《One Chance》 Prologue Chapter One Chance Prologue Footsteps echoed loudly throughout the dungeon. Two men with relatively new gear were running for their lives from the treasure guards they aggravated. ¡°Jay, watch out!¡± The man named Jay tilted his head as an arrow barely missed. ¡°That was close, Jude!¡± ¡°Yeah well, stop celebrating!¡± Jay and Jude were both running from the chasing them, as well as its minions and . Both men were dungeon crawling for the first time in the game and until that point, they were proceeding nicely with their carefully crafted plan. The game they were playing was a VRMMORPG called One Chance. VRMMORPG stands for Virtual Reality Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game, a gaming genre that holds the largest number of players in the world. One Chance was the brainchild of the software company Earthlight. Envisioned by a Filipino game designer, it was such a huge step in Philippine technological advancement that the government took full reins of the funding. Numerous commercial and industrial giants from around the world contributed as well, turning the ambitious project into a great undertaking. Everyone could not stop talking about it until the day of its beta testing. One might think that the game was too overhyped and with good reason; it was just another computer game. But Earthlight had another genius hiding in the marketing department, putting out an outrageous idea to make the beta testing a survival game as well as making playing time limited. Basically, what Earthlight announced was that the beta was free to play. However, you could only play for 5 hours per day starting from 6 pm and once you died in the game, you permanently lost your character and the chance to play the beta. You had to wait for the commercial release in order to play again. However, if you managed to complete the goal of the game, you would receive a real world prize courtesy of Earthlight itself. The goal: unite the game world. Stolen novel; please report. Many people scrambled at the limited chance to play the game. Two of them included Andrew Jay Lopez and Kristian Jude King who were currently running away from the treasure guardians chasing them. ¡°Okay my mana¡¯s sufficient now!¡± Both guys stopped and assumed positions as Jay picked the last seed from his pouch. He kissed it and muttered. ¡°This had better work.¡± He put the seed inside his fist and cast two spells, throwing the seed onto their chasers. It was not enough to completely stop the skeletons in their tracks, but it did its part in making sure they got away. Both of them panted hard at the cave entrance. ¡°What did I tell you, huh? I knew my strategy would work.¡± Jay was too tired at Jude to retort for being a braggart. Hey the strategy worked this time, let the man get his shine. It involved Jude stopping any opposing projectiles for a moment while Jay cast <> and <> on the touch-me-not seed. So far its only use had netted them an excellent result. Theoretically, a fully grown giant touch-me-not plant would hurt a barefoot chaser due to its thorny stem. Made magically bigger and it would create a temporary blockade, impeding movement and vision. This was the strategy Jude came up with in case they needed to run. He was very happy that it worked. Just then, an announcement came. ¡°Forced logout will be in five minutes. Forced logout will be in five minutes.¡± Jude shrugged at Jay. ¡°Guess that¡¯s that. See you tomorrow.¡± Jay waved goodbye as he logged out of One Chance, thus ending Jay Low and Jude Lawbreaker¡¯s adventures for the day. Chapter 1: Narra Town One Chance Chapter 1: Narra Town Andrew Jay had to wake up early at dawn in order to prepare the kids'' food. It had been his habit ever since he quit school and helped out at the day care his grandmother owned. He washed his face and plodded towards the kitchen. He spotted two pint-sized girls trying to cook their own breakfast. "What is National Geographic doing up so early to cook?" National Geographic referred to Jay''s twin sisters. ''National'' was Natalie and ''Geographic'' was Angela, whose nickname was ''Gie''. "Kuya did you forget? Mama traveled to Dipolog early today while you were asleep." "We figured that we would cook our own lunch." Jay knew that his sisters cooked better than him but didn''t like to admit it. "Well don''t lock the door when you go out. I''m going to head over to Lola''s." Picking up the ice pops from the fridge, he walked over to the neighboring day care directly across their house. "Good morning, Lola." His grandmother did not reply but with good reason. She was praying the morning novena in front of her room''s altar, a habit she''d formed from her younger days. Jay prepared the morning''s breakfast which was bread, scrambled eggs, milk and coffee for the adults. Some of the kids went over early in the morning because their parents did not have time to take care of them, which was why an additional charge was paid for breakfast. As for the coffee, some of the kids had drivers. One by one the kids arrived, sitting at the mess table waiting for their food. Jay rushed to serve them as well as the drivers waiting outside with courtesy. His grandmother came out of her room, sitting down at the mess table with the children. "Good morning, Teacher Fely!" The kids chorused as they greeted the head teacher and their guardian for the day. His grandmother smiled and engaged the kids in lively conversation. "How was your day yesterday?" The pint-sized runts raced to answer the question. "I had mango shake!" "I went to the park with my mom at night!" "...I ate some strawberries. They were sour, yuck." Jay worked as the day care''s handyman as well as the secondary teacher, taking over whenever his Lola Fely tucked in for the afternoon. He quit school right before he was supposed to graduate and was gratefully given an opportunity to work in the family business. "Teacher Jay, teacher Jay, look what I got!" He knew that voice. It belonged to the precocious 5-year old girl Mia. Ever since he made a paper crane for her she stuck to him like glue. "My sister brought me a makeup kit. I asked her how to use it and now I know. Look at my selfie here..." Mia pulled out her smartphone and showed him a picture of her making a duck face. "How do I look?" Dredging up his well of experience with girls wasn''t of much use; Jay thankfully knew how to deal with children. "You look wonderful, Mia." The kid''s face bloomed as she celebrated on her own by hugging Jay''s neck. "Mia let go, I have some things to do." She pouted at first but regained her smile when he promised her an ice pop later. At this time the kids were heading to the classroom for their daily writing exercises. Pocketing the money for groceries, he took a tricycle to his friend''s gym a few blocks away, planning on killing time before he got back to cook dinner. ***** "Hey there, Jude." "Hay is for horses, Jay." Kristian Jude was the son of a rich family dealing with furniture. The second of three sons, after graduating with a degree in Business Management he opened up a gym. It had been his dream to open one being a health nut and all. Jay was his friend, but he was not going to let him stay for free. The most he could do was offering him a discount which Jay happily accepted. "Hitting the treadmill again? You never lift the weights and when you do they''re never full repetitions." "I''m a nerd. Nerds aren''t supposed to hit the weight room." Jude shook his head. "No, that''s just how you think nerds should