《Death Is a Reality》 Prologue: The Fate that Separates Prologue: The Fate that Separates =================================================================================== ¡°Haaah, guess it¡¯s time for class huh?¡± I look out the window and see the sun¡¯s already up. Looking at my cellphone I see it¡¯s 15 minutes to 10 o¡¯clock. Wait a minute.... class starts at 9:30. ¡°Crap! I¡¯m late. Man, the professor¡¯s gonna nag at me after class again...¡± I quickly get dressed and ran out my room. Walking past the dining room I see some toast and eggs ready with a note near them.
Nii-san, I¡¯m busy at the archery club today so I¡¯ll be home late. Eat your breakfast before going to class okay?
I guess my sister already left for school. Well, I¡¯ll just eat this real fast. Munching on the toast and eggs I put on my shoes and dash out and lock the door behind me. I look at the house I just left and started thinking to myself. It¡¯s already been ten years huh? Time sure flies without you knowing it. Ten years. It¡¯s been ten years since my parents died in an earthquake leaving me an orphan. Seeing flashbacks I started to remember the details on that day. =================================================================================== ¡°Haruki, are you alright?¡± my teacher asks me ¡°Yes, sensei. I think so...¡± ¡°Good, the other kids were already picked up by their parents after the earthquake so lets wait for your mom and dad okay?¡± teacher says with a smile ¡°Okay!¡± I waited 30 more minutes but they didn¡¯t show up yet. I could see my teacher getting worried but I didn¡¯t think much about at that time. 5 minutes after this I see a man in a suit come over and he started talking to my teacher. After that he came up to me and suddenly asked me ¡°Are you Haruki Satomi? Son of Takato Satomi and Reina Satomi?¡± ¡°Yes...¡± I answered quietly ¡°Son I have some bad news......¡± At that time when he said my parents died after the office they were in collapsed my mind went blank. I cried silently while the man who turned out to be my parents lawyer said that I would be adopted by my uncles family whom I¡¯ve never even met. Being the helpless child I was I just nodded along and found myself leaving my hometown and leaving for Tokyo to meet my new family. When I got there I saw a big house with a huge yard in front of it. It was a traditional house with wooden floors a lot of rooms and all of them looked really old. My parents lawyer guided me to a large room where I saw a man with short black hair and a woman in kimono with her hair tied up. When I walked in they smiled at me and asked me to sit in front of them. ¡°Hello, Haruki. My name is Tarou Chitose and this is my wife Sayaka¡± the man said while smiling at me ¡°We¡¯re your uncle and aunt dear. Ah, I guess it¡¯s step parents now?¡± Aunt Sayaka said while patting my head ¡°....¡± I just stayed silent while looking at them. Even though I was rather rude they didn¡¯t mind and kept smiling. ¡°Starting today you¡¯ll be a new member of our family Haruki. Also your going to have a new sister, you¡¯re nine this year right? That makes you the big brother¡± My aunt keeps talking to me ¡°Do you want to meet her?¡± Uncle Tarou asked I just nodded and he went outside the room for a while. When he came back he was holding a girl with long black hair and white skin by the hand and pointed to me. ¡°There he is, Hime. Your Cousin and now older brother,¡± uncle said while pushing her to me We both looked at each other for a while, then suddenly she hugged me. Not knowing what was happening I just stood there frozen like a statue. Looking up to me she said ¡°Haruki.....nii-san?¡± Seeing this tears formed in my eyes as I hugged her back. =================================================================================== Waking up from my day daydream I realized I was still standing in front of my house. Damn, already late and I still haven¡¯t even gone yet. I ran towards campus with lightning speed. This year I¡¯m already in my second semester and at 19 years old was older than most of my classmates that were on average 1. Running up to my class I immediately opened the door and bowed. ¡°Professor, I¡¯m sorry for being late!¡± I shouted Not hearing an answer I looked up and saw Professor Miyamoto, a middle aged man with some gray hair here and there. He looked at me, sighed, and put his hand on his forehead. ¡°Haruki, this is the second time this semester....¡± I flinch and repeated my apology. Again without answering he just waved his hand signaling me to take a seat. I walked to the middle row and saw that someone had saved me a seat. ¡°Hey Haru, were you busy sleeping¡± Yoichi grinned and asked me ¡°Shut up, Yoichi..¡± ¡°I bet you¡¯re busy daydreaming about ¡°Tales of a New Land¡± huh?¡± he said ¡°Tales of a New Land¡± a new game set to release in 2 days. It already gained the mass medias attention with its promise of groundbreaking technology being the first VRMMORPG ever developed. I admit it was something a lot of people were waiting for but I sure am not one of them. ¡°Nope, I¡¯m not a gaming addict like you Yoichi¡± I said ¡°Come on, even your sisters going to play right? Just order one for your self too.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t, it¡¯ll be a waste for me.¡± ¡°Tsk, you¡¯re no fun¡± Yoichi said while punching my side lightly I admit it¡¯s really tempting to buy one for myself but I can¡¯t. I have to focus on studying and graduate so Ican work for a living. After all, my step parents died 2 years ago when I was 17 leaving me and Hime alone without anyone else. Being the big brother I picked myself up and made it my purpose to take care of Hime. Leaving me really busy. With the inheritance from both my parents and step parents we have no problems for now but it was only a matter of time before it ran out. I can¡¯t just use my time playing games without a care anymore now with my responsibility for Hime. After class was over I flew out the class room and went to the grocery to buy some ingredients for dinner. I don¡¯t cook so errands become my job and Hime the one who cooks. Looking at my watch it¡¯s nearly 5 o¡¯clock. I guess I should pick Hime from school then. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Waiting for my sister in front of the school gates I noticed some students, mostly girls, looking at me. Hmm, that''s odd. Do I look weird I thought as I looked down at my clothes. Some girls were whispering to each other while looking at me so I tried to listen to what they were saying to know what was weird about me. ¡°......No way, you do it!¡± ¡°Come on, just ask him to come talk a bit with us!¡± ¡°Nooo, I¡¯m gonna embarrass myself talking to him.¡± I got a bit depressed there. Is it so embarrassing to be seen talking to me? While pitying myself I heard someone call my name. ¡°Ah, Haru-nii-san!¡± Looking up I saw a girl with long black hair almost reaching her hips wearing a blue blazer and a black short skirt running towards me. ¡°Hey Hime, is your club over?¡± ¡°Yup, I was just about to go home. What are you doing here Nii-san?¡± ¡°I was nearby, thought we might go back together?¡± ¡°Oh okay! Let¡¯s go Nii-san!¡± she said while linking my arm with hers Because of this everyone nearby was looking at us. Well, isn¡¯t this embarrassing.... ¡°Ummm, Hime?¡± ¡°What is it?¡± She asked while smiling at me ¡°Ah, Nothing...¡± Damn, I can¡¯t say no to that smile. I guess I failed at being the cool brother huh? ¡°Nii-san, you haven¡¯t trained at the dojo for a while huh?¡± ¡°Yeah, been busy studying I guess...¡± ¡°If you keep skipping on training your sword skills are gonna rusty you know!¡± ¡°Yeah,yeah, I¡¯ll do it tomorrow.¡± ¡°By the way my VR gear arrives tomorrow. You sure you don¡¯t want to play with me?¡± Hime asked me ¡°I¡¯m not interested in games anymore...¡± Hime looked at me while looking a bit sad. I guess she realizes how I¡¯m holding myself back from living a fun life. ¡°Hey, it¡¯s okay. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll have fun. Maybe I¡¯ll play with you when I¡¯m not too busy, kay?¡± I smiled and stroked her cheek making her blush a little. ¡°jeez, Nii-san. I¡¯m not a kid anymore! I¡¯m in my last year of high school now!¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah¡± I smiled while continuing to stroke her cheek. ¡°Hmph, Nii-san you idiot.¡± She pouted a little at me Haaah when did the little Hime become so big. I guess she isn¡¯t a child anymore. Well neither am I huh? We chatted while laughing on the way back. I guess our daily life isn¡¯t going to change anytime soon. At that time neither I nor Hime knew that fate would tear us apart. =================================================================================== 2 weeks after the launch of ¡°Tales of a New Land¡± I was at the campus library when I hear a shout from outside. Hearing this I got up and dashed to see what the problem was and found dozens of students in front of the library hall outside. They were gathering in front of the television there while whispering to each other. Walking up to the TV I saw the words ¡°Breaking News¡± on the screen and listened in the reporters voice. ¡°.....Hacking effected the all units that were in operating making users unable to log out¡± Log out? What does that mean? ¡°Users that were online during this hacking has been confirmed to reach more than 2 million people. The Family of the users which cannot log out are distressed and demanding FutureTech to solve this issue.¡± At this moment the screen switched to a press conference with Gilbert Wellington the CEO of FutureTech. ¡°At this moments there are no details regarding the situation but I assure you this our company will do everything in its power to mange this matter.¡± ¡°Regarding the questions of users that have somehow become diagnosed as braindead we have come to a conclusion that this is because they died while in the game while the log out feature is currently unavailable.¡± ¡°We urge family and friends of users to also not remove the VR headgear as this may interrupt the connection between the the users brainwaves and the game itself which may lead to similar conditions of the former examples.¡± Hearing this my face instantly went pale. I reached for my phone and tried dialing Hime¡¯s number. Trying many times I look at my watch and see that it¡¯s already 5:30. She should be home by now. I immediately ran towards our house while praying that she wasn¡¯t playing that game. My legs felt like they were burning while I kept sprinting. On the way I bumped into a lot of people who all cursed at me but I didn¡¯t stop for them. I didn¡¯t care about anything knowing my sister could be in danger. ¡°HIME!¡± I burst into the house shouting ¡°Hey are you here, Hime!?¡± I ran into Hime¡¯s room and saw her on the bed. For an instant I felt relieved seeing her but that soon turned to fear as I saw what she was wearing on her head. It was a gadget with a shape like goggles and helmet with wiring. It was her VR gear. Seeing this I fell on my knees. All I could do was look at her body and called out to her with a soft voice. No matter how much I called her she didn¡¯t have any reaction signaling she knew I was here. ¡°No....¡± ¡°No, damn it.....¡± Seeing the sight of my sister motionless while I was unable to do anything made tears flow from my eyes blurring my vision. That¡¯s it. I¡¯ve lost the only person I have left in this world.......
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Characters + Setting + Suggestions
Chapter 1: To Where She is Chapter 1: To Where She is ==================================================================================== I wake up in a dark alley. Uwah I stink. No wait, that¡¯s not me it¡¯s just all this trash that I¡¯m covered in. Guess I got too drunk and thrown out of the bar again. Well it can¡¯t be helped. I¡¯ll just go home for now. Slowly walking back home I see a piece of paper on the sidewalk. Being I just picked it up and looked at it. Just the newspaper... I must be really drunk to notice that just now. The words ¡°One month after tragic VRMMORPG incident¡± are printed in huge letters on the front page. Damn that¡¯s annoying. Feeling frustrated I rip the newspaper to pieces and throw them away. One month. It¡¯s already been one month since Hime was trapped in that fuc*ing game. Now she¡¯s being taken care of in the hospital as are all the users that were trapped in that game. Sometimes the patients brainwave suddenly stopped as if they stopped living, leading the incident to be nicknamed the virtual game of death. Although the cause is unknown, everyone agrees that when the player dies in game this condition happens to their real body. No news of the person or organization that hacked the game is known. No known motive, known method, absolutely nothing. ¡°Dude watch where you¡¯re going!¡± looks like I bumped into someone again. I keep walking without answering but it seems that pissed him off. ¡°You ignoring me?!¡± the guy grabs my collar. He¡¯s got bleached hair, tattoos, and piercing all over his face. Guess this guys one of those gangster around here. I keep silent and suddenly I¡¯m on my knees. My stomach ached as he punched me in the gut. He keeps beating on me for 5 minutes before spitting at me and leaving. I try to stand but can¡¯t. looks like I¡¯m injured pretty bad. Dragging my body down the alley I came from I rested my back on the wall. I close my eyes and fell myself passing out. ¡°You¡¯re here again huh, Haru?¡± a voice calls out to me waking me up ¡°What do you want Yoichi?¡± I asked feeling irritated ¡°You haven¡¯t been to class at all. Everyone¡¯s worried sick. Even Professor Miyamoto you know...¡± ¡°Like I care¡± ¡°Come on Haru, pick yourself up man!¡± ¡°Pick myself up!?¡± I shouted ¡°Why the hell should I go to college now!! Hime¡¯s gone! I couldn¡¯t care less about some sh*tty class! I¡¯d rather just die and let it be over!¡± I vented myself at Yoichi Hearing me say this suddenly Yoichi punched me in the face. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you Haru!? Your sister¡¯s not gone! She¡¯s still alive right?! Rather than wasting yourself drinking and getting beaten all the time why don¡¯t you do something about it!¡± Hearing this I didn¡¯t say anything. Holding back tears I just turned my back on Yoichi. I know he¡¯s right. He always does come through for me as friend. But I just can¡¯t help feeling helpless same as when my parents died, same when my uncle and aunt died, I couldn¡¯t do anything. Without saying a word I just left the dark alley as Yoichi kept staring at my back. =================================================================================== Getting home I just fell on my bed without changing. With the lights on I just noticed the blood from my nose and mouth covering my shirt. ¡°Damn it, damn it, damn it¡± I whispered Yoichi¡¯s right. I can¡¯t just die and do nothing. Not after what Hime and her parents did for me. They took care of me after I was left alone in the world. To just wallow in self pity would be a disgrace to all those that raised me. If I¡¯ll die at least I¡¯ll die for the last person I¡¯d let die. Resolving myself I just went to sleep after setting the alarm for 9 o¡¯clock I woke up the loud sound of the alarm. Throwing the alarm to the wall I took a shower and got dressed and head off to the bar. Walking there I calmed my nerves and quicken my walking pace to a small jog. Reaching the place i went in and headed over to the counter where the bartender spots me. ¡°Haruki... you¡¯re here again¡± ¡°Yes, sir¡± I answered the old man ¡°It¡¯s still morning you know, come back later. I don¡¯t want a drunk in my bar first thing in the morning¡± he said and almost left ¡°Please wait! I¡¯m not here to drink. I just want some information¡± I ask while bowing The old bartender looks at me and scanned me like an x-ray ¡°Took a bath today huh? Today¡¯s serious business I guess? Fine, what do you want?¡± He asked me while frowning ¡°The closest black market dealer.¡± ¡°What do you want to buy?¡± he asked while raising an eyebrow ¡°VR gear.¡± =================================================================================== Here I am in the middle of the warehouse district at the harbor. Looking left and right I try to find the number I¡¯m looking for. The bartender said to come to warehouse 21 at night saying the seller should have what I want. I keep walking looking at the numbers on the plates of the warehouses. 18,19,20, here it is 21. Opening the large metal door I stepped inside an d was greeted by a feminine voice. ¡°Well what have we here? Aren''t you a little past your bedtime boy?¡± A woman in a black suit with blond hair and blue eyes said while smirking at me. Looks like she¡¯s in her late twenties. Looks like a pro, no doubt from overseas. ¡°I¡¯m here to buy¡± I said in an annoyed tone ¡±And what is it you¡¯re looking for hm?¡± she grins and gestured me to follow her ¡°By the way I charge what price suits me, so if you¡¯re here to beg just forget about it.¡± She says mocking me ¡°I have money.¡± I show her the briefcase I¡¯m holding. Inside is all the money my parents left me with when they died. ¡°Suit yourself, that¡¯s your money you¡¯re throwing away¡± she shrugged ¡°What do you want?¡± she asks, her face now business like ¡°VR gear. And a copy of Tales of a New land¡± ¡°Those are illegal you know?¡± she asks while tilting her head ¡°I wouldn''t be here if it were legal, Woman. Now how much is it?¡± ¡°Watch your tone boy.¡± She glares at me ¡°For the price, lets see. Just leave the briefcase with me¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know how much is in here¡± I replied curtly ¡°I don''t care. Nobody¡¯s gonna want a toy that kills you anyway, so I¡¯ll just get rid of it.¡± She smiles at me ¡°Fine.¡± I left the case with her and went on my way after taking the items I bought. ==================================================================================== After the boy left the warehouse Ruth kept staring at the briefcase that the boy left. She didn''t know how much was inside the case. She was just glad to be able to sell those cursed toys to anyone for any price honestly. ¡°Now lets see how much I lost getting scammed¡± she chuckled Opening the briefcase her eyes went wide with surprise over the contents of the case. There was money in it. Not just a few hundred thousand yen. It was full of stacks of paper money that filled the case to a brim. ¡°This, this is....¡± Ruth couldn''t help wondering why anyone would by those items at this price. There was enough money inside to be lifetimes worth of a directors salary. You could even buy a small estate with this amount. ¡°Why would he not hesitate to leave this money just for getting yourself killed?¡± Ruth wondered. At this moment the warehouse door opened again. Looks like another customer. ¡°Welcome. Something you need?¡± she smiled putting the thoughts of the previous customer away. ===================================================================================== Haruki rushed home quickly and set up the devices he just bought. Before starting he looked at the pictures on the living room wall and hardened his resolve. Ho stared at his parents picture with him on his ninth birthday just before they died. Next to it was a picture of Haruki, Hime, Uncle Tarou, and Aunt Sayaka 3 years after Haruki met his new family. While smiling, Haruki prepared himself and sent a text message to Yoichi. Finishing that he set down his cell on the table while he laid down on the sofa. Taking a deep breath he pushed the power button on the right side of the goggles and felt himself drift away. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. After regaining consciousness he saw he was in a simple room with white walls and a ceiling s high he couldn¡¯t see the top. Looking around he suddenly became aware he was moving his body and look at himself. ¡°No way... It¡¯s like I¡¯m really here.¡±
That is because you ARE here user
===================================================================================== What was that? I scanned the area around me. Is someone here? Crap was this a trap? Flustered by the sudden voice I found myself taking a defensive stance on instinct before the voice called out again.
Welcome, to the first VRMMORPG developed in the world ¡°Tales of a New Land¡± user. Do you wish to use an existing account or create a new one?
I see it¡¯s this games AI! ¡°New one¡± I answered
Very well, you will now proceed to the avatar creation menu
ERROR: Cannot customize avatar. Appearance will be set to the users real body
ERROR: Cannot create avatar name. Name will be set to Haruki.
Confirm Y/N
¡°yes¡± I answered. Looks like something happened to the AI here. I wonder if it¡¯s connected to the hacking of the game a month ago?
New Account successfully created
Congratulations, you are the first user to create a new account this month. You will receive a bonus skill based on a question and an affinity to one element
Bonus skill question: For what purpose have you come to decide to play this game?
After thinking for a while and wondering if I should just lie I honestly answered the question. ¡°To find the person most important to me.¡± I replied
Affirmative, please select a bonus element affinity
¡°Lightning¡± I answered without caring
Thank you, you will now be transported to the ¡°New Land¡±
With a flash of light I find myself in the middle of a plaza. I look around and see that the place I¡¯m at is a city. With buildings similar to a fantasy movie I saw a long time ago I realize I¡¯m inside the game. Alright looks like I should look around for a bit. Walking around I see some people just lying motionless on some benches. ¡°Excuse me, can I ask a few questions?¡± I asked a young guy, maybe 21, that was lying on the bench ¡°What?¡± he looked irritated to see me ¡°Um, are you a player? I want to ask about the game mechanics for some info.¡± ¡°What info? We can¡¯t leave! Just check the damn menu rather than bothering me¡± he said while standing up and leaving ¡°Hmm, I guess being trapped doesn¡¯t make your mood all that well huh?¡± I gazed at the man leaving Not that I blame him though, everyone has their limits I guess. Lets just try stuff out I guess. ¡°Open Menu¡± I tried Instantly a display appeared in front of me. I tried logging out but nothing happens. So it¡¯s true you can¡¯t leave.... Looking at the menu I find a tutorial button and tried pressing it. Having read the details I find out that you¡¯re basically free to do what you want in this game. There were some differences with other games I played but the structure is mostly similar to other MMORPGs. This game doesn¡¯t have classes, stats aren¡¯t dependent on your level, and time here is flows differently meaning one month in the real world was three months here. Having found out the basics I try looking around the city a bit more. ==================================================================================== Inside a cave somewhere a girl was sitting by a camp fire while roasting some meat. The girl''s appearance could be considered breathtaking with her silky black hair tied into a ponytail. On her back was a bow that was slung from her shoulders to her hips that was made from steel and reflected the fire. Beside her was a another girl wearing a white robe with shoulder length brown hair and light brown eyes. ¡°What should we do now Hime¡± the white robed girl asked ¡°I guess wait till the sun rises than move on to the next city, what was it¡¯s name again Roden I think. That okay with you, Amy?¡± The black haired girl answered ¡°Okay, that¡¯s fine.¡± The girl called Amy said ¡°I guess I¡¯ll go to sleep soon than¡± ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll be the lookout first then¡± Hime replied to her companion It has been 3 months since Hime last saw Haruki. She shouldn''t help but worry how her brother was doing now. Was he sad? Was he depressed? Or maybe he doesn¡¯t care? All those thoughts came to Hime¡¯s mind as she watched the fire burn. ¡°Haruki.....nii-san.¡± She whispered as a single tear dropped to stone cave floor ================================================================================== Reaching Haruki¡¯s house Yoichi tried pressing the bell but no one came out. Is he still sleeping? Yoichi opened Haruki¡¯s text again and read the words
You¡¯re right Yoichi. I can¡¯t die just yet. Please come over in the morning . Take care of me okay?
Yoichi sighed as he tried the bell again. What does he mean take care of him? Was he beaten up again? Yoichi tried the door knob and found it wasn¡¯t locked. ¡°haru, I¡¯m coming in okay?¡± he asked but no answer came Yoichi went to his room but he wasn¡¯t there. Thinking he was out he was about to leave when he spotted haru on the living room sofa. He was about to call out but was shocked when he saw him wearing VR gear. Lying motionless on the table to his side was his phone and a picture of him and his sister celebrating Haru¡¯s acceptance into University last year. ¡°You crazy bastard...¡± Yoichi whispered before calling the hospital for an ambulance.
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Characters + Setting + Suggestions
Chapter 2: Surviving this New World Chapter 2: Surviving this New World =============================================================================== It¡¯s been 2 days since I arrived in this game. Even though it was 2 days It seems not even a day has passed since I logged in. Technology sure has come a long way huh? Those 2 days were pretty much uneventful. I just wandered around the city asking people who looked like players about the ¡°virtual death game¡± incident a month ago, though everyone here says 3 months ago. I found out that the error of the game AI when I created my account was indeed connected to the hacking. Players say that when the hack happened their avatars suddenly turned into their real body and usernames were automatically change into player¡¯s real names. Once again I find myself baffled at the motive of the hacking going as far as changing peoples appearance to their real bodies. It just doesn¡¯t make sense. Although thinking like that I¡¯m a little grateful. At least it¡¯ll be easier to find Hime if she looks the same. Seeing players here I suddenly shiver a little when I realize that with real people in their own bodies here make it like we¡¯ve just crossed into a different world. I also found out that people that day in game really do die in a sense. Usually when players die they respawn in the last visited town but after the incident people waiting for their friends to respawn never saw them again no matter how long they waited. Being someone who asks a lot about this I got some suspicious stares from the players I talked to. They all asked why I was asking because I should know all this in the first place. Whenever someone asked me I just said that I was a new gamer and after the hacking was always drinking till I passed out. Well, at least it isn¡¯t 100% lies right? ================================================================================== ¡°Hey Haruki¡± someone called me. Ah it was one of the players I questioned ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± I asked, even though I forgot his name ¡°You were looking for someone right? A girl with long black hair, possibly with a bow and named Hime right?¡± ¡°Yes, do you know anything?¡± I immediately paid full attention to him ¡°Yeah, a friend of mine said she met her about a month ago. Says she was somewhere near Tyrne when they met on the road.¡± Hime! Is this my sister he¡¯s talking about. Hoping the info was right I felt relieved to know she was at least alive. But another city huh? That means I have to leave this town which will make it really risky for me because I don¡¯t know a thing about this game compared to other players. I looked down at my equipment. I was still in beginner gear which were practically just a shirt and pants. At least I got sword for my weapon. If I could move like my real body I should be able to use my Kendo training that Uncle Tarou taught me from grade school. After thanking the player who told me about Hime, I tried took outside the city gate to see what was out there. Unfortunately it was few hundred meters of flat plains until a forest came into view making me unable to see anything beyond the trees. Gyuuuuu. My stomach growled. I quickly ate one piece of bread leaving me with 17 left. Because of hunger it was dangerous not eat as apparently you could die from starvation in this game, With just one bread a day I should be able to survive, although the bread tastes like cardboard. Going back into the city I spotted some men wearing red armor making a fuss at the central plaza. ¡°Hey, old man! The hell you doing just sitting there! If you want to live at least make a damn effort!¡± the leader of the men in red mocked someone ¡°Yeah, just because you¡¯re old doesn¡¯t make you useless you know! I know you could our meatshield old man! At least you¡¯ll be good for something¡± The old man just sat on the bench facing the ground. Damn it those guys are disgusting. Treating people like garbage. What¡¯s wrong with them? This isn¡¯t just a game you morons. ¡°Oy, you there!¡± the red leader points at me ¡°What are you looking at! Get lost!¡± While laughing one of the three guys tries to drag the old man somewhere. ¡°Hey stop that!¡± I shouted at him ¡°Haha, looks like someone wants to be our new toy guys¡± the leader laughed at me ¡°Fine we¡¯ll let him go, but lets have some fun first. Duel with me and I;ll leave him alone. Don¡¯t worry, you won¡¯t die in a city!¡± the leader says The other two start snickering at me. I know that you can¡¯t die here so silently I just nodded. ¡°good don¡¯t chicken out.¡±
Tyler has challenged you to a duel! Will you accept? Y/N
¡°Yes¡± I said making all three of them laugh ¡°alright let¡¯s go brat¡± the man named Tyler shouted at me I unsheathed my sword and take stance holding the sword with two hands while setting my eyes on Tyler. Suddenly he rushed towards me with his huge two handed battle axe and swung it down vertically to my head. Sidestepping I hit his shoulder with a downward slash. Seeing this he just grins and charges at me again with his axe. That¡¯s weird, I definitely hit him. Taking one step back his axe missed me again while I swung my sword hard to his head. TWANG!!! The sound of metal hitting metal is heard throughout the plaza. Suddenly I fell on my back. It turned out my attack didn¡¯t even scratch his helmet as he countered with a wide sweep at my legs making me fall down. What¡¯s more surprising is I felt the impact, and it hurt. I suddenly realize why they were all laughing before the duel. Pain is real in this world. Before I could get up, Tyler stomped on my stomach which let all the air out of me. He didn¡¯t stop there. He continued to kick me while I was on the ground and grabbed me by my hair. Punching my face several times he then smashed my face to ground making me cry out in pain. ¡°Haah, haah, haaah¡± I panted while rolling on the ground ¡°Look guys, he¡¯s squirming like a bug now¡± Tyler said while stabbing the grip of his axe to my neck ¡°See, that''s what you get messing with us! I mean seriously look at you in that noob gear, hahaha!¡± ¡°Oy, Tyler lets just beat him up more¡± his friend said ¡°nah, ain¡¯t worth it. Lets see, lets break his sword so he doesn¡¯t get anymore ideas.¡± Tyler then picked up my sword giving it to his friend. After that he swung his axe to the sword and it shattered into pieces before disappearing. ¡°See you around, brat. You better hope you don¡¯t meet us again¡± Tyler said before walking away =================================================================================== Seeing him go I crawled a nearby wall and tried to sit. Damn it I¡¯m being beaten up again. What the hell¡¯s wrong with m? i didn¡¯t even do any damage to that gut. Trying to stand I noticed that blood was still dripping from my face and it seems like I have a few broken bones. Crap, how is all this gonna heal.... It was then I noticed a middle aged looking man with a rough beard and crew cut hair looking at me from a few feet away. At his side was a girl, maybe 7 or 8 years old with red hair in a braid. They looked at me and began talking with each other. As I keep trying to stand up I realize the kid¡¯s standing next to me holding out her hand. I thought she was going to help me out but soon brought her hand to my face. Suddenly my face felt warm and the pain slowly disappeared. I see. This is healing magic. After that I sat still while the girl continued to treat me healing my broken bones and bruises. After I was fully healed I stood up and bowed towards her and the man that was still nearby. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! ¡°Thank you for kindly healing me miss.¡± I said as I lowered my head The girl twitched a little hearing me speak and ran back to the man hiding behind his back. ¡°It¡¯s nothing boy. Just helping each other out. But I have to warn you not do stupid stuff like that again¡± the man looked at me with a serious face ¡°Stupid¡± I asked making clear my confusion ¡°Look, boy, you¡¯re in your default beginning gear which means you level should be low as well as your stats.¡± ¡°Is this a problem¡± I asked before suddenly realizing my stupid question ¡°You may have skill from the real world boy, I saw how you handled your sword. But you¡¯re forgetting this is a game world. Stats are the law in this world.¡± The man said while sighing That¡¯s right. How could I even forget such an obvious thing. Here I am in nothing but a shirt and pants trying to fight someone with iron armor. How dumb was I to accept that duel. ¡°well don¡¯t beat yourself up over it. This world is as realistic as can be... and with the current situation it might as well be the real world¡± The man tried to console me ¡°Yes thank you for he advice, umm, mister?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Riley, and this here¡± He pointed toward the little girl ¡°is Beth.¡± ¡°I see, once again I thank you both for helping me out. If I may ask how do you raise stats in this game?¡± ¡°Anything. As long as you train then your stats should improve automatically¡± Riley answered ¡°Thank you, I will do that then.¡± I bowed and excused myself ==================================================================================== I guess I have to train first if I want to find Hime. Resolving to get stronger I opened the status menu and looked a the details
Status
[quart=Name,level]Haruki,1[/quart][quart=Health,Mana]100,100[/quart][quart=Strength,Dexterity]15,15[/quart][quart=Vitality,Agility]15,15[/quart][quart=Endurance,Intelligence]15,15[/quart][quart=Luck,Wisdom]15,15[/quart]
Title
None
All of my stats are 15. Shouldn¡¯t level 1 characters begin with ten points each? Maybe it¡¯s another bonus of that first new account for this month. Deciding that it¡¯s hardly important I notice there really is no class in this game. I heard from other players that FutureTech tried to have players play as they liked without being tied by game classes. I should also read my skill descriptions.
Sword Mastery (Beginner) lv.1 Skill that increases the effectiveness of swords 1%+ attack damage, attack speed
Bond of Love (Passive) Skill that is most useful when together with your most beloved Your desire to protect your lover has given you increases in stat gain rate and skill leveling 20% increase in stats and skill power while fighting beside your lover 10% stat increase rate, faster skill leveling
Lightning Affinity (Beginner) lv.1 Increase effectiveness of lightning based attacks, also grants resistance 15% lightning damage, 20% lightning resistance
I stare dumbfounded at my skill list. WHAT THE HELL!! What¡¯s with bond of love skill?? I don¡¯t even have a girlfriend damn it! Wait a minute..... isn¡¯t that the bonus skill I got for answering the AI¡¯s question? So it means Hime?!? My jaw drops as my mind went blank. Realizing I looked incredibly stupid I shut my mouth. Man, is Beth¡¯s healing still in effect? My face suddenly feels all warm again. NO WAY IN HELL WILL I ADMIT THAT I¡¯M BLUSHING! ¡°Ehem...¡± Stupid AI, thats one crappy joke Well at least I know what to do now. It¡¯s time to restart my daily training. ==================================================================================== I started running around the city with short sprints and steady jogging. To increase the rate of stat increase I started filling rocks into my pockets and ran again slowly increasing the weight I carried. I also began to spar in the city arena against NPCs. The fights only gave out a little exp as it doesn¡¯t really count as killing monsters. Still it was increasing a lot of stats with increases in strength, vitality, dexterity, endurance, and agility as I applied the techniques I learned over the years in these arena fights. During the fights I somewhat felt magic around me. I soon realized it was due to my lightning affinity that I could somehow produce lightning from my body which I immediately experimented on. As I was fighting I tried to use lightning from my left hand but suddenly I felt pain and ended up rolling around the arena. I guess without higher resistance to lightning I can¡¯t use lightning in close quarters combat. Not that I could do ranged attacks with it as I¡¯ve already tried it with countless failures. Guess I;m not cut out to be a mage..... I did manage to direct mana into the arena sword which gave it lightning sparks whenever it hit the target. This resulted in a brand new skill that was created.
Lightning blade (Beginner) lv. 1 Imbues swords with lightning made from your mana Lightning damage(small), chance to stun enemy(small) Cost: 10 mana/sec
Np doubt that this skill will be really important for combat as it maximizes damage from my swords. I guess the mana cost is a bit irritating but thats to be expected. After all I am still low level. Slowly but surely I increase my combat capabilities as I train to be able to survive in this world
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Characters + Setting + Suggestions
Chapter 3: Start of the Journey Chapter 3: Start of the Journey ==================================================================================== The clock on the wall of the classroom read 3 o¡¯clock. In front of several rows of students Professor Miyamoto was finishing up his lecture and started stuffing his books into a his bag before leaving though he canned the room and found who he was looking for. ¡°Yoichi, please come with me to my office for a while.¡± The professor said and left ¡°Woow Yoichi, you piss off the prof some how?¡± ¡°Maybe he¡¯ll tell you that you flunked, haha¡± Yoichi didn¡¯t say a word to his classmates and just left heading towards the professor¡¯s office. He knew what the talk would be about. It¡¯ll probably be about one of the students that attended the class but hasn¡¯t been seen by anyone for more than 5 weeks. ¡°You wanted to see me sir?¡± Yoichi started ¡°Yes, please sit. I believe you are close to Haruki Chitose, yes?¡± ¡°Yes, we¡¯ve been in the same class for 3 years in high school. We also ended up going to the same university. I guess I¡¯m his friend.¡± ¡°I see. As you probably know despite his somewhat tardy tendencies, he is one of few students in my physics class that can keep up. I could also say he¡¯s the brightest I¡¯ve seen so far.¡± The professor says while leaning ¡°Yes, Haruki started to change when his step parents died. He started studying all the time without actually enjoying anything... he practically aces all the classes he¡¯s taken¡± Yoichi felt somewhat guilty revealing his friends personal issues ¡°I¡¯m also aware of this. However the problem is that he hasn¡¯t even come to class once since over a month ago. Other professors also wonder where he¡¯s gone without notice. If this keeps up his grades will drop drastically damaging his future prospects. Hearing this Yoichi sighed and thought for a while. I guess it just can¡¯t stay a secret. ¡°Um, are you free professor? If you want I can take you to him...¡± ¡°That would be ideal¡± the professor started to stand The two walked outside campus and started to head to the downtown district. Taking a cab to get there faster, Yoichi and Miyamoto didn¡¯t exchange another word after leaving the office. ¡°Is he ill?¡± the professor asked realizing they were standing in front of Furuya Hospital ¡°I guess you could say that.¡± Yoichi entered and led the way They took the elevator to the sixth floor and stepped out. Turning left at the hallway Yoichi stopped and pointed to one of the rooms. Professor Miyamoto looked what he was pointing at and read what it said.
Room 623 Patients: Haruki Chitose Hime Chitose
Following the professor into the room Yoichi saw the siblings on the beds next to each other. Seeing his friend and sister so close but unable to meet Yoichi thought it was a bit ironic. With their VR gear still on their bodies rendering both unable to wake up Yoichi silently hoped he could meet his friend again. ==================================================================================== It¡¯s been a 3 weeks since I started this training. With the training showing some results in stat growth I guess I should stop training here and maybe look for some real combat experience. Having reached level 5 he had grown a bit including his stat gains from various activities. ¡°Open status menu¡±
Status
[quart=Name,level]Haruki,5[/quart][quart=Health,Mana]640,300[/quart][quart=Strength,Dexterity]41,38[/quart][quart=Vitality,Agility]49,61[/quart][quart=Endurance,Intelligence]32,15[/quart][quart=Luck,Wisdom]15,15[/quart]
Title
None
Sword Mastery (Beginner) lv.6 Skill that increases the effectiveness of swords 4%+ attack damage, attack speed
Lightning Affinity (Beginner) lv.7 Increase effectiveness of lightning based attacks, also grants resistance 25% lightning damage, 35% lightning resistance
Lightning blade (Beginner) lv. 5 Imbues swords with lightning made from your mana Lightning damage(small+), chance to stun enemy(small+) Cost: 25 mana/sec
Athletics (Beginner) lv.8 Increases player movements. Includes running, jumping, parkour, acrobatics and other body movements 2% increase in agility, better body movement coordination
lightning discharge (Beginner) lv. 2 Able to produce lightning from various body parts according to players will. Direct contact will also affect user. Mana cost depending on shape and size
Damn, turns out the mana cost increases with higher skill levels. With my current mana pool he could only use my lightning blade for a mere 12 seconds. There¡¯s also the new discharge skill though I haven¡¯t used it as much as the blade since even a few sparks sting a lot. Most importantly the vague mana cost description makes me realize I¡¯m really lacking mana even though my attacks mostly use lightning. Since I¡¯m level 5 I have 20 unused stat points so I guess I¡¯ll just dump them into Wisdom. With my Wisdom points now 35 my mana pool also increases and is now 700. At least I can use skills more frequently now. Now I guess i should buy weapons and armor. Since the training began I was still wearing my starting gear and don¡¯t have a weapon since it was broken. Having saved some money from fighting in the arena I headed toward the blacksmith. Prices were rather high but it¡¯s better than walking around defenseless. Looking around I spotted a sword that caught my eye. It wasn¡¯t a rare sword or anything like that. Just a basic steel sword, but in the shape of a katana and had a simple black sheath. It looked kind of like the sword decoration at my house and being Japanese I made up my mind to buy it. Using the money I have left I buy some simple leather armor with a hood as I don¡¯t like wearing clunky helmets. At least I look like a standard adventurer in this armor. With weather also effecting players I also bought a simple cloak to cover my body should the weather change. ¡°Haruki.¡± A man¡¯s voice called as I stepped outside ¡°Ah hey Riley, you too Beth¡± I answered smiling Spotting me they come up to me, but Beth just stays hidden behind Riley. In the 3 weeks I spent training Riley really helped me out with tips on stat growth and the game mechanics. I fell really grateful for their help at those times. Beth even healed me up a few times when I got some bruises from fighting and burns from experimenting with lightning. Still I guess she¡¯s still shy as she¡¯s hiding behind Riley. ¡°Finally buy some gear eh?¡± ¡°Yeah I should be heading towards Tyrne in a couple of days¡± I said ¡°I guess you¡¯re really leaving huh? Well can¡¯t helping if you¡¯re looking for someone.... But why don¡¯t you do some quests first? It¡¯ll have rewards like money and other stuff. You¡¯re gonna need money at least to buy some food.¡± That¡¯s right. Since I was here Riley and Beth sometimes shared food with me but after leaving I can¡¯t count on anyone helping me out.... ¡°Okay, thanks guys.¡± I turned to walk away but was stopped by Riley ¡°Wait, you haven¡¯t been outside the city yet right?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± I replied slightly confused ¡°As you know you can die outside so be careful.¡± ¡°I thought the monsters nearby were just low level ones?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not talking about monsters. I¡¯m talking about the players....¡± Frowning I remember about Tyler and his gang from a while ago. I know that every game has people like them. Those who act like jerks and just do whatever they want. ¡°Player killers....¡± I spoke nearly whispering Riley nodded and continued ¡°As you know we don¡¯t know a single thing about how to leave here. Some people still think of it as a game. But what¡¯s worse is... some people think by killing other players you could get out of here.¡± ¡°What! But that¡¯s crazy!¡± ¡°We¡¯ve been here for 4 months without any news from outside. Some people will snatch any chance they have, doing anything they can...¡± Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡° .....¡± ¡°Well, don¡¯t just trust anyone out there and you should be fine I guess.¡± He said while patting my shoulder. ====================================================================================
Quest: Clear the cave near the City walls Near the southern walls soldiers have found a cave infested with goblins. Being a low priority threat, the task has been given to adventurers to clear the caves to prevent goblins inside the city. Quest Clear: Kill all goblins inside the cave Difficulty: E
Seems like it¡¯s an easy enough quest. I guess I¡¯ll do it for now. Heading to the city¡¯s south gate I carefully examine the field outside. Nothing that I see, guess not many people stay here. I always thought that it was strange that the city was rather deserted but Riley told me since the size of the world is huge and starting points randomized a lot of cities end up with only a few players like this one. Stepping outside the gate. I look carefully around and started walking to the small cave just some 60 meters outside the gate. The cave only had small opening just enough for one person to enter. But as I went in I saw that the cave keeps heading down and turned out to be a lot bigger than it looked like. Walking quietly after adjusting to the pitch black cave I heard footsteps nearby. Peeking around the corner I see 3 goblins. They were only as tall as my thighs but each carried a rusty dagger or sword. Knowing it¡¯ll hurt to get slashed. I started crouching and slowly made my way to the nearest goblin. Careful to not get notice by the other two I sneaked up behind and grabbed the goblin¡¯s face pulling him while slitting it¡¯s throat. Immediately, my hand felt warm and the goblin fell down limp. I looked to my hands and see that they¡¯re covered in a slimy green liquid. Is the goblin¡¯s blood? This world is just too realistic. Feeling a bit queasy because of killing for the first time I grit my teeth and went back hiding. A goblin noticing one of them missing started walking over. Damn, the body¡¯s still there! It didn¡¯t just disappear... Seeing that a surprise attack was the only choice now I leapt out of the corner and rushed the goblin. Unable to react the goblin stood frozen while I slashed my sword on its head splitting in two. Noticing my attack the third goblin shrieked and a moment later 2 others showed up. Great, now it¡¯s 3 vs 1. I took a stance facing the 3 goblins and prepared to fight. One of them ran forward and tried to stab with it¡¯s dagger. Parrying the attack I countered with a kick to it¡¯s torso sending it flying back. The other two slashed but I locked them with my sword locking blades. Activating lightning blade made the goblins jump back with one of them stunned. Seeing this chance I slashed horizontally and beheaded the stunned goblin. Following this I ran to the other goblin and before he could attack I rolled to it and ended with a stab piercing it¡¯s chest. This only leave the goblin I kicked back which was already standing again. Now with just one left I charged and slashed while it tried to parry my blade. Unsuccessful the arm of the goblin ended receiving my slash and got cut off. With a cry of pain the goblin tried to run but ended being stabbed in the back of the neck. ¡°phew, the battles are really intense.... It¡¯s like I¡¯m fighting real monsters here.¡± After the first battle, I slowly adapted and became better at fighting. Clearing each room I reached the end of the cave. It was a room filled with bones of of many animals and smelled rotten. Standing at the center was a goblin bigger than the ones before as it was nearly my height. It had much more muscles and it¡¯s skin was a dark red tint. Carrying a huge two-handed sword it spotted me and roared while swing the blade. Crap, if I block that I think it¡¯ll just snap my sword! Not wanting to lose my weapon I just dodged to the right and ran to the edge of the room. It doesn¡¯t give up though as it keeps trying to bash my head with his huge strength. All the dodging started to wear me out as I started breathing heavily. Maybe It¡¯s level is too high for me? I was about to run out of the room when I felt a sharp burning sensation from my left leg. ¡°FU*K¡± I shouted The tip of the blade stabbed through my left leg and ended up tearing some muscle. Nearly falling down I quickly turned back and with my sword slashed wildly at the red goblin. It easily dodged by moving back and my attack ended up missing. Unable to feel my left leg, I put my weight on my right leg and started limping. ¡°Damn, now I can¡¯t even run away.¡± The goblin knowing I can¡¯t run started making snorts that sounded like laughing and just stood there. As just standing hurt like hell I could only point my sword to red goblin and ended up biting my lip till it bled trying to withstand the pain. I guess this is a real life and death situation I got here. I slowly started circling the goblin with it¡¯s eyes glued to me. I guess I just have to gamble on a frontal assault I thought and immediately rushed to it. Swinging my sword like a maniac it blocked each one of my attacks and pushing me back. Knowing it was only a matter of time before It¡¯s attack would hit me I slashed down and it again blocked my sword. This time though I let go and charged again at the goblin. Trying to stab my chest it¡¯s attack barely missed and ended up cutting my shoulder. With nothing in the way I started clawing and stabbed my fingers into it¡¯s eye socket making the goblin lose balance and falling down on it¡¯s back. Knowing my attack could only do so much I started using mana and discharged lightning from my finger shocking me and the goblin. Thanks to my resistance the damage was nearly cut by half as I just clenched my teeth while keeping my fingers on the goblin¡¯s face. Ignoring the smell of both our flesh burning. I tried kicking the goblin¡¯s hand with my left foot which made the pain much worse. However it ended up making the sword slip from the goblin¡¯s hand and lying beside us. After a few moments the goblin was screeching in it¡¯s pain as it was now blind. I than jumped to the left picking up the huge sword and thrust it at the goblin¡¯s throat. After a few seconds of choking on it¡¯s own blood the goblin stopped moving again. After this the pain on my body started coming back which made me fall on back near the red goblin corpse. Checking my health I see that there was only 7% remaining while I was covered in cuts, bruises, burns on my hands, and unable to move my left leg. ¡°After I get back I should at least try to learn ¡®heal¡¯¡± I mumbled to myself
Quest Completed: Clear the cave near the City walls You have successfully cleared the cave and killed all the goblins inside. Claim the bounty from the Guard captain at the city baracks Reward: -10 silver -Exp up -Title: Goblin Crusher (Strength +5; Endurance +5)
At least the quest is completed ...... ==================================================================================== After claiming my reward I went to blacksmith and repairing my equipment I walked around the city visiting some shops. I bought a few of the lowest grade health and mana potion they sold and some bread and jerky. I tried visiting a magic shop to buy the spell tome for ¡®heal¡¯ but it cost 1 gold which was why I decided to buy those potions. Looking at the world map I see that Tyrne is to the east and that there was a small town called Rygar on the way. I decided to head to Rygar first as it was the safest route there. Finishing my preparations I looked for Riley and Beth to say goodbye. ¡°Afternoon, Riley¡± ¡°Haruki, going to head out?¡± Riley asked me ¡°Yes, thank you for taking care of me this last month¡± ¡°No need to be so formal. Besides we¡¯re not parting yet you know?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked him ¡°We¡¯re also planning to head to Tyrne. Might as well tag along right?¡± ¡°huh? But why?¡± ¡°We can¡¯t stay out in the middle of nowhere forever. Tyrne¡¯s a larger city with more players so it should be better to stay there.¡± ¡°Ah, That makes sense... Well, once again I will be in your care Riley¡± I say while lowering my head ¡°Relax, Haruki. We¡¯re not strangers now you know!¡± Riley said while grinning ¡°Come on, Beth. Lets get ready for a trip!¡± Beth just nodded silently This is it. I am going leave this place and start looking for Hime.... When Riley and Beth returned we all headed to the east gate. With this I finally took the first step beginning my journey
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Characters + Setting + Suggestions
Chapter 4: Travelling to Rygar Chapter 4: Travelling to Rygar ======================================================================================= We¡¯ve already been traveling for 11 days now. Pretty uneventful if you ask me but then again this is why this is the safest route to Tyrne.... But because we have to detour through Rygar this is taking longer than expected. Except the for the occasional monster that burst from the tree attacking we didn¡¯t really do any fighting. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s set up camp for today¡± Riley says It¡¯s still pretty early... I was just about to say that we should keep going but I saw Beth who was already sitting with a rather pale face I shut my mouth. ¡°Ah, then I¡¯ll go look around then¡± I say to them both Walking a some distance away from camp I spot a clearing. Okay, here is good enough... I started with some exercise and started swing my sword practicing my form. I activate skills to increase proficiency even though when there¡¯s no enemy it¡¯s progress is really slow. But at least my lightning affinity levels up normally as it doesn¡¯t need a target. With the increased lightning resistance I could handle a few seconds of using my discharge skill. I also find out that shaping the lightning is possible! Molding it into small knife shapes I could then throw them giving some range attacks. It¡¯s possible that I could use the skill to form a lightning bolt from my hands but until I know I have enough resistance I¡¯ll refrain from doing so. Don¡¯t wanna get burned skin again..... The combat in this game really does have freedom. I now see why classes don¡¯t exist in this game. In any usual MMO my class should have been a lightning mage or swordsman but in this VR I¡¯m a combination of both. Finishing my daily routine notice the sky¡¯s already dark. I wiped the sweat off my face and started walking back to camp. Looks like dinner¡¯s ready... I see Riley and Beth already eating when I got there. ¡°Yo, done for today?¡± Riley asked while still munching his food ¡°Yup, gotta have enough rest too¡± I sat down near the fire ¡°..........good job........¡± Beth says quietly and hands me a bowl with some stew in it ¡°Yeah, thanks Beth.¡± I smiled at her She turned a little red while nodding and continued eating. Haha looking at her makes me think about my own sister. Hime.... I¡¯ve only been here for a little over a month but Hime¡¯s already spent 4 months in this death game. Just thinking about her makes me worry a lot. Noticing my expression Riley and Beth look at me for a while. Not good Haru... gotta keep it together. I smiled and started eating while they still glance at me looking a bit worried. They really are nice people. They helped me out when I was just some total stranger a month ago but now they¡¯ve become my closest friends in this world. Looking over at Riley I see his crossbow laying beside him and his chest piece on the ground. When I first saw the man I got the impression of a melee fighter but he told me using crossbows are safer. I guess it is since you¡¯re far from enemies. Beth on the other hand doesn¡¯t fight at all. She was just playing ¡°Tales of New Land¡± to do some sightseeing but her luck was bad as she got trapped here. Turns out they were related in Real Life as uncle and niece. Funny how my friends are a bearded middle age man and a little girl, but I can¡¯t deny they help me out a lot. ¡°By the way I think we¡¯re just need 3 more days until Rygar¡± Riley spoke ¡°That¡¯s good... I¡¯m tired of camping outside.¡± I nod ¡°At least Tyrne is just 5 days from Rygar¡± he says, turns out the road from Rygar to Tyrne is pretty much a straight line ¡°Haruki.... you¡¯re looking for someone right?¡± Beth asked me ¡°Yes, Hime, my sister.¡± ¡°Will she still be there?¡± ¡°......... I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°If she¡¯s not there she¡¯ll probably be in Roden¡± Riley suggested ¡°Roden?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the largest city on the east side of this continent. Not too far from Tyrne.¡± ¡°I see...¡± well if she¡¯s not at Tyrne, Roden¡¯s next on my list then We kept chatting for a while before Beth started yawning. Looks like it;s already late. Offering to take the first watch shift I let them rest first. ======================================================================================= While watching for any monsters I started experimenting on my lightning skills again.
