[/quart][quart=Wisdom,Endurance]10-1,14-1[/quart][quart=Strength,Intelligence]30-3,12-1[/quart][quart=Agility,Luck]60-6,0[/quart][quart=Deception,Killing Intent] 20,20[/quart][quart=Attack,Defense] 49/36,15[/quart]
Stat Window
Equipment bonus: Novice Pants : Defense +1 Novice Shirt : Defense +1 Novice Boots: Defense +1 Novice set: Defense +1 Nightshade Knife: Agility +10, Strength +5 Black Bone Sword: Agility +20 Unused points: 5 Racial traits: -10% stats during the day +20% stats during the night
My satiety was below 25% so now I had no mana, health or stamina regeneration. While searching my bag I realized that I forgot to buy any food while I was in town. I expected to be in Spiriton by now so the though never crossed my mind. While I wanted to scream and hit myself for my own incompetence I got a new message from Fallen. PM from Fallen: ¡°I just met Manna. She said to tell you that she misses you and that she wants to go to Nightwood to meet you.¡± PM to Fallen: ¡°Tell her I miss her too and that she shouldn¡¯t come. The town villagers have gathered with torches and pitchforks. They already drove me off into the forest.¡± PM from Fallen: ¡°She says she¡¯ll just have to kill them all.¡± PM to Fallen: ¡°It¡¯s sweet of her to say that but the guards are way too high level. I¡¯ll think of something and get to Spiriton.¡± PM from Fallen: ¡°About that. When you arrive here, you¡¯ll have to go meet dad in Demetoria and since you can¡¯t use the town portal we¡¯ll have to walk all the way there so instead of coming here, go to Golstrum in Demetoria. When you arrive there, PM us and we¡¯ll use the town portal.¡± PM to Fallen: ¡°Okay. The distance is about the same. We¡¯ll meet there.¡± PM from Fallen: ¡°Great. We¡¯re going hunting now. I¡¯ll talk to you soon.¡± ¡®This day keeps getting worse and worse. I was turned into a demon, chased out of the city, attacked by anyone who even looked at me, I can¡¯t travel to other cities by gate and I¡¯m also staving. Can it get any worse?¡¯ As I was thinking that, as if right on cue, I hear a growl from behind me. It was an ugly creature about 1,50 m tall with yellow eyes and pale skin. In his arm was a wooden mace, raised and ready to strike. ¡®Marbas wasn¡¯t kidding when he said the gods hated demons. How bad can this day turn?¡¯ The creature was called a goblin. It was a kind of creature that I used to kill quite often when I played in the beta testing because it was so widespread. The only difference is that now, I¡¯m level 11 and this goblin in front of me is level 27. ¡°You want a piece of me too you ugly bastard?¡±
Killing Intent +5
The goblin was at least twice as fast as the beginners I faced not too long ago and the attacks weren¡¯t so straight forward. He would pretend to try to hit my leg and punch me from my blind side or step on my foot so that I couldn¡¯t avoid his attack. He played dirty and was steadily chipping away at my health. Fortunately I didn¡¯t take any direct hits but blocking a mace, even a wooden one, with a sword and dagger still made me to take damage. I had only 20% of my heath left while the goblin had almost full health. Between defending and dodging I took about 10% of his health. When the goblin saw that I was on the verge of death, he relaxed and lowered his guard and that was when I used my skill. ¡°Soul Conversion: Health. Soul Conversion: Stamina¡± Using that moment to my advantage, I relentlessly attacked him before he realized what happened. Under the furious attacks his health steadily went down to about 70% before I once again ran out of stamina and my speed dropped. Angry because of the sudden attack, the goblin unleashed his skill. His mace started glowing and when it hit me I flew 3 meters in the air and hit the ground with a thud and I was right back from where I started. I used the last 2 souls to recover my health and stamina and that¡¯s when I realized that my weapons weren¡¯t looking so great. ¡°Item window: Black Bone Sword, Nightshade Knife.¡±
Nightshade Knife
Type:Short SwordDurability:4 / 52
Quality:Uncommon
A good Short Sword made by a skilled blacksmith. It has a black blade that becomes undistinguishable in the darkness of the night. Requirement: Strength 20+ Agility 30+ Equipped: +10 Agility +5 Strength Attack: 49
Black Bone Sword
Type:SwordDurability:6 / 70
Quality:Uncommon
A good Sword made by a skilled blacksmith. The material is light but durable. It is unknown what kind of bone was used in the crafting of this blade. Requirement: Strength 25+ Vitality 10+ Equipped: +20 Agility Attack: 36
It was the second beginner mistake I made today. I forgot to repair my weapons while I was in town. This was unforgiveable. If this goblin killed me right now I didn¡¯t have anyone to blame other than me. I reluctantly put my weapons away and took out the ones I brought in town. They didn¡¯t give half as much damage as the ones I got from the thieves and now I even lost the benefits it gave me so my speed and attack speed dropped to half. I was stubborn until now but the more the fight dragged on the more I thought that it was better to run but it didn¡¯t seem like the goblin was going to let me. I started running but my speed was now slower than that of the goblin. When he was about to reach me, I reversed direction and stabbed him in both eyes with my knife and sword. ¡°Dark Surgery: Blinding.¡±
- Critical hit! - You have done 103 damage. - The effect of Blinding is doubled. - Deception +5.
The goblin started to randomly swinging his mace trying to hit me and I, against my better judgment, continued to attack him. His health continued to decrease with each attack. When the blindness finally wore off, our situations were finally reversed. He only had 10% of his health while I was fully healthy. I prepared for what I assumed was going to be the final attack but then, the goblin used a skill that it shouldn¡¯t have. It was called ¡®Warrior¡¯s Pride¡¯ and in the beta, only Orcs and Lycanthropes could use it. It was annoying because it unequipped our weapons and made us fight barehanded. I was well aware of the fact that, even without his mace, this little goblin had enough strength to beat me to a pulp but even the goblin wasn¡¯t looking too good either. He was full of cuts and bruises. A few good punches and he would probably die. Our exchange was pretty much one sided. Because I was taller and had a longer reach, the goblin took damage without being able to land even one punch. As I was happy it was finally going to be over I, yet again, got bad news.
- You are Starving. - Your Health will decrease by 3% every minute until your Satiety rises.
¡°Are you fucking kidding me?¡± At that moment the goblin tackled me and was holding me on the ground. I expected a few punches but none came. When I looked up I saw the bastard laughing. He knew I was starving and was patiently holding me until I would eventually die.