look." Jay shrugged as he continued running. He was Jude''s first customer as he was basically forced by his best buddy to train at his gym. Jay originally did not want to since he had no desire to exercise. He was an introvert and he believed you lost at life if you worked hard. "At least I do the exercises you tell me to do." "True enough. Hey, speaking of things I tell you to do..." Jude showed him a pamphlet about a new game coming out. There was no way Jay hadn''t heard of it as well, seeing as it had been getting non-stop media coverage. "Let me guess, you''re going to want me to play this with you as well?" "I already bought the machines for our personal use. It''s at my room." Jay looked at the paper for a while. He had heard of the real world prize the company would be giving out if you completed the game''s goal and it piqued his curiosity a bit. "Look, I keep telling you that you need to go outside and meet people, not get stuck inside your small world of house, day care, gym, and supermarket. This is the answer. I get to meet different people with you in the comfort of your own home. What''s more, it''s not creepy." Jay weighed his options. "You got it all wrong. I''m all for playing this game; it''s just that I haven''t played a game like this in my entire life." "No worries bro, I''ll take care of you. Not that I''m good at it or anything, I''m a casual player myself." His workout done, he washed himself as Jude got the VR headset from his room. ***** After eating lunch and cooking dinner, he went up to his room to assemble the gadget he got from Jude. "So this goes here, and this cable connects to this port..." He succeeded in assembling it as well as connecting the headset to the internet. Jay looked at the clock and it was almost 6 o''clock at night. Confident that his sisters would be able to fend for themselves as he left a note telling them what to do on the dining table, he put on the headset and went off to dreamland. Moments of darkness and silence passed before a scene of kaleidoscopic colors greeted his sight. Jay marveled at the scenery until he got into the registration section. A cool female voice suddenly rang out. "Welcome to One Chance. Please fill the fields with your full name, age, and gender." He did as he was told and once he was done, he was taken to the character customization page. Appearing in front of him was a giant body mirror. His appearance was turned into a slightly anime-like version of himself, with options to change numerous things like eye and hair color. What caught his attention was the race tab. There were five main races all in all. They were as follows: , , , , and . Jay was currently of the . Switching to , his face became prettier in a way, and his body became lithe and long. For , his height shrunk into that of a dwarf''s, complete with the signature beard. He immediately promised to himself that he would never sport a beard. For an , Jay was puzzled as to why he reverted back to his human form. But when he read that they were shapeshifters, he tried to transform into a dog. He did, but his dog face was strikingly similar to his human face, so he gave up. As for the last one , his face became that of a grandpa''s, complete with a long white beard and a balding head. They were as small as the but had smaller bodies. "Is this how I will look when I grow old?" He agonized over his race as he was customizing his in-game name as well as his password. "Jude will forgive me, right?" Jay selected the race. ***** Jay opened his eyes and a rustic sight greeted him. The game informed him that he was currently in Narra Town, the starting point of all the newbies in their region of One Chance. The sight of so many people crowding in one place made Jay slightly dizzy, so he walked around looking for his friend, wondering if he would recognize his slightly altered look. Jude was standing right at the newbie spawn spot on the town shrine waiting for Jay when he finally saw his friend wandering around. "Jay is that you? You took too long." Jay turned his head towards a familiar voice. He spotted his friend. "There you are. You''re a human?" Jude nodded. "Yeah, I couldn''t choose the other characters because I was worried you wouldn''t recognize me." He glanced at his friend''s head where his name was supposed to be. "Dude seriously? Your name is Jay Low?" Jay snorted. "Speak for yourself; your name is Jude Lawbreaker. It seems like you want copyright to come after you." Both of them stood silently. "Why aren''t you commenting on my appearance?" "Who cares what you look like?" Silence reigned once again. "So what are we doing today?" Jay followed Jude around as they completed quest after quest, mostly hunting and gathering herbs along with the random small jobs of deliveries. They familiarized themselves with the combat system easily enough; what with Jude taking up boxing while Jay took up Arnis back when his grandfather was alive. Naturally, it all involved Jude lecturing Jay on what to do and how to do it. In the middle of a hunting quest, both of them were hunting for when Jay saw a group of people out of newbie armor. "It hasn''t been a day yet but those people already have their first classes. What happened?" Jude looked at the same direction. "They''re power leveling I bet. Some people take their games seriously¡ªwatch out!" Jay dodged the mayfly at the last moment, making an opening for Jude who struck down the offender. Gathering up its ears, he continued his explanation. "As I was saying, these people grind to min-max themselves. They want to optimize their builds like body builders do with their diet and calorie intake." "So if I get this right, they''re gamers who plan and calculate every move in order to get the best out of everything they do and have?" "Fast on the uptake as usual, Jay." ***** They leveled up at a decent pace until they reached Level 10. Being a newbie, getting to Level 10 meant you could change classes. At the Class Change and Information Center, there were many players looking for advice on which classes to promote into. The crowd was so packed it looked like a can of sardines. Normally, in a game like One Chance where you only had one life, your class meant that you would be playing that class your whole tenure. But being the casual players that they were, Jay and Jude didn''t think about it until they got to the clerk sitting at the station. He looked extremely bored as well. "What class do you want to get promoted to? Hurry up, I don''t have the time." Jay only stared at his face until the clerk coughed once. "Oh um, is there any class where I can plant seeds?" "Anyone can plant seeds kiddo." Jude looked at him like he was crazy. "What the hell are you talking about Jay?" Jay looked at Jude funny. "You know that it has always been my dream to own a farm. This is my chance! My one chance!" Jude shrugged his shoulders in surrender. "Whatever, it''s your funeral." Jay grinned and faced the clerk once again. "Is there any class where I can plant seeds fast?" The clerk sniffed before he put his foot down. "Kid, if you want to be a farmer then get out of the line! Look for any farm on the outskirts!" Jay waited for Jude outside of the office instead. ***** Jude was promoted to a Swordsman. He had a big smile on his face as they vacated Narra Town. Jay was the opposite, huffing all the way. Instead of heading directly towards the big city, they had to take a detour and find a farmer. "Why couldn''t I change class right there? This is discrimination." "Farmers