Lightning Affinity (Intermediate) lv.3 Increase effectiveness of lightning based attacks, also grants resistance 45% lightning damage, 55% lightning resistance
With my natural resistance against lightning it totals up to negating 605 of lightning damage. I guess that¡¯s enough to use small scale shapes without burning my skin. I started focusing and channeled mana into my left arm. Sparks start forming while only stinging a little as it came in contact with my armor. Focusing on my fingers it formed small bolts at the tips giving a shape similar to claws. I try waving my hand in a clawing motion as the lightning keeps it form. This¡¯ll be useful for close range I think as started moving my hands practicing moves similar to kung fu palm strikes. These lightning skills are really useful... No wonder only a few players get these bonus skills. It can adapt to any players fighting style. As lightning greatest advantage is speed I try thinking of a way to make me faster. My stats in agility are the highest so it should mean I¡¯m on the right track here. I guess the most important thing for movement is footwork. Thinking this i try applying lighting to the bottom of my feet. Sensing it worked I tried jumping and found myself 3 meters in the air. Losing my balance mid air I nearly fell face first on the ground but luckily my hands landed first. That was better than I expected! I focused on my feet again and tried running. Moving so fast I felt like I was catapulted and started moving in zig-zags. Wow this really is a great skill. After trying this out a window appeared in front of me.
Lightning Movement (Passive) Applying lightning elements to your body you can now move faster and have faster reaction to attacks. +10% movement speed; +100% movement speed when used with lightning discharge
¡°HELL YEAH!¡± this is gonna make my life much easier! Closing the skill window I notice a pair of blue eyes staring from the forest. Crap, is it a monster? A readied my blade and faced the trees. Figuring it was spotted it jumped from the trees lunging at me but with my newfound speed I easily side stepped and slashed managing a shallow cut to it¡¯s side. What I saw was a monster that looked like a wolf only bigger with black fur with some blue stripes. Looking to it¡¯s side it again started attacking me. It¡¯s fast! With It¡¯s jaw open it tried to take a bite but I blocked with my sword making it chomp on the hard metal. Suddenly its teeth started glowing and sparks from it¡¯s mouth shocking me. Lucky my resistance is high.... I looked at the beast again and realized it was a Raiju. ¡°I guess we¡¯re both lightning users....¡± I said which made it growl at me From the looks of it this should be just a normal mob monster and not at boss class. Knowing that, I charged and started my assault. Parrying it¡¯s bites were rather simple as it¡¯s moves were similar to wolf. If I didn¡¯t resist lightning no doubt it¡¯s damage and stun effect would be much higher. While it bit down on my blade again I used my free left hand and punched the raiju¡¯s head, making it fall on it¡¯s side. I took this chance and stomped on it while stabbing the body repeatedly until it died. Looking at the forest i see 3 pair of eyes looking back at me. ¡°RILEY! We got company!¡± As 3 other raijus came out of the forest a crossbow bolt flew and hit one of the monsters making it limp. ¡°What the hell are those?!¡± ¡°They¡¯re raiju!¡± ¡°The hell is that?¡± I guess not many people know about Japanese myths..... ¡°They¡¯re lightning wolves! I¡¯ll handle the, you cover me!!¡± ¡°Gotcha !¡± Riley says while shooting bolts at them With range attacks covering me it should be easier to fight them now. I keep dodging their bites and claws while their lightning barely effects me. The bolts from Riley are doing steady damage to their HP and managed to even kill one. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Now¡¯s my chance! With the other two distracted by their friends death I started directing mana to my feet. With the 100% movement speed bonus I jumped in the air and pointed my sword down. With a loud crack a landed one one of their backs and thrust the blade severing it¡¯s spine. After killing another I used the momentum to launch myself at the last one moving so fast it couldn¡¯t react. Arriving beside I slashed at it¡¯s neck making it¡¯s head fly into the air and disappearing. Into the woods. After the battle I collected the loot receiving some furs and fangs. ¡°Damn Haru, you¡¯re practically a monster yourself now¡± Riley joked at me after the fight ¡°Nah, their attacks just aren¡¯t effective against me.¡± I shrugged. I looked at the woods again and spoke to Riley and Beth. ¡°If they¡¯re like wolfs then there should be an alpha nearby.... I suggest we leave now before meeting it.¡± If a boss class attacks us now who knows if we¡¯ll beat it ¡°Good idea.¡± Riley said while Beth nodded. ===================================================================================== Arriving at Rygar i see that it¡¯s much larger than the one I started at. Stone walls encircle the whole city and there are hundreds of people both players and NPCs on this street alone. I started looking around staring at everything from market stalls, statues, and even every person that passes by. I¡¯m acting like a complete hick! But to think this isn¡¯t even the biggest city..... The scale of this game world is absolutely amazing! If it weren¡¯t for the fact is was a huge death game I would have really enjoyed this game. ¡°Haruki, we¡¯re going to the inn first okay?¡± ¡°Ah, yeah! We¡¯re leaving in a week right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, we¡¯ll probably need more supplies for Tyrne. Especially for you since you might be heading to Roden next.¡± Riley said while leaving I forgot that he and Beth were planning on staying at Tyrne.... I guess I got used to having traveling buddies. If I have to go to Roden alone I definitely need better gear, I should also do some hunting to raise my level... First I better sell off all my loot. My inventory¡¯s almost full with a lot of items and dropped gear from monsters. Making up my mind I started searching for a shop willing to barter my stuff for money. I finally found one willing to trade with. It was a small shop attended by a short fat woman. ¡°So, what do you have for me, traveler?¡± Uwah, classic shopkeeper NPC line..... ¡°I have some that dropped from some monsters on my journey, there¡¯s also some usable gear here.¡± ¡°Yes, I see.¡± she said while examining my items ¡°I¡¯ll give you 1 gold and 20 silver for them all.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine¡± That¡¯s a fair price I guess ¡°But are you sure you want to sell these?¡± The shopkeeper pointed at the fangs and fur i got from the Raiju drops. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Well you travelers are always looking tom improve equipment. These are from raiju right? They¡¯re pretty rare materials you know, that¡¯s why I¡¯m asking if you¡¯re sure.¡± That¡¯s right! I don¡¯t always have to buy new gear. I could just have make equipment from my own materials. Thinking about what the shopkeeper said I decided to keep them. ¡°Then I¡¯ll hang on to them¡± ¡°Too bad, so without the raiju items I¡¯ll give you 60 silver okay? These were the most valuable after all.¡± ¡°Alright I guess¡± hmm the materials alone are worth a lot, maybe I could get some decent gear. ¡°By the way ma¡¯am, do you know a good tailor in town¡± i ask ¡°Best one I know is, Madam Rose¡¯s tailor just on the main street.¡± She answered while handing me the silver coins ¡°Alright, thank you ma¡¯am¡± I bowed and left the shop I went to the main street and found that it was really crowded there. Looking around I find the tailor and stepped inside. ¡°Welcome to Rose¡¯s! How may i help you?¡± I was instantly greeted by a woman¡¯s voice. I looked at the source and there I saw a beautiful woman with long blond hair and green eyes matching the dress she was wearing. The dress was a really fine piece of art which complemented her curves, with long sleeves and puffy skirt. ¡°Um, uh, I¡¯m looking for Rose....¡± ¡°Yes I¡¯m Rose. It says so on the sign right?¡± she said while giggling ¡°Ah, could you make something from this?¡± I get to the point and showed her the raiju fur before I humiliated myself ¡®Let me take a look at that. Hmm, raiju fur right? Looks like there''s enough for a thick coat. It¡¯ll probably cost 35 silver, Is that okay?¡± she asked me while smiling ¡°That¡¯s fine¡± ¡°Alright let me take your measurements for a while... It¡¯ll probably take a few hours to finish... are you going to wait?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± After taking my measurements Rose went to the back and started working. Having nothing to do I just sat on a chair while looking at the pieces on display. While looking around I felt myself nodding off and fell asleep. ¡°.....Sir, the coat¡¯s done¡± I felt someone shaking me gently ¡°Ah, I¡¯m sorry Ms. Rose!¡± I quickly got up and wiped my face ¡°Huhu, it¡¯s fine, it¡¯s fine. Here try the coat on.¡± She said while handing it to me I checked the coat and looked at the description
Raiju Fur Coat (Rare) Made from the fur of Raiju, creatures that have lightning powers and are rarely spotted Defense: 30 Lightning damage +5% ; Lightning resistance +10%
I couldn¡¯t be happier! Not only is the defense decent it¡¯s other effects suit me perfectly! Trying it on I wore the coat over my basic leather armor. I looked in the mirror and saw that it was a really good looking piece of gear. It was mostly black with some dark blue stripes that resembled lightning bolts. It also had a collar that reached my neck and also had a hood attached. It felt smooth as I tried feeling the texture. Pleased with my new piece, I nodded. ¡°It¡¯s perfect! Thank you Ms. Rose.¡± Rose smiled as she told me to come again as I left the tailor. Outside it was already nighttime. I should get to an inn fast, finally I¡¯ll be able to sleep on a proper bed. =================================================================================== Hime had just returned to a tavern in Roden with Amy. They¡¯d spent the last weeks staying there while hunting and doing some random quests. They ordered some food and drinks and sat down at table in the corner of the room. ¡°Looks like it¡¯s another easy day huh, Hime? ¡°Don¡¯t get careless Amy... one slip up and we could die.¡± ¡°I know that, that¡¯s why we¡¯ve just kept doing easy quests and running from strong monsters.¡± ¡°you can¡¯t be too careful.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah¡± Amy muttered as she began eating ¡°By the way, you think we should move someplace else again?¡± Hime thought about the suggestion for a while. They had stayed in Tyrne for the first two months doing nothing before finally deciding to do their best. For a month Hime and Amy started doing some quests and hunting monsters. As Hime could use her bow and Amy knew healing magic they could level up safely and ran from anything dangerous After this they decided to move to Roden which was the biggest city in the east. So they could try their best in surviving the dangerous new world. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t ignore me Himee...¡± Amy complained when her friend didn¡¯t answer ¡°Ah sorry I was thinking a bit..¡± ¡°So? You think we should leave?¡± ¡°No...No, I think we should wait around here longer.¡± ¡°Sure, i guess that¡¯s fine too¡± Amy watched her friend that was quiet.
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Characters + Setting + Suggestions
Chapter 5: Encounter with PK Chaper 5: Encounter with PK ================================================================================== There I was fighting skeletons and ghouls in the depths of an ancient tomb dungeon near Rygar. Every monster was much stronger than monsters that I had already fought. After bashing the skull of the skeleton I was fighting I saw an ice spike spell heading towards me. Too late for me to dodge, i raised my left hand and focused mana into it. A small bolt of lightning left my hand hitting the ice spike head on. It wasn¡¯t enough to crush it but the impact had caused the spell to miss me. Searching for the source of the spell I immediately noticed a skeleton nearly 2.5 meters tall. It had a tattered black robe with black plate gauntlets and greaves. Even though it wore a hood it¡¯s bright red eyes could still be seen giving it a menacing appearance. ¡°There he is! Rahgut, the Lich Sorcerer!¡± someone shouts behind me ¡°Alright, mages and archers focus on the boss! DPS finish off the mobs first while tanks aggro the Lich!¡± Following the instruction of the raid leader we started to move into formation. The ranged attackers were behind the tanks casting and shooting at the lich sorcerer while the tanks blocked its blows from swinging its staff and dodging spells. As part of the DPS group I focused on a group of undead that just risen from stone sarcophagus-like things on the wall. Facing 3 undead I immediately charged lightning to my feet and left and dashed to the nearest one. Forming electric claws from my left hand a thrust them into its chest before using lightning blade to stab it in the opening of it¡¯s rusty helmet. As I turned one of them was already swinging a hammer down on me as I quickly parried the blow while grabbing the hammers long handle and kicking the undead effectively disarming it while sending it backwards. Suddenly alarms start ringing in my head as I tilted my head to the right. Looks like the last one snuck up to me and slashed at my face, fortunately because I noticed it the attack only left a shallow cut on my left cheek. Focusing on the last one I saw that its chest wasn¡¯t wearing any thick steel armor like the other ones. Realizing this I just moved backwards forming daggers of lightning and threw them at the undead making them stick to its unprotected chest. After 3 times, it collapsed on the floor as I slashed it¡¯s neck to make sure it was dead. ¡°Yosh, the mobs are down! DPS hold the Lich for a while! Tanks fall back for healing!¡± I quickly ran up the boss and relieved a warrior with iron armor and huge shield. As I got into position the boss noticed me and suddenly swung it¡¯s bone staff at me causing me to block with sword. Seeing its legs unguarded I ducked down I did a low sweep kick which connected. I expected the Lich to fall down but it turned out it could float as it was hovering a few feet away from me. ¡°Damn it, don¡¯t let it escape the formation!¡± Hearing this the DPS group surrounded the boss followed shortly by the tanks. Looks like the healing¡¯s finished... I thought of falling back but I could still go on so I stood there facing the boss. Now we had it completely surrounded with 3 full armor warriors, 4 DPS including me, while 2 mages and 2 archers were behind the melee group. Looks like the boss is nearly defeated now. ¡°It¡¯s on it¡¯s last legs , don¡¯t get careless!!!¡± the raid leader shouted With us slowly chipping away it¡¯s health from all sides the Lich boss was unable to block all the attacks aiming for it. Finally while it turned it¡¯s back on me I lunged at its back stabbing my sword and channeling lightning to it. The lich let out cracking sound at it¡¯s skull as it¡¯s red eye glow faded away. ¡°Alright, great job Haru! Did you get any drops from it?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t¡± ¡°Well, don¡¯t worry. Now we can check the inner tomb, there¡¯s sure to be a lot of treasure there! As you killed it you can take an item first, kay?¡± I nodded as I followed the group into the deepest part of the dungeon. There we saw various treasures that was sealed with the Lich here. As I looked around nothing really interested me as most of the items were only useful for mages such as staffs, robes, tomes. Looking around I spotted a piece of black leather armor in a pile in the corner of the room and picked it up.
Ancient Rygarian Leather Armor (Rare) A black piece of leather armor mad by an ancient craftsman. It has been enchanted with magic by Rahgut, the Sage Lord of Rygar centuries ago Defense: 68 Strength +5 ; Agility +10 Darkness Resistance +10%
Deciding this was the most useful for me I then equipped it replacing my old leather armor. It¡¯s black color matched my raiju coat making my outfit mostly black in color which suited my black hair. After picking up the items and splitting them up evenly the group started to return to Rygar. ================================================================================= ¡°You sure you don¡¯t want to stay with us, Haruki?¡± ¡°Sorry, I¡¯ll be leaving for Tyrne soon...¡± ¡°Ahh, it can¡¯t be helped...Here I thought we got a good addition to the team. Well, anyway good luck out there okay?¡± the man left as one by one the raid party split up leaving me standing in the plaza. Lets see, I guess I¡¯ll sell off the loot first and return to the inn. This is the fourth day after arriving at Rygar. One the first day I decided to increase my level and found out you could join raids to challenge harder dungeons and it was easier than going solo. For four days I already joined a lot of groups but in the end it was only temporary. I couldn¡¯t even remember a single name from the parties I¡¯ve joined...... While walking to the shop to sell my stuff I decided to check my progress and opened the status menu.
Status
[quart=Name,level]Haruki,36[/quart][quart=Health,Mana]3090,3170[/quart][quart=Strength,Dexterity]103,92[/quart][quart=Vitality,Agility]89,127[/quart][quart=Endurance,Intelligence]77,56[/quart][quart=Luck,Wisdom]15,81[/quart]
Title
Goblin Crusher
Sword Mastery (Intermediate) lv.6 Skill that increases the effectiveness of swords 12%+ attack damage, attack speed
Lightning Affinity (Intermediate) lv.5 Increase effectiveness of lightning based attacks, also grants resistance 50% lightning damage, 55% lightning resistance
Athletics (Intermediate) lv.4 Increases player movements. Includes running, jumping, parkour, acrobatics and other body movements 7% increase in agility, better body movement coordination
Lightning blade (Intermediate) lv. 1 Imbues swords with lightning made from your mana Lightning damage(medium), chance to stun enemy(medium) Cost: 60 mana/sec
Lightning discharge (intermediate) lv. 2 Able to produce lightning from various body parts according to players will. Direct contact will also affect user. Mana cost depending on shape and size
Lightning Bolt (Beginner) lv. 4 A spell all mages focusing on the element of lightning use. It is releases a bolt of lightning that targets what the user aims for with high speed and precision Lightning damage (medium), knock back (very small) Cost: 150 mana
Lightning Movement (Passive) Applying lightning elements to your body you can now move faster and have faster reaction to attacks. +10% movement speed; +100% movement speed when used with lightning discharge
Bond of Love (Passive) Skill that is most useful when together with your most beloved Your desire to protect your lover has given you increases in stat gain rate and skill leveling 20% increase in stats and skill power while fighting beside your lover 10% stat increase rate, faster skill leveling This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
Looks like my growth is rather fast compared to the average player. I guess it¡¯s because I keep training my body and grinding in high level dungeons. All my skills have improved too, I even got a spell to use that was really handy to have. The problem is my skills mana consumption keep rising forcing me to keep investing in wisdom. I also put some stats into intelligence to boost the lightning damage... Arriving at the shop I was greeted by the same short lady i met on my first day here. ¡°Back again, eh? You have more items to sell?¡± ¡°Yes, I want to sell these....¡± I show her some rusty weapons and armor dropped by the tomb dungeon monsters, some shiny stones, and a few tomes and accessories from the inner tomb ¡°Quite the catch today... Let me take a closer look¡± she took each item and checked each one. ¡°12 gold for everything.¡± She offered while looking at me I nodded and received the gold. With the money I made these past few days I was rather rich by now. Deciding it was time to buy a ¡®heal¡¯ spell tome I went to the book shop on the main street. ¡°Welcome, what are you looking for, young man?¡± an elderly man greeted me. ¡°Do you have any ¡®heal¡¯ tomes?¡± ¡°We have a few, the most basic one is 1 gold and 50 silver but it can¡¯t grow to be as effective compared to ones used by holy mages.... We also have one that¡¯s as effective as that but it¡¯s 50 gold.¡± EXPENSIVE!!! ¡°I¡¯ll take the basic one¡± I said while handing over the money It won¡¯t be as useful, but at least it could be used as first aid... After receiving the tome and leaving I opened my inventory and used it.
Basic Heal (Beginner) lv. 1 A basic spell for healing. Can be easily used by anyone without specializing in holy magic Heals 5 HP/sec ; slowly heals various injuries Cost: 10 mana/sec
He wasn¡¯t kidding when he said most ¡®basic¡¯... Well it¡¯s better than nothing. Closing the window I started walking back to the inn. ================================================================================= The sun was setting as the sky was dyed blood red. On the road to the north of Rygar a group of players were close to their destination as they spotted the city walls in the distance. The group had 4 people that had been together for nearly 2 weeks now completing a quest at mountain north of Rygar. They had explored a hidden mountain temple and was now heading back. In the group there was the leader, a young man with brown hair and handsome looks with steel armor and a greatsword, a blonde haired boy that looked 17 years old carrying a crossbow, and a red haired woman with leather armor and 2 daggers. The 3 of them were walking side by side while chatting about pointless things . It was clear that the 3 knew each other in real life. Behind them was a woman wearing red black robes with the hood covering her face. ¡°Hey ,Sylva! why don¡¯t you talk with us?¡± the leader slowed down and walked beside the the hooded girl. He tried putting his arm around her shoulder only for it to be brushed off. If one would look carefully her face was filled with disgust as the man started getting closer to her. The girl named Sylva could see that the man enjoyed toying with women using false praise and affection. ¡°Oh, you don¡¯t have to be shy.¡± The man grinned shamelessly ¡°¡±Come on, Mark! Don¡¯t pay any attention to her! She¡¯s too stuck up to even talk to us!¡± The Woman in leather shot a glare at Sylva ¡°Now, now Rachel... we¡¯re all friends here right?¡± Mark says while putting his hand on her back ¡°As if! We¡¯re just a temporary party! She shouldn¡¯t even be with the three of us!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be like that, Rachel.¡± The young blond boy said ¡°You¡¯re on her side too, Sam!?¡± Rachel yelled ¡°She didn¡¯t even try talking to us for 2 weeks!¡± ¡°Well you really weren¡¯t helping by glaring at her every time Mark talked to her. You too, Mark. Would you please stop hitting anyone you meet....¡± Sam said ¡°It¡¯s not my fault she thinks she¡¯s too good to talk to us!¡± Rachel replied loudly ¡°Hey you, we¡¯re talking about you here and you still don¡¯t say anything! Fine! I can¡¯t wait to ditch you after we get to the city!!¡± Sylva just kept her silence as she looked straight ahead. She joined the party because she couldn¡¯t possibly finish the quest alone. Having no choice but to look for teammates she ended up with these three. At first she thought they were normal nice people as they were friendly towards each other. Turns out Mark was a womanizer while Rachel had a short temper and lashed out at anyone besides the other two. Sam was most decent from the 3 of them but he would usually just ignore Sylva. Starting to talk themselves again. Sylva was following them behind alone again. She¡¯d been trapped for nearly 5 months now without any news or information about the hacking. She and everyone else don¡¯t even know if they could return the real world again. She thought about her family out there and started to feel depressed. She worried about her mother and little brother...... Because of this death game their family were torn apart with her unable to meet them. While she was deep in thought she notice the other three had stopped. Looks like there were 3 men in red steel armor with helmets cover their face blocking their way. ¡°Who are you guys?¡± Sam questioned them Without answering they just silently unsheathed their weapons and walked toward the group of 4. ¡°Shit, they¡¯re PKs¡± Mark said readying his weapon Sam, Rachel, and Sylva all took their battle stances. Sam moved back as Rachel and Mark took the front lines. The 3 red warriors still silent just started attack slashing and bashing their weapons while the two of them took the attacks while being pushed back. Sam had started shooting at the red warriors but the bolts didn¡¯t do much damage to them. Sylva also cast fire and ice spells but the one of them blocked the spells with a shield somehow absorbing them. Realizing they were at a disadvantage the 4 of them were starting to be pushed back. Even though their attacks hit them they didn¡¯t look hurt at all and their HP hardly dropped. Not giving up Sylva kept showering them with spells. Though most were absorbed by the shield one of them had some had hit the targets and did some damage. Because of this the red warrior in the middle used his huge battleaxe to break through the front lines. He swung his axe from the side aiming at Sam! Sam was just behind Mark and Rachel pelting them with bolts when the warrior broke through. Surprised by the sudden attack and having no means to defend himself Sam couldn¡¯t even react and was cut in half... ¡°SAM!!¡± Mark yelled out ¡°Mark! We can¡¯t stay here! We have to run away, now!!¡± Rachel screamed ¡°Bu- but Sam....¡± ¡°LETS GO!!!¡± Rachel grabbed Mark¡¯s hand and ran to the woods Moments later they couldn¡¯t be spotted anymore. It seems Rachel used her ¡®hide ¡® skill on both of them ¡°Tsk....¡± the red axe warrior clicked his tongue The 3 red warriors then turned to Sylva who was standing alone shocked by Sam¡¯s death and abandoned by her party members. ¡°HAHAHA, look at this girl!! She¡¯s frozen stiff after being ditched by her friends!!¡± one of them mocked her Sylva couldn¡¯t move an inch. She was scared..... she just saw someone die in front of her eyes, killed by people who were laughing at her. She panicked and started casting spells wildly at them but they were all blocked as she ran out of mana. ¡°Heh, you finished already? Why don¡¯t you just stay still and accept your luck woman!¡± The red axe warrior sneered Is this it? Sylva thought to herself.... Was this how she was going to die? As prey for people that could even kill for fun? Filled with despair Sylva just lowered her head while thinking about the family she couldn¡¯t meet. ¡°Oooh, finally give up huh? Now let¡¯s get this over with!¡± The man lifted his axe high above his head, as Sylva braced herself for her death... *ZAAAAAP* Sylva looked up when she heard the sudden noise. What she saw was a blue bolt of lightning that crashed into the man¡¯s helmet pushing him back a few meters. The three of the focused on the source of the attack and readied their weapons again. Sylva not knowing what happened also turned around and spotted a person standing 10 meters behind her. The person was a bit taller than Sylva and from the shape of the body was most likely a man. He was wearing black leather armor and a black coat with some dark blue lightning shaped patterns. He had his left arm stretched at the 3 red warriors while his right hand was holding a sword similar to a katana. When she looked at his face she found that he was also wearing a hood covering his face. ¡°THE FUCK YOU THINK YOU¡¯RE DOING!!!!¡± the man that was hit bellowed Without a word, the black coated man walked toward them until he stood in front of Sylva and pointed his sword at them...............
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Chapter 6: A New Companion Chapter 6: A New Companion ================================================================================ It should be an amazing coincidence to be walking down the road and spotting people fighting to the death resulting in someone killed then suddenly finding yourself fighting against killers. It sure doesn¡¯t happen often in the real world...... But there I was just walking back to the city when a fight broke out near the city walls. Of course I¡¯m not some hero that goes around saving people who I don¡¯t know why they¡¯re even fighting, but I guess it¡¯s too late for that....... What really pissed me off was how after their friend was killed, some of them ran away leaving a friend behind! They just left and treated their own comrade as bait! What¡¯s even worse is the fact that the one left behind was a woman and 3 men ganging up on her wanting to take her life. No matter how unrelated I am I couldn¡¯t just leave her alone. And that¡¯s why I¡¯m currently facing 3 warriors who by the looks of it were pretty strong while pointing my sword at them. ¡°Oii! Say something bastard!!¡± one them roared at me The three of them were now standing a about 15 meters ahead. I was just about to charge in when suddenly the guy in the middle stopped the other two. ¡°No! This ones mine!¡± Ah, it¡¯s the one that got hit by my lightning bolt. I guess he¡¯s looking for some revenge. No matter, if I take out his guy first it should be easier later. I gripped my sword tight I prepared to dash forward leaping striking him first. At least that¡¯s what I intended The guy with the huge axe was already in the air and was about to swing his axe on my head forcing to roll to the right. I can¡¯t believe it! He¡¯s wearing red full body armor swinging that huge axe but he could still move really fast! If it weren¡¯t for my increased reaction time I would¡¯ve been squashed like a bug... Because the attack missed his axe crashed into the ground. Looks like it was stuck there. Using the chance I poured mana into my blade and dashed at him while swinging my sword. CLANG!! He blocked my attack with his left arm making my sword strike the metal armor. The damage it dealt was far less than what I expected. With his right hand he pulled out his axe and readied a stance again as I leapt a few feet back. ¡° The hell? Turns out you¡¯re really weak!¡± my opponent taunted me Damn it! This guys really strong! His level must be way higher than mine. This situation was getting worse by the second... Looks like I have to go all out or I¡¯ll get wiped out here. I took my left hand of the grip of my sword and readied a one handed sword stance. From my now free left hand I used discharge and formed my lightning claws. Launching myself with lightning movement. I slashed at him which he blocked with his axe. Using my claws I thrust into his shoulder shocking him while pushing him back. ¡°Why You!¡± Again he charged at me, this time he was going to swing horizontally aiming at my torso. I jumped high evading the attack and finished with a flying kick forcing one of his legs on its knee. Swiftly standing back up he tried punching while I was still in the air! Blocking with my sword I was sent flying back before landing and sprinting up to him again. This time as I got close ducked under his attack and slash my claws at his left knee. Even though I hit him, he kicked my right on my chest causing me tumble on the ground before picking myself up. Looking furious he charged at me like a mad bull swing his weapon left and right. No longer keeping a cool head his attacks were much easier to read as I dodged the effortlessly. The problem was I still couldn¡¯t penetrate his thick armor! Trading blows while parrying each others attacks the fight dragged on for nearly 5 minutes. Behind me the girl was still standing there watching the fight. Looks like she couldn¡¯t run with the other too still here. Those two didn¡¯t interfere in the fight but I think it¡¯s only a matter of time before the get impatient. I guess I¡¯ll just do something to distract these 3 and quickly escape with the girl. As my opponent swung his weapon I dodged to the side and quickly kicked him as hard as I could pushing him back. After this I immediately retreated a few steps and opened my inventory window. Taking out the highest quality mana potion I had I gulped it down fast replenishing my mana pool fully. Now I have to strike with the strongest blow I could muster. I poured a huge amount of mana into my sword and went back to a two handed grip. With lightning blade activated I also formed another layer of lightning with my discharge skill. It resulted in me holding a sword that looked like a raging thunderstorm. Looks like my foe noticed this change and hesitated to come after. Using the largest amount of mana I¡¯ve ever tried I focused on my legs and flew at him Now I was instantly at his left side as if I had teleported. Before he reacted I slashed his left wrist that was slightly chipped from where he blocked with at the start of the fight. Feeling my blade penetrate the armor it sliced his muscle and bone severing his left hand. As he was on his knees clutching his left arm I executed a perfect spin kick to the side of his head throwing him down on the ground. Quickly sheathing my sword back. I raised both hands and aimed at the the two men that were surprised at their friends loss. With mana pulsing to both hands I unleashed a barrage of lightning. *ZAP*ZAP*ZAP*ZAP*ZAP*ZAP* With 3 lightning bolts hitting the square in the chest they were knocked back quite far and falling on their backs. Running towards the girl behind me I picked her up behind me and used my remaining mana on lightning movement and sprinted in the city¡¯s direction. If it weren¡¯t for the death match I just had I would¡¯ve found this a pretty funny situation with carrying a girl like a sack of potatoes while running as fast as I could.... ================================================================================= Reaching the city gates I relaxed and stopped running and entered the city. Having sprinted a mile using my skill I was exhausted.... ¡°Excuse me, could you let me down?¡± ......Forgot I was carrying her ¡°Ah, sorry¡± I apologized and let her down As I was relieved of her weight I laid down on the ground, ignoring the cold hard stone, gasping for air. After a of minute catching my breath I stood back up and faced the girl that was still there. ¡°So, are you alright?¡± I asked her ¡°Yes, thank you for the help.¡± She said slightly bowing ¡°Don¡¯t mention it, I was just kinda pissed off¡± ¡°Why is that?¡± ¡°Huh? Why? Well, you know...those guys just killing other people like that.¡± Suddenly I realized something ¡°Are you really alright?¡± I asked her again ¡°..... Yes, no injuries.¡± ¡°Not that! I mean.... That is.... your friend dying and you being left alone by your other comrades¡± as I said that I cursed my stupid insensitivity in my mind But the girl just shook her head. ¡°No, they weren¡¯t my friends. Only strangers that I happened to be with¡± ¡°I don¡¯t particularly feel anything about them.¡± She said ¡°Wha- Is, is that so? I see....¡± Thats pretty cold of her.... considering somebody just died. As we both stayed silent the mood was getting awkward. Unable to handle the atmosphere I just said something to break the silence. ¡°Well, anyway I¡¯m about to go to an inn and grab some food. You coming?¡± I expected her to decline, but surprisingly she nodded and followed me. After I arrived at the inn I went over to the counter. Telling the innkeeper my order I ended up ordering the girl the same thing as me cause she just stood by the door silently. Moving to a table furthest from the door she also followed me and sat down. I noticed her taking off her hood after sitting down. The girl had a pale white skin tone and looked delicate as if it were snow. Her face was definitely beautiful but what was most eye catching were her light gray eyes and long straight silver hair which reached just below her shoulders. By her looks I''d guess she was 2 or 3 years older than me. Following her I also let my hood down as it would be rude if I just kept mine on. ¡°Ah, yeah! My name¡¯s Haruki¡± I introduced myself The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°I¡¯m Sylva¡± Sylva is it. It certainly matches her appearance.... ¡°Right. So why were those PKs after you?¡± She hesitated a bit before answering my question ¡°I was returning to Rygar after a quest. It was at a hidden dungeon north of here. They probably found out and tried to take the items I got there¡± Was that the reason? I just couldn¡¯t wrap my mind around what she just said. If that¡¯s true than they did for some game items. I mean, was some item really worth somebody else¡¯s life? Feeling disgust I clenched my fists hard at thinking about those scum. ¡°I see. Well I¡¯m glad you¡¯re alright.¡± ¡°How should I return the favor?¡± she asks me ¡°No, really it¡¯s fine¡± ¡°No, I do not want to be ungrateful to someone that I owe my life to¡± She than opened her inventory and took something out. ¡°At least accept this, I noticed that your weapon was unable to do much damage....¡± That¡¯s true. I was still using the basic katana I bought my starting point. It really was really unsuitable to use at my current level. Sure, I could¡¯ve bought a better sword here in Rygar but every where I looked here they didn¡¯t have any Japanese swords, only western long swords which I wasn¡¯t used to Taking the item from Sylva¡¯s hands I examined the sword.
Sword of ??? (Unique) A katana found in an ancient mountain temple in the east part of the continent. It¡¯s full potential is still unknown. Attack: 70-100 +2% attack speed
It was shaped as a katana so it should be easy for me to use. It¡¯s attack was also more than two times my basic katana, and it seems it could be even more powerful in the future. Unlike my katana it had a pure white sheath and grip that contrasted my black outfit. ¡°Are you sure? This is unique item you know?¡± ¡°Yes, I can¡¯t use it myself and it would be waste to just sell it for gold¡± ¡°Okay, I will accept your token of gratitude then.¡± I lowered my head ¡°I guess from your name and formal tone of speech you¡¯re Japanese, right?¡± Questions about RL huh? I guess there¡¯s no harm telling her ¡°Yes I am. Though not all Japanese use formal speech... This is just how I was raised.¡± I smile as I think about my traditional step parents. ¡°What about you Sylva?¡± ¡°I¡¯m from Finland.¡± I¡¯ve always thought about it but the technology behind this game is amazing. To me Sylva and I are speaking in perfect Japanese and to her we must be talking Finnish. ¡°Haruki, do you plan on going to Roden?¡± ¡°Um, maybe.... I¡¯m going to Tyrne first though. I might continue on to Roden.¡± ¡°Would you mind if I come with you then? I think it would be safer if I travelled with someone else.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really mind. But I¡¯m travelling with 2 others so I¡¯ll tell them later.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t get in your way. I can support you with long range magic in fights. I¡¯m sure I could be useful.¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t doubt that¡± I say ¡°So you¡¯re a mage right? Can I ask you to show me your fighting abilities? It would be better if I knew about them if we¡¯re going to travel together. ¡°I suppose that¡¯s true. Then we¡¯ll go to a training field after finishing our meals. ================================================================================== Done eating our food we headed back outside. As it was already late at night there wasn¡¯t anyone else using the training field so we should be able to use it freely. ¡°Then, I will cast my spells here. My main elements are fire and ice so I can use various spells according to the situation.¡± After a bit of explaining Sylva started to demonstrate her skills. She showed basic fireballs and ice spikes. It seems she can control it¡¯s size and numbers too. Next she cast a fire spell which sprayed fire similar to a flamethrower that formed a firewall if it hit the ground. The wall of fire reached nearly 3 meters as Sylva could adjust the intensity of the fire. It seem s her fire spells include something similar to explosives as something thought was a normal fireball exploded on impact. Showing more of her magic she chanted and waved her staff and a small blizzard appeared all around her. With her staff she could even control the area it effected and wind speeds. Watching her cast her spells while waving her staff as her hair followed her movement it looked as if she were dancing while controlling the flames and ice. Finished with her demonstration she walked up to me. ¡°Those are the spells I currently know, if you could why don¡¯t you show me your magic too Haruki?¡± ¡°Sure, but it can¡¯t really be compared to spells from a player that plays as a real mage¡± ¡°Real mage? Are you not a mage yourself Haruki? And an expert one at that.¡± ¡°What? Why do you say that¡± I¡¯ve never consider myself a mage while playing ¡°Well you seem to control lightning, what¡¯s more you channel it directly from your body.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t everyone do that?¡± I ask ¡°No if you don¡¯t use a staff the magic and use it directly from your body it will also affect the caster as well. It¡¯s said only experts can control magic using their own body¡± That¡¯s right. At the beginning the lightning did shock and damage me as well. Even now with 70% resistance I don¡¯t think I can pull of a large thunderbolt or summon a storm around me. ¡°But why do you need staffs to use magic?¡± ¡°well, according to the games lore the staff have special crystals imbedded which acts as a catalyst. See like the one mine has.¡± She pointed at the tip of her staff. It¡¯s true, there seems to be a somewhat transparent crystal there. ¡°That¡¯s why I say you¡¯re an expert mage. From the info I have so far only those that mastered their focus can control magic without a catalyst, At the games launch they predicted that it would take at least a year in game time for a player to acquire that expertise.¡± That¡¯s actually really surprising as even the developers said that. Doesn¡¯t that make my Lightning affinity skill somewhat cheating? ¡°Actually it¡¯s not that I have complete focus on it.¡± I corrected Sylva As I said that I poured lightning into my left arm making sparks appear around them. ¡°It¡¯s just with a skill of mine my resistance is really high so it barely does damage to myself.¡± I continue to demonstrate and shoot out a lightning bolt from my hand. ¡°See? Compared to your spells mine lack in scale and strength as doing more than this also hurts me. In battles I mainly fight with a sword in close quarters.¡± ¡°I see, so that¡¯s why you only use lightning.....¡± I continue to show Sylva my other skills. With discharge I show her the shapes I can form such as my claws and daggers. I also used lightning blade and lightning movement so she could understand my melee skills. ¡°I guess that¡¯s enough for today.¡± I say while yawning ¡°Alright then let¡¯s return to the inn¡± ¡°Haruki when do we depart for Tyrne?¡± ¡°In two days. We¡¯ll be meeting up with the other two at the east gate in the morning.¡± ¡°Then I suggest for the last two days we hunt together to practice our cooperation. ¡°Sounds good to me.¡± Walking back in silence to the inn, I think about Sylva. it seems she doesn¡¯t show her emotions. Even when a companion died she said she didn¡¯t really feel anything. Worrying about the new addition to the traveling group I found myself already in bed and drifting to sleep.