- Killing Intent +10
¡°Go to hell!¡± I used the horns on my head to head-butt him and when he let go of me for a moment, I bit his neck. It was a move of desperation but when I felt the blood in my mouth, because I was starving, I started drinking it like there was no tomorrow. The goblin started to violently shake before finally going limp and disappearing in a gray light.
- You have gained a level x 4
- You have gained a new skill
Blood Drain (Active, Beginner level 1) A skill preferred by undead creatures to recover their health by feeding on the living. You are able to steal 2 health points every second from the target. Mana Consumption: 1 mana/sec.
- You have gained a soul
With the battle finally over I collapsed on the ground. Because of all the blood that I drank, my satiety rose to 31% and my Mana, Health and Stamina started to regenerate which made me laugh. The goblin dropped a flint when he died which made me happy because it seemed I would have to sleep in the woods tonight and sad because I fought to the death with a creature more than 10 levels higher than me for a flint. When the final raise of light disappeared, the day finally ended. I gathered wood and made a campfire and fell asleep without a care for any monster or player that might come. I was too tired to care. http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=5315Next Chapter > Chapter 7 - Good Night Chapter 7 - Good Night Author Note: Sorry it took so long for a new chapter. I hope everybody had lovely holidays. Without further ado here is chapter 7. Please rate, comment and point out annoying mistakes.
I woke up in the middle of the night hearing a howl in the distance. A pack of wolves was in the vicinity but because the fire died, I wasn¡¯t spotted immediately. My wings were wrapped around my body and I probably looked like a giant bat. Because it got cold when the fire died, I unconsciously did that to preserve body heat. It was really convenient to have a have wings. Even if I couldn¡¯t fly yet, I at least had a personal sleeping bag. It was fairly warm so it meant I didn¡¯t have to create a campfire every time I wanted to sleep but building a fire would still keep the monsters away so I would still do it until I was certain I could beat any monster that comes my way. I was still tired but the wolves¡¯ presence made me anxious. It was strangely bright thanks to my Night Vision skill but it made me more anxious. Just because they were more active at night, didn¡¯t mean that they could see in the dark as well as I did but I still felt like running each time a wolf would glance my way. The wolves weren¡¯t as high level as the goblin but there were a lot of them, more than I could fight on my own without my weapons. The wolves moved in unpredictable patterns and because my satiety was low and I didn¡¯t have any desire to fight, I climbed a tree and watched as more and more monsters would wonder around. I started reading ¡°Death¡¯s door¡± while I was trapped up in the tree. Because I read a few pages from the middle of the book, I thought it was a book describing the ¡°Surgeon of Death¡± profession but it was more than that. Reading it from the beginning, I realized that it was Marbas¡¯s memoir which told the story of how the profession came to be. The story starts in the town of St. Germain, years before the holy war, when all the races lived in peace. ¡®I remember the day I started on this path like it was yesterday. I was always a curious kid that asked a lot of questions and caused a lot of trouble but until that day nothing caught my attention for more than a day or two. I was a prodigy at magic and fairly good with a sword but I didn¡¯t have any interest in them. I wanted a challenge. I wanted adventure. If that salesman didn¡¯t walk through town that day, I¡¯m sure I would have left my home and became an adventurer. What luck I had that day. Until this day I can¡¯t decide if it was good luck or bad but that was the day I became an alchemist. My father, the count of Saint Germain, requested that I join him for a walk in town. I, like any other kid my age, was causing trouble in the mansion and because some of the staff complained about it, father decided that I needed to get rid of my boredom some other way, specifically, with a hobby. We went into the crafting district. It was the first time I went there. It was full of blacksmiths, leather workers, tailors, sculptors, armorers, jewelers, enchanters, carpenters and all sorts of buyers from wealthy merchants to little kid even younger than me. I learned many things that day. My father took me to a tailor shop first. The person there thought me how to stich and cut different materials. My first attempt at making a pair of gloves was a success and the shopkeeper told me I have talent and he would be interested in having me as a disciple but unfortunately I wasn¡¯t that interested in clothing so I refused. We went to a different shop to see if something else would pique my interest. To summarize the whole day, I had talent as an enchanter and I was unsuitable to be a blacksmith. I was a little good at carpentry and although I was a bit interested in music, father forbade me from ever singing or trying to play an instrument again. I apparently had a good voice but I was tone-deaf. Father was about to give up until we came across a merchant that sold all kinds of items. He had a small stand that was filled with bows, swords, different kinds of books and small bottles with different colored liquid inside. ¡°Ah, costumers, would you like to buy a sword? It may not be the best sword will find but it will be high quality sword at a very low price.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry but I¡¯m not really interested in sword play¡± I answered. ¡°A boy who¡¯s not interested in the sword!? First time I hear about such a thing. Perhaps you are soon to be magician? I can sell you some rare spells or maybe some common ones if you¡¯d like.¡± ¡°No thanks. I¡¯m not interested in magic either.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a tough customer. In that case, how about buying a health potion? Everybody gets hurt from time to time. All you need to do is drink this little bottle and your wound will heal faster than a priest can utter his healing spell.¡± ¡°What¡¯s a healing potion?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know what a healing potion is? Through the art of alchemy, people have developed a way to combine different ingredients to create potions that can heal, cure and recover. It is said that those that have mastered alchemy can change the very properties of elements. They can turn iron into gold, coal into diamonds and even develop the elixir of life that can grant you eternal youth. Alchemy is the profession of endless possibilities.¡± ¡°Are you willing to teach?¡± With my interest piqued, I was already curious about what alchemy could offer. Of course, back then I was thinking of using it to play pranks or earn extra money. You should never underestimate a child¡¯s ambition to cause trouble. Father always said that I shortened his life expectancy by a fair margin. ¡°I¡¯m sorry but I can¡¯t teach you.¡± ¡°If this is about money, I¡¯m sure I can pay you more than enough for your trouble¡± my father quickly added thinking he could have a few days of peace if I developed an interest in it. ¡°I¡¯m sure you could but I¡¯m afraid that that¡¯s not possible. I don¡¯t know much about alchemy and even if I did, an alchemist¡¯s recipes are a close guarded secret but I can at the very least sell you a book about the basic principles and a beginner alchemist set. If you want to make better potions, you need to find them yourself. That¡¯s the fun thing about alchemy; different people can arrive at different recipes starting from the same point. ¡± That was the first day I walked down the path of the alchemist that took me even further down to the path to that of ¡°Surgeon of Death¡±. The next day I started gathering ingredients for my potions. I finished the book the night before and learned the recipe for a healing potion. The ingredients I needed were cherry leaves, rabbit blood and salt.¡¯