aren''t combat classes. You are the first person I know who wants to do non-combat classes in a game like this." "It''s still discrimination. Also why did that clerk still think I''m a kid?" "You look young for your age." "Really?" Jay''s mood strangely improved since then. Even Jude was getting slightly annoyed by all the whistling he was doing. They had walked a fair distance from the town when a farmer noticed both of them and waved. "Come here. Help me with field work." "Will you make me a farmer if I do it, manong?" "Let me decide that for you once you finish helping me." Jude tapped his shoulder. "It''s a quest." <> "What''s a quest chain? Oh wait, please¡ªno!" Jay unknowingly asked before immediately regretting it. "It''s like it says. A quest chain is a chain of quests, so to speak, where the end goal can only be attained by finishing a number of quests in the order by which the quest giver gives you. By this notice, we have started a chain of quests that may or may not end in your promotion to a farmer. You got all that?" Jay sighed. Jude had a lecturing habit from being a gym instructor. Whenever you asked him a question he would launch into lecture mode where he would never fail to educate the person on what he knew about the subject. "I got it even before you told me all those things. I''ve had 5 lectures from you today already." Jude made a face at Jay when his back was turned after that. The farmer led them to a potato field. "Help me harvest these things. Get a shovel and start digging. After that, collect them in a basket. You can get your things from the tool shed over there." This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Both guys nodded as they started traipsing over the field to get their tools. Jay was excited for the quest. "This is excellent. I was planning on planting a few potatoes at our yard." Jude chased after the old man. "Manong, don''t you have a tractor or any large tool to help us harvest?" The farmer made a face underneath his straw hat. "What are you talking about? Stop talking and start moving." Jude was bewildered just as Jay exited the tool shed with a shovel, hat, and a pair of animal skin gloves. "What the hell are you doing? Try and find a way to do this faster." "I''m asking you the same thing. Why aren''t you geared up yet?" Jude shook his head and headed over to the tool shed as Jay started digging. ***** It was already midday and yet they only barely finished half of the field. The farmer came out for lunch and instead of inviting them in, shook his head at the work done. "You whippersnappers can''t even harvest right! You brats better be thankful I hired you for this job!" Both guys were too tired to retort, lying on the ground amidst harvested potato plants. "Why''s he mad? Day-night intervals are only 30 minutes in real time here. You can''t harvest a whole field in 30 minutes by hand with only 2 people." Jay made a face at the sky. "Just leave the old bag be." Through sheer boredom, Jude rifled through his inventory and stats. His eyes grew bigger as he looked in it. "Bro check your stats, you won''t believe it." "Wow, you''re right. What happened?" As they checked their character pages, both players discovered that their Strength stat increased by a bit as well as their Stamina bar. Jude quickly processed the information. "I think I''ve figured out how the system works a bit. Whenever you do an action repeatedly or habitually in the game, it reflects on your character''s growth and gives us statistic bonuses. We''ve been digging up potatoes all this time, that''s why it gave us strength and stamina upgrades." "So you mean we might as well continue pulling these up to get the more benefits? I''m in." With the additional motivation, they earnestly worked through the afternoon with only biscuits and water as sustenance, since the game had a hunger system to it as well, where you start draining HP and MP because of hunger. As they finished, they eagerly checked their character pages once again, celebrating when their expectations weren''t let down. Once they deposited their work at the storehouse, they knocked at the farmer''s house. A sweet smell of cooking soup greeted their noses as the door opened. "Oh you''re done? That''s great, check back in tomorrow for your next work." Jay''s enthusiasm sunk fast. "What? All this work and I still don''t get to be a farmer? Come on ''nong, I''ve got to get to the big city by tomorrow." Jude was on the same page as his friend. "Let''s go back, Jay. This was a waste of time." But Jay was not one to give up. "Sir, can you please find it in your heart to do it now? We really need it." The old farmer did not listen and instead started to pound his fist on the opened door. "Why do you young men always want to be farmers, yet leave the farm in the end? You never listen to the elderly like me!" His eyes were livid with anger. "I have trained many a boy like you, child. All of them went to the city after helping me with odd jobs. I blame my son, this all started with him!" A stout woman came out of the kitchen with spit in hand. "Here you go again, blaming Pedro! The kid had dreams, why can''t you accept that?!" "His life was here on the farm and nowhere else!" The woman just shook her head and faced the two adventurers outside. "I''m sorry. My husband goes on tangent sometimes when our son is concerned." "Remember that he slammed the door on us saying he had no future here." She shook her head at his actions. "Come in. I made soup for both of you as well." Jude and Jay looked at each other. "Thank you." "Thanks Tiya." They both sat down on the dining table while the old farmer was still grumbling. "Worthless son, abandoning his parents like that..." The woman in the kitchen suddenly screamed. The two boys sitting at the table were alarmed while the old man snorted derisively. "No point in getting angry at me when he''s the one who left, Amelita." "NOT THAT! THERE ARE WOLVES OUTSIDE!" Through the kitchen''s back window, they could see about two big grey wolves with red eyes. Jude stood up and barricaded the door right away while Jay rushed to the kitchen. "Tiya, do wolves attack your farm all the time?" The aunt in question looked at him with a scared expression. "This is the first time wolves have been here. My husband encounters them all the time in the forest, but they never wander to human settlements." The old man was ready to fight. He had a rake on his person. "I may not as be as strong as I was before but I swear to drive them off my land!" "No don''t go, you''ll die out there." Jude was not convinced and it angered the farmer. "What''s it to you? You''re just a one-off part-timer from my field. Get out my house and let me deal with these varmints!" Jude would not budge from his position, stopping the old man from going outside the house. At the moment, both wolves were circling the premises. "He won''t come back even if you die, you know." "What?" Jay stared at the man with a serious expression. "With all due respect, I don''t think your death will make him come back. At least, his return will not be by his own volition." The farmer started tearing up. "What should I do then? It''s been years since I''ve seen Pedro, what should I do to make him come back?" The wolves were now banging at the walls and the windows, trying to find their way inside. Jude left his position and armed himself by the door. "How about leaving the wolves to us first and we''ll talk about Pedro later, Tiyo?" Jay agreed, following suit and readying his