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Chapter 7: Killing a Dragon Chapter 7: Killing a Dragon ================================================================================== *knock*knock*knock* She¡¯s here... I looked out the window to find the view outside to be still dark. Rubbing my eyes I check the time, it says 4 am in the morning.. Slightly annoyed I walk over to the door opening it to find a silver haired girl already waiting outside. ¡°Good morning, Haruki.¡± Sylva greeted me ¡°.........Morning.¡± well, technically 4 am is morning, but normally you wouldn¡¯t wake up at this hour to go hunting monsters. Sylva came over yesterday too at roughly the same time practically dragging my half asleep self outside.... ¡°Are you ready, Haruki?¡± ¡°I am but.... couldn¡¯t we rest for a couple more hours? We also started real early yesterday.¡± ¡°That would be unwise. We¡¯re leaving Rygar tomorrow and heading east. We still haven¡¯t checked out the monster in that area and if we¡¯ll be able to face them. Using our last day here we should use our time efficiently.¡± ¡°Fine, fine¡± I put on my coat and headed out Seventh day in Rygar. Walking side by side to the east gate we passed a few players that were done with their late night hunting but the streets were still deserted this early in the morning. Reaching the east gate we checked our gear and started heading to the thick woods where a straight road to Tyrne carved through. ¡°Based on what I heard from other players, the monsters east of here are basically the same as any area around Rygar, only that there are dragonlings here. I¡¯m guessing since thats what we¡¯ve never seen we¡¯ll be hunting those¡± I asked ¡°Yes, we¡¯ll test if they¡¯re a dangerous threat or not.¡± Sylva nodded ¡°Right, they should be in the deepest part of the forest¡± I say while entering with Sylva right behind me. After some time walking deeper.... ¡°Haruki! Bears ahead!¡± Sylva warned me In front of us were 2 bears much bigger than any normal bear. It¡¯s fr was jet black and had red eyes that exuded an intense bloodlust. Getting into position I started running towards on while Sylva started chanting. Slashing one of my target¡¯s eye I followed up with a kick causing it to retreat a little. Finishing her chat, Sylva¡¯s staff erupted with flames that hit the other one and formed flame walls around it separating it from the one I¡¯m fighting. Now that we¡¯ve trapped one, I charged again at the half blind bear and jumped on to it¡¯s back stabbing my sword in it and hanging on to it as a handle. Waving her staff, Sylva froze the ground underneath it freezing it¡¯s paws making them unable to budge. Using my other hand, claws formed as I repeatedly stabbed at the black bear¡¯s defenseless back while it struggled to throw me off until It lost its strength and fell down the ground with a huge thud. Jumping of the corpse I Dashed in front of Sylva as the flame walls died out. The now free monster looks at us and charges us with tremendous speed as I also ran towards it. Swing its massive claw at me, I dodged rolling under it while slashing a huge cut of its stomach as 3 fireballs impacted on its face. Now staggering on its hind feet I stabbed its head from under the bears jaw piercing the skull as the tip of my blade exited from the top of the bear¡¯s head killing it instantly. ¡°It seems the dark bears around here are at a slightly higher level.¡± Sylva comments while walking up to me ¡°Yeah, I guess. But still pretty easy to deal with.¡± I say as I sheath my white katana The blade that Sylva gave me was much better than my old one. Besides its high damage properties the sword sharpness makes it easy to cut even monster bones as if it were butter! With Sylva gesturing to move on. We ventured further into the woods clearing out various monsters including other dark bears, giant spiders, and rarely meeting some raiju. ================================================================================== After about 3 hours of fighting and searching for dragonlings we finally arrived at a clearing with a cliff in front of us. ¡°Haruki, look over there.¡± Sylva pointed to my right Where she pointed there was an entrance to a cave nearly, it was about 4 meters high and had a width of 3 meters. Dragonlings usually lived in small caves so we carefully walked over to the mouth of the cave and took a peek inside. It was pitch black and we couldn¡¯t see a thing inside. I was about to step inside when Sylva held my shoulder stopping me. ¡°Wait.¡± She started chanting and cast a small fireball into the cave. I thought it would fly some distance inside but it unexpectedly hit something near the entrance. Suddenly a pair of yellow reptile-like eyes opened and faced us. It eyed us for a couple of seconds before I noticed the eyes position was nearly at the caves ceiling. CRAP!! I quickly pushed Sylva to the left as I rolled to the right. Not even a second later I heard huge sound as if it were a fighter jet engines and a huge column of fire came out of the cave . Looking at each other surprised, we quickly ran a distance away from the cave and was shocked to see what came out. It was a lizard nearly 5 meters high with a single horn at its head near the long neck that attached itself to a massive dark green body. Covered in scales with razor sharp claws on its four feet and a 3 meter tail it was the biggest monster I¡¯ve seen so far.... ¡°Holy- That¡¯s no dragonling! That¡¯s a freaking DRAGON!!!¡± I shout out ¡°No, that¡¯s no dragon. See, it has no wings.¡± Sylva said to me ¡°OH, REALLY!?! I always thought giant fire breathing lizards were called DRAGONS!!!¡± I yelled sarcastically ¡°That¡¯s incorrect. I think it¡¯s an adult dragonling. With time it¡¯ll grow wings and become a full dragon. Anyway calm down, Haruki. Get ready to fight.¡± Well no choice now. I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll let us go after we woke it up..... Pouring mana into my blade I activated lightning movement and ran up to the huge reptile dodging it¡¯s claw and slashing it¡¯s front leg. The sword cut through the tough scales but didn¡¯t do a lot of damage. Backing me up Sylva unleashed a small blizzard at its head pelting it with small ice shards. Distracted and unable to se me I kept slashing and stabbing lighting blade into its leg slowly chipping away its HP. As I kept attacking it as fast as I could the huge dragonling turned to the side sweeping its long tail at me. Unable to counter I got hit hard and was sent flying back near Sylva. Damn, that did a lot of damage... my HP is already at 50%. Standing back up I faced the dragonling again and found Sylve standing in front of me. ¡°Haruki! Behind me!¡± As she said that she raised her staff high and pillars of ice rose from the ground forming a thick ice wall. I was about to ask why but then flames swept past to the sides of the ice wall that was protecting Sylva and me. Looks like the monster used its fire breath again. While hiding behind the walls I took out a health potion and drank it returning my health to 80%. When the fire blast ended the ice wall was already melting fast as I shot forth at the dragonling this time jumping while aiming at its neck. Stabbing the neck I poured mana into my left hand and thrust my arm at the neck forming a fist sized hole that dripped deep red blood. It should have some troubling blasting flames now. Still hanging on my sword that was stabbed into its neck I kicked with both legs dislodging the blade from the dragonling and landing in front of it as it swung its head feeling the pain on its neck. ¡°Haruki , use your bolts at the eyes!¡± Nodding, I sheathed the white katana into its scabbard and raised both arms. Carefully aiming I shot out lightning bolts from the palms of my hands that were like high speed precision bullets hitting both of the eyes simultaneously. Suddenly blinded by the electric shock the dragonling started to thrash uncontrollably swinging the tail and claws wildly. Unable to get close I retreated back to Sylva¡¯s side and saw her already chanting. Focusing a huge amount of mana to the staff I noticed dozens of ice pikes forming in the air around her. Finishing the cast she thrust her staff forwards and all at once the ice spikes flew at the monster thrashing about and stabbed it repeatedly as it let out a deafening roar. Out of breath Sylva started panting as she used up all her mana. Nodding at me signaling she was fine I wielded my sword again and ran up to the dragonling that was covered in ice spikes. Realizing it was already on its last legs I used all my remaining mana and activated lightning blade and started attacking the weakened dragonling. First I slashed into the tail that couldn¡¯t withstand the sharpness of the blade covered in lightning causing to get cut off and tumbling to the ground. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Continuing my flurry I quickly sliced of one of the still standing dragonling¡¯s back legs . Again without meeting much resistance the blade cleanly sliced of the limb spraying the deep red blood all over the ground. Falling to the side the dragonling was now helpless as it tried to stand back up. Realizing my mana gauge was nearly empty I rushed to the head and slashed at where the head and neck were connected. With the head chopped off, the body finally stopped struggling and fell limp. Relieved the battle was over I noticed two windows popping out in front of me
You have killed the adult dragonling that had nested near the town of Rygar. As this monster is a special bounty bring proof of the kill to the lord of Rygar to receive a reward
You have killed a monster from the dragon species for the first time. For killing a dragonling that was nearly a grown dragon you have revieved a new title -Rookie Dragon Hunter All stats +5 ; increased damage to all reptiles
================================================================================== ¡°You okay?¡± I ask Sylva offering my hand ¡°I¡¯m fine¡± she said as she grabbed my hand After standing up she looked around. ¡°Haruki, let¡¯s check the cave.¡± ¡°You sure it¡¯s safe?¡± I questioned her ¡°There shouldn¡¯t be even small dragonlings inside. According to the game bestiary dragonlings are cannibals.¡± ¡°Well...That¡¯s reassuring i guess.¡± Walking past the dragonling corpse we entered the pitch black cave. Sylva created a small fireball and spun it around her staff as she use it as a torch. Heading inside the cave it turned out it wasn¡¯t really deep as we stepped in the end of it. It was a bigger part than the pathway with tons of monster bones littering the floor. Looks like this was the dragonling¡¯s nest. Trying to find something we spotted some shiny stuff at the back of the nest. Heading over there we found some precious rocks, a few coins of gold , and a white shafted spear with a black metal head. I picked up the spear and checked its description.
Ascalon (Very Rare) A spear that was crafted by a legendary weaponsmith. It is said to be able to pierce the metal scales and iron hearts of dragons. Attack: 120-150 Large bonus damage against dragons
I looked at the spear somewhat disappointed. This isn¡¯t really useful to me.... ¡°You want this?¡± I offered Sylva ¡°No, I don¡¯t know how to use spears. I¡¯ll take the reward from Rygar¡¯s lord instead.¡± Aaah, I guess I have no choice. I don¡¯t really have skills using spears as I practiced kendo.... I guess i¡¯ll just add spear fighting to my daily training.... Exiting the cave we harvested the dragonling materials and headed back to Rygar. ================================================================================== In the city¡¯s keep we were waiting outside the lords chamber before someone let us enter. In the room was a tall muscular man with tan skin sitting in front of a desk covered in documents. He looked up and called us forward. ¡°You killed the dragonling at the cliffs?¡± ¡°Yes, sir¡± I answered Without saying a word he took out a large sack of gold and a ring and put it in front of us. Examining the ring I was shocked to see its description.
Ring of Mana control (Rare) A gold ring without any stones in it. Enchanted by a master sage from the central continent. Mana cost reduction 10%
It decreases mana cost! That¡¯s a really hard to find enchantment even though the item was only rare quality. Before I could even pick it up, Sylva already took it and put in on her right ring finger..... Well, that was the deal........... Inside the sack was 120 pieces of gold which we split up equally. Pointing at the door the lord returned to reading and signing the documents in front of him. Getting kicked out we visited some shops buying potions, food, and repaired our equipment for tomorrows journey. Heading back to the inn I found 2 familiar faces already waiting inside. ¡°Hey Haruki! Been busy eh?¡± ¡°Just the usual, Riley.¡± I answered the thick bearded man in front of me ¡°Hmmm, I heard about two people in black outfits that managed to kill a dragon east of here. That was you right?¡± ¡°Huh? Yeah, I just got back with Sylva... How do you know already?¡± ¡°Sylva? Oh right, your new pal! This is her right?¡± he gestured at the girl behind me ¡°I¡¯m Riley, we¡¯ll be together until Tyrne for a short while.¡± Offering his hand ¡°I¡¯m Sylva¡± she replied and shook his hand ¡°Ah, wait a minute. Beth! Come here for a minute.¡± Hearing Riley calling her the small girl walked up to us. ¡°This is my niece, Beth. She¡¯ll also be travelling with us.¡± Riley introduced her ¡°Hello, my name is Sylva¡± she offered her hand while still putting on a straight face ¡°Ah... I¡¯m Beth. Nice to meet you....¡± Beth quietly answered and shook her hand ¡°Hey! How do you know about the dragon!?¡± I asked Riley ¡°Huh? Well the guard NPCs were talking all about it... You¡¯re famous now!¡± What!? Good thing we¡¯re leaving tomorrow. I¡¯d hate all the attention.... ¡°It wasn¡¯t a dragon.¡± Sylva chimed in ¡°Yeah, yeah. Let¡¯s just rest for now. We¡¯re leaving early right?¡± ¡°Yup, We¡¯ll be at the east gate in the morning.¡± Waving his hand he walked outside as Beth followed him. ¡°Well, let¡¯s eat and then sleep for a while.¡± Sylva nodded as we head to the counter. =================================================================================== The next morning we woke up a bit early and had breakfast downstairs. After checking our inventory we set out on the east road and walked to the gates. ¡°Haruki, Riley said they¡¯ll be together until Tyrne. Does that mean they¡¯re not going to Roden?¡± ¡°No, they¡¯ll be staying at Tyrne. As for me I¡¯ll probably be there for a few days.¡± ¡°Why are you going to Tyrne?¡± she asked, I haven¡¯t told her about Hime yot huh? ¡°I¡¯m looking for someone.¡± ¡°So you¡¯ll be going to Roden if the person¡¯s not at Tyrne. If you find who you¡¯re looking for at Tyrne are you still going to Roden?¡± ¡°Probably, if it¡¯s the biggest city in the east it should be better to go there. So bear with me and stay at Tyrne for a few days okay? We¡¯ll continue to Roden together after that.¡± Nodding she looked forward again. Near the gates we noticed a crowd of players in front of the gate. What¡¯s going on there? Walking up to the middle of the crowd I saw a man covered in blood being healed by some players. ¡°Riley!¡± I quickly ran up to him ¡°Ha... Haru, yo- you have to help....¡± ¡°What is it!?¡± I joined in with the other players and started casting basic heal on him ¡°Beth, It¡¯s Beth.¡± ¡°Beth where is she?!¡± I looked around trying to find the small girl ¡°Haah, haaah, He took her after beating me..... Please! Please, bring here back!¡± ¡°I understand Riley... Who was it and where is he?¡± I got up ¡°He... He just went outside of here... It was a guy, with red steel armor....¡±
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Chapter 8: Failure Chapter 8: Failure =================================================================================== ¡°......I¡¯ll take care of it.¡± Heading towards the I gate and stepped out, If he just left he won¡¯t be far... ¡° Wait, Haruki! You can¡¯t go alone!¡± Without turning around a directed mana into my legs and ran leaving Sylva behind. I can¡¯t waste any more time Red armor... It¡¯s gotta be those PKs,.... Dashing down the eastern road I darted past any monsters that were on the road. Shit where is he? Don¡¯t tell me he went to a dungeon! The only town this roads leads to is Tyrne.... He has to be heading there. Sprinting even faster I pour even more mana to my lower body. My skin starts to feel the shock as if thousands of needles prickled me. Ignoring my the pain I keep pressing on hoping I don¡¯t lose him. Come on! Come on! I ran for a ten minutes and finally spotted him. Beth was unconscious as the PK ran while carrying her under his arm. As I found him, he looked at me and ran faster! Tsk, he noticed me.... Raising my arm I shot a lightning bolt aimed at his back but he blocked with a shield. It¡¯s one of the ones that attacked Sylva a few days ago! He¡¯s got a shield that absorbs magic! Having no choice left I jumped at him while discharging mana tackling him to the ground. ¡°Shit!¡± As he fell down Beth was also released Rising up, he struck his elbow at my face freeing him from my grip. He distanced himself for a bit and turned facing me. ¡°What the hell! It¡¯s you again!¡± he yelled at me drawing his long sword. I rushed back to Beth at made sure she was okay. Good looks like she¡¯s still breathing. Relieved I turned my attention back at the PK. ¡°............What do you want with Beth?¡± I said in a low voice ¡°Heh, why should I tell you?¡± he said while raising his shield ¡°Though I guess you¡¯ll be dying soon so I¡¯ll tell you before I kill you.¡± Not waiting for his explanation I fired of a surprise lightning bolt. ¡°Hehe, impatient are we¡± he blocked with shield again while mocking me ¡°You see, we just wanna borrow the kid.¡± ¡°.....Borrow?¡± ¡°Come on! I know the kid¡¯s got high level healing magic.¡± ¡°Why the hell do you need to do that!¡± I rushed and slashed my sword as he blocked with his. ¡°Hey it¡¯s your fault y¡¯know? Cutting off the bosses hand pissed him off big time. Told me to grab a good healer! After all you can¡¯t kill if you¡¯re injured.¡± He grinned Pushing me back with a shield bash he thrust his blade cutting my left arm. Seeing another shield bash coming at me I backed off. With lightning blade I tried swinging at him again but he blocked the strike with his shield. Hitting the shield the lightning around the sword disappeared instantly. ¡°HAHAHA! Bad luck fighting me boy. Yours magic isn¡¯t worth jack against me!¡± Confident with his victory he started attacking me relentlessly as I could only block desperately trying to find a chance to counter. As he used his shield to block my attack he thrust his sword again this time hitting my left hand making its grip on the hilt of my blade loosen. Holding my white katana using the right only I started healing the wound on my left with magic slowly closing it up. Parrying with one hand only the weight of his attacks felt much heavier as I kept waiting for my left hand to heal. Noticing my weakness, he started to attack even more viciously causing my to flinch as I started to lose strength. In my arms. As I saw him swing again a ducked dodging the sword and tackled his shield ramming him. He was to swing another blow at my side when I caught his wrist with my injured left hand and kicked him at the knees. Slightly unbalanced he raised his shield not leaving an opening to strike at. While waiting for him to get up my left hand had closed up the wound and now I could use both hands again. This time we traded blows as I parried his sword while barely dodging his shield bashes. In other games this guy would be classified as a tank... With his high defense and shield he could block my attacks while his attacks were slowly whittling down my HP. The battle dragged on for 12 minutes before I moved back again. We were both breathing heavily as our stamina was close to running out. ¡°Haah, haah... You¡¯re starting to irritate me.¡± He says glaring at me ¡°Why don¡¯t you just leave then!¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you just let me gut you like a pig then.¡± He smiled with a disgusting expression Catching his breath he charged at me trying to crash his shield at me. I immediately step to the side as he missed while I slashed at his back cracking his red armor. He quickly turned around facing me and started a string of attacks, his stamina was starting to run out because of his heavy gear as I felt each blow getting weaker and weaker. ¡°Haruki....¡± I hear a voice behind me ¡°Beth! Get out of here!!¡± I yelled at Beth that had woke up Hearing me yell Beth nodded and started to move in the direction of Rygar ¡°Damn it....¡± I slashed down hard as he blocked with his sword. I had let down my guard as he seemed out of stamina causing his shield to strike my hands flinging my sword away. Following this he stabbed my thigh making me crash down to the ground as he punched me. ¡°If I can¡¯t take her guess I¡¯ll just kill her....¡± Hearing him say those words my face lost its color. ¡°STOOOOOP!!!¡± I yelled as the man chased Beth that was still nearby At that moment, time seemed to slow down.... I watched as he caught up to Beth and grabbed her arm. Beth started to struggle as hard as she could, trying to free herself from his grip. Beth looked at me with fear in her eyes, she called out my name but I couldn¡¯t hear her words. Everything had gone silent. I tried standing but fell down again dragged by gravity back to ground... Then it happened. He had thrust his blade into Beth¡¯s chest. I saw her fall on her knees with tears in her eyes as she kept looking into mine. As she died her body started to glow and slowly faded away... ¡°......¡± I tried to form words but nothing came out I clenched my fists with my fingernails digging into my flesh as blood dripped down from the palm of my hands. An unbearable weight. That was what I felt in my chest as I saw her body finally disappearing. ¡°Tsk... gotta find another one now.¡± I stayed silent as he walked closer to me again raising his sword. ¡°Oioi, don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re scared now!!¡± he grinned ¡°Hmm? After taking a look at you I think I¡¯ve seen you before...Yeah you¡¯re the little shit Tyler beat up a month and a half ago.¡± ¡°.....¡± ¡°Yeah, you were the brat asking around everyone about some girl named Hime! Well don¡¯t worry brat after I kill you I¡¯ll find her and send her to you, heheheh!¡± Those words woke me up from my silence. The weight in my chest slowly disappeared , in its place a new feeling formed in me Hate.... I hated this man who killed Beth, I hate his comrades who don¡¯t value peoples lives, I hate this death game that keeps taking from me I want him to suffer.... I loathed him deeply from deep in my heart. Without a word I took out Ascalon and poured mana into it. I unleashed all the mana I have as electric sparks covered my whole body. What came out from my body weren¡¯t blue sparks but but deep red bolts coiling around the spear as it spread to both arms and legs. The red lightning burned my flesh as I stood still ignoring the pain.
You have unlocked a new potential of your magic. Skills effected by this new potential will be updated.
Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.Skill updated Lightning discharge (Intermediate) lv. 5 Able to produce lightning from various body parts according to players will. Direct contact will also affect user. With strong will, the emotions of the user will now affect the nature of the lightning created Mana cost depending on shape and size
In an instant I was already in front of him as I pushed the spear at his shield. It pierced into it splitting it in half and piercing his shoulder. With my left hand I formed a lightning bolt which I gripped and stabbed intp his arm which made him drop his sword. With my right l foot I swept his legs sending him on his back. ¡°Guuuh, you, you piece of shit¡± he growled ¡°When we meet again I will fucking kill you!!!¡± ¡°..........No, we won¡¯t meet again.¡± I speak without showing emotion I pulled Ascalon back at stabbed again this time at his stomach. ¡°GWAAAAAAAAAHH!!!!!!!!¡± he roared out in pain Not showing any mercy I stabbed again and again and again. He doesn¡¯t deserve to live....but he also doesn¡¯t deserve a swift death.... I stomped on his wounds causing blood to spurt out soaking my boots in its color. Satisfied with his suffering and pain I ended it and finally thrust the spear into his head piercing his helmet and skull. ¡°.....¡± I was silent as I watch his bloody corpse disappear and finally looked up ¡°......¡± Sylva was standing in front of me as we looked at each other without uttering a single word. ¡°The girl?¡± She asked breaking the silence I closed my eyes shut and slowly shook my head. ¡°.....I see.¡± Without saying anything I picked up my sword sheathing it and started walking back to Rygar. ¡°Haruki....where are you going?¡± she asked with worry in her voice ¡°I have to tell Riley.¡± ¡°No! I¡¯ll do it Haruki!¡± Ignoring her words a kept walking as she followed me back ================================================================================== As I reached the gates I saw Riley waiting with bruises covering him. ¡°Haru! You¡¯re back!! Thank God!!!¡± he ran up to me ¡°......¡± Riley looked behind me but only saw Sylva, he kept looking around before facing me again. ¡°Haru? Where is Beth?¡± he asked me quietly. ¡°.........I¡¯m sorry.¡± I shook my head ¡°What do you mean sorry?!¡± ¡°i failed Riley. She died....¡± Suddenly I felt pain at my jaw as I was knocked down. Seeing me hit by Riley, Sylva tried to stop him but I held her back. ¡°Haru... I trusted you....¡± he picked me up by the collar He punched me again and threw me down agin. ¡°Stop it!! Haruki tried his best, at least he did something!!! You were just-¡° ¡°SYLVA, DON¡±T!!¡± Riley looked at me with deep sadness clouding his eyes. ¡°I KNOW! BETH WAS MY RESPONSIBILITY AND I WAS THE ONE WHO COULDN¡¯T DO ANYTHING!!! I ALREADY KNOW THAT!¡± Riley yelled out with red eyes ¡°Riley.....¡± ¡°I apologize Haruki. Please, just leave me.¡± ¡°But.....¡± ¡°LEAVE!¡± Without more words he left and walked back into the city. ¡°Let¡¯s go Sylva. It seems only we¡¯re heading to Tyrne.¡± She was about to say something but quickly closed her mouth and nodded. ================================================================================== Sylva was sitting near the fire watching as it consumed the firewood turning it to ash. She glanced at Haruki who was silently swinging and thrusting a white spear practicing various movements and attack patterns. They had departed for Tyrne right after Riley left them in silence. During the journey she and Haruki barely exchanged words, at that time Haruki was quiet and used his healing on himself to fix his injuries. Even now Sylva saw that Haruki still had a few burns on his skin and bruises from where Riley had hit him Even though they were simple bruises Haruki didn¡¯t even try using heal ob his face and left it be. Sylva noticed that the lightning that came from Haruki was now a deep red instead of his usual bright blue sparks. She recalled what she had seen this morning. After chasing Haruki for some time she had found Haruki standing over a man on the ground looking at him emotionlessly. She had shivered and fell silent as she watched him stab his spear continuously ignoring the man¡¯s cries of pain before finally killing him mercilessly. Noticing Haruki had finished she watched as he walk towards the fire and sat down in front of her. She was worried that he would break down but instead it was worse. It looked like as if he had no emotions left. His eyes seemed empty without any sign of life or will anymore. ¡°Haruki, please talk to me.¡± ¡°.....I¡¯m fine.¡± ¡°No, you¡¯re not.¡± Silently he stood up and was about to leave but suddenly Sylva pulled his hand stopping him. ¡°Haruki, Please!¡± ¡°What do you want me to say Sylva? That I¡¯m not fine? That I failed my friends?¡± ¡°No, I just want to talk¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing to talk about, I failed to protect a little girl and my failure killed her.¡± ¡°You know something else? I don¡¯t regret a single bit after killing someone. No regret, no guilt. Just nothing.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t know if she¡¯s dead or not.¡± ¡°No, I know she¡¯s dead. I know people die here for a fact but still I was helpless and ended up killing a person!¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t have a choice...¡± ¡°I did. I and I made my choice after what he said.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t protect anything Sylva. Everyone disappears with me being helpless, If you¡¯re near me you¡¯ll end up de-¡° Without letting him finish Sylva just wrapped her arms around him and held him tightly. ¡°Sylva, please let go.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright Haruki, just let it all out.¡± She held him tighter ¡°I said I¡¯m fine.¡± ¡° I will protect you Haruki, and you already protect me....¡± ¡°.....¡± ¡°I trust in you, Haruki.¡± Haruki fell silent and just stood there frozen. Looking at Sylva¡¯s face he noticed that she was crying silently as she held him even tighter than before. Feeling his emotions return to him he too started to let tears flow out of his eyes. He also embraced Sylva and held her close to him. The two dropped to their knees and just stayed there crying silently exposing their weakest side to each other for a long time.
A new skill has been created
Bond of Trust (Passive) You have given and received a mutual bond of trust that ties you together. You have an unbreakable bond with your companion as the desire to protect each other becomes a solid connection Defense increases by 20% when with a trusted companion 15% increased EXP gain for enemies defeated together
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Characters + Setting + Suggestions
Chapter 9: A New Start Chapter 9: A New Start =================================================================================== I woke up to the smell of food being cooked that tickled my sense of smell forcing me to open my eyes. Sitting up and stretching my arms I noticed Sylva stirring a pot over a freshly made fire. Noticing me already up, she looked at me as her mouth formed a little smile. ¡°Good morning, Haruki. Breakfast¡¯s almost done.¡± ¡°Ah, yeah... thanks.¡± I stood up walking over taking a seat beside her. As I watched her mix spices into her cooking, I felt calm and relaxed, it¡¯s as if yesterday was just a nightmare.... ¡°Uuum Sylva,thanks.... you know? For saying you trust me and all that.¡± ¡°Hihi, I just said what I felt Haruki. It¡¯s nothing to thank me for.¡± I was a little surprised to hear her small giggle. That was the very first time I¡¯ve seen her laugh since meeting her. ¡°Ah, also... I want you to know I trust you too, Sylva.¡± She looked straight at me with curiosity in her eyes. ¡°what¡¯s with all the sudden talk about trust? Is this so the skill can be useful?¡± she asked grinning ¡°No! The skill doesn¡¯t matter! I really do-¡° ¡°Fufu, relax Haruki. I was just kidding.¡± She said smiling at me. ¡°Wha- What? Can you even joke around?¡± I was slightly baffled ¡°That¡¯s rather rude. I am human too, I can laugh as much as the next person.¡± ¡°......yeah, well I just wanted to say I got your back, Sylva.¡± ¡°And I yours, Haruki. We¡¯re partners.¡± ¡°Oh, looks like it¡¯s done. Let¡¯s eat before continuing to Tyrne.¡± ¡°Sounds good.¡± From the sound of it she also received the ¡®Bond of Trust¡¯ skill. A little embarrassing considering its description. We took out the utensils and started eating the stew. It was delicious. Sylva did say that she could took while on the road but this food¡¯s even better than the stuff you can buy at the city inns. ¡°So, Haruki. Yesterday you haven¡¯t told me anything yet.¡± Sylva said while I was sharpening my sword. ¡°.....I guess it¡¯s fine to tell you. But let¡¯s talk as we walk okay?¡± Finishing up with the blade, I put it in its scabbard and started walking down the road beside Sylva. ¡°First, you remember about me looking for someone?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m guessing you were separated when the death game started.¡± ¡°Technically yes, but at the start only she was trapped in this game¡± ¡°What does that mean? ..... Don¡¯t tell me!?¡± ¡°Correct, I logged in a month after the incident. I¡¯ve only been playing for nearly 2 months now. I came here to find my sister.¡± ¡°Then you know about what happening outside!¡± ¡°Not really. Even after a month people still don¡¯t have any clue about how or why the hacking happened. Players are just left in a coma..... And sometimes their brain waves would just stop.¡± ¡°Is that... because they died in the game?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the most likely explanation anyone has. That¡¯s why I knew Beth was gone. That bastard just killed a child and when he said he would kill Hime I just snapped....¡± ¡°...I see. Hime is your sister?¡± ¡°Yep, my step sister really. But she¡¯s all I have left....¡± ¡°You must really love her.¡± ¡°Haha, I guess so! So, what do you think? Pretty dumb huh?¡± ¡°Not in the least, you treasure you¡¯re family so much you¡¯d risk your own life for them. That is something not many can do and I greatly respect your actions.¡± She said looking at me seriously ¡°What about you, Sylva? Anyone you miss? Parents? Brother or sister? Maybe a husb¡ªUBUH!¡± She punched my side cutting me off ¡°My mom, and my little brother.¡± She said ignoring me rubbing my aching left side ¡°Hooo, I see¡± ¡°That¡¯s why... that¡¯s why I have to survive no matter what...¡± ¡°Well, don¡¯t worry. As your partner I¡¯ll also do my best so you can meet them again.¡± I say while patting her shoulder ¡°Yeah, thanks Haruki.¡± She smiled ¡°For now... Let¡¯s stop the chatting for a while.¡± I say while brandishing my weapons ¡°It seems we have some guests.¡± I pointed at a group of monsters blocking the road ================================================================================== There was about a dozen enemies in front of us. They looked like the goblins I fought in the beginning only taller than me with tusk-like teeth visible outside it¡¯s mouth. If I had to pick a word, I would say these were orcs. Some were riding brown furred beasts that looked similar to tigers and were holding lances made out of bones. Their armor were also made out of animal hides showing off their unruly nature and ferocity. ¡°Sylva, stop the ones that have mounts first. I¡¯ll deal with the ones on foot first!¡± ¡°Got it!¡± As I ran forward I readied my two weapons. In my right hand I held the nameless katana while in my left was Ascalon. Even though I hardly have any spear training in the real world after a few of hours of practice I quickly got the hang of it. It must be a game mechanic for people who¡¯ve never even held a weapon in the real world. As the orcs and I charged at each other an icy wind passed to my right. The winds blew directly at the mounted orcs aiming at the beast¡¯s legs freezing their joints causing them to fall crashing into each other. With their cavalry disabled I thrust Ascalon first impaling an orc that was in the front. Quickly kicking him away I slashed my sword to the right and and ripped an orc¡¯s arm off. Dodging the bashes coming at me from the left, I swung the spear in that direction and the spearhead made a deep cut into the orc¡¯s stomach. Backing off to avoid being crowded I parried an attack from a bone club of an orc that chased after me. I countered him by activating lighting blade destroying the weak bone club and slashed the orc from its shoulder to the middle of its chest. As another one was about to strike my unguarded back a ball of flame hit its head causing it to explode into tiny bits. As Sylva kept unleashing fire and ice and the remaining 3 foot soldiers. I dashed to where the mounted orcs were as they had started getting up and continue to charge. One of them lowered their lance and aimed at my chest but the tip of Ascalon met his first as he was knocked of its mount as I slashed into the beast¡¯s side kill it instantly. Not losing momentum I used lightning movement and jumped at the next one charging me, avoiding its attack. While landing I aimed my spear down stabbing through the orc and the beast killing both at the same time. Only 2 left now. I spotted one mounted orc still struggling to get its mount to stand back up. I dashed at the fallen enemy and first cut of the beast¡¯s head trapping the orc under its weight. With my high speed I kicked at the orc¡¯s head as hard as I could hearing a ¡®snap¡¯ as its neck twisted to the right. There was only one remaining orc. Sylva had already finished off the 3 other orcs, but it had given up attacking me and went straight to Sylva. Already too far to chase it down I gathered mana into my left arm and lightning flowed into Ascalon covering it in electric sparks. Pulling my left shoulder as far as I could I threw the spear causing it fly at the enemy. The spear had met its target stabbing the tiger beast and came out its other side. With its mount suddenly killed the orc couldn¡¯t stop the forward momentum and was thrown away to the front landing in front of Sylva face down. Raising her staff she pointed it at the orc and it launched an arm size ice spike at its chest. ¡°That¡¯s all of them!¡± I told Sylva as I retrieved Ascalon from the beast corpse Noticing a few windows I quickly read what was there
Due to your actions you have created new skills
Spear Mastery (Beginner) lv. 1 Skill that increases the effectiveness of spears 1%+ attack damage, armor penetration
Lightning Spear (Beginner) lv. 1 Imbues spears with lightning made from your mana Lightning damage (small), chance to stun enemy (small) Cost: 10 mana/sec
Hmm looks like skills the same as sword mastery and lightning blade with these used for spears... If I want to keep using both my mana consumption is gonna rise through the roof... ¡°Haruki, nice job.¡± Sylva came as I finished reading ¡°Yeah! You too Sylva! Looks like our teamwork¡¯s already great.¡± As I was about to continue walking I noticed she looked like she wanted to ask something. ¡°What is it?¡± i started ¡°No it¡¯s just.... you¡¯re lightning¡¯s color is blue again.¡± ¡°Huh? Oh yeah. It turned red yesterday I think.¡± ¡°How¡¯d that happen?¡± ¡°My skill evolved I think. It said emotions affect the lightning I produce.¡± ¡°...Really? So when it was red what did you feel?¡± she clearly looked troubled ¡°..............It was hatred.¡± I quietly answered It seems she noticed I was rather uncomfortable with the subject as she nodded and just let the matter go. ================================================================================== After 3 days of travelling we were only a day from Tyrne. Looks like our progress was faster than we expected. At this rate we should reach the city by noon tomorrow. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.As night fell, we decided to set up camp and rested for tomorrows arrival . Leaving Sylva for a while as she cooked I started training again with both my weapons. As I slashed the air with the katana I inserted thrusts of Ascalon into my movement creating a fluid combo of attacks. Waving the sword and spear around for the few last days I realized that I was much faster at running out of stamina even though I only wore light armor and a coat. It seems swing around weapons meant for two handed wields with one hand only exhausted me quickly. In the case of the spear the effects weren¡¯t really noticeable because I mainly just thrust it which doesn¡¯t require much stamina. The problem was the katana.... With weapons in both hands the slashes from the katana were slower than before and didn¡¯t have much damage compared to when I use both hands. Thinking about it for a while an idea struck me. I thought about the samurai from history. I remembered that the Japanese warriors were equipped with 2 swords! A long katana like the one I¡¯m using now for both hands and a shorter lighter sword called a wakizashi! I still have the dragonling materials that included fangs, scales, and bone. I also still had the raiju fangs I didn¡¯t use yet. With those items I could visit a blacksmith and have a wakizashi made for me to use when I fight with two weapons. Deciding to do that I continued training until Sylva called me over telling me the food was ready. Before I went back I swiftly checked my status window.
Status
[quart=Name,level]Haruki,51 [/quart][quart=Health,Mana]4390,4820 [/quart][quart=Strength,Dexterity]134,137[/quart][quart=Vitality,Agility]111,169[/quart][quart=Endurance,Intelligence]91,88[/quart][quart=Luck,Wisdom]20,102[/quart]
Title
Rookie Dragon Hunter
My mana is higher than my HP but it¡¯s still not enough. I can only increase my wisdom and intelligence stat when I level up and can¡¯t increase them by training my body like my physical stats. I opened the skill window and look at the ones with large mana cost.
Lightning blade (Intermediate) lv. 5 Imbues swords with lightning made from your mana Lightning damage(medium+), chance to stun enemy(medium+) Cost: 75 mana/sec
Lightning Bolt (Beginner) lv. 9 A spell all mages focusing on the element of lightning use. It is releases a bolt of lightning that targets what the user aims for with high speed and precision Lightning damage (medium), knock back (very small) Cost: 210 mana
Lightning discharge (Intermediate) lv. 5 Able to produce lightning from various body parts according to players will. Direct contact will also affect user. With strong will, the emotions of the user will now affect the nature of the lightning created Mana cost depending on shape and size
These 3 are the most useful combat skills I have but their mana cost are also the highest. Especially lightning blade. Even with full mana using it nonstop would just last a little over one minute! This forces me to use it when I attack only and deactivate when I defend..... In the middle of battle that was really a burden on my concentration. Well, I guess if the costs were low that would break the game balance... =================================================================================== ¡°Haruki......¡± I saw Beth crying calling out to me ¡°Beth!¡± I called out ¡°Wait!!¡± I reached out my hand as she faded away Confused I look around my surrounding and find Riley looking down on me. ¡°I thought we were both you¡¯re friends, Haruki....¡± ¡°No! I tried.....¡± Suddenly the scenery changed again, I saw myself standing over a man torturing with a smile on my face. Sylva stood there watching as her eyes that were filled with terror reflected my figure. ¡°You couldn¡¯t protect anyone again, Nii-san.¡± I turned around as my face turned white ¡°Hime......¡± ¡°You couldn¡¯t help your parents. You couldn¡¯t help MY parents. You couldn¡¯t help me. You couldn¡¯t help a small child. You even murdered someone.¡± She looked at me with disgust My view grew hazy as I tried running up to Hime.... ¡°WAIIIT!¡± I yelled out, with my hand in the air. I noticed Sylva beside me looking worried I sat up and wiped the sweat that was pouring out of my face. A dream. I guess I can¡¯t just get over it in just a couple of days.... Even though Sylva helped me carry the burden ultimately it was still mine to bear. ¡°Nightmare?¡± She asked ¡°Uh-huh.¡± I grabbed a canteen and gulped water down my throat ¡°It¡¯s okay, Haruki.¡± She smiled and patted my head lightening my mood ¡°Heh, I¡¯m not a kid you know?¡± I smiled back at her ¡°I¡¯m still older than you. I¡¯ll just treat you like my little brother.¡± ¡°Haha, that¡¯s fine I guess.¡± I slowly stood up ¡°Good, let¡¯s eat and get going. We¡¯re nearly there.¡± Sylva and I headed down the road and after a few hours the city¡¯s stone wall came into view. The walls stood tall with a dull grey color protecting the city from any attacks. The city was only a little bigger then Rygar but it and Roden were the biggest towns in this area. I entered the gates after asking the gatekeeper about the city layout and asked around players for the best blacksmith in town. Finding the place was easy as it was bear the gates we just came from. I told him about the wakizashi and handed him the materials for it. The blacksmith said it should be done in 4 days so we headed back. ¡°Haruki, I think that we should visit a magic artifact shop.¡± ¡°Sure, you looking for a new staff?¡± ¡°Yes, I have enough gold for one with a better crystal in it.¡± ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go!¡± We searched around for the shop and finally found one in some deserted back alley. ¡°This neighborhood won¡¯t attract customers if I had to say something about it....¡± Paying no attention to my sarcastic observation Sylva just entered as I followed her in. Inside tons of weird looking items were on display. There were magic staffs, rocks that had a faint glow, old books, furniture, even a few weird sculptures. It was like a junk shop here! ¡°Sylva, you sure you don¡¯t want to check someplace else?¡± I asked looking suspiciously at the merchandise ¡°No, here is fine.¡± She started browsing the staffs on display as the shopkeeper stared at us After looking around, Sylva went up to the counter. ¡°Let me see a staff with the best crystal you have.¡± She told the old lady that was eyeballing us ¡°Then pick one from those.¡± She pointed at the staff rack ¡°Those crystals are all junk. They¡¯re transparent and hardly have any color It seems the more color a crystal has the better its quality.... Looking straight at Sylva, the lady just said ¡°It won¡¯t be cheap.¡± Hearing this Sylva just nodded as the shopkeeper went to the back When she came back she was carrying a staff wrapped in silk and handed it to Sylva. As she unwrapped it a smooth white staff as if it were made from marble was there, At the top of it there was a sharp metal triangle made from white steel giving it similar look as a spear. The middle of the steel triangle was hollow and held a blood red crystal similar to a ruby stone the size of my fist. ¡°How much?¡± As Sylva asked i took a closer look at the white staff.
