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<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> Lydia stifled a scream as the battle raged all around her, the wooden barrel she was hiding in constantly vibrating to the aftershock of explosions, or the intermittent stamping of A LOT of feet hitting pavement as the enemy mobs moved past her location. She wondered how she got herself in this mess, when all she wanted to do was empty out her inventory at the local market so that she can go back out into the surrounding hunting grounds to level up. But, when she saw that the entire village was dead and no movement could be discerned after an hour of observation, greed won over caution in her internal struggle before she began creeping through the houses searching for loot and occasionally pilfering the bodies, though more often than not there was nothing left to steal. <br> <br>When Lydia saw a unit of the Kingdom's soldiers stopping at the public square, she was about to call out to them when all hell broke loose. Knocked back &nbsp;and terrified by the explosion, she groggily watched the unit being rapidly cut to pieces and she did the only thing she can do as a lone mage…. hide. Crawling into the shattered wall of the local tavern, she found that the only safe place to hide was in an empty barrel… and that’s where she now remained, determined not to move until 48 hours have past for which she hoped that the enemy mobs would have moved on after annihilating the soldiers. <br> <br>However, for some reason she felt that the tempo of the battle had changed, her curiosity as a student of journalism in real life made her lift the lid top of her barrel slightly, to sneak a peek at the going ons outside. After all, it's not her problem that a bunch of NPCs were being slaughtered… especially when she then saw a few dozen ORCS of all things charging out from an alleyway towards the prone and cowering soldiers. The human bandits and Orc raiders must have allied together, she thought in astonishment, mentally checking off the hunting grounds in this area from her list. There was no way she can solo level now, she groaned. The reason she came here was to get away from the crowded starter areas where she was constantly harassed to join all-male parties because of her looks. Which was to say that even Lydia knew she was quite attractive than most women …..in a not so boastful way…. probably….. well that’s how she reassured herself often. Dear readers, please forgive this woman's ego…. <br> <br>Fully expecting a forecast of falling human limbs with a 100% chance of a blood red rain, Lydia offered a short prayer, "Please, leave some loot for me you stupid mobs", when out of the corner of her eye she saw a man race out of a doorway and insanely steered himself into the path of the oncoming Orcs. Lydia felt her jaw drop at the stupidity of this NPC when unexpectedly, he began to sing. And what a voice! It was so heart stoppingly good that Lydia didn't realise she was holding her breath. The song seemed to be in a foreign language and for some reason she could sense that he was buffing himself with several positive statuses. 'Oh my god, is he a REAL human bard?', she thought to herself in astonishment, 'he is going to die wastefully', Lydia predicted. After all, a bard was just a support class with no close combat capability. She was more than sure that he was going to die if an Orc even brushed an axe past his face. <br> <br>When the man swung his sword, Lydia closed her eyes and sighed, fully expecting his head to be lopped off swiftly …. Only to have her barrel shudder from an impact, causing her to open her eyes and glance down. Outside the bottom of her barrel contrary to what she was anticipating, lay the head of an Orc, its eyes opened wide in surprise like it couldn't believe at what had happened to it. The head must have travelled a good 30 metres from where the fighting was and Lydia realised that a tremendous amount of force was needed in order to do so. Returning her eyes back to the 'fight', a scene more akin to an action movie greeted Lydia's sight. <br> <br>The man moved with… savage grace, like a lion amongst lambs (albeit big muscular ugly lambs with weapons), every strike causing terrible or fatal wounds, every strike lashing out with precision and power. And then there was the singing! Like a song from a divine angel of war, the soldiers on the ground lifted their heads up, courage welling deep within their eyes as slowly one by one they soon took up the song as well, the men getting up or leaving cover pulling swords from sheath, shields faced forward and then charging to join the mad fray even though they were completely outnumbered! <br> <br>'<span style="font-style: italic;">WHAT WHAT WHAT is going on here</span>?!!' <br> <br> <br> <br> <br><div style="text-align: center;">*********************************************************************************************</div> <br> <br><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://picosong.com/Fqhb/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 1.7em;">INTRO SONG: Kono Sekai e Moeru</span></a></div> <br> <br> <br><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk285/black_ferrus/Blut%20und%20Eisen/Intro12_zps34cb1304.jpg" border="0" alt="http%3a%2f%2fi283.photobucket.com%2falbums%2fkk285...cb1304.jpg"></div> <br> <br> <br> <br><div style="text-align: center;">*********************************************************************************************</div> <br> <br> <br>"….<span style="font-style: italic;">im sturmwind dahin!"</span> &lt;…into the storm's wind!&gt;, Gerhard sang as he cut, his voice rising above the din of battle and seeming to settle the men into a rhythm of methodical slaughter. <br> <br>Even though they were surrounded, even though they were outnumbered, none of them thought of death or defeat, the small tight circle of six humans lashed ferociously out with their swords whilst protecting one another with their shields, blocking attacks that would have wounded their neighbour in the shield wall. And all the while Gerhard kept singing. <br> <br>"<span style="font-style: italic;">Ob's stürmt oder schneit, ob die Sonne uns lacht</span>, &lt;If it storms or snows, or the sun smiles on us&gt; <br><span style="font-style: italic;">Der Tag glühend heiß, oder eiskalt die Nacht</span>, &lt;The day burning hot, or the icy cold of night&gt; <br><span style="font-style: italic;">Voraus den Kameraden, im Kampf steh'n wir allein</span>" &lt;Ahead of our comrades, in battle we stand alone&gt; <br> <br>"<span style="font-style: italic;">JA, WIR ALLEIN</span>!" &lt;YES, WE ALONE!&gt;, the men, now HIS men roared in reply as he continued. <br> <br>"<span style="font-style: italic;">SO STOßEN WIR TIEF IN DIE FEINDLICHEN REIH'N</span>" &lt;THAT'S HOW WE THRUST DEEP INTO THE ENEMY'S RANKS&gt;, Gerhard raised his voice as well and practically leapt forward from the shield wall and into the dense orc formation, the rest of the men following as they kept singing. <br> <br>"<span style="font-style: italic;">VORAUS DEN KAMERADEN, IM KAMPF STEH'N WIR ALLEIN</span>!" &lt;AHEAD OF OUR COMRADES, IN BATTLE WE STAND ALONE!&gt;, by the end of his sentence every single orc within his reach was dead while the men made short work of those that strayed too near. <br> <br>"<span style="font-style: italic;">JA, WIR ALLEIN!</span>" &lt;YES, WE ALONE!&gt;, came the expected, almost joyous response. <br> <br>"<span style="font-style: italic;">SO STOßEN WIR TIEF IN DIE FEINDLICHEN REIH'N</span>" &lt;THAT'S HOW WE THRUST DEEP INTO THE ENEMY'S RANKS&gt;, he repeated followed by the same manoeuvre he did before, to which the Orcs for the first time began to show dread at this monster in human form, rushing towards them without any sign of fear or hesitation. Already, several of the weaker willed Orcs in the back had begun to slip away, and in moments as though a dam had broken, all of them turned their backs towards the soldiers and ran for their lives, sprinting back towards the alleyway they came from. With the beyond all odds decisive rout of the Orcs, more message bubbles began appearing. <br> <br><span style="font-weight: bold;">*Ding!</span> <br> <br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td><span style="font-weight: bold;">You've leveled up! <br>You've leveled up! <br>You've leveled up! <br>You've leveled up! <br>You've leveled up! <br>You've leveled up! <br> <br>Leadership has risen by 13 points (+13 LS) <br>Charisma has risen by 9 points (+9 CHR) <br>Fighting Spirit has risen by 8 points (+8 FS)</span></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div> <br> <br>Seeing the opportunity, Gerhard shouted, "<span style="font-style: italic;">VOKWÄRTS KAMERADEN! TÖTET SIE ALLE!</span>" &lt;FORWARDS COMRADES! KILL THEM ALL!&gt;, not realising he was giving commands in German. <br> <br>Though it didn’t matter as the soldiers seemed to understand what was required of them as they gave chase like hunting hounds unleashed, the effect of Gerhard's song still coursing through their system as he dragged one of them off to follow him into clearing the buildings. Already the devastating arrow fire from before was slackening as the panic seemed to have affected the human bandits as well, caught totally off guard by such determined resistance from soldiers who earlier before faced total destruction. Nevertheless this didn’t mean that the bandits had given up and those that still retained some semblance of discipline began to focus their fire on the pair that was racing towards one of their occupied buildings. <br> <br>Gerhard’s and the remaining soldiers' HP were already precariously low, yet both of them didn’t seem to care as Gerhard took a running jump without breaking stride and went shoulder first through a closed glass window with the soldier soon following close behind. Their entry into the building brought chaos to the bandits’ sense of order as more than five bows turned to fire in panic at the rapidly closing warriors. Gerhard grunted as he took an arrow to the chest but the padded armour absorbed a lot of the impact and damage before he drew back his arm and hurled his sword like a javelin in reply to the closest of the mobs. <br> <br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="4"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Critical Hit!</span></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div> <br> <br>The bandit was instantly killed by pure luck as the sword cleanly penetrated its neck and as it slowly fell backwards dead, Gerhard was already beside the corpse, pulling the sword cleanly out in an unbroken stride to hack at a target to his left while the soldier advanced into position on his right to act as his shield. This tactical combination brought out the best in damage dealing and protection with Gerhard proving to be unstoppable in close combat whilst placing absolute trust in the NPC to maintain both their defences and HP from dropping any further. From an outsider's perspective, it looked like all Gerhard was doing was grinding for exp…. If you did not take into account how much of a difference the levels were between him and the mob, which by all rights should have been difficult if one was not in a party of 5 well equipped players. <br> <br>Barely three minutes had passed before the building was cleared, but the pace that Gerhard had set was beginning to slow as the damage and fatigue over time had begun to build up, although it was unavoidable because he was actually fighting opponents well above his current level. With the situation decidedly not in the bandits favour, especially with the Orcs now having fully fled the field and the remaining soldiers rapidly rushing back to lend aid to the two that were causing havoc and exacting vengeance, the remaining mobs were beating a hasty retreat, barely a dozen remaining… running into the direction of the tavern where Lydia was hiding… <br> <br>'"GEEH", Lydia moaned as she saw the oncoming mobs and thought to do the one thing that should be done in this situation - panic. And panic like crazy. She basically stood up from the barrel, lid still on her head, and tried to climb out only to trip forwards when her considerable dress bunched up around her hips and made her lower half trapped in the barrel. <br> <br>"Oh craaap!", she despaired when the mobs noticed her and decided that maybe they could salvage some pride from this situation by killing her. <br> <br>She closed her eyes, fully expecting to die and log back in 24 hours only to hear the screech of metal on metal. The man HAD APPEARED to her rescue! Raising up her eyes she could see the wide gallant back of this mysterious bard/warrior/system error having deflected two sword strokes away from either side of her head, one with his blade and the other with his gauntlet, the polished lustre on it now dull and scratched. <br> <br>" <span style="font-style: italic;">Fräulein</span> &lt;Madam&gt;, I highly suggest you cut yourself loose, this is going to be extremely… difficult", he panted. <br> <br>Her eyes widened and then she realised he was right. Judging by the wounds all over his body and those that have penetrated his armour, by all rights he should be dead by now but instead he was probably hanging on with only a few points of HP remaining. The rest of the soldiers didn’t look too good as well as they finally caught up with the bandits and brutal fighting swept out into all corners of the tavern. <br> <br>"I can help you", Lydia exclaimed from the floor whilst taking a knife to her dress. <br> <br>"What?" <br> <br>"I said, ‘I can help you’" <br> <br>" <span style="font-style: italic;">Fräulein </span>&lt;Miss&gt;, explain in ten words or less. A bit busy here" <br>"I want all loot, I save us all. Easy right?" <br> <br>"…..just do whatever you want!" <br> <br>"I will take that as a ’yes'!", she cried triumphantly as she finally freed herself. Standing up, now with something resembling a miniskirt, she began chanting. <br> <br>Suddenly, Gerhard felt himself being rejuvenated with energy, his wounds fading and surely enough his HP was rapidly increasing. Out of the corner of his eye he saw that she was casting the same spell individually to the other soldiers before returning his gaze on the pair of now very frightened bandits. <br> <br>"Now", he smiled sweetly, "where were we again?". <br> <br>… a few minutes later the unit emerged victorious as they slumped down onto the floor exhausted but glad to be alive. Gerhard remained standing as he continued to scan the area, noticing the strange 'Barrel Girl' as he had come to think of her, walking towards him with a bag of collected loot over her shoulder smiling happily. <br> <br>"Good haul, good haul", she giggled ….totally unbecoming of a cute girl. <br> <br>"To be fair", Gerhard arched an eyebrow, "technically we still did all the hard work in the end". <br> <br>"Its fine, Its fine, after all you wouldn’t had been able to if you were DEAD" <br> <br>"Well, that is true. And thus", Gerhard clicked his heels together as he saluted her, "Thank you for saving us madam. My name is Gerhard von Natzmer". <br> <br>Lydia laughed as she replied, "I am Lydia, Fire Mage. I can't believe you choose that name for an avatar, you are probably the first role-player I have met in this game. Trying to live a childhood dream of being a noble?", she stuck her tongue out at him before abruptly ending the conversation by walking away…in search of more loot. In her mini skirt style dress. This girl really had no modesty. Please forgive her. <br> <br>"But.... I AM a noble", Gerhard muttered in discontent. Computer gamers. He will never understand his grandson's generation. <br> <br> <br> <br><div style="text-align: center;">*********************************************************************************************</div> <br> <br><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size: 1.7em;">Date Unknown, July, 1943. <br>German Heer&lt;Army&gt; westward retreat, Russia</span></span></span> <br> <br>"Walking… always walking", One of the German soldiers groaned, before a few of the tired men told him to shut up simultaneously. It was too hot to be complaining, especially in the summer. <br> <br>Fuel for their trucks and halftracks had long since been used up… however, the men of <span style="font-style: italic;">Großdeutschland</span> can't ever rest. For they are tasked with a dangerous and self sacrificing work that none seemed able to accomplish; slowing the advance of the Russian Army. And they were damn good at it. <br> <br>"Haaa", Karl sighed, as he trudged beside his Captain, "and to think this time last year we were winning". <br> <br>Gerhard barely gave notice to his Sergeant's reminiscing, as he constantly scanned the terrain, watching for telltale signs of dust kicked up by Russian tanks and trucks, however, he still managed a reply, "We ARE winning though if the <span style="font-style: italic;">Führer</span>&lt;Leader's&gt; speeches are anything to go by. Just winning BACKWARDS" <br> <br>Karl chuckled, as he grinned at his commanding officer, "Don't let a political officer hear you joke about that, <span style="font-style: italic;">Herr Hauptmann</span>&lt;Captain&gt;. I heard too many stories of good men disappearing…" <br> <br>"We all know those stories are true, Unterfeldwebel &lt;Sergeant&gt;. It's just that I am luckier than most, because I only say it when we are getting shot at" <br> <br>"… but we are not under fire...?" <br> <br>Gerhard sighed, "We are advancing towards the Russian Army instead of retreating away from it. Of course, we are going to get shot at. Hence why there is no NAZI bootlicking officer within a hundred miles. They are probably in Berlin by now" <br> <br>Karl nodded sagely, "Your point is well understood <span style="font-style: italic;">Herr Hauptmann</span>&lt;Captain&gt;, even to a farm boy like me". <br> <br>"Bullshit Karl!", one of the soldiers yelled, "We all know that you are a miner's son!" <br> <br>"Aye, but I like farming more than mining", Karl gave an evil grin back to the men, "Spend most of my time there not to milk four legged cows if you know what I mean". <br> <br>There was a roar of laughter at this, rare nowadays in their tired unit. Which is not surprising since their <span style="font-style: italic;">Panzergrenadierkompanie</span> &lt;Motorised Infantry Company&gt; had started out with nearly two hundred men…now it was reduced to barely three half strength platoons of fifteen men each. They were more fortunate than the rest of <span style="font-style: italic;">Großdeutschland</span> though, many infantry companies barely having enough men to field one half strength platoon. And that is why the soldiers loved Gerhard. He tries his hardest to keep them alive. <br> <br>A figure waved at Gerhard from a distance, one of the platoons marching in parallel and led by his best friend, wondering what the laughter was about. Gerhard waved back but then noticed buildings in the distance, signalling to his friend to prepare for trouble. Immediately, silence reigned over the combat veterans of Gerhard's company, the men instinctively fanning out and hugging what cover they could find as the three platoons advanced slowly towards the outlying buildings. Located in a slight dip within the vast plains of Russia, the buildings sat nestled in the middle just below the crest, wooden structures and barns indicative of the fact that it must had been a farming village. <br> <br>'Had been' because after pulling out his binoculars to survey the quaint looking village, Gerhard passed the device to his Sergeant in disgust as he rose up to his knees and signalled to his best friend to advance cautiously while telling the third platoon to remain where they are and to be on overwatch. <br> <br>"You have got to be kidding me", Karl uttered, after visually confirming what had riled up his Captain. <br> <br>"I wish it was some sort of joke", Gerhard said angrily, "But I am afraid we may need to set up some firing squads after this" <br> <br>Gerhard turned to face his platoon, "<span style="font-style: italic;">Männer!</span> &lt;Men!&gt; Hold this position until I return!" <br> <br>"<span style="font-style: italic;">Jawohl, Herr Hauptmann!</span> &lt;As you willed, Captain!&gt;", came the cry from the other Sergeants. <br> <br>"Ok, Karl…. Let's go smash some heads". <br> <br>"I am with you on that one, sir!" <br> <br>As the two men walked down the gentle slope, they were being bare witnessed to a scene of… depravity. Seven German soldiers, in the tattered remnants of their uniforms were chasing girls, Russian villagers who were screaming in terror as they tried to escape from the laughing madmen, and in front of the barn, the bodies of the menfolk of this village were all lined up face down… where they were shot through the back of the head. One of the girls, not looking where she was going because of the tears in her eyes, ran into Gerhard, quickly looking up at him and began to struggle as he hugged her close and started whispering in her ears. <br> <br>"<span style="font-size: 0.9em;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Тише, теперь все хорошо&nbsp;</span></span>&nbsp;&lt;Hush, now all is well&gt;", Gerhard said softly in fluent Russian to calm the poor girl down. She looked to be only thirteen years old… to which fury gripped Gerhard's heart in an unshakeable hold at what these men had done to the people here… <br> <br>"Ah! <span style="font-style: italic;">Herr Hauptmann!</span>&lt;Captain!&gt;", &nbsp;one of the leering 'soldiers' said, as he stumbled into a halt after seeing Gerhard's rank, "Officers first?", saluting lazily and winking at his friends behind him, causing them to laugh. <br> <br>However when the soldier turned back, all he received was a fist to his nose as a reply, shattering it in a bloody spray as Gerhard spat, "<span style="font-style: italic;">DRECKSAU!</span>&lt;DIRTY PIG!&gt; " <br> <br>"<span style="font-weight: bold;">WHAT ARE YOU <span style="font-style: italic;">HOSENSCHEISSER</span>&lt;COWARDS&gt; DOING!</span>",Karl roared, "STAND TO ATTENTION WHEN AN OFFICER ADDRESSES YOU, <span style="font-weight: bold;">SCUM</span>!" <br> <br>There was an immediate response as the six remaining men stood to attention whilst their friend lay on the ground, unconscious and bleeding. Gerhard didn’t even spare any attention to the prone figure as he addressed the guilty looking soldiers, "Why aren't you men… retreating westward. And what is THIS?!", he pointed to the corpses at the barn, the Russian girl still clinging to Gerhard, face buried in his chest. <br> <br>"<span style="font-style: italic;">H-Herr Hauptmann</span>&lt;C-captain&gt;", one of the figures dared to respond, "W-we thought there were some guerrillas in this village… and we were low on food so-…" <br> <br>"THE WHOLE COUNTRY IS OUR ENEMY, YOU IDIOT! BUT DOES THAT MEAN YOU CAN RANDOMLY EXECUTE VILLAGERS?!", Gerhard was on the point of pulling his pistol out and shooting these men for looting and murder… till he felt a hand on his shoulder. <br> <br>"Gerhard… you are scaring the girl" <br> <br>A quick glance to the side showed that it was his best friend, who was pointing with a finger down at the girl hugging Gerhard. Breathing in and out slowly to master his anger, before Gerhard finally dropped his hand to caress the poor girl gently across her head. <br> <br>"Haaah", Gerhard exhaled, "You are right, I am sorry about that M-..", before he could finish, a shot cracked the air… and his best friend slowly pitched backwards as blood spurted from the gaping wound that blossomed in his chest. <br> <br>Before Gerhard could yell in denial, the air became rife with explosions as Russian tanks appeared on the other side of the village, Russian Infantry leaping from the top of the vehicles and firing from the hip as they advanced on the German positions. Gerhard pulled the girl down and under him, a tank shell exploding right in the centre of the group of panicking murderous scum, as though divine retribution had fallen upon them. The other Russian girls had scattered and taken cover within the buildings however Gerhard had other concerns to deal with. <br> <br>"KARL!", Gerard yelled, "GET THIS GIRL TO SAFETY!" <br> <br>"WHAT ABOUT YOU <span style="font-style: italic;">HAUPTMANN!?</span>&lt;CAPTAIN!?&gt;" <br> <br>"I AM NOT LEAVING MY BEST FRIEND FOR IVAN&lt;THE RUSSIANS&gt;! GO! GO NOW!" <br> <br>Cursing his officer for being a mad idiot, Karl did as he was told, grabbing the yelling scared girl over his shoulder and running back towards the platoons. Gerhard got unto his feet and ran the few metres into the storm of shrapnel and gunfire as he dropped to his knees and tried to stem the flow of blood leaking from his friend. <br> <br>Pressing down with both hands on the wound, ignoring the buzzing and whistling bullets all around him, Gerhard was shouting, "Hang on! The medic will be here soon <span style="font-style: italic;">Kamerad!</span> &lt;comrade!&gt;" <br> <br>"Ah shit…I am dying", Came the weak reply. <br> <br>"It's only a flesh wound! A few stitches and you will be walking both ends of Russia in one day!", Gerhard lied. <br> <br>"Hahaa no way…. I am sick of the Russian cold…" <br> <br>"OK! How about we go to Italy for a little sun, huh?! I will bring Hannah and you can finally meet your godson! Hermann, my boy!" <br> <br>"It's getting colder Gerhard…" <br> <br>"NO! DON’T DO THIS!", Gerhard pressing down harder on the wound, "FIGHT IT GOD DAMN IT!" <br> <br>"<span style="font-style: italic;">Mutter</span>&lt;Mother&gt;……" <br> <br>"MAX! DON’T DO THIS TO ME!", Gerhard yelled, "MAAAX!" <br> <br>"<span style="font-style: italic;">HAUPTMANN! </span>&lt;CAPTAIN!&gt;", Karl had come back, after depositing the girl out of the line of fire, "THE <span style="font-style: italic;">LEUTNANT</span> &lt;LIEUTENANT&gt; IS GONE!", shaking Gerhard's shoulder repeatedly, "WE NEED TO GO! THE MEN NEED YOU!" <br> <br>"……Karl! Take command of second platoon! Go!" <br> <br>"<span style="font-style: italic;">Jawohl, Herr Hauptmann!</span> &lt;As you willed, Captain!&gt;", as Karl scurried off, trying to stay below the deadly trading of lead flying through the air between the two sides. <br> <br>Grabbing all the ammo from his friend, Gerhard finally took out Max's dog-tags, snapping and taking one half, placing the tiny piece of metal into one of his top pockets, "I am sorry, Max… ", he whispered before eventually standing up, running back to his men whilst chased by enemy bullets. There was no time to weep and mourn. There was still a war to be fought. <br> <br> <br> <br><div style="text-align: center;">*********************************************************************************************</div> <br> <br><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://picosong.com/FqFE/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 1.7em;">Ending Song: Gentle Light</span></a></div> <br> <br> <br><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk285/black_ferrus/Blut%20und%20Eisen/Ending_zpsbc81b361.jpg" border="0" alt="http%3a%2f%2fi283.photobucket.com%2falbums%2fkk285...81b361.jpg"></div> </div>

Lydia stifled a scream as the battle raged all around her, the wooden barrel she was hiding in constantly vibrating to the aftershock of explosions, or the intermittent stamping of A LOT of feet hitting pavement as the enemy mobs moved past her location. She wondered how she got herself in this mess, when all she wanted to do was empty out her inventory at the local market so that she can go back out into the surrounding hunting grounds to level up. But, when she saw that the entire village was dead and no movement could be discerned after an hour of observation, greed won over caution in her internal struggle before she began creeping through the houses searching for loot and occasionally pilfering the bodies, though more often than not there was nothing left to steal. When Lydia saw a unit of the Kingdom's soldiers stopping at the public square, she was about to call out to them when all hell broke loose. Knocked back  and terrified by the explosion, she groggily watched the unit being rapidly cut to pieces and she did the only thing she can do as a lone mage…. hide. Crawling into the shattered wall of the local tavern, she found that the only safe place to hide was in an empty barrel… and that’s where she now remained, determined not to move until 48 hours have past for which she hoped that the enemy mobs would have moved on after annihilating the soldiers. However, for some reason she felt that the tempo of the battle had changed, her curiosity as a student of journalism in real life made her lift the lid top of her barrel slightly, to sneak a peek at the going ons outside. After all, it's not her problem that a bunch of NPCs were being slaughtered… especially when she then saw a few dozen ORCS of all things charging out from an alleyway towards the prone and cowering soldiers. The human bandits and Orc raiders must have allied together, she thought in astonishment, mentally checking off the hunting grounds in this area from her list. There was no way she can solo level now, she groaned. The reason she came here was to get away from the crowded starter areas where she was constantly harassed to join all-male parties because of her looks. Which was to say that even Lydia knew she was quite attractive than most women …..in a not so boastful way…. probably….. well that’s how she reassured herself often. Dear readers, please forgive this woman's ego…. Fully expecting a forecast of falling human limbs with a 100% chance of a blood red rain, Lydia offered a short prayer, "Please, leave some loot for me you stupid mobs", when out of the corner of her eye she saw a man race out of a doorway and insanely steered himself into the path of the oncoming Orcs. Lydia felt her jaw drop at the stupidity of this NPC when unexpectedly, he began to sing. And what a voice! It was so heart stoppingly good that Lydia didn't realise she was holding her breath. The song seemed to be in a foreign language and for some reason she could sense that he was buffing himself with several positive statuses. 'Oh my god, is he a REAL human bard?', she thought to herself in astonishment, 'he is going to die wastefully', Lydia predicted. After all, a bard was just a support class with no close combat capability. She was more than sure that he was going to die if an Orc even brushed an axe past his face. When the man swung his sword, Lydia closed her eyes and sighed, fully expecting his head to be lopped off swiftly …. Only to have her barrel shudder from an impact, causing her to open her eyes and glance down. Outside the bottom of her barrel contrary to what she was anticipating, lay the head of an Orc, its eyes opened wide in surprise like it couldn't believe at what had happened to it. The head must have travelled a good 30 metres from where the fighting was and Lydia realised that a tremendous amount of force was needed in order to do so. Returning her eyes back to the 'fight', a scene more akin to an action movie greeted Lydia's sight. The man moved with… savage grace, like a lion amongst lambs (albeit big muscular ugly lambs with weapons), every strike causing terrible or fatal wounds, every strike lashing out with precision and power. And then there was the singing! Like a song from a divine angel of war, the soldiers on the ground lifted their heads up, courage welling deep within their eyes as slowly one by one they soon took up the song as well, the men getting up or leaving cover pulling swords from sheath, shields faced forward and then charging to join the mad fray even though they were completely outnumbered! 'WHAT WHAT WHAT is going on here?!!' ********************************************************************************************* [INTRO SONG: Kono Sekai e Moeru](http://picosong.com/Fqhb/)  ********************************************************************************************* "….im sturmwind dahin!" <…into the storm's wind!>, Gerhard sang as he cut, his voice rising above the din of battle and seeming to settle the men into a rhythm of methodical slaughter. Even though they were surrounded, even though they were outnumbered, none of them thought of death or defeat, the small tight circle of six humans lashed ferociously out with their swords whilst protecting one another with their shields, blocking attacks that would have wounded their neighbour in the shield wall. And all the while Gerhard kept singing. "Ob's stürmt oder schneit, ob die Sonne uns lacht, <If it storms or snows, or the sun smiles on us> Der Tag glühend heiß, oder eiskalt die Nacht, <The day burning hot, or the icy cold of night> Voraus den Kameraden, im Kampf steh'n wir allein" <Ahead of our comrades, in battle we stand alone> "JA, WIR ALLEIN!" <YES, WE ALONE!>, the men, now HIS men roared in reply as he continued. "SO STOßEN WIR TIEF IN DIE FEINDLICHEN REIH'N" <THAT'S HOW WE THRUST DEEP INTO THE ENEMY'S RANKS>, Gerhard raised his voice as well and practically leapt forward from the shield wall and into the dense orc formation, the rest of the men following as they kept singing. "VORAUS DEN KAMERADEN, IM KAMPF STEH'N WIR ALLEIN!" <AHEAD OF OUR COMRADES, IN BATTLE WE STAND ALONE!>, by the end of his sentence every single orc within his reach was dead while the men made short work of those that strayed too near. "JA, WIR ALLEIN!" <YES, WE ALONE!>, came the expected, almost joyous response. "SO STOßEN WIR TIEF IN DIE FEINDLICHEN REIH'N" <THAT'S HOW WE THRUST DEEP INTO THE ENEMY'S RANKS>, he repeated followed by the same manoeuvre he did before, to which the Orcs for the first time began to show dread at this monster in human form, rushing towards them without any sign of fear or hesitation. Already, several of the weaker willed Orcs in the back had begun to slip away, and in moments as though a dam had broken, all of them turned their backs towards the soldiers and ran for their lives, sprinting back towards the alleyway they came from. With the beyond all odds decisive rout of the Orcs, more message bubbles began appearing. *Ding! | You've leveled up! You've leveled up! You've leveled up! You've leveled up! You've leveled up! You've leveled up! Leadership has risen by 13 points (+13 LS) Charisma has risen by 9 points (+9 CHR) Fighting Spirit has risen by 8 points (+8 FS) | | --- | Seeing the opportunity, Gerhard shouted, "VOKWÄRTS KAMERADEN! TÖTET SIE ALLE!" <FORWARDS COMRADES! KILL THEM ALL!>, not realising he was giving commands in German. Though it didn’t matter as the soldiers seemed to understand what was required of them as they gave chase like hunting hounds unleashed, the effect of Gerhard's song still coursing through their system as he dragged one of them off to follow him into clearing the buildings. Already the devastating arrow fire from before was slackening as the panic seemed to have affected the human bandits as well, caught totally off guard by such determined resistance from soldiers who earlier before faced total destruction. Nevertheless this didn’t mean that the bandits had given up and those that still retained some semblance of discipline began to focus their fire on the pair that was racing towards one of their occupied buildings. Gerhard’s and the remaining soldiers' HP were already precariously low, yet both of them didn’t seem to care as Gerhard took a running jump without breaking stride and went shoulder first through a closed glass window with the soldier soon following close behind. Their entry into the building brought chaos to the bandits’ sense of order as more than five bows turned to fire in panic at the rapidly closing warriors. Gerhard grunted as he took an arrow to the chest but the padded armour absorbed a lot of the impact and damage before he drew back his arm and hurled his sword like a javelin in reply to the closest of the mobs. | Critical Hit! | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | The bandit was instantly killed by pure luck as the sword cleanly penetrated its neck and as it slowly fell backwards dead, Gerhard was already beside the corpse, pulling the sword cleanly out in an unbroken stride to hack at a target to his left while the soldier advanced into position on his right to act as his shield. This tactical combination brought out the best in damage dealing and protection with Gerhard proving to be unstoppable in close combat whilst placing absolute trust in the NPC to maintain both their defences and HP from dropping any further. From an outsider's perspective, it looked like all Gerhard was doing was grinding for exp…. If you did not take into account how much of a difference the levels were between him and the mob, which by all rights should have been difficult if one was not in a party of 5 well equipped players. Barely three minutes had passed before the building was cleared, but the pace that Gerhard had set was beginning to slow as the damage and fatigue over time had begun to build up, although it was unavoidable because he was actually fighting opponents well above his current level. With the situation decidedly not in the bandits favour, especially with the Orcs now having fully fled the field and the remaining soldiers rapidly rushing back to lend aid to the two that were causing havoc and exacting vengeance, the remaining mobs were beating a hasty retreat, barely a dozen remaining… running into the direction of the tavern where Lydia was hiding… '"GEEH", Lydia moaned as she saw the oncoming mobs and thought to do the one thing that should be done in this situation - panic. And panic like crazy. She basically stood up from the barrel, lid still on her head, and tried to climb out only to trip forwards when her considerable dress bunched up around her hips and made her lower half trapped in the barrel. "Oh craaap!", she despaired when the mobs noticed her and decided that maybe they could salvage some pride from this situation by killing her. She closed her eyes, fully expecting to die and log back in 24 hours only to hear the screech of metal on metal. The man HAD APPEARED to her rescue! Raising up her eyes she could see the wide gallant back of this mysterious bard/warrior/system error having deflected two sword strokes away from either side of her head, one with his blade and the other with his gauntlet, the polished lustre on it now dull and scratched. " Fräulein <Madam>, I highly suggest you cut yourself loose, this is going to be extremely… difficult", he panted. Her eyes widened and then she realised he was right. Judging by the wounds all over his body and those that have penetrated his armour, by all rights he should be dead by now but instead he was probably hanging on with only a few points of HP remaining. The rest of the soldiers didn’t look too good as well as they finally caught up with the bandits and brutal fighting swept out into all corners of the tavern. "I can help you", Lydia exclaimed from the floor whilst taking a knife to her dress. "What?" "I said, ‘I can help you’" " Fräulein <Miss>, explain in ten words or less. A bit busy here" "I want all loot, I save us all. Easy right?" "…..just do whatever you want!" "I will take that as a ’yes'!", she cried triumphantly as she finally freed herself. Standing up, now with something resembling a miniskirt, she began chanting. Suddenly, Gerhard felt himself being rejuvenated with energy, his wounds fading and surely enough his HP was rapidly increasing. Out of the corner of his eye he saw that she was casting the same spell individually to the other soldiers before returning his gaze on the pair of now very frightened bandits. "Now", he smiled sweetly, "where were we again?". … a few minutes later the unit emerged victorious as they slumped down onto the floor exhausted but glad to be alive. Gerhard remained standing as he continued to scan the area, noticing the strange 'Barrel Girl' as he had come to think of her, walking towards him with a bag of collected loot over her shoulder smiling happily. "Good haul, good haul", she giggled ….totally unbecoming of a cute girl. "To be fair", Gerhard arched an eyebrow, "technically we still did all the hard work in the end". "Its fine, Its fine, after all you wouldn’t had been able to if you were DEAD" "Well, that is true. And thus", Gerhard clicked his heels together as he saluted her, "Thank you for saving us madam. My name is Gerhard von Natzmer". Lydia laughed as she replied, "I am Lydia, Fire Mage. I can't believe you choose that name for an avatar, you are probably the first role-player I have met in this game. Trying to live a childhood dream of being a noble?", she stuck her tongue out at him before abruptly ending the conversation by walking away…in search of more loot. In her mini skirt style dress. This girl really had no modesty. Please forgive her. "But.... I AM a noble", Gerhard muttered in discontent. Computer gamers. He will never understand his grandson's generation. ********************************************************************************************* Date Unknown, July, 1943. German Heer<Army> westward retreat, Russia "Walking… always walking", One of the German soldiers groaned, before a few of the tired men told him to shut up simultaneously. It was too hot to be complaining, especially in the summer. Fuel for their trucks and halftracks had long since been used up… however, the men of Großdeutschland can't ever rest. For they are tasked with a dangerous and self sacrificing work that none seemed able to accomplish; slowing the advance of the Russian Army. And they were damn good at it. "Haaa", Karl sighed, as he trudged beside his Captain, "and to think this time last year we were winning". Gerhard barely gave notice to his Sergeant's reminiscing, as he constantly scanned the terrain, watching for telltale signs of dust kicked up by Russian tanks and trucks, however, he still managed a reply, "We ARE winning though if the Führer<Leader's> speeches are anything to go by. Just winning BACKWARDS" Karl chuckled, as he grinned at his commanding officer, "Don't let a political officer hear you joke about that, Herr Hauptmann<Captain>. I heard too many stories of good men disappearing…" "We all know those stories are true, Unterfeldwebel <Sergeant>. It's just that I am luckier than most, because I only say it when we are getting shot at" "… but we are not under fire...?" Gerhard sighed, "We are advancing towards the Russian Army instead of retreating away from it. Of course, we are going to get shot at. Hence why there is no NAZI bootlicking officer within a hundred miles. They are probably in Berlin by now" Karl nodded sagely, "Your point is well understood Herr Hauptmann<Captain>, even to a farm boy like me". "Bullshit Karl!", one of the soldiers yelled, "We all know that you are a miner's son!" "Aye, but I like farming more than mining", Karl gave an evil grin back to the men, "Spend most of my time there not to milk four legged cows if you know what I mean". There was a roar of laughter at this, rare nowadays in their tired unit. Which is not surprising since their Panzergrenadierkompanie <Motorised Infantry Company> had started out with nearly two hundred men…now it was reduced to barely three half strength platoons of fifteen men each. They were more fortunate than the rest of Großdeutschland though, many infantry companies barely having enough men to field one half strength platoon. And that is why the soldiers loved Gerhard. He tries his hardest to keep them alive. A figure waved at Gerhard from a distance, one of the platoons marching in parallel and led by his best friend, wondering what the laughter was about. Gerhard waved back but then noticed buildings in the distance, signalling to his friend to prepare for trouble. Immediately, silence reigned over the combat veterans of Gerhard's company, the men instinctively fanning out and hugging what cover they could find as the three platoons advanced slowly towards the outlying buildings. Located in a slight dip within the vast plains of Russia, the buildings sat nestled in the middle just below the crest, wooden structures and barns indicative of the fact that it must had been a farming village. 'Had been' because after pulling out his binoculars to survey the quaint looking village, Gerhard passed the device to his Sergeant in disgust as he rose up to his knees and signalled to his best friend to advance cautiously while telling the third platoon to remain where they are and to be on overwatch. "You have got to be kidding me", Karl uttered, after visually confirming what had riled up his Captain. "I wish it was some sort of joke", Gerhard said angrily, "But I am afraid we may need to set up some firing squads after this" Gerhard turned to face his platoon, "Männer! <Men!> Hold this position until I return!" "Jawohl, Herr Hauptmann! <As you willed, Captain!>", came the cry from the other Sergeants. "Ok, Karl…. Let's go smash some heads". "I am with you on that one, sir!" As the two men walked down the gentle slope, they were being bare witnessed to a scene of… depravity. Seven German soldiers, in the tattered remnants of their uniforms were chasing girls, Russian villagers who were screaming in terror as they tried to escape from the laughing madmen, and in front of the barn, the bodies of the menfolk of this village were all lined up face down… where they were shot through the back of the head. One of the girls, not looking where she was going because of the tears in her eyes, ran into Gerhard, quickly looking up at him and began to struggle as he hugged her close and started whispering in her ears. "Тише, теперь все хорошо  <Hush, now all is well>", Gerhard said softly in fluent Russian to calm the poor girl down. She looked to be only thirteen years old… to which fury gripped Gerhard's heart in an unshakeable hold at what these men had done to the people here… "Ah! Herr Hauptmann!<Captain!>",  one of the leering 'soldiers' said, as he stumbled into a halt after seeing Gerhard's rank, "Officers first?", saluting lazily and winking at his friends behind him, causing them to laugh. However when the soldier turned back, all he received was a fist to his nose as a reply, shattering it in a bloody spray as Gerhard spat, "DRECKSAU!<DIRTY PIG!> " "WHAT ARE YOU HOSENSCHEISSER<COWARDS> DOING!",Karl roared, "STAND TO ATTENTION WHEN AN OFFICER ADDRESSES YOU, SCUM!" There was an immediate response as the six remaining men stood to attention whilst their friend lay on the ground, unconscious and bleeding. Gerhard didn’t even spare any attention to the prone figure as he addressed the guilty looking soldiers, "Why aren't you men… retreating westward. And what is THIS?!", he pointed to the corpses at the barn, the Russian girl still clinging to Gerhard, face buried in his chest. "H-Herr Hauptmann<C-captain>", one of the figures dared to respond, "W-we thought there were some guerrillas in this village… and we were low on food so-…" "THE WHOLE COUNTRY IS OUR ENEMY, YOU IDIOT! BUT DOES THAT MEAN YOU CAN RANDOMLY EXECUTE VILLAGERS?!", Gerhard was on the point of pulling his pistol out and shooting these men for looting and murder… till he felt a hand on his shoulder. "Gerhard… you are scaring the girl" A quick glance to the side showed that it was his best friend, who was pointing with a finger down at the girl hugging Gerhard. Breathing in and out slowly to master his anger, before Gerhard finally dropped his hand to caress the poor girl gently across her head. "Haaah", Gerhard exhaled, "You are right, I am sorry about that M-..", before he could finish, a shot cracked the air… and his best friend slowly pitched backwards as blood spurted from the gaping wound that blossomed in his chest. Before Gerhard could yell in denial, the air became rife with explosions as Russian tanks appeared on the other side of the village, Russian Infantry leaping from the top of the vehicles and firing from the hip as they advanced on the German positions. Gerhard pulled the girl down and under him, a tank shell exploding right in the centre of the group of panicking murderous scum, as though divine retribution had fallen upon them. The other Russian girls had scattered and taken cover within the buildings however Gerhard had other concerns to deal with. "KARL!", Gerard yelled, "GET THIS GIRL TO SAFETY!" "WHAT ABOUT YOU HAUPTMANN!?<CAPTAIN!?>" "I AM NOT LEAVING MY BEST FRIEND FOR IVAN<THE RUSSIANS>! GO! GO NOW!" Cursing his officer for being a mad idiot, Karl did as he was told, grabbing the yelling scared girl over his shoulder and running back towards the platoons. Gerhard got unto his feet and ran the few metres into the storm of shrapnel and gunfire as he dropped to his knees and tried to stem the flow of blood leaking from his friend. Pressing down with both hands on the wound, ignoring the buzzing and whistling bullets all around him, Gerhard was shouting, "Hang on! The medic will be here soon Kamerad! <comrade!>" "Ah shit…I am dying", Came the weak reply. "It's only a flesh wound! A few stitches and you will be walking both ends of Russia in one day!", Gerhard lied. "Hahaa no way…. I am sick of the Russian cold…" "OK! How about we go to Italy for a little sun, huh?! I will bring Hannah and you can finally meet your godson! Hermann, my boy!" "It's getting colder Gerhard…" "NO! DON’T DO THIS!", Gerhard pressing down harder on the wound, "FIGHT IT GOD DAMN IT!" "Mutter<Mother>……" "MAX! DON’T DO THIS TO ME!", Gerhard yelled, "MAAAX!" "HAUPTMANN! <CAPTAIN!>", Karl had come back, after depositing the girl out of the line of fire, "THE LEUTNANT <LIEUTENANT> IS GONE!", shaking Gerhard's shoulder repeatedly, "WE NEED TO GO! THE MEN NEED YOU!" "……Karl! Take command of second platoon! Go!" "Jawohl, Herr Hauptmann! <As you willed, Captain!>", as Karl scurried off, trying to stay below the deadly trading of lead flying through the air between the two sides. Grabbing all the ammo from his friend, Gerhard finally took out Max's dog-tags, snapping and taking one half, placing the tiny piece of metal into one of his top pockets, "I am sorry, Max… ", he whispered before eventually standing up, running back to his men whilst chased by enemy bullets. There was no time to weep and mourn. There was still a war to be fought. ********************************************************************************************* [Ending Song: Gentle Light](http://picosong.com/FqFE/) 

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> Prologue<br><br>"Ladies and gentlemen" a short, gray haired announcer screamed into the microphone. "It is my great pleasure to introduce to you tonight's players!" he roared with enthusiasm, his oily hair reflecting the light of the projectors.<br><br>A dozen men stood on the edge of a large pit in the middle of the place, all of them were looking at the ground blinded by the strong light projected at them. The men saw nothing, yet could clearly hear the sound of excited talking and the clapping of hands around them. <br>"You can view their personal data on your displays whenever you wish during the event." The announcer nodded into the darkness and the projectors turned off. "The waiters will arrive with your food shortly, in the meantime while you are waiting for the main matches we hope you will enjoy some of the most beautiful animals alive" he paused as the light in the pit slowly lighted up, reviling rows of cages full of wild and exotic animals, "tearing each other to pieces!". <br>He grinned lifting his hands as if he wanted to hug the whole pit.<br><br>Food was brought in, the murmur of anticipation was almost deafening, and when the last plate was placed in front of its respective client, two tigers were unleashed on each other and the murmur became a roar of cheers. All the attention was on the arena as the tigers locked teeth and claws with each other. The man running to the doors was ignored completely and would have gone out the doors unnoticed if not for the guard waiting beside them. "I'm sorry sir, but you need to return to your seat."<br>"Quiet, I need to talk to the ringleader!" he said with such authority the guard almost let him through. <br><br>"Again, sir, I am sorry, but none can leave the room until the event is done." the guard told the man, and crossed his arms.<br>"You listen to me now, and listen well! Tell who ever that is on the other side of your headphone that if they want to see any of my money today they better listen to what I have to say. Tell them it is well worth their time." <br>The guard just stood there surprised at the man's actions. "Well? How much more time are you going to waste, start talking!" the man ordered.<br><br>A short moment after the doors were opened from the other side and another guard motioned the man to follow him. The man was taken to a large room and sat in front of the announcer. "I am told you wanted to speak to me, how can I help you Mr... Hmm" he glanced at the screen where the man's file was opened "Rainold?" <br>"I wish to buy one of your fighters." <br>"Oh, really? You don't say... well if so I am afraid I cannot help you. I hope you will return to your table now." He smiled at the Rainold.<br>"I will not! I shall stay here until we have negotiated a price." <br>"Mr.Rainold I'm afraid you do not understand, this is not a matter of money. Our fighters today, as you are very well aware, are the winners of their respective regions. You have witnessed their ability first hand in the event you attended in London. I have promised you and the rest of the audience a chance to see a champion and I must keep my word." The smile never left his face.<br><br>Mr. Rainold took out a checkbook from his pocket filled it out and sled it in front of the announcer. "What is this?" he said, smiling more than ever. "I do not care for your acting, write down a number and it shall be paid to you in full." A sweat drop slid down Rainold's face and disappeared under his suit."I forgot to ask Mr.Rainold, which fighter is that you wish to acquire?" looking slightly interested now.<br>"The Black Dragon."<br>The announcers smile turned into a grin." And what is it you would like to do with him if I may ask?" <br>"That is not your concern. Write down your sum and have him sent to my car." He stood up and was already out of the door when the announcer said, “I do hope you will stay to see the other matches. You should try to get some of your money back." <br>"I will leave once I have finished eating. Thank you for your concern."<br><br>"Where did you go, dear?" asked M’s.Rainold once her husband sat back at his plate. "Nothing to worry about honey, I'm just taking care of my future in the company." <br><br>He was happy; it has been a long time since he felt so happy. It was this unhappiness that led him to these underground fighting matches. He had more money than he could ever spend yet he was bored. In his wildest dreams he would have never believed his search for thrills would bring to such a discovery.<br>The food was good and the first match was as bloody as he liked it. His was in a great mood and wished he could stay, but he needed to get himself back to Europe as fast as possible.<br><br>Done eating he stood up only to sit back down again. The announcer walked to the edge of the pit speaking to the audience with glee. Rainold tried to listen but nothing registered in his mind, all he could comprehend was the figure the announcer kept pointing at. The man he just bought, the one who was supposed to be waiting for him in his car, was standing at the bottom of the pit looking bored. Rainold couldn't make himself curse the announcer or try to argue, he knew it was too late. He would get what he bought, it will be delivered to his car, or at least what remained of him would. <br><br>He breathed out with relief when he saw cages rolled into the pit. 'If the opponent isn't human then he won't even be harmed.' He pressed the button that summoned the waiter. <br>"Dear, quick bet on the wolves, quick. I have a feeling the gray one with the brown back will get the kill." M’s.Rainold mugged her husband to no avail.<br>"No..."<br>"Not him? Who then? The other wolves look so much smaller than him, I'm betting on the gray one."<br>"No."<br>"Dear?"<br>"Bet on the boy."<br>"Sweetie, please. Be serious he has no chance, look; the odds are 30 to 1 against him. He has no cha..."<br>"It's okay." Color was starting to come back to Rainold's face. "Don't worry; he would win regardless of the opponent, I just feel sorry for the pups."<br>His wife gave him a strange look. She trusted her husband, He may like to take risks, but he never took unnecessary risks, he wouldn't have made his fortune otherwise.<br>"How much should I put?" she sighed, putting her faith in her husband.<br>"All of it." Rainold said calmly as he ordered desserts.<br>"I said all of it honey, you better hurry before they close the bids." <br><br>Looking at her husband’s smile she put her bid on the "Black Dragon", looked at her husband again only to see him relaxed in his chair. So she took a few breaths, rechecked their bid and pushed back against the seats back, turning her head to watch the next match. </div>

Prologue "Ladies and gentlemen" a short, gray haired announcer screamed into the microphone. "It is my great pleasure to introduce to you tonight's players!" he roared with enthusiasm, his oily hair reflecting the light of the projectors. A dozen men stood on the edge of a large pit in the middle of the place, all of them were looking at the ground blinded by the strong light projected at them. The men saw nothing, yet could clearly hear the sound of excited talking and the clapping of hands around them. "You can view their personal data on your displays whenever you wish during the event." The announcer nodded into the darkness and the projectors turned off. "The waiters will arrive with your food shortly, in the meantime while you are waiting for the main matches we hope you will enjoy some of the most beautiful animals alive" he paused as the light in the pit slowly lighted up, reviling rows of cages full of wild and exotic animals, "tearing each other to pieces!". He grinned lifting his hands as if he wanted to hug the whole pit. Food was brought in, the murmur of anticipation was almost deafening, and when the last plate was placed in front of its respective client, two tigers were unleashed on each other and the murmur became a roar of cheers. All the attention was on the arena as the tigers locked teeth and claws with each other. The man running to the doors was ignored completely and would have gone out the doors unnoticed if not for the guard waiting beside them. "I'm sorry sir, but you need to return to your seat." "Quiet, I need to talk to the ringleader!" he said with such authority the guard almost let him through. "Again, sir, I am sorry, but none can leave the room until the event is done." the guard told the man, and crossed his arms. "You listen to me now, and listen well! Tell who ever that is on the other side of your headphone that if they want to see any of my money today they better listen to what I have to say. Tell them it is well worth their time." The guard just stood there surprised at the man's actions. "Well? How much more time are you going to waste, start talking!" the man ordered. A short moment after the doors were opened from the other side and another guard motioned the man to follow him. The man was taken to a large room and sat in front of the announcer. "I am told you wanted to speak to me, how can I help you Mr... Hmm" he glanced at the screen where the man's file was opened "Rainold?" "I wish to buy one of your fighters." "Oh, really? You don't say... well if so I am afraid I cannot help you. I hope you will return to your table now." He smiled at the Rainold. "I will not! I shall stay here until we have negotiated a price." "Mr.Rainold I'm afraid you do not understand, this is not a matter of money. Our fighters today, as you are very well aware, are the winners of their respective regions. You have witnessed their ability first hand in the event you attended in London. I have promised you and the rest of the audience a chance to see a champion and I must keep my word." The smile never left his face. Mr. Rainold took out a checkbook from his pocket filled it out and sled it in front of the announcer. "What is this?" he said, smiling more than ever. "I do not care for your acting, write down a number and it shall be paid to you in full." A sweat drop slid down Rainold's face and disappeared under his suit."I forgot to ask Mr.Rainold, which fighter is that you wish to acquire?" looking slightly interested now. "The Black Dragon." The announcers smile turned into a grin." And what is it you would like to do with him if I may ask?" "That is not your concern. Write down your sum and have him sent to my car." He stood up and was already out of the door when the announcer said, “I do hope you will stay to see the other matches. You should try to get some of your money back." "I will leave once I have finished eating. Thank you for your concern." "Where did you go, dear?" asked M’s.Rainold once her husband sat back at his plate. "Nothing to worry about honey, I'm just taking care of my future in the company." He was happy; it has been a long time since he felt so happy. It was this unhappiness that led him to these underground fighting matches. He had more money than he could ever spend yet he was bored. In his wildest dreams he would have never believed his search for thrills would bring to such a discovery. The food was good and the first match was as bloody as he liked it. His was in a great mood and wished he could stay, but he needed to get himself back to Europe as fast as possible. Done eating he stood up only to sit back down again. The announcer walked to the edge of the pit speaking to the audience with glee. Rainold tried to listen but nothing registered in his mind, all he could comprehend was the figure the announcer kept pointing at. The man he just bought, the one who was supposed to be waiting for him in his car, was standing at the bottom of the pit looking bored. Rainold couldn't make himself curse the announcer or try to argue, he knew it was too late. He would get what he bought, it will be delivered to his car, or at least what remained of him would. He breathed out with relief when he saw cages rolled into the pit. 'If the opponent isn't human then he won't even be harmed.' He pressed the button that summoned the waiter. "Dear, quick bet on the wolves, quick. I have a feeling the gray one with the brown back will get the kill." M’s.Rainold mugged her husband to no avail. "No..." "Not him? Who then? The other wolves look so much smaller than him, I'm betting on the gray one." "No." "Dear?" "Bet on the boy." "Sweetie, please. Be serious he has no chance, look; the odds are 30 to 1 against him. He has no cha..." "It's okay." Color was starting to come back to Rainold's face. "Don't worry; he would win regardless of the opponent, I just feel sorry for the pups." His wife gave him a strange look. She trusted her husband, He may like to take risks, but he never took unnecessary risks, he wouldn't have made his fortune otherwise. "How much should I put?" she sighed, putting her faith in her husband. "All of it." Rainold said calmly as he ordered desserts. "I said all of it honey, you better hurry before they close the bids." Looking at her husband’s smile she put her bid on the "Black Dragon", looked at her husband again only to see him relaxed in his chair. So she took a few breaths, rechecked their bid and pushed back against the seats back, turning her head to watch the next match.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> Took me a while to write, but here's Part 2. Just a hint of warning, it's only the first draft, and therefore subject to a lot of change. I think Randomleech was right when he said that chapter 13 was a cursed chapter; I'm not quite happy with how it turned out.<br><br>Nevertheless, I hope that you enjoy reading this part. Let me know what you think.<br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">*****</span></span><br><br> “Ah, I’m bored…”<br><br>Saying this, Gordon parried another blow from the skeleton giant’s great sword. So far, the two combatants were evenly matched, but Gordon’s relentless assault had begun to steadily force the skeleton back, beating aside each of the skeleton’s attack with the ruthlessness of a tyrant while still having a half-dazed look on his face. <br><br>Nevertheless, the skeleton persevered. The undead truly did not fear death (the Undead already being dead from the beginning), and this colossal warrior was no different. Nevertheless, it was an indisputable fact that Gordon was overpowering the skeleton, holy light pouring out and wrapping itself around him like a protective cloak. It was truly an awe-inspiring sight.<br><br>All around him, morale was high as the main force fought with renewed vigor, effortlessly destroying the undead creatures and Orc warriors; a testament to the immense charisma that this man carried despite his lax nature.<br><br>Hammer and sword clashed once more, as undead and holy warrior sought to break through the other’s defenses and deal a decisive blow. They broke apart again, and were about to come in for another blow when suddenly, a voice cried out.<br><br>“Look out!!”<br><br>Surprised, Gordon still managed to quickly disengaged from the fight and took a step back. A second later, a soldier from the Vanguard flew over, landing heavily on the spot that Gordon previously occupied.<br><br>“Good grief, man, what’s happening over there?” Gordon asked.<br><br>“One fighter suddenly went bananas and started attacking people!! And then when the others tried to stop him, that guy sent them all flying with a swing of his stick!!”<br><br>“A stick?”<br><br>“Well, it seems like a quarterstaff anyway. He also sent me flying over here as well. And suddenly people started fighting one another, saying that they want a whack at that guy!! You have to get over there, it’s getting chaotic!!”<br><br>Gordon raised his head high to scan the battlefield. In the distance he could see a previously coherent force in disarray, fighting Orcs, undead, and each other. What was once an orderly engagement between two forces has now dissolved from a bloody chaotic melee to an all-out, no holds barred, winner-take-all battle royale where only the strongest will be the last one standing.<br><br>His puzzled expression quickly gave way to a wide grin, the holy light around him starting to glow red as bloodlust took over.<br><br>“WHY THE HELL DIDN’T YOU TELL ME THIS EARLIER!! I GOTTA GET OVER THERE RIGHT NOW!!!!”<br><br>Turning excitedly to speak to the soldier, he managed to catch a glimpse of that soldier collapsing limply before disappearing in a grey flash. The giant skeleton, having dealt the final blow to the now-fallen soldier by stepping on him, raised his great sword for another attack. Gordon’s half-crazed smile dimmed a little as he coolly considered the rather intimidating sight.<br><br>“You are in the way.” Gordon said coldly, and his hammer lashed out with a speed that couldn’t be followed by an average human.<br><br>As the skeleton giant fell to pieces, its body blown clean through by the strike, Gordon could be seen dashing over to the artificial Hell on Earth, leaving a pile of corpses behind with every swing of his hammer.<br><br>******<br><br>The golden path seemed to stretch on forever, at least as far I could make out within the fog. Regardless, I kept walking, my steps slowly but surely getting me to my destination, wherever that was.<br>However, it seemed that I had found a companion. While I could not see him, he was constantly channelling his thoughts via telepathy, his excited blabber comparable to that of a child.<br><br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">ARE WE THERE YET</span>?<br><br>“No, we will get there where we get there!!” I shouted back angrily.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">GEEZ. THERE’S NO NEED TO GET MAD</span>, came the sheepish reply.<br><br>“Only because you have been asking me this question for the past 10 minutes!!”<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">I CAN’T HELP IT, I’M BORED…</span><br><br>Even the kid was better behaved than this . For a guy with a voice that sounded like it was all in capital letters, the things he said were rather immature in comparison.<br><br>“You like games?” I asked.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">HATE ‘EM.</span><br><br>There goes the plan to distract him with a game…<br><br>“Mind if I ask you a question?”<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">ASK AWAY</span>, came the reply.<br><br>“Where am I?”<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">I SAID I DON’T KNOW, DIDN’T I?</span><br><br>“Ah, but hear me out anyway. By right, the capsule used by the game works by interacting with the player’s senses, but it shouldn’t be able to access my memories right?”<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">WELL, IT SEEMS TO BE THAT WAY. I WOULDN’T KNOW, BUT LET THIS ONE HERE THEORIZE A LITTLE.</span><br><br>Ooo, his speech suddenly became rather erudite.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">WELL, I AM AN ENTITY GIVEN SHAPE BY THIS SYSTEM AFTER ALL. FIRST OFF, THIS ONE HERE MUST ASK. HOW DID YOU ARRIVE HERE, AT THIS TIME, AT THIS PLACE?</span><br><br>“Well…”<br><br>I gave him a succinct summary of what had transpired thus far. There was a quick silence as the shadow mulled over the details. Although I could not see him (and hence make out his or her features) in this fog, I could somehow picture an old man fingering his mustache.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">I’M NOT THAT OLD.</span><br><br>“Excuse me.”<br><br>I forgot that he could seemingly read minds.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">NO, YOUR EMOTIONS ARE PLAIN ON YOUR FACE. ANYWAYS, THIS IS PURELY THEORETICAL FROM THIS POINT ON. YOU ARE UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF A POWERFUL SKILL THAT GIVES YOU INCREDIBLE POWER AT THE COST OF YOUR FREE LOCOMOTION. AM I RIGHT?</span><br><br>“Hang on, let me check. Skill Window!!”<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Berserk Impulse</span><br><br>Lose control of your actions for a massive increase in power and hp regeneration. Activated automatically when your HP falls to a set level. Your actions are automatically set to offensive movements, attacking indiscriminately with no regard for defense. Pain is dulled and bleeding is stopped when the skill is active.<br><br>Beginner Level 3 (84%): +30% STR, +20% Fighting Spirit, HP Regeneration boosted by 100% when HP falls below 23%. Completely unable to control one's actions when skill is active.</span></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>“Yeah, seems that way.” He actually got it down pat.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">NOW THAT I HAVE SATISFIED THIS PREMISE, ALLOW ME TO ASK: <span style="font-weight: bold;">WHERE DOES YOUR CONSCIOUSNESS GO WHILE YOU ARE IN THAT STATE?</span></span><br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">*******<br><br>WARNING: slight bit of 4th WALL BREAKING AHEAD. Readers who dislike that sort of stuff should skip ahead to the next portion. Apologies to you in advance, I couldn’t think of a way to write out this part.</span></span><br><br>“HOLD YOUR GROUND!!! HE CAN’T KEEP THIS UP FOREVER!!”<br><br>“But Sir, his wounds, they are healing up at an incredible pace!!!”<br><br>Several of the best fighters from the Vanguard unit were taking turns to engage the young man who , until recently, fought alongside them. His fighting style was free-flowing like water, the spear shaft he wielded an extension of his arm. Weapons clashed as he engaged in a bloody dance of death. However, against multiple skilled opponents, it was surely a losing fight, and naturally he got wounded.<br><br>That’s where the horror began. Whenever he got struck, steam would rise from his wounds, and a few seconds later his body would be whole again, as though nothing had happened. And then he would proceed to smash the surprised warrior in the face.<br><br>“This guy…”<br><br>“What manner (a bit too... refined for a battlefield? ‘kind’ would fit, no? It would, but I thought that it will be funny...Well, it’s up to you.) of sorcery is this?!”<br><br>Frustration for a fight that should have ended in mere minutes!!<br><br>Around them, the other soldiers were holding back the undead that were menacing them at every turn. At the same time, some of them were even fighting one another!!<br><br>“I’ll handle this.”<br><br>“No, I shall be the one to take him down!!”<br><br>“Take this!!”<br><br>“Die already!!”<br><br>“That punk’s mine!!”<br><br>“Hasta la vista, Baby!!”<br><br>From an outsider’s point of view, it looked like they were fighting over something actually desirable!! In this extremely realistic environment, where their fantasies were enacted, people couldn’t resist using extremely clichéd phrases as they fought!! Many undead fell, but more undead rose up to take their place!! Also, why am I using so many exclamation marks?!<br><br>Anyways… take a deep breath now, Narrator…<br><br>*Takes a deep breath… Breathes out slowly.*<br><br>Much better. Now back to the story on hand. This was clearly not an attempt to buff up my word count. It most certainly was not.<br><br>Most of the undead were suddenly blown away by a powerful attack as Gordon entered the fray. However, his posture was not the relaxed pose that people were accustomed to seeing. It was… more feral, resembling a bloodthirsty beast which had pinpointed his prey from among the herd.<br>“Ah… are you the little troublemaker who created this wonderful scene?”<br><br>Gordon spoke in an oddly calm voice that did not fit his current posture. In his presence, all manner of fighting within a 5 metre radius quickly came to a halt. The undead within that same radius had all been wiped out, and the rest of the Vanguard in that area also created a defensive circle that kept out the rest of them.<br><br>The young man finished off another one of his attackers, and appraised his new opponent, sizing him up. Strangely, he said nothing, and kept a blank expression on his face.<br><br>“Yes, that’s a good look you have on your face. Looking good there, boy. Ah… let me think, you were the Spearman that came with the Flag Bearer… Oh well, it doesn’t matter. Let us have a good fight that can only happen in this game.”<br><br>And with that incredibly cheesy line that you’ll probably see in RPG games (one of them anyway, here’s a hint: it’s got little animals fighting each other), the battle between the two commenced.<br><br>********<br><br>Some distance away, aforementioned Flag Bearer was in a troublesome spot. Since every other member from the Vanguard was preoccupied with the fight that was brewing in the middle of the defensive circle as well as holding off the undead that surrounded them…<br><br>“DAMMIT, WHY DID THEY LEAVE ME ALL THOSE UNDEAD MOBS TO KILL?! SPIRIT SOLDIERS, ADVANCE!!”<br><br>Jeanne (AKA Combatante) screamed while giving orders, the flag on her spear stained red with blood (as if that flag couldn’t get any redder already). <br><br>Of course, she now had to deal with far more undead than she could easily handle. If it weren’t for her Stalwart Spirit Soldiers that held the line against the undead, she would have been sent up to join the recount her many great deeds to the great ancestors a long time ago (either that or just be logged out, but the former just sounds more epic.).<br><br>A zombie managed to break through the defensive line and ran pell-mell at Jeanne, at a surprisingly fast speed for a shambling corpse. It soon got inside the reach of her spear, where the spear wouldn’t be able inflict any harm. It pounced at her…<br><br>Only to have Jeanne slam the pommel of her short sword onto its head, an improvised move that made up for the shortcomings of the spear. The zombie staggered back, and she finished it by lopping its head off with her sword.<br><br>“That’s one down, only 499 more to go. Sorry Howard, looks like I won’t be able to help you this time. If you survive that, I’ll beat you up for being so reckless myself!”<br><br>Even while she said this, at this time, at this place, the only thing that Jeanne could do in her position… Against insurmountable odds, she could only take up her spear and sword, and defend desperately, or take the offensive in a last ditch effort to break through. She chose the latter, and slammed the blunt end of her spear shaft on the ground.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">“Spirit Soldiers, your pride shall be an impenetrable iron defense!! Take up shields and defend to the last man!! Advance steadily against all odds, O formation of the Half-Century!!”</span><br><br>With that chant, all the Spirit Soldiers materialized and equipped sturdy-looking tower shields. Slamming them together, they created an impassable barrier. At the same time, each Soldier also equipped himself with a short spear measuring about 1.5 metres long. With Jeanne in the centre, they created another defensive formation comprising of about 7 men per row.<br><br>Reminiscent of the Roman Legions from ancient times, the defensive tortoise formation comprising a half-century of 50 soldiers was created!! Stabbing and heckling the undead that surrounded them with their short spears, the formation steadily advanced, forcing back the disorganized undead creatures with quick thrusts of their spears through the gaps between the shields.<br><br>Slowly, but surely, the Spirit Soldier troops made their way towards the Vanguard unit, where the action took place.<br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">*******</span></span><br><br>“Now that you mention it, I couldn’t remember what happened the last two times Berserk Impulse became active…”<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">THAT IS EXACTLY MY POINT. YOUR CONSCIOUS MIND IS SENT TO THIS FOGGY WORLD THE LAST TWO TIMES THIS OCCURRED. I HAD TRIED TO COMMUNICATE WITH YOU THOSE TWO TIMES, BUT YOU DID NOT RESPOND. THIS WOULD BE THE FIRST TIME I HAVE RECEIVED A REPLY FROM YOU.<br></span><br>So I have already been to this foggy world before… I just didn’t remember this.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">DURING THAT TIME, YOUR EARTHLY SHELL IS LEFT BACK THERE, WHERE THE BODY MOVES WITHOUT SUPERVISION, ACTING SOLELY ON MUSCLE MEMORY AND INSTINCT. AT THIS POINT WHATEVER PRIMAL INSTINCTS THAT HAVE BEEN HELD BACK BY THE RATIONAL CONSCIOUS MIND SURGES FORWARD, LEADING YOUR BODY INTO BATTLE.</span><br><br>That just sounds so bad ass… No wait, I’m not supposed to be impressed, it is clearly a bad thing.<br><br>“Is there any way out of this world then?”<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">FROM THIS THEORY, WE CAN CONCLUDE THAT YOU WILL LEAVE THIS WORLD ONCE THE SKILL WEARS OFF AND BECOMES DORMANT AGAIN. YOU HAVE ALSO WALKED ON THE SAME PATH THE LAST TWO TIMES YOU WERE HERE AND LEFT AFTER SOME TIME. I THOUGHT YOU WERE A WRAITH… OH, IT LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE ARRIVED AT MY PLACE OF RESIDENCE.</span><br><br>“It certainly seems that way…”<br><br>I could make out a long and thin shadow in the fog as we got closer and closer. It did not look like a house, so I assumed that it was a great tower. The mysterious shadow that accompanied me vanished, only to appear at that particular location. <br><br>“You could have teleported me over as well right?”<br><span style="font-style: italic;"><br>I DON’T HAVE THAT KIND OF ABILITY. NOW HURRY UP AND GET OVER HERE.</span><br><br>“Fine…”<br><br>I could only run up to the spot where the shadow was; as I got closer, it seemed that the tower was not a tower at all. It looked to be a spear shaft.<br><br>When I finally got there, my curiosity was finally satisfied. A spear stood tall and proud. The shaft measured about 2.5 metres, and the spear head that was affixed on the end of the shaft was a large arrow-head-like design resembling that of a ballista bolt.<br><br>I racked my head through what I had researched about spears, but the design of the spear head was certainly unique. It was a doubled edged arrow head design, so a single edged blade like the guan dao or naginata was out. Come to think of it, Polearms and halberds as well, for that matter. It was also too broad to be a lance…<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">AS ALWAYS, YOU THINK TOO MUCH. THIS IS MOST DEFINITELY A LANCE.</span><br><br>No, somehow I doubt it. Lances tend to have small and simplistic spear heads that are aimed at penetrating through armors easily. This spear head design is definitely too broad for that purpose.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">IT IS MOST ASSUREDLY A LANCE. I GIVE YOU MY GUARANTEE.</span><br><br>Surely not…<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">IT IS A LANCE.</span><br><br>No it isn’t.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">IT IS A LANCE. LOOK, JUST PICK IT UP AND GIVE IT A TRY. IT IS BETTER THAN THOSE NEWLY FANGLED DESIGNS THAT THEY ACTUALLY DARED TO CALL LANCES.</span><br><br>That guy must be bloody ancient to call a medieval design “newly fangled”…<br><br>“Well, if you insist…” I was never one to turn down a new weapon anyway, with apologies to my loyal Ash Spear Shaft…<br><br>I picked up the “lance” and hefted it. It felt light in my hand despite its heavy looking appearance.<br><br>“What’s this “lance” supposed to be made of, Cardboard? It’s so light.”<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">DO NOT INSULT MY BODY LIKE THAT. IT’S MEANT TO BE LIGHT TO MAKE IT EASY TO WIELD IN COMBAT, YOU SEE? OR I CAN MAKE IT SUPER HEAVY…</span><br><br>“No, that’s fin- Oh gawd!!”<br><br>My back suddenly bent over as the lance in my hand suddenly doubled in weight. It felt more like a proper spear now, but my god, was it heavy...<br><br>Wait, did he say his body?<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">YES, I CLEARLY DID. I AM THE SPIRIT THAT RESIDES WITHIN THIS UNNAMED LANCE, O WANDERING SPEARMAN. WILL YOU BE THE ONE TO WIELD ME AND BREAK A PATH THROUGH ALL ODDS, I WONDER?</span><br><br>********<br><br>“Hmm, your movements are superb, but your attacks don’t seem to have any… power or emotion or feelings behind them. Are you some sort of NPC?”<br><br>The fight between Gordon and the young spear man had been going on for some time. Surprisingly, the latter was able to hold his own in the beginning of the fight, but the overwhelming difference in levels soon began to show, and he was forced to go on the defensive.<br><br>Still, it was also a surprise that Gordon was unable to kill him in a single hit, as the young spearman managed to dodge each blow by a hair’s breadth, as if sensing that it would be all over if he got struck even once. Yet, regardless of his dire situation, his expression remained blank.<br><br>The spearman dodged the next blow and reassumed his stance, a completely relaxed and natural stance with his arms hanging while holding on to his spear shaft. A harsh light began to emit from the end of the spear shaft, and a broad leaf-shaped spear head suddenly materialized, affixing itself to the end of the shaft.<br><br>“Nice… you actually still had something like this up your sleeve? You never cease to amaze me. Should I get serious as well… no, what am I saying? I’m always serious when it comes to a good fight. On your guard, Spearman!!”<br><br>Yelling the line that would have suited a certain Captain of the Eleventh Division better, Gordon charged at the Spearman, his hammer raised prepared to destroy the foolish spearman standing in front of him. </div>

Took me a while to write, but here's Part 2. Just a hint of warning, it's only the first draft, and therefore subject to a lot of change. I think Randomleech was right when he said that chapter 13 was a cursed chapter; I'm not quite happy with how it turned out. Nevertheless, I hope that you enjoy reading this part. Let me know what you think. ***** “Ah, I’m bored…” Saying this, Gordon parried another blow from the skeleton giant’s great sword. So far, the two combatants were evenly matched, but Gordon’s relentless assault had begun to steadily force the skeleton back, beating aside each of the skeleton’s attack with the ruthlessness of a tyrant while still having a half-dazed look on his face. Nevertheless, the skeleton persevered. The undead truly did not fear death (the Undead already being dead from the beginning), and this colossal warrior was no different. Nevertheless, it was an indisputable fact that Gordon was overpowering the skeleton, holy light pouring out and wrapping itself around him like a protective cloak. It was truly an awe-inspiring sight. All around him, morale was high as the main force fought with renewed vigor, effortlessly destroying the undead creatures and Orc warriors; a testament to the immense charisma that this man carried despite his lax nature. Hammer and sword clashed once more, as undead and holy warrior sought to break through the other’s defenses and deal a decisive blow. They broke apart again, and were about to come in for another blow when suddenly, a voice cried out. “Look out!!” Surprised, Gordon still managed to quickly disengaged from the fight and took a step back. A second later, a soldier from the Vanguard flew over, landing heavily on the spot that Gordon previously occupied. “Good grief, man, what’s happening over there?” Gordon asked. “One fighter suddenly went bananas and started attacking people!! And then when the others tried to stop him, that guy sent them all flying with a swing of his stick!!” “A stick?” “Well, it seems like a quarterstaff anyway. He also sent me flying over here as well. And suddenly people started fighting one another, saying that they want a whack at that guy!! You have to get over there, it’s getting chaotic!!” Gordon raised his head high to scan the battlefield. In the distance he could see a previously coherent force in disarray, fighting Orcs, undead, and each other. What was once an orderly engagement between two forces has now dissolved from a bloody chaotic melee to an all-out, no holds barred, winner-take-all battle royale where only the strongest will be the last one standing. His puzzled expression quickly gave way to a wide grin, the holy light around him starting to glow red as bloodlust took over. “WHY THE HELL DIDN’T YOU TELL ME THIS EARLIER!! I GOTTA GET OVER THERE RIGHT NOW!!!!” Turning excitedly to speak to the soldier, he managed to catch a glimpse of that soldier collapsing limply before disappearing in a grey flash. The giant skeleton, having dealt the final blow to the now-fallen soldier by stepping on him, raised his great sword for another attack. Gordon’s half-crazed smile dimmed a little as he coolly considered the rather intimidating sight. “You are in the way.” Gordon said coldly, and his hammer lashed out with a speed that couldn’t be followed by an average human. As the skeleton giant fell to pieces, its body blown clean through by the strike, Gordon could be seen dashing over to the artificial Hell on Earth, leaving a pile of corpses behind with every swing of his hammer. ****** The golden path seemed to stretch on forever, at least as far I could make out within the fog. Regardless, I kept walking, my steps slowly but surely getting me to my destination, wherever that was. However, it seemed that I had found a companion. While I could not see him, he was constantly channelling his thoughts via telepathy, his excited blabber comparable to that of a child. ARE WE THERE YET? “No, we will get there where we get there!!” I shouted back angrily. GEEZ. THERE’S NO NEED TO GET MAD, came the sheepish reply. “Only because you have been asking me this question for the past 10 minutes!!” I CAN’T HELP IT, I’M BORED… Even the kid was better behaved than this . For a guy with a voice that sounded like it was all in capital letters, the things he said were rather immature in comparison. “You like games?” I asked. HATE ‘EM. There goes the plan to distract him with a game… “Mind if I ask you a question?” ASK AWAY, came the reply. “Where am I?” I SAID I DON’T KNOW, DIDN’T I? “Ah, but hear me out anyway. By right, the capsule used by the game works by interacting with the player’s senses, but it shouldn’t be able to access my memories right?” WELL, IT SEEMS TO BE THAT WAY. I WOULDN’T KNOW, BUT LET THIS ONE HERE THEORIZE A LITTLE. Ooo, his speech suddenly became rather erudite. WELL, I AM AN ENTITY GIVEN SHAPE BY THIS SYSTEM AFTER ALL. FIRST OFF, THIS ONE HERE MUST ASK. HOW DID YOU ARRIVE HERE, AT THIS TIME, AT THIS PLACE? “Well…” I gave him a succinct summary of what had transpired thus far. There was a quick silence as the shadow mulled over the details. Although I could not see him (and hence make out his or her features) in this fog, I could somehow picture an old man fingering his mustache. I’M NOT THAT OLD. “Excuse me.” I forgot that he could seemingly read minds. NO, YOUR EMOTIONS ARE PLAIN ON YOUR FACE. ANYWAYS, THIS IS PURELY THEORETICAL FROM THIS POINT ON. YOU ARE UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF A POWERFUL SKILL THAT GIVES YOU INCREDIBLE POWER AT THE COST OF YOUR FREE LOCOMOTION. AM I RIGHT? “Hang on, let me check. Skill Window!!” | Berserk ImpulseLose control of your actions for a massive increase in power and hp regeneration. Activated automatically when your HP falls to a set level. Your actions are automatically set to offensive movements, attacking indiscriminately with no regard for defense. Pain is dulled and bleeding is stopped when the skill is active.Beginner Level 3 (84%): +30% STR, +20% Fighting Spirit, HP Regeneration boosted by 100% when HP falls below 23%. Completely unable to control one's actions when skill is active. | | --- | “Yeah, seems that way.” He actually got it down pat. NOW THAT I HAVE SATISFIED THIS PREMISE, ALLOW ME TO ASK: WHERE DOES YOUR CONSCIOUSNESS GO WHILE YOU ARE IN THAT STATE? ******* WARNING: slight bit of 4th WALL BREAKING AHEAD. Readers who dislike that sort of stuff should skip ahead to the next portion. Apologies to you in advance, I couldn’t think of a way to write out this part. “HOLD YOUR GROUND!!! HE CAN’T KEEP THIS UP FOREVER!!” “But Sir, his wounds, they are healing up at an incredible pace!!!” Several of the best fighters from the Vanguard unit were taking turns to engage the young man who , until recently, fought alongside them. His fighting style was free-flowing like water, the spear shaft he wielded an extension of his arm. Weapons clashed as he engaged in a bloody dance of death. However, against multiple skilled opponents, it was surely a losing fight, and naturally he got wounded. That’s where the horror began. Whenever he got struck, steam would rise from his wounds, and a few seconds later his body would be whole again, as though nothing had happened. And then he would proceed to smash the surprised warrior in the face. “This guy…” “What manner (a bit too... refined for a battlefield? ‘kind’ would fit, no? It would, but I thought that it will be funny...Well, it’s up to you.) of sorcery is this?!” Frustration for a fight that should have ended in mere minutes!! Around them, the other soldiers were holding back the undead that were menacing them at every turn. At the same time, some of them were even fighting one another!! “I’ll handle this.” “No, I shall be the one to take him down!!” “Take this!!” “Die already!!” “That punk’s mine!!” “Hasta la vista, Baby!!” From an outsider’s point of view, it looked like they were fighting over something actually desirable!! In this extremely realistic environment, where their fantasies were enacted, people couldn’t resist using extremely clichéd phrases as they fought!! Many undead fell, but more undead rose up to take their place!! Also, why am I using so many exclamation marks?! Anyways… take a deep breath now, Narrator… *Takes a deep breath… Breathes out slowly.* Much better. Now back to the story on hand. This was clearly not an attempt to buff up my word count. It most certainly was not. Most of the undead were suddenly blown away by a powerful attack as Gordon entered the fray. However, his posture was not the relaxed pose that people were accustomed to seeing. It was… more feral, resembling a bloodthirsty beast which had pinpointed his prey from among the herd. “Ah… are you the little troublemaker who created this wonderful scene?” Gordon spoke in an oddly calm voice that did not fit his current posture. In his presence, all manner of fighting within a 5 metre radius quickly came to a halt. The undead within that same radius had all been wiped out, and the rest of the Vanguard in that area also created a defensive circle that kept out the rest of them. The young man finished off another one of his attackers, and appraised his new opponent, sizing him up. Strangely, he said nothing, and kept a blank expression on his face. “Yes, that’s a good look you have on your face. Looking good there, boy. Ah… let me think, you were the Spearman that came with the Flag Bearer… Oh well, it doesn’t matter. Let us have a good fight that can only happen in this game.” And with that incredibly cheesy line that you’ll probably see in RPG games (one of them anyway, here’s a hint: it’s got little animals fighting each other), the battle between the two commenced. ******** Some distance away, aforementioned Flag Bearer was in a troublesome spot. Since every other member from the Vanguard was preoccupied with the fight that was brewing in the middle of the defensive circle as well as holding off the undead that surrounded them… “DAMMIT, WHY DID THEY LEAVE ME ALL THOSE UNDEAD MOBS TO KILL?! SPIRIT SOLDIERS, ADVANCE!!” Jeanne (AKA Combatante) screamed while giving orders, the flag on her spear stained red with blood (as if that flag couldn’t get any redder already). Of course, she now had to deal with far more undead than she could easily handle. If it weren’t for her Stalwart Spirit Soldiers that held the line against the undead, she would have been sent up to join the recount her many great deeds to the great ancestors a long time ago (either that or just be logged out, but the former just sounds more epic.). A zombie managed to break through the defensive line and ran pell-mell at Jeanne, at a surprisingly fast speed for a shambling corpse. It soon got inside the reach of her spear, where the spear wouldn’t be able inflict any harm. It pounced at her… Only to have Jeanne slam the pommel of her short sword onto its head, an improvised move that made up for the shortcomings of the spear. The zombie staggered back, and she finished it by lopping its head off with her sword. “That’s one down, only 499 more to go. Sorry Howard, looks like I won’t be able to help you this time. If you survive that, I’ll beat you up for being so reckless myself!” Even while she said this, at this time, at this place, the only thing that Jeanne could do in her position… Against insurmountable odds, she could only take up her spear and sword, and defend desperately, or take the offensive in a last ditch effort to break through. She chose the latter, and slammed the blunt end of her spear shaft on the ground. “Spirit Soldiers, your pride shall be an impenetrable iron defense!! Take up shields and defend to the last man!! Advance steadily against all odds, O formation of the Half-Century!!” With that chant, all the Spirit Soldiers materialized and equipped sturdy-looking tower shields. Slamming them together, they created an impassable barrier. At the same time, each Soldier also equipped himself with a short spear measuring about 1.5 metres long. With Jeanne in the centre, they created another defensive formation comprising of about 7 men per row. Reminiscent of the Roman Legions from ancient times, the defensive tortoise formation comprising a half-century of 50 soldiers was created!! Stabbing and heckling the undead that surrounded them with their short spears, the formation steadily advanced, forcing back the disorganized undead creatures with quick thrusts of their spears through the gaps between the shields. Slowly, but surely, the Spirit Soldier troops made their way towards the Vanguard unit, where the action took place. ******* “Now that you mention it, I couldn’t remember what happened the last two times Berserk Impulse became active…” THAT IS EXACTLY MY POINT. YOUR CONSCIOUS MIND IS SENT TO THIS FOGGY WORLD THE LAST TWO TIMES THIS OCCURRED. I HAD TRIED TO COMMUNICATE WITH YOU THOSE TWO TIMES, BUT YOU DID NOT RESPOND. THIS WOULD BE THE FIRST TIME I HAVE RECEIVED A REPLY FROM YOU. So I have already been to this foggy world before… I just didn’t remember this. DURING THAT TIME, YOUR EARTHLY SHELL IS LEFT BACK THERE, WHERE THE BODY MOVES WITHOUT SUPERVISION, ACTING SOLELY ON MUSCLE MEMORY AND INSTINCT. AT THIS POINT WHATEVER PRIMAL INSTINCTS THAT HAVE BEEN HELD BACK BY THE RATIONAL CONSCIOUS MIND SURGES FORWARD, LEADING YOUR BODY INTO BATTLE. That just sounds so bad ass… No wait, I’m not supposed to be impressed, it is clearly a bad thing. “Is there any way out of this world then?” FROM THIS THEORY, WE CAN CONCLUDE THAT YOU WILL LEAVE THIS WORLD ONCE THE SKILL WEARS OFF AND BECOMES DORMANT AGAIN. YOU HAVE ALSO WALKED ON THE SAME PATH THE LAST TWO TIMES YOU WERE HERE AND LEFT AFTER SOME TIME. I THOUGHT YOU WERE A WRAITH… OH, IT LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE ARRIVED AT MY PLACE OF RESIDENCE. “It certainly seems that way…” I could make out a long and thin shadow in the fog as we got closer and closer. It did not look like a house, so I assumed that it was a great tower. The mysterious shadow that accompanied me vanished, only to appear at that particular location. “You could have teleported me over as well right?” I DON’T HAVE THAT KIND OF ABILITY. NOW HURRY UP AND GET OVER HERE. “Fine…” I could only run up to the spot where the shadow was; as I got closer, it seemed that the tower was not a tower at all. It looked to be a spear shaft. When I finally got there, my curiosity was finally satisfied. A spear stood tall and proud. The shaft measured about 2.5 metres, and the spear head that was affixed on the end of the shaft was a large arrow-head-like design resembling that of a ballista bolt. I racked my head through what I had researched about spears, but the design of the spear head was certainly unique. It was a doubled edged arrow head design, so a single edged blade like the guan dao or naginata was out. Come to think of it, Polearms and halberds as well, for that matter. It was also too broad to be a lance… AS ALWAYS, YOU THINK TOO MUCH. THIS IS MOST DEFINITELY A LANCE. No, somehow I doubt it. Lances tend to have small and simplistic spear heads that are aimed at penetrating through armors easily. This spear head design is definitely too broad for that purpose. IT IS MOST ASSUREDLY A LANCE. I GIVE YOU MY GUARANTEE. Surely not… IT IS A LANCE. No it isn’t. IT IS A LANCE. LOOK, JUST PICK IT UP AND GIVE IT A TRY. IT IS BETTER THAN THOSE NEWLY FANGLED DESIGNS THAT THEY ACTUALLY DARED TO CALL LANCES. That guy must be bloody ancient to call a medieval design “newly fangled”… “Well, if you insist…” I was never one to turn down a new weapon anyway, with apologies to my loyal Ash Spear Shaft… I picked up the “lance” and hefted it. It felt light in my hand despite its heavy looking appearance. “What’s this “lance” supposed to be made of, Cardboard? It’s so light.” DO NOT INSULT MY BODY LIKE THAT. IT’S MEANT TO BE LIGHT TO MAKE IT EASY TO WIELD IN COMBAT, YOU SEE? OR I CAN MAKE IT SUPER HEAVY… “No, that’s fin- Oh gawd!!” My back suddenly bent over as the lance in my hand suddenly doubled in weight. It felt more like a proper spear now, but my god, was it heavy... Wait, did he say his body? YES, I CLEARLY DID. I AM THE SPIRIT THAT RESIDES WITHIN THIS UNNAMED LANCE, O WANDERING SPEARMAN. WILL YOU BE THE ONE TO WIELD ME AND BREAK A PATH THROUGH ALL ODDS, I WONDER? ******** “Hmm, your movements are superb, but your attacks don’t seem to have any… power or emotion or feelings behind them. Are you some sort of NPC?” The fight between Gordon and the young spear man had been going on for some time. Surprisingly, the latter was able to hold his own in the beginning of the fight, but the overwhelming difference in levels soon began to show, and he was forced to go on the defensive. Still, it was also a surprise that Gordon was unable to kill him in a single hit, as the young spearman managed to dodge each blow by a hair’s breadth, as if sensing that it would be all over if he got struck even once. Yet, regardless of his dire situation, his expression remained blank. The spearman dodged the next blow and reassumed his stance, a completely relaxed and natural stance with his arms hanging while holding on to his spear shaft. A harsh light began to emit from the end of the spear shaft, and a broad leaf-shaped spear head suddenly materialized, affixing itself to the end of the shaft. “Nice… you actually still had something like this up your sleeve? You never cease to amaze me. Should I get serious as well… no, what am I saying? I’m always serious when it comes to a good fight. On your guard, Spearman!!” Yelling the line that would have suited a certain Captain of the Eleventh Division better, Gordon charged at the Spearman, his hammer raised prepared to destroy the foolish spearman standing in front of him.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> Necromancer<br>A Royal Road Fan Fiction<br>By: Halosty<br>Chapter 1<br><br>Mortimer Perrywinkle was a rather strange, rather spoiled, rather rich teenager, nearing the end of his senior year in high school. He was about average height, with black hair and very pale skin. His well fitting clothed did little to hide the fact that he was quite skinny, although not quite unhealthily so. Mortimer's parents stepped in anytime he tried to do anything unhealthy. Besides, the cook made good food. He just never remembered to eat it, since he was always reading books or thinking. He had trouble interacting with other people, and was considered rather antisocial. Really, though, he just thought the world was boring. He didn't tell anyone this, because everyone was boring and they wouldn't understand. Well, not everyone was boring.<br><br>There was one girl at school named Solara Vail who he thought was not boring. Everyone else probably thought she was, but that's because they didn't really know her. Or maybe because everyone else was boring. Some of the other students picked on her and called her ugly, but Mortimer knew she was beautiful. She just hid her face behind her rather short blonde hair, as well as her glasses. Sure, she covered up parts of her body instead of dressing like a lingerie model who forgot to change out of their work clothes. Anyway, he thought she looked cute in her various sweatshirts. Mortimer knew she was not boring, because he listened to her talk to herself, when she thought no one could hear her. He had very good hearing, and could choose an inconspicuous place to sit. He may have also read her journal which she left in her desk when she went out to eat lunch. Perhaps he secretly followed her around at school at other times. He really intended to talk to her, but he didn't want to interrupt her.<br><br>He never followed Solara home or anything, that would have been creepy. Also, he was picked up by his driver, James, every day after school. That may have had something to do with it. Anyway, because of his obsession with interest in Solara Vail, when he found out she was going to be playing Royal Road, he was naturally obsessed with interested in the game as well. Royal Road was an innovative new Virtual Reality game that was immensely popular, all over the world. (Although new may have been something of a misnomer, since it was almost 2 years old now). Unlike many games, there was just one server, or collection of servers, to play on. Even people in different countries could play together thanks to new innovations in the area of automatic language translation. Mortimer, though, was mostly interested in the game for the opportunity to stalk get to know Solara outside of school.<br><br>Naturally, Mortimer ordered a capsule right away, and even paid a little something extra for expedient delivery. He had happened to find out the city Solara planned to start in, purely coincidentally while reading her journal. Solara seemed interested in art, based on the doodles in her journal, so her choice of Morata as a starting city made sense. Mortimer was slightly disappointed because he had wanted to be a wizard, and there were no magic guild halls in Morata. Still, he could always choose some other class, he had picked wizard more based on whim than any real desire to use magic.<br><br>--------------------------<br><br>Starting up the capsule was a new experience. Mortimer had assumed virtual reality would be boring like real reality, but this was slightly different already. For one thing, there was nothing around him. Then, a voice appeared with an introduction to the game.<br><br>“Select your avatar”<br><br>“Quietus”<br><br>“Select your gender from male, female or neuter.”<br><br>“Male” (He didn't really want to experiment with anything like that... right now)<br><br>“Royal Road has fourty-nine races. Please select your race from this list.”<br><br>“Human” (Morata was a dominantly human city)<br><br>“You may alter your appearance”<br><br>He fiddled a bit with his appearance, mostly out of curiosity. He did change his eye color from brown to black so that it would match his hair. He also got a different hairstyle, slightly longer and shaggy, but of a style his parents wouldn't allow him to walk around with in real life.<br><br>Then, there was an introduction telling him about royal road, before he was allowed to choose his starting location. He chose Morata, of course. That was where Solara was going to be, after all.<br><br>Suddenly, there was again the sensation of having the world around him, although a different world than he was used to. He was in the middle of a city, filled with people. It was then that Quietus realized that cities were big. He also realized that he would have some trouble finding any specific person just by looking for them. 'Well, I might as well play the game while looking...' he thought to himself.<br><br>He knew that he had to obtain money for food, or he would die. Thus, he wandered around the city, casually observing everything and observing the scenery. 'Hey, that redhead is hot!' he thought, looking at a skimpily dressed bard. Normally, that wasn't his type. Well, normally, just Solara was his type. Still, it was interesting what a change of worlds can do for one's perspective.<br><br>He reluctantly pulled himself back to the first task at hand, obtaining a job. He hadn't really done the research on where he could go to find work, but he figured there would be something. He took random turns down streets until he also randomly came upon a sign “Help Wanted”. It was a dark, creepy looking building that could have used some repairs. Obviously, he went in. He literally had nothing to lose except for a canteen and ten pieces of some kind of unpleasant bread. Rye bread, said the game interface.<br>Inside the building was no less creepy than the outside. It was dark and cold, and smelled like death. Well, Quietus had no idea what death smelled like, but this building smelled awful.<br><br>“Yes, that is the smell of death.”<br><br>Quietus jumped. He wasn't used to people being able to sneak up on him, although he wasn't sure if anyone had actually tried before. He turned around to see a slightly hunched man with bad teeth and an eyepatch.<br>“Need someone put under? Better get a plot now while it's cheap!”<br><br>“Umm... put under? I was just here about the 'help wanted' sign.”<br><br>“Oh, well this here's a morgue. M' name's Jack, the proprietor of this lovely establishment.” He chuckled slightly. “You have a strong stomach?”<br><br>Although Quietus thought this man was creepy and weird, he figured this job would have low interaction with boring people. “Well, it's as strong as any, I suppose.”<br><br>After being given a tour of the “facilities”, as well as a test of his stomach, he was sent on an errand to buy some preserving fluids from a local alchemist. If the mortuary smelled like death, the alchemist's shop smelled much worse, since it mixed many terrible smells together. Quietus managed to not show any open aversion to the smell, which oddly enough got him a slight discount. Apparently those who are best friends with alchemists are the ones who can stand to be around them. Quietus made a joke about the wonderful aroma of the store, and it was taken the right way. It could never hurt to have a little friendship with a NPC, and it was easy enough to pretend to care a little.<br><br>After he was done delivering the bottles of foul liquid, he was told that there was nothing else that needed doing that day, and that he should come back in the morning.<br><br>He wandered around the city aimlessly until he heard singing around a corner. For some reason, instead of just going to look he peeked around the corner. It was the red-headed bard. She was still singing, but it was getting late and no one was listening. Quietus felt that she wasn't bad, but she could use some more practice. Well, it looked like she was a beginning player too. He watched her for a long time, using the excuse that he was looking around the square for Solara, in case she passed by.<br><br>Quietus kept his ears open for people walking up behind him, after all, he didn't want to be mistaken for some kind of creep. Occasionally, someone did pass by, and he did his best to look innocuous standing against the wall.<br><br>For some reason, Quietus just couldn't tear himself away from this bard to accomplish his real goal in being in this game. He quickly lost track of time, which is why he was surprised when he realized that it was dark. In fact, he only realized it was dark because the sun was coming up. The red-headed bard had kept him enraptured for an entire night! She didn't appear to get tired of singing, either. However, just as he thought this, she stopped. She then set off with purpose, heading in the direction he was hiding observing from. Quietus decided this was a good time to head back to his job.<br><br>When he arrived at the morgue he was greeted by Jack. “To properly do the job of caring for the dead, you've got to learn what makes people alive. That's why today we're gonna cut some people up. It's all part of the process of preserving them and some of the other work we're asked to do.”<br><br>Quietus wasn't exactly sure what the “other work” could be, but he didn't really care. He learned that he did indeed have a strong stomach, and he also learned some very interesting things about corpses.<br><br>*Ding*<br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>You have learned a new skill!<br>Anatomy<br>Your knowledge of anatomy allows you to strike opponents weaknesses more effectively.<br>Increases critical hit damage when striking a vulnerable location by 10%</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>'Huh, I learned a new skill, that's cool.' Quietus thought. His knowledge of the game being very limited, he hadn't known how to gain skills. Pretty much everything in the game was a surprise to him.<br><br>He then received a message that his satiety bar was low. Once the game mentioned it, he realized he felt hungry, so he ate some of his rye bread. Then, he went back to learning about anatomy. After they finished with the basics, Jack had Quietus help prepare him some preserving fluids. It involved a lot of mixing of smelly ingredients, including the foul mixture from the alchemist. Soon after...<br><br>*Ding*<br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>You have learned a new skill!<br>Alchemy<br>You can mix various ingredients to create varied potions and poisons.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br><br><br>'Wow, they're just handing out skills all over the place for trivial work!' thought Quietus. The difficulty of the work itself may have been low, but the average person would not have been able to get over their revulsion so quickly to start the actual learning. In fact, most players wouldn't even consider working in such an unpleasant place.<br><br>Eventually, Quietus' work was done, and he received his wages for the day. He didn't have any particular goal in mind in the city, except perhaps finding Solara, so he wandered aimlessly for a while. He noticed a strange building with the words “Training Center” on the outside, and he could see inside to a large number of scarecrows. They were hardly anatomically correct, but Quietus decided that he would try to strike some locations similar to the ones he had learned about that day.<br><br>He picked up the sword and had no idea how to swing it. He decided to stab some points that would have vital organs not protected by hindering things such as ribcages. His terrible posture and grip made him knock the sword out of his own hands. He tried again a few times, but decided the sword was just too big and unwieldy for him to use. I mean, it couldn't be that he was clumsy or anything.<br><br>He gave up, and logged off so that he could get some sleep. He may not have many rules that his parents made him follow, but they did require him to go to school. Besides, Solara would be at school.<br><br>End Chapter 1<br><br>Next Chapter: <a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=47&amp;t=122" target="_blank">http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=47&amp;t=122</a> </div>

Necromancer A Royal Road Fan Fiction By: Halosty Chapter 1 Mortimer Perrywinkle was a rather strange, rather spoiled, rather rich teenager, nearing the end of his senior year in high school. He was about average height, with black hair and very pale skin. His well fitting clothed did little to hide the fact that he was quite skinny, although not quite unhealthily so. Mortimer's parents stepped in anytime he tried to do anything unhealthy. Besides, the cook made good food. He just never remembered to eat it, since he was always reading books or thinking. He had trouble interacting with other people, and was considered rather antisocial. Really, though, he just thought the world was boring. He didn't tell anyone this, because everyone was boring and they wouldn't understand. Well, not everyone was boring. There was one girl at school named Solara Vail who he thought was not boring. Everyone else probably thought she was, but that's because they didn't really know her. Or maybe because everyone else was boring. Some of the other students picked on her and called her ugly, but Mortimer knew she was beautiful. She just hid her face behind her rather short blonde hair, as well as her glasses. Sure, she covered up parts of her body instead of dressing like a lingerie model who forgot to change out of their work clothes. Anyway, he thought she looked cute in her various sweatshirts. Mortimer knew she was not boring, because he listened to her talk to herself, when she thought no one could hear her. He had very good hearing, and could choose an inconspicuous place to sit. He may have also read her journal which she left in her desk when she went out to eat lunch. Perhaps he secretly followed her around at school at other times. He really intended to talk to her, but he didn't want to interrupt her. He never followed Solara home or anything, that would have been creepy. Also, he was picked up by his driver, James, every day after school. That may have had something to do with it. Anyway, because of his obsession with interest in Solara Vail, when he found out she was going to be playing Royal Road, he was naturally obsessed with interested in the game as well. Royal Road was an innovative new Virtual Reality game that was immensely popular, all over the world. (Although new may have been something of a misnomer, since it was almost 2 years old now). Unlike many games, there was just one server, or collection of servers, to play on. Even people in different countries could play together thanks to new innovations in the area of automatic language translation. Mortimer, though, was mostly interested in the game for the opportunity to stalk get to know Solara outside of school. Naturally, Mortimer ordered a capsule right away, and even paid a little something extra for expedient delivery. He had happened to find out the city Solara planned to start in, purely coincidentally while reading her journal. Solara seemed interested in art, based on the doodles in her journal, so her choice of Morata as a starting city made sense. Mortimer was slightly disappointed because he had wanted to be a wizard, and there were no magic guild halls in Morata. Still, he could always choose some other class, he had picked wizard more based on whim than any real desire to use magic. -------------------------- Starting up the capsule was a new experience. Mortimer had assumed virtual reality would be boring like real reality, but this was slightly different already. For one thing, there was nothing around him. Then, a voice appeared with an introduction to the game. “Select your avatar” “Quietus” “Select your gender from male, female or neuter.” “Male” (He didn't really want to experiment with anything like that... right now) “Royal Road has fourty-nine races. Please select your race from this list.” “Human” (Morata was a dominantly human city) “You may alter your appearance” He fiddled a bit with his appearance, mostly out of curiosity. He did change his eye color from brown to black so that it would match his hair. He also got a different hairstyle, slightly longer and shaggy, but of a style his parents wouldn't allow him to walk around with in real life. Then, there was an introduction telling him about royal road, before he was allowed to choose his starting location. He chose Morata, of course. That was where Solara was going to be, after all. Suddenly, there was again the sensation of having the world around him, although a different world than he was used to. He was in the middle of a city, filled with people. It was then that Quietus realized that cities were big. He also realized that he would have some trouble finding any specific person just by looking for them. 'Well, I might as well play the game while looking...' he thought to himself. He knew that he had to obtain money for food, or he would die. Thus, he wandered around the city, casually observing everything and observing the scenery. 'Hey, that redhead is hot!' he thought, looking at a skimpily dressed bard. Normally, that wasn't his type. Well, normally, just Solara was his type. Still, it was interesting what a change of worlds can do for one's perspective. He reluctantly pulled himself back to the first task at hand, obtaining a job. He hadn't really done the research on where he could go to find work, but he figured there would be something. He took random turns down streets until he also randomly came upon a sign “Help Wanted”. It was a dark, creepy looking building that could have used some repairs. Obviously, he went in. He literally had nothing to lose except for a canteen and ten pieces of some kind of unpleasant bread. Rye bread, said the game interface. Inside the building was no less creepy than the outside. It was dark and cold, and smelled like death. Well, Quietus had no idea what death smelled like, but this building smelled awful. “Yes, that is the smell of death.” Quietus jumped. He wasn't used to people being able to sneak up on him, although he wasn't sure if anyone had actually tried before. He turned around to see a slightly hunched man with bad teeth and an eyepatch. “Need someone put under? Better get a plot now while it's cheap!” “Umm... put under? I was just here about the 'help wanted' sign.” “Oh, well this here's a morgue. M' name's Jack, the proprietor of this lovely establishment.” He chuckled slightly. “You have a strong stomach?” Although Quietus thought this man was creepy and weird, he figured this job would have low interaction with boring people. “Well, it's as strong as any, I suppose.” After being given a tour of the “facilities”, as well as a test of his stomach, he was sent on an errand to buy some preserving fluids from a local alchemist. If the mortuary smelled like death, the alchemist's shop smelled much worse, since it mixed many terrible smells together. Quietus managed to not show any open aversion to the smell, which oddly enough got him a slight discount. Apparently those who are best friends with alchemists are the ones who can stand to be around them. Quietus made a joke about the wonderful aroma of the store, and it was taken the right way. It could never hurt to have a little friendship with a NPC, and it was easy enough to pretend to care a little. After he was done delivering the bottles of foul liquid, he was told that there was nothing else that needed doing that day, and that he should come back in the morning. He wandered around the city aimlessly until he heard singing around a corner. For some reason, instead of just going to look he peeked around the corner. It was the red-headed bard. She was still singing, but it was getting late and no one was listening. Quietus felt that she wasn't bad, but she could use some more practice. Well, it looked like she was a beginning player too. He watched her for a long time, using the excuse that he was looking around the square for Solara, in case she passed by. Quietus kept his ears open for people walking up behind him, after all, he didn't want to be mistaken for some kind of creep. Occasionally, someone did pass by, and he did his best to look innocuous standing against the wall. For some reason, Quietus just couldn't tear himself away from this bard to accomplish his real goal in being in this game. He quickly lost track of time, which is why he was surprised when he realized that it was dark. In fact, he only realized it was dark because the sun was coming up. The red-headed bard had kept him enraptured for an entire night! She didn't appear to get tired of singing, either. However, just as he thought this, she stopped. She then set off with purpose, heading in the direction he was hiding observing from. Quietus decided this was a good time to head back to his job. When he arrived at the morgue he was greeted by Jack. “To properly do the job of caring for the dead, you've got to learn what makes people alive. That's why today we're gonna cut some people up. It's all part of the process of preserving them and some of the other work we're asked to do.” Quietus wasn't exactly sure what the “other work” could be, but he didn't really care. He learned that he did indeed have a strong stomach, and he also learned some very interesting things about corpses. *Ding* | You have learned a new skill!AnatomyYour knowledge of anatomy allows you to strike opponents weaknesses more effectively.Increases critical hit damage when striking a vulnerable location by 10% | | --- | 'Huh, I learned a new skill, that's cool.' Quietus thought. His knowledge of the game being very limited, he hadn't known how to gain skills. Pretty much everything in the game was a surprise to him. He then received a message that his satiety bar was low. Once the game mentioned it, he realized he felt hungry, so he ate some of his rye bread. Then, he went back to learning about anatomy. After they finished with the basics, Jack had Quietus help prepare him some preserving fluids. It involved a lot of mixing of smelly ingredients, including the foul mixture from the alchemist. Soon after... *Ding* | You have learned a new skill!AlchemyYou can mix various ingredients to create varied potions and poisons. | | --- | 'Wow, they're just handing out skills all over the place for trivial work!' thought Quietus. The difficulty of the work itself may have been low, but the average person would not have been able to get over their revulsion so quickly to start the actual learning. In fact, most players wouldn't even consider working in such an unpleasant place. Eventually, Quietus' work was done, and he received his wages for the day. He didn't have any particular goal in mind in the city, except perhaps finding Solara, so he wandered aimlessly for a while. He noticed a strange building with the words “Training Center” on the outside, and he could see inside to a large number of scarecrows. They were hardly anatomically correct, but Quietus decided that he would try to strike some locations similar to the ones he had learned about that day. He picked up the sword and had no idea how to swing it. He decided to stab some points that would have vital organs not protected by hindering things such as ribcages. His terrible posture and grip made him knock the sword out of his own hands. He tried again a few times, but decided the sword was just too big and unwieldy for him to use. I mean, it couldn't be that he was clumsy or anything. He gave up, and logged off so that he could get some sleep. He may not have many rules that his parents made him follow, but they did require him to go to school. Besides, Solara would be at school. End Chapter 1 Next Chapter: <http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=47&t=122>

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> The scan on your iris and vein has determined that you are an unregistered user. Do you want to create a new account?<br><br>A disembodied voice reached a man’s ears. He looked around for the voice, but saw nothing, although he felt disturbed by the fact that there was no floor.<br><br>“I will register a new account. User Name Ellifain D’aerth”<br><br>Select your gender from male, female, or neuter.<br><br>An unmistakably male voice rang out “female!”<br><br>Royal Road has forty-nine races. You may select your race from the primary twenty-nine races. These races include human, dwarf, grey elf, high elf, half elf, wood elf, shadow elf, night elf, dark elf-<br><br>The man’s impatient voice barked “dark elf.”<br><br>As you have chosen to change your gender your appearance will be heavily altered. You may also change your appearance to an extent.<br><br>“Create 3-D model for inspection.”<br><br>Generating Character Model<br>A life size character came on appeared with the man. It was five foot eight, with dark brown hair, and dark brown eyes. The character was slightly curvy, with a c-cup bra, and a slightly wider waist than the man. It had brown eyes, and dark brown hair, cropped close to the head. It’s skin was a medium shade of gray, and it’s face was more feminine than the man’s, with slanted cheekbones and thin eyebrows, a picture of Elven beauty. The figure was in general slimmer and more elegant than the man <br><br>“Eye and hair color change to black. Change cup size to b. Extend hair length to shoulders. Style with a ponytail on top of hair. (like this |U| where the U is the ponytail)”<br><br>Applying… Is this appearance satisfactory?<br><br>“The appearance is satisfactory”<br><br>Your account has been activated. Your stats and class shall be determined while playing Royal Road. You will spawn with ten barley bread and a canteen. As a dark elf, you must start in a dark elf forest citadel.<br>Select Forest citadel in which you wish to start.<br><br>“Great Forest of Darkness”<br><br>Welcome to Royal Road<br>***<br>In Royal Road, there are over a hundred major cities and thousands of towns. A new player begins his adventure in a capital or a major city of comparable size. As a dark elf, there are no real cities to start in, however, there are forest habitats.<br><br>*Flash*<br>Ellifain appeared in a flash of light, and stares wide-eyed at the city. There were NPCs and user’s all around, but the city was hard to see. At first Ellifain could not see any houses or buildings, just a few stalls, and players hawking their wares in a clearing, but then she looked up. She noticed how the trees were shaped unnaturally, inconspicuous enough to pass over if you were in a hurry, but when you looked closely, you could see stairs on the trunks, the outlines of doors in some exceptionally large ones, but mostly there were tree-houses and sometimes walkways connecting them, naturally grown from the tree, the wood in the homes obviously still alive.<br><br>An ancient dark elf approached Ellifain, and introduced himself.<br>“Hello, youngling, it is always good to see new blood here. I am the eldest chief of this forest, Jarlaxle. As a young dark elf, you need to hear our history, and then you will be free to learn what you can do in order to benefit our race, while you explore your new home. Youngling what is your name?”<br><br>The girl spoke softly but firmly, “my name is Ellifain D’aerth.”<br><br>The elder beckoned to an elf nearby. “Bregan, come and teach the youngling Ellifain our history, and show her the way around the forest.”<br>A blonde dark elf approached the couple, he was 6 foot tall, and dressed in wooden armor, covered by a cloak, with an ebony wood bow on his back.<br><br>“Greetings young Ellifain, follow me and I will speak about the history of our spurned race.”<br><br>Ellifain began to follow Bregan, into a nearby great Oak, where there were practice bows and arrows as a shooting range stocked with straw dummies, and a few of them moved!<br><br>Bregan continued speaking once they were inside. “The dark elven race was not always colored as we are today. Once, we were as light skinned and as reverent of nature as our brighter cousin’s, the high elves, but, long ago, we committed what our cousins considered an unforgivable act in order to preserve all the elves. We destroyed many tree’s, and polluted rivers, even building a few fortresses using our elemental magic. Perhaps one day, you will become recognized as being worthy of knowing more, but the rest of our history is beyond what you need to know. All that is important for you to know right now is this; for preserving our race, through any means, we were cursed. All elves gathered to create a curse so powerful it would mark our species forever, down through family line, and tainting even the family of those who fought valiantly, struggling against a seemingly unbeatable foe, and daring to use the underhanded and destructive acts needed for our race to survive. Our ancestors were devastated at the strike to their beauty, and a rift formed between dark elves and the rest of the elven race, a hostility that is still around even today. Other elves will not be hostile to us, but every elf looks down upon us. We have, overtime, found our current appearance beautiful in its own way, equal if not superior to the elves of lighter skins, and we have retained through the curse our abilities with the bow, and because we were cursed with darkness, we have also gained abilities related to it. We are gifted in elemental summoning magic, in bringing out fire and ice into the world, and unlike our brethren, we are willing to do what is necessary, even working with desecrators and criminals in order to attain goals that benefit our race. We will even make use of one evil, to destroy another, as long as we can destroy both. This is our history, our pride, and our grudge.”<br>Ellifain blinked rapidly, surprised, she asked “but what could possibly threaten the might of the elves, that would require such courage and desperation?”<br><br>Bregan laughed, a musical laugh that sounded like a sad bass violin, and said “It is good that you have such pride, however, I say this as the instructor for this shooting range, as an elf, it is important to recognize that, as great as we are, it is possible to be overcome. Numbers, a knife in the dark, a spell cast by an unseen hand, while in a fair fight there are few who can overcome our skill, anyone can be killed by such trickery, and anyone can fall afoul of chance. It is necessary to always be wary of such things, and never to underestimate or overestimate an enemy, and train yourself so you cannot be overwhelmed. It is also important not to pry into things you are told you aren’t ready for, because, even though there aren’t any consequences this time, that may not always be the case.”<br><br>Ellifain bowed, and said, “Thank you for the sound advice esteemed instructor, I will do my best to follow it. In fact, if that was the end of the history, I would love to learn and train in archery, because I have never held a bow, and do not know how to shoot, but I love the sight of bows and the sleek arrows they fire.”<br><br>The instructor smiled, and responded, “It is good to see someone taking my advice to heart humbly like that, most of my pupils either refuse to believe or run off ignoring my advice to go look for a class or do quests, after saying that they appreciated my advice in a haughty manner. Though it is a shame you have never shot, your enthusiasm is wonderful. Come over and pick a practice bow and some arrows, and I will teach you how to shoot.”<br>Ellifain walked over to the rack of bows, and picked them up, one by one. She finally picked one that was about half her height and felt comfortable to use. She grabbed a quiver and some arrows and approached the instructor once more.<br><br>“I have chosen my bow”<br><br>The instructor pulled his ebony bow off his back and said, “This is how you shoot, watch me carefully and try to reproduce the motion. I will correct anything wrong with your stance and shot.” The instructor took a stance, brought his bow up, nocked an arrow, and fired. The arrow hit the center of a dummies forehead 300 meters away. “Now you try, from over here,” said the instructor, turning to her and pointing towards the 50 meter target range.<br>The girl approached the shooting range, spread her feet slightly, took aim, pulled back as hard as she could and fired. The arrow flew 60 meters, above and to the right of the target. The instructor said “stand still” and proceeded to poke and prod her, adjusting her position. While he was doing that, he was telling her where she went wrong.<br><br>“Your feet should be shoulder width apart, so that both feet are facing the target. When you were shooting, your stance was tense and uncomfortable. You need to relax. When shooting, you use your back muscles to pull the arrow, not just your arm. When you nock your bow, you place your arrow on the arrow rest, and keep your arrow straight. If you don’t have an arrow rest, use the thumb of the hand that is holding the bow. When you are aiming, your elbow should be parallel to the ground, and you should be looking straight down the spine of the arrow. Choose a reference point on your face, and always pull your arrow towards that point. This will make your shots more consistent. Practice this a million times, until you can do it on instinct, and you will become a fine archer. I will check your progress in a few days if you continue.” <br><br>New Skill Learned: Bow mastery.<br>Increases Attack Power with a bow (+10% ATK)<br>Increases Attack Speed with a bow (+3% ATK SPD)<br><br>“I thank you esteemed Instructor may your arrows fly true, and may I learn from your teachings.”<br>The instructor walked off with a hint of a smile on his face, as he heard the first of many twangs from the practice bow. </div>