dagger. Jude then opened the door strongly and out charged Jay in a thrusting motion. The wolf at the door dodged right at that moment, but not before inflicting a cut ear. Going back inside the house, Jude took up position of barricading the door. "Tiyo, to be honest with you, we can''t drive away these wolves without your help." "I need to be promoted a class first, if I want to deal with them effectively." Jay smiled sheepishly as Jude was busy blocking charges from both canines. "Are you still not convinced, Tiyo? Well then how about this? We will take on the job of making your son go home when we find him in the city." Amelita, the farmer''s wife who was busy crying on the floor, suddenly raised her head. "You''d do that for us?" Jay smiled. "Both things are promises we intend to keep." Just then, two quest notices popped up. <> <> "Nice going, Jay!" Jude was ecstatic after seeing the quest windows. His hands were full from holding off the wolf barrage, but it was nothing he could not handle. "You better keep your promise!" The old man Diego rushed to his room to retrieve the class contract. After signing it, Jay began to glow and change. His armor did not change right away though, and he did not have a weapon presented to him. But he had a skill that he could use for the first time. "What skill did you get, Jay?" "Useless crap called <>." "What the heck is that? Is there anything useful for combat?" Jay rummaged through his inventory. "It seems like I get a weapon bonus when I use farming tools as weapons." "Well then use that and help me kill these things!" Jude had been hard at work tanking for the family. Right now his HP was at half and were it not for his stance switching and timely dodging, he would have long been overwhelmed by the monsters. Both men were of a lower level than the attackers, but both of them also had confidence that they would not die in that situation, even though there was pressure from doing so. Jay found a hoe at the back of the house and rushed after Jude who had started engaging both animals. "Let''s do it like it training, Jay!" The way they hunted monsters was the same thing they did right there. Jude was to attract the monster''s attention while using his skills to counter. Jay was to attack from the back and stick to the monster''s behind no matter what, giving off the threat of a back attack and distracting it from fully committing to the fight. The problem was, Jude had about a third of his HP left from all the tanking he did. They could not consume potions during a fight and if Jude died in-game, he would lose his chance to play the game for the rest of the beta testing. "Jay let''s do it fast, I can''t hold out long!" "That sounds gay, you know!" Jay laughed as he hit the first wolf with his hoe, all the while keeping the second wolf in check. It cried out in pain but all Jude could do was guard since the moment he countered the first wolf, the second would lunge at him. However, the second one was not lunging for some reason. It was furiously scratching its nose with its paws. "Jay, what did you do to the second wolf?" "I''ll explain later, kill them first!" Jude immediately countered the first wolf''s lunge with his own skill, <>. It was a succession of two slashes, the first downwards and the second upwards. It usually sent an opponent''s head flying upwards due to momentum. Taking advantage of the displacement was Jay, sending the hoe right into the momentum-propelled wolf head, killing it. "No seriously, what did you do?" "Remember when I told you that I had a skill called <>?" They both took their designated positions on the front and back of the wolf. "I used it on one of the wolves and discovered that their noses were sensitive to smells. I remembered that there was some ground black pepper in the kitchen so I grabbed some of them along with the hoe. Sorry, Tiya!" Amelita thought nothing of it and waved back. The poor wolf could do nothing but watch as both men dug their weapons repeatedly into it. "You can do that?" "That was just being lucky." Having completed the quest, they looted the monsters before going back to the old couple. "I''m glad you''re both alright. Here come in, the night air is still cold and I kept the soup hot for you." As Amelita went to the kitchen to serve the food, Diego stopped them for a moment. "You really promise to bring my son back?" Both Jay and Jude raised a thumb up. "No worries!" "He''ll be back safe and sound." They were still eating when the first sun rays shined over the horizon. "Oh, it''s morning. We better go, Jude." "Eeyup." Amelita fussed over them. "Don''t you need some rest? You just battled two big wolves the whole night after all." "Thanks for your concern." "We don''t need it really. Besides, we did say we were in a hurry." Both Jay and Jude replied at the same time. As they opened the door, one could see that Jay was wearing new farmer''s clothing and even Jude had some new gear of his own. "Are you sure you''re giving these to me, Tiyo Diego?" Diego just waved Jay''s concern away. "I don''t need them. They don''t fit me anymore too, so there you go." Jay was wearing a green cotton shirt with a brown leather vest and a straw hat, along with soft hide pants and rough hide boots. As for Jude, he was given Diego''s old gauntlets and helmet from when he served in the king''s army. For all players, an inventory was default. But if you wanted to carry additional items, you needed to carry them physically. It was why both of them now carried burlap sacks. Jay''s was filled with the necessities and Jude''s was to be filled with loot. Waving for the last time to the old farmer couple, they went on their way with full stomachs and a load of experience and items. "That was an adventure." "We didn''t need to grind either. I''m satisfied." With his new <> skill which did not cost mana when used on plants, Jay stopped periodically to pick up herbs and plants to be used for medicine. Their journey was proceeding along swimmingly when Jude noticed something wrong. "Jay, look at the quest marker we got for Pedro. We must have been really exhausted after that fight to not notice it right after." One look at it told them all they needed to know. Pedro was not at the big city. Just then, the announcer voice Jay was familiar with rang out. "Forced logout will be in five minutes. Forced logout will be in five minutes." They both looked at each other and laughed. "Good night buddy." "Yeah have a good night''s sleep." "By the way, this is going to bother me so much, Jude." "Why?" "This day''s adventure ends on a cliffhanger." Chapter 2: Tiksal Cave One Chance Chapter 2: Tiksal Cave ¡°Kuya¡­Kuya wake up¡­¡± ¡°Mmmm¡­don¡¯t disturb me¡­¡± Jay was shaken awake by someone and he just rolled over his front side to the opposite. ¡°OH MY GOSH KUYA THERE¡¯S FIRE!¡± He immediately bolted awake before realizing it was nothing but a ruse by his sisters a split-second later. His hand smacked his own face in folly, greeted by his sisters¡¯ smiling faces. The curtains were already open, letting the morning sun¡¯s gentle light stream in. ¡°You could have woken me up in a gentler way.¡± Angela, the younger of the two disagreed. ¡°You know that we¡¯ve already tried that numerous times in the past as well.¡± Jay remembered all the times he was woken up in a strange way. One time they were grilling fish in his room over hot coal causing him to wake up drenched in sweat, another was when they popped party poppers right over his head, or that time when his sisters blasted a fog horn near his ear¡­he didn¡¯t want to think about it. ¡°How about being normal sisters for once?