¨C You have learned the recipe for lowest grade healing potion
Up in the tree, Frost almost fell after the window popped up. After disabling the notifications, he continued his read. ¡®Day ¨C 1 I followed the recipe and created my first potion today. It was extremely bitter and salty and only healed minor cuts and bruises but it was still a healing potion. I extremely dissatisfied with the taste so I decided to make it one of my goals to make a healing potion that tasted like strawberries or cherries. After making a dozen potions, I discovered that some of them are stronger than others. I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s because of the boiling temperature, the dosage of each ingredient or the order in which I add them. Further research is needed. Day ¨C 2 I haven¡¯t slept last night and I barely ate anything since yesterday but I think I found the exact recipe. No matter how hard I try, I can¡¯t seem to improve it further than this. The exact quantities are: two thumb size cherry leaves, 1 table spoon of salt (about 15 grams) and a 300 ml of rabbit blood. The rabbit blood needs to boil for 5 minutes before adding the salt. After 2 minutes, the cherry leaves are added and taken out when they turn brown before leaving the potion to cool down at room temperature. Following this recipe increases the potions potency by 15%. The taste has also improved from bitter-salty too just salty in general. Further research is needed to improve taste. Day ¨C 3 Today I slept until noon and ate a very late breakfast. Father was not happy about that. Fortunately, mother is coming back from her trip today and I¡¯m sure his mood will improve given time. No research was done today but I went hunting because I ran out of ingredients. I brought home 7 rabbits, 3 of which were alive and a deer that was unfortunate to cross my path. After draining the dead rabbits and deer of blood, I gave them to the chef to make something out of them. Nothing must go to waste. The live rabbits which I named R1, R2 and R3, will help me with my research starting tomorrow. I do not wish to get attached to them because chances are they¡¯ll die fairly quick. If they survive the next 10 experiments, I¡¯ll set them free. Day ¨C 4 I learned a lot today. I substituted rabbit blood with deer blood and the potion was a lot stronger than a potion made with rabbit blood. I estimate it was 30% stronger. I cut R1¡¯s paw with a knife and fed him a healing potion made of rabbit blood to see if the effects are the same to rabbits as they are to humans. After foaming from the mouth for 2 minutes it nearly died. I fed him the healing potion made with deer blood and he barely survived. I think that higher level beasts¡¯ blood create stronger healing potions and drinking healing potions made from the blood of your own specie will have the opposite effect. Day ¨C 5 I was right. After catching 3 frogs and making potions out of their blood, I¡¯m sure that my hypothesis regarding higher level creature¡¯s blood is true. The 2 frogs that remained are called F1 and F2. F1 died after drinking the healing potion made of frog blood. The second hypothesis was proven true. R1, R2, R3 and F2 started shivering after F1 died and became more aggressive towards me. I have several bites and scratches but plenty of healing potions. The taste is still bad. Day ¨C 6 I replaced salt with sugar today and added cherries instead of cherry leaves. The potion replenished Stamina instead of Health. I wonder if there¡¯s a way to make a Health potion sweet without it turning into a Stamina potion. Stamina potion¡¯s taste: delicious. Day ¨C 7 By drying the cherry leaves and turning them into a powder, I combined it with powdered sugar at a 2:1 ratio. The resulting Health potion was sweet and salty. By replacing salt with sugar, a Stamina potion is created. I need to replace salt with something else otherwise the taste will never improve. Day ¨C 8 R1 bit me today and died. He fell out the window from the second floor and landed on his head. He fell by mistake as I was trying to pry his mouth open. On the plus side R2, R3 and F2 are now way more obedient than usual. I think I broke their spirits today. Day ¨C 9 By replacing rabbit blood with spring water I made a Mana potion. I felt bad about using any more rabbits for my experiments after what happened to R1 so I decided to free my ¡°pets¡±. F2 and R3 left in a hurry but it appears that R2 got attached to me. After confirming her sex I named her Money. (Money the bunny.) Day ¨C 10 I went to the butcher today and got myself a steady supply of blood for the cheap price of 1 copper per litter. I experimented with different substitutes for salt today and I think I¡¯m close to discovering it. Day ¨C 11 Because I didn¡¯t leave the house in over a week, mother ordered me to go for a walk. I took Money with me and we went for a hunt. She attacked and killed 11 rabbits and got to level 2. I didn¡¯t even order it to do it. Rabbits are such cruel creatures. Day ¨C 12 I finally found a replacement for salt. It appears that lemon juice is just as effective. My Health potion is now sweet and sour. I made a potion out of my own blood today and created an elixir that gives both Mana and Health but because it is poisonous too demons, I couldn¡¯t drink it and had Money do it. The extra effect was probably because of our (demons) high affinity to mana. I think that I can make a strong elixir by using creatures that have an affinity to mana but most of them are hard to catch or incredibly dangerous. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Day ¨C 17 I finally found all the properties of rabbit blood. They are Health replenishment, Health regeneration, Stamina replenishment and weakness to ice element. I discovered the last property by creating my first poison. It is called Frostbite Poison. If you drink it, for the next half hour you will be more susceptible to the cold. I discovered the Health regeneration property by mistake while using it together with lemon leaves and spring water and made a Health regeneration potion. It is clear by now that you need at least 3 ingredients that have the same property to stack them over each other to create a stronger effect, thus creating a potion. I¡¯m not sure why but no common ingredient has more than 4 properties. I wonder if higher level ingredients have more properties. I heard that dragon blood can be used in any numerous ways but I don¡¯t know anyone who ever seen a dragon let alone hunted one. For now it will remain a rumor.¡¯ In the middle of reading, a blue circle appeared near the tree in which Frost was siting. A substance similar to smoke but darker than tar started appearing in the middle of the magic circle. As the runes on it were shining, the smoke like substance started changing shape over and over again until it settled in the form of a demon similar to that of Frost himself. This person had an effeminate face and was smiling but his eyes painted another picture. They had a sharpness that was penetrating. Frost felt intimidated but also charmed by him. He had an air of nobility but the sharpness of eyes of a warier. ¡°I am King Paimon, one of the kings of hell. Demon Lord Frost, you have succeeded Demon Lord Barbas also known as President Barbas, the master of the mechanical arts, the healer and harbinger of plagues, he who has a thousand faces, the Surgeon of Death.