《The Rule of John Wellerman》 Just a normal day, right? John Wellerman was as normal as any drid herder, he starts his day by bringing them out of their barn and into the pasture to graze, then grooms them and opens up his shop for the day. Today started out like any other day, he woke up, dressed, and walked to the barn, except there was no barn. It was gone, everything gone. The drid, gone. The barn, ashes. The field, charred grass. John squinted at a black dot on the horizon, assuming it was just a wild gling herd, but no. Something about it was off, somehow. The gling were...winged, they were flying. John rubbed his eyes and looked back toward the gling. Yes, still flying. "What in the merry gods is going on?" John muttered to himself. ~New quest~ ~Defeat: {Corrupted Gling}, (0/20)~ ~Reward: {The Sword of Destiny}~ "Ok now I''m more confused, not less," John complained, "how is a holographic screen supposed to help me understand this, or is this just some crazy trick only the creator understands." ~Help~ ~System~ ~The System is a mind-controlled helper, only visible to you and those who you share it with~ "Ohhhhh so this is one of those mind games an evil dark wizard plays on me to trick me into converting and becoming a priest of necromancy of something," John said, "ok, I might as well play along, at least for now." With that, John ventured into the charred remains of his barn to find an adequate weapon. He found a competent enough metal bar, and set off at a brisk pace toward the corrupted gling herd. He was close, only about 100 metres away, when they spotted him. "Well, I guess now is as good a time as any to try my luck at fighting," John sighed, "I really wish I stayed in bed this morning." The gling were fast, almost too fast. They practically flew across the meadow, their hooves barely seeming to move as they charged at John. He rose his bar as if preparing to hit a home run, then with a satisfying clang, one gling was already down.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. "Shouldn''t that have taken more force?" John commented, "I know I''m not a scientist, but I thought something going that fast would put up more of a fight than that." Not wanting to waste too much time pondering something he could never change, he hurried back to defending himself from the other 19 charging gling. The gling were fast, but weak. It seemed to John that the corrupted gling''s speed was all they had going for them, no strength whatsoever. This made the creatures a threat, but not so much of one that he was scared for his life. One thing John learned was to never worry too much about the inevitable. If he couldn''t change it, then no point trying to escape it. He figured that if he wasn''t supposed to kill the gling, he wouldn''t have been able to at all. He made short work of the remaining gling, as only a slight tap would send them tumbling. Once he had killed the gling, a new screen appeared in front of him. ~Quest Complete~ ~You have defeated {Corrupted Gling}, (20/20)~ ~Quest Reward: {The Sword of Destiny} has been added to your inventory~ "What''s The Sword of Destiny?" John wondered, "And since when do I have an inventory?" ~Help~ ~Inventory~ ~Your Inventory is a mind-controlled inventory for storing items, only visible to you and those who you share it with~ "Yes, I know what an inventory is, but how do I open it?" It turns out, opening his inventory was just as easy as thinking it into existence. It was a simple thing, a ten-by-ten grid for storing items, with a max limit of 99 items per slot. At the moment, only one of the hundred slot were full, showing a simple sword, and grabbing at it in the hologram caused to appear in his hand. ~{The Sword of Destiny} (item, sword)~ -When used, the power of this sword will slightly increase, stackable "Well that''s OP," John said in surprise. He would need to do some experimenting to find out more, but John assumed there were other abilities he had other than his quests and his inventory. Upon further investigation, he found his ability list. ~Abilities~ -Map -Quest System -Looting -Inventory -Chat He played around some, checking out his abilities, which were quite simple. His map showed a map of where he was, becoming more unveiled as he explored. His quest system gave him quests and free rewards for completing them. His looting ability let him loot anything he killed. His chat would allow him to talk to allies over long distances. "Did I get sucked into some video game version of Yarutusk?" Cores and Such ~Ability~ Looting (Level 1, 00%) -You can loot the body of something/someone you recently killed John read over this, then looked down at the dead glings. He poked an experimental finger at one of them, and another screen popped up. ~{Corrupted Gling} (dead)~ -You killed this {Corrupted Gling} -Would you like to loot {Corrupted Gling}? "Um, y-yea?" John stammered, "I guess this is good, right?" ~You have looted {Corrupted Gling}~ -10 {Corrupted Leather} have been added to your inventory -1 {Corrupted Gling Core} has been added to your inventory John opened his inventory and took out the corrupted gling core. ~{Corrupted Gling Core} (item, consumable) -Consume to gain the ability to conjure wings and fly for a short amount of time -Would you like to consume {Corrupted Gling Core}? "If I''m going to survive in this new age, I''m