¡± ¡°Do you really want us to be ¡®normal¡¯, Kuya?¡± Natalie folded her arms smugly. ¡°Do you want us to find a boy at school, go home with him when his parents aren¡¯t home, drink a little, and give up our purity? You really want us to be normal, right?¡± Jay just shut his mouth. Deep down inside he wanted to pound that fantasy guy¡¯s face in. ¡°Told you Nat. We get him every time, there¡¯s no need to worry.¡± ¡°Okay, that¡¯s enough. What do the two of you want from me?¡± The twins smiled and said their request together. ¡°Breakfast and lunch.¡± ***** He had just done preparing their lunch when his sisters got out of their rooms in uniform. ¡°Kuya, we saw this helmet goggle thing near your bed. Was that something from Jude again?¡± Jay just nodded as he folded put some fish in their lunchboxes. ¡°It must be the new game that just came out, Angie.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. Some of our classmates have to be talking about it when we get there. So how was it?¡± Wrapping their utensils in paper, he left their lunchboxes on top of the kitchen sink while he brought over the bread and the leftover heated pesto sauce from yesterday¡¯s dinner at the day care. ¡°It was fine for my first time.¡± National Geographic gasped together. ¡°Kuya¡­we¡¯re so happy for you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m tearing up.¡± One reason why Jay could not wait to go over to the day care was because it was his duty. Another one was that he could not stand being made fun of by his sisters. ¡°Not that kind of first time. Anyway, you could still get in all things considered. It¡¯s free to play.¡± Angela bit into her food as Natalie filled up her cup of hot chocolate. ¡°We don¡¯t have the helmet thing. Maybe we can just ask Kuya Jude for more units.¡± ¡°Ask him for us.¡± Jay shook his head as he started on washing the dishes. ¡°I don¡¯t want you to lag behind on your studies.¡± The twins giggled, seeing through their brother. ¡°No, it¡¯s because you don¡¯t want us to see you screw up in the game.¡± ¡°Your brother feels complicated because of that statement.¡± He left his sisters to their own devices right away as he hurried to the day care. Luckily he stuffed some frozen pizza in the fridge the night before, a simple reheating would suffice. The drinks would be apple milk and hot cappuccino. His grandmother was already up eating egg pie for breakfast, watching the morning news. ¡°Good morning, Lola.¡± ¡°Good morning, Jay.¡± Blaring from the TV was news concerning the game he was playing last night, One Chance. The man clad in a white lab coat could not take his eyes off the pretty reporter as she faced the camera. ¡°I¡¯m here today with the official spokesperson of Earthlight, Mr. Agusto Tolentino. Good morning to you, sir.¡± ¡°Good morning to you as well, Miss Ronna.¡± ¡°Sir, while we¡¯ve heard that the initial reports and impressions of the game were glowing, what can you say about the detracting opinions from the internet like the game being unimaginative or too casual-friendly?¡± Agusto laughed heartily before replying. ¡°As a big game we try to be easy for the new players and hard for experienced ones. One Chance is still one day though beta testing and people will see how it works. Still, we¡¯re happy with the performance of the game since there were virtually no reports of gamebreaking bugs or server issues, which are what a huge game like One Chance usually suffers from on launch.¡± ¡°There have been rumors that the game will incorporate a freemium model when the game commercially launches. What are your thoughts on the matter?¡± ¡°That rumor is definitely false. We at Earthlight strive to make our customers happy, and we have also stressed this during our company meetings with our sponsors. We promise our players and our potential gamers that we at Earthlight will not let payment affect gameplay. However, we will put advertisements in the game.¡± He scratched his nose before continuing. ¡°I hope our player base understands. Earthlight is not a charity, and while we will have billboards and posters in there, we strive to make it so it does not intrude upon gameplay too much.¡± ¡°Can you give us an example?¡± Lola Fely smirked at the reporter¡¯s question. ¡°She¡¯s playing the game too. Look at how she analyzes the man.¡± Jay could only shake his head as he was blending the chopped apples and the milk. He rarely listened to the news, but this time his attention was captured. The screen doubled and showed footage of the game on an inset. ¡°For example, in the big cities there are walls for posters of bounties for criminals at large and such. We will try and sneak in some advertisement posters in there as well. Some shops will also sell products with brand names on them. Of course they are bought with in-game money and it is not required for gamers to pay for them with real money. There are also plans for player-sponsor deals as well, so not only can some players enjoy the game, they can also get paid while doing it. It¡¯s a perfectly legal way of earning while playing.¡± Ronna crossed her legs at that moment. ¡°That reminds me, back at the press conference last month management also revealed to the public about live coverage for the game. Is the situation going on as planned?¡± Agusto nodded affirmative at the question. ¡°Yes, we have contracted a station, this one in fact, about the plans for a reality TV broadcast of the players in One Chance. Right now it¡¯s in the final stages and once it¡¯s a go we will immediately search for promising players and trailblazers to form contracts with.¡± ¡°That sounds like good news.¡± Ronna then smiled once again on camera and Jay finally turned his attention away when the head anchor started asking the questions. ¡°Are you playing this game, Jay?¡± ¡°Yes I am, Lola. It¡¯s just 5 hours per night.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t lose yourself into it.¡± Jay looked at his concerned grandmother¡¯s face. ¡°Please don¡¯t worry. I know how to control myself now.¡± ***** Extricating himself from a napping Mia was tough. He had to visit the gym first to confirm his plans with Jude. Waving a silent goodbye to the reading Lola Fely, he took his own bicycle instead of taking public transportation. Pedaling there was easier than he¡¯d expected. I bet all the treadmill work I¡¯m putting in helped with that. It was already 2 in the afternoon when he got there. Most gyms were empty at that time since people were either eating or taking afternoon naps. Jude¡¯s establishment was no exception. The only person present was the guy at the counter, a street urchin Jude took in. He said his name was Jason Dominic Herrera. Jude once found him looking at all the food being eaten during the gym¡¯s opening party through the glass windows. He invited him in and asked him whether or not he had a home. The teen shook his head, so Jude immediately took him in and gave him a job as the janitor. The wage was food and board. Many reproached him for the decision, advising him to be careful as children can be thieves as well. To that, he only had one thing to say. ¡°If he decides to split with my things, I can easily beat him up.¡± Jay already talked to him about it. He remembered Jude suddenly becoming somber for no reason. ¡°It¡¯s irrational how much confidence you put in the boy.¡± ¡°I know how it feels to fight for your life.