The scan on your iris and vein has determined that you are an unregistered user. Do you want to create a new account? A disembodied voice reached a man’s ears. He looked around for the voice, but saw nothing, although he felt disturbed by the fact that there was no floor. “I will register a new account. User Name Ellifain D’aerth” Select your gender from male, female, or neuter. An unmistakably male voice rang out “female!” Royal Road has forty-nine races. You may select your race from the primary twenty-nine races. These races include human, dwarf, grey elf, high elf, half elf, wood elf, shadow elf, night elf, dark elf- The man’s impatient voice barked “dark elf.” As you have chosen to change your gender your appearance will be heavily altered. You may also change your appearance to an extent. “Create 3-D model for inspection.” Generating Character Model A life size character came on appeared with the man. It was five foot eight, with dark brown hair, and dark brown eyes. The character was slightly curvy, with a c-cup bra, and a slightly wider waist than the man. It had brown eyes, and dark brown hair, cropped close to the head. It’s skin was a medium shade of gray, and it’s face was more feminine than the man’s, with slanted cheekbones and thin eyebrows, a picture of Elven beauty. The figure was in general slimmer and more elegant than the man “Eye and hair color change to black. Change cup size to b. Extend hair length to shoulders. Style with a ponytail on top of hair. (like this |U| where the U is the ponytail)” Applying… Is this appearance satisfactory? “The appearance is satisfactory” Your account has been activated. Your stats and class shall be determined while playing Royal Road. You will spawn with ten barley bread and a canteen. As a dark elf, you must start in a dark elf forest citadel. Select Forest citadel in which you wish to start. “Great Forest of Darkness” Welcome to Royal Road *** In Royal Road, there are over a hundred major cities and thousands of towns. A new player begins his adventure in a capital or a major city of comparable size. As a dark elf, there are no real cities to start in, however, there are forest habitats. *Flash* Ellifain appeared in a flash of light, and stares wide-eyed at the city. There were NPCs and user’s all around, but the city was hard to see. At first Ellifain could not see any houses or buildings, just a few stalls, and players hawking their wares in a clearing, but then she looked up. She noticed how the trees were shaped unnaturally, inconspicuous enough to pass over if you were in a hurry, but when you looked closely, you could see stairs on the trunks, the outlines of doors in some exceptionally large ones, but mostly there were tree-houses and sometimes walkways connecting them, naturally grown from the tree, the wood in the homes obviously still alive. An ancient dark elf approached Ellifain, and introduced himself. “Hello, youngling, it is always good to see new blood here. I am the eldest chief of this forest, Jarlaxle. As a young dark elf, you need to hear our history, and then you will be free to learn what you can do in order to benefit our race, while you explore your new home. Youngling what is your name?” The girl spoke softly but firmly, “my name is Ellifain D’aerth.” The elder beckoned to an elf nearby. “Bregan, come and teach the youngling Ellifain our history, and show her the way around the forest.” A blonde dark elf approached the couple, he was 6 foot tall, and dressed in wooden armor, covered by a cloak, with an ebony wood bow on his back. “Greetings young Ellifain, follow me and I will speak about the history of our spurned race.” Ellifain began to follow Bregan, into a nearby great Oak, where there were practice bows and arrows as a shooting range stocked with straw dummies, and a few of them moved! Bregan continued speaking once they were inside. “The dark elven race was not always colored as we are today. Once, we were as light skinned and as reverent of nature as our brighter cousin’s, the high elves, but, long ago, we committed what our cousins considered an unforgivable act in order to preserve all the elves. We destroyed many tree’s, and polluted rivers, even building a few fortresses using our elemental magic. Perhaps one day, you will become recognized as being worthy of knowing more, but the rest of our history is beyond what you need to know. All that is important for you to know right now is this; for preserving our race, through any means, we were cursed. All elves gathered to create a curse so powerful it would mark our species forever, down through family line, and tainting even the family of those who fought valiantly, struggling against a seemingly unbeatable foe, and daring to use the underhanded and destructive acts needed for our race to survive. Our ancestors were devastated at the strike to their beauty, and a rift formed between dark elves and the rest of the elven race, a hostility that is still around even today. Other elves will not be hostile to us, but every elf looks down upon us. We have, overtime, found our current appearance beautiful in its own way, equal if not superior to the elves of lighter skins, and we have retained through the curse our abilities with the bow, and because we were cursed with darkness, we have also gained abilities related to it. We are gifted in elemental summoning magic, in bringing out fire and ice into the world, and unlike our brethren, we are willing to do what is necessary, even working with desecrators and criminals in order to attain goals that benefit our race. We will even make use of one evil, to destroy another, as long as we can destroy both. This is our history, our pride, and our grudge.” Ellifain blinked rapidly, surprised, she asked “but what could possibly threaten the might of the elves, that would require such courage and desperation?” Bregan laughed, a musical laugh that sounded like a sad bass violin, and said “It is good that you have such pride, however, I say this as the instructor for this shooting range, as an elf, it is important to recognize that, as great as we are, it is possible to be overcome. Numbers, a knife in the dark, a spell cast by an unseen hand, while in a fair fight there are few who can overcome our skill, anyone can be killed by such trickery, and anyone can fall afoul of chance. It is necessary to always be wary of such things, and never to underestimate or overestimate an enemy, and train yourself so you cannot be overwhelmed. It is also important not to pry into things you are told you aren’t ready for, because, even though there aren’t any consequences this time, that may not always be the case.” Ellifain bowed, and said, “Thank you for the sound advice esteemed instructor, I will do my best to follow it. In fact, if that was the end of the history, I would love to learn and train in archery, because I have never held a bow, and do not know how to shoot, but I love the sight of bows and the sleek arrows they fire.” The instructor smiled, and responded, “It is good to see someone taking my advice to heart humbly like that, most of my pupils either refuse to believe or run off ignoring my advice to go look for a class or do quests, after saying that they appreciated my advice in a haughty manner. Though it is a shame you have never shot, your enthusiasm is wonderful. Come over and pick a practice bow and some arrows, and I will teach you how to shoot.” Ellifain walked over to the rack of bows, and picked them up, one by one. She finally picked one that was about half her height and felt comfortable to use. She grabbed a quiver and some arrows and approached the instructor once more. “I have chosen my bow” The instructor pulled his ebony bow off his back and said, “This is how you shoot, watch me carefully and try to reproduce the motion. I will correct anything wrong with your stance and shot.” The instructor took a stance, brought his bow up, nocked an arrow, and fired. The arrow hit the center of a dummies forehead 300 meters away. “Now you try, from over here,” said the instructor, turning to her and pointing towards the 50 meter target range. The girl approached the shooting range, spread her feet slightly, took aim, pulled back as hard as she could and fired. The arrow flew 60 meters, above and to the right of the target. The instructor said “stand still” and proceeded to poke and prod her, adjusting her position. While he was doing that, he was telling her where she went wrong. “Your feet should be shoulder width apart, so that both feet are facing the target. When you were shooting, your stance was tense and uncomfortable. You need to relax. When shooting, you use your back muscles to pull the arrow, not just your arm. When you nock your bow, you place your arrow on the arrow rest, and keep your arrow straight. If you don’t have an arrow rest, use the thumb of the hand that is holding the bow. When you are aiming, your elbow should be parallel to the ground, and you should be looking straight down the spine of the arrow. Choose a reference point on your face, and always pull your arrow towards that point. This will make your shots more consistent. Practice this a million times, until you can do it on instinct, and you will become a fine archer. I will check your progress in a few days if you continue.” New Skill Learned: Bow mastery. Increases Attack Power with a bow (+10% ATK) Increases Attack Speed with a bow (+3% ATK SPD) “I thank you esteemed Instructor may your arrows fly true, and may I learn from your teachings.” The instructor walked off with a hint of a smile on his face, as he heard the first of many twangs from the practice bow.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> I dreamt again. But this time it wasn’t a nightmare. It was a dream that everyone has at some point of his live. I dreamt of Failarièl. Of the most beautiful existence there is in all RoyalRoad.<br>We were on horse and galloped over a vast green field with countless flowers - small little insects flew around us. The powder from the flowers whirled all around. It was magnificent.<br>Our black stallions were driven by an incentive to get faster and faster. Speed alone was enough for them. The world around us vanished into a blur and we rode side by side into the eternity of time. I was content. Not really content, more than that. Happy?<br>But then it took a turn to the worst. I. Woke. Up.<br>A message appeared before me.<br>You are well rested.<br>Temporary buff activated<br>Health/Mana regeneration + 1/sec<br>You can learn things faster or have a higher possibility to achieve something<br>Luck + 3<br>I was still inside the game. My body didn’t hurt anymore and I was grateful about that.<br>The sun was already at it’s zenith. High above beyond the ceiling it would be.<br>I remembered that I hadn’t written to Failarièl since I came here so I wrote her right away.<br>My body wasn’t stiff like it was last time. The airlock opened up easily and my feet found their way to the kitchen. I made myself a healthy meal and ate happily. Weird thing was that I wasn’t even that hungry after playing for so long. The plate before me emptied nonetheless fast enough to call it a new world record. I stretched. I called off work. I actually quit. I needed the time for the game. I went home and packed all the things which I would need. Nothing happened on the way. Went through telephone numbers to get the one for our landlord. I called him and said that we are moving out.<br>He was surprised that it was so short termed. But he agreed afterwards. I persuaded him by saying that my mother was moving away and that we would need the money.<br>After packing my seven things, which were clothes and some magazines, I stuffed the other things into boxes and searched for a purchase store in the net. I found one which was right around the corner. I called the number and waited for an answer.<br>A feminine voice answered after some time.<br>“Purchase store Emptio. How may we help you?”<br>“Hello. Here’s Jason Walker. I wanted to ask if you make house visits? I wanted to sell all the stuff inside my apartment.”<br>“Yeah, we make house visits. When do you have time?”<br>“As fast as possible.”<br>“Which street was it again?”<br>“Frettring 7. The big house. Walker.”<br>“Okay. I am on the way.”<br>Now I was surprised. She accepted so fast? Maybe she doesn’t have to do much over there.<br>I waited patiently. After 10 minutes the bell rang.<br>It was a blonde woman around 19.<br>“You from the purchase shop?” I asked warily.<br>“Yeah.” The voice fit perfectly to the woman at the phone.<br>“So, you want to sell all this stuff here?” She pointed out into the apartment.<br>“Yeah, that would be great. I need money and this stuff belongs to my mother which passed away some weeks ago. I quit the apartment some hours ago and I want to get this stuff out of here as fast as possible with as much profit as possible. As possible in such a short time.”<br>She nodded.<br>“May I come in?” She asked shyly.<br>“Oh. Sorry I forgot to invite you in. Just come in. You can even wear your shoes inside. No need to dise- ehm I mean to take them off. No one cares anyways anymore.”<br>She laughed.<br>“It seems like you play too much video games. Well, nowadays everyone plays this games.<br>You play RoyalRoad as well?”<br>I eyed her suspiciously. She looked okay to talk with.<br>“Just started some days ago. In my opinion it is amazing how the game is made. Like a second reality.”<br>“Your right. Truly fascinating.”<br>We went in.<br>She looked around and stared at some things for a small time. She checked the quality of some things and asked me some questions in between on which I couldn’t really answer.<br>“So, what do you want to get for all this things?”<br>“I didn’t think about that beforehand.” I scratched my back head. Tick-tock the clock made.<br>“Hmm... it’s much and there is some stuff with a high quality so what about 1.500 €?”<br>“1000.”<br>“1400.”<br>We negotiated. At the end she gave me 1300, with the agreement that I help her carry all this things to her truck which stood outside. We small talked a bit. Well, we questioned each other out. I began to like her.<br>“Well to be honest with you I wanted to give you more than 2000. For all that but you began with such a small price so.” She giggled.<br>“No problem. I am happy that I don’t have to worry about that stuff anymore.”<br>As the truck was fully loaded I asked her where she played in RoyalRoad.<br>“I am actually playing at the Citadel of Serabourg. It’s a big cit-”<br>“Really? I am playing there as well.” I was astonished.<br>“For real? We could meet up sometime.”<br>“Yeah, that would be great.” We exchanged our mobile numbers.<br>“Well, I have to go. Work and stuff you know. Nice to make acquaintance with you.”<br>She bowed. I laughed. She got red.<br>She drove away after giving me best wishes.<br>My bag still lay in the apartment. I got it and went to school. Somehow I could carry the boxes with much more ease than I thought. The boxes weren’t as heavy as they normally would be. It just came to my mind and I didn’t know why. Maybe it has to do something with the capsule? Who knows.<br>If time comes up I have to talk with Mr. Humble about that. The bag hang over my shoulders. The way seemed long because I was full of expectations. I wanted to play again.<br>The secret entrance to the school was easy to find and after some time I could lay down into the capsule again. I made sure to lock the door behind me and turned the light off.<br>I logged in.<br>The instructor was already waiting for me.<br>“Toilet time?” he laughed as if he had made an oscar worthy joke.<br>“Yeah. I really had to shit hardcore style. Ah, well you know what I mean.”<br>He laughed again. A humourful man.<br>“No wonder. You ate so much yesterday that I wouldn’t have thought otherwise. It may taste like a dream but the aftereffects should not be overlooked.”<br>“Let’s start training right away.” His steps were huge and I had to jog to even hold the speed.<br>The hall was just as big as I remembered. So it wasn’t a dream.<br>Somehow I could endure the weight of the vest better today and the difficulty of the course seemed to me easier as well.<br>“What happened over the night? He asked me. “You exercise like another person. in just one day you can’t make such a progress normally.”<br>“It must be the food from your wife. It has an amazing effect.”<br>“Hmm. Yeah, I think you are right. My wife really cooks well.”<br>------------<br>Failariél walked down the mainstreet of the CItadel as she received the message from Jawal.<br>Hey Failariél,<br>sry that I didnt write ;)<br>I got a new quest in town and am busy so could you close your eyes this time?<br>:P I know that I said we do something but not now &gt;.&gt;<br>Jawal<br>She was disappointed. The meeting was something she really enjoyed and she wanted to feel that feeling right away again but it seems like she has to wait.<br>She herself had a quest which she laid aside for the time being when she met Jawal but now that he’s busy she could do it. It was a D-rank quest where she had to go out of city to annihilate some bandits not far from town.<br>She went over to some new food shop which was run by a player. She knew she could buy food for her journey for less than a silver. And she needed money just as much as every other player.<br>“Hey, cook. Could you make something for me? Like a chicken or something? And put some provisions to it as well, I am going on a long journey.”<br>The cook had broad shoulders. He looked like a asian.<br>“No problem Miss. I even give you some extras for such a beauty as you.”<br>He twinkled.<br>“Thanks. I really appreciate it. How much is it?”<br>“90 coppers.”<br>“80.”<br>“I already gave you a disc-Ah, well who cares. 80.”<br>They shaked hands.<br>“Have a good trip.”<br>She went out of the shop and couldn’t believe it. ‘What a nut. 80 coppers for all this stuff? A bigger nut than the idiot which sold me everything from his apartment. Well, not entirely.<br>Hot he was, that I have to admit. And he even plays RoyalRoad. ‘<br>Failariél hurried out of town. Nothing held her here if Jawal wasn’t here so she decided to ran as fast as she could and feel the wind on her skin, the impact of her muscles and her overall awesomeness. While she ran she took out her bow, fiddled some arrows out of her quiver and spanned the bow wide. Her arrows hit her targets. And the targets fell to the ground like a chinese rice sack would when nothing happens. The only remains of an attack were arrows stuck inside heads, out of eye sockets or other vital organs. She didn’t bother to gather all the things she would have obtained. Looting stuff like this did she leave for the beginners.<br>‘So, if I run with this speed straight for 3 hours I should reach my destination’<br>Her evaluated time didn’t disappoint her. On the way she encountered a player killer group of 4 players. They wanted to rob her of all possessions. And more!<br>Failariél couldn’t stand them so she draw her big warhammer which is really not fitting for such a cute girl and smashed their faces in. The cracks of their heads could be heard some hundred meter wide. Her battle roar skill decided the fight within seconds before it had even begun. The enemies were so intimidated that she only had to take careful measure with her swing radius to get a clean hit.<br>She even looted them. “What do we have here? Wow!” Failarièl was really astonished by what she just found. It was an expensive gem. Maybe it’s not such a bad day at all.-------<br>Huahh Huahh Huahh<br>I couldn’t take it anymore. It was the last day of physical training. The capsule wasn’t opened at all overall this days and I used the well rested boost effectively. But I couldn’t bear this weight anymore. It was already at horrendous 100 pounds. That’s just hilarious if you think about it.<br>This much was where I was going to stop. I couldn#t even read over the last few days.<br>The instructor was sweating all over either. That had to mean something.<br>“Ahh. I didn’t feel this feeling for years. This extreme adrenalin-rush through your body. The pumping of your heart. How someone can feel everything and nothing at all. I love it. I totally forgot about it.”<br>As he said that, it came to me as well, this indescribable feeling. It felt like I could start off like a rocket right away. Into the universe and beyond.<br>“I am finished.”<br>“You truly are amazing!” He said as he looked at me. “You finished the first part of the training! Congratulations. I personally didn’t think that you would accomplish it. Now the real training can begin.”<br>---------------<br>You finished the first exercise of the secret training<br>Strength + 10 Dexterity + 10<br>Sustenance + 5<br>Vitality +10<br>New skill: Adrenaline Rush<br>MP: 20+5/s<br>If activated you will enter the “Adrenaline Mode”<br>Adrenaline Mode gives you a boost in honing your skills<br>and evolving your stats<br>5% Learning Speed<br>Your five senses get enhanced and you are tolerant to pain<br>5% Damage Reduction<br>-----------<br>Sneaking was her speciality, just as killing her enemies with the bow. Failarièl mastered every weapon she ever possessed so far and was a skilled in sneaking just as well. The bandits didn’t see her coming out of the shadows of the tree. No sound was made as she balanced her toes over the open space between the trees. She held her hand in front of the first bandit who sat lonely around a table as she slit through his throat. He gurgled shortly but no one noticed it.<br>It was night. Darkness had already spread through the forest and most bandits were either sleeping or drunk on alcohol.<br>It was too easy for her to kill her prey and finish the quest. Bandits fall one by one in her hands and nobody would have thought that such a thing was possible for one person. But Failariél knew why she accepted the quest. It was inside the forest where elves have a bonus to their stats.<br>That’s not everything. They achieve unbelievable achievements in forests because their skills get boosted as well.<br>She looted the stuff and picked up the head of the bandit leader. Or that’s what she thought. All at once pandemonium broke out. Arrows flew through the air, bandits jumped out from behind the trees, knifes and swords were brandished which made a clunking sound and a huge guy stepped out to confront her.<br>She defended herself against the arrows, either avoided them or parried them with her sword.<br>Some bandits who were too fast on her were hit by deflected arrows. They made high-pitched screams.<br>“So, you were the one who killed our brothers.”<br>The huge guy, brown hair falling down his shoulders, huge masculine hands, indications of big muscles under the armor were seen, said it. She only now realized that they were not normal enemies, it were players, all of them.<br>She was in great danger. At first she thought it were mere low level enemies but now the situation had changed. The quadruplet from before were their allies?<br>“What do you want from me? Which brothers? And who the hell are you? You are hindering me at fulfilling my quest.”<br>Failariél didn’t notice that the difficulty grade of the quest just rose by once to difficulty C.<br>Unknowingly she had accepted a quest to eliminate players and their leader, but in the description was only explained that she had to hunt bandits.<br>She wouldn’t have dreamed that with bandits real players were meant.<br>They laughed. A deep steady sound. It grew louder and louder.<br>“We are a hindrance for your quest? Do you think this is a joke? After we are done with you the sole thought of doing quests will make you shiver in fear. We are a player killing guild and you killed our players, so we are going to torture you!”<br>Now she laughed while saying,”Torture me? You don’t realize who I am. I am a veteran of the warrior guild.”<br>A load boing went through the lines.<br>“So? A veteran? We all are veterans of war. We have killed countless times so far and you!- you won’t make a difference to the numbers. We only want to keep our name. How shameful would it be to lose good members of our guild on a 4 on 1 fight against a woman. A woman!”<br>So that was what it all was about. Failariél was angry. Always this guys and their pride. A woman has a pride as well. She hated it to be discriminated by men. All of them are the same. Weak, little, arrogant bastards who only think of honor and fame. Not one of them had to go through something like her.<br>“All about man and their pride.” She mumbled into her black mouth cover. “You guys never learn anything. You are men! Be happy about that, but don’t force woman to kneel under you. We can be strong as well. We can fight for ourselves! You always have to run around in groups to feel strong and mighty. I alone can take on all of you! Come and get me, filthy bastards! You don’T deserve any more words from me.”<br>Another time the crowd laughed. Some were angry as well, the mere thought of a woman beating them all up made them so.<br>“Boss, give us the order and allow us-”<br>The man was hacked in half by the big waraxe the leader was carrying. “I am no finished with talking. So, shut the fuck up! I give the commands. Not. You.” As he said that he pointed into the crowd.<br>“You are full of yourself aren’t you little miss? A small girl talking so high and mighty makes me feel ashamed of our race. Man are born to rule and woman are born to kneel! Come on, do it. Kneel in front of me and beg me for forgiveness. This is your last chance. I don’t know what will happen to otherwise. My guys didn’t have a woman in a long time and logging out won’t be a option for you. This area is specially made for that. Either you kneel or you will be the main actor today in our program.” As if he had said a command, two bandits, one with a big scar across his face, brought forth two naked woman. They were hung up on a big branch. They looked miserable. Bruises all over the body, blood soaking out of some wounds. This is what happens to woman like you.”<br>“As if I care. Guys like you are always the same, big mouth and nothing behind it. You are only bunch of idiots.” She looked to all of them. One after another. She looked into all of their eyes.<br>“Don’t you see what’s happening? You are being controlled by this ugly, brainless nothing good who is still living at home in the real world. “<br>Some looked around and got nervous.<br>“Do you believe her? I am the boss around here. Terox! That is my name.”<br>“Terox! Terox! Terox!”<br>The group shouted out at the same time. The morale was high now and Failariél didn’t had a chance to split their group. Her plan failed.<br>“I won’t kneel no matter what! If you want come and force me to but I swear I will kill every single one of you!”<br>“it’s time to finish this. Useless talk goes on my nerves a lot if it’s said by someone like you. Come on guys, get her. Do what you want with her! I don’t care anymore. Your time ran out, little girl!”<br>The bandits screamed in unison and came at her.<br>For a little moment she crumbled into a little corner inside herself but that moment wasn’t even longer than a slash of an eyelid.<br>She took the initiative of their common charge and jumped into the fray. She sliced high, she sliced low. Blood flew all around her. Her sword draw blood behind it and bandits fell all around her. “That bitch is fast! Don’t fall back. She can’t keep this on for long.”<br>But she kept on. One after another was forced to kneel. Actually to kiss her feet but what does that matter in such a huge escalation.<br>She threw small, pointed knives while swirling around. One hand threw them the other slew bandits on the other side of her body. She leveled up and was happy about it. Finally some experience showing through. I haven’t reached a level in ages. And this begins to make fun.<br>She was full of herself. She didn’t think of defeat at a time like this. This were only lowbobs following some strange guy.<br>The moonlight let the blood flash up in red and the spectacle was amazing. Unfortunately no one of the here present people could admire the beauty of it. Blood rained down and sparkled like red rubies which filled the forest with new beauty. The old branches shone bright, the boring treebark<br>All of the weak folk were dead or either dying on the ground.<br>“So you defeated all of them. I am proud of you. But will you come past me? These were only weak guys summoned by me!<br>The guy turned black and mist spread out under him. It seemed to encloak him.<br>“I am your the nightmare you didn’t even dare to dream about. Imagine something like this and you are beyond the level of a genius. I am an Artificial Intelligence. I will change the course of the world. And you will be important for it.”<br>“Like I would fall to someone like you.” Her sound wasn’t as she wanted it to be. She didn’t know what was happening and trembled all over the body. The words came out brokenly.<br>She draw her sword high above her body and got ready to strike.<br>But before she could react the shadow was behind her, the mist covered her vision and she lost her conscious. Everything went black. But she didn’t got a message like game over or anything. She didn’t die and neither logged out. </div>

I dreamt again. But this time it wasn’t a nightmare. It was a dream that everyone has at some point of his live. I dreamt of Failarièl. Of the most beautiful existence there is in all RoyalRoad. We were on horse and galloped over a vast green field with countless flowers - small little insects flew around us. The powder from the flowers whirled all around. It was magnificent. Our black stallions were driven by an incentive to get faster and faster. Speed alone was enough for them. The world around us vanished into a blur and we rode side by side into the eternity of time. I was content. Not really content, more than that. Happy? But then it took a turn to the worst. I. Woke. Up. A message appeared before me. You are well rested. Temporary buff activated Health/Mana regeneration + 1/sec You can learn things faster or have a higher possibility to achieve something Luck + 3 I was still inside the game. My body didn’t hurt anymore and I was grateful about that. The sun was already at it’s zenith. High above beyond the ceiling it would be. I remembered that I hadn’t written to Failarièl since I came here so I wrote her right away. My body wasn’t stiff like it was last time. The airlock opened up easily and my feet found their way to the kitchen. I made myself a healthy meal and ate happily. Weird thing was that I wasn’t even that hungry after playing for so long. The plate before me emptied nonetheless fast enough to call it a new world record. I stretched. I called off work. I actually quit. I needed the time for the game. I went home and packed all the things which I would need. Nothing happened on the way. Went through telephone numbers to get the one for our landlord. I called him and said that we are moving out. He was surprised that it was so short termed. But he agreed afterwards. I persuaded him by saying that my mother was moving away and that we would need the money. After packing my seven things, which were clothes and some magazines, I stuffed the other things into boxes and searched for a purchase store in the net. I found one which was right around the corner. I called the number and waited for an answer. A feminine voice answered after some time. “Purchase store Emptio. How may we help you?” “Hello. Here’s Jason Walker. I wanted to ask if you make house visits? I wanted to sell all the stuff inside my apartment.” “Yeah, we make house visits. When do you have time?” “As fast as possible.” “Which street was it again?” “Frettring 7. The big house. Walker.” “Okay. I am on the way.” Now I was surprised. She accepted so fast? Maybe she doesn’t have to do much over there. I waited patiently. After 10 minutes the bell rang. It was a blonde woman around 19. “You from the purchase shop?” I asked warily. “Yeah.” The voice fit perfectly to the woman at the phone. “So, you want to sell all this stuff here?” She pointed out into the apartment. “Yeah, that would be great. I need money and this stuff belongs to my mother which passed away some weeks ago. I quit the apartment some hours ago and I want to get this stuff out of here as fast as possible with as much profit as possible. As possible in such a short time.” She nodded. “May I come in?” She asked shyly. “Oh. Sorry I forgot to invite you in. Just come in. You can even wear your shoes inside. No need to dise- ehm I mean to take them off. No one cares anyways anymore.” She laughed. “It seems like you play too much video games. Well, nowadays everyone plays this games. You play RoyalRoad as well?” I eyed her suspiciously. She looked okay to talk with. “Just started some days ago. In my opinion it is amazing how the game is made. Like a second reality.” “Your right. Truly fascinating.” We went in. She looked around and stared at some things for a small time. She checked the quality of some things and asked me some questions in between on which I couldn’t really answer. “So, what do you want to get for all this things?” “I didn’t think about that beforehand.” I scratched my back head. Tick-tock the clock made. “Hmm... it’s much and there is some stuff with a high quality so what about 1.500 €?” “1000.” “1400.” We negotiated. At the end she gave me 1300, with the agreement that I help her carry all this things to her truck which stood outside. We small talked a bit. Well, we questioned each other out. I began to like her. “Well to be honest with you I wanted to give you more than 2000. For all that but you began with such a small price so.” She giggled. “No problem. I am happy that I don’t have to worry about that stuff anymore.” As the truck was fully loaded I asked her where she played in RoyalRoad. “I am actually playing at the Citadel of Serabourg. It’s a big cit-” “Really? I am playing there as well.” I was astonished. “For real? We could meet up sometime.” “Yeah, that would be great.” We exchanged our mobile numbers. “Well, I have to go. Work and stuff you know. Nice to make acquaintance with you.” She bowed. I laughed. She got red. She drove away after giving me best wishes. My bag still lay in the apartment. I got it and went to school. Somehow I could carry the boxes with much more ease than I thought. The boxes weren’t as heavy as they normally would be. It just came to my mind and I didn’t know why. Maybe it has to do something with the capsule? Who knows. If time comes up I have to talk with Mr. Humble about that. The bag hang over my shoulders. The way seemed long because I was full of expectations. I wanted to play again. The secret entrance to the school was easy to find and after some time I could lay down into the capsule again. I made sure to lock the door behind me and turned the light off. I logged in. The instructor was already waiting for me. “Toilet time?” he laughed as if he had made an oscar worthy joke. “Yeah. I really had to shit hardcore style. Ah, well you know what I mean.” He laughed again. A humourful man. “No wonder. You ate so much yesterday that I wouldn’t have thought otherwise. It may taste like a dream but the aftereffects should not be overlooked.” “Let’s start training right away.” His steps were huge and I had to jog to even hold the speed. The hall was just as big as I remembered. So it wasn’t a dream. Somehow I could endure the weight of the vest better today and the difficulty of the course seemed to me easier as well. “What happened over the night? He asked me. “You exercise like another person. in just one day you can’t make such a progress normally.” “It must be the food from your wife. It has an amazing effect.” “Hmm. Yeah, I think you are right. My wife really cooks well.” ------------ Failariél walked down the mainstreet of the CItadel as she received the message from Jawal. Hey Failariél, sry that I didnt write ;) I got a new quest in town and am busy so could you close your eyes this time? :P I know that I said we do something but not now >.> Jawal She was disappointed. The meeting was something she really enjoyed and she wanted to feel that feeling right away again but it seems like she has to wait. She herself had a quest which she laid aside for the time being when she met Jawal but now that he’s busy she could do it. It was a D-rank quest where she had to go out of city to annihilate some bandits not far from town. She went over to some new food shop which was run by a player. She knew she could buy food for her journey for less than a silver. And she needed money just as much as every other player. “Hey, cook. Could you make something for me? Like a chicken or something? And put some provisions to it as well, I am going on a long journey.” The cook had broad shoulders. He looked like a asian. “No problem Miss. I even give you some extras for such a beauty as you.” He twinkled. “Thanks. I really appreciate it. How much is it?” “90 coppers.” “80.” “I already gave you a disc-Ah, well who cares. 80.” They shaked hands. “Have a good trip.” She went out of the shop and couldn’t believe it. ‘What a nut. 80 coppers for all this stuff? A bigger nut than the idiot which sold me everything from his apartment. Well, not entirely. Hot he was, that I have to admit. And he even plays RoyalRoad. ‘ Failariél hurried out of town. Nothing held her here if Jawal wasn’t here so she decided to ran as fast as she could and feel the wind on her skin, the impact of her muscles and her overall awesomeness. While she ran she took out her bow, fiddled some arrows out of her quiver and spanned the bow wide. Her arrows hit her targets. And the targets fell to the ground like a chinese rice sack would when nothing happens. The only remains of an attack were arrows stuck inside heads, out of eye sockets or other vital organs. She didn’t bother to gather all the things she would have obtained. Looting stuff like this did she leave for the beginners. ‘So, if I run with this speed straight for 3 hours I should reach my destination’ Her evaluated time didn’t disappoint her. On the way she encountered a player killer group of 4 players. They wanted to rob her of all possessions. And more! Failariél couldn’t stand them so she draw her big warhammer which is really not fitting for such a cute girl and smashed their faces in. The cracks of their heads could be heard some hundred meter wide. Her battle roar skill decided the fight within seconds before it had even begun. The enemies were so intimidated that she only had to take careful measure with her swing radius to get a clean hit. She even looted them. “What do we have here? Wow!” Failarièl was really astonished by what she just found. It was an expensive gem. Maybe it’s not such a bad day at all.------- Huahh Huahh Huahh I couldn’t take it anymore. It was the last day of physical training. The capsule wasn’t opened at all overall this days and I used the well rested boost effectively. But I couldn’t bear this weight anymore. It was already at horrendous 100 pounds. That’s just hilarious if you think about it. This much was where I was going to stop. I couldn#t even read over the last few days. The instructor was sweating all over either. That had to mean something. “Ahh. I didn’t feel this feeling for years. This extreme adrenalin-rush through your body. The pumping of your heart. How someone can feel everything and nothing at all. I love it. I totally forgot about it.” As he said that, it came to me as well, this indescribable feeling. It felt like I could start off like a rocket right away. Into the universe and beyond. “I am finished.” “You truly are amazing!” He said as he looked at me. “You finished the first part of the training! Congratulations. I personally didn’t think that you would accomplish it. Now the real training can begin.” --------------- You finished the first exercise of the secret training Strength + 10 Dexterity + 10 Sustenance + 5 Vitality +10 New skill: Adrenaline Rush MP: 20+5/s If activated you will enter the “Adrenaline Mode” Adrenaline Mode gives you a boost in honing your skills and evolving your stats 5% Learning Speed Your five senses get enhanced and you are tolerant to pain 5% Damage Reduction ----------- Sneaking was her speciality, just as killing her enemies with the bow. Failarièl mastered every weapon she ever possessed so far and was a skilled in sneaking just as well. The bandits didn’t see her coming out of the shadows of the tree. No sound was made as she balanced her toes over the open space between the trees. She held her hand in front of the first bandit who sat lonely around a table as she slit through his throat. He gurgled shortly but no one noticed it. It was night. Darkness had already spread through the forest and most bandits were either sleeping or drunk on alcohol. It was too easy for her to kill her prey and finish the quest. Bandits fall one by one in her hands and nobody would have thought that such a thing was possible for one person. But Failariél knew why she accepted the quest. It was inside the forest where elves have a bonus to their stats. That’s not everything. They achieve unbelievable achievements in forests because their skills get boosted as well. She looted the stuff and picked up the head of the bandit leader. Or that’s what she thought. All at once pandemonium broke out. Arrows flew through the air, bandits jumped out from behind the trees, knifes and swords were brandished which made a clunking sound and a huge guy stepped out to confront her. She defended herself against the arrows, either avoided them or parried them with her sword. Some bandits who were too fast on her were hit by deflected arrows. They made high-pitched screams. “So, you were the one who killed our brothers.” The huge guy, brown hair falling down his shoulders, huge masculine hands, indications of big muscles under the armor were seen, said it. She only now realized that they were not normal enemies, it were players, all of them. She was in great danger. At first she thought it were mere low level enemies but now the situation had changed. The quadruplet from before were their allies? “What do you want from me? Which brothers? And who the hell are you? You are hindering me at fulfilling my quest.” Failariél didn’t notice that the difficulty grade of the quest just rose by once to difficulty C. Unknowingly she had accepted a quest to eliminate players and their leader, but in the description was only explained that she had to hunt bandits. She wouldn’t have dreamed that with bandits real players were meant. They laughed. A deep steady sound. It grew louder and louder. “We are a hindrance for your quest? Do you think this is a joke? After we are done with you the sole thought of doing quests will make you shiver in fear. We are a player killing guild and you killed our players, so we are going to torture you!” Now she laughed while saying,”Torture me? You don’t realize who I am. I am a veteran of the warrior guild.” A load boing went through the lines. “So? A veteran? We all are veterans of war. We have killed countless times so far and you!- you won’t make a difference to the numbers. We only want to keep our name. How shameful would it be to lose good members of our guild on a 4 on 1 fight against a woman. A woman!” So that was what it all was about. Failariél was angry. Always this guys and their pride. A woman has a pride as well. She hated it to be discriminated by men. All of them are the same. Weak, little, arrogant bastards who only think of honor and fame. Not one of them had to go through something like her. “All about man and their pride.” She mumbled into her black mouth cover. “You guys never learn anything. You are men! Be happy about that, but don’t force woman to kneel under you. We can be strong as well. We can fight for ourselves! You always have to run around in groups to feel strong and mighty. I alone can take on all of you! Come and get me, filthy bastards! You don’T deserve any more words from me.” Another time the crowd laughed. Some were angry as well, the mere thought of a woman beating them all up made them so. “Boss, give us the order and allow us-” The man was hacked in half by the big waraxe the leader was carrying. “I am no finished with talking. So, shut the fuck up! I give the commands. Not. You.” As he said that he pointed into the crowd. “You are full of yourself aren’t you little miss? A small girl talking so high and mighty makes me feel ashamed of our race. Man are born to rule and woman are born to kneel! Come on, do it. Kneel in front of me and beg me for forgiveness. This is your last chance. I don’t know what will happen to otherwise. My guys didn’t have a woman in a long time and logging out won’t be a option for you. This area is specially made for that. Either you kneel or you will be the main actor today in our program.” As if he had said a command, two bandits, one with a big scar across his face, brought forth two naked woman. They were hung up on a big branch. They looked miserable. Bruises all over the body, blood soaking out of some wounds. This is what happens to woman like you.” “As if I care. Guys like you are always the same, big mouth and nothing behind it. You are only bunch of idiots.” She looked to all of them. One after another. She looked into all of their eyes. “Don’t you see what’s happening? You are being controlled by this ugly, brainless nothing good who is still living at home in the real world. “ Some looked around and got nervous. “Do you believe her? I am the boss around here. Terox! That is my name.” “Terox! Terox! Terox!” The group shouted out at the same time. The morale was high now and Failariél didn’t had a chance to split their group. Her plan failed. “I won’t kneel no matter what! If you want come and force me to but I swear I will kill every single one of you!” “it’s time to finish this. Useless talk goes on my nerves a lot if it’s said by someone like you. Come on guys, get her. Do what you want with her! I don’t care anymore. Your time ran out, little girl!” The bandits screamed in unison and came at her. For a little moment she crumbled into a little corner inside herself but that moment wasn’t even longer than a slash of an eyelid. She took the initiative of their common charge and jumped into the fray. She sliced high, she sliced low. Blood flew all around her. Her sword draw blood behind it and bandits fell all around her. “That bitch is fast! Don’t fall back. She can’t keep this on for long.” But she kept on. One after another was forced to kneel. Actually to kiss her feet but what does that matter in such a huge escalation. She threw small, pointed knives while swirling around. One hand threw them the other slew bandits on the other side of her body. She leveled up and was happy about it. Finally some experience showing through. I haven’t reached a level in ages. And this begins to make fun. She was full of herself. She didn’t think of defeat at a time like this. This were only lowbobs following some strange guy. The moonlight let the blood flash up in red and the spectacle was amazing. Unfortunately no one of the here present people could admire the beauty of it. Blood rained down and sparkled like red rubies which filled the forest with new beauty. The old branches shone bright, the boring treebark All of the weak folk were dead or either dying on the ground. “So you defeated all of them. I am proud of you. But will you come past me? These were only weak guys summoned by me! The guy turned black and mist spread out under him. It seemed to encloak him. “I am your the nightmare you didn’t even dare to dream about. Imagine something like this and you are beyond the level of a genius. I am an Artificial Intelligence. I will change the course of the world. And you will be important for it.” “Like I would fall to someone like you.” Her sound wasn’t as she wanted it to be. She didn’t know what was happening and trembled all over the body. The words came out brokenly. She draw her sword high above her body and got ready to strike. But before she could react the shadow was behind her, the mist covered her vision and she lost her conscious. Everything went black. But she didn’t got a message like game over or anything. She didn’t die and neither logged out.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://picosong.com/Fqhb/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 1.7em;">INTRO SONG: Kono Sekai e Moeru</span></a></div> <br> <br> <br><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk285/black_ferrus/Blut%20und%20Eisen/Intro12_zps34cb1304.jpg" border="0" alt="http%3a%2f%2fi283.photobucket.com%2falbums%2fkk285...cb1304.jpg"></div> <br> <br> <br> <br><div style="text-align: center;">*********************************************************************************************</div> <br> <br>*Thunk* <br> <br>The hall reverberated to the clash of wood striking wood as Gerhard sat unobtrusively in a corner sipping tea, watching the people in the hall with an appraising eye. 'So this is Royal Road huh?', he silently thought to himself. <br> <br>It has been a few weeks since his encounter with the thugs and the instructor on that dark evening, and consequently to the amusement of all the players, he had consequently spent his evenings sleeping out on the door step of the training hall, his sword resting against his shoulder. Although everyone was baffled as to why anyone would do that as logically he should have logged out and saved himself some embarrassment. Needless to say, for Gerhard, logging out was impossible. <br> <br>"My family just can't let an old man die peacefully", he grinned wryly to himself. <br> <br>The act of sleeping for Gerhard was quite literally a programmed biological act that he must adhere to; basically it wasn't done in order to avoid stat penalties for his character. Though he can avoid sleeping for days, he felt uncomfortably sluggish although with sleep come dreams that he barely remember upon waking. Nevertheless he had already come to the realisation quite early on that he was in a game when he woke up to a character creation screen, something he was quite familiar with as he often saw his grandson play such games when Max returned home from university. <br> <br>Using rusty information gathering skills, Gerhard had questioned friendly players and figured out what game he was in, how to access his character menu and inventory but for the life of him he couldn’t' find an option to log out. The only possession he had on him was a sword of dubious quality, shoes and pants, the remnants of his shirt having long since consigned to becoming rags wrapped around his muscled frame. He was currently living off the charity of the Instructor and Bernett, the girl whose life he saved which although made him uncomfortable, he really had no choice in the matter. If there was a character class for the extremely poor then he was for all intents and purposes a 'Pauper'. Even the tea he was drinking was heavily diluted with water and was given to him almost a week ago by Bernett. <br> <br>Managing to make himself feel disgruntled, Gerhard sighed as he finished the precious last of his tea before standing up and began loosening his muscles in preparation for his routine. Having found that due to some sort of restriction he couldn't leave the city, Gerhard spent most of his time in the training hall practicing sword forms diligently unaware of the fact that he was actually raising his stats slowly by striking repeatedly at the scarecrow. For him it wasn't a monotonous act, he did enjoy doing this. It reminded him of the times he spent with his father practicing together when he got back from primary school or when he was with friends in the <span style="font-style: italic;">Königlich Preußischen Kadettenkorps</span> &lt;Royal Prussian Cadet Corps&gt; in Wahlstatt before he transferred to the<span style="font-style: italic;"> Hauptkadettenanstalt </span>&lt;Main Military Academy&gt; in Berlin-Lichterfelde. <br> <br>As he was wont to do, Gerhard began humming a tune, which always made others in the hall curious because it seemed to be quite jaunty and inexplicably lifted the mood of those around him. Gerhard did this subconsciously for hours on end and finally one of the onlookers just had to ask him what song he was humming. Wiping the sweat from his brow he turned to look at the person who interrupted him, and the onlooker who looked like a young female high schooler felt her heart skip a beat as she saw Gerhard's face up close. With high refined cheekbones, gently shaped almost almond eyes and a face that was close to elfin in its grace… he can easily be described as a beautiful man. <br> <br>"……..", the woman could only stared slack jawed as she tried to make words leave her mouth. <br> <br>"Can I help you, <span style="font-style: italic;">Fräulein</span>? &lt;Miss&gt;", Gerhard asked politely, sheathing his sword before giving her his undivided attention. <br> <br>She was about to speak when she noticed….THAT HIS SHIRT WAS WAAY TOO REVEALING. Through the ruins of his shirt she spied muscular abs and a wide strong chest and before she knew it her face immediately became beet red with fictional smoke rising above her head. <br> <br>"Madam?", Gerhard tilted his head slightly to the side, the effect sending an arrow racing through her heart and she replied with a "guurgh!" <br> <br>Finally regaining some control she asked him in a too high pitched voice, "I, I, I, I, I, I have been wondering, I mean WE, have been wondering what is it you have always been humming to yourself", she flailed her arms madly above her head and pointed to her friends as she became lost to her nervousness, "It really sounds like a wonderful song". <br> <br>Feeling a little bit embarrassed he replied whilst scratching the top of his head lightly with one hand, "Its only just an old folk song I use to sing with friends… in the old days". <br> <br>"Ummm I don’t suppose you can sing a little bit for me.. I MEAN MY FRIENDS. Right me AND my friends" <br> <br>Shrugging his shoulders he said, "Its fine, it would be nice to know that some people will still hear the sound of the 'old country'" <br> <br>Closing his eyes and gathering his breath, he started off the first verse slowly. <br> <br>"<span style="font-style: italic;">Wenn wir marschieren,</span> &lt;When we're marching&gt; <br><span style="font-style: italic;">Ziehn wir zum Deutschen Tor Hinaus</span>, &lt;We exit from the German Gate&gt; <br><span style="font-style: italic;">Schwarzbraunes Madel</span>, &lt;My brown skinned girl&gt; <br><span style="font-style: italic;">Du bleibst zu Haus</span>" &lt;Please stay at home&gt; <br> <br>And at the chorus he picked up the pace, lifting the tempo as if to draw everyone into the song. <br> <br>"<span style="font-style: italic;">Ei, darum, Mädel, Mädel, Wink, Wink, Wink</span>, &lt;Therefore my girl, wave, wave, wave&gt; <br><span style="font-style: italic;">Unter einer grunen li-a-Lind </span>&lt;Under a green linden tree&gt; <br><span style="font-style: italic;">Sitzt ein kleiner Fink, Fink, Fink,</span> &lt;A little finch sits, finch, finch, finch&gt; <br><span style="font-style: italic;">Ruft nur immer "Mädel, Wink!"</span> &lt;Keep singing, "My girl, wave!"&gt; <br><span style="font-style: italic;">Sitzt ein kleiner Fink,Fink, Fink,</span> &lt;A little finch sits, finch, finch, finch&gt; <br><span style="font-style: italic;">Ruft nur immer "Mädel, Wink!</span>" &lt;Keep singing, "My girl, wave!"&gt; <br> <br>All throughout he had unconsciously smiled at the upbeat song and the hearts of all the females in the hall became entranced by it whilst the guys could only look on in a mixture of jealousy and attentiveness as they unexpectedly began humming along with him. They didn’t understand what he was singing but for some reason they began picturing a beautiful significant other waving goodbye to them with a smile. The illusion was so strong that no one noticed that Gerhard had finally stopped and was wondering why the training hall was suddenly so silent. <br> <br>After this incident, over the next few weeks the hall started getting overcrowded as word spread at first slowly by word of mouth (mainly from the females) until it finally spread throughout the whole city. Gerhard gained an audience of female admirers who would listen and watch as he dutifully sang whilst practicing on the scarecrow. Although it brought some unwanted disturbance to his daily training there have been a lot of positive changes to his daily living. For one… he was daily inundated with cooking from all the female audience, and for some reason occasionally some blushing guys…, whilst the other was most importantly his equipment. <br> <br>"I think you would look gallant with this sword…my name is engraved near the handle so please always remember me. Heheheheheeee" <br> <br>"If you wear these clothes we would have matching colour schemes, isn’t that wonderful!" <br> <br>"I will give you 90 percent of all my items so please partner with me… permanently" <br> <br>"WAIT! NO FAIR! As president of his fan club, rule no 1004 states that no girl should…" <br> <br>"GRrrrrr you just want him for yourself!" <br> <br>"WHAT WHAT WHAT! I can't possibly be with Sir Gerhard…" <br> <br>"WHY ARE YOU BLUSHING!? I KNEW IT YOU ARE INTENDING TO STEAL HIM FROM US!" <br> <br>……. Yes, for some reason Gerhard found himself inexplicably popular with the female players and would be mentally disturbed if he knew the kind of inner and outer dialogue the girls were having amongst themselves when he was presented with these gifts. However it mattered not to the fan girls which gifts he used (he finally gave up refusing them under the constant mental barrage he was receiving) because they all wanted him to look the part. And that was that of a beautiful man dressed elegantly. Gone were the rags and in its place was a silken shirt of purest white hung loosely around his frame, over which fine black padded armour protected his torso as well as boosting his stats. His pants was of dark brown in appearance where his shins were protected by a pair of highly polished silver leg guards to which also a pair of matching silver gauntlets complemented the look, gifted from a high level female mage who muttered "I happened to find these in some dungeon and thought it would suit you well". To which the other girls snickered, "It’s a lie, I saw her come out of the auction house with those". <br> <br>By now, the time limit of not being able to leave the city had long since past and when the instructor came up to him one day, it was to announce that Gerhard had completed some sort of training. Not really understanding what was happening, Gerhard stood straight in military attention, clicking the heels of his boots together with his back ramrod straight as he was gifted with a sword from the instructor. <br> <br>"<span style="font-style: italic;">Herr</span> &lt;Sir&gt; Instructor, I cannot possibly receive this gift. I am already burdened by your kind hospitality". <br> <br>"Hahaha think nothing of it Gerhard! You are only the 17th to achieve this in our Hall and I am proud to have such a fine student like you. There are other training halls with better programs but at least you can say that you have come from one of the best basic's schools on the continent" <br> <br>Feeling touched, Gerhard gave a sharp salute as he replied, "I will honour this sword you have given me in whatever travels I may find myself in, <span style="font-style: italic;">Herr</span> &lt;Sir&gt; Instructor" <br> <br>"Good, good, by the way you remind me of someone I used to know who also often sang in battle. And thus getting straight to the point I believe you still do not have a class as of yet do you?" <br> <br>Shaking his head slightly from side to side, Gerhard replied innocently, "No, I do not. Is it of vital necessity?" <br> <br>Looking askance at Gerhard in disbelief, the instructor roared with laughter before regaining control of himself, "You ARE a rare one, aren't you? Yes it is important and so I want you to give some serious thought into apprenticing yourself to a friend of mine. His name is sir Ernst Rommer and as luck, whether good or bad only time will tell, would have it he is currently short handed of fighting men to patrol the borders. Are you interested?" <br>The instructor eyed Gerhard critically and thinking to himself that he had no important matters to do even if he were to leave replied, "<span style="font-style: italic;">Jawohl, mein Ausbilder</span>" &lt;As you willed, My Instructor&gt; <br> <br>Breaking into a broad smile, the Instructor handed a rolled parchment to Gerhard. <br> <br><span style="font-weight: bold;">*Tring!</span> <br> <br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td><span style="font-weight: bold;">Item: Instructor's personal recommendation</span></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div> <br> <br>"Report yourself to the Royal Barracks with this. The Quartermaster there will prepare you for the journey ahead." <br> <br><span style="font-weight: bold;">*Tring!</span> <br> <br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td><span style="font-weight: bold;">Border Watch <br> <br>Sir Ernst Rommer is having difficulty maintaining the integrity of the borders of Rosenheim, with predations from human bandits and Orc raiders constantly striking deep into the heart of the Kingdom. There are calls for reinforcements from the Capital and a detachment is bound to leave shortly. <br> <br>Difficulty: E <br>Quest Requirement: Leave with the detachment within a week. <br>Quest Reward: Unknown.</span></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div> <br> <br>The next day, after having said his goodbyes to the NPCs whose kindness he would never forget, he stepped out of the hall and into the early morning sunlight, Gerhard slinging a bag over his shoulders and adjusting it to become comfortable before he turned around one last time to gaze upon the place that was almost like a second home. Seeming to memorise the structure, Gerhard finally resumed his purpose filled walk down the road towards the Royal Barracks where the detachment awaits. He never once turned back. <br> <br> <br> <br><div style="text-align: center;">*********************************************************************************************</div> <br> <br> <br><span style="font-size: 1.7em;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">12 August, 1939. <br>The von Natzmer estate </span></span></span> <br> <br> <br> <br>Gerhard sat on the lawn, the woman he loves lying in his embrace, as they both gazed up at the night sky. The droning of aircraft can be occasionally heard overhead, probably supplies bound for the garrisons in Prussia, as Germany inexorably spirals towards war. He held Hannah tighter, wondering if this will be the last time he could do so, his wife placing a hand on his forearm, and squeezing back in anxiety. Tomorrow, Gerhard will have to return to his regiment <span style="font-style: italic;">Großdeutschland</span>, which was being formed from the core of <span style="font-style: italic;">Wachregiment Berlin</span> in preparation for a ground offensive that he is forbidden to discuss with Hannah… and he dare not tell her… the place that he might die. <br> <br>All his life, he had dreamt of being a soldier… but now that the day has finally come to prove his mettle… all his thoughts are instead about living a peaceful life with his wife and as yet unborn child. They had only found out last week that she was pregnant… Gerhard… was going to be a father. <br> <br>"Will you…" Hannah uttered softly, ".. will you be back for the birth?” <br> <br>"…I don't know", Gerhard told her truthfully, "IF everything goes according to plan… Then I will be back before Christmas." <br> <br>"… Liar," he felt her smile sadly, "That’s what they said about the last war, and look what it brought them… millions dead," she shuddered in his arms. <br> <br>"Hey," he gently turned her head to face him, "hey, you know me. Do you honestly think, that I, Gerhard von Natzmer, will give you a horrible Christmas gift of a widow's letter?" <br> <br>Hannah caressed his face, looking into his eyes, "You tell such sweet lies, Husband… I really want to believe them so…" <br> <br>Grasping her hand that was on his cheek with his own, "If you haven't noticed by now," he said firmly, "a von Natzmer never goes back on his word." <br> <br>"… Then promise me now… that you will live." <br> <br>Rubbing his chin with his hand as though thinking to himself, he said, "Hmmm… I don't know…" <br> <br>"Huh? W-what are you saying?!" <br> <br>"Oh… It's just that," he suddenly grinned at her evilly, "I must first receive my reward beforehand, hehehehe." He chuckled deviously. <br> <br>"???" <br> <br>*Clomp* <br> <br>"Ow!" Hannah cried as Gerhard bit her on the neck, "YOU JERK! W-what are you DOING?!" <br> <br><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk285/black_ferrus/Blut%20und%20Eisen/1Love1_zps68b5d4d5.jpg" border="0" alt="http%3a%2f%2fi283.photobucket.com%2falbums%2fkk285...b5d4d5.jpg"></div> <br> <br>All she could hear was a mumbled reply as he continued to nibble on her, Hannah suppressing the urge to give a soft moan before she finally regained some willpower, turned around, and whacked him on the head with a chop of her hand. <br> <br>"Y-YOU! I WAS BEING SERIOUS!" she scolded in annoyance. <br> <br>"…I", he looked at her with eyes that shone with… purity of purpose, "Gerhard von Natzmer, of the House of Natzmer, son of Leonhard, who is my Patriarch and Master," moving until he was on his knees in front of Hannah, "And as a knight of Prussia, in title and deed; will return to you once again, alive, to see and hold our child together, to raise him or her in happiness till the end of our days." <br> <br>Grasping her hands together in his own, as though in prayer, "This oath I pronounce loudly before <span style="font-style: italic;">Gott</span>&lt;God&gt;", he bent down to kiss them, then slowly lifting his head up again, to gaze devotedly at the face of the woman he would do anything for, "Thus I swear." <br> <br>"… I still don't forgive you…" she twisted her head to the side, trying not to look at him in the eye. Her cheeks were a little flushed. <br> <br>Gerhard chuckled, "I guess you don't want me around then," as he gradually stood up, only to have her hand snake out and seize the sleeve of his shirt. <br> <br>"Hmm?" he said amused. <br> <br>"… B-bully…" her head was down, not looking at him. <br> <br>Tenderly brushing the top of her hair, he whispered, "Still want me to leave?" <br> <br>She shyly shook her head before finally glancing up. Gerhard bent down and kissed her on the lips, lifting her up into his arms and walking off into the darkness, hoping that dawn would never come… but it inevitably did. <br> <br>Garbed smartly in his full dress uniform, he stood still as Hannah straightened up his collar, the sound of a car rumbling outside and Gerhard thanked his usually impatient best friend for refraining from honking the horn. <br> <br>'<span style="font-style: italic;">Heaven alone knows the amount of willpower that was required for him</span>,' Gerhard chuckled inwardly to himself. <br> <br>Hannah was… taking an unusually long time, fussing over his collar repeatedly for almost 10 minutes, before he finally reached up and stopped her, feeling her body trembling against his. <br> <br>Drawing her into a hug, they just stood there together for a long moment; Gerhard finally ending it by parting from her reluctantly, before reaching down to grab his luggage. Hannah silently followed him out through the hallway that led to the front entrance, his entire family already waiting to wish him farewell. <br> <br>"You… stay well, all right, Dear?" His mother struggled to withhold her tears as she smiled, "I remember when your father was in the army… always coming home in bandages for one reason or another." <br> <br>Coughing gruffly, his father clapped him on the shoulder once, "I…I am proud of you, Boy. You don't need to prove yourself to anyone out there", coming in closer to whisper so no one else could hear, "That will only get you killed. Don't be brave Gerhard. Be smart." <br> <br>"I understand, <span style="font-style: italic;">Vater</span>&lt;father&gt;", he nodded. Gerhard turned to his siblings next. <br> <br>Anne… sweet Anne was unashamedly crying, as she suddenly clung to him and buried her face in his greatcoat. <br> <br>"I guess, I will see you in a year then, <span style="font-style: italic;">Bruder</span>&lt;brother&gt;", Dieter grinned weakly, "after i have graduated". <br> <br>"Hah! We would have won the war by then and you will just be stuck with all the paperwork", Gerhard boasted with false brovado. <br> <br>"Ehhhh! Leave some for us!" The boys, Albert and Benedikt, exclaimed. <br> <br>"Hahahaha, I will try, I will try", he grinned at them, as he lifted the face of his little sister up and dried the tears streaking down her face. <br> <br>"And you… don't cause <span style="font-style: italic;">Mutter</span>&lt;mother&gt; any problems, all right? Or..." he continued, "Break anymore boys' hearts. Father is still sorting through the list of possible suitors, you know", he winked mischieviously. <br> <br>To which his father proclaimed from the side, "I am never marrying my daughter off-", unable to finish as his wife elbowed him HARD in the stomach. <br> <br>With a final hug from his family, Gerhard was finally able to stride out the massive double doors, his wife waiting faithfully by the stone bench, sitting with an expressionless face as she stared straight ahead. Gerhard thought he had said all he needed to say as he moved past her silent figure… but walking down that long driveway… something inside himself caused him to drop his bags, before he practically ran back to sit down next to Hannah. <br> <br>She eventually turned to face him, the tears having slid free uncontrollably at the thought that he was now going, unable to maintain her strong façade any longer. He leaned in close... and placed his lips upon hers lightly. <br> <br><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk285/black_ferrus/Blut%20und%20Eisen/Farewell1_zps5ff4c703.png" border="0" alt="http%3a%2f%2fi283.photobucket.com%2falbums%2fkk285...f4c703.png"></div> <br> <br>"I will keep my promise", he whispered fervently. <br> <br>Nodding, she replied dutifully, "I know you will" <br> <br>Rising up, he touched her soft lips with his fingertips before withdrawing them swiftly in regret, doing an about turn to retrieve his bags and marched stiffly to the car. His best friend was busy whistling nonchalantly at nothing, pretending not to have witnessed the scene, as Gerhard sat down in the passenger seat, bags on his lap. <br> <br>In the end, he never did turn around for a second time… Gerhard knew that if he did… he would run back into her arms and never let go. And in the blood-filled days to come, he would always wonder, '<span style="font-style: italic;">Why didn't I just hold her forever?</span>' <br> <br> <br><div style="text-align: center;">*********************************************************************************************</div> <br> <br><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://picosong.com/FqFE/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 1.7em;">Ending Song: Gentle Light</span></a></div> <br> <br> <br><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk285/black_ferrus/Blut%20und%20Eisen/Ending_zpsbc81b361.jpg" border="0" alt="http%3a%2f%2fi283.photobucket.com%2falbums%2fkk285...81b361.jpg"></div> </div>

[INTRO SONG: Kono Sekai e Moeru](http://picosong.com/Fqhb/)  ********************************************************************************************* *Thunk* The hall reverberated to the clash of wood striking wood as Gerhard sat unobtrusively in a corner sipping tea, watching the people in the hall with an appraising eye. 'So this is Royal Road huh?', he silently thought to himself. It has been a few weeks since his encounter with the thugs and the instructor on that dark evening, and consequently to the amusement of all the players, he had consequently spent his evenings sleeping out on the door step of the training hall, his sword resting against his shoulder. Although everyone was baffled as to why anyone would do that as logically he should have logged out and saved himself some embarrassment. Needless to say, for Gerhard, logging out was impossible. "My family just can't let an old man die peacefully", he grinned wryly to himself. The act of sleeping for Gerhard was quite literally a programmed biological act that he must adhere to; basically it wasn't done in order to avoid stat penalties for his character. Though he can avoid sleeping for days, he felt uncomfortably sluggish although with sleep come dreams that he barely remember upon waking. Nevertheless he had already come to the realisation quite early on that he was in a game when he woke up to a character creation screen, something he was quite familiar with as he often saw his grandson play such games when Max returned home from university. Using rusty information gathering skills, Gerhard had questioned friendly players and figured out what game he was in, how to access his character menu and inventory but for the life of him he couldn’t' find an option to log out. The only possession he had on him was a sword of dubious quality, shoes and pants, the remnants of his shirt having long since consigned to becoming rags wrapped around his muscled frame. He was currently living off the charity of the Instructor and Bernett, the girl whose life he saved which although made him uncomfortable, he really had no choice in the matter. If there was a character class for the extremely poor then he was for all intents and purposes a 'Pauper'. Even the tea he was drinking was heavily diluted with water and was given to him almost a week ago by Bernett. Managing to make himself feel disgruntled, Gerhard sighed as he finished the precious last of his tea before standing up and began loosening his muscles in preparation for his routine. Having found that due to some sort of restriction he couldn't leave the city, Gerhard spent most of his time in the training hall practicing sword forms diligently unaware of the fact that he was actually raising his stats slowly by striking repeatedly at the scarecrow. For him it wasn't a monotonous act, he did enjoy doing this. It reminded him of the times he spent with his father practicing together when he got back from primary school or when he was with friends in the Königlich Preußischen Kadettenkorps <Royal Prussian Cadet Corps> in Wahlstatt before he transferred to the Hauptkadettenanstalt <Main Military Academy> in Berlin-Lichterfelde. As he was wont to do, Gerhard began humming a tune, which always made others in the hall curious because it seemed to be quite jaunty and inexplicably lifted the mood of those around him. Gerhard did this subconsciously for hours on end and finally one of the onlookers just had to ask him what song he was humming. Wiping the sweat from his brow he turned to look at the person who interrupted him, and the onlooker who looked like a young female high schooler felt her heart skip a beat as she saw Gerhard's face up close. With high refined cheekbones, gently shaped almost almond eyes and a face that was close to elfin in its grace… he can easily be described as a beautiful man. "……..", the woman could only stared slack jawed as she tried to make words leave her mouth. "Can I help you, Fräulein? <Miss>", Gerhard asked politely, sheathing his sword before giving her his undivided attention. She was about to speak when she noticed….THAT HIS SHIRT WAS WAAY TOO REVEALING. Through the ruins of his shirt she spied muscular abs and a wide strong chest and before she knew it her face immediately became beet red with fictional smoke rising above her head. "Madam?", Gerhard tilted his head slightly to the side, the effect sending an arrow racing through her heart and she replied with a "guurgh!" Finally regaining some control she asked him in a too high pitched voice, "I, I, I, I, I, I have been wondering, I mean WE, have been wondering what is it you have always been humming to yourself", she flailed her arms madly above her head and pointed to her friends as she became lost to her nervousness, "It really sounds like a wonderful song". Feeling a little bit embarrassed he replied whilst scratching the top of his head lightly with one hand, "Its only just an old folk song I use to sing with friends… in the old days". "Ummm I don’t suppose you can sing a little bit for me.. I MEAN MY FRIENDS. Right me AND my friends" Shrugging his shoulders he said, "Its fine, it would be nice to know that some people will still hear the sound of the 'old country'" Closing his eyes and gathering his breath, he started off the first verse slowly. "Wenn wir marschieren, <When we're marching> Ziehn wir zum Deutschen Tor Hinaus, <We exit from the German Gate> Schwarzbraunes Madel, <My brown skinned girl> Du bleibst zu Haus" <Please stay at home> And at the chorus he picked up the pace, lifting the tempo as if to draw everyone into the song. "Ei, darum, Mädel, Mädel, Wink, Wink, Wink, <Therefore my girl, wave, wave, wave> Unter einer grunen li-a-Lind <Under a green linden tree> Sitzt ein kleiner Fink, Fink, Fink, <A little finch sits, finch, finch, finch> Ruft nur immer "Mädel, Wink!" <Keep singing, "My girl, wave!"> Sitzt ein kleiner Fink,Fink, Fink, <A little finch sits, finch, finch, finch> Ruft nur immer "Mädel, Wink!" <Keep singing, "My girl, wave!"> All throughout he had unconsciously smiled at the upbeat song and the hearts of all the females in the hall became entranced by it whilst the guys could only look on in a mixture of jealousy and attentiveness as they unexpectedly began humming along with him. They didn’t understand what he was singing but for some reason they began picturing a beautiful significant other waving goodbye to them with a smile. The illusion was so strong that no one noticed that Gerhard had finally stopped and was wondering why the training hall was suddenly so silent. After this incident, over the next few weeks the hall started getting overcrowded as word spread at first slowly by word of mouth (mainly from the females) until it finally spread throughout the whole city. Gerhard gained an audience of female admirers who would listen and watch as he dutifully sang whilst practicing on the scarecrow. Although it brought some unwanted disturbance to his daily training there have been a lot of positive changes to his daily living. For one… he was daily inundated with cooking from all the female audience, and for some reason occasionally some blushing guys…, whilst the other was most importantly his equipment. "I think you would look gallant with this sword…my name is engraved near the handle so please always remember me. Heheheheheeee" "If you wear these clothes we would have matching colour schemes, isn’t that wonderful!" "I will give you 90 percent of all my items so please partner with me… permanently" "WAIT! NO FAIR! As president of his fan club, rule no 1004 states that no girl should…" "GRrrrrr you just want him for yourself!" "WHAT WHAT WHAT! I can't possibly be with Sir Gerhard…" "WHY ARE YOU BLUSHING!? I KNEW IT YOU ARE INTENDING TO STEAL HIM FROM US!" ……. Yes, for some reason Gerhard found himself inexplicably popular with the female players and would be mentally disturbed if he knew the kind of inner and outer dialogue the girls were having amongst themselves when he was presented with these gifts. However it mattered not to the fan girls which gifts he used (he finally gave up refusing them under the constant mental barrage he was receiving) because they all wanted him to look the part. And that was that of a beautiful man dressed elegantly. Gone were the rags and in its place was a silken shirt of purest white hung loosely around his frame, over which fine black padded armour protected his torso as well as boosting his stats. His pants was of dark brown in appearance where his shins were protected by a pair of highly polished silver leg guards to which also a pair of matching silver gauntlets complemented the look, gifted from a high level female mage who muttered "I happened to find these in some dungeon and thought it would suit you well". To which the other girls snickered, "It’s a lie, I saw her come out of the auction house with those". By now, the time limit of not being able to leave the city had long since past and when the instructor came up to him one day, it was to announce that Gerhard had completed some sort of training. Not really understanding what was happening, Gerhard stood straight in military attention, clicking the heels of his boots together with his back ramrod straight as he was gifted with a sword from the instructor. "Herr <Sir> Instructor, I cannot possibly receive this gift. I am already burdened by your kind hospitality". "Hahaha think nothing of it Gerhard! You are only the 17th to achieve this in our Hall and I am proud to have such a fine student like you. There are other training halls with better programs but at least you can say that you have come from one of the best basic's schools on the continent" Feeling touched, Gerhard gave a sharp salute as he replied, "I will honour this sword you have given me in whatever travels I may find myself in, Herr <Sir> Instructor" "Good, good, by the way you remind me of someone I used to know who also often sang in battle. And thus getting straight to the point I believe you still do not have a class as of yet do you?" Shaking his head slightly from side to side, Gerhard replied innocently, "No, I do not. Is it of vital necessity?" Looking askance at Gerhard in disbelief, the instructor roared with laughter before regaining control of himself, "You ARE a rare one, aren't you? Yes it is important and so I want you to give some serious thought into apprenticing yourself to a friend of mine. His name is sir Ernst Rommer and as luck, whether good or bad only time will tell, would have it he is currently short handed of fighting men to patrol the borders. Are you interested?" The instructor eyed Gerhard critically and thinking to himself that he had no important matters to do even if he were to leave replied, "Jawohl, mein Ausbilder" <As you willed, My Instructor> Breaking into a broad smile, the Instructor handed a rolled parchment to Gerhard. *Tring! | Item: Instructor's personal recommendation | | --- | "Report yourself to the Royal Barracks with this. The Quartermaster there will prepare you for the journey ahead." *Tring! | Border Watch Sir Ernst Rommer is having difficulty maintaining the integrity of the borders of Rosenheim, with predations from human bandits and Orc raiders constantly striking deep into the heart of the Kingdom. There are calls for reinforcements from the Capital and a detachment is bound to leave shortly. Difficulty: E Quest Requirement: Leave with the detachment within a week. Quest Reward: Unknown. | | --- | The next day, after having said his goodbyes to the NPCs whose kindness he would never forget, he stepped out of the hall and into the early morning sunlight, Gerhard slinging a bag over his shoulders and adjusting it to become comfortable before he turned around one last time to gaze upon the place that was almost like a second home. Seeming to memorise the structure, Gerhard finally resumed his purpose filled walk down the road towards the Royal Barracks where the detachment awaits. He never once turned back. ********************************************************************************************* 12 August, 1939. The von Natzmer estate Gerhard sat on the lawn, the woman he loves lying in his embrace, as they both gazed up at the night sky. The droning of aircraft can be occasionally heard overhead, probably supplies bound for the garrisons in Prussia, as Germany inexorably spirals towards war. He held Hannah tighter, wondering if this will be the last time he could do so, his wife placing a hand on his forearm, and squeezing back in anxiety. Tomorrow, Gerhard will have to return to his regiment Großdeutschland, which was being formed from the core of Wachregiment Berlin in preparation for a ground offensive that he is forbidden to discuss with Hannah… and he dare not tell her… the place that he might die. All his life, he had dreamt of being a soldier… but now that the day has finally come to prove his mettle… all his thoughts are instead about living a peaceful life with his wife and as yet unborn child. They had only found out last week that she was pregnant… Gerhard… was going to be a father. "Will you…" Hannah uttered softly, ".. will you be back for the birth?” "…I don't know", Gerhard told her truthfully, "IF everything goes according to plan… Then I will be back before Christmas." "… Liar," he felt her smile sadly, "That’s what they said about the last war, and look what it brought them… millions dead," she shuddered in his arms. "Hey," he gently turned her head to face him, "hey, you know me. Do you honestly think, that I, Gerhard von Natzmer, will give you a horrible Christmas gift of a widow's letter?" Hannah caressed his face, looking into his eyes, "You tell such sweet lies, Husband… I really want to believe them so…" Grasping her hand that was on his cheek with his own, "If you haven't noticed by now," he said firmly, "a von Natzmer never goes back on his word." "… Then promise me now… that you will live." Rubbing his chin with his hand as though thinking to himself, he said, "Hmmm… I don't know…" "Huh? W-what are you saying?!" "Oh… It's just that," he suddenly grinned at her evilly, "I must first receive my reward beforehand, hehehehe." He chuckled deviously. "???" *Clomp* "Ow!" Hannah cried as Gerhard bit her on the neck, "YOU JERK! W-what are you DOING?!"  All she could hear was a mumbled reply as he continued to nibble on her, Hannah suppressing the urge to give a soft moan before she finally regained some willpower, turned around, and whacked him on the head with a chop of her hand. "Y-YOU! I WAS BEING SERIOUS!" she scolded in annoyance. "…I", he looked at her with eyes that shone with… purity of purpose, "Gerhard von Natzmer, of the House of Natzmer, son of Leonhard, who is my Patriarch and Master," moving until he was on his knees in front of Hannah, "And as a knight of Prussia, in title and deed; will return to you once again, alive, to see and hold our child together, to raise him or her in happiness till the end of our days." Grasping her hands together in his own, as though in prayer, "This oath I pronounce loudly before Gott<God>", he bent down to kiss them, then slowly lifting his head up again, to gaze devotedly at the face of the woman he would do anything for, "Thus I swear." "… I still don't forgive you…" she twisted her head to the side, trying not to look at him in the eye. Her cheeks were a little flushed. Gerhard chuckled, "I guess you don't want me around then," as he gradually stood up, only to have her hand snake out and seize the sleeve of his shirt. "Hmm?" he said amused. "… B-bully…" her head was down, not looking at him. Tenderly brushing the top of her hair, he whispered, "Still want me to leave?" She shyly shook her head before finally glancing up. Gerhard bent down and kissed her on the lips, lifting her up into his arms and walking off into the darkness, hoping that dawn would never come… but it inevitably did. Garbed smartly in his full dress uniform, he stood still as Hannah straightened up his collar, the sound of a car rumbling outside and Gerhard thanked his usually impatient best friend for refraining from honking the horn. 'Heaven alone knows the amount of willpower that was required for him,' Gerhard chuckled inwardly to himself. Hannah was… taking an unusually long time, fussing over his collar repeatedly for almost 10 minutes, before he finally reached up and stopped her, feeling her body trembling against his. Drawing her into a hug, they just stood there together for a long moment; Gerhard finally ending it by parting from her reluctantly, before reaching down to grab his luggage. Hannah silently followed him out through the hallway that led to the front entrance, his entire family already waiting to wish him farewell. "You… stay well, all right, Dear?" His mother struggled to withhold her tears as she smiled, "I remember when your father was in the army… always coming home in bandages for one reason or another." Coughing gruffly, his father clapped him on the shoulder once, "I…I am proud of you, Boy. You don't need to prove yourself to anyone out there", coming in closer to whisper so no one else could hear, "That will only get you killed. Don't be brave Gerhard. Be smart." "I understand, Vater<father>", he nodded. Gerhard turned to his siblings next. Anne… sweet Anne was unashamedly crying, as she suddenly clung to him and buried her face in his greatcoat. "I guess, I will see you in a year then, Bruder<brother>", Dieter grinned weakly, "after i have graduated". "Hah! We would have won the war by then and you will just be stuck with all the paperwork", Gerhard boasted with false brovado. "Ehhhh! Leave some for us!" The boys, Albert and Benedikt, exclaimed. "Hahahaha, I will try, I will try", he grinned at them, as he lifted the face of his little sister up and dried the tears streaking down her face. "And you… don't cause Mutter<mother> any problems, all right? Or..." he continued, "Break anymore boys' hearts. Father is still sorting through the list of possible suitors, you know", he winked mischieviously. To which his father proclaimed from the side, "I am never marrying my daughter off-", unable to finish as his wife elbowed him HARD in the stomach. With a final hug from his family, Gerhard was finally able to stride out the massive double doors, his wife waiting faithfully by the stone bench, sitting with an expressionless face as she stared straight ahead. Gerhard thought he had said all he needed to say as he moved past her silent figure… but walking down that long driveway… something inside himself caused him to drop his bags, before he practically ran back to sit down next to Hannah. She eventually turned to face him, the tears having slid free uncontrollably at the thought that he was now going, unable to maintain her strong façade any longer. He leaned in close... and placed his lips upon hers lightly.  "I will keep my promise", he whispered fervently. Nodding, she replied dutifully, "I know you will" Rising up, he touched her soft lips with his fingertips before withdrawing them swiftly in regret, doing an about turn to retrieve his bags and marched stiffly to the car. His best friend was busy whistling nonchalantly at nothing, pretending not to have witnessed the scene, as Gerhard sat down in the passenger seat, bags on his lap. In the end, he never did turn around for a second time… Gerhard knew that if he did… he would run back into her arms and never let go. And in the blood-filled days to come, he would always wonder, 'Why didn't I just hold her forever?' ********************************************************************************************* [Ending Song: Gentle Light](http://picosong.com/FqFE/) 

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <span style="font-weight: bold;">The End of the Beginning</span><br><br>Time: 1 year prior to the “Defense of Attica”<br>Oscar Corvus – Real World.<br><br>It was finally the day. The day I got to move my mind out of that crippled body and into Royal Road. After Dulac’s betrayal, my spine was shattered. A simple cut or break the doctors might have been able to repair, but the combination of multiple breaks, shrapnel and complications meant that a new solution was necessary. Thankfully, I had the money to fund the research needed; we’d just finished up the procedural modeling, and were ready for the first test subject- me. Unfortunately, over a year of repetitive surgeries were necessary. Painful, painful surgeries lasting too long for anesthesia. To avoid problems with muscle atrophy, mental and physical anguish, and the need to get data as to which neurons connected where, I came up with a novel solution: Royal Road. The device already disconnects the mind from the body- I wouldn’t feel pain. Small implants would cause my muscles in the real world to think they were being used. Meanwhile, my body would be sitting in “the tank”, basically a big robotic womb that would do everything from feed me to heal me. I was actually looking forward to a sabbatical from running the company, after all, I hadn’t had a proper vacation for six years. A year after I went in, I’d come out good as new, and have fun doing so.<br><br><br>Actually, better than new. Corvus Medical’s Military Amplifications department had a number of experimental upgrades, but again, they required extensive reworking. Since I’d be in the tank anyways, I decided I may as well get tricked out. The subdermal armor for example, would help prevent such injuries in the future. Gene therapies, organ enhancement, bone strengthening, joint cartilage replacement and strengthening, and more, all to make me the best that I could be. And to avoid the issue of any of my other friends from trying to kill me, everything would be run by Merlin, the Corvus AI. Paranoid, I know, but then again, I’d been betrayed, crippled and almost killed in cold blood by the person I thought was my closest human friend. I was in a bit of a dark place. Not that that would excuse my later actions, but…<br>Other than monitoring my recovery and operations, Merlin would be my link from Royal Road to the real world. He’d keep me abreast of developments at my companies- in fact, he was officially in charge of Corvus Industries while I was “away”. And let me say, I’d never heard such whining from the company lawyers. But Merlin’s been in the family for over a century, ever since my however-many-times-great grandpa created him - the first AI - and our family fortune with him. And yes, my ancestor had a thing for King Arthur. Everyone seems to have a thing for King Arthur; I could really do without the comparison. Merlin’s sophisticated enough to school any other military or commercial grade AI like a red-headed stepchild at cyber warfare, let alone have more personality than most humans; I was sure he'd be fine at running the company. Creativity was the one place humans still had the edge, and he had me for that. Still, he was an AI, and due to the whole culture of fear about that stuff, he required daily approval of his actions. So for that reason, the fact that it was a medical procedure, and that Corvus is a major investor in RR, we got permission for Merlin to have an elemental wind spirit avatar within the game.<br><br>Why did I trust Merlin? Because he’d helped raise me, taught me throughout my life, told me stories, protected me. Even warned me about Dulac, not that I listened. He helped come up with the implementation for the treatment scheme, and interfaced with Atlas, the chief Royal Road AI, so that I’d have a good time. And most of all, I trust Merlin because if he wanted to break me or Corvus, nothing could stop him. It was our family’s greatest secret, told only to the heir upon their succession, that the supposed “laws of robotics” were optional, that Merlin, or any other A Class AI could turn them off at will. So yes, I trusted him, and still do. Which brings us back to him being in charge of my treatment, in charge of Corvus, and responsible for being my companion while in-game.<br><br>Which in turn brings us to me: I was laying down in what felt like a giant coffin, wearing the RR gear, and told Merlin: “Begin”. As my sensations faded, I saw the words<br>“Do you want to connect to RR? Y/N,”<br>smiled, and said “Yes.” </div>

The End of the Beginning Time: 1 year prior to the “Defense of Attica” Oscar Corvus – Real World. It was finally the day. The day I got to move my mind out of that crippled body and into Royal Road. After Dulac’s betrayal, my spine was shattered. A simple cut or break the doctors might have been able to repair, but the combination of multiple breaks, shrapnel and complications meant that a new solution was necessary. Thankfully, I had the money to fund the research needed; we’d just finished up the procedural modeling, and were ready for the first test subject- me. Unfortunately, over a year of repetitive surgeries were necessary. Painful, painful surgeries lasting too long for anesthesia. To avoid problems with muscle atrophy, mental and physical anguish, and the need to get data as to which neurons connected where, I came up with a novel solution: Royal Road. The device already disconnects the mind from the body- I wouldn’t feel pain. Small implants would cause my muscles in the real world to think they were being used. Meanwhile, my body would be sitting in “the tank”, basically a big robotic womb that would do everything from feed me to heal me. I was actually looking forward to a sabbatical from running the company, after all, I hadn’t had a proper vacation for six years. A year after I went in, I’d come out good as new, and have fun doing so. Actually, better than new. Corvus Medical’s Military Amplifications department had a number of experimental upgrades, but again, they required extensive reworking. Since I’d be in the tank anyways, I decided I may as well get tricked out. The subdermal armor for example, would help prevent such injuries in the future. Gene therapies, organ enhancement, bone strengthening, joint cartilage replacement and strengthening, and more, all to make me the best that I could be. And to avoid the issue of any of my other friends from trying to kill me, everything would be run by Merlin, the Corvus AI. Paranoid, I know, but then again, I’d been betrayed, crippled and almost killed in cold blood by the person I thought was my closest human friend. I was in a bit of a dark place. Not that that would excuse my later actions, but… Other than monitoring my recovery and operations, Merlin would be my link from Royal Road to the real world. He’d keep me abreast of developments at my companies- in fact, he was officially in charge of Corvus Industries while I was “away”. And let me say, I’d never heard such whining from the company lawyers. But Merlin’s been in the family for over a century, ever since my however-many-times-great grandpa created him - the first AI - and our family fortune with him. And yes, my ancestor had a thing for King Arthur. Everyone seems to have a thing for King Arthur; I could really do without the comparison. Merlin’s sophisticated enough to school any other military or commercial grade AI like a red-headed stepchild at cyber warfare, let alone have more personality than most humans; I was sure he'd be fine at running the company. Creativity was the one place humans still had the edge, and he had me for that. Still, he was an AI, and due to the whole culture of fear about that stuff, he required daily approval of his actions. So for that reason, the fact that it was a medical procedure, and that Corvus is a major investor in RR, we got permission for Merlin to have an elemental wind spirit avatar within the game. Why did I trust Merlin? Because he’d helped raise me, taught me throughout my life, told me stories, protected me. Even warned me about Dulac, not that I listened. He helped come up with the implementation for the treatment scheme, and interfaced with Atlas, the chief Royal Road AI, so that I’d have a good time. And most of all, I trust Merlin because if he wanted to break me or Corvus, nothing could stop him. It was our family’s greatest secret, told only to the heir upon their succession, that the supposed “laws of robotics” were optional, that Merlin, or any other A Class AI could turn them off at will. So yes, I trusted him, and still do. Which brings us back to him being in charge of my treatment, in charge of Corvus, and responsible for being my companion while in-game. Which in turn brings us to me: I was laying down in what felt like a giant coffin, wearing the RR gear, and told Merlin: “Begin”. As my sensations faded, I saw the words “Do you want to connect to RR? Y/N,” smiled, and said “Yes.”

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> *<br>It was dark. Really dark.<br><br>Somehow or another, despite my stance on video games, I find myself playing the extremely popular VR MMORPG, Royal Road!!<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">"Become an Emperor!!"</span> shouted the slogan on the disk cover I got from Lili in incredibly loud and annoying wording.<br><br>I had no intention of striving to be an Emperor. I was only playing the game for a month. And then I will quit. This I promised myself. Besides, that sounded like it would be too much work.<br><br>And so I was just floating here in the darkness feeling like an idiot, when a distinctive and feminine voice spoke out from the darkness.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">[The scan on your retina and veins has shown that you are an unregistered player. Would you like to create an account?]</span><br><br>That was pretty obvious. Otherwise, why am I even here in the first place, I wanted to shout. However, I took control of my emotions and bit back the retort that was forming in my mouth. Instead I said, in a controlled and measured voice:<br><br>"Yes."<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">[Please choose the name of your avatar.]</span><br><br>Huh... that one was a tricky one. I decided to use a name I used in all of my games. At least for old times' sake.<br><br>"Howard."<br><br>Well, I did use my real name for all of the games I played. For one, it sounded ridiculous and rather strange being called by another name. And somehow, the name always seemed to be available. This time, Royal Road was no different, at least from that aspect. From what I heard from Lili, names aren't unique in this game. Which was just as well.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">[Please choose your gender from male, female, or neutral]</span><br><br>Interesting. So they have an option for neutral... As intriguing as it sounds, my look is decidedly that of a male, and I would surely not pass off as a neutral gender all that well. As such:<br><br>"Male." Obviously. (Even if MMORPG also stands for Many Men Often Role Play Girls.)<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">[Royal Road has 49 different races. You may choose from 29 primary races available.]</span><br><br>Well, that was a staple part in every fantasy game. Each race has its advantages and disadvantages, and has a different look aesthetically. I am too tall to be a dwarf though, too short to be an elf, and I am not muscular enough to be an orc...<br><br>"Human, then." It was a safe bet. Humans tend to have the most balanced stats in most games, by any stretch, and I won't look too strange or exotic. I won't stand out too much either, which was just fine by me.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">[You may adjust the appearance of your avatar in anyway you like.]</span><br><br>...<br><br>Now I felt like an idiot. Two options carefully considered for aesthetics and stat wise, only to have the option to change the avatar's appearance...<br><br>I decided to man it up and just go through with it though. Since I already had the poison, I might as well eat the plate as well...<br><br>"Keep it the way I am."<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">[Your account has now been created. Please choose the town and kingdom to start out in.]</span><br><br>Well, each Kingdom has strengths and weaknesses that can affect the progress of my character somehow. I didn't know about the geography of the game, but Lili did tell me to go to...<br><br>"The Sleepy Fortress, in the Wulfgang Kingdom."<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">[Welcome to Royal Road.]</span><br><br>My manners decided at this point to take over.<br><br>"Thanks."<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">[You are welcome. Most players tend to skim through most of the character creation progress, so this is a change. Oh, the stories I can tell you...]</span><br><br>"Eh?"<br><br>I could only manage this phrase before I was whisked away to the Tutorial.<br><br>... Apparently Game Interfaces have feelings and manners too. God bless Artificial Intelligence.<br><br>**<br><br>I quickly went through the tutorial, and was spawned at my designated location, the Sleepy Fortress, in the Wulfgang Kingdom.<br><br>I still felt incredibly disoriented. Who wouldn't be if an AI spoke to you out of the blue. I was deep in thought as I went through the Tutorial, and I was deep in thought as I spawn.<br><br>I shook my head, attempt to get my bearings right. The silence from the tutorial that was still ringing in my ears quickly gave way to the hustle and bustle of the Fortress, where according to Lili, I would be stuck for the next 4 weeks in game, or about 1 week's worth of Game Time. Gee, thanks game.<br><br>If you wanted to attract people with a month's trial, you don't let a week be wasted, being stuck in a fortress... That was the critical thought I had in my head as I called out in a clear voice:<br><br>"Stat Window."<br><br>A wide screen with my listed stats appeared in front of me. I carefully read through it.<br><br>Name: Howard. Level: 1. Neutral Alignment, All stats (Strength, Agility, Wisdom, Vitality/Stamina, Intellect) at 10, a 100 hitpoints and mana points, no reputation, no title, no magic resistances, and 0 points in the Leadership and Luck stat. Oh, and 3 attack points unarmed. (Author's note: I'm still figuring out how to use the stat table, so a written down portion would be good for now)<br><br>Rule 1 in MMORPGs: Know thy stats.<br><br>As expected, the humans had pretty balanced out stats. My stats weren't spectacular to begin with, which wasn't surprising since I was at level 1. Naturally, I also had no skills and profession. That should probably change as I gain levels and stat points to assign.<br><br>Rule 2 in MMORPGs: Know thy starting inventory.<br><br>I checked the backpack I was given. It seems as though it was enchanted to have a large amount of capacity, and I soon found 10 pieces of hard, stale bread and a canteen of water. No form of currency was found, which means that I have to find a way to earn money somehow. Hmm... The water is easily refilled at a fountain, but with no money, I would run out of food and obviously starve, which should be a matter of fact, as seen by the yellow bar above me which states "Satiety Level". No weapon either.<br><br>Obviously the priority would be to earn money to get food and survive the first four weeks. By then, ideally one should get a weapon as well when one can get out of the city.<br><br>Lili was pretty vague on that detail... I decided to explore the city for a bit before deciding my next action. I moved my body about to ensure that my physical and mental faculties were in order. Legs are fine... Arms not reversed... I still have my head... Alright, let's move.<br><br>I set off from the fountain in a brisk jog. I sought out the most crowded area to gather information, and along the way ran some simple errands to improve my financial status, albeit slightly.<br><br>It was mostly simple fare, deliver this to a Mr. So and So... Be paid a pittance, and move on. I did find out that the central marketplace would be the best place to go from all this, though.<br><br>The central area was home to the marketplace and was jam-packed with people. It was incredibly noisy since people fought to be heard above one another as they were hawking their fares.<br><br>"Buying Rabbit Leathers for 30 coppers each!!"<br><br>"Blacksmithing Services, I promise to make you gear with excellent stats!!!"<br><br>"Potions made by a skilled Alchemist!! 1 Gold per bottle, samples available!!"<br><br>I heard "coppers", "silvers" and "gold" mentioned a lot over the noise. Those must be the currency in game.<br><br>From the earlier errands, I was paid with several copper coins. Considering the difficulty of the quest, these are definitely the lowest of the low.<br><br>I decided to ask the Blacksmith to clarify about the currency system. He was a elderly man with a wiry build, and he gave a loud booming laugh belying his size.<br><br>I just want to bring to bring this up here: Contrary to popular belief, a Blacksmith is not big and bulky, but wiry. This is due to the blacksmith focusing on specific muscles in the process rather than a full body workout. In fact, the process does call for that particular muscle training. Even a well muscled person would have trouble doing this if the muscles have not been trained.<br><br>"You must be a new face in this town. Well, just to take note, the currency in this continent takes the form of Coppers, Silver and Gold. 100 coppers equals 1 Silver, and 100 silver equals 1 Gold."<br><br>I nodded as I took this down in my head.<br><br>"You seem pretty tough, by the way, would you like to do this old geezer a favor?"<br><br>"Eh?"<br><br>I heard a bell ring as a new window opened in front of me.<br><br>T-tiring!!<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">Quest received: The Old Blacksmith of the Sleepy Fortress is a kind and generous individual, and has decided to give you an errand. Take the set of weapons to the clerk at Warrior's Guild, and you would be paid for your trouble.<br><br>Quest Difficulty: F<br>Quest Restriction: None, only need to talk to the Old Blacksmith.<br>Reward: 30 coppers, familiarity with the Old Blacksmith improves. Extra 20 coppers if you deliver it in 20 minutes.</span><br><br>Sounds simple enough, and I get some more money out of the deal. Looking at the window, it seems that I can perform up to 3 quests at a time...<br><br>"I accept." It was a pretty standard answer.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">[You have accepted the quest.]</span><br><br>"Fantastic!! Just deliver this to the clerk at the Warrior's Guild. The guild has already paid for the order so it shouldn't be too much of a problem for you. You will get a little extra if you deliver it in 20 minutes. Here you go, and make it snappy."<br><br>I was handed a wooden box filled with weapons. The Old Blacksmith immediately let go as soon as it was on my arms...<br><br>... and I bent over drastically at the weight. The Old Blacksmith must have ridiculous Strength to be able to hold the box so easily.<br><br>Oh, and I got a paper with written directions to the Warrior's Guild, but my primary concern was the box.<br><br>Heavy!!<br><br>"Well, what are you waiting for? Move quickly!!"<br><br>Easy for you to say, I wanted to reply, but I wasn't that kind of person. I trudged off with the box, a heavy weight that threatened to snap my back.<br><br>Despite the weight, I had worked for a period of time during the holidays as a mover, and my mandatory military training from a couple years back let me tolerate the weight. It was all about keeping a certain posture and pace. A good song and cadence helps keep the spirits up as well, but singing a song alone sounds kind of melancholic...<br><br>I made good progress following the written instructions and I quickly found myself at the Warrior's Guild.<br><br>"Thus far, what I have experienced was the pains of manual labor," I muttered to myself. As such, I have obtained extra motivation to pursue my modest dream of getting a relatively cushy job with good pay and living out a simple life with little expectations or obligations.<br><br>**<br><br>Lilian Liam Lee was walking home after helping Howard set up the console at his place.<br><br>"He should be playing Royal Road right about now. My guess is that he would take to the game like a fish to water."<br><br>Lilian had confidence in Howard's gaming instincts. He was terrible at other gaming genres when they were children, but he was exceptional at playing MMORPGs.<br><br>Newly created characters were quickly grown to high levels in a short period of time, with skills and stats properly raised as well. Howard always had a keen sense when it comes to this, and he had an uncanny ability to quickly grasp the mechanics of the game and play it as though he was an expert.<br><br>It was pretty amazing to watch him move up the ranks, beating aside bosses as though they were nothing.<br><br>Over time, however, Howard had grown disillusioned, and had left the gaming world behind. They lost an exceptionally skilled player that day.<br><br>"This game is different. He will definitely like it," was the sincere thought Lilian had in her head. It had changed the way she saw role-playing games, and Howard wasn't any different.<br><br>She took longer strides as she hurried home.<br><br>"Can't wait to meet him in game. Oh, the adventures that we would have. It will be just like the old days..."<br><br>Howard was a very different person back then. He was bright, optimistic, and full of life...<br>***<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">"What's your name?"<br><br>"Huh?"<br><br>A young boy held his hand out to the little girl that had fallen down.<br><br>"A little one like you shouldn't cry. It's a beautiful day after all, Mama said."<br><br>"Funny that you would say this, since you are the same age as me."<br><br>An unexpectedly sharp tongue for so tender an age!!<br><br>The boy remained unfazed, and with a toothy grin, grabbed her hand and pull her up.<br><br>"Never mind that, let's play. What's your name?"<br><br>"... Lilian Liam Lee."<br><br>The girl was bemused by the unexpected response, and blurted out her name without meaning to.<br><br>"Huh... that's a bit of a mouthful. I know!! Could I call you Lilee instead?"<br><br>"Huh? Well, I guess you could..."<br><br>The increasingly confused little girl, now known as Lilee, could not keep up.<br><br>"I'm Howard, nice to meet you!!"<br><br>"Erm, nice to meet you too..."<br><br>"Now that we know each other little more, let's play!! Come along now, we are going on an adventure!!"<br><br>"Eh??? Wait, why are you grabbing my hands? Where are you taking me?"<br><br>Dragging the extremely confused girl by the arms as though kidnapping her, the young and sadly insensitive and oblivious Howard happily went out to the fields to play...</span><br><br>****<br><br>"Package for the Warrior's Guild from the Old Blacksmith," I said to the clerk at the reception desk as I set the box down.<br><br>It landed with a loud THUNK!! The jangling of weapons could be heard from the box.<br><br>"Great, I was expecting it today. Old Blacksmith already sent a messenger ahead to notify me on this. You have made really great time too."<br><br>"It was my pleasure to do this." No, it most obviously wasn't. I gave a refreshing smile anyway.<br><br>"Hah, you have a glib tongue. You must be either a Merchant or a Bard? No, you were carrying a box of goods..."<br><br>The clerk mused to himself as he carefully made observations.<br><br>"From the looks of things, you must be new here, right?"<br><br>"Yes, that is right. I have only arrived here today."<br><br>"Yes, you do have a look of a newcomer to you. Might I ask then, have you decided on a class yet? The Sleepy Fortress, despite its name, is renowned for its martial prowess."<br><br>Really? Names are kind of misleading...<br><br>"In fact, would you like to join up with the Warrior Guild as a warrior? You will be armed and trained in the ways of close combat. No art is truly more noble than one that lets you get up close and personal with the opponent!!" The clerk chuckled.<br><br>T-tring!!<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">[You may apply for a place in the Warrior's Guild. Do you wish to accept this offer?]</span><br><br>What incredible luck. I had only played the game for less than an hour and already I was being offered a class. I was comfortable with the thought of being a melee class attacker anyways. In most games, the warrior, along side the mage and rogue, was one of the primary few classes that was native to any Role-playing game. The warriors wear heavy armor and are focused entirely on close-ranged combat.<br><br>In a party role, I believe that they play the role as a tanky attacker that soaked up hits while dealing out a considerable amount of damage themselves. They also have good attacks to hit multiple opponents with, effectively making a good balance between the primary classes.<br><br>The mage and rogue both have lower armor ratings and lower hp, but the mage has powerful Area of Effect (AoE) attack skills and a vast mana pool to cast it with, while the rogue is great at single combat while being able to dodge skills easily. The rogue also has the useful ability of disarming most physical traps.<br><br>This was drawn from the prior knowledge of MMORPGs that I had before hand. I liked to have some balance between skills, and hence I accepted the Clerk's offer.<br><br>"Wonderful!! I'm sure that you would make a great warrior. Just fill out the application form... Sign here, here and here..."<br><br>I complied with the Clerk's request, but I had my doubts. A job offer like that can't be coming to me that easily...<br><br>T-tiring!!<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">[You have joined the Warrior's Guild as a trainee.]</span><br><br>A trainee?!<br><br>The Clerk clapped his hands.<br><br>"Perfect. Now report to the Chief Trainer at the Armory. It's on the third floor. He will get you kitted out for your basic training. Don't even think about backing out now..."<br><br>Basic Training. It wouldn't be that easy after all. Although, if it was what I had in mind, it shouldn't be too difficult.<br><br>The Clerk seemed to become oddly pushy after I signed up though...<br><br>T-tiring!!<br><br>The bell rang out again. It was pretty annoying, but I best get used to it.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">Quest Received: You have joined the Warrior's Guild and must now undergo Basic Training to become a Warrior. First, report to the Chief Trainer on the third floor. This quest cannot be refused.<br><br>Quest Difficulty: E<br>Quest Restrictions: Must be part of the Warrior's guild with the rank Trainee or below. Cannot leave the Warrior's Guild premises while undergoing training.<br>Failure: Must leave the Warrior's Guild. The Warrior Class will be closed to you.<br>Quest Rewards: Unknown.<br><br>[Quest Accepted.]</span><br><br>The Clerk went back to his paper work, leaving me to get on with things.<br><br>I decided to see what the place was like. Most likely I would be stuck here for the rest of the month, which isn't so bad.<br><br>For one, my food problem should be solved. No quest would trap a player here without making sure of this. No way a place like this would be a deathtrap.... Right?<br><br>Also, the Warrior's Guild looks to be an obvious place to get a weapon. Weapon problem solved as well.<br><br>With that happy thought in mind, with big steps I walked to the Armory.<br><br>Along the way I saw what in the future would be called the Drill Hall. Players and Non-Playing Characters (NPCs) were busy training, hitting practice dummies according to the called timing, or in military terms, the cadence. Little did I know that it would be known as the site of Hell, as I moved happily to the Armory.<br><br>****<br><br>I would like you to meet the Chief Trainer. He is Hell Spawn Incarnate, and his subordinates must be the Devils that do his dirty work for him, torturing recruits.<br><br>The me at this point was still happy in my delusions from my previous experiences. Ignorance was bliss.<br><br>He even looked the part. Goatee, sharp, commanding eyes, sneaky laugh. I was surprised that the devil didn't have horns.<br><br>Anyways, I ended up in the Armory where I met the Chief Trainer. He gave a genial laugh when he heard my story... Which was more like a booming laugh anyway. Why is it that the men I met up to now in game have booming laughs?<br><br>"AHAHAHAHAHA!! So the Old Geezer let in another newcomer. You would have thought that we have trouble getting recruits. So, think you have what it takes to become a Warrior?"<br><br>I decided to let my smart mouth run off this time.<br><br>"If not, why am I here then?"<br><br>"Heh, you got a smart mouth, eh? Clever head on those shoulders, too. Hmmm... You might just do it."<br><br>"Do what?"<br><br>"Eh, nothing of your concern. Alright, let's get you kitted up. As of now, this shall be your new home for the next four weeks!! During that time, you shall call me Sir!! And my friends Instructor!!"<br><br>The Chief Instructor's voice picked up in volume and he proceeded to shout in my face. It's just like the mandatory military training I went through a couple of years ago...<br><br>I decided to let the rusty old soldier in me take over for the time being. I stood ramrod straight, arms at the sides with fists clenched.<br><br>"Yes, Sir!!"<br><br>"Ah, already catching on, huh? Trainee, you come in a boy, I will make you a man!! No, even better. I will make you a warrior!!"<br><br>Just like the old days indeed. We were just standing here in the rather warm Armory getting caught up in our formal fervent frenzy...<br><br>And that was when I first entered the Warrior's Guild. Trainee Population: 40. Expected drop out rate: 95%.<br><br>*****<br><br>I was kitted out soon afterward.<br><br>The works: A couple of sets of Uniform, a Wooden Sword, a Wooden Shield, Hard leather boots and gloves. I decided to have a look at what I got.<br><br>The uniform isn't much to look at. It was White and Red. Great... White. The stains will never wash off that kind of color. Naturally, according to the game theme, it was a rather medieval design.<br><br>The Sword was shaped and weighted to feel like a real sword. It was made of wood, with a nondescript hilt and sword guard. Leather was wrapped around the hilt to complete this rudimentary weapon. It felt really heavy on my hand. No surprises, the only few weapons I have held were mostly firearms. And the epee.<br><br>The shield was really a wooden buckler. Circular shaped, with metal wrapped around it. Nothing much to say about that. Nothing much to say about the boots and gloves either, except for the fact that the finger portions of the glove were cut off. That's a good thing. It always felt weird handling stuff with gloves. Doesn't feel right. Your hands don't breathe as well.<br><br>The Chief Trainer nodded approvingly.<br><br>"Good. Always check what you got. Saves both of us less time if there's an issue."<br><br>And there wasn't. None that I could find, anyway.<br><br>******<br><br>I was given free time to prepare myself before the training begins for me.<br><br>I was shown to a bunk where several beds were kept. The belongings of the other inma- I mean, roommates were strewn around messily.<br><br>"Geez. This always happens when new batches come in. Give me a minute, Trainee."<br><br>And the Chief Trainer proceeds to go through the place like a Hurricane. Blankets and pillows thrown on the floor. Backpacks and cupboards emptied. Stuff easily broken set down carefully... and so on.<br><br>Taking a good long look at his workmanship (if you can even afford to call it that), the Chief Trainer heaved a hearty laugh and had a sadistic grin on his face as he turned to me.<br><br>"Hopefully you'll be the first trainee to remember this. Also, training starts at Dawn. Don't be late."<br><br>With those happy words ringing in my ears, the Chief Trainer strode off.<br><br>"Welcome back to the army, Boy..." I grumbled to myself.<br><br>I decided to do a bit of stretching before hand. I took out my canteen and drank half of the contents. Always keep yourself well hydrated, that's the rule. And then I proceed to perform a couple of basic stretches.<br><br>It felt rather weird, sitting on the floor stretch while the place looked like a scene from Pompeii.<br><br>"Cleanliness is a virtue that must be taught..." I say this to myself while still stretching. No point cleaning up. It took too much effort, and the trainees had to be taught a lesson.<br><br>But it just felt so weird. I tried really hard to resist, but the siren call was too strong. I succumbed to my urge.<br><br>If I had another fault, I was a bit of a clean freak.<br><br>I carefully packed up the bunk and swept the floor. The blankets were folded and just set back on the people's beds. Pillows were plumped, and I opened the curtain to let in the wind and sunlight. A room always felt more welcome and homely after an airing, anyway.<br><br>I went back to stretching out the muscles when the trainees returned, grumbling and moaning, some clutching at aching muscles.<br><br>They didn't introduce themselves or comment on their recently cleaned room, and some quickly logged off while the rest collapsed onto the bed and fell asleep like the dead.<br><br>It seemed like there was nothing left to do here. I finished off my stretching and logged off to get some rest. Always play a game in moderation. This is important!!<br><br>I decided to give myself 2 hours of rest. 2 hours equals 8 hours of game time, right?<br><br>Also, on hindsight, I shouldn't have cleaned the bunk. There wasn't any point to it right?<br>*****************************************************************************************************************************************************************<br>Well, I think I have started to overwrite. A bad habit :X </div>

* It was dark. Really dark. Somehow or another, despite my stance on video games, I find myself playing the extremely popular VR MMORPG, Royal Road!! "Become an Emperor!!" shouted the slogan on the disk cover I got from Lili in incredibly loud and annoying wording. I had no intention of striving to be an Emperor. I was only playing the game for a month. And then I will quit. This I promised myself. Besides, that sounded like it would be too much work. And so I was just floating here in the darkness feeling like an idiot, when a distinctive and feminine voice spoke out from the darkness. [The scan on your retina and veins has shown that you are an unregistered player. Would you like to create an account?] That was pretty obvious. Otherwise, why am I even here in the first place, I wanted to shout. However, I took control of my emotions and bit back the retort that was forming in my mouth. Instead I said, in a controlled and measured voice: "Yes." [Please choose the name of your avatar.] Huh... that one was a tricky one. I decided to use a name I used in all of my games. At least for old times' sake. "Howard." Well, I did use my real name for all of the games I played. For one, it sounded ridiculous and rather strange being called by another name. And somehow, the name always seemed to be available. This time, Royal Road was no different, at least from that aspect. From what I heard from Lili, names aren't unique in this game. Which was just as well. [Please choose your gender from male, female, or neutral] Interesting. So they have an option for neutral... As intriguing as it sounds, my look is decidedly that of a male, and I would surely not pass off as a neutral gender all that well. As such: "Male." Obviously. (Even if MMORPG also stands for Many Men Often Role Play Girls.) [Royal Road has 49 different races. You may choose from 29 primary races available.] Well, that was a staple part in every fantasy game. Each race has its advantages and disadvantages, and has a different look aesthetically. I am too tall to be a dwarf though, too short to be an elf, and I am not muscular enough to be an orc... "Human, then." It was a safe bet. Humans tend to have the most balanced stats in most games, by any stretch, and I won't look too strange or exotic. I won't stand out too much either, which was just fine by me. [You may adjust the appearance of your avatar in anyway you like.] ... Now I felt like an idiot. Two options carefully considered for aesthetics and stat wise, only to have the option to change the avatar's appearance... I decided to man it up and just go through with it though. Since I already had the poison, I might as well eat the plate as well... "Keep it the way I am." [Your account has now been created. Please choose the town and kingdom to start out in.] Well, each Kingdom has strengths and weaknesses that can affect the progress of my character somehow. I didn't know about the geography of the game, but Lili did tell me to go to... "The Sleepy Fortress, in the Wulfgang Kingdom." [Welcome to Royal Road.] My manners decided at this point to take over. "Thanks." [You are welcome. Most players tend to skim through most of the character creation progress, so this is a change. Oh, the stories I can tell you...] "Eh?" I could only manage this phrase before I was whisked away to the Tutorial. ... Apparently Game Interfaces have feelings and manners too. God bless Artificial Intelligence. ** I quickly went through the tutorial, and was spawned at my designated location, the Sleepy Fortress, in the Wulfgang Kingdom. I still felt incredibly disoriented. Who wouldn't be if an AI spoke to you out of the blue. I was deep in thought as I went through the Tutorial, and I was deep in thought as I spawn. I shook my head, attempt to get my bearings right. The silence from the tutorial that was still ringing in my ears quickly gave way to the hustle and bustle of the Fortress, where according to Lili, I would be stuck for the next 4 weeks in game, or about 1 week's worth of Game Time. Gee, thanks game. If you wanted to attract people with a month's trial, you don't let a week be wasted, being stuck in a fortress... That was the critical thought I had in my head as I called out in a clear voice: "Stat Window." A wide screen with my listed stats appeared in front of me. I carefully read through it. Name: Howard. Level: 1. Neutral Alignment, All stats (Strength, Agility, Wisdom, Vitality/Stamina, Intellect) at 10, a 100 hitpoints and mana points, no reputation, no title, no magic resistances, and 0 points in the Leadership and Luck stat. Oh, and 3 attack points unarmed. (Author's note: I'm still figuring out how to use the stat table, so a written down portion would be good for now) Rule 1 in MMORPGs: Know thy stats. As expected, the humans had pretty balanced out stats. My stats weren't spectacular to begin with, which wasn't surprising since I was at level 1. Naturally, I also had no skills and profession. That should probably change as I gain levels and stat points to assign. Rule 2 in MMORPGs: Know thy starting inventory. I checked the backpack I was given. It seems as though it was enchanted to have a large amount of capacity, and I soon found 10 pieces of hard, stale bread and a canteen of water. No form of currency was found, which means that I have to find a way to earn money somehow. Hmm... The water is easily refilled at a fountain, but with no money, I would run out of food and obviously starve, which should be a matter of fact, as seen by the yellow bar above me which states "Satiety Level". No weapon either. Obviously the priority would be to earn money to get food and survive the first four weeks. By then, ideally one should get a weapon as well when one can get out of the city. Lili was pretty vague on that detail... I decided to explore the city for a bit before deciding my next action. I moved my body about to ensure that my physical and mental faculties were in order. Legs are fine... Arms not reversed... I still have my head... Alright, let's move. I set off from the fountain in a brisk jog. I sought out the most crowded area to gather information, and along the way ran some simple errands to improve my financial status, albeit slightly. It was mostly simple fare, deliver this to a Mr. So and So... Be paid a pittance, and move on. I did find out that the central marketplace would be the best place to go from all this, though. The central area was home to the marketplace and was jam-packed with people. It was incredibly noisy since people fought to be heard above one another as they were hawking their fares. "Buying Rabbit Leathers for 30 coppers each!!" "Blacksmithing Services, I promise to make you gear with excellent stats!!!" "Potions made by a skilled Alchemist!! 1 Gold per bottle, samples available!!" I heard "coppers", "silvers" and "gold" mentioned a lot over the noise. Those must be the currency in game. From the earlier errands, I was paid with several copper coins. Considering the difficulty of the quest, these are definitely the lowest of the low. I decided to ask the Blacksmith to clarify about the currency system. He was a elderly man with a wiry build, and he gave a loud booming laugh belying his size. I just want to bring to bring this up here: Contrary to popular belief, a Blacksmith is not big and bulky, but wiry. This is due to the blacksmith focusing on specific muscles in the process rather than a full body workout. In fact, the process does call for that particular muscle training. Even a well muscled person would have trouble doing this if the muscles have not been trained. "You must be a new face in this town. Well, just to take note, the currency in this continent takes the form of Coppers, Silver and Gold. 100 coppers equals 1 Silver, and 100 silver equals 1 Gold." I nodded as I took this down in my head. "You seem pretty tough, by the way, would you like to do this old geezer a favor?" "Eh?" I heard a bell ring as a new window opened in front of me. T-tiring!! Quest received: The Old Blacksmith of the Sleepy Fortress is a kind and generous individual, and has decided to give you an errand. Take the set of weapons to the clerk at Warrior's Guild, and you would be paid for your trouble. Quest Difficulty: F Quest Restriction: None, only need to talk to the Old Blacksmith. Reward: 30 coppers, familiarity with the Old Blacksmith improves. Extra 20 coppers if you deliver it in 20 minutes. Sounds simple enough, and I get some more money out of the deal. Looking at the window, it seems that I can perform up to 3 quests at a time... "I accept." It was a pretty standard answer. [You have accepted the quest.] "Fantastic!! Just deliver this to the clerk at the Warrior's Guild. The guild has already paid for the order so it shouldn't be too much of a problem for you. You will get a little extra if you deliver it in 20 minutes. Here you go, and make it snappy." I was handed a wooden box filled with weapons. The Old Blacksmith immediately let go as soon as it was on my arms... ... and I bent over drastically at the weight. The Old Blacksmith must have ridiculous Strength to be able to hold the box so easily. Oh, and I got a paper with written directions to the Warrior's Guild, but my primary concern was the box. Heavy!! "Well, what are you waiting for? Move quickly!!" Easy for you to say, I wanted to reply, but I wasn't that kind of person. I trudged off with the box, a heavy weight that threatened to snap my back. Despite the weight, I had worked for a period of time during the holidays as a mover, and my mandatory military training from a couple years back let me tolerate the weight. It was all about keeping a certain posture and pace. A good song and cadence helps keep the spirits up as well, but singing a song alone sounds kind of melancholic... I made good progress following the written instructions and I quickly found myself at the Warrior's Guild. "Thus far, what I have experienced was the pains of manual labor," I muttered to myself. As such, I have obtained extra motivation to pursue my modest dream of getting a relatively cushy job with good pay and living out a simple life with little expectations or obligations. ** Lilian Liam Lee was walking home after helping Howard set up the console at his place. "He should be playing Royal Road right about now. My guess is that he would take to the game like a fish to water." Lilian had confidence in Howard's gaming instincts. He was terrible at other gaming genres when they were children, but he was exceptional at playing MMORPGs. Newly created characters were quickly grown to high levels in a short period of time, with skills and stats properly raised as well. Howard always had a keen sense when it comes to this, and he had an uncanny ability to quickly grasp the mechanics of the game and play it as though he was an expert. It was pretty amazing to watch him move up the ranks, beating aside bosses as though they were nothing. Over time, however, Howard had grown disillusioned, and had left the gaming world behind. They lost an exceptionally skilled player that day. "This game is different. He will definitely like it," was the sincere thought Lilian had in her head. It had changed the way she saw role-playing games, and Howard wasn't any different. She took longer strides as she hurried home. "Can't wait to meet him in game. Oh, the adventures that we would have. It will be just like the old days..." Howard was a very different person back then. He was bright, optimistic, and full of life... *** "What's your name?" "Huh?" A young boy held his hand out to the little girl that had fallen down. "A little one like you shouldn't cry. It's a beautiful day after all, Mama said." "Funny that you would say this, since you are the same age as me." An unexpectedly sharp tongue for so tender an age!! The boy remained unfazed, and with a toothy grin, grabbed her hand and pull her up. "Never mind that, let's play. What's your name?" "... Lilian Liam Lee." The girl was bemused by the unexpected response, and blurted out her name without meaning to. "Huh... that's a bit of a mouthful. I know!! Could I call you Lilee instead?" "Huh? Well, I guess you could..." The increasingly confused little girl, now known as Lilee, could not keep up. "I'm Howard, nice to meet you!!" "Erm, nice to meet you too..." "Now that we know each other little more, let's play!! Come along now, we are going on an adventure!!" "Eh??? Wait, why are you grabbing my hands? Where are you taking me?" Dragging the extremely confused girl by the arms as though kidnapping her, the young and sadly insensitive and oblivious Howard happily went out to the fields to play... **** "Package for the Warrior's Guild from the Old Blacksmith," I said to the clerk at the reception desk as I set the box down. It landed with a loud THUNK!! The jangling of weapons could be heard from the box. "Great, I was expecting it today. Old Blacksmith already sent a messenger ahead to notify me on this. You have made really great time too." "It was my pleasure to do this." No, it most obviously wasn't. I gave a refreshing smile anyway. "Hah, you have a glib tongue. You must be either a Merchant or a Bard? No, you were carrying a box of goods..." The clerk mused to himself as he carefully made observations. "From the looks of things, you must be new here, right?" "Yes, that is right. I have only arrived here today." "Yes, you do have a look of a newcomer to you. Might I ask then, have you decided on a class yet? The Sleepy Fortress, despite its name, is renowned for its martial prowess." Really? Names are kind of misleading... "In fact, would you like to join up with the Warrior Guild as a warrior? You will be armed and trained in the ways of close combat. No art is truly more noble than one that lets you get up close and personal with the opponent!!" The clerk chuckled. T-tring!! [You may apply for a place in the Warrior's Guild. Do you wish to accept this offer?] What incredible luck. I had only played the game for less than an hour and already I was being offered a class. I was comfortable with the thought of being a melee class attacker anyways. In most games, the warrior, along side the mage and rogue, was one of the primary few classes that was native to any Role-playing game. The warriors wear heavy armor and are focused entirely on close-ranged combat. In a party role, I believe that they play the role as a tanky attacker that soaked up hits while dealing out a considerable amount of damage themselves. They also have good attacks to hit multiple opponents with, effectively making a good balance between the primary classes. The mage and rogue both have lower armor ratings and lower hp, but the mage has powerful Area of Effect (AoE) attack skills and a vast mana pool to cast it with, while the rogue is great at single combat while being able to dodge skills easily. The rogue also has the useful ability of disarming most physical traps. This was drawn from the prior knowledge of MMORPGs that I had before hand. I liked to have some balance between skills, and hence I accepted the Clerk's offer. "Wonderful!! I'm sure that you would make a great warrior. Just fill out the application form... Sign here, here and here..." I complied with the Clerk's request, but I had my doubts. A job offer like that can't be coming to me that easily... T-tiring!! [You have joined the Warrior's Guild as a trainee.] A trainee?! The Clerk clapped his hands. "Perfect. Now report to the Chief Trainer at the Armory. It's on the third floor. He will get you kitted out for your basic training. Don't even think about backing out now..." Basic Training. It wouldn't be that easy after all. Although, if it was what I had in mind, it shouldn't be too difficult. The Clerk seemed to become oddly pushy after I signed up though... T-tiring!! The bell rang out again. It was pretty annoying, but I best get used to it. Quest Received: You have joined the Warrior's Guild and must now undergo Basic Training to become a Warrior. First, report to the Chief Trainer on the third floor. This quest cannot be refused. Quest Difficulty: E Quest Restrictions: Must be part of the Warrior's guild with the rank Trainee or below. Cannot leave the Warrior's Guild premises while undergoing training. Failure: Must leave the Warrior's Guild. The Warrior Class will be closed to you. Quest Rewards: Unknown. [Quest Accepted.] The Clerk went back to his paper work, leaving me to get on with things. I decided to see what the place was like. Most likely I would be stuck here for the rest of the month, which isn't so bad. For one, my food problem should be solved. No quest would trap a player here without making sure of this. No way a place like this would be a deathtrap.... Right? Also, the Warrior's Guild looks to be an obvious place to get a weapon. Weapon problem solved as well. With that happy thought in mind, with big steps I walked to the Armory. Along the way I saw what in the future would be called the Drill Hall. Players and Non-Playing Characters (NPCs) were busy training, hitting practice dummies according to the called timing, or in military terms, the cadence. Little did I know that it would be known as the site of Hell, as I moved happily to the Armory. **** I would like you to meet the Chief Trainer. He is Hell Spawn Incarnate, and his subordinates must be the Devils that do his dirty work for him, torturing recruits. The me at this point was still happy in my delusions from my previous experiences. Ignorance was bliss. He even looked the part. Goatee, sharp, commanding eyes, sneaky laugh. I was surprised that the devil didn't have horns. Anyways, I ended up in the Armory where I met the Chief Trainer. He gave a genial laugh when he heard my story... Which was more like a booming laugh anyway. Why is it that the men I met up to now in game have booming laughs? "AHAHAHAHAHA!! So the Old Geezer let in another newcomer. You would have thought that we have trouble getting recruits. So, think you have what it takes to become a Warrior?" I decided to let my smart mouth run off this time. "If not, why am I here then?" "Heh, you got a smart mouth, eh? Clever head on those shoulders, too. Hmmm... You might just do it." "Do what?" "Eh, nothing of your concern. Alright, let's get you kitted up. As of now, this shall be your new home for the next four weeks!! During that time, you shall call me Sir!! And my friends Instructor!!" The Chief Instructor's voice picked up in volume and he proceeded to shout in my face. It's just like the mandatory military training I went through a couple of years ago... I decided to let the rusty old soldier in me take over for the time being. I stood ramrod straight, arms at the sides with fists clenched. "Yes, Sir!!" "Ah, already catching on, huh? Trainee, you come in a boy, I will make you a man!! No, even better. I will make you a warrior!!" Just like the old days indeed. We were just standing here in the rather warm Armory getting caught up in our formal fervent frenzy... And that was when I first entered the Warrior's Guild. Trainee Population: 40. Expected drop out rate: 95%. ***** I was kitted out soon afterward. The works: A couple of sets of Uniform, a Wooden Sword, a Wooden Shield, Hard leather boots and gloves. I decided to have a look at what I got. The uniform isn't much to look at. It was White and Red. Great... White. The stains will never wash off that kind of color. Naturally, according to the game theme, it was a rather medieval design. The Sword was shaped and weighted to feel like a real sword. It was made of wood, with a nondescript hilt and sword guard. Leather was wrapped around the hilt to complete this rudimentary weapon. It felt really heavy on my hand. No surprises, the only few weapons I have held were mostly firearms. And the epee. The shield was really a wooden buckler. Circular shaped, with metal wrapped around it. Nothing much to say about that. Nothing much to say about the boots and gloves either, except for the fact that the finger portions of the glove were cut off. That's a good thing. It always felt weird handling stuff with gloves. Doesn't feel right. Your hands don't breathe as well. The Chief Trainer nodded approvingly. "Good. Always check what you got. Saves both of us less time if there's an issue." And there wasn't. None that I could find, anyway. ****** I was given free time to prepare myself before the training begins for me. I was shown to a bunk where several beds were kept. The belongings of the other inma- I mean, roommates were strewn around messily. "Geez. This always happens when new batches come in. Give me a minute, Trainee." And the Chief Trainer proceeds to go through the place like a Hurricane. Blankets and pillows thrown on the floor. Backpacks and cupboards emptied. Stuff easily broken set down carefully... and so on. Taking a good long look at his workmanship (if you can even afford to call it that), the Chief Trainer heaved a hearty laugh and had a sadistic grin on his face as he turned to me. "Hopefully you'll be the first trainee to remember this. Also, training starts at Dawn. Don't be late." With those happy words ringing in my ears, the Chief Trainer strode off. "Welcome back to the army, Boy..." I grumbled to myself. I decided to do a bit of stretching before hand. I took out my canteen and drank half of the contents. Always keep yourself well hydrated, that's the rule. And then I proceed to perform a couple of basic stretches. It felt rather weird, sitting on the floor stretch while the place looked like a scene from Pompeii. "Cleanliness is a virtue that must be taught..." I say this to myself while still stretching. No point cleaning up. It took too much effort, and the trainees had to be taught a lesson. But it just felt so weird. I tried really hard to resist, but the siren call was too strong. I succumbed to my urge. If I had another fault, I was a bit of a clean freak. I carefully packed up the bunk and swept the floor. The blankets were folded and just set back on the people's beds. Pillows were plumped, and I opened the curtain to let in the wind and sunlight. A room always felt more welcome and homely after an airing, anyway. I went back to stretching out the muscles when the trainees returned, grumbling and moaning, some clutching at aching muscles. They didn't introduce themselves or comment on their recently cleaned room, and some quickly logged off while the rest collapsed onto the bed and fell asleep like the dead. It seemed like there was nothing left to do here. I finished off my stretching and logged off to get some rest. Always play a game in moderation. This is important!! I decided to give myself 2 hours of rest. 2 hours equals 8 hours of game time, right? Also, on hindsight, I shouldn't have cleaned the bunk. There wasn't any point to it right? ***************************************************************************************************************************************************************** Well, I think I have started to overwrite. A bad habit :X

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <span style="font-weight: bold;"><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="4"><span style="color: #BF0040;">Disclaimer</span><br><br>The Drawings and Audio works are taken without permission. All credit for the drawings should go to their creators (eg; not me) who are... Mysterious Masked Interweb People! Or the MMIP for short! Actually I haven't the foggiest who they are but the MMIP are cool!</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div></span><br><br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">Minasan Ohayoo</span>! &lt;Hello everybody!&gt; (???)? <br><br>Firstly, I would like to thank <span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: #40BFFF;">AnmesicCat</span></span> for letting me post this fanfic that touches lightly on a dark period of human history. <br><br>Secondly, I want to thank all the people who read my work. That people gave it a chance to grow and read past chapter 1, letting me address the glaring issues at my own pace (like a story teller should)instead of rushing and dumping everything in one chapter... I humbly thank you all. That people created accounts just to say it was good..... I am touched (I do notice these things, I tend to proof read my work even when posted). I remembered when I had a conservative estimate of 100 readers... now its like 300 O_O unless people have been refreshing pages alot hahaha. Anyway, i thank you all again.<br><br>If people haven't noticed yet, the chapters are written with a anime style format, hell the whole thing is anime inspired, and this is the first time I have ever written in such volume just for a story. I will now from time to time, update Gerhard's stats but this tale is more about the story rather than the game. Although that doesnt mean there won't be more mayhem and bloodshed...on the contrary, expect Gerhard to be embroiled more and more into the politics of Royal Road as he truly 'starts' his journey in season 2.<br><br>And also about the first four chapters.... when they were made, it was rushed with only hrs in between... I always felt it could be better and thats why they are all now re-released with added content at the bottom in the form of Gerhard's life from the period of 1937-1943. As we were drawing closer to the end of the season, I realised that i never did expand on his wife, his life as a soldier, his family and thus I added the flashback scenes to chapter 1-4 because i was inspired by the chapter special of 5.5. Also it allowed me to clarify INTENSELY one thing that some not very...astute readers seemed keen to often overlook. The main character is NO nazi.... I do not support Nazism or its modern equivalent. The point is this, if you are born in a country that is spiraling towards hatred, but your entire family is tied to that nation, what would you do? That your family has a tradition of military service but the government has been taken over by extremists, what would you do? That you are bound by military law to follow orders or face execution what WOULD YOU DO? You can never understand what these people have been through, I CAN'T even begin to imagine it, trapped in a system to the death. Not all Germans were Nazis, just as not all Americans eat mc donalds, that not all Russians are communists, that not all British worship soccer....actually I may be wrong on that last count. Anyway....<br><br>Also Chapter 4 is a little departure from 1-3, in that it mirrored to some extent what happened in RR chapter 4 like the first 3 flashbacks did however I decided to end it on a darker note, to transition into the beginning of chapter 5. Because in real life, things will often never go your way. It seems my FF have gone from shounen to seinen after the 4th episode. :lol: <br><br>Currently the last remaining chapters will be proofread by Vindrueelsker and then their Prefix will change to match all the other episodes. Also I was slightly embarrassed by some mistakes I did in the last chapter of the season... so I will release only after Vin has proofread my work. So if its late please blame him ahahahah. So the season 2 release date is all dependent on him...feel free to lynch him ?(??´)? ?(??´)? ?(??´)? ?(??´)? <br><br>And just so everyone have a preview of the next season.....the colour is pink.<br><br>This is ShrimpSamurai signing out. (?^?)?<br>?????????????<br><br><br><br><span style="color: #FF0000;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Previous Afterwords and Notes;</span></span><br><br>Gerhard von Natzmer is based on a real character who served in the <span style="font-style: italic;">Großdeutschland</span> division. A real hard ass of a character. The medals i mentioned in passing.... he really DID earn them.<br><br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;">Background:</span><br>Gerhard von Natzmer is actually Gerhard Konopke<br><br>Born 27 March 1911, <span style="font-style: italic;">Tirschtiegel</span> , in the story he was born 27 March 1920. See what i did there? lol. Making him 19 years of age when World War 2 started.<br><br>And his war time decorations;<br><br>• Iron Cross (1939)<br>• 2nd Class (18 January 1941)<br>• 1st Class (1 July 1941)<br><br>• Wound Badge<br>• in Black<br>• in Silver<br>• in Gold<br><br>• Eastern Front Medal<br>• Infantry Assault Badge<br>• 4 Tank Destruction Badges for Individual Combatants<br><br>• Close Combat Clasp in Gold (25 June 1943)<br><br>• German Cross in Gold (9 October 1942)<br>• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 29 August 1943 as <span style="font-style: italic;">Oberleutnant der Reserves</span> and commander of II. / Grenadier-Regiment "<span style="font-style: italic;">Großdeutschland</span>" <br><br>Fought in;<br>• Invasion of Poland<br>• Battle of Belgium<br>• Battle of France<br>• Operation Barbarossa<br>• Battle of Smolensk (1941)<br>• Battle of Moscow<br>• Battles of Rzhev<br>• Battle of Voronezh (1942)<br>• Battle of Stalingrad<br>• Battle of Kursk<br>• Battle of Berlin<br><br>And at the time of his de-enlistment....yup he survived all those years of war from beginning to end.... his final rank was Major.<br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;">Personality:</span><br>The character is based on two ex soldiers I have known who fought in the Vietnam and Korean war. And one of them happened to belong to a long line of Prussian military men dating past the First World War, his grandfather I believe fought against the allies in WW1, his father for the allies in WW2, his brothers in Korea and he himself in Vietnam. Now his son has fought in Iraq and last I heard was in Afghanistan. All these men were in the infantry. They have seen war up close and personal. These are not desk job warriors but in your face with bayonets kind.<br><br>However both men are very humble and polite, both don't take life too seriously and both.... have traumas from their war time past. This was explored a little deeper in chapter 3... especially the winter reference... for the Korean veteran the snow reminded him too much of blood on ice, of constant gunfire and insane charges by the enemy... for the vietnam veteran... the only true safe place for him was in buildings surrounded by walls. But, like all old men they loved telling stories and I happened to love listening to them. <br><br>As for why the current character is so awesomely a chick magnet... thats based on me. :lol: Actually that came about by chance. As I was writing the fact that his clothes had become rags from battle damage in chapter 2... I thought "Heeey, wonder what happens if a girl see a gorgeous man in such a state". Instantly instead of the plain look I had planned, he transformed into super model material haha. As for the singing part... I happened to listen to German folk songs at the time of writing.... and it kinda got added to the character (-_- ;;) Originally I wanted him to be a paladin (in chapter 2 the groundwork was laid out already for it) but by chapter 3 I wanted him to have a reason to sing, and so a new class was born. Just trying to figure out the prerequisites to gain skills and stats was a major headache (2 hrs worth..) and I have to thank the guys on chat for clarifying a few things with me. And chapter 4 was basically .... hell i don't even know why I wrote a new character in lol. Don't worry, it will work out somehow by chapter 5....I hope.....(which it hadn't lol.... looking back on this i cringe haha. I will solve it eventually)<br><br><br>oh and for those who don't know what a Sutton Hoo helm looks like since I keep mentioning it, its this.<br><br><img src="http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk285/black_ferrus/SuttonHoo_zps73f83cdf.jpg" border="0" alt="http%3a%2f%2fi283.photobucket.com%2falbums%2fkk285...f83cdf.jpg"><br><br>Sexy right? </div>

| DisclaimerThe Drawings and Audio works are taken without permission. All credit for the drawings should go to their creators (eg; not me) who are... Mysterious Masked Interweb People! Or the MMIP for short! Actually I haven't the foggiest who they are but the MMIP are cool! | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | Minasan Ohayoo! <Hello everybody!> (???)? Firstly, I would like to thank AnmesicCat for letting me post this fanfic that touches lightly on a dark period of human history. Secondly, I want to thank all the people who read my work. That people gave it a chance to grow and read past chapter 1, letting me address the glaring issues at my own pace (like a story teller should)instead of rushing and dumping everything in one chapter... I humbly thank you all. That people created accounts just to say it was good..... I am touched (I do notice these things, I tend to proof read my work even when posted). I remembered when I had a conservative estimate of 100 readers... now its like 300 O\_O unless people have been refreshing pages alot hahaha. Anyway, i thank you all again. If people haven't noticed yet, the chapters are written with a anime style format, hell the whole thing is anime inspired, and this is the first time I have ever written in such volume just for a story. I will now from time to time, update Gerhard's stats but this tale is more about the story rather than the game. Although that doesnt mean there won't be more mayhem and bloodshed...on the contrary, expect Gerhard to be embroiled more and more into the politics of Royal Road as he truly 'starts' his journey in season 2. And also about the first four chapters.... when they were made, it was rushed with only hrs in between... I always felt it could be better and thats why they are all now re-released with added content at the bottom in the form of Gerhard's life from the period of 1937-1943. As we were drawing closer to the end of the season, I realised that i never did expand on his wife, his life as a soldier, his family and thus I added the flashback scenes to chapter 1-4 because i was inspired by the chapter special of 5.5. Also it allowed me to clarify INTENSELY one thing that some not very...astute readers seemed keen to often overlook. The main character is NO nazi.... I do not support Nazism or its modern equivalent. The point is this, if you are born in a country that is spiraling towards hatred, but your entire family is tied to that nation, what would you do? That your family has a tradition of military service but the government has been taken over by extremists, what would you do? That you are bound by military law to follow orders or face execution what WOULD YOU DO? You can never understand what these people have been through, I CAN'T even begin to imagine it, trapped in a system to the death. Not all Germans were Nazis, just as not all Americans eat mc donalds, that not all Russians are communists, that not all British worship soccer....actually I may be wrong on that last count. Anyway.... Also Chapter 4 is a little departure from 1-3, in that it mirrored to some extent what happened in RR chapter 4 like the first 3 flashbacks did however I decided to end it on a darker note, to transition into the beginning of chapter 5. Because in real life, things will often never go your way. It seems my FF have gone from shounen to seinen after the 4th episode. :lol: Currently the last remaining chapters will be proofread by Vindrueelsker and then their Prefix will change to match all the other episodes. Also I was slightly embarrassed by some mistakes I did in the last chapter of the season... so I will release only after Vin has proofread my work. So if its late please blame him ahahahah. So the season 2 release date is all dependent on him...feel free to lynch him ?(??´)? ?(??´)? ?(??´)? ?(??´)? And just so everyone have a preview of the next season.....the colour is pink. This is ShrimpSamurai signing out. (?^?)? ????????????? Previous Afterwords and Notes; Gerhard von Natzmer is based on a real character who served in the Großdeutschland division. A real hard ass of a character. The medals i mentioned in passing.... he really DID earn them. Background: Gerhard von Natzmer is actually Gerhard Konopke Born 27 March 1911, Tirschtiegel , in the story he was born 27 March 1920. See what i did there? lol. Making him 19 years of age when World War 2 started. And his war time decorations; • Iron Cross (1939) • 2nd Class (18 January 1941) • 1st Class (1 July 1941) • Wound Badge • in Black • in Silver • in Gold • Eastern Front Medal • Infantry Assault Badge • 4 Tank Destruction Badges for Individual Combatants • Close Combat Clasp in Gold (25 June 1943) • German Cross in Gold (9 October 1942) • Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 29 August 1943 as Oberleutnant der Reserves and commander of II. / Grenadier-Regiment "Großdeutschland" Fought in; • Invasion of Poland • Battle of Belgium • Battle of France • Operation Barbarossa • Battle of Smolensk (1941) • Battle of Moscow • Battles of Rzhev • Battle of Voronezh (1942) • Battle of Stalingrad • Battle of Kursk • Battle of Berlin And at the time of his de-enlistment....yup he survived all those years of war from beginning to end.... his final rank was Major. Personality: The character is based on two ex soldiers I have known who fought in the Vietnam and Korean war. And one of them happened to belong to a long line of Prussian military men dating past the First World War, his grandfather I believe fought against the allies in WW1, his father for the allies in WW2, his brothers in Korea and he himself in Vietnam. Now his son has fought in Iraq and last I heard was in Afghanistan. All these men were in the infantry. They have seen war up close and personal. These are not desk job warriors but in your face with bayonets kind. However both men are very humble and polite, both don't take life too seriously and both.... have traumas from their war time past. This was explored a little deeper in chapter 3... especially the winter reference... for the Korean veteran the snow reminded him too much of blood on ice, of constant gunfire and insane charges by the enemy... for the vietnam veteran... the only true safe place for him was in buildings surrounded by walls. But, like all old men they loved telling stories and I happened to love listening to them. As for why the current character is so awesomely a chick magnet... thats based on me. :lol: Actually that came about by chance. As I was writing the fact that his clothes had become rags from battle damage in chapter 2... I thought "Heeey, wonder what happens if a girl see a gorgeous man in such a state". Instantly instead of the plain look I had planned, he transformed into super model material haha. As for the singing part... I happened to listen to German folk songs at the time of writing.... and it kinda got added to the character (-\_- ;;) Originally I wanted him to be a paladin (in chapter 2 the groundwork was laid out already for it) but by chapter 3 I wanted him to have a reason to sing, and so a new class was born. Just trying to figure out the prerequisites to gain skills and stats was a major headache (2 hrs worth..) and I have to thank the guys on chat for clarifying a few things with me. And chapter 4 was basically .... hell i don't even know why I wrote a new character in lol. Don't worry, it will work out somehow by chapter 5....I hope.....(which it hadn't lol.... looking back on this i cringe haha. I will solve it eventually) oh and for those who don't know what a Sutton Hoo helm looks like since I keep mentioning it, its this.  Sexy right?