¡± Frost was speechless. He didn¡¯t know what exactly to do. Jumping down from the tree he got on one knee and bowed. The atmosphere quickly changed. There was an incredible pressure coming from Paimon and the look on his face changed to one of displeasure. ¡°What are you doing?¡± asked Paimon in a voice that tried to sound calm but contained anger. Frost was puzzled. ¡°Isn¡¯t this how one greets a king?¡± With a sigh, Paimon started talking again, the pressure he was emitting subsiding. ¡°You are not my servant. You are my equal. You have gained Barbas¡¯s title along with everything he possessed in this world. You are a Demon Lord. We do not bow our heads to no one, not even to the gods.¡± Frost quickly rose to his feet. Putting his left hand behind his back, resting about his waist while his right hand was brought to his front also positioned at his waist he tipped his upper body forward. ¡°Did you not hear me when I said we do not bow to no one?¡± Paimon said while raising his voice a bit. ¡°It is but a greeting. Although I may be your equal in terms of position, I am far younger and very inexperienced. It is but natural to show respect to my senior.¡± Paimon started releasing even more pressure to the point that Frost started shivering. ¡°Are you calling me old?¡± Paimon¡¯s voice was dry and full of hostility. Because he didn¡¯t know how to react, Frost started babbling. The sound he was making didn¡¯t form any known words. ¡°Pahahaha. The look on your face! PRICELESS!¡± Paimon started laughing. ¡°We do not bow our head to no one, not even to the gods.¡± While making a semi-serious face he started speaking again with a voice, mocking his previous seriousness. After about 2 minutes, his laughing fit stopped and he finally faces Frost who was yet again speechless but because of another reason. While floating in the air, cross legged with his hand behind his head, Paimon spoke in a gentle voice. ¡°Relax junior. Demons have always been mischievous pranksters. Tricking people is what we do. Barbas and I used to cause so much chaos that kingdoms ranked us 7 on the natural disaster ranking. We were ranked between dragon attacks and enemy invasion.¡± ¡°What did you do get ranked that high?¡± ¡°We built a golden statue that sings and we sent it to the dragon that lives in the dwarves mountains.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound so bad.¡± ¡°OH, it gets better. Everything that touched the statue got cursed as well. When dragon put it his treasure room and all of a sudden the whole room started singing. Can you imagine the look on his face when he realized that the singing will not stop?¡± ¡°What happened to him?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure. Barbas dispelled the curse after a year for the price of a bottle of dragon blood. I don¡¯t remember if he gone insane and started talking in rhymes or he went deaf. Ah, that¡¯s right. The dragon went insane. The one who got deaf was the elven king or was he the one we turned purple? Maybe it was the orc chieftain? Anyway, you should hide your form. We have really bad reputations. Not just me and Barbas, every demon lord caused some kind of great disaster. I think it¡¯s better if you change shape for the time being. ¡± ¡°I can¡¯t change my shape.¡± ¡°Of course you can. Didn¡¯t you get his profession?¡± ¡°You mean the Surgeon of Death? Aside from being a bit better than that of an alchemist, I don¡¯t think I can change my appearance. ¡± ¡°The name of the profession is chosen by those that created it. My profession is similar to that of Barbas. I know all arts be it mystical arts or martial arts but I choose the name Chef of Beginning because I like the culinary arts. As I said, mischief is in our nature. Even the names we choose for our professions are designed to trick people.¡± ¡°So, what does my profession actually do?¡± ¡°Changing shape is one of the abilities of your profession otherwise tricking people becomes harder. Marbas was also a master of the mechanical arts. You can probably learn tailoring, agriculture, architecture, martial arts, trading, cooking and blacksmithing. Obviously you can learn alchemy and healing magic but not healing magic that comes from the power of a god. They¡¯re a bit upset with us at the moment. You should probably gain the blessing of a demon god otherwise they¡¯ll continue to harass you with incredible bad luck until you die.¡± Because there was something blinking in the corner of his eye, Frost enabled the notifications and a cascade of information
You have gained 7 intelligence and 2 wisdom from reading ¡°Death¡¯s Door¡±
You have learned the secrets of you profession. Restrictions of the profession have been lifted - The skill ¡°Shape Shift¡± has been unlocked - You are able to learn tailoring - You are able to learn farming - You are able to learn trading - You are able to learn cooking - You are able to learn blacksmithing - You are able to learn architecture - You are able to learn Mystic Arts - You are able to learn Martial Arts
Shape Shift (Active, Beginner level 1) You are able to change form to that of another being. Because of Mana Affinity, Mana consumption is reduced by 20%. Mana consumption: 400 MP
You have learned about the curse that was placed on you.
¡°Wrath of the gods¡± Your presence attracts monsters and makes them twice as aggressive. People will see you as a monster if you reveal yourself to them. NPC¡¯s will treat you with hostility if you reveal yourself to them. Luck: -50. Killing you will increase fame and give the blessing: ¡®God¡¯s favor¡¯
Frost was conflicted. On one hand, he gained an OP profession. On the other hand, the game was seriously trying to kill him. ¡°It looks like the magic circle is starting to fade. It was nice meeting you Frost Demon.¡± ¡°Wait, I still have questions.¡± ¡°When you learn summoning magic, draw this magic circle and face northwest while calling my name or travel to the Isles of Dupree and look for the temple with a golden roof. I¡¯ll probably see how you¡¯re doing from time to time so cheer up. One more thing before I leave. This whole forest is surrounded by knights from all directions. You should increase your strength and stamina so that you can fly better or increase you intelligence and wisdom so that they can¡¯t recognize you when you Shape Shift.¡± ¡°By how much?¡± ¡°I think you¡¯ll need about 70 strength and 2000 stamina to fly for about 20 minutes or about 60 intelligence and wisdom and intermediate level Shape Shift to fool them.¡± Flustered, Frost quickly asked: ¡°How much time do I have?¡± ¡°Probably about a week or so. If they think you¡¯re Barbas, they won¡¯t charge in recklessly.¡± ¡°How the hell do I get that many levels in such a short time?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t say you need to gain levels. You just need to raise your stats.¡± ¡°How?¡± ¡°You have Barbas¡¯s book: ¡°Death¡¯s Door¡±, right? There should be ways to increase stats written in there. If you can¡¯t do it until next week¡­ well, at least your kind can¡¯t die.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not reassuring.¡± ¡°Time¡¯s up. Good luck with the knights.¡± ¡°Wait! Paimon! PAIMON!¡± When the magic circle disappeared, Paimon blinked out of existence, with an evil looking smile on his face. While he was standing near the now gone magic circle a growl came from behind Frost.