¡± Jay looked on as the boy nodded off at the counter. The said boy shook himself awake as soon as he noticed a person standing by the door. ¡°It¡¯s you, Kuya Jay. How long have you been there?¡± Jay decided to be a smartass and spread his arms sideways. ¡°This long.¡± The man at the counter did not react one bit. He took pity at the attempt and just offered a dry laugh. ¡°Ha ha ha.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s Jude?¡± Jason looked around and shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know. He just said he had some business and went out with his car.¡± ¡°He brought his car? I bet it¡¯s a girl.¡± They both looked at each other. ¡°You¡­you don¡¯t think¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s possible.¡± Jude was infamous for being confident at everything except girls. His muscular body would be no match against a woman for Jude automatically turns into mush in front of one. Just then a customer came by. Both men looked at her like she was the newest smartphone on display. ¡°She¡¯s the girl boss has been crazy about. She¡¯s been here for about two months.¡± She vanished from view, presumably going to the changing rooms. ¡°She looks like a foreigner.¡± ¡°Yeah, she¡¯s Korean.¡± Jason clicked through the main computer to find the membership list. ¡°Here she is. Her name is Lee Eun Hye.¡± ¡°How do you pronounce that?¡± ¡°I just call her Miss Lee.¡± Just then a car pulled up to the reserved parking space near the entrance. Both people knew it was Jude¡¯s, and when the aforementioned person walked up to them, they had big grins on their faces. ¡°What?¡± Jay jerked his head towards the other person in the gym, stretching in front of the mirror. Jude took one look at her and immediately called his paper bag to attention. ¡°Jason, I said that I¡¯d buy you a headset. Here you are.¡± ¡°Thanks. Why don¡¯t you go talk to her boss?¡± ¡°Jay, your sisters called me up and said they wanted headsets of their own.¡± ¡°Just hold it off until vacation. Go talk to her, Jude.¡± The muscle man¡¯s attempts to divert the conversation all went to naught. ¡°You really want me to talk to her, huh?¡± Both men nodded as Jude inwardly fumed. ¡°I swear¡­if I ever see you two crushing on someone else I¡¯ll be hounding you.¡± ***** Jay and Jude were just outside the town¡¯s border waiting for their newest member to catch up. ¡°What are you going to do?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. Maybe I¡¯ll return to town and find something to do while we wait.¡± Jude raised an eyebrow. ¡°What are you going to do in the town? I suggest grinding with me a little bit to hone our strategies.¡± ¡°I¡¯m more of a casual than you are. I¡¯ll be fine.¡± Jay started walking back to town. Jude shrugged and started hunting and . Jason had just started playing One Chance and wanted to join in on the Pedro rescue quest. Since both men already knew what to do on their quest lines, they proposed that they wait until he catches up, giving tips through the function whenever Jason asked for help. Jay chanced upon a bakery as he went into town, attracted by the sweet smell of bread wafting in from the inside. A little bell tinkled as he entered the shop. ¡°Welcome to the town bakery. How may I help you?¡± An aunt with huge arms and red hair greeted him with a jolly voice. Looking around, Jay saw the different varieties of bread lined up on shelves everywhere. ¡°You know what, ma¡¯am? I¡¯d like to learn how to bake.¡± The cashier woman was befuddled. ¡°You¡¯re an adventurer. All you need to do is kill monsters. Leave the baking to us.¡± ¡°No, I mean I¡¯m a farmer as well. I¡¯d like to know how to bake since I might be cultivating some rice, wheat, and barley in the future.¡± In real life Jay did know how to bake. He just wanted to learn how to do it the classic way, because he was so reliant on ready-made mixes bought from the supermarkets. "Hoy Mario! Someone wants to learn baking from you!" The cashier then called up the chef, who Jay assumed was her husband. He gladly then made Jay wear an apron and started teaching him. Minutes passed and Jay was already kneading the dough when he realized that the amount they had was barely enough for selling. ¡°Chef, how is it that you can sell all that bread outside? No offense but your kitchen looks a little too small for that amount of bread in stock.¡± He winked at Jay. ¡°There¡¯s this curious thing called magic that helps us out with that. Here, let me show you.¡± After retrieving the spell scrolls for Jay to use, he returned the dough he kneaded back to the bowl. He then covered the bowl with moist cloth. Putting a trained hand over it like he was praying over someone, he cast a spell. ¡°I cast <>.¡± The dough miraculously rose right away in front of their eyes; Jay could see it through the cloth somewhat. The chef continued teaching with a little hint of pride in his voice. ¡°With a little training, you can cast your desired growth right away. Put too much mana into it and it¡¯ll rot. Put too little into it and the dough will deflate.¡± Jay tried and succeeded on his first try much to the chef¡¯s chagrin. ¡°Now that it has grown, you knead it a little more. After cutting it, you cast the second spell in the process, <>.¡± If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. The cut and shaped dough swelled to twice its size. ¡°You cast this spell the same way you do with <>. Not too strong but not too weak either.¡± The chef cut the large pieces and rolled them in bread crumbs. ¡°Cover it with the wet cloth again and cast <>.¡± ¡°So it¡¯s <>, <>, then <> is that right?¡± The man nodded, removing the cloth and putting the dough in the stone oven. ¡°Now you wait.¡± Taking it all in, Jay resumed kneading. ***** Jude was in the western forest grinding away. I promised to never grind and yet here I am. Slashing the last in half, he sat back down to recover his HP. Looking at his map, Jay was still stuck in one place in town while Jason was still hunting monsters for his class change quest. Just then, a little being came from what seemed to be a door carved out from inside a tree. It looked left and right, before closing the door behind him. The door magically disappeared. It was walking away when Jude called its attention. ¡°Hoy, where are you going?¡± The little thing stiffened and remained stationary. ¡°Was that you who went out of that tree?¡± No response. ¡°I¡¯ll kill you.¡± ¡°Okay okay, put the sword down!¡± The thing responded, covering its head with its hands. Jude complied and sheathed his sword. ¡°What does a human want from me?¡± ¡°I just want to know who you are.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a .¡± He gestured at himself for emphasis. ¡°Can¡¯t you see? I¡¯m short and have stubby arms and legs.¡± ¡°But you have a mask on.¡± ¡°My skin is sensitive.¡± Jude unsheathed his sword. ¡°Geez, okay! Humans are such war freaks! Sit down and I¡¯ll explain.¡± The dwarf sat down and Jude followed suit. ¡°You might have been surprised to see me going out of a tree. Plus, as you can see, I don¡¯t have a beard.¡± ¡°What I¡¯m more curious about is why you think living out here is a good idea. Also, I¡¯m Jude. Who are you?¡± He sighed and removed his mask. ¡°My name is Wantuk and I¡¯m a halfie. Look at my hair and take a guess.¡± Jude took a look at the dwarf who started getting leaves out of his pouch and rolling them. ¡°Was your mother an elf?¡± Wantuk nodded and motioned for tinder. Jude gave it to him without a word. ¡°Indeed. They cast out my mother from the kingdom after they discovered she was pregnant with me.