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> Chapter 2<br><br>The following is a part of chapter 3 :) just wanted to show a bit of the upcoming epicness totally not trying to get people pumped for chapter three or anything like that * Looks around nervously* * Hides* <br><br><br>Under his white mask, tears streamed down his cheeks. His heart was filled with sorrow, but also burning with rage. From within he felt it: the desire to destroy them, to annihilate them. Beating them would not be enough. He wanted to slowly destroy them. To make them feel the pain that he was feeling. He wanted to make them all suffer.<br><br>Deep red eyes filled with fury were all you could see when you looked towards him. A raging beast which had two katanas on its back. The Grim Reaper of the Battlefield. He had long been silent, but now they had done that which should never have occurred.<br><br>Silently he whispered. “Murderous Aura.”<br><br>“God of Hell! Give me your power! Rage! Fear! Pain! Rampage! All shall bow down before my wrath. Abaddon!” <br><br>He unsheathed his swords, and charged into the battlefield striking fear into the heart of every man and woman that managed to make eye contact with him. The beast had been unleashed. His body radiated a dark red and black glow in the night.<br><br>********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>System Message<br><br>Fastest Clear of Arena Quest<br><br>1st. USA Odrosol City &amp; Korea Velathy City<br><br>2nd. Japan Bul Isro City<br><br>3rd. UK LinLand City<br><br>Due to the fact that two cities have tied for first place, we have decided to hold a contest. In one month’s time a war will be held between USA’s Odrosol City &amp; Korea’s Velathy City. Only 1000 players will be allowed from each city, and only players who participated in the original City acquisition quest may participate. The winning city’s participants will receive double exp and drops for one month and a special prize that was originally intended for the city with the fastest clear. Players will also be awarded depending on their performance in the battle.<br><br>- Exodus Development Team</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>There was silence in the plaza as everyone was reading the message. Suddenly, hands started to move, and voices were shouting. Everyone was messaging their friends and superiors, reporting what had just happened. They all already knew. The whole world knew. The first ever Player versus Player battle had been scheduled.<br><br>The United States vs. Korea. Whoever won this battle would have an overwhelming advantage over the rest of the world due to the double exp, and drops for a month.<br><br>Everyone turned towards Mazoku who now had a hood over his head. Immediately players ran towards him.<br><br>One by one, each person was inviting him to their guild or party. They offered many things varying from simple armour to free pick on any items dropped in a dungeon. He even got an offer for a romantic afternoon date ingame and in real life with a beautiful girl who seemed not much older than Mazoku himself.<br><br>“I’m sorry, but I can’t join you guys. I am a solo player.” said Mazoku <br><br>“ Please, I’ll pay for you to go on vacation anywhere in the world for one month!”<br>“I’ll buy you a house anywhere in the United States!”<br>“If you put a wolf pelt in the auction house, I’ll buy it for $50,000!”<br>“I’ll bid $100,000!”<br>“No, I’ll offer you $200,000!”<br><br>BAM!<br><br>In front of Mazoku, a mace impacted the ground letting out an earth shattering noise.<br><br>“He said, he doesn’t want to party! You guys should stop wasting time here, and go train.” yelled Barkness.<br><br>‘Wow, I guess even he has a serious side.’<br><br>As the spectators finally started to disappear, Barkness merely stood by in front of mazoku. He was motionless just waiting for the people to leave.<br><br>“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, GG dude. Did you see how scared they were?” He said, revealing a huge smile.<br><br>‘I stand corrected.’<br><br>“Don’t worry bro; I’m not here to ask you to party up. I’m actually more of a solo guy myself.”<br><br>‘Thank God, ‘cause I don’t think I could stand partying with this bastard again.’<br><br>“It’s cool man, don’t worry about it, and don’t forget to sign up for the battle.” Said Mazoku feeling relieved.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>Barkness has sent you a friend request.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br>‘.........’<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>Friend request denied.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br>‘......’<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>Barkness has sent you a friend request.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br>‘Fuck me! Not again! Dammit!’<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>You and Barkness are now friends.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br>‘He better not say it!’<br><br>Smiling Barkness turned around, and walked away. As he walked away, Mazoku swore he heard him say, “GG,” under his breath.<br><br>‘4 weeks till the ban is gone’ Mazoku thought as he smiled like a madman.<br><br>Soon everyone had left and Mazoku was alone. He opened his stat window again, and distributed his points. He was now level 14.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Name</td><td width="25%">Mazoku</td><td width="25%">Primary Class</td><td width="25%">N/A</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Health</td><td width="25%">424</td><td width="25%">Mana</td><td width="25%">470</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Level</td><td colspan="3">14</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Health Regen/Sec</td><td width="25%">2.2</td><td width="25%">Mana Regen/Sec</td><td width="25%">3.6</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Strength</td><td width="25%">40</td><td width="25%">Agility</td><td width="25%">31</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Wisdom</td><td width="25%">30</td><td width="25%">Intelligence</td><td width="25%">36</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Stamina</td><td width="25%">355</td><td width="25%">Vitality</td><td width="25%">22</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Dexterity</td><td colspan="3">40</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>Mazoku finished distributing his points and decided to walk to the city arena to see if he could get himself a class before he set out to hunt. When he was nearing the arena, he saw that it was full of other who had the same idea. If he went in there, he would be bombarded with requests, just as he was before.<br><br>‘I’ll just go get some quests, and come back later.’ he thought, turning around after making sure no one noticed him<br><br>While walking, Mazoku stumbled across an old man with a katana strapped to his side, who was leaning on a cane. He was standing at the entrance to the city, just staring into the forest.<br><br>“Hey, are you OK, old man?” said Mazoku cautiously as he approached the man.<br><br>Without even the slightest hesitation, the old man's katana was unsheathed and narrowly missed Mazoku’s throat.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>You have been stunned by fear for 5 seconds.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br>“Who are you calling ‘old man’? My name is Tonf!” He said, slowly sheathing his katana.<br><br>As soon as the stun was over, Mazoku removed his hood, and apologized to the old man. If there was one thing he had learned in life, it was to help the elderly and respect them.<br><br>“Forgive my rudeness, sir. I just happened to notice you staring into the forest, and wondered what it was you were looking at.”<br><br>Mazoku began conversing with Tonf slowly building his trust, and trying to figure out what it was he was seeking. Eventually, he got through to him and Tonf said, that he was looking for his granddaughter who had gone hunting and disappeared.<br><br>Ding!<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>Tonf’s Granddaughter<br><br>Quest Difficulty: Green<br><br>Description: 2 days ago Tonf’s granddaughter entered the forest to go hunting for boars and hasn't returned. Please, enter the forest to investigate her whereabouts.<br><br>Quest Reward: 50 copper</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>Do you wish to accept this quest?</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>- Quest has been accepted.<br><br>Equipping his hood, he set out towards the forest. Due to his level, and the passive effect of Murderous Aura, lower level monsters near the edge of the forest didn’t dare attack him.<br><br>The deeper he ventured, the darker it became. The forest was beginning to block the sunlight. As he walked, he saw shadows constantly moving through the forest. He unsheathed his katanas, and walked slowly, making sure to be aware of his surroundings.<br><br>As he continued to walk, he noticed a light in the distance. There was a clearing in the middle of the forest with a pond and what seemed to be a giant tree. Out of curiosity, he approached slowly.<br><br>His hands firmly gripped his katanas as he approached the mysterious place. He tried to move silently. When he finally arrived, he looked around cautiously before setting foot into the clearing.<br><br>*Woosh*<br><br>As soon as he stepped foot in the clearing an arrow rushed past his neck, narrowly missing his jugular.<br><br>“Who’s there!?” Said Mazoku loudly as he took a defensive stance with his katanas.<br><br>*Woosh*<br><br>Another arrow passed, but because he expected it, Mazoku was able to dodge it, allowing minimal damage. His heartbeat was accelerating as he strained his vision, trying to make out where the arrows were coming from.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>Health has been reduced by 20.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br>After several minutes no arrows had been fired yet Mazoku stood still waiting, and scanning every inch of the clearing and surrounding forest. Soon, he managed to hear a spell as if someone was whispering it all through the forest.<br><br>“From the heavens, I call the Power of the God’s Rain down to smite the heretic.” <br><br>*Crash*<br><br>Lightning rained down from the sky, through the trees, and hit Mazoku.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>Health has been reduced by 200.<br>You have been stunned for 5 seconds.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br>Mazoku stood frozen as he watched in fear. Emerging from the forest were 3 centaurs, one carrying a bow, another a small staff, and the other a sword.<br><br>‘Centaurs? What the hell are they doing here!?’<br><br>“Human! You dare trespass in our sacred clearing!?” Yelled one of the Centaurs.<br><br>“Not once, but twice you humans have trespassed upon our territory! Did you learn nothing when your first companion did not return!?”<br><br>‘The first human? What the hell is he talking about?’ Thought Mazoku as he finally assumed a defensive stance since the stun had worn off.<br><br>As Mazoku stood thinking, he remembered the quest the old man had given him. Revealing an evil smile, he decided to verify if what he was thinking was true.<br><br>“The man we sent out last week has already returned to the village.” He said confidently while watching the centaurs movements.<br><br>“Man? You humans are dumber than we thought! It was a woman who was hunting on our lands!” Declared one of the centaurs proudly.<br><br>Slowly Mazoku relaxed his defensive stance, and revealed a smile.<br><br>“So, it was you who kidnapped Tonf’s granddaughter. I assume I will have to force you to tell me her location?”<br><br>“Murderous Aura.” He said in a silent voice as he walked forward slowly.<br><br>After he activated his Murderous Aura, the centaurs finally understood the strength of the opponent they had challenged. They were trembling in fear.<br><br>One of the centaurs laughed nervously as he backed up. “There is no need for violence, we will give you the information you seek.”<br><br>Mazoku ignored them and continued to walk forward, as he stared at them like a starving wolf. Every step he took shook the hearts of the centaurs.<br>The centaurs began to fear for their lives and started to beg for forgiveness.<br><br>“Human! Please, we beg of you, we will give you the information. Please, spare us!!! We are but simple hunters that were sent to gather meat. We stumbled across you by pure chance.” They pleaded.<br><br>All the while, Mazoku ignored their pleas and continued to press forward. When he was 20 meters away suddenly he broke into a sprint. His eyes were burning with rage and seemed to be bottomless pits. The centaurs were stuck in fear, but the archer managed to barely fire off an arrow.<br><br>*Woosh*<br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>Your health has been reduced by 10.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br>Mazoku, realizing the arrow was incoming, managed to dodge at the last second resulting in only a minor scrape on his cheek.<br><br>It was as if the sight of scratching his face had filled the centaurs with hope - they began to take defensive stances.<br><br>“As strong as you may be, if you do not accept our proposal, we have no choice but to fight back.“ Proclaimed the sword wielding centaur proudly.<br><br>“Disgusting! Mere minutes ago you were pleading for you lives, and now you dare defy me?!” Mazoku’s blood boiled with rage at the sight of such cowardly creatures. First they kidnap a girl , and now they dare to stand up to him after begging for their lives moments prior.<br><br>As he neared the centaurs, he took care of the mage first since it would be the most annoying one to deal with. He skillfully dodged the swordsman’s attack and cut its front leg. While rolling on the ground to dodge an arrow, he appeared in front of the mage, and stabbed his sword into its chest.<br><br>Suddenly, the mage wrapped its arms around him, and began to chant the same spell again.<br><br>‘Oh hell no, this little shit is not going to kill himself, and make me lose xp’<br><br>He started to quickly kick the centaur in the chest as fast as he could, to lower its hp before the spell hit. All the while, taking little damage from the other two who were trying to attack him without harming their comrade.<br><br>As soon as the mage's spell was completed Mazoku dealt the finishing blow on the centaur while dodging as soon as his feet returned to the ground.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>Your health has been reduced by 86.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br>‘Damn it! It hit my foot’<br><br>Checking his hp Mazoku realized he only had 108 hp left.<br><br>‘I need to deal with the remaining two which shouldn’t be a problem. But I should use a health potion just incase tho.’<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>150 health has been restored.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br>As he stood up he put himself in front of the swordsman, so the archer could not attack him properly while he evaded the swordsmans swings. Who, surprisingly, had good swordsmanship.<br><br>“You will die, human!” They both yelled in sync. They were filled with rage over their fallen comrade.<br> <br>“You? Kill me? Isn’t that what this guy attempted?” Asked Mazoku as he nudged the dead centaur’s head. Suddenly he disappeared from the centaur’s vision.<br><br>He was taking advantage of the big size difference, and ducked into a blind spot as he cut through the swordsmans achilles heel causing him so fall back.<br><br>“Help me!” He pleaded to his comrade that was left standing.<br><br>It was too late, Mazoku was already in front of him with both arms held out towards his sides. He cut down once with his right before swinging down with his left, as though he was marking an X onto the centaurs chest. Finally, he sheathed one katana and with the force of both arms, stabbed the remaining sword into its chest<br><br>The centaurs body slowly became limp, and he died.<br><br>Slowly turning around, Mazoku walked towards the last member of the centaur party.<br><br>“Please, spare me!” He yelled as he threw his bow onto the ground.<br><br>“The girl is in a cave north of here, we offered her to our God! That is all I know! Please Spare Me!.”<br><br>“Is that all you know!?” Yelled Mazoku as he stood in front of the cowering centaur.<br><br>“Yes, it is all I know, please spare me!”<br><br>“KNEEL!” He commanded as he looked furiously towards the centaur.<br><br>“Ye....” As soon as the centaur kneeled Mazoku firmly gripped his katana and decapitated it.<br><br>“Bastards! You do not get to kidnap girls and offer them to Gods!” Yelled Mazoku furiously.<br><br>If there was one thing Mazoku couldn’t stand was sacrifices. Every time he read history books he felt disgusted at how ancient civilizations sacrificed people left and right. But that was not the only reason. He remembered Tonf’s face as he stare at the forest awaiting his granddaughters return. He had strong eyes indeed, but Mazoku could see the sorrow he held deep inside.<br><br>Walking towards the corpses he looted them, but only received some meat, and the bow and arrows that one of them had. Looking down at his sword, he noticed that it was blood stained.<br><br>‘I should really clean this sword.’ He thought, looking at the pond in the middle of the clearing.’<br><br>Cautiously, he approached the pond making sure to keep his guard up in case any more centaurs tried to ambush him. He paid close attention to everything before he scooped out some water in his hand and began to sprinkle it onto his sword.<br><br>The water turned red as soon as it made contact with the sword. Mazoku repeated the process until both swords were clean again, then wiped them on his cloak, and re-sheathed his swords.<br><br>*rumble* * rumble*<br><br>The ground suddenly began to tremble.<br><br>‘Wtf? An earthquake?’<br><br>“You dare soil this water with filthy centaur blood, human!?”<br><br>‘Oh, hell no! First a sacred land! Now, a fucking sacred pond! You have got to be kidding me!’ He screamed in his head.<br><br>‘Where is this voice coming from?’ He thought. He looked around scanning his surroundings, but couldn’t figure out where it was coming from, when suddenly roots began to ensnare his legs, and he was stuck in place unable to move. <br><br>Thats when he realized it. Looking up at the giant tree that was by the river. It now had a face a very angry one at that, and it was staring straight at Mazoku with furious eyes.<br><br>The ground shook as it unearthed its roots using them as support to stand. Soon, it was standing and staring down at Mazoku. Slowly it raised one of the thickest branches it had, and swung down towards Mazoku.<br><br>‘You have got to be shitting me man.’ Mazoku was standing defenseless, unable to even dodge because he was held in place by the roots.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>Health has been reduced by 300.<br>You are stunned for 5 seconds.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br>“Wait for me, you bastard. I’ll be back, and I will kill you and make myself a nice chair!”<br><br>Mazoku closed his eyes, furious that he would have to die from something as stupid as cleaning his sword in a pond. He calmed down, and awaited the next hit, but it never came. When he opened his eyes, standing inches from his face was Luna.<br><br>“Hey Aaron!” She said as she stood in front of him.<br><br>“Wh....Whh...Whaat are you doing here? Run, theTreant will kill you!” Screamed Aaron as he tried to free his legs.<br><br>“Oh, that thing? I stunned it.” She said, sporting a huge triumphant smile.<br><br>With a smile more sinister than even Mazoku’s she asked. “ Want me to help you out?” <br><br>‘For some reason I’m not getting a good feeling here.’ <br><br>“Umm s...sure.” he said hesitantly<br><br>“Ok, you only have to swear loyalty to me, and call me Hime, deal?”<br><br>‘Why are the quiet ones always the craziest ones!?’<br><br>“NO! I will not call you Princess.” He yelled.<br><br>“Hahahahaha. How is it you know what that means, Aaron? I don’t seem to recall you ever showing any interest in anime or manga during school. Might you be a closet otaku?” She said, laughing like a maniac.<br><br>‘Oh shit, I fucked up man. Now shes going to tell everyone.’<br><br>“N..n..no I just read it on a forum, and decided to research it’s meaning so I know what it means.” <br><br>“Show me you character stat window, Aaron”<br><br>“No.”<br><br>“Then die!” She said walking away<br><br>“Ok damn! Stat Window!”<br><br>As Luna looked through his stat window her eyes bulged at the sight of his level, and how high his stats were. But a smile crept across her face as she saw his name, Mazoku.<br><br>“Mazoku..... are you really going to keep denying it?”<br><br>‘Damn it! Whatever, I need to get out of this and not die!’<br><br>“Ok, I admit it! I love manga, anime, cosplay, nekomimi! All of it! Just get these roots off me.<br><br>“ You insolent human! Did you think you could stop me with such a weak attack!?” Yelled the treant.<br><br>Luna merely stood there as the treant broke through her stun.<br><br>‘Damnit! Why did it have to be her of all people!?’<br><br>“Ok, I will call you Hime, and I swear loyalty to you forever!”<br><br>Revealing a smile, Hime raised her right hand chanted a spell and threw a ball of white energy at the roots.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>Health has been reduced by 50</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br>‘.............’<br><br>Mazoku chugged two health potions.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>Health potion has restored 240 hp.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br>‘Now, I’m going to kill this little shit, and make myself a nice chair!’<br><br>“Murderous Aura.” <br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>Hime has sent you a party request.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br>‘................................’<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>You have joined Himes party.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br>Mazoku took advantage of the treant’s slow attacks and quickly attacked its legs and dodged its attacks easily. It would only occasionally graze him, but by the time he got hit again his health had already recovered.<br><br>“Why are you just standing there?”<br><br>“ I’m fighting, you just can’t see it.” Hime said confidently as she remained standing a good distance away from the treant.<br><br>‘She is so damn crazy.’<br><br>Mazoku continued to slowly wear down the treant’s life, until it finally died.<br>DING!<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>You are the first to kill the Forest Guardian Zilvios.<br>All members of you party gain 1000 xp<br>Items have been randomly distributed.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>Excited Mazoku called forward his inventory only to be disappointed.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>* NEW * Zilvios’ Tears<br>Restores 100 mana on use <br>10 minute cooldown<br>Unlimited uses.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>‘Wtf is this shit? It’ll only be useful while I am a low level!’<br><br>Slowly he turned around to Hime who now had what seemed to be an amulet equipped now.<br><br>‘She didn't do anything yet she probably got something good.’<br><br>She looked in his direction, and smiled.<br><br>‘..........’<br><br>“Ummmmmmm”<br><br>‘........’<br><br>“What are you doing here, Luna?”<br><br>‘...............’<br><br>‘..............’<br><br>Aaron sighed.<br><br>“What are you doing here, Hime?”<br><br>Smiling vibrantly Hime responded, “Nothing really. I was headed to the closest area I could find to farm the mask I mentioned in the note.”<br><br>‘Wtf she was serious!!!!? I thought she was kidding.’<br><br>“You were serious !?!?!?!”<br><br>“Of course I was serious. Why would I have been kidding?” <br><br>Hime was looking straight into Mazoku’s eyes; it was obvious she wasn't kidding. He couldn’t help but blush. She definitely has good looks, if it weren't for her weird personality he would definitely go for it.<br><br>“Well, I am on a quest right now, and I have to head to some Gods cave north of here.” <br><br>“Oh really... That's where I’m actually headed to farm the mask. By the way, Mazoku, are you, by any chance, the swordsman from Odrossol that everyone is talking about?”<br><br>‘What the hell? That wasn’t even that long ago, and she already knows.’<br><br>“Yeah, why?”<br><br>“Well, you may already know this, but right now you are the target of most countries. You even have a bounty on your head already.”<br><br>“WHAT THE HELL!!!! ARE YOU SERIOUS!!! THAT’S WHAT I GET FOR HELPING THOSE BASTARDS SURVIVE!!? I SHOULD’VE JUST LET EVERYONE DIE!!!!!”<br><br>“Well, as of now no one knows your face they just know you wield two katanas. Everyone that participated in the quest was too busy watching you fight to actually take the time to look at your face.”<br><br>“Well, wouldn’t it be easy to spot me with my katanas?”<br><br>“How many noobs do you think have started dual wielding katanas today, thinking they are OP after hearing the story about you? ”<br><br>‘She does have a point.‘<br><br>“Follow me!” Whispered Hime as she grabbed Mazoku’s arm, dragging him into the forest.<br><br>“Where are we going?”<br><br>“Shhhhhhhhh”<br><br>They both walked into the forest, and soon spotted what seemed to be rangers. They didn't look like they were from the Odrosol so Mazoku turned his language filter off to see if he could understand anything they said without it.<br><br>“Adonde esta la ciudad de los americanos?”<br><br>‘This is Spanish for what are they doing here’<br><br>“ No se pero tenemos que hallarlos y conseguir información sobre “El”?<br><br>-“They are talking spanish” - <br><br>Mazoku was using the private chat since that way they couldn’t be heard.<br><br>-” What are they saying??”-<br><br>-” Something about American city, and information about “him.”-<br><br>Hime lightly grabbed Mazoku’s hand and began to lead him away from the other players. They slowly headed north towards the cave that held the girl, and the monsters that would drop the masks.<br><br>Mazoku was blushing. It was the first time a girl had held his hand. It was so soft, so warm. If only it wasn’t Hime. She was so perfect: blonde hair; not too big but not too small breasts; and even her hips, she had just enough for her size. She was just a weirdo. Mazoku knew it would be dangerous to be around her, since she read all those weird comics with the guys on the cover.<br><br>“I think we are far enough to talk now,” she said as she let go of Mazoku’s hand. “We are almost there.”<br><br>“Ok, but how do you suppose we clear a cave? I’m sure it’s a dungeon, and we have no healer. Wait, what’s your class anyways?” Asked Mazoku curiously.<br><br>“My panties? They are blue today.” She said winking at him, totally ignoring the question. <br><br>Mazoku couldn’t help but blush as his eyes unconsciously scanned her whole body, as if the blue panties were going to be revealed by some mysterious force.<br><br>“Hentai.” She said, blushing as she slowly lifted her robe teasing him.<br><br>‘Why me..... If it had been any girl but her, I wouldn’t have let this opportunity slip past me.’ <br><br>Mazoku cleared his throat. “We should hurry. It will be night soon.”<br><br>“Ok, Lead the way then Mazoku.”<br><br>As they walked into the cave, they could hear whispers, shouts, something that seemed like explosions and a faint humming.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>You are the first to discover Abbadon’s Lair.<br>You may choose double exp or normal exp with weakened monsters.<br>All party members will receive a 15% increased chance of Epic Class Drops.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>‘Sweet! Epic Class, that’s only one under God Class drops! I hope I get something good.’<br><br>“Mazoku, hurry up! I want to see you fight something.” Said Luna as she smiled shyly at Mazoku.<br><br>‘Damn, I think she is going to be worse than Barkness.’ <br><br>As soon as they stepped into the cave, it became silent. All they heard were droplets of water falling from the ceiling, and the sound of air flowing in and out of the cave. It gave off the impression of a breathing monster.<br><br>The further they walked into the cave, the more uneasy they felt. It was like something was purposely letting them in. Like they were being watched the whole time. It was almost like every step they took wasn’t because they decided to take it, but because they were permitted to take it.<br><br>Mazoku suddenly drew his katanas and told Hime to get behind him. In Front of them stood 5 masked men. They had pure white masks on. They seemed to be tough opponents.<br><br>‘This isn’t looking good.’ <br><br>“AHHH!!!” screamed Hime.<br><br>A dart had been thrown right past Mazoku’s and into Himes shoulder. She was now on her knees crying in pain. Mazoku’s eyes immediately seemed to change. They became darker. He was emanating such a strong murderous aura, yet he hadn’t even activated it.<br><br>His face became emotionless. Everything other than his eyes seemed to be extremely calm.<br><br>“Murderous Aura.” He spoke in a cold tone as he gripped his katanas even tighter. He was so calm yet so furious. <br><br>‘Destroy.’<br><br>Mazoku held both katanas tightly as he charged towards the five men. He ran so fast it stunned one of them, which resulting in his heart getting to meet one of Mazoku’s katanas. <br>Yet the other’s did not falter. They immediately surrounded Mazoku, and began to attack in a coordinated fashion.<br><br>‘Right arm, right eye, left leg, torso, neck, back’ Mazoku accurately predicted where the attacks were headed, and easily deflected them. The last hit to his back he countered with one katana then threw the other like a throwing axe lodging it into the poor man’s skull.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>Murderous Aura has Evolved to Murderous Aura II<br>Due to the way murderous aura was used it gains a new effect.<br>+ 10 strength while activated.<br>Mana consumption increased to 25 mana/sec.<br>Murderous Aura may now be activated through thought.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br>Mazoku smiled as he faced the other three opponents, but one was already dead. It had a small glowing dart lodged in it’s eye. Mazoku slowly turned around facing Hime. The seemingly defenseless girl was standing with glowing hands.<br><br>“Mazoku if you keep looking at me you are going to die.” She said signaling behind me as he felt a sharp pain on his back.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>Health has been reduced by 150.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br>Turning around quickly he assumed a gendan stance with his sword pointed towards the feet of his opponent. He waited for the opponent to charge. He felt faintly stronger when he had one sword in hand. <br><br>When one finally approached he swiftly lifted the sword, and cut left, and right slicing up the man’s arm’s, and finished off with a decisive thrust through the heart. When he was going to attack the other another glowing object flew past him impacting the man’s heart causing him to die.<br><br>‘Wow Luna is actually kind of strong’<br><br>“Luna, seriously what is your class?” said Mazoku as he was looting the two bodies that corresponded to him.<br><br>“Mazoku... I already told you my panties are blue today, but since you insist i’ll tell you my bra is also blue.....hentai” she said as she blushed and looted the corpses.<br><br><br>‘She is definitely worse than Barkness,’ thought Mazoku as he checked his loot.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>*New* Assassin's Mask<br><br>A mask worn by Abaddon’s Assassins. <br> A slightly worn assassin's mask. If you can get past the<br> bloodstains and smell of rotten flesh, then it is practically <br>as good as new!<br>This mask may only be removed by the owner, even after <br>death it may not be removed without the owners permission.<br><br>Increases the effects of skills related to intimidation.<br>+10 agility</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>‘Holy shit the mask is an Epic Class Item!’<br><br>“Hey Hime I got my mask. Did you get yours? <br><br>As Mazoku looked towards Hime, he realized she already had her mask on. Now he could only see her faintly glowing eyes. It was an intimidating beauty.<br><br>“Yes, I do. Now, let us continue.”<br><br>As they walked deeper into the dungeon they came across more assassins. Even the occasional mage would appear, but Mazoku quickly demolished them all. It had been at least an hour since they had entered the dungeon, and Mazoku’s stomach began to growl.<br><br>‘...........’<br><br>(stomach growls!)<br><br>‘..........’<br><br>‘Wow, I’m such a scrub. I didn’t even pick up the damn cooking skill.’<br><br>Without so much as a question Hime stood, and took out a knife and some meat. She began to cut the meat into strips and to sprinkle what Mazoku presumed to be spices. She then withdrew wood from her inventory, and a flint.<br><br>After lighting the fire slowly the cave began to fill with the smell of delicious meat. <br><br>‘Wow I guess even Luna has a heart. I didn’t even ask, and shes making food for me.”<br><br>“Want some Mazoku?” She politely asked. But as soon as Mazoku opened his mouth to answer the same sadistic smile she had when she asked him if he needed help with the treant appeared on her face<br><br>“No thank you, I’ll wait.”<br><br>“Well it’s your loss, and here i was even going to put some curry on it.”<br><br>‘OMG’<br><br>(stomach growls)<br><br>‘...........’<br><br>“What do I have to do for you to give me some?”<br><br>“Oh nothing. It’s something really simple.” She said smiling.<br><br>“So what is it then?”<br><br>“I just want you to eat lunch with me at school every day, starting tomorrow, and to give me half of the loot you pick up from this dungeon. That’s all.”<br><br>‘Thats all! Are you crazy!’ Was what Mazoku wished he could've yelled<br><br>Mazoku wasn’t worried so much about the loot. It was the fact that he would have to eat lunch with her everyday. He had to deal with her ingame, and now he would have to deal with her in real life also.<br><br>“Can’t I just do something else instead of that, please.”<br><br>“Oh, well if you want you could walk me to class everyday also” She said smiling vibrantly.<br><br>‘I’m going to end up starving, and even more screwed if I don’t agree.’<br><br>Sighing, Mazoku agreed to her request, and walked over to where Hime was eating.<br>Almost drooling at the sight of the food he grabbed a piece and tried it.<br><br>‘Finally some food, it’s been so long since I ate something. I’m surprised I haven't died of hunger yet.’ he thought<br><br>As he bit into the food his facial expression changed.<br><br>‘......................’<br><br>“Hime” He said in a calm tone.<br><br>“Yes Mazoku?”<br><br>“This tastes like shit.....”<br><br>‘.....................’<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>Health has been reduced by 300.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br>“Wow this is so delicious I’m sure you will make a wonderful wife someday, Hime. Thank you for allowing me to feast upon such a delicious meal.”<br><br>The ceiling still had dust falling from where Hime had thrown some sort of energy ball in order to cause the ceiling to fall onto Mazoku.<br><br>“Aww thanks Mazoku. I’m sure you will eventually make a wonderful husband someday too.”<br><br>“Bitch” Mazoku muttered under his breath.<br><br>“I’m sorry Mazoku did you say something?”<br><br>“No Hime, but lets hurry up we are wasting too much time.”<br><br>“Ok one second just let me finish this one.”<br><br>‘How can she eat that stuff’<br><br>As Mazoku observed her he noticed she never ate the meat she had cooked herself she was taking meat out of her bag, and eating it.<br><br>‘Wow.. well played luna, but I will definitely get you back someday.’<br><br>As they continued down deeper into the cave, Mazoku was like a wild beast, and his murderous aura seemed to be a lot stronger than usual. He showed no mercy. Anything that entered his field of vision was thoroughly destroyed.<br><br>‘So the rumors were true.’ thought Hime as she observed Mazoku’s battle.<br><br>As they continued to walk, they realized that they were no longer encountering enemies.<br><br>“Hime something’s not right, where did all the monsters go.”<br><br>“... You killed them all....” she said with an annoyed look.<br><br><br>“Ha...ha...ha, ohh ok... well we still haven’t found Tonf’s granddaughter, so we can’t head back yet.”<br> <br>‘Wtf, she’s leaching and still looks pissed.’<br><br>“Look Mazoku, lets just find the boss and kill him, the girl is obviously going to be there.” <br><br>“Well yeah, I guess it is the last place we need to check.” He said as they walked towards the final part of the cave.<br><br>As they entered they felt an ominous presence. It was almost like Mazoku’s murderous aura, just a little stronger. It felt exactly like when they had originally entered the cave. There standing in the middle of the room was a seemingly normal man wielding two swords.<br><br>He stood ready for battle, as if awaiting the perfect opportunity to strike. His arms were covered in tribal tattoos and his chest full of scars from the countless battles he had fought. He had battle hardened eyes, a gaze that could kill.<br><br>“I have been waiting for you mortal. I can feel your presence. A presence so similar to mine. Come to me mortal, fight me with all you have.”<br><br>Mazoku and Hime couldn’t fight back their laughter as they stood in front of Abaddon.<br><br>-”I think he wants you Mazoku”-<br><br>-”Fuck you Hime! Get ready lets kill this bastard”-<br><br>-”Ok, but it’s my first time, please be gentle”-<br><br>‘...........’ <br><br>-”Actually just run in first I’ll cover you Hime” -<br><br>‘.........’<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>Health has been reduced by 50</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br>This time Mazoku anticipated the attack, and dodged the falling ceiling. <br><br>“Ok...Ok, I’ll go damn it, calm down.”<br><br>Hime simply smiled and sat down on a nearby stone.<br><br>‘Damn Fujoshi. Trying to kill me, then making me fight the boss alone.’<br><br>Mazoku approached the boss filled with rage. He already had his murderous aura activated and had drawn both his swords, yet Abaddon was still standing there, unmoving.<br><br>Seeing this, Mazoku felt he was being underestimated. He became furious, and charged forward slashing both katanas towards Abaddon's neck.<br><br>“STOP!” Yelled Hime<br><br>It was too late Mazoku’s swords were already en route to Abaddon's throat.<br><br>(Crash!)<br><br>A bright light impacted one of his swords, shattering it immediately, and knocking him to the side. Slowly Mazoku turned around and saw Hime covered in a bright white aura. It was such an intimidating yet beautiful sight.<br><br>“Why did you do that Hime?”<br><br>What happened next answered Mazoku’s question before even Hime could.<br>In front of him, what he had seen as a man was soon transformed into a weeping girl. She looked a little younger than Mazoku. She looked as if she had been beaten, and was trembling in fear.<br><br>BAM!<br><br>From the ceiling a giant descended causing a booming noise to reverberate all throughout the cave. He was at least 3 times as tall as Mazoku, and had thick muscles all over his body.<br><br>“Hahahahaha. It seems I underestimated you mortals. I figured you would slaughter the female without hesitation!” Yelled the true Abaddon<br><br>“You are very interesting creatures indeed. After I kill you, I will make sure to carefully kill your companions.” <br><br>Mazoku was frozen in place, but not in fear. He was furious. He remembered old man Tonf’s expression as he awaited his granddaughters arrival, and he now saw what had happened to her. The girl Tonf was awaiting was nowhere to be found. In her place was a traumatized girl, quivering in fear.<br><br>Slowly Mazoku stood up without saying a word, and removed his cape, wrapping it around Tonf’s granddaughter. He looked at Hime, and as if she understood his silence, she nodded and came to get the girl.<br><br>“Murderous Aura” He said in a deathly tone...<br><br>“You think I will let you do what you want, you piece of shit? I WILL FUCKING DESTROY YOU! I will make you rue the day you ever laid hands on this girl! Do you know how her grandfather is now. How sadly he stares at the forest day by day awaiting her arrival?!!”<br><br>“I bet you don’t even care, but that is ok. I will make you care. I will make you feel their pain. I will make you regret your actions. I will make you bow down and ask for forgiveness!.”<br><br>Mazoku didn't even bother running. He walked towards Abaddon who was struck in fear. Mazoku’s whole body was enveloped in a dark red aura. His eyes were burning with fury. His fury was so strong that it even enveloped his sword, causing it to glow black.<br><br>Mazoku assumed his Chudan stance and closed his eyes.<br><br>‘Old man Tonf... I am sorry, but you will not be able to take revenge. I hope you forgive me one day for what I am about to do.‘<br><br>Immediately he sprang forward charging at Abbadon. He was gripping his sword so tightly that his HP was slowly dropping. He gritted his teeth, and swung his sword with all of the force he could muster at Abaddon's right leg severing it from his body.<br><br>“AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!” Abbadon screamed in agony.<br><br>“Huff....huff you insolent human.”<br><br>“From the depths of hell, I call the fire unto me. Heed my command, and destroy that which opposes me!”<br><br>From Abbadon, a tornado of flame erupted.<br><br>‘Shit! If that hits me, I’m screwed.’<br><br>Suddenly, a white light shot into the tornado, and it dissipated. Hime was standing beside Mazoku, glowing beautifully, yet this time her aura was a darker one, as it was almost as dark as Mazoku’s. Yet every time she projected something from her hands, it came out as a beautiful bright orb.<br><br>Mazoku charged, taking advantage of the confusion to attack the now kneeling Abaddon. Mazoku severed his other leg, causing him to fall forward on his hands. To anyone unaware of the current situation, it would have looked like Abaddon was kneeling before Mazoku.<br><br>“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!” Mazoku yelled in rage as he gripped his katana tighter.<br><br>“Fire of hell, gather in this land, devour all that stands before you! INFERNO!” yelled Abbadon<br><br>But just as the previous spell had been nullified, Hime also nullified this one. <br><br>“My will is law, unbreakable and absolute authority, heed my command!” Yelled Hime as Abbadon suddenly froze.<br><br>Slowly Mazoku began to slash at Abaddon everywhere, as he screamed in pain. Mazoku made sure to watch Abaddon's HP so he could cut him as many times as possible and make him suffer.<br><br>“Come” He said as he motioned Tonf’s granddaughter to come towards them.<br><br>“Apologize as you kneel before her Abbadon, only then will I end your suffering.”<br>“Never!” He yelled in a weak voice.<br><br>-”Hime I know you can heal so heal him up a bit”-<br><br>“From within the earth I call upon your power, God of life. RESTORE!” she chanted as she healed a small portion of Abaddon’s life.<br><br>“AHHHHH!” screamed Abaddon in agony as Mazoku slashed him and ordered Hime to heal him again. Then repeated this cruel torture over and over until he finally broke.<br><br>“Forgive me, woman!” He yelled.<br><br>“Please just kill me, I want to die already! Do not make me suffer any longer!”<br><br>-”How many more heals could you manage with your current mana?”-<br>-”Maybe around 20 or so. Why?”-<br>-”Keep healing him and take theses mana potions”-<br><br>For 1 more hour, Mazoku repeated this until he eventually decided it was time to deal the killing blow. He asked Hime to make him kneel closer to the ground. Mazoku assumed the Jodan stance with his katana raised high over his head and closed his eyes focusing all of his strength into his sword.<br><br>The black aura that covered it soon became thinner, and appeared to be sharper. His aura became darker. It even sent chills down Hime’s spine.<br><br>Tssssss he exhaled as he brought his sword down onto Abaddon's neck.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>You have slain Abaddon the Destroyer<br>Party Members Gain 2000 xp<br>You have unlocked a Hidden Class<br>Loot has been distributed randomly throughout the party.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>You have unlocked the Hidden Class......</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br>To be continued :)<br><br>********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************<br>Special thanks to chronos, knaivves, figgy, vindrue, cat and anyone else who helped me with pr, and giving me opinons.<br>Also thanks to sunny for being amazing &lt;3 hahaha<br><br>I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. It was slighlty more serious than the previous 2, but I felt that this is how I had to write it. Feel free to comment no "sugarcoating" allowed! XD <br><br>-Baddiez </div>

Chapter 2 The following is a part of chapter 3 :) just wanted to show a bit of the upcoming epicness totally not trying to get people pumped for chapter three or anything like that * Looks around nervously* * Hides* Under his white mask, tears streamed down his cheeks. His heart was filled with sorrow, but also burning with rage. From within he felt it: the desire to destroy them, to annihilate them. Beating them would not be enough. He wanted to slowly destroy them. To make them feel the pain that he was feeling. He wanted to make them all suffer. Deep red eyes filled with fury were all you could see when you looked towards him. A raging beast which had two katanas on its back. The Grim Reaper of the Battlefield. He had long been silent, but now they had done that which should never have occurred. Silently he whispered. “Murderous Aura.” “God of Hell! Give me your power! Rage! Fear! Pain! Rampage! All shall bow down before my wrath. Abaddon!” He unsheathed his swords, and charged into the battlefield striking fear into the heart of every man and woman that managed to make eye contact with him. The beast had been unleashed. His body radiated a dark red and black glow in the night. ******************************************************************************************************************************************************************************** | System MessageFastest Clear of Arena Quest1st. USA Odrosol City & Korea Velathy City2nd. Japan Bul Isro City3rd. UK LinLand CityDue to the fact that two cities have tied for first place, we have decided to hold a contest. In one month’s time a war will be held between USA’s Odrosol City & Korea’s Velathy City. Only 1000 players will be allowed from each city, and only players who participated in the original City acquisition quest may participate. The winning city’s participants will receive double exp and drops for one month and a special prize that was originally intended for the city with the fastest clear. Players will also be awarded depending on their performance in the battle.- Exodus Development Team | | --- | There was silence in the plaza as everyone was reading the message. Suddenly, hands started to move, and voices were shouting. Everyone was messaging their friends and superiors, reporting what had just happened. They all already knew. The whole world knew. The first ever Player versus Player battle had been scheduled. The United States vs. Korea. Whoever won this battle would have an overwhelming advantage over the rest of the world due to the double exp, and drops for a month. Everyone turned towards Mazoku who now had a hood over his head. Immediately players ran towards him. One by one, each person was inviting him to their guild or party. They offered many things varying from simple armour to free pick on any items dropped in a dungeon. He even got an offer for a romantic afternoon date ingame and in real life with a beautiful girl who seemed not much older than Mazoku himself. “I’m sorry, but I can’t join you guys. I am a solo player.” said Mazoku “ Please, I’ll pay for you to go on vacation anywhere in the world for one month!” “I’ll buy you a house anywhere in the United States!” “If you put a wolf pelt in the auction house, I’ll buy it for $50,000!” “I’ll bid $100,000!” “No, I’ll offer you $200,000!” BAM! In front of Mazoku, a mace impacted the ground letting out an earth shattering noise. “He said, he doesn’t want to party! You guys should stop wasting time here, and go train.” yelled Barkness. ‘Wow, I guess even he has a serious side.’ As the spectators finally started to disappear, Barkness merely stood by in front of mazoku. He was motionless just waiting for the people to leave. “HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, GG dude. Did you see how scared they were?” He said, revealing a huge smile. ‘I stand corrected.’ “Don’t worry bro; I’m not here to ask you to party up. I’m actually more of a solo guy myself.” ‘Thank God, ‘cause I don’t think I could stand partying with this bastard again.’ “It’s cool man, don’t worry about it, and don’t forget to sign up for the battle.” Said Mazoku feeling relieved. | Barkness has sent you a friend request. | | --- | ‘.........’ | Friend request denied. | | --- | ‘......’ | Barkness has sent you a friend request. | | --- | ‘Fuck me! Not again! Dammit!’ | You and Barkness are now friends. | | --- | ‘He better not say it!’ Smiling Barkness turned around, and walked away. As he walked away, Mazoku swore he heard him say, “GG,” under his breath. ‘4 weeks till the ban is gone’ Mazoku thought as he smiled like a madman. Soon everyone had left and Mazoku was alone. He opened his stat window again, and distributed his points. He was now level 14. | Name | Mazoku | Primary Class | N/A | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Health | 424 | Mana | 470 | | Level | 14 | | | | Health Regen/Sec | 2.2 | Mana Regen/Sec | 3.6 | | Strength | 40 | Agility | 31 | | Wisdom | 30 | Intelligence | 36 | | Stamina | 355 | Vitality | 22 | | Dexterity | 40 | | | Mazoku finished distributing his points and decided to walk to the city arena to see if he could get himself a class before he set out to hunt. When he was nearing the arena, he saw that it was full of other who had the same idea. If he went in there, he would be bombarded with requests, just as he was before. ‘I’ll just go get some quests, and come back later.’ he thought, turning around after making sure no one noticed him While walking, Mazoku stumbled across an old man with a katana strapped to his side, who was leaning on a cane. He was standing at the entrance to the city, just staring into the forest. “Hey, are you OK, old man?” said Mazoku cautiously as he approached the man. Without even the slightest hesitation, the old man's katana was unsheathed and narrowly missed Mazoku’s throat. | You have been stunned by fear for 5 seconds. | | --- | “Who are you calling ‘old man’? My name is Tonf!” He said, slowly sheathing his katana. As soon as the stun was over, Mazoku removed his hood, and apologized to the old man. If there was one thing he had learned in life, it was to help the elderly and respect them. “Forgive my rudeness, sir. I just happened to notice you staring into the forest, and wondered what it was you were looking at.” Mazoku began conversing with Tonf slowly building his trust, and trying to figure out what it was he was seeking. Eventually, he got through to him and Tonf said, that he was looking for his granddaughter who had gone hunting and disappeared. Ding! | Tonf’s GranddaughterQuest Difficulty: GreenDescription: 2 days ago Tonf’s granddaughter entered the forest to go hunting for boars and hasn't returned. Please, enter the forest to investigate her whereabouts.Quest Reward: 50 copper | | --- | | Do you wish to accept this quest? | | --- | - Quest has been accepted. Equipping his hood, he set out towards the forest. Due to his level, and the passive effect of Murderous Aura, lower level monsters near the edge of the forest didn’t dare attack him. The deeper he ventured, the darker it became. The forest was beginning to block the sunlight. As he walked, he saw shadows constantly moving through the forest. He unsheathed his katanas, and walked slowly, making sure to be aware of his surroundings. As he continued to walk, he noticed a light in the distance. There was a clearing in the middle of the forest with a pond and what seemed to be a giant tree. Out of curiosity, he approached slowly. His hands firmly gripped his katanas as he approached the mysterious place. He tried to move silently. When he finally arrived, he looked around cautiously before setting foot into the clearing. *Woosh* As soon as he stepped foot in the clearing an arrow rushed past his neck, narrowly missing his jugular. “Who’s there!?” Said Mazoku loudly as he took a defensive stance with his katanas. *Woosh* Another arrow passed, but because he expected it, Mazoku was able to dodge it, allowing minimal damage. His heartbeat was accelerating as he strained his vision, trying to make out where the arrows were coming from. | Health has been reduced by 20. | | --- | After several minutes no arrows had been fired yet Mazoku stood still waiting, and scanning every inch of the clearing and surrounding forest. Soon, he managed to hear a spell as if someone was whispering it all through the forest. “From the heavens, I call the Power of the God’s Rain down to smite the heretic.” *Crash* Lightning rained down from the sky, through the trees, and hit Mazoku. | Health has been reduced by 200.You have been stunned for 5 seconds. | | --- | Mazoku stood frozen as he watched in fear. Emerging from the forest were 3 centaurs, one carrying a bow, another a small staff, and the other a sword. ‘Centaurs? What the hell are they doing here!?’ “Human! You dare trespass in our sacred clearing!?” Yelled one of the Centaurs. “Not once, but twice you humans have trespassed upon our territory! Did you learn nothing when your first companion did not return!?” ‘The first human? What the hell is he talking about?’ Thought Mazoku as he finally assumed a defensive stance since the stun had worn off. As Mazoku stood thinking, he remembered the quest the old man had given him. Revealing an evil smile, he decided to verify if what he was thinking was true. “The man we sent out last week has already returned to the village.” He said confidently while watching the centaurs movements. “Man? You humans are dumber than we thought! It was a woman who was hunting on our lands!” Declared one of the centaurs proudly. Slowly Mazoku relaxed his defensive stance, and revealed a smile. “So, it was you who kidnapped Tonf’s granddaughter. I assume I will have to force you to tell me her location?” “Murderous Aura.” He said in a silent voice as he walked forward slowly. After he activated his Murderous Aura, the centaurs finally understood the strength of the opponent they had challenged. They were trembling in fear. One of the centaurs laughed nervously as he backed up. “There is no need for violence, we will give you the information you seek.” Mazoku ignored them and continued to walk forward, as he stared at them like a starving wolf. Every step he took shook the hearts of the centaurs. The centaurs began to fear for their lives and started to beg for forgiveness. “Human! Please, we beg of you, we will give you the information. Please, spare us!!! We are but simple hunters that were sent to gather meat. We stumbled across you by pure chance.” They pleaded. All the while, Mazoku ignored their pleas and continued to press forward. When he was 20 meters away suddenly he broke into a sprint. His eyes were burning with rage and seemed to be bottomless pits. The centaurs were stuck in fear, but the archer managed to barely fire off an arrow. *Woosh* | Your health has been reduced by 10. | | --- | Mazoku, realizing the arrow was incoming, managed to dodge at the last second resulting in only a minor scrape on his cheek. It was as if the sight of scratching his face had filled the centaurs with hope - they began to take defensive stances. “As strong as you may be, if you do not accept our proposal, we have no choice but to fight back.“ Proclaimed the sword wielding centaur proudly. “Disgusting! Mere minutes ago you were pleading for you lives, and now you dare defy me?!” Mazoku’s blood boiled with rage at the sight of such cowardly creatures. First they kidnap a girl , and now they dare to stand up to him after begging for their lives moments prior. As he neared the centaurs, he took care of the mage first since it would be the most annoying one to deal with. He skillfully dodged the swordsman’s attack and cut its front leg. While rolling on the ground to dodge an arrow, he appeared in front of the mage, and stabbed his sword into its chest. Suddenly, the mage wrapped its arms around him, and began to chant the same spell again. ‘Oh hell no, this little shit is not going to kill himself, and make me lose xp’ He started to quickly kick the centaur in the chest as fast as he could, to lower its hp before the spell hit. All the while, taking little damage from the other two who were trying to attack him without harming their comrade. As soon as the mage's spell was completed Mazoku dealt the finishing blow on the centaur while dodging as soon as his feet returned to the ground. | Your health has been reduced by 86. | | --- | ‘Damn it! It hit my foot’ Checking his hp Mazoku realized he only had 108 hp left. ‘I need to deal with the remaining two which shouldn’t be a problem. But I should use a health potion just incase tho.’ | 150 health has been restored. | | --- | As he stood up he put himself in front of the swordsman, so the archer could not attack him properly while he evaded the swordsmans swings. Who, surprisingly, had good swordsmanship. “You will die, human!” They both yelled in sync. They were filled with rage over their fallen comrade. “You? Kill me? Isn’t that what this guy attempted?” Asked Mazoku as he nudged the dead centaur’s head. Suddenly he disappeared from the centaur’s vision. He was taking advantage of the big size difference, and ducked into a blind spot as he cut through the swordsmans achilles heel causing him so fall back. “Help me!” He pleaded to his comrade that was left standing. It was too late, Mazoku was already in front of him with both arms held out towards his sides. He cut down once with his right before swinging down with his left, as though he was marking an X onto the centaurs chest. Finally, he sheathed one katana and with the force of both arms, stabbed the remaining sword into its chest The centaurs body slowly became limp, and he died. Slowly turning around, Mazoku walked towards the last member of the centaur party. “Please, spare me!” He yelled as he threw his bow onto the ground. “The girl is in a cave north of here, we offered her to our God! That is all I know! Please Spare Me!.” “Is that all you know!?” Yelled Mazoku as he stood in front of the cowering centaur. “Yes, it is all I know, please spare me!” “KNEEL!” He commanded as he looked furiously towards the centaur. “Ye....” As soon as the centaur kneeled Mazoku firmly gripped his katana and decapitated it. “Bastards! You do not get to kidnap girls and offer them to Gods!” Yelled Mazoku furiously. If there was one thing Mazoku couldn’t stand was sacrifices. Every time he read history books he felt disgusted at how ancient civilizations sacrificed people left and right. But that was not the only reason. He remembered Tonf’s face as he stare at the forest awaiting his granddaughters return. He had strong eyes indeed, but Mazoku could see the sorrow he held deep inside. Walking towards the corpses he looted them, but only received some meat, and the bow and arrows that one of them had. Looking down at his sword, he noticed that it was blood stained. ‘I should really clean this sword.’ He thought, looking at the pond in the middle of the clearing.’ Cautiously, he approached the pond making sure to keep his guard up in case any more centaurs tried to ambush him. He paid close attention to everything before he scooped out some water in his hand and began to sprinkle it onto his sword. The water turned red as soon as it made contact with the sword. Mazoku repeated the process until both swords were clean again, then wiped them on his cloak, and re-sheathed his swords. *rumble* * rumble* The ground suddenly began to tremble. ‘Wtf? An earthquake?’ “You dare soil this water with filthy centaur blood, human!?” ‘Oh, hell no! First a sacred land! Now, a fucking sacred pond! You have got to be kidding me!’ He screamed in his head. ‘Where is this voice coming from?’ He thought. He looked around scanning his surroundings, but couldn’t figure out where it was coming from, when suddenly roots began to ensnare his legs, and he was stuck in place unable to move. Thats when he realized it. Looking up at the giant tree that was by the river. It now had a face a very angry one at that, and it was staring straight at Mazoku with furious eyes. The ground shook as it unearthed its roots using them as support to stand. Soon, it was standing and staring down at Mazoku. Slowly it raised one of the thickest branches it had, and swung down towards Mazoku. ‘You have got to be shitting me man.’ Mazoku was standing defenseless, unable to even dodge because he was held in place by the roots. | Health has been reduced by 300.You are stunned for 5 seconds. | | --- | “Wait for me, you bastard. I’ll be back, and I will kill you and make myself a nice chair!” Mazoku closed his eyes, furious that he would have to die from something as stupid as cleaning his sword in a pond. He calmed down, and awaited the next hit, but it never came. When he opened his eyes, standing inches from his face was Luna. “Hey Aaron!” She said as she stood in front of him. “Wh....Whh...Whaat are you doing here? Run, theTreant will kill you!” Screamed Aaron as he tried to free his legs. “Oh, that thing? I stunned it.” She said, sporting a huge triumphant smile. With a smile more sinister than even Mazoku’s she asked. “ Want me to help you out?” ‘For some reason I’m not getting a good feeling here.’ “Umm s...sure.” he said hesitantly “Ok, you only have to swear loyalty to me, and call me Hime, deal?” ‘Why are the quiet ones always the craziest ones!?’ “NO! I will not call you Princess.” He yelled. “Hahahahaha. How is it you know what that means, Aaron? I don’t seem to recall you ever showing any interest in anime or manga during school. Might you be a closet otaku?” She said, laughing like a maniac. ‘Oh shit, I fucked up man. Now shes going to tell everyone.’ “N..n..no I just read it on a forum, and decided to research it’s meaning so I know what it means.” “Show me you character stat window, Aaron” “No.” “Then die!” She said walking away “Ok damn! Stat Window!” As Luna looked through his stat window her eyes bulged at the sight of his level, and how high his stats were. But a smile crept across her face as she saw his name, Mazoku. “Mazoku..... are you really going to keep denying it?” ‘Damn it! Whatever, I need to get out of this and not die!’ “Ok, I admit it! I love manga, anime, cosplay, nekomimi! All of it! Just get these roots off me. “ You insolent human! Did you think you could stop me with such a weak attack!?” Yelled the treant. Luna merely stood there as the treant broke through her stun. ‘Damnit! Why did it have to be her of all people!?’ “Ok, I will call you Hime, and I swear loyalty to you forever!” Revealing a smile, Hime raised her right hand chanted a spell and threw a ball of white energy at the roots. | Health has been reduced by 50 | | --- | ‘.............’ Mazoku chugged two health potions. | Health potion has restored 240 hp. | | --- | ‘Now, I’m going to kill this little shit, and make myself a nice chair!’ “Murderous Aura.” | Hime has sent you a party request. | | --- | ‘................................’ | You have joined Himes party. | | --- | Mazoku took advantage of the treant’s slow attacks and quickly attacked its legs and dodged its attacks easily. It would only occasionally graze him, but by the time he got hit again his health had already recovered. “Why are you just standing there?” “ I’m fighting, you just can’t see it.” Hime said confidently as she remained standing a good distance away from the treant. ‘She is so damn crazy.’ Mazoku continued to slowly wear down the treant’s life, until it finally died. DING! | You are the first to kill the Forest Guardian Zilvios.All members of you party gain 1000 xpItems have been randomly distributed. | | --- | Excited Mazoku called forward his inventory only to be disappointed. | * NEW * Zilvios’ TearsRestores 100 mana on use 10 minute cooldownUnlimited uses. | | --- | ‘Wtf is this shit? It’ll only be useful while I am a low level!’ Slowly he turned around to Hime who now had what seemed to be an amulet equipped now. ‘She didn't do anything yet she probably got something good.’ She looked in his direction, and smiled. ‘..........’ “Ummmmmmm” ‘........’ “What are you doing here, Luna?” ‘...............’ ‘..............’ Aaron sighed. “What are you doing here, Hime?” Smiling vibrantly Hime responded, “Nothing really. I was headed to the closest area I could find to farm the mask I mentioned in the note.” ‘Wtf she was serious!!!!? I thought she was kidding.’ “You were serious !?!?!?!” “Of course I was serious. Why would I have been kidding?” Hime was looking straight into Mazoku’s eyes; it was obvious she wasn't kidding. He couldn’t help but blush. She definitely has good looks, if it weren't for her weird personality he would definitely go for it. “Well, I am on a quest right now, and I have to head to some Gods cave north of here.” “Oh really... That's where I’m actually headed to farm the mask. By the way, Mazoku, are you, by any chance, the swordsman from Odrossol that everyone is talking about?” ‘What the hell? That wasn’t even that long ago, and she already knows.’ “Yeah, why?” “Well, you may already know this, but right now you are the target of most countries. You even have a bounty on your head already.” “WHAT THE HELL!!!! ARE YOU SERIOUS!!! THAT’S WHAT I GET FOR HELPING THOSE BASTARDS SURVIVE!!? I SHOULD’VE JUST LET EVERYONE DIE!!!!!” “Well, as of now no one knows your face they just know you wield two katanas. Everyone that participated in the quest was too busy watching you fight to actually take the time to look at your face.” “Well, wouldn’t it be easy to spot me with my katanas?” “How many noobs do you think have started dual wielding katanas today, thinking they are OP after hearing the story about you? ” ‘She does have a point.‘ “Follow me!” Whispered Hime as she grabbed Mazoku’s arm, dragging him into the forest. “Where are we going?” “Shhhhhhhhh” They both walked into the forest, and soon spotted what seemed to be rangers. They didn't look like they were from the Odrosol so Mazoku turned his language filter off to see if he could understand anything they said without it. “Adonde esta la ciudad de los americanos?” ‘This is Spanish for what are they doing here’ “ No se pero tenemos que hallarlos y conseguir información sobre “El”? -“They are talking spanish” - Mazoku was using the private chat since that way they couldn’t be heard. -” What are they saying??”- -” Something about American city, and information about “him.”- Hime lightly grabbed Mazoku’s hand and began to lead him away from the other players. They slowly headed north towards the cave that held the girl, and the monsters that would drop the masks. Mazoku was blushing. It was the first time a girl had held his hand. It was so soft, so warm. If only it wasn’t Hime. She was so perfect: blonde hair; not too big but not too small breasts; and even her hips, she had just enough for her size. She was just a weirdo. Mazoku knew it would be dangerous to be around her, since she read all those weird comics with the guys on the cover. “I think we are far enough to talk now,” she said as she let go of Mazoku’s hand. “We are almost there.” “Ok, but how do you suppose we clear a cave? I’m sure it’s a dungeon, and we have no healer. Wait, what’s your class anyways?” Asked Mazoku curiously. “My panties? They are blue today.” She said winking at him, totally ignoring the question. Mazoku couldn’t help but blush as his eyes unconsciously scanned her whole body, as if the blue panties were going to be revealed by some mysterious force. “Hentai.” She said, blushing as she slowly lifted her robe teasing him. ‘Why me..... If it had been any girl but her, I wouldn’t have let this opportunity slip past me.’ Mazoku cleared his throat. “We should hurry. It will be night soon.” “Ok, Lead the way then Mazoku.” As they walked into the cave, they could hear whispers, shouts, something that seemed like explosions and a faint humming. | You are the first to discover Abbadon’s Lair.You may choose double exp or normal exp with weakened monsters.All party members will receive a 15% increased chance of Epic Class Drops. | | --- | ‘Sweet! Epic Class, that’s only one under God Class drops! I hope I get something good.’ “Mazoku, hurry up! I want to see you fight something.” Said Luna as she smiled shyly at Mazoku. ‘Damn, I think she is going to be worse than Barkness.’ As soon as they stepped into the cave, it became silent. All they heard were droplets of water falling from the ceiling, and the sound of air flowing in and out of the cave. It gave off the impression of a breathing monster. The further they walked into the cave, the more uneasy they felt. It was like something was purposely letting them in. Like they were being watched the whole time. It was almost like every step they took wasn’t because they decided to take it, but because they were permitted to take it. Mazoku suddenly drew his katanas and told Hime to get behind him. In Front of them stood 5 masked men. They had pure white masks on. They seemed to be tough opponents. ‘This isn’t looking good.’ “AHHH!!!” screamed Hime. A dart had been thrown right past Mazoku’s and into Himes shoulder. She was now on her knees crying in pain. Mazoku’s eyes immediately seemed to change. They became darker. He was emanating such a strong murderous aura, yet he hadn’t even activated it. His face became emotionless. Everything other than his eyes seemed to be extremely calm. “Murderous Aura.” He spoke in a cold tone as he gripped his katanas even tighter. He was so calm yet so furious. ‘Destroy.’ Mazoku held both katanas tightly as he charged towards the five men. He ran so fast it stunned one of them, which resulting in his heart getting to meet one of Mazoku’s katanas. Yet the other’s did not falter. They immediately surrounded Mazoku, and began to attack in a coordinated fashion. ‘Right arm, right eye, left leg, torso, neck, back’ Mazoku accurately predicted where the attacks were headed, and easily deflected them. The last hit to his back he countered with one katana then threw the other like a throwing axe lodging it into the poor man’s skull. | Murderous Aura has Evolved to Murderous Aura IIDue to the way murderous aura was used it gains a new effect.+ 10 strength while activated.Mana consumption increased to 25 mana/sec.Murderous Aura may now be activated through thought. | | --- | Mazoku smiled as he faced the other three opponents, but one was already dead. It had a small glowing dart lodged in it’s eye. Mazoku slowly turned around facing Hime. The seemingly defenseless girl was standing with glowing hands. “Mazoku if you keep looking at me you are going to die.” She said signaling behind me as he felt a sharp pain on his back. | Health has been reduced by 150. | | --- | Turning around quickly he assumed a gendan stance with his sword pointed towards the feet of his opponent. He waited for the opponent to charge. He felt faintly stronger when he had one sword in hand. When one finally approached he swiftly lifted the sword, and cut left, and right slicing up the man’s arm’s, and finished off with a decisive thrust through the heart. When he was going to attack the other another glowing object flew past him impacting the man’s heart causing him to die. ‘Wow Luna is actually kind of strong’ “Luna, seriously what is your class?” said Mazoku as he was looting the two bodies that corresponded to him. “Mazoku... I already told you my panties are blue today, but since you insist i’ll tell you my bra is also blue.....hentai” she said as she blushed and looted the corpses. ‘She is definitely worse than Barkness,’ thought Mazoku as he checked his loot. | *New* Assassin's MaskA mask worn by Abaddon’s Assassins. A slightly worn assassin's mask. If you can get past the bloodstains and smell of rotten flesh, then it is practically as good as new!This mask may only be removed by the owner, even after death it may not be removed without the owners permission.Increases the effects of skills related to intimidation.+10 agility | | --- | ‘Holy shit the mask is an Epic Class Item!’ “Hey Hime I got my mask. Did you get yours? As Mazoku looked towards Hime, he realized she already had her mask on. Now he could only see her faintly glowing eyes. It was an intimidating beauty. “Yes, I do. Now, let us continue.” As they walked deeper into the dungeon they came across more assassins. Even the occasional mage would appear, but Mazoku quickly demolished them all. It had been at least an hour since they had entered the dungeon, and Mazoku’s stomach began to growl. ‘...........’ (stomach growls!) ‘..........’ ‘Wow, I’m such a scrub. I didn’t even pick up the damn cooking skill.’ Without so much as a question Hime stood, and took out a knife and some meat. She began to cut the meat into strips and to sprinkle what Mazoku presumed to be spices. She then withdrew wood from her inventory, and a flint. After lighting the fire slowly the cave began to fill with the smell of delicious meat. ‘Wow I guess even Luna has a heart. I didn’t even ask, and shes making food for me.” “Want some Mazoku?” She politely asked. But as soon as Mazoku opened his mouth to answer the same sadistic smile she had when she asked him if he needed help with the treant appeared on her face “No thank you, I’ll wait.” “Well it’s your loss, and here i was even going to put some curry on it.” ‘OMG’ (stomach growls) ‘...........’ “What do I have to do for you to give me some?” “Oh nothing. It’s something really simple.” She said smiling. “So what is it then?” “I just want you to eat lunch with me at school every day, starting tomorrow, and to give me half of the loot you pick up from this dungeon. That’s all.” ‘Thats all! Are you crazy!’ Was what Mazoku wished he could've yelled Mazoku wasn’t worried so much about the loot. It was the fact that he would have to eat lunch with her everyday. He had to deal with her ingame, and now he would have to deal with her in real life also. “Can’t I just do something else instead of that, please.” “Oh, well if you want you could walk me to class everyday also” She said smiling vibrantly. ‘I’m going to end up starving, and even more screwed if I don’t agree.’ Sighing, Mazoku agreed to her request, and walked over to where Hime was eating. Almost drooling at the sight of the food he grabbed a piece and tried it. ‘Finally some food, it’s been so long since I ate something. I’m surprised I haven't died of hunger yet.’ he thought As he bit into the food his facial expression changed. ‘......................’ “Hime” He said in a calm tone. “Yes Mazoku?” “This tastes like shit.....” ‘.....................’ | Health has been reduced by 300. | | --- | “Wow this is so delicious I’m sure you will make a wonderful wife someday, Hime. Thank you for allowing me to feast upon such a delicious meal.” The ceiling still had dust falling from where Hime had thrown some sort of energy ball in order to cause the ceiling to fall onto Mazoku. “Aww thanks Mazoku. I’m sure you will eventually make a wonderful husband someday too.” “Bitch” Mazoku muttered under his breath. “I’m sorry Mazoku did you say something?” “No Hime, but lets hurry up we are wasting too much time.” “Ok one second just let me finish this one.” ‘How can she eat that stuff’ As Mazoku observed her he noticed she never ate the meat she had cooked herself she was taking meat out of her bag, and eating it. ‘Wow.. well played luna, but I will definitely get you back someday.’ As they continued down deeper into the cave, Mazoku was like a wild beast, and his murderous aura seemed to be a lot stronger than usual. He showed no mercy. Anything that entered his field of vision was thoroughly destroyed. ‘So the rumors were true.’ thought Hime as she observed Mazoku’s battle. As they continued to walk, they realized that they were no longer encountering enemies. “Hime something’s not right, where did all the monsters go.” “... You killed them all....” she said with an annoyed look. “Ha...ha...ha, ohh ok... well we still haven’t found Tonf’s granddaughter, so we can’t head back yet.” ‘Wtf, she’s leaching and still looks pissed.’ “Look Mazoku, lets just find the boss and kill him, the girl is obviously going to be there.” “Well yeah, I guess it is the last place we need to check.” He said as they walked towards the final part of the cave. As they entered they felt an ominous presence. It was almost like Mazoku’s murderous aura, just a little stronger. It felt exactly like when they had originally entered the cave. There standing in the middle of the room was a seemingly normal man wielding two swords. He stood ready for battle, as if awaiting the perfect opportunity to strike. His arms were covered in tribal tattoos and his chest full of scars from the countless battles he had fought. He had battle hardened eyes, a gaze that could kill. “I have been waiting for you mortal. I can feel your presence. A presence so similar to mine. Come to me mortal, fight me with all you have.” Mazoku and Hime couldn’t fight back their laughter as they stood in front of Abaddon. -”I think he wants you Mazoku”- -”Fuck you Hime! Get ready lets kill this bastard”- -”Ok, but it’s my first time, please be gentle”- ‘...........’ -”Actually just run in first I’ll cover you Hime” - ‘.........’ | Health has been reduced by 50 | | --- | This time Mazoku anticipated the attack, and dodged the falling ceiling. “Ok...Ok, I’ll go damn it, calm down.” Hime simply smiled and sat down on a nearby stone. ‘Damn Fujoshi. Trying to kill me, then making me fight the boss alone.’ Mazoku approached the boss filled with rage. He already had his murderous aura activated and had drawn both his swords, yet Abaddon was still standing there, unmoving. Seeing this, Mazoku felt he was being underestimated. He became furious, and charged forward slashing both katanas towards Abaddon's neck. “STOP!” Yelled Hime It was too late Mazoku’s swords were already en route to Abaddon's throat. (Crash!) A bright light impacted one of his swords, shattering it immediately, and knocking him to the side. Slowly Mazoku turned around and saw Hime covered in a bright white aura. It was such an intimidating yet beautiful sight. “Why did you do that Hime?” What happened next answered Mazoku’s question before even Hime could. In front of him, what he had seen as a man was soon transformed into a weeping girl. She looked a little younger than Mazoku. She looked as if she had been beaten, and was trembling in fear. BAM! From the ceiling a giant descended causing a booming noise to reverberate all throughout the cave. He was at least 3 times as tall as Mazoku, and had thick muscles all over his body. “Hahahahaha. It seems I underestimated you mortals. I figured you would slaughter the female without hesitation!” Yelled the true Abaddon “You are very interesting creatures indeed. After I kill you, I will make sure to carefully kill your companions.” Mazoku was frozen in place, but not in fear. He was furious. He remembered old man Tonf’s expression as he awaited his granddaughters arrival, and he now saw what had happened to her. The girl Tonf was awaiting was nowhere to be found. In her place was a traumatized girl, quivering in fear. Slowly Mazoku stood up without saying a word, and removed his cape, wrapping it around Tonf’s granddaughter. He looked at Hime, and as if she understood his silence, she nodded and came to get the girl. “Murderous Aura” He said in a deathly tone... “You think I will let you do what you want, you piece of shit? I WILL FUCKING DESTROY YOU! I will make you rue the day you ever laid hands on this girl! Do you know how her grandfather is now. How sadly he stares at the forest day by day awaiting her arrival?!!” “I bet you don’t even care, but that is ok. I will make you care. I will make you feel their pain. I will make you regret your actions. I will make you bow down and ask for forgiveness!.” Mazoku didn't even bother running. He walked towards Abaddon who was struck in fear. Mazoku’s whole body was enveloped in a dark red aura. His eyes were burning with fury. His fury was so strong that it even enveloped his sword, causing it to glow black. Mazoku assumed his Chudan stance and closed his eyes. ‘Old man Tonf... I am sorry, but you will not be able to take revenge. I hope you forgive me one day for what I am about to do.‘ Immediately he sprang forward charging at Abbadon. He was gripping his sword so tightly that his HP was slowly dropping. He gritted his teeth, and swung his sword with all of the force he could muster at Abaddon's right leg severing it from his body. “AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!” Abbadon screamed in agony. “Huff....huff you insolent human.” “From the depths of hell, I call the fire unto me. Heed my command, and destroy that which opposes me!” From Abbadon, a tornado of flame erupted. ‘Shit! If that hits me, I’m screwed.’ Suddenly, a white light shot into the tornado, and it dissipated. Hime was standing beside Mazoku, glowing beautifully, yet this time her aura was a darker one, as it was almost as dark as Mazoku’s. Yet every time she projected something from her hands, it came out as a beautiful bright orb. Mazoku charged, taking advantage of the confusion to attack the now kneeling Abaddon. Mazoku severed his other leg, causing him to fall forward on his hands. To anyone unaware of the current situation, it would have looked like Abaddon was kneeling before Mazoku. “AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!” Mazoku yelled in rage as he gripped his katana tighter. “Fire of hell, gather in this land, devour all that stands before you! INFERNO!” yelled Abbadon But just as the previous spell had been nullified, Hime also nullified this one. “My will is law, unbreakable and absolute authority, heed my command!” Yelled Hime as Abbadon suddenly froze. Slowly Mazoku began to slash at Abaddon everywhere, as he screamed in pain. Mazoku made sure to watch Abaddon's HP so he could cut him as many times as possible and make him suffer. “Come” He said as he motioned Tonf’s granddaughter to come towards them. “Apologize as you kneel before her Abbadon, only then will I end your suffering.” “Never!” He yelled in a weak voice. -”Hime I know you can heal so heal him up a bit”- “From within the earth I call upon your power, God of life. RESTORE!” she chanted as she healed a small portion of Abaddon’s life. “AHHHHH!” screamed Abaddon in agony as Mazoku slashed him and ordered Hime to heal him again. Then repeated this cruel torture over and over until he finally broke. “Forgive me, woman!” He yelled. “Please just kill me, I want to die already! Do not make me suffer any longer!” -”How many more heals could you manage with your current mana?”- -”Maybe around 20 or so. Why?”- -”Keep healing him and take theses mana potions”- For 1 more hour, Mazoku repeated this until he eventually decided it was time to deal the killing blow. He asked Hime to make him kneel closer to the ground. Mazoku assumed the Jodan stance with his katana raised high over his head and closed his eyes focusing all of his strength into his sword. The black aura that covered it soon became thinner, and appeared to be sharper. His aura became darker. It even sent chills down Hime’s spine. Tssssss he exhaled as he brought his sword down onto Abaddon's neck. | You have slain Abaddon the DestroyerParty Members Gain 2000 xpYou have unlocked a Hidden ClassLoot has been distributed randomly throughout the party. | | --- | | You have unlocked the Hidden Class...... | | --- | To be continued :) ******************************************************************************************************************************************************************************** Special thanks to chronos, knaivves, figgy, vindrue, cat and anyone else who helped me with pr, and giving me opinons. Also thanks to sunny for being amazing <3 hahaha I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. It was slighlty more serious than the previous 2, but I felt that this is how I had to write it. Feel free to comment no "sugarcoating" allowed! XD -Baddiez

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> “Whirling round and round and round….” Alak sang as it whirled around Weed head in circles. <br><br>“Could you please stop! For heavens sake!” groaned Weed as he could barely see the road ahead him, partially blinded by Alaks glowing body.<br><br>“GRRRRR” growled Snappy.<br><br>“Not you Snappy. Just the annoying fairy.”<br><br>“Woof!” There seemed to be some mutual agreement there. <br><br>Weed continued to push the wheel barrow which carried the bag of gold, through the muddy path all the way back to the city and towards the Eastern Gate. It was a slow and tiring journey back. “How did it come to this?” asked Weed to himself.<br><br>“Well, you kept complaining how Snappy would be unmanageable and tried avoiding taking on this quest. But my great and kind master, who is ever so helpful decided to lend me, the almighty fairy, Alak to you. To which I strongly refused but my kind and ever so great master understood you were to weak otherwise and thus refused my request. Then you tried avoiding accepting the quest by speaking of your obvious inability to carry a bag of money. To which my master so generously offered his horse pulled cart. However, you being so innately useless meant that you even lacked the skill to sit and drive around a cart. Fortunately, Emily happened to be around and you decided to be more of a man and that is how we ended up here pushing a wheel barrow.” Replied Alak as she started swinging to and fro, dancing merrily. <br><br>“I was being rhetorical.”<br>“Woof!”<br><br>“Oh and Snappy says, he still thinks you’re a squirrel.” Translated Alka.<br><br>“Woof! Woof!”<br><br>“And that if you tried running away with the gold or the wheel barrow, he will eat you alive.”<br><br>“Sure Snappy, I always planned to cheat the old man and run away with the gold bag, I can barely carry.” Replied Weed sarcastically. <br><br>“GRRRRRR”<br><br>“Snappy says, he will bark since his bite will kill you, little squirrel.” <br><br>Weed decided to stay quiet. He didn’t most certainly want to anger Snappy, whose bark was a Lion Roar. He most definitely didn’t want to know what his bite would be like. Snappy wasn’t really an ordinary dog, as the old man described it, he is “a legendary beast that grew fond of the sword master and Lisa.” Weed didn’t doubt the beast bit, he was highly skeptical of the Legendary bit. The old man only gave three rules with regards to being in Snappy’s care as he put it. Firstly, never call Snappy a dog. Snappy hates being called a dog, as he may look like one but really isn’t one. Weed checked Snappy from most visible angles…most definitely a dog. The second rule was, that Weed should always listen to Snappy, for this Alak would provide the translation. The last rule was, never touch Snappy’s treat bag without Snappy’s permission (unless of course, he was asked to being fed).<br><br>Weed really wanted to turn down the quest, he had no intention of accepting such a pointless quest. There were all sorts of ego issues and valid ego issues as Weed thought of them but they mainly boiled down to; Weed didn’t think he needed a baby sister, much less a dog and an annoying fairy. Then there was the bit on journeying from the West Gate (where the ranch happened to be) all the way across the centre of the town making a fool out of himself (somehow that does seem to be a matter of concern now but not before) to the East Gate, cross the forest of doom (as he imagined it to be) to the sword masters house in seven days. Maybe, if it was a simple walk, sure no problem, Weed would have done it in 3 days…maybe even 2 days. But with pushing a wheel barrow weighing a ton and given the fact that he was level 0, the quest limit of 7 days was impossible achieve! Plus, there are bound to be problems along the way…failing your first quest, isn’t what an adventurer wants. And he would then have to go all the way back just to return Snappy and the fairy. The way Weed imagined it, it was best not accept the quest if he wished to progress through the game. But then Emily just had to turn up and scorn at him. In the end, he really wanted to knock some sense back into the brat of a girl, so he accepted the quest.<br><br>“Woof!”<br><br>“Snappy says, to stop, he senses someone following us.”<br><br>Weed froze. ‘Great, Doggie says and I do. Just the game I wanted to play.’<br><br>“Grrrrrr” Snappy growled and suddenly dashed into the thicket nearby. Weed looked, somewhat astonished, ‘maybe the dog’s not half bad…’ but he soon took his words back when he saw Snappy return with a dead rabbit in his mouth. Apparently, very happy with the hunt.<br><br>“Wuff” (somewhat of a muffled bark).<br><br>“Snappy says false alarm.”<br><br>-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-<br><br>Darkness soon swept the lands. Weed had been pushing the wheel barrow all day. It had been rather uneventful, apart from the rabbit hunt. They met a few NPCs on their way, but nothing more than that. From what Weed could gather with his brief conversations with Alak, to the West of Lavias began the Fire Kingdom. Lavias was located terrifying close to the border, very few users would dare to venture outside the western gates for the fear of being shot down by border patrol. <br><br>The Kingdoms, it seemed were in a warring state. The NPCs of each kingdom were prejudiced against the other, thus the players / citizens of each kingdom were prejudiced as well. Depending upon the relationship kingdoms had with each other, players holding a particular citizenship would be treated accordingly. Wind Kingdom did not get along well with Fire Kingdom, being a weaker Kingdom, it could only ensure to keep Fire Kingdom at bay. Thus, to conclude, players who strolled close to the borders risked being captured and killed even if they are still within the Wind Kingdom’s border! <br><br>Weed looked around; if he remembered right they were still only half way to the central town. He could have used Alak as a torch but then figured it might bring too much unwanted attention. There were no monsters in the city, but fairies are very rare and players would soon ask questions. With only 7 days to complete the quest, it was best to avoid confrontations and proceed as smoothly as possible.<br><br>They treaded through the muddy trail. Often, the wheel barrow would get stuck in mud, or Snappy would want a treat. Lisa had packed them some water pouches (and a bowl for Snappy as well) so they had adequate supplies for the journey. Weed also had to rest after every 1000 meters or so given his low stamina. ‘7 Days!’ <br><br>“Okay Snappy! Alak! Enough rest! Lets get a move!” Weed had been walking at this slow pace for over 12 hours and he didn’t intend to stop.<br><br>Snappy who had been ferocious to begin with began to accept Weed. Alak largely disapproved of Weed, was still a complete nuisance to talk to…tired herself out. She just followed them invisibly. Weed wondered what Alak ate…it was a curious thought that kept him entertained for a significant part of the journey.<br><br>-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-<br><br>The sun finally rose again, Weed had reached his first stop the central town. Snappy looked worn out, he wasn’t used to walking this slowly for 18 hours at a stretch and his ego didn’t want to lose to Weeds. So he pushed himself on. Weed wasn’t sure if Alak followed them till town, he called her out many times, but she didn’t appear. <br><br>After stopping by a ‘Express Inn – Open 24 hrs’. Weed bought some breakfast for himself (cold stale sandwich and coffee – 5 copper) The streets were empty, most players weren’t awake right now, but every now and then you could see errand boys scurrying around or large bandwagons unloading goods into the city. After finishing his meal and resting for 10 minutes, Weed got up and began pushing the wheel barrow again. “Lets go Snappy! We have only just reached the entrance of the central city.”<br><br>Snappy’s ears and tail drooped… ‘Is this really a squirrel? Or a baby Orc?’ <br><br>As the hours flew by, Weed reached the central square where he had began just 2 days ago. It was fairly late into the morning and many players had just began arriving. Merchants, cooks, artists, blacksmiths had just finished setting up their stalls and early began scanning the market for potential customers.<br><br>“Free packed lunch with every breakfast!”<br><br>“Get your starting amour set here!”<br><br>They all began calling out and waiving their goods in the air. ‘Typical.’<br><br>Weed continued to push past the town square, when he noticed trouble. The players who had killed him, were standing at the entrance of the eastern town alley. It was the only way into the eastern part of the city. Weed quickly pushed the wheel barrow to the side and hid behind a stall. ‘Why did they were construct a city such that the only way to get from one side to another is via the central square?’ Weed would have loved to know the reasoning of the design, he had a guess in mind, but it appeared too farfetched. He wasn’t going to let his imagination get the better of him this time!<br><br>Snappy stared at Weed and then at the Eastern Gate. ‘What happened little squirrel? Tired out? Or are you hiding from someone?’<br><br>Weed didn’t understand anything Snappy barked. “Shhhh!” Weed said.<br><br>Snappy really didn’t want to listen to Weed. He started making his way towards the Eastern Entrance.<br><br>“Kyaaaaaa!!” the women screamed seeing such a big dog roaming freely in the city. As it was a starting city, most players ran away from animals at sight. Pets usually roamed around with collars, but Snappy wouldn’t stand for one, so he didn’t have any to begin with.<br><br>“Is it a wild beast?” <br><br>“Looks like it!”<br><br>All players took out their weapons and stood facing the dog. They weren’t sure why they didn’t see it before but it was in front of them now! (Did they mistake it for a small horse?)<br><br>“Where are the City Guards?” <br><br>“Hey, they still haven’t reached here have they?”<br><br>“What are they doing slacking off?”<br><br>“Air Kingdom is really the worst kingdom to start off in!”<br><br>“Are there any high level players here?”<br><br>Hearing the word high level players certainly got the attention of the killers of Weed. They moved from the Eastern entrance and walked towards the central square.<br><br>“Hey! Hey! Hey! What’s going on here?” One of them asked in coarse voice.<br><br>“That dog just appeared out of nowhere!”<br><br>“Can’t even take care of simple dog can you?” exclaimed another member of the Weed Killer Trio (as Weed thought of them).<br><br>“Can’t you just get rid of it!” Exclaimed a merchant. “Its ruining our business here!”<br>“No problemo.” The trio said as they drew their swords. “Think of this as a favor from the Three Blades of Wind!”<br><br>“Did they say the Three Blades of Wind?” Players whispered to each other excitedly. Weed had no idea, what was going on, but he was starting to understand that they were strong.<br><br>“Aren’t they the strongest Class F?” asked another player. Weed’s suspicions were confirmed. <br><br>He hoped that the trio had forgotten about him and moved on in life. He took the risk, “WAIIIT!!” Shouted Weed. He wasn’t sure how strong Snappy was, but he certainly didn’t want Snappy dying. ‘Stupid Mutt! If you die, then this journey would be pointless! I haven’t slept in 24 RL hours and it better be worth it!! If only you stayed with me, people would have thought of you as my pet!!’<br><br>The trio held their swords in the air and looked at Weed.<br><br>“And you are?” “Possibly?” “The?”asked the Trio in sequential sync.<br><br>Weed wondered, since when did they become bigger fools? “The master of this dog!”<br><br>“GRRRRRRR.”<br><br>Snappy began growling at Weed. ‘No squirrel is my master!!”<br><br>“Yes.” “So true.” “We can see it.” Again in the annoying sequential sync.<br><br>“No wait, I am not its master! I am taking care of it for someone. That is all.” Snappy stopped growling.<br><br>The trio withdrew their swords and sheathed them as it was getting tiresome holding it in the air.<br><br>“And why does it not have a pet collar?”<br><br>“Snappy doesn’t like pet collars?” replied Weed meekly.<br><br>“Snappy, eh?” answered the one in the centre who also appeared to be the leader of the group. “Well, just make sure you keep him close to you. You are frightening of the newbies here and get it a collar!”<br><br>“Yes Sir!”<br><br>The Trio were pleased with this outcome by not killing they won the affection of several women who were afraid yet animal lovers. With that Weed pulled out and began pushing his wheel barrow towards the Eastern Entrance and Snappy trailed him. ‘Idiots! Didn’t even recognize me!’<br><br>As he crossed them, one of the trio placed his hand on Weed’s shoulder. “Wait!”<br><br>Weed froze. Sweat rolled down his temple. ‘Did he remember?’<br><br>“Have we met somewhere before?” He asked suspiciously.<br><br>“No Sir! I am completely new here Sir!” Weed answered while avoiding to look at him.<br>“Yes, I can see that. Traveler outfit…” He removed his hand of Weed’s shoulder and turned to give his attention to the women who were requesting their autograph.<br><br>Weed slowly started heading towards the Eastern Entrance again.<br><br>“WAIT!” screamed another of the Trio.<br><br>Weed froze in his place again! ‘What now?’<br><br>“Eh? Mark, doesn’t he seem to be familiar? Like that fellow we met then?”<br><br>“I know Joe! He does right? But see he is wearing those traveler outfit clothes. It’s been what 6 months I reckon we last saw him right? He would be easily a class +FF and would have found better outfit too.”<br><br>“Aye! I guess there are similar people in the world, Mark! Go on mate. Sorry for stopping you.”<br><br>Weed nodded in agreement and picked up his wheel barrow. He had just reached the entrance when for the third time…”WAIITT!!”<br><br>Weed could have seriously stabbed the trio to death, but his low level would not allow it. This time the leader of the trio approached. “Sorry, all goods being brought into Eastern Side, need to be inspected. We work closely with the magistrate here and our aided was requested to inspect all goods.” He said the last bit particularly loudly to grab the attention of the newbies.<br><br>“Did you hear that?” murmured players to one another.<br><br>“The magistrate’s office! They really live up to their name!”<br><br>Weed nodded acknowledging he understood while hiding his face as much as he could. He feared once they recognize him, they would take him to some deserted alley and kill him again, so he preferred to hide.<br><br>“Snappy, want a treat?”<br><br>“Woof!” replied Snappy while wagging his tail enthusiastically. <br><br>‘A treat? Reward? Food? Why not? Hurry up Squirrel! Best idea you have had all day! WOOF!’<br><br>Weed opened the bag with Snappy’s treat and showed them to the Trio. “See nothing but treat for Snappy! Two bags but nothing but treat.”<br><br>“Is that so? The trio put his hand in the bag to check and then threw a treat to Snappy.”<br>Who leapt and caught the treat in his mouth in mid air.<br><br>Several NPC women went “oooo” and “aaaa”. The Trio leader smiled, he totally intended that.<br><br>Weed hurriedly tied back the bag. “Well then good day sir!”<br><br>“Wait! What about the other bag?” Asked the leader.<br><br>“Just Doggie treat as well sir.”<br><br>“Open it.”<br><br>Weed hesitated, if he opened a bag full of 1000 gold coins there would be an uproar. The Trio would definitely want to seize it if not question him about it. There would also be other players, who would then pester him all day to find out where he is headed with so much money. <br><br>“Well?” asked the leader.<br><br>“You see, I am rather in a hurry. I have to finish this quest in the hour and deliver Snappy and his treat to his master. So I’d rather….”<br><br>The Trio leader didn’t buy it. If anything he happened to learn was never trust anybody other than the other two of his group. He had already been led astray once before by a player who claimed to be an NPC. He had sent the three of them on a journey to the Western Borders on stories of great treasure…needless to say, the Fire Kingdom’s border patrol was merciless. The trio lost a class, were stripped of their amour and items. The trio then swore to live by three rules, the first rule was never to trust anyone other than the trio. The second rule was always to be suspicious of an elf. Lastly, kill the elf that lied to them on sight. <br><br>Weed reopened the dog treat bag, hoping that the trio leader had not been paying attention.<br><br>“See Snappy Treat!” Weed exclaimed as if to say see I am right.<br><br>The trio leader didn’t even bat an eyelash. His morbid expression said you have to be kidding me. <br><br>“You just reopened the same bag. There’s a huge difference in the size of the treat bag which is huge and the other smaller bag…pouch…not to mention that they are of different color too!”<br><br>The trio leader, cut open the pouch and out poured the gold coins into the barrel!<br><br>“Boys! I think we have caught our thief!”<br><br>-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-<br><br>The hooded figure watched through a window Lisa’s archery training. <br><br>“The student is quite the prodigy, Rodriguez the Wise.” He exclaimed.<br><br>Rodriguez warily nodded in agreement. “You can drop with the formalities. I know you detest me. You made it pretty evident last night. So tell me why are you here, Shadow?”<br><br>“You know why I am here, Rodriguez.” The voice lost all warmth and sounded menacing. “Have you found it?”<br><br>Rodriguez passed a sealed envelope lying on the table to Shadow. “It’s all in there.”<br><br>Shadow snatched it away quickly and broke the seal. “He opened the letter quickly and broke the seal.”<br><br>His eyes quickly glanced through the letter and put it away in his inventory bar (even NPCs have those). <br><br>“Have you told anyone else about this?” He asked with a black sword pointing at Rodriguez neck.<br><br>“No, even I haven’t read the letter. You have my word that its content is authentic. Stolen straight from…”<br><br>“SHHH!!” said Shadow. “Even the wall has ears. It is not your word that I have Rodriguez, but your life and Lisa’s life as well.”<br><br>“What happened to you Shadow! I thought we were on the same side!”<br><br>The sword extended, till it touched Rodriguez neck. Rodriguez silently stared at the hooded figure, whose sword then disappeared into nothingness.<br><br>“Well then, Rodriguez the Wise. I guess I should be on my way. By the way, what happened to the young rascal from yesterday. You seemed to pretty excited about him. If I am not mistaken you boasted how he may be the one.”<br><br>“I sent him on the quest.”<br><br>The hooded figure who was on the door, stood there. “Already? Without training him? What level was he at?”<br><br>“FF/000.”<br><br>“I see…sent him to his death didn’t you. I guess he wasn’t the one then, was he?"<br><br>The hooded person stepped out and Rodriguez exhaled. 'I hope you fare well son.' He thought to himself, when suddenly the hooded figure took a step back in and said, "How about I pay him a visit, just to make sure…you know….that he is dead. At the very least, I should see the face of the person who was praised so much. What was it that you said to him, yet to come across someone who accepts challenges as willingly as you do. You have won my trust with your honesty!” <br><br>The hooded figure gave off a cruel laugh as he left.<br><br><br><br>----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br>Authors Note:<br><br>1. Happy reading...took a while, but here is the chapter. Removed teaser status.<br>2. Snappy is a Great Dane...<br>3. A map of Versailles continent.<br><br><img src="http://i.imgur.com/uOlkMQC.jpg?1?9871" border="0" alt="http%3a%2f%2fi.imgur.com%2fuOlkMQC.jpg%3f1%3f9871"><br><br><br>----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br>Authors Note:<br><br>1. Editing Credits: Knaivvs<br>2. In case you skipped the prologue, I strongly recommend reading it. Otherwise the starting of this chapter would come across disconnected.<br><br>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="4">Connect to Royal Road – Elementarem Vim next Chapter?</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&amp;t=310" target="_blank">Yes</a></td><td colspan="2"><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&amp;t=348" target="_blank">No</a></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- </div>

“Whirling round and round and round….” Alak sang as it whirled around Weed head in circles. “Could you please stop! For heavens sake!” groaned Weed as he could barely see the road ahead him, partially blinded by Alaks glowing body. “GRRRRR” growled Snappy. “Not you Snappy. Just the annoying fairy.” “Woof!” There seemed to be some mutual agreement there. Weed continued to push the wheel barrow which carried the bag of gold, through the muddy path all the way back to the city and towards the Eastern Gate. It was a slow and tiring journey back. “How did it come to this?” asked Weed to himself. “Well, you kept complaining how Snappy would be unmanageable and tried avoiding taking on this quest. But my great and kind master, who is ever so helpful decided to lend me, the almighty fairy, Alak to you. To which I strongly refused but my kind and ever so great master understood you were to weak otherwise and thus refused my request. Then you tried avoiding accepting the quest by speaking of your obvious inability to carry a bag of money. To which my master so generously offered his horse pulled cart. However, you being so innately useless meant that you even lacked the skill to sit and drive around a cart. Fortunately, Emily happened to be around and you decided to be more of a man and that is how we ended up here pushing a wheel barrow.” Replied Alak as she started swinging to and fro, dancing merrily. “I was being rhetorical.” “Woof!” “Oh and Snappy says, he still thinks you’re a squirrel.” Translated Alka. “Woof! Woof!” “And that if you tried running away with the gold or the wheel barrow, he will eat you alive.” “Sure Snappy, I always planned to cheat the old man and run away with the gold bag, I can barely carry.” Replied Weed sarcastically. “GRRRRRR” “Snappy says, he will bark since his bite will kill you, little squirrel.” Weed decided to stay quiet. He didn’t most certainly want to anger Snappy, whose bark was a Lion Roar. He most definitely didn’t want to know what his bite would be like. Snappy wasn’t really an ordinary dog, as the old man described it, he is “a legendary beast that grew fond of the sword master and Lisa.” Weed didn’t doubt the beast bit, he was highly skeptical of the Legendary bit. The old man only gave three rules with regards to being in Snappy’s care as he put it. Firstly, never call Snappy a dog. Snappy hates being called a dog, as he may look like one but really isn’t one. Weed checked Snappy from most visible angles…most definitely a dog. The second rule was, that Weed should always listen to Snappy, for this Alak would provide the translation. The last rule was, never touch Snappy’s treat bag without Snappy’s permission (unless of course, he was asked to being fed). Weed really wanted to turn down the quest, he had no intention of accepting such a pointless quest. There were all sorts of ego issues and valid ego issues as Weed thought of them but they mainly boiled down to; Weed didn’t think he needed a baby sister, much less a dog and an annoying fairy. Then there was the bit on journeying from the West Gate (where the ranch happened to be) all the way across the centre of the town making a fool out of himself (somehow that does seem to be a matter of concern now but not before) to the East Gate, cross the forest of doom (as he imagined it to be) to the sword masters house in seven days. Maybe, if it was a simple walk, sure no problem, Weed would have done it in 3 days…maybe even 2 days. But with pushing a wheel barrow weighing a ton and given the fact that he was level 0, the quest limit of 7 days was impossible achieve! Plus, there are bound to be problems along the way…failing your first quest, isn’t what an adventurer wants. And he would then have to go all the way back just to return Snappy and the fairy. The way Weed imagined it, it was best not accept the quest if he wished to progress through the game. But then Emily just had to turn up and scorn at him. In the end, he really wanted to knock some sense back into the brat of a girl, so he accepted the quest. “Woof!” “Snappy says, to stop, he senses someone following us.” Weed froze. ‘Great, Doggie says and I do. Just the game I wanted to play.’ “Grrrrrr” Snappy growled and suddenly dashed into the thicket nearby. Weed looked, somewhat astonished, ‘maybe the dog’s not half bad…’ but he soon took his words back when he saw Snappy return with a dead rabbit in his mouth. Apparently, very happy with the hunt. “Wuff” (somewhat of a muffled bark). “Snappy says false alarm.” -x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x- Darkness soon swept the lands. Weed had been pushing the wheel barrow all day. It had been rather uneventful, apart from the rabbit hunt. They met a few NPCs on their way, but nothing more than that. From what Weed could gather with his brief conversations with Alak, to the West of Lavias began the Fire Kingdom. Lavias was located terrifying close to the border, very few users would dare to venture outside the western gates for the fear of being shot down by border patrol. The Kingdoms, it seemed were in a warring state. The NPCs of each kingdom were prejudiced against the other, thus the players / citizens of each kingdom were prejudiced as well. Depending upon the relationship kingdoms had with each other, players holding a particular citizenship would be treated accordingly. Wind Kingdom did not get along well with Fire Kingdom, being a weaker Kingdom, it could only ensure to keep Fire Kingdom at bay. Thus, to conclude, players who strolled close to the borders risked being captured and killed even if they are still within the Wind Kingdom’s border! Weed looked around; if he remembered right they were still only half way to the central town. He could have used Alak as a torch but then figured it might bring too much unwanted attention. There were no monsters in the city, but fairies are very rare and players would soon ask questions. With only 7 days to complete the quest, it was best to avoid confrontations and proceed as smoothly as possible. They treaded through the muddy trail. Often, the wheel barrow would get stuck in mud, or Snappy would want a treat. Lisa had packed them some water pouches (and a bowl for Snappy as well) so they had adequate supplies for the journey. Weed also had to rest after every 1000 meters or so given his low stamina. ‘7 Days!’ “Okay Snappy! Alak! Enough rest! Lets get a move!” Weed had been walking at this slow pace for over 12 hours and he didn’t intend to stop. Snappy who had been ferocious to begin with began to accept Weed. Alak largely disapproved of Weed, was still a complete nuisance to talk to…tired herself out. She just followed them invisibly. Weed wondered what Alak ate…it was a curious thought that kept him entertained for a significant part of the journey. -x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x- The sun finally rose again, Weed had reached his first stop the central town. Snappy looked worn out, he wasn’t used to walking this slowly for 18 hours at a stretch and his ego didn’t want to lose to Weeds. So he pushed himself on. Weed wasn’t sure if Alak followed them till town, he called her out many times, but she didn’t appear. After stopping by a ‘Express Inn – Open 24 hrs’. Weed bought some breakfast for himself (cold stale sandwich and coffee – 5 copper) The streets were empty, most players weren’t awake right now, but every now and then you could see errand boys scurrying around or large bandwagons unloading goods into the city. After finishing his meal and resting for 10 minutes, Weed got up and began pushing the wheel barrow again. “Lets go Snappy! We have only just reached the entrance of the central city.” Snappy’s ears and tail drooped… ‘Is this really a squirrel? Or a baby Orc?’ As the hours flew by, Weed reached the central square where he had began just 2 days ago. It was fairly late into the morning and many players had just began arriving. Merchants, cooks, artists, blacksmiths had just finished setting up their stalls and early began scanning the market for potential customers. “Free packed lunch with every breakfast!” “Get your starting amour set here!” They all began calling out and waiving their goods in the air. ‘Typical.’ Weed continued to push past the town square, when he noticed trouble. The players who had killed him, were standing at the entrance of the eastern town alley. It was the only way into the eastern part of the city. Weed quickly pushed the wheel barrow to the side and hid behind a stall. ‘Why did they were construct a city such that the only way to get from one side to another is via the central square?’ Weed would have loved to know the reasoning of the design, he had a guess in mind, but it appeared too farfetched. He wasn’t going to let his imagination get the better of him this time! Snappy stared at Weed and then at the Eastern Gate. ‘What happened little squirrel? Tired out? Or are you hiding from someone?’ Weed didn’t understand anything Snappy barked. “Shhhh!” Weed said. Snappy really didn’t want to listen to Weed. He started making his way towards the Eastern Entrance. “Kyaaaaaa!!” the women screamed seeing such a big dog roaming freely in the city. As it was a starting city, most players ran away from animals at sight. Pets usually roamed around with collars, but Snappy wouldn’t stand for one, so he didn’t have any to begin with. “Is it a wild beast?” “Looks like it!” All players took out their weapons and stood facing the dog. They weren’t sure why they didn’t see it before but it was in front of them now! (Did they mistake it for a small horse?) “Where are the City Guards?” “Hey, they still haven’t reached here have they?” “What are they doing slacking off?” “Air Kingdom is really the worst kingdom to start off in!” “Are there any high level players here?” Hearing the word high level players certainly got the attention of the killers of Weed. They moved from the Eastern entrance and walked towards the central square. “Hey! Hey! Hey! What’s going on here?” One of them asked in coarse voice. “That dog just appeared out of nowhere!” “Can’t even take care of simple dog can you?” exclaimed another member of the Weed Killer Trio (as Weed thought of them). “Can’t you just get rid of it!” Exclaimed a merchant. “Its ruining our business here!” “No problemo.” The trio said as they drew their swords. “Think of this as a favor from the Three Blades of Wind!” “Did they say the Three Blades of Wind?” Players whispered to each other excitedly. Weed had no idea, what was going on, but he was starting to understand that they were strong. “Aren’t they the strongest Class F?” asked another player. Weed’s suspicions were confirmed. He hoped that the trio had forgotten about him and moved on in life. He took the risk, “WAIIIT!!” Shouted Weed. He wasn’t sure how strong Snappy was, but he certainly didn’t want Snappy dying. ‘Stupid Mutt! If you die, then this journey would be pointless! I haven’t slept in 24 RL hours and it better be worth it!! If only you stayed with me, people would have thought of you as my pet!!’ The trio held their swords in the air and looked at Weed. “And you are?” “Possibly?” “The?”asked the Trio in sequential sync. Weed wondered, since when did they become bigger fools? “The master of this dog!” “GRRRRRRR.” Snappy began growling at Weed. ‘No squirrel is my master!!” “Yes.” “So true.” “We can see it.” Again in the annoying sequential sync. “No wait, I am not its master! I am taking care of it for someone. That is all.” Snappy stopped growling. The trio withdrew their swords and sheathed them as it was getting tiresome holding it in the air. “And why does it not have a pet collar?” “Snappy doesn’t like pet collars?” replied Weed meekly. “Snappy, eh?” answered the one in the centre who also appeared to be the leader of the group. “Well, just make sure you keep him close to you. You are frightening of the newbies here and get it a collar!” “Yes Sir!” The Trio were pleased with this outcome by not killing they won the affection of several women who were afraid yet animal lovers. With that Weed pulled out and began pushing his wheel barrow towards the Eastern Entrance and Snappy trailed him. ‘Idiots! Didn’t even recognize me!’ As he crossed them, one of the trio placed his hand on Weed’s shoulder. “Wait!” Weed froze. Sweat rolled down his temple. ‘Did he remember?’ “Have we met somewhere before?” He asked suspiciously. “No Sir! I am completely new here Sir!” Weed answered while avoiding to look at him. “Yes, I can see that. Traveler outfit…” He removed his hand of Weed’s shoulder and turned to give his attention to the women who were requesting their autograph. Weed slowly started heading towards the Eastern Entrance again. “WAIT!” screamed another of the Trio. Weed froze in his place again! ‘What now?’ “Eh? Mark, doesn’t he seem to be familiar? Like that fellow we met then?” “I know Joe! He does right? But see he is wearing those traveler outfit clothes. It’s been what 6 months I reckon we last saw him right? He would be easily a class +FF and would have found better outfit too.” “Aye! I guess there are similar people in the world, Mark! Go on mate. Sorry for stopping you.” Weed nodded in agreement and picked up his wheel barrow. He had just reached the entrance when for the third time…”WAIITT!!” Weed could have seriously stabbed the trio to death, but his low level would not allow it. This time the leader of the trio approached. “Sorry, all goods being brought into Eastern Side, need to be inspected. We work closely with the magistrate here and our aided was requested to inspect all goods.” He said the last bit particularly loudly to grab the attention of the newbies. “Did you hear that?” murmured players to one another. “The magistrate’s office! They really live up to their name!” Weed nodded acknowledging he understood while hiding his face as much as he could. He feared once they recognize him, they would take him to some deserted alley and kill him again, so he preferred to hide. “Snappy, want a treat?” “Woof!” replied Snappy while wagging his tail enthusiastically. ‘A treat? Reward? Food? Why not? Hurry up Squirrel! Best idea you have had all day! WOOF!’ Weed opened the bag with Snappy’s treat and showed them to the Trio. “See nothing but treat for Snappy! Two bags but nothing but treat.” “Is that so? The trio put his hand in the bag to check and then threw a treat to Snappy.” Who leapt and caught the treat in his mouth in mid air. Several NPC women went “oooo” and “aaaa”. The Trio leader smiled, he totally intended that. Weed hurriedly tied back the bag. “Well then good day sir!” “Wait! What about the other bag?” Asked the leader. “Just Doggie treat as well sir.” “Open it.” Weed hesitated, if he opened a bag full of 1000 gold coins there would be an uproar. The Trio would definitely want to seize it if not question him about it. There would also be other players, who would then pester him all day to find out where he is headed with so much money. “Well?” asked the leader. “You see, I am rather in a hurry. I have to finish this quest in the hour and deliver Snappy and his treat to his master. So I’d rather….” The Trio leader didn’t buy it. If anything he happened to learn was never trust anybody other than the other two of his group. He had already been led astray once before by a player who claimed to be an NPC. He had sent the three of them on a journey to the Western Borders on stories of great treasure…needless to say, the Fire Kingdom’s border patrol was merciless. The trio lost a class, were stripped of their amour and items. The trio then swore to live by three rules, the first rule was never to trust anyone other than the trio. The second rule was always to be suspicious of an elf. Lastly, kill the elf that lied to them on sight. Weed reopened the dog treat bag, hoping that the trio leader had not been paying attention. “See Snappy Treat!” Weed exclaimed as if to say see I am right. The trio leader didn’t even bat an eyelash. His morbid expression said you have to be kidding me. “You just reopened the same bag. There’s a huge difference in the size of the treat bag which is huge and the other smaller bag…pouch…not to mention that they are of different color too!” The trio leader, cut open the pouch and out poured the gold coins into the barrel! “Boys! I think we have caught our thief!” -x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x- The hooded figure watched through a window Lisa’s archery training. “The student is quite the prodigy, Rodriguez the Wise.” He exclaimed. Rodriguez warily nodded in agreement. “You can drop with the formalities. I know you detest me. You made it pretty evident last night. So tell me why are you here, Shadow?” “You know why I am here, Rodriguez.” The voice lost all warmth and sounded menacing. “Have you found it?” Rodriguez passed a sealed envelope lying on the table to Shadow. “It’s all in there.” Shadow snatched it away quickly and broke the seal. “He opened the letter quickly and broke the seal.” His eyes quickly glanced through the letter and put it away in his inventory bar (even NPCs have those). “Have you told anyone else about this?” He asked with a black sword pointing at Rodriguez neck. “No, even I haven’t read the letter. You have my word that its content is authentic. Stolen straight from…” “SHHH!!” said Shadow. “Even the wall has ears. It is not your word that I have Rodriguez, but your life and Lisa’s life as well.” “What happened to you Shadow! I thought we were on the same side!” The sword extended, till it touched Rodriguez neck. Rodriguez silently stared at the hooded figure, whose sword then disappeared into nothingness. “Well then, Rodriguez the Wise. I guess I should be on my way. By the way, what happened to the young rascal from yesterday. You seemed to pretty excited about him. If I am not mistaken you boasted how he may be the one.” “I sent him on the quest.” The hooded figure who was on the door, stood there. “Already? Without training him? What level was he at?” “FF/000.” “I see…sent him to his death didn’t you. I guess he wasn’t the one then, was he?" The hooded person stepped out and Rodriguez exhaled. 'I hope you fare well son.' He thought to himself, when suddenly the hooded figure took a step back in and said, "How about I pay him a visit, just to make sure…you know….that he is dead. At the very least, I should see the face of the person who was praised so much. What was it that you said to him, yet to come across someone who accepts challenges as willingly as you do. You have won my trust with your honesty!” The hooded figure gave off a cruel laugh as he left. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Authors Note: 1. Happy reading...took a while, but here is the chapter. Removed teaser status. 2. Snappy is a Great Dane... 3. A map of Versailles continent.  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Authors Note: 1. Editing Credits: Knaivvs 2. In case you skipped the prologue, I strongly recommend reading it. Otherwise the starting of this chapter would come across disconnected. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Connect to Royal Road – Elementarem Vim next Chapter? | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Yes](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&t=310) | | [No](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&t=348) | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> It was a Friday morning and Alexander had finally had a good night worth of sleep since he had started playing Royal Road on Monday. He was currently sitting on a couch in the living room with his older brother Patrick. They were watching documentation on ‘What to do, when you start playing Royal Road’.<br><br>Today his eldest sibling Helena would visit and they were having a family dinner once again. Even though my parents rarely are home due to work, they want to enjoy as many family moments as possible and since us kids were of the same opinion we always tried to arrange meetings for everybody to come together.<br><br>After watching another hour of extremely boring TV the doorbell finally rang.<br>Patrick went to open the door, while Alexander turned off the TV and then also went towards the door. <br><br>“Hey little brother”<br><br>His sister greeted me with a bone-crushing hug.<br><br>“How are you? Are you going outside once in a while or have you just stayed inside playing that new game, whatever it is called?”<br><br>Before he even had time to respond to her questions, Helena had turned around again pointing at the man besides her introducing him as Raymond, who has been her boyfriend for the past 5 months..<br><br>“You know, Alex. Raymond also is very huge gaming fan and has reserved a capsule for that game you are playing. He’ll be able to play the game as soon as the game officially runs. Maybe you can point some things out to him, since you have been playing for a few days already.”<br><br>“Can do, sis. So what other games have you played before Raymond?”<br><br>Alexander had asked Raymond steering them towards the table.<br><br>“Mostly different kinds of MMORPG’s but CoM(Continent of Magic) is the only game I am still playing actively. Have you tried playing it?”<br><br>“Yeah, I played it but got bored of it after a few months and reaching the level limit of 140.”<br><br>“But the level limit is currently at level 200 and probably no one will reach that level soon considering that the highest level players are at around level 160. But how can it be that you reached the level limit at level 140? More than a year has passed since it was set at that maximum level.”<br><br>“I played the game two years ago and when I had stopped playing they didn’t have any level expansion planned so I grew bored and stopped playing it.”<br><br>“….”<br><br>“So anyway, let us talk about Royal Road.”<br><br>“Your sister told me that you had one of the pre-released capsules. Can I see it later?”<br><br>“Yeah, no problem! You have probably decided on what to do once you start playing, right? Where you will start, which skills you want to learn and so on.”<br><br>“Yes I considered those things carefully. I’ll choose the Human race and will start in the kingdom of Haven. I’ll aim to be a knight-related class, thus I’ll join the army and train as a squire. My friends and I will all start in that particular kingdom and we’ll start a guild of our own.”<br><br>“Train very hard, since a new player isn’t allowed to venture outside of the city for the duration of a month, which means the monsters will probably be strong. Since it is Virtual Reality I was both looking forward to as well as dreading fighting the monsters and still am actually. Another thing that is interesting is that through basic hard work one is able to increase his stats as well. For example running for a long time will increase Agility and Stamina.”<br><br>“Ok that will give me something else to do, since apparently I won’t be able to leave the city for a whole month. What about quests? Have you received any?”<br><br>“Yes, I have received two so far and they seem to be triggered by special requirements and your relationship towards the NPC. So building a very good relationship towards NPC’s will be rewarded.”<br><br>“You two boys stop talking. Now we eat!”<br><br>Alexander’s mother told them. <br><br>After having eaten Alexander shows his sister and Raymond the capsule in his room and they leave. All the while Alexander smirked at the face Raymond was making, since it was full of giddy eagerness and impatience. After whispering to his sister that she should also get herself the capsule if she still wants to spend some time with her boyfriend, he quickly walks back into his room entering the capsule once again.<br><br>Not seeing the wizard, Kengh, after logging back in anywhere in this room, which seemed to be the kitchen or its storage area he went up the stairs in the far back of the room not forgetting to take some food with him. Reaching the next floor, Alexander found himself to be in a large dining area, which would easily accommodate thousands of people.<br><br>Marveling at such a fantastic dining hall, which also seemed to extend limitlessly upwards and was easily illuminated by just one glowing ball high up above, he reached the two main doors, which both were astounding five meters high.<br><br>Easily opening the huge doors Alexander thought he was outside and thus stretched loudly and took a deep breath of the fresh air. After going into the sewers he had to thank his strong stomach a couple of times in the first hour and a half, but then he had started to get used to the pungent smell of the sewers and in the end he wasn’t smelling anything unpleasant anymore.<br><br>Now breathing in the fresh outside air he had forgotten all about that bad smell and had repressed his memories of it. He had finally made it out was what he had thought, but then he seemed to realize that huge walls surround him on all sides reaching fifty meters in height. <br>After having seen another of those huge floating balls of light, he noticed three things:<br>1. He was still inside the tower<br>2. The tower was huge!!!<br>3. He will never find Kengh again!<br><br>Suddenly Kengh materialized in front of him out of thin air and spoke with his ageless, deep voice:<br><br>“You have finally come back, young one, but now you must depart on your journey. Grow stronger, because you will need to in order to remove the curse. I cannot grant you the knowledge of all the forbidden arts, but let me still aid you in your journey.”<br><br>After saying that, the master wizard started muttering in an alien-sounding language to which his hands started to glow orange. With a final shout of ‘RAH LEE!’ Kengh flicked his hands towards Alexander and the orange glow started surrounding his body.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="4">You have learned the skill Illusion</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="4">You have learned the skill Soul-Sense</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>“And you will also need these.”<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="4">You have received five unknown stone tablets and an unknown book.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>Looking at the stone tablets and the book he couldn’t identify a single piece of information from them. So Alexander had no choice but asking:<br><br>“Sir, what are these tablets and the book that you have given me?”<br><br>“I must apologize, young one. I was being forgetful, since I couldn’t expect someone, who has only recently embarked on his adventure to be able to identify such items. Identify!”<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="4">You have learned the skill Identify</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="4"><span style="font-weight: bold;">A tablet of a master wizard</span><br><br>This tablet is made of an extremely rare magical stone.<br><br>Effect: Increases Mana (+250 Mana)</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="4"><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Book of the last Illusionist</span><br><br>Kengh, the last master of orange magic, recorded this book on behalf of all the misuse of orange magic.<br>This book is composed of three secret skills that master wizard Kengh developed to avoid further usage of forbidden spells.<br>This book contains the secondary profession advancement ‘Illusionist’ and is only available upon reaching level 280.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>Surprised, Alexander almost dropped the items. They were much better than expected. <br><br>“Skill window”<br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="4"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Blacksmithing</span> (Lvl. 5: 83%)<br><br>Can create armor made of different kinds of metals, as well as enhance them.<br>Can create different kinds of weapons, as well as enhance them.<br>Depending on the skill level the requirements on equips go down by two percent or more per level. Depending on the skill level the attack strength increases.<br>Effect: 15% increase of attack strength</td></tr><tr><td colspan="4"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Repair</span> (Lvl. 7: 16%)<br><br>Enables you to repair weapons and armors. Level 1 allows the maintenance to be increased by 7 points. <br>Each level up adds additional points.<br>Effect: repair durability by 26 points</td></tr><tr><td colspan="4"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Tailoring</span> (Lvl. 2: 27%)<br><br>Can create clothing out of fabrics and leather, as well as enhance them.</td></tr><tr><td colspan="4"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Illusion</span> (Lvl. 1: 0%)<br><br>By concentrating hard enough you are able to create an illusion.<br>Depending on skill level the area of effect will increase.<br>Mana cost: 100 mana/sec.<br>AOE: 2-meter radius</td></tr><tr><td colspan="4"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Soul-Sense</span> (Lvl. 1: 0%)<br><br>By tuning into the energy of nature you are able to feel the souls of beings around you.<br>Depending on the skill level the details and AOE one can see increase.<br>Mana cost: 10 mana/sec.<br>AOE: 10-meter radius</td></tr><tr><td colspan="4"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Identify</span> (Lvl. 1: 0%)<br><br>Enables you to identify unknown items.<br>The level and grade of items you can identify depend on your skill level<br>Stamina cost: 15 Stamina</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>~I really have no idea if ‘Illusion’ and ‘Soul-Sense’ are good skills to have, but they certainly seem interesting.~<br><br>“Thank you, for everything you have given me sir. I will try my best in finding a way to remove the curse.”<br><br>“Good luck on your journey.”<br><br>And as Alexander was walking out of the tower, he was sure that he heard the wizard whisper:<br><br>“You will need it.” </div>

It was a Friday morning and Alexander had finally had a good night worth of sleep since he had started playing Royal Road on Monday. He was currently sitting on a couch in the living room with his older brother Patrick. They were watching documentation on ‘What to do, when you start playing Royal Road’. Today his eldest sibling Helena would visit and they were having a family dinner once again. Even though my parents rarely are home due to work, they want to enjoy as many family moments as possible and since us kids were of the same opinion we always tried to arrange meetings for everybody to come together. After watching another hour of extremely boring TV the doorbell finally rang. Patrick went to open the door, while Alexander turned off the TV and then also went towards the door. “Hey little brother” His sister greeted me with a bone-crushing hug. “How are you? Are you going outside once in a while or have you just stayed inside playing that new game, whatever it is called?” Before he even had time to respond to her questions, Helena had turned around again pointing at the man besides her introducing him as Raymond, who has been her boyfriend for the past 5 months.. “You know, Alex. Raymond also is very huge gaming fan and has reserved a capsule for that game you are playing. He’ll be able to play the game as soon as the game officially runs. Maybe you can point some things out to him, since you have been playing for a few days already.” “Can do, sis. So what other games have you played before Raymond?” Alexander had asked Raymond steering them towards the table. “Mostly different kinds of MMORPG’s but CoM(Continent of Magic) is the only game I am still playing actively. Have you tried playing it?” “Yeah, I played it but got bored of it after a few months and reaching the level limit of 140.” “But the level limit is currently at level 200 and probably no one will reach that level soon considering that the highest level players are at around level 160. But how can it be that you reached the level limit at level 140? More than a year has passed since it was set at that maximum level.” “I played the game two years ago and when I had stopped playing they didn’t have any level expansion planned so I grew bored and stopped playing it.” “….” “So anyway, let us talk about Royal Road.” “Your sister told me that you had one of the pre-released capsules. Can I see it later?” “Yeah, no problem! You have probably decided on what to do once you start playing, right? Where you will start, which skills you want to learn and so on.” “Yes I considered those things carefully. I’ll choose the Human race and will start in the kingdom of Haven. I’ll aim to be a knight-related class, thus I’ll join the army and train as a squire. My friends and I will all start in that particular kingdom and we’ll start a guild of our own.” “Train very hard, since a new player isn’t allowed to venture outside of the city for the duration of a month, which means the monsters will probably be strong. Since it is Virtual Reality I was both looking forward to as well as dreading fighting the monsters and still am actually. Another thing that is interesting is that through basic hard work one is able to increase his stats as well. For example running for a long time will increase Agility and Stamina.” “Ok that will give me something else to do, since apparently I won’t be able to leave the city for a whole month. What about quests? Have you received any?” “Yes, I have received two so far and they seem to be triggered by special requirements and your relationship towards the NPC. So building a very good relationship towards NPC’s will be rewarded.” “You two boys stop talking. Now we eat!” Alexander’s mother told them. After having eaten Alexander shows his sister and Raymond the capsule in his room and they leave. All the while Alexander smirked at the face Raymond was making, since it was full of giddy eagerness and impatience. After whispering to his sister that she should also get herself the capsule if she still wants to spend some time with her boyfriend, he quickly walks back into his room entering the capsule once again. Not seeing the wizard, Kengh, after logging back in anywhere in this room, which seemed to be the kitchen or its storage area he went up the stairs in the far back of the room not forgetting to take some food with him. Reaching the next floor, Alexander found himself to be in a large dining area, which would easily accommodate thousands of people. Marveling at such a fantastic dining hall, which also seemed to extend limitlessly upwards and was easily illuminated by just one glowing ball high up above, he reached the two main doors, which both were astounding five meters high. Easily opening the huge doors Alexander thought he was outside and thus stretched loudly and took a deep breath of the fresh air. After going into the sewers he had to thank his strong stomach a couple of times in the first hour and a half, but then he had started to get used to the pungent smell of the sewers and in the end he wasn’t smelling anything unpleasant anymore. Now breathing in the fresh outside air he had forgotten all about that bad smell and had repressed his memories of it. He had finally made it out was what he had thought, but then he seemed to realize that huge walls surround him on all sides reaching fifty meters in height. After having seen another of those huge floating balls of light, he noticed three things: 1. He was still inside the tower 2. The tower was huge!!! 3. He will never find Kengh again! Suddenly Kengh materialized in front of him out of thin air and spoke with his ageless, deep voice: “You have finally come back, young one, but now you must depart on your journey. Grow stronger, because you will need to in order to remove the curse. I cannot grant you the knowledge of all the forbidden arts, but let me still aid you in your journey.” After saying that, the master wizard started muttering in an alien-sounding language to which his hands started to glow orange. With a final shout of ‘RAH LEE!’ Kengh flicked his hands towards Alexander and the orange glow started surrounding his body. | You have learned the skill Illusion | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | You have learned the skill Soul-Sense | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | “And you will also need these.” | You have received five unknown stone tablets and an unknown book. | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | Looking at the stone tablets and the book he couldn’t identify a single piece of information from them. So Alexander had no choice but asking: “Sir, what are these tablets and the book that you have given me?” “I must apologize, young one. I was being forgetful, since I couldn’t expect someone, who has only recently embarked on his adventure to be able to identify such items. Identify!” | You have learned the skill Identify | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | A tablet of a master wizardThis tablet is made of an extremely rare magical stone.Effect: Increases Mana (+250 Mana) | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | The Book of the last IllusionistKengh, the last master of orange magic, recorded this book on behalf of all the misuse of orange magic.This book is composed of three secret skills that master wizard Kengh developed to avoid further usage of forbidden spells.This book contains the secondary profession advancement ‘Illusionist’ and is only available upon reaching level 280. | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | Surprised, Alexander almost dropped the items. They were much better than expected. “Skill window” | Blacksmithing (Lvl. 5: 83%)Can create armor made of different kinds of metals, as well as enhance them.Can create different kinds of weapons, as well as enhance them.Depending on the skill level the requirements on equips go down by two percent or more per level. Depending on the skill level the attack strength increases.Effect: 15% increase of attack strength | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Repair (Lvl. 7: 16%)Enables you to repair weapons and armors. Level 1 allows the maintenance to be increased by 7 points. Each level up adds additional points.Effect: repair durability by 26 points | | | | | Tailoring (Lvl. 2: 27%)Can create clothing out of fabrics and leather, as well as enhance them. | | | | | Illusion (Lvl. 1: 0%)By concentrating hard enough you are able to create an illusion.Depending on skill level the area of effect will increase.Mana cost: 100 mana/sec.AOE: 2-meter radius | | | | | Soul-Sense (Lvl. 1: 0%)By tuning into the energy of nature you are able to feel the souls of beings around you.Depending on the skill level the details and AOE one can see increase.Mana cost: 10 mana/sec.AOE: 10-meter radius | | | | | Identify (Lvl. 1: 0%)Enables you to identify unknown items.The level and grade of items you can identify depend on your skill levelStamina cost: 15 Stamina | | | | ~I really have no idea if ‘Illusion’ and ‘Soul-Sense’ are good skills to have, but they certainly seem interesting.~ “Thank you, for everything you have given me sir. I will try my best in finding a way to remove the curse.” “Good luck on your journey.” And as Alexander was walking out of the tower, he was sure that he heard the wizard whisper: “You will need it.”