Gambanteinn (Unique) A staff made from the finest wood in all realms. The crystal embedded is said to have been stolen from the treasury of the goddess of greed. +50 Intelligence +50 Wisdom -12% casting time +40% fire damage
¡°It¡¯s 120 gold.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take it.¡± Sylva said as she emptied her coin purse
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Chapter 10: Information Gathering Chapter 10: Information Gathering ================================================================================== As we left the back alley. I took the chance to look around the huge city. Everywhere I looked there were people crowding the streets some in groups and some alone. I walked to the central plaza and found it packed with players looking for a party or selling their items. This was the first time I¡¯ve seen so many players gathered in a single place. From what I see I¡¯m guessing 2000-3000 players are here. ¡°Just how many players are there in Tyrne.....¡± ¡°From the server logs 2 weeks after the games launch I think it was about 10000.¡± Sylva answered my muttering ¡°10000 in single city.... And they say there are 2 million players trapped here.¡± I remember what FutureTech reported before I logged in. ¡°Makes you really admire the scale of the world right? This game was supposed to be a technological marvel, but now it¡¯ll be remembered in history as a huge mistake,¡± Sylva commented ¡°Well, with 10000 people how are we going to find Hime?¡± Just thinking about it makes depressed. ¡°Well for the time being let¡¯s just ask around.¡± Splitting up with Sylva I entered the crowded plaza and asked players that were selling items. If they were frequently at the plaza someone might have saw Hime. ¡°Excuse me.¡± ¡°Ooh you want to but these potions? 1 gold each for you! They¡¯re much better than stock potions sold by NPCs!¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m sorry. I wanted to ask some questions.¡± ¡°Questions? I won¡¯t tell you how I made these.¡± The seller refuses me ¡°No, that¡¯s not it.¡± I said while sighing inside ¡°Then what is it?¡± ¡°Have you seen a player named Hime? A girl with black hair reaching her hips, probably has a bow.¡± ¡°Hmmmm, no I don¡¯t think so.¡± ¡°I see thank you for your time.¡± ¡°Wait! If you¡¯re looking for someone try the local merchants guild, ask for Sagami.¡± ¡°I will, thank you.¡± Merchants guild huh? I¡¯ll just go there later.... Asking around the plaza again I still didn¡¯t find out about Hime at all. Some of the players also suggested to see Sagami. When I asked the players that weren¡¯t selling stuff they just ignored me... Those that didn¡¯t tried to drag me into their party to go to some dungeon. Looks like just randomly asking around isn¡¯t going to work at all. Not giving up I kept talking to players here. I spotted a spotted a brown haired guy my age. ¡°Excuse me¡± ¡°Huh? Oh, wha¡¯sup?¡± ¡°I want to ask you some questions.¡± ¡°What is this an interrogation? ¡° he seemed offended ¡°Ah, sorry. I just want to find someone.¡± I tried to calm him down ¡°Fine who you looking for?¡± ¡°A girl named Hime. She has long hair and-¡° ¡°A bow?¡± ¡°Yes! Do you know where she is?!¡± I nearly jumped at him ¡°Nope,¡± ¡°Wha, then how did you?¡± ¡°look man you¡¯ve been asking everyone that, I already heard you talking with some other guy.¡± Annoyed I was about to leave when he called me again. ¡°But I do know her and her friend.¡± ¡°Friend?¡± ¡°Whoops did I say that?¡± ¡°Just tell me....¡± ¡°Now, now. Let¡¯s make this interesting. Let¡¯s duel. If you win I¡¯ll tell you, if you lose I¡¯m leaving.¡± ¡°Why the hell do I have to do that!?!¡± ¡°Dunno, I¡¯m bored¡± he said and sent me the challenge
Ted has challenged you to a duel! Will you accept? Y/N
¡°Haaaah, yes....¡± I don¡¯t want to waste time on this nonsense... since this a duel he can¡¯t die so I¡¯ll just go all out. As he readied his sword I immediately launched myself at him. While running towards him I don¡¯t draw my blade but just raised my right arm. Using my mana I fired 3 lightning bolts at him. Surprised by the sudden bolts coming at him he couldn¡¯t even dodge. With lightning movement I just jumped up and kicked him straight at his face sending him back a whole 10 meters. ¡°I win.¡± ¡°........ Damn it, who are you? You just plowed me into the ground!¡± ¡°Not important. So what do you know?¡± ¡°Haah, Fine got it. I know the girl you¡¯re looking for and her friend Amy too.¡± ¡°Amy?¡± ¡°Uh-huh , a mage I think. Anyway, we met more than a month ago on the road. She was on her way her from someplace north of here and we traveled for a day together.¡± ¡°Where is she know.¡± ¡°How would I know.¡± ¡°Damn it you¡¯re useless!¡± ¡°I never said I knew where she is.¡± I finally ran out of patience and just left the guy. Well, it wasn¡¯t entirely useless. Now I know she¡¯s with another girl named Amy. That¡¯s something to keep in mind I guess. Looks like I have to go find this Sagami after all. What kind of guy is he? Making up my mind to go to the merchants guild, I looked for Sylva to go together. ================================================================================== I found Sylva but it looks like she brought someone with her. ¡°Come on just join us for a few days!¡± player in tattered leather armor followed Sylva ¡°I¡¯m sorry but I¡¯m with somebody.¡± ¡°Just leave the guy! We¡¯ll pay for your room at the inn!¡± What? No matter how you look at it leather guy there was poorer than Sylva! ¡°No, I¡¯m not interested. Ah there he is!¡± Sylva walked up to me ¡°Him who the hell¡¯s he supposed to be¡± leather guy glared at me ¡°Um, He¡¯s my boyfriend.¡± Sylva blurted out and took my hand ¡°What!?¡± We both yelled out ¡°You, duel against me! If I win let her go!¡± AGAIN!? ¡°No, I¡¯m not-¡° ¡°If you don¡¯t accept I¡¯ll follow you around!¡± he made a cheap threat Come on! Your level is clearly below mine! Please just leave.... Still waiting for my answer silently I was forced to just deal with it After beating him up I went back to Sylva. I didn¡¯t even use any skills! A single punch already knocked him out cold ¡°Sorry Haruki....¡± ¡°....Why did you tell him I was your boyfriend?¡± ¡°Usually guys give up after I say I have one.¡± What is it with today. Are all the players here stupid!? Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. ¡°Get anything?¡± Sylva asked me ¡°Yeah, looks like Hime¡¯s with a girl called Amy. Some people told me that Sagami at the merchants guild may know where she is.¡± ¡°Yes, people also told me the same thing.¡± ¡°I guess that the only lead we¡¯ve got.¡± Walking away from the plaza I noticed some people were staring at us. Crap! That plaza was full of players! And here I just beat up 2 guys... No wonder they¡¯re looking at us! I increased my walking pace and quickly left the plaza. Arriving at the merchants guild I saw it was a rather normal looking building with wooden walls and 3 floors high. I had imagined it was would be a huge tower or a large hall. Entering the place, I saw an NPC sitting in front of a counter. I guess she¡¯s the receptionist. I walked up to her and started to talk to her. ¡°Hello, I was wondering if I could meet Sagami?¡± ¡°Your business?¡± ¡°People said he can help me find someone.¡± ¡°Third floor, door on the right at the end of the hallway.¡± She pointed at the stairs ¡°Thanks.¡± Sylva and I went up the stairs looking around the place. It looks like a normal office here. Is this an administrative branch? We reached the room that the receptionist mentioned. I knocked the door and I heard a voice telling me to come in. ¡°Nice to meet you Haruki, Sylva.¡± ¡°You know us?¡± ¡°My information network is pretty large.¡± He said with a smile ¡°Then you know why we¡¯re here?¡± ¡°Yes. I can find her.¡± ¡°Please do.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not doing this for free.¡± He sharpened his eyes ¡°How much do you want?¡± I grabbed my pouch ¡°No, no. I want to hire you. You two should be pretty strong. After all, killing an adult dragonling for the first time in this game isn¡¯t easy.¡± ¡°Game? You¡¯re a player?¡± ¡°Yes, I am. I¡¯m one of the few players that is with an NPC guild.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re a player you can just help me! I don¡¯t want a quest!¡± ¡°Being a player doesn¡¯t matter. We¡¯re living here now. We now die and can¡¯t leave, we¡¯re no different than NPCs.¡± ¡°But... This is really important.¡± I protested ¡°As long as we¡¯re trapped here it¡¯s give and take Haruki. Nobody can spare any kindness.¡± He said as he closed his eyes ¡°Very well, what do we do?¡± Sylva questioned ¡°This.¡±
Quest: Infested Mines The mines owned by the merchants guild near Tyrne has been invaded. Currently no reports know what attacked as all the workers died. Investigate the identity of the assailant and eliminate it. Quest Clear: Secure the mines Difficulty: ???
¡°Are you kidding?! The difficulty¡¯s unknown! We could get killed!¡± ¡°I have no choice. As far as I know you two are currently the strongest players in this city. If others go failure would be more likely.¡± I was about to refuse but Sylva suddenly spoke up ¡°Fine, we will do it.¡± ¡°Good, return after you clear the mines. I¡¯ll have Home¡¯s location when you¡¯re done.¡± Sylva stood up and left the room leaving me behind. Rushing out I quickly caught up to her outside of the guild. ¡°Sylva! Why are we doing this stupid quest? Let¡¯s just look around again.¡± ¡°We have no choice. This is the fastest way possible. You also want to quickly know where Hime is right.¡± ¡°Yes, but still this unknown difficulty quest.... It could turn out to be incredibly dangerous...¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry I¡¯ll protect you.¡± She grinned ¡°......You know that¡¯s supposed to be a guy¡¯s line.¡± ¡°Really? Then you better do your job.¡± She walked ahead Man, this day really is troublesome. And Sylva! Since we¡¯ve met she changed a bit,,, Sometimes I can¡¯t help nut fell a bit annoyed. I guess that¡¯s also part of being friends with someone......... ================================================================================= We had reached the mines near Tyrne. It looks deserted with no sign of anyone here. I guess the workers really did all get killed... As Sylva conjured a fireball as a torch I walked in front with weapons at the ready. As we went deeper we still didn¡¯t find anything living. Not even a single bat was here! Did they all run away? What the hell is in here? As we reached a big room Sylva pointed at one of the tunnels. It seems that it led further underground. Before We passed it I poked the ceiling with my spear checking if there was a risk of it collapsing. As it was solid hard, I nodded and kept walking ahead of Sylva. As we went further down we noticed a rotten smell coming from further down the tunnel. ¡°Looks like we¡¯re getting near¡± Sylva whispered ¡°As usual I¡¯ll go face it while you support me with ranged spells.¡± Agreeing to this we ventured down the path and entered a room 20 meters wide. In the center there was a large creature that emitted a foul odor as It looked at us. It had two heads, no three heads... On the front were heads of a lion and a goat. Where a tail should be there was a scaly limb with a snake head hissing while facing the both of us, ¡°That¡¯s a Chimera.¡± I nodded to Sylva. It seemed this monster really was based on that Greek myth. Realizing it seemed like a tough opponent I grit my teeth and held my weapons tight. As Sylva started the fight with 3 fireballs that exploded as they hit the chimera¡¯s two front heads I also charged in with Ascalon aimed at its chest.
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Chapter 11: Combination Chapter 11: Combination ==================================================================================== *STAB* The tip of Ascalon plunged into the Chimera¡¯s torso oozing out black liquid. The black blood caused the foul stench to get worse nearly making Haruki puke. When he tried to pull back the spear it suddenly wouldn¡¯t budge Pulling as hard as he could, it didn¡¯t move a single bit. Looking at the head of the lion Haruki found it was getting ready to take a bite out of him. ¡°Shit!¡± He jumped back evading but leaving the spear still stuck ¡°Careful Haruki! It¡¯s blood seems to contain some sort of binding magic!¡± ¡°WHAT! Doesn¡¯t that make melee useless?!¡± ¡°Possibly, for now attack using your magic!¡± Sylva suggested Damn looks like this battle¡¯s gonna drain my mana potions. I can¡¯t keep consistently activating skills without gulping down them like it were free water! ¡°Tsk, can¡¯t be helped!¡± I poured mana into the nameless katana and started to charge again. I parried its claw and managed to cut its thick fur causing wound. The lightning on my blade seems to evaporate the black blood before it could trap the sword. Seeing my attack work I retreated again as an ice pillar crashed into its side. Looks like magic really is the creature¡¯s weakness! My excitement was immediately doused when I saw the mounds it had. The thick black liquid seemed to bubble at its wounds and slowly closed them. ¡°The hell!?¡± ¡°Looks like its regeneration is pretty high. Keep attacking without falling back!¡± Sylva cast another spell in the shape of a flame spear as it burned the side of the goat head. Easy for her to say charge.... Every time I attack it just closes up wasting my mana, not to mention that horrid smell! I didn¡¯t say it out loud though. I just readied my blade again and this time ran to its side trying to flank it. As I stabbed the lightning blade at it and shot started slashing with my lightning claws I heard a hiss to my right. It¡¯s the snake head! Hurriedly I pulled back the blade and blocked its bite locking it with the snakes huge fangs. Seeing a chance it was about to turn around and claw at me but a ice spike pinned it to the ground. Pushing the snake head back I rolled under the beast to the other side while slashing at its lower body. Look like it already predicted my move, as I emerged on the other side the snake head was already swinging at full speed knocking me back. Tumbling on the ground I picked myself up and saw the chimera was already charging at me with the goat head trying to ram me. Before I could move Sylva¡¯s thick ice wall appeared in front of me making the goat crash into it. ¡°Get of there!¡± I quickly dashed at the wall kicking it using the momentum to launch myself up. Landing on its back I hacked and slashed with lightning blade and lightning claws until I ran out mana and jumped back down. I took a mana potion and drank it while the beast had already recovered from the crash impact. Even though me and Sylva were barraging it with attacks the wounds slowly healed forcing us to keep dealing damage. With my mana, this time I just spammed lightning bolts at it burning my palms a little until I ran out of mana again and took another potion. Sylva also looks like she¡¯s out of mana as I glanced at her pouring blue liquid down her throat. Maybe I should try dismembering it.... No matter how fast it regenerates growing back limbs should still take a fair amount of time. This time I attacked it from behind aiming at the green scaled snake like limb that was its tail. Stabbing inside its mouth it let out a pained hiss as I wrapped my left arm around its thick body lifting me up. Hanging on I slowly crawled to where it was connected to its main body while Sylva distracted the lion and goat pelting it with small fireballs and ice spikes like a machine gun. Reaching the spot I started slashing my sword coated in lightning at the snake body. After A whole minute of slashing it finally cut through the thick scales and severed the snake from the chimera. With my mana empty I ran back to Sylva as the lion head roared painfully at the loss of the snake tail. ¡°Haruki I¡¯m out of mana potions!¡± ¡°Here!¡± I gave her 3, half of what I have left ¡°Our attacks aren¡¯t working against it....¡± She said as she finished drinking all three ¡°Maybe we should use a huge attack and kill it in one hit.¡± I suggested ¡°I don¡¯t have a powerful enough spell, but I do have an idea...¡± ¡°Really, what is it?¡± ¡°Maybe we could combine our mana and attack it with every last bit.¡± ¡°What! Is that even possible?¡± I doubted her ¡°I don¡¯t really know but this game fully recreates a fantasy world and player freedom is the best part of it.... It should work, I think.¡± ¡°I guess we just have to gamble on it... What do I do?¡± Looks like we¡¯re desperate here ¡°Try focusing your mana into my Gambanteinn together with me, just picture the your attack and I¡¯ll handle the rest.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± I said while grabbing on to the staff she was holding on her right hand with my left. I started pouring all my mana focusing it into the staff as the red crystal on it started shining brightly. In my mind I pictured the most powerful display of lightning that I know of. A storm. Lightning striking everything near it destroying all that crosses its path. As I felt the last of my mana leave my body exhausting me, Sylva raised the staff and pointed at the chimera that was ready to jump at us. Before he could do that suddenly dark clouds formed over it with visible electric sparks on the surface. Then a sudden tornado formed engulfing the chimera but it wasn¡¯t a normal tornado. It was a flame tornado! With lightning following the flame tornado the two elements combined into a deadly electric fire storm burning and zapping the chimera at the same time. It was a surreal scene. Inside a cave underground there was a spectacular display of weather that destroyed the entire middle part of the room while the chimera slowly disintegrated
A new skill has been successfully created
Fiery Tempest (Combination) A deadly spell that creates weather that has massive destructive capabilities. The cooperation of the elements of fire and lightning forms a raging thunderstorm with winds of fire. Mana Cost: All *combination skills cannot increase in level
¡°Woah....¡± I was speechless as I watched the chimera disappear ¡°It seems our gamble paid off.¡± Sylva slightly smiled ¡°I didn¡¯t even know we could combine skills....¡± ¡°Well, in the first place the game had only been released for 2 weeks before we were trapped. No doubt the players don¡¯t even know 5% of all the game content.¡± ¡°Yeah, I remember them even saying this game would be limitless in its content.¡± I added ¡°I don¡¯t know if anyone can do it though. We do have the special ¡®Bond of Trust¡¯ skill.¡± Sylva guessed ¡°Well anyway, looks like the quest is done now.¡± I read the notification window
Quest Completed: Infested Mines The mines were attacked by a Chimera. It is unknown how the beast made its way there but you have succeeded in slaying it. Report back to Sagami to receive your reward. Reward: -information you seek -exp up
¡°Man, all that hard work and he doesn¡¯t pay anything..¡± ¡°Yes it seems after consuming potions and buying my staff I don¡¯t have much gold left.¡± ¡°.....yeah and look at this.¡± I showed her Ascalon that was still pierced to chimera when we cast the spell. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. The white spear was now black with burned wood and the black hardened liquid were on the spearhead forming cracks on it. This is a very rare quality item... the repair cost is going to be enormous ¡°I see. That¡¯s unfortunate....¡± ¡°There goes all my gold now. Man I knew I was unlucky today.....¡± By the way the chimera also didn¡¯t drop anything. =================================================================================== ¡°I see you¡¯re back.¡± ¡°Yes, we cleared the mines. There was a chimera there.¡± ¡°I know, I also got the notification window.¡± ¡°So players can give quests and even know when they¡¯re completed?¡± Sylva asked ¡°Yes, but only if you have a special position like mine. Now thanks to you the mines can be used to make profit again,¡± Sagami smiled ¡°Okay, good for you. Now it¡¯s your turn to hold up your part of the deal.¡± I reminded him impatiently ¡°Yes, I know where she is but you probably won¡¯t find her for at least a month.¡± ¡°Why is that?¡± ¡°She¡¯s on a quest given by the city of Roden to 100 hundred players to explore the mountain range north of here.¡± ¡°WHAT! Isn¡¯t that dangerous!?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve been trapped for 5 months now. We¡¯re all used to danger.¡± Sagami answered frowning ¡°Haaah, I guess so....¡± I guess Hime wouldn''t just do nothing, maybe she¡¯s trying to find a way to escape this game? ¡°So, I¡¯ve told you what I know. The players on that quest should be back at Roden next month.¡± ¡°Alright, thank you then.¡± I bowed and quickly left the room with Sylva We exited the building and walked some distance down the street. I asked Sylva to accompany me to the blacksmith to repair my nearly destroyed spear. When I got there the old blacksmith thought I was here for the wakizashi and said it wasn¡¯t finished. I just showed him my Ascalon and asked for a repair. Because it was a highly valuable item it cost me a whole 75 gold! ¡°What should we do now?¡± Sylva asked after waiting 2 hours for the repair ¡°Hmm, are you in a hurry to get to Roden?¡± I asked her ¡°Not really, at first I was just heading there because it was the biggest town around, I¡¯ll probably keep travelling with you.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¡°Yes, I think I¡¯ll have a higher chance of surviving if we stick together.¡± ¡°Yeah I also think that too.¡± ¡°We still haven¡¯t decided what to do.¡± She reminded me ¡°There¡¯s only one thing to do. Let¡¯s stay here doing quests and earning more gold. I have the feeling this game will keep getting harder and that we should increase our levels too.¡± Nodding, she agreed with me as we walked to find some bounty quests. ===================================================================================== -5 days later We were hunting in a desert region north-west of Tyrne killing mobs of monsters and picking up various drops to sell at the city. We were also in the middle of completing a bounty quest to kill 3 giant earth worms and had already killed 2 of them. They¡¯re mid class boss monsters but killing them wasn¡¯t really hard for me and Sylva. As we kept walking we felt the earth shake and quickly started running. ¡°Looks like we found the last one!¡± I shout as I ran ¡°Yes, let¡¯s quickly kill it and return to the city.¡± At that moment from the ground where we were a minute ago a hole 3 meters in diameter formed as sand sank into it. What came into view was a giant brown worm that exposed 6 meters of its enormous body with its bottom still in the sand. On the top of the body there were no eyes and only a circular mouth with razor sharp teeth similar to leeched could be seen. ¡°I hate these things.¡± Sylva looked disgusted ¡°That¡¯s why we¡¯re killing them.¡± I say while carrying my shiny white spear in my left and sword in right. I first stabbed the spear halfway into the body and slashed at the worm¡¯s skin while leaving the spear there. Before i jumped back I released some mana into the spear which electrocuted the worm. The worm now with a spear that was clad in lightning doing continuous damage tried to burrow back into the ground. Not letting it get away Sylva froze the sand surrounding the hole and fired a dozen ice spikes at its body that had its lower part stuck in the ground. Leaning its body forward it tried to reach and eat Sylva but the frozen hole had blocked its movement making it unable to reach her. As the body tilted forward I quickly ran up from behind climbing the worm with speed from lightning movement. Reaching near the top I stabbed my katana and let go of my footing. I started to fall while the sword kept ripping the worms body nearly splitting it in two as it fell down with a huge thud. ¡°That¡¯s the third one.¡± I say sheathing the blade and retrieving Ascalon ¡°Good, let¡¯s head back for today. I¡¯m beat.¡± Sylva says ¡°Sure, on the way to get the reward I need to pick up the wakizashi though.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡± As we headed back to the city we stopped by the blacksmith that I commissioned the weapon to. As I entered I was handed the weapon and payed 35 gold to the blacksmith
Dragonling Bone Wakizashi (Rare) A sword with a short blade made from the hard bones and scales of a dragonling. This sword is lighter than normal long swords. Attack: 60-80 +5% fire damage
It was somewhat less than what I expected..... The attacks weaker than my white katana even though its potential hasn¡¯t been fully unlocked. The bonus to fire was also useless to me...... But I did just make it to use as a one handed weapon when fighting with a spear so that¡¯s fine. Strapping the scabbard to my belt above the white katana I exited and headed to claim the worm bounty with Sylva. ¡°Haruki? Why haven¡¯t you changed your coat?¡± Sylva suddenly asked ¡°Hm? What¡¯s wrong with it?¡± I examined the coat I was wearing. ¡°Isn¡¯t the defense low for your level? I don¡¯t need new robes because I use range attacks but wouldn¡¯t melee need better gear.¡± ¡°That is true, but I need this for my skill.¡± ¡°You see, the ¡®lightning affinity¡¯ skill still levels up but the resistance it gives barely increases, so the one given by the coat¡¯s really important or else I shock myself.¡± ¡°Do you know why it doesn¡¯t increase more?¡± ¡°Maybe element resistance is capped? The damage bonus still rises normally though.¡± ¡°So you¡¯ll never be able to use more powerful lightning spells?¡± ¡°I think if I get more gear with lightning resistance I could reach 100%, but from my total 70%, only 10% is from the coat even though it was from a raiju.¡± ¡°Maybe we should hunt for more lightning element monsters?¡± ¡°Nah, the only thing I can imagine with higher resistance than raiju material is Thunder Dragons and I think we¡¯re hardly strong enough for that.¡± ¡°Or maybe we¡¯ll find some ring or necklace with it.¡± ¡°Anyway, that¡¯s why I haven¡¯t changed coats. Besides, I kinda like the black color and blue bolts.¡± ¡° I guess that the style of it is well designed....¡± As we walked continuing our small talk we picked up the gold bounty and headed back to the inn near the center of the city.
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Chapter 12: Expedition Chapter 12: Expedition =================================================================================== ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll be resting here for today! Everyone set up camp!¡± A loud voice could be heard ¡°While we set up, I need range players to watch out for any attacks!¡± Hearing the instruction Hime set off to the nearby hill with Amy following along. It had been 6 days since the group of 100 players set out to the north of Roden. So far they haven¡¯t met anything dangerous and was proceeding smoothly between the mountains taking detours to avoid climbing. Reaching the top of the hill, Hime scouted the area for any stray monsters that could surprise the expedition. ¡°Hime, are you sure we should¡¯ve come along on this quest? The difficulty rank for this one is B.....¡± Amy asked ¡°If we want to keep moving forward it¡¯s necessary.¡± The quest they had joined was a special quest given by the city of Roden. It¡¯s goal was to establish a route between the Eastern edge of the continent to the region North of it. Even though ¡®Tales of a New Land¡¯ contained a massive world currently they were separated from other regions. Players from different regions had no choice but to do special expedition quests to connect each region so they could travel from their initial area. ¡°We¡¯ve been in the East for more than 5 months now. If we can just complete this, we¡¯ll be able to go to a new region!¡± Hime said excitedly ¡°I know that... But what use is there.....¡± Amy complained ¡°I know that it could be dangerous, but being able to meet players from different places is a chance to find a way out of this game!¡± ¡°Then wouldn¡¯t it be fine to leave it to others? We should¡¯ve just kept doing normal quests in Roden instead of risking our lives....¡± ¡°Amy I know that you¡¯re worried but if we just do nothing than we¡¯ll never leave. Beside¡¯s the players here are all the best in this region. We can¡¯t have any player joining and getting them killed.¡± ¡°Hime, sometimes you¡¯re just too nice.¡± Amy said and sighed ¡°No... I just have to get back.¡± Hime thought of her brother that was now alone. What would she have done if it were Haruki that was trapped? She would have been heartbroken. Imagining what her brother felt drove Hime to find a way as best she can. ¡°check status¡±
Status
[quart=Name,level]Hime,62 [/quart][quart=Health,Mana]4370,3370 [/quart][quart=Strength,Dexterity]140,213[/quart][quart=Vitality,Agility]89,201 [/quart][quart=Endurance,Intelligence]76,15 [/quart][quart=Luck,Wisdom]74,26[/quart]
Title
Lady of the Bow
Hime¡¯s current level was 62... It was among the highest in Roden as she did many quests and killed monsters to grow stronger in order to survive As she used a bow she focused her stats on strength, dexterity, and agility while mostly ignoring the other as they were a lesser priority for her style. ¡°Hime, I think some monsters are coming.¡± Activating her ¡®hawk eyes¡¯ skill she focused her eyes on the small dots closing in on them. ¡°It¡¯s another band of orcs, 4 this time...¡± Hime told Amy ¡°Can you take them?¡± ¡°Not yet. I¡¯ll wait till they get closer.¡± Drawing her bow she kept focusing on the monsters. The bow was a beautiful light blue color as it emitted a weak aura. It was a Hime¡¯s special bow with wind enchantment to boost her range and damage. It was out of harpy bones as the arrows in her quiver had feathers from the same creature. Preparing an arrow she pulled back at the string and took a deep breath. She aimed at the orcs that were still 400 meters in front of them. Slowly realizing the her fingers the arrow flew at an amazing speed impossible to achieve in the real world. *Zlep* The arrow had met its mark between an orcs pair of eyes as its comrades scattered because of the unseen attack. Quickly drawing her bow she let fly 3 more arrows each hitting the chest, neck, and back of the remaining three. ¡°Muu, even though I keep being assigned to the range group I never get any action.¡± Amy pouted a little ¡°Hihi, can¡¯t be helped right? None of your spells can snipe that distance.¡± Hime smiled mischievously ¡°Yes, yes I know.. I¡¯m just a lowly mage focusing on healing spells and rarely do any damage!¡± ¡°Aaw, don¡¯t be mad. I was just kidding, Amy!¡± ¡°Hmph, nest time you get a stomach ache from eating some wild fruit, I won¡¯t heal you!¡± While looking at each other the girls burst out laughing together. Though they had only met after the death game started a close friendship had already formed between the two. ¡°I guess it¡¯ll be six months soon...¡± Amy said ¡°Uh-huh, time sure flies by here. I guess it¡¯s 2 months in the real world?¡± ¡°Haah, sometimes I wonder if we¡¯ll ever leave...¡± ¡°That¡¯s why we both have to do our best.¡± Hime tried to lift her spirit ¡°Yep, I figured you¡¯d say that. I mean you really miss your brother right?¡± Amy grinned teasingly ¡°Wha-, How do you know that!?¡± ¡°Oh. come oooon! You always call out ¡®nii-san¡¯ in your sleep! Took me a while to realize that it meant brother!¡± ¡°S-s-s-so what!¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been meaning to ask for a long time Hime.... Could it be? You¡¯re one of those sisters who have the so called ¡®brother complex¡¯?¡± ¡°What! NO!¡± ¡°Sometimes it feels like you¡¯re calling out to a boyfriend rather than a brother.. Ah the flames of forbidden love!¡± Amy¡¯s face brightened with soft tint of red ¡°Mo, moooo cut it out Amy!¡± ¡°Hehe, just paying you back for earlier! Seriously though what¡¯s he like?¡± ¡°Nii-san is.... Truly kind, he¡¯s diligent, smart, never complains, never gets mad at me, really cool, hands-¡° As Hime was about to continue she saw that Amy was grinning ear to ear with an ¡®I knew it!¡¯ expression plastered on her face. ¡°Come on, camp¡¯s probably ready. Let¡¯s head back!¡± Hime walked as she frowned ¡°Okaaaay!¡± =================================================================================== 3 days later the entire group had emerged from the mountain range and found flat plains that reached the horizon. It seems they just had to move North in a straight line now! ¡°Alright people! Looks like we¡¯re getting near our destination!¡± the expedition leader announced ¡°You hear that Amy? We¡¯re nearly there!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know isn¡¯t it kinda too easy for a B rank expedition quest?¡± ¡°Maybe the developers made it like this so players could access different places faster?¡± ¡°I hope your right, Hime.....¡± Amy¡¯s worries were proven true when the group suddenly spotted dust clouds from the west. ¡°what is that?¡± Hime wondered as she used ¡®hawk eyes¡¯ What she saw was something that was really shocking. It was a large group of monsters forming a small army! Orcs, goblins, kobolds, even some beastmen were closing in on them. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°ENEMIES TO THE WEST! THERE¡¯S NEARLY 200 OF THEM!¡± another archer shouted The entire group immediately faced west and examined the monsters approaching. ¡°Everyone get ready for battle! Archer and Mages fall back! Melee form a line!¡± The entire expedition rushed to get into formation but it was chaos. They had never experienced large scale battles before! The entire group found themselves nervous against the horde of monsters. Hime quickly pulled Amy to the back and readied her bow. The range players were mostly calm. The problem was the warrior division! Some were trying to stand behind others while pushing people in front of them. ¡°What are you doing! They¡¯re just low level monsters! We¡¯ve all fought them before!!¡± Hearing the leader¡¯s voice some players calmed down and started to get in line properly. Those with shields were at the front while swordsmen behind them. As the enemy drew closer Hime started to sweat bullets. She tried to calm down and filled her lungs with air clearing her mind. It was okay. Those monsters don¡¯t stand a chance against the best players Roden have. Aiming her bow to the sky she waited for the signal to let loose her arrows. After the enemy were 200 meters away it came. ¡°Bows, Fire!¡± The 15 archers immediately fired raining down arrows on the enemy. Hime kept firing rapidly until they were too close to the melee line. Now the mages started casting AOE spells engulfing them in flames while the earth swallowed some. The monsters were severely weakened but they still charged forward. The battle then really began. Swords clashed with bone weapons while the shield users were trying to push them back. Blood spewed from monsters as they were cut and stabbed to death by the players. The weak mobs were no match for players that were regarded as the best from thousands! Hime and Amy also started dishing out some damage. Whenever a monster turned its back and ran an arrow found its way to its spine while small boulders hit them in the head. As the fight dragged on it was clear that the players were massacring their opponents easily. Just ten minutes later the last goblin¡¯s head was sliced open and the monster army annihilated. ¡°Great work! We rest for 30 minutes and continue!¡± The group¡¯s morale soared high after the clash. With no casualties the players grew confident that they would easily reach a city to the north. What was once a battlefield had turned into piles of monster corpses stripped of any valuables. ¡°Hime, any injuries? I¡¯ll heal you first.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m fine. Take care of the warriors.¡± ¡°Roger!¡± she saluted playfully and walked away The battle was an easy one, but Hime knew that wasn¡¯t the end. They were still on the plains and were easily targeted. Even more concerning is they didn¡¯t have an exact location on the city they were looking for. ¡°Everyone time to move forward!¡± the leader stood at the front As Amy had finished healing the injuries she walked back to Hime. She was finished rather fast. It seems that even the wounds caused by the monsters were nothing huge. As they moved forward again they occasionally stopped and scouted ahead to avoid being ambushed again. That day until the sun had set no more monsters were spotted and the players decided to rest until morning. The next two days were also uneventful, but on the third another large group of monsters started appearing. This time they weren¡¯t all weak monsters. There were ogres and trolls mixed in with the common mobs while charging. The group still didn¡¯t encounter much difficulty during the battle but that was starting to change. The day after the second skirmish they were attacked again, this time with a large minotaur leading the army. The player army struggled to halt the boss¡¯s advances as arrows and magic didn¡¯t faze the bull creature. The rampaging minotaur had crashed into the warrior line and struck a large hammer at the head of one of the shield players instantly killing him. The expedition had its first casualty. Following the death of a player the leader had ordered players to march non-stop without rest, the rest agreed to run away from the hordes chasing them through the plain. The decision of course backfired! With the players exhausted they performed poorly in battle and started to get picked of one by one. First there was only one, but soon it climbed to two players dead and by the end of the week had reached 13. Normally if on an expedition quest players that die would just respawn at the city the set of from. But this was no ordinary game. 13 people had died trying to complete the quest, Hime and Amy were still fine as they were always behind the front lines. But slowly as the warriors were killed and the defense thinning out they both had some close encounters. Hime tried to shoot at every monster that came their way but as soon as the lines were beached they would run from the field and start attacking once they reached a distance again. After another 3 days of running, the expedition force finally found their salvation. At the edge of the wide plains they spotted a small village ahead. As the group ran towards the settlement the ranged players took out the stragglers that were still chasing them. Hime skillfully used her ¡®rapid shot¡¯ and ¡®piercing arrow¡¯ skills to kill the small number of mobs chasing them before she followed the group into the village. ================================================================================== After a day resting at the village they had found with the others Hime and Amy were eating breakfast at a small tavern. ¡°Phew, we did it Hime!¡± ¡°I thought we were to reach a large city and establish a safe route?¡± ¡°Apparently some of our group had met players from this region! The city¡¯s only a day away! It¡¯s something called Prax I think......¡± ¡°Really!? Thank God....¡± Hime relaxed and slumped into the chair ¡°Yep, the quest update said that when we reach the city the duke of Prax would supply troops to secure the route to Roden.¡± Hearing the good news Hime sipped her tea and gazed outside the window. ¡°So we have to go back to Roden, huh?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Nothing, it¡¯s just we¡¯ll probably come back here,,, Shouldn¡¯t we stay?¡± ¡°What are you saying? How will we get the reward if we don¡¯t head back!¡± ¡°Right....¡± It seems Hime didn¡¯t have a choice ¡°Anyway we¡¯re moving towards Prax in a few hours. Let¡¯s relax while we can! When we head back we¡¯ll have to fight monster hordes again....¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. We should prepare for that.¡± Hime nodded and finished her drink.
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Chapter 13: Desert Bounty Chapter 13: Desert Bounty ================================================================================== On a deserted street 2 players were heading towards the plaza when they spotted a hooded player walking past them. One of them kept his eyes on the figure and turned to his friend. ¡°Oi, look.... Is that him?¡± ¡°Hm? Who?¡± ¡°Dude. Do you live under a rock or something? I¡¯m talking about that rumored hunter!¡± ¡°Hunter? Will you just tell me already!¡± ¡°Tsk, you¡¯re hopeless.... There¡¯s a rumor all around Tyrne that a pair of mages are killing every bounty there is around here!¡± ¡°You mean that guy? Come on! He¡¯s only got some black leather and a coat on him!¡± ¡°You idiot. That¡¯s what¡¯s making them famous! No one has even seen their faces but only know their gear.¡± ¡°What about the gear?¡± ¡°Black armor, a white spear and white sword. That has to be one of them!¡± ¡°I thought you said two mages?¡± ¡°Yep, apparently one of them doesn¡¯t need a staff.¡± ¡°Already?! It¡¯s not even been 6 months!¡± ¡°You also know about the dragon hunters from Rygar? Same guys.¡± ¡°For real! Man, let¡¯s tail him!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t have to tell me!¡± ¡°Look he¡¯s going around the corner! Hurry up!¡± Rushing down the street they chased after the mysterious player and peeked around the corner. ¡°Ha, Ha? He¡¯s gone!¡± ¡°Damn it, we lost him! It was a good chance to see his face too!¡± ¡°Well, if it were that easy everyone would know who they are....¡± ¡°Haaah, what a waste. We could¡¯ve gotten a few secrets from him....¡± Realizing they had lost the trail the players gave up and started making way to the plaza again. =================================================================================== It¡¯s been a week since Sylva and I killed the giant earth worms. In that week we just completed bounty quests but somehow we managed to attract some attention... After losing the players tailing me I sprinted to where Sylva and I agreed to meet up, just near the desert from last week. As I got there I saw her already waiting with her arms folded. ¡°You¡¯re late, Haruki.¡± ¡°Haah, sorry about that. I had to take a little detour.¡± ¡°Hm, then it can¡¯t be helped..¡± ¡°Man, I thought there weren¡¯t any fame points in this game but practically everyone knows about us now!¡± ¡°We do attract attention though. I mean look. We¡¯re both in black carrying white weapons, that¡¯s not easy to forget. Some even see us fighting monsters in the field.¡± ¡°Yeah, and now we gotta keep our hoods up even in the tavern....¡± ¡°Anyway, what¡¯s today¡¯s quest, Haruki?¡± As Sylva asked I opened the active quest window and checked it
Quest: Desert Scorpion Bounty A giant desert scorpion has been sighted attacking caravans heading toward Tyrne and disrupting trade routes. Witness claims it 2 giant poison stings and covered in a shell as hard as iron. Quest Clear: Hunt down the Giant Scorpion Difficulty: C+
¡°Let¡¯s see.... A giant 2 tailed scorpion in the desert. The bounty said it was poisonous so I brought a lot of antidote potions.¡± ¡°Okay, then let¡¯s head out.¡± After checking the stack of antidotes in my inventory, I walked forward deeper into the desert. The temperature was extremely hotter as we ventured deeper. Thirst kept striking me as I continuously reached for the water canteen and noticed it was only half full even though we just started. ¡°Sylva, my canteen¡¯s only half full..... You think you could conjure some ice? It¡¯ll melt soon enough in this heat giving me water...¡± ¡°Sure, after we finish. Can¡¯t waste any mana before we even fight.¡± ¡°....¡± Being denied more water I just held in my thirst as sweat dripped from my forehead blurring my sight. We scouted a large area but still didn¡¯t find the target. Some regular desert scorpions but no giant 2 tailed one. ¡°Maybe we should try tomorrow?¡± Sylva asked as it was getting dark We were worn out form fighting some regular monsters but I wasn¡¯t about to waste a whole day without any results. ¡°No. I think when night comes the scorpion should come out from the sand.... It should be more active at night.¡± ¡°Fine. Why don¡¯t you scout ahead while I setup camp. We might as well stay here today.¡± ¡°Good idea. Then I¡¯ll be back in a moment.¡± Walking around a few hundred meters I finally saw a giant shape coming out from its burrow. ¡°All right, found you now!¡± I charged at the dark mass and suddenly found my feet stuck. I looked down and saw that it was quicksand! Well that¡¯s not good. I tried pulling my legs up to no avail as I slowly sank beneath. Crap this is really bad... I can¡¯t die here like this! Using everything I have I discharged shocks from my feet and tried jumping up again. This time I didn¡¯t only sink but the whole ground collapsed! ¡°Waaaaaaa..¡± ===================================================================================== As I woke up I found myself in a small tunnel that was full of sand. I looked up and noticed sand slowly pouring from above. Looks like that was where I fell....
Hidden dungeon found: Desert tunnels
This is a dungeon? Looks like for now I¡¯m separated from Sylva.... I was quite relieved to find myself stuck in a dungeon. At least I wasn¡¯t buried under sand suffocating.... And if this is a dungeon I should be able to get back to the surface. Keeping my thoughts positive, I stood up slowly and surveyed the surrounding area. No monsters yet, but that was only a matter of time. I started to walk while using a small electric spark on a finger to use as a light. In front of me there was only a single path. I nearly had to crawl due to the size of the tunnel that was gradually shrinking. I kept going through and came out at a space enough to fit a building. As I tried to move forward I heard the sounds of something crawling in the dark. Unable to see I cast lightning bolt at its direction to light up the room. My God! The scene that was there was something from a horror movie. Scorpions were crawling all over the place! Not just a few but at least hundreds! They¡¯re smaller then the giant ones maybe just 2 times as big as regular ones but to be crowded by them will be the end of me..... If they all stung at me the poison would just slowly kill me anyway so I couldn¡¯t get hit no matter what. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. I quickly discharged lightning bolts from my hands but they were slowly creeping up at my position. Damn! Lightning bolt only strikes for an instant.... I need a skill that can have continuous attacks.... Of course! I can just keep emitting discharge from my hands! Though if I use too much mana it¡¯ll be useless... Focusing mana to my hands I imagine electricity flowing from my hands and maintaining them. Sparks flew out of my hand and hit the scorpions at the front. Okay I did it! Now I have to maintain it as long as I can.... Thankfully these monsters didn¡¯t have much HP so they were dying pretty fast. As the last of the swarm was wiped out a new skill window had appeared.
Lightning Arc (Beginner) lv.2 A continuous discharge of lightning that is maintained by consuming mana. It is much weaker than the a fast lightning bolt but can be controlled for a longer period of time. Lightning damage (very small) Cost: 15 mana/sec
Ah, this skill reminds me of a certain emperor........ Well whatever, at least I can move ahead now. Behind the hundreds of corpses there seems to be an opening. Light was pouring out of it so I should be near the surface.... Not wasting another second in this cursed scorpion hive I ran to the light stepping on dead scorpions as their shells made a crunching sound. I climbed out of the hole and saw the moonlight reflecting on a surface of water. Looks like the entrance was near an oasis.... I was just about to take a sip when I heard a huge thud beside me. It was the quest monster! Now that I think of it that dungeon was probably its lair..... I drew my wakizashi and spear for this battle. If its shell is really as hard as steel I need some serious armor penetration,,, The giant monster started to attack with its claws trying to get a hold of me as I dodged rather easily. I was about to stab at it when it stinger came down aimed at my head. ¡°Tsk!!!¡± I blocked it with the dragonling blade and jumped back before the second tail could attack me. It seems with 4 limbs for attacking it¡¯ll be hard to find an opening.... I tried using magic on it but the shell of the monster was just burnt a bit without any significant damage. Looks like purely magic attack¡¯s a no go. The only chance I have is with Ascalon then! I ran forward again this time while circling to the right. When its sings started to stab I jumped forward causing them to hit the ground behind me, Charging the spear with mana I thrust at its side. With the lightning magic the spear plunged into its body but not deep enough. Pulling back this time I was too late to dodge one of its poison stingers. The tip of it grazed my leg poisoning me. My leg can''t feel a thing as poison starts to spread to my whole body. I hurried and opened my inventory and took out several vials of the antidote I prepared for he hunt. It took 3 of them to cure the poison but my leg still had a wound gushing out blood. I have to end this battle fast! Even with a small attack the poison¡¯s effects are really dangerous! If my body becomes paralyzed then its over! I stood up as the monster was about to crush me between its claws and jumped to the side. I can¡¯t just recklessly move forward now. We started slowly moving watching each other¡¯s moves. My eyes were glued to the tails that kept following me. I kept poking at it without much damage as it tried over and over to hit me once more with the tails. Alright then... If the spear¡¯s also useless at least I¡¯ll use it to pin it down. I run to the direction I think I came from and found a sand dune. Running up the sand hill my feet was half buried with each step, but I have to reach the top first. As soon as I reached the top I jumped to the giant arthropod and used to the spear to stab at the top of its body piercing it deeply with the force of my jump and making it lodge into the sand like a stake. Rolling off the creature I tried stepping back but it couldn¡¯t follow me! Good. If it can¡¯t move this should be easy now. Sheathing the short sword I took out the long katana now. I used hit and run attacks and quickly sliced of the legs one by one until it wasn''t able to move a single bit. Helpless against my strikes I finished it off by bashing lightning blade at its eyes and killed it from all the accumulated damage. Oh looks like it dropped some materials!
Desert Scorpion plates [Material] A material that is both hard and flexible. Obtained from the body of a special giant scorpion these pieces can be used to craft high level armor.