- You are Starving. - Your Health will decrease by 3% every minute until your Satiety rises.
¡°Shit!¡± Faced with a wolf while his health started to decrease, Frost cursed Marbas again while equipping his sword and dagger.
- Killing Intent +5
Chapter 8 - Gathering Power For the second time today, I was building a fire. The difference was that this time I wasn¡¯t doing it in order to keep myself warm but to try and cook the wolf meat that I got from killing a stray wolf that attacked me. For a level 15 like me, a level 20 wolf would have been challenging if not for the 20% bonus to stats that demons get during the night. It didn¡¯t take long to kill it. After I silenced it with Dark Surgery so that it can¡¯t call for back-up, I started attacking it with hit and run tactics. The good thing about the curse the gods gave me is that the monsters are twice as aggressive, so the thought of fleeing never even registered in the wolf¡¯s mind, but it¡¯s still a pain in the ass. After he was too weak to even stand, I used Blood Drain on him, that way I gain Health and a meal so it¡¯s 2 birds with one stone. One thing I learned from my experience with trying to skin the wolf is that I can¡¯t for, the life of me, do it properly. I had about 16 different chunks of fur, some of them with meat and blood on them. If I had more time at my disposal maybe I would have done a better job but you need to take everything you can from a monster corpse before it disappears. A monster corpse disappears, usually, in about a few minutes. After I noticed that I won¡¯t make it in time I cut him into pieces and put him in my bag. Good thing he didn¡¯t have much blood in him, otherwise it would have been a pain to wash the bag afterwards. I¡¯ll admit that I only know a few recipes when it comes to cooking and most of them don¡¯t take more than half an hour to prepare but I was confident that I could cook the wolf meat. The problem with my logic was that I never cooked anything on an open fire before, barbeques excluded of course, and I didn¡¯t realize it would turn out so bad. Half the meat was turned to charcoal while parts of it were uncooked. It makes no difference to me if the meat is cooked or not but although the food didn¡¯t taste bad because of my Iron Stomach skill, it didn¡¯t taste good either. Because I was so bad at cooking, the system didn¡¯t register my action as cooking and I didn¡¯t gain the skill. It was actually a little depressing. In conclusion it¡¯s safe to say that I may need to find someone to teach me cooking and tailoring if I ever want to be self-sufficient. Regarding my intensive training that should increase my strength, stamina, intelligence and wisdom, it¡¯s not going as well as I have hoped. As I understand it, Marbas was probably an OP character since he was young because I¡¯m pretty sure that all the things I would need to do to increase my stats could kill me. The most notably deadly was probably his training for increasing affinity with the basic 4 elements. To increase earth affinity he decided to bury himself alive and stay there for a week. He said there were other methods to increase affinity such as creating a contract with an earth elemental, working as a blacksmith or farming the lands but because these methods took time, a lot of energy or intensive negotiations with crazed elemental beings that normally don¡¯t want to be disturbed, he opted for the first method. The training for the other elements was equally deadly. To increase his water affinity he wore weights and walked from the base of the river all the way to the spring, all the while fighting monsters. To increase his wind affinity he flew in the middle of a hurricane with nothing but a raincoat and he increased his fire affinity by setting himself on fire after drinking the highest grade Health Regeneration Potion. He gives a new definition to the term over the top and glutton for punishment. I started first with my strength and stamina training. If I had to name a reason why I did that, it would certainly be because it was the only training that I could do in the forest without any preparation. Intelligence training involved reading a long list of books or doing experiments while wisdom training, although it was the safest by far, involved playing games such as chess, shogi, chaturanga, makruk, shatranj, xiangqi or any other game that involved strategy and I was lacking both a partner and the game. The first training I did was accurately named ¡®bat under branch¡¯. It involved tying your feet to a sturdy branch of a tree and doing sit-ups. Fearing that the branch may break under my weight I choose a low hanging one, high enough so that I didn¡¯t hit my horns on the ground but low enough so that I wouldn¡¯t fall to my death. The problem was that, while I was doing my training, a wolf came by and for over 3 hours he played with me like I was a pi?ata. I may have overlooked the fact that I would be difficult to untie your feet while hanging upside-down and nearly impossible to do so while you were also tired. I learned that it was still possible to move even if your stamina hit rock bottom but it hurt like hell and you moved incredibly sluggish. After five hours of sit-ups of doom, I gave up trying to untie myself the normal way and converted a soul to stamina and used Flight to escape from my predicament. Souls were like instant health potions for me and the fact that I had to use one of them meant that I was reducing my chances of surviving a tough battle. In conclusion, you could say that the training was a success. After enabling the notifications and reading them even I was surprised.
You have gained 4 strength, 2 vitality and 12 endurance from intensive training.
Killing Intent +105
Because Killing Intent reached over 100 you have gained the skill Murderous Aura
Murderous Aura (Passive, Beginner level 1) All enemies in a 5m radius are 0,05% slower for every point in Killing Intent you have. Weaker enemies have a 5% chance of gaining Fear, Terror or Faint debuff. You get 2% more experience for every kill. You gain more Infamy with every kill.