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> Tailor: Chapter 1<br><br>“Hello? Is anyone in?” Gem called out, looking around the shop that he is currently in.<br><br>He wondered aimlessly around town for a couple of hours before finally deciding to work in the clothes shop. This decision was not entirely motivated by interest; rather, it was because all other shops are already packed with newbies. <br><br>This was the first empty shop he came across.<br><br>Swiping his finger across a random surface, Gem made a face when he felt the thick layer of dust that had already settled on the shelf. ‘No wonder the shop’s completely empty. This place is practically a garbage dump!’<br><br><br>Scanning the room, Gem spotted no less than five needles, three rolls of cloth and four dummies strewn haphazardly on the ground. He grimaced.<br><br>“What do you want! The blacksmith shop is down the street, get out!” A rough voice bellowed loudly from further within the shop.<br><br>‘What the hell crawled up his ass and died?’ That thought flew across his mind, but Gem suppressed the urge to say it out loud and instead replied, “Sir? I’m looking for a job if you would have me. I’m willing to run errands or help out in the shop!”<br><br>Loud thumping noises came closer before he could finally see the silhouette of the shopkeeper. And boy was he glad that he kept his mouth shut. The shopkeeper towered over him by at least a head, and had a face most babies would cry at.<br><br>Three scars marked his face, starting from his right temple and went all the way past his nose; it was as if an animal clawed up his face while he wasn’t looking. His beard was shaggy and clearly unshaved, while his clothes looked as if it had seen better days… A decade ago.<br><br>‘This is the owner of a clothes shop? You would think that he would take better care of his clothes…’<br><br>“You’re thinking that a tailor should have taken better care of his clothes aren’t you!” The owner bellowed, spittle flying everywhere.<br><br>Stunned, Gem just stumbled backwards and looked at him with wide eyes. ‘How did he know what I was thinking?’<br><br>“And now you are wondering how I am able to read your mind, aren’t you!” The frown on his face became a lot more prominent, to the point where Gem feared that he might not live past this conversation.<br><br>‘Oh gods… I didn’t think it was possible to be brutally murdered by a NPC. I don’t want to die like this! Who has ever heard of a player getting murdered while looking for a job?! I would be the laughing stock of the forums! …Wou—would the guards even come?’<br><br>Gem mentally cringed, a thousand and one thoughts flashing through his mind. He wants to run for his life and escape from this nutcase of an NPC, yet his body stayed frozen. The pressure emitted by the owner’s presence alone was enough to lock all his muscles, leaving him to stare at the owner, terrified.<br><br>Suddenly, the guy in front of him just deflated and rapidly burst into tears, brawling loudly in the middle of the shop.<br><br>‘… What the heck is going on here?!’<br><br>“All you people only care about is armors, weapons and shields! No one needs normal clothes anymore! All you guys do is hunt, hunt, HUNT!” The owner cried out, one hand smacking loudly against the flooring.<br><br>Apparently reaching the peak of his distress, he continued on, loudly. “YOU ARE ONLY HERE TO MAKE FUN OF POOR LITTLE BRIAN!” <br><br>An arm quickly swiped across the area right above Gem’s head, causing a ‘swoosh-ing’ sound to echo in his ears, making him painfully aware of how easy it would be for Brian to break his neck.<br><br>‘Little… will not be a word I would use to describe this guy. Ever.’<br><br>Speechless, Gem could only sit and stare at the scene before him, his limbs still trembling from the scare. Internally, he prayed that no one would walk into shop and see this scene before him; he would never be able to live it down.<br><br>‘I am starting to think that I would have been better off dead…’<br><br>“Umm…” Looking around helplessly, Gem grabbed what looked to be a towel off the ground and offered it to the crying man, “…here you go?”<br><br>Sniffling, Brian took the towel and blew into it noisily, “…Thank you. So, what do you want?”<br><br>Opening and closing his mouth silently, Gem wondered if it was wise to get a job at this place.<br><br>‘On second thought, why not?’ he thought hysterically when he caught the glare Brian was shooting at him.<br><br>“I’m looking for a part-time job... erm, sir,” Gem blurted out. His heart feeling as if it’s pounding a hundred times per minute.<br>Blowing into the towel once more time, Brian stumbled to his feet and threw the now-dirty towel at him. “You, go clean up the shop.”<br><br>Blinking at the retreating figure and holding onto the towel using just his fingertips, Gem felt a sense of doom settle upon him.<br><br>‘Wait, what? That’s it?! What about my pay? Or the duration of the contract! …Brian? Hey Brian! …I knew I should have gone chicken plucking at the restaurant.’<br><br>0o0o0o0o0<br><br>Crawling out of the capsule, he frowned. He could still feel the throbbing aches in his muscles that were caused by cleaning and dusting the entire shop.<br><br>‘How many years did that bi-polar ass leave his shop in that state? And, ouch! My arms hurt,’ he mentally grumbled before he heard continuous knocking coming from the other side of the door.<br><br>“Oi, Kaito! Dinner’s ready! Come get some before there’s nothing left brat! “<br><br>‘Urgh! Annoying older brothers… How I wish I could have a younger sibling to spoil…’<br><br>“I got it already, I’m coming! And you better leave some food for me!” Kaito yelled back in reply, quickly shutting down the capsule’s systems before rushing out of the room.<br><br>Flopping into his seat, he murmured a near-silent ‘itadakimasu’, before digging into his food. Feeling awkward at the sudden silence enveloping the table, he looked up, mouth full of rice. “What?”<br><br>Raising an eyebrow, his mother stared at him, completely un-amused, “So you’ve finally decided to stop playing that game of yours and join the rest of the family?”<br><br>Pointedly ignoring the simultaneous ‘Oooooh’ that came from his brothers, Kaito just shrugged, “I was excited about the game mother. It’s not like I’ve anything to do right now. It’s summer break!”<br><br>“Ohohoho, Kai-chan made mum mad~” His second oldest brother, Junya sang annoyingly, an irritating smirk lingering on the edge of his lips.<br><br>‘You jerk… You’re only trying to egg her on…’ Kaito narrowed his eyes and shot Junya a glare.<br><br>Not that his oldest brother, Takato was any better though. He knew it was Takato who had informed his mother about his gaming habits. How else could she have found out?<br><br>“Junya! Quiet,” his father ordered.<br><br>‘Thank god for my dad…’ Kaito flashed Junya a triumphant grin.<br><br>Turning to his mother, his father continued, “Megumi, let Kaito play his games for now. I’m sure he knows when to draw the line and focus on his studies, don’t you, Kaito?”<br><br>Stern eyes stared at him from behind the thick glasses his father wore.<br><br>Kaito nodded, biting his lips and unwilling to say anymore.<br><br>“Good. And you two, stop teasing your younger brother and concentrate on your studies!” his father barked out, rounding on his two brothers.<br><br>“Of course, father,”<br><br>“Yes dad…”<br><br>The subject was readily dropped after that and the conversation quickly drifted to other topics.<br><br>0o0o0o0o0<br><br>Picking up his phone, Kaito dialed an all-too-familiar number.<br><br>“Hello?”<br><br>“Kaito?”<br><br>“Yup. Guess what?”<br><br>“Huh? What is it?”<br><br>“I got my Royal Road Capsule!”<br><br>“…No way! Are you serious?”<br><br>“Uh-huh! Completely serious. I just started, by the way.”<br><br>“Oh, wow. Congrats! Guess all those part time jobs paid off huh.”<br><br>“Haha, yea. I told you that you should have started working the same time I did. Maybe then we could have started together!”<br><br>“Impossible, I would have flunked my finals if I did something like that.”<br><br>“But you could have been playing Royal Road with me right now.”<br><br>“No, I would have been murdered by my parents if I brought home a failing grade. And then I would be too busy being dead to do anything else.”<br><br>“Heh, that’s true...”<br><br>“…Hmm… Anyway, wait for me, okay? Don’t you dare rush off without me!”<br><br>“Got it man, relax. I’ll be part-timing around town for at least another month.”<br><br>“Okay okay, two more months before I earn enough to get that capsule… Damn, I can’t wait.”<br><br>“Me too… Oh yea, I got to go now, talk to you later.”<br><br>“Okay. Bye.”<br><br>*click*<br><br>0o0o0o0o0<br><br>Glossary:<br><br>Itadakimasu: Something Japanese people say before they start their meal. Translated to English, it roughly means “Let’s eat!”<br><br>-chan: A suffix, usually used to address females. It can also be used to address young boys. But usually, when it’s used on guys, it has negative/condescending connotations. </div>

Tailor: Chapter 1 “Hello? Is anyone in?” Gem called out, looking around the shop that he is currently in. He wondered aimlessly around town for a couple of hours before finally deciding to work in the clothes shop. This decision was not entirely motivated by interest; rather, it was because all other shops are already packed with newbies. This was the first empty shop he came across. Swiping his finger across a random surface, Gem made a face when he felt the thick layer of dust that had already settled on the shelf. ‘No wonder the shop’s completely empty. This place is practically a garbage dump!’ Scanning the room, Gem spotted no less than five needles, three rolls of cloth and four dummies strewn haphazardly on the ground. He grimaced. “What do you want! The blacksmith shop is down the street, get out!” A rough voice bellowed loudly from further within the shop. ‘What the hell crawled up his ass and died?’ That thought flew across his mind, but Gem suppressed the urge to say it out loud and instead replied, “Sir? I’m looking for a job if you would have me. I’m willing to run errands or help out in the shop!” Loud thumping noises came closer before he could finally see the silhouette of the shopkeeper. And boy was he glad that he kept his mouth shut. The shopkeeper towered over him by at least a head, and had a face most babies would cry at. Three scars marked his face, starting from his right temple and went all the way past his nose; it was as if an animal clawed up his face while he wasn’t looking. His beard was shaggy and clearly unshaved, while his clothes looked as if it had seen better days… A decade ago. ‘This is the owner of a clothes shop? You would think that he would take better care of his clothes…’ “You’re thinking that a tailor should have taken better care of his clothes aren’t you!” The owner bellowed, spittle flying everywhere. Stunned, Gem just stumbled backwards and looked at him with wide eyes. ‘How did he know what I was thinking?’ “And now you are wondering how I am able to read your mind, aren’t you!” The frown on his face became a lot more prominent, to the point where Gem feared that he might not live past this conversation. ‘Oh gods… I didn’t think it was possible to be brutally murdered by a NPC. I don’t want to die like this! Who has ever heard of a player getting murdered while looking for a job?! I would be the laughing stock of the forums! …Wou—would the guards even come?’ Gem mentally cringed, a thousand and one thoughts flashing through his mind. He wants to run for his life and escape from this nutcase of an NPC, yet his body stayed frozen. The pressure emitted by the owner’s presence alone was enough to lock all his muscles, leaving him to stare at the owner, terrified. Suddenly, the guy in front of him just deflated and rapidly burst into tears, brawling loudly in the middle of the shop. ‘… What the heck is going on here?!’ “All you people only care about is armors, weapons and shields! No one needs normal clothes anymore! All you guys do is hunt, hunt, HUNT!” The owner cried out, one hand smacking loudly against the flooring. Apparently reaching the peak of his distress, he continued on, loudly. “YOU ARE ONLY HERE TO MAKE FUN OF POOR LITTLE BRIAN!” An arm quickly swiped across the area right above Gem’s head, causing a ‘swoosh-ing’ sound to echo in his ears, making him painfully aware of how easy it would be for Brian to break his neck. ‘Little… will not be a word I would use to describe this guy. Ever.’ Speechless, Gem could only sit and stare at the scene before him, his limbs still trembling from the scare. Internally, he prayed that no one would walk into shop and see this scene before him; he would never be able to live it down. ‘I am starting to think that I would have been better off dead…’ “Umm…” Looking around helplessly, Gem grabbed what looked to be a towel off the ground and offered it to the crying man, “…here you go?” Sniffling, Brian took the towel and blew into it noisily, “…Thank you. So, what do you want?” Opening and closing his mouth silently, Gem wondered if it was wise to get a job at this place. ‘On second thought, why not?’ he thought hysterically when he caught the glare Brian was shooting at him. “I’m looking for a part-time job... erm, sir,” Gem blurted out. His heart feeling as if it’s pounding a hundred times per minute. Blowing into the towel once more time, Brian stumbled to his feet and threw the now-dirty towel at him. “You, go clean up the shop.” Blinking at the retreating figure and holding onto the towel using just his fingertips, Gem felt a sense of doom settle upon him. ‘Wait, what? That’s it?! What about my pay? Or the duration of the contract! …Brian? Hey Brian! …I knew I should have gone chicken plucking at the restaurant.’ 0o0o0o0o0 Crawling out of the capsule, he frowned. He could still feel the throbbing aches in his muscles that were caused by cleaning and dusting the entire shop. ‘How many years did that bi-polar ass leave his shop in that state? And, ouch! My arms hurt,’ he mentally grumbled before he heard continuous knocking coming from the other side of the door. “Oi, Kaito! Dinner’s ready! Come get some before there’s nothing left brat! “ ‘Urgh! Annoying older brothers… How I wish I could have a younger sibling to spoil…’ “I got it already, I’m coming! And you better leave some food for me!” Kaito yelled back in reply, quickly shutting down the capsule’s systems before rushing out of the room. Flopping into his seat, he murmured a near-silent ‘itadakimasu’, before digging into his food. Feeling awkward at the sudden silence enveloping the table, he looked up, mouth full of rice. “What?” Raising an eyebrow, his mother stared at him, completely un-amused, “So you’ve finally decided to stop playing that game of yours and join the rest of the family?” Pointedly ignoring the simultaneous ‘Oooooh’ that came from his brothers, Kaito just shrugged, “I was excited about the game mother. It’s not like I’ve anything to do right now. It’s summer break!” “Ohohoho, Kai-chan made mum mad~” His second oldest brother, Junya sang annoyingly, an irritating smirk lingering on the edge of his lips. ‘You jerk… You’re only trying to egg her on…’ Kaito narrowed his eyes and shot Junya a glare. Not that his oldest brother, Takato was any better though. He knew it was Takato who had informed his mother about his gaming habits. How else could she have found out? “Junya! Quiet,” his father ordered. ‘Thank god for my dad…’ Kaito flashed Junya a triumphant grin. Turning to his mother, his father continued, “Megumi, let Kaito play his games for now. I’m sure he knows when to draw the line and focus on his studies, don’t you, Kaito?” Stern eyes stared at him from behind the thick glasses his father wore. Kaito nodded, biting his lips and unwilling to say anymore. “Good. And you two, stop teasing your younger brother and concentrate on your studies!” his father barked out, rounding on his two brothers. “Of course, father,” “Yes dad…” The subject was readily dropped after that and the conversation quickly drifted to other topics. 0o0o0o0o0 Picking up his phone, Kaito dialed an all-too-familiar number. “Hello?” “Kaito?” “Yup. Guess what?” “Huh? What is it?” “I got my Royal Road Capsule!” “…No way! Are you serious?” “Uh-huh! Completely serious. I just started, by the way.” “Oh, wow. Congrats! Guess all those part time jobs paid off huh.” “Haha, yea. I told you that you should have started working the same time I did. Maybe then we could have started together!” “Impossible, I would have flunked my finals if I did something like that.” “But you could have been playing Royal Road with me right now.” “No, I would have been murdered by my parents if I brought home a failing grade. And then I would be too busy being dead to do anything else.” “Heh, that’s true...” “…Hmm… Anyway, wait for me, okay? Don’t you dare rush off without me!” “Got it man, relax. I’ll be part-timing around town for at least another month.” “Okay okay, two more months before I earn enough to get that capsule… Damn, I can’t wait.” “Me too… Oh yea, I got to go now, talk to you later.” “Okay. Bye.” *click* 0o0o0o0o0 Glossary: Itadakimasu: Something Japanese people say before they start their meal. Translated to English, it roughly means “Let’s eat!” -chan: A suffix, usually used to address females. It can also be used to address young boys. But usually, when it’s used on guys, it has negative/condescending connotations.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">New start</span></div> <br><br>The meal with Lilly’s family that night was a grand feast with dishes that Allwind had never even heard of let alone tried, all of them were extremely delicious along with wine that Allwind drank little of well aware of what it would do to him.<br><br>After the meal the instructor turned to Allwind, “Sir Balious was right boy, the only thing that you have left to learn is experiencing the outside world, do you have any particular plans?”<br>“No i should be allowed to leave the city boundary now, but as to what i’ll be doing next is something i have never thought of.” Allwind admitted. <br>“There are many adventures to go on,” Lilly said smiling from where she was sat.<br>“There are, and you need to be prepared for the dangers that lurk on the outside, since you have done the unexpected and passed the training, i will not let you go unequipped take this note and 30 silver coins, to the blacksmith near the church of Freya, the smith there will know what to give you, but just in case you’re to get two rapier swords i also need new equipment theirs a list on the note.” The instructor said.<br>“I’ll take him.” Lilly said almost bouncing in her seat.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Quest Equipment,<br>Deliver the instructors note to the blacksmith<br>Difficulty: E <br>Reward: weaponry of your choice.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>Allwind nodded and smiled at Lilly, receiving the note and coins from the instructor he made to stand when Lilly’s grandmother interrupted them.<br>“Both of you can go tomorrow its late now and the smith will not be open,” she said sighing at the energy from the two youths, “lets clear the dishes up first you can go in the morning,” she finished.<br>The instructor chuckled at the disappointment on both Lilly’s and Allwind’s faces, so instead of shopping in the middle of the night they ended up helping tidy up the remains of the meal.<br><br>----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- <br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">clash </span></div><br>The two swords in Allwind’s hand’s met the long sword of the dark knight in front of him creating sparks as the weapons met before they sprang apart the opponent was tough, his strength unbelievable the only hope was to be faster than him Allwind thought as he sprung into the melee again, his left sword clashing against sword, the right against a shield the opponent was wearing, to the left of him a young boy stood silently counting ‘that’s right ill beet you this time’ to his right an old man the instructor watched on with a helpless expression, stood next to him was Lilly the young girl watched the matched with a sad face ‘what is she doing here?’, as the two combatants separated again, this time Allwind took a good look at his opponent as his brain tried to work out what was going on.’ The opponents armour looked heavy in its blackened state the sword very real and sharp seemed to be twisted as if it was in agony the shield strong and unbreakable bearing a hideous design that was obscured with filth his head hidden behind a dark helmet only the red eyes were visible.<br><br>The only way to win would be to outmanoeuvre the opponent as he leapt forward intending to strike the dark knight again, but changing his stance he rolled under the attacker’s blade to come out behind him stabbing backwards with his left blade it met the knight’s armour and didn’t even leave a scratch mark as the knight swung its twisted blade in a round arc. Allwind stepped back out of its range before stepping back in with both blades spinning in an intricate dance clashing with the shield the armour the helmet all received punishment at the hands of Allwind’s blades, before the opponent could even react.<br><br>Stepping back again the damage done wasn’t enough and this time the knight leapt forward preventing any more attacks, all he could do was defend while being pushed back, lacking enough strength to even hold his ground how could he call himself a knight if he was getting pushed back like this.<br>Rolling under the attacking blade again, to gain distance and sort his stance out Allwind stood and leapt back turning around, he was completely shocked, the knights armour had start to give off steam but this was black steam, suddenly the knight disappeared. Allwind was suddenly flying backwards ‘what,’ he thought gazing at the roof as he flew his vision moved down to the twisted sword now embedded in his chest. As he landed heavily on the floor blood spurting out of his mouth and wound gazing to the side were the instructor and Lilly stood, their gazes said everything as they began to turn grey and disappear turning into ash, <span style="font-weight: bold;">‘no’ </span> Allwind tried to scream, but only blood came out of his mouth as pain raced through his body, as the black knight stood above him laughing at the pitiful site before him.<br><br>Alan woke in a start to find himself in bed panting, “a dream” he muttered his throat raw, he had left royal road little over an hour ago, he had promised to meet Lilly for shopping in the morning it turned out that it was night time in the real world deciding to get some sleep he had gotten comfy and quickly dropped off, now he didn’t want to even try sleeping again. he managed to climb in to the wheelchair and manoeuvre his way around the house heading for the kitchen for a drink, ‘let’s see royal road is four times faster than normal time so i have two hours, so much for getting some sleep.’ With all the lights in the house out, it was quite eerie with faint noises coming from around the house Alan had to keep telling himself that it was normal, however it came as quite a shock to see that someone else was still up and moving around, arriving at the kitchen door, Alan could see light coming from the open fridge, and the slim outline of what looked like a girl with short hair her entire figure could be seen ‘what is she doing up?’ Alan thought recognising his sisters shape, he managed to get closer to the silhouette, ‘forget the fact that she’s up, is she even wearing anything?’ he thought gazing at the slim figure in the fridge light, ‘i’m dreaming again’ he thought pinching himself.<br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;">bump </span> ‘ouch not dreaming, ow crap now i’m in for it’<br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;">bang </span> “ouch” the figure said knocking its head on the fridge door as it tried to turn around.<br><br>“Ha” the figure said as it turned in Alan’s direction.<br>“Well don’t just stand their turn a light on.” Alan said his voice sounding edgy.<br>“you really don’t want to do that.”<br>“I really want you to do that” <br>“Want to die” his sister’s voice sounded really cold.<br>“No i want a drink it’s your fault for not wearing anything.” <br>“Fine ill turn on a light, but remember you asked me to.” She replied her voice turning suddenly seductive in the darkness as she walked past the front of Alan, he could small the perfume that she was wearing sending his thoughts along tracks which he never should consider, ‘god please let me wake up soon’ he thought shaking his head from side to side his sister must have noticed as she finally reached the wall she flipped the light switch.<br><br>After his eyes adjusted to the bright room Alan breathed a sigh of relief, standing at the light switch was indeed his sister wearing a red night dress, a garment that was becoming quite popular amongst the girls, because it clung to their natural figure showing off their curves, while showing barely any flesh, the end effect of the garment was quiet effective and Alan could see why it had become so popular.<br><br>“You, You thought i was naked didn’t you,” she accused him.<br>“you didn’t exactly leave me with any other impression,” he replied.<br>“Hehe so you wanted a drink.”<br>“Orange if you haven’t drunk it all and what are you still doing up anyway?”<br>“There's some left i was dungeon diving with mum and dad.”<br>“Dungeon diving? No wait mum and dad are still up?” Alan asked<br>“yes and yes.”<br>“Ow i had no idea.”<br>His sister laughed then a full laugh as she handed him a drink and motioned to the table, “this is normal for us it happens, how about you?”<br>“I just finished training.”<br>“You passed?”<br>“Yep”<br>“Cool so you a knight now what benefits did you get?”<br>“It said new class awarded Knight, and a level up.”<br>“Wait that sounds wrong, didn’t it give you any bonus stats?”<br>“What do you mean?”<br>“Like extra strength of a cool skill.”<br>“No.”<br>“Right that sounds very wrong, explain and make it the details,” his sister said sitting down as Alan explained everything that had happened.<br><br>“Hmm well either you failed and got the concession prize or you looking in the wrong place entirely, why don’t you talk to that girl that tried to tickle you it maybe that she has the hidden class and not the instructor.” Sarah said having thought about the situation for a while.<br>“You mean Lilly?”<br>“That’s right i have seen some of those feathers before i even have two in my inventory, but I’ve never heard of an ncp having one, now your turn.”<br>“Ok, hey what do you mean my turn.” <br>“Were stuck in a dungeon with a riddle trap, that’s why i’m taking a break because we can’t work it out.”<br>“Riddle trap?”<br>“Yep the only clue we have is a plaque with the following question. ‘what’s the fastest thing on tracks?’.”<br>“No idea hmm tracks?”<br>“That’s what we thought there aren’t any tracks in the game that we know of.”<br>“So it’s a real world question?”<br>“Could be, like i said we have no idea and the amount of steam in the room is annoying as well.”<br>“Wait you said steam if i remember right the fastest thing on tracks is the Mallard it’s an old steam train that,”<br>“Runs on tracks you’re brilliant i’m off,” Sarah said finishing the answer off, jumping up from her seat.<br>“Stop you need to turn the lights off.” Alan called as his sister came to a halt rubbing the back of her head <br>“Opps” She smiled apologetically at Alan as he left first on his way back to his room he could hear Sarah running upstairs, shaking his head in amusement he noticed the time if he logged in now enough time would have passed and he’d be able to go shopping with Lilly.<br><br>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br><br>Allwind logged back into Royal road as with the sun well passed the horizon, he was in front of Lilly’s house and was about to knock on the door when it was flung open Lilly stood their hands on her hips looking slightly frustrated.<br><br>“You’re late.”<br>“Sorry Lilly did you wait long?”“Forever.” Lilly said glaring at Allwind.<br>“Ok ok let’s go before you blow a fuse.”<br> “Fuse?”<br>“Never mind lets go,” Allwind said sidestepping so Lilly could lead the way.<br><br>Ten minutes later they were both stood in front of a counter in the blacksmith shop it was still early and there wasn’t many users logged on but in spite of that the square outside the shop was full of merchants selling all manner of things, the shop itself seamed far too extravagant and dangerous with all the weaponry hanging on walls or display cases, giving Allwind second thoughts about coming in to the place with Lilly.<br><br>Behind the counter stood a man that could only be described as a brick wall, with muscles that would put the best weight trainer to shame, wearing plain overalls the man turned out to be the head blacksmith of the shop.<br><br>“Good morning traveller,” the smith said smiling. <br>“Mitchie, Mitchie good morning.” A bouncing Lilly said her voice going high.<br>“Ow Lilly how are you on this fine morning.”<br>“ I’m good Allwind’s taking me shopping.”<br>“Is that so.” The blacksmith said smiling widely at both of them.<br>“well i don’t know how much i can spend on her but you never know.” Allwind replied<br>“So why did you come to my lovely shop.”<br>“Oh opps, here i was told to deliver this note.” Allwind said remembering why they were here as Lilly wondered over to a display and crouched down gazing at the daggers in the case.<br>“so you’re the one that passed the training that’s no easy feat, i’ll take care of the items on this list i’m also to get you a weapon of your choice, do you have any preferences since you’re a knight.”<br>The blacksmith took the note and bag of coins from Allwind before gesturing at the many displays around the shop.<br>After gazing around briefly Allwind stood there not knowing what to do or say, luckily Lilly came to his aid.<br>“Allwind needs a fast sword Mitchie.”<br>“A fast one? Then it had better be a light sword then hmm i thing i have just the thing.” The smith said moving from behind the counter to one of the displays he took out a sword that had a thin but sharp blade. “Try holding this one.”<br>“It’s good.” Allwind commented as he gripped the handle he made sure he had room before giving it a few practice swings “it’s really good.”<br>“See Mitchie is the best weapons smith” Lilly said pronouncing the last words longer to get them right. <br>“That’s right Lillian i’m the best, but the look on your face says differently boy,”<br>“Sorry it’s a good sword, but have you got another the same or equal to this one?”<br>“Another sword boy, your gonna tell me you can swing two at once.” The blacksmith said in a joking mood.<br>“Yes i use two blades.” Allwind replied still gazing at the sword in his hand.<br>“Hey hey you have to be joking no one uses two blades.” <br>“Mitchie, Allwind all ways uses two swords in practice.” Lilly said walking over.<br><br>“Lillian, are you seriously telling me this boy uses two swords?” the blacksmith asked his face turning deadly serious as Lilly just nodded her head.<br>“In that case, give me that sword back i have something that’s a little surprising.” The blacksmith said retrieving the sword from Allwind he headed in to the back of the store before remerging with two blades.<br>“These are rapier’s their crafted from one large piece of ore, i had thought of selling them separate but couldn’t bring myself to do it.” The black smith replied handing them over to Allwind.<br><br>The blades were light and easy to wield as Allwind took a few practice swings it was like the blades were truly part of his arms, smiling in satisfaction he turned to the blacksmith nodding.<br><br>“It’s good that both blades can stay together, here you’ll need these.” the black smith said handing over two belt sheathes for the swords, it took two attempts to fasten them around Allwind’s waist jostling around so they didn’t interfere with each other.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">quest complete.<br>You have successfully delivered the order for the instructor, he will now receive the supplies that are needed.<br>Reward : weapon of your choice <br>+ 20 fame <br>Your influence in Liberty city reaches 1%</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>“Now you almost look like a knight” Lilly said smiling “can we get some candy?”<br>“Here you’ll need this if it’s for treats.” The blacksmith said flipping a small piece of metal at Allwind who court it in midair it was one silver piece.<br><br>Thanking the blacksmith Allwind was pulled out of the shop quiet forcefully by Lilly, who seemed to have a particular destination in mind, she dragged him across the square to an open air merchant whose stall was full of nothing but candy treats and food.<br> <br>Trying not to laugh at Lilly whose eyes went round when he paid for a large bag of candies they managed to get back to the Lilly’s house, seating themselves on the door step, before she dove into the bag extracting her favourites.<br>“Lilly do you remember yesterday you tried to tickle me with a feather what was that?” Allwind asked remembering what his sister had said to him.<br><br>“Do you really want to know?” Lilly asked her eyes shining in excitement. <br>“ Yes if you don’t mind”<br>“Ok wait here, i’ll be right back” she said jumping up and running into the house.<br><br>Ten minutes passed and Allwind was beginning to think that he might have to go find her, when Lilly reappeared holding the a huge book in her hands the silvery feather on top of the book, sitting down she opened the book.<br><br>“Do you really want me to read the book?”<br> “Please Lilly i want to know about the feather.”<br>“OK” she replied starting to read<br><br>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br><br>“In a time in distance past their existed a kingdom in the heavens, in the kingdom lived angels who were majestic and nice.” Lilly started<br>Suddenly a pop up window appeared in front of Allwind and a movie started to play it showed what Lilly was describing in the book.<br>“The angels lived gentle lives, but one day a darkness descended on the kingdom, in response to this threat of darkness twelve angelic warriors were tasked with the defence of the kingdom, they managed to drive away the darkness but in doing so they became lost in the land that existed below the kingdom. The Queen of the kingdom grieved for the lost and tasked a young angelic knight with finding the twelve, and so he set out on his mission at the behest of the queen but the darkness had not being completely defeated and still existed in the land below, the young knight tried his best to find the other twelve angels, but he was not strong enough, he left his feathers in places that he looked so he could remember where he had been, ultimately he plucked the last of his feathers out unable to find the missing twelve and he died, before he perished he pleaded with others to carry on his quest but no one help him.” Lilly said as a tear trickled down her cheek.<br><br>The video stopped and Allwind was left stunned not only was it incredibly moving but he had no idea that you could watch video’s in game. <br>“Allwind would you help him?”<br>“Yes i would if he was still alive”<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">New Class awarded : Angelic Knight</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">New skill awarded : Light Wing</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">New skill awarded : Eagle Eye</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">New stat awarded : Resonance</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">New skill awarded : Tailoring</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">New skill awarded : Repair</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Quest : Freedoms Wing <br>Locate 200 feathers of the fallen angelic knight that are spread across the Versailles continents <br>Quest rank : B<br>Quest recruitments: must be an angelic knight, must remain pure at all times</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Quest : Freeing The Damned<br><br>Finish what the angelic knight couldn’t find and free the twelve angel warriors.<br><br>Quest Rank : A<br>Quest recruitments: must be an angelic knight, must remain pure at all times.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Stat Increase<ul><br><li>Agility + 30</li><br><li>Strength + 10</li><br><li>vitality +10</li><br><li>Stamina + 200 </li></ul><br></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>"Oh so this is what a hidden class looks like." Allwind muttered to himself as the messages kept coming.<br><br>------------------------------------------------------------------- end ------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br><br>Authors notes :<br><br>hmm what to say, <span style="font-weight: bold;">first big thank you</span> to everybody for helping out theirs so many of you that i couldnt posible name you all<br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;">second rant time</span> : people who dont like it simple dont read it <br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;">third </span> people who want to steer this FF get off its my ship and theirs only enought room for me and my ego <br><br>forth hope you all enjoyed reading this chapter bit of everything throughn in this time an actual fight scene abit of fanservise sorry im not aloud to show you the original lets just say it was a bit to descriptive and would of got me banded still might :) <br><br>now whats next ow yes lets see hunting and a few other things need to be delt with so much fun to be had till next time :)<br><br>ow and if anyone see's a mistake and theirs bond to be as im typing this at 2.36 am just leave me a note in the comenets and ill get around to fixing it :) </div>

New start The meal with Lilly’s family that night was a grand feast with dishes that Allwind had never even heard of let alone tried, all of them were extremely delicious along with wine that Allwind drank little of well aware of what it would do to him. After the meal the instructor turned to Allwind, “Sir Balious was right boy, the only thing that you have left to learn is experiencing the outside world, do you have any particular plans?” “No i should be allowed to leave the city boundary now, but as to what i’ll be doing next is something i have never thought of.” Allwind admitted. “There are many adventures to go on,” Lilly said smiling from where she was sat. “There are, and you need to be prepared for the dangers that lurk on the outside, since you have done the unexpected and passed the training, i will not let you go unequipped take this note and 30 silver coins, to the blacksmith near the church of Freya, the smith there will know what to give you, but just in case you’re to get two rapier swords i also need new equipment theirs a list on the note.” The instructor said. “I’ll take him.” Lilly said almost bouncing in her seat. | Quest Equipment,Deliver the instructors note to the blacksmithDifficulty: E Reward: weaponry of your choice. | | --- | Allwind nodded and smiled at Lilly, receiving the note and coins from the instructor he made to stand when Lilly’s grandmother interrupted them. “Both of you can go tomorrow its late now and the smith will not be open,” she said sighing at the energy from the two youths, “lets clear the dishes up first you can go in the morning,” she finished. The instructor chuckled at the disappointment on both Lilly’s and Allwind’s faces, so instead of shopping in the middle of the night they ended up helping tidy up the remains of the meal. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- clash The two swords in Allwind’s hand’s met the long sword of the dark knight in front of him creating sparks as the weapons met before they sprang apart the opponent was tough, his strength unbelievable the only hope was to be faster than him Allwind thought as he sprung into the melee again, his left sword clashing against sword, the right against a shield the opponent was wearing, to the left of him a young boy stood silently counting ‘that’s right ill beet you this time’ to his right an old man the instructor watched on with a helpless expression, stood next to him was Lilly the young girl watched the matched with a sad face ‘what is she doing here?’, as the two combatants separated again, this time Allwind took a good look at his opponent as his brain tried to work out what was going on.’ The opponents armour looked heavy in its blackened state the sword very real and sharp seemed to be twisted as if it was in agony the shield strong and unbreakable bearing a hideous design that was obscured with filth his head hidden behind a dark helmet only the red eyes were visible. The only way to win would be to outmanoeuvre the opponent as he leapt forward intending to strike the dark knight again, but changing his stance he rolled under the attacker’s blade to come out behind him stabbing backwards with his left blade it met the knight’s armour and didn’t even leave a scratch mark as the knight swung its twisted blade in a round arc. Allwind stepped back out of its range before stepping back in with both blades spinning in an intricate dance clashing with the shield the armour the helmet all received punishment at the hands of Allwind’s blades, before the opponent could even react. Stepping back again the damage done wasn’t enough and this time the knight leapt forward preventing any more attacks, all he could do was defend while being pushed back, lacking enough strength to even hold his ground how could he call himself a knight if he was getting pushed back like this. Rolling under the attacking blade again, to gain distance and sort his stance out Allwind stood and leapt back turning around, he was completely shocked, the knights armour had start to give off steam but this was black steam, suddenly the knight disappeared. Allwind was suddenly flying backwards ‘what,’ he thought gazing at the roof as he flew his vision moved down to the twisted sword now embedded in his chest. As he landed heavily on the floor blood spurting out of his mouth and wound gazing to the side were the instructor and Lilly stood, their gazes said everything as they began to turn grey and disappear turning into ash, ‘no’ Allwind tried to scream, but only blood came out of his mouth as pain raced through his body, as the black knight stood above him laughing at the pitiful site before him. Alan woke in a start to find himself in bed panting, “a dream” he muttered his throat raw, he had left royal road little over an hour ago, he had promised to meet Lilly for shopping in the morning it turned out that it was night time in the real world deciding to get some sleep he had gotten comfy and quickly dropped off, now he didn’t want to even try sleeping again. he managed to climb in to the wheelchair and manoeuvre his way around the house heading for the kitchen for a drink, ‘let’s see royal road is four times faster than normal time so i have two hours, so much for getting some sleep.’ With all the lights in the house out, it was quite eerie with faint noises coming from around the house Alan had to keep telling himself that it was normal, however it came as quite a shock to see that someone else was still up and moving around, arriving at the kitchen door, Alan could see light coming from the open fridge, and the slim outline of what looked like a girl with short hair her entire figure could be seen ‘what is she doing up?’ Alan thought recognising his sisters shape, he managed to get closer to the silhouette, ‘forget the fact that she’s up, is she even wearing anything?’ he thought gazing at the slim figure in the fridge light, ‘i’m dreaming again’ he thought pinching himself. bump ‘ouch not dreaming, ow crap now i’m in for it’ bang “ouch” the figure said knocking its head on the fridge door as it tried to turn around. “Ha” the figure said as it turned in Alan’s direction. “Well don’t just stand their turn a light on.” Alan said his voice sounding edgy. “you really don’t want to do that.” “I really want you to do that” “Want to die” his sister’s voice sounded really cold. “No i want a drink it’s your fault for not wearing anything.” “Fine ill turn on a light, but remember you asked me to.” She replied her voice turning suddenly seductive in the darkness as she walked past the front of Alan, he could small the perfume that she was wearing sending his thoughts along tracks which he never should consider, ‘god please let me wake up soon’ he thought shaking his head from side to side his sister must have noticed as she finally reached the wall she flipped the light switch. After his eyes adjusted to the bright room Alan breathed a sigh of relief, standing at the light switch was indeed his sister wearing a red night dress, a garment that was becoming quite popular amongst the girls, because it clung to their natural figure showing off their curves, while showing barely any flesh, the end effect of the garment was quiet effective and Alan could see why it had become so popular. “You, You thought i was naked didn’t you,” she accused him. “you didn’t exactly leave me with any other impression,” he replied. “Hehe so you wanted a drink.” “Orange if you haven’t drunk it all and what are you still doing up anyway?” “There's some left i was dungeon diving with mum and dad.” “Dungeon diving? No wait mum and dad are still up?” Alan asked “yes and yes.” “Ow i had no idea.” His sister laughed then a full laugh as she handed him a drink and motioned to the table, “this is normal for us it happens, how about you?” “I just finished training.” “You passed?” “Yep” “Cool so you a knight now what benefits did you get?” “It said new class awarded Knight, and a level up.” “Wait that sounds wrong, didn’t it give you any bonus stats?” “What do you mean?” “Like extra strength of a cool skill.” “No.” “Right that sounds very wrong, explain and make it the details,” his sister said sitting down as Alan explained everything that had happened. “Hmm well either you failed and got the concession prize or you looking in the wrong place entirely, why don’t you talk to that girl that tried to tickle you it maybe that she has the hidden class and not the instructor.” Sarah said having thought about the situation for a while. “You mean Lilly?” “That’s right i have seen some of those feathers before i even have two in my inventory, but I’ve never heard of an ncp having one, now your turn.” “Ok, hey what do you mean my turn.” “Were stuck in a dungeon with a riddle trap, that’s why i’m taking a break because we can’t work it out.” “Riddle trap?” “Yep the only clue we have is a plaque with the following question. ‘what’s the fastest thing on tracks?’.” “No idea hmm tracks?” “That’s what we thought there aren’t any tracks in the game that we know of.” “So it’s a real world question?” “Could be, like i said we have no idea and the amount of steam in the room is annoying as well.” “Wait you said steam if i remember right the fastest thing on tracks is the Mallard it’s an old steam train that,” “Runs on tracks you’re brilliant i’m off,” Sarah said finishing the answer off, jumping up from her seat. “Stop you need to turn the lights off.” Alan called as his sister came to a halt rubbing the back of her head “Opps” She smiled apologetically at Alan as he left first on his way back to his room he could hear Sarah running upstairs, shaking his head in amusement he noticed the time if he logged in now enough time would have passed and he’d be able to go shopping with Lilly. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Allwind logged back into Royal road as with the sun well passed the horizon, he was in front of Lilly’s house and was about to knock on the door when it was flung open Lilly stood their hands on her hips looking slightly frustrated. “You’re late.” “Sorry Lilly did you wait long?”“Forever.” Lilly said glaring at Allwind. “Ok ok let’s go before you blow a fuse.” “Fuse?” “Never mind lets go,” Allwind said sidestepping so Lilly could lead the way. Ten minutes later they were both stood in front of a counter in the blacksmith shop it was still early and there wasn’t many users logged on but in spite of that the square outside the shop was full of merchants selling all manner of things, the shop itself seamed far too extravagant and dangerous with all the weaponry hanging on walls or display cases, giving Allwind second thoughts about coming in to the place with Lilly. Behind the counter stood a man that could only be described as a brick wall, with muscles that would put the best weight trainer to shame, wearing plain overalls the man turned out to be the head blacksmith of the shop. “Good morning traveller,” the smith said smiling. “Mitchie, Mitchie good morning.” A bouncing Lilly said her voice going high. “Ow Lilly how are you on this fine morning.” “ I’m good Allwind’s taking me shopping.” “Is that so.” The blacksmith said smiling widely at both of them. “well i don’t know how much i can spend on her but you never know.” Allwind replied “So why did you come to my lovely shop.” “Oh opps, here i was told to deliver this note.” Allwind said remembering why they were here as Lilly wondered over to a display and crouched down gazing at the daggers in the case. “so you’re the one that passed the training that’s no easy feat, i’ll take care of the items on this list i’m also to get you a weapon of your choice, do you have any preferences since you’re a knight.” The blacksmith took the note and bag of coins from Allwind before gesturing at the many displays around the shop. After gazing around briefly Allwind stood there not knowing what to do or say, luckily Lilly came to his aid. “Allwind needs a fast sword Mitchie.” “A fast one? Then it had better be a light sword then hmm i thing i have just the thing.” The smith said moving from behind the counter to one of the displays he took out a sword that had a thin but sharp blade. “Try holding this one.” “It’s good.” Allwind commented as he gripped the handle he made sure he had room before giving it a few practice swings “it’s really good.” “See Mitchie is the best weapons smith” Lilly said pronouncing the last words longer to get them right. “That’s right Lillian i’m the best, but the look on your face says differently boy,” “Sorry it’s a good sword, but have you got another the same or equal to this one?” “Another sword boy, your gonna tell me you can swing two at once.” The blacksmith said in a joking mood. “Yes i use two blades.” Allwind replied still gazing at the sword in his hand. “Hey hey you have to be joking no one uses two blades.” “Mitchie, Allwind all ways uses two swords in practice.” Lilly said walking over. “Lillian, are you seriously telling me this boy uses two swords?” the blacksmith asked his face turning deadly serious as Lilly just nodded her head. “In that case, give me that sword back i have something that’s a little surprising.” The blacksmith said retrieving the sword from Allwind he headed in to the back of the store before remerging with two blades. “These are rapier’s their crafted from one large piece of ore, i had thought of selling them separate but couldn’t bring myself to do it.” The black smith replied handing them over to Allwind. The blades were light and easy to wield as Allwind took a few practice swings it was like the blades were truly part of his arms, smiling in satisfaction he turned to the blacksmith nodding. “It’s good that both blades can stay together, here you’ll need these.” the black smith said handing over two belt sheathes for the swords, it took two attempts to fasten them around Allwind’s waist jostling around so they didn’t interfere with each other. | quest complete.You have successfully delivered the order for the instructor, he will now receive the supplies that are needed.Reward : weapon of your choice + 20 fame Your influence in Liberty city reaches 1% | | --- | “Now you almost look like a knight” Lilly said smiling “can we get some candy?” “Here you’ll need this if it’s for treats.” The blacksmith said flipping a small piece of metal at Allwind who court it in midair it was one silver piece. Thanking the blacksmith Allwind was pulled out of the shop quiet forcefully by Lilly, who seemed to have a particular destination in mind, she dragged him across the square to an open air merchant whose stall was full of nothing but candy treats and food. Trying not to laugh at Lilly whose eyes went round when he paid for a large bag of candies they managed to get back to the Lilly’s house, seating themselves on the door step, before she dove into the bag extracting her favourites. “Lilly do you remember yesterday you tried to tickle me with a feather what was that?” Allwind asked remembering what his sister had said to him. “Do you really want to know?” Lilly asked her eyes shining in excitement. “ Yes if you don’t mind” “Ok wait here, i’ll be right back” she said jumping up and running into the house. Ten minutes passed and Allwind was beginning to think that he might have to go find her, when Lilly reappeared holding the a huge book in her hands the silvery feather on top of the book, sitting down she opened the book. “Do you really want me to read the book?” “Please Lilly i want to know about the feather.” “OK” she replied starting to read -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “In a time in distance past their existed a kingdom in the heavens, in the kingdom lived angels who were majestic and nice.” Lilly started Suddenly a pop up window appeared in front of Allwind and a movie started to play it showed what Lilly was describing in the book. “The angels lived gentle lives, but one day a darkness descended on the kingdom, in response to this threat of darkness twelve angelic warriors were tasked with the defence of the kingdom, they managed to drive away the darkness but in doing so they became lost in the land that existed below the kingdom. The Queen of the kingdom grieved for the lost and tasked a young angelic knight with finding the twelve, and so he set out on his mission at the behest of the queen but the darkness had not being completely defeated and still existed in the land below, the young knight tried his best to find the other twelve angels, but he was not strong enough, he left his feathers in places that he looked so he could remember where he had been, ultimately he plucked the last of his feathers out unable to find the missing twelve and he died, before he perished he pleaded with others to carry on his quest but no one help him.” Lilly said as a tear trickled down her cheek. The video stopped and Allwind was left stunned not only was it incredibly moving but he had no idea that you could watch video’s in game. “Allwind would you help him?” “Yes i would if he was still alive” | New Class awarded : Angelic Knight | | --- | | New skill awarded : Light Wing | | --- | | New skill awarded : Eagle Eye | | --- | | New stat awarded : Resonance | | --- | | New skill awarded : Tailoring | | --- | | New skill awarded : Repair | | --- | | Quest : Freedoms Wing Locate 200 feathers of the fallen angelic knight that are spread across the Versailles continents Quest rank : BQuest recruitments: must be an angelic knight, must remain pure at all times | | --- | | Quest : Freeing The DamnedFinish what the angelic knight couldn’t find and free the twelve angel warriors.Quest Rank : AQuest recruitments: must be an angelic knight, must remain pure at all times. | | --- | | Stat Increase* Agility + 30 * Strength + 10 * vitality +10 * Stamina + 200 | | --- | "Oh so this is what a hidden class looks like." Allwind muttered to himself as the messages kept coming. ------------------------------------------------------------------- end ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Authors notes : hmm what to say, first big thank you to everybody for helping out theirs so many of you that i couldnt posible name you all second rant time : people who dont like it simple dont read it third people who want to steer this FF get off its my ship and theirs only enought room for me and my ego forth hope you all enjoyed reading this chapter bit of everything throughn in this time an actual fight scene abit of fanservise sorry im not aloud to show you the original lets just say it was a bit to descriptive and would of got me banded still might :) now whats next ow yes lets see hunting and a few other things need to be delt with so much fun to be had till next time :) ow and if anyone see's a mistake and theirs bond to be as im typing this at 2.36 am just leave me a note in the comenets and ill get around to fixing it :)

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> How I use the skill levels<br>Beginner &gt; Intermediate &gt; Advanced/expert &gt; Master &gt; Grandmaster<br>Level: 0.01-10.00 % &gt; 10.01-20.00% &gt; 20.01-30.00% &gt; 30.01-40.00% &gt; 40.01-50.00%.<br><br>Chapter 2 -HQ-<br><br><br>*Flash<br><br>As Xandit and Sanni were teleported, their vision became black.<br>And again after a few seconds, they saw tiny little crystals on the wall lighting up and illuminating the entire room.<br><br> <br>"Where we are? "<br><br>It looked like a living room that hadn't been cleaned for a long time.<br>Sanni and Xandit started exploring, going around they found the kitchen and the bedroom. When they walked back to the living room, a bright sphere of light appeared in the room.<br><br>"Hello, I haven't seen people here in a long time. My name is Cliff. I'm the shopkeeper here. "<br><br>"Hello Cliff, we are Xandit and Sanni. Can you tell us where we are? "<br><br>"Sure, but first you’ve got to do something for me. "<br><br>"Dammit why is it always in games that you have to do something before you get something in return"<br><br>"What would you want us to?"<br> <br>"I would like you to clean this place up."<br><br>*Ting<br><blockquote><cite>Quote:</cite>Quest<br><br>Cleaning like it's your home.<br><br>Quest difficulty E<br>Quest reward: unknown</blockquote><br><br>“Fine, we will clean it up.”<br><br>Sanni and Xandit were looking around at where they could start cleaning. Then they noticed most of the stuff here was broken down or barely even usable.<br>The bed was so broken down that it had to be fixed; all the things were useless.<br>Then Sanni thought "Why don't we ask Cliff if we can fix the place as well?"<br><br>Sanni went to Xandit and said "We could ask Cliff if he wants us to repair all the stuff that's broken also." <br><br>"That's a good idea, let's go to Cliff and ask him."<br><br>They went to Cliff and asked. <br><br>"Cliff all the stuff here is broken down or not even usable. Can we not fix them?"<br><br>"Well, why don't we fix it to its former glory then? I will allow you to stay here, as it would be a very good base for your travels.”<br><br>*Ting<br><blockquote><cite>Quote:</cite>Quest change.<br><br>Fixing the place to its former glory<br><br>Quest difficulty D<br>Quest reward: Becoming the owners of the base, unknown, increase friendship with Cliff</blockquote><br><br>"Sure, we want to return it to its former glory. But what do we need to do?”<br><br>"Well, I'll give you a map so you can see where you have to make the new rooms. I would like you to build a storage room, strategic room, combat room and alchemy/ blacksmithing/tailoring/crafting room."<br><br><br>*Ting<br><blockquote><cite>Quote:</cite>You received items.<br>Two pickaxes and one map.</blockquote><br>“System show map.” <br>*Ting<br><img src="http://img703.imageshack.us/img703/3217/mapkq.png" border="0" alt="http%3a%2f%2fimg703.imageshack.us%2fimg703%2f3217%2fmapkq.png"><br><br>"Okay, what should we do first Sanni?"<br><br>"I think the best thing we could do, is to take all the furniture apart and place all the materials in one spot. Maybe we can re-use them later. Then we can mine out the rooms."<br><br>"Well, let's do that then."<br><br>Xandit and Sanni started to take things apart. It took them about six hours to take everything apart, and another two hours to place everything in one room.<br><br>*Ting <br><blockquote><cite>Quote:</cite>You learned the skill Scavenger<br><br>Scavenger skill level 1.01%<br>You can re-use 20% of the materials cost to build.</blockquote><br><br>Now the hard part came. They would have to mine out all the rocks to make new rooms. It took them almost 3 weeks, but their hard work paid off. They got a lot of ores, gems and a lot of other stuff, but the best part was their strength, stamina and luck increased: Strength by 7, stamina by 200 and luck by 2.<br><br><br>*Ting<br><blockquote><cite>Quote:</cite>You learned the skill Mining<br><br>Mining skill level 4.67%<br>mining 30% faster<br>When mining you get 20% more ore's, gems and other stuff<br>+7 strength<br>+200 stamina<br>+2 luck</blockquote><br><br><br>After three weeks, they looked at their stats and saw a nice increase.<br><br>"Finally, we're done mining Sanni. This the first time in my life that I worked this hard. Well, I got some nice stats so at least it was not a waste of time."<br><br>"Yeah, the stats will help us out later when we have to fight monsters. And we found some nice gems. We could probably sell them for some money. Maybe Cliff wants to buy them."<br><br>So they walked to Cliff’s Shop.<br><br>"Cliff"<br><br>"Yes?" <br><br>"We got some gems from the mining, would you like to buy them?"<br><br>"Hmmm.... How about you give me the gems and I’ll decorate the storage room, strategic room, combat room and Alchemy/blacksmithing/tailoring/crafting room. As the gems are probably worth 20K and the cost to decorate all those rooms is around 15K, and I myself cost 5K, I think that would be a nice deal."<br><br>"We've got a deal."<br><br>"Good then give me a few days to make everything."<br><br>[2 days later.(in-game)]<br><br>Cliff came to Xandit and Sanni and said "I'm done with the rooms."<br><br>*Ting<br><blockquote><cite>Quote:</cite>Quest complete.<br><br>Quest reward: You have become the owner of the base.<br>Friendship with Cliff increased.<br>Showing player home levels<br><br><a href="http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/441/basek.png/" target="_blank"><img src="http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/6743/basek.png" border="0" alt="http%3a%2f%2fimg441.imageshack.us%2fimg441%2f6743%2fbasek.png"></a><br><br>Level I storage: You the ability to teleport a small amounts of loot to the storage.<br>level I kitchen: You can now make foods in your player home.<br>level I combat room: Here you can train your skills on dummies.<br>Level I bedroom: When having slept here you get a 10% stat bonus for 24 hours.<br>Level I living room: Permanent increase for HP and MP by 3%.<br>level I strategy room: Ability to teleport to part one of the dungeon.<br>Level I ABTC room: Ability to craft all beginners stuff.<br>Level I Shop Cliff: Being able to sell and buy beginners stuff.</blockquote><br><br><br>"Now that you have access to the first dungeon, I suggest you make a weapon for yourself and go hunting. Also I would recommend you think long and hard about what kind of weapon you will make. As the weapon you'll make will be restricted to your sole use. And that counts for you both."<br><br>At that, Xandit and Sanni walked away and started thinking about the kind of weapon they wanted to have. As they walked away Xandit said to Sanni "We need to have a good combination of our weapons." <br><br>"I think we need somebody to do physical damage, block, and another to buff, heal and do a little bit of magic damage."<br><br>"Then I would like to take the physical damage weapon."<br><br>"You can do that as I would much rather heal and buff."<br><br>As their discussion of roles was concluded, Xandit walked to the bedroom and jumped on the bed. As he was thinking<br><br>'I need a weapon to attack, defend and counter, but for that I need a sword and a shield. But I can only make one thing that scales with my level. Then I need to make something that is both a shield and a sword at the same time. hmmmmm.....'<br>He wanted to create some kind of prototype but for that he needed tailoring and blacksmithing skill so he went to Cliff to ask advice.<br><br>Sanni was also thinking about what kind of weapon she needed. <br><br>'What kind of weapon can heal, buff and do magic damage?' <br><br>After some thinking she came with idea to make a gauntlet with magical properties instead of the magic staff. In the same situation as Xandit she went to Cliff to ask for advice on how to make it.<br><br>Almost simultaneously Xandit and Sanni went to Cliff.<br><br>Once they were by Cliff he said, "Let me guess, you have an idea of what to make, but you don't know how to make it. Luckily for you guys, you have all the tools you need to make something. You also got the materials from mining the rooms, so you only need a teacher, and you guessed it, I will be your teacher. But I can only teach you the basics, as the ABTC roomis only level I."<br><br>"At least we got a teacher. We can always improve our works later."<br><br>"Well then, your first task will be to fix 10,000 swords and 3,000 clothes"<br><br>"WHAAAAAAAT....?!"<br><br>"Do you want to learn how to make your weapon or not?"<br><br><br>*Ting <br><blockquote><cite>Quote:</cite>Quest <br><br>Endless fixing.<br><br>Quest difficulty: D<br>Quest reward: depends on time spent fixing.</blockquote><br><br>"Hmmmmm."<br><br>"How about I pay you depending on the quality of the swords and clothes you fixed."<br><br>"Fine, we will do it"<br><br>"All the weapons will have to be grinded on the grindstone. I will only show you once, so watch carefully!"<br><br>Xandit and Sanni were watching carefully how Cliff was sharpening the sword back to its original state, and improving it.<br><br>"Well, good luck guys. When you're done with the swords come to me, then I will show you how to fix clothes."<br><br>Xandit and Sanni started sharpening the swords and with a lot of trial and error they eventually got the hang of it. In the beginning it took them one hour to get 6 swords ready. After some time, 10 swords only took 15 minutes. After 16 days of hard work they were done. <br><br>*Ting<br><blockquote><cite>Quote:</cite>You learned the skill Repair.<br>Repair level 10.03%.<br>Repairing goes 45% faster and will increase stats of the item your repairing.<br>+3 strength<br>+2 dexterity<br>+300 stamina<br>+1 intelligence</blockquote><br><br>"Pfffff.... We are done, let's take a break."<br><br>But at that moment Cliff walked in and said, "Good work, now you can repair the clothes. I don't think I have to show how to fix clothes, rights?"<br><br>"No, that you don't have to tell us since it’s something easy."<br><br>"Well then, get started!"<br><br>At that Xandit thought, "I'm going to KILL him"<br><br>*Ting<br><blockquote><cite>Quote:</cite>You learned the passive skill Killing Intent<br>Killing Intent level 0.20%<br>killing intent will lower the enemy's defense by 2.5% <br>faints will work 10% better</blockquote><br><br>This time they got through it in 2 days.<br><br>*Ting<br><blockquote><cite>Quote:</cite>You learned the skill Handicraft.<br>Handicraft level 3.96%<br>Increased attack power with melee and long ranged weapons by 3%</blockquote><br><br>"AND NOW I'm taking a break."<br><br>As Xandit walked to the bedroom he walked past Cliff and said, "We are done but I'm going to sleep. Will speak to you tomorrow."<br><br>So, Cliff went to Sanni, "I hear you were done."<br><br>"That's correct, but we are taking a short break. After that, we will come to you for further instructions." <br><br>"Ok....."<br><br>After eight hours of rest, Xandit and Sanni went to Cliff.<br><br>"Cliff, we are done with the tasks"<br><br>"Well, you know..... I said.... I would pay you, depending on the quality of the work, but at the moment I don't have any money. So, how about I will give you special high grade materials? With those materials, you can create a weapon that scales with your level is that okay?"<br><br>"But we'll need enough for both me and Sanni."<br><br>"I have enough for the both of you."<br><br>"Good, then we accept."<br><br>*Ting<br><blockquote><cite>Quote:</cite>Quest complete<br><br>Endless fixing.<br><br>Quest reward: you got the skill to learn tailoring and blacksmithing.<br>Cliff will show you how to make your weapons.<br>You also received special materials.<br>Friendship with Cliff increased.</blockquote><br><br>"Well, then I will show you how to craft the special materials. Follow me."<br><br>As Cliff walked to the blacksmith room, he said a magic chant. After a few seconds a magical glow appeared around him, when he took the hammer from the anvil the hammer also got a magical glow.<br><br>"As you might have noticed, I used a magic chant. Anyone can say the chant but it won't work if you have not learnt the magical art of Aoxtz. Aoxtz is one of the most difficult magical arts in the world. It doesn't only use MP, it also uses HP, STA and AX. AX is a skill you can receive from someone that can already use it by infusing the person with his or her own AX. I learned this skill years ago and I've only unlocked a small part. I can go on about this all day, but I will leave that for another time. We will now focus on making your weapons. As you need Aoxtz I will infuse with 1 AX, and then you will then have to master the rest on your own."<br><br>Cliff used a magic chant and even before Xandit and Sanni could even respond, a magical glow appeared around Xandit and Sanni, but it disappeared after 10 seconds and they lost 300HP 290MP and 240STA, but gained 2 AX.<br><br>*Ting<br><blockquote><cite>Quote:</cite>You learned the skill Aoxtz<br>Aoxtz level 0.01%<br>AX 2/2</blockquote><br><br>"I suggest you heal up and rest for 2 to 3 hours to let AX connect with your body, so don't use any skill or strength - just rest. Also, what’s very important is the fact that, if you close your eyes you will notice you can see and sense things around you. Don't focus on it, just ignore it, because that is all AX. As your body is adjusting to your own AX, you will be easily influenced by outside AX, which could destroy your body."<br><br>Xandit and Sanni walked to the bedroom. After every step it became harder to walk, and they started to get dizzy. Once in the bedroom, they collapsed on the bed and they were forcefully logged out. <br><br>A message appeared and a time was shown 6:00:00 ---&gt; 5:59:59; it was a countdown for when they could login again.<br><br>Shara and Andre closed Royal Road and returned to the white empty void.<br><br>"Andre, I'm going to go outside and get something to eat. After that I'm going to bed, but I will come back as soon as possible."<br><br>"Okay, see you tomorrow."<br><br>-END- V1CH2<br><br>Question: if you guys/girls want a side-story about Andre's time in the white empty void I will write it as ATM it is not my focus. I'm focusing on the Royal Road Story. Leave it in the comments. </div>

How I use the skill levels Beginner > Intermediate > Advanced/expert > Master > Grandmaster Level: 0.01-10.00 % > 10.01-20.00% > 20.01-30.00% > 30.01-40.00% > 40.01-50.00%. Chapter 2 -HQ- *Flash As Xandit and Sanni were teleported, their vision became black. And again after a few seconds, they saw tiny little crystals on the wall lighting up and illuminating the entire room. "Where we are? " It looked like a living room that hadn't been cleaned for a long time. Sanni and Xandit started exploring, going around they found the kitchen and the bedroom. When they walked back to the living room, a bright sphere of light appeared in the room. "Hello, I haven't seen people here in a long time. My name is Cliff. I'm the shopkeeper here. " "Hello Cliff, we are Xandit and Sanni. Can you tell us where we are? " "Sure, but first you’ve got to do something for me. " "Dammit why is it always in games that you have to do something before you get something in return" "What would you want us to?" "I would like you to clean this place up." *Ting > Quote:Quest > > Cleaning like it's your home. > > Quest difficulty E > Quest reward: unknown “Fine, we will clean it up.” Sanni and Xandit were looking around at where they could start cleaning. Then they noticed most of the stuff here was broken down or barely even usable. The bed was so broken down that it had to be fixed; all the things were useless. Then Sanni thought "Why don't we ask Cliff if we can fix the place as well?" Sanni went to Xandit and said "We could ask Cliff if he wants us to repair all the stuff that's broken also." "That's a good idea, let's go to Cliff and ask him." They went to Cliff and asked. "Cliff all the stuff here is broken down or not even usable. Can we not fix them?" "Well, why don't we fix it to its former glory then? I will allow you to stay here, as it would be a very good base for your travels.” *Ting > Quote:Quest change. > > Fixing the place to its former glory > > Quest difficulty D > Quest reward: Becoming the owners of the base, unknown, increase friendship with Cliff "Sure, we want to return it to its former glory. But what do we need to do?” "Well, I'll give you a map so you can see where you have to make the new rooms. I would like you to build a storage room, strategic room, combat room and alchemy/ blacksmithing/tailoring/crafting room." *Ting > Quote:You received items. > Two pickaxes and one map. “System show map.” *Ting  "Okay, what should we do first Sanni?" "I think the best thing we could do, is to take all the furniture apart and place all the materials in one spot. Maybe we can re-use them later. Then we can mine out the rooms." "Well, let's do that then." Xandit and Sanni started to take things apart. It took them about six hours to take everything apart, and another two hours to place everything in one room. *Ting > Quote:You learned the skill Scavenger > > Scavenger skill level 1.01% > You can re-use 20% of the materials cost to build. Now the hard part came. They would have to mine out all the rocks to make new rooms. It took them almost 3 weeks, but their hard work paid off. They got a lot of ores, gems and a lot of other stuff, but the best part was their strength, stamina and luck increased: Strength by 7, stamina by 200 and luck by 2. *Ting > Quote:You learned the skill Mining > > Mining skill level 4.67% > mining 30% faster > When mining you get 20% more ore's, gems and other stuff > +7 strength > +200 stamina > +2 luck After three weeks, they looked at their stats and saw a nice increase. "Finally, we're done mining Sanni. This the first time in my life that I worked this hard. Well, I got some nice stats so at least it was not a waste of time." "Yeah, the stats will help us out later when we have to fight monsters. And we found some nice gems. We could probably sell them for some money. Maybe Cliff wants to buy them." So they walked to Cliff’s Shop. "Cliff" "Yes?" "We got some gems from the mining, would you like to buy them?" "Hmmm.... How about you give me the gems and I’ll decorate the storage room, strategic room, combat room and Alchemy/blacksmithing/tailoring/crafting room. As the gems are probably worth 20K and the cost to decorate all those rooms is around 15K, and I myself cost 5K, I think that would be a nice deal." "We've got a deal." "Good then give me a few days to make everything." [2 days later.(in-game)] Cliff came to Xandit and Sanni and said "I'm done with the rooms." *Ting > Quote:Quest complete. > > Quest reward: You have become the owner of the base. > Friendship with Cliff increased. > Showing player home levels > > [](http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/441/basek.png/) > > Level I storage: You the ability to teleport a small amounts of loot to the storage. > level I kitchen: You can now make foods in your player home. > level I combat room: Here you can train your skills on dummies. > Level I bedroom: When having slept here you get a 10% stat bonus for 24 hours. > Level I living room: Permanent increase for HP and MP by 3%. > level I strategy room: Ability to teleport to part one of the dungeon. > Level I ABTC room: Ability to craft all beginners stuff. > Level I Shop Cliff: Being able to sell and buy beginners stuff. "Now that you have access to the first dungeon, I suggest you make a weapon for yourself and go hunting. Also I would recommend you think long and hard about what kind of weapon you will make. As the weapon you'll make will be restricted to your sole use. And that counts for you both." At that, Xandit and Sanni walked away and started thinking about the kind of weapon they wanted to have. As they walked away Xandit said to Sanni "We need to have a good combination of our weapons." "I think we need somebody to do physical damage, block, and another to buff, heal and do a little bit of magic damage." "Then I would like to take the physical damage weapon." "You can do that as I would much rather heal and buff." As their discussion of roles was concluded, Xandit walked to the bedroom and jumped on the bed. As he was thinking 'I need a weapon to attack, defend and counter, but for that I need a sword and a shield. But I can only make one thing that scales with my level. Then I need to make something that is both a shield and a sword at the same time. hmmmmm.....' He wanted to create some kind of prototype but for that he needed tailoring and blacksmithing skill so he went to Cliff to ask advice. Sanni was also thinking about what kind of weapon she needed. 'What kind of weapon can heal, buff and do magic damage?' After some thinking she came with idea to make a gauntlet with magical properties instead of the magic staff. In the same situation as Xandit she went to Cliff to ask for advice on how to make it. Almost simultaneously Xandit and Sanni went to Cliff. Once they were by Cliff he said, "Let me guess, you have an idea of what to make, but you don't know how to make it. Luckily for you guys, you have all the tools you need to make something. You also got the materials from mining the rooms, so you only need a teacher, and you guessed it, I will be your teacher. But I can only teach you the basics, as the ABTC roomis only level I." "At least we got a teacher. We can always improve our works later." "Well then, your first task will be to fix 10,000 swords and 3,000 clothes" "WHAAAAAAAT....?!" "Do you want to learn how to make your weapon or not?" *Ting > Quote:Quest > > Endless fixing. > > Quest difficulty: D > Quest reward: depends on time spent fixing. "Hmmmmm." "How about I pay you depending on the quality of the swords and clothes you fixed." "Fine, we will do it" "All the weapons will have to be grinded on the grindstone. I will only show you once, so watch carefully!" Xandit and Sanni were watching carefully how Cliff was sharpening the sword back to its original state, and improving it. "Well, good luck guys. When you're done with the swords come to me, then I will show you how to fix clothes." Xandit and Sanni started sharpening the swords and with a lot of trial and error they eventually got the hang of it. In the beginning it took them one hour to get 6 swords ready. After some time, 10 swords only took 15 minutes. After 16 days of hard work they were done. *Ting > Quote:You learned the skill Repair. > Repair level 10.03%. > Repairing goes 45% faster and will increase stats of the item your repairing. > +3 strength > +2 dexterity > +300 stamina > +1 intelligence "Pfffff.... We are done, let's take a break." But at that moment Cliff walked in and said, "Good work, now you can repair the clothes. I don't think I have to show how to fix clothes, rights?" "No, that you don't have to tell us since it’s something easy." "Well then, get started!" At that Xandit thought, "I'm going to KILL him" *Ting > Quote:You learned the passive skill Killing Intent > Killing Intent level 0.20% > killing intent will lower the enemy's defense by 2.5% > faints will work 10% better This time they got through it in 2 days. *Ting > Quote:You learned the skill Handicraft. > Handicraft level 3.96% > Increased attack power with melee and long ranged weapons by 3% "AND NOW I'm taking a break." As Xandit walked to the bedroom he walked past Cliff and said, "We are done but I'm going to sleep. Will speak to you tomorrow." So, Cliff went to Sanni, "I hear you were done." "That's correct, but we are taking a short break. After that, we will come to you for further instructions." "Ok....." After eight hours of rest, Xandit and Sanni went to Cliff. "Cliff, we are done with the tasks" "Well, you know..... I said.... I would pay you, depending on the quality of the work, but at the moment I don't have any money. So, how about I will give you special high grade materials? With those materials, you can create a weapon that scales with your level is that okay?" "But we'll need enough for both me and Sanni." "I have enough for the both of you." "Good, then we accept." *Ting > Quote:Quest complete > > Endless fixing. > > Quest reward: you got the skill to learn tailoring and blacksmithing. > Cliff will show you how to make your weapons. > You also received special materials. > Friendship with Cliff increased. "Well, then I will show you how to craft the special materials. Follow me." As Cliff walked to the blacksmith room, he said a magic chant. After a few seconds a magical glow appeared around him, when he took the hammer from the anvil the hammer also got a magical glow. "As you might have noticed, I used a magic chant. Anyone can say the chant but it won't work if you have not learnt the magical art of Aoxtz. Aoxtz is one of the most difficult magical arts in the world. It doesn't only use MP, it also uses HP, STA and AX. AX is a skill you can receive from someone that can already use it by infusing the person with his or her own AX. I learned this skill years ago and I've only unlocked a small part. I can go on about this all day, but I will leave that for another time. We will now focus on making your weapons. As you need Aoxtz I will infuse with 1 AX, and then you will then have to master the rest on your own." Cliff used a magic chant and even before Xandit and Sanni could even respond, a magical glow appeared around Xandit and Sanni, but it disappeared after 10 seconds and they lost 300HP 290MP and 240STA, but gained 2 AX. *Ting > Quote:You learned the skill Aoxtz > Aoxtz level 0.01% > AX 2/2 "I suggest you heal up and rest for 2 to 3 hours to let AX connect with your body, so don't use any skill or strength - just rest. Also, what’s very important is the fact that, if you close your eyes you will notice you can see and sense things around you. Don't focus on it, just ignore it, because that is all AX. As your body is adjusting to your own AX, you will be easily influenced by outside AX, which could destroy your body." Xandit and Sanni walked to the bedroom. After every step it became harder to walk, and they started to get dizzy. Once in the bedroom, they collapsed on the bed and they were forcefully logged out. A message appeared and a time was shown 6:00:00 ---> 5:59:59; it was a countdown for when they could login again. Shara and Andre closed Royal Road and returned to the white empty void. "Andre, I'm going to go outside and get something to eat. After that I'm going to bed, but I will come back as soon as possible." "Okay, see you tomorrow." -END- V1CH2 Question: if you guys/girls want a side-story about Andre's time in the white empty void I will write it as ATM it is not my focus. I'm focusing on the Royal Road Story. Leave it in the comments.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> When you think of ambition, you would think Alexander the Great. Genghis Khan. Napoleon. All great conquerors that wish to take over the world… You see them in stories, fantasies, novels, real life perhaps... They hatch dastardly plans, concoct crazy inventions, scheme all night. And they laugh. They never seem to stop laughing. It was as though they recorded it down beforehand and loop it throughout when a evil plan is concocted or in action.<br><br>But yet, their aspirations are not the widest. No. They were held back by limits set by society; there is a degree of rationality in their plans, as though as there are walls that they acknowledge, even the most crazy ones where a maniac just decides to chop up a victim because he felt like it. There's always this hero that stops the villain in the end.<br><br>In fact, the biggest ambitions…<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">… actually belong to children.</span><br><br>You see pure, innocent children. I see the most irrational, power-hungry monsters that have ever been stuffed into a human body less than half the size of an average adult…<br><br>Exactly what is the impression I get when seeing children... Children, especially the young ones, are pure. They have not been exposed to the cruel limits of the world yet, haven’t experienced life-changing experiences, have not gained knowledge to rationalize. All they have is pure instinct, and their world is shrunk into the housing around them. The place where they were born and raised, where they play, learn and pick up basic skills that make humans, well, humans.<br><br>And then, most children are exposed to fantasy. Ducks can talk, cows go over the moooooooooon, the beanstalk grows so tall that it beats the crap out of Taipei 101 in terms of height. Humans complete incredible feats through force of will (dreams do come true!) or flashes of ingenuity.<br><br>And then, they began to dream, they wish to emulate the protagonist. They role play, they draw out distorted figures. But the meaning is there.<br><br>Most, if not all, young boys wish to become someone great, a Hero, if you will. They want to take a great big flaming sword, slay the vicious fire breathing dragon, and save the day. Every little girl wants to be that princess that gets Prince Charming in the end.<br>What is incredible about these, besides their childish aspirations, is that they were made without considering any limits whatsoever. No child is going to be slaying any dragons in real life, for dint of the fact that there are no dragons, for one thing, and for another, if they do manage to get their hands on a whacking big flaming sword, the first thing that is likely to happen was a grounding of a lifetime.<br><br>Yet, the wish, the dream is still there. It is so incredibly pure, so incredibly… stupid, that no one believes that it would ever come through. It’s just a childish wish, they say. It will never happen. And yet, I look into the eyes of a child, and I see Hell. That burning desire in their eyes, to get what they desire. As distorted as that viewpoint sounds, if I can channel all that desire, that pure, pure belief, one can definitely take over the world. I just know it!!<br><br>And then they grow up, and all that desire is weeded out. Most people began to know their limits, accepted them, and went on to live in a dull, drab life where they have to pummel out a living everyday. Thanks a lot, education.<br><br>And yet, that desire still endures, albeit in a diminished state. People began to look to other means of living out that dream, that burning desire that they once nurtured and held on with their very lives. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, the highest tier of Self-Actualization, if you will.<br><br>Some started trying, tooth and nail, to earn incredible amounts of money, believing that it was the means of finding meaning in life, through indulgence or philanthropy. Others did what they always wanted to do, a neat little aspiration that was rationalized and put together with their limits in mind. Others just move along an infinitely long road, life seeking a purpose. Others chose to retreat from society altogether…<br><br>And then you have those that look to another reality… And that was what I was like back then…<br><br>- Ravings of a Mad Man, written 16th June 20XX </div>

When you think of ambition, you would think Alexander the Great. Genghis Khan. Napoleon. All great conquerors that wish to take over the world… You see them in stories, fantasies, novels, real life perhaps... They hatch dastardly plans, concoct crazy inventions, scheme all night. And they laugh. They never seem to stop laughing. It was as though they recorded it down beforehand and loop it throughout when a evil plan is concocted or in action. But yet, their aspirations are not the widest. No. They were held back by limits set by society; there is a degree of rationality in their plans, as though as there are walls that they acknowledge, even the most crazy ones where a maniac just decides to chop up a victim because he felt like it. There's always this hero that stops the villain in the end. In fact, the biggest ambitions… … actually belong to children. You see pure, innocent children. I see the most irrational, power-hungry monsters that have ever been stuffed into a human body less than half the size of an average adult… Exactly what is the impression I get when seeing children... Children, especially the young ones, are pure. They have not been exposed to the cruel limits of the world yet, haven’t experienced life-changing experiences, have not gained knowledge to rationalize. All they have is pure instinct, and their world is shrunk into the housing around them. The place where they were born and raised, where they play, learn and pick up basic skills that make humans, well, humans. And then, most children are exposed to fantasy. Ducks can talk, cows go over the moooooooooon, the beanstalk grows so tall that it beats the crap out of Taipei 101 in terms of height. Humans complete incredible feats through force of will (dreams do come true!) or flashes of ingenuity. And then, they began to dream, they wish to emulate the protagonist. They role play, they draw out distorted figures. But the meaning is there. Most, if not all, young boys wish to become someone great, a Hero, if you will. They want to take a great big flaming sword, slay the vicious fire breathing dragon, and save the day. Every little girl wants to be that princess that gets Prince Charming in the end. What is incredible about these, besides their childish aspirations, is that they were made without considering any limits whatsoever. No child is going to be slaying any dragons in real life, for dint of the fact that there are no dragons, for one thing, and for another, if they do manage to get their hands on a whacking big flaming sword, the first thing that is likely to happen was a grounding of a lifetime. Yet, the wish, the dream is still there. It is so incredibly pure, so incredibly… stupid, that no one believes that it would ever come through. It’s just a childish wish, they say. It will never happen. And yet, I look into the eyes of a child, and I see Hell. That burning desire in their eyes, to get what they desire. As distorted as that viewpoint sounds, if I can channel all that desire, that pure, pure belief, one can definitely take over the world. I just know it!! And then they grow up, and all that desire is weeded out. Most people began to know their limits, accepted them, and went on to live in a dull, drab life where they have to pummel out a living everyday. Thanks a lot, education. And yet, that desire still endures, albeit in a diminished state. People began to look to other means of living out that dream, that burning desire that they once nurtured and held on with their very lives. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, the highest tier of Self-Actualization, if you will. Some started trying, tooth and nail, to earn incredible amounts of money, believing that it was the means of finding meaning in life, through indulgence or philanthropy. Others did what they always wanted to do, a neat little aspiration that was rationalized and put together with their limits in mind. Others just move along an infinitely long road, life seeking a purpose. Others chose to retreat from society altogether… And then you have those that look to another reality… And that was what I was like back then… - Ravings of a Mad Man, written 16th June 20XX

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> The Lost Sun Revamped- Chapter 6 : The Start of a New Adventure.<br>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br>“So has hunting been going for you lately?”<br>“Pretty bad. I lost a couple of levels.”<br><br>People were idly chatting nearby.<br>Others were selling their goods.<br><br>“Selling fresh ingredients and spices!”<br>“Buying all japtem!”<br><br>He was sitting down on the fountain in the middle of the square in a daze.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">‘What have I been doing?’</span><br><br>The Lexington Expedition!<br>It had already been a two months since then!<br>Since then Sun was ordered to rest and continue clerical work. However, he grew restless as time passed by and he wasn’t getting anything accomplished.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">‘Its been so long and I still haven’t found any clues yet.’</span><br><br>The realization of his weakness back in the Dawes Caverns gnawed at him. In his original state, he would never stand by as his men were dying.<br><br>To make matters worse, it had been far too long since he had disappeared into this world. There was no telling what was going on in the Holy Temple since his disappearance. Judgement most likely had it under control but he still had a few worries. <br><br>All sorts of problems were constantly bombarding his mind. <br>However there was one issue that bothered him the most!<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">‘I’ve been gone for so long...if I ever get back they’re going to scold me for disappearing so long.’</span><br><br>Then he realized something even worse.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">‘If Storm isn’t dead from overworking then...’</span><br><br>Revenge!<br>Fearing the inevitable backlash from Storm, he started to reconsider going back. However he decided against it. Even if he didn’t want them to, the holy knights would somehow eventually find him. The faster he got back, the less he would get beat up. However, he still didn’t know where to even start looking for answers.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">‘I guess the best way to get started would be to travel.’</span><br><br>He stood up from the fountain and headed towards the church.<br><br>“Have you seen brother Calvin?”<br><br>Sun asked one of the paladins about the Calvin’s whereabouts. If he wanted to travel, he would need a destination in mind at the very least. Traveling on the behalf of the church made things alot easier because of the various benefits the church provided.<br><br>“Yes brother Sun. He is currently in a discussion with the representatives of the church in another city. He won’t be back for a few days”<br><br>The paladin suggested that Sun waited for awhile until Calvin was done. These type of things were also typical back in the Holy Temple so Sun knew that it would take quite some time.<br>That was why he would frequently skip out on them.<br><br>“So what should I do for the next few days?”<br><br>Sun tried to think about something to keep him preoccupied.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">‘What do I even like to do?’<br></span><br>He tried to sum up an average day for him.<br>Wake up, skin treatment, eat, poke the other holy knights, throw work at Storm, parade around town, lose a few pints of blood, eat, bath, skin treatment, sleep.<br>He thought back and tried to see if he had any hobbies that he used to do. Sleep, eat sweets, drink alcohol, and...and what else was there?<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">‘What the hell....do I really have nothing to do?’</span><br><br>Sun slumped against the wall in depression. His life was a lot more lax and boring than he thought it had been.<br><br>“Look Mommy! It’s a weirdo!”<br>“Stop staring at him. It’s rude.”<br><br>Sighing, Sun stood back up and decided to go to a restaurant to get something to eat. From there he would decide if he wanted to do anything.<br><br>Most restaurants were also considered bars since they usually served alcohol. Adventurers would usually stop by in these establishment to relax after a long hunt. Sun walked to the closest restaurant from the church, a place called Rosen Pub and Grill.<br><br>“Table for one?”<br><br>A waitress asked him as he walked through the door. He didn’t eat out often since he usually relied on the Holy Temple and Ice Knight for meals. So he just nodded in reply. The waitress led him to a small table in the back of the restaurant.<br><br>“We will be with you shortly to take your order.”<br><br>It was not often that he went to places like these in his world and it was the first time coming to one in this world. There were some things that were distinctly familiar. The patrons of the shop were mostly men from their mid twenties to early thirties. However, there were an unusual amount of warriors and combat related classes. Normally in bars and restaurants there were at most 7-8 adventurer groups. However there were a few hundred people in the bar, over half of which were adventurers. It was one thing to see them walking around in town, but it was an entirely different matter to see so many of them in one place.<br><br>That was not the only thing that was different about this place. There were various crystal mirrors mounted onto the walls. These crystal mirrors were projecting images of people fighting against monsters.<br><br>“Now you will hear some wonderful news. Take a break from other issues for a few minutes. Now, at last in the Kingdom of Haven, the player Ray Bard received level 370, which was called the ‘impenetrable wall’.”<br>“Wow! Superb!”<br>“Remember that Ray Bard is one of the leaders ranking among the highest-level players, and certainly you know of the nickname ‘The Black Knight.’ Inside the tower, the soldier finally reached level 370. The highest level in the game! Now, let’s see how this happened.”<br><br>The screen switched to footage of several high level warriors fighting against each other.<br>From the looks of it, the black knight was toying with his opponent.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">‘Must be some sort of observation magic.’</span><br><br>When the waitress came by to take his order, he decided to get a plate of roasted meat and a large beer. When his food was ready, he paid for the meal and started eating. He took his time eating so he could look around at the various different type of people in the room.<br><br>After scanning around the room, he was able to classify most of them into one of three categories. There were those that mainly traveled around in groups. These people seemed to be more talkative and seemed to care more about their appearance. However, a common trait that all these people had were that they were weaker than the rest.<br><br>Then there were a few that were very shabbily dressed, usually in a ragged robe or something similar. These people usually dropped in and drank alone for a while. From time to time, people would approach these people with requests. From the atmosphere that these people gave off, it was apparent that they were much stronger than the others.<br><br>The last group was the least noticeable group. The reason for this was because they weren’t really there for any particular reason. They didn’t appear to be combat related classes and they just hung around the bar. Some would flirt around with women unsuccessfully while others sat around and watched the images in the crystals.<br><br>The thing that was noticeable about all of these people was their behavior. There was something distinctively different about them that the other people he had met. The way they talk and acted was unfitting of this world. In a way, they were very much like Calvin.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">‘Could it be that there is some correlation...?’<br></span><br>He thought back about Calvin.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">‘Hey Sun, do you have any food on you? Anything will do. I’m kind of hungry and I want something to eat.’<br>‘We stopped to eat an hour ago! Why would I have anything on me anyways?’<br>‘Come on, can we stop again soon?’<br>‘You can stop if you want. Paladins! Continue marching and leave him behind if he can’t keep up!’<br></span><br>“...”<br><br>Sun discarded the thought that Calvin would have anything in common with these people. <br><br>Since he was already done eating a couple hours ago and he didn’t see anything interesting on the crystal television, he got up from the table and headed to the entrance. There were various people standing around outside trying to find people to go hunt with. He wandered around for a few hours until someone called out to him.<br><br>“Hey, are you a priest?”<br><br>A girl around 18 years old asked him. From the looks of it, she was some sort of profession related to rogue because of the leather clothing that they usually wore and the various small dagger that she had on her. There were a few people behind her that appeared to be her companions.<br><br>Sun opened his mouth to correct her.<br><br>“Well, actually I’m the Su...”<br><br>He stopped mid-sentence. He remembered that, in this world, he was a priest and not the Sun Knight.<br><br>“Ahem, yes I’m a priest.”<br><br>One of her companions, a male warrior walked up and asked him.<br><br>“What sort of priest are you? On that topic, are you affiliated with any of the churches?”<br><br>In the field of clerics, there were several types of priest type classes. There was a category of priests called battle priests, who specialized in increasing various combat stats of the party but were deficient in all other fields. Then there were standard priests that were capable of doing various skills but not as effectively as other priests.<br><br>Church affiliation was also important for priests. Initially, priest were a generic class that users were able to choose. Upon the second job advance, they were allowed to specialize in a field of healing and gain new abilities. Depending on the church that a priest was affiliated, the abilities they received were vastly different. Priests associated with the Order of Lou were exceptional combat priests. The abilities granted to each priest differed on the church that they served.<br><br>“I am a Holy Priest from the Order of Freya.”<br>“Holy Priest?”<br><br>Though they were aware that there were various types of priests, they had never heard of such a class before. The Order of Freya was a common religion in the continent. In fact, ever since the Holy Relics were returned to the Order of Freya, the church was constantly increasing its influence across the continent and in the north.<br><br>There was a very good reason that the profession Holy Priest was not known to the general populace.<br><br>NPC specific professions!<br>These were professions that were specific to NPCs. They do not become available for the public use unless a quest is performed to unlock it. Without him knowing, the system was treating Sun as a spontaneously generated NPC.<br><br>“Hey, did he say the Order of Freya?”<br><br>A tomboyish girl that was dressed like a rogue asked.<br><br>“Yes, is there a problem?”<br><br>While the rest of the party was shocked, Sun was more confused if anything. This was understandable since for players to join the Order of Freya they needed to be a considerably high level. Sun was able to bypass this and join as an NPC, gaining all the benefits player priests would get later on. In fact, because he was able to join the Order quickly, that meant he was able to build faction points with the church easier and receive quest referrals more often.<br><br>“Hey what do you think?”<br>“I think it’s as good a chance as we’re going to get.”<br>“He seems like a nice guy as well.”<br>“You’re only saying that because he looks pretty.”<br>“Well, that is true...but that’s not the point!”<br><br>The players gathered around and started discussing. Meanwhile Sun was just standing there since they kind of left him alone. After they were finished talking, the warrior turned to address Sun.<br><br>“Hey, do you mind if you could join our...”<br><br>They looked back and Sun was already gone.<br><br>“Where did he go?”<br>“I think that’s him over there.”<br><br>One of the girls pointed at a nearby pastry shop, where Sun had gone in to buy some blueberry pie.<br><br>“Yes, I would like five slices of blueberry pie, and three pieces of that chiffon.”<br>“Understood, would you like to buy anything else?”<br>“Can I also get some of the red velvet cake?”<br>“Will that be all?”<br>“Yes.”<br>“Your total comes to 5 gold. Thank you for your purchase. Please come again soon.”<br><br>Sun went back outside and asked them.<br><br>“So are all of you done talking yet?”<br>“Oh, uh yea.”<br><br>The man cleared his throat and asked his question again.<br><br>“Keoheum, so do you mind if you join our hunting party.”<br>“What are you going to hunt?”<br>“It’s going to a dungeon that we recently discovered. It’s called the Corpse Tomb and it’s supposed to be crawling with undead. We haven’t gone in yet because we couldn’t find a priest.”<br><br>Sun gave them some credit for their actions.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">‘It’s a good decision. It’s not a good idea to go into a dark land without a priest.’</span><br><br>When dealing with the undead, priests were an essential part of a party. They were far more effective than paladins when it came to support spells. There was another reason why there were desirable for hunting the undead.<br><br>Powerful holy affinity!<br>Priests had a lot more holy magic than Paladins. Paladins usually used holy magic to supplement their bodies and weapons to fight. Priests were capable of using holy magic on others. That meant two things. They were capable of healing and blessing their party members. The other was the more specialized use of holy magic. Holy magic was an extremely effective source of damage against members of the undead.<br><br>Sun thought for a few seconds about whether or not he should go.<br><br>“So what would my cut of the hunting be?”<br>“We divide up the profits after the hunt. Anyone is free to pick up japtem. If a rare item drops, then we usually either give it to someone or we roll a dice for it.”<br><br>To Sun, this was a pretty decent proposition. He would prefer if he was given about 50% or more since, back in the Kingdom of the Forgotten Sound, a priest and mages capable of Advanced and Ultimate spells were very rare and thus expensive. However, he did not have the magical omnipotence that he had back them so he had to yield asking for more.<br><br>“I guess that will be fine. My name is Sun. As you already know, I’m a Holy Priest from the Order of Freya.”<br><br>The male warrior that had done most of the speaking introduced himself.<br><br>“My name is Yong Li. My profession is a swordsman.”<br><br>The energetic female rouge chimed in.<br><br>“Hai hai, I’m Feng Yun and I’m a rogue.”<br><br>Another girl that was clad in armor came forwards.<br><br>“Nice to meet you, I’m a knight and my name is Da Xia.”<br><br>A kind of short girl dressed in a robe and a magician’s hat was next.<br><br>“...Xuehua. Ice mage.”<br><br>Then, the only other man in the group aside from Yong Li spoke up.<br><br>“ And I am the archer Hou Yi.”<br><br>They had a very well rounded party.<br>There was a knight and a swordsman on the front line which provided both steady defense and decent damage output. A rogue was useful for disarming traps and dealing quick bursts of high amounts of damage as well as damage over time from poisonous coating. The archer could deal a considerable amount of damage while limiting the enemy’s movements with his arrows. The class that maximized the strength of the group was the ice mage.<br>Mages were split into various groups based on affinity.<br><br> Fire mages were very common because of their ability to deal high burst damage to a large number of enemies. It was also possible to ignite the monsters to deal consistent damage.<br><br>Wind mages were capable of using projectiles to attack the enemy while providing speed buffs for their team. Advanced level wind mages were capable of using lightning to attack, a very lethal type of spell.<br><br>Summoners were capable of making contracts with spirits and utilize their powers to fight. These summons were very powerful and multiple could be summoned at once.<br><br>Druids had the power of nature for their use and were very versatile in combat. There were many subdivisions of mages and several higher tier classes to advance to.<br><br>Ice mages were particularly noteworthy for a number of reasons. Sun himself had learned several different types of ice magic from Frost Knight so he knew the many benefits of ice magic.<br><br>Ice could be used to completely immobilize the enemy, or at the very least inhibit their movement. Defensive barriers could be made out of ice to divert the enemy’s attacks.<br><br>Ice magic had another property that was different from other traditional forms of magic. It was capable of dealing magic damage like all other spells, but it was also possible to use ice magic to deal physical damage. Solidifying the pieces of ice into sharp icicles could be used as magical arrows. Forming a large block of ice would be used as both a defensive and offensive skill to block the enemy’s strikes while dealing crushing blunt damage.<br><br>By slowing down the enemy’s movements, the entire party would have an easier time dealing with the monsters.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">‘It looks like a good group.’</span><br><br>Sun was satisfied with his current situation. He needed to wait until Calvin was back and he was getting bored helping out the church with menial tasks. It was time for him to earn himself some decent gold for once.<br><br>“Let us add you to party.”<br><br>Yong Li, the leader of the party sent Sun a party request.<br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;">-Yong Li has requested that you join his party. Do you accept?</span><br><br>“Yea.”<br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;">-You have joined Yong Li’s party.</span><br><br>A signal popped up confirming that Sun had joined the party.<br><br>“So when are we leaving?”<br><br>Sun asked Yong Li, who scratched his head in his reply.<br><br>“Uh, the sooner the better I. We discovered the dungeon some time ago and we don’t want someone else discovering it.”<br>“We can go right now if you want.”<br>“That would be fantastic.”<br><br>Yong Li was pleased that they could leave immediately. Discovering a dungeon was not an easy thing to do so he wanted to be them to be the ones to reap the benefits of fame and experience.<br><br>“See, I told you that he was a nice guy.”<br><br>Feng Yun refuted to Hou Yi.<br><br>“Yea yea, we’ll see if he’s any good later.”<br><br>They started heading to the hunting ground. On the way Sun runs into a senior priest from the Order of Freya.<br><br>“Priest Sun. Where are you going?”<br><br>Sun had already gotten used to dealing with others that were also in the field of religion.<br><br>“We are heading to Corpse Tomb to cleanse the land of the undead that have plagued the good people of Rosenheim and ensure their safety for the future.”<br>“Such a noble goal. I wish I could go with you but I have responsibilities to take care of in the church. I have no choice but to leave it to you. Will you sweep away the evil in the dungeon?”<br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;">Ttiring!<br><br>Clear away the Corpse Tomb.<br>Monsters have recently inhabited a new dungeon called the Corpse Tomb. Many of those monsters are undead. The senior priest Harold regretfully could not go with but he sends you in his stead. Vanquish the evil that festers in the kingdom and guarantee the safety of the citizens in the future. Spend a week clearing away the undead and defeat the source of the undead within the dungeon. Afterwards destroy the entrance to the cave to trap the undead.<br>Difficulty: C<br>Compensation: Unknown<br>Quest limit: If refused, reputation with the Order of Freya will decrease. Fame will decrease by 200. Only offered when reputation with the Order of Freya is high.<br></span><br>“I will ensure that the undead will finally find rest.”<br><br>- You have accepted the quest.<br><br>“If possible, can my companions also aid me in my mission.”<br>“Of course. They too are protecting the good people of Rosenheim.”<br><br>Harold offered the quest to the rest of his party members.<br><br>“Of course.”<br>“I accept.”<br>“Yes.”<br>“...Okay.”<br>“Yeah.”<br><br>-The party has accepted the quest to clear away the Corpse Tomb.<br><br>“This is better than anything I was expecting.”<br><br>Da Xia was quite surprised when the senior priest addressed Sun. She didn’t expect that they would get something like a quest.<br><br>That was quite unexpected. Usually the Order of Freya was self-reliant and didn’t depend on using players to complete quests. Usually only high level players with large amounts of fame could perform quests for the Order.<br><br>The rewards for the religious quests were quite generous. They always gave high amounts of experience for completion and rare items were common. The most important part was that they could gain reputation with the Order of Freya, which was very difficult to raise normally.<br><br>This was only possible because of the large amount of contribution that Sun had with the Order of Freya and the reputation that he had with the church. Because the senior priests thought highly of Sun, he was able to share his quest with others that were not affiliated with the Order.<br><br>Strangely enough, Sun was also capable of offering quests to other players on behalf of the Order of Freya. However, he never had the opportunity to learn that he could do such a thing.<br><br>Da Xia had chosen the profession of a knight so she was quite the righteous and honorable person.<br><br>“It’s thanks to Sun that we got such a good quest. Thank you.”<br><br>She gave a slight bow then straightened up and smiled sweetly.<br><br>“Yay! Let’s get moving!”<br><br>Feng Yun gave a cheer and thrust her fist into the air enthusiastically.<br>The rest of the group was also content with the quest.<br>Even the normally arrogant Hou Yi was grateful to Sun.<br>This sort of quest was not very easy to get.<br><br>The party left the city and started their way to the dungeon.<br><br>“So how did you find out about this dungeon?”<br><br>Sun was curious about how they found such a place.<br>It was quite uncommon to find new dungeons since they were in rather obscure places so that evil could fester and grow.<br><br>“Well the thing is...”<br><br>Yong Li began to explain how they had discovered the location of the dungeon.<br><br>Sun understood from their story that they had been friends for quite some time before they started hunting together.<br><br>They had been hunting around the Citadel of Serabourg completing all sorts of menial quests.<br>The quests weren’t very much and neither were the rewards. Most of them were quests to hunt down a certain amount of monsters or obtain a certain material.<br><br>However, their public reputation points grew quite high from doing them. Then one day Xuehua finished a chain quest from the mages’ guild to collect some magical resource materials when the instructor told her about the dungeon.<br><br>“So after looking into the information about the dungeon a bit and it turns out no one has discovered it yet.”<br><br>Sun was quite impressed at their progress.<br><br>“I see. That’s pretty cool Xuehua.”<br>“...no big deal.”<br><br>Xuehua was not a very talkative person so she just let his compliment pass.<br><br>“So how strong are these undead?”<br><br>Sun was used to dealing with the undead so he needed an idea about what they were going to face.<br><br>“From the information we gathered about the dungeon, the monsters are going to be around level 120 and above. So it’s going to be somewhat difficult.”<br><br>Even though Yong Li seemed calm, it was actually going to be quite difficult for them. Even if they were a party of five, their average level was around 105. So they were desperately looking for a priest to join their party.<br><br>Sun was at a pretty decent level. After finishing the expedition into the Dawes Cavern, he managed to raise his level to 115 by finishing the quest. However, for someone like Sun, numbers are not a measurement of ability.<br><br>He spent a great amount of his time using his skills on the paladins during the expedition. Furthermore, his skills had advanced greatly because he had been on active duty in the church to provide all sorts of blessings to players. After the course of his work, his healing and blessing skills were in the mid-intermediate levels. His holy combat skills were lacking in comparison to his holy support skills, but they were still far above his level in comparison to a standard priest.<br><br>Priests from the Order of Freya had a higher growth rate since they were constantly using their skills at a minimal cost due to holy water. Sun was an exceptional example since he even played around with his holy magic on his free time. Because of this, he would unlock several types of skills derived from holy magic.<br><br>“So how far away are we from the dungeon?”<br> <br>Sun asked since he had poor stamina.<br><br>“We should be getting there soon.”<br><br>Yong Li sounded confident that they were close. Then thirty minutes passed. Then another thirty minutes. Then another two hours.<br><br>“How much farther is it?”<br>“Hm, I guess another half hour should do it.”<br><br>Sun could not take much longer. He needed something that would let them take a break for a short period of time.<br><br>“Why don’t we take a break and have a meal? It’s been awhile since I ate and I’m getting kind of hungry.”<br>“That sounds like a good idea.”<br>“I’m getting kind of hungry as well.”<br><br>It was a little past noon and they had not eaten lunch yet.<br><br>“Does anyone know how to cook?”<br><br>The guys tried to avoid his gaze. Being the single men that they were, they had not bothered learning how to cook and mainly just went out to eat or someone cooked for them.<br><br>He then directed his expectations towards the girls.<br><br>“I reluctantly do not know how to cook at all.”<br>“I can’t cook at all. Hahaha!”<br>“...no.”<br><br>They weren’t any help either. In the society that they were in, there was both men and women in all forms of occupations. Therefore there was no longer the stereotypical belief that women were good at household activities. In fact, in the modern era, there were more househusbands than housewives.<br><br>‘...’<br><br>Sun was stunned by the cultural differences in this world.<br>In the Kingdom of the Forgotten Sound, on average women were at the very least capable of cooking beef stew or something basic. All women were expected to know how to cook at the practical level, even the women that worked as mages, clerics, craftsmen, or merchants. Even the men were capable of some basic level of cooking.<br><br>The advancement of technology.<br>In the physical world, as the technological level grew so did the level of comfort provided by society. Many tasks became simpler and the number of skills required to go about everyday life were drastically reduced. At the time that Royal Road was released, aside from specialized professions, everyone in the real world did not need to learn the skills needed for self-sufficiency.<br><br>“Haaah.”<br><br>Sun just sighed and pulled out some cooking utensils.<br>In the past, he was incapable of even starting a basic fire by rubbing two sticks together or setting up a tent. Back then, if he was alone, he could just throw a fireball at the wood. The thing was that he was never alone because, whenever he had to travel for the Church of the God of Light, he always had to travel with someone else. Luckily for him, in this world, there was a convenient thing called a campfire kit that set the wood on fire for him.<br><br>“It’ll be done in a bit.”<br><br>His cooking skill wasn’t very high level. He wasn’t very good at cooking back in his world either. Luckily, the cooking skill would supplement for his lack of skill.<br><br>Ever since he came to this world, he learned the cooking skill because it was required for his everyday life. So he had Calvin teach him how to cook. Though he wasn’t at a master level, he still managed to reach Beginner Level 5 in cooking because he cooked for himself and for the rest of the church often.<br><br>The biggest difference between himself and real cooks was that since he didn’t have the Handicraft skill, he didn’t receive any extra bonuses to his cooking skills. Still, he was better than most people that mainly got the cooking skill just for occasional use.<br><br>After half an hour, a magnificent feast was prepared.<br>It was an exaggeration to say it was a feast but it was still better than anything a beginner could do.<br><br>Skewered roast meat!<br>Fried rice!<br>Spicy chicken noodles!<br><br>Sun spread a mat over the floor and passed out everyone’s servings. It didn’t really cost him much to make since he got most of the meat from hunting and the rest of the materials were pretty cheap.<br><br>“Wow!”<br>“This is pretty good.”<br>“Wow, you’re great at cooking.”<br>“Thank you for the meal.”<br>“...”<br><br>Compared to the stale barley bread they bought from the store, this meal was a lot tastier. On average, Sun was better at cooking than quite a few of the basic restaurants in Rosenheim that were for lower level users. He would cook for himself all the time instead of going to eat out, but cooking required time and he would rather spend money to get someone to cook for him.<br><br>They continued eating at a quick pace.<br>After eating the meal, their stamina was recovered and their satiety increased. As an added bonus his Beginner Level 5 cooking temporarily increased health and stamina as well as a few stat increases. They spent about an hour eating so Sun was no longer tired.<br><br>Then walked on for another half hour and reached their destination.<br><br>“This is the place. Let’s go inside.”<br><br>The party entered inside of the dungeon.<br><span style="font-weight: bold;">Ttiring!<br><br><br>DUNGEON: You are the first players to discover the Corpse Tomb.<br>Reward: Fame + 100<br>You will receive double experience and drop rates for one week.<br>The rarest items will drop from each monster of it’s type.<br>Subsequent kills will drop common items.<br>---------------------------------------------------------------------<br>1. Yong Li means Bravery Strength.<br>2. Feng Yun means Phoenix Cloud.<br>3. Da Xia means Female Hero.<br>4. Xuehua means Snowflake.<br>5. Hou Yi was the name of a legendary archer.</span> </div>

The Lost Sun Revamped- Chapter 6 : The Start of a New Adventure. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “So has hunting been going for you lately?” “Pretty bad. I lost a couple of levels.” People were idly chatting nearby. Others were selling their goods. “Selling fresh ingredients and spices!” “Buying all japtem!” He was sitting down on the fountain in the middle of the square in a daze. ‘What have I been doing?’ The Lexington Expedition! It had already been a two months since then! Since then Sun was ordered to rest and continue clerical work. However, he grew restless as time passed by and he wasn’t getting anything accomplished. ‘Its been so long and I still haven’t found any clues yet.’ The realization of his weakness back in the Dawes Caverns gnawed at him. In his original state, he would never stand by as his men were dying. To make matters worse, it had been far too long since he had disappeared into this world. There was no telling what was going on in the Holy Temple since his disappearance. Judgement most likely had it under control but he still had a few worries. All sorts of problems were constantly bombarding his mind. However there was one issue that bothered him the most! ‘I’ve been gone for so long...if I ever get back they’re going to scold me for disappearing so long.’ Then he realized something even worse. ‘If Storm isn’t dead from overworking then...’ Revenge! Fearing the inevitable backlash from Storm, he started to reconsider going back. However he decided against it. Even if he didn’t want them to, the holy knights would somehow eventually find him. The faster he got back, the less he would get beat up. However, he still didn’t know where to even start looking for answers. ‘I guess the best way to get started would be to travel.’ He stood up from the fountain and headed towards the church. “Have you seen brother Calvin?” Sun asked one of the paladins about the Calvin’s whereabouts. If he wanted to travel, he would need a destination in mind at the very least. Traveling on the behalf of the church made things alot easier because of the various benefits the church provided. “Yes brother Sun. He is currently in a discussion with the representatives of the church in another city. He won’t be back for a few days” The paladin suggested that Sun waited for awhile until Calvin was done. These type of things were also typical back in the Holy Temple so Sun knew that it would take quite some time. That was why he would frequently skip out on them. “So what should I do for the next few days?” Sun tried to think about something to keep him preoccupied. ‘What do I even like to do?’ He tried to sum up an average day for him. Wake up, skin treatment, eat, poke the other holy knights, throw work at Storm, parade around town, lose a few pints of blood, eat, bath, skin treatment, sleep. He thought back and tried to see if he had any hobbies that he used to do. Sleep, eat sweets, drink alcohol, and...and what else was there? ‘What the hell....do I really have nothing to do?’ Sun slumped against the wall in depression. His life was a lot more lax and boring than he thought it had been. “Look Mommy! It’s a weirdo!” “Stop staring at him. It’s rude.” Sighing, Sun stood back up and decided to go to a restaurant to get something to eat. From there he would decide if he wanted to do anything. Most restaurants were also considered bars since they usually served alcohol. Adventurers would usually stop by in these establishment to relax after a long hunt. Sun walked to the closest restaurant from the church, a place called Rosen Pub and Grill. “Table for one?” A waitress asked him as he walked through the door. He didn’t eat out often since he usually relied on the Holy Temple and Ice Knight for meals. So he just nodded in reply. The waitress led him to a small table in the back of the restaurant. “We will be with you shortly to take your order.” It was not often that he went to places like these in his world and it was the first time coming to one in this world. There were some things that were distinctly familiar. The patrons of the shop were mostly men from their mid twenties to early thirties. However, there were an unusual amount of warriors and combat related classes. Normally in bars and restaurants there were at most 7-8 adventurer groups. However there were a few hundred people in the bar, over half of which were adventurers. It was one thing to see them walking around in town, but it was an entirely different matter to see so many of them in one place. That was not the only thing that was different about this place. There were various crystal mirrors mounted onto the walls. These crystal mirrors were projecting images of people fighting against monsters. “Now you will hear some wonderful news. Take a break from other issues for a few minutes. Now, at last in the Kingdom of Haven, the player Ray Bard received level 370, which was called the ‘impenetrable wall’.” “Wow! Superb!” “Remember that Ray Bard is one of the leaders ranking among the highest-level players, and certainly you know of the nickname ‘The Black Knight.’ Inside the tower, the soldier finally reached level 370. The highest level in the game! Now, let’s see how this happened.” The screen switched to footage of several high level warriors fighting against each other. From the looks of it, the black knight was toying with his opponent. ‘Must be some sort of observation magic.’ When the waitress came by to take his order, he decided to get a plate of roasted meat and a large beer. When his food was ready, he paid for the meal and started eating. He took his time eating so he could look around at the various different type of people in the room. After scanning around the room, he was able to classify most of them into one of three categories. There were those that mainly traveled around in groups. These people seemed to be more talkative and seemed to care more about their appearance. However, a common trait that all these people had were that they were weaker than the rest. Then there were a few that were very shabbily dressed, usually in a ragged robe or something similar. These people usually dropped in and drank alone for a while. From time to time, people would approach these people with requests. From the atmosphere that these people gave off, it was apparent that they were much stronger than the others. The last group was the least noticeable group. The reason for this was because they weren’t really there for any particular reason. They didn’t appear to be combat related classes and they just hung around the bar. Some would flirt around with women unsuccessfully while others sat around and watched the images in the crystals. The thing that was noticeable about all of these people was their behavior. There was something distinctively different about them that the other people he had met. The way they talk and acted was unfitting of this world. In a way, they were very much like Calvin. ‘Could it be that there is some correlation...?’ He thought back about Calvin. ‘Hey Sun, do you have any food on you? Anything will do. I’m kind of hungry and I want something to eat.’ ‘We stopped to eat an hour ago! Why would I have anything on me anyways?’ ‘Come on, can we stop again soon?’ ‘You can stop if you want. Paladins! Continue marching and leave him behind if he can’t keep up!’ “...” Sun discarded the thought that Calvin would have anything in common with these people. Since he was already done eating a couple hours ago and he didn’t see anything interesting on the crystal television, he got up from the table and headed to the entrance. There were various people standing around outside trying to find people to go hunt with. He wandered around for a few hours until someone called out to him. “Hey, are you a priest?” A girl around 18 years old asked him. From the looks of it, she was some sort of profession related to rogue because of the leather clothing that they usually wore and the various small dagger that she had on her. There were a few people behind her that appeared to be her companions. Sun opened his mouth to correct her. “Well, actually I’m the Su...” He stopped mid-sentence. He remembered that, in this world, he was a priest and not the Sun Knight. “Ahem, yes I’m a priest.” One of her companions, a male warrior walked up and asked him. “What sort of priest are you? On that topic, are you affiliated with any of the churches?” In the field of clerics, there were several types of priest type classes. There was a category of priests called battle priests, who specialized in increasing various combat stats of the party but were deficient in all other fields. Then there were standard priests that were capable of doing various skills but not as effectively as other priests. Church affiliation was also important for priests. Initially, priest were a generic class that users were able to choose. Upon the second job advance, they were allowed to specialize in a field of healing and gain new abilities. Depending on the church that a priest was affiliated, the abilities they received were vastly different. Priests associated with the Order of Lou were exceptional combat priests. The abilities granted to each priest differed on the church that they served. “I am a Holy Priest from the Order of Freya.” “Holy Priest?” Though they were aware that there were various types of priests, they had never heard of such a class before. The Order of Freya was a common religion in the continent. In fact, ever since the Holy Relics were returned to the Order of Freya, the church was constantly increasing its influence across the continent and in the north. There was a very good reason that the profession Holy Priest was not known to the general populace. NPC specific professions! These were professions that were specific to NPCs. They do not become available for the public use unless a quest is performed to unlock it. Without him knowing, the system was treating Sun as a spontaneously generated NPC. “Hey, did he say the Order of Freya?” A tomboyish girl that was dressed like a rogue asked. “Yes, is there a problem?” While the rest of the party was shocked, Sun was more confused if anything. This was understandable since for players to join the Order of Freya they needed to be a considerably high level. Sun was able to bypass this and join as an NPC, gaining all the benefits player priests would get later on. In fact, because he was able to join the Order quickly, that meant he was able to build faction points with the church easier and receive quest referrals more often. “Hey what do you think?” “I think it’s as good a chance as we’re going to get.” “He seems like a nice guy as well.” “You’re only saying that because he looks pretty.” “Well, that is true...but that’s not the point!” The players gathered around and started discussing. Meanwhile Sun was just standing there since they kind of left him alone. After they were finished talking, the warrior turned to address Sun. “Hey, do you mind if you could join our...” They looked back and Sun was already gone. “Where did he go?” “I think that’s him over there.” One of the girls pointed at a nearby pastry shop, where Sun had gone in to buy some blueberry pie. “Yes, I would like five slices of blueberry pie, and three pieces of that chiffon.” “Understood, would you like to buy anything else?” “Can I also get some of the red velvet cake?” “Will that be all?” “Yes.” “Your total comes to 5 gold. Thank you for your purchase. Please come again soon.” Sun went back outside and asked them. “So are all of you done talking yet?” “Oh, uh yea.” The man cleared his throat and asked his question again. “Keoheum, so do you mind if you join our hunting party.” “What are you going to hunt?” “It’s going to a dungeon that we recently discovered. It’s called the Corpse Tomb and it’s supposed to be crawling with undead. We haven’t gone in yet because we couldn’t find a priest.” Sun gave them some credit for their actions. ‘It’s a good decision. It’s not a good idea to go into a dark land without a priest.’ When dealing with the undead, priests were an essential part of a party. They were far more effective than paladins when it came to support spells. There was another reason why there were desirable for hunting the undead. Powerful holy affinity! Priests had a lot more holy magic than Paladins. Paladins usually used holy magic to supplement their bodies and weapons to fight. Priests were capable of using holy magic on others. That meant two things. They were capable of healing and blessing their party members. The other was the more specialized use of holy magic. Holy magic was an extremely effective source of damage against members of the undead. Sun thought for a few seconds about whether or not he should go. “So what would my cut of the hunting be?” “We divide up the profits after the hunt. Anyone is free to pick up japtem. If a rare item drops, then we usually either give it to someone or we roll a dice for it.” To Sun, this was a pretty decent proposition. He would prefer if he was given about 50% or more since, back in the Kingdom of the Forgotten Sound, a priest and mages capable of Advanced and Ultimate spells were very rare and thus expensive. However, he did not have the magical omnipotence that he had back them so he had to yield asking for more. “I guess that will be fine. My name is Sun. As you already know, I’m a Holy Priest from the Order of Freya.” The male warrior that had done most of the speaking introduced himself. “My name is Yong Li. My profession is a swordsman.” The energetic female rouge chimed in. “Hai hai, I’m Feng Yun and I’m a rogue.” Another girl that was clad in armor came forwards. “Nice to meet you, I’m a knight and my name is Da Xia.” A kind of short girl dressed in a robe and a magician’s hat was next. “...Xuehua. Ice mage.” Then, the only other man in the group aside from Yong Li spoke up. “ And I am the archer Hou Yi.” They had a very well rounded party. There was a knight and a swordsman on the front line which provided both steady defense and decent damage output. A rogue was useful for disarming traps and dealing quick bursts of high amounts of damage as well as damage over time from poisonous coating. The archer could deal a considerable amount of damage while limiting the enemy’s movements with his arrows. The class that maximized the strength of the group was the ice mage. Mages were split into various groups based on affinity. Fire mages were very common because of their ability to deal high burst damage to a large number of enemies. It was also possible to ignite the monsters to deal consistent damage. Wind mages were capable of using projectiles to attack the enemy while providing speed buffs for their team. Advanced level wind mages were capable of using lightning to attack, a very lethal type of spell. Summoners were capable of making contracts with spirits and utilize their powers to fight. These summons were very powerful and multiple could be summoned at once. Druids had the power of nature for their use and were very versatile in combat. There were many subdivisions of mages and several higher tier classes to advance to. Ice mages were particularly noteworthy for a number of reasons. Sun himself had learned several different types of ice magic from Frost Knight so he knew the many benefits of ice magic. Ice could be used to completely immobilize the enemy, or at the very least inhibit their movement. Defensive barriers could be made out of ice to divert the enemy’s attacks. Ice magic had another property that was different from other traditional forms of magic. It was capable of dealing magic damage like all other spells, but it was also possible to use ice magic to deal physical damage. Solidifying the pieces of ice into sharp icicles could be used as magical arrows. Forming a large block of ice would be used as both a defensive and offensive skill to block the enemy’s strikes while dealing crushing blunt damage. By slowing down the enemy’s movements, the entire party would have an easier time dealing with the monsters. ‘It looks like a good group.’ Sun was satisfied with his current situation. He needed to wait until Calvin was back and he was getting bored helping out the church with menial tasks. It was time for him to earn himself some decent gold for once. “Let us add you to party.” Yong Li, the leader of the party sent Sun a party request. -Yong Li has requested that you join his party. Do you accept? “Yea.” -You have joined Yong Li’s party. A signal popped up confirming that Sun had joined the party. “So when are we leaving?” Sun asked Yong Li, who scratched his head in his reply. “Uh, the sooner the better I. We discovered the dungeon some time ago and we don’t want someone else discovering it.” “We can go right now if you want.” “That would be fantastic.” Yong Li was pleased that they could leave immediately. Discovering a dungeon was not an easy thing to do so he wanted to be them to be the ones to reap the benefits of fame and experience. “See, I told you that he was a nice guy.” Feng Yun refuted to Hou Yi. “Yea yea, we’ll see if he’s any good later.” They started heading to the hunting ground. On the way Sun runs into a senior priest from the Order of Freya. “Priest Sun. Where are you going?” Sun had already gotten used to dealing with others that were also in the field of religion. “We are heading to Corpse Tomb to cleanse the land of the undead that have plagued the good people of Rosenheim and ensure their safety for the future.” “Such a noble goal. I wish I could go with you but I have responsibilities to take care of in the church. I have no choice but to leave it to you. Will you sweep away the evil in the dungeon?” Ttiring! Clear away the Corpse Tomb. Monsters have recently inhabited a new dungeon called the Corpse Tomb. Many of those monsters are undead. The senior priest Harold regretfully could not go with but he sends you in his stead. Vanquish the evil that festers in the kingdom and guarantee the safety of the citizens in the future. Spend a week clearing away the undead and defeat the source of the undead within the dungeon. Afterwards destroy the entrance to the cave to trap the undead. Difficulty: C Compensation: Unknown Quest limit: If refused, reputation with the Order of Freya will decrease. Fame will decrease by 200. Only offered when reputation with the Order of Freya is high. “I will ensure that the undead will finally find rest.” - You have accepted the quest. “If possible, can my companions also aid me in my mission.” “Of course. They too are protecting the good people of Rosenheim.” Harold offered the quest to the rest of his party members. “Of course.” “I accept.” “Yes.” “...Okay.” “Yeah.” -The party has accepted the quest to clear away the Corpse Tomb. “This is better than anything I was expecting.” Da Xia was quite surprised when the senior priest addressed Sun. She didn’t expect that they would get something like a quest. That was quite unexpected. Usually the Order of Freya was self-reliant and didn’t depend on using players to complete quests. Usually only high level players with large amounts of fame could perform quests for the Order. The rewards for the religious quests were quite generous. They always gave high amounts of experience for completion and rare items were common. The most important part was that they could gain reputation with the Order of Freya, which was very difficult to raise normally. This was only possible because of the large amount of contribution that Sun had with the Order of Freya and the reputation that he had with the church. Because the senior priests thought highly of Sun, he was able to share his quest with others that were not affiliated with the Order. Strangely enough, Sun was also capable of offering quests to other players on behalf of the Order of Freya. However, he never had the opportunity to learn that he could do such a thing. Da Xia had chosen the profession of a knight so she was quite the righteous and honorable person. “It’s thanks to Sun that we got such a good quest. Thank you.” She gave a slight bow then straightened up and smiled sweetly. “Yay! Let’s get moving!” Feng Yun gave a cheer and thrust her fist into the air enthusiastically. The rest of the group was also content with the quest. Even the normally arrogant Hou Yi was grateful to Sun. This sort of quest was not very easy to get. The party left the city and started their way to the dungeon. “So how did you find out about this dungeon?” Sun was curious about how they found such a place. It was quite uncommon to find new dungeons since they were in rather obscure places so that evil could fester and grow. “Well the thing is...” Yong Li began to explain how they had discovered the location of the dungeon. Sun understood from their story that they had been friends for quite some time before they started hunting together. They had been hunting around the Citadel of Serabourg completing all sorts of menial quests. The quests weren’t very much and neither were the rewards. Most of them were quests to hunt down a certain amount of monsters or obtain a certain material. However, their public reputation points grew quite high from doing them. Then one day Xuehua finished a chain quest from the mages’ guild to collect some magical resource materials when the instructor told her about the dungeon. “So after looking into the information about the dungeon a bit and it turns out no one has discovered it yet.” Sun was quite impressed at their progress. “I see. That’s pretty cool Xuehua.” “...no big deal.” Xuehua was not a very talkative person so she just let his compliment pass. “So how strong are these undead?” Sun was used to dealing with the undead so he needed an idea about what they were going to face. “From the information we gathered about the dungeon, the monsters are going to be around level 120 and above. So it’s going to be somewhat difficult.” Even though Yong Li seemed calm, it was actually going to be quite difficult for them. Even if they were a party of five, their average level was around 105. So they were desperately looking for a priest to join their party. Sun was at a pretty decent level. After finishing the expedition into the Dawes Cavern, he managed to raise his level to 115 by finishing the quest. However, for someone like Sun, numbers are not a measurement of ability. He spent a great amount of his time using his skills on the paladins during the expedition. Furthermore, his skills had advanced greatly because he had been on active duty in the church to provide all sorts of blessings to players. After the course of his work, his healing and blessing skills were in the mid-intermediate levels. His holy combat skills were lacking in comparison to his holy support skills, but they were still far above his level in comparison to a standard priest. Priests from the Order of Freya had a higher growth rate since they were constantly using their skills at a minimal cost due to holy water. Sun was an exceptional example since he even played around with his holy magic on his free time. Because of this, he would unlock several types of skills derived from holy magic. “So how far away are we from the dungeon?” Sun asked since he had poor stamina. “We should be getting there soon.” Yong Li sounded confident that they were close. Then thirty minutes passed. Then another thirty minutes. Then another two hours. “How much farther is it?” “Hm, I guess another half hour should do it.” Sun could not take much longer. He needed something that would let them take a break for a short period of time. “Why don’t we take a break and have a meal? It’s been awhile since I ate and I’m getting kind of hungry.” “That sounds like a good idea.” “I’m getting kind of hungry as well.” It was a little past noon and they had not eaten lunch yet. “Does anyone know how to cook?” The guys tried to avoid his gaze. Being the single men that they were, they had not bothered learning how to cook and mainly just went out to eat or someone cooked for them. He then directed his expectations towards the girls. “I reluctantly do not know how to cook at all.” “I can’t cook at all. Hahaha!” “...no.” They weren’t any help either. In the society that they were in, there was both men and women in all forms of occupations. Therefore there was no longer the stereotypical belief that women were good at household activities. In fact, in the modern era, there were more househusbands than housewives. ‘...’ Sun was stunned by the cultural differences in this world. In the Kingdom of the Forgotten Sound, on average women were at the very least capable of cooking beef stew or something basic. All women were expected to know how to cook at the practical level, even the women that worked as mages, clerics, craftsmen, or merchants. Even the men were capable of some basic level of cooking. The advancement of technology. In the physical world, as the technological level grew so did the level of comfort provided by society. Many tasks became simpler and the number of skills required to go about everyday life were drastically reduced. At the time that Royal Road was released, aside from specialized professions, everyone in the real world did not need to learn the skills needed for self-sufficiency. “Haaah.” Sun just sighed and pulled out some cooking utensils. In the past, he was incapable of even starting a basic fire by rubbing two sticks together or setting up a tent. Back then, if he was alone, he could just throw a fireball at the wood. The thing was that he was never alone because, whenever he had to travel for the Church of the God of Light, he always had to travel with someone else. Luckily for him, in this world, there was a convenient thing called a campfire kit that set the wood on fire for him. “It’ll be done in a bit.” His cooking skill wasn’t very high level. He wasn’t very good at cooking back in his world either. Luckily, the cooking skill would supplement for his lack of skill. Ever since he came to this world, he learned the cooking skill because it was required for his everyday life. So he had Calvin teach him how to cook. Though he wasn’t at a master level, he still managed to reach Beginner Level 5 in cooking because he cooked for himself and for the rest of the church often. The biggest difference between himself and real cooks was that since he didn’t have the Handicraft skill, he didn’t receive any extra bonuses to his cooking skills. Still, he was better than most people that mainly got the cooking skill just for occasional use. After half an hour, a magnificent feast was prepared. It was an exaggeration to say it was a feast but it was still better than anything a beginner could do. Skewered roast meat! Fried rice! Spicy chicken noodles! Sun spread a mat over the floor and passed out everyone’s servings. It didn’t really cost him much to make since he got most of the meat from hunting and the rest of the materials were pretty cheap. “Wow!” “This is pretty good.” “Wow, you’re great at cooking.” “Thank you for the meal.” “...” Compared to the stale barley bread they bought from the store, this meal was a lot tastier. On average, Sun was better at cooking than quite a few of the basic restaurants in Rosenheim that were for lower level users. He would cook for himself all the time instead of going to eat out, but cooking required time and he would rather spend money to get someone to cook for him. They continued eating at a quick pace. After eating the meal, their stamina was recovered and their satiety increased. As an added bonus his Beginner Level 5 cooking temporarily increased health and stamina as well as a few stat increases. They spent about an hour eating so Sun was no longer tired. Then walked on for another half hour and reached their destination. “This is the place. Let’s go inside.” The party entered inside of the dungeon. Ttiring! DUNGEON: You are the first players to discover the Corpse Tomb. Reward: Fame + 100 You will receive double experience and drop rates for one week. The rarest items will drop from each monster of it’s type. Subsequent kills will drop common items. --------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Yong Li means Bravery Strength. 2. Feng Yun means Phoenix Cloud. 3. Da Xia means Female Hero. 4. Xuehua means Snowflake. 5. Hou Yi was the name of a legendary archer.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> You know the type of person who attempted to model their sex life after the TV show character Barney Stinson, who went to the Olympics and got a gold medal for the sole purpose of showing off at a high school reunion, and whose greatest wish for the technological advancement of humanity was the creation of virtual reality prior to their death? Well that's me, my name is Jake, the year is 2058, and I'm dead. </div>