Yes! This is high quality loot! If I make armor from this it should give me better defense without sacrificing speed which was my strongest point. It¡¯s been a while since I battled by myself so I was more tired than usual. Walking back to the oasis I decided to find Sylva tomorrow. The poisons effects are still making me rather drowsy. For now I need a nap...... This should be the last bounty quest for now. With this quest''s reward we have enough gold and our levels have risen by quite a few so we should start preparing for Roden....
Quest Completed: Desert Scorpion Bounty You have eradicated the threat to merchants travelling the desert. You may claim the reward for the bounty at the Merchant''s guild. Reward: -20 gold -exp up
Level has risen by 1
Great.... I have to meet Sagami for the reward..................
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Chapter 14: Nero Argento <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Author notes: It''s been a while since I last updated since RL has been really busy for me.... I just thought that I had to say something to all of you who read the story so I put a small section before the chapter for the first time :kyaaaa: The releases are probably going to be slower then when I started but I plan to keep the story going on for a long time so I don''t have plans on dropping it. Well thats all I have to say I guess (forgive me for this unimportant announcement hehe) PS. Help me out by giving reviews or comments about the fiction so I can keep improving my skills. It''ll really help me out to understand what makes my story interesting or boring and how to make it better! <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Chapter 14: Nero Argento ====================================================================================
Light Desert Scorpion Armor (Common) Armor made from desert scorpion plates. It¡¯s hardness gives the wearer high protection against attacks without the burden of heavy metal plate armor. Defense: 124
I check the item description of my new armor for the third time after it was crafted. The defense was really high but it was only a common piece unlike my old Rygar leather armor.... That¡¯s most likely because it doesn¡¯t give any bonus options and just had a high defense value. That¡¯s fine though, I need protection more than some bonus stats. I can just keep training to increase them anyway. Double checking my inventory I found it was filled with some random monster parts from the bounties I did for the past few weeks. It¡¯s already been more than 3 weeks since I heard about Hime¡¯s quest. Sylva and I are ready to hit the road to Roden now! Hearing a knock at the door I stood up and opened the door. ¡°Haruki, are you ready?¡± ¡°Yeah, what does that guy want anyway? Maybe we should just leave without meeting him....¡± ¡°If he was the one that called for us it must be important.¡± ¡°Fine, I know already.¡± Even though Sylva much more relaxed now but I guess she¡¯s still a serious person no matter what. With her face and attitude she gives off a ¡®Yamato Nadeshiko¡¯ vibe. Well she¡¯s not Japanese but I guess thats the closest word I can think of to describe her? ¡°Don¡¯t you want to quickly find Hime?¡± she asked as I was staring at her ¡°Huh? Oh, yeah! I¡¯m all set.¡± Leaving the place we stayed for weeks at we headed down the street and arrived in front of a building we visited a few times while here at Tyrne. Making our way up the stairs we reached the door and entered without knocking. ¡°Ah Haruki and Sylva! Always a pleasure!¡± ¡°What do you want Sagami? We were about to leave you know.¡± ¡°I am aware. It seems new of the Expedition¡¯s success has already spread.¡± ¡°I know! That¡¯s why we¡¯re heading there!¡± I nearly screamed at him ¡°Impatient as always I see. What I called you for is about the quest so hear me out for a while.¡± ¡°We will, go on.¡± Sylva answered while calming me down ¡°Though the quest was success, the players are still finishing by securing a permanent route to a new region. It seems that with this more players will be connected and interact with each other.¡± ¡°And why is that important.¡± I ask ¡°As you know we might find a way to beat this game by continuing to explore this world. In fact none of us really know much about the game world itself besides information of the starting region. You might say we¡¯re only finishing the game prologue with this.¡± Straightening his back he looked at us with a serious expression. ¡°With more players meeting there is a possibility of figuring something out but more players doesn¡¯t mean we¡¯re safer than before....¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Sylva also tensed her face ¡°Imagine this. More players interacting while trapped here while there is no certain goal to achieve. It could lead to chaos! And the more we venture out to the world there¡¯s more danger with each place connected to here.¡± ¡°Are you saying that there could be player wars?¡± ¡°That is something that could happen.... Unless we know anything about ¡®how¡¯ we¡¯re supposed to leave this game, players will just remain wandering aimlessly doing what they want.¡± ¡°Stop beating around the bush and tell us what you¡¯re saying to us!¡± ¡°What I¡¯m saying is...... It might be necessary to kill other players out there. Make no mistake, our survival isn¡¯t only threatened by monsters of this game. Desperate humans are much more deadly than any monster....¡± ¡°What! ¡®Kill¡¯ others! That¡¯s not a solution!¡± I became frustrated ¡°Haruki, if players were about to kill you or your allies will you just lie down and give up. I¡¯m telling you that you need to be prepared to kill if you or the people you care about are in danger.¡± I stay silent at his words. The resolve to kill. Though I¡¯ve already killed I still don¡¯t want to do it. But Sagami¡¯s words were true... If anyone were to try and harm Hime or Sylva I have to be prepared for that much. ¡°Haha, well of course that is all just my personal speculation. I merely wanted you to know this.¡± Sagami smiled ¡°Why did you tell us this?¡± Sylva asked ¡°Of course because we¡¯re allies right! I have a feeling that cooperation between us is in both our interests is it not? You could say that I¡¯m betting on you to do something.¡± Sagami said as he grinned As much as I disliked being allied with this shrewd guy I couldn¡¯t dismiss what he said. Without the help of his information network I wouldn¡¯t have known where Hime was so quickly. ¡°That¡¯s fine I guess. But I doubt we¡¯ll return here in the near future though.¡± ¡°Hehe, I am no NPC. I am not bound to this city more than you. I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll be meeting again Haruki, Sylva.¡± It seems that he told us what he wanted. I quickly left with Sylva while thinking about what he had said. ==================================================================================== Heading to the gates as usual for the past few days we drew some attention towards us. ¡°Look! Those are the top players here in Tyrne!¡± someone pointed at us ¡°Whoa! So they¡¯re ¡®Nero Argento¡¯!¡± ¡°Damn, they really do look stronger than us normal players!¡± We walked by ignoring them gawking at us and kept heading to the city gates. The sooner we leave the better, I¡¯m tired with all this nonsense... Oh yeah, It seems we¡¯re known by a name now! ¡®Nero Argento¡¯ Black and Silver. It¡¯s stupid name if you ask me but Sylva said that simple is what people memorize. Apparently they made up a name because calling us ¡®pair of mage bounty hunters¡¯ was a hassle. The rumors were like wildfire and some were absolutely absurd. Some say that we¡¯re hackers that could cheat the game and became stronger because of this. Some say that we¡¯re elite professional players with special training or that we¡¯re GM¡¯s. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. There was one that was full blown in its craziness made me twitch every time it crossed my mind. This specific rumor says that we¡¯re a pair of lovers that were trapped by fate and got stuck in the death game but didn¡¯t give up and decided to conquer the game. People sure love dramatic stories. I admit that if they weren¡¯t talking about me I would find that to be somewhat cool for a movie but now I¡¯m just scared of people¡¯s stupidity... ¡°What¡¯s wrong Haruki?¡± Sylva noticed me facepalming ¡°Nah, it¡¯s just... I was distracted by a specific rumor about us.....¡± ¡°Oh, that one right? That You and I are lovers and challenging fate and all that.¡± ¡°Shhhh, Not so loud! Who knows what they¡¯ll say nest if they hear you.¡± I looked around at the players watching us. What the! Some were even following us! Do they have too much free time?! ¡°Isn¡¯t it normal for rumors to be false? Besides as a Woman I myself can find the appeal of such a story.¡± ¡°True. But doesn¡¯t it bother you?¡± I looked at her questioningly ¡°You and me as lovers? Not really.¡± ¡°Wha- What do you mean by that!¡± I was about to keep questioning but noticed she was smiling mischievously. She was joking! Man, whenever she breaks character it gives me a hard time because she¡¯s usually serious I just sighed and gave up. The gates come into view and we left while the players following us scattered. Seeing that it was clear, we took off the hoods and started to walk when someone called out. ¡°SYLVA!¡± Surprised, we turned around and saw a man and woman there. That¡¯s weird. Even though they saw our faces shouldn¡¯t they not know our names. The brown haired man just walked over to us and started talking while the woman behind him looked annoyed. ¡°Sylva! I knew it was you! You¡¯re alive! Thank God!¡± ¡°Um, Sylva? Are they friends of yours?¡± I asked her ¡°............No.¡± she frowned ¡°Huh, don¡¯t tell me you forgot about me, Sylva it¡¯s me Mark! And that¡¯s Rachel!¡± He smiled and suddenly grabbed Sylva¡¯s hand Who is this guy? Mark he said? I took a closer look at him and it hit me. He and the woman were Sylva¡¯s old party. The ones that escaped leaving her to die! I clenched my fists holding back my anger and observed him for a while. Maybe he had something important to say.... ¡°We were worried you know! After what happened to Sam.... We tried looking for you but we couldn¡¯t! We though you were also killed!¡± ¡°Mark, let¡¯s go. We¡¯re done here right?¡± The woman named Rachel spoke up ¡°What? Not yet! Sylva, let¡¯s join up again. We¡¯re comrades right? We should stick together from now on!¡± ¡°.........¡± ¡°when I heard that there were high level mages I thought it was you and I was right! Let¡¯s team up again and continue our struggle!¡± Mark smiled shamelessly I couldn¡¯t take it anymore and started talking to him. ¡°I¡¯m sorry but as you can see we¡¯re busy. Sylva is currently travelling with me.¡± I say bluntly ¡°Huh? Who are you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Haruki..... Sylva¡¯s friend.¡± ¡°Haruki? Oh, right. The rumors said a pair of mages.¡± ¡°You can come too if you want.¡± I started to get real pissed off at this guy. First he abandoned someone and when he heard that they were stronger he comes crawling back! This person¡¯s attitude was truly shameless. ¡°Sorry Mark. But I don¡¯t have any intentions to group up with you again.¡± Sylva answered ¡°Wait, why?¡± ¡°As Haruki said we have business elsewhere.¡± ¡°Come on, let¡¯s just head somewhere and talk about it first.¡± Saying that he grabbed Sylva¡¯s arm and started pulling her forcefully away. Rage immediately boiled up in my chest as I drew my katana and pressed it at his neck. ¡°Let her go....¡± I say threateningly I started to use a bit of mana and was surprised to see that the blade had some sparks of red. ¡°He-Hey! What¡¯s your problem! She¡¯s our comrade!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you dare say that. You saved yourselves and left her to die and now you say you¡¯re her comrade? You disgust me.¡± ¡°You jerk! Let mark go!¡± Rachel suddenly grabbed him and pulled him back. It seems she cares about this Mark guy. Well she also left Sylva so I was also pissed at her. ¡°Haruki, come on let¡¯s just go...¡± ¡°....Okay. You two, don¡¯t show your faces in front of me again.¡± ¡°Wait, we¡¯ll talk with Sylva even if we have to force you!¡± Mark said as he reached his greatsword Without giving him a chance to do anything I launched a lightning bolt at him forcing him back a full 10 meters ¡°Force me? Don¡¯t make me laugh! I could easily kill you both if you keep forcing my hand!¡± I mocked him ¡°Kuuuh....¡± It seems my threat was effective. Without a word Rachel put his arm around her shoulder and started to walk away. Seeing the two of them leave I lowered my guard and also left. ==================================================================================== After walking some distance from the city outskirts Sylva started to talk to me about before. ¡°Did you really have to threaten them like that?¡± ¡°....It was the fastest way.¡± ¡°What if he was killed by your magic? Won¡¯t that just cause more trouble?¡± ¡°I knew it wouldn¡¯t. He didn¡¯t look too weak for a single attack.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not the point.¡± ¡°Sylva, aren¡¯t you mad at them? I mean, they left you to die! Why should you care about them.¡± ¡°I was. But I don¡¯t think we should hold grudges in this game. Remember what Sagami said.¡± ¡°What he said is precisely why I did that! That bastard was trying to use you!¡± ¡°I know but I still don¡¯t think you should threaten to kill someone just because you can.¡± She looked straight into my eyes ¡°Haaaah, you¡¯re right.... I¡¯m sorry. I kinda snapped back there.¡± ¡°No need to apologize. I also understand your concern.¡± She smiled Seeing her smiling face it struck me again that she really calms me down whenever I start acting up. The stress from this world was really getting to me. In short, I was really grateful to have her with me. If I was alone I probably would¡¯ve gone mad because of this game. I¡¯m glad that she¡¯s my comrade... ¡°Anyway, we should keep going. It¡¯ll be a few days before we get there.¡± ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s get back on track.¡± We kept heading down the road to Roden. Just a little more. With this I¡¯ll be able to meet Hime again. It¡¯s been a long time. 6 months for her trapped here. I can only hope that we can all survive the game to the end.
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Chapter 15: Troubles of the Expedition Chapter 15: Troubles of the Expedition =================================================================================== When we arrived at Roden I noticed something was odd. For the largest town in the region everyone sure looked gloomy and that wasn¡¯t just the players. Even the NPCs were in a strange mood. ¡°You think something happened?¡± I ask the girl beside me ¡°Most likely. I¡¯ll ask someone.¡± Sylva walked off and approached a stall nearby and asked a merchant NPC. ¡°Excuse me, what seems to be happening in town?¡± The merchant looked at Sylva with disbelief before answering the question. ¡°You haven¡¯t heard miss? A few days ago the Commander Gil declared the city in a state of war. They¡¯ve been sending troops to the north now.¡± ¡°War!? With another city?¡± I interrogated him cutting his speech short. That made him look at me with displeasure but he answered me anyway. ¡°No, it seems monster hordes have been coming down the mountains and disrupting the trade route effort.¡± ¡°Trade route?¡± I was puzzled with what he meant ¡°Word is we established contact with a region to the north a few weeks back. Problem is the task force is constantly attacked by monsters delaying it.¡± I suddenly realize what he meant. The expedition quest! From what he said it looks like the quest wasn¡¯t over yet as they haven¡¯t returned. Moreover they¡¯re under pressure from monster armies! ¡°Is the expedition team fine?¡± Sylva asked as I was thinking to myself ¡°It¡¯s a stalemate out there. Seems the largest group of those beasts are marching towards the soldier¡¯s position in a couple of days.¡± ¡°I see... Thank you, sir.¡± The merchant just silently nodded as we walked away from him. Sylva was still waiting for me to break the silence while watching me think. ¡°Sylva, I¡¯m thinking of heading out there to help the quest players. Since Hime will be there I have to go as fast as possible.¡± ¡°I know.¡± ¡°Are you going to wait for us here? After all it seems the quest is harder than simple bounties....¡± ¡°You know, Haruki. Sometimes I wonder if you¡¯re utterly brainless.¡± Sylva mercilessly said. I admit that it was my fault though. ¡°.......Sylva, this is a personal matter. There¡¯s really no need for you to go. It¡¯s not like we¡¯re separating ways.¡± ¡°It¡¯s hardly personal Haruki. The quest seems essential for the game progress. I am merely trying to survive this game.¡± She said calmly Even though she said that I knew that she just wanted to help. I was the one who suggested her to wait but truthfully I¡¯m relieved she¡¯s going to help. After all, we spent lots of battles together so I know her capabilities. ¡°Hahaha...... Thank you, Sylva¡± I say while my lips curl up forming a huge smile ¡°Let¡¯s look for this Commander Gil shall we?¡± She replied ==================================================================================== After searching around the huge city we finally found the commander at the castle¡¯s inner courtyard. We also weren¡¯t the only players here. A bunch was gathered around looking tense while tending their gear. ¡°Halt! State your business traveler!¡± An NPC guard steps up to us ¡°Um, we¡¯re here to see Commander Gil? We have business regarding the expedition.¡± ¡°I see. More volunteers eh? The Commander¡¯s just up ahead.¡± Finished dealing with us the guard stepped back to his post and let us through. I looked for someone the Commander and instantly found him. His plate armor was a dark blue and had decorations all over it. He certainly looked like he was in charge. ¡°Excuse me, Commander Gil?¡± ¡°Hm? What do you want kid? I¡¯m busy.¡± He was about to walk away but I stopped him ¡°Please wait! We¡¯re here to join the ques- I mean troops to the north.¡± ¡°You¡¯re here to volunteer? I¡¯ll have to judge your abilities first...¡± He turned our way and focused on us. Suddenly my status window had popped up in front of me! It seems that this quest had a level requirement and NPCs could access our status windows...
Status
[quart=Name,level]Haruki,64 [/quart][quart=Health,Mana]5160,6370 [/quart][quart=Strength,Dexterity]155,153 [/quart][quart=Vitality,Agility]143,209[/quart][quart=Endurance,Intelligence]97,108 [/quart][quart=Luck,Wisdom]20,147[/quart]
Title
Rookie Dragon Hunter
I also looked at the window and thought about my stats. Since I use most of my level up bonus stats on wisdom and intelligence they were steadily rising. The physical stats were also improving quickly thanks to my training and battles! But there was also a problem there. Since my fighting style mainly uses dodges my endurance isn¡¯t as high as the others. That made my HP rather lacking compared to the amount of mana I have. Well, At least I can keep using my skills with the large mana pool. I don¡¯t even know what luck does, so it had a low value ever since I began..... Our levels were rising much faster than average players so we¡¯re probably among the highest leveled for now. This is mostly because the ¡®Bond of Trust¡¯ Exp bonus and the fact we were practically grinding nonstop. ¡°Oho! It seems your much stronger than you look! To think you¡¯ve killed dragonkind before!¡± Huh? Even the title¡¯s visible to NPCs? ¡°You two are fine! You will be of tremendous aid to us.¡± It looks like some of the players also heard what Gil said and were looking at us curiously. ¡°Dragon? The one at Rygar?¡± ¡°Oh, They must be the players that wiped out Tyrne¡¯s bounty quests!¡± ¡°what were they called? Neo age or something?¡± ¡°It¡¯s Nero Argento. Looks like they¡¯re looking to join the quest!¡± ¡°Hmm, That¡¯s good I guess. We¡¯ll need the best here.¡± It seems that our fame even reached here. But doesn¡¯t look like they¡¯re too surprised about this. I guess high level players aren¡¯t like usual ones. ¡°Oi, you two! The next group leaves tomorrow morning! Ask the details to the squad captain.¡± Gil told us ¡°Yes, sir!¡± Dismissed by the commander we started looking around and found the person we were looking for. ¡°Captain!¡± ¡°Ah, the new volunteers. Here to ask about the task?¡± ¡°That¡¯s correct sir.¡± Sylva answered politely ¡°Good. As you know we¡¯re leaving tomorrow morning! The main force and returning expedition is camped about 2 days from here. Problem is that the monster hordes been following them from the far north! If we don¡¯t crush them the city could be attacked.¡± The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Quest: Reinforcing the Expedition Roden¡¯s expedition force has successfully contacted the region north of here. To establish a safe route they must eliminate the monsters that have descended from the mountain range. You must relieve the exhausted group and defeat the threat to the city! Quest Clear: Monster horde eliminated or routed Difficulty: B+
Confirming the quest information I asked about the enemy troops. ¡°I heard that the monster¡¯s main troops are already marching? Is this true?¡± ¡°Unfortunately yes. That¡¯s why we¡¯re leaving tomorrow. We should arrive just as the battle starts!¡± ¡°I see.... Than we should go and prepare ourselves.¡± ¡°Uh-huh. Make sure you¡¯re ready by tomorrow!¡± Bowing towards the captain Sylva and I returned to the city streets and found a restaurant to rest for a while. It¡¯ll be a good idea to discuss our plans first. ¡°So what do you think Sylva?¡± ¡°The quest¡¯s pretty simple. The only problem is we don¡¯t know much about the enemy troops.¡± ¡°Hmm, I hope they turn out to be weak mobs....¡± ¡°If that were the case the best players of Roden wouldn¡¯t have much trouble.¡± Sylva shot down my thoughts ¡°Aaaah, Can¡¯t I at least hope for it.... Fuuh, I hope she¡¯s alright.....¡± Sylva didn¡¯t say anything like ¡®it¡¯ll be alright¡¯ or ¡®I¡¯m sure she is¡¯. We both knew that there was a possibility that she¡¯s already....... No! Gotta stay positive here! ¡°So, anyway.. Do we need to prepare anything important?¡± ¡°Probably just some potions and basic stuff. A day¡¯s not enough to do anything worthwhile.¡± ¡°Hm maybe I should just train for a while.¡± ¡°That so? Well then I¡¯ll buy the potions and head to the castle first then.¡± ¡°Yeah, thanks.¡± Shortly after we talked the food we ordered arrived. Since we had a whole lot of gold it was a pretty luxurious meal. Ending our break we split up as I headed towards the city training grounds. =================================================================================== I wonder what I should train? I don¡¯t see any problems with my melee since lightning blade¡¯s nearly at advanced level and my strength should be on par with pure warriors. The only thing I can manage to think of is my rather weak magic. Compared to mages like Sylva my damage output is somewhat lacking. Yep! Looks like I¡¯m training magic today! Getting ready, I started to focus mana and channel it into my palms as usual. Static sparks started to form and my hands were covered in lightning. I cast lightning bolts at some dummies to hone my skill usage. Skill proficiency doesn¡¯t increase in training grounds but the practice is useful. For several hours I tried various stuff out and repeated them as soon as my mana was replenished. I used lightning movement and practiced moving around while imagining a battle in my head. I practiced lightning arc numerous times while experimenting on it. Looks like I could use it even while I was moving around... That¡¯ll help whittle down enemy HP steadily even when I¡¯m dodging attacks! I even tried increasing the amount of mana I use in my skills but it still fails. For a whole month I still haven¡¯t further increased lightning resistance which limited my flexibility a lot. Talk about a double edged sword! Every time I try to unleash more powerful magic it ends up damaging me and ruining my concentration. Not only that I can¡¯t use magic as my main tool because the mana cost was just too much! Maybe I¡¯m doing something wrong? Magic user players don¡¯t waste as much mana as I do.... Of course they use staffs but I still felt something was missing. I started thinking about it for a while and just decided to keep trying. This time I pictured my mana forming into lightning from my body and focused on the image. I started to breath slowly and let mana flow from the tips of my fingers. Holding them steady I started to do some fast movements while keeping my mana output level. Moving around the ground it would look like I was practicing some sort of kung-fu with chi visible..... After an hour of doing this I was interrupted by a game window floating in my face.
You have created a new skill through practice!
Magic Mastery (Beginner) lv. 1 A skill that every magic user has knowledge of. The user will be much more attuned to the flow of mana and will be able to master basic magic spells. 1% magic damage ; 0.5% mana reduction cost
My eyes were blinking rapidly at my newfound skill. This is it! This is what I was missing! The most basic skills for magic users.... It¡¯s not surprising that I didn¡¯t have it until now. Players usually have NPCs teach them skills that are basic for them. Considering I didn¡¯t really focus on magic it¡¯s no wonder I just learned this skill! The damage increase and mana reduction doesn¡¯t really affect much but if I keep raising its level it¡¯ll be indispensible. Even better it seems that the damage increase will stack with lightning affinity. If both those skills keep leveling up I¡¯ll probably have much more magic damage than before. Hm, but I guess this means if I start trying any other element it¡¯ll just be wasted since my affinity skill makes up for my subpar intelligence. Huhu, but that¡¯s fine. With this I¡¯ll be using magic more properly in the future... With my sword skills and lightning mastery I¡¯m already a capable battlemage! Smiling to myself I notice that black skies had already covered the city. Time for me to regroup with Sylva then. Closing the information window, I walked towards the castle while promising myself to use magic more to increase the skill proficiency faster.
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Chapter 16: The Fate that Reunites <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Author notes: Hey guys! Another update today! Since I''m real busy with school on weekdays expect more frequent updates on weekends Anyway the new chapter is longer than usual, almost 2 times my normal length... Okay, please read the chapter and enjoy! As usual thanks a lot for reading and just leave a comment to tell me what you think about it. You could also help out by giving an honest review! It really helps! :) <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> ================================================================================== Chapter 16: The Fate that Reunites ================================================================================== The journey back from Prax was easier than reaching it. The expedition players had received 300 soldiers from the ruler of Prax to establish a safe route. Besides that Roden also sent forces their way to help out the quest group. Hime knew that getting back to Roden was the easy part. That¡¯s why they were in this situation. Only a few days away from the city the players and soldiers were holed up near the passage of the mountain range. They had to fend off the monster troops that kept following them from near Prax! ¡°ENEMY RAID!!¡± Hearing the watchman warn the entire force Hime quickly got ready to face the attack. In front of her were about 250 mid level monsters charging at the entire formation. The players and city soldiers outnumbered them with a total of 1000 men and women. With additional players from Roden, Hime was part of 130 players that faced the monster invasion. She was glad that the quest group received help from Roden as she thought they would have to finish with the survivors from the initial expedition only. Gripping her bow tightly she notched an arrow and aimed at the sky. *Woooosh* The sound of hundreds of bows unleashing rain of steel on the enemy could be heard when the troops opened fire. This however only served to hinder the monsters minimally. Most arrows had bounced of their thick armor of beast bones with barely a scratch. Not giving up Hime kept firing her bow managing to kill off a few of them herself. With snarls and growls only more than 100 had survived the attacks from the archers. It was now up to the warriors at the front line. Clashing against each other the monsters put up a vicious struggle as the overwhelming number of the expedition force surrounded them. Just a few minutes later the skirmish was over. The soldiers suffered only 12 casualties while none of the players had died. Hime wasn¡¯t happy however even with the landslide victory. That was because of the reports from scouts a few days ago.
Quest update: You have repelled a monster raid group successfully. Time until main encounter: 25 hours
¡°Players! Gather near the command tent!¡± Hime¡¯s thoughts were disturbed when the quest leader had called them. Rushing over she soon spotted Amy and tapped her shoulder. ¡°Hey. How you holding up?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine... Just been busy healing all the wounded.¡± Amy said quietly ¡°I see... well not many healers or mages survived....¡± ¡°Yeah, I practically use mana for heals only now¡± she smiled wryly ¡°Hang in there, we¡¯ll be done soon!: Hime comforted her tired friend gently ¡°EHEM! Attention please! There are some announcements to be made. As you all know we¡¯re all nearing the end of the quest.....¡± All the players fell silent. It was true the quest was nearly over but the hardest part was coming. Scouts had spotted thousands of monsters making their way towards Roden from the mountain range. They believed it was the main force of the monsters. But their numbers easily dwarfed them 5 to 1. Naturally the players were worried about the coming batle... ¡°To face the last part of the quest to city has sent reinforcements our way! I¡¯ll leave the explanation to the representative of the city!¡± A well groomed man stepped forward at started addressing the players. ¡°A pleasure to meet you all, my name is Sagami a member of the merchants guild¡± the man smiled ¡°Merchants guild? What do they have to do with this?¡± a player questioned ¡°Well, we have a lot riding on this quest so of course the guild is involved.¡± The man put on a smile answering every players thought. Hime somehow didn¡¯t like the man. She felt that he was hiding something. She knew at a glance this man was pretending to be a polite and well mannered person with his fake business smile. She realized that this person had goals of his own...... ¡°May I continue?¡± Sagami looked around and found no objections. ¡°As you know the city will be sending more troops. Unfortunately only 500 will be arriving in time for the battle, with about 100 of them being players.¡± ¡°WHAT! Don¡¯t screw around! WE¡±RE AGAINST THOUSANDS HERE!¡± the gathered were in uproar ¡°Fufu, worry not. This number should be sufficient for the main battle. After all players are much stronger than monsters.¡± Hime also thought this way. The only reason she and the others were nervous was because the scale of the battle would be unlike anything they¡¯ve seen. It was a given they were on edge. ¡°The players joining will be the best we can send. In fact, maybe some of you know about them? I specifically guarantee that a certain pair of dragon hunters will not disappoint.¡± Sagami smirked confidently ¡°Dragon hunters? Oi, don¡¯t tell me-¡° ¡°Huh you know about them?¡± It seems some players knew about these so called dragon hunters. Hime however was clueless as to who they could be. She looked around and noticed the ones who had an idea just recently joined the quest and didn¡¯t go to Prax. ¡°Hime, you know what this is all about?¡± Amy tilted her head ¡°No clue.¡± ¡°What! You don¡¯t know?! Oh, you were gone for a month huh?¡± A teenage boy that looked even younger than Hime and Amy interrupted them. Even though she was slightly annoyed her curiosity won and she began to ask the person. ¡°Who are they talking about?¡± ¡°Wait a minute.... e-e-ehem. Okay I¡¯m ready. Prepare to listen to one of the most epic stories since the game began.¡± It seems the attention of everyone was now focused on the young boy. They silently listened as he began the tale.... ¡°You see fellow players. The past few weeks have everyone in the region has heard about the unbeatable duo of hunters that came on the scene. Starting their journey at Rygar they felled a dragon plaguing the city earning the respect of everyone there!¡± Of course the story was a little exaggerated but every one present held their voices. ¡°These players however were not done yet! Moving to Tyrne they practically completed every monster bounty quest there was using their powerful elemental magic. Completing tasks entire parties couldn¡¯t handle with just the two of them, they fight wearing black gear and white weapons as their hair also matched their title ¡®Nero Argento¡¯! Black and Silver!¡± ¡°And the most noteworthy of the tale is their tragic love story! A young couple forced to participate in a death game they relied on each other to try and defy fate itself! Disregarding the dangers of the world, they move forward to the future for survival as lovers to guard their love!¡± ¡°And now we hear that these players will be helping us out! I for one, am relieved to hear this! And that ladies and gentlemen is the tale of ¡®Nero Argento¡¯ this region¡¯s ultimate duo!¡± Bowing his head to the audience he received a fair amount of applause while some of them chuckled at the silly story. One way or another the story did help lighten the mood. ¡°Hime, Hime, Hime, wasn¡¯t that story really cool!!¡± Amy nearly jumped up and down ¡°I guess....¡± ¡°What! Come on! When I heard about them surviving with no one else to rely on but each other I nearly squealed out loud!¡± ¡°Amy.... You¡¯re really a teenage girl huh?¡± ¡°Hmph, well of course! Love stories will always be a part of my dreams! Ah I also wish I had a boyfriend....¡± Amy sighed ¡°You know, I¡¯m single sooo...¡± the teenage storyteller butted in again ¡°Haha, yeaaa, no.¡± Amy bluntly rejected him with a sweet smile ¡°......¡± Dejectedly the boy walked away to his own friends while some laughed at his face. ¡°Uum, anyway... I guess we¡¯ll be getting decent reinforcements tomorrow, huh?¡± Hime smiled awkwardly at her harsh friend of hers ¡°Yep, maybe this isn¡¯t really that bad of a situation.¡± ¡°Uh-huh so far we¡¯ve lost NPCs only, players seem to be strong enough.¡± The player of the quest started chatting after the story completely forgetting about the meetings purpose. With a quick yell from the leader everyone was paying attention to Sagami again. ¡°Ah, moving on. Apparently the completion of this quest will give us access to new locations and we¡¯ll meet other players. Seeing that players here are the best among others I hope that you keep clearing quests that you can. After all, we may find some way to escape this game.¡± Hime thought about what he said. If they kept playing they could find someway out. But this also means that the more someone plays the greater the risks. Sagami seemed finished with what he said and continued. ¡°Well that is all I have to say. I thank you for defending the city from the attack since many players are unable to fight. Most will be depending on your actions in this game....¡± Turning around he talked a bit with the quest leader and went to a nearby carriage. It seems he was returning to Roden. Hime guessed it was because he wasn¡¯t a combat oriented player..... ¡°Well, that¡¯ll be all people! Get some rest we¡¯ll be needing it for tomorrows battle!¡± Seeing as the meeting was over Hime and Amy returned to their assigned tent to wait for the final quest battle. ================================================================================= Morning had come as the camp was once again silently waiting for the upcoming fight. The city soldiers were kneeling and reciting a chant that seemed to be prayers while players fidgeted while checking their in game menus. Hime and Amy were also checking various stuff in their inventory and skill list. This was going to be their first battle with thousands of participants on both sides. Monsters against humans. It was going to be a scene that rivaled the best fantasy movies.... ¡°You ready?¡± Amy asked ¡°Yes.¡± Hime answered shortly while tying her hair up ¡°Looks like this time I¡¯ll be fighting too so we should stick together.....¡± This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. It seems Amy was a bit restless and decided to be near her friend to reassure herself. Knowing this Hime gently smiled and said: ¡°Of course, We¡¯re both getting through this.¡± ¡°.....Yeah!¡± Amy perked up The time was nearing as the enormous horde was spotted on the horizon. They were earlier than what was predicted. The battle was starting before reinforcements would bolster their ranks. Having no other option soldiers and players started to get into formation Hime and Amy stood further back while warriors formed a wall with their shields to meet the beasts head on. ¡°GROOAAAAAAA!!!!¡± The roar of the huge horde echoed around the area causing some of their side to slightly tremble. The sea of monsters parted as a mountain giant standing 7 meters tall came into view. It was carrying a large hammer like weapon which seemed to be made from mammoth tusks. This was the monster horde¡¯s strongest creature! No doubt it was a boss class enemy! Everyone was clearly nervous facing the monstrosity that towered over them. Nevertheless nobody ran. If they escaped than the horde would break through killing them sooner or later anyway.... Hime gritted her teeth and clenched her bow tight until it was visibly white. This was it. They had to clear this quest or it was all over. The battle started with a deafening roar from the giant leading the foes. Monsters came pouring down on the position they were at and quickly closed the distance between them. Hime also began to fire at will. Using every skill she had: ¡®rapid shot¡¯ ¡®piercing arrow¡¯ ¡®snipe shot¡¯ everything she had! The wind enchantment on her bow gave her attacks more damage than normal arrows as she managed to kill some high level ogres with a few shots. Beside her Amy was also casting her magic nonstop. Using simple spells she cast normal ¡®magic bolts¡¯ ¡® fireballs¡¯ and any other damage dealing spell she could. Since she was more focused on healing she didn¡¯t deal much damage as her power lacked compared to other range attacks. The few mages that had survived were casting wide area spells and picking off weakened monsters. Everywhere was in chaos as the battle raged on. Though they tried their best eliminating the enemy others would just fill the empty spaces of the dead monsters. It was as if they were against a never-ending flood! *CRAAAAAASH* The wall of shields had been rammed by the monster horde as the warriors ad soldier started to swing their weapons. Hime saw the carnage that was happening and started aiming at foes that were about to deal a killing blow. She tried the best she could but one by one casualties started to happen on the player side. Similar to what happened with the monster raid yesterday players were being surrounded and killed by sheer numbers. They didn¡¯t go down without a fight though. The monsters were also dropping dead with every player killing nearly 20 each! The soldiers on the other hand were equally matched with the monsters and fell much faster than the players causing them to be surrounded even more. As the battle continued nearly half the enemy troops were defeated but half the soldiers had perished while a fourth of players had also met their demise. Despair started to be felt by the human troops as their numbers dwindled. The enemy general that had so far didn¡¯t act started to march to the battlefield. With a swing of its weapon it quickly crushed and killed 3 soldiers at once! ¡°Range! Focus attacks on the boss!¡± The giant was met with spells and arrows that hit him at every side causing moderate damage to his HP. This irritated the giant though as he used his own troops to kill the attackers by hurling them towards the archers and mages killing some with crushed monster bodies. Nearby warrior players also rushed at it, stabbing their swords and swinging hammers and axes at its legs. This did some damage with players swarming at its feet trying to knock it down. The towering monster started to kick around hitting players and instantly decreased their HP up to half. The HP loss was manageable, the pain however wasn¡¯t. Many of those hit were lying down motionlessly or groaning as pain seeped into their bodies. The battle had begun to turn into a slaughter! Even though the attacks to the mountain giant had dealt a large amount of damage to its health the swarming monsters started to overpower players while they tried to deal with the enemy general. The next moment the entire formation had been shattered. NPC soldiers started to flee leaving the injured behind and abandoning all hope they had left. ¡®No it can¡¯t end like this!¡¯ Hime thought Most players held their ground against the swarm trying desperately to turn the tide. It was all pointless though. From 130 the number of players now barely reached 60! Surrounded on all sides monsters encircled them cutting off all escape routes. ¡°Kyaaaa!¡± Amy had been attacked by an armored troll. Quickly rushing to defend her friend Hime shot arrows at its feet pinning it to where it stood. At close range Hime unleashed a barrage of arrows that managed to kill the beast. She noticed too late that a werewolf had crept near them. As it was about to strike at Amy with its razor sharp claws Hime¡¯s body moved instinctively. She had hugged Amy and turned her back to the enemy trying to shield Amy! Knowing she was going to be hit Hime braced herself for the pain she was to experience. A second passed by. 2 seconds. The pain she expected didn¡¯t reach her causing her to turn around. The werewolf was dead. Sticking to from the front of its chest was a sharp ice spear that had hit it from behind. The next moment the enemy general was suddenly on its knees with someone on its broad shoulders. The person slashed a blade at the neck and immediately beheaded the giant with ease. The monster horde was frozen. Their leader had been mercilessly killed in a style befitting an execution. Not only them, the remaining players also couldn¡¯t believe what they had just witnessed. In an instant the killer of the giant was already in front of them shielding the wounded from any monsters. Another figure also approached breaking the motionless enemy lines. With a white staff she froze surrounding foes into blocks of ice and scorched some with deadly flames. Hime watched as the two people stood side by side in front of them raising their weapons. ¡°Sylva, please defend the survivors.¡± A young man¡¯s voice could be heard from the hooded swordsman ¡°Got it,¡± the person named Sylva had erected ice pillars to cover them The dumbfounded players just watched as their saviors prepared for battle. They thought that even though the boss was gone 2 players could hardly defeat the remaining 2000. A crackling sound was suddenly heard from the swordsman. His sword was covered in bright blue electric sparks as if it were a thunderstorm. He leapt forward so fast that even Hime with her enhanced vision had difficulties watching his moves. Striking with his sword he easily annihilated monsters left and right with clean slices to their weak points. Just as he was about to be attacked from behind a mall of fire erupted behind him and burnt the opponents arm to a crisp. The enemy wasn¡¯t solely focused on the lone swordsman however. Some started to target the ice pillar casting mage to break the spell! Hime hurriedly pulled the bowstring back intending to protect her but it was unnecessary. A flash of lightning struck repeatedly at those near her precisely at their heads. Hime looked and saw the sword wielder had his left palm aimed at them. Just now he had used magic to protect his ally! The two continued to defeat numerous beasts with just the two of them. Hime and the others found themselves mesmerized at the sight of them battling. They were constantly protecting each other while they both moved gracefully. The scene almost looked as if the pair was dancing with one another. With movements complementing each other Hime realized something. These two were moving like this because they trusted each other! They had faith their partner would cover any openings leaving no weaknesses to be found from the both of them. Hime examined the two closely as she couldn¡¯t hold down her excitement. A black coat and black robes. A white katana and white staff. These were the people she had heard about yesterday. They were ¡®Nero Argento¡¯! ¡°Wow....¡± The black haired girl was speechless ¡°It¡¯s them! Yesterday¡¯s story was true....¡± Amy was also amazed at the scene unraveling in front of them ¡°So this is what true top class players can do...¡± Hime murmured Sheathing his blade the man shouted to his comrade. ¡°Sylva, use mana potions!! We¡¯re using it!¡± He retreated near the watching players and stood beside Sylva. they opened their inventory and started to drink a lot of mana potions. The enemy wary of their foe¡¯s strength merely watched and didn¡¯t come near. ¡°Here¡± The woman stretched her arm holding staff at the man and faced him. ¡°Okay! Let¡¯s do this!¡± He also reached out with his left hand and gripped her hand tight. Next they became silent and started to focus on something. The monsters thinking it was a chance started inching forward but suddenly stopped. Black clouds had formed in the sky with thunder being heard clearly. It happened in an instant. A fiery tornado had descended on the remaining monsters. The large fiery winds were covered in lightning all around it. The massive scale magic struck down the swarm as they immediately began to retreat. The pair only watched them flee without giving chase. ¡°Um, you aren¡¯t going after them?¡± A person asked the pair ¡°The others are waiting for them. We don¡¯t plan on any escaping.¡± Sylva calmly answered As the tornado died down the large gust of wind had blown the cloth covering their faces. She could now see what they looked like! She turned her eyes to Sylva and was stunned. It was a woman with enchanting beauty that would make any woman jealous of her. Her pale skin, grey eyes, and vibrant silver hair would give a cold impression. But Hime didn¡¯t think that at all. The reason was her warm smile directed to her partner. Their hands were still linked holding the staff as they calmly took deep breaths. ¡°So beautiful.....¡± Amy commented unknowingly When Hime turned his attention to the other she found herself even more shocked than before. The man¡¯s face was also directed at Sylva and had a caring smile covering it. It was a face she hadn¡¯t seen in a long time. It was Haruki''s face, her brother............
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Characters + Setting + Suggestions
Characters + Setting + Suggestions Characters + Setting + Suggestions ===================================================================================== Hey all of you reading my fic! Sorry but this isn''t a chapter update :P Alright, moving on. I''m uploading this just for fun to give some more details about the story setting! Since the story''s progressing smoothly this update will flesh out some minor details that aren''t mentioned in the story... While some of you don''t really need this info, maybe some really like details about stories you read... Also like I said I''m doing it for fun :D Also I have some images of what the general appearance of the main characters are like. I find that having a clear picture on characters of stories I read really increases my enjoyment so I posted this. I don''t own these pictures and found them online as my drawing is crap. Basically they''re anime characters that resemble what I have in mind for the characters of the fiction. So here are what the they look like: Haruki Spoiler : Sylva Spoiler : Hime Spoiler : Amy Spoiler :
Story Setting
As you know the plot takes place in a VR that trapped players that were logged on causing it to turn into a death game. Worldwide the number of those stuck exceed 2 million. This happened due to hacking which the motive is still unclear and will be further discussed in the future chapter updates. So next the game itself is called "Tales of a New Land" with players usually calling the game world "New Lands" as there currently isn''t any detailed information regarding the game. The cause of this was because FutureTech, the developers, intended to have players unravel mysteries ingame disclosing only basic information such as some game mechanics. Roden Map Spoiler : If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. How the game works is similar to LMS and Ark with many ways to grow stronger like how Haruki did daily training to increase his physical stats.
The stats of the game are: HP and Mana= same as any game. with each level up both HP and Mana rise by 50 Strength= Determines weapon damage which mainly affects melee excluding daggers Dexterity= Weapon handling. Determines weapon damage mainly for range weapons and daggers Vitality= Physical fitness including amount of stamina player has Agility= Movement speed of body (Doesn''t affect dodge since that is determined by player''s real skills") Endurance= Each point increases HP by 20 ; small increase in defense Intelligence= Determines magic damage and defense Luck= Misc (drop rate, critical %, and others) Wisdom= Each point increases mana by 20 ; small reduction of spell casting time Each level up also grants 5 bonus points to be allocated into any stat
There''s no player classes in the game which gives players flexibility and makes them able to choose how they play. In theory a player could learn every skill but that would be tedious and as normal players don''t increase stats by training they''ll end up weak compared to others. I got the idea for that from how TES V: Skyrim handled it. Without any classes that game became much more free for everyone to experiment so Skyrim influenced the fiction I''m making...... Similar to other VR stories the currency is 100 copper-->1 silver and 100 silver--> 1 gold Now for the world itself, as stated in chapter 14 there are many regions to the game world separating players until a special quest is completed. This means that there is still a lot of unexplored territories which players don''t know about including other player locations. Since at the launch there were man races there are also other continents besides the one where current events take place. Basically that means I plan for my story to continue for a long time with the characters trying to survive and find a way to escape. The reason every player appears human is because as the death game started player names and avatars reverted into their original appearance because of their brain patterns temporarily disconnected with the res of the body making them return into their real looks to preserve players sanity. This also makes pain real for players because the brain automatically assumes that the game avatar is their real body. I know... Sounds like a load of bull but that''s how the plot works :) Uuum yeah I think that''ll be all for now. I''m planning on updating the character images when new ones appear. I haven;t found one suiting Amy yet... The setting will also be updated as the story goes on so feel free to check this thread again once more chapters come out. Okay! Most importantly you can also give any suggestions or thoughts about the story here! Feel free to ask anything or suggest something for the story and I''ll try my best to answer and take your suggestion into consideration. Just comment on anything about the fic! Is the chapter length enough? Or is there something wrong with the story? Anything at all! Just leave a comment here!! I''ll trying releasing chapters regularly as fast as I can but as I said don''t expect frequent updates on weekdays so I''ll mainly update on weekends! Lastly, Thanks again for reading my fiction! I hope you keep enjoying my writing cause I sure enjoy making it! :grin: Chapter 17: Best Reward Chapter 17: Best Reward ===================================================================================
Quest Update: With the defeat of the enemy general and heavy casualties the monster army has fled from battle. You have successfully routed the monster army. You may now finish the quest by reporting to Commander Gil.