going to need some powers to get by on," said John "so yes, consume." ~You have consumed {Corrupted Gling Core}~ - You have gained the ability to conjure wings and fly for a short amount of time John continued to loot the rest of the gling, getting the same 10 leather and gling core form each. He figured that he could probably sell the remaining cores for good profit, as they did let you fly. Once he stood back up to check out his surroundings, he saw a figure, this one looking human. "I really hope this will be a friendly interaction," John hoped quietly. Just as he began striding toward the stranger, something hit him from behind with immense force, knocking him to his hands and knees. He looked up and saw a horrifying, dark, scaly face glaring back at him. He took a swing at it with his pipe, but it dodged it. It used this moment to attack, clamping sharp fangs into John''s forearm. John desperately beat it off, painfully ripping flesh out of his skin in the process. ~{Dark Lizard} (dead)~ -You killed this {Dark Lizard} -Would you like to loot {Dark Lizard}? "Yes."Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. "Yes what?" a voice asked. John jumped, looking up. "Who are you?" he asked, seeing the stranger he had seen before his ambush. "That is... unimportant," the man said, "you can call me Geffery, though." "Ok, Geffery," John said, extending his hand to Geffery, "Nice to meet you." John then looked to the screen showing what he had looted from the dark lizard. ~You have looted {Dark Lizard}~ -10 {Dark Scales} have been added to your inventory -1 {Dark Lizard Core} has been added to your inventory -1 {Small Health Recovery Potion} has been added to your inventory "A potion?" John mumbled in surprised. "What are you talking about?" Geffery asked. "Nothing, just an ability I have," John replied. "If you have magic, then why did it take you so long to kill that lizard thing?" "My powers aren''t very combat-oriented," John replied. "So it seems." John went back to looking around his surroundings, seeing if he could spot anything useful, although to no avail. ***** Over the next few hours, John and Geffery wandered the streets of what used to be their town. The town was rubble, bits of furniture, and broken glass. The only building saved from what looked like an airstrike were the houses on the outskirts of Portial, which is where John lived. Geffery, on the other hand, had been less lucky. His house, near the centre of the town, had been eradicated entirely, leaving only a crater with a fe burning shrubs surrounding it. "I really hope my family got out alive, I have a wife and 2 daughters in there," Geffery said quietly. He sounded emotional, as if hoping for the best, but knowing it was nearly impossible to survive. "How did you survive, if you lived here?" John questioned Geffery. "I''ve been away." Geffery said, "My job is to watch over the trading caravans coming in and out of the kingdom''s walls." "Ah," John said simply. All they managed to find on their wanderings were a few monsters, which they killed and consumed the cores for. John was curious, check the help menu to see if there was a limit on how many cores you could consume. ~Help~ ~Cores~ ~Consuming Cores~ -Consuming cores will give you a power from the monster you looted it from -These powers can be leveled up to become more powerful and gain bonus side effects -You can consume unlimited cores, although not multiple of the same type of core That answered his question nicely, so he stopped reading after that point. "So you don''t have a system? Weird, I wonder why I got one and you didn''t," John said to Geffery "No, I don''t have a system, perhaps it has to do with skill. Maybe the gods felt sympathy for you, so they gave you an advantage," Geffery joked. "Shut it, we both know who would win in a fight." John was alright with fighting monsters, since has got retractable finger-knives from consuming the core of something called a ''Clawed Gremlin''. The knives were very useful, but he would have rather gotten a summonable sword. He thought this was out of the question, though, since everything they had gotten so far had been a part of themselves. He and Geffery had talked at length about food, usually ending the conversation in confusion, wondering why they didn''t seem to need to eat anymore. John decided to check the system on this topic. ~Help~ ~Cores~ ~Food~ -You need less and less food every time you consume a core, stackable infinitely -You have consumed 15 cores, so you need to eat roughly every 60 days to keep your energy up "Ok, now that explains a lot," John said with relief, "I was hoping it would give me a real answer, not just some rubbish about a food core and how to get it." The Greater Tunneler Worm and Craig Lornman "I wonder how many other people survived this mess and are wondering around town like us," John said, "It''s a pretty big town so I wouldn''t be surprised to have not found anyone yet." As if right on cue, a voice rang out through the unusually still air. "Who''s there?" someone shouted nervously from nearby. "Who are you?" asked John in retaliation. "My name''s Craig Lornman," he said "What''s yours?" "I''m John Wellerman," John replied, hoping this wasn''t distracting them from an ambush, "Is there anyone with you?" "No, just me," Craig said, "You?" "It''s just me and one other, Geffery," John