You know the type of person who attempted to model their sex life after the TV show character Barney Stinson, who went to the Olympics and got a gold medal for the sole purpose of showing off at a high school reunion, and whose greatest wish for the technological advancement of humanity was the creation of virtual reality prior to their death? Well that's me, my name is Jake, the year is 2058, and I'm dead.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> It was a particularly sunny day, as a elderly man made his way through a park, when he came across a child staring at the ice cream vending machine greedily. With a smile he REPLACEed some money into the vending machine and asked, “I heard you made a ruckus at school and ran away. I had a feeling I would find you here, well which flavor?”<br><br>The child looked up at the man with his mouth pouted and then pressed “F17 – Chocolate Chip”.<br><br>They made their way towards the more shadowy regions of the park after dodging past couples who were enjoying basking themselves in the sun. They finally found a bench and took a seat.<br><br>“I’m glad to know, I am not the only one who dislikes the sun. It’s been getting hotter and hotter every year, you know. In my time, summer was never this hot.” <br><br>The young child licked away at his ice cream that he held, unconcerned with what the stranger next to him said.<br><br>“Are you enjoying your ice cream?”<br><br>The young child continued to lick away his ice cream.<br><br>“It is good that you are enjoying it. You should enjoy everything so much. Do you enjoy eating ice cream?”<br><br>The child nodded.<br><br>“Then, why don’t we meet every week. Just like this.”<br><br>The child nodded again.<br><br>“If you don’t understand something at school you should just raise your hand and ask the teacher. No point keeping quiet about it.”<br><br>The <span style="font-style: italic;">kind</span> elderly man got up and left. The child continued to stare at his back, he wanted to say thank you for the ice cream but couldn’t find the courage to do so.<br><br>*BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP*<br><br>Lee Jun woke up with alarm going off – ‘The subconscious mind really is a mind of its own, should have thanked the old man then. Alright back to Royal Road Elementarem Vim!’<br><br>After seeing all the information on how Theodore taught common blacksmithing skills, Lee Jun realized that it could be that he has taken on a true apprentice as yet. There were not many who knew Rodriguez or Snappy, if one were to leverage on that, then Weed would be very different from all the other apprentices Theodore had. It was this hypothesis that gave Lee Jun the courage to believe that Theodore’s skills were not common but unique. After logging in, Weed found himself at the Eastern Gate where he had last logged out. There were four guards stationed there, who weren’t there last time but Weed didn’t think much of it. However as he walked through, the soldiers stopped him.<br><br>“Who are you?” The soldier on his left asked.<br><br>“Weed.”<br><br>“Where do you come from?”<br><br>“I went to visit Theodore Balkan the Travelling Blacksmith for some amour. I live and have been brought up in Lavias City, the most blessed city in all of Versailles.”<br><br>TRRIIIINNG!!<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td><span style="font-weight: bold;">- Proficient in Lying and Deceit has increased ~ Beginner level 3 – 3%! -</span></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>The soldiers looked at each other and thought to themselves, ‘A true patriot of the kingdom.’<br><br>“Please be more careful Elf. The land outside is dangerous for someone new here. Please enter inside quickly.”<br><br>Weed invested 15 skill points into stamina, 20 to agility, 20 to strength and 30 to defense. Doing so was highly beneficial as it meant that he could run for longer distances without tiring. He covered the entire stretch from the Eastern Gate to Rodriguez's ranch in one day; he laughed at how it had originally taken him nearly seven days to cover the same distance. Though it wasn’t really comparable as Weed was pushing a wheelbarrow which consumed more stamina, but to Weed it was the same distance thus so to say it was 1 day vs 7. He felt stronger and faster than before.<br><br>Upon reaching, the ranch entrance he could see Lisa teaching students how to use the bow and arrow. ‘Same as ever.’ He then marched into the house and found Rodriguez sitting comfortably in a rocking chair sleeping.<br><br>“Rodriguez the Wise!” exclaimed Weed excitedly. For an elf, one would mistake Weed as mannerless, players would think of it as poor relationship building skills, Weed thought of it as saving time. When pressed with matters of urgency, all the politeness and courtesy of the world could head straight out the window for all he cared. <br><br>Rodriguez woke up with a surprise, he wasn’t used to being called by his name. He turned his head around in surprise. “Why Weed! What brings you here? You are safe and unhurt I see. Did you run into any troubles?”<br><br>Weed wondered if it was worth mentioning the three idiots who bothered him but decided not to. Rodriguez on the other had was expecting to hear a story about how miraculous he escaped Shadow’s clutches, so when Weed said there was nothing that happened he was quite confounded. <br><br>“Then have you already found a suitable ring?” <br><br>“No…”<br><br>Rodriguez did not hide his disappointment. He had been dreaming that Weed presented him with a ring most apt for Lisa. Of course Weed had no way of knowing that and he couldn’t even begin guessing that NPC’s in RREV were capable of dreaming.<br><br>“Never mind that, I promise you the most spectacular ring ever for Lisa. However, to do so I need a little bit of help.”<br><br>‘Most spectacular ring ever?’ Weed certainly did grab Rodriguez’s attention. He wanted to get the best ring his gold could offer for Lisa. “Yes go on, I am all ears.”<br><br>“I met Theodore Balkan son of Utmiz Balkan.” <br>“Theodore…Theodore…where have I heard that name before? So familiar yet so vaguely distant….”<br><br>“The Travelling Blacksmith? The lone wandering dwarf?” Weed suggested a few titles to nudge Rodriguez in the right direction.<br><br>“Oh Yes! I remember him alright, quite the bloke if I may say so myself. Absolutely wonderful and a complete delight. But why did you go to meet him, a blacksmith? Weren’t you going to learn a melee profession?”<br><br>Weed frowned, this was not what he expected from Rodriguez the Wise. Maybe all that he knew about the NPC characters was true, they had nothing to do with Royal Road. Just common names, common cities and similar topography. “Old man! You sent me to him! Remember, Snappy’s owner?”<br><br>Rodriguez was confused he then sat down to think… “Oh yes! You are absolutely right! I did send you to him. I apologize I completely forgot he was a blacksmith, I think I mistook him for some other grand warrior. But who did I mistake him for?”<br>Rodriguez scratched his head and thought about it as Weed patiently waited. It wasn’t the purpose of his visit but he was happy to gain whatever information was available. “No I just can’t seem to remember. I guess I am growing terribly old.”<br><br>“Well it would certainly have been of great help, if you could remember but I wanted to discuss my plans about the engagement ring.”<br><br>“Yes go on…”<br><br>“Well I was thinking the best and most suitable ring would be a ring that Lisa described. Could you please let me know a little bit about Lisa and her preferences?”<br><br>“Lisa…I’d say timeless. One word to describe her would definitely be timeless. She hasn’t changed much since I last remember and when I say unchanged I don’t mean by appearance. Her appearances have certainly changed a lot but I would incline more towards her personality. She has always been so kind and caring. Though she may be old, back in the days she was a gem of a beauty. All the noblemen of the land would come seek her hand. She was the prettiest flower ever that blossomed in all Versailles.”<br><br>“Yes, I know what you mean. Her demeanor is most elegant, it’s a charm that I could not understand why before. But now that you have explained it to me it makes complete sense.”<br><br>Rodriguez nodded in agreement.<br><br>“Well I will certainly be able to find such a ring and I absolutely promise you it will be the only one of it’s kind in all of Versailles just as Lisa is.”<br><br>Rodriguez was most happy when he heard these words, for a thousand gold coins one could buy a house but not jewelry as beautiful as Weed described it to be.<br><br>Weed continued, “Think about it, a unique ring! Truly an expression most befitting of love as unique as yours!”<br><br>Rodriguez nodded in agreement once again. He was most excited by what Weed had to say.<br><br>“However…” Weed paused and frowned. Seeing Weeds expression, even Rodriguez curiosity peaked. He needed to immediately discover what obstacle prevented the boy from finding the ring! “We have one problem.”<br><br>“Yes?” Rodriguez asked impatiently.<br><br>Weed narrated to Rodriguez the quest bestowed upon him by the dwarf. Rodriguez listened patiently however he did not see how learning blacksmithing would get him the ring he so desired. He hesitantly put forward his concern to Weed.<br><br>“That? That’s simple, I intend to make one.” Weed replied as if he was already a master level blacksmith.<br><br>Rodriguez wasn’t quite convinced, Weed had painted an image of the most beautiful and spectacularly singular ring for Lisa. Rodriguez was guessing that Weed was still FF/001 and he knew no blacksmithing, it would take years to reach a high enough level to make a ring so wonderful as he described. <br><br>“I think Weed, is mistaken if he believes that he can make a ring so fabulous in 3 months. It not possible to master this profession even if you spent a lifetime at it.” Rodriguez sighed, so much for the unique ring.<br><br>“I agree.” Weed replied dully, “However, Theodore said he would help me if I cleared the test.”<br><br>Rodriguez eyes sparkled, it was one thing if Weed a newbie made the ring and it was completely a different story if Theodore a legendary blacksmith made one.<br><br>TRRIIIINNG!!<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td><span style="font-weight: bold;">- Proficiency in Lying and Deceit has increased ~ Beginner level 3 – 50%! -</span></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>“Yes, I can now see what you mean. The ring would indeed be spectacular.” Rodriguez acknowledged.<br><br>“Yes, imagine as it would become the talk of all of Versailles. Your love of Lisa would become the envy of everyone!” Weed added greedily as he hoped to snag Rodriguez with such an enchanting tale.<br><br>“Yes! Absolutely! You are absolutely right! Why did I never think of making a ring for Lisa!” Rodriguez said with vigour.<br><br>TRRIIIINNG!!<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td><span style="font-weight: bold;">- Proficiency in Lying and Deceit has increased ~ Beginner level 3 – 89 %! -</span></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>Weed sighed, at least the lies were worth something, other players might not get anything for lying. What he wondered was whether this was a good thing or a bad thing? He was even more worried if his lying skills became a habit in RL. There were studies on how players picked up RL skills through VR gaming, this brought a lot of media scrutiny to the point it was also shown that people could pick up bad habits as well. However, VR gaming companies claimed otherwise, there was no final say on this matter. One of the by-products of this however was the birth of a new organization VR-PETA. Just like the sister organization RL-PETA, this organization targeted VR companies for directing players to hurt VR creatures. They often claimed how VR gaming was a bad influence on RL animal welfare thought they never had any proof to back this claim up. <br><br>Weed wondered if he revealed his quest to anyone what would they think of it?<br><br><br><br>----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br>Authors Note:<br><br>1. So I have written about 96 pages, 39,000 words, 4000 lines. I have been thinking and decided when I hit 100 pages, lets do something special to celebrate. Will think about it more in detail latter for now please enjoy this short sneak preview :) (UPDATE: to celebrate, I wrote an additional 26 pages for release, 10K words and 1K more lines).<br>2. Editing Credits: Knaivvs<br><br>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="4">Connect to Royal Road – Elementarem Vim next Chapter?</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&amp;t=327" target="_blank">Yes</a></td><td colspan="2"><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&amp;t=348" target="_blank">No</a></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- </div>

It was a particularly sunny day, as a elderly man made his way through a park, when he came across a child staring at the ice cream vending machine greedily. With a smile he REPLACEed some money into the vending machine and asked, “I heard you made a ruckus at school and ran away. I had a feeling I would find you here, well which flavor?” The child looked up at the man with his mouth pouted and then pressed “F17 – Chocolate Chip”. They made their way towards the more shadowy regions of the park after dodging past couples who were enjoying basking themselves in the sun. They finally found a bench and took a seat. “I’m glad to know, I am not the only one who dislikes the sun. It’s been getting hotter and hotter every year, you know. In my time, summer was never this hot.” The young child licked away at his ice cream that he held, unconcerned with what the stranger next to him said. “Are you enjoying your ice cream?” The young child continued to lick away his ice cream. “It is good that you are enjoying it. You should enjoy everything so much. Do you enjoy eating ice cream?” The child nodded. “Then, why don’t we meet every week. Just like this.” The child nodded again. “If you don’t understand something at school you should just raise your hand and ask the teacher. No point keeping quiet about it.” The kind elderly man got up and left. The child continued to stare at his back, he wanted to say thank you for the ice cream but couldn’t find the courage to do so. *BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP* Lee Jun woke up with alarm going off – ‘The subconscious mind really is a mind of its own, should have thanked the old man then. Alright back to Royal Road Elementarem Vim!’ After seeing all the information on how Theodore taught common blacksmithing skills, Lee Jun realized that it could be that he has taken on a true apprentice as yet. There were not many who knew Rodriguez or Snappy, if one were to leverage on that, then Weed would be very different from all the other apprentices Theodore had. It was this hypothesis that gave Lee Jun the courage to believe that Theodore’s skills were not common but unique. After logging in, Weed found himself at the Eastern Gate where he had last logged out. There were four guards stationed there, who weren’t there last time but Weed didn’t think much of it. However as he walked through, the soldiers stopped him. “Who are you?” The soldier on his left asked. “Weed.” “Where do you come from?” “I went to visit Theodore Balkan the Travelling Blacksmith for some amour. I live and have been brought up in Lavias City, the most blessed city in all of Versailles.” TRRIIIINNG!! | - Proficient in Lying and Deceit has increased ~ Beginner level 3 – 3%! - | | --- | The soldiers looked at each other and thought to themselves, ‘A true patriot of the kingdom.’ “Please be more careful Elf. The land outside is dangerous for someone new here. Please enter inside quickly.” Weed invested 15 skill points into stamina, 20 to agility, 20 to strength and 30 to defense. Doing so was highly beneficial as it meant that he could run for longer distances without tiring. He covered the entire stretch from the Eastern Gate to Rodriguez's ranch in one day; he laughed at how it had originally taken him nearly seven days to cover the same distance. Though it wasn’t really comparable as Weed was pushing a wheelbarrow which consumed more stamina, but to Weed it was the same distance thus so to say it was 1 day vs 7. He felt stronger and faster than before. Upon reaching, the ranch entrance he could see Lisa teaching students how to use the bow and arrow. ‘Same as ever.’ He then marched into the house and found Rodriguez sitting comfortably in a rocking chair sleeping. “Rodriguez the Wise!” exclaimed Weed excitedly. For an elf, one would mistake Weed as mannerless, players would think of it as poor relationship building skills, Weed thought of it as saving time. When pressed with matters of urgency, all the politeness and courtesy of the world could head straight out the window for all he cared. Rodriguez woke up with a surprise, he wasn’t used to being called by his name. He turned his head around in surprise. “Why Weed! What brings you here? You are safe and unhurt I see. Did you run into any troubles?” Weed wondered if it was worth mentioning the three idiots who bothered him but decided not to. Rodriguez on the other had was expecting to hear a story about how miraculous he escaped Shadow’s clutches, so when Weed said there was nothing that happened he was quite confounded. “Then have you already found a suitable ring?” “No…” Rodriguez did not hide his disappointment. He had been dreaming that Weed presented him with a ring most apt for Lisa. Of course Weed had no way of knowing that and he couldn’t even begin guessing that NPC’s in RREV were capable of dreaming. “Never mind that, I promise you the most spectacular ring ever for Lisa. However, to do so I need a little bit of help.” ‘Most spectacular ring ever?’ Weed certainly did grab Rodriguez’s attention. He wanted to get the best ring his gold could offer for Lisa. “Yes go on, I am all ears.” “I met Theodore Balkan son of Utmiz Balkan.” “Theodore…Theodore…where have I heard that name before? So familiar yet so vaguely distant….” “The Travelling Blacksmith? The lone wandering dwarf?” Weed suggested a few titles to nudge Rodriguez in the right direction. “Oh Yes! I remember him alright, quite the bloke if I may say so myself. Absolutely wonderful and a complete delight. But why did you go to meet him, a blacksmith? Weren’t you going to learn a melee profession?” Weed frowned, this was not what he expected from Rodriguez the Wise. Maybe all that he knew about the NPC characters was true, they had nothing to do with Royal Road. Just common names, common cities and similar topography. “Old man! You sent me to him! Remember, Snappy’s owner?” Rodriguez was confused he then sat down to think… “Oh yes! You are absolutely right! I did send you to him. I apologize I completely forgot he was a blacksmith, I think I mistook him for some other grand warrior. But who did I mistake him for?” Rodriguez scratched his head and thought about it as Weed patiently waited. It wasn’t the purpose of his visit but he was happy to gain whatever information was available. “No I just can’t seem to remember. I guess I am growing terribly old.” “Well it would certainly have been of great help, if you could remember but I wanted to discuss my plans about the engagement ring.” “Yes go on…” “Well I was thinking the best and most suitable ring would be a ring that Lisa described. Could you please let me know a little bit about Lisa and her preferences?” “Lisa…I’d say timeless. One word to describe her would definitely be timeless. She hasn’t changed much since I last remember and when I say unchanged I don’t mean by appearance. Her appearances have certainly changed a lot but I would incline more towards her personality. She has always been so kind and caring. Though she may be old, back in the days she was a gem of a beauty. All the noblemen of the land would come seek her hand. She was the prettiest flower ever that blossomed in all Versailles.” “Yes, I know what you mean. Her demeanor is most elegant, it’s a charm that I could not understand why before. But now that you have explained it to me it makes complete sense.” Rodriguez nodded in agreement. “Well I will certainly be able to find such a ring and I absolutely promise you it will be the only one of it’s kind in all of Versailles just as Lisa is.” Rodriguez was most happy when he heard these words, for a thousand gold coins one could buy a house but not jewelry as beautiful as Weed described it to be. Weed continued, “Think about it, a unique ring! Truly an expression most befitting of love as unique as yours!” Rodriguez nodded in agreement once again. He was most excited by what Weed had to say. “However…” Weed paused and frowned. Seeing Weeds expression, even Rodriguez curiosity peaked. He needed to immediately discover what obstacle prevented the boy from finding the ring! “We have one problem.” “Yes?” Rodriguez asked impatiently. Weed narrated to Rodriguez the quest bestowed upon him by the dwarf. Rodriguez listened patiently however he did not see how learning blacksmithing would get him the ring he so desired. He hesitantly put forward his concern to Weed. “That? That’s simple, I intend to make one.” Weed replied as if he was already a master level blacksmith. Rodriguez wasn’t quite convinced, Weed had painted an image of the most beautiful and spectacularly singular ring for Lisa. Rodriguez was guessing that Weed was still FF/001 and he knew no blacksmithing, it would take years to reach a high enough level to make a ring so wonderful as he described. “I think Weed, is mistaken if he believes that he can make a ring so fabulous in 3 months. It not possible to master this profession even if you spent a lifetime at it.” Rodriguez sighed, so much for the unique ring. “I agree.” Weed replied dully, “However, Theodore said he would help me if I cleared the test.” Rodriguez eyes sparkled, it was one thing if Weed a newbie made the ring and it was completely a different story if Theodore a legendary blacksmith made one. TRRIIIINNG!! | - Proficiency in Lying and Deceit has increased ~ Beginner level 3 – 50%! - | | --- | “Yes, I can now see what you mean. The ring would indeed be spectacular.” Rodriguez acknowledged. “Yes, imagine as it would become the talk of all of Versailles. Your love of Lisa would become the envy of everyone!” Weed added greedily as he hoped to snag Rodriguez with such an enchanting tale. “Yes! Absolutely! You are absolutely right! Why did I never think of making a ring for Lisa!” Rodriguez said with vigour. TRRIIIINNG!! | - Proficiency in Lying and Deceit has increased ~ Beginner level 3 – 89 %! - | | --- | Weed sighed, at least the lies were worth something, other players might not get anything for lying. What he wondered was whether this was a good thing or a bad thing? He was even more worried if his lying skills became a habit in RL. There were studies on how players picked up RL skills through VR gaming, this brought a lot of media scrutiny to the point it was also shown that people could pick up bad habits as well. However, VR gaming companies claimed otherwise, there was no final say on this matter. One of the by-products of this however was the birth of a new organization VR-PETA. Just like the sister organization RL-PETA, this organization targeted VR companies for directing players to hurt VR creatures. They often claimed how VR gaming was a bad influence on RL animal welfare thought they never had any proof to back this claim up. Weed wondered if he revealed his quest to anyone what would they think of it? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Authors Note: 1. So I have written about 96 pages, 39,000 words, 4000 lines. I have been thinking and decided when I hit 100 pages, lets do something special to celebrate. Will think about it more in detail latter for now please enjoy this short sneak preview :) (UPDATE: to celebrate, I wrote an additional 26 pages for release, 10K words and 1K more lines). 2. Editing Credits: Knaivvs -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Connect to Royal Road – Elementarem Vim next Chapter? | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Yes](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&t=327) | | [No](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&t=348) | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> “<span style="font-style: italic;">ICHI! NI! ICHI! NI!</span>&lt;ONE! TWO! ONE! TWO!&gt;”, the sound of people shouting out as they swung their practice swords from within the antiquated Dojo in the background could not drown out the girlish laughter of two children, twins who were running about and around the <span style="font-style: italic;">Sakura</span> &lt;cherry blossom&gt; tree that was planted centuries ago by their ancestor. <br> <br>“<span style="font-style: italic;">Nee-san! Matte yo!</span> &lt;Sister! Wait a second!&gt;”, the little girl hitching up her kimono to chase after her twin. <br> <br>“<span style="font-style: italic;">Iiiii yaaada</span>! &lt;Nooo waaay!&gt;”, the pink haired of the two stuck out her tongue at her sister before laughing…and then tumbling as she tripped on a raised root of the tree, the aged cherry blossom seeming to chuckle as the spring winds rustled its vast branches. <br> <br>“<span style="font-style: italic;">Tsukamaetta!</span> &lt;Caught you!&gt;” yelled the chasing girl as she leapt ungracefully unto her twin, her long blue hair flying untamed behind her, almost the epitome of a tomboy if she wasn’t so obviously a beautiful <span style="font-style: italic;">Ojou-sama</span> &lt;Young Lady&gt;. <br> <br>“<span style="font-style: italic;">Tsukamatta!</span> &lt;I am caught!&gt;”, giggling as they rolled around the grass in a wild hug, “<span style="font-style: italic;">Masumi hayai ne~</span>&lt;is fast~&gt;”, <br> <br>Lying on the grass facing the sky after their short bout, “<span style="font-style: italic;">Ano, Mayumi nee-san</span> &lt;sister&gt;”, breathing tiredly Masumi asked, “what are we going to do?” <br> <br>“Hmmm? <span style="font-style: italic;">Nani o</span> &lt;Do what&gt;?”, Mayumi replied lazily with eyes closed. <br> <br>“<span style="font-style: italic;">Otou-sama</span> &lt;Father&gt; wants one of us to be a boy”, Masumi frowned, “but I thought boys need a bushy beard and smell bad” <br> <br>“Haha Masumi”, her sister laughed, “that’s only the boys in our dojo. The boys from our school don’t smell do they?” <br> <br>“….Ah!”, as though in revelation, “<span style="font-style: italic;">Honto</span> &lt;That’s true&gt;” <br> <br>“<span style="font-style: italic;">Neee</span> &lt;Seee&gt;” <br> <br>“Hmm, I wonder how will <span style="font-style: italic;">Otou-sama</span> &lt;Father&gt; choose?” <br> <br>“<span style="font-style: italic;">Eee</span>, isn’t it better if we choose for ourselves?” <br> <br>Masumi rolled her head to look at her twin in shock, “<span style="font-style: italic;">D-Demo, Otou-sama-</span>… &lt;B-But Father-…&gt;” <br> <br>“<span style="font-style: italic;">Daijyoubu Daijyoubu</span> &lt;It's ok, it's ok&gt;”, Mayumi assured her, “<span style="font-style: italic;">Otou-sama</span> &lt;Father&gt; likes it when we decide things for ourselves. Something about the way of ‘manliness’ he always talks about”. <br> <br>“<span style="font-style: italic;">Haaa, sou desu ka</span> &lt;Is that so&gt;….” <br> <br>“<span style="font-style: italic;">Jyaaa</span> &lt;Well then&gt;, how will we do this <span style="font-style: italic;">nee-san</span>&lt;sister&gt;?” <br> <br>Looking at Masumi mischievously, “By <span style="font-style: italic;">Janken</span> &lt;Rock Paper Scissors&gt;, of course. Hehe” <br> <br><div style="text-align: center;">*********************************************************************************************</div> <br> <br><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://picosong.com/FmEb/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 1.7em;">INTRO SONG: Trust Me</span></a></div> <br> <br><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk285/black_ferrus/Blut%20und%20Eisen/Intro22_zps150173b8.jpg" border="0" alt="http%3a%2f%2fi283.photobucket.com%2falbums%2fkk285...0173b8.jpg"></div> <br> <br><div style="text-align: center;">*********************************************************************************************</div> <br> <br> <br>Mayumi opened her eyes to find herself back in Royal Road, her twin waiting patiently with the boy, William, as they sat warming themselves by the campfire. Max and that girl, Lydia, still haven't appeared yet although it was quite strange to find that Gerhard was missing. Walking to stand beside her sister before plopping down ungracefully, Mayumi laid her head on her sister's shoulder as they both gazed into the fire. The little boy was nodding drowsily, Masumi gently stroking his head, silence reigning between the both as them, as though lost in thought. <br> <br>“<span style="font-style: italic;">Nee-san</span> &lt;Sister&gt;", Masumi was the first to break the stillness on the moment, "don’t you have-" <br> <br>"<span style="font-style: italic;">Maa maa</span>", Mayumi interrupted, "it’s a few hours away so let me just play with my cute sister, hmm" <br> <br>"<span style="font-style: italic;">Hai, nee-san</span> &lt;Ok, sister&gt;", Masumi tilting her head down against Mayumi own, smelling the fragrance of her twin, the scent reminding her of the <span style="font-style: italic;">sakura</span> &lt;cherry blossoms&gt; that used to fill their kimonos as they played under their ancestor tree. <br> <br>"…so how is <span style="font-style: italic;">ojii-san</span> &lt;grandfather&gt;?", Mayumi asked, her voice low. <br> <br>"…He misses you…" <br> <br>"Haha, that’s because he is a closet <span style="font-style: italic;">hentai</span> &lt;pervert&gt;~" <br> <br>"<span style="font-style: italic;">N-nee-san</span> &lt;S-sister&gt;! There must be a good reason why that…respectable housewife left his home…in the early morning…", although Masumi still managed to blush. <br> <br>"<span style="font-style: italic;">Oi oi</span>", Mayumi chided, "you are not really defending grandfather very well. We all know he and housewives are closer than BEST friends" <br> <br>"Haaa <span style="font-style: italic;">ojii-san</span> &lt;grandfather&gt; is a respectable man…most of the time" <br> <br>"<span style="font-style: italic;">Fufu</span>", chuckling Mayumi pointed out, "Now I know why he was in a rush to shove responsibility to father…so <span style="font-style: italic;">ojii-san</span> &lt;grandfather&gt; can 'train' at night~" <br> <br>"Eh? I thought it was hard to wield a sword in darkness… <span style="font-style: italic;">N-NEE-SAN</span> &lt;S-SISTER&gt;!", Masumi scolded as she finally realised what her twin was talking about, "You shouldn’t talk about such… matters in front of a child", indicating to the sleeping William with her chin. <br> <br>"<span style="font-style: italic;">Eeee</span>, it's ok, the little one is sleeping. But I still don't know why you admire grandfather so much", Mayumi looking up at her sister, "He is just a <span style="font-style: italic;">hentai ojii</span> &lt;perverted grandfather&gt;" <br> <br>"He is not just a <span style="font-style: italic;">hentai ojii</span> &lt;perverted grandfather&gt;", Masumi defended him, "he is still a master warrior and the epitome of a samurai" <br> <br>"…Masumi…if I ever need a lawyer…please don't be mine" <br> <br>"???" <br> <br>"Ah! Angel-sama!", causing Masumi to turn suddenly in excitement only to be disappointed, as Mayumi chuckled at tricking her naïve sister. <br> <br>"<span style="font-style: italic;">Mou</span>!", Masumi puffed her cheeks in annoyance, "That's mean, <span style="font-style: italic;">nee-san</span> &lt;sister&gt;!", <br> <br>"Hehe", Mayumi teased, "so you really do like him. I still don't understand your taste in men. The only good thing about Angel-sama is that at least he looks young in Royal Road". <br> <br>“<span style="font-style: italic;">Nee-san</span> &lt;Sister&gt;, it's the soul that counts. And men are like wine: the older they are, the more refine they become" <br> <br>"…There is so many things I want to say about that analogy…you make me worry about you…" <br> <br>"And Angel-sama reminds me of the samurai aspects of <span style="font-style: italic;">ojii-san</span> &lt;grandfather&gt;…" <br> <br>"…Your old man complex seriously needs to be looked at…" <br> <br>Masumi was about to reply, to point out that old men are much more mature, both in their physical and mental capacities… when they suddenly felt a presence which caused them to glance to their right. They saw Max materialising right before them, finally logging in and yawning as he gazed about until he spotted the twins, waving at them cheerfully as he walked towards them. <br> <br>"Oooh!", Mayumi stood up, "It's my Gopher-man!" <br> <br>"…Gopher-man?", Masumi looked up at her sister in query. <br> <br>"IT has been upgraded to half Gopher, half Man for being all heroic yesterday", Mayumi placing her hands under her cheeks going, "<span style="font-style: italic;">Kyaaaa</span>~", …in a fake sound of adoration. <br> <br>"Yo! Have you girls seen my grandpa", Max asked, unaware that he had a level up…well, a minor one in Mayumi's eyes. <br> <br>Masumi just shook her head in the negative while her twin drifted steadily towards Max, before doing a short leap to cling to his arm. <br> <br>"<span style="font-style: italic;">Yah-hooo</span>", she greeted him, "What has <span style="font-style: italic;">anata</span> &lt;darling&gt; been doing?" <br> <br>For some reason Max felt a shiver race up his spine at this overly affectionate Mayumi, as she leaned in to nibble at his ear lightly. <br> <br>"<span style="font-style: italic;">M-Max!</span>", Lorelei called out in worry, "<span style="font-style: italic;">Are you dying? Your heart is going crazy</span>!" <br> <br>"I-I am ok", he managed to reply to both Lorelei and Mayumi, without sounding like he was talking to himself. Saaaafe…for now. He never wants to have the nightmare of that air friend situation repeating itself ever again, considering that it almost got him killed. <br> <br>"<span style="font-style: italic;">M-max!</span>", Lorelei sounding shy, "<span style="font-style: italic;">Do you remember your promise?</span>" <br> <br>'Oh crap', he thought to himself, 'I can't discuss this right now with Mayumi acting so…unnatural' <br> <br>"<span style="font-style: italic;">Ne</span>~", Mayumi whispered in his ear, "Do you want to…lick my shoes?" <br> <br>"N-no! I mean Yes! I mean….ARGGGH!", Max eyes spun as he tried to answer both girls at the same time. <br> <br>However he was saved when the figure of his grandfather strode out from the woods, Max escaping from Mayumi's clutches as he raced towards his saviour. <br> <br>"Lorelei", Max called as he ran, "I do remember. Just give me some time to think about it" <br> <br>"<span style="font-style: italic;">…o-ok…</span>", she replied obediently. <br> <br>"Uuuuu, you are such a good girl", Max declared with heartfelt gratitude. <br> <br>"<span style="font-style: italic;">The old mister has been crying all night</span>", she then said concerned, "<span style="font-style: italic;">Is he all right</span>?" <br> <br>"….it's fine", Max replying gruffly as he finally reached his grandfather, who looked at Max and smiled in greeting. <br> <br>"Hi Max", as Gerhard patted the head of his huffing and puffing grandson, who had somehow managed to escape from doing something …obscene with Mayumi. That girl is dangerous. <br> <br>"<span style="font-style: italic;">Opi</span> &lt;grandpa&gt;", Max finally able to voice out some words, "Since papa and mama placed you here without explaining anything, I was wondering if I can help teach you about how to use your avatar" <br> <br>"Oh that?", Gerhard smiled innocently, "It's ok, it's ok, I have perfectly mastered it" <br> <br><div style="text-align: center;">*********************************************************************************************</div> <br> <br>Meanwhile, Lydia was late. Extremely late. So much so that she was running with a piece of toast in her mouth that she had bought from the university canteen she was studying at. But Lydia wasn't late to class… she was late to meet back up with everyone in Royal Road. Yup, she was skipping class, like a good modern student should… and ultimately this led her to being distracted and not paying attention as she ran full pelt… into a short Caucasian male dressed…oddly. <br> <br>"!!!!!! YO! HOE!",Pulling on a fake gangster rap slur, "Watch where ya' goin BIATCH!", the man dressed in an oversized football shirt said. <br> <br>"……", Lydia thought to herself, 'You have got to be kidding me', as she dusted the rear of her skirt and looked forlornly at the bread lying on the floor. But it was more than five seconds on the floor already and thus was inedible-….WAIT NO LYDIA! DON'T REACH OUT YOUR HAND TO PICK IT UP!! <br> <br>"YO!YO! I'm talkin' to you!", the irate 'dude' pointed out needlessly. Honestly, stating the obvious is kind of redundant. <br> <br>"Uuuuu", Lydia mourned as she examined the bread, "Maybe if I blow on it a little…" <br> <br>"ARE YOU IGNORING ME?! &nbsp;DR. SNOOP PAC?!!" <br> <br>"What seems to be the problem here?", a well dressed black gentleman asked. <br> <br>"Hey hey! Brother from another mother!" <br> <br>"… I am NOT your brother. Furthermore, can you please stop it with that repulsive slang", before the gentleman gently asked Lydia, "Are you ok?" <br> <br>With tears in her eyes she turned to the newcomer, "I-I...*sniffs*… I have lost something that can never be regained…" <br> <br>"!!!! What has this beast done to you?!", outraged, he whipped back to glare at the, ummm… 'Dr. Snoop Pac'… <br> <br>"WOOOOO! Slow down home boy! It was-" <br> <br>"I am NOT your HOME BOY! Just because I am BLACK doesn’t mean I was RAISED in the HOOD!" <br> <br>"What is this commotion about", a passing police officer asked… who was Hispanic. <br> <br>"YA! Listen <span style="font-style: italic;">hombre</span> &lt;dude&gt;! I was just minding my own -" <br> <br>"… I AM a POLICE officer. Not a <span style="font-style: italic;">hombre, muchaho</span> &lt;dude, young man&gt;" <br> <br>"Officer! This man RAPED this poor young woman!" <br> <br>"WHAT THE! I DID NO SUCH THING!", the white Caucasian refuted, reverting back to rich upper class English. Amazing what stress can do to a person. <br> <br>Lydia eventually took a bite into her bread with a, "…*<span style="font-style: italic;">paku</span>*…", before she spat the contents out, "Uweeeh. It's too gritty!", she starting crying. She was so hungry damnit. <br> <br>"SEE!", The gentlemen pointed, "the poor girl is traumatised!" <br> <br>"I am going to have to ask you to come to the station with me…" <br> <br>"WHAT! HELL NO! DON'T MAKE ME CALL MY LAWYERS!" <br> <br>"I see… resisting arrest…", the police officer grinned, "that's why I love my job" <br> <br>As things escalated behind Lydia, culminating in the Caucasian man being slammed violently into the floor face first with the officer's knee on his back handcuffing the 'villain', a crowd of gathering onlookers applauded wildly shouting, <br> <br>"You show that rapist!" <br> <br>"Keep our streets safe from these hoodlums!" <br> <br>"Gangsters go to jail!" <br> <br>"GO TO JAIL!" <br> <br>"GO TO JAIL!" <br> <br>"GO TO JAIL!". <br> <br>And as for Lydia, she just shrugged as she threw the bread aside and walked away from the scene, totally unaware of the man she had bumped into was being hustled into a police car screaming as the vehicle drove away. <br> <br>It would take her, perhaps, fifteen minutes to get home, after stopping by a café to have a proper lunch on the go, a nice steak sandwich instead of just a single piece of toast, humming happily as the lift to her apartment parted and she leapt out, keys at the ready to open her door. She had only started Royal Road to kill time, but now it seemed that Lydia was quite addicted to it… and she wasn't sure why. Initially it bored her but ever since she travelled with…HIM, the amount of times she had a migraine grew…wait, is that a good cause for an addiction? <br> <br>Logging in, she was greeted by the sight of Gerhard showing his grandson, Max, his avatar window, which, for some reason, was made available for everyone in the area to view, although it does save time instead of repeating that embarrassing 'phrase' to show people. Mayumi and Masumi, the 'Danger Twins' as Lydia calls them, were gathered with Max around Gerhard's avatar window as he assigned the new points he got from slaying that…Death Panda. She sighed. They start out so cute…and when they grow up, they become hideous. <br> <br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="4">CHARACTER INFO</td></tr><tr><td colspan="4"></td></tr><tr><td colspan="4"></td></tr><tr><td width="25%"><span style="color: #BF4000;">Avatar</span></td><td width="25%"><span style="color: #ff6633;">Gerhard von Natzmer</span></td><td width="25%"><span style="color: #BF4000;">Alignment</span></td><td width="25%"><span style="color: #ff6633;">Good</span></td></tr><tr><td width="25%"><span style="color: #BF4000;">Level</span></td><td width="25%"><span style="color: #ff6633;">85</span></td><td width="25%"><span style="color: #BF4000;">Class</span></td><td width="25%"><span style="color: #ff6633;">Sword Singer</span></td></tr><tr><td width="25%"><span style="color: #BF4000;">Title</span></td><td width="25%"><span style="color: #ff6633;">Knight</span></td><td width="25%"><span style="color: #BF4000;">Fame</span></td><td width="25%"><span style="color: #ff6633;">280</span></td></tr><tr><td colspan="4"></td></tr><tr><td colspan="4"></td></tr><tr><td colspan="4">Stats</td></tr><tr><td width="25%"><span style="color: #BF4000;">Health</span></td><td width="25%"><span style="color: #ffcc33;">3822</span></td><td width="25%"><span style="color: #BF4000;">Mana</span></td><td width="25%"><span style="color: #ffcc33;">140</span></td></tr><tr><td width="25%"><span style="color: #BF4000;">Strength</span></td><td width="25%"><span style="color: #ffcc33;">240</span><span style="color: #BF0000;"> +25</span></td><td width="25%"><span style="color: #BF4000;">Agility</span></td><td width="25%"><span style="color: #ffcc33;">270</span><span style="color: #BF0000;"> +25</span></td></tr><tr><td width="25%"><span style="color: #BF4000;">Vitality</span></td><td width="25%"><span style="color: #ffcc33;">99</span><span style="color: #BF0000;"> +25</span></td><td width="25%"><span style="color: #BF4000;">Wisdom</span></td><td width="25%"><span style="color: #ffcc33;">10</span><span style="color: #BF0000;"> +20</span></td></tr><tr><td width="25%"><span style="color: #BF4000;">Intelligence</span></td><td width="25%"><span style="color: #ffcc33;">10</span><span style="color: #BF0000;"> +20</span></td><td width="25%"><span style="color: #BF4000;">Stamina</span></td><td width="25%"><span style="color: #ffcc33;">90</span><span style="color: #BF0000;"> +20</span></td></tr><tr><td width="25%"><span style="color: #BF4000;">Fighting Spirit</span></td><td width="25%"><span style="color: #ffcc33;">90</span><span style="color: #BF0000;"> +20</span></td><td width="25%"><span style="color: #BF4000;">Singing</span></td><td width="25%"><span style="color: #ffcc33;">34</span><span style="color: #BF0000;"> +80</span></td></tr><tr><td width="25%"><span style="color: #BF4000;">Charisma</span></td><td width="25%"><span style="color: #ffcc33;">78</span><span style="color: #BF0000;"> +20</span></td><td width="25%"><span style="color: #BF4000;">Leadership</span></td><td width="25%"><span style="color: #ffcc33;">108</span><span style="color: #BF0000;"> +20</span></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><span style="color: #BF4000;">Luck</span></td><td colspan="2"><span style="color: #ffcc33;">14</span><span style="color: #BF0000;"> +20</span></td></tr><tr><td colspan="4"></td></tr><tr><td colspan="4"></td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Offence</td><td width="25%"><span style="color: #ffcc33;">177</span></td><td width="25%">Defence</td><td width="25%"><span style="color: #ffcc33;">50</span></td></tr><tr><td colspan="4"></td></tr><tr><td colspan="4"></td></tr><tr><td colspan="4">Magic Resistance</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Fire</td><td width="25%"><span style="color: #3399ff;">0%</span></td><td width="25%">Water</td><td width="25%"><span style="color: #3399ff;">0%</span></td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Earth</td><td width="25%"><span style="color: #3399ff;">0%</span></td><td width="25%">Air</td><td width="25%"><span style="color: #3399ff;">0%</span></td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Light</td><td width="25%"><span style="color: #3399ff;">0%</span></td><td width="25%">Dark</td><td width="25%"><span style="color: #3399ff;">0%</span></td></tr><tr><td colspan="4"></td></tr><tr><td colspan="4"></td></tr><tr><td colspan="4"><ul><li>All stats are added extra 20 points.</li><br><li>Singing stat is added extra 80 points.</li><br><li>When singing all stats increase by 20%.</li><br><li>Increases Attack Power for Sword Song.</li><br><li>Decreases Mana Consumption for Sword Song.</li><br><li>Enables you to learn secret skills based on your performance to the Gods.</li><br><li>Increases Fame by performing in front of an audience that's more than 1000. <br></li></ul><br></td></tr><tr><td colspan="4">Unused Stat Points: <span style="color: #ff3333;">0</span></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div> <br> <br> <br>"Wow, <span style="font-style: italic;">Opi</span> &lt;grandpa&gt;", Max said sounding impressed, "I didn't know you were able to play a game like Royal Road. You even assigned all your points in the right stats for your melee class!" <br> <br>Gerhard nodded sagely, "Well it wasn't that hard, if I view this as assigning reinforcements to the varying combat arms of an infantry company, it is actually quite straightforward" <br> <br>"Oooo!", Masumi clapped her hands in admiration, as though understanding what was just said, with Mayumi and William following along since it seemed amusing. It looks like she had recovered from her fight with Gerhard yesterday. <br> <br>Lydia felt a blood vessel on her forehead twitch when she heard him spoke, '<span style="font-style: italic;">And Eric was the one who taught you how to use it…JUST YESTERDAY!</span>', she screamed internally, '<span style="font-style: italic;">how can anyone be so oblivious</span>?!'. Errr Lydia…that’s kind of ironic… <br> <br>"Hmmm, but you really need better equipment grandpa", Max said as he noted the damage output, "you are still using such low level gear" <br> <br>Gerhard shrugged, "Well I have a sword that I am unable to equip before level 100 apparently" <br> <br>"I have never seen your class before on the forums <span style="font-style: italic;">Opi</span> &lt;grandpa&gt;" <br> <br>"Me neither", Lydia interrupted, everyone noting her presence… all except Gerhard. He had already waved at her absentmindedly earlier. <br> <br>"The one thing that bugs me", Lydia continued, as she pointed to a sentence on the avatar window, "just how do you get secret skills by performing to the gods? And by performance, what kind could it be?" <br> <br>Max placed a hand under his chin in thought as he conjectured, "Perhaps it means doing the performance within a temple? Since we cannot actually physically meet a god I would assume that is what it would mean?" <br> <br>Masumi tentatively raised a hand as though she was in a classroom, "I-I think", she stuttered, "performance could mean something relating to his class? He is a Sword Singer so that means he must sing…with a sword?", Masumi finally turned to look at Gerhard as though realising for the first time. <br> <br>"<span style="font-style: italic;">Anoo</span> &lt;ummm&gt;, mister", Mayumi voiced the question for her twin, "just what is a Sword Singer?" <br> <br>Gerhard coughed embarrassingly, "I..errrr, ahem..", before he finally sighed, "it seems that I have a tendency to sing in battle..." <br> <br>"Oo-ooooh!", Masumi sounding intensely excited that she couldn't even formed words properly. This was the first time Max had seen Masumi acting like this…and for some reason he felt depressed. The fact that Masumi was a girl is still mind boggling…considering she looks like an effeminate man… <br> <br>"<span style="font-style: italic;">Ooo</span>! Demonstrate for us <span style="font-style: italic;">oji-san</span> &lt;old man&gt;!", Mayumi once again speaking for her sister, "We are so curious!" <br> <br>"….Curious!", William parroting Mayumi. <br> <br>"…I am too <span style="font-style: italic;">Opi</span> &lt;grandpa&gt;" <br> <br>"<span style="font-style: italic;">Me too!</span>", the unheard voice of Lorelei said unexpectedly, only Max able to hear her. <br> <br>Scratching the back of his head, Gerhard finally nodded in acquiescent, "Fine, although I am not too sure if I can do it when I am not fighting a real enemy" <br> <br>"Why not try visualising one?", Lydia suggested, "An enemy that is" <br> <br>"Hmm", Gerhard stood thinking to himself, "it is worth a shot I suppose". <br> <br>Walking unto the location of last night's battle, inside the middle of the huge clearing in front of the cave, Gerhard closed his eyes, standing stock still as everyone watched with anticipation. Lydia knew what he can do… but she was always entranced when Gerhard starts fighting. Because it seemed as though his sword flowed with the words of his songs… <br> <br>Suddenly Gerhard thrust his sword forward in attack, acting as though it was deflected as he spun to avoid an imaginary counter stroke, a single flowing motion that did not seem unnatural in any way. And for the first time, Max saw his grandfather move as though Gerhard was still in his prime; not that of an aged body trapped on a bed in Vienna, but the sight of a real master of the blade with sword, mind and body as one. And it was beautiful. And it wasn't long before Gerhard started singing a slow and graceful tune, however the song was filled with… longing, not one would normally associate with a blade dance. <br> <br><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Vor der Kaserne,</span> &lt;In front of the barracks,&gt; <br><span style="font-style: italic;">Vor dem großen Tor,</span> &lt;In front of the main gate,&gt; <br><span style="font-style: italic;">Stand eine Laterne,</span> &lt;Stood a lamppost,&gt; <br><span style="font-style: italic;">Und steht sie noch davor,</span> &lt;If it still stands out front,&gt; <br><span style="font-style: italic;">So woll'n wir uns da wieder seh'n,</span> &lt;So will we see each other there again,&gt; <br><span style="font-style: italic;">Bei der Laterne wollen wir steh'n,</span> &lt;By the lamppost we'll stand,&gt; <br><span style="font-style: italic;">Wie einst, Lili Marleen.</span> &lt;As before, Lili Marleen&gt; <br><span style="font-style: italic;">Wie einst, Lili Marleen.</span> &lt;As before, Lili Marleen&gt;</div> <br> <br>And with a start, Max recognised the song... a song he remembered his grandfather singing as his grandmother began to slowly slip away... before finally passing on. It's been years since Max had heard him sing this song...and it was still poignant and striking as he remembered it. Max wondered what could have made his grandfather think of grandma at this moment... <br> <br><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Unsere beiden Schatten,</span> &lt;Our two shadows &gt; <br><span style="font-style: italic;">Sah'n wie einer aus,</span> &lt;Looked like one.&gt; <br><span style="font-style: italic;">Daß wir so lieb uns hatten,</span> &lt;That we were so much in love,&gt; <br><span style="font-style: italic;">Das sah man gleich daraus</span>. &lt;Anyone could see at a glance.&gt; <br><span style="font-style: italic;">Und alle Leute soll'n es seh'n,</span> &lt;And everyone will see it,&gt; <br><span style="font-style: italic;">Wenn wir bei der Laterne steh'n,</span> &lt;When we stand by the lamppost,&gt; <br><span style="font-style: italic;">Wie einst, Lili Marleen</span>. &lt;As before, Lili Marleen&gt; <br><span style="font-style: italic;">Wie einst, Lili Marleen</span>. &lt;As before, Lili Marleen.&gt;</div> <br> <br>Unbidden, tears began to appear out of the corner of Max's eyes and glancing unobtrusively towards the girls...he noted that they were all pretending to blink and rub theirs as though something had gotten caught in them. Except for Masumi, she was unashamedly crying, her chin on William's head as she continued to marvel at the sight before her. Max then noticed a strange glow beginning to outwardly surround his grandfather as Gerhard continued to sing. <br> <br><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk285/black_ferrus/GerhardRising_zps8f2d44ee.png" border="0" alt="http%3a%2f%2fi283.photobucket.com%2falbums%2fkk285...2d44ee.png"></div> <br><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Schon rief der Posten:</span> &lt;Already the guard calls,&gt; <br><span style="font-style: italic;">Sie blasen Zapfenstreich,</span> &lt;“They’re sounding curfew&gt; <br><span style="font-style: italic;">Es kann drei Tage kosten!</span> &lt;That could cost you three days!”&gt; <br><span style="font-style: italic;">Kamerad, ich komm' ja gleich</span>. &lt;“Comrade, I'll be right there.”&gt; <br><span style="font-style: italic;">Da sagten wir Aufwiederseh'n.</span> &lt;Then we said farewell,&gt; <br><span style="font-style: italic;">Wie gerne wollt' ich mit dir geh'n,</span> &lt;How much would I have rather gone with you,&gt; <br><span style="font-style: italic;">Mit dir, Lili Marleen!</span> &lt;With you, Lili Marleen.&gt; <br><span style="font-style: italic;">Mit dir, Lili Marleen!</span> &lt;With you, Lili Marleen.&gt;</div> <br> <br>The glow kept getting brighter to the amazement of all who were watching, unable to comprehend just what was happening. Wasn't this meant to be a demonstration? Even Lydia has never seen Gerhard in this form before… and she was feeling a bit miffed that everyone else was allowed to see him like this…glowing and radiant. William let out a giggle of delight as infinitesimal portions of this light began floating towards the ground. <br> <br> <br><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Deine Schritte kennt sie,</span> &lt;It knows your footsteps,&gt; <br><span style="font-style: italic;">Deinen zieren Gang</span>. &lt;Your beautiful walk.&gt; <br><span style="font-style: italic;">Alle Abend brennt sie,</span> &lt;It burns every evening,&gt; <br><span style="font-style: italic;">Doch mich vergaß sie lang</span>. &lt;Although it forgot me long ago.&gt; <br><span style="font-style: italic;">Und sollte mir ein Leid gescheh'n,</span> &lt;And if a mishap should befall me,&gt; <br><span style="font-style: italic;">Wer wird bei der Laterne steh'n,</span> &lt;Who will stand by the lamppost,&gt; <br><span style="font-style: italic;">Mit dir, Lili Marleen!</span> &lt;With you, Lili Marleen!&gt; <br><span style="font-style: italic;">Mit dir, Lili Marleen!</span> &lt;With you, Lili Marleen!&gt;</div> <br> <br>The radiance seemed to intensify before it leapt from his dancing and weaving figure, his song echoing out and amplified across the clearing as an image started to appear in the ground, weird signs being traced into shimmering glowing life from the focal point that was Gerhard. It began to encompass Gerhard before another set appeared to surround the entire clearing, a clean circle forming with an outer and inner ring filled with symbols of almost alien origin, graceful but still looking like words of power, as though being re-etched into the ground. <br> <br><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Aus dem stillen Raume,</span> &lt;Out of the silent space,&gt; <br><span style="font-style: italic;">Aus der Erde Grund</span>, &lt;Out of the depths of the earth,&gt; <br><span style="font-style: italic;">Hebt mich wie im Traume</span> &lt;Lifts me as in a dream &gt; <br><span style="font-style: italic;">Dein verliebter Mund.</span> &lt;With your lips.&gt; <br><span style="font-style: italic;">Wenn sich die späten Nebel dreh'n,</span> &lt;When the night mist swirls,&gt; <br><span style="font-style: italic;">Werd' ich bei der Laterne steh'n</span> &lt;I will be standing by the lamppost,&gt; <br><span style="font-style: italic;">Mit dir, Lili Marleen</span> &lt; With you, Lili Marleen&gt; <br><span style="font-style: italic;">Mit dir, Lili Marleen</span> &lt;With you, Lili Marleen&gt;</div> <br> <br>At the end of his song there was a burst of light, Gerhard finally opening his eyes to stare around himself in astonishment as the air was filled with hundreds, no thousands of tiny green globes that were glowing softly, floating serenely around him as though he was the centre of their world…before in a sudden rush they all flowed forcefully into him. Gazing in his hands in wonder, the glow seemed to permeate throughout his body, casting odd shadows in all directions as everyone looked on amazed, wondering what had just happened. It wasn't long though before a message bubble appeared before Gerhard. <br> <br><span style="font-weight: bold;">*Ding!</span> <br> <br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="4"><span style="font-weight: bold;">You've leveled up! <br>You've leveled up! <br>Luck has risen by 5 points (+5 LCK) <br>Skill: <br>You acquired a new skill, <span style="color: #FF0000;">Tree Song</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div> <br> <br>"Eh?", was all Gerhard said. <br> <br>"W-what is it, <span style="font-style: italic;">Opi</span> &lt;grandpa&gt;?", Max having finally found his voice. <br> <br>"Well apparently I somehow gained a new skill?" <br> <br>"It can't be that easy", Lydia objected, "we are not even anywhere near a temple!" <br> <br>"On the contrary", a voice interrupted from the woods, "you are unwittingly standing on one", the voice so melodious and smooth. It sounded…inhuman. <br> <br>Instantly Masumi and Mayumi had their guard up, katanas unsheathed however Gerhard just turned towards an area of the woods and gave a light bow. <br> <br>"I thank you for not interrupting my performance", Gerhard said politely. <br> <br>"Oh? I am amazed that a human has such acute senses as you do", a figure slowly materialising from the forest, as though walking out from a shadow. <br> <br>"You meant no harm so I didn’t felt it was necessary to inform my friends", Gerhard arched a brow, "or should we be readying ourselves for battle? From what I can tell, there are perhaps twenty more in hiding with weapons drawn" <br> <br>"…that won't be necessary, <span style="font-style: italic;">Sainür</span> &lt;Tree Friend&gt;" <br> <br>"<span style="font-style: italic;">Sainür</span> &lt;Tree Friend&gt;?", everyone echoed the word in bafflement. <br> <br>Gerhard just shrugged at his companions, "Don't ask me; I have never heard of that title before" <br> <br>"Roughly translated, it means ‘Tree Friend’ in your tongue, and you became one when you appealed towards our goddess with your ritual, <span style="font-style: italic;">Sainür</span> &lt;Tree Friend&gt;", the slender figure dressed in a clothe that seemed to combine both leaf and fabric stood just metres away from Gerhard, face hidden under a hood. <br> <br>"…May I know your name?", the cowled figure then asked. <br> <br>"…I am Gerhard von Natzmer. At your service". <br> <br>Smiling under the cowl, before she lifted it back to reveal the features beneath, "And I am ShadowMist of the Clan of Shadows, and I may yet take you up on that offer" <br> <br><div style="text-align: center;">*********************************************************************************************</div> <br> <br><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://picosong.com/Fmis/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 1.7em;">Ending Song: Kore wa Koi</span></a></div> <br> <br><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk285/black_ferrus/Blut%20und%20Eisen/YoungMayumiampMasumi_zps00ad111c.jpg" border="0" alt="http%3a%2f%2fi283.photobucket.com%2falbums%2fkk285...ad111c.jpg"></div> </div>

“ICHI! NI! ICHI! NI!<ONE! TWO! ONE! TWO!>”, the sound of people shouting out as they swung their practice swords from within the antiquated Dojo in the background could not drown out the girlish laughter of two children, twins who were running about and around the Sakura <cherry blossom> tree that was planted centuries ago by their ancestor. “Nee-san! Matte yo! <Sister! Wait a second!>”, the little girl hitching up her kimono to chase after her twin. “Iiiii yaaada! <Nooo waaay!>”, the pink haired of the two stuck out her tongue at her sister before laughing…and then tumbling as she tripped on a raised root of the tree, the aged cherry blossom seeming to chuckle as the spring winds rustled its vast branches. “Tsukamaetta! <Caught you!>” yelled the chasing girl as she leapt ungracefully unto her twin, her long blue hair flying untamed behind her, almost the epitome of a tomboy if she wasn’t so obviously a beautiful Ojou-sama <Young Lady>. “Tsukamatta! <I am caught!>”, giggling as they rolled around the grass in a wild hug, “Masumi hayai ne~<is fast~>”, Lying on the grass facing the sky after their short bout, “Ano, Mayumi nee-san <sister>”, breathing tiredly Masumi asked, “what are we going to do?” “Hmmm? Nani o <Do what>?”, Mayumi replied lazily with eyes closed. “Otou-sama <Father> wants one of us to be a boy”, Masumi frowned, “but I thought boys need a bushy beard and smell bad” “Haha Masumi”, her sister laughed, “that’s only the boys in our dojo. The boys from our school don’t smell do they?” “….Ah!”, as though in revelation, “Honto <That’s true>” “Neee <Seee>” “Hmm, I wonder how will Otou-sama <Father> choose?” “Eee, isn’t it better if we choose for ourselves?” Masumi rolled her head to look at her twin in shock, “D-Demo, Otou-sama-… <B-But Father-…>” “Daijyoubu Daijyoubu <It's ok, it's ok>”, Mayumi assured her, “Otou-sama <Father> likes it when we decide things for ourselves. Something about the way of ‘manliness’ he always talks about”. “Haaa, sou desu ka <Is that so>….” “Jyaaa <Well then>, how will we do this nee-san<sister>?” Looking at Masumi mischievously, “By Janken <Rock Paper Scissors>, of course. Hehe” ********************************************************************************************* [INTRO SONG: Trust Me](http://picosong.com/FmEb/)  ********************************************************************************************* Mayumi opened her eyes to find herself back in Royal Road, her twin waiting patiently with the boy, William, as they sat warming themselves by the campfire. Max and that girl, Lydia, still haven't appeared yet although it was quite strange to find that Gerhard was missing. Walking to stand beside her sister before plopping down ungracefully, Mayumi laid her head on her sister's shoulder as they both gazed into the fire. The little boy was nodding drowsily, Masumi gently stroking his head, silence reigning between the both as them, as though lost in thought. “Nee-san <Sister>", Masumi was the first to break the stillness on the moment, "don’t you have-" "Maa maa", Mayumi interrupted, "it’s a few hours away so let me just play with my cute sister, hmm" "Hai, nee-san <Ok, sister>", Masumi tilting her head down against Mayumi own, smelling the fragrance of her twin, the scent reminding her of the sakura <cherry blossoms> that used to fill their kimonos as they played under their ancestor tree. "…so how is ojii-san <grandfather>?", Mayumi asked, her voice low. "…He misses you…" "Haha, that’s because he is a closet hentai <pervert>~" "N-nee-san <S-sister>! There must be a good reason why that…respectable housewife left his home…in the early morning…", although Masumi still managed to blush. "Oi oi", Mayumi chided, "you are not really defending grandfather very well. We all know he and housewives are closer than BEST friends" "Haaa ojii-san <grandfather> is a respectable man…most of the time" "Fufu", chuckling Mayumi pointed out, "Now I know why he was in a rush to shove responsibility to father…so ojii-san <grandfather> can 'train' at night~" "Eh? I thought it was hard to wield a sword in darkness… N-NEE-SAN <S-SISTER>!", Masumi scolded as she finally realised what her twin was talking about, "You shouldn’t talk about such… matters in front of a child", indicating to the sleeping William with her chin. "Eeee, it's ok, the little one is sleeping. But I still don't know why you admire grandfather so much", Mayumi looking up at her sister, "He is just a hentai ojii <perverted grandfather>" "He is not just a hentai ojii <perverted grandfather>", Masumi defended him, "he is still a master warrior and the epitome of a samurai" "…Masumi…if I ever need a lawyer…please don't be mine" "???" "Ah! Angel-sama!", causing Masumi to turn suddenly in excitement only to be disappointed, as Mayumi chuckled at tricking her naïve sister. "Mou!", Masumi puffed her cheeks in annoyance, "That's mean, nee-san <sister>!", "Hehe", Mayumi teased, "so you really do like him. I still don't understand your taste in men. The only good thing about Angel-sama is that at least he looks young in Royal Road". “Nee-san <Sister>, it's the soul that counts. And men are like wine: the older they are, the more refine they become" "…There is so many things I want to say about that analogy…you make me worry about you…" "And Angel-sama reminds me of the samurai aspects of ojii-san <grandfather>…" "…Your old man complex seriously needs to be looked at…" Masumi was about to reply, to point out that old men are much more mature, both in their physical and mental capacities… when they suddenly felt a presence which caused them to glance to their right. They saw Max materialising right before them, finally logging in and yawning as he gazed about until he spotted the twins, waving at them cheerfully as he walked towards them. "Oooh!", Mayumi stood up, "It's my Gopher-man!" "…Gopher-man?", Masumi looked up at her sister in query. "IT has been upgraded to half Gopher, half Man for being all heroic yesterday", Mayumi placing her hands under her cheeks going, "Kyaaaa~", …in a fake sound of adoration. "Yo! Have you girls seen my grandpa", Max asked, unaware that he had a level up…well, a minor one in Mayumi's eyes. Masumi just shook her head in the negative while her twin drifted steadily towards Max, before doing a short leap to cling to his arm. "Yah-hooo", she greeted him, "What has anata <darling> been doing?" For some reason Max felt a shiver race up his spine at this overly affectionate Mayumi, as she leaned in to nibble at his ear lightly. "M-Max!", Lorelei called out in worry, "Are you dying? Your heart is going crazy!" "I-I am ok", he managed to reply to both Lorelei and Mayumi, without sounding like he was talking to himself. Saaaafe…for now. He never wants to have the nightmare of that air friend situation repeating itself ever again, considering that it almost got him killed. "M-max!", Lorelei sounding shy, "Do you remember your promise?" 'Oh crap', he thought to himself, 'I can't discuss this right now with Mayumi acting so…unnatural' "Ne~", Mayumi whispered in his ear, "Do you want to…lick my shoes?" "N-no! I mean Yes! I mean….ARGGGH!", Max eyes spun as he tried to answer both girls at the same time. However he was saved when the figure of his grandfather strode out from the woods, Max escaping from Mayumi's clutches as he raced towards his saviour. "Lorelei", Max called as he ran, "I do remember. Just give me some time to think about it" "…o-ok…", she replied obediently. "Uuuuu, you are such a good girl", Max declared with heartfelt gratitude. "The old mister has been crying all night", she then said concerned, "Is he all right?" "….it's fine", Max replying gruffly as he finally reached his grandfather, who looked at Max and smiled in greeting. "Hi Max", as Gerhard patted the head of his huffing and puffing grandson, who had somehow managed to escape from doing something …obscene with Mayumi. That girl is dangerous. "Opi <grandpa>", Max finally able to voice out some words, "Since papa and mama placed you here without explaining anything, I was wondering if I can help teach you about how to use your avatar" "Oh that?", Gerhard smiled innocently, "It's ok, it's ok, I have perfectly mastered it" ********************************************************************************************* Meanwhile, Lydia was late. Extremely late. So much so that she was running with a piece of toast in her mouth that she had bought from the university canteen she was studying at. But Lydia wasn't late to class… she was late to meet back up with everyone in Royal Road. Yup, she was skipping class, like a good modern student should… and ultimately this led her to being distracted and not paying attention as she ran full pelt… into a short Caucasian male dressed…oddly. "!!!!!! YO! HOE!",Pulling on a fake gangster rap slur, "Watch where ya' goin BIATCH!", the man dressed in an oversized football shirt said. "……", Lydia thought to herself, 'You have got to be kidding me', as she dusted the rear of her skirt and looked forlornly at the bread lying on the floor. But it was more than five seconds on the floor already and thus was inedible-….WAIT NO LYDIA! DON'T REACH OUT YOUR HAND TO PICK IT UP!! "YO!YO! I'm talkin' to you!", the irate 'dude' pointed out needlessly. Honestly, stating the obvious is kind of redundant. "Uuuuu", Lydia mourned as she examined the bread, "Maybe if I blow on it a little…" "ARE YOU IGNORING ME?!  DR. SNOOP PAC?!!" "What seems to be the problem here?", a well dressed black gentleman asked. "Hey hey! Brother from another mother!" "… I am NOT your brother. Furthermore, can you please stop it with that repulsive slang", before the gentleman gently asked Lydia, "Are you ok?" With tears in her eyes she turned to the newcomer, "I-I...*sniffs*… I have lost something that can never be regained…" "!!!! What has this beast done to you?!", outraged, he whipped back to glare at the, ummm… 'Dr. Snoop Pac'… "WOOOOO! Slow down home boy! It was-" "I am NOT your HOME BOY! Just because I am BLACK doesn’t mean I was RAISED in the HOOD!" "What is this commotion about", a passing police officer asked… who was Hispanic. "YA! Listen hombre <dude>! I was just minding my own -" "… I AM a POLICE officer. Not a hombre, muchaho <dude, young man>" "Officer! This man RAPED this poor young woman!" "WHAT THE! I DID NO SUCH THING!", the white Caucasian refuted, reverting back to rich upper class English. Amazing what stress can do to a person. Lydia eventually took a bite into her bread with a, "…*paku*…", before she spat the contents out, "Uweeeh. It's too gritty!", she starting crying. She was so hungry damnit. "SEE!", The gentlemen pointed, "the poor girl is traumatised!" "I am going to have to ask you to come to the station with me…" "WHAT! HELL NO! DON'T MAKE ME CALL MY LAWYERS!" "I see… resisting arrest…", the police officer grinned, "that's why I love my job" As things escalated behind Lydia, culminating in the Caucasian man being slammed violently into the floor face first with the officer's knee on his back handcuffing the 'villain', a crowd of gathering onlookers applauded wildly shouting, "You show that rapist!" "Keep our streets safe from these hoodlums!" "Gangsters go to jail!" "GO TO JAIL!" "GO TO JAIL!" "GO TO JAIL!". And as for Lydia, she just shrugged as she threw the bread aside and walked away from the scene, totally unaware of the man she had bumped into was being hustled into a police car screaming as the vehicle drove away. It would take her, perhaps, fifteen minutes to get home, after stopping by a café to have a proper lunch on the go, a nice steak sandwich instead of just a single piece of toast, humming happily as the lift to her apartment parted and she leapt out, keys at the ready to open her door. She had only started Royal Road to kill time, but now it seemed that Lydia was quite addicted to it… and she wasn't sure why. Initially it bored her but ever since she travelled with…HIM, the amount of times she had a migraine grew…wait, is that a good cause for an addiction? Logging in, she was greeted by the sight of Gerhard showing his grandson, Max, his avatar window, which, for some reason, was made available for everyone in the area to view, although it does save time instead of repeating that embarrassing 'phrase' to show people. Mayumi and Masumi, the 'Danger Twins' as Lydia calls them, were gathered with Max around Gerhard's avatar window as he assigned the new points he got from slaying that…Death Panda. She sighed. They start out so cute…and when they grow up, they become hideous. | CHARACTER INFO | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | | | | | | | | | | | Avatar | Gerhard von Natzmer | Alignment | Good | | Level | 85 | Class | Sword Singer | | Title | Knight | Fame | 280 | | | | | | | | | | | | Stats | | | | | Health | 3822 | Mana | 140 | | Strength | 240 +25 | Agility | 270 +25 | | Vitality | 99 +25 | Wisdom | 10 +20 | | Intelligence | 10 +20 | Stamina | 90 +20 | | Fighting Spirit | 90 +20 | Singing | 34 +80 | | Charisma | 78 +20 | Leadership | 108 +20 | | Luck | | 14 +20 | | | | | | | | | | | | | Offence | 177 | Defence | 50 | | | | | | | | | | | | Magic Resistance | | | | | Fire | 0% | Water | 0% | | Earth | 0% | Air | 0% | | Light | 0% | Dark | 0% | | | | | | | | | | | | * All stats are added extra 20 points. * Singing stat is added extra 80 points. * When singing all stats increase by 20%. * Increases Attack Power for Sword Song. * Decreases Mana Consumption for Sword Song. * Enables you to learn secret skills based on your performance to the Gods. * Increases Fame by performing in front of an audience that's more than 1000. | | | | | Unused Stat Points: 0 | | | | "Wow, Opi <grandpa>", Max said sounding impressed, "I didn't know you were able to play a game like Royal Road. You even assigned all your points in the right stats for your melee class!" Gerhard nodded sagely, "Well it wasn't that hard, if I view this as assigning reinforcements to the varying combat arms of an infantry company, it is actually quite straightforward" "Oooo!", Masumi clapped her hands in admiration, as though understanding what was just said, with Mayumi and William following along since it seemed amusing. It looks like she had recovered from her fight with Gerhard yesterday. Lydia felt a blood vessel on her forehead twitch when she heard him spoke, 'And Eric was the one who taught you how to use it…JUST YESTERDAY!', she screamed internally, 'how can anyone be so oblivious?!'. Errr Lydia…that’s kind of ironic… "Hmmm, but you really need better equipment grandpa", Max said as he noted the damage output, "you are still using such low level gear" Gerhard shrugged, "Well I have a sword that I am unable to equip before level 100 apparently" "I have never seen your class before on the forums Opi <grandpa>" "Me neither", Lydia interrupted, everyone noting her presence… all except Gerhard. He had already waved at her absentmindedly earlier. "The one thing that bugs me", Lydia continued, as she pointed to a sentence on the avatar window, "just how do you get secret skills by performing to the gods? And by performance, what kind could it be?" Max placed a hand under his chin in thought as he conjectured, "Perhaps it means doing the performance within a temple? Since we cannot actually physically meet a god I would assume that is what it would mean?" Masumi tentatively raised a hand as though she was in a classroom, "I-I think", she stuttered, "performance could mean something relating to his class? He is a Sword Singer so that means he must sing…with a sword?", Masumi finally turned to look at Gerhard as though realising for the first time. "Anoo <ummm>, mister", Mayumi voiced the question for her twin, "just what is a Sword Singer?" Gerhard coughed embarrassingly, "I..errrr, ahem..", before he finally sighed, "it seems that I have a tendency to sing in battle..." "Oo-ooooh!", Masumi sounding intensely excited that she couldn't even formed words properly. This was the first time Max had seen Masumi acting like this…and for some reason he felt depressed. The fact that Masumi was a girl is still mind boggling…considering she looks like an effeminate man… "Ooo! Demonstrate for us oji-san <old man>!", Mayumi once again speaking for her sister, "We are so curious!" "….Curious!", William parroting Mayumi. "…I am too Opi <grandpa>" "Me too!", the unheard voice of Lorelei said unexpectedly, only Max able to hear her. Scratching the back of his head, Gerhard finally nodded in acquiescent, "Fine, although I am not too sure if I can do it when I am not fighting a real enemy" "Why not try visualising one?", Lydia suggested, "An enemy that is" "Hmm", Gerhard stood thinking to himself, "it is worth a shot I suppose". Walking unto the location of last night's battle, inside the middle of the huge clearing in front of the cave, Gerhard closed his eyes, standing stock still as everyone watched with anticipation. Lydia knew what he can do… but she was always entranced when Gerhard starts fighting. Because it seemed as though his sword flowed with the words of his songs… Suddenly Gerhard thrust his sword forward in attack, acting as though it was deflected as he spun to avoid an imaginary counter stroke, a single flowing motion that did not seem unnatural in any way. And for the first time, Max saw his grandfather move as though Gerhard was still in his prime; not that of an aged body trapped on a bed in Vienna, but the sight of a real master of the blade with sword, mind and body as one. And it was beautiful. And it wasn't long before Gerhard started singing a slow and graceful tune, however the song was filled with… longing, not one would normally associate with a blade dance. Vor der Kaserne, <In front of the barracks,> Vor dem großen Tor, <In front of the main gate,> Stand eine Laterne, <Stood a lamppost,> Und steht sie noch davor, <If it still stands out front,> So woll'n wir uns da wieder seh'n, <So will we see each other there again,> Bei der Laterne wollen wir steh'n, <By the lamppost we'll stand,> Wie einst, Lili Marleen. <As before, Lili Marleen> Wie einst, Lili Marleen. <As before, Lili Marleen> And with a start, Max recognised the song... a song he remembered his grandfather singing as his grandmother began to slowly slip away... before finally passing on. It's been years since Max had heard him sing this song...and it was still poignant and striking as he remembered it. Max wondered what could have made his grandfather think of grandma at this moment... Unsere beiden Schatten, <Our two shadows > Sah'n wie einer aus, <Looked like one.> Daß wir so lieb uns hatten, <That we were so much in love,> Das sah man gleich daraus. <Anyone could see at a glance.> Und alle Leute soll'n es seh'n, <And everyone will see it,> Wenn wir bei der Laterne steh'n, <When we stand by the lamppost,> Wie einst, Lili Marleen. <As before, Lili Marleen> Wie einst, Lili Marleen. <As before, Lili Marleen.> Unbidden, tears began to appear out of the corner of Max's eyes and glancing unobtrusively towards the girls...he noted that they were all pretending to blink and rub theirs as though something had gotten caught in them. Except for Masumi, she was unashamedly crying, her chin on William's head as she continued to marvel at the sight before her. Max then noticed a strange glow beginning to outwardly surround his grandfather as Gerhard continued to sing.  Schon rief der Posten: <Already the guard calls,> Sie blasen Zapfenstreich, <“They’re sounding curfew> Es kann drei Tage kosten! <That could cost you three days!”> Kamerad, ich komm' ja gleich. <“Comrade, I'll be right there.”> Da sagten wir Aufwiederseh'n. <Then we said farewell,> Wie gerne wollt' ich mit dir geh'n, <How much would I have rather gone with you,> Mit dir, Lili Marleen! <With you, Lili Marleen.> Mit dir, Lili Marleen! <With you, Lili Marleen.> The glow kept getting brighter to the amazement of all who were watching, unable to comprehend just what was happening. Wasn't this meant to be a demonstration? Even Lydia has never seen Gerhard in this form before… and she was feeling a bit miffed that everyone else was allowed to see him like this…glowing and radiant. William let out a giggle of delight as infinitesimal portions of this light began floating towards the ground. Deine Schritte kennt sie, <It knows your footsteps,> Deinen zieren Gang. <Your beautiful walk.> Alle Abend brennt sie, <It burns every evening,> Doch mich vergaß sie lang. <Although it forgot me long ago.> Und sollte mir ein Leid gescheh'n, <And if a mishap should befall me,> Wer wird bei der Laterne steh'n, <Who will stand by the lamppost,> Mit dir, Lili Marleen! <With you, Lili Marleen!> Mit dir, Lili Marleen! <With you, Lili Marleen!> The radiance seemed to intensify before it leapt from his dancing and weaving figure, his song echoing out and amplified across the clearing as an image started to appear in the ground, weird signs being traced into shimmering glowing life from the focal point that was Gerhard. It began to encompass Gerhard before another set appeared to surround the entire clearing, a clean circle forming with an outer and inner ring filled with symbols of almost alien origin, graceful but still looking like words of power, as though being re-etched into the ground. Aus dem stillen Raume, <Out of the silent space,> Aus der Erde Grund, <Out of the depths of the earth,> Hebt mich wie im Traume <Lifts me as in a dream > Dein verliebter Mund. <With your lips.> Wenn sich die späten Nebel dreh'n, <When the night mist swirls,> Werd' ich bei der Laterne steh'n <I will be standing by the lamppost,> Mit dir, Lili Marleen < With you, Lili Marleen> Mit dir, Lili Marleen <With you, Lili Marleen> At the end of his song there was a burst of light, Gerhard finally opening his eyes to stare around himself in astonishment as the air was filled with hundreds, no thousands of tiny green globes that were glowing softly, floating serenely around him as though he was the centre of their world…before in a sudden rush they all flowed forcefully into him. Gazing in his hands in wonder, the glow seemed to permeate throughout his body, casting odd shadows in all directions as everyone looked on amazed, wondering what had just happened. It wasn't long though before a message bubble appeared before Gerhard. *Ding! | You've leveled up! You've leveled up! Luck has risen by 5 points (+5 LCK) Skill: You acquired a new skill, Tree Song | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | "Eh?", was all Gerhard said. "W-what is it, Opi <grandpa>?", Max having finally found his voice. "Well apparently I somehow gained a new skill?" "It can't be that easy", Lydia objected, "we are not even anywhere near a temple!" "On the contrary", a voice interrupted from the woods, "you are unwittingly standing on one", the voice so melodious and smooth. It sounded…inhuman. Instantly Masumi and Mayumi had their guard up, katanas unsheathed however Gerhard just turned towards an area of the woods and gave a light bow. "I thank you for not interrupting my performance", Gerhard said politely. "Oh? I am amazed that a human has such acute senses as you do", a figure slowly materialising from the forest, as though walking out from a shadow. "You meant no harm so I didn’t felt it was necessary to inform my friends", Gerhard arched a brow, "or should we be readying ourselves for battle? From what I can tell, there are perhaps twenty more in hiding with weapons drawn" "…that won't be necessary, Sainür <Tree Friend>" "Sainür <Tree Friend>?", everyone echoed the word in bafflement. Gerhard just shrugged at his companions, "Don't ask me; I have never heard of that title before" "Roughly translated, it means ‘Tree Friend’ in your tongue, and you became one when you appealed towards our goddess with your ritual, Sainür <Tree Friend>", the slender figure dressed in a clothe that seemed to combine both leaf and fabric stood just metres away from Gerhard, face hidden under a hood. "…May I know your name?", the cowled figure then asked. "…I am Gerhard von Natzmer. At your service". Smiling under the cowl, before she lifted it back to reveal the features beneath, "And I am ShadowMist of the Clan of Shadows, and I may yet take you up on that offer" ********************************************************************************************* [Ending Song: Kore wa Koi](http://picosong.com/Fmis/) 

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> “I am warning you. Don’t take a step closer!” Weed warned the trio. <br><br>“Or what?” asked Joe.<br><br>“Or this!” Weed was quick to react. “Snappy, meaty treat!”<br><br>“Woof” –‘Where?’<br><br>Weed grabbed a handful of meat treat and flung them at the direction of the trio.<br><br> ‘Little squirrel you threw too many!! Nobody step on the meaty treat!’<br><br>The trio watched as a handful of meaty doggie biscuits hit their face. “You were kidding right?” asked Mark. “Doggie food to our faces? What’s that even going to do? Is the mutt going to bite us?” The trio weren’t buying Weed’s bluff anymore, they drew out their swords once more. Mark took his first step ….and stepped on the meaty treaty that lay on the floor.<br><br>Snappy who had just been holding himself back, lost his cool and started growling ferociously at the trio. The trio stopped Weed three times from continuing their journey. Snappy was tired and he really wanted to sleep. To add to it, they just called him a mutt. Snappy hated the word dog, mutt, doggie….to add insult to injury, the trio didn’t listen to him and stepped on his meaty treat. Weed watched as the trio broke the three cardinal rules. He could only hope that Snappy’s bite was worse than his bark.<br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;">“WOOOF!”</span><br><br>That was the last thing every player in the central town square remembered. The trio flew back on impact of the bark. Most players got a message saying:<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>You have been confused. You are now disoriented and are unable to maintain body balance.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>(Some beginners even got the message: You were hit by strong shock waves. -5HP.)<br><br>‘I’d like to see you call me a mutt again.’<br>Weed didn’t lose time and began pushing the wheel barrow into the eastern entrance. “Come on Snappy lets go” as Snappy quickly devoured the treat on the ground.<br><br>By time the confusion symptoms elevated, the trio could no longer see Weed. <br><br>“What was that?” asked Mark.<br><br>“Was it a wild beast?”<br><br>The leader remained quiet. He had never read anything about a dog being capable of such an attack on any forum. “Mark , Joe, forget the dog. I don’t think it’s a pet. Focus on the elf, he had a bag of gold. I think he’s trying to weasel his way out of town. We’ll catch him at the eastern gate. I’ll head up and provide support. Might even sneak up on him.” Announced the leader of the Trio. The other two nodded, “Got it Jeff” and ran into the Eastern entrance.<br><br>The leader gazed up at the nearest building and jumped. In a single jump, he went as high as 3 stories and landed on the roof top of the nearest building. Most players and NPCs watched in awe. Jeff smiled, he totally planned to draw their attention. He stood like a super hero on the roof top and spoke, “Do not fear player, the three blades of winds, will catch the culprit and serve justice.”<br><br>The NPCs clapped away…and cheered him. The players weren’t really moved by such antics, they just ignored him.<br><br>Weed hadn’t got very far, when Joe &amp; Mark spotted him. However, the sight of Snappy alongside Weed had them worried. <br><br>“Joe, that dogs bark sent us flying.”<br><br>“I know Mark, but I think the elf caught us off guard. We are the three winds of blade. Are we not?”<br><br>The two charged towards Snappy…only to be blown away by his bark and left in a daze. The alleys were narrow here and the only way to reach Weed was through Snappy. This happened two or three times when the two decided to give up. They stopped chasing Weed and decided to return back to the central square, given Weeds slow pace they were sure they could circle around the town and meet back at the Eastern Gate.<br><br>“Jeff the darn dog keeps blowing us away when we approach from behind.” Joe whispered.<br><br>“Did you use the elements?” came back a reply.<br><br>“Yeah we tried but before we could even be in range, the dog’s bark would just blow us away. I think the dog is special. I don’t think the three of us would be able to hold it back.”<br>“It’s alright. Join me at the Eastern Gate. Given how slow the newbie walks, I think we should conclude he’s been playing for only a day. Maybe he is level 1 or 2. His stamina and strength seem to be really low. We don’t have to worry about him reaching here anytime soon. I’ll talk to the head of the city and see if he can release some soldiers for this job. Mark, get posters out on to every notice board of the street, cautioning the new players about the dog.”<br><br>“Ok! See you at the Eastern Gate soon!”<br><br>x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x<br><br>They should have called you Barky. I thought you would have at least bit one of them. I guess all you can do is bark.’ Weed smiled while looking at Snappy, the dog wasn’t really all that bad. To be able to take care of level F’s strongest with just a bark was ridiculous. ‘At least one of them were useful’ Alak had not returned since she had disappeared. Weed was very worried in case he had to return the fairy and couldn’t. He didn’t want to imagine what would happen. He would call out the fairy’s name, asking it to appear, but it just wouldn’t. In the end Weed gave up, he wrote Alak off as a stubborn, evil fairy of absolute no use.<br><br>“Finally, it took a little over three days, but we cross the town, from one corner to the other, Snappy wants a treat?”<br><br>It took Weed a little over two days to reach the Eastern Gate. <br><br>Snappy looked exhausted. He had barely slept for the last 80 hours. ‘How do you do it squirrel? Do squirrels not require any sleep?’ Weed was determined, he wanted to make the impossible possible. If a another person were to play from Weeds position, they might have given up after the first 12 hours. Pushing a wheel barrow at such an incredibly slow pace while doing nothing else required tenacity and patience. The rewards also weren’t also that great of a motivator. The quest difficulty level was E. There was no possibility of the reward being a game changer. Even the original Weed had to take on an unknown level difficulty which rewarded him the Legendary Moon Light Sculptor. Thus, one could safely conclude, that the element of reward of this quest did not appear to play a role in Weed’s dedication to succeeding in this quest. People would have to acknowledge had they known Weed and his quest that he was either simply a fool or too passionate about the game. Some would claim, Weed was gambling on it being a serial quest and greater rewards later. Maybe that was the case or maybe it wasn’t. There was no reason to believe this was a serial quest or a quest that very few knew off. Whatever people would think it was given nobody would consider that Weed had both virtues; tenacity and patience. <br>Weed was plain excited; he was so close to completing his first quest. His outlook was simple, he was two months behind most players, still level FF/000 and had accidently chosen the terrible conflicting combination of Elf and Neutral. If that weren’t enough, he risked starting in Lavias, where the Wind Temple had no training for Neutral player and the only way to go forward was to learn a profession taught at the school like all other players. Although a small reward, Weed was happy to know he would get a chance to learn a special sword profession. This simple of a reward was enough to keep Weed who had nothing motivated.<br><br>Weed had assumed that the trio would be waiting at the Eastern Gate, but to his surprise there was no one there. He was happy that the trio had given up on chasing him. He was also a bit surprised how lax the security was at the gate. There were no guards. Usually, each of the four the gates had at least four guards. Snappy on the other hand was growling he could smell the scent of death. With no Alak to translate for him, Weed just coaxed Snappy to follow on. It was indeed suspicious, but Weed had sworn to never trust his overly imaginative mind again. Weed took his first steps outside the city wall. <br><br>x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x<br><br>Two days ago. The three blades of wind gathered with a hundred soldiers at the eastern gate. They waited and waited for Weed. The Eastern side of the city had one entrance and one exit, but in between it would branch into thousands of alleys. After having lost track of Weed, they could only expect him to come out of either entrance or exit. When he didn’t come out of the exit, they stationed some soldiers at the entrance. In the end, Weed didn’t come out the entire day. The soldiers were loaned and had to be returned. The trio were bitter that they couldn’t get Weed but decided to stay and watch the gate. They were on a quest to return stolen items, so it was not like they had anything better to do. However, on the start of the second day, they received news that some other players who had also accepted the quest found the thief. Cursing their luck, they reached the conclusion that Weed was case of mistaken identity. They also realized that although an elf betrayed them, they should not be wary and distrusting of elves. Generalizing all elves as bad cause of one incident was silly. In the end, they decided to leave and find another quest.<br><br>x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x<br><br>A few hours after the trio left and before Weed arrived. A hooded figure approached the Eastern Gate. <br><br>“Excuse me gentlemen. Have you seen an elf go through here pushing a wheel barrow? He might have been accompanied with a dog?”<br><br>“No Sir we haven’t. Nobody has crossed the gate with the description you gave. Though you are not the first to be looking for him”<br><br>“I hear he was caught.” Added another soldier.<br><br>“Is that so?” asked Shadow. “Who else is looking for him? And who caught him?”<br><br>The soldiers stayed silent. They didn’t exactly trust a random stranger who wore a hood and refused to reveal his face. For all they knew, this could be the thief’s accomplice.<br><br>“I see. The silent treatment is it? Maybe I can get you to talk.”<br><br>Sparks flew as swords clashed and in a flash three dead soldiers lay on the ground and their body turned grey and dissolved into thin air.<br><br>“So will you be the lucky soldier, who will live and tell me who else is searching for the elven boy?”<br><br>The soldier scared to death only just barely managed to mumble, “The magistrates office. Three blades of Wind….”<br><br>At the end of this sentence, his head flew off. Shadow’s sword once again disappeared into nothingness. <br><br>“Much too troublesome to barge into the Magistrates office unwelcomed. I guess you got lucky this time boy.” Saying that much the hooded figure left by the Eastern Gate.<br><br>Moments later, Weed reached the Eastern Gate.<br><br>“Finally, it took a little over three days, but we cross the town, from one corner to the other, Snappy wants a treat?” he said as he pushed his wheel barrow, completely unaware of the events that had transpired just moments ago.<br><br><br>----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br>Authors Note:<br><br>1. Will be edited soon!<br><br>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="4">Connect to Royal Road – Elementarem Vim next Chapter?</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&amp;t=311" target="_blank">Yes</a></td><td colspan="2"><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&amp;t=348" target="_blank">No</a></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- </div>

“I am warning you. Don’t take a step closer!” Weed warned the trio. “Or what?” asked Joe. “Or this!” Weed was quick to react. “Snappy, meaty treat!” “Woof” –‘Where?’ Weed grabbed a handful of meat treat and flung them at the direction of the trio. ‘Little squirrel you threw too many!! Nobody step on the meaty treat!’ The trio watched as a handful of meaty doggie biscuits hit their face. “You were kidding right?” asked Mark. “Doggie food to our faces? What’s that even going to do? Is the mutt going to bite us?” The trio weren’t buying Weed’s bluff anymore, they drew out their swords once more. Mark took his first step ….and stepped on the meaty treaty that lay on the floor. Snappy who had just been holding himself back, lost his cool and started growling ferociously at the trio. The trio stopped Weed three times from continuing their journey. Snappy was tired and he really wanted to sleep. To add to it, they just called him a mutt. Snappy hated the word dog, mutt, doggie….to add insult to injury, the trio didn’t listen to him and stepped on his meaty treat. Weed watched as the trio broke the three cardinal rules. He could only hope that Snappy’s bite was worse than his bark. “WOOOF!” That was the last thing every player in the central town square remembered. The trio flew back on impact of the bark. Most players got a message saying: | You have been confused. You are now disoriented and are unable to maintain body balance. | | --- | (Some beginners even got the message: You were hit by strong shock waves. -5HP.) ‘I’d like to see you call me a mutt again.’ Weed didn’t lose time and began pushing the wheel barrow into the eastern entrance. “Come on Snappy lets go” as Snappy quickly devoured the treat on the ground. By time the confusion symptoms elevated, the trio could no longer see Weed. “What was that?” asked Mark. “Was it a wild beast?” The leader remained quiet. He had never read anything about a dog being capable of such an attack on any forum. “Mark , Joe, forget the dog. I don’t think it’s a pet. Focus on the elf, he had a bag of gold. I think he’s trying to weasel his way out of town. We’ll catch him at the eastern gate. I’ll head up and provide support. Might even sneak up on him.” Announced the leader of the Trio. The other two nodded, “Got it Jeff” and ran into the Eastern entrance. The leader gazed up at the nearest building and jumped. In a single jump, he went as high as 3 stories and landed on the roof top of the nearest building. Most players and NPCs watched in awe. Jeff smiled, he totally planned to draw their attention. He stood like a super hero on the roof top and spoke, “Do not fear player, the three blades of winds, will catch the culprit and serve justice.” The NPCs clapped away…and cheered him. The players weren’t really moved by such antics, they just ignored him. Weed hadn’t got very far, when Joe & Mark spotted him. However, the sight of Snappy alongside Weed had them worried. “Joe, that dogs bark sent us flying.” “I know Mark, but I think the elf caught us off guard. We are the three winds of blade. Are we not?” The two charged towards Snappy…only to be blown away by his bark and left in a daze. The alleys were narrow here and the only way to reach Weed was through Snappy. This happened two or three times when the two decided to give up. They stopped chasing Weed and decided to return back to the central square, given Weeds slow pace they were sure they could circle around the town and meet back at the Eastern Gate. “Jeff the darn dog keeps blowing us away when we approach from behind.” Joe whispered. “Did you use the elements?” came back a reply. “Yeah we tried but before we could even be in range, the dog’s bark would just blow us away. I think the dog is special. I don’t think the three of us would be able to hold it back.” “It’s alright. Join me at the Eastern Gate. Given how slow the newbie walks, I think we should conclude he’s been playing for only a day. Maybe he is level 1 or 2. His stamina and strength seem to be really low. We don’t have to worry about him reaching here anytime soon. I’ll talk to the head of the city and see if he can release some soldiers for this job. Mark, get posters out on to every notice board of the street, cautioning the new players about the dog.” “Ok! See you at the Eastern Gate soon!” x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x They should have called you Barky. I thought you would have at least bit one of them. I guess all you can do is bark.’ Weed smiled while looking at Snappy, the dog wasn’t really all that bad. To be able to take care of level F’s strongest with just a bark was ridiculous. ‘At least one of them were useful’ Alak had not returned since she had disappeared. Weed was very worried in case he had to return the fairy and couldn’t. He didn’t want to imagine what would happen. He would call out the fairy’s name, asking it to appear, but it just wouldn’t. In the end Weed gave up, he wrote Alak off as a stubborn, evil fairy of absolute no use. “Finally, it took a little over three days, but we cross the town, from one corner to the other, Snappy wants a treat?” It took Weed a little over two days to reach the Eastern Gate. Snappy looked exhausted. He had barely slept for the last 80 hours. ‘How do you do it squirrel? Do squirrels not require any sleep?’ Weed was determined, he wanted to make the impossible possible. If a another person were to play from Weeds position, they might have given up after the first 12 hours. Pushing a wheel barrow at such an incredibly slow pace while doing nothing else required tenacity and patience. The rewards also weren’t also that great of a motivator. The quest difficulty level was E. There was no possibility of the reward being a game changer. Even the original Weed had to take on an unknown level difficulty which rewarded him the Legendary Moon Light Sculptor. Thus, one could safely conclude, that the element of reward of this quest did not appear to play a role in Weed’s dedication to succeeding in this quest. People would have to acknowledge had they known Weed and his quest that he was either simply a fool or too passionate about the game. Some would claim, Weed was gambling on it being a serial quest and greater rewards later. Maybe that was the case or maybe it wasn’t. There was no reason to believe this was a serial quest or a quest that very few knew off. Whatever people would think it was given nobody would consider that Weed had both virtues; tenacity and patience. Weed was plain excited; he was so close to completing his first quest. His outlook was simple, he was two months behind most players, still level FF/000 and had accidently chosen the terrible conflicting combination of Elf and Neutral. If that weren’t enough, he risked starting in Lavias, where the Wind Temple had no training for Neutral player and the only way to go forward was to learn a profession taught at the school like all other players. Although a small reward, Weed was happy to know he would get a chance to learn a special sword profession. This simple of a reward was enough to keep Weed who had nothing motivated. Weed had assumed that the trio would be waiting at the Eastern Gate, but to his surprise there was no one there. He was happy that the trio had given up on chasing him. He was also a bit surprised how lax the security was at the gate. There were no guards. Usually, each of the four the gates had at least four guards. Snappy on the other hand was growling he could smell the scent of death. With no Alak to translate for him, Weed just coaxed Snappy to follow on. It was indeed suspicious, but Weed had sworn to never trust his overly imaginative mind again. Weed took his first steps outside the city wall. x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x Two days ago. The three blades of wind gathered with a hundred soldiers at the eastern gate. They waited and waited for Weed. The Eastern side of the city had one entrance and one exit, but in between it would branch into thousands of alleys. After having lost track of Weed, they could only expect him to come out of either entrance or exit. When he didn’t come out of the exit, they stationed some soldiers at the entrance. In the end, Weed didn’t come out the entire day. The soldiers were loaned and had to be returned. The trio were bitter that they couldn’t get Weed but decided to stay and watch the gate. They were on a quest to return stolen items, so it was not like they had anything better to do. However, on the start of the second day, they received news that some other players who had also accepted the quest found the thief. Cursing their luck, they reached the conclusion that Weed was case of mistaken identity. They also realized that although an elf betrayed them, they should not be wary and distrusting of elves. Generalizing all elves as bad cause of one incident was silly. In the end, they decided to leave and find another quest. x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x A few hours after the trio left and before Weed arrived. A hooded figure approached the Eastern Gate. “Excuse me gentlemen. Have you seen an elf go through here pushing a wheel barrow? He might have been accompanied with a dog?” “No Sir we haven’t. Nobody has crossed the gate with the description you gave. Though you are not the first to be looking for him” “I hear he was caught.” Added another soldier. “Is that so?” asked Shadow. “Who else is looking for him? And who caught him?” The soldiers stayed silent. They didn’t exactly trust a random stranger who wore a hood and refused to reveal his face. For all they knew, this could be the thief’s accomplice. “I see. The silent treatment is it? Maybe I can get you to talk.” Sparks flew as swords clashed and in a flash three dead soldiers lay on the ground and their body turned grey and dissolved into thin air. “So will you be the lucky soldier, who will live and tell me who else is searching for the elven boy?” The soldier scared to death only just barely managed to mumble, “The magistrates office. Three blades of Wind….” At the end of this sentence, his head flew off. Shadow’s sword once again disappeared into nothingness. “Much too troublesome to barge into the Magistrates office unwelcomed. I guess you got lucky this time boy.” Saying that much the hooded figure left by the Eastern Gate. Moments later, Weed reached the Eastern Gate. “Finally, it took a little over three days, but we cross the town, from one corner to the other, Snappy wants a treat?” he said as he pushed his wheel barrow, completely unaware of the events that had transpired just moments ago. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Authors Note: 1. Will be edited soon! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Connect to Royal Road – Elementarem Vim next Chapter? | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Yes](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&t=311) | | [No](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&t=348) | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> As Arthe chased after the inky black cloud with Cadfael, he examined some of the loot he had managed to gather from the Boggarts. Most of it was junk, stuff like broken jugs and useless rocks, but among those were some nice daggers and even a ring. <br><br>"hmm this ring must have been dropped by the warlock, I don't see why he would have it though as it doesn't appear to grant any good Mana regeneration boosts. Oh well it's mine now." Arthe thought, after putting the ring on.<br><br>Ring of the Loyal Retainer<br>Durability: 100/100<br>This Ring was gifted to a knight by a member of the royal family. Granted for extreme bravery and loyalty to the kingdom. When worn with the Necklace of the Loyal Retainer Honor gain is increased and extra resistance to dark attribute attacks is granted.<br><br>Equip:<br>+25% Magic resistance<br>+200 Honor<br>+50 Fame<br><br>Bonus stats:<br>+50% Dark Attribute resistance<br>+20% Honor point gain<br><br>Requirements:<br>Knight only<br>+200 Honor<br><br>Arthe and Cadfael chased the mysterious cloud deep into the maze of corridors on the fourth floor, eventually they cornered it in a darkened room that smelt of decay. As they looked on the cloud began to change, growing darker and more violent. It settled on a skeletal corpse lying in the corner, from inside the cloud dark mutterings and the creaking of bones could be heard.<br><br>The cloud began to thin and Cadfael seemed to think it was dissipating but Arthe was not so sure. He could feel something cold and evil emanating from the skeletal remains. As they watched it became apparent that the cloud wasn't vanishing, instead it was sinking into the corpse and as it did so the body began to shake and quiver. <br><br>"Barrow-Wight! Draw your weapons and steel yourself! That foul cloud must have been the soul of an Barrow-Wight, it's reanimating that corpse." Cadfael shouted.<br><br>"Great more creepy monsters, the fun never stops with you does it Cadfael. What level do you reckon that thing is?" <br><br>"Probably around level 60 if my previous encounters with it's kind are any judge." Cadfael responded.<br><br>"okay, then i should be just about able to handle it with my boosted stats and your buffs. If you can keep an eye on my health and feel free to jump in if it looks like I'm about to get slaughtered, I won't mind." Arthe then hurriedly took off his knapsack so he could move more freely and charged at the undead creature with shield held high.<br><br>Hoping to cause significant damage before the fiend was fully reanimated Arthe swung his blade hard at its spine, but just before it hit the sword was deflected by some kind of barrier. Arthe swung again and again but each time his weapon was repelled just before it hit.<br><br>"Cadfael, I can't hit the thing, what's happening? Can you do something?" Arthe cried out, a little hysterically because this was his first encounter with a monster of this magnitude.<br><br>"It must be using some sort of dark magic to repel your sword, here try this. Divine Armaments!" After Cadfael activated this skill both his and Arthe's weapons and armor became coated with a golden light.<br><br>"What does this light do Cadfael, I'm not a big fan of surprises remember"<br><br>"It makes your armor more resistant to dark magic and physical attacks, plus your weapon becomes more effective at killing unholy or demonic opponents. It will ignore some of their armor as well as cut through most dark magic." Cadfael replied.<br><br>With this new buff Arthe charged at the Wight for a second time, he swung at the creature again. Even though he swung a bit more gently this time, in fear of getting repelled again, the sword struck bone. As it did the creature shrieked in fury and threw a ball of inky black lightning at him.<br><br>It struck Arthe full on the front of his chest, knocking him backwards and causing him to grunt slightly in pain.<br>-100HP<br>-reduced by 50HP because of resistances and another 60HP because of armor buff.<br><br>"seriously, that attack would have done 200 plus damage! This guy is pretty tough for someone without any sort of soft tissue or even a brain." Arthe thought whilst readying himself for another go at the monster.<br><br>He set himself behind his shield and advanced toward his opponent, at a slower but more implacable pace this time. As he drew near Cadfael healed his injuries and cast all of his available buffs on Arthe as well.<br><br>Arthe cast his own buff skills and then he suddenly dashed at the Wight who was about to cast two more of the black lightning globes at him. Arthe sidestepped to the right, dodging the first magic ball, then he sprinted at full power and slammed into the skeleton knocking both of them to the floor. Arthe was prepared for the fall and so he recovered first; he used his shield bash skill to hammer the Wight's skull into the floor, cracking it slightly, then he swung his blade at the creatures torso. <br>Crack, Snap.<br><br>Two of the fiend ribs broke off and fell to the ground, Arthe swung again at the beast. Only this time it intercepted the strike with a hastily summoned weapon of its own. The summoned blade appeared to be made of green mist and it glowed weakly with unholy fire. Dripping from the tip was pale green liquid that hissed and burned the floor when it fell.<br><br>"Acid! That thing can summon an acid blade! WTH, how can my iron sword stand up to that!" Arthe exclaimed in a mix of fear and anger.<br><br>"Don't worry my Divine Armaments buff should protect your gear from that sword, at least for a short time. You'll just have to finish killing the evil creature before the buff wears off!" Cadfael called to him.<br><br>Feeling slightly reassured by this, Arthe clashed with the Wight for a third time. This time he continuously tried to sever the wrist of the arm holding the blade. The Wight was strong but not very skilled with the sword and so Arthe managed to strike his target a number of times. Eventually the hand fell to the ground and the evil blade evaporated, leaving behind nothing but a black stain on the floor.<br><br>"Hsssss, don't think you have won just yet, I shall sever your souls from your bodies, before me all of the living are as dust." the Wight spoke through it's lip less mouth.<br><br>"Not today you won't monster. In the name of Freya we shall smite you down and destroy your evil spirit for all eternity!" Arthe responded, he felt exactly like one of the heroes from the fantasy novels popular in the past.<br><br>Having said their final words to each other, Arthe and the Wight closed in combat once more. The Wight now carried a staff of condensed black mist in both hands that spat globules of black goo at Arthe. Whatever they hit decayed in seconds and became dust. Somehow managing to dodge all of them Arthe closed in on the Wight, he swung his shield at the creature and when it ducked he then delivered a vast overhand blow to the top of the fiends skull. <br>The skull, which was already weakened from Arthe's earlier blow, shattered and the Wight let out an Unholy scream of rage and despair. As Arthe drew back from the corpse, the black cloud once again began to gather over the body. <br><br>"Purifying Light!" Cadfael activated another skill which sent a beam of bright white light through the cloud, burning some of it away. The rest began to flee the room but Arthe had predicted this and had positioned himself in front of the doorway.<br><br>He ducked under the cloud and then thrust upwards with his sword, using all his strength Arthe drove his weapon deep into the inky mass whereupon the cloud let out an enormous shout before collapsing in on itself and imploding.<br><br>Level Up! <br>Level Up! <br>Level Up! <br>Level Up! <br>Level Up! <br>Level Up! <br><br>"Nice, gained 6 levels from killing that monster. Have to say though that i hope there aren't too many more of those guys in this dungeon. I have a severe phobia of getting melted by acid or decaying into dust like an Indiana Jones villain." Arthe said as he sat down against the wall to take a rest. <br><br>You Have Defeated the Hidden Boss of Floor 4 in the Monster Mausoleum.<br>You Have gained A Title: Bane of the Barrow-Wights<br>You Have gained 150 Fame.<br>For Slaying A unique creature you may create a new skill. Please Name your skill...<br><br>"Awesome, I can create my own skill! Umm what shall i create. How about something magic based, hang on if i join the Order of Freya as a paladin it may be useful for me to have a really strong Holy spell to use. Ah i know, New skill name: Wrath of the Heavens."<br><br>Name accepted, please provide short description of skill.<br><br>"Summons a Pillar of light to smite all foes within a surrounding area with Holy Might."<br><br>Analyzing description, description accepted, generating skill.<br><br>"Ding"<br><br>New Skill: Wrath of the Heavens<br><br>Wrath of the Heavens<br>Summons a Pillar of light to smite all foes within a surrounding area with Holy Might. Heals all allies within the same range by 40% of total HP<br>A.O.E: 5 meters<br>Mana cost: 2000<br>Requires 500 faith to use.<br><br>"Hmm, can't use it yet haven't got anywhere near enough Mana or faith, but i expected it to be a high level ability when i thought it up. Like how the system added a healing factor to it, didn't think of that. Must be because it's the kind of ability a high priest or a super high level paladin would have." Arthe mused after looking at his new skill.<br><br>"It's excellent that you have acquired a new ability for slaying that fiend Sir Arthe, may i inquire as to what it does." Cadfael asked a bit hesitantly.<br><br>"Sure, have a look. Show Skill Window to Cadfael!" Arthe replied. </div>