Along with the fact that I was tired, hungry and incredibly angry, I decided that I will eat the wolf raw. I think that the wolf knew something bad was going to happen to him because, for the first time, he tried run away. He obviously didn¡¯t get away. Even if it was the last thing I did, I was prepared to chase him to the ends of the world. I didn¡¯t bother with cooking this time. My cooking skills were non-existent. I did take his fur despite my lack of tailor related skills. It was finally daybreak by the time everything was finished and I was ready to sleep until Armageddon. Because I didn¡¯t want my sleep to be disturbed by some wandering monster I decided to sleep in a tree by making a hammock. Between to branches, that were high enough this time, I had four rows of rope going around them with a distance of about 30 cm between them. I used leaves and the wolves¡¯ fur I had to make a more comfortable bed and used the head of a wolf as a pillow. It was a bit uncomfortable and smelled like blood but I slept like a log. ¡°Status window!¡±
[quart=Character name,Title]Frost,N/A[/quart][quart=Race,Affiliation]Demon Lord ,Demon Race[/quart][quart=Profession,Level]Surgeon of Death,16[/quart][quart=Fame,Infamy]0,600[/quart][quart=Affinity,Satiety]Poison,98%[/quart] [quart=Health,Mana]600,400[/quart][quart=Stamina,Vitality]930,32+6[/quart][quart=Wisdom,Endurance]12+2,40+8[/quart][quart=Strength,Intelligence]29+5,25+5[/quart][quart=Agility,Luck]30+6,0-50[/quart][quart=Attack,Defense] 54,59[/quart]
Stat Window
Equipment bonus: Novice Pants : Defense +1 Novice Shirt : Defense +1 Novice Boots: Defense +1 Novice set: Defense +1 Unused points: 5 Race bonus: -10% stats during the day +20% stats during the night Profession Bonus: - You are able to learn tailoring - You are able to learn farming - You are able to learn trading - You are able to learn cooking - You are able to learn blacksmithing - You are able to learn architecture - You are able to learn Mystic Arts - You are able to learn Martial Arts You are under the curse: - Wrath of the gods: -50 Luck
¡°When did I gain a level?¡± I asked myself unsure if I was really level 16 or I didn¡¯t see well because I was so sleepy but it was probably true and gained it after I killed the last wolf. I didn¡¯t really check all the notifications I got back then because I was on a killing spree. I always had an anger problem but this was the second time I lost my temper in 2 days. If this keeps up, I may need counseling. I will never let Manna see this side of me even if I have to die a thousand times over. It was strange seeing all my stats so inflated considering I was only level 16 but with the bonus I got during the night, I had 32 extra stats and adding to that the 38 extra stats I got from training and doing different tasks in the beginner city, I was probably as strong as a level 24 warrior, a level 26 assassin, a level 7 mage, a level 24 thief or a level 41 random character which meant I was strong for my level but still as good as dead if I were to fight one of those level 70 holy knights, especially during the day when I was 10% weaker. ¡°Skill window!¡±
Identification (Active, Beginner level 8) Diagnosis (Passive, Subskill, Beginner level 6) Iron Stomach (Passive, Special, Intermediate level 2) Brewing (Active, Beginner level 6) First Aid Treatment (Passive, Beginner level 2) Manipulation (Passive, Beginner level 2) Blade Mastery (Passive, Beginner level 3) Medical Knowledge (Passive, Beginner level 1) Dark Surgery (Active, Beginner level 2) Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.Soul Conversion (Active, Beginner level 3) Demonic Pact (Passive, Race Skill, Max level) Contract Bound (Passive, Max level) Soul Gathering (Passive, Max level) Mana Affinity (Passive, Race Skill, Max level) Night Vision (Passive, Race Skill, Max level) Flight (Active, Race Skill, Beginner level 1) Blood Drain (Active, Beginner level 5) Shape Shift (Active, Beginner level 1) Murderous Aura (Passive, Beginner level 1)
Looking at his skills and stats, Frost sighted. Feeling movement at the base of the tree, he closed the windows and while sighting again, spoke in a voice that was equally soft and filled with hostility. ¡°Why don¡¯t you stop hiding, Paimon. I know you¡¯re down there.¡± After a few moments, the sound of air blowing through the leaves was heard and a demon was flying just near where Frost made his hammock. ¡°How did you know I was here?¡± asked Paimon.
Hidden quest: Tracking the Trickster completed.
You have leveled up
¡°My fianc¨¦ used to be a mage. One of the things she told me was that mages can¡¯t use spells beyond their field of vision. It was a nice trick but even you can¡¯t use that kind of magic otherwise you wouldn¡¯t be a demon but a demon-god. For how long have you followed me?¡± ¡°Since you fought in front of Nightwood and were chased by knights. I have to admit, it was really entertaining to see you hanging from a tree while screaming profanities. I had to use Silence on myself so that you wouldn¡¯t hear me laughing. Even now I can hardly stop laughing while thinking about it.¡± ¡°So, you were going to just watch as a whole battalion of holy knight came into the forest and killed me?¡± said Frost. He was angry but the exhaustion of the whole day¡¯s ordeal made his too tired to even scream at the moment. ¡°I sincerely would have lent a hand if I thought you wouldn¡¯t have had a chance of escaping but like I said, I¡¯m a demon and ¡­¡± ¡°And deception is in our nature¡± interrupted Frost. ¡°You could have helped me a little bit more.¡± ¡°But then you wouldn¡¯t progress as fast. Well, now that you found me, I might as well help you with your training.¡±
Hidden quest Finding a friend, completed.
You have gained a level!
You have gained the skill Soul Searching.
Soul Searching (Passive, Max Level) A skill used by mages that dabble with necromancy. You are able to detect the souls of all living things. The range increases with each stat point in Focus by 0.1 %.
You have gained a new stat: Focus
Focus +5
Focus You can focus your spell and skill to achieve better results. Every 25 point of focus increases you critical hit rate by 0.5%. You are prohibited from distributing stat points to this stat.
Paimon looked at Frost a bit surprised. ¡°Your skills are a little weird. Four skills in particular are very weird. I know how you got Blood Drain but Soul Gathering, Soul Searching and Soul Conversion are necromancer skills. You¡¯re not even a mage so knowing these skills should be impossible for you. It looks like Marbas really liked you otherwise he wouldn¡¯t give you such an excellent bonus.¡± ¡°He did say I would get something extra if I did better than expected¡± (or at least the quest window said so.) ¡°Since you gained the Focus stat and you already have so many Necromancer skills, why don¡¯t I train you to be a real mage? It may be very entertaining.¡± As Paimon spoke, he had a huge smile on his face. It was the kind smile that gave Frost shivers. He knew that the kind of training that wouldn¡¯t be pleasant or even remotely possible under normal circumstances. Thinking about Marbas¡¯s training; a shiver went down Frost¡¯s back. He wanted to refuse but he knew all too well that he would die if he didn¡¯t get his help.¡± ¡°I¡­ I¡¯ll be in your care.¡± The words were painstakingly spoken while knowing full well that he was literally making a deal with a demon. ¡°Great! Let¡¯s get started.¡± ¡°Now?