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t make sense. Narra Town back there has all walks of life, even Aswangs, and you know how much humans hate them.¡± After lighting his leaves, Wantuk offered Jude a smoke. He politely declined. ¡°Adventurers are the one good thing that has happened to this world. There¡¯s still friction but the enmity between races has been eroding.¡± ¡°But you¡¯re not part of that?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a part of that.¡± They sat together in silence for a while. Jude then noticed a necklace made of wood and skillfully weaved leaf fibers. ¡°What¡¯s that on your chest?¡± ¡°It¡¯s an my father made me.¡± ¡°Oh, so it¡¯s a gift. Can you make me one?¡± Wantuk looked up at Jude suspiciously, eyes wide open. ¡°Are you going to kill me and take it?¡± ¡°No no no. I¡¯m just looking at it. I would like one though.¡± The dwarf started standing up and patting his behind for dirt. ¡°For listening to my story, I¡¯m going to give you one.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± That was easy. Jude waited outside Wantuk¡¯s tree house until the latter came out. ¡°I was judging your capabilities as a warrior and decided this was the best one for you. But in turn you have to accompany me to the to recharge its magic power.¡± <> ¡°Alright then, but I have one question before we go. Can you fight?¡± Wantuk brandished his wooden mallet as if remarking, ¡®Can¡¯t you see?¡¯ On the way, Jude had an easier time disposing of the mobs than if he had spent the time just lolling around. He inwardly thanked his grinding for that. They reached the spring in a very short time. Wantuk dipped the two medals in the water. They glowed in his hands for a little before fading away. The dwarf gave Jude his share. As Jude wore it, his noticed his skills increase by one. It said <>. ¡°Wantuk, where do I recharge this if I¡¯m far from this spring?¡± ¡°There are a lot of springs around, don¡¯t worry. But be careful in the Aswangs¡¯ land, not many springs are there.¡± Right away after Wantuk reassured Jude though, a large monster rose from the ground. It was a . ¡°OH CRAP! Why didn¡¯t you say anything, Wantuk?¡± ¡°I can usually meld with the trees given that I¡¯m a halfie so I¡¯m sorry if it slipped my mind. That¡¯s this place¡¯s guardian.¡± It was an 8 foot tall monster smoking a large cigar and only wearing a loincloth. It had hair all over its body complete with long fangs in its mouth. ¡°This isn¡¯t a quest¡­? Hey, do I really have to fight this guy?¡± ¡°You can try. It¡¯s better with a party.¡± ¡°But I don¡¯t have them with me.¡± ¡°You should have brought them with you, then.¡± The monster was irritated by the banter and smashed his fists to where they were standing. As he lifted his hands back up, mini-craters were left behind. Wantuk and Jude both screamed silently as they saw the extent of the damage he could do. ¡°It was nice knowing ya, Jude.¡± ¡°Hey hey hey! Don¡¯t just leave me here! Tell me what this amulet does.¡± ¡°It gives you absolute protection from one hit.¡± ¡°Just one?¡± ¡°Just one.¡± Jude focused at the monster who somehow adopted an orthodox boxing stance. ¡°You can defeat him. Here¡¯s my tip: these monsters were formerly human. They¡¯re cursed humans.¡± ¡°Why can¡¯t you just tell me how to defeat it?¡± ¡°That would be no fun, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± Jude growled as he avoided another heavy blow by the monster. If they were former humans, then I guess the back of their necks are weak. So how do I make him bow? Jude tried stabbing at its stomach to no avail. The monster was just too fast and too tough; there were no openings to take advantage of. ¡°Of all the monsters I have to face, I had to get the one with training.¡± He tried slashing at the shins. Still no go for the swordsman. Wantuk then shouted something at Jude from invisibility. ¡°Hey um, I¡¯m bored so I¡¯ll be waiting back at home for you.¡± ¡°Sure thing, it¡¯s not like you would stay here and watch me because we¡¯re friends, you know.¡± ¡°¡­Okay you¡¯ve convinced me. I¡¯ll watch until you die or he dies.¡± Jude smiled and put all his weight on his back foot, planning to use the new skill he got from grinding a while ago. ¡°Taste my <>, idiot.¡± He flew right towards the who was prepared for the strike. It dodged a little bit, but Jude had an ace up his sleeve. His first strike was a feint; it served him well as an opening to slash the string holding up the monster¡¯s loincloth. His hands flew right in to preserve his modesty, but not before Jude took advantage and sliced his nape open with another <>. The monster went down right away in a blaze of gold dust. ¡°That was amazing swordsmanship, Jude.¡± ¡°No, he caught me as well.¡± Jude went back to the spring to recharge. ¡°That¡¯s bollocks. I didn¡¯t see him hit you¡­unless¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. It was thanks to this.¡± Jude raised the amulet from the water and waved it. It seemed like the item blocked the hit that the monster got in. ¡°I want to thank Cassiopeia for protecting me. Is there any way I can meet her?¡± ¡°She¡¯s a , a goddess. Ordinary beings like us don¡¯t get to meet her.¡± ¡°Unless¡­¡± Wantuk raised his head. ¡°Unless what?¡± Jude just shrugged in finality. ¡°Unless nothing¡­I thought you had a way to meet her.¡± ¡°Well, the in the past could meet the .¡± Becoming a hero, huh? ***** Jay went back to the agreed place since Jason was almost finished with the farm quest. He was just lying down on the grass when Jude came out of nowhere and jumped over him. ¡°Hey jump back. I won¡¯t grow at this rate and it¡¯ll all be your fault.¡± ¡°You¡¯re already past the age of growth.¡± Jude still jumped over him one more time though and lay down beside him. ¡°So what now¡­we have one hour left before logout.¡± ¡°Wait, I¡¯ll send a PM.¡± Jay wrote a to Jason saying that they were going ahead with the quest but not finishing it. PMs were famous for being non-intrusive. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Their destination was Tiksal Cave, a dungeon near Narra Town. ¡°What did you tell him?¡± ¡°I told him that we were scouting. By the way, what¡¯s that on your chest? It looks new.¡± Jay had noticed something elegant on Jude¡¯s chest. The latter could not stop bragging about it. ¡°It¡¯s an I got from Wantuk the halfie in the forest. What, you want one too?¡± Jay shook his head. ¡°No, never mind. I¡¯ll get one for myself.¡± ¡°Judging from your response, it seems like you got yourself something new as well.¡± ¡°Yep, I got these spells.¡± After Jay told Jude the names of the spells, Jude erupted in laughter. ¡°HA HA HA! Are you sure those spells aren¡¯t for your penis?¡± ¡°That¡¯s very funny, coming from the guy with no balls to approach a lady.¡± ¡°Hey! No talking bad about Miss Eun Hye!¡± Relentless teasing peppered their conversations on the way to the cave, until at last they reached its mouth. ¡°Jay, you remember the things we talked about?¡± ¡°Yes, please don¡¯t lecture me.¡± ¡°To be safe, let¡¯s go over them again.¡± Jay clutched his head in agony. As they entered the cave, their skin got chills at the staleness of the air inside. Numerous hanging things were on the roof of the cave as well as flying bats. ¡°This seemed like a hideout of some sort.¡± ¡°Is this backstory I see in my MMO? I love backstories in my games.¡± What Jude was referring to were the cave paintings. Numerous primitive drawings of life in the past dotted the walls. Jude took out a torch and lit it up to see them better. ¡°Why couldn¡¯t you have done that earlier? I was tripping on my own feet.