¡°Yep, we¡¯re done.¡± I relaxed closing the window ¡°The other players are probably angry. We did just kind of ditch them...¡± Sylva said ¡°Can¡¯t be helped... At least they can finish them off.¡± Looking around the sea of monster corpses around us it seems they had all fled. Sylva and I killed about 200 of them I think? Also the biggest one was most likely the general. ¡°WOW! You guys rock!! You totally annihilated them while we had such a hard time!¡± I turn back and looked at the girl that said that. She was a girl with shoulder length brown hair and looked like a mage. ¡°It¡¯s hardly anything special. They were already weakened so we kinda stole your kills.¡± I say with a wry smile ¡°Hey nobody here minds, right?¡± as she said everyone around started nodding ¡°I see. I¡¯m glad you¡¯re safe. There¡¯s fewer of you than I thought..¡± ¡°....Yeah, a lot of players died in battle earlier....¡± Hearing the girls words my heart started to beat faster. Did Hime survive? Please....I hope I wasn¡¯t too late. I faced the girl and started to talk loudly. ¡°EXCUSE ME! I¡¯m looking for someone here! A girl. Long black hair, she¡¯s a bit shorter than me and her name¡¯s Hi----¡° I was about to finish my words but I spotted something in the corner of my eye. It was a girl with jet black hair tied into a ponytail. She was clutching her bow tightly while staring at me speechless. She still looked the same as when we had last met. It was my sister. It was Hime.... Without a word I rushed to her and hugged her in my arms. I was so glad I lost sight of everything else and just held her as tight as I could. She¡¯s alive! I could feel her warmth on my body as tears trickled down my cheek. ¡°Hime... You¡¯re alright, I¡¯m so glad you¡¯re fine!. Thank God......¡± ¡°.....Nii-san¡± she finally spoke When she called me she also returned my embrace. I could feel her trembling slightly as she also cried. ¡°Woah! Um...... Dude, your girlfriend¡¯s watching you know!¡± the brown haired girl interrupted Hearing her voice I suddenly came back to my senses and noticed dozens of people looking at us. Oops, it seems everyone saw the whole thing! But.... wait a minute! Did she just say girlfriend!? Letting go of Hime gently I turned to the same girl as before. ¡°What do you mean girlfriend?¡± I quietly asked ¡°How can you say that! She¡¯s right there!¡± She pointed at Sylva ¡°You¡¯re ¡®Nero Argento¡¯ right? The top player-slash-lover combination around! And you go hugging a girl right in front of your partner!¡± No, It couldn¡¯t be.... Did they know about us? Weren¡¯t they gone for a month!? Even worse this girl was practically yelling making my attempts at a private conversation all for naught! ¡°Amy, it¡¯s fine. This person is my brother.¡± Hime said to her Ah, Amy¡®s the person Sagami told me Hime was travelling with! ¡°Oh really? He is? That means you¡¯re brother¡¯s really good at this game!¡± Amy suddenly forgot about the previous issue ¡°.........Yes, it would seem so.¡± Hime answered quietly ¡°He has a lover? But, Hime! I thought you--- Mmph!¡± I don¡¯t know why but Hime suddenly covered Amy¡¯s mouth before she finished. Is it something I shouldn¡¯t know? Well, I guess it¡¯s not important. ¡°Uh, could we talk for a bit?¡± I signaled them to follow me Nodding they followed Sylva and me to the campsite and found a quiet place to talk. It looks like they were both staring at Sylva. Especially Amy, it was like her eyes sparkled when she watched Sylva... ¡°Okay, here¡¯s fine.¡± I stopped ¡°Hey, hey, Big bro! How did you and Sylva meet? Were you really trapped with your girlfriend and plan to beat the game?¡± Amy suddenly burst with questions ¡°Huh? No... Also just call me Haruki....¡± ¡°Nii-san, I too am curious about all this. Why are you here?¡± Hime asked me ¡°Well, I¡¯ve been looking for you the past few months. I heard that your quest had some issues so we went to help.¡± ¡°I see...¡± ¡°Aww, you really love your sister huh? Ah, I¡¯m Amy by the way!¡± she excitedly reached for my hand ¡°Ah yeah, I¡¯m Haruki, Hime¡¯s brother. And this is.¡± I gesture towards Sylva ¡°My name is Sylva. It¡¯s nice to meet you both.¡± Sylva let out a smile ¡°I¡¯m Hime. Thank you for taking care of my brother.¡± She said as she bowed ¡°No, no. it¡¯s more like we¡¯re taking care of each other.¡± Sylva replied I notice when Sylva said that Hime slightly frowned but quickly regained composure. That¡¯s to be expected I guess. She hasn¡¯t seen me in months and next thing you know she meets me after hearing a rumor about us being lovers. I really gotta clear that up..... ¡°To think that Hime¡¯s brother was half of ¡®Nero Argento¡¯ I really admit that the name suits you two.¡± Amy looked at both of us ¡°Ah, well actually about that-¡° ¡°It¡¯s fine, we can talk about it later. Tell us how you came here Nii-san.¡± Hime said with a serious expression ¡°Oh, well as you know I¡¯ve been searching for months now. Along the way I met Sylva and stuff....... happened, so we teamed up. We knew you were here from a guy named Sagami who said you¡¯d be back in a month.¡± ¡°Sagami! You know him Nii-san?¡± ¡°Um yeah, what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°He was here yesterday. He was the one who told us you two were coming to help the expedition. I didn¡¯t know at that time it was you he meant...¡± ¡°What! Wait, that means we¡¯re being stringed along!¡± I blurted out ¡°Hm, yes. He did look like he was hiding something.¡± Hime noted Damn it, that means he knew we were going to join the quest! Was he using us from the beginning!? Man, I really don¡¯t like that guy... ¡°Yeah, anyway he said we had to wait a month so we stayed at Tyrne for a while and did a few quests. It looks like players then started to notice both of us.¡± I continued ¡°I see... But I didn¡¯t know you were trapped here too Nii-san. If I¡¯d known I would have searched for you...¡± she said sadly ¡°It¡¯s okay... After 3 months I found you so it doesn¡¯t matter.¡± ¡°................3 months?¡± she looked at me Ah of course, I didn¡¯t tell her I wasn¡¯t here at the start. Because of that the time spent for both of us was different. It was 4 for me with 1 month in the real world. For Hime it¡¯s been more than 6. ¡°Oh yeah, I forgot.. I logged in a month after you were trapped.¡± I answered her gaze ¡°...You logged in!!? Why would you do something that stupid?¡± ¡°Huh? To come find you, of course!¡± I replied while looking into her eyes ¡°Why do that for me!? I didn¡¯t want that!¡± She screamed at me ¡°But, I-¡° I was cut off by Hime before finishing ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Nii-san. Could we talk later? I need to gather my thoughts....¡± Saying that Hime started to walk away looking as she was exhausted. ¡°Ah wait Hime!¡± Amy followed her and also left I was about to run after her but I was suddenly stopped. Sylva had grabbed my shoulder at looked at me with mixed feelings visible on her face. ¡°I think you should give her some time Haruki.¡± ¡°Why is she so upset? I tried my best didn¡¯t I?¡± Confused, I asked Sylva ¡°Haruki, if my little brother had chased after me into some game where he could die I¡¯d slap him right there. Your sister must feel the same way. Imagine if you were the one trapped and she came after you....¡± ¡°I....¡± I couldn¡¯t answer her. Of course if that happened I would be furious at Hime. I guess that with me coming after her no wonder she became upset... ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the fact she got upset means she truly cares about you. She¡¯ll be alright.¡± She said with a considerate smile Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°....Yeah, I should talk to her when she calms down.¡± ¡°Alright, while we were talking it seems the others have already finished the monsters running. We should also regroup.¡± Nodding to what she suggested we stepped from where we stood and rejoined the other players. =================================================================================== It¡¯s been nearly two days since the enemy was defeated. Here we are back at Roden¡¯s city gates about to complete the quest. During the trip back Hime and I seldom spoke with each other exchanging only few words. The way the other players kept praising us also didn¡¯t help fix the awkwardness. In fact, it seemed like it only added to it. They were all singing praises about Sylva and me as the strongest players around. Some kept pestering us about how we got strong but I didn¡¯t pay any attention. All that made Hime slightly distance herself from us as most of them crowded Sylva and me during the journey. Arriving inside the city walls Hime spoke up to me. ¡°Nii-san we¡¯ll be splitting up here.¡± ¡°Yeah, see you later.¡± Technically we were on the same quest but the quest givers were different than the original group. Hime and those that reached the north headed to the Lord¡¯s court while I and those that only joined later went to Commander Gil. ¡°Oho! You¡¯re back! Mission was a success I see?¡± Gil grinned broadly ¡°Yes sir, we have eliminated the monster army. The route to Prax should be safe now!¡± the NPC captain spoke up ¡°Very well! The volunteers also did good!¡± He looked at the players
Quest Completed: Reinforcing the Expedition Your contribution in reinforcing the Expedition task force has succeeded. Repelling the monster swarm of the mountain range has made Roden safe from any large scale monster invasions. In addition the route to the neighbor region can now be used by all players. Reward: -45 gold -Roden NPC friendship -exp up
Level has risen by 1
The rewards were pretty normal. I guess since we only helped the last part this could still be considered good. No doubt the main quest players received better rewards. I was about to leave when Commander called me. ¡°Hey, boy. What was the name again? Haruki!¡± ¡°Is there something else?¡± I faced him ¡°I heard from the captain about what you did. It seems you practically saved every member of the team. I have an offer for someone like you. How would you like to be made a knight of Roden?¡±
Your actions have caught the attention of Roden¡¯s highest military officer. You have been offered a position as a City Knight. This will grant you various bonuses to stats as well as unique skills of a Knight. You will have to remain in Roden for 1 year to fulfill your duty as a low ranking officer of Roden before free to continue adventuring while retaining the benefits of the position. Will you accept Y/N
I read the notification again and close the window. I already know my answer. ¡°I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t accept. Please offer it to someone else.¡± ¡°What? But this is your special reward.¡± Indeed if this were a game it would be a luxurious option. The whole year would normally only be 4 months but since we couldn¡¯t leave the game it really will take a year! Not to mention without leaving I can¡¯t find anything out. ¡°I have already received a suitable reward.¡± I wasn¡¯t lying. I wasn¡¯t talking about the gold or NPC intimacy of course. Finally meeting Hime again and knowing she was safe was the best reward I could ever hope for.... ¡°Fuuh, and here I thought we could increase our forces a bit...¡± he grumbled ¡°I do apologize.¡± ¡°HAHA, No need lad. Here at least take this then.¡± He handed something to me
Coat of Roden (Rare) A coat made by the finest tailor in all of the Roden region. I bears the crest of the city signifying your contribution to Roden. This coat is only given to those considered a savior of the city. Defense: 60 + 150 HP + 10 to Agility 10% elemental resistance (you may only select one element at a time)
I take the coat and thank the Commander as I put it on. It wasn¡¯t black like my previous one, instead it was a deep navy blue. The defense is twice the Raiju coat and had the same amount of resistance. The only weaker point is it didn¡¯t give a bonus to my lightning damage. I considered to keep using the old one but finally decided to wear this one. After all I needed more defense since I use mostly close quarters combat. The bonus HP and agility stat was also beneficial. As i finished equipping them I took a look at my new appearance. On my chest was a light dark brown scorpion chest piece with matching braces on both arms and greaves for my legs. On top of this the new dark blue coat still made my appearance rather dark and had a sewing of two blades facing down on the left shoulder. It was the emblem of Roden. The new gear also didn¡¯t have a hood attached to it. Maybe I should look for head gear? ¡°To get a special reward for himself.¡± ¡°As expected from one of Nero Argento.¡± Player commented Even though the only color of mine matching that name was now only my hair they kept calling us that. Seems like the name¡¯s already stuck on me..... ¡°Alright let¡¯s go find those two.¡± I said to Sylva ¡°Okay, they should also be finished now. We walked a few minutes to the castle¡¯s main building and found some players resting there. I immediately spotted Amy but couldn¡¯t see Hime. Walking up to her she notices us and smiled brightly. She was now wearing a cloak similar in color to my coat. It also had the mark of the city on its back. Looks like I got a reward similar to those of the main group. I looked around and realize some were wearing similar cloth gear covering their armor. ¡°Finally you¡¯re here! You sure took your time!¡± It seems this person was a rather cheerful one even though you could say we just returned from a life or death situation. But I guess I understand why Hime became friends with her now. ¡°Hey, Amy. I don¡¯t see Hime around.¡± I asked ¡°Yeah, I got a message for you. She said she wants to talk with She¡¯ll be waiting at the city harbor. It¡¯s at the edge of the city. You can¡¯t miss it!¡± ¡°I see. Thank you then.¡± Before going, I first looked at Sylva and spoke to her. ¡°Sylva, could you and Amy find a place to stay for us? I have something I have to do.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± she nodded ¡° Well then, Hime and I¡¯ll be back later.¡± I said as I walked away ###################### Managed to finish a new chapter today....... Small update on the setting thread. I finally found a pic that suited what Amy looks like. I also made a simple map of the current region. Anyone interested can head over there Thanks for reading guys! :)
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Characters + Setting + Suggestions
Chapter 18: Sibling Duel Chapter 18: Sibling Duel ================================================================================= Hime was standing at the harbor watching as ships came and left. Their sails fluttering she could feel the strong breeze of wind on her body. The sea¡¯s blue color was starting to turn red dyed by the setting sun. She was of course thinking about her brother Haruki. He instead of waiting for her to come back decided to risk even his own life to meet her. Truthfully of course this made her happy, her heart felt warm knowing her brother truly cared for her. However, with her happiness there was also sadness. She truly felt it was her fault that it came to this... If only she didn¡¯t decide to play this game. If only she also worked hard for their sake like Haruki had. If only she hadn¡¯t become his sister... Regret swirled inside Hime¡¯s heart. Her feelings were spinning around making her lost in thought without paying attention to her surroundings. It was only after 15 minutes she noticed the boy that was standing behind her. ¡°Nii-san you¡¯re here already...¡± Hime turned around ¡°Yeah, I got here as fast as I could.¡± ¡°I see, thank you for coming.¡± ¡°Sure thing.¡± Hime saw her brother grin ¡° I want to talk about all of this.... Please. Just tell me from the beginning.¡± ¡°Alright, it¡¯s a long story though.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind.¡± She said firmly ¡°Well, as you know the game trapped everyone logged in. I heard 2 million players couldn¡¯t log out. When the news came I immediately came home and found you just lying there...¡± ¡°......I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°Ah, it¡¯s fine. Um, after that I was a mess for a month. I practically just gave up on living at that point. I was getting dead drunk, started smoking, got into pointless fights... Basically I just sorta fell apart.¡± ¡°You drank!? And SMOKED!? You¡¯re underage!¡± Hime glared at him ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter, I got over it.¡± He merely shrugged his shoulders ¡°Haah, continue...¡± ¡°I came to my senses when a friend found me beat up in an alley. He said I wasn¡¯t doing my best and it hit me. Next day I found the VR gear and game and also logged in. I just went around asking about you and finally heard about you from Sagami..¡± He gnashed his teeth when he mentioned the name ¡°That¡¯s not the whole story. You said you met Sylva-san when stuff ¡®happened¡¯. What was it?¡± Hearing the question Haruki¡¯s face suddenly turned dark. His eyes reflected a sadness and at the same time anger. It was the first Hime had seen his brother with that expression... ¡°I..... failed people who were relying on me. I betrayed their trust in me. I was about to go mad again but Sylva helped me.... I practically owe my life to her I guess.¡± His eyes weren¡¯t clouded anymore as they filled with gratitude Hime also noticed this change. Without a doubt Haruki was telling the truth. Even though she was thankful towards Sylva, she couldn¡¯t help but feel jealous. When her brother was most vulnerable it was supposed to be Hime at his side. Instead she ended up as a burden while Sylva had rescued him.... ¡°I-I see.... I¡¯m glad to hear that.... You truly do love her, don¡¯t you Nii-san?¡± Hime smiled with a hint of sadness ¡°What!? No! We aren¡¯t lovers! That¡¯s just some shitty rumor people made up!!¡± Haruki was all flustered ¡°Really? But you were even holding hands during battle..¡± she eyed him suspiciously ¡°IT WAS A SKILL!!!¡± Haruki bellowed ¡°Skill?¡± Hime found her curiosity piqued ¡°YES! It¡¯s a combination skill. We simply pool our mana together and use a combined attack...¡± He calmed down ¡°Is that so? I¡¯ve never heard of that before..¡± ¡°We also found out by chance, though I guess it¡¯s also related to our ¡®Bond of Trust¡¯ skill.¡± Never hearing about the skill Hime also asked him about its description. Haruki just opened a window and shared the effects to Hime.
Bond of Trust (Passive) You have given and received a mutual bond of trust that ties you together. You have an unbreakable bond with your companion as the desire to protect each other becomes a solid connection Defense increases by 20% when with a trusted companion 15% increased EXP gain for enemies defeated together
Hime examined the skill with mixed feelings. This skill meant that they had a connection impossible to separate. She also witnessed this during battle. They fought trusting each other with their own lives and overcoming impossible obstacles together. ¡°.....This explains why you¡¯re strong. It was because of this skill and Sylva-san.¡± ¡°Partially because of her. But I also have a skill because of you.¡± He said surprisingly ¡°Really!? Show it to me!¡± Hime found herself excited ¡°..........................On second thought, I¡¯d rather not.¡± Haruki turned his head with a palm on his forehead. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not important. Basically it increases stat and skill growth, so I¡¯m stronger because of that too ¡°Hmmm.¡± Hime wasn¡¯t really satisfied but gave up on the matter ¡°So, is that enough?¡± He asked with a smile ¡°No, I still can¡¯t forgive you. What you did was wrong.¡± She said stubbornly ¡®I see. It¡¯s fine if you think that. I will not apologize.¡± ¡°Excuse me?¡± she looked at him with irritation ¡°I don¡¯t regret it a single bit. I also know I did the right thing.¡± ¡°Yo-you! That¡¯s only from your view!¡± ¡°No it isn¡¯t. I know I¡¯m right.¡± He said confidently ¡°FINE! Then let¡¯s settle this like we always do!¡± Saying her piece, she started to drag him and returned into the city. =================================================================================== ¡°Hey, do we really have to do this?¡± I asked Hime When we were arguing before she suddenly grabbed my arm and stormed off to a training hall dragging me along!. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll prove I¡¯m right with a duel. Just like we always did before.¡± ¡°But, those were spars in the dojo! This is a real battle you¡¯re talking about!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that.¡± When Hime said that she suddenly rushed towards me with a wooden sword with me failing to react. I shut my eyes expecting pain but I didn¡¯t feel anything. No, I definitely felt something hitting me, but what was weird was it didn¡¯t hurt a single bit! I opened my eyes and saw Hime gesturing for me to take the sword. As I took it I also examined it¡¯s description.
Training Sword A basic wooden sword used for exercises and sparing. It does not have any attack capabilities. Attack:0-0
I looked at it with surprise. It doesn¡¯t do any damage! Does that mean pain in the game is tied to damage to HP? I didn¡¯t notice this at all but I guess this world still had rules of a game in use... You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. ¡°This way we won¡¯t get hurt but still know who lost.¡± She said while also brandishing a similar blade ¡°You¡¯re going to use a sword?¡± ¡°Is that a problem?¡± ¡°Last time you used sword was in middle school!¡± ¡°Nii-san. Even until now you haven¡¯t beaten me once in swordsmanship.¡± She replied proudly ¡°.......¡± I hate to admit it but it¡¯s true. She had the basics drilled into her by Uncle Tarou even when she was a little kid. Whenever we fought he always made us spar to settle the issue. Of course it always ended with her being right... With her skills I don¡¯t know why she suddenly decided to practice archery... ¡°Are you ready Nii-san?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± All that doesn¡¯t matter now! I know I¡¯m right! I refuse to say that what¡¯s right was just to abandon her. If beating her is what it takes then I¡¯ll prove my action was correct with a duel! We were now both silent. Only watching each other¡¯s slightest movements we started circling around each other. I focused on her only while blocking out anything else from my mind. Without warning she made the first move. She had an up to me while swinging the sword from her left at an amazing speed. Her skills haven¡¯t rusted a single bit! Quickly twisting my wrist I blocked the strike and pushed her back. As she staggered I lunged at her with an overhead slash. Seeing the attack come at her she smoothly sidestepped and completely dodged.... With my slash failing I found myself wide open on my left side and spotted her about to thrust her sword at me. I immediately dropped down and rolled and stood back up in a single fluid motion. ¡°You¡¯ve gotten better.¡± She said ¡°Thanks.¡± Continuing the duel, this time she took a low posture and aimed for my lower body. I jumped to avoid it hitting me but she had predicted this and now slashed upward! ¡°Kuh!¡± I blocked with the sword in my hand just barely making it. The momentum had also pushed further into the air while slightly tilting. I moved quickly and spun in mid air managing to land on my feet. I haven¡¯t lost but I could tell she was dead serious on beating me. I took the offensive now aiming at her arm. She spun her body giving her a position behind me and tried to slash at my back but this time I was prepared. Reaching out at her arm with my left hand I managed to grip her elbow and stopped the movement of the sword. I was about to strike her sides but she also used the same technique while pushing me away. Trying again, I struck at her front while she blocked it with her own blade. We kept doing this numerous times simply striking and blocking each other¡¯s attempts. When we locked blade¡¯s I tried pushing her down with my weight but her perfect footwork made it impossible. With our faces looking at each other we weren¡¯t uttering a single word. Sparing was always a way of us communicating. Even though we fought at times and dueled with each other we always made up at the end of the fight. This was a special way of talking to us. It was our bond having been raised by the same family. While slashing and parrying attack after attack I poured all my emotions and thoughts into each stroke of my blade, My sadness of losing her, my despair at my helplessness and my joy after finding her. I also knew what she felt from her blade. Happiness, grief, and regret. Stupid. I immediately knew she was blaming herself. She must think it¡¯s her fault I came here. She probably hoped that I was alright and able to move on. I could sense her wish of me just forgetting about her and live on peacefully. Utterly idiotic. The fight was nearing the end. We were both exhausted from the battle now. I immediately knew this was going to be our next moves. Steeling myself for the end I took a deep breath and took my stance. I am sick of everyone leaving me. I¡¯ll show her my resolve by winning this! Saving her was what I wanted. It doesn¡¯t have anything to do with her faults or choices. None of this was our fault. I rushed at her from her side and slashed sideways with all my force. Attempting to block my blade she turned her sword sideways to meet mine. It was her failure now. While she tried to parry I immediately spun around making the strike come from her other side catching her unprepared. As she tried to correct her blade¡¯s direction I had hit the hilt of her sword sending it flying upwards. While she was stunned I I did a sweeping low kick knocking her off her feet. I stood back up at once catching the sword that had left her hand with my left hand. With it, I pressed the tip to her neck and made a huge smile. ¡°I win.¡± ¡°.....You did.¡± I reached out to her and grabbed her hand pulling her in front of me. I patted her head while still smiling at her. ¡°See? I¡¯m the one in the right.¡± I say calmly ¡°....But, I don¡¯t-¡° ¡°Stop. You¡¯re all I have left. I will not allow you to leave me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s selfish.¡± ¡°So be it.¡± She looked at me with red eyes and was on the verge of crying. My heart ached when I saw this but I still kept my smile on my face. She deserves to see me happy and at this moment I truly was. ¡°Why? For my sake... To throw your life away for me. Why do that!?¡± I just put my hand on her cheek like I always did before all this started. I stroked them gently while speaking in a soft voice ¡°Idiot. Of course it¡¯s because I love you.¡± Hearing this put a small smile back to her face. The sight of it overjoyed me greatly. I haven¡¯t been able to see her smile in a long time now. It was worth all the trouble in the world to see her smile again.... Before I said something else she looked at the air in front of her checking something. ¡°Huh? I got a skill.¡± She said rubbing her reddened eyes ¡°Really? What is it? Sword Mastery?¡± I ask ¡°No.....¡± she read it and looked at me ¡°What? Something wrong?¡± ¡°Nii-san.... Have you heard about the skill ¡®Bond of Love¡¯?¡± My face instantly stiffened at the mention of that skill. Could it be? No way. Tell me this isn¡¯t happening.... ¡°W-w-why do you ask?¡± I try to stay calm but clearly failed ¡°I just received the skill. It says it was from you.....¡± ¡°.....¡± ¡°.....¡±
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Characters + Setting + Suggestions
Chapter 19: What She Feels Chapter 19: What She Feels ==================================================================================== ¡°....¡± My God! This silence is really awkward! I tried speaking up a few times but still couldn¡¯t manage.. Looks like Hime¡¯s going to break the silence first! ¡°Nii-san, do you........love me?¡± She hesitated a bit ¡°What!? NO!! Wait, I mean OF COURSE I DO!! That doesn¡¯t sound right.... GODDAMNIT!¡± I curse at my stupidity What the hell was I even trying to say? Am I some sort of bumbling idiot!? Curse that stupid AI and this dumb skill! ¡°Haah, this is probably some stupid mistake right?¡± she asked ¡°Yeah! The AI misunderstood my answer for the skill question!¡± I desperately defend myself ¡°......We should head back soon.¡± ¡°Good idea.¡± I reply instantly And so it seems we had taken the easy way out. If you can¡¯t deal with it you should at least save it for some other time... ¡°Ah, before we go I¡¯ll share the information with you.¡± After she said that a skill window popped up in front of me. I read the what it said and it was indeed the ¡®Bond of Love¡¯ skill.
Bond of Love (Passive) Skill that is most useful when together with your most beloved Your desire to protect your lover has given you increases in stat gain rate and skill leveling 8% increase in stats and skill power while fighting beside your lover 4% stat increase rate, faster skill leveling
¡°Wait, this isn¡¯t the same as mine.¡± I glance at Hime¡¯s direction ¡°Is there a difference?¡± ¡°Yeah, the skill description is the same but the effects aren¡¯t. Yours is much weaker than mine. It doesn¡¯t even reach 50% of my effectiveness...¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t this much already really useful? Wouldn¡¯t that make yours unbalanced?¡± ¡°Maybe....¡± I lightly answer back Is it because I got it from a special event? Come to think of it my lightning affinity gives me better uses than learning lightning element ingame. But that doesn¡¯t make sense... I also received a skill with my trust for Sylva. Does that mean hers is also weaker than my version? I¡¯ve never really actually seen the exact skill she has. We just assumed we had the same ones since we they had the same name and acquired them at the same time.... Maybe my character itself is unique? I seem to be much better than other players with the same level. I do train to raise my stats but that doesn¡¯t really give much explanation about the special skills I get. What causes me to make them? Is there some sort of special trigger? While I was deep in thought I realized that we were already in front of a tavern that seemed to be well maintained. ¡°we¡¯re here Nii-san. If Amy went with Sylva-san they should have chosen this place.¡± ¡°I see. Sorry, I was thinking about some stuff.¡± I apologized for my silence on the way Nodding to show that she didn¡¯t mind she pushed open the door and went inside. As I followed her in I saw the place was actually rather empty. Even though that was the case it appeared to be a hospitable place. This looks like this is a nice place to stay. When we entered we were greeted with familiar faces sitting at a nearby table. ¡°Oh you¡¯re back! We were waiting for you guys!¡± Amy cheerfully said ¡°Welcome back.¡± Sylva said with her usual calm smile ¡°Yep, thanks for waiting for us.¡± I return her smile ¡°Hehehe, you¡¯re all lovey-dovey!¡± Amy teased ¡°Amy, I¡¯ve already said Haruki and I aren¡¯t a couple..¡± ¡°I know, I know! But you guys seem to match each other so well. Sylva¡¯s beautiful and Haruki¡¯s also good-looking! You¡¯d totally be the perfect couple right? Maybe you should start going out for-¡° She instantly stopped when she saw Hime. I don¡¯t know what kind of expression Hime had that could make Amy quiet down but I really don¡¯t want to know. I¡¯ve had my share for today. Instead I ignored the earlier remark and sat down quietly. ¡°Okay, so I think we should talk about what we will do.¡± I started ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious we¡¯re going to continue exploring?¡± Hime asked me ¡°I¡¯ve thought about it a little... Maybe Hime and Amy should stay here away from danger?¡± I tried suggesting ¡°What! Then you and Sylva-san!?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll keep looking for a way to complete the game. This way we¡¯ll-¡° ¡°Hold on! We can also come to right?¡± Amy also protested ¡°Honestly, I¡¯d rather have the both of safe for now.¡± I said ¡°Then Nii-san and Sylva-san will be risking their lives right? We also have to do something!¡± Hime raised her voice ¡°Sylva and I are adults! You both are just high school girls, you shouldn¡¯t have to risk your lives...¡± ¡°Hime and I are fine! We¡¯ve already made it this far haven¡¯t we?¡± Amy complained again ¡°The game¡¯s only going to get harder, there¡¯s a high chance that we¡¯ll die by continuing.¡± ¡°All the more reason for Amy and I to help isn¡¯t it? Nii-san and Sylva-san will need all the help you can!¡± I was about to keep denying her but Sylva, who hadn¡¯t spoken a word, suddenly spoke up. ¡°Haruki, I think we should take them along.¡± ¡°What do you mean, Sylva?¡± I question ¡°It¡¯s true that we¡¯ll need help. We won¡¯t be able to do it with the two of us.¡± ¡°.....But¡± ¡°And Hime.¡± Sylva addressed her ¡°Huh? Yes?¡± ¡°Your brother¡¯s also right. He came here to make sure you¡¯re safe. He wouldn¡¯t want to just let you fight again.¡± ¡°.....¡± she became silent ¡°Um, Sylva? What you said makes little sense... If they come wouldn¡¯t they still be in danger again?¡± I didn¡¯t understand why she said all that ¡°Won¡¯t you be able to protect them? You always protect me right?¡± She said as if it were easy ¡°What makes you think I can do that!?¡± ¡°Nothing. I just trust you.¡± She didn¡¯t even bat a single eyelash ¡°.....Haaah, you¡¯re pretty unreasonable sometimes Sylva.¡± I gave up ¡°That makes two of us though.¡± She replied with a small laugh ¡°Ehem, isn¡¯t that nice Nii-san? She has complete faith in you.¡± Hime said not hiding her annoyance Not knowing what to say I try looking at Amy to get some help. She wasn¡¯t looking at me though. More like she was avoiding my gaze.... ¡°Ahaha, um... I¡¯m gonna do some training....¡± I stood up to escape Hime¡¯s foul mood ¡°See you later.¡± Sylva wryly smiled With long strides I left the place heading outside which was already dark. ===================================================================================== ¡°Sylva-san, Can we talk for a moment?¡± Hime asked as they were finished Her brother had left because she purposefully acted like she had a bad mood. In truth, she wanted to talk alone with Sylva for a while. Even though Haruki had told her what happened there were still some things she didn¡¯t understand. Hime felt it was her responsibility to know everything to help support Haruki. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°Sure, just us two?¡± she said while looking at Amy ¡°Oh, I guess that¡¯s my cue. I¡¯ll be heading upstairs first then.¡± Amy smiled and left ¡°Thank you.¡± Hime spoke to her friend When they were left alone Sylva started the conversation. ¡°Is there something you want to know?¡± ¡°Yes. What happened when Haruki-nii-san met you? He only said some stuff happened...¡± ¡°Ah, I see... of course he didn¡¯t tell you. Hearing what happened may make you look at your brother differently, do you still want to know?¡± ¡°........Yes. I will help Nii-san with any burden.¡± Hime steeled her resolve ¡°Very well. Then I¡¯ll tell you how we met first.¡± As Sylva¡¯s story began, Hime paid her utmost attention to every word she said. ¡°We met when he saved me from other players attacking my former party. PKs were trying to kill us which ended up with me being abandoned by my ¡®so-called¡¯ friends. Haruki who was just nearby helped me escape them by fighting for me...¡± ¡°I¡¯m very grateful for what he did. I didn¡¯t want to die just yet. You see I also told Haruki that I have a family waiting for me.... We sympathized with each other because of that.¡± She continued Her eyes flickered with a small hint of hesitation before deciding to resume the story. ¡°Before this however, I met his comrades. A man named Riley and his niece, a small child named Beth. We were supposed to leave together but a member of the group that attacked me had kidnapped Beth.... Haruki left us to chase him alone...¡± Hime held her breath. Comrades. Her brother had said that he betrayed their trust. An uncomfortable feeling formed in her stomach as she felt she knew how the story would end. ¡°I ran after him but was too late. What I saw was..... different than the usual Haruki.¡± ¡°How so?¡± ¡°..........He was torturing the PK. Not merely fighting him. As he lied helplessly on the ground, Haruki was inflicting pain without a single bit of regret. It was as if he completely changed.¡± Hime became speechless. To think her brother did that.... But that means what he meant by betraying their trust is... ¡°I think you can already guessed what happened. Beth, who believed in Haruki was killed in front of him which ultimately caused Haruki to kill a person. When we told Riley he became broken. As if he were an emotionless doll.¡± ¡°Then, you and Nii-san?¡± ¡°After this happened I forced him to speak with me. I promised him I wouldn¡¯t die as long as he protects me, and I would also defend him.¡± Sylva revealed a warm smile Hime suddenly understood why Haruki had reacted this way! Since he was a small child everyone around him always left him behind. With Hime also in danger this must have felt enormous pressure. And when it almost crushed him, the one who say they would protect him for the very first time was Sylva.... When Hime¡¯s parents died, Haruki was also saddened. But Hime being younger became his sole responsibility. He cared for her ignoring his own sorrow so she didn¡¯t worry...... ¡°He and I swore not to lose each other and to have complete faith in one another. Fortunately, this brought his broken feelings back. I didn¡¯t forget about what he did. I accepted it... If he chooses to kill for someone else¡¯s sake I have no doubt he truly cares for that person¡± Hearing her words, Hime started to ponder her thoughts. This world caused a change in her brother. Would she have been able to accept Haruki had she witnessed what he did? She started to hate herself. How could she even think that. He was here to meet her and keep her safe. If she couldn¡¯t understand his actions she didn¡¯t deserve to be by his side.... ¡°Hime?¡± Sylva worriedly looked at her ¡°Ah, yes. Thank you for telling me, Sylva-san.¡± ¡°You have the right to know. I¡¯ll leave now. You must have a lot to think about..¡± While she had already walked halfway to the stairs Hime called out to her and asked what she wondered from seeing them together for the first time. ¡°Sylva-san! Do you love Nii-san?¡± ¡°............I don¡¯t know. I deeply care for him, but I also don¡¯t fully understand if this means I love him.¡± ===================================================================================
Magic Mastery (Beginner) lv. 4 A skill that every magic user has knowledge of. The user will be much more attuned to the flow of mana and will be able to master basic magic spells. 3% magic damage ; 1% mana reduction cost
Defeating weak monsters near the city gates increased my skill level a bit. I had only used magic to deal with the creatures without my weapons. As the only long range spell I have is ¡®lightning bolt¡¯ and ¡®lightning ark¡¯ I kept using them to train my mastery. The other magic skills I have aren¡¯t offensive or were used with physical attacks. If I keep increasing the mastery skill my whole damage output and cost will be improved! It doesn¡¯t only affect ranged spells but also ¡®lightning blade¡¯ which is going to be incredibly useful if I can maintain it longer. This means I have to work even harder to make sure I can keep up with more specialized players.... Realizing it was really late I started to make my way back to the inn. If I don¡¯t come back the others would worry and might even come looking for me.... Entering the gate I felt a presence behind me. Is it another player that trained at night? Since it wasn¡¯t my business I kept walking forward. After turning a few corners I started to become suspicious. The person¡¯s still following me! Is he a PK? I can¡¯t lead them to the girls... Pressing myself on the wall as I turned another corner I waited for my stalker to reach here and turn. As I spotted him, he was surprised to see me waiting for him. Without a word I tripped him and held his arm behind his back pinning him down. When I took a look at his face I found myself shocked. ¡°Riley.....¡±
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Characters + Setting + Suggestions
Chapter 20: Revenge Chapter 20: Revenge ==================================================================================== ¡°.....Good to see you¡¯re well, Haru.¡± ¡°Why were you following me Riley?¡± I ask while letting him go ¡°I need....help.¡± He answered hesitantly ¡°You need my help?¡± Truth be told I was shocked. With what happened in the past I didn¡¯t expect to meet Riley again. And yet he¡¯s here seeking me out to help him. This doesn¡¯t sound good.... ¡°Yeah, the bastards who.....took Beth. I found them.¡± ¡°Tyler and the other? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re gonna-¡° ¡°Exactly. I will kill them.¡± He said with determination ¡°.....Are you serious? They¡¯re also people.¡± ¡°NO THEY¡±RE NOT! Do you know how many they¡¯ve killed already!? More than 100!¡± He shouted The number I heard sent a shiver down my spine. To kill 100 other players.... That was something normal in games but they know this isn¡¯t one. They willingly choose to end another¡¯s life for their own goals. The idea makes me sick... ¡°But still.... Look why don¡¯t you come with us? Let¡¯s just find a way to clear the game!¡± I try to persuade him ¡°Screw the game! I¡¯m not letting any of those filth get away!¡± ¡°Alright, let¡¯s at least talk about this first. Just... come with me for a moment.¡± As he agreed with a simple nod he started to walk behind me as I returned to where the others were at. Entering the inn, I found that it was deserted. Looks like everyone had gone to sleep. Making my way to the corner table I ask Riley to sit and wait for me for a while. I headed up the stairs and went to the room next to mine and knocked softly. ¡°Sylva? You still awake?¡± Only a few seconds pass when the door slowly opened. Seems like she was just about to turn in for the day. ¡°Haruki? What is it?¡± ¡°Could you come with me for a while? We have a..... visitor.¡± ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll get the others.¡± Sylva walked to the room across hers ¡°No. Just us.¡± I block her way Noticing my grim expression she nods and quietly follows me downstairs. When she arrived it looked like she too was rather shocked to see Riley again. ¡°We meet again.¡± The seated man calmly said ¡°Now we can talk.¡± I begin as Sylva and I sit down. ¡°What do you want?¡± Sylva asked ¡°I need Haru¡¯s help. To deal some justice.¡± ¡°He¡¯s found the one¡¯s that attacked you and Beth.¡± I said to Sylva ¡°So you¡¯re going to kill them!? And ask Haruki to help you!? No!¡± She protested ¡°You mean we should just ignore them!? They¡¯ll just keep on killing unless someone stops them!¡± Riley also raised his voice ¡°What you¡¯re doing isn¡¯t justice! You just want revenge!¡± ¡°I sure as hell do! Haruki, don¡¯t you want to pay them back!?¡± ¡°I.... can¡¯t. I have to protect Hime....¡± ¡°So found your sister. But what if she were the one killed by them? You wouldn¡¯t just sit there with your thumb up your ass!¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough! You should be ashamed of yourself!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not. I don¡¯t intend to relax and sit down because Beth is gone! A little girl, killed! I couldn¡¯t do anything then and I sure won¡¯t just do nothing now!¡± With that said he started to get up and head for the door. ¡°Wait, Riley-¡° I tried to stop him ¡°They¡¯re at a cave dungeon southwest of here. I¡¯ll wait for you until noon. Either way, I¡¯m going alone if I have too.¡± He shut the door ¡°Haruki, what will you do?¡± Sylva asked worriedly ¡°I- I don¡¯t know...¡± I was torn between the two choices. Riley and Beth were the first friends I got in the game and I owed them a great deal. But, I can¡¯t just run off. If I get killed than it¡¯s over for Hime and Sylva.... As I thought hard an image of Beth¡¯s death started to replay in my head. The sight I couldn¡¯t forget even if I tried. That was my failing. If only I were stronger I could¡¯ve saved her. ¡°I¡¯m going to rest for now.¡± I told Sylva ¡°...I see.¡± ================================================================================== ¡°Hime, one of them is getting away!¡± Amy shouted ¡°I got it!¡± In the area south of Roden we were fighting some enemies that looked like centaurs only without human faces but instead bull heads. It looked as if they were a crossbreed of usual centaurs and minotaurs. With large weapons in their bulky arms they tried to assault us with their fast legs. Noticing one heading to Amy I pulled out my spear ¡®Ascalon¡¯ and charged lightning into it. Throwing the spear like a javelin it¡¯s speed and destruction power were highly increased fused with my magic as it pierced and crushed the horse part of the monster. ¡°Oh! Thanks Haruki!¡± Amy waved her hand Focusing on the battle again I spotted two rushing at me from the front. Preparing for the assault I gathered mana into both my feet and my sword emitting blue lightning from both. When I jumped up and targeted the one on the right, a fire spear and 3 arrows hit the left one. It looks like Hime also had decent ranged firepower. The attacks caused the large creature to slam into the ground lifeless. The one I was attacking lost its focus seeing its ally fall. Missing his sword swing at me I use the shoulder and jumped from it while slashing the back of its neck making it tumble down while I landed behind it, rolling before standing back up. ¡°Only a few more left! Sylva, Hime keep using attacks to weaken their HP! Amy heal anyone that¡¯s injured, I¡¯ll continue to draw their attention!¡± I instructed Heading to the last group, I see five of them still standing as they spotted me. We rushed in each other¡¯s direction while I raise my left arm. Using ¡®lightning bolt¡¯ repeatedly I killed one with focused attacks to its head. Two of the ones nearby were also on their last legs. While running, one of them found itself impaled by an ice spike that suddenly erupted from the ground impaling it. Sylva¡¯s spell had stopped its motion and depleted the last of its HP. Hime also used her archery skills. With ¡®piercing shot¡¯ and ¡®snipe¡¯ I spotted one of the monster¡¯s skull penetrated and killed instantly. The last two were now doing a reckless charge at me. Looks like watching the others get killed had made them panic! Using ¡®lightning movement¡¯ I lunged at one of the beast¡¯s chest and stabbed my katana deeply while using ¡®lightning discharge¡¯ to form claws and slashed wildly at its neck. Before it fell down I use my legs and kick of the chest towards the last one. Having reached a height it couldn¡¯t pursue I raised my blade covered in electric sparks as I was pulled down by gravity. Striking as I fell, I hit the last foe and managed to slice it in half instantly defeating it. ¡°Alright, that¡¯s all of them.¡± I walk to the others ¡°See, Nii-san? We can also help out!¡± Hime said with a childish smile ¡°Yeah, yeah. I already said that we¡¯ll go together.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± She cheered ¡°But as expected. Haruki and Sylva are stronger than us....¡± Amy sadly commented ¡°Can¡¯t be helped. They have a skill that increases exp gained.¡± Hime answered ¡°Oooh! So that¡¯s why you guys are stronger!? Maybe we can also get something like that, Hime?¡± ¡°.....I got one that increases stat and skill growth from Nii-san.¡± She hesitantly said ¡°What! Hey, Haruki! What about me!?¡± Amy suddenly yelled at me ¡°What do you mean ¡®what¡¯? It¡¯s not like I¡¯m the one that decides!¡± ¡°But you could make one with Sylva and Hime?¡± She asked ¡°Um, there were certain circumstances....¡± Honestly I just don¡¯t know about those skills. I formed bonds with Sylva and Hime and we received a set of matching skills. Trust for Sylva and Love for Hime. The only thing I¡¯m certain of is there needs to be a deep connection between me and another player to create one. I barely know Amy so I doubt there¡¯s gonna be one anytime soon.... By the way the ¡®Bond of Love¡¯ skill I have with Hime didn¡¯t activate and boost our stats. It did say the requirement was fighting with your lover so I guess that means Hime and I aren¡¯t recognized as one. Oddly enough the bonus growth effect worked perfectly fine. When Hime and I confirmed this earlier I noticed her pouting a bit while silently looking at Sylva. I know she¡¯s still suspicious of our relationship but I wouldn¡¯t dare point that out! ¡°Aaah, it¡¯s already been decided I¡¯m the weakest one!!¡± Amy screamed ¡°Calm down, Amy. Your healing skills are what we need most.¡± Sylva assured her That was true. Our party consisted of mainly range based players with me as the only melee user. Even though I don¡¯t wear heavy armor and use evasion and fast attacks I have to tank and aggro the enemies we fight..... Realizing the sun was already high I checked the time on the game menu. It was a little past noon. I remembered what Riley said about waiting for me.... We were currently not far from there........ ¡°Haruki... are we heading back?¡± Sylva asked I made up my mind there. I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ll regret it but I have an obligation to do this. ¡°You go ahead. I need to do something.¡± ¡°Are you sure about this?¡± Sylva questioned ¡°Yes, I owe him a lot. I wouldn¡¯t be here if not for their help.¡± I replied ¡°....I understand. Promise me you¡¯ll be okay!¡± She put her hands on my face ¡°Uh, yeah.¡± That¡¯s surprising! We don¡¯t usually have this much contact! She must be extremely worried! It¡¯s no wonder. Last time I killed I became broken. But I have to resolve myself... Stolen story; please report. If I can¡¯t do this then it could be the end of us when it matters. If I can¡¯t kill it might be Hime or Sylva that gets killed. I need to do this. If it¡¯s for them I have to do everything I can! ¡°I promise. I¡¯ll be alright.¡± I place my hand on her cheek now and grinned ¡°.....Guys. You should quickly get it over with. I¡¯m getting a really bad vibe from Hime...¡± Amy shuddered ¡°It¡¯s fine. Take your time Nii-san.¡± Hime said flatly ¡°......I¡¯ll be going.¡± Suddenly somehow my mouth felt dry ================================================================================== I arrived at the meeting place but couldn¡¯t spot Riley. That idiot! Did he really go by himself? Making sure he wasn¡¯t here I headed inside the nearby cave and walked silently. When I reached the deepest part I spotted two figures. One of them was lying on the ground while the other had his foot on the motionless figure. ¡°You piece of shit! You suddenly come here and kill my last guy!! Don¡¯t think you¡¯ll leave here alive.¡± The standing person stabbed a short dagger into Riley! ¡°I will kill you.... You killed Beth! I WON¡¯T FORGIVE YOU!¡± Riley roared ¡°Who the fuck is Beth? Like I care about someone I don¡¯t even remember!¡± He kicked Riley¡¯s stomach ¡°Kuhuk!¡± ¡°Wait, I¡¯ve seen you before! Yeah! You¡¯re the one that was babysitting a little girl! Was that ¡®Beth¡¯? The little brat my men killed?¡± ¡°....You bastard.¡± ¡°Oh but because of that he got killed. Shouldn¡¯t we be even?¡± Tyler mocked Without answering Riley just spit at him. Because he was on the ground it only reached his legs instead of his face. ¡°No matter.. I¡¯ll just find some other goons. For now I¡¯ll just deal with you.¡± Raising his axe that I recognized from our fights before he intended to kill Riley there! Before he could though I already leapt from my hiding spot and parried his the axe¡¯s edge. ¡°What the-¡° ¡°You won¡¯t be killing anyone else.¡± I coldly announce ¡°Hmm, well if it isn¡¯t the other brat this guy was with! You seem to be getting along just fine! Looks like I¡¯ll be getting your items too now. I¡¯ll pay you back for injuring me back then.¡± His eyes filled with rage ¡°No, you¡¯ve done enough. I¡¯m not letting you leave.¡± I readied my weapon ¡°Don¡¯t get cocky, kid!¡± he rushed at me I was expecting a hard fight but it was an unnecessary worry. His skills had hardly improved since last time. This guy only relies on sneak attacks and outnumbering players, no doubt he¡¯s weaker than me... Without even parrying I just stepped back causing him to hit the empty air. ¡°wha- you shit!¡± Again this time he slashed in a wide arc. Using lightning movement i dashed behind him and kicked him to the ground. He stood up fast and started to attack even more blindly than before. Pathetic. There¡¯s no way he¡¯ll beat me with just this much. I started playing around with him parrying and dodging his swings with ease while doing light damage to him. Now, my attacks easily penetrated his armor. No longer were they deflected by the red armor that cursed my dreams for a long time. I kept dodging and kicking him to the ground making him helpless against me. Drinking a health potion he regained his HP and charged again at me. I just let him drink it so he doesn¡¯t die to fast. Running towards me with his axe held high I just used ¡®lightning arc¡¯ from my left hand causing him to stop in his tracks. ¡°UWAAAAGHH.¡± He screamed out at the pain of being shocked Not giving up he tried to step forward while glaring straight at me. This time I just fire a bolt and sent him crashing into the cave wall. I chased after him instantly and pinned him to the wall. ¡°How does it feel to be helpless?¡± I ask ¡°Guh, please....¡± He started to beg ¡°Please? How many have begged you just to stay alive? Did you grant their wish!?¡± I shouted angrily ¡°No... I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry. It was only to survive! We can¡¯t fight monsters everyday just to stay alive! Players were easier targets!¡± ¡°Targets? That¡¯s what they were to you?¡± I held my breath and punched his gut ¡°Guhek... It¡¯s just a game.... we don¡¯t really know what happens to those who die!¡± I immediately stabbed his shoulder with my short blade causing him to be stuck to the wall. ¡°Does the pain feel like a game?¡± I asked quietly ¡°N-N-No!¡± He cried out ¡°And yet you easily inflicted it on others... You killed Beth. You tried to kill Sylva. You even dared to threaten my sister!!!¡± I lightly shocked his legs paralyzing them. ¡°I beg you... It was a mistake! We just wanted to live and survive this death game....¡± He started to cry ¡°I see.... Then I shall kill you to ensure the survival of the ones I care about.¡± ¡°NO!! WAIT-¡° Before he started to beg again I had already beheaded him with my lighting blade. As his head rolled away his body started to glow and slowly flicker before finally disappearing. It was over quickly. Just like that those who killed Beth were gone... Rushing to Riley who was still lying on the ground I tried to pull the blade out of him to stop the bleeding and took out a health potion. ¡°....No need.¡± He quietly said ¡°But, you¡¯ll die. I need to heal you and get your HP back up.¡± ¡°Haha, uhuhuhk. You¡¯re really too nice Haru. You should already realize why I did all this.¡± He smiled sadly ¡°....¡± ¡°It¡¯s over now. I got my revenge. My goal is fulfilled.¡± ¡°But! You can always come with us! We¡¯ll find a way to escape, okay!?¡± ¡°No, no. It doesn¡¯t matter if I manage to get out. I have nothing left...¡± ¡°So you¡¯re hoping to die here!?¡± ¡°Exactly.¡± ¡°....So you¡¯re giving up?¡± I ask ¡°Maybe we should all give up... We all die in the end anyway..¡± ¡°I definitely won¡¯t. I will survive and make sure Hime and Sylva live.¡± I resolvedly answered ¡°That¡¯s good then. You still have people to fight for... Then allow an old man to give his last piece of advice to a youth.¡± ¡°....Go ahead.¡± I braced myself for his last words ¡°You defend those you care about with your life. If that isn¡¯t enough get stronger! Strong enough not to fail like me... Use your strength for those you car only. No need to protect everything, just those you love....¡± ¡°I will.¡± ¡°Also know, that sometimes to give up means to step forward.¡± ¡°I.....understand.¡± I answered somewhat confused ¡°Hahah, that¡¯s all I guess. Just the last words of a delusional old man. I¡¯m glad we met Haruki. Know that I don¡¯t blame you a single bit now, and I¡¯m sure Beth would say the same..¡± ¡°.......Thank you.¡± ¡°Yeah, looks like I¡¯ll finally be able to rest now. Goodbye, Haruki....¡± With a last small smile he closed his eyes as his body started to glow. The light covered his body as it always does when a player had died in the game With a quiet sound Riley had disappeared leaving me inside the now silent cave alone. ¡°Goodbye, Riley. Beth.¡±
Killing for another¡¯s sake you have unlocked a new title for your actions
Fighting and killing with determination you have achieved vengeance at last. Although you have dealt revenge you fell regret and sadness for your past failures. -Sorrowful Avenger Strength, Endurance, and Wisdom +10 ; Emotions more likely to affect your battle prowess
Status
[quart=Name,level]Haruki,67 [/quart][quart=Health,Mana]5550,6820 [/quart][quart=Strength,Dexterity]168,154 [/quart][quart=Vitality,Agility]145,214[/quart][quart=Endurance,Intelligence]109,113 [/quart][quart=Luck,Wisdom]20,162[/quart]
Title
Sorrowful Avenger
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Characters + Setting + Suggestions
Chapter 21: Burden <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Author''s notes Hey guys, I tried to make a picture of Characters with their current appearance so you could picture them easier :) I couldn''t get their faces right so I just let them blank... Sorry bout that :( I''ve only done Haruki and Sylva at the moment. I''ll probably do the others sometime next week. These images as well as future ones will be compiled in the setting thread so if you want to look at them again you don''t have to find the exact chapter Haruki Spoiler : Sylva Spoiler : What do you think? Again sorry about the blank faces.... <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Chapter 21: Burden ==================================================================================== Having returned to the city first Hime and the rest were just waiting for Haruki to return. She didn¡¯t know what his business was. When she asked Sylva, she was only told that he was meeting a friend. Hime knew that wasn¡¯t the whole story though. Her brother had left and looked like he had made an important decision. Sylva excessively worried for him also told that the situation was really serious, at least for her brother. What truly bothered Hime was how Sylva was the one that knew. She gave him support while Haruki accepted it willingly. Before all this, Hime had also tried to be of help to Haruki. She tried to do part-time jobs to help cover expenses and have Haruki rely on her. However he always said that he¡¯ll be the one she relied on. He would shoulder the burden so she didn¡¯t have to. He had dealt with their parents funeral alone, tried his best to take care of her, and also became her sole guardian. They had only each other. She didn¡¯t care for anything as long as her brother was near her. But now it was different. She being the little sister even now was only relying on him. Now, Haruki had found someone he relied on. Someone he trusted his life with. Someone who was perfect for him. ¡°Hime? Are you alright?¡± Sylva asked with a small frown ¡°Ah, yes... Just worried about Nii-san.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. He¡¯ll be fine. He promised right?¡± Sylva reassured her with a smile The kindness she showed served only to stab her chest. When he left it wasn¡¯t her he promised to, It was Sylva. Hime felt disgusted at herself for thinking this. Sylva was someone who had helped both her and Haruki. She shouldn¡¯t be feeling this way towards their comrade.... ¡°Oh? Something¡¯s going down at the castle!¡± Amy spoke ¡°Hmm? What is it?¡± Hime snapped out of her deep thoughts ¡°Don¡¯t know. Let¡¯s take a look!¡± As the group of three drew closer they started to hear the words spoken by who seemed to be a city official. ¡°- Lord has decreed that with the newly opened route between Roden and Prax, adventurers will be hired to accompany the Lord in travel to form a constitutional alliance with our neighboring region! All former expedition members are ordered to participate in this joyous event!¡± While the announcement resumed a quest window had appeared in front of Hime and Amy
Quest: Formal Alliance With the recent connection between Roden and Prax there has been a decision to create an alliance between the two regions. The Lord of Roden intends to travel and meet directly with leaders of the nearby region. Quest Clear: Successfully escorted Roden¡¯s Lord to Prax Difficulty: D+ -Certain players will be unable to reject this quest. Failure will result in a large penalty from the Roden government.