As Arthe chased after the inky black cloud with Cadfael, he examined some of the loot he had managed to gather from the Boggarts. Most of it was junk, stuff like broken jugs and useless rocks, but among those were some nice daggers and even a ring. "hmm this ring must have been dropped by the warlock, I don't see why he would have it though as it doesn't appear to grant any good Mana regeneration boosts. Oh well it's mine now." Arthe thought, after putting the ring on. Ring of the Loyal Retainer Durability: 100/100 This Ring was gifted to a knight by a member of the royal family. Granted for extreme bravery and loyalty to the kingdom. When worn with the Necklace of the Loyal Retainer Honor gain is increased and extra resistance to dark attribute attacks is granted. Equip: +25% Magic resistance +200 Honor +50 Fame Bonus stats: +50% Dark Attribute resistance +20% Honor point gain Requirements: Knight only +200 Honor Arthe and Cadfael chased the mysterious cloud deep into the maze of corridors on the fourth floor, eventually they cornered it in a darkened room that smelt of decay. As they looked on the cloud began to change, growing darker and more violent. It settled on a skeletal corpse lying in the corner, from inside the cloud dark mutterings and the creaking of bones could be heard. The cloud began to thin and Cadfael seemed to think it was dissipating but Arthe was not so sure. He could feel something cold and evil emanating from the skeletal remains. As they watched it became apparent that the cloud wasn't vanishing, instead it was sinking into the corpse and as it did so the body began to shake and quiver. "Barrow-Wight! Draw your weapons and steel yourself! That foul cloud must have been the soul of an Barrow-Wight, it's reanimating that corpse." Cadfael shouted. "Great more creepy monsters, the fun never stops with you does it Cadfael. What level do you reckon that thing is?" "Probably around level 60 if my previous encounters with it's kind are any judge." Cadfael responded. "okay, then i should be just about able to handle it with my boosted stats and your buffs. If you can keep an eye on my health and feel free to jump in if it looks like I'm about to get slaughtered, I won't mind." Arthe then hurriedly took off his knapsack so he could move more freely and charged at the undead creature with shield held high. Hoping to cause significant damage before the fiend was fully reanimated Arthe swung his blade hard at its spine, but just before it hit the sword was deflected by some kind of barrier. Arthe swung again and again but each time his weapon was repelled just before it hit. "Cadfael, I can't hit the thing, what's happening? Can you do something?" Arthe cried out, a little hysterically because this was his first encounter with a monster of this magnitude. "It must be using some sort of dark magic to repel your sword, here try this. Divine Armaments!" After Cadfael activated this skill both his and Arthe's weapons and armor became coated with a golden light. "What does this light do Cadfael, I'm not a big fan of surprises remember" "It makes your armor more resistant to dark magic and physical attacks, plus your weapon becomes more effective at killing unholy or demonic opponents. It will ignore some of their armor as well as cut through most dark magic." Cadfael replied. With this new buff Arthe charged at the Wight for a second time, he swung at the creature again. Even though he swung a bit more gently this time, in fear of getting repelled again, the sword struck bone. As it did the creature shrieked in fury and threw a ball of inky black lightning at him. It struck Arthe full on the front of his chest, knocking him backwards and causing him to grunt slightly in pain. -100HP -reduced by 50HP because of resistances and another 60HP because of armor buff. "seriously, that attack would have done 200 plus damage! This guy is pretty tough for someone without any sort of soft tissue or even a brain." Arthe thought whilst readying himself for another go at the monster. He set himself behind his shield and advanced toward his opponent, at a slower but more implacable pace this time. As he drew near Cadfael healed his injuries and cast all of his available buffs on Arthe as well. Arthe cast his own buff skills and then he suddenly dashed at the Wight who was about to cast two more of the black lightning globes at him. Arthe sidestepped to the right, dodging the first magic ball, then he sprinted at full power and slammed into the skeleton knocking both of them to the floor. Arthe was prepared for the fall and so he recovered first; he used his shield bash skill to hammer the Wight's skull into the floor, cracking it slightly, then he swung his blade at the creatures torso. Crack, Snap. Two of the fiend ribs broke off and fell to the ground, Arthe swung again at the beast. Only this time it intercepted the strike with a hastily summoned weapon of its own. The summoned blade appeared to be made of green mist and it glowed weakly with unholy fire. Dripping from the tip was pale green liquid that hissed and burned the floor when it fell. "Acid! That thing can summon an acid blade! WTH, how can my iron sword stand up to that!" Arthe exclaimed in a mix of fear and anger. "Don't worry my Divine Armaments buff should protect your gear from that sword, at least for a short time. You'll just have to finish killing the evil creature before the buff wears off!" Cadfael called to him. Feeling slightly reassured by this, Arthe clashed with the Wight for a third time. This time he continuously tried to sever the wrist of the arm holding the blade. The Wight was strong but not very skilled with the sword and so Arthe managed to strike his target a number of times. Eventually the hand fell to the ground and the evil blade evaporated, leaving behind nothing but a black stain on the floor. "Hsssss, don't think you have won just yet, I shall sever your souls from your bodies, before me all of the living are as dust." the Wight spoke through it's lip less mouth. "Not today you won't monster. In the name of Freya we shall smite you down and destroy your evil spirit for all eternity!" Arthe responded, he felt exactly like one of the heroes from the fantasy novels popular in the past. Having said their final words to each other, Arthe and the Wight closed in combat once more. The Wight now carried a staff of condensed black mist in both hands that spat globules of black goo at Arthe. Whatever they hit decayed in seconds and became dust. Somehow managing to dodge all of them Arthe closed in on the Wight, he swung his shield at the creature and when it ducked he then delivered a vast overhand blow to the top of the fiends skull. The skull, which was already weakened from Arthe's earlier blow, shattered and the Wight let out an Unholy scream of rage and despair. As Arthe drew back from the corpse, the black cloud once again began to gather over the body. "Purifying Light!" Cadfael activated another skill which sent a beam of bright white light through the cloud, burning some of it away. The rest began to flee the room but Arthe had predicted this and had positioned himself in front of the doorway. He ducked under the cloud and then thrust upwards with his sword, using all his strength Arthe drove his weapon deep into the inky mass whereupon the cloud let out an enormous shout before collapsing in on itself and imploding. Level Up! Level Up! Level Up! Level Up! Level Up! Level Up! "Nice, gained 6 levels from killing that monster. Have to say though that i hope there aren't too many more of those guys in this dungeon. I have a severe phobia of getting melted by acid or decaying into dust like an Indiana Jones villain." Arthe said as he sat down against the wall to take a rest. You Have Defeated the Hidden Boss of Floor 4 in the Monster Mausoleum. You Have gained A Title: Bane of the Barrow-Wights You Have gained 150 Fame. For Slaying A unique creature you may create a new skill. Please Name your skill... "Awesome, I can create my own skill! Umm what shall i create. How about something magic based, hang on if i join the Order of Freya as a paladin it may be useful for me to have a really strong Holy spell to use. Ah i know, New skill name: Wrath of the Heavens." Name accepted, please provide short description of skill. "Summons a Pillar of light to smite all foes within a surrounding area with Holy Might." Analyzing description, description accepted, generating skill. "Ding" New Skill: Wrath of the Heavens Wrath of the Heavens Summons a Pillar of light to smite all foes within a surrounding area with Holy Might. Heals all allies within the same range by 40% of total HP A.O.E: 5 meters Mana cost: 2000 Requires 500 faith to use. "Hmm, can't use it yet haven't got anywhere near enough Mana or faith, but i expected it to be a high level ability when i thought it up. Like how the system added a healing factor to it, didn't think of that. Must be because it's the kind of ability a high priest or a super high level paladin would have." Arthe mused after looking at his new skill. "It's excellent that you have acquired a new ability for slaying that fiend Sir Arthe, may i inquire as to what it does." Cadfael asked a bit hesitantly. "Sure, have a look. Show Skill Window to Cadfael!" Arthe replied.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> Elemental brawler<br><br><br>Chapter 1: In the beginning ...<br><br>After several weeks of waiting, the capsule had finally arrived.<br>The game Royal Road, produced by Unicorn, became in the <span style="color: #FF0000;">span</span> of two years the gold standard, especially as it was played with a completely new interface, the "capsule". Inside it, it was not just the sight and sound that were stimulated, but also smell, touch and taste. It was even said that if a culinary guide visited the chefs in this world, it would not be surprising that three or four stars restaurants would appear.<br>After the order made three months ago already, Jean-Bernard had to wait, hardly hiding his impatience to walk in this new world. 3 months ... an eternity for this avid MMO's player.<br>However, it was not a wasted delay. He decided to use this time to collect a maximum of information in order to start his new life in the best conditions possible. <br>One thing especially intrigued him. It was not only the knowledge of a player that could give him an advantage in this new world, but some of his physical abilities. Ohhh, not strength, but some of the skills and talent acquired in the real world.<br>“For once, I will not have to defer to a simple "dice roll" on a competence to decide the success of one action... my efforts and attention to detail will be rewarded.” This wait also allowed him to discover some little known elements. Thus, the week IRL, or in game four weeks, during which one could not leave his departure city, it was possible to build on something else than solving utility quests used primarily to prepare a little starting capital or choose a profession.<br>But it is mostly a 10-month old video that had caught his attention. A player, for the 4 weeks of initiation, had pummeled the scarecrows of a training center. Instead of laughing like most of the other people who saw this video, he had sought for any logical reason for this behavior.<br>In fact, he found that although very slowly, physical stats could increase this way, especially as his level was low, the efficiency of this repetitive task remained. Leaving the starting city with a small stats advantage over other avatars, could be a significant advantage not only low at level, but also in the long term.<br>However, JB pushed the reasoning further, extrapolating that stats other than physical could possibly benefit from the same kind of treatment. Why this idea? For JB having decided to start with a character in a magical profession, it was mostly the stats of intelligence, knowledge and wisdom that would benefit to be developed initially.<br>The capsule installed and initialized, JB slipped inside and started the game.<br>At the prompt selection of race, continent, starting city and name, the answers were brief and dry. He already had to wait three months to make his entrance into this world, he would not waste time in "paperwork": "human, western continent, Nivese, Cilerius."<br>The parameters of physical appearance were also shipped quickly: "My appearance! "<br>These formalities set, he was transported to the central square of his new hometown, where appeared all the new avatars that had chosen this city as a starting point.<br>After some moves to ensure control of his body, he immediately went to the library. To the clerk there, he presented himself:<br>"Hello, my name is Cilerius. Frankly, how lucky you are to be as surrounded by the world knowledge. I envy you." Flatter one’s interlocutor, whether it was a player or an AI, it could always facilitate relations.<br>The clerk, Desmond, proud of his position, had a favorable first impression of this young man. After all, anyone who loves books and knowledge can only have a good background.<br>"Indeed. It is a privilege to work here, if I want information, instead of running the world to discover it, a little walk in the aisles is enough for me ... much more efficient."<br>"Certainly, this is exactly why I come to you. I was thinking about trying to educate myself and expand my knowledge, be it only a tenth of yours."<br>"Ohh, you are honoring by modeling from me, but still, I have to admit, at the expense of my modesty, that it is a wise choice. "<br>"So what do you advise me to increase my knowledge, and I must say, to practice a little mental gymnastics? "<br>"Haha! I think this book I've just finished could pick your interest. It contains riddles and puzzles bale to exercise your brain while improving your knowledge ... a good start I think. Take it and when you bring it back to me, I will lend what is needed for you to continue your intellectual education."<br>"Thank you 1000 times, I will not fail to come see you again once that sublime book finished."<br>With that, Cilerius left the library clerk and went to the training hall. Once there, he went immediately to one of the farthest scarecrow from the entrance, which he began to temper with, if seen by any observer, would seem a strange hobby.<br>In doing so, he had this internal monologue:<br>'It's fine to want to be a nuker, but they have a big problem. In melee situation, they are usually weak and do not survive long. I would be well advised to take advantage of opportunities to partially solve this problem ... even a limited capacity to fight other than from distance will not be superfluous.'<br>In doing so, he was binding the book got to the library over the scarecrow, open so he could read. His work completed, he began to hit this target with his bare hands, while reading somehow the book. It was after 4 hours of this combined training, that he received a first tribute:<br>* Ding! You have created the stat "Resilience" by dint of hitting your target with your bare hands, your body adapts to withstand damage. You are able to withstand the biggest "hits" without this resulting in increased damage. Your ability to recover increases slightly. Can’t distribute points to this stat.<br>* Ding! You have created the stat "concentration". Your ability to keep track of your thoughts while performing other tasks increases. The more this stat augment, the less external events will have a chance to break your concentration. Can’t distribute points to this stat.<br>* Ding! You have acquired the skill "unarmed combat". Striking a target with bare hands can be effective as long as you know how to do it.<br>"HA! Well, the first effects ... So it works, there are ways to increase the so-called intellectual as well as physical capacities ... and simultaneously ... good, let’s not waste time, to work! "<br>And he continued to hit the scarecrow, while reading the book ...<br>2 hours later when he ended up solving a riddle proposed in the book:<br><br>* Ding! You gain 1 point of intelligence. You've solved a puzzle, thereby improving your thinking ability.<br>* Ding! You gain 1 point of knowledge. New discoveries and experience of solving a problem, help you improve your knowledge.<br>* Ding! You gain 1 point of dexterity. You improve the accuracy of your actions by repeating them.<br>* Ding! You improve your ability to fight with bare hands, beginner (1) 1.6%<br><br>"Okay, it's time to move to the next chapter, and diversify the way I fight." He said with a smirk. He then turned a page and resumed his methodical bombardment of the dummy, now adding elbows, feet, knees strokes and even occasionally headbutt. So 1 hour later:<br><br>* Ding! You gain 1 point of resilience.<br>* Ding! You gain 1 point of stamina. The practice of physical exercise over a long period improves your endurance to effort.<br>* Ding! You gain 1 point of strength. Repeated practice of physical exertion improves your strength.<br>* Ding! Your skill "unarmed combat" modify into "pankration". You have discovered that the fists are not the only body parts that can inflict damage effectively: beginner pankration (1) 2%.<br><br>"Ah! This is something that wasn’t noted ... I thought it would change to martial arts ... I guess it is for the profession."<br>And he resumed his efforts, garnering more skills as well as strength, dexterity, endurance, resilience, intelligence, knowledge, concentration and finally, wisdom increases. So that at the end of the day, he was exhausted but satisfied. However, he had one more thing to do before resting, to return to the library to first return this book and take another in anticipation of the next day. There, Desmond was reading under candlelight.<br>"Hey, I see that I have much work to do to reach your level of involvement in the search for knowledge, said JB as he entered. "<br>"Oh oh, back already? Well, it is true that I am so to speak, depending on my books ... This is something that can happen sooner than you might think as long as the passion touches you. So is this book too hard and you come to take another one more simple to start? it wouldn’t be, I must say, surprising."<br>"No, I certainly come to get another one, but because I finished that one. "<br>"You do not say! Did you find it interesting? "<br>"Rewarding. If you can get one another as exciting to keep busy my tomorrow, I'd be very glad."<br>"Hey! I have a feeling that you are on the right track. Try this one," said Desmond, handing him a bigger book and obviously older than the previous one, "you’ll tell me about it. Just be ready for severe headaches. Quantity and quality are waiting for you with that one... and if you get around it quickly, I may try to introduce you to some of my literary treasures."<br>"A thousand thanks. I will certainly remember your words once this magnificent work avidly read. I am, I must say, curious to see your treasures! "<br>"Okay, this is a deal, see you very soon."<br>Being thus discharged, JB went, wearing an enigmatic smile.<br>'If not mistaken, this could be the beginning of a quest... a stone two birds ... it begin well.'<br>Such was his thought while walking away.<br>His "day" game over, JB unconnected to go immediately to bed and get a few hour sleep. His first contact with the new world had been successful so far, although tiring. The habit of virtual reality, immersed in a capsule, was not there, but nothing that a few weeks of vacation well planned couldn’t solve. It is after, when he should juggle between his work and Royal Road adventures, that things would get tougher. But by then, he had time to prepare an optimal exit of the city, and his entry into adventures.<br>The next day, JB, after a quick shower and a hearty breakfast, dispatched what cleaning and errands he had to run, then connected. However, he did not rush to the training hall, but began visiting the city. Visit is probably not the right word because actually for visit, it was more a recognition of the land on which he would have to progress for a start.<br>The city Nivese, was not the capital of the kingdom in which it was, but had for quality to be a port and a center of commerce and culture. This city was full of contrasts, astride on a lagoon and a few hills on which all the important buildings were built.<br>Thus, the port and all commercial activities were based on piers spread across the lagoon when the training hall, the various guilds and administrative buildings were built on the heights.<br>Traffic in the city of water was mainly on small boats, dry roads being rare and usually occupied by the all kinds of merchants stalls.<br>Operating these small craft for leisure or business walkers, was one of the small jobs available for beginners. This meant that most avatars starting in this city, came out after four weeks with navigation skills, beginner-level 1 to 5 depending on the time they had spent in this way. This made Nivese a popular base among sailors aspirants, most other port cities not offering naval activities for beginners, but fishing from the docks.<br>This tour of his "homeland" finished, Cilerius went to the training hall to continue his preparation. Navigation could be a useful talent in the future, but for the duration of the four weeks as a recluse in the city, his versatile training was a priority.<br>Once there, Cilerius did over his DIY, even faster than before, demonstrating that the training wasn’t limited only to stats.<br>And the day began with the sounds of wailing and grinding scarecrow, to such an extent that one would have been able to believe they were alive, at least for now.<br>The 2nd book lent by the clerk turned out be a much more difficult challenge than the previous one. Nothing, however, impossible to overcome for Cilerius, or rather JB, that was used to devour books at high speed. The complexity of the proposed reading confirmed his hunch that this could be the beginning of a quest. Another effect related to the increased difficulty, intellectual stats did grow at a faster pace than previously. Latter effect, 2 days were necessary to Cilerius to overcome in a suitable manner, ie by understanding the content and by retaining the essence. Important detail since, no doubt, Desmond would question him about the book, whether to simply decide whether he deserved a book of the same quality, or as a test to start this quest glimpsed in his behavior. On the evening of the third day, Cilerius returned to the library to return the book and take the exam he foresaw.<br>Desmond, seeing him come back visibly exhausted, mistake and said:<br>"Ah, too hard after all? Probably too early. "<br>"We'll see. I read it, I finished it, I realized it!" Answered Cilerius on the tone of the Caesar " Veni vidi vici ".<br>"Really? I must check that." Taking the book returned by Cilerius, Desmond opened it, flipped a few pages, looking for passages concealing important information. Then he stated:<br>"Northern Empire was buried under the ice. But before that, it had for master a man with a very special profession. What was this empire and this profession."<br>Cilerius, seemed to be thoughtful about ten seconds, then replied:<br>"This is the Harpen empire and the profession was sculptor."<br>At this answer, Desmond opened his eyes more than usual, his mouth for a moment and then let out as a breath:<br>"Ooh! That is well. You did not simply skim this book. You have memorized the information content, it seems." He then asked some more questions which all found satisfactory answers.<br>The clerk seemed pleasantly surprised.<br>"Very well, I'm sure that giving you access to the treasures of our knowledge will be amply justified. To get access I have to give you the reserve key... unfortunately, at a picnic, one of the few times I got out of the city walls, a fox stole me the key ... it shone as if made of gold, I guess that's what drew it... I saw it running into the bushes and since then, I couldn’t get myself into the reserve for my greatest difficulty. Find the key and you will have unlimited access to the library treasures."<br><br>* Ding! The clerk charge you to find the golden key. Clue: a fox ran away with in the forest hills that extend near the gates of the city.<br>Difficulty: D<br>Prerequisites: You must have earned the respect of the clerk.<br>Reward: permanent access to library reserves.<br><br>'Ah! I thought so ... but completing this task will necessarily await the end of 4 weeks of confinement, since I have to get the key outside of the walls. But it isn’t probably a quest often entrusted, it requires a certain complicity with the clerk that is only acquired by reading a complicated book that give nothing, according to the knowledge of most players. Who knows, this may be a chain quest ... the opportunity is too good to pass up. '<br>"I'll find the key! "<br>* You accepted the request of Desmond *<br>"In the meantime, can I borrow another book? "<br>"But of course, make yourself at home, I was able to confirm for myself that my books are not wasting their time in your hands. "<br>* Ding! Your level of complicity with Desmond is such that you can now choose for yourself, without limitation, the books you want. Attention, damaging or losing a book will reduce his esteem.<br>Cilerius went off to browse among the shelves to choose which books would be best able to serve his workout the next day and left with five bulky tomes under his arm.<br>The next morning, he returned to his mixed intellectual-pugilistic activities in the hall. He found out that his repeated presence earned him an approving glance from the hall guardian. The seventh day of his training, that is to say. at a quarter of the confinement, the guard spoke to him in a rather friendly manner:<br>"I see you make proof of endurance. But your diet is perhaps not the most suitable one for this constant physical effort."<br>"Yes, but the rye bread is all I currently have."<br>"Ah, of course. But come share my pittance. I prepared enough to satisfy an ogre."<br>"Oh, thank you very much, but I don’t want to abuse."<br>"Please, the sweat you pour every day is a good enough payment. It is so rare these days to see someone as applied in his physical exercises."<br>"If you insist, I can only accept, with all my thanks."<br>And so, from this 7th day, Cilerius could eat something else than tasteless rye bread and most importantly, he was running out of the allocated stock at the character creation.<br>He added little variations in his method, now hitting the dummies with firstly, 2 hand staff, then with 2 short staffs. Thus, he created the corresponding skills and parallel to the pankration, he did raise them alternately. This course was designed to allow optimal use of the weapon of the magic classes, staff, for close-combat purpose if it came to that. Improving the chances of survival at all costs, seemed to be the keyword of Cilerius in his preparation.<br>The 30th day, at the end of the period of reclusion, nothing happened meaning the end of the basic training. He then decided to continue his efforts.<br>And it’s at the 37th day that the event he expected occurred.<br><br>* Ding! You gain 1 point of strength<br>* Ding! you gain 1 intelligence<br>* Ding! you earn 20 celebrity<br>* Ding! you earn 20 celebrity<br>* Ding! you earn 100 points of life<br>* Ding! you gain 100 mana.<br>* Ding! You have completed the basic training. You are eligible to attempt the beginner training.<br>* Ding! You have completed the basic intellectual apprenticeship. You are eligible for the beginner intellectual training.<br><br>'What’s that? There is an intellectual equivalent of basic training? This need some research. It could be something very useful', was thinking Cilerius after reading the last message.<br>Then, having reached the end of his training, Cilerius consulted the final result:<br>"Window stats:”<br><br>Avatar: Cilerius Type: Neutral<br>Level: 1 Class: no<br>Title: None Fame: 0<br>Life: 650 Mana: 610<br>STR: 40 DEX: 42 VIT: 45<br>Resilience: 44 Stamina: 46<br>WIS: 41 INT: 40<br>concentration: 45<br>Leadership: 0 Luck: 0<br>Offense: 3 Defense: 0<br>Magic Resistance: None<br><br>skills:<br>Pankration: beginner (3) 54%<br>2 hand staff fighting: beginner (2) 67%<br>1 hand staff fighting: beginner (2) 71%<br>ambidexterity: beginner (2) 25%<br><br>He had still acquired one more skill in the systematic dummy bombardment; ambidexterity. Indeed, the use and the strong side and low side at the same time, had developed this ability, which when increasing, raised the low side damages and accuracy to the level of the strong side. His training had taken longer than originally planned, but as a result, he earned a little more vitality.<br>He could also be assume that the basic requirement to complete the training was acquiring through it at least 30 bonus points in the two corresponding stats, Strength and Dexterity for physical training, intelligence and wisdom for intellectual learning . Was the equivalent of four weeks of strikes on dummies or in the library reading books added? Possible, but for now, the result was what that mattered.<br>The hall guardian then came to him:<br>"Congratulations! You have completed the basic training within a very short time and in addition, in a way few used. You've earned a reward." He said, handing him a package.<br>"Thank you. I will miss our conversation over a good meal." Answered Cilerius, receiving the package.<br>He then proceeded to open it and found inside two reinforced gloves. Fighting gloves obviously. They were padded on top, wrists, knuckles and even the base of the palm. There was also a fittings on the joints between the fingers and hand. He saw too of on each glove, the inside of the forearm part, five small gaps that seemed ready for something, maybe gems.<br>"This is the first time I hand over these gloves. Usually, it is rather a sword. I do not know all their qualities, but I am certain that you will discover and enjoy them."<br>"Certainly. Thank you for this wonderful present. Out of curiosity, how many people have completed the basic training? "<br>"5214 to date in different the training halls. But on all continents, are, to my knowledge, only 27 people have completed it empty handed. And you're the first to do it by reading books. This is a vision that will stay with me all my life. I think, I will in the future, be proud of that you have spent your basic training in my hall."<br>"It's too much honor! It is me who is grateful for having attended this hall. But tell me, where can I find the beginner training hall? "<br>"This, I can’t answer. They are located in different places of our continents and each must find his on his own."<br>"Well, it will therefore be one of my goals. Thank you again for everything you have done for me during these four weeks. It was a pleasure to meet you and I hope to repeat in the future." And with that, Cilerius took leave and went to the Academy of Magical Arts, examining gloves on the way:<br><br>Pugilist combat gloves.<br>Black leather gloves perfectly suited for combat.<br>Durability&nbsp;: 80/80<br>Defense: 5 Damage 3-6<br>For: 20 Dex: 20 Vit: 20<br>Durability: 100/100<br>Special property: Unidentified<br>Special property: Unidentified<br>Prerequisites: Str 40, Dex 40, pankration skill or known associate skill.<br><br>"Hmmm, interesting. I just met the conditions. But these special properties, I'm curious ... well, I'll see later."<br>The magic academy was a grand building, built atop the highest hill in the city. It included everything that was related directly or indirectly with magic. Thus, one could find there the wizard guild as well than the Elementalist guild and even craft guilds related to magic, like enchanting or scribe guilds. The building itself was made of a circular enclosure of smooth white stone, one might almost say of marble. Four towers were erected around the perimeter of the wall, each with a different but recognizable style. Indeed, each representing one of the major schools, fire, water, air and earth, witchcraft. Out of their appearance, a difference in the condition and maintenance was visible, those of fire and water glistening as if just built, those of air and earth pretenses less maintained. This showed no doubt, the power and thus the popularity of the different schools.<br>At the center of the building was a fifth tower, round, much larger than the other four, more grandiose too. At its peak lived and ministered the guild master. It is also up there that wizards aspirants should climb to apply and therefore receive the quest for access to the profession of wizard.<br>So this is the tower Cilerius began to climb. 444 steps to the top. A nice warm-up exercise for one not accustomed to physical exertion. Nothing too terrible for Cilerius who did go for one month, to sweat blood and <span style="color: #FF0000;">tears</span> in the training hall. Throughout the climb, he met numbers of men and women, players or NPCs, coming back down. None, by cons, exceeded him on the way up.<br>Reaching the top, it led to a large room where the activity was a reminiscent of a beehive, with people going from office to office, but all in silence and coordination that seemed quite strange. Cilerius noticed a small desk with a sign marked information and did go there. Were waiting in line in front of him, five other people. When finally his turn came, he asked the person sat on the other side, a small man with a balding barely hidden by his hat and big glasses resting low on his nose:<br>"Hello, I would like to know the formalities for admission to the guild of magic."<br>"Hmmm? "Was the first response of the little man, as he seemed to inspect from top to bottom, the appearance of the newcomer. "Are you sure you are in the right place? You seem more aware of the lowly physical efforts than of the noble mental gymnastics. Oh well, we see everything nowadays. Well, for admission, the first thing is a meeting with the guild master. Go to the bench there and wait for the time that they call you! In this regard, your name is? ""Cilerius"<br>The little man scratched a scroll with his pen, slowly stating, "Cilerius"<br>"Now give me room, go wait on the bench for the pleasure of the master! "<br>Cilerius therefore went to the bench and sat down, thinking:<br>'Here is at least one individual that I have trouble coaxing. The perfect little civil servant.'<br>The bench was placed against a wall of the room, which was bathed in the light falling from the large canopy cut in the roof. In fact, Cilerius seen, while hours of waiting, that the bench was always in the light, either directly or by mirror sets, making this location, a place more unpleasant function the waiting time, by the permanent dazzle and heat. Cilerius thought: ‘no doubt that this is a designed test. Let’s try to win it'.<br>It is only at falling night that he finally heard:<br>"Aspirant Cilerius, introduce yourself to the great master!"<br>Cilerius looked up from one of the books he had with him and allowed him to spend time in a less boring than it was to be expected. The thousand and one mazes of the world, their keepers and treasures, was the name of the book. Additionally to practical knowledge he gained 1 point of wisdom and 1 of intelligence while reading. However, Cilerius did not seem satisfied. Indeed, when he had read it with no other activity, he hardly received the equivalent of what he earned during his training. In fact, the limits of the opportunities to earn points in this way, seemed close. Wasn’t this the case, it is certain that at least one player would have tried to raise his stats indefinitely in this manner while still being lvl 1.<br>Cilerius appeared before the ornate door of the Grand Master, which was ajar, and then crossed the doorway, walked a few steps in the room where everything was organized and tidy to reflect the power of its occupant. In his office, the guild master, Bragarton was hunched over a manuscript. After some minutes, he looked up at the newcomer and then turned to his right, looking at a sheet, then looked back on the man in front of him.<br>"Cilerius, this is your name? "<br>"Yes master"<br>"Um ... well ... at least you are concise ... it partly compensates for this basely physical appearance. So you want to learn the noble art of magic."<br>"Yes, it is my dearest wish"<br>"It wasn’t a question, but a statement!" Retorted the Grand Master with a slight wrinkling of the nose.<br>"Know that this noble art is restricted to persons of mind. Magic is elegancy made art. I disapprove of letting access to some first-come with half-baked mind," he continued.<br>"You will have to prove that you're not just a farm boy for whom magic is limited to the farts of the pigs he’s guarding”. <br>"Put me to the test," said Cilerius.<br>"Silence! here it is I who decides!" thundered Bragarton. "Of course I'll try you. Let's see ... um ... I know, for such a boor as you, I have exactly what is needed. You will bring this book to Desmond, the vile rat serving as librarian. In return, you bring me those on this list." He said with a wry smile.<br><br>* Ding!<br>Bragarton, the Grand Master of the magic academy, assign you a mission with the librarian. You must return a book and bring back the 10 required on the list.<br> Time: undefined.<br> Reward: wizard guild membership.<br><br>"Well, I'm on it immediatly,"<br><br> You have accepted the quest.<br><br>And Cilerius, pocketing the list and taking the book to return, left, hurtling down the stairs 4 by 4, just to stretch his legs after the long forced inactivity.<br>"Ahaha!" A mocking laughter rang through the room Cilerius had left a few seconds earlier.<br>"The return of the book overdue for more than a month and the complex list, it’ll take a long time to decide that mule, Desmond, to leave him browse the shelves in search of what I asked." And he went back to his reading with a satisfied air.<br>Meanwhile, Cilerius had reached the foot of the tower and headed to a building he knew well, having visited it many times during the past month, the library. Along the way, he thought: 'There is one word to describe Bragarton: haughty! It will be difficult to deal with him. I'm pretty sure I would get more cooperation from a bear from I would have snatched honey than with him. I better get my membership to the guild as soon as possible and have the least to do with him. Moreover, his character seems to rub off on the rest of the staff. Finally, at first glance, the list does not seem too hard to satisfy. I've read 9 of the 10 books requested, so I know where to find them. He must have wanted to trick me, but luckily my previous month seem even more profitable than I thought.'<br>On these estimations, he came to the library, that although the time was late, was always open, his keeper always faithful to his position, true to his books should we rather say.<br>"Hello Desmond, always enriching your mind to what I see."<br>"But who do I see? My most faithful visitor. What can I do for you?"<br>"Well, first, I come to return the books I borrowed. Then, I went to the magic academy and the Grandmaster asked me to return this book and take some others."<br>"The Grandmaster, an old owl imbued with himself! AH! I'm sorry, I should have guessed that you would go there and warn you of what you would find. Let me see this book."<br>And Desmond took the book, examining it a moment before saying:<br>"Well, at least he doesn’t damage them ... but one month late, it is to believe that this old fogy can’t read or he does it on purpose. Would have been it someone else, I probably would have spent my wrath and would have sent them the four corners of the city works to recover books before leaving them take a book for this plucked phoenix. But for you, I will not do that. Especially since I'm sure that was the goal sought by this hypocrite. So go get the books required. Sure he will rage if you bring them so quickly."<br>"Thank you Desmond, I appreciate" and Cilerius moved through the shelves, here and there, taking a book from the list. Indeed, only the 10th presented a little difficult to find, but it still took only 5 minutes.<br>Just before he left, Desmond called out:<br>"Cilerius! I see that you have completed the basic intellectual apprenticeship. Congratulations! This is the first time I witnessed it. It is with great emotion that I will for the first time, give this" he said, handing him a small case.<br>"Thank you. I'm the first here you say? And elsewhere? "<br>"In fact, to my knowledge, this is the first time that this item is delivered, in any library"<br>"And are there places to keep learning? "<br>"But of course. The acquisition of knowledge is a quest that doesn’t end so simply. However, these places are kept secret."<br>"Very well, thank you for those information."<br>Opening the case, Cilerius see window information display:<br><br>Gamocellès Heritage<br>Continue Gamocellès, the first scribe, research.<br>Discover the key of knowledge.<br>Difficulty: d<br>can not be refused<br><br>You have accepted the quest.<br><br>* Ding! New Skill: Calligraphy. The artistic writing used for all official and sacred tasks. As mastery increases, the use of calligraphy will lead to new opportunities. Writing new knowledge in a grimoire can enrich you intellectually. Additional effects on intellectual skills.<br>* Ding! New Skill: handicraft. Additional effects on a variety of production skills and your combat skills. Even without the profession, an opportunity to learn the production skills if certain prerequisites are met.<br><br>Inside the case was a feather. Cilerius examined:<br><br>Garuda Feather<br>A feather allowing an elegant writing<br>Durability: 1000/1000<br>Unknown property<br>Unknown property<br>+2 levels of calligraphy<br>This pen holds many secrets<br><br>'Hmmm, another unknown skill. If it has similar effects on spells than handicraft has on combat, these 37 days have been really beneficial. And besides I am, so far, the only one to have completed the intellectual apprenticeship, a big advantage.' Thought Cilerius. Then at his librarian friend:<br>"Thank you again for all your help and the present, but now to climb the tower with those 10 books, it will be a good exercise after that day still." Cilerius said.<br>"Well in that case, good climb," answered Desmond "and do not hesitate to visit my treasures, you're welcome, always."<br>"Thank you, I will not fail to do so." And Cilerius went back to the academy of magic.<br>The climb, with the 10 books on the arms, proved refreshing to Cilerius. To not move for hours had been an ordeal for him who, during one month, had exercised was so much that it had become the same as breathing habit.<br>At the summit, he told the little bald man<br>"Hello, I bring the books requested by the master, if you would kindly tell him I’m here? "<br>This personification of the petty official looked up and recognized the person in front of him, opened eyes showing big surprise, then regaining his senses, replied in a dry and cold:<br>"I'll convey."<br>Cilerius stood still in front of the desk, signaling his intention not to move until the message was send. Visibly annoyed, the little man rose from his seat and knocked at the door of the Grandmaster, then opened and on a response went inside, a few seconds later heard a loud "WHAT!" Followed other indistinct shouting. After a few minutes, the little man came out and called:<br>"Aspiring Cilerius, the Grandmaster will receive you."<br>"Ok, I’m coming" and he went to the door and entered the room where he could foresee that, with great difficulty, the Grandmaster had recovered his hat and smoothed his robe which in the previous concussion had been disturbed, which seemed to annoy him as much as the fact that this little aspirant was already here.<br>"Show me that! you brought me exactly what I asked? Not some book taken at random?"<br>Cilerius put the books on the desk and stepped back one step. Bragarton looked at the books, their cover first then inside to check their authenticity, then said:<br>"I dare not ask what medium you used to corrupt the rat, Desmond, but the fact is, you have completed the mission entrusted"<br><br>* Ding! you have completed the mission successfully.<br>Lvl up!<br>Lvl up!<br>Class Change: The profession wizard is offered, would you accept?<br><br>"Yes, I want to be a wizard. "<br><br>"Well, since fate afflicts us with your presence in our noble institution, you can’t move around in tatters, here is a voucher for a novice robe, a staff and the novices spell book to withdraw at the quartermaster. Do not stay with him too long, he might rub off on you. He was brilliant at his beginning, but his inelegant behavior, unworthy of our profession earned him to only serve as quartermaster. Let this be a warning. Go now, your presence will end up giving me a headache."<br><br>You receive the blessing of the magic academy.<br>+25 Int (related to the profession)<br>+25 Wis (related to the profession)<br>New Skill: Magic mastery<br>New Skill: Mana preservation<br>New Skill: Magic amplification<br>New Skill: Fire elemental mastery<br>New Skill: Ice elemental mastery<br>New Skill: Earth elemental mastery<br>New Skill: Air elemental mastery<br><br>On this very undiplomatic leave, Cilerius departed, pausing for a moment at the office of the little bald man to ask for directions to the quartermaster, then immediately headed there. He wasn’t sorry to leave this so little nice company.<br>'If the quartermaster is so little considered up there, he can only be a good man.' Was thinking Cilerius going down.<br>He had, in fact to get down even lower than the foot of the tower, the quartermaster being relegated in the basement of the building. He came to a counter behind which a person held a radiant bonhomie and started first the conversation:<br>"Welcome, what can I do for you? "<br>"Hello, thank you for your warm welcome, it changes from the blizzard-like that runs up there," said Cilerius, pointing to the direction of the top of the tower.<br>"Hehe, I understand you well, these uptight only have appearances in mind, they forgets efficiency"<br>Cilerius observed a moment the quartermaster, a man somewhere in his 40th, with a little overweight and a conquering gray mane. Even if he had flunked here at the stewardship, he seemed to have lost nothing from his gaiety. Apart from this apparent over-weight, he seemed physically well trained and in any case, well build. According to the criteria of the Grandmaster, he was indeed out of place.<br>"My name is Cilerius, I was sent to you to get the different items in this list. Would you be kind enough to provide them, please. "<br>"But of course. It is politely asked, it changes from the boor they usually send me. My name is Sigismund, delighted to make your acquaintance "<br>"All the pleasure is mine"<br>"But tell me, I see that you are quite well trained." Indeed, the appearance of Cilerius almost 1.8M for 58cm shoulder width, was quite impressive. JB, IRL, had been a first line of rugby at the university. And not tender. Add to that the one month training at the hall, this reflected on Cilerius appearance. A tough guy. "I can guess that your interview with Bragarton was really dry. I think he feeds a complex against people with a well-trained physique. For this idiot only appearances matter. What a fool, what elegance has a cadaver. It is better to be realistic for combat. Idealism brings only bumps and bruises, to say the least. "<br>"I can only agree with you. Efficiency is my course of action."<br>"In this case, we are made to understand each other. By cons, beware of the old owl, and especially of his clique. To please him, they are willing to report any breach of elegance. " Sigismund uttered that last sentence, and especially the last word with undisguised disgust. "I myself have suffered from their persiflage. I was master of the Earth school, but the way I was fighting didn’t had the good fortune to please. Too messy! A wizard does not directly touch his targets! Among other nonsense they have told me. And during that time, how many wizards have gone to death, their robes stained with their blood instead of the monsters. Pfffft ... in the meantime, I am still alive and I have killed a lot of monsters by myself. "<br>"I agree with you. Better being able to strike them if they approach us."<br>"Absolutely! it is just as you say. "<br><br>* Ding! Your complicity with Sigismund increases significantly. Criticizing common enemies and sharing the same views can seal friendships.<br><br>"Hold, here's the dress and stick already" said Sigismund, handing him the two objects. "I'll get the novice magic book".<br>Cilerius received his firsts equipment, but before wearing, he examined them:<br><br>Robe of the novitiate wizard.<br>A blue robe of raw linen embroidered with some runes.<br>Defense: 10 Durability: 50/50<br>Int: 5 Wis: 5<br>Prerequisites: Wizard profession, lvl3 minimum, intelligence and wisdom 15.<br><br>Ash staff of the novice.<br>A staff of carved ash wood with a crystal encrusted.<br>Damage: 2-4 Durability: 60/60<br>Int: 5 Wis: 5<br>Prerequisites: minimum lvl3, intelligence and wisdom 15.<br><br>Sigismund returned and then giving him the book told him in a low voice:<br>"This is an old edition, it contains more than the new and most importantly, you will find spells of the two minor schools, while in the new edition, they finesse, as well as one additional general spell. It’s to believe they are trying to make them disappear."<br>"Thank you, I will try to take advantage of this fine book that you give me." Then, Cilerius examined the book:<br><br>Basic spell book of the beginner.<br>Rarity: D<br>Contains two specific spells per magic school and 4 spells or general competence.<br><br>Compared with the usual book that was graded rarity E, it was already a nice advantage. He gained so five spells. Remained to know their usefulness. He began then reading and learning the spells and competences:<br><br>Meditation: common general competence. Increases the mana regeneration depending on the degree of expertise of the user.<br><br>Identification: common general competence. Allows the user to identify an object hidden characteristics. The level of expertise of the user determines through what level of difficulty he can identify an object.<br><br>Magical Restriction: common general spell. Allows to immobilize a target. The strength and duration of immobilization depends on the level of expertise of the caster. Each attack can break the spell.<br><br>Magic Missile: unusual general spell. Low powered magic attack showing as a missile of pure energy. The expertise helping, the caster can guide more precisely after the missile launch and its damage may increase.<br><br>Fire Finger: common fire spell. Unguided launched attack that takes the form of a fireball that inflicts, in addition of direct damage, increasing burning damage till the flame fade. The expertise of the caster can naturally evolve the spell up to a phenomenal power.<br><br>Fire Walk: uncommon fire spell. Area of effect. Flames arise under caster steps and remain some time. The strength of the flames, their scope and duration depend on the expertise of the caster.<br><br>Palm Ice: common water spell. Unguided attack. Takes the form of a palm of ice that in addition to direct damage, inflict restriction of movement of the target, dependent on the spell power. A persistent effect may also impose a cold on target. The expertise of the caster can naturally evolve the spell up to a phenomenal power.<br><br>Ice Shield: uncommon water spell. Defensive spell that weaken, stop or even reflect enemy attacks. The shield remains in place until exhausted or withdraw by the caster. Resistance and effect of the shield depends on the expertise of the caster.<br><br>Zephyr of restriction: common air spell. Spell restricting the target movements. Homing spell. Better than magical restriction. Force, duration of the restriction and number of possible target depend on the degree of expertise of the caster. Only the most powerful attacks may break the spell.<br><br>Wind Walk: uncommon air spell. Can be cast on yourself or others. Allows the caster to walk on air. The number of steps possible depends on the expertise of the user.<br><br>Mineral needles: common earth spell. Spell cast on a targeted area where mineral needles will spring from the ground more or less vertically. In addition to direct damages, victims suffer impalement damage until their release. The power of the attack depends on the expertise of the caster and soil quality in the targeted area.<br><br>Alteration of soil: uncommon earth spell. Spell cast on a targeted zone which will have a liquefying or hardening effect. An earthy area will be transformed into mud, a sandy area into rocks. The affected area and depth depend on the expertise of the caster. Casting the spell on the same area will reverse the effect.<br><br>After finishing learning spells and skills, Cilerius promised to return to Sigismund, but before he left, the latter noticed:<br>"I see you happen to have a very rare skill, calligraphy ... I think we can help each other. Here is an ink stone and a stock of scrolls. They’re yours if you can give me thirty copies of this parchment."<br><br>* Ding! Sigismund entrust you a mission: to provide thirty copies of a parchment.<br>Prerequisite: calligraphy competence and at least neutral relationship with Sigismund.<br>Reward: the equipment surplus and reputation gain with the elemental mages friendship.<br><br>Cilerius could only find benefits to this proposal. He wondered, however:<br>"What’s the elemental mages friendship? "<br>"This is an informal group of mages who exchange information and services out of the academy shackles. "<br>"Very well, I will provide these copies."<br>You have accepted the mission. You get 50 scrolls and an ink stone.<br>Cilerius advised a table and a chair near, under an oil lamp and laid there the parchment. He sat down, used the ink stone and then pulled out his pen. He dipped the tip of his pen in the ink and began to trace the letters with the greatest possible application. The bonus of the pen, +2 calligraphy level, helped a lot, but the first parchment was not a resounding success. Despite his best efforts, it was obvious that this tedious work couldn’t be perfect immediately. However this served him to train, so his second parchment, though it was still not a success, was considered a deserving work since a system window appeared:<br><br>You gain a little experience in calligraphy. Calligraphy beginner level 1 (3.4%)<br>You gain a little experience in handicraft. Handicraft beginner level 1 (2.3%)<br><br>Encouraged by this result, Cilerius went back to work with even more application, so that after 2 hours, 7 scrolls used including 5 for a correct result and the last considered very good, he gained a level in calligraphy . Some scrolls later, this is the handicraft skill that gained a level. It is finally, after 9 hours of work that he could provide thirty scrolls of the required quality. At that time, he had reached Level 3 (45%) in calligraphy and Level 2 (78%) in handicraft. He handed the parchments to Sigismund:<br>"Here, I've done my best, I think they should satisfy you. "<br>"Thank you. I'll check them", he replied, taking the outstretched scrolls. He examined them carefully and then continued:<br>"Very good, these are of sufficient quality."<br><br>* Ding! you have completed the mission entrusted by Sigismund.<br>You gain complicity with elemental mages friendship. (+50)<br><br>"For each additional copy of the same type that you provide me, I will give you two blank scrolls. And we will be grateful."<br>The proposal was still interesting, the wasted parchments now being at 1 on 3 and could only decrease with practice.<br>"Very well, I will produce some more". And Cilerius took up his pen and began anew his task.<br>2 more hours and he could provide 13 scrolls, for three failures, including one of exceptional quality. Upon completion of the latter, he saw the display windows system to gain level in calligraphy, with a significant increase, level 4 (24%) and handicraft level 3 (2.3%). It was pleasing him.<br><br>* Ding! gain level of handicraft (3)<br>Learning cooking and sewing is possible.<br>Increases melee and projectile weapons attack power (+3% attack)<br>Increases attack power with bare hands (5% attack)<br><br>'Wow! it's great!' Exclaimed inwardly Cilerius. 'I think I'll practice crafts diligently. It will pay off."<br>In addition, Art attribute was created with one point gain on completion of the exceptional quality parchment.<br>He then gave the scrolls to quartermaster for which he received 26 blank scrolls, 70 points of complicity and one silver coin. The high quality parchment was paid double the complicity and even earned him the coin.<br>This done, Cilerius decided it was time for him to venture outside the city walls and therefore took leave of Sigismund then rose to the surface and headed for the artisans district. He still had one thing to do before venturing outside the walls. He stopped at a shop that sold food ready-to-eat, products to prepare, cooking utensils and condiments. With a few pieces of money received by having completed basic training and completion of the mission of the Grandmaster, he bought basic condiments and some basic utensils, skewer, pan, knife, spatula, bottles, which cost him almost all of his money. However, he would be able to live on the nature and most importantly, not just on rye bread.<br>To do this, he still had to do a little formality, learn the cooking skill. To do that, a quick discussion with the merchant on the interest he took in cooking, was sufficient, as he was proud of his work and thrilled that others had the same interest. This was only possible since Cilerius had and handicraft skill at level 3.<br>This done, Cilerius headed for the gates of the city. Just before leaving the city, he disconnected of the game to take care of the few necessities of real life he might have after a very long day and before a night even longer.<br><br><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=95" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: bold;">to root menu</span></a> <a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=95&amp;t=594" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: bold;">to chapter 2</span></a> </div>

Elemental brawler Chapter 1: In the beginning ... After several weeks of waiting, the capsule had finally arrived. The game Royal Road, produced by Unicorn, became in the span of two years the gold standard, especially as it was played with a completely new interface, the "capsule". Inside it, it was not just the sight and sound that were stimulated, but also smell, touch and taste. It was even said that if a culinary guide visited the chefs in this world, it would not be surprising that three or four stars restaurants would appear. After the order made three months ago already, Jean-Bernard had to wait, hardly hiding his impatience to walk in this new world. 3 months ... an eternity for this avid MMO's player. However, it was not a wasted delay. He decided to use this time to collect a maximum of information in order to start his new life in the best conditions possible. One thing especially intrigued him. It was not only the knowledge of a player that could give him an advantage in this new world, but some of his physical abilities. Ohhh, not strength, but some of the skills and talent acquired in the real world. “For once, I will not have to defer to a simple "dice roll" on a competence to decide the success of one action... my efforts and attention to detail will be rewarded.” This wait also allowed him to discover some little known elements. Thus, the week IRL, or in game four weeks, during which one could not leave his departure city, it was possible to build on something else than solving utility quests used primarily to prepare a little starting capital or choose a profession. But it is mostly a 10-month old video that had caught his attention. A player, for the 4 weeks of initiation, had pummeled the scarecrows of a training center. Instead of laughing like most of the other people who saw this video, he had sought for any logical reason for this behavior. In fact, he found that although very slowly, physical stats could increase this way, especially as his level was low, the efficiency of this repetitive task remained. Leaving the starting city with a small stats advantage over other avatars, could be a significant advantage not only low at level, but also in the long term. However, JB pushed the reasoning further, extrapolating that stats other than physical could possibly benefit from the same kind of treatment. Why this idea? For JB having decided to start with a character in a magical profession, it was mostly the stats of intelligence, knowledge and wisdom that would benefit to be developed initially. The capsule installed and initialized, JB slipped inside and started the game. At the prompt selection of race, continent, starting city and name, the answers were brief and dry. He already had to wait three months to make his entrance into this world, he would not waste time in "paperwork": "human, western continent, Nivese, Cilerius." The parameters of physical appearance were also shipped quickly: "My appearance! " These formalities set, he was transported to the central square of his new hometown, where appeared all the new avatars that had chosen this city as a starting point. After some moves to ensure control of his body, he immediately went to the library. To the clerk there, he presented himself: "Hello, my name is Cilerius. Frankly, how lucky you are to be as surrounded by the world knowledge. I envy you." Flatter one’s interlocutor, whether it was a player or an AI, it could always facilitate relations. The clerk, Desmond, proud of his position, had a favorable first impression of this young man. After all, anyone who loves books and knowledge can only have a good background. "Indeed. It is a privilege to work here, if I want information, instead of running the world to discover it, a little walk in the aisles is enough for me ... much more efficient." "Certainly, this is exactly why I come to you. I was thinking about trying to educate myself and expand my knowledge, be it only a tenth of yours." "Ohh, you are honoring by modeling from me, but still, I have to admit, at the expense of my modesty, that it is a wise choice. " "So what do you advise me to increase my knowledge, and I must say, to practice a little mental gymnastics? " "Haha! I think this book I've just finished could pick your interest. It contains riddles and puzzles bale to exercise your brain while improving your knowledge ... a good start I think. Take it and when you bring it back to me, I will lend what is needed for you to continue your intellectual education." "Thank you 1000 times, I will not fail to come see you again once that sublime book finished." With that, Cilerius left the library clerk and went to the training hall. Once there, he went immediately to one of the farthest scarecrow from the entrance, which he began to temper with, if seen by any observer, would seem a strange hobby. In doing so, he had this internal monologue: 'It's fine to want to be a nuker, but they have a big problem. In melee situation, they are usually weak and do not survive long. I would be well advised to take advantage of opportunities to partially solve this problem ... even a limited capacity to fight other than from distance will not be superfluous.' In doing so, he was binding the book got to the library over the scarecrow, open so he could read. His work completed, he began to hit this target with his bare hands, while reading somehow the book. It was after 4 hours of this combined training, that he received a first tribute: * Ding! You have created the stat "Resilience" by dint of hitting your target with your bare hands, your body adapts to withstand damage. You are able to withstand the biggest "hits" without this resulting in increased damage. Your ability to recover increases slightly. Can’t distribute points to this stat. * Ding! You have created the stat "concentration". Your ability to keep track of your thoughts while performing other tasks increases. The more this stat augment, the less external events will have a chance to break your concentration. Can’t distribute points to this stat. * Ding! You have acquired the skill "unarmed combat". Striking a target with bare hands can be effective as long as you know how to do it. "HA! Well, the first effects ... So it works, there are ways to increase the so-called intellectual as well as physical capacities ... and simultaneously ... good, let’s not waste time, to work! " And he continued to hit the scarecrow, while reading the book ... 2 hours later when he ended up solving a riddle proposed in the book: * Ding! You gain 1 point of intelligence. You've solved a puzzle, thereby improving your thinking ability. * Ding! You gain 1 point of knowledge. New discoveries and experience of solving a problem, help you improve your knowledge. * Ding! You gain 1 point of dexterity. You improve the accuracy of your actions by repeating them. * Ding! You improve your ability to fight with bare hands, beginner (1) 1.6% "Okay, it's time to move to the next chapter, and diversify the way I fight." He said with a smirk. He then turned a page and resumed his methodical bombardment of the dummy, now adding elbows, feet, knees strokes and even occasionally headbutt. So 1 hour later: * Ding! You gain 1 point of resilience. * Ding! You gain 1 point of stamina. The practice of physical exercise over a long period improves your endurance to effort. * Ding! You gain 1 point of strength. Repeated practice of physical exertion improves your strength. * Ding! Your skill "unarmed combat" modify into "pankration". You have discovered that the fists are not the only body parts that can inflict damage effectively: beginner pankration (1) 2%. "Ah! This is something that wasn’t noted ... I thought it would change to martial arts ... I guess it is for the profession." And he resumed his efforts, garnering more skills as well as strength, dexterity, endurance, resilience, intelligence, knowledge, concentration and finally, wisdom increases. So that at the end of the day, he was exhausted but satisfied. However, he had one more thing to do before resting, to return to the library to first return this book and take another in anticipation of the next day. There, Desmond was reading under candlelight. "Hey, I see that I have much work to do to reach your level of involvement in the search for knowledge, said JB as he entered. " "Oh oh, back already? Well, it is true that I am so to speak, depending on my books ... This is something that can happen sooner than you might think as long as the passion touches you. So is this book too hard and you come to take another one more simple to start? it wouldn’t be, I must say, surprising." "No, I certainly come to get another one, but because I finished that one. " "You do not say! Did you find it interesting? " "Rewarding. If you can get one another as exciting to keep busy my tomorrow, I'd be very glad." "Hey! I have a feeling that you are on the right track. Try this one," said Desmond, handing him a bigger book and obviously older than the previous one, "you’ll tell me about it. Just be ready for severe headaches. Quantity and quality are waiting for you with that one... and if you get around it quickly, I may try to introduce you to some of my literary treasures." "A thousand thanks. I will certainly remember your words once this magnificent work avidly read. I am, I must say, curious to see your treasures! " "Okay, this is a deal, see you very soon." Being thus discharged, JB went, wearing an enigmatic smile. 'If not mistaken, this could be the beginning of a quest... a stone two birds ... it begin well.' Such was his thought while walking away. His "day" game over, JB unconnected to go immediately to bed and get a few hour sleep. His first contact with the new world had been successful so far, although tiring. The habit of virtual reality, immersed in a capsule, was not there, but nothing that a few weeks of vacation well planned couldn’t solve. It is after, when he should juggle between his work and Royal Road adventures, that things would get tougher. But by then, he had time to prepare an optimal exit of the city, and his entry into adventures. The next day, JB, after a quick shower and a hearty breakfast, dispatched what cleaning and errands he had to run, then connected. However, he did not rush to the training hall, but began visiting the city. Visit is probably not the right word because actually for visit, it was more a recognition of the land on which he would have to progress for a start. The city Nivese, was not the capital of the kingdom in which it was, but had for quality to be a port and a center of commerce and culture. This city was full of contrasts, astride on a lagoon and a few hills on which all the important buildings were built. Thus, the port and all commercial activities were based on piers spread across the lagoon when the training hall, the various guilds and administrative buildings were built on the heights. Traffic in the city of water was mainly on small boats, dry roads being rare and usually occupied by the all kinds of merchants stalls. Operating these small craft for leisure or business walkers, was one of the small jobs available for beginners. This meant that most avatars starting in this city, came out after four weeks with navigation skills, beginner-level 1 to 5 depending on the time they had spent in this way. This made Nivese a popular base among sailors aspirants, most other port cities not offering naval activities for beginners, but fishing from the docks. This tour of his "homeland" finished, Cilerius went to the training hall to continue his preparation. Navigation could be a useful talent in the future, but for the duration of the four weeks as a recluse in the city, his versatile training was a priority. Once there, Cilerius did over his DIY, even faster than before, demonstrating that the training wasn’t limited only to stats. And the day began with the sounds of wailing and grinding scarecrow, to such an extent that one would have been able to believe they were alive, at least for now. The 2nd book lent by the clerk turned out be a much more difficult challenge than the previous one. Nothing, however, impossible to overcome for Cilerius, or rather JB, that was used to devour books at high speed. The complexity of the proposed reading confirmed his hunch that this could be the beginning of a quest. Another effect related to the increased difficulty, intellectual stats did grow at a faster pace than previously. Latter effect, 2 days were necessary to Cilerius to overcome in a suitable manner, ie by understanding the content and by retaining the essence. Important detail since, no doubt, Desmond would question him about the book, whether to simply decide whether he deserved a book of the same quality, or as a test to start this quest glimpsed in his behavior. On the evening of the third day, Cilerius returned to the library to return the book and take the exam he foresaw. Desmond, seeing him come back visibly exhausted, mistake and said: "Ah, too hard after all? Probably too early. " "We'll see. I read it, I finished it, I realized it!" Answered Cilerius on the tone of the Caesar " Veni vidi vici ". "Really? I must check that." Taking the book returned by Cilerius, Desmond opened it, flipped a few pages, looking for passages concealing important information. Then he stated: "Northern Empire was buried under the ice. But before that, it had for master a man with a very special profession. What was this empire and this profession." Cilerius, seemed to be thoughtful about ten seconds, then replied: "This is the Harpen empire and the profession was sculptor." At this answer, Desmond opened his eyes more than usual, his mouth for a moment and then let out as a breath: "Ooh! That is well. You did not simply skim this book. You have memorized the information content, it seems." He then asked some more questions which all found satisfactory answers. The clerk seemed pleasantly surprised. "Very well, I'm sure that giving you access to the treasures of our knowledge will be amply justified. To get access I have to give you the reserve key... unfortunately, at a picnic, one of the few times I got out of the city walls, a fox stole me the key ... it shone as if made of gold, I guess that's what drew it... I saw it running into the bushes and since then, I couldn’t get myself into the reserve for my greatest difficulty. Find the key and you will have unlimited access to the library treasures." * Ding! The clerk charge you to find the golden key. Clue: a fox ran away with in the forest hills that extend near the gates of the city. Difficulty: D Prerequisites: You must have earned the respect of the clerk. Reward: permanent access to library reserves. 'Ah! I thought so ... but completing this task will necessarily await the end of 4 weeks of confinement, since I have to get the key outside of the walls. But it isn’t probably a quest often entrusted, it requires a certain complicity with the clerk that is only acquired by reading a complicated book that give nothing, according to the knowledge of most players. Who knows, this may be a chain quest ... the opportunity is too good to pass up. ' "I'll find the key! " * You accepted the request of Desmond * "In the meantime, can I borrow another book? " "But of course, make yourself at home, I was able to confirm for myself that my books are not wasting their time in your hands. " * Ding! Your level of complicity with Desmond is such that you can now choose for yourself, without limitation, the books you want. Attention, damaging or losing a book will reduce his esteem. Cilerius went off to browse among the shelves to choose which books would be best able to serve his workout the next day and left with five bulky tomes under his arm. The next morning, he returned to his mixed intellectual-pugilistic activities in the hall. He found out that his repeated presence earned him an approving glance from the hall guardian. The seventh day of his training, that is to say. at a quarter of the confinement, the guard spoke to him in a rather friendly manner: "I see you make proof of endurance. But your diet is perhaps not the most suitable one for this constant physical effort." "Yes, but the rye bread is all I currently have." "Ah, of course. But come share my pittance. I prepared enough to satisfy an ogre." "Oh, thank you very much, but I don’t want to abuse." "Please, the sweat you pour every day is a good enough payment. It is so rare these days to see someone as applied in his physical exercises." "If you insist, I can only accept, with all my thanks." And so, from this 7th day, Cilerius could eat something else than tasteless rye bread and most importantly, he was running out of the allocated stock at the character creation. He added little variations in his method, now hitting the dummies with firstly, 2 hand staff, then with 2 short staffs. Thus, he created the corresponding skills and parallel to the pankration, he did raise them alternately. This course was designed to allow optimal use of the weapon of the magic classes, staff, for close-combat purpose if it came to that. Improving the chances of survival at all costs, seemed to be the keyword of Cilerius in his preparation. The 30th day, at the end of the period of reclusion, nothing happened meaning the end of the basic training. He then decided to continue his efforts. And it’s at the 37th day that the event he expected occurred. * Ding! You gain 1 point of strength * Ding! you gain 1 intelligence * Ding! you earn 20 celebrity * Ding! you earn 20 celebrity * Ding! you earn 100 points of life * Ding! you gain 100 mana. * Ding! You have completed the basic training. You are eligible to attempt the beginner training. * Ding! You have completed the basic intellectual apprenticeship. You are eligible for the beginner intellectual training. 'What’s that? There is an intellectual equivalent of basic training? This need some research. It could be something very useful', was thinking Cilerius after reading the last message. Then, having reached the end of his training, Cilerius consulted the final result: "Window stats:” Avatar: Cilerius Type: Neutral Level: 1 Class: no Title: None Fame: 0 Life: 650 Mana: 610 STR: 40 DEX: 42 VIT: 45 Resilience: 44 Stamina: 46 WIS: 41 INT: 40 concentration: 45 Leadership: 0 Luck: 0 Offense: 3 Defense: 0 Magic Resistance: None skills: Pankration: beginner (3) 54% 2 hand staff fighting: beginner (2) 67% 1 hand staff fighting: beginner (2) 71% ambidexterity: beginner (2) 25% He had still acquired one more skill in the systematic dummy bombardment; ambidexterity. Indeed, the use and the strong side and low side at the same time, had developed this ability, which when increasing, raised the low side damages and accuracy to the level of the strong side. His training had taken longer than originally planned, but as a result, he earned a little more vitality. He could also be assume that the basic requirement to complete the training was acquiring through it at least 30 bonus points in the two corresponding stats, Strength and Dexterity for physical training, intelligence and wisdom for intellectual learning . Was the equivalent of four weeks of strikes on dummies or in the library reading books added? Possible, but for now, the result was what that mattered. The hall guardian then came to him: "Congratulations! You have completed the basic training within a very short time and in addition, in a way few used. You've earned a reward." He said, handing him a package. "Thank you. I will miss our conversation over a good meal." Answered Cilerius, receiving the package. He then proceeded to open it and found inside two reinforced gloves. Fighting gloves obviously. They were padded on top, wrists, knuckles and even the base of the palm. There was also a fittings on the joints between the fingers and hand. He saw too of on each glove, the inside of the forearm part, five small gaps that seemed ready for something, maybe gems. "This is the first time I hand over these gloves. Usually, it is rather a sword. I do not know all their qualities, but I am certain that you will discover and enjoy them." "Certainly. Thank you for this wonderful present. Out of curiosity, how many people have completed the basic training? " "5214 to date in different the training halls. But on all continents, are, to my knowledge, only 27 people have completed it empty handed. And you're the first to do it by reading books. This is a vision that will stay with me all my life. I think, I will in the future, be proud of that you have spent your basic training in my hall." "It's too much honor! It is me who is grateful for having attended this hall. But tell me, where can I find the beginner training hall? " "This, I can’t answer. They are located in different places of our continents and each must find his on his own." "Well, it will therefore be one of my goals. Thank you again for everything you have done for me during these four weeks. It was a pleasure to meet you and I hope to repeat in the future." And with that, Cilerius took leave and went to the Academy of Magical Arts, examining gloves on the way: Pugilist combat gloves. Black leather gloves perfectly suited for combat. Durability : 80/80 Defense: 5 Damage 3-6 For: 20 Dex: 20 Vit: 20 Durability: 100/100 Special property: Unidentified Special property: Unidentified Prerequisites: Str 40, Dex 40, pankration skill or known associate skill. "Hmmm, interesting. I just met the conditions. But these special properties, I'm curious ... well, I'll see later." The magic academy was a grand building, built atop the highest hill in the city. It included everything that was related directly or indirectly with magic. Thus, one could find there the wizard guild as well than the Elementalist guild and even craft guilds related to magic, like enchanting or scribe guilds. The building itself was made of a circular enclosure of smooth white stone, one might almost say of marble. Four towers were erected around the perimeter of the wall, each with a different but recognizable style. Indeed, each representing one of the major schools, fire, water, air and earth, witchcraft. Out of their appearance, a difference in the condition and maintenance was visible, those of fire and water glistening as if just built, those of air and earth pretenses less maintained. This showed no doubt, the power and thus the popularity of the different schools. At the center of the building was a fifth tower, round, much larger than the other four, more grandiose too. At its peak lived and ministered the guild master. It is also up there that wizards aspirants should climb to apply and therefore receive the quest for access to the profession of wizard. So this is the tower Cilerius began to climb. 444 steps to the top. A nice warm-up exercise for one not accustomed to physical exertion. Nothing too terrible for Cilerius who did go for one month, to sweat blood and tears in the training hall. Throughout the climb, he met numbers of men and women, players or NPCs, coming back down. None, by cons, exceeded him on the way up. Reaching the top, it led to a large room where the activity was a reminiscent of a beehive, with people going from office to office, but all in silence and coordination that seemed quite strange. Cilerius noticed a small desk with a sign marked information and did go there. Were waiting in line in front of him, five other people. When finally his turn came, he asked the person sat on the other side, a small man with a balding barely hidden by his hat and big glasses resting low on his nose: "Hello, I would like to know the formalities for admission to the guild of magic." "Hmmm? "Was the first response of the little man, as he seemed to inspect from top to bottom, the appearance of the newcomer. "Are you sure you are in the right place? You seem more aware of the lowly physical efforts than of the noble mental gymnastics. Oh well, we see everything nowadays. Well, for admission, the first thing is a meeting with the guild master. Go to the bench there and wait for the time that they call you! In this regard, your name is? ""Cilerius" The little man scratched a scroll with his pen, slowly stating, "Cilerius" "Now give me room, go wait on the bench for the pleasure of the master! " Cilerius therefore went to the bench and sat down, thinking: 'Here is at least one individual that I have trouble coaxing. The perfect little civil servant.' The bench was placed against a wall of the room, which was bathed in the light falling from the large canopy cut in the roof. In fact, Cilerius seen, while hours of waiting, that the bench was always in the light, either directly or by mirror sets, making this location, a place more unpleasant function the waiting time, by the permanent dazzle and heat. Cilerius thought: ‘no doubt that this is a designed test. Let’s try to win it'. It is only at falling night that he finally heard: "Aspirant Cilerius, introduce yourself to the great master!" Cilerius looked up from one of the books he had with him and allowed him to spend time in a less boring than it was to be expected. The thousand and one mazes of the world, their keepers and treasures, was the name of the book. Additionally to practical knowledge he gained 1 point of wisdom and 1 of intelligence while reading. However, Cilerius did not seem satisfied. Indeed, when he had read it with no other activity, he hardly received the equivalent of what he earned during his training. In fact, the limits of the opportunities to earn points in this way, seemed close. Wasn’t this the case, it is certain that at least one player would have tried to raise his stats indefinitely in this manner while still being lvl 1. Cilerius appeared before the ornate door of the Grand Master, which was ajar, and then crossed the doorway, walked a few steps in the room where everything was organized and tidy to reflect the power of its occupant. In his office, the guild master, Bragarton was hunched over a manuscript. After some minutes, he looked up at the newcomer and then turned to his right, looking at a sheet, then looked back on the man in front of him. "Cilerius, this is your name? " "Yes master" "Um ... well ... at least you are concise ... it partly compensates for this basely physical appearance. So you want to learn the noble art of magic." "Yes, it is my dearest wish" "It wasn’t a question, but a statement!" Retorted the Grand Master with a slight wrinkling of the nose. "Know that this noble art is restricted to persons of mind. Magic is elegancy made art. I disapprove of letting access to some first-come with half-baked mind," he continued. "You will have to prove that you're not just a farm boy for whom magic is limited to the farts of the pigs he’s guarding”. "Put me to the test," said Cilerius. "Silence! here it is I who decides!" thundered Bragarton. "Of course I'll try you. Let's see ... um ... I know, for such a boor as you, I have exactly what is needed. You will bring this book to Desmond, the vile rat serving as librarian. In return, you bring me those on this list." He said with a wry smile. * Ding! Bragarton, the Grand Master of the magic academy, assign you a mission with the librarian. You must return a book and bring back the 10 required on the list. Time: undefined. Reward: wizard guild membership. "Well, I'm on it immediatly," You have accepted the quest. And Cilerius, pocketing the list and taking the book to return, left, hurtling down the stairs 4 by 4, just to stretch his legs after the long forced inactivity. "Ahaha!" A mocking laughter rang through the room Cilerius had left a few seconds earlier. "The return of the book overdue for more than a month and the complex list, it’ll take a long time to decide that mule, Desmond, to leave him browse the shelves in search of what I asked." And he went back to his reading with a satisfied air. Meanwhile, Cilerius had reached the foot of the tower and headed to a building he knew well, having visited it many times during the past month, the library. Along the way, he thought: 'There is one word to describe Bragarton: haughty! It will be difficult to deal with him. I'm pretty sure I would get more cooperation from a bear from I would have snatched honey than with him. I better get my membership to the guild as soon as possible and have the least to do with him. Moreover, his character seems to rub off on the rest of the staff. Finally, at first glance, the list does not seem too hard to satisfy. I've read 9 of the 10 books requested, so I know where to find them. He must have wanted to trick me, but luckily my previous month seem even more profitable than I thought.' On these estimations, he came to the library, that although the time was late, was always open, his keeper always faithful to his position, true to his books should we rather say. "Hello Desmond, always enriching your mind to what I see." "But who do I see? My most faithful visitor. What can I do for you?" "Well, first, I come to return the books I borrowed. Then, I went to the magic academy and the Grandmaster asked me to return this book and take some others." "The Grandmaster, an old owl imbued with himself! AH! I'm sorry, I should have guessed that you would go there and warn you of what you would find. Let me see this book." And Desmond took the book, examining it a moment before saying: "Well, at least he doesn’t damage them ... but one month late, it is to believe that this old fogy can’t read or he does it on purpose. Would have been it someone else, I probably would have spent my wrath and would have sent them the four corners of the city works to recover books before leaving them take a book for this plucked phoenix. But for you, I will not do that. Especially since I'm sure that was the goal sought by this hypocrite. So go get the books required. Sure he will rage if you bring them so quickly." "Thank you Desmond, I appreciate" and Cilerius moved through the shelves, here and there, taking a book from the list. Indeed, only the 10th presented a little difficult to find, but it still took only 5 minutes. Just before he left, Desmond called out: "Cilerius! I see that you have completed the basic intellectual apprenticeship. Congratulations! This is the first time I witnessed it. It is with great emotion that I will for the first time, give this" he said, handing him a small case. "Thank you. I'm the first here you say? And elsewhere? " "In fact, to my knowledge, this is the first time that this item is delivered, in any library" "And are there places to keep learning? " "But of course. The acquisition of knowledge is a quest that doesn’t end so simply. However, these places are kept secret." "Very well, thank you for those information." Opening the case, Cilerius see window information display: Gamocellès Heritage Continue Gamocellès, the first scribe, research. Discover the key of knowledge. Difficulty: d can not be refused You have accepted the quest. * Ding! New Skill: Calligraphy. The artistic writing used for all official and sacred tasks. As mastery increases, the use of calligraphy will lead to new opportunities. Writing new knowledge in a grimoire can enrich you intellectually. Additional effects on intellectual skills. * Ding! New Skill: handicraft. Additional effects on a variety of production skills and your combat skills. Even without the profession, an opportunity to learn the production skills if certain prerequisites are met. Inside the case was a feather. Cilerius examined: Garuda Feather A feather allowing an elegant writing Durability: 1000/1000 Unknown property Unknown property +2 levels of calligraphy This pen holds many secrets 'Hmmm, another unknown skill. If it has similar effects on spells than handicraft has on combat, these 37 days have been really beneficial. And besides I am, so far, the only one to have completed the intellectual apprenticeship, a big advantage.' Thought Cilerius. Then at his librarian friend: "Thank you again for all your help and the present, but now to climb the tower with those 10 books, it will be a good exercise after that day still." Cilerius said. "Well in that case, good climb," answered Desmond "and do not hesitate to visit my treasures, you're welcome, always." "Thank you, I will not fail to do so." And Cilerius went back to the academy of magic. The climb, with the 10 books on the arms, proved refreshing to Cilerius. To not move for hours had been an ordeal for him who, during one month, had exercised was so much that it had become the same as breathing habit. At the summit, he told the little bald man "Hello, I bring the books requested by the master, if you would kindly tell him I’m here? " This personification of the petty official looked up and recognized the person in front of him, opened eyes showing big surprise, then regaining his senses, replied in a dry and cold: "I'll convey." Cilerius stood still in front of the desk, signaling his intention not to move until the message was send. Visibly annoyed, the little man rose from his seat and knocked at the door of the Grandmaster, then opened and on a response went inside, a few seconds later heard a loud "WHAT!" Followed other indistinct shouting. After a few minutes, the little man came out and called: "Aspiring Cilerius, the Grandmaster will receive you." "Ok, I’m coming" and he went to the door and entered the room where he could foresee that, with great difficulty, the Grandmaster had recovered his hat and smoothed his robe which in the previous concussion had been disturbed, which seemed to annoy him as much as the fact that this little aspirant was already here. "Show me that! you brought me exactly what I asked? Not some book taken at random?" Cilerius put the books on the desk and stepped back one step. Bragarton looked at the books, their cover first then inside to check their authenticity, then said: "I dare not ask what medium you used to corrupt the rat, Desmond, but the fact is, you have completed the mission entrusted" * Ding! you have completed the mission successfully. Lvl up! Lvl up! Class Change: The profession wizard is offered, would you accept? "Yes, I want to be a wizard. " "Well, since fate afflicts us with your presence in our noble institution, you can’t move around in tatters, here is a voucher for a novice robe, a staff and the novices spell book to withdraw at the quartermaster. Do not stay with him too long, he might rub off on you. He was brilliant at his beginning, but his inelegant behavior, unworthy of our profession earned him to only serve as quartermaster. Let this be a warning. Go now, your presence will end up giving me a headache." You receive the blessing of the magic academy. +25 Int (related to the profession) +25 Wis (related to the profession) New Skill: Magic mastery New Skill: Mana preservation New Skill: Magic amplification New Skill: Fire elemental mastery New Skill: Ice elemental mastery New Skill: Earth elemental mastery New Skill: Air elemental mastery On this very undiplomatic leave, Cilerius departed, pausing for a moment at the office of the little bald man to ask for directions to the quartermaster, then immediately headed there. He wasn’t sorry to leave this so little nice company. 'If the quartermaster is so little considered up there, he can only be a good man.' Was thinking Cilerius going down. He had, in fact to get down even lower than the foot of the tower, the quartermaster being relegated in the basement of the building. He came to a counter behind which a person held a radiant bonhomie and started first the conversation: "Welcome, what can I do for you? " "Hello, thank you for your warm welcome, it changes from the blizzard-like that runs up there," said Cilerius, pointing to the direction of the top of the tower. "Hehe, I understand you well, these uptight only have appearances in mind, they forgets efficiency" Cilerius observed a moment the quartermaster, a man somewhere in his 40th, with a little overweight and a conquering gray mane. Even if he had flunked here at the stewardship, he seemed to have lost nothing from his gaiety. Apart from this apparent over-weight, he seemed physically well trained and in any case, well build. According to the criteria of the Grandmaster, he was indeed out of place. "My name is Cilerius, I was sent to you to get the different items in this list. Would you be kind enough to provide them, please. " "But of course. It is politely asked, it changes from the boor they usually send me. My name is Sigismund, delighted to make your acquaintance " "All the pleasure is mine" "But tell me, I see that you are quite well trained." Indeed, the appearance of Cilerius almost 1.8M for 58cm shoulder width, was quite impressive. JB, IRL, had been a first line of rugby at the university. And not tender. Add to that the one month training at the hall, this reflected on Cilerius appearance. A tough guy. "I can guess that your interview with Bragarton was really dry. I think he feeds a complex against people with a well-trained physique. For this idiot only appearances matter. What a fool, what elegance has a cadaver. It is better to be realistic for combat. Idealism brings only bumps and bruises, to say the least. " "I can only agree with you. Efficiency is my course of action." "In this case, we are made to understand each other. By cons, beware of the old owl, and especially of his clique. To please him, they are willing to report any breach of elegance. " Sigismund uttered that last sentence, and especially the last word with undisguised disgust. "I myself have suffered from their persiflage. I was master of the Earth school, but the way I was fighting didn’t had the good fortune to please. Too messy! A wizard does not directly touch his targets! Among other nonsense they have told me. And during that time, how many wizards have gone to death, their robes stained with their blood instead of the monsters. Pfffft ... in the meantime, I am still alive and I have killed a lot of monsters by myself. " "I agree with you. Better being able to strike them if they approach us." "Absolutely! it is just as you say. " * Ding! Your complicity with Sigismund increases significantly. Criticizing common enemies and sharing the same views can seal friendships. "Hold, here's the dress and stick already" said Sigismund, handing him the two objects. "I'll get the novice magic book". Cilerius received his firsts equipment, but before wearing, he examined them: Robe of the novitiate wizard. A blue robe of raw linen embroidered with some runes. Defense: 10 Durability: 50/50 Int: 5 Wis: 5 Prerequisites: Wizard profession, lvl3 minimum, intelligence and wisdom 15. Ash staff of the novice. A staff of carved ash wood with a crystal encrusted. Damage: 2-4 Durability: 60/60 Int: 5 Wis: 5 Prerequisites: minimum lvl3, intelligence and wisdom 15. Sigismund returned and then giving him the book told him in a low voice: "This is an old edition, it contains more than the new and most importantly, you will find spells of the two minor schools, while in the new edition, they finesse, as well as one additional general spell. It’s to believe they are trying to make them disappear." "Thank you, I will try to take advantage of this fine book that you give me." Then, Cilerius examined the book: Basic spell book of the beginner. Rarity: D Contains two specific spells per magic school and 4 spells or general competence. Compared with the usual book that was graded rarity E, it was already a nice advantage. He gained so five spells. Remained to know their usefulness. He began then reading and learning the spells and competences: Meditation: common general competence. Increases the mana regeneration depending on the degree of expertise of the user. Identification: common general competence. Allows the user to identify an object hidden characteristics. The level of expertise of the user determines through what level of difficulty he can identify an object. Magical Restriction: common general spell. Allows to immobilize a target. The strength and duration of immobilization depends on the level of expertise of the caster. Each attack can break the spell. Magic Missile: unusual general spell. Low powered magic attack showing as a missile of pure energy. The expertise helping, the caster can guide more precisely after the missile launch and its damage may increase. Fire Finger: common fire spell. Unguided launched attack that takes the form of a fireball that inflicts, in addition of direct damage, increasing burning damage till the flame fade. The expertise of the caster can naturally evolve the spell up to a phenomenal power. Fire Walk: uncommon fire spell. Area of effect. Flames arise under caster steps and remain some time. The strength of the flames, their scope and duration depend on the expertise of the caster. Palm Ice: common water spell. Unguided attack. Takes the form of a palm of ice that in addition to direct damage, inflict restriction of movement of the target, dependent on the spell power. A persistent effect may also impose a cold on target. The expertise of the caster can naturally evolve the spell up to a phenomenal power. Ice Shield: uncommon water spell. Defensive spell that weaken, stop or even reflect enemy attacks. The shield remains in place until exhausted or withdraw by the caster. Resistance and effect of the shield depends on the expertise of the caster. Zephyr of restriction: common air spell. Spell restricting the target movements. Homing spell. Better than magical restriction. Force, duration of the restriction and number of possible target depend on the degree of expertise of the caster. Only the most powerful attacks may break the spell. Wind Walk: uncommon air spell. Can be cast on yourself or others. Allows the caster to walk on air. The number of steps possible depends on the expertise of the user. Mineral needles: common earth spell. Spell cast on a targeted area where mineral needles will spring from the ground more or less vertically. In addition to direct damages, victims suffer impalement damage until their release. The power of the attack depends on the expertise of the caster and soil quality in the targeted area. Alteration of soil: uncommon earth spell. Spell cast on a targeted zone which will have a liquefying or hardening effect. An earthy area will be transformed into mud, a sandy area into rocks. The affected area and depth depend on the expertise of the caster. Casting the spell on the same area will reverse the effect. After finishing learning spells and skills, Cilerius promised to return to Sigismund, but before he left, the latter noticed: "I see you happen to have a very rare skill, calligraphy ... I think we can help each other. Here is an ink stone and a stock of scrolls. They’re yours if you can give me thirty copies of this parchment." * Ding! Sigismund entrust you a mission: to provide thirty copies of a parchment. Prerequisite: calligraphy competence and at least neutral relationship with Sigismund. Reward: the equipment surplus and reputation gain with the elemental mages friendship. Cilerius could only find benefits to this proposal. He wondered, however: "What’s the elemental mages friendship? " "This is an informal group of mages who exchange information and services out of the academy shackles. " "Very well, I will provide these copies." You have accepted the mission. You get 50 scrolls and an ink stone. Cilerius advised a table and a chair near, under an oil lamp and laid there the parchment. He sat down, used the ink stone and then pulled out his pen. He dipped the tip of his pen in the ink and began to trace the letters with the greatest possible application. The bonus of the pen, +2 calligraphy level, helped a lot, but the first parchment was not a resounding success. Despite his best efforts, it was obvious that this tedious work couldn’t be perfect immediately. However this served him to train, so his second parchment, though it was still not a success, was considered a deserving work since a system window appeared: You gain a little experience in calligraphy. Calligraphy beginner level 1 (3.4%) You gain a little experience in handicraft. Handicraft beginner level 1 (2.3%) Encouraged by this result, Cilerius went back to work with even more application, so that after 2 hours, 7 scrolls used including 5 for a correct result and the last considered very good, he gained a level in calligraphy . Some scrolls later, this is the handicraft skill that gained a level. It is finally, after 9 hours of work that he could provide thirty scrolls of the required quality. At that time, he had reached Level 3 (45%) in calligraphy and Level 2 (78%) in handicraft. He handed the parchments to Sigismund: "Here, I've done my best, I think they should satisfy you. " "Thank you. I'll check them", he replied, taking the outstretched scrolls. He examined them carefully and then continued: "Very good, these are of sufficient quality." * Ding! you have completed the mission entrusted by Sigismund. You gain complicity with elemental mages friendship. (+50) "For each additional copy of the same type that you provide me, I will give you two blank scrolls. And we will be grateful." The proposal was still interesting, the wasted parchments now being at 1 on 3 and could only decrease with practice. "Very well, I will produce some more". And Cilerius took up his pen and began anew his task. 2 more hours and he could provide 13 scrolls, for three failures, including one of exceptional quality. Upon completion of the latter, he saw the display windows system to gain level in calligraphy, with a significant increase, level 4 (24%) and handicraft level 3 (2.3%). It was pleasing him. * Ding! gain level of handicraft (3) Learning cooking and sewing is possible. Increases melee and projectile weapons attack power (+3% attack) Increases attack power with bare hands (5% attack) 'Wow! it's great!' Exclaimed inwardly Cilerius. 'I think I'll practice crafts diligently. It will pay off." In addition, Art attribute was created with one point gain on completion of the exceptional quality parchment. He then gave the scrolls to quartermaster for which he received 26 blank scrolls, 70 points of complicity and one silver coin. The high quality parchment was paid double the complicity and even earned him the coin. This done, Cilerius decided it was time for him to venture outside the city walls and therefore took leave of Sigismund then rose to the surface and headed for the artisans district. He still had one thing to do before venturing outside the walls. He stopped at a shop that sold food ready-to-eat, products to prepare, cooking utensils and condiments. With a few pieces of money received by having completed basic training and completion of the mission of the Grandmaster, he bought basic condiments and some basic utensils, skewer, pan, knife, spatula, bottles, which cost him almost all of his money. However, he would be able to live on the nature and most importantly, not just on rye bread. To do this, he still had to do a little formality, learn the cooking skill. To do that, a quick discussion with the merchant on the interest he took in cooking, was sufficient, as he was proud of his work and thrilled that others had the same interest. This was only possible since Cilerius had and handicraft skill at level 3. This done, Cilerius headed for the gates of the city. Just before leaving the city, he disconnected of the game to take care of the few necessities of real life he might have after a very long day and before a night even longer. 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<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Seclusion</span></span><br><br>Allwind escaped the square with his pride and his identity relatively in tacked, before beginning what he thought, would be the hardest task in any world, trying to find Lillian’s home and then explaining to her parents what had happened and why she was currently sticking to his back wet through.<br><br>He sighed at the monumental task ahead of him, he knew that if his younger sister turned up at the front door in the same state, paralyzed or not he would kick the other persons back side down the road. <br><br>So he was somewhat afraid, when Lillian informed him that they had reached her house, from the look at the front of the house, anybody would have been afraid to enter never mind come close, the front was a shambles, the garden was barren, even the paint on the house walls looked like it was pealing away. <br><br>Allwind slowly approached the front door if it wasn’t for the fact that Lillian had started to shiver on his back he would have left not to mention that several system messages, had appeared in front of him informing him that he had court a cold this had come as quiet, a shock to begin with, as he had no idea that he could catch a cold in a game, the effects were starting to take their toll on him as his movements were becoming slow, knocking quiet loudly on the door, “go away, we paid the tax yesterday,” a female voice from inside answered, leaving Allwind quiet shocked there wasn’t a sign of the voice opening the door.<br><br>Knocking again the voice answered with the same line “looks like I need to do that then” Allwind thought to himself before taking a deep breath, “open up or I kick this door in, its an emergency,” he shouted at the top of his voice, the person on the other side of the door could be heard complaining, quietly as they opened the door slightly to reveal an old women.<br><br>“I don’t know you go away.” She cried out, Allwind was ready for what was coming next, as he expected the old women on the other side, tried to slam the door in his face however he managed to get his foot into the doorway causing the old women to curse, “you don’t know me but you should know your own daughter,” Allwind snapped more violently than he had intended to, as he turned to the side revealing Lillian’s wet form.<br><br>Ten minutes later he found himself sat in front of a hot roaring fire, a pot of porridge in front of him and a blanket around his shoulders, the old women turned out to be Lillian’s grandmother, who had apologised for her and her granddaughters behaviour, her grandfather was also some were in the big house.<br><br>The house itself was warm and surprisingly clean, compared to the outside. Inside it seemed that the kitchen, dining and living rooms were all one big room, with a long table and chairs in the middle of the room. A sofa and large cushions to sit on were at the opposite end to the kitchen with a really large fire place located in the middle of the room, there were three doors one leading to the front of the house another upstairs and a third at the back of the room, just then Lillian’s grandfather came into the room from the back door.<br><br>The old man was quiet angry, first he demanded to know why there was a foreigner in the main room, before demanding to know why his granddaughter was wet through. It took half an hour of careful explaining to calm the old man down, Allwind recounted everything he could remember, from the moment he had logged in to coming to the house.<br><br>The old man listened quietly, “thank you young man, you have saved my only granddaughter from harm at great danger to yourself, I’m afraid I don’t have any reward to give you.” He said standing next to Lillian.<br>“I did not save her for a reward,” Allwind said calmly smiling at the pair, the heat from the fire and the porridge, had finally worked their magic on him, releasing him from his in game cold, his stats had gone back to normal so he was free to go train in the plaza again.<br><br>“Now if you will excuse me, I need to go train,” Allwind said standing up and stretching before turning to leave. “Wait young man, you said you are going to go train but you do not need a reward, then you must be a knight in training.” The old man said looking at Allwind with light in his eyes. “That is true.” Allwind replied not knowing what knight in training meant.<br><br>“Follow me then, it happens that I might have something that will be of ample reward to you for saving my granddaughter,” the old man said heading for a back door a slightly confused Allwind following behind.<br><br>Allwind stood in shock at the sight before his eyes, the old man had taken him through the back door and into an even bigger room this one however contained everything from Allwind’s dreams, “You, You have your own gym,” he cried. “Yes this is a knights training room, you may train here as a reward for saving my granddaughter,” the old man said, as Allwind slowly walked around the gym, running his hands over familiar equipment as he did so the old man explained what each piece of equipment was for.<br><br>The balance beam will teach you how to use your feet, he stated as allwind walked alongside the low narrow beam that was supported on stilts and came up to his waist, after the hopes that are suspended from the roof will increase your upper body strength.<br><br>Allwind stopped suddenly gazing at a rack of weapons and a training dummy. “That is a scarecrow you will learn to use a sword or your own preferred weapon against it.”<br>“Can i really train here?” Allwind asked trying to keep the excitement out of his voice it wouldn’t do to act like a spoilt child in a candy store. “If you are willing to undergo knighthood training then yes you may i am only offering you this chance because you saved my granddaughter.”<br><br>T-Ting<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Knight Hood<br><br>Only a chosen few ever become full knights will you undergo knight hood training?<br><br>Quest rank D <br><br>Must have a good relationship with instructor to access this quest<br><br>Rewards: new class, knight</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br><br><br>“Only when i am happy that you have completed all the set tasks will you become a knight.”<br>The old man said staring intently at Allwind.<br><br>Allwind didn’t hesitate, just the chance of doing some real training in the game meant the world to him, he didn’t care about the quest he just wanted to train on the equipment again without even considering the consequences he accepted the quest.<br><br><br>------------------------------------------------------------------- end ----------------------------------------------------------------------<br><br>Authors notes<br><br>hi guys sorry it took a while for this chapter, yes i know its short, yes i know there are grammer errors and probably spelling errors, im learning how to use the new site i thing its fab personaly :D <br><br>will try to get back to a regular scedual of releases cant promise anything, what with 2 part time jobs, 2 novels and all the other stuff life tends to drasticly throught at me :D <br><br>next chapters a bit more forward in time i think not sure yet, see ya and have fun :D </div>

Seclusion Allwind escaped the square with his pride and his identity relatively in tacked, before beginning what he thought, would be the hardest task in any world, trying to find Lillian’s home and then explaining to her parents what had happened and why she was currently sticking to his back wet through. He sighed at the monumental task ahead of him, he knew that if his younger sister turned up at the front door in the same state, paralyzed or not he would kick the other persons back side down the road. So he was somewhat afraid, when Lillian informed him that they had reached her house, from the look at the front of the house, anybody would have been afraid to enter never mind come close, the front was a shambles, the garden was barren, even the paint on the house walls looked like it was pealing away. Allwind slowly approached the front door if it wasn’t for the fact that Lillian had started to shiver on his back he would have left not to mention that several system messages, had appeared in front of him informing him that he had court a cold this had come as quiet, a shock to begin with, as he had no idea that he could catch a cold in a game, the effects were starting to take their toll on him as his movements were becoming slow, knocking quiet loudly on the door, “go away, we paid the tax yesterday,” a female voice from inside answered, leaving Allwind quiet shocked there wasn’t a sign of the voice opening the door. Knocking again the voice answered with the same line “looks like I need to do that then” Allwind thought to himself before taking a deep breath, “open up or I kick this door in, its an emergency,” he shouted at the top of his voice, the person on the other side of the door could be heard complaining, quietly as they opened the door slightly to reveal an old women. “I don’t know you go away.” She cried out, Allwind was ready for what was coming next, as he expected the old women on the other side, tried to slam the door in his face however he managed to get his foot into the doorway causing the old women to curse, “you don’t know me but you should know your own daughter,” Allwind snapped more violently than he had intended to, as he turned to the side revealing Lillian’s wet form. Ten minutes later he found himself sat in front of a hot roaring fire, a pot of porridge in front of him and a blanket around his shoulders, the old women turned out to be Lillian’s grandmother, who had apologised for her and her granddaughters behaviour, her grandfather was also some were in the big house. The house itself was warm and surprisingly clean, compared to the outside. Inside it seemed that the kitchen, dining and living rooms were all one big room, with a long table and chairs in the middle of the room. A sofa and large cushions to sit on were at the opposite end to the kitchen with a really large fire place located in the middle of the room, there were three doors one leading to the front of the house another upstairs and a third at the back of the room, just then Lillian’s grandfather came into the room from the back door. The old man was quiet angry, first he demanded to know why there was a foreigner in the main room, before demanding to know why his granddaughter was wet through. It took half an hour of careful explaining to calm the old man down, Allwind recounted everything he could remember, from the moment he had logged in to coming to the house. The old man listened quietly, “thank you young man, you have saved my only granddaughter from harm at great danger to yourself, I’m afraid I don’t have any reward to give you.” He said standing next to Lillian. “I did not save her for a reward,” Allwind said calmly smiling at the pair, the heat from the fire and the porridge, had finally worked their magic on him, releasing him from his in game cold, his stats had gone back to normal so he was free to go train in the plaza again. “Now if you will excuse me, I need to go train,” Allwind said standing up and stretching before turning to leave. “Wait young man, you said you are going to go train but you do not need a reward, then you must be a knight in training.” The old man said looking at Allwind with light in his eyes. “That is true.” Allwind replied not knowing what knight in training meant. “Follow me then, it happens that I might have something that will be of ample reward to you for saving my granddaughter,” the old man said heading for a back door a slightly confused Allwind following behind. Allwind stood in shock at the sight before his eyes, the old man had taken him through the back door and into an even bigger room this one however contained everything from Allwind’s dreams, “You, You have your own gym,” he cried. “Yes this is a knights training room, you may train here as a reward for saving my granddaughter,” the old man said, as Allwind slowly walked around the gym, running his hands over familiar equipment as he did so the old man explained what each piece of equipment was for. The balance beam will teach you how to use your feet, he stated as allwind walked alongside the low narrow beam that was supported on stilts and came up to his waist, after the hopes that are suspended from the roof will increase your upper body strength. Allwind stopped suddenly gazing at a rack of weapons and a training dummy. “That is a scarecrow you will learn to use a sword or your own preferred weapon against it.” “Can i really train here?” Allwind asked trying to keep the excitement out of his voice it wouldn’t do to act like a spoilt child in a candy store. “If you are willing to undergo knighthood training then yes you may i am only offering you this chance because you saved my granddaughter.” T-Ting | Knight HoodOnly a chosen few ever become full knights will you undergo knight hood training?Quest rank D Must have a good relationship with instructor to access this questRewards: new class, knight | | --- | “Only when i am happy that you have completed all the set tasks will you become a knight.” The old man said staring intently at Allwind. Allwind didn’t hesitate, just the chance of doing some real training in the game meant the world to him, he didn’t care about the quest he just wanted to train on the equipment again without even considering the consequences he accepted the quest. ------------------------------------------------------------------- end ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Authors notes hi guys sorry it took a while for this chapter, yes i know its short, yes i know there are grammer errors and probably spelling errors, im learning how to use the new site i thing its fab personaly :D will try to get back to a regular scedual of releases cant promise anything, what with 2 part time jobs, 2 novels and all the other stuff life tends to drasticly throught at me :D next chapters a bit more forward in time i think not sure yet, see ya and have fun :D

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> Chapter 2<br><br><br>It is often when you want time to go faster that it seems to slow down, mocking you. The agonizing wait for each rotation of the hands builds your irritation closer to a boiling point.<br><br>This is the situation Kristen now finds herself in. Everything had been fine until she realized that she only had 20 minutes left of her shift. Now every second seemed like an hour and every minute seemed like a day. As she quietly seethed her way towards the back room, a voice called out to break her concentration.<br><br>“Hey Kristen, do you really want to leave that badly?”<br><br>It was the head waiter, her boss, Steve. He was a little older than her, maybe in his late 20’s and a very clean cut sort of fellow. She quickly tried to put a smile on her face as she answered.<br><br>“W-What do you mean haha….of course not, what gives you that idea?”<br><br>A disappointing look came across his face as he responded “Don’t give me that, I’ve worked with you long enough to know when you’re in a bad mood. It’s obvious since you’ve been staring at the clock for awhile now.”<br><br>“Is it really that obvious?” she laughed hesitantly at the embarrassment of being discovered.<br><br>“Geeze, if you really want to leave that badly, then just go.”<br><br>Kristen was about to respond until she realized what he said.<br><br>“Wait, say that again?”<br><br>Steve scratched his head while giving a response “The truth is I was planning on letting you out early anyway because of how hard you’ve been working lately.”<br><br>Kristen was genuinely surprised. “Is it really alright?”<br><br>“What, do you think I am some kind of slave driver? …unless you want to stay?” an evil grin spread across his face.<br><br>“I’m going!” she quickly decided to take advantage of this rare moment of mercy from him.<br><br>She gathered her things and clocked out. As she headed in the direction of her apartment, she realized that she forgot to thank him on the way.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">I’ll have to remember to thank him the next time I see him.</span><br><br>Walking down the sidewalk she became lost in thought.<br><br>“The last time I was this excited about something was when that bookstore opened near my apartment.”<br><br>Kristen didn’t consider herself an avid gamer, but thanks to her brothers she had been forced to play games more than most people. She would often practice in secret because she needed to be good enough to beat them at a moments notice. She may have even enjoyed the challenge of trying to beat them, but that’s something she would never admit to their face.<br><br>As she finally made her way back into her apartment and turned on the lights, her eyes slowly drew their attention to the large capsule set up behind the sofa.<br><br>“hmm…should I try it right away or read the manual?….wait I should probably take a shower first.”<br><br>After taking a shower and changing out of her work clothes she sat down on the sofa, now fully relaxed. On the table was the manual that the boy in the baseball cap had handed her.<br><br>“let’s see what it has to say.”<br><br>She grabbed it off the desk and began perusing through its pages. After about 10 minutes of doing so she quickly lost her patience.<br><br>“AGH!... there’s too much terminology I don’t understand, not to mention all this fantasy mumbo jumbo. I’m better off just jumping right in!”<br><br>With that, she got up and slid into the capsule behind her. She closed the lid and waited for something to happen. After a moment there was a flash and a message appeared in front of her.<br><br><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td><div style="text-align: center">Do you want to Connect to Royal Road?<br>Yes/No</div></td></tr></tbody></table></div><br><br>“Yes.”<br><br>A red light flashed into her eye making her blink a few times to regain composure.<br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">“The scan on your Iris vein has determined that you are an unregistered user. Do you want to create a new account?”</span></span><br><br>“Yes, I would like to.” As she said that Kristen quietly wondered to herself if the feminine voice she was hearing was an actual person’s or a synthetic one.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">It’s so soothing.</span><br><br>Looking around Kristen could see nothing but white space, the only one in the area seemed to be her.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">“Select the name of your avatar.”</span></span><br><br>This was a simple choice for Kristen. Ever since she started playing games to beat her brothers, she had used a particular name for all the characters she played. It was her lucky charm for playing games and with it she had never lost to her brothers even once.<br><br>“Sen” she said with confidence.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">“Select your gender-“</span></span><br><br>The second she heard the word gender she knew what to say “Keep me female please.”<br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">“Royal Road has forty-nine races. You may select your race from the primary twenty-nine.”</span></span><br><br>“Human is fine”<br><br>Kristen had read enough of the manual to know what the other races are but she had little knowledge about what the differences between them was.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">Better to just stick with what I know.</span><br><br><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">“You may alter your appearance if you wish. To do so now, say yes. If not, say pass.”</span></span><br><br>Kristen’s attention suddenly peaked. The thought of changing her appearance had never even crossed her mind until this point. After contemplating for a few moments she was about to decline before a realization hit her.<br><br>“Yes, I want to change my appearance!”<br><br>A full detailed 3d model of Kristen appeared. It was a weird experience for Kristen as it was the first time she had seen herself like this. She quickly regained her composure and, looking at the model that had just appeared, began to laugh maniacally.<br><br>“This is perfect, now I can finally fix my bad genes!”<br><br>As she laughed with these thoughts of joy, she made her way towards the model and began shaping it the way she wanted. After spending a few minutes fiddling around with the model she stepped back. She gave a self satisfying grin, crossed her arms, and nodded in approval. The model seemed exactly the same as it had been before, except for the jaw line, which seemed slightly less chiseled.<br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">“Do you wish to keep these changes?”</span></span><br><br>“Of course!”<br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">“Your account has been activated. Your stats and class shall be determined while you are playing Royal Road.”</span></span><br><br>“Can we get on with this, its taking too long!” Kristen shouted, now becoming irritated slightly.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">“Select a city and Kingdom to start in.”</span></span><br><br>“Uh…..crap, I wish I had read enough of the manual to know a city name.” she tried to think of what she might want in a city and suddenly an idea popped into her head. Kristen’s first love had always been books; one of the things she was curious about in Royal Road was the kind of books that were available.<br><br>“I know! I want to go to the city with the largest library!”<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">“Welcome to Royal Road.”</span></span><br><br>Suddenly a bright light flashed, forcing Sen to shield her eyes with her arms. Slowly the sounds of people filled her ears. As she moved her arms away to take in the scenery she found herself speechless at the sight before her.<br><br>The first thing she noticed was the buildings. They varied in all shapes and sizes as if they had each been made by a different person. Many of them had carvings and paintings on them which made them pop with color and character. The second thing she noticed was the people. Artists of all types littered the roadsides, painting caricatures and singing songs. The rest of the people in the area seemed to be comprised mostly of beggars asking for money. Occasionally she thought she saw a warrior or wizard of some kind, but the amount of them could probably be counted on one hand.<br><br>After taking a moment to gather her thoughts she turned her attention to herself, marveling at the realism of it all. She could feel the sun on her skin and smell the cooking of a nearby restaurant. She brought her hands up in front of her face and tried opening and closing her fists.<br><br>“This is amazing!”<br><br>As she did this she began to hear snickering from a few people that had noticed her entrance.<br><br>“She must be new.”<br><br>“Is this her first time playing a virtual reality game?”<br><br>“I remember when I started.”<br><br>Suddenly realizing the attention she was bringing to herself, her face became red with embarrassment. She quickly ducked away from those gathered and weaved her way down the busy streets. Having recovered a bit from the initial shock of things she tried to think of what to do next.<br><br>“I know I want to check out the library but I have no idea where to start, maybe I should ask someone?”<br><br>As she was walking around the plaza where she started, she noticed a large group of people looking and pointing at a Mural on the side of a building. She went closer until she could tell exactly what it was.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">It’s a map of the city!</span><br><br>Written in large letters above the map was the line “The City of Rhodium”<br><br>“Rhodium…..I guess that’s where I’m starting.”<br><br>All the depictions of buildings on the map were labeled with what they were supposed to be. A red dot marked the spot she was currently in. Sen began looking for anything regarding the library and quickly found it labeled on one of the largest buildings depicted.<br><br>“The Geihar Von Arpen library huh? …looks like it’s on the other side of the city.”<br><br>With that, she started in the direction of the library. On the way she was able to take in the beauty of the city. There were paintings, carvings, and sculptures dotted everywhere. However, after a bit, she realized that many of the buildings were falling apart and in disrepair. As she rounded a corner she was stopped in her tracks with another fantastic sight.<br><br>The face of a grand building now towered over her. A huge staircase led up to a massive entrance way outlined by four massive pillars. As if that didn’t make it stand out enough, the building was one of the few that didn’t look as if it was in dire need of reconstruction. The words “Geihar Von Arpen” were written across the top of the structure.<br><br>“I-Incredible! This is a Library!?” she said, the excitement building in her voice.<br><br>She quickly tried to run up the stairs but tripped over something before she could even make it up the first few steps. As she turned around she realized she had tripped over a particularly bright colored human figure. It seemed to her like he had been sitting on the bottom of the stairs.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">How did I not notice him before?</span><br><br>“Ah~ what a crappy start to my adventure..” said the boy now lying sprawled out on the ground.<br><br>As Sen reached down to help him up she was able to get a good look at him. He seemed younger than her by a couple years, about the age of her second oldest brother John. He had bright golden hair that flowed almost as long as hers and he had sky blue eyes. He was wearing a bright yellow robe that looked like something a noble might wear; only it was made out of a cheap cloth material. As he finally got to his feet, the hair covering his ears parted, revealing them to be pointy. Kristen couldn’t help but stare as she engaged in conversation.<br><br>“Uhh….I’m sorry that…..I…you know…tripped and...stuff….” as Sen distractingly tried to apologize, the boy hardly paid attention, seeming to be lost in his own world.<br><br>“I wonder if I could create a new account?” he said mumbling under his breath.<br>Seeing how he was distracted, Sen let her curiosity get the best of her. She had never seen anything like it and wondered how real they were. She slowly brought her hands up from the boy’s shoulders, and as he mumbled to himself under his breath, quickly grabbed the tips of his ears between her thumbs and forefingers.<br><br>Instantly the boy let out a sharp yelp and jumped back away from Sen.<br><br>“W-What the h-hell are you doing to m-me!?” his voice was trembling and tears welled in his eyes as if he had just been violated. Sen tried to think of something to say in order to justify her action.<br><br>“Ah well…I mean, they just looked so real that I wondered what they felt like.”<br><br>The boy was taken aback by her blatant honesty “O-Of course they’re real! They’re sensitive too!” he then cupped his ears with his hands, expecting Sen’s still outstretched arms to reach for them again. A sudden wave of embarrassment washed over her and she tried to quickly be rid of this situation.<br><br>“W-Well you seem ok, so…I’ll just be on my way then.” She quickly turned around and began to make her way up the stairs but was stopped before she could get further than a few steps.<br><br>“Hey where do you think you’re going after doing something like that?” he reached out and grabbed the back of her shirt.<br><br>Sen looked over her shoulder at the boy and pointed to the top of the staircase “I’m going to the library.”<br><br>“That’s a library?” asked the boy, like he had just realized where he was for the first time.<br><br>Sen turned around and grabbed the boy’s hand, not able to hide her excitement about the topic.<br><br>“I know! Doesn’t it look amazing? Just imagine how many books they have in there!”<br><br>“huh..books? sure I guess…” the boy now seemed confused at the abrupt change in personality.<br><br>Sen mistakenly took his expression as disinterest in the thing she loved “Hey! What do you have against books? Don’t tell me you don’t like them!?”<br><br>“What? No I don’t really have a problem with books….”<br><br>“Then what’s your issue?” said Sen, finally letting go of the boy’s hand.<br><br>“it’s this city, it has no money!” he shouted in despair.<br><br>“Well I understand money is important but it’s not everything.” Sen lectured from experience.<br><br>“It is to a merchant!”<br><br>“Oh…well why don’t you go to another city?”<br><br>“That takes money!...also I just started playing a week ago so I can’t leave the city.” As he said this his voice slowly trailed off.<br><br>Now Sen understood the boy’s frustration, but it didn’t stop questions from worming their way into her brain.<br><br>“Wait, new players can’t leave the city? Why didn’t you start somewhere else if you knew that?”<br><br>The information didn’t phase Sen that much as she was more interested what was in the library at the moment than anything that is outside the city walls.<br><br>“Well I figured I’d take a gamble with the starting city….wait you didn’t know that?” the boy asked with a surprised look on his face.<br><br>Ignoring the question directed at her Sen continued with her lecture. “Well, giving up before you try isn’t good. I’m sure if you think about it you can come up with an answer.”<br><br>“Really? Like what?” the boy now gave her a look of hope. Feeling the pressure, Sen racked her brain thinking of a solution. An idea formed as she glanced at the library behind her.<br><br>“The library!” she shouted. A look of disappointment spread across the boy’s face, as if he had just been betrayed.<br><br>“No wait, hear me out. A library of this size might have more than just books in it. There could be something in there that can help you remedy the situation!”<br><br>“Really?” asked the boy, still skeptical about the whole thing.<br><br>“Definitely..uhh….sorry what was your name again?” Sen asked, slightly embarrassed she hadn’t thought to ask sooner.<br><br>“My name is Lance.” The boy said with a smile across his face. “Are you sure I can find something in there?”<br><br>“At the very least it couldn’t hurt to check out… I’m Sen by the way.” With that, she grabbed his hand and began hauling him up the staircase.<br><br>As the two opened the door it became obvious that the outside wasn’t the only thing grand about the building. Standing behind a reception desk, located directly in front of them, were lines of 20ft tall bookcases. The entire center of the building was open space and from where they were standing they could see the balconies of a 2nd and 3rd floor. The staircases leading up were located on either side of them.<br><br>Lance turned to say something to his new companion but was met with empty space where she had just been. Looking around he found her darting between the bookcases wagging her imaginary tail.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">She’s like a dog that just found out where the treats are hidden.</span><br><br>Since it didn’t seem like he could regain her attention any time soon he turned his focus towards the clerk behind the desk. “How may I help you today sir?” she asked.<br><br>“Well, does this library have anything other than books?”<br><br>The clerk considered for a moment then said “No, we don’t have any other departments if that’s what you’re asking. If there is a particular topic you are looking for I’m sure we have some books on it though. You’re free to browse all you like.”<br><br>Lance couldn’t hide his irritation, but was quickly able to dissipate it since he wasn’t too hopeful to begin with. Since he was already in the library he decided it wouldn’t hurt to at least have a look around.<br><br>“Do you have any books about business?” He asked not expecting much.<br><br>“Of course, follow me and I’ll show you where they are located” pleasantly surprised, Lance followed her toward the staircase. He looked around before going up to see if he could spot Sen, but didn’t see anything.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">She’ll probably be fine.</span><br><br>Sen was now lost in a maze of bookcases. She had become so excited at the sheer volume of books that she couldn’t help but rush over to inspect them. On top of that she had gotten separated from her new companion in the process. As she was looking for a way back to the entrance, the sound of a sniffling nose resonated through the bookcases.<br><br>Sen tracked the sound until it seemed incredibly close. She rounded a corner and was met with a small boy sitting on the floor crying softly. Sen, being an older sister, couldn’t just sit back and do nothing. She approached the boy and offered a hand.<br><br>“I don’t know what’s wrong but I’m sure we can do something about it if we work together.”<br><br>The boy was surprised at the stranger now offering to console him. Suddenly he wailed loudly and buried his face on her shoulder. After a few minutes he seemed to calm down and Sen decided to try prying for information.<br><br>“Now why don’t you tell me what’s wrong so that I can help?”<br><br>“A *sniff* book…” whimpered the boy.<br><br>“Book?”<br><br>“*sniff* yea…I was supposed to secretly hold on to an important book…but..but WAHHHH!!” the boy suddenly started crying harder. As Sen tried to comfort the boy a message popped up in front of her.<br><br><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td><div style="text-align: center">Sniffling Secret<br><br>A crying boy in the library is distraught over a lost book. It seems very important to him. Perhaps another set of eyes will be able to help him in his search?<br>Difficulty Level: F<br>Quest Reward: Unknown</div></td></tr></tbody></table></div><br><br><br>Sen was taken aback by the sudden quest.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">This kid is an NPC then?</span><br><br>Since She had already planned to help the kid anyway she decided to accept the quest. Not to mention she was curious about what kind of book it was as well.<br><br>“I’ll help you find your book.”<br><br><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td><div style="text-align: center">You have accepted the quest</div></td></tr></tbody></table></div><br><br>“*sniff* really? Thanks miss….its a big green book…. *sniff*and it glows a little. I’ll go look this way!” suddenly the kid dashed off before Sen could get anything more out of him.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">Well at least I got a description out of him.</span><br><br>Sen then began to make her way around the library looking for any sign of the book. Doing this allowed her to really take in the sheer size of the place. After nearly an hour of searching she had scoured the entire bottom floor.<br><br>“It must be on one of the upper floors-“ her thoughts were cut off when she caught something out of the corner of her eye. Located behind a small sitting area with a table and chairs was a little bookcase that came up to about Sen’s waist. On the bottom shelf there was a fairly large book and even though it was light in the room, it seemed to have a faint green glow somehow.<br><br>Sen walked over and picked it up. She inspected it and to her surprise couldn’t open it even though there were no bindings or lock.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">This must be it.</span><br><br>She found her way back to the spot where she had found the boy but he was nowhere to be seen. She remembered that there was a clerk at the front desk and decided to see if she could find him that way. As the reception counter came into view a surprising scene was unfolding before her.<br><br>The boy she had met in the bookcases was sitting on the counter with an angry look on his face. He was being lectured by the girl that had welcomed her and Lance. When the boy saw Sen approaching he quickly ducked under the counter. The girl was about to lay into him with threats when she saw Sen and the book she was holding.<br><br>“I’m so sorry!” said the girl.<br><br>“I’m not sure what there is to be sorry for, but it didn’t trouble me that much whatever it was.”<br><br>The girl seemed surprised by her response “even still, I’m sorry for my brother making you go through the trouble of looking for that book.”<br><br>“He’s your brother?” asked Sen curiously.<br><br>The girl pulled the boy out from under the counter. A painful expression was on his face. “Yes, My name is Lily and this is my brother Brayden. I work here and my brother is often forced to come with me. He’s been complaining about how boring it is here so I tried to make a little game for him to play by hiding that book. I didn’t think he would make someone else find it for him!”<br><br>Horrible memories of her own brothers flashed in Sen’s mind. “Don’t worry about it too much I’m use to this kind of stuff.”<br><br>“Really!? Thank you!....you can keep that book if you want since you went through all the trouble to find it. The person who sold it to me said it was valuable.”<br><br><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td><div style="text-align: center">Quest Complete!<br><br>The crying boy you met in the bookcases tricked you into finding the book his sister had hidden for him. After talking to the sister, she agreed to let you keep the book in compensation for all the trouble caused.</div></td></tr></tbody></table></div><br><br><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td><div style="text-align: center">You have leveled up!</div></td></tr></tbody></table></div><br><br>“Wow! My first quest!” Sen thought to herself.<br><br>As Lily went back to lecturing her little brother, Sen took the opportunity to inspect the book she had just been granted.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">Maybe I can open it now?</span><br><br>She pried open the cover and suddenly the green light emanating from the book grew brighter. A second later the book itself disappeared and a message window replaced it.<br><br><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td><div style="text-align: center">Skill: you acquired a new skill, Item Identification</div></td></tr></tbody></table></div><br><br>Before she even had a chance to check her newly acquired skill, a familiar voice came from the direction of the staircase. Sen looked up to see Lance on the stairs, frantically waving what looked like a book in his hand.<br><br>“Sen! You were right! I found something!” </div>

Chapter 2 It is often when you want time to go faster that it seems to slow down, mocking you. The agonizing wait for each rotation of the hands builds your irritation closer to a boiling point. This is the situation Kristen now finds herself in. Everything had been fine until she realized that she only had 20 minutes left of her shift. Now every second seemed like an hour and every minute seemed like a day. As she quietly seethed her way towards the back room, a voice called out to break her concentration. “Hey Kristen, do you really want to leave that badly?” It was the head waiter, her boss, Steve. He was a little older than her, maybe in his late 20’s and a very clean cut sort of fellow. She quickly tried to put a smile on her face as she answered. “W-What do you mean haha….of course not, what gives you that idea?” A disappointing look came across his face as he responded “Don’t give me that, I’ve worked with you long enough to know when you’re in a bad mood. It’s obvious since you’ve been staring at the clock for awhile now.” “Is it really that obvious?” she laughed hesitantly at the embarrassment of being discovered. “Geeze, if you really want to leave that badly, then just go.” Kristen was about to respond until she realized what he said. “Wait, say that again?” Steve scratched his head while giving a response “The truth is I was planning on letting you out early anyway because of how hard you’ve been working lately.” Kristen was genuinely surprised. “Is it really alright?” “What, do you think I am some kind of slave driver? …unless you want to stay?” an evil grin spread across his face. “I’m going!” she quickly decided to take advantage of this rare moment of mercy from him. She gathered her things and clocked out. As she headed in the direction of her apartment, she realized that she forgot to thank him on the way. I’ll have to remember to thank him the next time I see him. Walking down the sidewalk she became lost in thought. “The last time I was this excited about something was when that bookstore opened near my apartment.” Kristen didn’t consider herself an avid gamer, but thanks to her brothers she had been forced to play games more than most people. She would often practice in secret because she needed to be good enough to beat them at a moments notice. She may have even enjoyed the challenge of trying to beat them, but that’s something she would never admit to their face. As she finally made her way back into her apartment and turned on the lights, her eyes slowly drew their attention to the large capsule set up behind the sofa. “hmm…should I try it right away or read the manual?….wait I should probably take a shower first.” After taking a shower and changing out of her work clothes she sat down on the sofa, now fully relaxed. On the table was the manual that the boy in the baseball cap had handed her. “let’s see what it has to say.” She grabbed it off the desk and began perusing through its pages. After about 10 minutes of doing so she quickly lost her patience. “AGH!... there’s too much terminology I don’t understand, not to mention all this fantasy mumbo jumbo. I’m better off just jumping right in!” With that, she got up and slid into the capsule behind her. She closed the lid and waited for something to happen. After a moment there was a flash and a message appeared in front of her. | Do you want to Connect to Royal Road?Yes/No | | --- | “Yes.” A red light flashed into her eye making her blink a few times to regain composure. “The scan on your Iris vein has determined that you are an unregistered user. Do you want to create a new account?” “Yes, I would like to.” As she said that Kristen quietly wondered to herself if the feminine voice she was hearing was an actual person’s or a synthetic one. It’s so soothing. Looking around Kristen could see nothing but white space, the only one in the area seemed to be her. “Select the name of your avatar.” This was a simple choice for Kristen. Ever since she started playing games to beat her brothers, she had used a particular name for all the characters she played. It was her lucky charm for playing games and with it she had never lost to her brothers even once. “Sen” she said with confidence. “Select your gender-“ The second she heard the word gender she knew what to say “Keep me female please.” “Royal Road has forty-nine races. You may select your race from the primary twenty-nine.” “Human is fine” Kristen had read enough of the manual to know what the other races are but she had little knowledge about what the differences between them was. Better to just stick with what I know. “You may alter your appearance if you wish. To do so now, say yes. If not, say pass.” Kristen’s attention suddenly peaked. The thought of changing her appearance had never even crossed her mind until this point. After contemplating for a few moments she was about to decline before a realization hit her. “Yes, I want to change my appearance!” A full detailed 3d model of Kristen appeared. It was a weird experience for Kristen as it was the first time she had seen herself like this. She quickly regained her composure and, looking at the model that had just appeared, began to laugh maniacally. “This is perfect, now I can finally fix my bad genes!” As she laughed with these thoughts of joy, she made her way towards the model and began shaping it the way she wanted. After spending a few minutes fiddling around with the model she stepped back. She gave a self satisfying grin, crossed her arms, and nodded in approval. The model seemed exactly the same as it had been before, except for the jaw line, which seemed slightly less chiseled. “Do you wish to keep these changes?” “Of course!” “Your account has been activated. Your stats and class shall be determined while you are playing Royal Road.” “Can we get on with this, its taking too long!” Kristen shouted, now becoming irritated slightly. “Select a city and Kingdom to start in.” “Uh…..crap, I wish I had read enough of the manual to know a city name.” she tried to think of what she might want in a city and suddenly an idea popped into her head. Kristen’s first love had always been books; one of the things she was curious about in Royal Road was the kind of books that were available. “I know! I want to go to the city with the largest library!” “Welcome to Royal Road.” Suddenly a bright light flashed, forcing Sen to shield her eyes with her arms. Slowly the sounds of people filled her ears. As she moved her arms away to take in the scenery she found herself speechless at the sight before her. The first thing she noticed was the buildings. They varied in all shapes and sizes as if they had each been made by a different person. Many of them had carvings and paintings on them which made them pop with color and character. The second thing she noticed was the people. Artists of all types littered the roadsides, painting caricatures and singing songs. The rest of the people in the area seemed to be comprised mostly of beggars asking for money. Occasionally she thought she saw a warrior or wizard of some kind, but the amount of them could probably be counted on one hand. After taking a moment to gather her thoughts she turned her attention to herself, marveling at the realism of it all. She could feel the sun on her skin and smell the cooking of a nearby restaurant. She brought her hands up in front of her face and tried opening and closing her fists. “This is amazing!” As she did this she began to hear snickering from a few people that had noticed her entrance. “She must be new.” “Is this her first time playing a virtual reality game?” “I remember when I started.” Suddenly realizing the attention she was bringing to herself, her face became red with embarrassment. She quickly ducked away from those gathered and weaved her way down the busy streets. Having recovered a bit from the initial shock of things she tried to think of what to do next. “I know I want to check out the library but I have no idea where to start, maybe I should ask someone?” As she was walking around the plaza where she started, she noticed a large group of people looking and pointing at a Mural on the side of a building. She went closer until she could tell exactly what it was. It’s a map of the city! Written in large letters above the map was the line “The City of Rhodium” “Rhodium…..I guess that’s where I’m starting.” All the depictions of buildings on the map were labeled with what they were supposed to be. A red dot marked the spot she was currently in. Sen began looking for anything regarding the library and quickly found it labeled on one of the largest buildings depicted. “The Geihar Von Arpen library huh? …looks like it’s on the other side of the city.” With that, she started in the direction of the library. On the way she was able to take in the beauty of the city. There were paintings, carvings, and sculptures dotted everywhere. However, after a bit, she realized that many of the buildings were falling apart and in disrepair. As she rounded a corner she was stopped in her tracks with another fantastic sight. The face of a grand building now towered over her. A huge staircase led up to a massive entrance way outlined by four massive pillars. As if that didn’t make it stand out enough, the building was one of the few that didn’t look as if it was in dire need of reconstruction. The words “Geihar Von Arpen” were written across the top of the structure. “I-Incredible! This is a Library!?” she said, the excitement building in her voice. She quickly tried to run up the stairs but tripped over something before she could even make it up the first few steps. As she turned around she realized she had tripped over a particularly bright colored human figure. It seemed to her like he had been sitting on the bottom of the stairs. How did I not notice him before? “Ah~ what a crappy start to my adventure..” said the boy now lying sprawled out on the ground. As Sen reached down to help him up she was able to get a good look at him. He seemed younger than her by a couple years, about the age of her second oldest brother John. He had bright golden hair that flowed almost as long as hers and he had sky blue eyes. He was wearing a bright yellow robe that looked like something a noble might wear; only it was made out of a cheap cloth material. As he finally got to his feet, the hair covering his ears parted, revealing them to be pointy. Kristen couldn’t help but stare as she engaged in conversation. “Uhh….I’m sorry that…..I…you know…tripped and...stuff….” as Sen distractingly tried to apologize, the boy hardly paid attention, seeming to be lost in his own world. “I wonder if I could create a new account?” he said mumbling under his breath. Seeing how he was distracted, Sen let her curiosity get the best of her. She had never seen anything like it and wondered how real they were. She slowly brought her hands up from the boy’s shoulders, and as he mumbled to himself under his breath, quickly grabbed the tips of his ears between her thumbs and forefingers. Instantly the boy let out a sharp yelp and jumped back away from Sen. “W-What the h-hell are you doing to m-me!?” his voice was trembling and tears welled in his eyes as if he had just been violated. Sen tried to think of something to say in order to justify her action. “Ah well…I mean, they just looked so real that I wondered what they felt like.” The boy was taken aback by her blatant honesty “O-Of course they’re real! They’re sensitive too!” he then cupped his ears with his hands, expecting Sen’s still outstretched arms to reach for them again. A sudden wave of embarrassment washed over her and she tried to quickly be rid of this situation. “W-Well you seem ok, so…I’ll just be on my way then.” She quickly turned around and began to make her way up the stairs but was stopped before she could get further than a few steps. “Hey where do you think you’re going after doing something like that?” he reached out and grabbed the back of her shirt. Sen looked over her shoulder at the boy and pointed to the top of the staircase “I’m going to the library.” “That’s a library?” asked the boy, like he had just realized where he was for the first time. Sen turned around and grabbed the boy’s hand, not able to hide her excitement about the topic. “I know! Doesn’t it look amazing? Just imagine how many books they have in there!” “huh..books? sure I guess…” the boy now seemed confused at the abrupt change in personality. Sen mistakenly took his expression as disinterest in the thing she loved “Hey! What do you have against books? Don’t tell me you don’t like them!?” “What? No I don’t really have a problem with books….” “Then what’s your issue?” said Sen, finally letting go of the boy’s hand. “it’s this city, it has no money!” he shouted in despair. “Well I understand money is important but it’s not everything.” Sen lectured from experience. “It is to a merchant!” “Oh…well why don’t you go to another city?” “That takes money!...also I just started playing a week ago so I can’t leave the city.” As he said this his voice slowly trailed off. Now Sen understood the boy’s frustration, but it didn’t stop questions from worming their way into her brain. “Wait, new players can’t leave the city? Why didn’t you start somewhere else if you knew that?” The information didn’t phase Sen that much as she was more interested what was in the library at the moment than anything that is outside the city walls. “Well I figured I’d take a gamble with the starting city….wait you didn’t know that?” the boy asked with a surprised look on his face. Ignoring the question directed at her Sen continued with her lecture. “Well, giving up before you try isn’t good. I’m sure if you think about it you can come up with an answer.” “Really? Like what?” the boy now gave her a look of hope. Feeling the pressure, Sen racked her brain thinking of a solution. An idea formed as she glanced at the library behind her. “The library!” she shouted. A look of disappointment spread across the boy’s face, as if he had just been betrayed. “No wait, hear me out. A library of this size might have more than just books in it. There could be something in there that can help you remedy the situation!” “Really?” asked the boy, still skeptical about the whole thing. “Definitely..uhh….sorry what was your name again?” Sen asked, slightly embarrassed she hadn’t thought to ask sooner. “My name is Lance.” The boy said with a smile across his face. “Are you sure I can find something in there?” “At the very least it couldn’t hurt to check out… I’m Sen by the way.” With that, she grabbed his hand and began hauling him up the staircase. As the two opened the door it became obvious that the outside wasn’t the only thing grand about the building. Standing behind a reception desk, located directly in front of them, were lines of 20ft tall bookcases. The entire center of the building was open space and from where they were standing they could see the balconies of a 2nd and 3rd floor. The staircases leading up were located on either side of them. Lance turned to say something to his new companion but was met with empty space where she had just been. Looking around he found her darting between the bookcases wagging her imaginary tail. She’s like a dog that just found out where the treats are hidden. Since it didn’t seem like he could regain her attention any time soon he turned his focus towards the clerk behind the desk. “How may I help you today sir?” she asked. “Well, does this library have anything other than books?” The clerk considered for a moment then said “No, we don’t have any other departments if that’s what you’re asking. If there is a particular topic you are looking for I’m sure we have some books on it though. You’re free to browse all you like.” Lance couldn’t hide his irritation, but was quickly able to dissipate it since he wasn’t too hopeful to begin with. Since he was already in the library he decided it wouldn’t hurt to at least have a look around. “Do you have any books about business?” He asked not expecting much. “Of course, follow me and I’ll show you where they are located” pleasantly surprised, Lance followed her toward the staircase. He looked around before going up to see if he could spot Sen, but didn’t see anything. She’ll probably be fine. Sen was now lost in a maze of bookcases. She had become so excited at the sheer volume of books that she couldn’t help but rush over to inspect them. On top of that she had gotten separated from her new companion in the process. As she was looking for a way back to the entrance, the sound of a sniffling nose resonated through the bookcases. Sen tracked the sound until it seemed incredibly close. She rounded a corner and was met with a small boy sitting on the floor crying softly. Sen, being an older sister, couldn’t just sit back and do nothing. She approached the boy and offered a hand. “I don’t know what’s wrong but I’m sure we can do something about it if we work together.” The boy was surprised at the stranger now offering to console him. Suddenly he wailed loudly and buried his face on her shoulder. After a few minutes he seemed to calm down and Sen decided to try prying for information. “Now why don’t you tell me what’s wrong so that I can help?” “A *sniff* book…” whimpered the boy. “Book?” “*sniff* yea…I was supposed to secretly hold on to an important book…but..but WAHHHH!!” the boy suddenly started crying harder. As Sen tried to comfort the boy a message popped up in front of her. | Sniffling SecretA crying boy in the library is distraught over a lost book. It seems very important to him. Perhaps another set of eyes will be able to help him in his search?Difficulty Level: FQuest Reward: Unknown | | --- | Sen was taken aback by the sudden quest. This kid is an NPC then? Since She had already planned to help the kid anyway she decided to accept the quest. Not to mention she was curious about what kind of book it was as well. “I’ll help you find your book.” | You have accepted the quest | | --- | “*sniff* really? Thanks miss….its a big green book…. *sniff*and it glows a little. I’ll go look this way!” suddenly the kid dashed off before Sen could get anything more out of him. Well at least I got a description out of him. Sen then began to make her way around the library looking for any sign of the book. Doing this allowed her to really take in the sheer size of the place. After nearly an hour of searching she had scoured the entire bottom floor. “It must be on one of the upper floors-“ her thoughts were cut off when she caught something out of the corner of her eye. Located behind a small sitting area with a table and chairs was a little bookcase that came up to about Sen’s waist. On the bottom shelf there was a fairly large book and even though it was light in the room, it seemed to have a faint green glow somehow. Sen walked over and picked it up. She inspected it and to her surprise couldn’t open it even though there were no bindings or lock. This must be it. She found her way back to the spot where she had found the boy but he was nowhere to be seen. She remembered that there was a clerk at the front desk and decided to see if she could find him that way. As the reception counter came into view a surprising scene was unfolding before her. The boy she had met in the bookcases was sitting on the counter with an angry look on his face. He was being lectured by the girl that had welcomed her and Lance. When the boy saw Sen approaching he quickly ducked under the counter. The girl was about to lay into him with threats when she saw Sen and the book she was holding. “I’m so sorry!” said the girl. “I’m not sure what there is to be sorry for, but it didn’t trouble me that much whatever it was.” The girl seemed surprised by her response “even still, I’m sorry for my brother making you go through the trouble of looking for that book.” “He’s your brother?” asked Sen curiously. The girl pulled the boy out from under the counter. A painful expression was on his face. “Yes, My name is Lily and this is my brother Brayden. I work here and my brother is often forced to come with me. He’s been complaining about how boring it is here so I tried to make a little game for him to play by hiding that book. I didn’t think he would make someone else find it for him!” Horrible memories of her own brothers flashed in Sen’s mind. “Don’t worry about it too much I’m use to this kind of stuff.” “Really!? Thank you!....you can keep that book if you want since you went through all the trouble to find it. The person who sold it to me said it was valuable.” | Quest Complete!The crying boy you met in the bookcases tricked you into finding the book his sister had hidden for him. After talking to the sister, she agreed to let you keep the book in compensation for all the trouble caused. | | --- | | You have leveled up! | | --- | “Wow! My first quest!” Sen thought to herself. As Lily went back to lecturing her little brother, Sen took the opportunity to inspect the book she had just been granted. Maybe I can open it now? She pried open the cover and suddenly the green light emanating from the book grew brighter. A second later the book itself disappeared and a message window replaced it. | Skill: you acquired a new skill, Item Identification | | --- | Before she even had a chance to check her newly acquired skill, a familiar voice came from the direction of the staircase. Sen looked up to see Lance on the stairs, frantically waving what looked like a book in his hand. “Sen! You were right! I found something!”