answered. "You mind if i come closer?" Craig asked. "Sure, as long as you''re peaceful." John and Craig talked and got to know each other over the next hour, with Geffery adding his experiences to the mix as the conversation went on. Apparently, Craig had consumed only one core, albeit one of the hardest to get, the dragon core. He had found the dragon already dead, and just as he approached it, it disappeared back into the magic in the air, leaving behind its core. Consuming this core gave him the ability to not just grow wings, but also to breathe fire. Just as they got back up. thinking they might as well find something more productive to do other than sit around conversing, they heard a low rumble deep beneath them. It sounded as if there was a tornado beneath their feet, ripping at the very soul of their world. Just as they began to run, a massive crater formed in front of them, then another, this time behind. More and more craters kept emerging, until they were stuck on an elevated platform, disconnected from the rest of the town by about 500 metres of canyon and debris. In his time fighting monsters, John''s wing power had leveled up to the point where he could carry people with him when he flew, and also use the wings to block attacks. He was just preparing to grab them and fly away, but in his moment''s hesitation, something beastly erupted from the canyon floor. A ginormous worm, with rings of lamprey teeth. ~New Quest~ -Defeat: {Greater Tunneler Worm} -Reward: Ability Evolution They immediately sprung into action. John used a high-jump power, immediately followed by a dash power and conjuring his wings to propel himself toward the monster. He slammed full force into the face of the worm, burying his sword into it and using a combustion ability on impact to create an explosion right in its face. This on any normal monster would usually mean instant death, but not with a greater tunneler worm. He did, however, give it a crater of its own, spraying worm flesh down into the canyon below.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Craig summoned up his wings, and flew, fire spewing while he neared the worm. It seemed the worm wasn''t defenseless, however, when it defied the laws of physics and its lack of legs and jumped. When it landed, it created a shockwave, sending both flying men tumbling down to the ground. It would have seemed, to an outsider, that John and Craig were dead, but no. Geffery had used a teleport power to bring them back up to the platform, whole, albeit shaken up. After a moment to reassess themselves, they charged at the worm again, with newfound strength. Craig took the lead, shooting fireballs at their enemy. John flew in dizzying spirals to distract the worm, while Geffery came in clutch once more. He chanted a spell, and runes started appearing all over the worm''s body. Once it''s body was entirely covered by overlapping runes, Geffery snapped his fingers and they all exploded at once, killing the worm. ~You have helped kill {Greater Tunneler Worm}~ John nose dived into the canyon to touch a part of the worm to loot, but its flesh was still moving. They were converging into a pile, then melting back into the shape of the worm. ~Hidden Objective Found~ -Defeat: {Undead Greater Tunneler Worm} -Reward: Ability Evolution "Something''s respawning it," said Craig, "We need to attacking it before it fully reforms." They moved in, but were blocked by an invisible barrier. Craig, who had a similar ability himself, instantly began attempting to break it open with his wings, when Geffery stopped him. "I have a teleport ability, remember?" "Oh yeah, thanks," said Craig relieved. They all teleported in, John and Craig attacking the worm, and Geffery looking for what was summoning it back. He spotted a dazzling figure in glowing robes with contrastingly pitch black skin. It was raising its hands to the worm, feeding it life from the corpses around him. Geffery used his one melee attack power to thrust himself insanely fast directly at the necromancer, who didn''t have time to react before becoming a bloody puddle on the ground. Geffery used John''s ability to loot the necromancer and the corpses around it, not getting anything good from them except for a few hundred litres of blood and 12 tonnes of flesh. "Wow. I have no words, that is just a little too much blood." John, after looting the now un-animated corpse of the worm, consumed the core and looked at Craig in surprise. "What is it?" Craig asked. "The ability I got," John responded, "It lets me dig tunnels easier." "So?" "I don''t know, I guess i just thought I would get a better ability then that from something that hard to kill." "Yeah, I guess you''re right. That did go surprisingly well, though. We got lucky with our powers." John just then remembered his 2 ability evolutions, and triggered them both at once. ~Ability {Inventory} has evolved~ -Ability {Inventory} has gained you a new ability -Ability {Inventory} has gained you the ability to conjure items straight into your hand from your inventory, without the need to open it up to get them "Did I just hit the motherload?" ~Ability {Map} has evolved~ -Ability {Map} has gained you a new ability -Ability {Map} has gained you the ability to set waypoints, trackable from the map screen or from your mind "Yes, I did, indeed hit the motherload."