Hime was surprised when she received the quest notification. If she had to accept that means she and Amy would have to leave! Sylva didn¡¯t seem to receive the quest so that meant Haruki probably didn¡¯t either... ¡°It¡¯s fine. We were planning to move there anyway right?¡± Sylva noticed Hime¡¯s distress ¡°....But you don¡¯t have this quest, Sylva-san.¡± ¡°That isn¡¯t important. We were going anyway so it¡¯s best to stick together. Haruki will certainly agree.¡± ¡°Yeah! We¡¯ll just have them tag along! Once the quest is done we¡¯ll be where we were headed to anyway.¡± Amy cheered her up ¡°....Yes!¡± Listening to the details of the quest they found out that they were already leaving tomorrow! Hime wondered if this quest was important. After all, they had only completed the expedition yesterday. ¡°It seems we only have to wait for Nii-san to return.¡± ¡°Geez, where¡¯d he go anyway? Isn¡¯t it weird that he¡¯s meeting with someone? What sort of business does he have?¡± Amy questioned ¡°He¡¯s.... tying a few loose ends with an old friend.¡± Sylva said with a sad smile ¡°That so?¡± Amy casually replied ¡°Anyway we should head back for now.¡± Hime suggested Arriving at the quiet place they were staying at the three separated and went off to their own rooms. Hime entered and closed the door quietly while dragging a chair in front of the window. As she sat down she again began to think about the condition they were all in. She became determined to have Haruki rely on her. If she couldn¡¯t do something as simple as that she didn¡¯t deserve to call herself his sister. He had done all of this for her sake so she had to at least be useful at something for him! Staring intently outside the window she waited for her brother to come into view. She resolved herself to speak her mind regarding the matter with him. She¡¯ll try her best to help carry the heavy burden that had always been Haruki¡¯s responsibility alone. When she spotted him , she nearly knocked over the chair she was sitting on! He looked exhausted but it seemed he was perfectly fine! Dashing out her room¡¯s door she nearly leapt down the stairs but stopped when she heard a familiar voice. ¡°Are you alright?¡± Hime heard the worried tone ¡°Haha, you worry too much Sylva! I said I would be fine right?¡± ¡°But-¡° ¡°I did what I had to... I don¡¯t regret it.¡± Haruki said in a firm tone ¡°.....I don¡¯t see Riley. Where is he?¡± ¡°He said he¡¯s fulfilled his purpose.... He¡¯s at peace.¡± ¡°I see... I¡¯m sorry to hear that.¡± Sylva¡¯s voice was filled with sorrow ¡°Don¡¯t be. He chose this path himself. We should respect it.¡± Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. ¡°......What about you? This must be hardest for you.... They were your friends after all.¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine. We said our goodbyes and merely parted ways...¡± ¡°You idiot! That¡¯s why I¡¯m worried!! Don¡¯t you remember last time!? You were devastated! What if the same thing happens all over again!¡± Sylva started to cry Hime was shocked to hear Sylva¡¯s raise her voice like that. The usually calm and graceful Sylva showed her emotions clearly when it regarded Haruki. She even cried for his sake! ¡°....I¡¯m apologize, Sylva. I should have realized you were that worried. But, If that were to happen again I have no doubt you¡¯d be there for me again.¡± Haruki said with a gentle tone Hearing her brother openly say he depended on Sylva caused Hime to feel emptiness in her heart. Bewildered at the complex emotions she accidentally stepped on a loose floorboard which made a loud squeaking noise. Without a doubt both of them heard that. Knowing she couldn¡¯t be found out eavesdropping she started head down the stairs. ¡°Oh Nii-san! You¡¯re back.¡± She acted like she just knew ¡°Yeah, sorry for the wait.¡± It seems Sylva had regained her composure. Slightly wiping her now wet eyes she started to talk again. ¡°Haruki, it turns out we have to leave already.¡± ¡°Hm? Why¡¯s that?¡± Haruki showed a puzzled face ¡°Actually, it¡¯s my fault Nii-san. We received a quest while you were gone...¡± Hime explained the details of the quest while Haruki listened in with interest on his face. Hime found it weird that her brother was even interested in this quest because it seemed like a low level one. ¡°Aah, so that¡¯s what you mean.¡± ¡°Sorry, Nii-san.¡± ¡°Nah, leaving faster is better anyway.¡± He waved his hand ¡°Is something the matter Haruki?¡± Sylva gazed at him ¡°This ¡®alliance¡¯. Doesn¡¯t it sound like something that¡¯ll affect the whole game world?¡± ¡°I guess.¡± Hime answered her brother¡¯s question ¡°Right, there are a lot of places that aren¡¯t found yet and if players keep connecting cities wouldn¡¯t that create a type of new society ingame?¡± ¡°What¡¯s your point Nii-san?¡± ¡°Haah, ¡®Kingdoms¡¯ or ¡®Nations¡¯ ; shouldn¡¯t normal MMO¡¯s be tightly related to these things? And yet there¡¯s no clear information of anything of the sort in the game.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. It does seem like every place is disconnected from one another.¡± Sylva remarked ¡°Exactly! What I¡¯m thinking is for the game to proceed wouldn¡¯t access and development of the entire game world be needed to be cleared? If we continue to complete quests which have huge effects on the world than we might be able to finish the game!¡± He excitedly said ¡°....But wouldn¡¯t doing that be difficult?¡± Hime was skeptic ¡°That¡¯s not what really matters. What matters is we have a clear goal. Something to focus our efforts at. If the hardest quests have a possibility to end this then I will complete them!¡± ¡°Like I said we¡¯re not capable enough to finish every quest in the game!¡± ¡°Then I will search for whatever power I need. I will not just give up and do nothing.¡± A will of steel was clear in Haruki¡¯s eyes. ================================================================================ The sun was high as we departed on the journey to Prax. Before it had taken weeks for the players to reach there but with the route established it should only take about a week at most. From what I heard the quest difficulty was only D+. That hardly warranted for 200 players to participate in this quest. It¡¯s probably some game mechanism to introduce the other regions in a form of an event quest. When we joined in the group some of the NPCs didn¡¯t allow us because we weren¡¯t registered as adventurers that were contracted to guard the Lord. That however, was solved when Commander Gil stepped out and immediately argued that we were heroes of the city. I guess Sylva and I joining in won¡¯t be a problem. Looking around I saw a few faces that I recognized. Looks like the expedition members that Sylva and I rescued are all here. I notice most of them had either cloaks or pieces of gear that had Roden¡¯s emblem on them. Was wearing their reward from the last quest also a requirement? They probably were items with great value anyway. ¡°Hey, it¡¯s you guys again! Glad to see you¡¯re with us!¡± A young guy walks up to me ¡°Oh yeah... uhm...¡± ¡°I¡¯m Cameron. Just call me Cam. You saved us a few days back remember?¡± ¡°I remember. I just don¡¯t really know any of you....¡± ¡°Well, I guess us small fries don¡¯t match up to ¡®Nero Argento¡¯ anyway!¡± He said with a grin ¡°Ah! You¡¯re that kid storyteller from before! Why are you here!?¡± Suddenly Amy shouted ¡°Storyteller?¡± I ask Amy ¡°He¡¯s the one that told the story of you and Sylva to the expedition team!¡± ¡°And I was right wasn¡¯t I? They really are top class players.¡± He said ¡°Yeah, we¡¯re not lovers though.¡± I sighed ¡®For Real!? Huh, doesn¡¯t matter. I¡¯ll keep telling that story. It¡¯s a better version any way.¡± He shrugged his shoulders ¡°Haah, do as you like...¡± I gave up on dealing with him Slowing down my pace I walk beside Hime and started to talk to her. ¡°Hey, Hime.¡± ¡°Oh... Nii-san.¡± ¡°Huh? Is something wrong? You look a bit worn out.¡± I said while rubbing her head ¡°No, I¡¯m fine. I¡¯ll definitely do my best.¡± ¡°Okay I guess? If something¡¯s on your mind just tell me okay? You can count on me.¡± I smile at her ¡°.....Okay.¡± She quietly nodded Feeling she would be fine for now I then talked to Sylva. ¡°Sylva, is something the matter with Hime?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so. Why?¡± she faced me ¡°She¡¯s been a bit gloomy lately. Especially when talking with me...¡± ¡°Ah!¡± ¡°What is it? You know something about this?¡± ¡°Oh, actually I told her about what happened before Tyrne. I¡¯m sorry...¡± ¡°Aah, that explains it. No wonder she¡¯s like that. I guess knowing I could kill another human being made her look at me differently.¡± I said with a wry smile ¡°Maybe I shouldn¡¯t have told her?¡± Sylva started to regret telling her ¡°No, she would find out anyway. And it¡¯s something I chose myself. If this is the price I have to pay then I¡¯ll accept it.¡± ¡°Maybe it¡¯s not that. Maybe she just wants to tell you something but just can¡¯t?¡± ¡°Haah, I can only hope that¡¯s true.... Either way I¡¯ll just keep trying to talk with her.¡± ¡°I think... you should stay by her side. She desperately needs her brother now is what I feel.¡± Sylva looks at Hime with affection ¡°Thanks.¡± I said to the girl beside me ¡°Hm? What for?¡± ¡°For being a friend to both of us.¡± That¡¯s right I¡¯m her brother. I¡¯m all she has left and she¡¯s all I have left. I have to keep carrying this burden for the both of us..........
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Characters + Setting + Suggestions
Chapter 22: Celebration Chapter 22: Celebration ==================================================================================== ¡°Fuwaaaah.¡± Stretching my arms up, a huge yawn escapes from my mouth. It¡¯s been 3 days since we set off. So far nothing worth mentioning even happened to us. A few monsters ambushed us but they were so weakened from the previous battle that I didn¡¯t even get a chance to step in! ¡°Bored?¡± Amy looked like she was in the same situation as me ¡°No kidding, we¡¯re just walking doing nothing here....¡± ¡°At least the views nice.¡± She said dejectedly It was true though. The mountainous terrain was really a sight you could rarely see now. The green thick forestry of the mountains and hills were something you wouldn¡¯t find in the real world often today. Even though this is just a virtual world, I felt as if I were right in the middle of nature. ¡°Didn¡¯t you already go through here a while ago.¡± I asked her ¡°Monsters chasing our group constantly didn¡¯t exactly give us much chance to sightsee.¡± ¡°I did hear about that. Were you and Hime alright?¡± ¡°We were fine. We don¡¯t fight up close after all.¡± Before I met Hime again I was worried sick when I had heard about the quest she was on. It was basically a journey into the unknown! Normally quests had clear goals but the expedition quest wasn¡¯t guaranteed to succeed and that kept me up at night for a couple of times. ¡°Hey, Haruki. Are you worried for Hime?¡± Amy curiously asked ¡°What sort of brother would I be if I wasn¡¯t?¡± ¡°I know what you mean, but...... aren¡¯t you being a bit overprotective?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± I was dumbfounded at the statement ¡°You know I¡¯ve been with her for six months now. Believe me when I say that she¡¯s strong. I don¡¯t really think she needs a babysitter.¡± ¡°Strong?¡± ¡°Of course we were depressed at first. But she picked herself up and started to move on. Eve against the odds she would always do her best and give it her all. She never whined or cursed her fate. She even helped me out to stay alive.¡± ¡°.....¡± ¡°Just saying. Maybe you should think about it?¡± ¡°Did she tell you this?¡± I couldn¡¯t hold back asking ¡°Haha, no way. Just call it a best friend¡¯s intuition?¡± she laughed mischievously ¡°I see.¡± Was that really the case? Does she actually think like that? Wondering about the issue I found my gaze turning to Hime in front of us. Her long hair was tied up just like when she did club activities back at school. With a bow and quiver on her back she really did look like a strong woman.... Does that mean I actually see her as a weight I have to carry? I always seem to be finding myself doing everything to shield her from harm¡¯s way. But looking at my sister right now it truly didn¡¯t look like she needed someone to do that. Was I wrong with thinking like I did? Of course she¡¯s not a child that had just lost her parents and only cried anymore. She was already an adult now. ¡°Nii-san, are you alright? You have a funny look on your face...¡± Hime caught me staring at her ¡°Wha- No, no. I was just thinking about you a little.¡± I said ¡°Re-Really? I see... ¡°Her face turned a bit red ¡°Yeah, just thinking you¡¯re really not a kid anymore.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that obvious? Where have you been these past few years?¡± She pouted ¡°Ahaha, well to me you¡¯ll always seem like a little girl I guess.¡± I answered her with a joke ¡°........That¡¯s right. I¡¯m your little sister after all.¡± A sad smile formed on her face ¡°What¡¯s wro-¡° ¡°Ambush from the left side!! Guards to your stations!!!¡± Commander Gil¡¯s voice cut me off ¡°An attack!? Hime get behind me!¡± I said looking to where she was I didn¡¯t see her beside me anymore. Looking ahead I spotted her already rushing to the defensive line behind the soldiers. The mage and archer players all let out a coordinated assault on the beasts that had ambushed us. It looked like Sylva and I weren¡¯t really needed anymore... ¡°Damn it! I¡¯m tired of doing nothing!¡± Muttering that to myself I unsheathed the nameless katana and started to charge into the disorganized monsters with the city soldiers. Using my movement skill I easily avoided all the clumsy swings and thrusts that the enemy did. Slashing my sword left and right I hit a few tall orcs that caused them to retreat with open wounds gushing out thick blood. Not letting them escape I charged up mana into my left hand and started unleashing a barrage of lightning spells at their backs! To train my magic mastery I keep killing them off with bolts fired from my hand. This method of fighting while useful to improve my magic skills meant that I had to neglect a few other skills. Though I didn¡¯t really need ¡®lightning blade¡¯ on these kind of foes, not using it meant it¡¯s proficiency increase would halt. Even more, it was on the last few levels of the intermediate range. The rate at which it gains exp was really slow even with the added bonus of ¡®Bond of Love¡¯! I guess at the core this game is still and MMORPG huh? Grinding was the sure way to keep getting strength in this game! This meant double the work for me since I have to divide my focus on the melee and magic front of my fighting style... I need a balance between the two that makes me capable of dealing with any situation. If I leaned too much to close quarters combat I¡¯ll have a hard time against enemies that could attack from a distance! At the moment that was exactly what my condition is like making me grind my magic skills instead for now. I have to be careful though. If I end up completely neglecting my warrior combat skills I¡¯ll just end up like every other squishy mage type out there only with weaker magic skills.... ¡°Nii-san! Stop daydreaming already!¡± Hearing the loud shout I look up and realized a kobold had tried to smash my head with a bone hammer. Stuck in its dog head was a metal arrow that had pierced one of its eyeballs. That was close! Even though my defense shouldn¡¯t be broken by weak monsters like that the slight pain I would feel was unpleasant to say the least. Postponing my thoughts for later I refocused on the battle in front of me. Consuming a potion to replenish my decreasing mana, I then sheathed my blade and completely focused on magic. I released all forms of lightning to defeat the enemies. Besides the usual bolts I also formed various projectiles freely and threw them at monsters from a distance. I also dashed around and dealt close range magic. Using my speed to outrun the slow enemy I release electric currents on my arms and shocked them at point blank range. Against the tougher ones I literally blasted their heads with close range lightning bolts while my hands mere on their body. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. Before long the small skirmish was over. Without any deaths or even dangerous injuries our side was victorious. Looks like the players were getting stronger and stronger just like myself. I can¡¯t be left behind if I want to clear the game..... ¡°Nii-san! What were you doing!?¡± ¡°Huh? Well, I was fighting of course.¡± ¡°Wasn¡¯t that a bit too reckless!? You didn¡¯t even notice an attack coming!¡± ¡°It¡¯s true. You were quite careless there Haruki.¡± Sylva also chimes in ¡°I can¡¯t help it! I was thinking about something important!¡± ¡°What could be so important that you even thought about it in the middle of combat!?¡± Hime raised her voice ¡°A way to get stronger.¡± ¡°What!? That¡¯s not really so significant isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Of course it is! I need to be able to protect you all.¡± ¡°....¡± Without saying a word Hime turned around and left me with Sylva. Staring at her back I questioned Sylva beside me. ¡°Did I say something wrong?¡± I furrowed my brows ¡°......Sometimes you really are stupid Haruki.¡± Sylva also left me What¡¯s their problem? Frowning, I return to the group and started walking again. ================================================================================== ¡°So this is Prax...¡± The city in front of me was completely different from the cities I¡¯ve been to. The entire city was decorated with beautiful structures that seemed to be made from pure white marble. Statues and various attractive landscapes could be seen at every corner of the city. It was a huge difference from the gray looking stone walls and old wooden buildings from Roden region. The view here was like a piece of art compared to the dull city I left. So each territory has different characteristics huh? If I would take a guess Roden and the other cities I¡¯ve been to were modeled from middle age European cities from history. This place though, with all the fine art, was no doubt based on Rome or ancient Greece ¡°Haruki, let¡¯s go!¡± Sylva called me ¡°Right.¡± Having reached our destination we were now heading to the city palace. Technically Sylva and I didn¡¯t really need to follow but getting split up in an unfamiliar city was asking for trouble. On the way the players that were from the city eyed us with interest. I guess this was the biggest game event they witnessed during the past few months. After all, it didn¡¯t look like this region had contact with any others except our own. ¡°Look! Those players came from across the border!¡± ¡°You mean the ones from a few weeks back? Why are they here again?¡± ¡°Maybe it¡¯s a chain quest? It definitely looks important.¡± Reaching the palace I noticed that it seemed like a palace that had the best sculptors and painters commissioned. Extravagant sculpting and paintings adorned the hallway as we headed into the central chamber. When we reached the door we were ushered to the side to make way for Roden¡¯s lord to pass through. Flanked by his personal bodyguards he confidently entered the chamber followed by the players behind him. ¡°Ah, so you are the lord of Roden! It¡¯s an honor to have you personally visit my humble city!¡± A beautiful voice could be heard Looking up I saw the figure that was seated on a throne that was made from precious metals and gems while the seat was covered in soft velvet that seemed to be made from high class materials. The one sitting was a lady that had stunning blue eyes and straight gold hair. Her face was the very definition woman of royal class. Her face was perfectly balanced without a hint of imperfection on it. A crown in the shape of a tiara was resting on her head which showed a broad smile. She seemed to be in her late 20s but her age didn¡¯t show at all. ¡°I am Diana. The queen and ruler of Prax and it¡¯s surroundings! May you be so kind to introduce yourself, sir?¡± ¡°Of course, my lady. I am known as Romel, lord and protector of Roden to the south.¡± ¡°Hm, hm. I see. What brings you to my palace so soon Sir Romel? Haven¡¯t we only established contact a few days ago?¡± she raised her slender hands to her chin ¡°My purpose, Queen Diana, is to propose an alliance between our neighboring territories.¡± Lord Romel answered ¡°I see, I see. Aren¡¯t we being a bit hasty here Lord Romel?¡± ¡°I beg your pardon?¡± ¡°Celebrations! This most historical event must be celebrated! In honor for our new found relations!¡± She proudly announced ¡°.....And what would this ¡®celebration¡¯ be?¡± ¡°My proud city has boasted its fighter¡¯s abilities for generations! Our arena is the pride of the city where blood and sweat determine the powerful and weak.¡± A bloodthirsty smile that didn¡¯t match on Diana¡¯s face surfaced ¡°Do you mean to propose-¡° ¡°Yes! You have brought champions from your lands have you not? We shall have them test their strength in combat!¡± When the queen finished speaking I noticed the other players had received information windows. As I didn¡¯t get one I asked Hime to show me the contents.
Quest updated: Formal Alliance You have managed to escort the Lord of Roden in reaching Prax. The alliance however has not been formed due to an upcoming celebration proposed by the Queen of Prax.
Quest: Coliseum Festival The tradition of Prax has dictated that warrior prove their worth in combat witnessed by the entire population! To celebrate Roden-Prax relations, Queen Diana will hold a large tournament between fighters from Roden and Prax. Quest Clear: Participate in the team battles of Prax Difficulty: B -each team will be limited to 2 fighters forming a tag team.
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Chapter 23: Tag Team Chapter 23: Tag Team ================================================================================== "Wait! You can''t just do this!" I yell out forgetting about where we were "Silence! How dare you interrupt us!" Lord Romel berated Oh crap! I just blurted that out spontaneously! This is bad. Even though they''re NPCs they currently have much more influence in this world than any player! If only I could''ve kept my mouth shut..... "My Lord! Please forgive him! He is new to the ways of court." Commander Gil bows down asking for my forgiveness "Gil! Why stand up for such an insolent cur!?" "My Lord, he''s the one that rescued the expedition. Surely that warrants some lenience?" "I am grateful for that. But this is-" "BE QUIET! All of you! Do not forget these are my chambers!" Queen Diana suddenly said with a harsh tone Suddenly reprimanded by the lord of the region made us all fall silent. Could this situation get any worse? Did I just make the quest fail? No, that''s not important! Worst case scenario we could all be executed here and that doesn''t sound too good in a real death game.... "Young man, step forward." she suddenly beckoned me This time I acted befitting a commoner in front of royalty. I stepped forward and got on one knee while lowering my head. I did this in western tradition because it was more appropriate for the setting I guess? "Speak. Why do you object our tradition?" She said with a calm but cold voice "Forgive me, your Majesty. I am merely concerned for the safety of my comrades." "Hooo, and who might they be?" "That would be me. I''m his sister Queen Diana." Hime also got on her knee "Sister? I see, who is your intended partner for the arena young lady?" Without waiting for Hime to call her, Amy had already stepped forward too. The Queen¡¯s gaze was now staring the three of us down. Lord Romel and Gil were also silent while waiting for the Queen to speak again. "I have made a decision. This young man will also participate in the fight." "Thank you, your Majesty!" I said
You have replaced a player''s position and now among the ''Coliseum Festival'' quest participants
This is fine. At least I can fight instead of Hime. I don''t know what I''ll be fighting but it was definitely better me than her. "What is your name, young man?" "I am Haruki, your Majesty." "Fufufu, you seem much more capable than the others here Haruki. I will look forward to watching you fight alongside your sister." She said while licking her lips "Wha-" "We are finished. Leave Lord Romel and I to our discussion!" After she announced that, the palace guards in bright silver armor started to gather the players. Looks like we were being ''politely'' asked to leave. Before making our way out, Romel gave me a dissatisfied look but didn''t say a word. "Damn it! What the hell''s wrong with her?" I mutter quietly as soon as we were at the courtyard "That was close, Haruki. Be glad it was only this." Sylva said with a bitter look "I know that some of it''s my fault... But Hime still ends up fighting after all that!" "It''s much better this way Nii-san. Amy would be helpless with her focus on healing skills." "Hey!!" Amy protested "Yeah, but...." "Nii-san. Please have a little faith in me. I can take care of myself." "....." "We might not be as strong as you and Sylva but we were counted as part of the best players in Roden." Amy added "Fine, fine. Just.... don''t do anything stupid." "Says the one that just made a fool of himself in front of two lords." Hime smiled "Ku... That was an accident." "Fine, fine." she replied the same thing to me I guess this is acceptable. At least now I could do something instead of just watching. And truth be told it really made more sense for me to replace Amy. I felt kind of bad about earlier. Even if I was worried for Hime I shouldn''t just leave Amy alone. Turning to Amy I was about to apologize but she stopped me. Just by shaking her head I knew she understood why I did that. This girl really is a true friend..... "By the way, wasn''t the queen..... kinda weird?" I asked the others "She was strict. But not really weird." Sylva answered "How so? I thought she was beautiful and forgiving queen." Hime also said "I see..." Was it just me? I don''t know why but the way she talked and looked at me sent shivers down my spine. But it doesn''t look like the others noticed. Maybe it really was just my imagination? "When is the quest gonna take place?" Amy questioned "No clue" I shrugged my shoulders While wondering about the quest we spotted two figures walking towards us from the palace. It was Lord Romel and Commander Gil! Was their meeting with the queen over? Looks like it''s time to get more details. Noticing the approaching men, the players all formed a half circle and paid attention to them. "Gather round, all of you." Lord Romel starts "I will now be announcing the circumstances of this....event. As you''ve all heard you will all be fighting according to this city''s tradition. The opponents will be Prax''s best fighters." "Who are they?" Asks one of us "They are the same as all of you. Adventurers." ================================================================================= At the coliseum gates the players from Roden were waiting anxiously for the festival to begin. Yesterday the Lord said that each team would be fighting battle after battle until two reach the finals. In short, we were entering a tournament. Although we were high leveled compared to our own region''s players, we don''t know much about this city''s. What''s more they''ve been competing for a longer time giving them a better advantage. Thankfully the fights weren''t to the death. Though that did ease my mind a bit it still was dangerous. Even though technically we wouldn''t die any injuries were felt for real and that sure as hell doesn''t sound entertaining. Still, I can''t let my guard down. Who knows what that queen has planned. "Uwaah, suddenly I feel nervous!" Amy spoke out "You''re not even fighting....." "Hey! You were the one that stole my spot!" She glared at me "I thought you said you were actually relieved yesterday!" "Nii-san, Amy, please be a little more serious." Hime looked annoyed ""......"" "Look it''s about to start." Sylva points at the soldiers rushing out of the Arena "Haaah, let''s go Hime." "Yeah." "Good luck, guys! We''ll be rooting for you!" Amy said waving her hand "Haruki,, do your best. You too, Hime." As Amy and Sylva said that, we started to walk in separate directions. The contestants were now heading towards a waiting room while other people went to the spectator seats. It seems the players from Roden were gathered in a single large room waiting for their turn to fight. Hime and I were last so we waited as each team got out for their match. None of them came back though. Looks like they all lost their matches. I guess the arena players from Prax were all strong.... Being the last one here it''s now our turn to fight. Since the quest only needed us to participate maybe we could just give up midway. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. "I won''t be giving up. That''s shameful." What!? Did it show on my face? I''ve got no choice now.... Following the pathway we spotted a bright light at the end of the hall. A rumbling sound could be heard as we drew closer. Reaching the end I looked at Hime and made sure she was prepared. "You ready?" "Yes. I''ll show that I can handle myself." she replied while stepping forward "WOOOOOOOOOH!!!" The view from down here was mind-blowing. Thousands of people were shouting and staring at the both of us. Their voices were so loud it felt as if the ground was shaking beneath us! This arena was huge! And the spectators were mostly players from what I see. Cheering out loud it looks like they were enjoyed watching the superiority of their city''s players.... "CRUSH THEM BOTH!!! SHOW THEM THE MIGHT OF PRAX!!!" Looking around bewildered I noticed two people on the other side of the coliseum. Looks like those are our opponents. One had a black robe with an iron mask covering his face while the other had dark green scale armor. The robed player carried a staff so he must be mage. The other was wielding a hammer nearly twice my size! "Let us see what the last warriors of Roden can do!" Queen Diana signaled the start of the match from a high balcony I immediately readied my sword while focusing mana to my left arm. Hime pulled an arrow from her quiver and took a stance behind me. The two enemies also raised their weapons and stood still. The mage started casting spells but I was confident we could dodge them at this distance. That turned out to be a huge mistake. His spells hit the ground of the arena and created multiple dark purple spheres. Stepping out of the magic circles were skeleton warriors! That mage is a summoner! The skeletons started to rush forward while the players still stood unmoving behind them. It''ll be bad if the two of us were surrounded so I also ran forward and attacked the summons. CLANG! My steel blade couldn''t cut through their bones! That summoner''s skill must be quite good for these kind of monsters... This time I tried slashing again with ''lightning blade''. The effects are clearly visible with the blade cleanly severing the leg bone causing it to fall down. Rolling to the right, I dodged an upward swing by a few centimeters while being chased by 5 other skeletons. Hime''s arrows turned out to be quite effective against them. It seems the wind element enchantment on her bow makes the arrows capable of piercing their bones. That must mean magic is their weakness! I launched a ''lightning bolt'' at one of their rib bones and it blew up in pieces! Swinging my blade around I managed to destroy a few more of them while arrows supported me. Amy was right. Hime is a strong player! Turning around I noticed that the mage was standing alone now. Where''s the warrior? My question was answered immediately with a shadow coming at me from above. "Damn!" I quickly used my movement skill and jumped back as fast as I could. When the player''s hammer hit the ground it managed to create a crater! Pieces of rock flew everywhere with some scratching my face, causing several cuts that were red with blood dripping out. The skeletons were all obliterated by that massive assault! The other didn''t summon anymore so he must be out of mana for now. Holding my sword tight, I started to attack the scale-armored player with both the katana and lightning claws. He parried my sword with the handle of his hammer while kicking me back before my claws could reach him. A couple of arrows manage to hit him penetrating his shoulder and thigh. Glancing at Hime''s location he started to run towards her and ignored me. "AS IF I''D LET YOU!" With the speed bonus granted by ''lightning movement'' I easily caught up with him and kicked his knees from behind making him fall over. When I tried to stab his back a small mana bolt hit me causing me to lose balance. Before I could hit him he was already facing me with his weapon readied. "Hime, get the mage!" I have to let Hime take the offensive now. If she only stood behind me we would surely lose in no time. Hearing my instruction she bolted off leaving me facing the warrior in a one on one match. "Give up, the others from your city already lost." he suddenly spoke to me ".....Sorry, my sister''s pretty stubborn about all this!" Dashing straight at him I avoided his hammer by leaping to the left. I struck my blade towards his chest but he deflected it with his right arm. Even though his armor was quite sturdy it still couldn''t entirely block my blade covered in electric sparks! With some blood gushing out from his arm he tried to swing his hammer down again. This time I immediately ran around him as the heavy weapon made another hole in the ground with an explosion-like sound. Because I was behind him, his own body shielded me from the rocks flying around. "You little-" Before he could turn around I blasted him from behind making him fall forwards to the ground. Now''s my chance! Since he couldn''t get up for now I can rush over to Hime and help her with the other one. Before I did that I realized that she was in control of their battle. Her high agility made it easy for her to dodge the player''s weak spells. Having used all his mana to summon at the beginning left him only able to use low-cost skills! Jumping around while circling him, Hime managed to lodge arrows at his feet and left arm preventing him from moving. Huh. I guess I really should trust in her more. Sensing another attack from behind, I poured mana into my legs and jumped 5 meters in the air, leaving him staring at the empty air. Doing a backflip impossible to replicate in real life, I landed behind him. His back was completely unguarded again! Using both sword and claws I unleashed a quick flurry that decreased his HP fast. When it hit 25%, he suddenly fell down unmoving. I did it! WE did it! Hime was also finished with her opponent. After knocking the fighters out the entire arena was silent. The Queen, with a smile on her face, stood up from her seat and announced to the crowd. "The first victory for Roden! Looks like they have saved the best for last!" The entire coliseum went into an uproar! Some were cheering for us while others were jeering. We managed to clear the first round! Feeling a sense of excitement and ecstasy I pointed my arm up and launched a huge lightning bolt to the sky proclaiming my victory!
Quest updated: Coliseum Festival You have won the first match of the tournament. There are now five more matches before the final battle.