¡± asked Frost. He was incredibly tiered and wanted nothing more than to sleep in his hammock. ¡°It¡¯s not like we have time waste. We have more or less 6 days. If we don¡¯t get you in shape by then¡­¡± Paimon stop talking to let the words sink in. He basically told him that he would have to skip a few days of sleep if he wanted to survive which made Frost reluctant to do so but agreed none the less. While Frost was stuck inside the forest, outside of Spiriton, Manna, Fallen, Rose and a man dressed in black by the name of Tricks were ready to start their level grinding. ¡°Now, let us introduce ourselves since we aren¡¯t all familiar with each other and their professions. My name is Rose and I¡¯m a level 24 Thief.¡± Rose was wearing red colored leather armor that matched her hair and made a pose at the end of her introduction. ¡°My name is Tricks. I¡¯m a level 24 Assassin.¡± The man was dressed in black certainly looked like the textbook definition of assassin. By the look of his avatar, he seemed to be in his early 30s. ¡°Come on Taylor, can¡¯t you get a bit more pumped up?¡± said Rose. ¡°Sis, you can¡¯t just scream my real name inside the game. It¡¯s common courtesy to use my in game name.¡± ¡°Sorry, it was just a slip of the tongue.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. Let¡¯s move on.¡± said Tricks while sighting. ¡°My name¡¯s Fallen. I¡¯m a level 16 archer. I¡¯ll be in your care.¡± Fallen bowed after saying the last part. He knew he probably had the lowest level out of everyone here but nobody paid too much attention because they were focusing on Manna. They all knew that Manna had a unique profession but she never told them what it was. Everybody was curious, even Tricks looked interested in it. ¡°Hello. My name is Manna. I¡¯m a level 19 Blood Witch.¡± Everybody was surprised but they didn¡¯t know how to react. They never heard of a witch profession so they didn¡¯t know if it was a good or bad profession to have. The one who broke the silence was Rose that cheerfully and shamelessly asked: ¡°Cool. What does it do?¡± ¡°The Blood Witch is like a fusion between lots of magical professions. I can summon, enchant, create potions and use a multitude of spells; at least that¡¯s what my master told me. The best skill I have at the moment is called Familiar Blood Pact. I can summon up to two monsters that I personally killed so even though we don¡¯t have a tank in our party, I can provide one. Watch! Summon Familiar: Death Knight¡± A man wearing a black armor appeared in a flash of light. He was pale faced and both his hair and eyes were white making him look like a blind old man. ¡°Is that Gallant? He¡¯s your familiar? What is he? He looks like a corpse¡± said Rose. ¡°He is a corpse. Master turned him into a Death Knight and afterwards I made him a familiar. It¡¯s a shame his level wasn¡¯t really high but at least he makes a good meat shield.¡± ¡°Wow Manna, you can really hold a grudge. May the gods have mercy on you, you stupid gamer.¡± Rose said while putting her hands together making a prayer. ¡°He¡¯s not in there. I don¡¯t really know what happened to him but he never showed up after I finished the ritual; maybe the skill deleted his character or he stopped playing or there was interference from the GM. Either way, I don¡¯t really care. Shouldn¡¯t we start hunting already? I know you¡¯re curious about my profession but seeing it in action will be better them me talking about it.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. Manna, your Death Knight will be our tank and agro the monsters. Me and Tricks will use our agility with hit and run tactics. Fallen and Manna will be in the back. Fallen, you¡¯re in charge of getting monster. Does everyone agree with this?¡± Everybody nodded but then Manna raised her hand. ¡°I would like to buff everyone before we start.¡± ¡°You can buff as well? Damn, I want to be a witch.¡± said Rose. ¡°Me too¡± said Tricks and Fallen. ¡°There are just some small buffs but they do help a little¡± said Manna. ¡°Blood boil! Evil intension! Blood money!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see any difference. What do they do?¡± ¡°Blood boil cancels health regeneration but increases damage by 0.5. Evil intension increases critical rate, damage and drop rate. Blood money increases the drop rate.¡± ¡°We could either become rich or die incredibly fast¡± said Rose. ¡°I like it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like we need health regeneration. Our tank is undead/summon. I¡¯m an assassin so I rather have more damage. Rose is a thief so she has high agility and low defense, no use there. Manna¡¯s a mage¡­ sort of¡­ so I presume she has low health and defense and prefers long range while Fallen is an archer and in the same situation. We just have to avoid big groups of monsters or not use Blood boil¡± said Tricks. ¡°Enough talk. We are wasting buffs here¡± said Rose while running towards the nearest monster. And so the group started to hunt to increase their levels while Frost was being tortured tutored by Paimon.
Note: I¡¯m sorry it took so long to write a chapter. I wasn''t feeling to well for a very long time. Chapter 9 - Crazy I don¡¯t know who made the system for magic in this game but he was very thorough. There are actually two systems for using magic. The first is, as Paimon claimed, the voice system. The voice system is the simplest of the systems. It involves incantations or gestures and all spells are already present in something called the Arcane library. This library hosts all the spells past and present, created and named by their creators so even if someone tries to create the same spell, it will still be named the same way (for example the fireball spell). The second system is more complex and called the formula system. It involves writing magic formulas, runes and any type of physical representation of the spell and infusing it with mana. After all that is done, if the ¡°world¡± accepts your spell as complete, you can activate the spell or you can create a new one. Enchanting an object, works by relying on the second system while mages, sorcerers, witch doctors and any other type of magic class, rely on the first system. This was probably the reason why most people in the beta instinctively avoided enchanting even though it was an incredibly useful skill. Right now, I¡¯m only learning one spell but because Paimon doesn¡¯t have the spell book for it (or so he says), I have write it manually in the dirt like a five year old. The good thing is I learned another skill and my stats increased.
Focus + 1
Your attempt at creating a spell has failed. The materials have been lost.
Sewing skill proficiency has increased
Sewing (Passive, Beginner level 2)
If you are wondering ¡®what does sewing have to do with learning a spell?¡¯ than I have to remind you that I have three necromancer skills already and I¡¯m working on the forth. So here is a question, what are necromancers famous for? The answer: raising the dead. I admit that the connection to sewing isn¡¯t obvious but if you think about it, you need a body to create a zombie but the body disappears after a set time. To write the magic formula for the spell takes time as well, so what is the easiest way to make a zombie in this situation? Make a body that doesn¡¯t disappear and write the magic formula at your discretion. Right now I¡¯m sewing a wolf back together while Paimon looks as if he wants to explode from laughter. The fact that he¡¯s trying so hard not to laugh pisses me off annoys me to no end.
Because of your constant proximity to corpses, you have gained Death Aura
Death Aura (Passive, Beginner level 1) The corpses of monsters cannot be claimed by the gods in your presence.
Death Aura and Murderous Aura have combined to create Ripper¡¯s Realm
Ripper¡¯s Realm(Passive, Special, Beginner level 1) All enemies in a 10m radius are 0,15% slower for every point in Killing Intent you have. Weaker enemies have a 10% chance of gaining Fear, Terror or Faint debuff. You get 3% more experience for every kill. The corpses of monsters cannot be claimed by the gods in your presence.