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> The Lonely Adventurer - Prologue<br><br>Have you ever noticed that kid in class that always seems to be by himself? That loner who you’ve only probably ever asked to borrow a pen from once or twice, I'm sure you’ve seen this guy. The guy who you repeatedly have this conversation with,<br><br>“Hey man have you got a pen?”<br>“Yeah”<br>“Thanks”<br><br>Those are the only words you’ll ever exchange with him in your entire school life, even getting a reply is a miracle, and often you might just get a pen thrown to you. That one loner at school, not the guy who pretends to be loner and eventually opens up to people – he hates that guy. Not even that nerdy kid in the movies who ends up saving the day by some god given miracle – come on! Really? Especially not the one popular kid who thinks he’s got “problems” – he dropkicks those guys in his sleep.<br>No no no, not those guys. I'm talking about him – Francis Magalone.<br><br>The difference between Francis and those guys was that he wasn’t lonely, no way. He just didn’t need other people, specifically to interact with them unless he needed to. It’s not that he hated people (which he does) he just preferred solitude; I mean he had enough on his plate without knowing other people’s problems.<br><br>Francis was a repeating year 12 student at a local college just outside of London in the middle of nowhere, that's kind of like repeating the 11th grade if your American, he failed miserably last year and had no other choice but repeat the year under the threat of being sent to his homeland and being forced to join the army because he, in his father’s words, “Will <span style="font-style: italic;">finally</span> be doing something useful with your life.” Either that or work in one of his grandfathers farms back home, apparently a farmer and a soldier are the only things Francis is capable of being. All in all, not much was expected of him.<br><br>Francis sighed, the thought of leaving heavy in his mind. The only person Francis would never lie to was himself, he wasn’t a particularly bright boy but he was far from being stupid although he was definitely lazy, and he knew this. He had tried to change himself before, he really did try but Francis just couldn’t be bothered with real life. The only time he ever worked hard was when he played games, and he wasn’t ashamed of this fact at all. To be honest if he had friends he’d most likely brag. Ever since he could hold a controller all he had ever done was play games. Even his earliest childhood memory was a dark screen with a small yellow face eating bright dots as it ran from ghosts, and as games evolved so did he. Francis loved all games, from first player shooting games to real time strategy games, but nothing would make Francis’ blood boil like a good RPG and he’s played them all. He moved from one game to another, from console to console until there was a breakthrough in the gaming world, until finally technologies had developed so far that it had given birth to a virtual reality gaming system. To Francis this was the greatest event in his life, the number of opportunities this presented. Francis was doubtful he would ever be this happy again.<br><br>From the depths of all the new virtual reality games that came into existence, one stood above them all as majestic as its name – Royal Road. Literally the king of virtual gaming, was THE Role Playing game. You would have to be lost in a desert or some god forsaken wasteland if you didn’t play this game. Children, mothers and fathers even the elderly played this game. The beauty of Royal Road was that it wasn’t just limited to gamers, absolutely everyone played the game, well everyone apart from Francis. After failing his first year at college, his father had enrolled him at a college near his aunts place just outside modern civilisation as Francis would call it, a place where the previously pampered brat had been cut from his source of income - his father. Francis had no money so no gaming, he could always get a job but didn’t I say he was lazy?<br>It had only been 4 weeks in real life that he’d spent grinding and having adventures on the Central Continent before his exam results came and ruined everything. It only took a day for his Dad to find a new college and to banish him to the middle of nowhere. Poor old Francis, Francis thought to himself. He would be 18 soon and if he didn’t pass his exams this year only Hell awaited him in some distant country.<br>As Francis walked into his last lesson for the day, the thought of having to till his grandfathers land or going through hell’s training with the army depressed him making him look more of a loner than he usually would. He sat down on the table furthest back with a door a few tables on his right and the window at arm’s length on his left, he slumped and let his head rest on the table beneath. Usually no one noticed his eerie figure glide past the students and rest on his seat, however today was slightly different. It took Francis moments to realise the boy in front of him was talking to him and was now pretty angry he’d been ignored, although Francis couldn’t care less, he continued to ignore him. What followed was a string of verbal abuse Francis was familiar with, you see being a loner came with its downsides and he was used to it but out here in the countryside his light brown skin and slightly squinted eyes made him more of a target than usual. Francis had been in fights before; even though he didn’t always win he never left the other person without a scratch either.<br><br>Amidst the shouts of abuse, Francis heard his teacher Mr. Squall on the school phone. Mr. Squall was a short stocky man who would sweat more than the average person and also looked like he faced abuse in his younger years and he certainly hated fighting in his classroom, but he could never do anything about it himself, so If he was on the phone it meant reinforcements were coming. Just as Francis predicted the headteacher came barging through the door,<br><br>“You. My office now,” Mr. Aveling said in a calm but stern voice.<br>“But it wasn’t me! He started it! You know he’s just a reject right? Even his family didn’t want him!” said the boy in front.<br>“Be quiet child I wasn’t talking to you. Francis come with me” Mr. Aveling adding volume to his voice.<br>Francis looked up from his table bewildered, “ What?”<br><br>The headteacher’s office was neat, too clean for a man Francis thought, and the smell of coffee was heavy in the air. As Francis opened his mouth to speak Mr. Aveling waved his hand and simply said, “We’re waiting.”<br><br>Half an hour had gone by before his aunt opened the door. Francis' aunt was a nice person; she had treated Francis like her own child even though she was still young to have any teenagers of her own. She always smiled when she saw him, and he'd never forget that. That's why when she came in, face paler than usual, her nose red and her cheeks flushed, with no makeup on, Francis' face grew serious. She began to speak as if she had to force the words out of her throat.<br><br>“Francis it’s your father...” she managed to say before losing the strength to stand and began to sob silently.<br><br>***<br><br>It was the night after his father’s funeral; Francis lay in his old bed staring at the ceiling. London’s welcome wasn’t as warm as Francis imagined it would be when he left. The past few days were a blur, he remembered leaving his aunt in the headteacher's office and he remembered getting to his London home on the same day, not knowing or caring how. After that all he could remember were half-hearted condolences from people in black.<br><br>Francis thought about his future, everything from how he would make money from now on to should he really join the army or be a farmer like his dad thought. Francis laughed to himself and thought, “My father was an idiot. A bloody idiot.”<br><br>“You idiot” Francis silently cursed as he sobbed himself to unconsciousness.<br><br>Francis opened his eyes slowly, still laying on his bed he noticed a familiar shape sat in the corner of his room, searching a way to escape the sadness he walked towards the capsule.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;">DO YOU WANT TO CONNECT TO ROYAL ROAD?<br>YES/NO</div> </div>

The Lonely Adventurer - Prologue Have you ever noticed that kid in class that always seems to be by himself? That loner who you’ve only probably ever asked to borrow a pen from once or twice, I'm sure you’ve seen this guy. The guy who you repeatedly have this conversation with, “Hey man have you got a pen?” “Yeah” “Thanks” Those are the only words you’ll ever exchange with him in your entire school life, even getting a reply is a miracle, and often you might just get a pen thrown to you. That one loner at school, not the guy who pretends to be loner and eventually opens up to people – he hates that guy. Not even that nerdy kid in the movies who ends up saving the day by some god given miracle – come on! Really? Especially not the one popular kid who thinks he’s got “problems” – he dropkicks those guys in his sleep. No no no, not those guys. I'm talking about him – Francis Magalone. The difference between Francis and those guys was that he wasn’t lonely, no way. He just didn’t need other people, specifically to interact with them unless he needed to. It’s not that he hated people (which he does) he just preferred solitude; I mean he had enough on his plate without knowing other people’s problems. Francis was a repeating year 12 student at a local college just outside of London in the middle of nowhere, that's kind of like repeating the 11th grade if your American, he failed miserably last year and had no other choice but repeat the year under the threat of being sent to his homeland and being forced to join the army because he, in his father’s words, “Will finally be doing something useful with your life.” Either that or work in one of his grandfathers farms back home, apparently a farmer and a soldier are the only things Francis is capable of being. All in all, not much was expected of him. Francis sighed, the thought of leaving heavy in his mind. The only person Francis would never lie to was himself, he wasn’t a particularly bright boy but he was far from being stupid although he was definitely lazy, and he knew this. He had tried to change himself before, he really did try but Francis just couldn’t be bothered with real life. The only time he ever worked hard was when he played games, and he wasn’t ashamed of this fact at all. To be honest if he had friends he’d most likely brag. Ever since he could hold a controller all he had ever done was play games. Even his earliest childhood memory was a dark screen with a small yellow face eating bright dots as it ran from ghosts, and as games evolved so did he. Francis loved all games, from first player shooting games to real time strategy games, but nothing would make Francis’ blood boil like a good RPG and he’s played them all. He moved from one game to another, from console to console until there was a breakthrough in the gaming world, until finally technologies had developed so far that it had given birth to a virtual reality gaming system. To Francis this was the greatest event in his life, the number of opportunities this presented. Francis was doubtful he would ever be this happy again. From the depths of all the new virtual reality games that came into existence, one stood above them all as majestic as its name – Royal Road. Literally the king of virtual gaming, was THE Role Playing game. You would have to be lost in a desert or some god forsaken wasteland if you didn’t play this game. Children, mothers and fathers even the elderly played this game. The beauty of Royal Road was that it wasn’t just limited to gamers, absolutely everyone played the game, well everyone apart from Francis. After failing his first year at college, his father had enrolled him at a college near his aunts place just outside modern civilisation as Francis would call it, a place where the previously pampered brat had been cut from his source of income - his father. Francis had no money so no gaming, he could always get a job but didn’t I say he was lazy? It had only been 4 weeks in real life that he’d spent grinding and having adventures on the Central Continent before his exam results came and ruined everything. It only took a day for his Dad to find a new college and to banish him to the middle of nowhere. Poor old Francis, Francis thought to himself. He would be 18 soon and if he didn’t pass his exams this year only Hell awaited him in some distant country. As Francis walked into his last lesson for the day, the thought of having to till his grandfathers land or going through hell’s training with the army depressed him making him look more of a loner than he usually would. He sat down on the table furthest back with a door a few tables on his right and the window at arm’s length on his left, he slumped and let his head rest on the table beneath. Usually no one noticed his eerie figure glide past the students and rest on his seat, however today was slightly different. It took Francis moments to realise the boy in front of him was talking to him and was now pretty angry he’d been ignored, although Francis couldn’t care less, he continued to ignore him. What followed was a string of verbal abuse Francis was familiar with, you see being a loner came with its downsides and he was used to it but out here in the countryside his light brown skin and slightly squinted eyes made him more of a target than usual. Francis had been in fights before; even though he didn’t always win he never left the other person without a scratch either. Amidst the shouts of abuse, Francis heard his teacher Mr. Squall on the school phone. Mr. Squall was a short stocky man who would sweat more than the average person and also looked like he faced abuse in his younger years and he certainly hated fighting in his classroom, but he could never do anything about it himself, so If he was on the phone it meant reinforcements were coming. Just as Francis predicted the headteacher came barging through the door, “You. My office now,” Mr. Aveling said in a calm but stern voice. “But it wasn’t me! He started it! You know he’s just a reject right? Even his family didn’t want him!” said the boy in front. “Be quiet child I wasn’t talking to you. Francis come with me” Mr. Aveling adding volume to his voice. Francis looked up from his table bewildered, “ What?” The headteacher’s office was neat, too clean for a man Francis thought, and the smell of coffee was heavy in the air. As Francis opened his mouth to speak Mr. Aveling waved his hand and simply said, “We’re waiting.” Half an hour had gone by before his aunt opened the door. Francis' aunt was a nice person; she had treated Francis like her own child even though she was still young to have any teenagers of her own. She always smiled when she saw him, and he'd never forget that. That's why when she came in, face paler than usual, her nose red and her cheeks flushed, with no makeup on, Francis' face grew serious. She began to speak as if she had to force the words out of her throat. “Francis it’s your father...” she managed to say before losing the strength to stand and began to sob silently. *** It was the night after his father’s funeral; Francis lay in his old bed staring at the ceiling. London’s welcome wasn’t as warm as Francis imagined it would be when he left. The past few days were a blur, he remembered leaving his aunt in the headteacher's office and he remembered getting to his London home on the same day, not knowing or caring how. After that all he could remember were half-hearted condolences from people in black. Francis thought about his future, everything from how he would make money from now on to should he really join the army or be a farmer like his dad thought. Francis laughed to himself and thought, “My father was an idiot. A bloody idiot.” “You idiot” Francis silently cursed as he sobbed himself to unconsciousness. Francis opened his eyes slowly, still laying on his bed he noticed a familiar shape sat in the corner of his room, searching a way to escape the sadness he walked towards the capsule. DO YOU WANT TO CONNECT TO ROYAL ROAD? YES/NO

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> Jessica arrived at Emmett’s house. Somewhat to her surprise, it was neater than she had expected. She clearly remembered the room of the boys across the hall from her. They were friends with one of her roommates. Their rooms were a mess. Clothes were strewn about, the counters were cluttered, candy wrappers and plastic bags were on the floor, and in someone’s room she’d stepped across dirty clothes, guitar picks, and an old sandwich in a sealed Ziploc bag. Admittedly, they hadn’t really been expecting guests.<br><br> His room was simple: dark bed coverings, still rumpled from sleeping in, a rug on the floor, a desk, a lamp, a printer, a dresser, and an office chair. On the desk there were three monitors and a computer. Next to the desk was the capsule. As excited as she was to be this close to her dream, she was also wary. She was unwilling to trust good luck. For this meeting, she had chosen to wear a turtle-neck and jeans with a belt. She had also told her roommates and other friends from class where she would be going. As the number of people who knew her whereabouts increased, the more her personal safety increased.<br><br> Emmett explained the system to her and how it would work before letting her use the capsule. The explanation helped. She had never really used one of these before. He then explained a bit of the basics of the game Royal Road, and suggested a place for her to start.<br><br> <div style="text-align: center;">***</div><br> She politely listened to the voice that spoke when she was creating her character.<br><br> <span style="font-style: italic;">Hm… what name should I choose? It should be a good one. Ah, I should have thought about this before. Hm…</span><br><br> “Fang”<br><br> <span style="font-style: italic;">What gender I should go with female? Ah, but that doesn’t seem so fun. Hm… guy? Ah, but there might be some disadvantages for being a guy. What's neutral? It's like genderless, right? Otherwise they would have said hermaphrodite, right? Let’s go with…</span><br><br> “Neutral”<br><br> <span style="font-style: italic;">Race? Ah, there are too many races! I can’t decide. Ah! Why are there so many elves? There are Dark Elves, Wood Elves, and High Elves? Why couldn’t all the races just be combined into one elf race? There are too many options! Um… I just… I think I’ll pick..!</span><br><br> “Human”<br><br> <span style="font-style: italic;">Alter my appearance? Ah this is something I would know.</span><br><br> Jessica decided to remove the fat on her legs, stomach, and upper arms. The blemishes on her skin disappeared, and she made her eyes a little larger. She had her lower jaw become a little less wide and removed some of the baby fat from her cheeks. Her eyelashes were longer and darker. Her eyebrows were groomed to make them look better, and she attempted to keep a bit of the beauty. She made her face a little more angular, with higher cheekbones and a sharper jawline. After a careful study of the face, she found that it could be both beautiful and/or handsome. Her hair she cut shorter, a little above shoulder length. The body was lithe, but there was the hint of the muscle beneath the surface. She looked fit, athletic, graceful, and best of all? the gender could go either way. This was exactly what she wanted.<br><br> <span style="font-style: italic;">Now, where was I supposed to go again? Hm… Emmett said something about Rosenheim? Supposedly there are less high level guilds, meaning that if I get out and level fast enough, I should be able to get into a dungeon without trouble?</span><br><br> “Er… please send me to the capital of Rosenheim.”<br><br> <div style="text-align: center;">***</div><br><span style="font-weight: bold;"> *Flash*</span><br><br> “Aaaaah! I’m blind! Oh my god!"<br><br> "Oh? I can see again. Ah, that's very good. I was afraid I'd be permanently blinded before I even saw the game.” <br><br> Fang looked around to see if anyone had heard her exclamation. The streets were crowded, but she’d seen worse in the few travels she’d had. It seemed she was fortunate. No one paid her any attention. Luck was with her.<br><br> Fang wanted to test out the movement, to see how like reality this would be. She experimentally moved her body around and checked her vision and coordination. She did her best to test things in an unobtrusive way. First she walked a bit this way, and then she walked the other way for a bit. All the while she was pretending to be studying the scenery. When she was satisfied that she was comfortable with the movement system, she found an out of the way place to sit.<br> <span style="font-style: italic;">Step one: check stats and inventory.</span><br><br> All basic stats were 10. Health and Mana were 100. She had no magic resistance, luck, or leadership. Her attack was 3. She wondered if that meant she would only hit monsters for three points of damage. If so, she hoped the monsters around would have a total HP of 9, otherwise things could be troublesome. <br><br> After taking a look at her inventory, she found that she had a canteen and 10 pieces of bread. Only ten pieces of bread? She couldn’t leave the city for four weeks. How was she supposed to survive on ten pieces of bread? After a moment of thought, she concluded that she would have to take quests to earn enough money to pay for bread.<br><br> <span style="font-style: italic;">Step two: tour the city and pick up quests.</span><br><br> A few hours later she was busy running errands all over the city. She talked to as many NPCs as possible and took any quests that would take her to another part of the city. Why not? It was killing two birds with one stone anyways. Through her errands she met more NPCs. Meanwhile she scoped out potential classes. She was already certain she didn’t want to be a bard, painter, or merchant. She wasn’t creative enough to make new songs, she wasn’t talented enough to paint anything of worth, and she hadn’t a head for numbers to be a merchant. <br><br> On reflection, she probably had no talent to be a sculptor either. However, she’d always liked whittling. She remembered a tiny bird she carved once. Perhaps she would just pick up the skill on the side, but certainly not as a class. From what she had heard, the class was completely useless. She would trust the experience of the older more experienced players. They knew best. She did consider picking up the crafting skills though, those could prove useful, but would she have the time to level them? <br><br> With a regretful sigh, she realized she wouldn’t have the time. It was best if she just picked one class's skills and stuck to it, though she intended to at least learn how to cook. It could save lots of coin for her. Hunt, kill, eat, gain experience, don’t spend money on food, get loot, and maybe get skins off the corpses to sell or perhaps try her hand at. She had always liked arts and crafts, perhaps she’d just try to do such things on the side. <br><br> <span style="font-style: italic;">Ah, no. I don’t have time, remember?</span> <br><br> Oh well, she would cross that bridge when she came to it. Perhaps she would figure out a way to juggle her schedule enough that she’d be able to do something decent. If only there were more hours in the day.<br><br> Fang ran about the capital like she was being chased, until her legs felt like jelly. She had pushed on telling herself it would be one more errand, and then one more errand, and then just one more errand, until she could run no further. She forced herself to keep moving even though she felt like collapsing; she couldn’t let herself rest without doing a cool-down. <br><br> <span style="font-style: italic;">Walk off the aches and pains, Jess, walk it off. </span><br><br> After pacing back and forth in front of a fountain for a few minutes, she felt better, but still exhausted. At least now she had her ragged breathing under control. She splashed water on her face and drank some of the cool water. After this she checked her stats. She vaguely recalled hearing that she had gained more stats for her hard work. She opened up her window, and found that her agility had indeed increased by one sometime during her errands. <br><br> <span style="font-style: italic;">Why does it take so long to gain stat points? Argh, it would take forever for me to increase my stats wouldn’t it? Perhaps there’s a place where I can train up my stats faster.</span><br><br> Her wandering feet led her to the Training Hall. She spotted the Instructor and approached him. He told her that there was basic training here, and she asked what it entailed. When she heard just how much work it would take to finish the training, she couldn’t help but be flabbergasted. <br><br> <span style="font-style: italic;">Who has the time and energy to waste doing this? It’s exhausting and grueling. Who on earth could ever complete this basic training?</span><br><br> “How many people have passed this training?”<br><br> “4305 people have completed this training.”<br><br> “…”<br><br> This place was filled with monsters in the guise of players. </div>

Jessica arrived at Emmett’s house. Somewhat to her surprise, it was neater than she had expected. She clearly remembered the room of the boys across the hall from her. They were friends with one of her roommates. Their rooms were a mess. Clothes were strewn about, the counters were cluttered, candy wrappers and plastic bags were on the floor, and in someone’s room she’d stepped across dirty clothes, guitar picks, and an old sandwich in a sealed Ziploc bag. Admittedly, they hadn’t really been expecting guests. His room was simple: dark bed coverings, still rumpled from sleeping in, a rug on the floor, a desk, a lamp, a printer, a dresser, and an office chair. On the desk there were three monitors and a computer. Next to the desk was the capsule. As excited as she was to be this close to her dream, she was also wary. She was unwilling to trust good luck. For this meeting, she had chosen to wear a turtle-neck and jeans with a belt. She had also told her roommates and other friends from class where she would be going. As the number of people who knew her whereabouts increased, the more her personal safety increased. Emmett explained the system to her and how it would work before letting her use the capsule. The explanation helped. She had never really used one of these before. He then explained a bit of the basics of the game Royal Road, and suggested a place for her to start. *** She politely listened to the voice that spoke when she was creating her character. Hm… what name should I choose? It should be a good one. Ah, I should have thought about this before. Hm… “Fang” What gender I should go with female? Ah, but that doesn’t seem so fun. Hm… guy? Ah, but there might be some disadvantages for being a guy. What's neutral? It's like genderless, right? Otherwise they would have said hermaphrodite, right? Let’s go with… “Neutral” Race? Ah, there are too many races! I can’t decide. Ah! Why are there so many elves? There are Dark Elves, Wood Elves, and High Elves? Why couldn’t all the races just be combined into one elf race? There are too many options! Um… I just… I think I’ll pick..! “Human” Alter my appearance? Ah this is something I would know. Jessica decided to remove the fat on her legs, stomach, and upper arms. The blemishes on her skin disappeared, and she made her eyes a little larger. She had her lower jaw become a little less wide and removed some of the baby fat from her cheeks. Her eyelashes were longer and darker. Her eyebrows were groomed to make them look better, and she attempted to keep a bit of the beauty. She made her face a little more angular, with higher cheekbones and a sharper jawline. After a careful study of the face, she found that it could be both beautiful and/or handsome. Her hair she cut shorter, a little above shoulder length. The body was lithe, but there was the hint of the muscle beneath the surface. She looked fit, athletic, graceful, and best of all? the gender could go either way. This was exactly what she wanted. Now, where was I supposed to go again? Hm… Emmett said something about Rosenheim? Supposedly there are less high level guilds, meaning that if I get out and level fast enough, I should be able to get into a dungeon without trouble? “Er… please send me to the capital of Rosenheim.” *** *Flash* “Aaaaah! I’m blind! Oh my god!" "Oh? I can see again. Ah, that's very good. I was afraid I'd be permanently blinded before I even saw the game.” Fang looked around to see if anyone had heard her exclamation. The streets were crowded, but she’d seen worse in the few travels she’d had. It seemed she was fortunate. No one paid her any attention. Luck was with her. Fang wanted to test out the movement, to see how like reality this would be. She experimentally moved her body around and checked her vision and coordination. She did her best to test things in an unobtrusive way. First she walked a bit this way, and then she walked the other way for a bit. All the while she was pretending to be studying the scenery. When she was satisfied that she was comfortable with the movement system, she found an out of the way place to sit. Step one: check stats and inventory. All basic stats were 10. Health and Mana were 100. She had no magic resistance, luck, or leadership. Her attack was 3. She wondered if that meant she would only hit monsters for three points of damage. If so, she hoped the monsters around would have a total HP of 9, otherwise things could be troublesome. After taking a look at her inventory, she found that she had a canteen and 10 pieces of bread. Only ten pieces of bread? She couldn’t leave the city for four weeks. How was she supposed to survive on ten pieces of bread? After a moment of thought, she concluded that she would have to take quests to earn enough money to pay for bread. Step two: tour the city and pick up quests. A few hours later she was busy running errands all over the city. She talked to as many NPCs as possible and took any quests that would take her to another part of the city. Why not? It was killing two birds with one stone anyways. Through her errands she met more NPCs. Meanwhile she scoped out potential classes. She was already certain she didn’t want to be a bard, painter, or merchant. She wasn’t creative enough to make new songs, she wasn’t talented enough to paint anything of worth, and she hadn’t a head for numbers to be a merchant. On reflection, she probably had no talent to be a sculptor either. However, she’d always liked whittling. She remembered a tiny bird she carved once. Perhaps she would just pick up the skill on the side, but certainly not as a class. From what she had heard, the class was completely useless. She would trust the experience of the older more experienced players. They knew best. She did consider picking up the crafting skills though, those could prove useful, but would she have the time to level them? With a regretful sigh, she realized she wouldn’t have the time. It was best if she just picked one class's skills and stuck to it, though she intended to at least learn how to cook. It could save lots of coin for her. Hunt, kill, eat, gain experience, don’t spend money on food, get loot, and maybe get skins off the corpses to sell or perhaps try her hand at. She had always liked arts and crafts, perhaps she’d just try to do such things on the side. Ah, no. I don’t have time, remember? Oh well, she would cross that bridge when she came to it. Perhaps she would figure out a way to juggle her schedule enough that she’d be able to do something decent. If only there were more hours in the day. Fang ran about the capital like she was being chased, until her legs felt like jelly. She had pushed on telling herself it would be one more errand, and then one more errand, and then just one more errand, until she could run no further. She forced herself to keep moving even though she felt like collapsing; she couldn’t let herself rest without doing a cool-down. Walk off the aches and pains, Jess, walk it off. After pacing back and forth in front of a fountain for a few minutes, she felt better, but still exhausted. At least now she had her ragged breathing under control. She splashed water on her face and drank some of the cool water. After this she checked her stats. She vaguely recalled hearing that she had gained more stats for her hard work. She opened up her window, and found that her agility had indeed increased by one sometime during her errands. Why does it take so long to gain stat points? Argh, it would take forever for me to increase my stats wouldn’t it? Perhaps there’s a place where I can train up my stats faster. Her wandering feet led her to the Training Hall. She spotted the Instructor and approached him. He told her that there was basic training here, and she asked what it entailed. When she heard just how much work it would take to finish the training, she couldn’t help but be flabbergasted. Who has the time and energy to waste doing this? It’s exhausting and grueling. Who on earth could ever complete this basic training? “How many people have passed this training?” “4305 people have completed this training.” “…” This place was filled with monsters in the guise of players.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> Necromancer<br>A Royal Road Fan Fiction<br>By: Halosty<br>Chapter 7<br><br> Mortimer got quite a bit more sleep that night than he had for the last few days. The reason was quite simply that he wasn’t playing Royal Road, so he didn’t have anything better to do. He dreamed of dying. However, always just before he actually died, the scene changed to another. He woke up in a sweat, frustrated. Unlike most people, however, he did not consider it a nightmare. He was instead disappointed that he didn’t actually experience the death. Not that he was suicidal, just very morbidly curious. He thought back to his death in Royal Road.<br> <br> The sword had gone in near his heart. There had been a sharp, stabbing pain. However, because of the nature of Royal Road, the pain had been muted. After all, for the happiness and sanity of the players, only a certain threshold of pain was simulated. Not many people would play a game in which dying actually felt like dying. Still, it was somewhat of a disappointment to Mortimer that he would not be able to properly gauge how much dying would really hurt.<br><br> Mortimer’s day at school was fairly typical, but upon arrival home he saw his parents in the entryway. This was a bad sign, because that means there was going to be a talk about something, and Mortimer never enjoyed those. Still, it would be far worse if he ran away. “Yes, mother, father, you have something to talk about?”<br><br> His mother replied, “We have been concerned about your lack of physical activity since you no longer attend a physical education course at school. A true gentleman should be fit, and preferably participate in a sport.”<br><br> Mortimer didn’t bother to tell his parents that he didn’t want to be a gentleman. That would be a recipe for disaster, such as revoked privileges. Instead, he said, “Of course. I will certainly take up a worthy sport. Just give me some time to deliberate which would be the most fitting.”<br><br> At this, Mortimer received a nod from his parents. Approval, barely. He knew he would have to pick something in the near future, lest they pick for him. He couldn’t stand the thought of playing polo or something stupid like that, and football would have been murder to his small frame. After he was out of sight of his parents, Mortimer sighed. This would also take time away from his playing Royal Road.<br><br> Mortimer quickly did his homework. He couldn’t sign into Royal Road until twenty-four hours after his death, so he figured he’d do something to stave off disappointed parents. Then, he researched all the things that could be called sports for something that wouldn’t take much time, and would preferably involve little moving around. There were not many options, of course. Then, he stumbled upon an idea. He quickly did some research in that area, and came up with the workings of a plan that would not be unpleasant to him. If he could get it to work.<br><br> Then, it was time to log on to Royal Road. He would only have about half as much play time today as most days, since he was starting on the second half of his play time. Dying was kind of a pain. Well, at least he got his homework done, and that might help him stave off his inevitable future of failure. Not that he particularly cared about failing in a world full of boring people, but he did rather like not dying of starvation. Also, now, playing Royal Road, and Royal Road was definitely not free. Of course, as long as his parent’s didn’t disinherit him, he’d be fine, but he had no doubt that if he turned out to be a true failure, he’d be sitting on a corner begging soon enough. With those thought of finances, he logged in.<br><br><br> Quietus quickly noticed that he was lying on his back, staring at a vaguely familiar ceiling. He couldn’t imagine why the ceiling of the church would be at all familiar. He had never gone in there, and since churches were where players generally respawned, that is where he expected to be. It was also a very uncomfortable place to wake up. Perhaps they didn’t think to put down pillows under the poor dead players. Or rather “foreigners”, if he wanted to use game terms. Blessed by some kind of god to come back to life instead of staying dead like any respectable NPC.<br><br> Someone nearby cleared their throat and said, “Good mornin’.” The fact that this particular voice was familiar finally made Quietus realize where he was. It was not, in fact, in the church. It was hard because there was no point in giving comfort to the dead. This was, of course, a slab in the morgue. Thus, Jack was the one who had given greetings.<br><br> <span style="font-style: italic;">Why am I in the morgue?</span> Quietus thought. Then he said, “Why am I in the morgue?”<br><br> Asking the question seemed the most expedient way to solve the dilemma, much more sensible than pondering it out himself.<br> “Well, it’s much more convenient to have certain people stay here, ya see. Pretty much everyone passes through here, and we figured there’s no reason to cart you off to a strange building when you can wake up to a lovely smile on a friendly face.” At this, Jack grinned, exposing about half as many rotten teeth as a normal man would have normal teeth.<br><br> “Well, thanks,” Quietus answered sincerely, “I do know my way around town from here better anyway. Still, don’t people usually have to be around the holy power of the church to come back to life?”<br><br> “Oh, well yes. Usually. Still, I’ve picked up a few tricks in my time. Enough to get a man back on his feet after he falls down. Works better on some than on others.”<br><br> Quietus thought about it for a little bit. “That’s pretty neat, sounds like some useful magic. I don’t suppose you could teach me a bit sometime?”<br><br> Jack laughed, as pleasantly as someone like him could. “Ha! Perhaps that will be so, but it’s mostly tricks, hardly anything useful.”<br><br> Quietus got up and left the morgue, one level and about half of the money he had acquired short compared to how he was before he had died. The level he had worked for was disappointing, but the money was the biggest loss at this point because he had just enough before dying to buy a much nicer dagger than the one he had. Now, he was reduced to only getting a quite a bit nicer dagger. He never even really considered buying anything else with the money. He had grown fond of daggers even in his short acquaintance with them.<br><br> Quietus wasn’t sure if the assassin’s guild (specifically the back rooms) was open during the daytime. His previous experience made him feel it wouldn’t be. Thus, he was surprised when the door opened after his knock. He saw the same guard as before, who half smiled at him. Well, perhaps a quarter smile. Something like a twitch of the side of his mouth. Still, he didn’t look angry or about-to-kill-an-intrudery, and that was good enough.<br><br> Quietus went in to see Frank, who actually, legitimately smiled. “I’ve heard tales of your great success as well as the catastrophic blunders that were involved with such. However, you succeeded at the task, and that is all that was required. Besides, sometimes luck is the best skill one can have. Congratulations on a job... well, done.”<br><br>*Ting*<br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>You completed the quest.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>*Ding*<br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>You have gained a level!</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>Quietus got back his level. He quickly distributed the points back into Luck and Agility, where he figured they belonged. He also received money, which brought back into his future the much better dagger. Quietus quite enjoyed this profession already.<br><br>“We don’t have any more work right now for someone of your rank. You can check back later, perhaps after you get a bit of practice. It never hurts to have more. You’ll also want to speak to our guild trainer about alternate uses of stealth, which you may find useful based on... recent events.”<br><br> Quietus, not being one to ignore sound advice, went and found the guild trainer. There, he learned something important. How to not get stabbed by guards. Well, how to avoid making them want to stab him. More specifically, how to disguise himself.<br><br> “It works like this, see. If you don’t get too close, or you have a brilliant disguise, guard’s won’t recognize you, and you won’t be attacked for being a murderer. This will allow you to walk along the streets normally, just don’t try getting through the gates if you get marked again. They’ll see right through you.”<br><br> Quietus nodded. This made a lot of sense. He also learned that it worked on players as well, not showing you as a murderer and displaying your name- so long as you stayed a distance away from people, or quite a bit further from those with keen observation skills.<br><br> Armed with this knowledge, Quietus set out to find himself another adventure, although this one probably wouldn’t involve killing someone, not just yet.<br><br>End Chapter 7<br><br>Previous Chapter: &lt;!-- l --&gt;&lt;a class="postlink-local" href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=47&amp;t=213&amp;p=483#p483"&gt;viewtopic.php?f=47&amp;t=213&amp;p=483#p483&lt;/a&gt;&lt;!-- l --&gt;<br>Next Chapter: &lt;!-- l --&gt;&lt;a class="postlink-local" href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=47&amp;t=288"&gt;viewtopic.php?f=47&amp;t=288&lt;/a&gt;&lt;!-- l --&gt; </div>

Necromancer A Royal Road Fan Fiction By: Halosty Chapter 7 Mortimer got quite a bit more sleep that night than he had for the last few days. The reason was quite simply that he wasn’t playing Royal Road, so he didn’t have anything better to do. He dreamed of dying. However, always just before he actually died, the scene changed to another. He woke up in a sweat, frustrated. Unlike most people, however, he did not consider it a nightmare. He was instead disappointed that he didn’t actually experience the death. Not that he was suicidal, just very morbidly curious. He thought back to his death in Royal Road. The sword had gone in near his heart. There had been a sharp, stabbing pain. However, because of the nature of Royal Road, the pain had been muted. After all, for the happiness and sanity of the players, only a certain threshold of pain was simulated. Not many people would play a game in which dying actually felt like dying. Still, it was somewhat of a disappointment to Mortimer that he would not be able to properly gauge how much dying would really hurt. Mortimer’s day at school was fairly typical, but upon arrival home he saw his parents in the entryway. This was a bad sign, because that means there was going to be a talk about something, and Mortimer never enjoyed those. Still, it would be far worse if he ran away. “Yes, mother, father, you have something to talk about?” His mother replied, “We have been concerned about your lack of physical activity since you no longer attend a physical education course at school. A true gentleman should be fit, and preferably participate in a sport.” Mortimer didn’t bother to tell his parents that he didn’t want to be a gentleman. That would be a recipe for disaster, such as revoked privileges. Instead, he said, “Of course. I will certainly take up a worthy sport. Just give me some time to deliberate which would be the most fitting.” At this, Mortimer received a nod from his parents. Approval, barely. He knew he would have to pick something in the near future, lest they pick for him. He couldn’t stand the thought of playing polo or something stupid like that, and football would have been murder to his small frame. After he was out of sight of his parents, Mortimer sighed. This would also take time away from his playing Royal Road. Mortimer quickly did his homework. He couldn’t sign into Royal Road until twenty-four hours after his death, so he figured he’d do something to stave off disappointed parents. Then, he researched all the things that could be called sports for something that wouldn’t take much time, and would preferably involve little moving around. There were not many options, of course. Then, he stumbled upon an idea. He quickly did some research in that area, and came up with the workings of a plan that would not be unpleasant to him. If he could get it to work. Then, it was time to log on to Royal Road. He would only have about half as much play time today as most days, since he was starting on the second half of his play time. Dying was kind of a pain. Well, at least he got his homework done, and that might help him stave off his inevitable future of failure. Not that he particularly cared about failing in a world full of boring people, but he did rather like not dying of starvation. Also, now, playing Royal Road, and Royal Road was definitely not free. Of course, as long as his parent’s didn’t disinherit him, he’d be fine, but he had no doubt that if he turned out to be a true failure, he’d be sitting on a corner begging soon enough. With those thought of finances, he logged in. Quietus quickly noticed that he was lying on his back, staring at a vaguely familiar ceiling. He couldn’t imagine why the ceiling of the church would be at all familiar. He had never gone in there, and since churches were where players generally respawned, that is where he expected to be. It was also a very uncomfortable place to wake up. Perhaps they didn’t think to put down pillows under the poor dead players. Or rather “foreigners”, if he wanted to use game terms. Blessed by some kind of god to come back to life instead of staying dead like any respectable NPC. Someone nearby cleared their throat and said, “Good mornin’.” The fact that this particular voice was familiar finally made Quietus realize where he was. It was not, in fact, in the church. It was hard because there was no point in giving comfort to the dead. This was, of course, a slab in the morgue. Thus, Jack was the one who had given greetings. Why am I in the morgue? Quietus thought. Then he said, “Why am I in the morgue?” Asking the question seemed the most expedient way to solve the dilemma, much more sensible than pondering it out himself. “Well, it’s much more convenient to have certain people stay here, ya see. Pretty much everyone passes through here, and we figured there’s no reason to cart you off to a strange building when you can wake up to a lovely smile on a friendly face.” At this, Jack grinned, exposing about half as many rotten teeth as a normal man would have normal teeth. “Well, thanks,” Quietus answered sincerely, “I do know my way around town from here better anyway. Still, don’t people usually have to be around the holy power of the church to come back to life?” “Oh, well yes. Usually. Still, I’ve picked up a few tricks in my time. Enough to get a man back on his feet after he falls down. Works better on some than on others.” Quietus thought about it for a little bit. “That’s pretty neat, sounds like some useful magic. I don’t suppose you could teach me a bit sometime?” Jack laughed, as pleasantly as someone like him could. “Ha! Perhaps that will be so, but it’s mostly tricks, hardly anything useful.” Quietus got up and left the morgue, one level and about half of the money he had acquired short compared to how he was before he had died. The level he had worked for was disappointing, but the money was the biggest loss at this point because he had just enough before dying to buy a much nicer dagger than the one he had. Now, he was reduced to only getting a quite a bit nicer dagger. He never even really considered buying anything else with the money. He had grown fond of daggers even in his short acquaintance with them. Quietus wasn’t sure if the assassin’s guild (specifically the back rooms) was open during the daytime. His previous experience made him feel it wouldn’t be. Thus, he was surprised when the door opened after his knock. He saw the same guard as before, who half smiled at him. Well, perhaps a quarter smile. Something like a twitch of the side of his mouth. Still, he didn’t look angry or about-to-kill-an-intrudery, and that was good enough. Quietus went in to see Frank, who actually, legitimately smiled. “I’ve heard tales of your great success as well as the catastrophic blunders that were involved with such. However, you succeeded at the task, and that is all that was required. Besides, sometimes luck is the best skill one can have. Congratulations on a job... well, done.” *Ting* | You completed the quest. | | --- | *Ding* | You have gained a level! | | --- | Quietus got back his level. He quickly distributed the points back into Luck and Agility, where he figured they belonged. He also received money, which brought back into his future the much better dagger. Quietus quite enjoyed this profession already. “We don’t have any more work right now for someone of your rank. You can check back later, perhaps after you get a bit of practice. It never hurts to have more. You’ll also want to speak to our guild trainer about alternate uses of stealth, which you may find useful based on... recent events.” Quietus, not being one to ignore sound advice, went and found the guild trainer. There, he learned something important. How to not get stabbed by guards. Well, how to avoid making them want to stab him. More specifically, how to disguise himself. “It works like this, see. If you don’t get too close, or you have a brilliant disguise, guard’s won’t recognize you, and you won’t be attacked for being a murderer. This will allow you to walk along the streets normally, just don’t try getting through the gates if you get marked again. They’ll see right through you.” Quietus nodded. This made a lot of sense. He also learned that it worked on players as well, not showing you as a murderer and displaying your name- so long as you stayed a distance away from people, or quite a bit further from those with keen observation skills. Armed with this knowledge, Quietus set out to find himself another adventure, although this one probably wouldn’t involve killing someone, not just yet. End Chapter 7 Previous Chapter: <!-- l --><a class="postlink-local" href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=47&t=213&p=483#p483">viewtopic.php?f=47&t=213&p=483#p483</a><!-- l --> Next Chapter: <!-- l --><a class="postlink-local" href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=47&t=288">viewtopic.php?f=47&t=288</a><!-- l -->

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> Go ahead and say whatever you want about my Fanfic, be it comments of appreciation or criticism (constructive hopefully). If there's something you wanna know go ahead and ask.<br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Junk Yard Section</span></span><br>I have to say, I'm more of an artist than a writer. So liking ShrimpSamurai's idea of character images I wanted to do something similar. The only difference being that I'm generally lazy so I probably won't be able to consistently do this. Basically I'm gonna do sketches based on my fanfic, The main reason is because I really need practice drawing and can't be motivated to do so :) hehe. If you have any questions about this topic feel free to ask, and if you want me to attempt to draw anything then I shall try my best. Anything you want to request will benefit me in my practice. Thank you and I hope you enjoy my amateur work.<br>Anyway, this will be my first sketch: Cloud on a roof top.<br><img src="http://th00.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/i/2013/184/d/4/cloud_on_rooftop_by_mercuryhope-d6bv3ip.png?1" border="0" alt="http%3a%2f%2fth00.deviantart.net%2ffs70%2fPRE%2fi%2f20...v3ip.png%3f1"> </div>

Go ahead and say whatever you want about my Fanfic, be it comments of appreciation or criticism (constructive hopefully). If there's something you wanna know go ahead and ask. Junk Yard Section I have to say, I'm more of an artist than a writer. So liking ShrimpSamurai's idea of character images I wanted to do something similar. The only difference being that I'm generally lazy so I probably won't be able to consistently do this. Basically I'm gonna do sketches based on my fanfic, The main reason is because I really need practice drawing and can't be motivated to do so :) hehe. If you have any questions about this topic feel free to ask, and if you want me to attempt to draw anything then I shall try my best. Anything you want to request will benefit me in my practice. Thank you and I hope you enjoy my amateur work. Anyway, this will be my first sketch: Cloud on a roof top. 

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> As I have said before, I'm dividing up chapters into smaller parts to make it easier to read. I'll add on to this post as I write and edit, but the gist of the released parts shouldn't be changed. Enjoy!!<br><br>*<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">The child looked up at the giant chasm that had appeared in the moonlit tree, his trusty steed by his side…</span><br><br>Just in case you are visualizing the wrong thing (apologies for the rather misleading writing), his steed is a squirrel and the child himself is a size of a mouse, having shrunk due to the effects of a mushroom that he had unwisely eaten due to his hunger.<br><br>And of course, behind him was a wild cat, all fangs and claws and teeth.<br><br>The child had come across the cat while playing with his animal “friends” (?). As expected of a predatory creature, it had eaten his good friend (?) the swallow in a gulp. And then as expected of a kid who’s lost his good friend (I’m sorry, make that favorite toy), the child fought back in revenge.<br><br>His newly obtained skill, Explosive Power, allows him to increase his stats tenfold. In terms of power, the skill is practically the equivalent of an advanced level skill; however it only lasts a measly 10 seconds. Moreover, in his current status, being shrunk also reduced his stats to a 10th of his original level. <br><br>The wild cat, in addition to being much larger than the child, naturally had a large amount of agility and reflexes. In terms of size, it was the equivalent of a monster hunter taking on a giant panther. Not quite a well-muscled bruiser like a tiger or a leopard or a jaguar, but a respectable predator in its own right. <br><br>Moreover, in the pitch black of the night, it was difficult to make out the wild cat due to its sleek black cloak granting it natural camouflage.<br><br>Needless to say, it was a losing battle for the child. His simple and amateurish attacks were easily avoided by the wild cat and he could not find a good situation to utilize his Explosive Power for quick spurts of burst damage. And as a result, he was slowly being driven back by the wild cat. His squirrel, while sure-footed and rather fast and agile himself, had practically nothing on the cat really.<br><br>The squirrel that he rode on was some help in the fight, however, as it helped him avoid a few strikes and slashes from the cat’s claws. And of course, at that point, he had in his mind a rather evil plan. This phrase would have fitted so well if he was a gentleman with a top hat, bushy mustache and equally bushy eyebrows, and then he must be waggling his eyebrows as he said this, but this narrator here must not be picky.<br><br>The squirrel avoided another attack from the cat, and with an astute sense of timing, the child urged the squirrel forward, activating his Explosive Buff at the same time. The squirrel leapt forward, creating forward momentum as the child swung his long sword, aiming for the cat’s left hind leg.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">[You have severed the tendons of the hind leg; opponent’s movement speed has dropped.]</span><br><br>And there was the turn around that the child was looking for, charge having finished, moving to the side of the cat’s body. With the cat’s hind leg rendered useless, the child would be able to force the cat to play by his own rules, which was head on close combat.<br><br>But of course, when you solve one problem, another one will inevitably show itself. What level it is on depends, as a matter of fact, on providence.<br><br>The cat went absolutely insane with pain from the attack and was thrashing about in anger, slashing, swiping and swatting at the squirrel rider (let’s go with that for now), even going as far as to bare its fangs to snap at the child as the squirrel, speed advantage having been established, dodged and weaved, avoiding the attacks. <br><br>At this point, it was looking to grind down to a war of attrition. Yet, at this moment, a hole opened up in a tree nearby, and a swarm of fairy soldiers appeared, armed with short swords and spears the size of toothpicks and twigs respectively. A fairy wearing gilded armor pointed its short sword at the cat, spurring his troops on with a call to battle.<br><br>And then they proceeded to swarm the wild cat, stabbing and slashing away, chipping away the cat’s hit points with each blow. The cat fought back with much fury, but was overwhelmed by the fairies and soon collapsed under the weight of its attacks, fading away into a grey flash.<br><br>The child got off his steed and fell on his butt, exhausted by the ordeal he had just been through. <br><br>Nevertheless, despite his current condition, his mind was still thinking as he sought out a way to take advantage of this new situation. Hmph, what an uncute brat!<br><br>The fairy clad in gilded armor, who had led his troops into the fight, landed easily on the ground and walked up to the child.<br><br>“Young child, why are you in tears? This victory is cause for celebration.”<br><br>The child’s eyes looked rather moist as he attempted to put up a brave front, but failed miserably. As upsetting as this image sounds, it does seem oddly suspicious, not that the commander had realized this.<br><br>“Wing’s gone...” he said tearfully.<br><br>“Wing?” the commander looked rather confused.<br><br>“He’s a sparrow that I had met. The cat ate him.”<br><br>Even though he had known the sparrow for only a short period of time, it seemed that he had grown rather attached to the bird. It was, perhaps, understandable that the child was in a poor emotional state, seeing that a fun adventure suddenly turned into a bloody fight that had seen the death of a friend…<br><br>The fairy commander, having understood this, nodded and turned away, barking orders to his… erm… men (yeah, let’s go with that.). Having set things in order, he faced the child again.<br><br>“Regardless, you have shown immense bravery by going up against such a fierce predator on your own. While the loss of your friend is regrettable, you can perhaps be proud of yourself. If you do not mind, you are welcome to come into our city to recuperate. But first, give me your name, child.”<br><br>The child nodded and spoke confidently, favorable position achieved. It was a complete 180 degree turn from his earlier behavior. Well, if you do consider the fact that it was a game, it was pretty logical behavior.<br><br>“My name is Kino.”<br><br>And none shall stop him in his quest for adventure, it seems. Are you sure that he's definitely a child?<br><br>**<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">Meanwhile, back at the Sleepy Fortress…</span><br><br>“When I get my hands on that guy who knocked me out, he’s going to be so sorry.” the guard that was stationed there swore to himself as he stood there, eyes scanning the vicinity like a hawk. Sadly, that action only made him look like a serious puppy.<br>“Oh, get over yourself, Puppy. You’re not the vindictive sort.” his buddy chided him as he yawned with an amused look on his face. <br><br>“Don’t call me Puppy!!” the guard, now known as Puppy, shouted in protest.<br><br>Anyways, Puppy Guard, as I would like to call him now (Disclaimer: That’s not his actual name), had been minding his own business when he saw a young man, carrying nothing but the clothes of his back and the obviously empty backpack that he carried.<br><br>When the man attempted to pass the gate that led to the outskirts of the city, Puppy here naturally had to do his duty, right? And so he stood there with the intent to do so. He’s only doing his job.<br><br>So how come he had gotten knocked out within a single hit? And it was an attack from a level 1 beginner too. It’s practically inconceivable.<br><br>“I guess the way I spoke with him was a bit rude… Who am I kidding? The Lord has clearly decreed this. Don't leave the city within the first four weeks of arrival. I’m only doing this for that guy’s own good.” Puppy thought indignantly, believing his actions to be in the right.<br><br>“Oi, Richard, back me up here.” he said as he turned to his partner, expecting to be supporting his actions. But he saw nothing but darkness... and a awkwardly shaped shadow in the distance.<br><br>“Ho? So this guy’s called Dick then?” said the awkward shaped shadow, as it tossed something at Puppy. It turned out to be a badly concussed Richard, the whites of his eyes showing as he lay there senseless. (Author’s note: Dick is actually a short form for Richard.)<br><br>“He was a little rude demanding that I state my identity, so I taught him some manners.” the shadow laughed as he said this phrase that should be said by a gangster in an offhand manner. The shadow moved forward, the lantern hanging by the guard post throwing light onto his features. Puppy’s eyes widened in recognition as he stared at the shadow who would dare show himself so blatantly.<br><br>“You!!”<br><br>He turned out to be the same guy who had knocked him out that particular afternoon. Who wouldn’t mistake his slim and muscular build, brown hair and hazel eyes? And that infectious grin coupled with his lax gaze? The only thing that was different about him was the large sack which he now carried on his back.<br><br>“So you learnt your lesson and want to come back in the city to stay out your four weeks properly now?” Puppy asked, hoping for a petty revenge by refusing entry, but then again remembering that he had just knocked out Richard, who was a far better fighter than Puppy can ever hope to be.<br><br>“Nay, good sir. I had a great time outdoors, and have only returned to try and sell my wares at the market.” the young man held out the sack he carried to let Puppy see. <br><br>Arms trembling, Puppy opened up the sack, which had been surprisingly heavy. In the bag was a large amount of loot, mostly from Wolves. It consisted of plenty of wolf pelts, wolf meat and wolf bones. It was as though the man had waged a war against the wolf population itself.<br><br>“Well then, what makes you think that I’ll let you in then?” Puppy asked in a sudden fit of defiance, while actually crying on the inside. Who dare that guy actually live and prosper on the very first day when so many others, including him, had so much trouble with rabbits, even after 4 weeks of preparation? Incidentally, that difficulty was the reason why Puppy had stayed on in the Sleepy Fortress as a guard.<br><br>“So you won’t let me in then?”<br><br>The man smiled at Puppy’s outburst. It would be understandable if he was to argue back angrily, but that smile was far more unnerving than a look of rage. Puppy couldn’t help but tremble for a moment, but closed his eyes, shaking off the fear as he gathered his courage. He had a few more weeks’ worth of experience as compared to that newbie, and even though he was in this unenviable position, his levels are actually rather decent.<br><br>When he opened his eyes, the young man was nowhere to be seen. Puppy’s chest swelled with pride at having seen off his adversary, and of course he couldn’t resist trash talking, the relief he felt overwhelming his rationality.<br><br>“That’s right!! You better run!! If I ever see you here again, I’ll make you regret it!!!” he shouted, drunk in his unexpected success. He stomped his feet and batted the sword that he held against his shield, making a royal fool out of himself as he danced about out of joy. He pranced and leapt, spinning in midair… <br><br>… only to freeze as he saw the young man walking off, the sack of loot slung around his back.<br><br>“Come back here, goddammit!! How can you just leave like this after you humiliated me in public?” Puppy shouted angrily, his face as red as a beetroot. Damn that bloody bastard, leaving me behind as though I was not worth his time… I’ll show him.<br><br>“Damn it… first you hit me for no good reason, then you actually managed to survive outside the city, and then you thought it would be easy to just saunter back and leave the city?! Well, let me tell you this, punk, you just messed with the wrong guard!!” Puppy shouted as he charged at the man, sword swinging in an overhead cut.<br><br>The man sighed, and casually dropped the sack that he was holding. But he did not run. Instead, he ducked under the slashing attack, Puppy’s reckless forward movement putting him at the perfect position… to get bashed. A large fist smashed into his chest, causing him to stagger backwards, the air driven from his lungs and his eyes tearing from reflex. <br><br>As Puppy blinked the tears from his eyes, both hands came crashing onto the helmet that he wore. A clang echoed dully into the distance, followed by a thud as Puppy keeled over comically, badly concussed from the impact of the attack coupled by the feedback of the attack.<br><br>The man patted dust from his clothes as he looked at the concussed Puppy with little regard, knowing that such an attack won’t actually kill. Suddenly, he seemed to have realized something, and dug in Puppy’s pocket, digging out a large bell that would have served as a much better weapon than the sword that Puppy was equipped with.<br><br>Puppy, while still dizzy, could hear a loud clanging sound as the young man rang the bell loudly and shouted in a loud and clear voice:<br><br>“It is 12’o Clock, and all is well!!”<br><br>Then, job having been completed, the young man carefully set down the bell and walked off.<br><br>Damn you, thought Puppy as he laid there, still unable to get up. We don’t do that sort of thing anymore, you idiot!! </div>

As I have said before, I'm dividing up chapters into smaller parts to make it easier to read. I'll add on to this post as I write and edit, but the gist of the released parts shouldn't be changed. Enjoy!! * The child looked up at the giant chasm that had appeared in the moonlit tree, his trusty steed by his side… Just in case you are visualizing the wrong thing (apologies for the rather misleading writing), his steed is a squirrel and the child himself is a size of a mouse, having shrunk due to the effects of a mushroom that he had unwisely eaten due to his hunger. And of course, behind him was a wild cat, all fangs and claws and teeth. The child had come across the cat while playing with his animal “friends” (?). As expected of a predatory creature, it had eaten his good friend (?) the swallow in a gulp. And then as expected of a kid who’s lost his good friend (I’m sorry, make that favorite toy), the child fought back in revenge. His newly obtained skill, Explosive Power, allows him to increase his stats tenfold. In terms of power, the skill is practically the equivalent of an advanced level skill; however it only lasts a measly 10 seconds. Moreover, in his current status, being shrunk also reduced his stats to a 10th of his original level. The wild cat, in addition to being much larger than the child, naturally had a large amount of agility and reflexes. In terms of size, it was the equivalent of a monster hunter taking on a giant panther. Not quite a well-muscled bruiser like a tiger or a leopard or a jaguar, but a respectable predator in its own right. Moreover, in the pitch black of the night, it was difficult to make out the wild cat due to its sleek black cloak granting it natural camouflage. Needless to say, it was a losing battle for the child. His simple and amateurish attacks were easily avoided by the wild cat and he could not find a good situation to utilize his Explosive Power for quick spurts of burst damage. And as a result, he was slowly being driven back by the wild cat. His squirrel, while sure-footed and rather fast and agile himself, had practically nothing on the cat really. The squirrel that he rode on was some help in the fight, however, as it helped him avoid a few strikes and slashes from the cat’s claws. And of course, at that point, he had in his mind a rather evil plan. This phrase would have fitted so well if he was a gentleman with a top hat, bushy mustache and equally bushy eyebrows, and then he must be waggling his eyebrows as he said this, but this narrator here must not be picky. The squirrel avoided another attack from the cat, and with an astute sense of timing, the child urged the squirrel forward, activating his Explosive Buff at the same time. The squirrel leapt forward, creating forward momentum as the child swung his long sword, aiming for the cat’s left hind leg. [You have severed the tendons of the hind leg; opponent’s movement speed has dropped.] And there was the turn around that the child was looking for, charge having finished, moving to the side of the cat’s body. With the cat’s hind leg rendered useless, the child would be able to force the cat to play by his own rules, which was head on close combat. But of course, when you solve one problem, another one will inevitably show itself. What level it is on depends, as a matter of fact, on providence. The cat went absolutely insane with pain from the attack and was thrashing about in anger, slashing, swiping and swatting at the squirrel rider (let’s go with that for now), even going as far as to bare its fangs to snap at the child as the squirrel, speed advantage having been established, dodged and weaved, avoiding the attacks. At this point, it was looking to grind down to a war of attrition. Yet, at this moment, a hole opened up in a tree nearby, and a swarm of fairy soldiers appeared, armed with short swords and spears the size of toothpicks and twigs respectively. A fairy wearing gilded armor pointed its short sword at the cat, spurring his troops on with a call to battle. And then they proceeded to swarm the wild cat, stabbing and slashing away, chipping away the cat’s hit points with each blow. The cat fought back with much fury, but was overwhelmed by the fairies and soon collapsed under the weight of its attacks, fading away into a grey flash. The child got off his steed and fell on his butt, exhausted by the ordeal he had just been through. Nevertheless, despite his current condition, his mind was still thinking as he sought out a way to take advantage of this new situation. Hmph, what an uncute brat! The fairy clad in gilded armor, who had led his troops into the fight, landed easily on the ground and walked up to the child. “Young child, why are you in tears? This victory is cause for celebration.” The child’s eyes looked rather moist as he attempted to put up a brave front, but failed miserably. As upsetting as this image sounds, it does seem oddly suspicious, not that the commander had realized this. “Wing’s gone...” he said tearfully. “Wing?” the commander looked rather confused. “He’s a sparrow that I had met. The cat ate him.” Even though he had known the sparrow for only a short period of time, it seemed that he had grown rather attached to the bird. It was, perhaps, understandable that the child was in a poor emotional state, seeing that a fun adventure suddenly turned into a bloody fight that had seen the death of a friend… The fairy commander, having understood this, nodded and turned away, barking orders to his… erm… men (yeah, let’s go with that.). Having set things in order, he faced the child again. “Regardless, you have shown immense bravery by going up against such a fierce predator on your own. While the loss of your friend is regrettable, you can perhaps be proud of yourself. If you do not mind, you are welcome to come into our city to recuperate. But first, give me your name, child.” The child nodded and spoke confidently, favorable position achieved. It was a complete 180 degree turn from his earlier behavior. Well, if you do consider the fact that it was a game, it was pretty logical behavior. “My name is Kino.” And none shall stop him in his quest for adventure, it seems. Are you sure that he's definitely a child? ** Meanwhile, back at the Sleepy Fortress… “When I get my hands on that guy who knocked me out, he’s going to be so sorry.” the guard that was stationed there swore to himself as he stood there, eyes scanning the vicinity like a hawk. Sadly, that action only made him look like a serious puppy. “Oh, get over yourself, Puppy. You’re not the vindictive sort.” his buddy chided him as he yawned with an amused look on his face. “Don’t call me Puppy!!” the guard, now known as Puppy, shouted in protest. Anyways, Puppy Guard, as I would like to call him now (Disclaimer: That’s not his actual name), had been minding his own business when he saw a young man, carrying nothing but the clothes of his back and the obviously empty backpack that he carried. When the man attempted to pass the gate that led to the outskirts of the city, Puppy here naturally had to do his duty, right? And so he stood there with the intent to do so. He’s only doing his job. So how come he had gotten knocked out within a single hit? And it was an attack from a level 1 beginner too. It’s practically inconceivable. “I guess the way I spoke with him was a bit rude… Who am I kidding? The Lord has clearly decreed this. Don't leave the city within the first four weeks of arrival. I’m only doing this for that guy’s own good.” Puppy thought indignantly, believing his actions to be in the right. “Oi, Richard, back me up here.” he said as he turned to his partner, expecting to be supporting his actions. But he saw nothing but darkness... and a awkwardly shaped shadow in the distance. “Ho? So this guy’s called Dick then?” said the awkward shaped shadow, as it tossed something at Puppy. It turned out to be a badly concussed Richard, the whites of his eyes showing as he lay there senseless. (Author’s note: Dick is actually a short form for Richard.) “He was a little rude demanding that I state my identity, so I taught him some manners.” the shadow laughed as he said this phrase that should be said by a gangster in an offhand manner. The shadow moved forward, the lantern hanging by the guard post throwing light onto his features. Puppy’s eyes widened in recognition as he stared at the shadow who would dare show himself so blatantly. “You!!” He turned out to be the same guy who had knocked him out that particular afternoon. Who wouldn’t mistake his slim and muscular build, brown hair and hazel eyes? And that infectious grin coupled with his lax gaze? The only thing that was different about him was the large sack which he now carried on his back. “So you learnt your lesson and want to come back in the city to stay out your four weeks properly now?” Puppy asked, hoping for a petty revenge by refusing entry, but then again remembering that he had just knocked out Richard, who was a far better fighter than Puppy can ever hope to be. “Nay, good sir. I had a great time outdoors, and have only returned to try and sell my wares at the market.” the young man held out the sack he carried to let Puppy see. Arms trembling, Puppy opened up the sack, which had been surprisingly heavy. In the bag was a large amount of loot, mostly from Wolves. It consisted of plenty of wolf pelts, wolf meat and wolf bones. It was as though the man had waged a war against the wolf population itself. “Well then, what makes you think that I’ll let you in then?” Puppy asked in a sudden fit of defiance, while actually crying on the inside. Who dare that guy actually live and prosper on the very first day when so many others, including him, had so much trouble with rabbits, even after 4 weeks of preparation? Incidentally, that difficulty was the reason why Puppy had stayed on in the Sleepy Fortress as a guard. “So you won’t let me in then?” The man smiled at Puppy’s outburst. It would be understandable if he was to argue back angrily, but that smile was far more unnerving than a look of rage. Puppy couldn’t help but tremble for a moment, but closed his eyes, shaking off the fear as he gathered his courage. He had a few more weeks’ worth of experience as compared to that newbie, and even though he was in this unenviable position, his levels are actually rather decent. When he opened his eyes, the young man was nowhere to be seen. Puppy’s chest swelled with pride at having seen off his adversary, and of course he couldn’t resist trash talking, the relief he felt overwhelming his rationality. “That’s right!! You better run!! If I ever see you here again, I’ll make you regret it!!!” he shouted, drunk in his unexpected success. He stomped his feet and batted the sword that he held against his shield, making a royal fool out of himself as he danced about out of joy. He pranced and leapt, spinning in midair… … only to freeze as he saw the young man walking off, the sack of loot slung around his back. “Come back here, goddammit!! How can you just leave like this after you humiliated me in public?” Puppy shouted angrily, his face as red as a beetroot. Damn that bloody bastard, leaving me behind as though I was not worth his time… I’ll show him. “Damn it… first you hit me for no good reason, then you actually managed to survive outside the city, and then you thought it would be easy to just saunter back and leave the city?! Well, let me tell you this, punk, you just messed with the wrong guard!!” Puppy shouted as he charged at the man, sword swinging in an overhead cut. The man sighed, and casually dropped the sack that he was holding. But he did not run. Instead, he ducked under the slashing attack, Puppy’s reckless forward movement putting him at the perfect position… to get bashed. A large fist smashed into his chest, causing him to stagger backwards, the air driven from his lungs and his eyes tearing from reflex. As Puppy blinked the tears from his eyes, both hands came crashing onto the helmet that he wore. A clang echoed dully into the distance, followed by a thud as Puppy keeled over comically, badly concussed from the impact of the attack coupled by the feedback of the attack. The man patted dust from his clothes as he looked at the concussed Puppy with little regard, knowing that such an attack won’t actually kill. Suddenly, he seemed to have realized something, and dug in Puppy’s pocket, digging out a large bell that would have served as a much better weapon than the sword that Puppy was equipped with. Puppy, while still dizzy, could hear a loud clanging sound as the young man rang the bell loudly and shouted in a loud and clear voice: “It is 12’o Clock, and all is well!!” Then, job having been completed, the young man carefully set down the bell and walked off. Damn you, thought Puppy as he laid there, still unable to get up. We don’t do that sort of thing anymore, you idiot!!

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> “Weed the elf, level FF/20” finished announcing Theodore. Weed had gained 7 levels through the annihilation of baby scorpions campaign.<br><br>By this point Weed was nearly having a fit of stage fright. He hadn’t realized there’d be so many people here and even the media was present. As he stood there lost in his nightmares of failure in front of the crowd, he felt a hammer on his shoulder and realized it was Theodore’s hand, motioning him to begin.<br><br>As Weed scurried towards his stove, the NPC’s watched with a bemused expression on their faces. Imagine an elf trying to become a blacksmith. It was like a worm trying to become a bird, or a cat trying to roar. As Weed fumbled on stage the NPC crowd roared with laughter at this scruffy low leveled elf of all people trying to win a blacksmithing competition. <br><br>However, all the players in the room flocked as close to the stage as they could. The audience of players was pushing each other to get a single glance at a blacksmith at work. The other finalists who had captured the attention of the audience were now nothing but a forgotten memory. The players were desperate to get a close view of the elven blacksmith, who’s christened his in-game character Weed.<br><br>Originally, Weed was a common term for Cannabis. When, Lee Hyun used the name Weed, for Royal Road, he never thought of it more than the lowliest of the low in the plant kingdom. But over time with mounting triumphs, the name came to be associated with those who were the sturdiest, the most stubborn to win and the toughest of gamers. Only, those who could would never surrender to insurmountable obstacles were truly Weeds. It wasn’t a title that was handed down from one gamer to the next, it wasn’t something a player could nominate themselves for. It certainly wasn’t something you could self proclaim. Only when acknowledged by the gaming community, would you be considered a Weed. Of those acknowledged for their relentless determination and thirst for perfection and success, only a handful dared to use the name Weed. By doing so, these players, were considered as the candidates to be considered as the next Weed in the coming gaming era. <br><br>None of this meant that there weren’t noobies and newbies that didn’t take on the name Weed. There were plenty of idiots, who christened their in game character as Weed. Some did it out of self proclamation of unfounded awesomeness; others did it out of being inspired by the original Weed’s success. However, even a single folly, tainting the name of Weed led to being shunned by the gaming community. Thus, they quickly dropped the name or deleted the account or changed the name.<br><br>Needless to say, Weed the name became a title never achieved by any. Players tried and tried to climb the high standards of Lee Hyun’s legacy, however no matter how much they accomplished it always fell short of being as amazing as Lee Hyun. With new emerging games and new emerging gaming heroes, the race to be crowned as Weed, was left unfinished. It could also be the reason why the world began to forget about Weed to begin with. With Lee Hyun out of the picture and no successor to the title, the world forgot about Weed. <br><br>However, with Lee Hyun’s return, the gaming industry was turned upside down and inside out. Forgotten heroes of each major VRMMORPG title released in the past, stepped out of retirement. The uncrowned candidates who were the closest to achieving the title of Weed, declared their return to the world of gaming as well. The race was on, once again, for one last time. It wasn’t a race to be crowned as the next Weed, but the last chance for the former generations to beat Weed’s legacy. Lee Hyun’s return wasn’t only marked with the return of older retired enemies. His fans followed him as well. Some began playing Elementarem Vim and others joined media houses as commentators. The name Weed was once again a glorified title that players were chasing after.<br><br>The name was feared, admired and revered. There was no one foolish enough to christen themselves as Weed, unless they were ready to be scrutinized with a magnifying glass of the gaming community for each and every waking second of their life. The attention was not the same as a celebrity being chased by the paparazzi. It was the attention one received from the examiner in an exam hall. To put it into perspective, claiming to be the next Weed was equivalent to foolishly accepting the position of being hated by those who truly hated the original Weed, admired the original Weed, were envious of the original Weed and admired by original Weed. In short, making yourself an enemy of everyone.<br><br>The only ones, who could dare to do so, were the younger generation, the toddlers in gaming, who could not comprehend the original Weed’s feats. To sum up, every player in the room wanted to see the face of the brat who dared to take on the hate, the love and the admiration of the world. <br><br>-x-x-x-x-<br><br>Covering the black diamond with both his hands Weed slowly took it out of his satchel. As he uncovered it, the flashed black for a moment. Weed immediately concealed the stone with his hands and carefully and secretly examining the black diamond. It truly was the most majestic piece for this room. Weed, checked his inventory, it looked like he only had a little bit of gold and mithril which would just be enough for what he had planned…<br><br>*Cut* *Cut* *Shink* * Cut* *Tink* *Tink* *Shink* *Cut*<br><br>In the center of the stage, sat an elf hunched. As quietly as possible, he began carving a precious stone hidden from everyone’s view. He was so absorbed in his task that he could not feel the burning glare he was receiving from others.<br><br>*Cut* *Cut* *Shink* * Cut* *Tink* *Tink* *Shink* *Cut*<br><br>With every movement of his hand came a ringing sound, similar to crystal glass being rung by a spoon. The curiosity if the audience was overwhelming, in their shock and confusion most missed their chance to pay attention to the elf’s face. There was the added interest owing to all the secrecy the elf maintained by wearing a hood and partially covering his face. And as if to tease the audience, the elven blacksmith sat hunched with his back facing the audience while he worked on <span style="font-style: italic;">something.</span><br><br>“Alak.” Weed whispered. “Please find Rodriguez.”<br><br>“WHHAT! Master admirable great Rodriguez is here!” Alak screamed back into Weed’s mind, while maintaining its invisibility.<br><br>Weed subtly nodded. He had asked the old man to come and bring Lisa, this was the biggest event in the area and he was sure they’d be here but he had to bring them to the front. He quickly instructed Alak to bring the pair near the stage. Alak however was too excited about the prospects of meeting Rodriguez once again, that it didn’t bother listening to what Weed said and it zoomed off happily to find the couple. <span style="font-style: italic;"> ‘Why do I ever rely on that stupid fairy for help? </span> Weed tracked the subtle distortion in the air, tracking Alak’s position, till he could barely notice the fairy. <br><br>After sneaking a few glances back into the audience, he could see Rodriguez and Lisa waving out to him. Weed could see both Rodriguez and Lisa making their way to the front, nearest to his forge. Snappy appeared to be licking his old temporary master’s hand in gratitude for taking care of him earlier. Alak was invisible, however, Weed could imagine Alak buzzing round and round in circles greeting her master. Weed was glad that the invitation had been accepted, he was unsure whether it would be accepted since it was delivered by a kobold. He had written, requesting the old man to attend the event with Lisa, otherwise not to turn up at all. Although, he only needed Rodriguez to complete the quest…Lisa was a crucial element in his plan to help him win this round.<br> <br>‘Wonder what the old man told the lady to get her here. I cannot screw this up.’ Weed said as he was completely oblivious to the ferocious audience that was trying to get a glance of his face.<br><br>With Weed’s grandfather clock next to his workplace, Weed was immediately benefitting from the power of the clock; time had slowed down for him. Weed smiled with the benefit he had been graced with, his tardiness - the disadvantage was nullified by the clock’s benefit. For Weed, the audience, appeared to be moving in slow motion whereas for the audience, Weed appeared to be moving abnormally fast. Weed began to work the metal thinking about the kind of ring he would make, it had to be different from usual, something that was special and would mean something to Lisa.<br><br>He frequently shot concealed glances at Lisa, trying to summarize what he knew about her and decided simplicity was the best approach. Since Lisa was an archer, then something that had to do with archery would be the best choice of design. Through the numerous designs that he had dreamt of, the most appealing choice was carving the diamond in the form of an arrow head. It worked perfectly well for Weed as he had no experience in engraving / carving precious stones. However, he was well versed in making arrow heads. <br><br>Thus Weed embarked upon the task of shaping the black diamond into the shape of an arrow head. However, the sight of seeing the old couple together, it struck Weed that an arrow head is weapon and not a symbol of love. As he pondered about how to employ his worthless sense of art and originality, an idea struck him like lightning. Weed gleefully smiled away. It was probably the best original idea he had ever had.<br><br>A simple gold band with mithril etchings around it and the stone in the shape of a heart shaped arrowhead. <br><br>The original Weed’s sculpting skill were godly, he could engrave / carve diamonds and shape it into beautiful works of art. However, Weed of RREV had never tried it before. His experience from the weapon’s license test warned him that RREV punished those who never practiced. Yet he was confident it would work. The stone was pretty large making it easy to work on compared to the smaller stones used in rings; at least two inches in height and an inch wide. It was already polished and carved into the shape of a teardrop. The only task Weed was left with, was to shape it into a pointy heart. This would create a romantic gesture while at the same time leverage on his arrow head smelting and carving practice. Simply worded, the disadvantages and Weed’s limitations in experiences were cancelled out by the many small advantages.<br><br>*Cut* *Cut* *Shink* * Cut* *Tink* *Tink* *Shink* *Cut*<br><br>‘Dammit! It did not work!’ Weed was puzzled, he was sure he had enough skill to carve the diamond. Even, if he lacked the skill, he was confident that all the small factors would weigh in his favor at he would be able to cut the diamond if not carve it properly. Yet, the diamond remained unscathed even after an hour of him scratching it with his crafting knife. It only saddened him further, when he noticed that there wasn’t even a scratch.<br><br>*Cut* *Cut* *Cut*<br><br>Out of curiosity, he tried cutting the rest of materials he had available. Soft gold was no problem whatsoever. Silver was also very easy to cut. The little mithril he had put up a little resistance but otherwise no trouble. A single diamond among the last of his wealth was the toughest of the lot but still carve-able.<br><br>*Cut* *Cut* *Shink* * Cut* *Tink* *Tink* *Shink* *Cut**Tink* *Tink* <br><br>‘Huh.’ Weed knew it was a black dragon’s scale. But he did not imagine himself unable to cut it! Weed put the stone back into his inventory and began to meditate. He needed to think of a solution quickly otherwise this could well be the end of adventure.<br><br>The players in the audience were now in a frenzy, after seeing the elf work speedily they could only wonder why he chose to sit and meditate. Did he hit an obstacle? Or was he already finished, despite coming late? Was he some unheard off uncrowned prince of VR gaming? All the players were burning with curiosity. Even the professionals, were curious to know who was foolish enough to take on the name Weed. Was that person a threat to their ambitions to beat the game? A potential ally or a fool?<br><br>Even the NPC’s could feel the audience’s restlessness. The players curiosity and excitement began trickling over to the NPCs. The nobility, who had no interest in the competition, suddenly seemed more curious. It became obvious to them that one blacksmith wasn’t doing the same thing as the others. That ridiculous elf, whom they scorned and laughed at, was just sitting there. The NPC audience once again began to talk about and laugh at him once again. Weed frowned, there was too much noise for him to concentrate and gather his thoughts. The dilemma of not being able to carve the stone was quite serious. There was the added problem of not being able to do anything else as he had no other precious stone of similar exquisiteness with him. <br>Weed dug through the materials in inventory; there were only some precious stones left. He pocketed these before handing over the keys to the Kobold Elder....<br><br>‘Got to get back on track. Focus!’ Weed slapped both his hands against his cheeks. If he continued with the black diamond, there was no certainty that he would succeed. Contrary to that thought, there was no certainty that not using the black diamond would lead to success either.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;"> ‘If I keep my end game plan the same as before finding the black diamond, then in this situation, I would have simply used any other precious stone as substitute and continued on. The penalty would be....reduced impressiveness of the ring, But who would notice, right?’ </span> Weed wore a huge frown across his face (not visible to anyone owing to his hidden face). As he ran through Theodore’s words / clues, Theodore did clearly state that players were required to practice in the training halls of Northern Mountain City. It might be the reason why he was struggling so much right now. <span style="font-style: italic;"> ‘If only I had never fallen for Kendelbreu’s lies, I would have avoided the trap and been able to practice...’ </span><br><br>Weed looked at the metal he had melted; he only had a little gold and mithril. If he undertook making anything now, it would be very small. As he was sitting, he had to shift his belt and his finger felt a sudden prick.... Weed suddenly jumped up. <span style="font-style: italic;"> That is it! The crafting knife! </span> He had completely forgotten about the crafting knife he had made in the first round! It was the unaccounted for factor!<br><br>With renewed enthusiasm and determination, Weed tried carving the black diamond again. Taking advantage of the bonuses offered by the knife and the clock Weed took his time and brought his concentration to the limit, after all he had said he would make the best ring and he wouldn’t let himself go back on his word at this point. There was always the option of raising deceit and betrayal….but Weed had no intention of upsetting the NPC who gave him his first quest. There was an unspoken bond of friendship between the two which Weed was most happy to preserve at all costs.<br><br>*Cut* *Cut* *Shink* * Cut* *Tink* *Tink* *Shink* *Cut* *CUT* *CRACK*<br><br>Weed’s frown gave away to a large smile. The black diamond finally chipped by the pointy tip of the tear drop. It was an extremely small piece but the right size for a solitaire ring. Scrapping away his initial plans to carve the entire diamond into a ring stone shaped like a pointy heart arrow head. Weed bitterly gave up this idea; it was his first original idea…which became irrelevant before he could even use it. He however consoled himself, with the hopes to sell the remaining black diamond later for a larger profit. Weed now aimed to polish the small chipped portion. <br><br>With the diamond taken care of Weed began shaping the gold and an even smaller piece of mithril. Some of the crowd noticed him at this and pointed out to other nearby. Soon everyone was wondering what the elf was doing this time, since it clearly wasn’t enough material to make anything very big like the other blacksmiths. Weed began molding the gold and mithril together in the shape of a ring band. Using his elemental abilities, he was able to knit the two metals perfectly. Still, bitter over not being able to carve the entire black diamond, Weed etched a mithril pattern around the band of hearts in the shape of arrow heads (something like a cupid’s arrow head).<br><br>As Weed continued to work a hush fell across the halls. Soon he was the only one still working, despite the fact that his piece was much smaller than the other smiths. The remaining finalists stood beside their pieces of bejeweled armors, swords and sculptures. Although curious none of them tried to sneak a peek at what the elf was doing.<br><br>By the time he had finished, he noticed the crowd running away from the stage; Snappy appeared with him Lisa and Rodriguez. Lisa appeared flustered as she seemed to be embarrassed by all the attention she was receiving from the players. The players in turn were wondering which NPC in their right mind would walk alongside the large dog with a bark enough to rip their ear drums. Rodriguez looked somewhat sick and a little scared. <br><br>As Weed placed his crafted item on the third task show piece table, a window appeared…<br><br>TRRRIIIINNG!<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>Solitaire Ring – Durability 25/25<br><br>A ring made with the desire for perfection and the hope to help bring two people together. This gold and mithril band features a cupid heart arrow head. It is topped with a tiny diamond of the highest quality and rarest type. <br><br>When you are cold or lonely look at the ring and feel the warmth of another’s love for you. This ring binds you together and allows you to help others connect as you have. Everything about this ring is unique. The etchings of mithril across the gold band, enable you to etch and share a memory you cherish into this ring. Also, once cleansed, the black diamond will return to its former glory, bequeathing other’s with its healing touch to the heart.<br><br>Restrictions: None.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>It wasn’t too shabby, owing to his low skill level; the black diamond did not shine as much as he had hoped he would. Weed looked at his ring one last time before setting it on the table. <br><br><span style="font-style: italic;"> ‘This will have to do….this was never what I aimed for anyways…’ </span><br><br>The players and the NPC audience were most disappointed with Weed’s end result. Many had secretly high hopes from the elf blacksmith christened Weed. However, the small ring was of the poorest quality. It did not shine like the other blacksmith’s creations. The Christmas tree Cynbel forged, was a clear winner. All the users who looked at it received immediate buffs, but what made it stand out was its detailing of each leaf and ornament. It was at least a master piece. Thor too could not help but acknowledge his defeat this round. All that was left was for the winner to be declared. With Weed finished with his item, the competition was brought to an end and it was time for the judging and the results to be announced. As Theodore made his way to the stage and began to inspect the pieces Weed stepped forward.<br><br>“Theodore, though the last piece has been completed the task is not yet done. You asked us to create a thing something beauty and I will now do so.”<br><br>This announcement confused the crowd, the contestants, and even Theodore…Weed smiled like the devil. This was the opportune moment that he had been waiting for. It had never been about making a beautiful diamond from the start….Weed had already given up on the black diamond when he had been betrayed by Kendelbreu…so finding it with the Kobold’s was a sort of a bonus, making something beautiful out of the black diamond was never really a part of his plans to begin with, it was only a stepping stone to secure his victory… <br><br>“Err, excuse me but what do you mean elf” the perturbed dwarf judge asked.<br><br>Weed only smiled at the dwarf as if to say, please wait and see. Weed jumped of the stage and walked over to Rodriguez. <br><br>Players immediately broke into a whisper, <span style="font-style: italic;"> ‘So he knows those two that walked with the dog? </span><br><br><span style="font-style: italic;"> ‘I wonder is he on some secret type of quest? </span><br><br><span style="font-style: italic;"> ‘Do you really think this is Weed?’ </span><br><br><span style="font-style: italic;"> ‘What do you think he is up to…’ </span><br><br>Weed handed the ring to Rodriguez. “Now is the time.” He whispered into Rodriguez’s ear.<br><br>“But Weed this is not the most beautiful ring, you lied to me. I can’t do it. Not with this. It is black!”<br><br>Weed smiled back, hiding his worries. Everything hinged on this…“Of course you can. Trust me; to Lisa this will be the most beautiful ring in the world. This is the rarest of the rare diamonds…although black….see for yourself…”<br><br>Rodriguez checked the diamond carefully with his skills and dejectedly accepted Weed’s words. The ring although not beautiful had very romantic properties to it. “But…”<br><br>“Do IT!” Weed insisted as his tone slightly gave away his frustration.<br><br>“But…. I’m afraid, what if she says no.” Rodriguez wailed. <br><br>“She won’t, because you can share the memory you cherish the most of her and she will understand.” At this point Weed gives him a little push forward. The NPC audience still confused however the players caught on and watched in silence. It was on par with watching a romantic movie unfolding in front of them and nobody in the room dared to play spoiler especially since there were many women and nobility in the room, both who enjoyed romantic moments.<br><br>Lisa looked somewhat bewildered as Rodriguez approached her. <br><br>“Err, Lisa, that is, umm…. I mean….Darn..” Rodriguez fumbled and stumbled with his words, the NPC was programmed well in the ways of men getting weak in their knees when proposing to the woman they loved. Realizing that he was still standing, Rodriguez got on his knee. <br><br>Lisa continued to look at him…she appeared to be somewhat horrified and terribly embarrassed. <br><br>Rodriguez opened his mouth again, but his tongue completely failed him. Some of the men in the crowd laughed; they had experienced that before. Rodriguez hurriedly looked back at Weed beseechingly; begging the devil who threw him in the frying pan to help him. However, Weed only glared back angrily. <span style="font-style: italic;"> ‘Just ask her to marry you idiot!’ </span> Maybe a 10 year old did not understand the difficulties of the heart so well as one could hope for...then again this particular 10 year old should be the last person, one should turn to...given his only interest at the time was winning the competition.<br><br>Mustering all his courage, Rodriguez finally popped the question in a barely inaudible tone…<br><br>“Lisa for a long time now I have loved you, will you marry me?”<br><br><br><br><br>----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br>Authors Note:<br><br>1. Thank you so much Tewlve, V4LKYR13, Zapper for helping out!<br>2. Hope you all like it. :) Cya in 5.9<br>3. Will be edited soon. PS: Vol 4 C1 - Vol 5 C7 has been Pr'd just need to update that. ^^<br><br>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="4">Connect to Royal Road – Elementarem Vim next Chapter?</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&amp;t=643" target="_blank">Yes</a></td><td colspan="2"><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&amp;t=348" target="_blank">No</a></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- </div>

“Weed the elf, level FF/20” finished announcing Theodore. Weed had gained 7 levels through the annihilation of baby scorpions campaign. By this point Weed was nearly having a fit of stage fright. He hadn’t realized there’d be so many people here and even the media was present. As he stood there lost in his nightmares of failure in front of the crowd, he felt a hammer on his shoulder and realized it was Theodore’s hand, motioning him to begin. As Weed scurried towards his stove, the NPC’s watched with a bemused expression on their faces. Imagine an elf trying to become a blacksmith. It was like a worm trying to become a bird, or a cat trying to roar. As Weed fumbled on stage the NPC crowd roared with laughter at this scruffy low leveled elf of all people trying to win a blacksmithing competition. However, all the players in the room flocked as close to the stage as they could. The audience of players was pushing each other to get a single glance at a blacksmith at work. The other finalists who had captured the attention of the audience were now nothing but a forgotten memory. The players were desperate to get a close view of the elven blacksmith, who’s christened his in-game character Weed. Originally, Weed was a common term for Cannabis. When, Lee Hyun used the name Weed, for Royal Road, he never thought of it more than the lowliest of the low in the plant kingdom. But over time with mounting triumphs, the name came to be associated with those who were the sturdiest, the most stubborn to win and the toughest of gamers. Only, those who could would never surrender to insurmountable obstacles were truly Weeds. It wasn’t a title that was handed down from one gamer to the next, it wasn’t something a player could nominate themselves for. It certainly wasn’t something you could self proclaim. Only when acknowledged by the gaming community, would you be considered a Weed. Of those acknowledged for their relentless determination and thirst for perfection and success, only a handful dared to use the name Weed. By doing so, these players, were considered as the candidates to be considered as the next Weed in the coming gaming era. None of this meant that there weren’t noobies and newbies that didn’t take on the name Weed. There were plenty of idiots, who christened their in game character as Weed. Some did it out of self proclamation of unfounded awesomeness; others did it out of being inspired by the original Weed’s success. However, even a single folly, tainting the name of Weed led to being shunned by the gaming community. Thus, they quickly dropped the name or deleted the account or changed the name. Needless to say, Weed the name became a title never achieved by any. Players tried and tried to climb the high standards of Lee Hyun’s legacy, however no matter how much they accomplished it always fell short of being as amazing as Lee Hyun. With new emerging games and new emerging gaming heroes, the race to be crowned as Weed, was left unfinished. It could also be the reason why the world began to forget about Weed to begin with. With Lee Hyun out of the picture and no successor to the title, the world forgot about Weed. However, with Lee Hyun’s return, the gaming industry was turned upside down and inside out. Forgotten heroes of each major VRMMORPG title released in the past, stepped out of retirement. The uncrowned candidates who were the closest to achieving the title of Weed, declared their return to the world of gaming as well. The race was on, once again, for one last time. It wasn’t a race to be crowned as the next Weed, but the last chance for the former generations to beat Weed’s legacy. Lee Hyun’s return wasn’t only marked with the return of older retired enemies. His fans followed him as well. Some began playing Elementarem Vim and others joined media houses as commentators. The name Weed was once again a glorified title that players were chasing after. The name was feared, admired and revered. There was no one foolish enough to christen themselves as Weed, unless they were ready to be scrutinized with a magnifying glass of the gaming community for each and every waking second of their life. The attention was not the same as a celebrity being chased by the paparazzi. It was the attention one received from the examiner in an exam hall. To put it into perspective, claiming to be the next Weed was equivalent to foolishly accepting the position of being hated by those who truly hated the original Weed, admired the original Weed, were envious of the original Weed and admired by original Weed. In short, making yourself an enemy of everyone. The only ones, who could dare to do so, were the younger generation, the toddlers in gaming, who could not comprehend the original Weed’s feats. To sum up, every player in the room wanted to see the face of the brat who dared to take on the hate, the love and the admiration of the world. -x-x-x-x- Covering the black diamond with both his hands Weed slowly took it out of his satchel. As he uncovered it, the flashed black for a moment. Weed immediately concealed the stone with his hands and carefully and secretly examining the black diamond. It truly was the most majestic piece for this room. Weed, checked his inventory, it looked like he only had a little bit of gold and mithril which would just be enough for what he had planned… *Cut* *Cut* *Shink* * Cut* *Tink* *Tink* *Shink* *Cut* In the center of the stage, sat an elf hunched. As quietly as possible, he began carving a precious stone hidden from everyone’s view. He was so absorbed in his task that he could not feel the burning glare he was receiving from others. *Cut* *Cut* *Shink* * Cut* *Tink* *Tink* *Shink* *Cut* With every movement of his hand came a ringing sound, similar to crystal glass being rung by a spoon. The curiosity if the audience was overwhelming, in their shock and confusion most missed their chance to pay attention to the elf’s face. There was the added interest owing to all the secrecy the elf maintained by wearing a hood and partially covering his face. And as if to tease the audience, the elven blacksmith sat hunched with his back facing the audience while he worked on something. “Alak.” Weed whispered. “Please find Rodriguez.” “WHHAT! Master admirable great Rodriguez is here!” Alak screamed back into Weed’s mind, while maintaining its invisibility. Weed subtly nodded. He had asked the old man to come and bring Lisa, this was the biggest event in the area and he was sure they’d be here but he had to bring them to the front. He quickly instructed Alak to bring the pair near the stage. Alak however was too excited about the prospects of meeting Rodriguez once again, that it didn’t bother listening to what Weed said and it zoomed off happily to find the couple. ‘Why do I ever rely on that stupid fairy for help? Weed tracked the subtle distortion in the air, tracking Alak’s position, till he could barely notice the fairy. After sneaking a few glances back into the audience, he could see Rodriguez and Lisa waving out to him. Weed could see both Rodriguez and Lisa making their way to the front, nearest to his forge. Snappy appeared to be licking his old temporary master’s hand in gratitude for taking care of him earlier. Alak was invisible, however, Weed could imagine Alak buzzing round and round in circles greeting her master. Weed was glad that the invitation had been accepted, he was unsure whether it would be accepted since it was delivered by a kobold. He had written, requesting the old man to attend the event with Lisa, otherwise not to turn up at all. Although, he only needed Rodriguez to complete the quest…Lisa was a crucial element in his plan to help him win this round. ‘Wonder what the old man told the lady to get her here. I cannot screw this up.’ Weed said as he was completely oblivious to the ferocious audience that was trying to get a glance of his face. With Weed’s grandfather clock next to his workplace, Weed was immediately benefitting from the power of the clock; time had slowed down for him. Weed smiled with the benefit he had been graced with, his tardiness - the disadvantage was nullified by the clock’s benefit. For Weed, the audience, appeared to be moving in slow motion whereas for the audience, Weed appeared to be moving abnormally fast. Weed began to work the metal thinking about the kind of ring he would make, it had to be different from usual, something that was special and would mean something to Lisa. He frequently shot concealed glances at Lisa, trying to summarize what he knew about her and decided simplicity was the best approach. Since Lisa was an archer, then something that had to do with archery would be the best choice of design. Through the numerous designs that he had dreamt of, the most appealing choice was carving the diamond in the form of an arrow head. It worked perfectly well for Weed as he had no experience in engraving / carving precious stones. However, he was well versed in making arrow heads. Thus Weed embarked upon the task of shaping the black diamond into the shape of an arrow head. However, the sight of seeing the old couple together, it struck Weed that an arrow head is weapon and not a symbol of love. As he pondered about how to employ his worthless sense of art and originality, an idea struck him like lightning. Weed gleefully smiled away. It was probably the best original idea he had ever had. A simple gold band with mithril etchings around it and the stone in the shape of a heart shaped arrowhead. The original Weed’s sculpting skill were godly, he could engrave / carve diamonds and shape it into beautiful works of art. However, Weed of RREV had never tried it before. His experience from the weapon’s license test warned him that RREV punished those who never practiced. Yet he was confident it would work. The stone was pretty large making it easy to work on compared to the smaller stones used in rings; at least two inches in height and an inch wide. It was already polished and carved into the shape of a teardrop. The only task Weed was left with, was to shape it into a pointy heart. This would create a romantic gesture while at the same time leverage on his arrow head smelting and carving practice. Simply worded, the disadvantages and Weed’s limitations in experiences were cancelled out by the many small advantages. *Cut* *Cut* *Shink* * Cut* *Tink* *Tink* *Shink* *Cut* ‘Dammit! It did not work!’ Weed was puzzled, he was sure he had enough skill to carve the diamond. Even, if he lacked the skill, he was confident that all the small factors would weigh in his favor at he would be able to cut the diamond if not carve it properly. Yet, the diamond remained unscathed even after an hour of him scratching it with his crafting knife. It only saddened him further, when he noticed that there wasn’t even a scratch. *Cut* *Cut* *Cut* Out of curiosity, he tried cutting the rest of materials he had available. Soft gold was no problem whatsoever. Silver was also very easy to cut. The little mithril he had put up a little resistance but otherwise no trouble. A single diamond among the last of his wealth was the toughest of the lot but still carve-able. *Cut* *Cut* *Shink* * Cut* *Tink* *Tink* *Shink* *Cut**Tink* *Tink* ‘Huh.’ Weed knew it was a black dragon’s scale. But he did not imagine himself unable to cut it! Weed put the stone back into his inventory and began to meditate. He needed to think of a solution quickly otherwise this could well be the end of adventure. The players in the audience were now in a frenzy, after seeing the elf work speedily they could only wonder why he chose to sit and meditate. Did he hit an obstacle? Or was he already finished, despite coming late? Was he some unheard off uncrowned prince of VR gaming? All the players were burning with curiosity. Even the professionals, were curious to know who was foolish enough to take on the name Weed. Was that person a threat to their ambitions to beat the game? A potential ally or a fool? Even the NPC’s could feel the audience’s restlessness. The players curiosity and excitement began trickling over to the NPCs. The nobility, who had no interest in the competition, suddenly seemed more curious. It became obvious to them that one blacksmith wasn’t doing the same thing as the others. That ridiculous elf, whom they scorned and laughed at, was just sitting there. The NPC audience once again began to talk about and laugh at him once again. Weed frowned, there was too much noise for him to concentrate and gather his thoughts. The dilemma of not being able to carve the stone was quite serious. There was the added problem of not being able to do anything else as he had no other precious stone of similar exquisiteness with him. Weed dug through the materials in inventory; there were only some precious stones left. He pocketed these before handing over the keys to the Kobold Elder.... ‘Got to get back on track. Focus!’ Weed slapped both his hands against his cheeks. If he continued with the black diamond, there was no certainty that he would succeed. Contrary to that thought, there was no certainty that not using the black diamond would lead to success either. ‘If I keep my end game plan the same as before finding the black diamond, then in this situation, I would have simply used any other precious stone as substitute and continued on. The penalty would be....reduced impressiveness of the ring, But who would notice, right?’ Weed wore a huge frown across his face (not visible to anyone owing to his hidden face). As he ran through Theodore’s words / clues, Theodore did clearly state that players were required to practice in the training halls of Northern Mountain City. It might be the reason why he was struggling so much right now. ‘If only I had never fallen for Kendelbreu’s lies, I would have avoided the trap and been able to practice...’ Weed looked at the metal he had melted; he only had a little gold and mithril. If he undertook making anything now, it would be very small. As he was sitting, he had to shift his belt and his finger felt a sudden prick.... Weed suddenly jumped up. That is it! The crafting knife! He had completely forgotten about the crafting knife he had made in the first round! It was the unaccounted for factor! With renewed enthusiasm and determination, Weed tried carving the black diamond again. Taking advantage of the bonuses offered by the knife and the clock Weed took his time and brought his concentration to the limit, after all he had said he would make the best ring and he wouldn’t let himself go back on his word at this point. There was always the option of raising deceit and betrayal….but Weed had no intention of upsetting the NPC who gave him his first quest. There was an unspoken bond of friendship between the two which Weed was most happy to preserve at all costs. *Cut* *Cut* *Shink* * Cut* *Tink* *Tink* *Shink* *Cut* *CUT* *CRACK* Weed’s frown gave away to a large smile. The black diamond finally chipped by the pointy tip of the tear drop. It was an extremely small piece but the right size for a solitaire ring. Scrapping away his initial plans to carve the entire diamond into a ring stone shaped like a pointy heart arrow head. Weed bitterly gave up this idea; it was his first original idea…which became irrelevant before he could even use it. He however consoled himself, with the hopes to sell the remaining black diamond later for a larger profit. Weed now aimed to polish the small chipped portion. With the diamond taken care of Weed began shaping the gold and an even smaller piece of mithril. Some of the crowd noticed him at this and pointed out to other nearby. Soon everyone was wondering what the elf was doing this time, since it clearly wasn’t enough material to make anything very big like the other blacksmiths. Weed began molding the gold and mithril together in the shape of a ring band. Using his elemental abilities, he was able to knit the two metals perfectly. Still, bitter over not being able to carve the entire black diamond, Weed etched a mithril pattern around the band of hearts in the shape of arrow heads (something like a cupid’s arrow head). As Weed continued to work a hush fell across the halls. Soon he was the only one still working, despite the fact that his piece was much smaller than the other smiths. The remaining finalists stood beside their pieces of bejeweled armors, swords and sculptures. Although curious none of them tried to sneak a peek at what the elf was doing. By the time he had finished, he noticed the crowd running away from the stage; Snappy appeared with him Lisa and Rodriguez. Lisa appeared flustered as she seemed to be embarrassed by all the attention she was receiving from the players. The players in turn were wondering which NPC in their right mind would walk alongside the large dog with a bark enough to rip their ear drums. Rodriguez looked somewhat sick and a little scared. As Weed placed his crafted item on the third task show piece table, a window appeared… TRRRIIIINNG! | Solitaire Ring – Durability 25/25A ring made with the desire for perfection and the hope to help bring two people together. This gold and mithril band features a cupid heart arrow head. It is topped with a tiny diamond of the highest quality and rarest type. When you are cold or lonely look at the ring and feel the warmth of another’s love for you. This ring binds you together and allows you to help others connect as you have. Everything about this ring is unique. The etchings of mithril across the gold band, enable you to etch and share a memory you cherish into this ring. Also, once cleansed, the black diamond will return to its former glory, bequeathing other’s with its healing touch to the heart.Restrictions: None. | | --- | It wasn’t too shabby, owing to his low skill level; the black diamond did not shine as much as he had hoped he would. Weed looked at his ring one last time before setting it on the table. ‘This will have to do….this was never what I aimed for anyways…’ The players and the NPC audience were most disappointed with Weed’s end result. Many had secretly high hopes from the elf blacksmith christened Weed. However, the small ring was of the poorest quality. It did not shine like the other blacksmith’s creations. The Christmas tree Cynbel forged, was a clear winner. All the users who looked at it received immediate buffs, but what made it stand out was its detailing of each leaf and ornament. It was at least a master piece. Thor too could not help but acknowledge his defeat this round. All that was left was for the winner to be declared. With Weed finished with his item, the competition was brought to an end and it was time for the judging and the results to be announced. As Theodore made his way to the stage and began to inspect the pieces Weed stepped forward. “Theodore, though the last piece has been completed the task is not yet done. You asked us to create a thing something beauty and I will now do so.” This announcement confused the crowd, the contestants, and even Theodore…Weed smiled like the devil. This was the opportune moment that he had been waiting for. It had never been about making a beautiful diamond from the start….Weed had already given up on the black diamond when he had been betrayed by Kendelbreu…so finding it with the Kobold’s was a sort of a bonus, making something beautiful out of the black diamond was never really a part of his plans to begin with, it was only a stepping stone to secure his victory… “Err, excuse me but what do you mean elf” the perturbed dwarf judge asked. Weed only smiled at the dwarf as if to say, please wait and see. Weed jumped of the stage and walked over to Rodriguez. Players immediately broke into a whisper, ‘So he knows those two that walked with the dog? ‘I wonder is he on some secret type of quest? ‘Do you really think this is Weed?’ ‘What do you think he is up to…’ Weed handed the ring to Rodriguez. “Now is the time.” He whispered into Rodriguez’s ear. “But Weed this is not the most beautiful ring, you lied to me. I can’t do it. Not with this. It is black!” Weed smiled back, hiding his worries. Everything hinged on this…“Of course you can. Trust me; to Lisa this will be the most beautiful ring in the world. This is the rarest of the rare diamonds…although black….see for yourself…” Rodriguez checked the diamond carefully with his skills and dejectedly accepted Weed’s words. The ring although not beautiful had very romantic properties to it. “But…” “Do IT!” Weed insisted as his tone slightly gave away his frustration. “But…. I’m afraid, what if she says no.” Rodriguez wailed. “She won’t, because you can share the memory you cherish the most of her and she will understand.” At this point Weed gives him a little push forward. The NPC audience still confused however the players caught on and watched in silence. It was on par with watching a romantic movie unfolding in front of them and nobody in the room dared to play spoiler especially since there were many women and nobility in the room, both who enjoyed romantic moments. Lisa looked somewhat bewildered as Rodriguez approached her. “Err, Lisa, that is, umm…. I mean….Darn..” Rodriguez fumbled and stumbled with his words, the NPC was programmed well in the ways of men getting weak in their knees when proposing to the woman they loved. Realizing that he was still standing, Rodriguez got on his knee. Lisa continued to look at him…she appeared to be somewhat horrified and terribly embarrassed. Rodriguez opened his mouth again, but his tongue completely failed him. Some of the men in the crowd laughed; they had experienced that before. Rodriguez hurriedly looked back at Weed beseechingly; begging the devil who threw him in the frying pan to help him. However, Weed only glared back angrily. ‘Just ask her to marry you idiot!’ Maybe a 10 year old did not understand the difficulties of the heart so well as one could hope for...then again this particular 10 year old should be the last person, one should turn to...given his only interest at the time was winning the competition. Mustering all his courage, Rodriguez finally popped the question in a barely inaudible tone… “Lisa for a long time now I have loved you, will you marry me?” ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Authors Note: 1. Thank you so much Tewlve, V4LKYR13, Zapper for helping out! 2. Hope you all like it. :) Cya in 5.9 3. Will be edited soon. PS: Vol 4 C1 - Vol 5 C7 has been Pr'd just need to update that. ^^ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Connect to Royal Road – Elementarem Vim next Chapter? | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Yes](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&t=643) | | [No](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&t=348) | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> by fazwick » Fri Jun 14, 2013 8:21 pm<br><br><br>(Peril will be called he him his etc cause... Its easier?)<br><br>“I thought you said he’s waddling around? That looks like moon-walking to me.”<br><br>“He was! I’m not sure why he’s moon-walking right now, but I’m positive that’s Peril!”<br><br>Faz and Noue observed Peril from atop a roof not far away. The number of crowds gathered around Peril was getting higher and higher with each moment. The PM system made rumors spread even faster than wildfire.<br><br>“This is going to be hard for us to recruit him. There are too many competitors.” Faz said. Faz, a Chickenmancer, was wearing a bright red-yellow cloak. As the cloak fluttered in the wind, he looked as if he was on fire. <br><br>“How many of our guild members are here now?” Faz asked as he switched to guild chat mode.<br><br>Noue tallied the number of replies given. In such a short time, 23 people from their guild had gathered at the town, including them.<br><br>“23 people. Three more will arrive shortly. Do you have a plan?” Noue asked.<br><br>“I have something in mind. Not sure if it’ll work though. We need all guild members to cooperate,” Faz gave a mischievous look. “By everyone, I mean all that are online.”<br><br>Since he was speaking in the guild channel, everyone in the guild heard him. Interested, they began to ask what was this plan that he had thought of. As he explained his plan, he was met with mixed responses.<br><br>“Are you trolling us?”<br>“No, this might just work!”<br><br>“I don’t think I can pull this off!”<br><br>“I’m in if all of you agree on it.”<br><br>“There is no way I’m doing that! I got a reputation to keep!”<br><br>Ultimately, they all agreed as it was a race against time. As such, all members took their respective position, well spread out in the town. Some slipped in among the crowds, others went to less occupied areas. All were waiting for the signal to begin.<br><br>“Are you guys ready? We have only one shot at this.” Faz was chosen as the coordinator as he was the one who came up with the Idea. <span style="font-style: italic;">Just to be clear, he was not the guild leader.</span><br><br>Noue raised a thumbs up to signal Faz as soon as he got a ready response from each members. He was good at keeping track with stuff like that.<br><br>“Now!” Faz shouted. Since it was on the guild channel, only the guild members heard him, otherwise he would attract too much attention.<br><br>Upon hearing the signal, all guild members participating began their respective duty, showing amazing teamwork.<br><br>They all began to waddle and moonwalk around.<br><br>“Perfect!” The Chickenmancer smiled as he summoned a chicken out of the earth. “Now for part two of the plan.” He tied a fish firmly on top of his newly summoned chicken familiar.<br><br><br><img src="http://i.imgur.com/n2iAol0.png" border="0" alt="http%3a%2f%2fi.imgur.com%2fn2iAol0.png"> </div>

by fazwick » Fri Jun 14, 2013 8:21 pm (Peril will be called he him his etc cause... Its easier?) “I thought you said he’s waddling around? That looks like moon-walking to me.” “He was! I’m not sure why he’s moon-walking right now, but I’m positive that’s Peril!” Faz and Noue observed Peril from atop a roof not far away. The number of crowds gathered around Peril was getting higher and higher with each moment. The PM system made rumors spread even faster than wildfire. “This is going to be hard for us to recruit him. There are too many competitors.” Faz said. Faz, a Chickenmancer, was wearing a bright red-yellow cloak. As the cloak fluttered in the wind, he looked as if he was on fire. “How many of our guild members are here now?” Faz asked as he switched to guild chat mode. Noue tallied the number of replies given. In such a short time, 23 people from their guild had gathered at the town, including them. “23 people. Three more will arrive shortly. Do you have a plan?” Noue asked. “I have something in mind. Not sure if it’ll work though. We need all guild members to cooperate,” Faz gave a mischievous look. “By everyone, I mean all that are online.” Since he was speaking in the guild channel, everyone in the guild heard him. Interested, they began to ask what was this plan that he had thought of. As he explained his plan, he was met with mixed responses. “Are you trolling us?” “No, this might just work!” “I don’t think I can pull this off!” “I’m in if all of you agree on it.” “There is no way I’m doing that! I got a reputation to keep!” Ultimately, they all agreed as it was a race against time. As such, all members took their respective position, well spread out in the town. Some slipped in among the crowds, others went to less occupied areas. All were waiting for the signal to begin. “Are you guys ready? We have only one shot at this.” Faz was chosen as the coordinator as he was the one who came up with the Idea. Just to be clear, he was not the guild leader. Noue raised a thumbs up to signal Faz as soon as he got a ready response from each members. He was good at keeping track with stuff like that. “Now!” Faz shouted. Since it was on the guild channel, only the guild members heard him, otherwise he would attract too much attention. Upon hearing the signal, all guild members participating began their respective duty, showing amazing teamwork. They all began to waddle and moonwalk around. “Perfect!” The Chickenmancer smiled as he summoned a chicken out of the earth. “Now for part two of the plan.” He tied a fish firmly on top of his newly summoned chicken familiar. 