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Chapter 24: Whats Important Chapter 24: What''s Important ================================================================================== After Hime and I had won our first match we were thrown into the second one almost immediately. It wasn''t a problem though since the second team we fought was weaker than the first so we won rather easily. By the time the second rounds were over the sun had started to set. From the 128 teams at the start there were 32 left. From all these ours was the only one left from Roden! Since time wasn''t enough for today, the remaining battles are going to be held tomorrow. If Hime and I win 5 more matches than we would win this tournament! For now though we were heading back to where the others were. On the way we met someone I didn''t expect to see. "Congratulations on your victories." A sweet voice rang out ".....Queen Diana." I lower my head uncomfortably "Does Your Majesty have business with us?" Hime calmly asked It seems that only I felt uncomfortable around her. I don''t know why but I kinda feel as if she has some sort of secret motive... "I merely wished to once again meet Roden''s best. It seems I wasn''t mistaken about you, Haruki." She smiles bewitchingly at me "...I''m honored you even remember my name, Queen Diana." I said with a hint of sarcasm Not noticing my tone, she came closer and started to whisper directly in my ear. "I have high hopes for you. Keep winning and I''ll see to it that you''re properly rewarded..." "UWAAAH!!" I involuntarily scream out "Nii-san? What is it?" Hime looks at me "N-n-nothing! I''m fine." What the hell!!? I felt something warm and wet on my cheek! It was definitely a tongue! That woman just licked my cheek!!! "Fufufu, I''ll look forward to tomorrows matches you two." She said while leaving "What''s the matter Nii-san? You''re staring at the Queen''s back...." Hime looked at me as if I was a strange animal "...." "I understand she''s beautiful, but she''s an NPC remember." She said with a frown plastered on her face Thinking that telling anyone about what happened wouldn''t be a good idea, I decided to keep my mouth shut. As Hime and I exited the coliseum gates the other Roden players quickly surrounded us. They did not look good. Some had bruises on their faces while slightly reddened bandages covered their bodies. "Hey! Great job guys!" "Looks like you still have a chance!" "Maybe we should give them a name. You know, we do have ''Nero Argento'' right?" "Please don''t. And isn''t that going to give me two names...." Squeezing through the crowd Sylva and Amy walked over to us. "Haruki, Hime! Are you both alright?" Sylva asked "Of course they are! Didn''t you watch the fights, Sylva?" Amy butted in "We''re fine, Sylva-san." Hime ignored Amy "Man you guys were awesome! Go pulverize them tomorrow!!" "Amy, please calm down." I said Today¡¯s battle really left me worn out. But of course the main cause wasn''t that. Why was Queen Diana paying attention to me? From her actions I could kind of guess but that doesn''t make sense...... "Ah, you two must be exhausted. Let''s find the quarters the Lord prepared for us." Sylva suggested Nodding to show my approval I gestured my hand for Sylva to lead the way. Ah, looks like we''re all staying at a rather fancy mansion just outside the palace gardens. ================================================================================== "Hime, let''s go!" It was the third round of the tournament. Our opponents this time looked like a pair of rogue-type players. They both wielded two daggers and were running straight towards us! They were trying to outmaneuver us using their high speed and agility. No doubt they were looking to end this fast with critical hits. With Hime running behind me I also charged straight at them. If they want to fight with speed then we''ll just have to match them! Activating ''lightning movement'' I quickly bolted to the guy in the front surprising him with my sudden burst of speed. I stabbed towards him but his stats and skills must be pretty good since he managed to block it in time with the daggers. I wasn''t gonna let him get away though. I instantly crouched down and rolled underneath him. Since I was covering Hime from his vision he didn''t notice that she had already notched an arrow at her bow! Releasing her arrows from close range they met their target and punctured the rogue''s light armor staggering him backwards. "I''ll leave him to you Hime!" "Got it!" Making my way to the other one I noticed that he was gone. Looks like he has some sort of skill that allowed him to hide his presence! Looking around trying to find him I suddenly felt a sharp pain at my side. Damn it! He managed to stab me dealing critical damage instantly decreasing my health by 40%! Having no other choice I start to release mana from all over my body. Lightning formed into an aura-like shape around me and prevented him from sneaking upon me again. This use of discharge slowly dealt damage too me too. My resistance just wasn''t enough to maintain full body use... Gritting my teeth from the shock I started casting ''lightning arc'' around me trying to hit him. There! I spotted the sand nearby moving as he tried to dodge my magic! Using my heightened reflexes I launched a ''lightning bolt'' at where he was heading to and managed to hit him causing smoke a little smoke to rise from his location. "I have you now!" I drew my short blade from its scabbard while charging mana into it and threw it like a throwing knife. "TSK!" I could hear him click his tongue as the blade managed to stick itself in what should be his right leg. With my weapon on him I could see his location even though he was invisible! Since this was active combat, skill growth could occur even though I was fighting in the arena! Making use of this I started hurling thunderbolts at where the floating blade was continuously. He tried running, jumping, and rolling around using his high agility trying to dodge my spells. This was obviously useless. No matter how fast you are you can''t run faster than lightning! That was the characteristic of my element. Fast movement, huge destructive power, and high precision! Of course every magic element had their advantages but in my mind lightning is the strongest one of all. When my fifth bolt finally hit him again, he finally turned visible and collapsed on his back. Turning around I found that Hime was already done and was watching me fight. Huh, guess she finished up quicker than I expected. with the fight over I start to check my magic skill growth.
Magic Mastery (Beginner) lv. 8 A skill that every magic user has knowledge of. The user will be much more attuned to the flow of mana and will be able to master basic magic spells. 4.5% magic damage ; 2% mana reduction cost
Lightning Discharge (Intermediate) lv. 8 Able to produce lightning from various body parts according to players will. Direct contact will also affect user. With strong will, the emotions of the user will now affect the nature of the lightning created Mana cost depending on shape and size
Lightning Arc (Beginner) lv.7 A continuous discharge of lightning that is maintained by consuming mana. It is much weaker than the a fast lightning bolt but can be controlled for a longer period of time. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.Lightning damage (small+) Cost: 35 mana/sec
Lightning Bolt (Intermediate) lv. 4 A spell all mages focusing on the element of lightning use. It is releases a bolt of lightning that targets what the user aims for with high speed and precision Lightning damage (medium+), knock back (small) Cost: 330 mana
Lightning Blade (Intermediate) lv. 10 Imbues swords with lightning made from your mana Lightning damage(Large), chance to stun enemy(medium+) Cost: 120 mana/sec
Lightning Affinity (Intermediate) lv.10 Increase effectiveness of lightning based attacks, also grants resistance 80% lightning damage, 60% lightning resistance
Looks like their growing quite steadily. The only problem was ''lightning blade'' and ''lightning affinity''. Those two hit level 10 for some time now but currently wouldn''t progress any further. Normally they would advance into the advanced level but it won''t level up no matter how much I use them. If this keeps up my lightning resistance will have no way to improve leaving me with weaker magic..... "And another win for the Haruki-Hime duo! Looks like we''ve got a dark horse up our sleeve! They''ll show you Prax people what we''re made of!" The announcer was of course, Cameron, the young boy storyteller. I don''t even know how he was allowed to be a commentator for our battles... What''s more, he''s talking as if Roden and Prax were enemies! Did he forget the quest was to form an alliance? The crowd cheered at our third victory. Some of them had started to cheer for us. I guess an unexpectedly strong participant is something that was interesting to watch... "Good job, Nii-san. Did you really have to bully him though?" Hime walked up to me "I wasn''t doing that! I was increasing my skill level!" "Shouldn''t you do that by grinding with monsters?" Well she was right, what I was doing was kind of like toying around with him. Still, even though these aren''t fights to the death I can''t afford to go easy on my enemies. Realizing something I started to walk over to the player''s unconscious body. Gripping my wakizashi''s hilt, I pulled it out of his thigh. Good thing he wasn''t awake. "......" Hime looked at him silently with pity in her eyes "Oh, as one would expect from ''Nero''! Truly merciless against those that stands in his way!!" Cam started to shout again God, can''t he just shut up about all that crap? Ignoring the growing cheers from the audience Hime and I start to walk back to fighter''s waiting room. "Haruki and Hime from Roden? Can I talk for a bit?" a voice suddenly called out to us Turning around I moved my hand to my sword''s sheath. If this guy tries something funny I''ll make sure he regrets it! "Relax. I just want to talk." The person I was facing was a man slightly taller than me. His face indicated he was the same age as me give or take a year. His wavy light brown hair and green eyes and smile gave of the appearance of a friendly guy. His gear was also similar to mine with golden light armor covered under a silver cloak with a dove emblem on it. A long sword was also strapped to his belt. From the looks of it this guy was probably equal in strength with me. "Who are you?" I asked "Ah, my name is Arran Lancaster. I am also a participant in the tournament." "What do you want? Are you going to tell us to give up?" I furrowed my brows "No,no. I wish to discuss about the future after the matches. From what I see you''re both quite strong. I am seeking allies in an attempt to beat this game while protecting the other players." He said with a wide smile "Protect the players?" "As you know most players don''t have much power and are in danger each time they step outside the city. I have a goal to defend as many of them possible and finally beating this game." "You want to protect all of them? That''s pretty nice...." "Of course!! Don''t we have a duty to protect the weak?" "And why are you asking us?" "Because from what I see even the best of Prax can''t hope to match you. I''m willing to bet you reach the semifinals rather easily!" "That really doesn''t have anything to do with joining with you..." "Yes, it does. As the strong don''t you feel an obligation to join us in defending others? I''m sure with your-" "Sorry, not interested." I replied swiftly "Huh?" "Basically you''re trying to recruit me right? I''ll have to refuse." "May I ask why?" Arran gives me a questioning look "......Personal reasons." "Hmm, I see. That''s unfortunate. I''m guessing that you also refuse?" He glanced at Hime "Yes." "Haah, that''s fine. Nevertheless, should you change your mind please come look for me." He said while walking away "Are you sure refusing was right? His intentions seemed genuine." Hime asked "I''m sure. If I join we''ll most likely end up with differing opinions." "Huh?" Hime tilted her head to the side Without answering I walk into the room and sat down while thinking about what he said. To protect the weak. Of course I think it''s a noble and worthy goal but I can''t find myself agreeing to it. Now, my only goal was to protect Hime, Sylva, and Amy. Honestly, I don''t really care about other people. This thought is why I declined Arran''s proposal. If I chose to join him it could end up with me having to make a decision. There could come a time where I have to choose between my friends or the lives of others. I definitely wouldn''t hesitate to sacrifice others for the people I cared about. I would choose the few over the many. My ideal clashed with Arran''s way of thinking. As long as those girls are safe I would do anything. I can''t abandon them to protect others even if they are weaker...... Since there were fewer teams we didn''t wait long before our turn came again. True to what I heard earlier Hime and I didn''t meet any difficulty in winning our fourth match. Even though they have more experience in the arena my unusually high stats and good skillset coupled with ranged support from Hime''s bow skills made us a top contender for the winners! Stepping out to the arena again for the fourth time today the usual loud cheers of the audience filled my ears. Only 4 teams were remaining! Stepping to the edge of her balcony the Queen started to address the entire coliseum. "My dear citizens of Prax! At last we have reached the final stretch of this tournament with eight mighty warriors left! Let us witness their true potential, for the best will be separated from the pack in these battles to come!" "As Queen of Prax, I give to you the semifinals of the Coliseum Festival!"
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Chapter 25: A Solo Duel Chapter 25: A Solo Duel ===================================================================================== "My proud citizens! I present to you the battle of Haruki and Hime, Roden''s finest, against Andrew and Bogdan, Prax''s second strongest pair!" The Queen shouted with excitement Do the coliseum fights really have a huge effect on players here? Even the Queen decided to announce this fight herself. I guess in this city the best players are determined in direct combat. Where we''re from duels aren''t really important and players mostly focus on quests and hunting. That means each place has their specific way of competition, not that it really matters to me though..... Glancing at the other edge of the field I examined our foes for this round. They were clad in gray bone armor that seemed to be on a different scale than bone armor used by mobs with low quality. Their armor looked both ancient and incredibly sturdy which made me think if they were made from high level monster bones. Covering their heads were helmets that appeared similar to Viking helmets with horns protruding from both sides. Just like their matching armor they also carried greatswords that were similar in shape. The only difference was one was a dark red with flames visible around it and the other blue with shards of ice covering it. Those weapons are definitely of a superior quality! The enchantments on them were so strong that we could see them directly! Noticing them walking to the center, Hime and I also slowly made our way in front of them. "You guys, won''t you surrender? We have no intentions on competing with you." The one called Andrew spoke with me "Why is that?" I asked tightening my grip on my sword "We only want to pay Arran back and prove we''re the strongest. Both of you have done well but please withdraw now." He replied with a straight face "We can''t. If you wish to proceed than you''ll have to beat us." Hime answered fiercely "....I see. that''s too bad. We''ll try our best not to harm you." Bogdan said while returning to the edge of the arena Did that guy say Arran? The person that Hime and I met earlier? Looks like his status as the strongest backed up his goals. Still, these guys looked really tough. I wonder how Arran managed to defeat them.... As Hime and I walked back to our spot she started to speak in a quiet tone. "We can win right, Nii-san?" ".....I don''t know. We''ll try our best but I don''t want you doing something unreasonable." I warned her "......" Facing them again we waited for the signal to begin. As soon as the sound of a large bell rang out I swiftly kicked the ground beneath me and ran ahead while Hime took a stationary position. Arrows flew from behind me heading towards the bone-armored duo but they simply knocked them from their path with huge swings of their sword. I''ll need to distract their attention from the range attacks so Hime can deal damage! Jumping into the air I aimed my blade at Bogdan''s head while I was falling. Noticing my overhead assault he lifted his huge sword and used it as if it were a shield blocking my strike. On my right, Andrew had also lifted his blade and swung it high aiming at my body that was still in midair! Using my feet, I kicked off from Bogdan''s weapon and landed while sliding to the back. Raising my left hand I fired shots of lightning bolts at them, which they shielded with their large weapons. The spells didn''t even knock them back! It was like the swords absorbed my magic into them. Not giving up, I formed a few small lightning daggers and threw them to their chests. Once again, the attacks proved ineffective as they were blocked by the greatswords again! The advantage I had against them was speed with my lightning abilities and higher agility. Circling them quickly I started striking at their bodies trying to do some damage. Hime''s shots sometimes found their mark as I circled around getting their attention decreasing their HP by small amounts. Realizing that leaving Hime alone would put them at a disadvantage one of them broke away and started to head towards Hime. I was about to chase after him but I spotted Hime shaking her head in the distance. She was gesturing that she could handle it but I hesitated. Before I could think of it further, a piece of red metal was heading to me. Raising my katana I successfully deflected it at its side causing it to miss. I instantly felt heat on my left side, which I realized came from the fire attribute of the blade. Raising my right leg high, I kicked to his unguarded side and pushed him back a few feet away from me. Turning my attention back at Hime, I found that she was nimbly avoiding blows by using various movements while shooting arrows at close range. Her skills in swordsmanship gave her the ability to use complicated footwork and combined them with the use of a bow! The result as I could see was a close range bow and arrow fighting style! Bogdan, the one that was chasing her, had a hard time with his clunky armor and weapon against her agile maneuvers. While she was ducking, rolling and jumping around she managed to score a few hits on him but it still didn''t do much thanks to his high defense. Refocusing on my foe, I started to charge lightning into my blade and assaulted him rapidly. Using my left hand I hit his arms every time I could, making his aim unsteady and giving me chances to strike at him. Taking short breaths I focused on doing small fast attacks to help avoid his blows. With my lightning use at its maximum I found that my mana was close to being depleted. I carefully jumped back and kept a close eye on my enemy while waiting for my mana to regenerate. This was my biggest mistake in the tournament. In team matches, one should always be aware of all enemy locations! Because I only paid attention to one of them I didn''t realize Bogdan had ran up to me and was already about to slash at me unguarded head. Sensing my loss, I braced myself for the pain that was to come and clenched my fists as I watched helplessly at the blade striking down on me. "NII-SAN!!!" Out of nowhere Hime had leapt pushing me away from the attack. The large blade came down and hit Hime at her shoulder causing a large cut from her shoulder almost reaching her chest. Having taken such a heavy blow I noticed her armor was starting to get soaked in blood while she fell unconscious. "HIME!! DAMN IT!! HIMEEE!!!" Shouting wildly at her unmoving body I started to panic. I was stupefied by the fact that she took the attack meant for me. Even though we couldn''t die in this fight no doubt she felt an incredible pain from protecting me! "....." Watching as the two large men came closer I started to channel all the mana I had into my body. I have to end this fight soon! I can''t just leave her lying down in a pool of her own blood without doing anything! Taking deep breaths, I kept my mind from wandering. If I lost here I won''t be able to make sure she''s fine.... With my worried feelings inside my head I started to release electric sparks from my left hand. Instead of the usual blue color this time I noticed that it had a dark yellow hue while it wrapped around my left arm. Andrew and Bogdan noticing the change hesitated to step forward to me. "Now you won''t come at me!? COME ON!!" I shouted at them like a wild beast Swinging my left arm high I formed the shape of lightning I intended with my thoughts. With a crackling sound the shape shot itself from my arm and launched at Bogdan. What I had created was a bright whip made entirely from electricity! The lightning had wrapped around the neck of Bogdan and started to electrocute him. He tried slashing at it with his blue sword to no avail. I poured even more mana into my rope-like lightning and pulled as hard as I could. Not able to stand his ground against the sudden force he fell down face first into the ground. Without mercy I started to keep tugging at the dark yellow lightning dragging him on the ground making his face covered in cuts and bruises. Andrew tried to pull him back but I prevented that by sheathing my katana and released a bolt from my right palm. Because he was stating to lose his concentration it hit him on his shoulder pushing him farther away. Bogdan unable to release himself from the lightning was now at my feet. Trying to claw at his neck crapped by lightning he looked up with a small hint of fear visible on his face. Staring coldly into his eyes I merely said what popped into my head. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. "This is for hurting my sister, you asshole." Charging my lightning into my right fist I brought it down as hard as I could. As the fist came into contact with his helmet lightning sparks were released causing cracks to form on the ground. Even though my lightning cover my hand it still hurt with me feeling as if I had punched a rock as hard as I could. Bogdan''s helmet was shattered by my attack and he was instantly knocked out. Releasing my whip from his body I stared at Andrew and watched his movements. His face leaked worry as I had dealt with his partner quickly. Drawing my katana again I used ''lightning blade'' as the new color of my magic spread through its metal. Running up to him I released slashes and thrusts that he couldn''t keep up with. Forming another whip from my left arm I swung it while aiming for his lower body. Realizing my intention he jumped up to avoid being caught by my electric whip. I knew this was useless for him though. My lightning started to move upwards following his jump! I could control the exact movements of my lightning leaving only the fastest foes to be able to dodge them! I had managed to catch his ankle and pulled down slamming him into the ground stirring up the sand. I pushed my lightning fused blade to his exposed neck burning some of skin off. "Are you going to surrender? I only had a grudge against the one that hurt Hime." I looked into his eyes I watched as the color of his face was drained while he started to nod vigorously trying to escape the prickling sensation on his neck. "Good." I calmly sheathed my katana and walked over to Hime Casting my ''Basic Heal'' I managed to at least close the gaping wound on her shoulder and sighed a breath of relief. Even though she was fine, it seems the shock was still keeping her out cold. Carrying her in my arms I head back to the waiting room and heard the roaring sounds behind me. "Truly magnificent! Once again this young man exceeds our expectations and reached the finals! Will I, the Queen, be welcoming a ne champion!?" "UWOOH!!! HARUKI! HARUKI! HARUKI!" People were going crazy and started to shout my name. I felt a little disgusted by their actions. Even though people were fighting and getting hurt for real, we were merely entertainment for them.
Quest update: Coliseum Festival You have defeated all in your path and now qualify for the final match of the Coliseum Festival. You have an opportunity to prove yourself as the strongest fighter in combat which will grant rewards befitting of one.
Reaching the room I was about to lay Hime down o a bed but I found Sylva waiting for me there. "How is she?" She asked in a worried tone "Nothing too serious, I managed to use a simple healing spell on her. Where''s Amy? I need her to treat Hime since this is her expertise." "I told her to wait at Roden''s balcony with the other players. Should I call her?" "No need. Could you just take Hime to her?" I requested "I guess. But what about you?" She asked while putting Hime on her back "I''ll be fine. She''s in no condition to fight anyway..." "Fighting against two yourself is a certain loss." "Then I guess I''ll lose." I said with a small smile "Haah, you really should pay more attention to yourself." She said with a sigh "Maybe. I''ll leave her in your care." I looked at her seriously "Don''t worry. Even though the wound looks serious with recovery magic it should be heal quickly." Sylva assured me and walked out of the room. Finding myself alone in the large room I started to rest and replenished my mana. In the battle earlier I discharged another different colored lightning. This meant that I had some unique kind of magic since I haven''t seen anyone else use magic that was affected by the caster''s emotions. So far I had used blue, which was my usual type, red, and also yellow. From using them I somehow knew what the differences was between them. Red lightning was something that surfaced when I felt anger or hate... It was probably my most destructive type since even the simplest usage dealt damage to myself. Yellow came out but I wasn''t sure what emotion was tied to it. Was it concern? At the moment I was extremely worried for Hime but I''m not sure. At the least it wasn''t because I hated those guys. Maybe because I was aware that Hime couldn''t be killed in this tournament? Whatever it was, this type of lightning seemed to be flexible and had immobility effects. I think that''s why a whip to catch them instantly came into my head when I used it. The blue type was of course my default. From what I''ve seen its the most balanced type and doesn''t really have any special traits. Since real world lightning was mostly blue in color I would guess that its properties were similar to electricity? Either way looks like my skills are still developing with new uses I could achieve. I should prioritize on increasing my resistance to be able to create stronger skills. While I was deep in though I realized that it was already time for the finals. Guess this is as far as I go. Heading back to the arena I found two figures were already waiting for me. One of them seemed to say something but I couldn''t hear the words. Calmly walking to the center I saw that it was Arran with a girl beside him. "Haruki? Where is Hime? Is she badly injured?" He questioned with a worried frown "No, just asleep. It''s only going to be me." I announce As I was saying this I looked up to where the Queen was. Her eyes locked with mine and a grin formed on her lips. No problems from going solo I guess. At least I won''t be disqualified. Bu if I had to be honest I was hoping that I was disqualified...... "Then I will also fight alone. Lily, please head back first." Arran calmly said It as then I had a good look at his partner, Lily. Her face was amazingly similar to Arran''s! Even the wavy brown hair and green eyes. The only difference between them was hers had all the features of a girl with long eyelashes and pink lips. She was the exact reflection of him! "Are you sure, Arran?" Her high-pitched voice rang out "Yes, It would be dishonorable to fight without equal footing." He said determinedly "Okay then. Good luck." she smiled at him and left the field "Is that fine?" I asked hesitantly "Of course. If it were my sister I''m sure that you would also do the same." Sister, huh? This guy''s situation was similar to mine then. With their resemblance, Arran and Lily were twins if I had to take a guess. At least I was sure of it. They seem to be just like Hime and me. "Are you ready, Haruki?" "Yeah." Stepping back to the front of my entrance I waited for the match to begin. "Fufufufu, At last we will witness the making of a true warrior! Both parties seem to have an arrangement with this being a duel between two. I find myself shivering at the prospect of such an elegant battle." The Queen again commented before the fight. Even now her gaze was locked on to me. With expectation clearly in her eyes she watched me as if an eagle watched its prey. Her lips curled into a sweet yet terrifying smile when she noticed me eyeing her with suspicion. "Warriors! Provide me with the best entertainment possible! I hereby declare the ''Coliseum Festival Finals'' to begin!!" With the match finally starting, I held my sword tight and charged forward to my opponent.
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Chapter 26: Crimson Lightning Chapter 26: Crimson Lightning ================================================================================== CLANG!! Steel collided when the swing of my sword hit his. In the second that I charged at him, he defected my attack and locked blades with me. From this single action I instantly judged that his sword skills were the real deal. The force of my slash didn¡¯t push him back, which meant he could his stance was perfect. Arran focused on my eyes and could predict my next attacks as he parried them all perfectly. Hmm, looks like this guy also had real experience handling blades. Using his longsword his swings were heavier than mine but nearly matched my speed oriented style. As sparks came out from where our swords connected I couldn''t help but wonder how he flawlessly defended against my assault. Even if I still haven''t activated ''lightning movement'' his reactions were on par with Hime''s. "Hey, you''re pretty good." I commented while retreating a little "Right back at you." This time he was the one that rushed to me Stepping to the right I evaded his thrust and countered with my own but anticipating this he had already rolled while slashing at my legs. Finally I used mana on my feet and jumped 3 meters in the air. My move was a it late though as he managed to scratch my shin guard. Looks like he isn''t the called the strongest here for nothing... While being pulled by gravity I aimed my hand at him and shot fast bolts straight at him. What surprised me was he didn''t try to dodge them! Instead he also raised his arm and received the spells head on. With the sound of it hitting him a dust cloud covered his body from my vision. No way that was the end... When the dust cleared up I saw that he hasn''t been damaged at all. Coming from his outstretched hand was a wall of light that was transparent but clearly had a solid form. it was similar to barriers that appeared in a lot of movies with ripples forming from where my lightning had struck. Landing on the ground I readied my defense but found he was still standing still. "Hmm, to think you made me use my skills this early... You really should join me, Haruki." He said with a confident smile Damn it! He also can use some type of magic in addition to his sword skills! Does that mean he''s also a sword mage build player? And that barrier! What kind of element does he use? It perfectly blocked my bolts as if they were nothing! I have to be extra careful here. He could also have ranged spells at his disposal... Slowly approaching his position, I poured lightning into my katana and swung repeatedly while he raised his left arm and received my blows. Whenever my sword hit the transparent wall I could feel my whole body shake from the impact. Whatever his skill is it was capable of an extremely tough defense! No matter how hard I hit it no signs of it weakening were visible. Thrusting his arm in my direction I felt a blow to my body as I was sent flying backwards a few meters. An aching feeling came from my chest where it had directly struck. Looks like he used his skill like a shield since he blocked attacks and even rammed it to his opponents. If I want to beat him I have to find a way to penetrate his barrier skill.... After a whole 5 minutes of me endlessly barraging him with slashes I noticed that he started to deflect my sword with his own again. I tried aiming for his left arm but he twisted his body and parried with his sword again. Oh! Looks like his barrier is down! That must mean the usage of his skill had a limit. In other words it had a cooldown period! Since I had timed the whole battle I instantly knew that he could only manage to continuously use it for 5 or 6 minutes. Now I''ll try to prevent him from using his magic until he can use his barrier again. The battle turned into a duel with swords again. With my focus on his left side I tried to wound his arm. If I could manage to accomplish this I might be able to prevent the skill from activating again. Pouring mana into my body again I further increased my speed until he had difficulty keeping up with me. Finally gaining an advantage I thrust his left side over and over while he tried his best to evade and parry them. My sword''s tip finally managed to graze his wrist resulting in a shallow cut! Even if it was just a little damage he should have a hard time using his magic again. ".....Ah, you managed to hit me." He calmly said "You''re pretty calm considering your shield isn''t gonna work anymore." "Haha, and what makes you think that?" While spinning around me he instantly slashed his blade aimed at my chest. Realizing his sword had a glowing aura I immediately pulled out my short blade to defend. As Arran''s sword struck my wakizashi the blade I was holding formed cracks until it broke into tiny shards of metal. "Damn it!" I cursed while running away "As you can see my skills are useful for attacks too." Shit, what the hell!! That magic is seriously too powerful! I had suspicions since he showed me the barrier but now I''m certain of it. He''s a light element swordsman! From what I''ve seen it looks like his magic is another variant of mine only with light properties. But isn''t that completely unbalanced!? His defenses are impenetrable while his attacks shatter my weapons! He has absolute offense and defense! Taking deep breaths I calm myself down. No, a perfect player is impossible to exist. If his magic flows through his body like me his mana consumption must also be enormous. Also if it''s light I think range attacks would only work on demons and enemies with the darkness attribute, that''s why he only used barriers and strengthened his sword with it. Ah, but unlike the natural destructive force of lightning his body doesn''t really take damage from skill usage... "You''ve been standing there for a while. Are you giving up?" he asked "Shut up." I guess the only way''s to take a gamble. I need to unleash an attack capable of piercing through light! The problem is I don''t have anything like that. My highest damage dealing magic is red lightning but I don¡¯t know how to use it... Crap, this isn''t time for thinking! I have to master my skills anyway so I''ll try to trigger its activation.... The emotion tied to it was hate and anger. I''ve got no choice then.... I hesitantly thought about Beth''s murderer. I remembered how he pierced her fragile body right in front of me. He was the one who nearly killed Sylva and threatened to kill Hime. Tyler. Because of him all of that happened. My first friends Riley and Beth are dead because of him. Even though I''ve already killed them a boiling feeling starts to bubble in my chest. That''s it.. I have no choice left but to let my emotions free to use this... Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Charging mana into my left hand I fired a single large ''lightning bolt'' at Arran. He blocked it with his glowing sword but was pushed back 2 meters. Looks like he''s realized that my attacks are better now. Digging my nails into my palm blood started to drip while lightning started to burn the skin off me. Using movement I ran up to him with an unbelievable speed and crashed my katana into his sword. Red electric sparks cut into his sword''s aura and reached metal before he retreated quickly. I have to end this soon, I thought, as I look at my arms and legs that were starting to get charred. I bashed my blade into him repeatedly as fury slowly took control of my actions. I should just kill everyone here... If I do that than Hime and Sylva will be safe... No one will be able to hurt them,,, The red lightning started to spread to my entire left arm as I rampaged at Arran with katana and spells. He tried to use his barriers again but they cracked and disappeared whenever my lightning infused blade hit them. Knocking his weapon out of his hand I thrust my hand and gripped his throat lifting him up. He was already knocked out so his HP stopped decreasing but I kept my grip tight. I started trying to crush his neck while sparks continued to run amuck around the entire arena. Feeling something grab my arm I turned my neck to the source. There standing while enduring the shocks was Lily, Arran''s sister! "Please.... Let my brother go..." "...........Kuh." My hand loosened as the unconscious Arran fell to the ground followed by his sister who fainted next to him. Looking at my own body I realized that I had been severely burned. My arms and legs looked like they had turned into charcoal. Pain started to surge to me waking me from my adrenaline filled assault. The entire arena was silent. No doubt what they witnessed was a demon ruthlessly taking down his enemy without a single care. A single person broke the silence. A single person who laughed and cheered happily at the sight of carnage I unleashed. "Fufufufu, Fuhahahaha! Splendid! Absolutely splendid!! My eyes weren''t mistaken when they saw you! Citizens, you have just witnessed the birth of a new champion! Haruki, the Crimson Lightning Swordsman!!" Queen Diana announced and continued to laugh Even though the tournament was over, the arena was still quiet. Nobody dared to speak after seeing what I did. Unable to bear the pain any longer I started to limp back while a notification window appeared in front of me.
Congratulations! You have become champion of the Coliseum Festival event quest.
30 stats points will be randomly distributed to your character + 30 Luck
When I reached the room, I fell down and passed out instantly ================================================================================= When I regained consciousness, I realized that I was lying on a soft bed. Ah, my injuries are healed. Guess someone already treated me. Looking around I saw that the walls were decorated with extravagant paintings and the whole room screamed wealth. Looks like I''m at the palace again... But why take me here? Shouldn¡¯t the place we were staying be better? As the thought formed on my head a terrible premonition suddenly came to me... Looking beside me I saw a figure sleeping quietly beside me. The person had her arms wrapped around mine. That person in question was none other than the Ruler of Prax, Queen Diana. "Holy shit! What the hell is this!!?" I shout out while pulling my arm away "Nnnng, Oh you''re awake, Good morning." she flashed a devilish grin while rubbing her eyes "Don''t joke around. I demand to know what the hell this is all about!" I started screaming "Oh? Shouldn''t I get a morning kiss first?" "Yo- you bitch!!" Even though I had insulted her she remained calm and merely stared at me bewitchingly. Her beautiful face and figure would tempt any man but I know that she''s dangerous. I need to get the fuck out of here... "Haruki, are you awake!? What''s wrong you''re screaming really lou-" As I was going to leave Sylva had burst into the room and had her eyes glued on the woman sharing my bed. "Nii-san, did something happe-" Hime also rushed inside "....." I could only stay silent While both girls were bewildered at the sight in front of them, Amy had entered the room quietly and saw what was happening. When she did, she just slowly walked back outside! At least help me out in tis situation.... "Haruki.... what are you doing?" Sylva asked quietly "....." Hime had opened her mouth but closed it again and just glared at me and the Queen "I don''t know!! Why the hell am I here anyway!?" I completely lose control "Fufu, silly boy. You are my property now. You are mine until I say otherwise." The Queen smirked at all three of us ########## Author notes: Hey, I finally found some free time to write down this chapter. Been pretty busy lately so I only just now finished the illustration for Hime''s current equipment. Not sure if I can have a steady release schedule since exams are coming up but I''ll try to update as fast as possible. Hime Spoiler : Okay, thank you all for reading! Don''t forget to rate, review, or leave a comment :D
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Chapter 27: The Queens Knight Chapter 27: The Queen''s Knight ================================================================================== God, this woman really pisses me off. What is all this possession business? Is she a bugged NPC? Whatever the reason is, there''s no way in hell am I just going to accept this. Regaining my composure, I stood up from the bed and inspected my entire body. Hmm, looks like I really am healed. Even though using that lightning did some serious damage to my body this was still a game. We''re all just bits of data that can be restored with the proper means. Even so, that doesn''t mean I should use my abilities recklessly... "Oh, you''re ignoring me?" The Queen asked with a bemused smile "Nii-san! Is something going on here?" Hime looked at me with suspicion "Wait, remember what Haruki said? About the Queen being weird? I think we should wait for an explanation." Sylva calmed her down, looks like she''s already over the initial shock. "Ah, now that you mention it..... But we didn''t notice anything wrong...." "Haruki probably felt it because the attention was directed at him. For now let''s stay out of this." Sylva guided Hime to the edge of the room Glad the two of them had calmed down; I then turned my concentration to the Queen who was starting to get annoyed of my cold shoulder. "So? What is it you want?" I asked while frowning "....Did you not hear? I said that you are mine!" "I''m afraid I''ll have to refuse." "How dare you! To not even consider my offer!" Fuming with rage at my attitude she started to come closer with a clearly displeased face. Her barely covered body drew my eyes attention but only for a second before I grabbed the bedsheets and threw them on her. Placing my hand on my sheathed blade I start to look at her with a threating gaze. "Please don''t come any closer. Just give me an explanation." "............" "Hey." I called out when she remained silent. "....Fu-fu-fufufu. HAHAHA, You truly amuse me Haruki! To reject my advances without a second thought! My body feels all tingly when I think of you being mine!" She started to laugh deliriously It''s confirmed. This woman is a total nutbag.I just can''t read what''s on her mind at all! One minute she furious and the next she''s back to this state again. This is pointless. I should just leave.... "Wait, we''ll discuss this after those two give us some privacy." She gestured at Sylva and Hime "Haruki, will you be fine?" Sylva asked "I guess. I don''t think she intends to hurt me...." I nod to ask them to leave for a while "Be careful okay, Nii-san? Don''t do- Just don''t do anything!" Hime left while slamming the door behind her. Seeing there''s no use in threating her I let down my guard and sat down on a nearby couch. Rubbing my temples to get rid of my stress I waved my hand so she would sit in front of me. Walking slowly she came closer to me and sat down on my lap wrapping her arms around my neck. Really? Again with the weird flirting? She just doesn''t give up.... "I''m not sure Your Highness should act in such a manner." I said in a bitter voice "Please. Call me Diana." She whispered in my ear and traced her fingers on my chest, which nearly made me snap from annoyance. "Fine then. Diana, just get on with it." I abandoned my fake formal tone "Hihi, as you''ve heard I want you to be mine. But you could call it a, hmm, a deal, shall we say?" "Deal?" "You came here to build an alliance, correct? I propose that you serve me and I shall grant that." "I still don''t see why you need me. In the first place, I''m not officially a part of Roden''s delegates." "Doesn''t matter. When I saw you at first I immediately realized you had much more power than your allies. You emerging victorious, on your first time no less proved I''m right. Do you see? I want your strength to serve me, Haruki." "Why would you want my service? There are plenty of strong people here from what I''ve seen." "Hmph, as a Queen I want the very best. When I saw you fight in the last battle, I just felt my entire body burn thinking about you." She said and pressed my lips with her finger Unable keep my patience, I lifted her up and put her down roughly on the chair opposite mine before sitting back down. Glaring at her I started to talk again. "Will you cut that out!? It''s really getting on my nerves!" I yelled at her "Heh, so cold. I it''s purely business for now." She grinned mocking me "Fuuu, so what are the exact terms?" I try to get the conversation back on track "Let''s see... Become my agent and I will immediately agree to an unconditional alliance. I''m sure you''ll find other benefits as well. Ah, yes. Of course your friends can choose whether to follow or not." "Your agent? What are my obligations? I don''t want to be a slave." I questioned "I merely request that you address issues that trouble me and complete some tasks for me. If you feel that your unsatisfied serving me I grant you the freedom to leave anytime you wish. Think about it, having me as an ally is surely beneficial to adventurers such as yourself?" She smiled confidently Honestly, the terms sound pretty good. From what she says that probably means I''ll be doing quests for her and become some sort of personal champion. I can leave when I want and in addition it''s true becoming allies with an influential NPC will give me some advantages and I need to take anything I can get. Even if I don''t really like it this gives me a better chance at surviving if someone powerful like her favors me. I mean, in any game affiliations has its advantages.... "..........Fine, I''ll accept for now. If I disagree with you I will leave immediately." "A very wise choice. I''ll look forward to working with you, my dear ''knight'' Please take care of me." She said in teasing tone "Then if you''ll excuse me, my ''Queen.'' I have some matters to attend to." I replied with a cold smile Walking to the door, I heard Diana''s words as I closed the door behind me. "Do not think I''ve given up. I will surely make you unable to live without me." =================================================================================
Diana''s Knight As the personal knight of Diana, Queen of Prax, you are recognized as an influential character in her domain. You will be offered special quests by the Queen herself, which you are obliged to accomplish. As you have not given your total servitude benefits will be limited - All stats permanently increase by 5 - Able to command a limited number of Prax''s soldiers
I read the new information window with a slightly bitter face. Of course the advantages that I could receive in the future could really help me out but was this the right choice? It should be, right? We were planning on exploring here anyway and having a clear status has its perks. I''m also sure the quests she gives are also important so there''s that........ Huh? I have an unread notification...
Your luck has increased by a high amount. A random bonus will be added to your status.
Lightning resistance has increased by 5%
Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. My jaw nearly dropped to the ground. Luck had this kind of effect!? Even though my resistance only reached 70% for months even with equipment, increasing luck had added the total. What''s more, it''s passive! It doesn''t rely on the gear I have equipped! Well, I guess this was just a onetime thing since increasing luck has random effects. I gained 35 points from the tournament victory and knight bonuses but I can''t afford to gamble level up points on luck.... At least it''s risen a bit. Maybe I can use red lightning more often? I should test it out in the near future and experiment with my magic again. Who knows? I might be able create a new skill again! Before I tested it out the three girls that travelled with me appeared. "Hey, Haruki! Glad to see you''re still in one piece!" Amy seemed upbeat as usual "Uh-huh, no thanks to you." I grumbled "Haha, no way am I gonna stand in the middle of the storm that is your love life." She playfully said while glancing at Hime and Sylva "Give me a break....." I rubbed the back of my head "More importantly, are you feeling fine Nii-san?" Hime asked with a concerned look "Huh, of course I am. See?" I move around to make my point "You seem fine now but you were in a serious condition you know? You were covered in really bad burns all over your body!" "Yeah, that happens sometimes with my skills..." I shrugged "Speaking of which, what was that? Red lightning? I''ve never seen you use that kind of magic. When I saw it, I felt that you were.....different." Well, looks like she was already awake during my match. Can''t give a half-assed explanation to her then.... Sylva was looking at me with a calm but serious expression on her face. Since she already knew about the details of its usage, it made her worry again when I activated it. "Haaah, Sylva already told you what happened before meeting you right?" "That''s......" Hime eyes darted away from my gaze "It''s fine. The lightning magic I use has special properties. What I know is that it uses my emotional state to change in effects and is visible through color. Red was, as you should already know, unlocked when I felt hate and killed someone." "....." "I''m sorry, Hime. I understand if you can''t accept thi-" SLAP!! Before I finished, Hime had slapped my cheek and glared at me. "Won''t accept!? Of course I''ll accept it! I know why you chose to do it and that''s fine! You''re my brother. There''s no way I could hate you!" She screamed out loud "..... Yeah, thanks Hime. Looks like I really should rely on you a bit." A relieved smile came to my lips "Took you long enough to realize that!" "Don''t get carried away, you''re still the little sister here" I said while ruffling her hair "Aaah, you''re such an idiot." she replied while sticking her tongue out "Haruki, a moment please." Sylva still looked serious "Hmm, what is it?" "Judging from the last fight you had I''m guessing you found a way to use the skill freely?" "I think so. I just have to let my emotions fre-" "Don''t use it. At least..... not the red lightning." "Why?" "I''m sure you already know." she at me disapprovingly Yes I do know. When I used it on Arran I felt as if it were corrupting me. I felt an urge to kill anyone besides Sylva and Hime back then. But even if that''s true I can''t abandon it! It''s currently the most powerful magic I have! I need to learn how to control it..... "I''ll be careful." I deflected her concern with a white lie "Haah, just don''t go overboard." She saw straight through me. "Uuuum, what happened with the Queen?" Amy suddenly threw a fastball at me. Hime and Sylva also remembered the issue from before and were looking at me questioningly. Crap, stay calm! Don''t look guilty, I didn''t do anything wrong. "Nii-san?" Hime watched me as I sweat bullets on my forehead "Did you...... flirt around with her?" Sylva asked somewhat coldly "NO!" "....." The both of them clearly didn''t trust me a single it! This is just going to make the explanation for my decision much more awkward! Amy''s also stepping back again..... You''re the one that caused this mess! "Haruki, just tell us what happened." Sylva pressed on "Fine, I am now Diana''s personal knight and champion. We agreed to a contract with me being some sort of retainer." "Diana?" Hime was dumbfounded "In short you agreed to be hers?" Sylva eyed me disapprovingly "Haruki, don''t you have any self control?" Amy poured fuel into the fire. "Alright, you guys are way of the mark! I am not hers, okay!?" "Then why''d you agree?" Sylva asked "Look, the quest we came here for was the alliance. By agreeing to her request I''ve secured the quest''s success." "Who cares about some stupid quest." Hime sighed deeply "Hey! It''s not like I wanted to! We were going to stay here anyway right? She offered to support us in case we need it, and in this unpredictable game world I not taking any chances...." "Hm, that seems logical. What''s your job?" Sylva asked "I think she''ll have some special quests. Oh yeah, you guys can choose to join those quests or not she said." "I see. Well, that''s acceptable I guess. That''s fine right, Hime?" "..... Fine, I think so too." Hime pouted a little I''m glad that''s over. Now we should start training and increasing our levels. I also need to think of some new magic skills. A few seconds before I state my mind a messenger had came up to us and spoke with me. "Lord Haruki, the Queen requests your presence in the Throne room." He said while kneeling down "Huh? It''s only been a few hours.... What''s the matter?" I asked the still kneeling man "It is for the announcement of the alliance. And more importantly a formal ceremony will be held on your appointment as the Queen¡¯s knight." "What ceremony?" "Queen Diana has summoned all minor lords to her palace. It is customary when a Ruler appoints a personal champion. Of course, the guests from Roden will also be invited." He answered while looking at the three people beside me Talk about a hassle..... I have a feeling that this is going to cause me a lot of problems in the future.... ############## Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed :D Since quite a few number of you are following I just wanted to say thank you. You really help motivate me to keep writing so keep enjoying to read as much as I enjoy writing! As usual, any form of feedback from you is highly appreciated and will be a great help
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Characters + Setting + Suggestions