¡± ¡°Shut up.¡± The drawings displayed things like the ancient living by themselves in the cave. Each time they progressed, the monsters became increasingly stronger. But because of their curiosity for the cave drawings, they did not stop. ¡°So back then, the had its own system of governance.¡± ¡°It¡¯s probably the Tribe Leader ¨C Head Shaman dynamic.¡± ¡°Correct. So then they used this cave as shelter and a place to store their food.¡± A pack of attacked them, but the pair repelled them quite easily. ¡°As I was saying, they used this place to store their food.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t make sense why Pedro would come here.¡± ¡°You want to be a farmer, right Jay? Think about it.¡± ¡°Saying I want to doesn¡¯t mean I am, stupid.¡± They lit a campfire and sat down, putting pieces of meat on their blades and roasting them over the fire. ¡°Pedro was a farmer who wanted to get out to the big city¡­but then what would he do there? Beg?¡± ¡°Jude, I have a sinking feeling he was killed by the illegal recruiters.¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t real life, dumbass.¡± Jude looked at the game timer. Thirty minutes were left. ¡°Hey, we gotta hurry. At some point we¡¯re going to find what Pedro came here for. Don¡¯t rescue Pedro if we see him, got it?¡± ¡°YES! OH MY GOD, CAN YOU REPEAT IT AGAIN I¡¯M NOT SATISFIED!¡± Jay¡¯s scream aggravated the nearby mobs causing the duo to fight back to back. ¡°This is your entire fault Jay!¡± ¡°WE¡¯RE ALL GONNA DIE!¡± But they didn¡¯t. Their teamwork was impressive; Jude took care of the heavy hitters while Jay flung his seeds around with his hoe. This caused the monsters to lose footing and trip, creating openings for the partners to exploit. Their actions resulted in the entire level being cleared. Jay looked around and saw something different in the distance. He called Jude and walked over to what looked like a treasure chest. ¡°How can ancient people build treasure chests? This one has a lock as well, wow.¡± ¡°At any rate, it seems like we know what Pedro was after. These might be precious gems too.¡± ¡°How do we open it, then?¡± ¡°Smash the lock, Jude. It¡¯s common sense.¡± Jude smashed the lock, but not one second later and numerous skeletons spawned around them, screaming one thing. ¡°YOU DID NOT OPEN ME WITH A KEY¡±
Another chapter done! Thank you for reading and if you can, please leave a review or a comment. Should I make a glossary? There might be a lot of unfamiliar terms being used and I thought maybe the readers could use some explanations. Glossary Chapter One Chance Glossary Plot Summary One Chance is a story of a group of casual gamers in the Philippine-made VRMMORPG. Their goal is to just enjoy the game for as long as they can, as they are a ragtag group of individuals who use it as escapism from their issues in real life. However, because of the game¡¯s unavoidable competitive and business sides, they are thrust into the game¡¯s lore and real life politics. Can this group survive and convince everyone to leave them alone? Setting One Chance is set in the Philippines, a small archipelago in South East Asia. To be precise, the story is in Davao City, where our protagonists currently live in. Narra Town is a rustic outdoor-style town with western style log houses, while the cities will differ depending on the location. This story will eventually encompass the whole country so watch out for that. Term Translations and Equivalencies The native terms I am using are from the Tagalog language, the majority language of Filipinos. I have had problems incorporating language in a story like this, since Filipinos not only speak Tagalog, they don¡¯t speak formal Tagalog (the kind of language you read). Even worse that it¡¯s in Davao, since the majority speaks Bisaya and not Tagalog. There are several variations and dialects of each language in the Philippines, and I decided to just do away with them. Taglish, Bistag, and the like cannot be accurately delivered in the English language and I apologize for that. The apostrophe serves as an indicator for stress in the pronunciation. Kuya (Koo¡¯-ya): brother Lola (Lo¡¯-la): grandmother Hoy: informal term for calling someone Tao (Ta¡¯-o): human Diwata (Dee-wa¡¯-ta): elf (to be accurate, fairies/spirits of nature) Duwende (Doo-wen¡¯-de): dwarf (in Filipino mythology, they don¡¯t do mining) Aswang(As-wahng¡¯): similar to the Japanese Youkai Nuno (Noo¡¯-no): gnome (they live in little hills of soil and can control luck) Manong (Ma¡¯-nong): informal term for old man Tiyo (Ti-yo¡¯): uncle Tiya (Ti-ya¡¯): aunt Bathala (Baht-ha''-la): god Bayani (Ba-ya''-nee): hero Statistics I will not being going any more in-depth than this. I am sorry to those who like numbers. STR: Physical attack power, determines how heavy your armor and gear can be AGI: Total speed of the body, also reaction speed, running speed, attack speed INT: Magic attack power, also determines MP pool DEX: Critical hits, accuracy, reaction time (higher dexterity, higher chance of evading manually) CON: Determines HP pool, helps resistance to foreign elements not related to combat STA: Determines stamina pool which is the amount of physical techniques you can pull off in a certain amount of time Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.LUC: Random spikes to stats every 30 seconds in combat, out of combat there is an increase to find treasure and better loot MGK ATK/PHY ATK/DEF calc: (INT/STR/CON * 2) MGK DEF: (CON * 1.5) + (INT * 2). Applies to basic mana-oriented magic attacks without elementals. If the magic attack is elemental, factor in resistances RES: MGK DEF + RES HP: (CON * 100) MP: (INT * 100) STA: is equal to how much stamina points there is (without counting bonuses) Characters Name: Andrew Jay Lopez Age: 24 In-game Name: Jay Low Real Job: Substitute Helper, Handyman In-game Class Titles: Farmer, Baker Character Theme: Extreme Ways Statistics (as of Chapter 2: Tiksal Cave) Level 12 Farmer: 48% XP to Next Level Total Basic Stat Points: 60 STR: 10 AGI: 10 INT: 10 DEX: 5 CON: 10 STA: 10 LUC: 5 Physical Attack: 20 Physical Defense: 20 Magic Attack: 20 Magic Defense: 35 Health Points: 1000 Magic Points: 1000 Stamina Points: 10 Name: Kristian Jude King Age: 22 In-game Name: Jude Lawbreaker Real Job: Gym owner and instructor In-game Class Title: Swordsman Character Theme: Rollin¡¯ Statistics (as of Chapter 2: Tiksal Cave) Level 16 Swordsman: 20% XP to Next Level Total Basic Stat Points: 80 STR: 30 AGI: 10 INT: 5 DEX: 5 CON: 15 STA: 10 LUC: 5 Physical Attack: 60 Physical Defense: 30 Magic Attack: 10 Magic Defense: 32.5 Health Points: 1500 Magic Points: 500 Stamina Points: 10 Spoilers and Updates I might be getting a cover soon. Also, all of the statistics up there don¡¯t only apply in combat; they apply in things outside of it as well, as evidenced by the LUC stat description. The statistics I revealed for both Jay and Jude are all base stats with no bonuses. With their potato farming, Jay¡¯s baking lesson, and Jude¡¯s chance meeting with Wantuk, some stats have gone up with permanent bonuses. Can you guess which ones they are? I am sorry if the story is slow right now. I like to build the world up before I dive into the action. As an apology, here are some music themes for upcoming characters: Doctor Mario Tomorrow is Mine As a special, Miss Lee: The Woman Who Can¡¯t Break Up, The Man Who Can¡¯t Leave I can''t think of anything for Mia. Thank you for reading.