¡°Oh, thank you, thank you, and thank you. I will never complain again. Praise be the almighty system in all his glory.¡± ¡°Pwahahahahah. Stop. STOP. I can¡¯t take it anymore.¡± Paimon started laughing like it was a comedy show. ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡± I ask in monotone voice. ¡°YOU! You kill wolves then cut them to pieces, small pieces, and then sew them back together. It¡¯s like you¡¯re a masochist. You even started praying. You¡¯re a very weird demon.¡± ¡°Disregarding the praying part, how else would I get a body to last for more than few minutes?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t! Pwahahaha. I have the Death Aura. You could just leave it with me or even better, you could write the magic circle first and then kill the wolves.¡± That was the day I realized that I wasn¡¯t the smartest cookie in the jar. ¡°Are you sad right now?¡± ¡°SHUT UP, I don¡¯t want to talk about it.¡± Paimon continued to laugh for a while. In that time I was playing in the dirt (writing magic circles and not because I was depressed because real men don¡¯t cry). Strangely enough, sewing a wolf back together is only third on the list of the most horrible experiences in my life and second on the most horrible experiences in Legacy. After a few more attempts, I increased my focus to 23 and finally got it right.
You have successfully created a spell - Revive
Revive (Active, Beginner level 1) You can revive someone within 5 minutes of their death. Mana cost 400
Because you had insufficient mana, your health compensated for it. Health -130
¡°Shit.¡± Or maybe not. After I fought and killed the wolf for the second time today, I learned that it was better to wait 5 minutes to be sure that the wolf was truly dead as a door knob before trying to create zombies. Apparently Paimon ¡°forgot¡± to tell me. Someday I¡¯ll kill him.
Killing Intent +10
While making that promise, I recreated the spell and after waiting the necessary 5 minutes and watching the description of the wolf turn from ¡°freshly dead¡± to ¡°dead¡± I activated the spell.
You have successfully created a spell - Reanimate
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Reanimate (Active, Beginner level 1) You can create an undead minion by using a corpse. Mana cost 400. Number of minions possible, 6. Note: The stats of all undead minions are reduced by 40%
Because you had insufficient mana, your health compensated for it. Health -130
Right now I can¡¯t use the spell because I don¡¯t have enough mana but during the night when I have an overall stat increase of 30%, I can use it. ¡°Congratulations! It¡¯s undead¡± said Paimon a bit disappointed. ¡°Thank you. Now what do we do?¡± ¡°I think that we should get you accustomed to being a demon. I don¡¯t think you ever used Demonic Pact.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t get the chance.¡± ¡°Then I think this is your big chance. Go and use it.¡± ¡°On who? There is nobody in this forest except for you, me and a lot of monsters.¡± ¡°Use it on a monster.¡± ¡°Does it work that way?¡± ¡°You can get a pet if you¡¯re lucky but try it on a demonic monster. That way you have better chance of succeeding.¡± ¡°Any suggestions?¡± ¡°Try it on a slime.¡± With that suggestion I started searching for a slime. Slimes are beginner monsters and have a level between 1 and 10. In some high level arias, their level is lower than the overall level of the monsters in the zone so they give low exp and less loot that other monsters. After searching for about an hour I found one at the entrance of a cave. I wrote a basic contract with the help of Paimon. It was a simple contract that stated that if it became my pet that I would increase its level and feed it as well as protect it to the best of my abilities. ¡°Hey little guy. If you accept this contract than I will¡­ahhh¡­FACE HUGGER! FACE HUGGER!¡± ¡°Pwahahahahahah!¡± As always this was probably a trick from Paimon to have fun at my expense. The little monster attached itself to my face and wouldn¡¯t let go until I almost killed it. ¡°Sign¡­it¡­Or¡­DIE¡± I said with a smile on my face.
You have gained a new skill - Intimidation
Intimidation (Passive, Beginner level 1) You have a higher chance to make someone do what you want them to do. Familiarity decreases by 5% with every use. People may turn hostile to you if used too often and your infamy may increase.
Manipulation and Intimidation have combined to create Psychological Manipulation
Psychological Manipulation (Passive, Special, Beginner level 1) You have a higher chance to make someone do what you want them to do. Familiarity and Loyalty may increase or decrease depending on the methods used. People may turn hostile to you if used too often and your infamy may increase.
Killing Intent+5
You have gained a new pet through Demonic Pact
Please name your pet!
¡°Xeno!¡±
[quart=Pet name,Level] Xeno,1[/quart][quart=Race,Owner]Slime,Frost[/quart] [quart=Loyalty,Satiety]24%,64%[/quart] [quart=Health,Mana]100,100[/quart][quart=Stamina,Vitality]100,10[/quart][quart=Wisdom,Endurance]5,10[/quart][quart=Strength,Intelligence] 10,10[/quart][quart=Agility,Luck]15,0[/quart][quart=Attack,Defense] 1,0[/quart]
Pet Status Window
Skills: Choke (Active, Beginner level 5) Bounce (Passive, Beginner level 2) Acid Stomach (Active, Beginner level 7)
¡°It¡¯s so squishy¡± I said while grabbing it. ¡°Congratulations you have a useless pet¡± said Paimon in a deadpan voice. I think he didn¡¯t expect me to succeed. ¡°He¡¯s not useless. Don¡¯t listen to the bad man. You are the cutest thing ever. Yes you are. Yes you are.¡± I have to admit that I grow really attached to pets. ¡°A demon lord is petting a pet slime.¡± *Clap* *Clap* *Clap* ¡°You¡¯re just jealous because Xeno is so cute.¡± ¡°And useless.¡± ¡°He is not useless! Watch.¡± I took Xeno I my hand and started aiming at a wolf. ¡° Xeno, Choke.¡± *Smack*
Wolf has been stunned.
Xeno used Choke.
Before the wolf could take Xeno off his face I already attacked him twice and gave him a Silence and Bleed debuff. The wolf died in a matter of moments.
Xeno rose to level 2
Xeno¡¯s loyalty rose to 25%
¡°You are a very brave little slime. Yes you are. Yes you are.¡± ¡°You may not be right in the head. Maybe we should take a break¡± said Paimon with a little bit of concern. And with that I gained an undead minion wolf and a pet slime. Although I don¡¯t know if Paimon is right or not, I did start to have more fun while playing this game. Maybe I am slowly losing my mind. ¡°Xeno, give Paimon a hug.¡± ¡°Pwah.¡± But I¡¯m having fun so who cares? Hello and Goodbye I''ll take this chance to thank everyone for your support for Legacy but I can''t find a direction in which to take this story. I think i need to reboot it or a cancel it. I hate doing this but... Legacy is on hiatus for the moment.