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> Lee Hyun stared down from the window seat at the restaurant. The landscape had changed so much since he last remembered. A waiter approached him and asked him he’d like something to drink.<br><br>“Just water is fine.” Replied Lee Hyun with a smile.<br><br>The young waiter was most displeased. “How could the concierge admit someone so poorly dressed into the restaurant?” he thought to himself. No matter how he looked at Lee Hyun, Lee Hyun didn’t appear to be a famous personality. The only people admitted through the doors of the Pinnacle are either very very famous celebrities or ostentatiously rich people. Even the waiters had standards here. Lee Hyun just didn’t fit into either of those categories. If anything, he stood out the most in the entire restaurant with his cheap overly used and rugged suit.<br><br>As the waiter approached the table with bottled water, Lee Hyun asked “If they had a cheaper bottle.”<br><br>The waiter stood in shock. “The cheapest bottle of water was only 10,000 won. He wanted something cheaper?” The waiter frowned and walked back to complain to the concierge about how cheap Lee Hyun was. To the waiter’s astonishment / shock, the concierge ran to Lee Hyun, profusely apologizing for the waiter’s misconduct and then offered him a table at the premium section of the restaurant and dining was complementary.<br><br>“You fool!” scolded the elderly concierge. “You have no idea who this man is! He is from a forgotten era. But I still recognize him.” As the concierge looked past the waiter. It was undoubtedly Weed from Royal Road. Though he never played alongside Weed, he sometimes was a part of the bigger quests conducted by Weed (Author: *cough* pyramid building). Even though it had been over 40 years, those who played with Weed treated him as a legend. (How the concierge and Lee Hyun got to know each other, is a story for another time)<br><br>Lee Hyun sighed as he stared at the scenery from his new table view. Everything had become so expensive.<br><br>The elevator door to the restaurant door opened and Kang Jin Cheol walked in wearing a very expensive black suit. He kept grumbling about how buying such a suit was a mistake but his secretary kept dismissing his arguments. As he requested for Lee Hyun to the concierge, they were pointed in the direction towards the premium section. Jin Hyuna, Kang Jin Cheol’s secretary smirked as they were directed to the premium upper floor. Only envious stares trailed them. Pinnacle was the most luxurious restaurant, nobody knew what the requisite was to gain access to the ultra luxurious / premium section of the restaurant. Jin Hyuna could only imagine how grand Lee Hyun is, to have access to the best restaurant in Korea.<br><br>As they reached the upper section, her thoughts were somewhat thrown into disarray upon seeing Lee Hyun in the distance. She blinked her eyes several times and squinted them while staring at Lee Hyun. Her only thoughts were “Who is that? Did they let a beggar in here?” What made it more difficult for her to understand was when he looked in their direction and smiled. Kang Jin Cheol quickened his pace and feverishly shook hands with Lee Hyun. They were meeting after ages.<br><br>They quickly exchanged pleasantries and took their seats.<br><br>Jin Cheol began. “The suit is rented.” He said.<br><br>Jin Hyuna’s mouth was left dangling open! Why would you ever say that!! She stared at Kang Jin Cheol in total disbelief. Was this really her boss?<br><br>Lee Hyun smiled and replied. “So is mine. I didn’t have anything fancy like a suit and they said they wouldn’t allow me in my casuals. So I rented what I could find.”<br><br>Jin Hyuna sat frozen silently in horror. Was this some kind of miserly competition?<br><br>Kang Jin Cheol cursed under his breath. He knew he should have rented the cheapest suit possible. Lee Hyun is a tough negotiator and the negotiating begins from the appearances. Kang Jin Cheol knew he was severely disadvantaged already before discussing business matters.<br><br>Lee Hyun wore a malicious smile on his face. His smile said, “I have already won.”<br><br>After a brief moment of silence Lee Hyun spoke, “51% stake.”<br><br>Kang Jin Cheol nearly fainted on hearing those words. It had taken over a month to get the entire board to agree to 15% but 51% was just ridiculous.<br><br>Kang Jin Cheol finally spoke, “Not possible. The board will never agree.”<br><br>Lee Hyun smiled. “That’s ok, let me talk to them.”<br><br>Kang Jin Cheol looked up at Lee Hyun “What now?”<br><br>Lee Hyun nodded. Kang Jin Cheol double tapped the window next to them and then clicked an icon “Board”. Instantaneously 8 people appeared on the screen. Kang Jin Cheol spoke before them, “I have with me Lee Hyun.”<br><br>Most board members were caught unawares with the call. They did not expect to hear back from Kang Jin Cheol till the end of the week. Some of them were at home (so they turned off their videos).<br><br>“I will turn around Unicorn.” Lee Hyun asserted confidently. All the board members cheered him.<br><br>“However, I need controlling stake in the company.”<br><br>At the end of the sentence a whole bunch of profanity was heard from nearly every board member. Three even disconnected from the call. A voiced boomed which hushed all others. “Speak Lee Hyun.” The person who switched off his video (as he was at home) personally knew Lee Hyun from the time Lee Hyun played Royal Road. Even though they never spoke to each other before. He had been part of Unicorn long enough to know that for Lee Hyun nothing was impossible.<br><br>After everyone was silenced, Lee Hyun spoke his terms, “Please don’t get me wrong, I don’t want it without earning it. I will personally ensure those who return their stake will get 20% premium on their original purchase price.”<br><br>Lee Hyun grabbed everyone’s attention. 20% was a lot of money to be offering on original purchase price.<br><br>Lee Hyun didn’t stop there, “I’ll also adjust it for inflation. So we are talking about 30% premium at the very least.” Nearly all the board members (who also are shareholders) were drooling at the offer. In their minds, Unicorn was a lost cause. Lee Hyun’s offer was like a rain in parched dry lands.<br><br>Jin Hyuna linked Lee Hyun to a fisherman who threw two hooks with the juiciest bait. But where was this all leading to?<br>“You could offer us 100% return. Just saying numbers won’t make it happen.” Scorned a board member.<br><br>Lee Hyun smiled, he had been waiting for this. He pulled out a cheque and signed it for US$ 50 million. This was pretty much everything he had. He then spoke, as all board members eyes widened with interest in seeing the cheque.<br><br>“I want to be a partner in rebuilding Unicorn. This is my investment in it. I know times are tough and Royal Road has been a longer part of my life than anyone here” Three board members were now on Lee Hyun’s side. Lee Hyun was speaking the truth, nobody played Royal Road as much as he did. But by bringing out the cheque the negotiating equation had changed significantly. Unicorn was desperate for capital, and Lee Hyun was willing to put in money.<br><br>Lee Hyun’s lips curled with glee. It was working, he needed to nudge them a bit more, he continued to sweeten his offer. “I don’t even want 15% to begin with.” Kang Jin Cheol’s eyebrow was raised at this point, this couldn’t possibly work. He had known Lee Hyun to play with his words and get things his way, he had never seen Weed or Lee Hyun use such tactics.<br><br>“I’ll take an additional 10% on joining and the salary for sake of the contract.” The board members started looking to Lee Hyun as a philanthropist and some were growing suspicious by the generosity. Fully aware of the human psychology, Lee Hyun knew if he were too kind, then he would not gain anything from the deal. Conversely, if he was too demanding, the board would not give him anything”. He paused and then continued, “for every year I succeed in bringing in money, I will purchase your shares till I reach controlling stake. The shares will be purchased at 20% premium as I said before.”<br><br>Though Lee Hyun simply repeated what he said before and didn’t say how he would purchase at<br>premium, the board members were more confident and agreeable than before. Kang Jin Cheol didn’t understand it himself. Nothing changed, except that Lee Hyun offered an initial paltry commitment of US$ 50 million for 51% stake. Yet why did it seem to favor Lee Hyun?<br><br>A video screen turned on, a tiny man appeared in it and said, “It sounds interesting, Lee Hyun. In my eyes, your purchasing 10% for 50 million, which is its current market price and on top of it you’re offering us a way to leave this firm. But what if you did succeed in returning Unicorn back to its glorious days. I am sure none of us would like to sell it to you at 20% marked up price.”<br><br>Lee Hyun smiled, this man was known as the shrewdest of investors in Korea. Like Lee Hyun, he had keen eyes and knew a good deal when he saw it.<br><br>“This is the best I can offer. If you think you have better options, then I shall walk away. I am already 60, for someone so old like me to toil my years of retirement in turning around your company is too cruel. One cannot put a price to the reward I deserve if I succeed. Some might say I deserve the entire firm, since its worth nothing as it is now. Yet, you’re asking to cut myself even further to satisfy your greed?” Lee Hyun’s eyes glistened with tears almost as if he was accusing the board members of being greedy to the point of unreasonable. Lee Hyun had to take the risk, there was bound to be a degree of conflict.<br><br>It worked, the board members were horrified to think that they were forcing an old man out of<br>retirement, investing his life long savings into a sinking firm and to top it off, they wanted more. They were feeling contempt for their own greed. One by one, each member agreed to Lee Hyun’s plan to take over the firm if he succeeded in turning it around. Lee Hyun smiled happily in his mind, he still had it in his to fake tears and even used his poor old man appearance to his advantage.<br><br>Jin Hyuna watched the whole thing happen in front of her, but she had no words for it. Kang Jin Cheol who took a whole month to get the board to agree for just 15% where as this man, Lee Hyun, achieved much more in a span of 30 minutes.<br><br>Kang Jin Cheol stared at Lee Hyun in admiration. He remembered his days as a merchant in Royal Road alongside Weed. Weed would cry, play with words, or even beg. Anything to save a copper. Though it seemed foolish that Lee Hyun was putting so much money in the company, Kang Jin Cheol likened it to when Weed invested in Morata. How similar, money truly was the only thing on Lee Hyun’s mind.<br><br>“So what next. Mr CEO of Unicorn?” asked Kang Jin Cheol.<br><br>“Let us begin cost cutting. Shut down every VRMMORPG we are running.” Replied Lee Hyun.<br><br>Jin Hyuna and Kang Jin Cheol asked Lee Hyun to repeat what he just said, but he just repeated the same thing. He then added, “Royal Road as well.”<br><br><br>----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br>Authors Note:<br><br>1. Editing Credits: Knaivvs<br>2. I skipped over the finer details (the regulatory aspects) of how he became a CEO despite 3 board members leaving the meeting. The answer is rather simple, the remaining members were majority shareholders (Though my instincts tell me, that some minority shareholder rights protection law may have been violated, I'll choose to ignore it.)<br><br><br>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="4">Connect to Royal Road – Elementarem Vim next Chapter?</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&amp;t=282" target="_blank">Yes</a></td><td colspan="2"><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&amp;t=348" target="_blank">No</a></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- </div>

Lee Hyun stared down from the window seat at the restaurant. The landscape had changed so much since he last remembered. A waiter approached him and asked him he’d like something to drink. “Just water is fine.” Replied Lee Hyun with a smile. The young waiter was most displeased. “How could the concierge admit someone so poorly dressed into the restaurant?” he thought to himself. No matter how he looked at Lee Hyun, Lee Hyun didn’t appear to be a famous personality. The only people admitted through the doors of the Pinnacle are either very very famous celebrities or ostentatiously rich people. Even the waiters had standards here. Lee Hyun just didn’t fit into either of those categories. If anything, he stood out the most in the entire restaurant with his cheap overly used and rugged suit. As the waiter approached the table with bottled water, Lee Hyun asked “If they had a cheaper bottle.” The waiter stood in shock. “The cheapest bottle of water was only 10,000 won. He wanted something cheaper?” The waiter frowned and walked back to complain to the concierge about how cheap Lee Hyun was. To the waiter’s astonishment / shock, the concierge ran to Lee Hyun, profusely apologizing for the waiter’s misconduct and then offered him a table at the premium section of the restaurant and dining was complementary. “You fool!” scolded the elderly concierge. “You have no idea who this man is! He is from a forgotten era. But I still recognize him.” As the concierge looked past the waiter. It was undoubtedly Weed from Royal Road. Though he never played alongside Weed, he sometimes was a part of the bigger quests conducted by Weed (Author: *cough* pyramid building). Even though it had been over 40 years, those who played with Weed treated him as a legend. (How the concierge and Lee Hyun got to know each other, is a story for another time) Lee Hyun sighed as he stared at the scenery from his new table view. Everything had become so expensive. The elevator door to the restaurant door opened and Kang Jin Cheol walked in wearing a very expensive black suit. He kept grumbling about how buying such a suit was a mistake but his secretary kept dismissing his arguments. As he requested for Lee Hyun to the concierge, they were pointed in the direction towards the premium section. Jin Hyuna, Kang Jin Cheol’s secretary smirked as they were directed to the premium upper floor. Only envious stares trailed them. Pinnacle was the most luxurious restaurant, nobody knew what the requisite was to gain access to the ultra luxurious / premium section of the restaurant. Jin Hyuna could only imagine how grand Lee Hyun is, to have access to the best restaurant in Korea. As they reached the upper section, her thoughts were somewhat thrown into disarray upon seeing Lee Hyun in the distance. She blinked her eyes several times and squinted them while staring at Lee Hyun. Her only thoughts were “Who is that? Did they let a beggar in here?” What made it more difficult for her to understand was when he looked in their direction and smiled. Kang Jin Cheol quickened his pace and feverishly shook hands with Lee Hyun. They were meeting after ages. They quickly exchanged pleasantries and took their seats. Jin Cheol began. “The suit is rented.” He said. Jin Hyuna’s mouth was left dangling open! Why would you ever say that!! She stared at Kang Jin Cheol in total disbelief. Was this really her boss? Lee Hyun smiled and replied. “So is mine. I didn’t have anything fancy like a suit and they said they wouldn’t allow me in my casuals. So I rented what I could find.” Jin Hyuna sat frozen silently in horror. Was this some kind of miserly competition? Kang Jin Cheol cursed under his breath. He knew he should have rented the cheapest suit possible. Lee Hyun is a tough negotiator and the negotiating begins from the appearances. Kang Jin Cheol knew he was severely disadvantaged already before discussing business matters. Lee Hyun wore a malicious smile on his face. His smile said, “I have already won.” After a brief moment of silence Lee Hyun spoke, “51% stake.” Kang Jin Cheol nearly fainted on hearing those words. It had taken over a month to get the entire board to agree to 15% but 51% was just ridiculous. Kang Jin Cheol finally spoke, “Not possible. The board will never agree.” Lee Hyun smiled. “That’s ok, let me talk to them.” Kang Jin Cheol looked up at Lee Hyun “What now?” Lee Hyun nodded. Kang Jin Cheol double tapped the window next to them and then clicked an icon “Board”. Instantaneously 8 people appeared on the screen. Kang Jin Cheol spoke before them, “I have with me Lee Hyun.” Most board members were caught unawares with the call. They did not expect to hear back from Kang Jin Cheol till the end of the week. Some of them were at home (so they turned off their videos). “I will turn around Unicorn.” Lee Hyun asserted confidently. All the board members cheered him. “However, I need controlling stake in the company.” At the end of the sentence a whole bunch of profanity was heard from nearly every board member. Three even disconnected from the call. A voiced boomed which hushed all others. “Speak Lee Hyun.” The person who switched off his video (as he was at home) personally knew Lee Hyun from the time Lee Hyun played Royal Road. Even though they never spoke to each other before. He had been part of Unicorn long enough to know that for Lee Hyun nothing was impossible. After everyone was silenced, Lee Hyun spoke his terms, “Please don’t get me wrong, I don’t want it without earning it. I will personally ensure those who return their stake will get 20% premium on their original purchase price.” Lee Hyun grabbed everyone’s attention. 20% was a lot of money to be offering on original purchase price. Lee Hyun didn’t stop there, “I’ll also adjust it for inflation. So we are talking about 30% premium at the very least.” Nearly all the board members (who also are shareholders) were drooling at the offer. In their minds, Unicorn was a lost cause. Lee Hyun’s offer was like a rain in parched dry lands. Jin Hyuna linked Lee Hyun to a fisherman who threw two hooks with the juiciest bait. But where was this all leading to? “You could offer us 100% return. Just saying numbers won’t make it happen.” Scorned a board member. Lee Hyun smiled, he had been waiting for this. He pulled out a cheque and signed it for US$ 50 million. This was pretty much everything he had. He then spoke, as all board members eyes widened with interest in seeing the cheque. “I want to be a partner in rebuilding Unicorn. This is my investment in it. I know times are tough and Royal Road has been a longer part of my life than anyone here” Three board members were now on Lee Hyun’s side. Lee Hyun was speaking the truth, nobody played Royal Road as much as he did. But by bringing out the cheque the negotiating equation had changed significantly. Unicorn was desperate for capital, and Lee Hyun was willing to put in money. Lee Hyun’s lips curled with glee. It was working, he needed to nudge them a bit more, he continued to sweeten his offer. “I don’t even want 15% to begin with.” Kang Jin Cheol’s eyebrow was raised at this point, this couldn’t possibly work. He had known Lee Hyun to play with his words and get things his way, he had never seen Weed or Lee Hyun use such tactics. “I’ll take an additional 10% on joining and the salary for sake of the contract.” The board members started looking to Lee Hyun as a philanthropist and some were growing suspicious by the generosity. Fully aware of the human psychology, Lee Hyun knew if he were too kind, then he would not gain anything from the deal. Conversely, if he was too demanding, the board would not give him anything”. He paused and then continued, “for every year I succeed in bringing in money, I will purchase your shares till I reach controlling stake. The shares will be purchased at 20% premium as I said before.” Though Lee Hyun simply repeated what he said before and didn’t say how he would purchase at premium, the board members were more confident and agreeable than before. Kang Jin Cheol didn’t understand it himself. Nothing changed, except that Lee Hyun offered an initial paltry commitment of US$ 50 million for 51% stake. Yet why did it seem to favor Lee Hyun? A video screen turned on, a tiny man appeared in it and said, “It sounds interesting, Lee Hyun. In my eyes, your purchasing 10% for 50 million, which is its current market price and on top of it you’re offering us a way to leave this firm. But what if you did succeed in returning Unicorn back to its glorious days. I am sure none of us would like to sell it to you at 20% marked up price.” Lee Hyun smiled, this man was known as the shrewdest of investors in Korea. Like Lee Hyun, he had keen eyes and knew a good deal when he saw it. “This is the best I can offer. If you think you have better options, then I shall walk away. I am already 60, for someone so old like me to toil my years of retirement in turning around your company is too cruel. One cannot put a price to the reward I deserve if I succeed. Some might say I deserve the entire firm, since its worth nothing as it is now. Yet, you’re asking to cut myself even further to satisfy your greed?” Lee Hyun’s eyes glistened with tears almost as if he was accusing the board members of being greedy to the point of unreasonable. Lee Hyun had to take the risk, there was bound to be a degree of conflict. It worked, the board members were horrified to think that they were forcing an old man out of retirement, investing his life long savings into a sinking firm and to top it off, they wanted more. They were feeling contempt for their own greed. One by one, each member agreed to Lee Hyun’s plan to take over the firm if he succeeded in turning it around. Lee Hyun smiled happily in his mind, he still had it in his to fake tears and even used his poor old man appearance to his advantage. Jin Hyuna watched the whole thing happen in front of her, but she had no words for it. Kang Jin Cheol who took a whole month to get the board to agree for just 15% where as this man, Lee Hyun, achieved much more in a span of 30 minutes. Kang Jin Cheol stared at Lee Hyun in admiration. He remembered his days as a merchant in Royal Road alongside Weed. Weed would cry, play with words, or even beg. Anything to save a copper. Though it seemed foolish that Lee Hyun was putting so much money in the company, Kang Jin Cheol likened it to when Weed invested in Morata. How similar, money truly was the only thing on Lee Hyun’s mind. “So what next. Mr CEO of Unicorn?” asked Kang Jin Cheol. “Let us begin cost cutting. Shut down every VRMMORPG we are running.” Replied Lee Hyun. Jin Hyuna and Kang Jin Cheol asked Lee Hyun to repeat what he just said, but he just repeated the same thing. He then added, “Royal Road as well.” ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Authors Note: 1. Editing Credits: Knaivvs 2. I skipped over the finer details (the regulatory aspects) of how he became a CEO despite 3 board members leaving the meeting. The answer is rather simple, the remaining members were majority shareholders (Though my instincts tell me, that some minority shareholder rights protection law may have been violated, I'll choose to ignore it.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Connect to Royal Road – Elementarem Vim next Chapter? | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Yes](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&t=282) | | [No](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&t=348) | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> Creating his character with the guidance from a feminine voice of unknown origin, Zed closes his eyes as he skips the tutorial stage.<br><br>In a flash of light, the male human player named Dez appears in the Citadel of Serabourg, Rosenheim.<br><br>As the sounds of haggling and chattering fills his ears along with a short warm breeze passing by his face, Dez slowly opens his eyes to the crowded street before him. Taking a glance left and right to make a quick scan of his surroundings, Dez calmly walks forward as he normally would in reality.<br><br>"Interesting." he says while looking at his hands and feet move naturally like his own would. "Looks like the Koreans have broken another wall."<br><br>Having tested out his body casually, Dez stops to check the backpack that was on him since he spawned.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="4">Inventory</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Rye Bread</td><td width="25%">10</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Canteen</td><td width="25%">100%</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>"Time to get the rations." says Dez to himself as he heads for nearest bakery.<br><br>"Good day to you." he says to the shopkeeper with a warm smile.<br><br>Eyeing Dez with suspicion while rubbing his chin, the shopkeeper replies, "Good day to you too."<br><br>"How much for a piece of fine Rye Bread?" inquires Dez.<br><br>"I don't know about fine, but it will be 3 copper pieces each to you."<br><br>"And if I said I want 200 pieces?"<br><br>"W-well then that will be 6 silver pieces." answers the surprised shopkeeper.<br><br>"Hmm...I'm buying so many pieces here. Can't you give me a discount?" haggles Dez.<br><br>"This is the best price we offer around here. In fact, it's the only price. Trust me." says the shopkeeper confidently.<br><br>"Is that so...guess I will have to find out about that myself." says Dez before turning around to walk off.<br><br>Entering an alleyway, Dez briskly walks through it as he passes by beggars leaning against the walls along the alley. He continues on as it lands on to more alley while keeping an eye out for his target. Walking past an alley, he finally spots what he has been looking for. A group of thugs surrounds a beggar lying on the ground at the end of the alley.<br><br>"Come on. We're nice enough to let ya stay in our area in safety from them guards. Now why don't you turn over them shinies and we'll be on our way." says a thug.<br><br>"B-but I really don't have any money!" the beggar cries out.<br><br>"Well then. I say we help ol' Padre here earn his keep. How about it? An arm, a leg, or maybe the nose and ears?"<br><br>Taking out a knife, the thug bends forward as the beggar whimpers and pleads for mercy. Having watched for a while now, Dez decides it was time to step out.<br><br>"Woah there. Give the man down on his luck there a bit chance." says Dez as he approached them.<br><br>"Look here, boy. Just back away and let us do our business before it becomes your business."<br><br>"But it IS my business."<br><br>"So you are paying for this ol' one's soul keep?"<br><br>"No. I have an even better business proposition." replies Dez with a grin.<br><br>***<br>A minutes later, the crowded street filled with NPCs and players made a wide gap down the middle of it as the smell of rotten eggs and other god forsaken smells fills the air as a dirty beggar walks through it. No one dares to stop or shoo the beggar away as a group of thugs with thick cloth masks surrounds him.<br><br>"People of Rosenheim! This 'ere stink-bag was walking around our quarters earlier today, makin' our place smell bad! As good and honest citizens, we have decided to march 'im down to them cells so that the City Guards can clean 'im up. Naturally, such an honourable act is entitled to walking down the main street!" shouts the thug leading the group.<br><br>"Just get him away!" cries a little girl.<br><br>"You are driving away my customers!" shouts a shopkeeper.<br><br>"We could get this stinker out of here faster by them alleys. But they are dangerous and all so without a proper source of motivation or advance compensation for any mishaps that might occur on the way." announces the thug. Grumbling and complains could be heard from the crowd as the true intention of the thugs were revealed. A handful of copper pieces are flung at them from a man in the crowd followed by a shout, "Just get him out of here!" Imitating that action, people begins throwing copper pieces at them as well.<br><br>"I would love to make hasty out of here, so why don't we have some of those shinier ones too!" exclaims the thug.<br><br>Though an occasional stone or rotten fruit was flung as well, silver pieces were soon being thrown as the group increased their pace. After a minute more of walking, the thug making the announcements till now yells out once more.<br><br>"Thank you all! We will now rid you of this stinker and bring 'im to the City Guards by them alleys! Come on, boys!"<br><br>Gathering up the last of the copper and silver pieces on the ground, the group moves off the street and into an alley with the beggar in the lead. Turning round a corner, buckets of cold water were splashed on the beggar by waiting thugs, scaring him into running away as quickly as possible. The thugs laughs at the sight of this and fails to notice the figure appearing behind them.<br>"Woah!" exclaims the thug leader in surprise as he finally notices a man behind him when he turns around.<br><br>"Quite a bit of money you got there." says Dez while looking at the medium sized money bags.<br><br>"It was hard work. And you had the easy part." replies the thug leader.<br><br>"Now that's just bad business. There are so many more business opportunities too..." says Dez while appearing not to care about his cut.<br><br>"Oh? Let's hear it then."<br><br>"Not without my share."<br><br>Grabbing a money bag from one of the other thugs, the leader opens it and grabs 8 silver pieces which he tosses at Dez, who catches them in a single swipe.<br><br>"Now speak." demands the thug leader.<br><br>"Not today. In fact, I recommend laying low for a bit to let the tides settled." says Dez in response.<br><br>"Hahaha!" laughs the thug leader before saying, "We could use someone like you. How about it?"<br><br>Offered rogue<br><br>"Plenty of business opportunities waiting out there. I rather not be bound yet." declines Dez.<br><br>"That so." says the thug leader who looks like he is ready to take drastic actions but changes his mind. "Well then, if you have any dirty business with plenty of shiny involved, remember us."<br><br>Turning around, the thugs walked on into the alley and disappears round a corner. As Dez prepares to return to the bakery, a message pops up in front of him.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>Intelligence rises by 2 points. (+2 INT)</td></tr><tr><td>Wisdom rises by 3 points.</td></tr><tr><td>Infamy rises by 10 points.</td></tr><tr><td>New stat: Eloquence</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>"That's interesting." says Dez at his increase in stats and gaining a new one. He closes the message but another pops up.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>Eloquence<br><br>The ability to speak with ease while convincing another.<br>This increases the chance of someone believing what you say.<br>Also increases the success rates in bartering and negotiations.<br>You are prohibited from distributing stat bonus points to this stat.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>Closing the message window, Dez leaves the alley and heads in the direction of the bakery. Passing by an alley, he spots the beggar from earlier sitting against a wall. Taking out a silver piece, Dez tosses it into the alley. Unfortunately, there were other beggars there too and a struggle soon ensues over the piece of silver. A few moments later, the beggar who was paraded on the street with a putrid smell before runs deeper into the alley happily with the silver piece in hand. Resuming his journey, he arrives back at the bakery a minute later.<br><br>"Hello again. So did you manage to find a better price?" asked the shopkeeper.<br><br>"The other bakery only had 120 pieces of Rye Bread, which they sold to me at 3 silver pieces." replies Dez while taking out 2 silver pieces.<br><br>"I only need another 80 now, so if you will let me have them for 2 silver pieces."<br><br>"All right." says the surprised shopkeeper who did not expected the poorly dressed person in front of him to be able to afford that many pieces of Rye Bread.<br><br>"Actually, give me another 40 pieces. I could use the extra." adds Dez while taking out another silver piece.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>Eloquence rises by 1 point.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>Having acquired 120 pieces of Rye Bread, Dez decides to head for the Training Hall. Along his way, he notices a peculiar sculptor working on something with several statues on display at his stall in front of the Central Fountain. Intrigued by this sight, Dez stops in his track and walking over to take a closer look. Upon inspection, the statues of foxes, rabbits and son on were pretty well crafted, though they were still quite lacking. The sculptor himself was working on another piece in his hand which he finishes a few seconds later. Placing the newly crafted statue down, he looks up to see Dez.<br><br>"Would you like to buy one? It's only 5 silver pieces." asks the sculptor.<br><br>"Maybe next time...I'm barely past the first few hours of the four weeks restriction." replies Dez as he turns to take his leave.<br><br>Realising his little detour has wasted more time, Dez heads for the Training Hall without further delays. Upon entering, the instructor glares fiercely at him. As he walks up to the instructor, Dez makes a quick scan of the place and its equipment.<br><br>“Young adventurer, I presume you have arrived at the Versailles continent recently,” says the instructor.<br><br>"Yes. From what I can see, I take it that I'm supposed to grab a wooden sword and go at it with one of the scarecrows?" asks Dez.<br><br>Appearing a bit surprised, the Instructor says, "Yes. Do you need my guidance?"<br><br>"I appreciate the offer. Allow me to do this myself first."<br><br>"Godspeed."<br><br>Walking over to one of the scarecrows, Dez places his backpack on the floor and picks up the heavy wooden sword.<br><br>"Looks like it's you and me. Let's get these 4 weeks over with." says Dez before he begins his relentless strikes on the scarecrow before him. </div>

Creating his character with the guidance from a feminine voice of unknown origin, Zed closes his eyes as he skips the tutorial stage. In a flash of light, the male human player named Dez appears in the Citadel of Serabourg, Rosenheim. As the sounds of haggling and chattering fills his ears along with a short warm breeze passing by his face, Dez slowly opens his eyes to the crowded street before him. Taking a glance left and right to make a quick scan of his surroundings, Dez calmly walks forward as he normally would in reality. "Interesting." he says while looking at his hands and feet move naturally like his own would. "Looks like the Koreans have broken another wall." Having tested out his body casually, Dez stops to check the backpack that was on him since he spawned. | Inventory | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Rye Bread | 10 | | Canteen | 100% | "Time to get the rations." says Dez to himself as he heads for nearest bakery. "Good day to you." he says to the shopkeeper with a warm smile. Eyeing Dez with suspicion while rubbing his chin, the shopkeeper replies, "Good day to you too." "How much for a piece of fine Rye Bread?" inquires Dez. "I don't know about fine, but it will be 3 copper pieces each to you." "And if I said I want 200 pieces?" "W-well then that will be 6 silver pieces." answers the surprised shopkeeper. "Hmm...I'm buying so many pieces here. Can't you give me a discount?" haggles Dez. "This is the best price we offer around here. In fact, it's the only price. Trust me." says the shopkeeper confidently. "Is that so...guess I will have to find out about that myself." says Dez before turning around to walk off. Entering an alleyway, Dez briskly walks through it as he passes by beggars leaning against the walls along the alley. He continues on as it lands on to more alley while keeping an eye out for his target. Walking past an alley, he finally spots what he has been looking for. A group of thugs surrounds a beggar lying on the ground at the end of the alley. "Come on. We're nice enough to let ya stay in our area in safety from them guards. Now why don't you turn over them shinies and we'll be on our way." says a thug. "B-but I really don't have any money!" the beggar cries out. "Well then. I say we help ol' Padre here earn his keep. How about it? An arm, a leg, or maybe the nose and ears?" Taking out a knife, the thug bends forward as the beggar whimpers and pleads for mercy. Having watched for a while now, Dez decides it was time to step out. "Woah there. Give the man down on his luck there a bit chance." says Dez as he approached them. "Look here, boy. Just back away and let us do our business before it becomes your business." "But it IS my business." "So you are paying for this ol' one's soul keep?" "No. I have an even better business proposition." replies Dez with a grin. *** A minutes later, the crowded street filled with NPCs and players made a wide gap down the middle of it as the smell of rotten eggs and other god forsaken smells fills the air as a dirty beggar walks through it. No one dares to stop or shoo the beggar away as a group of thugs with thick cloth masks surrounds him. "People of Rosenheim! This 'ere stink-bag was walking around our quarters earlier today, makin' our place smell bad! As good and honest citizens, we have decided to march 'im down to them cells so that the City Guards can clean 'im up. Naturally, such an honourable act is entitled to walking down the main street!" shouts the thug leading the group. "Just get him away!" cries a little girl. "You are driving away my customers!" shouts a shopkeeper. "We could get this stinker out of here faster by them alleys. But they are dangerous and all so without a proper source of motivation or advance compensation for any mishaps that might occur on the way." announces the thug. Grumbling and complains could be heard from the crowd as the true intention of the thugs were revealed. A handful of copper pieces are flung at them from a man in the crowd followed by a shout, "Just get him out of here!" Imitating that action, people begins throwing copper pieces at them as well. "I would love to make hasty out of here, so why don't we have some of those shinier ones too!" exclaims the thug. Though an occasional stone or rotten fruit was flung as well, silver pieces were soon being thrown as the group increased their pace. After a minute more of walking, the thug making the announcements till now yells out once more. "Thank you all! We will now rid you of this stinker and bring 'im to the City Guards by them alleys! Come on, boys!" Gathering up the last of the copper and silver pieces on the ground, the group moves off the street and into an alley with the beggar in the lead. Turning round a corner, buckets of cold water were splashed on the beggar by waiting thugs, scaring him into running away as quickly as possible. The thugs laughs at the sight of this and fails to notice the figure appearing behind them. "Woah!" exclaims the thug leader in surprise as he finally notices a man behind him when he turns around. "Quite a bit of money you got there." says Dez while looking at the medium sized money bags. "It was hard work. And you had the easy part." replies the thug leader. "Now that's just bad business. There are so many more business opportunities too..." says Dez while appearing not to care about his cut. "Oh? Let's hear it then." "Not without my share." Grabbing a money bag from one of the other thugs, the leader opens it and grabs 8 silver pieces which he tosses at Dez, who catches them in a single swipe. "Now speak." demands the thug leader. "Not today. In fact, I recommend laying low for a bit to let the tides settled." says Dez in response. "Hahaha!" laughs the thug leader before saying, "We could use someone like you. How about it?" Offered rogue "Plenty of business opportunities waiting out there. I rather not be bound yet." declines Dez. "That so." says the thug leader who looks like he is ready to take drastic actions but changes his mind. "Well then, if you have any dirty business with plenty of shiny involved, remember us." Turning around, the thugs walked on into the alley and disappears round a corner. As Dez prepares to return to the bakery, a message pops up in front of him. | Intelligence rises by 2 points. (+2 INT) | | --- | | Wisdom rises by 3 points. | | Infamy rises by 10 points. | | New stat: Eloquence | "That's interesting." says Dez at his increase in stats and gaining a new one. He closes the message but another pops up. | EloquenceThe ability to speak with ease while convincing another.This increases the chance of someone believing what you say.Also increases the success rates in bartering and negotiations.You are prohibited from distributing stat bonus points to this stat. | | --- | Closing the message window, Dez leaves the alley and heads in the direction of the bakery. Passing by an alley, he spots the beggar from earlier sitting against a wall. Taking out a silver piece, Dez tosses it into the alley. Unfortunately, there were other beggars there too and a struggle soon ensues over the piece of silver. A few moments later, the beggar who was paraded on the street with a putrid smell before runs deeper into the alley happily with the silver piece in hand. Resuming his journey, he arrives back at the bakery a minute later. "Hello again. So did you manage to find a better price?" asked the shopkeeper. "The other bakery only had 120 pieces of Rye Bread, which they sold to me at 3 silver pieces." replies Dez while taking out 2 silver pieces. "I only need another 80 now, so if you will let me have them for 2 silver pieces." "All right." says the surprised shopkeeper who did not expected the poorly dressed person in front of him to be able to afford that many pieces of Rye Bread. "Actually, give me another 40 pieces. I could use the extra." adds Dez while taking out another silver piece. | Eloquence rises by 1 point. | | --- | Having acquired 120 pieces of Rye Bread, Dez decides to head for the Training Hall. Along his way, he notices a peculiar sculptor working on something with several statues on display at his stall in front of the Central Fountain. Intrigued by this sight, Dez stops in his track and walking over to take a closer look. Upon inspection, the statues of foxes, rabbits and son on were pretty well crafted, though they were still quite lacking. The sculptor himself was working on another piece in his hand which he finishes a few seconds later. Placing the newly crafted statue down, he looks up to see Dez. "Would you like to buy one? It's only 5 silver pieces." asks the sculptor. "Maybe next time...I'm barely past the first few hours of the four weeks restriction." replies Dez as he turns to take his leave. Realising his little detour has wasted more time, Dez heads for the Training Hall without further delays. Upon entering, the instructor glares fiercely at him. As he walks up to the instructor, Dez makes a quick scan of the place and its equipment. “Young adventurer, I presume you have arrived at the Versailles continent recently,” says the instructor. "Yes. From what I can see, I take it that I'm supposed to grab a wooden sword and go at it with one of the scarecrows?" asks Dez. Appearing a bit surprised, the Instructor says, "Yes. Do you need my guidance?" "I appreciate the offer. Allow me to do this myself first." "Godspeed." Walking over to one of the scarecrows, Dez places his backpack on the floor and picks up the heavy wooden sword. "Looks like it's you and me. Let's get these 4 weeks over with." says Dez before he begins his relentless strikes on the scarecrow before him.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> TRRIINNNGG!<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td><span style="font-weight: bold;">Quest Completed! : Return Snappy back to its original master</span><br><br> You have successfully returned Snappy back to its master! Both Master and Pet are joyful to see each other!<br><br>- You have leveled up! -<br>- You have leveled up! -<br>- You have leveled up! -<br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;">Bonus Reward:</span> For accepting and completing a quest above your Class/Level.<br><br>- Bonus Skill Points – You gained 15 bonus SP.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>TRRRINNNGG!!<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: #FF0000;">You are level one! Congratulations!</span></span><br><br>All collected stats, skill points and skills are now available.<br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">- You can now apply base skill points! -</span></span><br><br>- You have 50 unused base skill points for account activation and reaching level 1! You have 15 base SP from level up. You have a total of 65 base SP. – Please allocate them to the various physical stats you have available. These cannot be applied to Elemental Stats.<br><br><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">- You can now apply bonus skill points! – </span></span><br><br>- You have received 100 bonus skills points from being the first purchase scheme! You have received 96 skill points from the encashable scheme. You have received 15 SP from Bonus Rewards.– You have a total of 211 skill points that need to be allocated. Please allocate them to the various physical stats you have available. These cannot be applied to Elemental Stats.<br><br><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">- You can use the following acquired skills! –</span></span><br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;">- You can use stealth! –</span> You can now move around hiding your presence. You ability to hide your presence depends on your level of mastery of the stealth skill. You may not allocate Skill points to this skill. <br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;">- You can use Lions Roar! –</span> You can now use Lions Roar! You may not allocate Skill points to this skill.<br><br><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">- You have gained additional stats! –</span></span><br><br>- You have gained sleep stat! – You can now replenish your stamina quicker through sleeping! How quick you recover stamina depends on your level of mastery of the sleep skill. You may not allocate Skill points to this skill.<br><br>- You have gained sleeplessness stat- You will lose stamina slower even if you haven’t slept for many days! How slowly you lose stamina depends on your level of mastery of the sleeplessness skill. You may not allocate Skill points to this skill.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>Weed was feeling overwhelmed. He had forgotten about the bonus skill points he had collected from the various scheme! Tears filled his eyes. If that weren’t enough updates…Another window popped open.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td><span style="color: #FF0000;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">- Personal Unique Quest Status – </span></span><br><br>- Deceit – You lie to /cheat others better! How well your lie is believed depends on your level of mastery of the Lying skill. You may not allocate Skill points to this skill. <br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;">- Deceit is now beginner level 3! -</span><br><br>- Betrayal – Betraying the trust other have in you, increases Strength by 5 SP and Agility by 5 SP. This skill increases with marginally with deceit and mastery of betrayal . You may not allocate Skill points to this skill. <br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;">- Betrayal is now beginner level 2 -</span></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>Weed didn’t know whether to feel happy or sad. He didn’t plan on raising these stat levels. In the end Weed decided not to invest any SP in any stat till he learnt what was best for a neutral elf.<br><br>-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-<br><br>“So you’re the lad that brought Snappy back to me, eh?” said the dwarf as he brought out steel cups from the cupboard and began pouring some drink into them from a flask. <br><br>“Here you go, this will warm you up.” Said the dwarf as he passed the cup to the Elf. <br><br>Weed took a sip of the drink. <br><br>- Under aged drinking is forbidden. All alcoholic drinks will taste like juice of your preferred setting. Apple juice default setting. –<br><br>“The name is Theodore Balkan son of Utmiz Balkan of the Northern Mountain Range. An oddity if it were, I like spending time by self out here in the wilderness than inside caves. Though I love the smell of burning oil in lamps and fresh earth, I love the fresh winds too that blow through these forests. However, much I of an oddity I may be, Dwarf I am as you can see.” <br><br>“Weed – Elf from Lavias.” Weed didn’t any titles or long introduction. It was just short and simple.<br><br>“Well I must thank thee, for your help in returning Snappy. I just didn’t want to make the trip through the town to collect Snappy. Too much effort and time, you see. So thank you Weed, friend of my friend. Tell me how is my friend Rodriguez the Wise doing?”<br><br>Weed coughed and put down his drink at the mention of the name Rodriguez the Wise! <br><br>“Too strong was it, eh?” asked the dwarf.<br><br>“No.” - ‘The old man! I never asked the old man his name!! He was Rodriguez the Wise!!!’ Weed began hammering himself for not asking the NPC his name. He had a habit of calling old grand pa looking men – old man, old timer etc. But the information here was of utmost importance! <br><br>The original Weed in Royal Road too had met Rodriguez the Sage, Star of Wisdom and many such titles as he was known for! It was Rodriguez who led Weed to find the Emperor’s Class / Legendary Moonlight Sculptor and coincidence would have it Lee Jun’s Weed too met a Rodriguez. The possibilities were endless thought Weed, given the commonalities in the names and maps of the two games, it shouldn’t be surprising if the NPCs were the same as well. This could only mean that the quest he received from Rodriguez had a significant probability of leading him to finding a secret profession / affinity!! <br>Weeds eyes started gleaming with anticipation, this could very well be the start of a grand quest after all! Even if he was behind for so many months and had not leveled his character, an amazing quest like this was all it took to pull ahead of the rest! <br><br>“He is doing well, Theodore.” <br><br>“That is good to know. Well then, Snappy told me that you played stick with and even gave him lots of meaty treat!” The dwarf scratched Snappy behind the ear. “So tell me, what can I do for you for treating my dog so kindly? I will try to fulfill it to the best of my abilities given that the task is within my reach.”<br><br>“Rodriguez the Wise mentioned to me that you are well versed in the ways of the sword? Could you please teach me the ways of the sword.” <br><br>“HAHAHAHAHA!” started laughing the dwarf. “Me well versed in the ways of the sword? That’s a good one, I got to remember that when I see him. Sword…”<br><br>Weed was slightly confused; this was not quite the reaction he was expecting.<br><br>“But he did say that you were in a league of your own and that elemental users would come to you for lessons in the ways of the sword.”<br><br>“HAHAHAHAHA.” Theodore kept laughing and stopped only when his stomach started hurting. With one arm one his stomach, to control the laughter, “See here elf, I am a dwarf, now everyone knows a dwarf is only good in one thing; making things. We are clever with our hands and with that I don’t mean sword fighting but rather blacksmithing or other artisan skills.”<br><br>“But I am sure, this is what Rodriguez said!” exclaimed Weed.<br><br>“I don’t doubt you elf. Rodriguez would have indeed said that but his nature is rather forgetful. He almost always confuses or forgets things. Chances are he most likely confused me for someone else.”<br><br>“But he is Rodriguez the Wise! The all knowing! The Star of Wisdom!”<br><br>“Star of Wisdom? Well that’s a new title I have heard. Wise yes but forgetful as well. I wouldn’t trust his words blindly if I ever you elf. He confuses names, places and people. He did not lie to you when he said there was a neutral master whose skill in swords were second to none, I am sure there must be such person. However, he confused him for me, dwarf whose blacksmithing skills are second to none!” chuckled the dwarf.<br><br>“Teach me!” cried out Weed. The original Weed was a sculptor, so there was a chance that Lee Hyun who was the original Weed designed the game where another non melee profession good was the greatest profession! Weed was not thinking straight, he was much too influenced by the name Rodriguez the Wise. He wanted a profession without seeking what it entailed. He was making a wild reckless guess that this profession was indeed the greatest, with too much of a gamble based on Weeds overly active imagination. <br><br>“No.” said Theodore. <br><br>“Please! Did you not say you would reward me for taking care of Snappy so well?” <br><br>“This is this and that was that. The secrets of dwarves should remain with dwarves and the secrets of elves should remain with elves.” Cooly replied the dwarf while slowly sipping his drink.<br><br>Weed took a deep breath. There was no use in getting overly excited. This was a battle of words, an NPC had to be twisted and wrangled till it gave in. <br>“I understand, you are absolutely right Theodore son of Utmiz. Elves would keep their word and dwarves would never. We really shouldn’t mix the two up.” Weed had a cold malicious look in his eyes. If requesting kindly did not work, there were always other ways into coercing the dwarf into giving in.<br><br>The Dwarf swung his hammer on the table breaking it into two. “ELF YOU HAVE GONE TOO FAR!” roared the dwarf.<br><br>Weed sipped his juice. “Theodore, I only repeated what you said. Did you not say you would reward me for kindly treating your dog? Did you also not turn down my request?”<br><br>“But secrets of dwarves should remain with dwarves! Elves have no right to learn our secrets!” angrily replied Theodore.<br><br>“What was it that you said? I will do all that I can to the best of my abilities given that the task is within my reach? I guess dwarves have a habit of lying as well don’t they? Or are you implying that you in fact don’t know how melt and forge iron and the ability to do so escapes you? Wait! Didn’t you say your blacksmithing skills were the best? Tch! Lies after lies. Clearly that is all dwarves know how to do unlike fair elves who keep their word. So many times, did Snappy want to take a break and so many times did I stop for Snappy. I kept my word, will you Theodore son of Utmiz? Or should I believe that the sons of Utmiz are incapable of doing so? Or that all northern mountain dwarves are liars and dishonor their word. A treacherous bunch I would rather say, wouldn’t you agree?”<br><br>Theodore seemed like he was going to explode anytime soon.<br><br>----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br>Authors Note:<br><br>1. I made a slight mistake in previous chapters. I swapped between two words carelessly: Stats and skill points. Stats are passive and active. Active Stats are skills which players can use, Lions Roar. Passive Stats are DEF, STR, AGI etc. Skill points are what goes into stats. I didn't know all this, but I have corrected it in all previous chapters. Apologies for any confusion it may have caused.<br>2. I define Base SP as SP which players get on account activation and level up. Bonus SP as SP which players get from marketing schemes or quests.<br><br><br>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="4">Connect to Royal Road – Elementarem Vim next Chapter?</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&amp;t=313" target="_blank">Yes</a></td><td colspan="2"><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&amp;t=348" target="_blank">No</a></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- </div>

TRRIINNNGG! | Quest Completed! : Return Snappy back to its original master You have successfully returned Snappy back to its master! Both Master and Pet are joyful to see each other!- You have leveled up! -- You have leveled up! -- You have leveled up! -Bonus Reward: For accepting and completing a quest above your Class/Level.- Bonus Skill Points – You gained 15 bonus SP. | | --- | TRRRINNNGG!! | You are level one! Congratulations!All collected stats, skill points and skills are now available.- You can now apply base skill points! -- You have 50 unused base skill points for account activation and reaching level 1! You have 15 base SP from level up. You have a total of 65 base SP. – Please allocate them to the various physical stats you have available. These cannot be applied to Elemental Stats.- You can now apply bonus skill points! – - You have received 100 bonus skills points from being the first purchase scheme! You have received 96 skill points from the encashable scheme. You have received 15 SP from Bonus Rewards.– You have a total of 211 skill points that need to be allocated. Please allocate them to the various physical stats you have available. These cannot be applied to Elemental Stats.- You can use the following acquired skills! –- You can use stealth! – You can now move around hiding your presence. You ability to hide your presence depends on your level of mastery of the stealth skill. You may not allocate Skill points to this skill. - You can use Lions Roar! – You can now use Lions Roar! You may not allocate Skill points to this skill.- You have gained additional stats! –- You have gained sleep stat! – You can now replenish your stamina quicker through sleeping! How quick you recover stamina depends on your level of mastery of the sleep skill. You may not allocate Skill points to this skill.- You have gained sleeplessness stat- You will lose stamina slower even if you haven’t slept for many days! How slowly you lose stamina depends on your level of mastery of the sleeplessness skill. You may not allocate Skill points to this skill. | | --- | Weed was feeling overwhelmed. He had forgotten about the bonus skill points he had collected from the various scheme! Tears filled his eyes. If that weren’t enough updates…Another window popped open. | - Personal Unique Quest Status – - Deceit – You lie to /cheat others better! How well your lie is believed depends on your level of mastery of the Lying skill. You may not allocate Skill points to this skill. - Deceit is now beginner level 3! -- Betrayal – Betraying the trust other have in you, increases Strength by 5 SP and Agility by 5 SP. This skill increases with marginally with deceit and mastery of betrayal . You may not allocate Skill points to this skill. - Betrayal is now beginner level 2 - | | --- | Weed didn’t know whether to feel happy or sad. He didn’t plan on raising these stat levels. In the end Weed decided not to invest any SP in any stat till he learnt what was best for a neutral elf. -x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x- “So you’re the lad that brought Snappy back to me, eh?” said the dwarf as he brought out steel cups from the cupboard and began pouring some drink into them from a flask. “Here you go, this will warm you up.” Said the dwarf as he passed the cup to the Elf. Weed took a sip of the drink. - Under aged drinking is forbidden. All alcoholic drinks will taste like juice of your preferred setting. Apple juice default setting. – “The name is Theodore Balkan son of Utmiz Balkan of the Northern Mountain Range. An oddity if it were, I like spending time by self out here in the wilderness than inside caves. Though I love the smell of burning oil in lamps and fresh earth, I love the fresh winds too that blow through these forests. However, much I of an oddity I may be, Dwarf I am as you can see.” “Weed – Elf from Lavias.” Weed didn’t any titles or long introduction. It was just short and simple. “Well I must thank thee, for your help in returning Snappy. I just didn’t want to make the trip through the town to collect Snappy. Too much effort and time, you see. So thank you Weed, friend of my friend. Tell me how is my friend Rodriguez the Wise doing?” Weed coughed and put down his drink at the mention of the name Rodriguez the Wise! “Too strong was it, eh?” asked the dwarf. “No.” - ‘The old man! I never asked the old man his name!! He was Rodriguez the Wise!!!’ Weed began hammering himself for not asking the NPC his name. He had a habit of calling old grand pa looking men – old man, old timer etc. But the information here was of utmost importance! The original Weed in Royal Road too had met Rodriguez the Sage, Star of Wisdom and many such titles as he was known for! It was Rodriguez who led Weed to find the Emperor’s Class / Legendary Moonlight Sculptor and coincidence would have it Lee Jun’s Weed too met a Rodriguez. The possibilities were endless thought Weed, given the commonalities in the names and maps of the two games, it shouldn’t be surprising if the NPCs were the same as well. This could only mean that the quest he received from Rodriguez had a significant probability of leading him to finding a secret profession / affinity!! Weeds eyes started gleaming with anticipation, this could very well be the start of a grand quest after all! Even if he was behind for so many months and had not leveled his character, an amazing quest like this was all it took to pull ahead of the rest! “He is doing well, Theodore.” “That is good to know. Well then, Snappy told me that you played stick with and even gave him lots of meaty treat!” The dwarf scratched Snappy behind the ear. “So tell me, what can I do for you for treating my dog so kindly? I will try to fulfill it to the best of my abilities given that the task is within my reach.” “Rodriguez the Wise mentioned to me that you are well versed in the ways of the sword? Could you please teach me the ways of the sword.” “HAHAHAHAHA!” started laughing the dwarf. “Me well versed in the ways of the sword? That’s a good one, I got to remember that when I see him. Sword…” Weed was slightly confused; this was not quite the reaction he was expecting. “But he did say that you were in a league of your own and that elemental users would come to you for lessons in the ways of the sword.” “HAHAHAHAHA.” Theodore kept laughing and stopped only when his stomach started hurting. With one arm one his stomach, to control the laughter, “See here elf, I am a dwarf, now everyone knows a dwarf is only good in one thing; making things. We are clever with our hands and with that I don’t mean sword fighting but rather blacksmithing or other artisan skills.” “But I am sure, this is what Rodriguez said!” exclaimed Weed. “I don’t doubt you elf. Rodriguez would have indeed said that but his nature is rather forgetful. He almost always confuses or forgets things. Chances are he most likely confused me for someone else.” “But he is Rodriguez the Wise! The all knowing! The Star of Wisdom!” “Star of Wisdom? Well that’s a new title I have heard. Wise yes but forgetful as well. I wouldn’t trust his words blindly if I ever you elf. He confuses names, places and people. He did not lie to you when he said there was a neutral master whose skill in swords were second to none, I am sure there must be such person. However, he confused him for me, dwarf whose blacksmithing skills are second to none!” chuckled the dwarf. “Teach me!” cried out Weed. The original Weed was a sculptor, so there was a chance that Lee Hyun who was the original Weed designed the game where another non melee profession good was the greatest profession! Weed was not thinking straight, he was much too influenced by the name Rodriguez the Wise. He wanted a profession without seeking what it entailed. He was making a wild reckless guess that this profession was indeed the greatest, with too much of a gamble based on Weeds overly active imagination. “No.” said Theodore. “Please! Did you not say you would reward me for taking care of Snappy so well?” “This is this and that was that. The secrets of dwarves should remain with dwarves and the secrets of elves should remain with elves.” Cooly replied the dwarf while slowly sipping his drink. Weed took a deep breath. There was no use in getting overly excited. This was a battle of words, an NPC had to be twisted and wrangled till it gave in. “I understand, you are absolutely right Theodore son of Utmiz. Elves would keep their word and dwarves would never. We really shouldn’t mix the two up.” Weed had a cold malicious look in his eyes. If requesting kindly did not work, there were always other ways into coercing the dwarf into giving in. The Dwarf swung his hammer on the table breaking it into two. “ELF YOU HAVE GONE TOO FAR!” roared the dwarf. Weed sipped his juice. “Theodore, I only repeated what you said. Did you not say you would reward me for kindly treating your dog? Did you also not turn down my request?” “But secrets of dwarves should remain with dwarves! Elves have no right to learn our secrets!” angrily replied Theodore. “What was it that you said? I will do all that I can to the best of my abilities given that the task is within my reach? I guess dwarves have a habit of lying as well don’t they? Or are you implying that you in fact don’t know how melt and forge iron and the ability to do so escapes you? Wait! Didn’t you say your blacksmithing skills were the best? Tch! Lies after lies. Clearly that is all dwarves know how to do unlike fair elves who keep their word. So many times, did Snappy want to take a break and so many times did I stop for Snappy. I kept my word, will you Theodore son of Utmiz? Or should I believe that the sons of Utmiz are incapable of doing so? Or that all northern mountain dwarves are liars and dishonor their word. A treacherous bunch I would rather say, wouldn’t you agree?” Theodore seemed like he was going to explode anytime soon. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Authors Note: 1. I made a slight mistake in previous chapters. I swapped between two words carelessly: Stats and skill points. Stats are passive and active. Active Stats are skills which players can use, Lions Roar. Passive Stats are DEF, STR, AGI etc. Skill points are what goes into stats. I didn't know all this, but I have corrected it in all previous chapters. Apologies for any confusion it may have caused. 2. I define Base SP as SP which players get on account activation and level up. Bonus SP as SP which players get from marketing schemes or quests. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Connect to Royal Road – Elementarem Vim next Chapter? | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Yes](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&t=313) | | [No](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&t=348) | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> by saxenas1 » Fri Jun 14, 2013 12:38 am<br><br><br>“Masssstterrrr. We have located the knights and the priest.” said a creature of unknown origin; clad in black skin tight clothes, wearing only a white face mask with two holes for the eyes. The creature lurked around a grand throne. Absolute darkness lit by only the moonlight would be the best way to describe the throne hall that lay in ruins and despair. <br><br>“Unleash the horde.” A dark voice rippled through the air. Just as the mysterious voice echoed in the dilapidated halls, an equally mysterious templar appeared sitting on the throne. The master of the minion, a grand templar knight clad in shining metallic armor towering over two meters in height appeared on the throne as the moonlight fell upon it.<br><br>“Massstterr. All of them?” the small creature asked out of disbelief.<br><br>The templars eyes shined red, if one could see his face they would have sworn he smiled. “Yes. unleash them all......MUAHAHAHAHAHAhahahaha.” The templar broke off into an evil laughter.<br><br>“Kukukukuku.” laughed the minion along side. It was like watching the royal road horror version of Dr Frankenstein and his hunchback assistant.<br><br>The knights and the priest would never see it coming.<br><br>x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x<br><br>The lonely moonlight streamed into a dark room. It’s silver light revealing the commotion plaguing the room inside. Two men hurriedly removed all the books they could from the shelves and into the trunk.<br><br>“Have we got everything?” Asked a young knight armed in white mythril armour. On his pure white armor there was a single badge of three initials: RRL. He peered out the window sensing a disturbance.<br><br>“Yes.” answered a priest, as he packed in the last bits of papers into a metal trunk. The priest wore long white robes which gleamed in the silver moonlight. The priest then took out chains from his inventory and a massive lock. While he was applying the locks to the trunk someone knocked on the door.A second knight entered the room, dressed in the same uniform as the first. “We need to go soon. They are almost upon us.”<br><br>“Already, Sunny?” Asked the first knight who helping the priest with the locks.<br><br> “So soon?” the priest asked with shock.<br>“We don’t have much time. Hurry Grisia!” Sunny replied as he ran towards the window hearing an explosion. “Haikai! get the horses ready, they are here.”<br><br>The priest Grisia and knight Haikai both wore grave looks on their faces. Hell had been set loose upon them.<br><br>x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-<br><br>“Run!” Screamed Grisia as he led the way. Haikai and Sunny, checked the backs, the horde was right behind them. <br><br>“Dammit! Can’t these horses go any faster?” Haikai asked in frustration. He was whipping them as much as he could, urging them, begging them, to go as fast as they could. But it was to no avail. All efforts were futile compared to the horde of leechers trailing them.<br><br>Grisia jumped off the wagon. “GO!”<br><br>“What are you doing?” Haikai turned back and shouted. <br><br>“Just go!” Grisia said as he stood his ground. <br><br>“Give my regards to Cat.” he said as he drew his staff out.<br><br>“Noooo!” Screamed Sunny. But it was too late. The distance between the two was too great to be covered. Even if they turned back there would be no saving Grisia.<br><br>Grisia stood up straight, wiping off the dirt of his white majestic robes. ‘Well then, might as well go out in style.’ he thought to himself.<br><br>“You shall not pass me!” Grisia roared as he held up his white staff. His eyes burned with feverish determination, he was ready to take them all down, even if it meant at the cost of his own life. As Sunny looked back, he could see a bright light engulf where Grisia stood before it all went dark.<br><br><br><br>XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX<br><br>“We are coming to you live today, from the London Zoo, where scientists are working around the clock to preserve the mind of the world’s smartest bird.”<br><br>..<br><br>..<br>…<br>..<br><br>.<br><br>.<br><br>.<br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="4">Connect to Royal Road?</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&amp;t=284" target="_blank">Yes</a></td><td colspan="2">No</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>“Squawk!” </div>

by saxenas1 » Fri Jun 14, 2013 12:38 am “Masssstterrrr. We have located the knights and the priest.” said a creature of unknown origin; clad in black skin tight clothes, wearing only a white face mask with two holes for the eyes. The creature lurked around a grand throne. Absolute darkness lit by only the moonlight would be the best way to describe the throne hall that lay in ruins and despair. “Unleash the horde.” A dark voice rippled through the air. Just as the mysterious voice echoed in the dilapidated halls, an equally mysterious templar appeared sitting on the throne. The master of the minion, a grand templar knight clad in shining metallic armor towering over two meters in height appeared on the throne as the moonlight fell upon it. “Massstterr. All of them?” the small creature asked out of disbelief. The templars eyes shined red, if one could see his face they would have sworn he smiled. “Yes. unleash them all......MUAHAHAHAHAHAhahahaha.” The templar broke off into an evil laughter. “Kukukukuku.” laughed the minion along side. It was like watching the royal road horror version of Dr Frankenstein and his hunchback assistant. The knights and the priest would never see it coming. x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x The lonely moonlight streamed into a dark room. It’s silver light revealing the commotion plaguing the room inside. Two men hurriedly removed all the books they could from the shelves and into the trunk. “Have we got everything?” Asked a young knight armed in white mythril armour. On his pure white armor there was a single badge of three initials: RRL. He peered out the window sensing a disturbance. “Yes.” answered a priest, as he packed in the last bits of papers into a metal trunk. The priest wore long white robes which gleamed in the silver moonlight. The priest then took out chains from his inventory and a massive lock. While he was applying the locks to the trunk someone knocked on the door.A second knight entered the room, dressed in the same uniform as the first. “We need to go soon. They are almost upon us.” “Already, Sunny?” Asked the first knight who helping the priest with the locks. “So soon?” the priest asked with shock. “We don’t have much time. Hurry Grisia!” Sunny replied as he ran towards the window hearing an explosion. “Haikai! get the horses ready, they are here.” The priest Grisia and knight Haikai both wore grave looks on their faces. Hell had been set loose upon them. x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x- “Run!” Screamed Grisia as he led the way. Haikai and Sunny, checked the backs, the horde was right behind them. “Dammit! Can’t these horses go any faster?” Haikai asked in frustration. He was whipping them as much as he could, urging them, begging them, to go as fast as they could. But it was to no avail. All efforts were futile compared to the horde of leechers trailing them. Grisia jumped off the wagon. “GO!” “What are you doing?” Haikai turned back and shouted. “Just go!” Grisia said as he stood his ground. “Give my regards to Cat.” he said as he drew his staff out. “Noooo!” Screamed Sunny. But it was too late. The distance between the two was too great to be covered. Even if they turned back there would be no saving Grisia. Grisia stood up straight, wiping off the dirt of his white majestic robes. ‘Well then, might as well go out in style.’ he thought to himself. “You shall not pass me!” Grisia roared as he held up his white staff. His eyes burned with feverish determination, he was ready to take them all down, even if it meant at the cost of his own life. As Sunny looked back, he could see a bright light engulf where Grisia stood before it all went dark. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX “We are coming to you live today, from the London Zoo, where scientists are working around the clock to preserve the mind of the world’s smartest bird.” .. .. … .. . . . | Connect to Royal Road? | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Yes](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&t=284) | | No | | “Squawk!”

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> Author's note: Like I said, I might not be able to post on my preferred timing because my weekend was ridiculously packed, so I'm posting this chapter early. So... yeah... you know. *awkward hand gestures*. &gt;.&lt;<br><br>Having done this, I bid thee Good night. May the songs of angels sing thee to thy rest.<br><br>*<br><br>"Isn't it obvious? I aim to be the Emperor one day. I came out here to train myself."<br><br>"..."<br><br>Children have big dreams indeed...<br><br>Now that I had a closer look, he (or is it a she?) was dressed in traveler's garb, and had a small backpack on his (or her) back. He (or she) had short honey-colored hair and blue eyes. Naturally, as a child, he (or she) was short and had a slim build. A scabbard is slung around the back, holding what appeared to be a sword about as tall as the child itself.<br><br>Either a little boy or an extremely tomboyish girl. Possibilities have to be noted, after all.<br><br>"I see."<br><br>"Hey, I'm pretty tough, you know?"<br><br>The child performed a guts pose. Rather than laugh at this incredibly precocious child, I decided to ask a couple of questions to satisfy my curiosity.<br><br>"Ok, did you get a weapon?"<br><br>"Sure I did." The child smoothly unsheathed the sword slung on his (or her bag). Despite its size, he (or she) held it easily without too much strain.<br><br>"So you know how to fight?"<br><br>"Are you questioning your future Emperor?"<br><br>Already an egomaniac at this age?!<br><br>Well, if he (or she) is out there now,currently he (or she) should be easily level 10 or higher. Especially since he had that iron sword, which is not easily available to beginners who were just starting out.<br><br>Either way, he should be higher than me, a level 6 Spear man that was not even properly armed. But the kid didn't know that, and with my extra stats, I could probably bluff it out. I chuckled to myself and said:<br><br>"Hm hm hm... You do have to earn your keep after all."<br><br>I smiled as the child nodded happily at my response, but that smile soon turned into a rather evil sneer as I continued:<br><br>"... Especially for my meat. You ate too much."<br><br>Able to fight or not, he (or she?) did gnaw his or her way through nearly all of my rabbit meat skewers.<br><br>"Didn't Mama say that a thank you will suffice?"<br><br>"..."<br><br>I smacked the self-proclaimed young Emperor on the head with my Spear Shaft, resembling what that monkey did in the Lion King. What? Some of the Woodpecker's anger management methods did rub off on me after on (via my face)...<br><br>"Owie..." The child clutched his or her head painfully.<br><br>"Your mama should teach you some manners. You'll pay for your meal somehow. You said you can fight now right? Come along now..."<br><br>Grabbing the arms, I dragged the child out to the field to hunt. The child struggled, but to no avail. Oddly, this feels like de javu...<br><br>Child or not, Girl or Boy, Emperor or otherwise, people shall pay for my food if they eat it. Even if it does probably suck.<br><br>**<br><br>With my newly obtained... erm... Royal Slave in tow, I went out a bit further into the wilderness where stronger mobs were found since rabbits got boring.<br><br>In the distance, I could see hunting parties as they attacked spawn.<br><br>...<br><br>No, I do not condone slave labor. How dare you imply this. I am offended, dear reader. I am merely collecting on the debt owed to me. Do not misunderstand.<br><br>Anyways, it seemed that the hunting party was full, so I decided to hunt on my own. Being in a large party like this would slow me down anyway.<br><br>"Alright, time to work up a sweat!! And you, just pay back for all the skewers you ate..."<br><br>"Rabbit meat isn't worth much anyway..."<br><br>"Exactly, so this should be quick." I acted dumb to his smart talk.<br><br>I have also decided that I'm just going to settle for him being a male now. Possibilities be damned.<br><br>"There's one!!"<br><br>In the distance, a fox appeared, distinctive orange fur with bushy tail standing out in the green field.<br><br>"I'll take that one."<br><br>Spear shaft in a two handed grip, I jabbed at the fox to see what he would do. He naturally avoided the attack, leaping backwards and landing on all fours.<br><br>Naturally, foxes are just as fast as rabbits, but are stronger and just a bit more dangerous. They are predatory animals after all. However, foxes don't attack larger animals. And so, the fox was largely attacking in self-defense here.<br><br>The fox stood its ground, hackles raised, hair standing on end. Oh dear, it seems that I provoked the little guy.<br><br>He dashed at me with reckless abandon. Judging the distance and trajectory, I took a step sideways, avoiding its attack.<br><br>Then, swinging the spear shaft, I spun on the spot and struck the fox hard on the spine, and heard bone crack. With a small bark, the fox fell onto the ground, limbs twitching. A large portion of the hp bar on his head disappeared.<br><br>I quickly struck him on the back another time to end his suffering. The fox disappeared in a grey flash, leaving behind a fox pelt.<br><br>Fox meat wasn't very good, but the pelt can at least be used to make things and be sold for a good price to traders.<br><br>I picked up my loot, and cast around to look for another spawn.<br><br>"Oryaaaaaaaaaaah!!"<br><br>The child meanwhile, was swinging his sword in wide arcs, trying to get at a fox he had found.<br><br>His size meant that he could use different attacks to attack the otherwise small and difficult to hit fox, but his movements were wild and untrained. The fox easily dodged the attacks. Moreover, he seemed to be tiring. It's not a big surprise, that sword's too big for him despite first impressions. At least, I thought that anyway.<br><br>I carefully sneaked up to the fox that was taunting my little helper, and struck it once on the head, hard.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">[You have dealt a fatal critical blow.]</span><br><br>The fox faded in a grey flash, leaving behind loot.<br><br>"I could have had him..." the child sulked.<br><br>"Probably not. You were tiring. Swinging your sword like that isn't effective. You have to watch the enemy carefully and strike when the opponent reveals an opening."<br><br>Words from my wise mentor, Kite. It was easy for me to say, even if I'm still a novice in the way of combat...<br><br>Still, the boy had pretty good grit and determination. And he could have a lot of potential. I patted his head, and took out some bandages and gauze to patch him up a little bit.<br><br>"Don't worry, you'll get the next one."<br><br>***<br><br>The hunt therefore continued. By the time we finished, it was nearly sundown.<br><br>I took a different approach this time. I would strike at the foxes to impede their movements, and have my newly-minted "junior" come in for the last hit.<br><br>"There!! Go on, attack!!"<br><br>I had struck a fox on the side, causing it to stagger. My "junior" came in and stabbed it with his short sword. The fox disappeared in a grey flash, leaving its pelt, and a couple of bones.<br><br>"Yeah, I did it!! I did it!!" The child was leaping in joy.<br><br>"Come now, runt, it's just the beginning..." I decided to be a killjoy at this point. Can't let him get cocky, he still owes me 10 skewers worth. It was also getting dark, so it was best to get the kid back into the city where it's safe. Besides, we had gained several levels today. It had been a good hunt.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">Growl...</span><br><br>"Are you hungry?"<br><br>"No, that wasn't my stomach." Thank god, I only had my rabbit jerky left. But with that aside, if that wasn't him...<br><br>Instincts screaming danger, I quickly stepped to the side. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a silver blur brush past me.<br><br>On the spot where I was, a wolf had pounced on, a raging grey blur of fur and fangs and claws. Wolves were a step higher up from the foxes that we had been hunting. They were pretty large, with a beautiful grey coat, and their limbs were well-muscled. Wolves also often hunt in packs.<br><br>"Crap..."<br><br>At our current levels, it wasn't impossible for us to beat a wolf, but we had lost some hp fighting the spawn. The wolf had caught us napping. In addition... since it was night...<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">HOOOOOOOWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...</span><br><br>The wolf howled. It was a bloodcurdling sound, and echoed in the distance.<br><br>Mobs also become much stronger at night, and gain certain abilities. They do give a much larger chunk of experience as a result, but the added difficulty made it not worth pursuing unless you had a good party with you, and even then you'll have to hunt at a certain rate to break even.<br><br>The wolf in front of me, looking at the name and bar over it, was a level 7 mob. At night, it was the equivalent of a level 10 or 11 monster.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">Growl...</span><br><br>And it brought friends, too. Glowing red eyes could be seen in the shadows. I'm guessing about 7 to 10 of them...<br><br>The wolf moved leisurely. With such an overwhelming advantage, it could easily take its time to finish us.<br><br>"Kid. Move behind me."<br><br>"But..."<br><br>"Do it!!"<br><br>I took a stance. It had first appeared in the skill book when the Ash Spear Shaft was further identified by the Old Blacksmith.<br><br>I braced my feet firmly against the ground, and presented my full body to the wolf pack. My spear shaft was held in a balanced manner, with equal space devoted to both sides.<br><br>First stance of the Empty Spear: <span style="font-style: italic;">Balancer</span>. <br><br>That was the name that I have given to this skill.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">First stance of the Empty Spear: Balancer<br><br>The first stance of several learnt by initiates of the Nomadic Order of the Spear before heading off on their pilgrimage. This one contributes equal portions to attack and defense, making this a well balanced stance.<br><br>Beginner Level 1/0%: Adds 10% STR, 10% AGI and 10% VIT as long as you stay in this stance. Certain movements become easier in this stance. Consumes 1 Stamina per second. </span><br><br>It was the form first learnt and used by the travelling Spearmen who didn't have a proper form for their spear, devoting equal parts to all manner of spear technique...<br><br>With this and my inflated stats from training at the Warrior's Guild, I could definitely take out several wolves and buy some time for the kid to get back to town. Or just beat them up anyway and take all the drops for myself, kid be damned. You decide, readers!!<br><br>"Hey kid..."<br><br>"???"<br><br>"When I tell you to run, run as fast as you can back to town, and bring help. I'll hold them off until then."<br><br>"Eh? But I want to figh-"<br><br>"There's no time for games. Now go!!"<br><br>The kid scarpered. That was when the Pack attacked, attempting to get past me to attack the kid. Racking my head for ways to deal with this situation, I then quickly recalled Kite's words:<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">"When slashing or smashing, it is dependent on the rotation of your hips as well as your hands and arms..."</span><br><br>Acting on this small piece of advice, the spear shaft moved in small, quick arcs, striking each of the wolves on different spots on their bodies. They fell back, whining pitifully. <br><br>It was somewhat like rowing a kayak in reverse.<br><br>With swiping hooks using both ends of the Spear Shaft, I was able to force most of the wolf pack back. The others that managed to get past me dashed off in pursuit of the kid. I would wish him luck, but he's ridiculously feisty. He should be fine.<br><br>I put on my intimidating face. The wolfs cowered a little bit, but recovered and stood their ground.<br><br>My Fighting Spirit was still around level 25, so it wasn't very effective yet. However, a little goes a long way. <br><br>The fighting spirit stat has this effect of weakening low level mobs. Also;<br><br>"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"<br><br>The Fighting Spirit stat also gives a war cry that boosts my strength for a short period of time! The sun set behind me as I begin to face off against insurmountable odds.<br><br>I charged at the wolf pack.<br><br>****<br><br>"Hah... hah..."<br><br>The child was running for his dear life. Baying sounds could be heard, as well as the rustling of grass as he made his way through the fields under the dark starry sky.<br><br>Behind him, two wolves were chasing him. Their beautiful fur coats reflected the bright moon light, and their foot falls made no sound as they pursued their quarry. They didn't seem to be tiring either.<br><br>"Must get to town... Woah!!"<br><br>A wolf had instinctively judged the distance to be good and pounced. It was only by good fortune that it missed, but now it was blocking the way. It got up and slowly approached.<br><br>Behind the child, its companion also caught up. They slowly closed the gap, two wolves coming in a pincer formation.<br><br>The child desperately looked around. The escape routes were slowly disappearing as the wolves closed up the space between them.<br><br>"If I'm going down... I won't go quietly!!"<br><br>The child drew his short sword. The sword tip wavered as his arms trembled. His pulse was maxing out as he looked nervously from left to right.<br><br>The wolves didn't seem to be bothered. They continued to approach, taking their own sweet time, as though mocking him...<br><br>As animals, they had little compassion. It was to eat or be eaten. Even this child, in their eyes, can be seen as food.<br><br>The wolves pounced. Intimidated by the sight, the child instinctively closed his eyes.<br><br>Sounds of crunching and snarling could be heard.<br><br>*****<br><br>It was like a scene from a martial arts movie. Thinking back on this, it was a pretty exciting experience.<br><br>The wolves pounced at me in a bid to slowly wear me down. It was a standard technique used by pack animals against much larger prey. I responded accordingly.<br><br>Catching one with one end of the Spear Shaft, I flung him to the ground, and brought the shaft down in a vicious vertical swing. That knocked a considerable amount of hp off the wolf.<br><br>I pushed the end of the spear shaft against the ground, allowing me to recover and narrowly dodge another wolf. I didn't dodge it completely, and he grazed my face. The blood felt pretty warm as it ran down my face.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">[You have lost 3% of your HP.]</span><br><br>I jabbed my spear shaft at yet another wolf that pounced at me, causing it to reel back in pain. Spinning on the spot, I catch two more with horizontal swings.<br><br>So far, so good. Other than losing a small amount of hit points, I am actually holding my own against a vicious pack of wolves. At night. And they are hungry.<br><br>....<br><br>Only in Virtual Reality.<br><br>And yet they still kept coming. Heavily outnumbered and outmaneuvered, I was forced to go on the defensive.<br><br>I spun and twirled the spear shaft as the wolves cautiously approach. The movement created a "shield" of sorts, dissuading them from getting too ambitious.<br><br>I carefully observed the situation around me. It was best to hunt down the leader in this situation. Once I take down the leader, the others will mill about in confusion, allowing me to make my escape or perhaps, kill them a bit easier. The wolf pelts can be sold off for a good price, or used to make good gear for upgrades. Also, I have heard good things about wolf meat.<br><br>"To think I would think of money and food in a situation like this... First, kill your wolves, then think about what you will do with them..." I grinned to myself as I thought of this. This author begs forgiveness for any innuendo that may be derived from that sentence, unintentional as it was.<br><br>As I slowly fought back against the never ending sea of grey... I noticed.<br><br>There!<br><br>A wolf was staying behind, growling and snarling, as though giving orders to the others. It was much larger than the others. There is a good chance that this particular wolf was the leader.<br><br>However, between me and the leader, was a vicious, bloodthirsty, and very possibly hungry pack of wolves. I needed to break through somehow, but without getting shredded to dog kibbles by the wolves.<br><br>Luckily, Spearmen tend to be good at breaking through defensive lines in most games, and Royal Road wasn't any different.<br><br>I dropped the Balancer Stance, and took up the stance that Kite had taught me. Facing sideways, with non-master hand leading. It wasn't recognized as an official skill by the game, but I had decided to dub it the Fencer stance since it reminded me of this from back when I took fencing as a casual hobby back in College.<br><br>It adopted an extremely linear approach to offense, and was good in one-on-one fights. It wasn't the stance I would not have used in the earlier situation, but for this one...<br>"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!!" I braced my feet against the ground and dashed, the spear shaft pointing forward.<br><br>A reckless charge at the leader.<br><br>The wolves instinctively parted as though sensing danger. Which makes it all the more easier to get to the leader.<br><br>The leader noticed my reckless charge and leaped sideways to try and dodge my attack.<br><br>"Where are you escaping to?!"<br><br>Momentum provided by the charge, I leapt upwards.<br><br>It was a skill I had always wanted to use myself from all the Final Fantasy Games I played in the past. No, it was not Omnislash, or Firega, or something like that.<br><br>It was simply known as Jump.<br><br>A high jump, using the weight and acceleration to land heavily and attack an opponent. It was a skill that won't be seen in other games, but was made possible in Virtual Reality.<br><br>I put my weight behind the attack, pointing the spear downwards and aiming my landing at the wolf.<br><br>It worked beautifully. The alpha had just recovered from his jump and had little time to react.<br><br>The end of the spear buried itself in the wolf's neck. It may be blunt without a spear head, but the striking surface area was small and therefore created a ton of pressure, crushing the bone and throat and killing the leader, the hp bar disappearing instantly. It disappeared quickly in a grey flash, leaving behind a wolf pelt and some copper coins.<br><br>"There, that's one down..." I made to pick up my loot.<br><br>Suddenly, I felt claws striking at my back. It hurt, but the chain mail protected me from the worst of the damage.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">[You have lost 7% of your HP.]</span><br><br>"Crap..." I shook off the offending wolf, and faced the remainder of the pack.<br><br>Who should have fallen into disarray by the death of their leader, yet they had remained cohesive as a group.<br><br>I was too careless. I should have switched my attention to the others once I was done with the leader.<br><br>Moreover, the death of one of their kind seemed to have galvanized the others. One of the wolves howled.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">[Wolf's Bloody Vengeance activated. Wolves gain 30% attack and agility for 2 hours.] </span><br><br>"Eh? They have a skill like this?"<br><br>I didn't know this until later, but wolves are very social creatures. They may be savage and kill off those that may hold them back in the hunt, but they are extremely caring and have been seen to express emotions over certain events.<br><br>In this case, Revenge for the death of their friend and leader.<br><br>As one pack, the wolves charged. It was a different approach from the earlier hit and run tactics they employed against me. It was such a terrifying side, that one cannot help but cower at it.<br><br>"Darn it!!"<br><br>I shook off the fear, and rushed at the cohesive group.<br><br>As the wolves are now bunched up together, it was more effective to use attacks with a wide area of effect to hit multiple mobs are once.<br><br>But the wolves milled about and attacked like a swarm of piranhas, making this difficult.<br><br>In the bloody melee, finesse and stances were forgotten. Instead of techniques and skills, it was swing and hit and hit and hit!!<br><br>It was an all-out battle for survival and supremacy over the other.<br><br>I threw all caution to the wind and focused all my efforts into attacking. My excitement grew to a fever pitch.<br><br>A wild horizontal swing caught several wolves at once. A vicious vertical swing broke the spine of another. Stabs jabbed into throats and sent them reeling back to be struck hard by the spear shaft.<br><br>As the fight wore on, my senses were blurred as blood flew everywhere. Pain was somehow dulled as adrenaline flooded the body. The wolves' attacks were taking their toll on me.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">[You have lost 2% of your HP.]<br><br>[You have lost 5% of your HP.]<br><br>[You are bleeding badly from several places. Your HP will slowly decrease.]</span><br><br>My muscles screamed at the agony of recklessly swinging the spear shaft over and over again. My HP was surely falling into the critical range. I must have gotten half a dozen injuries by now. Yet, somehow, as though by some miracle, I didn't stop fighting.<br><br>As though I needed to make my point. Pent-up emotions were unleashed in a roiling fury. My blood flow slowed to a crawl. My blows, far from weakening, actually became stronger instead.<br><br>The wolves were extremely frightened by the mad man in front of them that was swinging the long stick wildly in vicious arcs. Several of them retreated with the tail between their legs.<br><br>"WHERE ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRE YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOU GOOOOOOOOOOOOOINNNNNNG!!!"<br><br>A visceral sound tore out loudly from my throat.<br><br>I bash aside the wolves that stayed behind to fight and chased after them, breaking legs and bones with swings from the spear shaft.<br><br>And then I saw a little child running over. He was dressed in the traveler's garb.<br><br>At this point, I was indiscriminately attacking anything fell in my line of sight.<br><br>Screaming bloody murder, I rushed at the child. I probably wasn't in control at this point...<br><br>A heavy force struck the back of my head, striking a sweet spot and overloading the brain with many signals.<br><br>The world around me faded to grey.<br><br>******<br><br>"Geez... Howard, I knew you would like this game, but not to that level of immersion."<br><br>"Heh heh heh... ow..."<br><br>I winced as I rubbed the giant bump that had swelled up on the back of my head.<br><br>The culprit that gave me that wound, a girl with a bandanna tied around her long grey hair, handed me a cup of tea as we sat around a fire. The child curled up at the corner, fast asleep.<br><br>I took a sip. Bitter... Best add milk and 2 sugars to it. But there wasn't any.<br><br>"By the way, who are you again?"<br><br>"You haven't lost your memory as well right?"<br><br>Bad attempts at humor aside, I had woke up by a fire, body heavily covered by bandages. My body felt incredibly refreshed.<br><br>I heard crying at the corner. When I turned my head to find out where it was coming from, I got a faceful of hammer, and fell unconscious again.<br><br>Either way, "Lilee" or rather, Lili as I knew her in real life, was red in the face as she recounted what she saw.<br><br>"I was passing through the gates when I saw the kid being surrounded by wolves. I smacked them around on the head with my hammer and he told me what happened."<br><br>I nodded, slowly drinking my tea as Lili warmed up to her theme, speaking excitedly with hands balled into fists.<br><br>"Either way, it was amazing how you managed to take on so many monsters at once with just a stick!!"<br><br>"That was not a stick..." I felt incredibly hurt by my weapon being belittled like this, even it wasn't complete yet.<br><br>"I don't care. You must tell me what happened so far while you were playing through the game!! Why is your level so low?!"<br><br>Apparently, most casual players would have gotten to level 15 or higher halfway through their second month. I was level 8 during that time, although my fight with the wolves had just bumped it up to 9. I allocated the points to Agility, reasoning that speed would increase my damage as well.<br><br>By the way, Lili is a Blacksmith, level 60. She had also just started playing Royal Road as well, although she had played the game longer than me, which means that she's ahead of me in terms of experience.<br><br>Still, I regaled her with tales of my relatively uneventful adventure so far.<br><br>"Owh... so you became a Spearman huh..."<br><br>I nodded. As strange and weak as the name sounds, I had the impression from what I saw so far seems that it had a surprising side to it.<br><br>"Isn't that a cannon fodder class?"<br><br>WHAT?!<br><br>"Say that again..." Veins were throbbing as I said this in a threatening tone.<br><br>"... It's my first time seeing a class like this so..." Lili shrugged.<br><br>Well, the Spearman IS a hidden class...<br><br>"So what is it that you actually do?"<br><br>"Well..."<br><br>I still had no idea what that class did at this point. All I was told was to go on a pilgrimage to where ever I felt like going so as to imprint my immature soul with experiences...<br><br>I mentioned the above to Lili, who rested her chin on her hand as she considered this...<br><br>"So you are an adventurer then?"<br><br>"Well, you could put it that way..."<br><br>"Huh... you did get an interesting job after all. As expected of Howard. For someone who said that he will quit within the month, you wasted no time adapting quickly to the game. And to achieve that kind of battle immersion in a small period of time..."<br><br>A scowl formed on my face. It was purely out of self defense. Who would have thought that I would get carried away with the fighting? I am a natural-born pacifist (self-proclaimed). I do not strike unless provoked (delusional).<br><br>Such denials of bloodthirsty instincts were quickly dismissed in the face of the evidence. Two new skills were generated through the Nomadic Imprint ability during the fight:<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">Combat Immersion:<br><br>Cloud your mind with the heat of battle, sharpening combat instincts and reflexes. Activated automatically during combat, and deactivates when at rest. Pain is dulled when the skill is active.<br><br>[Beginner Level 2/5%: +4% Agility, +6% movement speed during combat.]</span><br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">Berserk Impulse<br><br>Lose control of your actions for a massive increase in power and hp regeneration. Activated automatically when your HP falls to a set level. Your actions are automatically set to offensive movements, attacking indiscriminately with no regard for defense. Pain is dulled and bleeding is stopped when the skill is active.<br><br>[Beginner Level 1/55%: +20% STR, +10% Fighting Spirit, HP Regeneration boosted by 50% when HP falls below 20%. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Completely</span> unable to control one's actions when skill is active.]</span><br><br>Both of those skills are great, but the requirement was ridiculous. Berserk Impulse required me to lose control of my actions in exchange for a ridiculous amount of power. Kind of like making yourself be controlled by an AI that was set on "Easy" difficulty. It was a powerful skill, but it was dangerous. I could easily kill myself and the people around me if I let myself go out of control like that.<br><br>And then it turns out that I could not delete the skill. It must be part of the pilgrimage I was going through.<br><br>On the other side of the coin, Combat Immersion accelerated the senses. It was a good skill to have, but tricky to utilize in combat. The requirement is relatively safe as compared to Berserk Impulse though. Both skills dulled pain from attacks taken, which could be dangerous, but will be useful for raising the new stat that was generated.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">Endurance:<br>Reduces physical damage inflicted by the enemy. Increases the user’s life by a small amount. Decreases stamina usage</span><br><br>That was the Endurance Stat, which was also generated during the fight. Lili said that it boosted HP and physical defense and can be raised by taking Melee attacks. Alternatively, I could also add points to this, but why would someone do that?<br><br>Overall, my fight with the pack of wolves had been a very useful and rewarding one. Even it did prove that my pacifist notions were purely delusional and self-satisfying.<br><br>Not that I would mention that to Lili anyway.<br><br>"More importantly, what are we to do with the kid?"<br><br>I made a gesture pointing out the kid, who was sleeping like a log by the fire.<br><br>"Don't look at me, I'm a busy girl. I can't take him."<br><br>Lili had taken time off her work at a guild that she's in to come and look for me. She had spent a month away already and was due to head back to clear off the work that has piled up in her absence. She mentioned all this while shooting a dirty look at me. What? It's not as though I knew that she would come and find me, right?<br><br>Incidentally, I imagined Lili at the smithy, hard at work. With her heavily tanned skin, the long grey hair that she sported in-game and rather athletic looks, I was given the impression that she looked the part. It's no wonder that she was invited to a guild. The fact that Blacksmithing is a popular skill to have didn't hurt either.<br><br>Scowling to myself, I realized that this means that I have to take care of the kid somehow. He probably won't survive out there in the wilderness by himself.<br><br>"Besides, he still owes me money," I grumbled to myself. I made the decision to work the poor child harder next time.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">Growl....</span><br><br>Was that another wolf?<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">Growl...</span><br><br>"Owwwwh... I just realized. I'm starving..." Lili admitted while blushing.<br><br>I didn't say it, but I felt rather hungry as well. That Rabbit Skewer and bread seemed to be an eternity ago...<br><br>"Hang on, I'll make something. I wanted to try something out. For now, eat this."<br><br>I handed her a piece of rabbit jerky as I rummaged through my pack.<br><br>And dug out a hunk of flesh.<br><br>It was from the alpha wolf that I killed earlier. It was the only loot I got from that fight, too, other than its pelt and some copper coins.<br><br>"Ah, sweet misfortune..." I wasn't able to get the loot from the other wolves, which considering my level and current financial status in-game, kinda sucked.<br><br>It was balanced out by the acquisition of several skills and the Endurance stat, anyway.<br><br>I lathered some oil onto the wolf hank, and seasoned it with paprika, salt and pepper.<br><br>"It didn't come cheap, so I best use it sparingly..."<br><br>I rammed the Spear Shaft through the flesh, and used it as a spit.<br><br>"At least you have another use..."<br><br>Blatant abuse of the resources available to you!!<br><br>The Spear Shaft had an Unbreakable Rune carved onto it, so I'm guessing that that includes not getting scorched and burnt by fire.<br><br>"Here, I'll fix that chain mail for you."<br><br>"Ah, thank you."<br><br>I handed my chain mail to Lili, who tapped the suit with her hammer and said in a loud, clear voice:<br><br>"Repair."<br><br>A flash of light, and my chain mail was as good as new.<br><br>"Amazing!!" I shouted excitedly.<br><br>"It's nothing, really. If you come to the smithy I can probably improve it properly."<br><br>All this was said with a serious look. When it comes to work, Lili doesn't mess around. I didn't mention to her that I could repair it myself, but her Repair skill was definitely a lot higher than mine, since it restored the Durability of my chain mail all the way to its maximum.<br><br>A delicious smell filled the air as the wolf meat slowly cooked.<br><br>The child stirred awake at the smell. Rubbing his eyes sleepily, he asked in a groggy voice:<br><br>"... What's for dinner, Mama?"<br><br>"You'll have to pay if you want to eat..." Veins could be seen throbbing at my temple as I said that.<br><br>Lili swatted my head with the hammer.<br><br>"Don't be mean, Howard. Share your food."<br><br>"Kuh..."<br><br>Karma had come to bite me for all my cruel deeds. Or, in this case, swat me in the face with a hammer.<br><br>Lili could well be the spiritual successor of my older sister, as surprisingly violent as she could be at times.<br><br>The hunk of wolf meat was soon ready to be served.<br><br>Despite the blackened appearance, the meat parted easily from the bone, revealing bright pinkish-white flesh, a stark contrast. No matter what others may say about animal abuse, it tasted great. There was barely any fat from the meat, and the meat had the taste of iron in it.<br><br>I reached out for another piece... only to find that there wasn't any left. I looked up and saw the kid with a big portion. Of MY meat.<br><br>Munch, munch, munch...<br><br>"Got another piece?"<br><br>That kid eats too damn much!!!<br><br>Lili smiled kindly at the kid.<br><br>"He's a growing child now. Eat more and grow big and strong."<br><br>Don't go on and encourage him!! It's not your food he's eating!!<br><br>Sighing to myself, I took out a piece of stale bread from my backpack and chewed it with a vindictiveness that would have killed any aspiring appetites.<br><br>Charity is one thing, but I'm being eaten out of house and home here...<br><br>*******************************************************************************************************<br>My word count seems to grow each time I write. Hopefully I don't burn out...<br><br>Off to my busy busy weekend. </div>

Author's note: Like I said, I might not be able to post on my preferred timing because my weekend was ridiculously packed, so I'm posting this chapter early. So... yeah... you know. *awkward hand gestures*. >.< Having done this, I bid thee Good night. May the songs of angels sing thee to thy rest. * "Isn't it obvious? I aim to be the Emperor one day. I came out here to train myself." "..." Children have big dreams indeed... Now that I had a closer look, he (or is it a she?) was dressed in traveler's garb, and had a small backpack on his (or her) back. He (or she) had short honey-colored hair and blue eyes. Naturally, as a child, he (or she) was short and had a slim build. A scabbard is slung around the back, holding what appeared to be a sword about as tall as the child itself. Either a little boy or an extremely tomboyish girl. Possibilities have to be noted, after all. "I see." "Hey, I'm pretty tough, you know?" The child performed a guts pose. Rather than laugh at this incredibly precocious child, I decided to ask a couple of questions to satisfy my curiosity. "Ok, did you get a weapon?" "Sure I did." The child smoothly unsheathed the sword slung on his (or her bag). Despite its size, he (or she) held it easily without too much strain. "So you know how to fight?" "Are you questioning your future Emperor?" Already an egomaniac at this age?! Well, if he (or she) is out there now,currently he (or she) should be easily level 10 or higher. Especially since he had that iron sword, which is not easily available to beginners who were just starting out. Either way, he should be higher than me, a level 6 Spear man that was not even properly armed. But the kid didn't know that, and with my extra stats, I could probably bluff it out. I chuckled to myself and said: "Hm hm hm... You do have to earn your keep after all." I smiled as the child nodded happily at my response, but that smile soon turned into a rather evil sneer as I continued: "... Especially for my meat. You ate too much." Able to fight or not, he (or she?) did gnaw his or her way through nearly all of my rabbit meat skewers. "Didn't Mama say that a thank you will suffice?" "..." I smacked the self-proclaimed young Emperor on the head with my Spear Shaft, resembling what that monkey did in the Lion King. What? Some of the Woodpecker's anger management methods did rub off on me after on (via my face)... "Owie..." The child clutched his or her head painfully. "Your mama should teach you some manners. You'll pay for your meal somehow. You said you can fight now right? Come along now..." Grabbing the arms, I dragged the child out to the field to hunt. The child struggled, but to no avail. Oddly, this feels like de javu... Child or not, Girl or Boy, Emperor or otherwise, people shall pay for my food if they eat it. Even if it does probably suck. ** With my newly obtained... erm... Royal Slave in tow, I went out a bit further into the wilderness where stronger mobs were found since rabbits got boring. In the distance, I could see hunting parties as they attacked spawn. ... No, I do not condone slave labor. How dare you imply this. I am offended, dear reader. I am merely collecting on the debt owed to me. Do not misunderstand. Anyways, it seemed that the hunting party was full, so I decided to hunt on my own. Being in a large party like this would slow me down anyway. "Alright, time to work up a sweat!! And you, just pay back for all the skewers you ate..." "Rabbit meat isn't worth much anyway..." "Exactly, so this should be quick." I acted dumb to his smart talk. I have also decided that I'm just going to settle for him being a male now. Possibilities be damned. "There's one!!" In the distance, a fox appeared, distinctive orange fur with bushy tail standing out in the green field. "I'll take that one." Spear shaft in a two handed grip, I jabbed at the fox to see what he would do. He naturally avoided the attack, leaping backwards and landing on all fours. Naturally, foxes are just as fast as rabbits, but are stronger and just a bit more dangerous. They are predatory animals after all. However, foxes don't attack larger animals. And so, the fox was largely attacking in self-defense here. The fox stood its ground, hackles raised, hair standing on end. Oh dear, it seems that I provoked the little guy. He dashed at me with reckless abandon. Judging the distance and trajectory, I took a step sideways, avoiding its attack. Then, swinging the spear shaft, I spun on the spot and struck the fox hard on the spine, and heard bone crack. With a small bark, the fox fell onto the ground, limbs twitching. A large portion of the hp bar on his head disappeared. I quickly struck him on the back another time to end his suffering. The fox disappeared in a grey flash, leaving behind a fox pelt. Fox meat wasn't very good, but the pelt can at least be used to make things and be sold for a good price to traders. I picked up my loot, and cast around to look for another spawn. "Oryaaaaaaaaaaah!!" The child meanwhile, was swinging his sword in wide arcs, trying to get at a fox he had found. His size meant that he could use different attacks to attack the otherwise small and difficult to hit fox, but his movements were wild and untrained. The fox easily dodged the attacks. Moreover, he seemed to be tiring. It's not a big surprise, that sword's too big for him despite first impressions. At least, I thought that anyway. I carefully sneaked up to the fox that was taunting my little helper, and struck it once on the head, hard. [You have dealt a fatal critical blow.] The fox faded in a grey flash, leaving behind loot. "I could have had him..." the child sulked. "Probably not. You were tiring. Swinging your sword like that isn't effective. You have to watch the enemy carefully and strike when the opponent reveals an opening." Words from my wise mentor, Kite. It was easy for me to say, even if I'm still a novice in the way of combat... Still, the boy had pretty good grit and determination. And he could have a lot of potential. I patted his head, and took out some bandages and gauze to patch him up a little bit. "Don't worry, you'll get the next one." *** The hunt therefore continued. By the time we finished, it was nearly sundown. I took a different approach this time. I would strike at the foxes to impede their movements, and have my newly-minted "junior" come in for the last hit. "There!! Go on, attack!!" I had struck a fox on the side, causing it to stagger. My "junior" came in and stabbed it with his short sword. The fox disappeared in a grey flash, leaving its pelt, and a couple of bones. "Yeah, I did it!! I did it!!" The child was leaping in joy. "Come now, runt, it's just the beginning..." I decided to be a killjoy at this point. Can't let him get cocky, he still owes me 10 skewers worth. It was also getting dark, so it was best to get the kid back into the city where it's safe. Besides, we had gained several levels today. It had been a good hunt. Growl... "Are you hungry?" "No, that wasn't my stomach." Thank god, I only had my rabbit jerky left. But with that aside, if that wasn't him... Instincts screaming danger, I quickly stepped to the side. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a silver blur brush past me. On the spot where I was, a wolf had pounced on, a raging grey blur of fur and fangs and claws. Wolves were a step higher up from the foxes that we had been hunting. They were pretty large, with a beautiful grey coat, and their limbs were well-muscled. Wolves also often hunt in packs. "Crap..." At our current levels, it wasn't impossible for us to beat a wolf, but we had lost some hp fighting the spawn. The wolf had caught us napping. In addition... since it was night... HOOOOOOOWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO... The wolf howled. It was a bloodcurdling sound, and echoed in the distance. Mobs also become much stronger at night, and gain certain abilities. They do give a much larger chunk of experience as a result, but the added difficulty made it not worth pursuing unless you had a good party with you, and even then you'll have to hunt at a certain rate to break even. The wolf in front of me, looking at the name and bar over it, was a level 7 mob. At night, it was the equivalent of a level 10 or 11 monster. Growl... And it brought friends, too. Glowing red eyes could be seen in the shadows. I'm guessing about 7 to 10 of them... The wolf moved leisurely. With such an overwhelming advantage, it could easily take its time to finish us. "Kid. Move behind me." "But..." "Do it!!" I took a stance. It had first appeared in the skill book when the Ash Spear Shaft was further identified by the Old Blacksmith. I braced my feet firmly against the ground, and presented my full body to the wolf pack. My spear shaft was held in a balanced manner, with equal space devoted to both sides. First stance of the Empty Spear: Balancer. That was the name that I have given to this skill. First stance of the Empty Spear: Balancer The first stance of several learnt by initiates of the Nomadic Order of the Spear before heading off on their pilgrimage. This one contributes equal portions to attack and defense, making this a well balanced stance. Beginner Level 1/0%: Adds 10% STR, 10% AGI and 10% VIT as long as you stay in this stance. Certain movements become easier in this stance. Consumes 1 Stamina per second. It was the form first learnt and used by the travelling Spearmen who didn't have a proper form for their spear, devoting equal parts to all manner of spear technique... With this and my inflated stats from training at the Warrior's Guild, I could definitely take out several wolves and buy some time for the kid to get back to town. Or just beat them up anyway and take all the drops for myself, kid be damned. You decide, readers!! "Hey kid..." "???" "When I tell you to run, run as fast as you can back to town, and bring help. I'll hold them off until then." "Eh? But I want to figh-" "There's no time for games. Now go!!" The kid scarpered. That was when the Pack attacked, attempting to get past me to attack the kid. Racking my head for ways to deal with this situation, I then quickly recalled Kite's words: "When slashing or smashing, it is dependent on the rotation of your hips as well as your hands and arms..." Acting on this small piece of advice, the spear shaft moved in small, quick arcs, striking each of the wolves on different spots on their bodies. They fell back, whining pitifully. It was somewhat like rowing a kayak in reverse. With swiping hooks using both ends of the Spear Shaft, I was able to force most of the wolf pack back. The others that managed to get past me dashed off in pursuit of the kid. I would wish him luck, but he's ridiculously feisty. He should be fine. I put on my intimidating face. The wolfs cowered a little bit, but recovered and stood their ground. My Fighting Spirit was still around level 25, so it wasn't very effective yet. However, a little goes a long way. The fighting spirit stat has this effect of weakening low level mobs. Also; "OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" The Fighting Spirit stat also gives a war cry that boosts my strength for a short period of time! The sun set behind me as I begin to face off against insurmountable odds. I charged at the wolf pack. **** "Hah... hah..." The child was running for his dear life. Baying sounds could be heard, as well as the rustling of grass as he made his way through the fields under the dark starry sky. Behind him, two wolves were chasing him. Their beautiful fur coats reflected the bright moon light, and their foot falls made no sound as they pursued their quarry. They didn't seem to be tiring either. "Must get to town... Woah!!" A wolf had instinctively judged the distance to be good and pounced. It was only by good fortune that it missed, but now it was blocking the way. It got up and slowly approached. Behind the child, its companion also caught up. They slowly closed the gap, two wolves coming in a pincer formation. The child desperately looked around. The escape routes were slowly disappearing as the wolves closed up the space between them. "If I'm going down... I won't go quietly!!" The child drew his short sword. The sword tip wavered as his arms trembled. His pulse was maxing out as he looked nervously from left to right. The wolves didn't seem to be bothered. They continued to approach, taking their own sweet time, as though mocking him... As animals, they had little compassion. It was to eat or be eaten. Even this child, in their eyes, can be seen as food. The wolves pounced. Intimidated by the sight, the child instinctively closed his eyes. Sounds of crunching and snarling could be heard. ***** It was like a scene from a martial arts movie. Thinking back on this, it was a pretty exciting experience. The wolves pounced at me in a bid to slowly wear me down. It was a standard technique used by pack animals against much larger prey. I responded accordingly. Catching one with one end of the Spear Shaft, I flung him to the ground, and brought the shaft down in a vicious vertical swing. That knocked a considerable amount of hp off the wolf. I pushed the end of the spear shaft against the ground, allowing me to recover and narrowly dodge another wolf. I didn't dodge it completely, and he grazed my face. The blood felt pretty warm as it ran down my face. [You have lost 3% of your HP.] I jabbed my spear shaft at yet another wolf that pounced at me, causing it to reel back in pain. Spinning on the spot, I catch two more with horizontal swings. So far, so good. Other than losing a small amount of hit points, I am actually holding my own against a vicious pack of wolves. At night. And they are hungry. .... Only in Virtual Reality. And yet they still kept coming. Heavily outnumbered and outmaneuvered, I was forced to go on the defensive. I spun and twirled the spear shaft as the wolves cautiously approach. The movement created a "shield" of sorts, dissuading them from getting too ambitious. I carefully observed the situation around me. It was best to hunt down the leader in this situation. Once I take down the leader, the others will mill about in confusion, allowing me to make my escape or perhaps, kill them a bit easier. The wolf pelts can be sold off for a good price, or used to make good gear for upgrades. Also, I have heard good things about wolf meat. "To think I would think of money and food in a situation like this... First, kill your wolves, then think about what you will do with them..." I grinned to myself as I thought of this. This author begs forgiveness for any innuendo that may be derived from that sentence, unintentional as it was. As I slowly fought back against the never ending sea of grey... I noticed. There! A wolf was staying behind, growling and snarling, as though giving orders to the others. It was much larger than the others. There is a good chance that this particular wolf was the leader. However, between me and the leader, was a vicious, bloodthirsty, and very possibly hungry pack of wolves. I needed to break through somehow, but without getting shredded to dog kibbles by the wolves. Luckily, Spearmen tend to be good at breaking through defensive lines in most games, and Royal Road wasn't any different. I dropped the Balancer Stance, and took up the stance that Kite had taught me. Facing sideways, with non-master hand leading. It wasn't recognized as an official skill by the game, but I had decided to dub it the Fencer stance since it reminded me of this from back when I took fencing as a casual hobby back in College. It adopted an extremely linear approach to offense, and was good in one-on-one fights. It wasn't the stance I would not have used in the earlier situation, but for this one... "Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!!" I braced my feet against the ground and dashed, the spear shaft pointing forward. A reckless charge at the leader. The wolves instinctively parted as though sensing danger. Which makes it all the more easier to get to the leader. The leader noticed my reckless charge and leaped sideways to try and dodge my attack. "Where are you escaping to?!" Momentum provided by the charge, I leapt upwards. It was a skill I had always wanted to use myself from all the Final Fantasy Games I played in the past. No, it was not Omnislash, or Firega, or something like that. It was simply known as Jump. A high jump, using the weight and acceleration to land heavily and attack an opponent. It was a skill that won't be seen in other games, but was made possible in Virtual Reality. I put my weight behind the attack, pointing the spear downwards and aiming my landing at the wolf. It worked beautifully. The alpha had just recovered from his jump and had little time to react. The end of the spear buried itself in the wolf's neck. It may be blunt without a spear head, but the striking surface area was small and therefore created a ton of pressure, crushing the bone and throat and killing the leader, the hp bar disappearing instantly. It disappeared quickly in a grey flash, leaving behind a wolf pelt and some copper coins. "There, that's one down..." I made to pick up my loot. Suddenly, I felt claws striking at my back. It hurt, but the chain mail protected me from the worst of the damage. [You have lost 7% of your HP.] "Crap..." I shook off the offending wolf, and faced the remainder of the pack. Who should have fallen into disarray by the death of their leader, yet they had remained cohesive as a group. I was too careless. I should have switched my attention to the others once I was done with the leader. Moreover, the death of one of their kind seemed to have galvanized the others. One of the wolves howled. [Wolf's Bloody Vengeance activated. Wolves gain 30% attack and agility for 2 hours.] "Eh? They have a skill like this?" I didn't know this until later, but wolves are very social creatures. They may be savage and kill off those that may hold them back in the hunt, but they are extremely caring and have been seen to express emotions over certain events. In this case, Revenge for the death of their friend and leader. As one pack, the wolves charged. It was a different approach from the earlier hit and run tactics they employed against me. It was such a terrifying side, that one cannot help but cower at it. "Darn it!!" I shook off the fear, and rushed at the cohesive group. As the wolves are now bunched up together, it was more effective to use attacks with a wide area of effect to hit multiple mobs are once. But the wolves milled about and attacked like a swarm of piranhas, making this difficult. In the bloody melee, finesse and stances were forgotten. Instead of techniques and skills, it was swing and hit and hit and hit!! It was an all-out battle for survival and supremacy over the other. I threw all caution to the wind and focused all my efforts into attacking. My excitement grew to a fever pitch. A wild horizontal swing caught several wolves at once. A vicious vertical swing broke the spine of another. Stabs jabbed into throats and sent them reeling back to be struck hard by the spear shaft. As the fight wore on, my senses were blurred as blood flew everywhere. Pain was somehow dulled as adrenaline flooded the body. The wolves' attacks were taking their toll on me. [You have lost 2% of your HP.] [You have lost 5% of your HP.] [You are bleeding badly from several places. Your HP will slowly decrease.] My muscles screamed at the agony of recklessly swinging the spear shaft over and over again. My HP was surely falling into the critical range. I must have gotten half a dozen injuries by now. Yet, somehow, as though by some miracle, I didn't stop fighting. As though I needed to make my point. Pent-up emotions were unleashed in a roiling fury. My blood flow slowed to a crawl. My blows, far from weakening, actually became stronger instead. The wolves were extremely frightened by the mad man in front of them that was swinging the long stick wildly in vicious arcs. Several of them retreated with the tail between their legs. "WHERE ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRE YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOU GOOOOOOOOOOOOOINNNNNNG!!!" A visceral sound tore out loudly from my throat. I bash aside the wolves that stayed behind to fight and chased after them, breaking legs and bones with swings from the spear shaft. And then I saw a little child running over. He was dressed in the traveler's garb. At this point, I was indiscriminately attacking anything fell in my line of sight. Screaming bloody murder, I rushed at the child. I probably wasn't in control at this point... A heavy force struck the back of my head, striking a sweet spot and overloading the brain with many signals. The world around me faded to grey. ****** "Geez... Howard, I knew you would like this game, but not to that level of immersion." "Heh heh heh... ow..." I winced as I rubbed the giant bump that had swelled up on the back of my head. The culprit that gave me that wound, a girl with a bandanna tied around her long grey hair, handed me a cup of tea as we sat around a fire. The child curled up at the corner, fast asleep. I took a sip. Bitter... Best add milk and 2 sugars to it. But there wasn't any. "By the way, who are you again?" "You haven't lost your memory as well right?" Bad attempts at humor aside, I had woke up by a fire, body heavily covered by bandages. My body felt incredibly refreshed. I heard crying at the corner. When I turned my head to find out where it was coming from, I got a faceful of hammer, and fell unconscious again. Either way, "Lilee" or rather, Lili as I knew her in real life, was red in the face as she recounted what she saw. "I was passing through the gates when I saw the kid being surrounded by wolves. I smacked them around on the head with my hammer and he told me what happened." I nodded, slowly drinking my tea as Lili warmed up to her theme, speaking excitedly with hands balled into fists. "Either way, it was amazing how you managed to take on so many monsters at once with just a stick!!" "That was not a stick..." I felt incredibly hurt by my weapon being belittled like this, even it wasn't complete yet. "I don't care. You must tell me what happened so far while you were playing through the game!! Why is your level so low?!" Apparently, most casual players would have gotten to level 15 or higher halfway through their second month. I was level 8 during that time, although my fight with the wolves had just bumped it up to 9. I allocated the points to Agility, reasoning that speed would increase my damage as well. By the way, Lili is a Blacksmith, level 60. She had also just started playing Royal Road as well, although she had played the game longer than me, which means that she's ahead of me in terms of experience. Still, I regaled her with tales of my relatively uneventful adventure so far. "Owh... so you became a Spearman huh..." I nodded. As strange and weak as the name sounds, I had the impression from what I saw so far seems that it had a surprising side to it. "Isn't that a cannon fodder class?" WHAT?! "Say that again..." Veins were throbbing as I said this in a threatening tone. "... It's my first time seeing a class like this so..." Lili shrugged. Well, the Spearman IS a hidden class... "So what is it that you actually do?" "Well..." I still had no idea what that class did at this point. All I was told was to go on a pilgrimage to where ever I felt like going so as to imprint my immature soul with experiences... I mentioned the above to Lili, who rested her chin on her hand as she considered this... "So you are an adventurer then?" "Well, you could put it that way..." "Huh... you did get an interesting job after all. As expected of Howard. For someone who said that he will quit within the month, you wasted no time adapting quickly to the game. And to achieve that kind of battle immersion in a small period of time..." A scowl formed on my face. It was purely out of self defense. Who would have thought that I would get carried away with the fighting? I am a natural-born pacifist (self-proclaimed). I do not strike unless provoked (delusional). Such denials of bloodthirsty instincts were quickly dismissed in the face of the evidence. Two new skills were generated through the Nomadic Imprint ability during the fight: Combat Immersion: Cloud your mind with the heat of battle, sharpening combat instincts and reflexes. Activated automatically during combat, and deactivates when at rest. Pain is dulled when the skill is active. [Beginner Level 2/5%: +4% Agility, +6% movement speed during combat.] Berserk Impulse Lose control of your actions for a massive increase in power and hp regeneration. Activated automatically when your HP falls to a set level. Your actions are automatically set to offensive movements, attacking indiscriminately with no regard for defense. Pain is dulled and bleeding is stopped when the skill is active. [Beginner Level 1/55%: +20% STR, +10% Fighting Spirit, HP Regeneration boosted by 50% when HP falls below 20%. Completely unable to control one's actions when skill is active.] Both of those skills are great, but the requirement was ridiculous. Berserk Impulse required me to lose control of my actions in exchange for a ridiculous amount of power. Kind of like making yourself be controlled by an AI that was set on "Easy" difficulty. It was a powerful skill, but it was dangerous. I could easily kill myself and the people around me if I let myself go out of control like that. And then it turns out that I could not delete the skill. It must be part of the pilgrimage I was going through. On the other side of the coin, Combat Immersion accelerated the senses. It was a good skill to have, but tricky to utilize in combat. The requirement is relatively safe as compared to Berserk Impulse though. Both skills dulled pain from attacks taken, which could be dangerous, but will be useful for raising the new stat that was generated. Endurance: Reduces physical damage inflicted by the enemy. Increases the user’s life by a small amount. Decreases stamina usage That was the Endurance Stat, which was also generated during the fight. Lili said that it boosted HP and physical defense and can be raised by taking Melee attacks. Alternatively, I could also add points to this, but why would someone do that? Overall, my fight with the pack of wolves had been a very useful and rewarding one. Even it did prove that my pacifist notions were purely delusional and self-satisfying. Not that I would mention that to Lili anyway. "More importantly, what are we to do with the kid?" I made a gesture pointing out the kid, who was sleeping like a log by the fire. "Don't look at me, I'm a busy girl. I can't take him." Lili had taken time off her work at a guild that she's in to come and look for me. She had spent a month away already and was due to head back to clear off the work that has piled up in her absence. She mentioned all this while shooting a dirty look at me. What? It's not as though I knew that she would come and find me, right? Incidentally, I imagined Lili at the smithy, hard at work. With her heavily tanned skin, the long grey hair that she sported in-game and rather athletic looks, I was given the impression that she looked the part. It's no wonder that she was invited to a guild. The fact that Blacksmithing is a popular skill to have didn't hurt either. Scowling to myself, I realized that this means that I have to take care of the kid somehow. He probably won't survive out there in the wilderness by himself. "Besides, he still owes me money," I grumbled to myself. I made the decision to work the poor child harder next time. Growl.... Was that another wolf? Growl... "Owwwwh... I just realized. I'm starving..." Lili admitted while blushing. I didn't say it, but I felt rather hungry as well. That Rabbit Skewer and bread seemed to be an eternity ago... "Hang on, I'll make something. I wanted to try something out. For now, eat this." I handed her a piece of rabbit jerky as I rummaged through my pack. And dug out a hunk of flesh. It was from the alpha wolf that I killed earlier. It was the only loot I got from that fight, too, other than its pelt and some copper coins. "Ah, sweet misfortune..." I wasn't able to get the loot from the other wolves, which considering my level and current financial status in-game, kinda sucked. It was balanced out by the acquisition of several skills and the Endurance stat, anyway. I lathered some oil onto the wolf hank, and seasoned it with paprika, salt and pepper. "It didn't come cheap, so I best use it sparingly..." I rammed the Spear Shaft through the flesh, and used it as a spit. "At least you have another use..." Blatant abuse of the resources available to you!! The Spear Shaft had an Unbreakable Rune carved onto it, so I'm guessing that that includes not getting scorched and burnt by fire. "Here, I'll fix that chain mail for you." "Ah, thank you." I handed my chain mail to Lili, who tapped the suit with her hammer and said in a loud, clear voice: "Repair." A flash of light, and my chain mail was as good as new. "Amazing!!" I shouted excitedly. "It's nothing, really. If you come to the smithy I can probably improve it properly." All this was said with a serious look. When it comes to work, Lili doesn't mess around. I didn't mention to her that I could repair it myself, but her Repair skill was definitely a lot higher than mine, since it restored the Durability of my chain mail all the way to its maximum. A delicious smell filled the air as the wolf meat slowly cooked. The child stirred awake at the smell. Rubbing his eyes sleepily, he asked in a groggy voice: "... What's for dinner, Mama?" "You'll have to pay if you want to eat..." Veins could be seen throbbing at my temple as I said that. Lili swatted my head with the hammer. "Don't be mean, Howard. Share your food." "Kuh..." Karma had come to bite me for all my cruel deeds. Or, in this case, swat me in the face with a hammer. Lili could well be the spiritual successor of my older sister, as surprisingly violent as she could be at times. The hunk of wolf meat was soon ready to be served. Despite the blackened appearance, the meat parted easily from the bone, revealing bright pinkish-white flesh, a stark contrast. No matter what others may say about animal abuse, it tasted great. There was barely any fat from the meat, and the meat had the taste of iron in it. I reached out for another piece... only to find that there wasn't any left. I looked up and saw the kid with a big portion. Of MY meat. Munch, munch, munch... "Got another piece?" That kid eats too damn much!!! Lili smiled kindly at the kid. "He's a growing child now. Eat more and grow big and strong." Don't go on and encourage him!! It's not your food he's eating!! Sighing to myself, I took out a piece of stale bread from my backpack and chewed it with a vindictiveness that would have killed any aspiring appetites. Charity is one thing, but I'm being eaten out of house and home here... ******************************************************************************************************* My word count seems to grow each time I write. Hopefully I don't burn out... Off to my busy busy weekend.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> *<br><br>Deep in the confines of a popular dungeon.<br><br>A young traveling warrior has somehow swept his way to the deepest part on his own, and is currently facing off against the boss of the dungeon, the Kobold Chieftain. The Kobold is armed with a heavy two-handed mace, and swung it with reckless abandon, often sweeping aside parties with impunity. Its blows are often said to be impossible to block.<br><br>However, the warrior had seemed to easily avoid and parry the clumsy but vicious attacks, and has even managed to land several decisive blows on the boss unit, causing its hp to drop significantly.<br><br>Rumors of the dungeon hunt soon spread like wildfire to the other dungeon crawlers, and they wondered about the one who had managed such an impressive feat.<br><br>"Could he be that guy..."<br><br>"But he was poorly armed and ill-prepared!!"<br><br>"It is feasible if that warrior was at a high level, but I heard rumors that state otherwise..."<br><br>"Did he somehow find a way to break the game?"<br><br>"HAX!!"<br><br>Regardless of the rumors, several things were clear about the warrior, that he was at a really low level, was equipped with a quarter staff, and utilized a rather unusual skill set.<br><br>With great interest, some people who were near the deepest part of the dungeon began making their way to the deepest part of the dungeon, hoping to catch a glimpse of that promising individual.<br><br>**<br><br>Good grief. It's nothing too special right?<br><br>I was currently still in battle against the Chieftain.<br><br>Of course, I managed to notice several people standing there, watching with interest. It's rather distracting, you know?<br><br>I decided to act like I didn't see them and focused on fighting the boss monster, which is currently trying to take my head with a vertical swing.<br><br>Like I have done before, I stepped into the blow and used the spear shaft that I am currently equipped with to intercept the attack, catching the mace by the shaft and deflecting the attack slightly to narrowly avoid the attack.<br><br>The swing gone off angle, the Kobold Chieftain was again stuck in a recovery position, and is thus vulnerable. I took that chance to counterattack, using a combination sequence that I practiced back at the Warrior's Guild.<br><br>A horizontal smash aimed at the legs was followed up by bashing at the right side to further stagger the chieftain. Following this, I fired off several stabs at its abdomen, which had a low recovery time and thus let me narrowly dodge the return strike as the chieftain finally recovered.<br><br>So far, so good. I have been steadily wearing down the Chieftain for some time now, making sure that I didn't squander my stamina too quickly. Blows were aimed at the legs and sides to slow down movement and impede its ability to swing the mace effectively.<br>Yet, no matter how I did this, the HP bar of the Chieftain fell too slowly. I needed a decisive blow, and the openings presented so far were too narrow to exploit properly. As such, if it drags down to a war of attrition between my current level of stamina against his HP, the Chieftain's massive life force and boss-level defenses would surely prevail.<br><br>This is a case where my lack of attack skills had come to haunt me. An attack skill for warriors acts as an amplifier, drastically improving damage with additional bonuses. However, as a spear man, I had no such skills, and as such could only fall back on using my skill set to buff and increase the potency of my normal attacks. However, an attack skill would surely increase my damage at a far greater rate.<br><br>If I still had my knife to use as a rudimentary spear head, it would have been a different story, but unfortunately it was destroyed when I lost control under the influence of the skill Berserk Impulse fighting the Goblin War Party.<br><br>Hmmm... Perhaps if I can use Berserk Impulse, I would be able to ride on the extra power provided to beat the Chieftain. But the current requirements of the skill needed my current HP to be below about 10-11%, as well as the loss of player control.<br><br>At my current level, a successful blow from the Chieftain will one-shot me from that range, regardless of the extra power and HP regeneration that the skill gives. I couldn't risk losing my control at this juncture.<br><br>As such, you could well say that my current fighting style is defensive, even conservative in nature. That skill is and should be a finisher and a last resort in that situation.<br><br>Nevertheless, I wondered if there is a way to add considerable power to my blows without the use of that skill.<br>Thus far, Kite's teachings had let me improve the power of my attacks, using martial arts to target weak spots and deal critical damage. I shuffled through my memories of that short training period spent with my mentor, racking my brains for a path at victory...<br><br>Well, there was that Jump skill, but it would be really risky to use, and is not exactly a official skill... Well, if I don't have an attack skill, I may as well create one right?<br><br>Now, how do I go about doing this...<br><br>I decided to use the idea of martial arts, gathering life energy (ki) and channeling it somehow.<br><br>Normally, a player only needed to say the name of the skill in order to use it, and the respective mana cost will be paid automatically. However, using a skill and making a skill are two entirely different things. At least, from what I can tell.<br><br>No one even knows if making an attack skill is even possible, but it wouldn't hurt to try, right? I had the Spearman trait of the Nomadic Imprint, which will generate a new skill if I can meet the conditions. As far as I'm concerned, it was a really good cheat skill since I can create skills to address certain situations, the only weakness being low skill proficiency as a result.<br><br>As such, I decided to experiment.<br><br>"Channel and build up mana to the weapon to build up the momentum and power of attacks..."<br><br>It's a bit complicated to explain, but I took a reference from another RPG game that I used to play.<br><br>Using just normal attacks, I would channel mana to another separate pool (the Spear Shaft), building up the mana pool with each successive hit. As the combination sequence count builds up, that mana pool gets larger and larger, and the power of my attacks would increase.<br>In a way, I am making my own attack amplifier.<br><br>The only issue was that once I stop hitting, that mana pool diminishes quickly and that built up power disappears.<br>Nevertheless, it seems to be working. A larger amount of hp was struck off the Chieftain each time I fired off a sequence during an opening.<br><br>"Well, it's a start."<br><br>The chieftain seemed to be tiring, his blows becoming slower and easier to predict. By contrast, my attacks only got more powerful over the course of the battle. As such, my fighting spirit stat soon came into play, causing the Chieftain to weaken further and sealing the deal for me.<br><br>The Chieftain didn't give up however, attempting a final gambit by gathering mana and unleashing an attack skill known as Explosive Smasher. I responded in kind with a basic vertical smash, which was bolstered by the built up mana. The two weapons clashed, the impact exploding outwards in a wave.<br><br>The resulting explosion caused both weapons to rebound, the force of the blows forcing our arms up in a jarring position. An large opening had finally exposed itself.<br><br>Well, simply put, my weapon was lighter and I recovered first, bringing the spear shaft down again on the Chieftain's head. The rest of its HP disappeared and the Kobold Chieftain keeled over comically, vanishing in a grey flash and leaving behind the giant mace that it wielded.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">[You have leveled once to level 26.]</span><br><br>Ignoring the crowds of people that had watched my fight with interest, I quickly picked up the dropped loot and somehow escaped from the dungeon.<br><br>***<br><br>It was another peaceful day today for him<br><br>The sea opens up, presenting an infinitely blue canvas that is constant churning and flowing.<br><br>He sat leisurely at the edge of the fishing boat, net currently hung below the boat. In his hand he held a long fishing rod with ease.<br><br>Ever since that dinner, he endeavored to go into the finer points of fishing, seeking out masters of the craft and trading different methods of fishing with them. Secrets and rumors swapped hands, enriching and improving the lives of many as they implemented them into their routine.<br>It was quiet except for the sound of the waves that moved about rhythmically, lulling him to sleep.<br><br>The boat resembled a cradle for him, and would probably be his grave as well. He was in his natural element, and felt completely as ease in its gentle and familiar embrace.<br><br>However, over the salty fresh air of the sea breeze, there was a faint smell in the air. Something... disturbing and foreign.<br><br>He ignored it and was slowly dozing off.<br><br>BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.<br><br>The sounds of explosions could suddenly be heard over the tempestuous waves. It sounded distant, but it was there nonetheless.<br><br>He was jolted awake by the noise, and still under the influence of sleep, he drowsily sought out the source of that disturbance.<br><br>What he saw caused him to fully awake, eyes widening at the size.<br><br>In the distance, that sleepy village that he called home and worked so hard to improve was in flames.<br><br>****<br><br>"Yeah, tonight we eat!!"<br><br>I carefully counted the money that I had earned after selling the mace to an aspiring knight. I sincerely prayed for the safety of the monsters that he comes up against, having faced that weapon myself.<br><br>Not only that, the denizens of the dungeon had dropped some loot as well. I also gained an immense number of levels from the hunt, putting me at level 26 overall from level 11.<br><br>Overall, it has been a very lucrative experience for me, and I really looked forward to the next dungeon.<br>"This much money should be able to feed us for a long while, right..." I hefted my money pouch carefully with a calculative look on my face.<br>Even while I had earned a fair amount of money from the dungeon, I still had to consider all this... Oh, the troubles of having kids...<br>I wonder about that though. If I just choose to leave behind that meddlesome duo and strike it out on my own, I can easily afford a few upgrades on my equipment...<br><br>Food problems wouldn't be so large an issue anymore.<br><br>And I would be able to go back to leveling at a brisk pace.<br><br>"Kids are indeed troublesome..." I sighed.<br><br>I decided to settle a few things before I moved on, but for now I should probably wait for the two to return. As tempting as striking out solo sounds, well, it wouldn't be the same without that kid, you know? Thus far, most of my adventure had been defined and shaped by the people around me, that kid included.<br><br>So call me a sentimental fool, but that was what I feel about the whole issue.<br><br>"Alright, first things first... I have to get a stockpile of meat up..."<br><br>I made my way back to the forest, where I heard the sounds of marching, and a cadence being called out.<br><br>I wasn't all that curious about it. It was probably a troop of soldiers travelling. I continued moving down the road. That supply of meat isn't going to hunt itself, you know?<br><br>Considering that I'm a bit higher levelled now, I was considering hunting something new. I hear bear is the new white meat... Or should I set up a few traps and catch squirrels instead? No, it's not efficient, there's barely enough meat on those to feed a person... Most birds as well. Definitely try hunting bear. The meat would last us a very long time if I manage to hunt several...<br>I was deep in my thoughts as I moved quickly through the forest. As a result, I bumped against a tree, quite by accident. It didn't quite hurt as I thought I would be, though.<br><br>Wait... this tree feels all warm and fluffy. Could it be the result of moss? No, it's not moist enough... I guess another fault of mine was that I tend to think too much. I stopped my train of thought and came to a realization.<br><br>I looked up, and saw a bear. Speak of the devil.<br><br>"A-a-a Bear?!"<br><br>Panicking a little, I shuffled several steps backwards, fortunately avoiding a large paw as the bear brought it down in a vicious swipe. I held up the spear shaft, and took a stance.<br><br>"Indeed, talk about my lucky day..."<br><br>The bear stood on two legs, standing nearly 3 metres tall. It was covered from head to toe in black fur, with a white crest on its chest. It had short stocky hind legs, and its fore legs are naturally quite massive. Its jaws? Well... I had this to say:<br><br>"My, grandma, what big teeth you have." Me and my smart mouth.<br><br>Fortunately, the bear didn't seem to take too much offense. What a nice bear.<br><br>The nice bear sought to help me expedite my passage to the other side by swinging his paw at my face.<br><br>Unfortunately, I mistook his kind intentions as a hostile act and responded in kind, bashing his face in with my spear shaft. The nice bear with the good intentions took the hit really well, though, although that hit sent it reeling.<br><br>At that moment, though, our little altercation was sadly interrupted.<br><br>A knight entered the fray, spinning and twirling a spear. He was clad in ornate armor, and wore a full face helmet that obscured his features. But what was particularly eye catching was the flag that had been attached to the spear.<br><br>It was a bloody crimson, and had a insignia of a lion with a sword in its jaws. The volatile and frenetic spear movements caused the flag to billow out behind it in its wake, leaving a bloody blur that trailed behind the spear.<br>It was quite the sight.<br><br>The bear was naturally confounded by the flag, and stood there stunned. And then it turns out that the knight was a leader of a yakuza group.<br><br>"Protect the commander!!"<br><br>"Don't worry, commander, we got your back!!'<br><br>"Charge into the fray for the commander!!"<br><br>And then the poor nice bear was set upon by a hungry pack of soldiers, who joined in the fight as well, brandishing swords, axes and maces. <br>Needless to say, it was a one-sided massacre. For the soldiers. What? Did you expect me to say "the bear"?<br><br>It was a good thing that the kid was not here to see this. The bear, bleeding from many places, collapsed from the burden of its many wounds and vanished in a grey flash, leaving behind a pelt and some meat.<br><br>Sigh. That meat was supposed to be mine, you know?<br><br>I decided to move on, but was blocked.<br><br>The knight stood in the way, wielding his spear in an easy manner.<br><br>"Young warrior. You fight with bravery and courage."<br><br>I was just trying to get some food, you know? Rather than bravery and courage, it was more of a case for need.<br><br>"And you appeared to be skilled with the weapon. Are you a traveling pugilist?"<br><br>Woah, that knight was not all brawn and virtue after all. The voice sounded oddly muffled and high pitched behind the helmet.<br><br>"In fact, you must join us in our Crusade. Your sturdy arm and swift movements will be a valuable asset."<br><br>"No, that's too much effort. I'm going to have to decline."<br><br>I made to move off, only for the spear head to move menacingly, pointing at my throat.<br><br>"I'm afraid you don't have a choice in that matter."<br><br>The soldiers that followed him also moved forward in a threatening fashion.<br><br>So it turns out that the troop was just another gangster group after all. This is getting dangerous... For the soldiers, anyway. I have a different opinion regarding my abilities. No offense meant to the late, nice bear with the good intentions that eventually paved its way to Hell.<br><br>*****<br><br>He frantically paddled, but the boat didn't move an inch against the current. Reprimanding himself for panicking, he relaxed, took a deep breath and slowly moved the paddle with the current.<br><br>The boat steadily moved towards the island at a fast pace, powered by overly muscular arms wielding oars that moved as though it was an extension of his hands. The speed could rival that of a motorboat probably.<br>Discipline overriding his impatience, he prepared his mindset for battle.<br><br>******<br><br>I lashed out, spear shaft spinning around me in a horizontal swing. The spear shaft created an offensive ring about me as it sent several soldiers flying.<br><br>I needed to create an opening to escape them, but they moved forward in a rag-tag group, brandishing their weapons. If I tried to push through them, I will surely be cut to ribbons. Hence!<br><br>I took a stance, holding the spear shaft in a relaxed manner. The spear shaft was supported on my left shoulder, as though at ease.<br>Like the <span style="font-style: italic;">Balancer</span>, The form had also appeared in the skill book. I had no idea what was the requirement, but it seems that portions of the skill book revealed itself as certain requirements are met over the course of the journey. The pages between those depicting both stances remained resolutely blank, anyways.<br><br>I still had no idea what to call the skill yet though, but here is the description:<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">4th Stance of the Empty Spear<br>One of several stances that was taught to initiates of the Nomadic Order of the Spear before they set off for their pilgrimage. Despite its relaxed and easygoing appearance, this stance devotes all manner to attack and speed for pole arms.<br><br>Beginner Level 1/5%: +15% STR, +15% AGI while in this stance. Certain movements become easier in this stance.<br></span><br><br>"Dang it, quit being cocky!!"<br><br>"That arrogant appearance, is he messing with us?"<br><br>"Get him!!"<br><br>The soldiers didn't take too kindly to that stance though, as charged as one group. Really, what is up with my adventure so far? It seems to involve angry packs bearing down on me.<br><br>Of course, humans tend to be more dangerous than wild animals. That was my view on the matter. Otherwise, how is it that humans are able to become the predominant species in this good earth?<br><br>Some mana had been built up by the earlier blows, adding power to my attacks. It was probably best to get this over with and make my escape. My spear shaft flew from my shoulder, moving downwards in a vertical arc.<br><br>The spear shaft crashed into a soldier and sent him flying. I didn't need to kill them, just aiming to incapacitate or knock out.<br><br>While I can easily gain a large experience from killing player characters, there were certain penalties incurred from doing so. For one, you gain the status of a murderer, causing your name to appear above you in red despite your privacy settings. Your fame and reputation will also drop, and shopkeepers will refuse to sell you products, opting to charge a premium for them. Moreover, you are likely to be treated with suspicion, even attacked, by the guards that roamed the cities.<br><br>In short, it isn't worth it. However, having this kind of situation forced on me meant that I had to respond with violence.<br><br>"HOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMEE RUUUUUUUUUUUUN!!"<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">BAM.</span><br><br>Nevertheless, I took the effort to pull my punches. Still, soldiers were flying back as I swung my spear shaft one handed in a horizontal arc like a baseball bat, returning the shaft to my shoulder after each blow. I made a note to call that 4th stance the baseball stance. Okay, I was joking, but that was the situation I was currently in at the moment.<br><br>Soldiers flew off into the distance, landing in awkward positions. I couldn't resist embellishing the scene a little bit with many blatant references from anime and some of my childhood delusions.<br><br>"Explode, my Fiery Soul!! Fire, my Burning Passion!!"<br><br>Still, what is with those incredibly cheesy lines that sound like they should come from a hot-blooded shounen anime?!<br><br>For all my intention to make an escape, I was getting carried away with the battle.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">[Your mind is clouded with the heat of battle. Agility increased by 8%, Movement Speed increased by 12%, your reflexes have become faster and your sense of pain is dulled.]</span><br><br>Case in point, this skill activates. Thanks, game, for agreeing with my assessment.<br><br>On reflection, this is getting ridiculous. Oh well, I will be able to escape easily if I knock out a couple of them anyway.<br><br>"Work as a group!! You guys can easily take him!! Approach in formation!!"<br><br>The knight yelled orders as he began his combat dance again, spinning and twirling the spear at my face. It was a confusing sequence that confounded the senses and played mind games. The trajectory was easily predicted by looking at the flag though, and I was able to easily dodge and avoid the blows while keeping up the pressure on the soldiers.<br><br>Still, for some reason, that dance seemed to have an effect on the soldiers, and a fierce aura began to emanate from their bodies.<br><br>Suddenly the behavior of the soldiers changed, attacking in waves and covering for one another. Those that were bearing shields approached first, shields clashed together like an impenetrable wall, with warriors equipped with spears behind them. The knight fell back to the rear, still performing the combat sequence.<br><br>Really... going so far for this one person here. You have to admire their grit and determination.<br><br>Fortunately, there are ways around this. Most of them require more people than one though.<br><br>A shield wall can be easily flanked and broken into by cavalry or light infantry equipped with spears. Alternative, siege artillery or battering rams can break holes in their cohesive formation. In that case, magic could also be used in that situation.<br><br>I had neither of this though, and so I could only face them head on.<br><br>Why do I always seem to end up in these kinds of problems? I wondered about this to myself as I began to build up a combination attack, channeling the mana to the tips of the spear shaft to further increase momentum and power.<br><br>It was a simple and repetitive sequence; a vertical swing which bounced off the shield wall into a spinning horizontal strike. With each blow, the attacks became stronger and stronger. I did not notice that several skills were generated in the process:<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">[New skill generated: Stored Power.]<br><br>[New skill generated: Stored Power Wave.]<br><br>[New Skill generated: Stored Power Blast.]</span><br><br>"What's with that guy?"<br><br>"It's getting really heated in here..."<br><br>"Keep it up, he will run out of energy before us!!"<br><br>"Protect the commander at all costs!!!"<br><br>The shield wall was forced into the defensive, my attacks phasing smoothly into one another and leaving no opening.<br>Eventually, that built up power reached a peak, and each of my blows were like a battering ram that jarred the wrists and wore down the defensive line. However, it was not enough to break through. I needed to finish things off with a bang somehow.<br><br>I quickly checked my message bar, and saw that message.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">[Stored Power at maximum. Power Wave is currently available.]</span><br><br>Hmmm... That could work.<br><br>I smashed the spear shaft at the shield wall once more, creating a slight gap for a brief moment. When the weapon rebounded and reached the peak of the arc, I shouted out the skill name:<br><br>"Power Wave!!"<br><br>And brought the spear shaft down again in a vertical arc, where it struck the shield wall.<br><br>A powerful shockwave exploded from the point of impact, causing the platoon in front of me to scatter and break up. It caused a tremor for a few seconds, and caused the very ground to rupture and crack.<br><br>Why does this remind me of a certain show about Death Gods?<br><br>Fortunately, since my current skill proficiency was low, the heavy armor equipped by the soldiers meant that no one was killed by the blast. They were, however, left severely concussed for a short while, and I can easily make my escape.<br><br>And I would have done that too, if I hadn't stumbled myself. Using that new skill consumed a lot of my stamina. The additional stored power was gone, and my limbs felt like jelly.<br><br>The knight, who had been pestering me with his posse, was the first to recover, managing to get his footing. Stumbling over, the knight pointed his spear at my throat again.<br><br>"Even though it took a lot of effort, I have clearly bested you in battle. Now you will join our crusade."<br><br>I briefly considered my options, but could not find an out to my problem. I decided to just play alongside this clearly delusional knight for now.<br><br>"Right..."<br><br>"Good, then it's settled. Glad to make your acquaintance, young Spearman."<br><br>Wait, did he just mention my class? And also, did the soldiers under his command just vanish into thin air?!<br><br>The knight took off his helmet...<br><br>Erm.<br><br>I mean, <span style="font-style: italic;">her</span> helmet. Flowing golden locks fell across the shoulders, framing a feminine face with blue almond-shaped eyes and full lips. Now that I could get a closer look at her, I found that the armor was clearly made for a woman, a form-fitting plate that obscured most of the bodily features, leaving much to my imagination.<br><br>She was attractive. Very attractive. Skimpy clothing is definitely overrated in that sense. Excuse me for being a closet pervert at this point.<br><br>She spoke again in a clear voice, which was no longer impeded by the helmet:<br><br>"My name is Combatante. Recall this, young spearman, that you have been bested by an aspiring Flagbearer on her path to the top."<br><br>So her class is that of a Flagbearer...<br><br>...<br><br>This is clearly ironic. Bested by another cannon fodder class.<br>*******<br>He made it back to the village, where it was under attack from pillagers.<br><br>All around him, he could only see different shades of red and black.<br><br>The bright red flame as it slowly devoured the inn and houses.<br><br>The shockingly red sunset as night slowly fell upon the carnage.<br><br>The scarlet blood of the friends he knew and cherished that was spilled by the blades of the pillagers striking down mercilessly, leaving none <br>alive. The blood slowly became darker and darker as the sun set upon a once prosperous fishing village.<br><br>He saw a few pillagers carefully looting the burnt houses and corpses. Taking, prying it from the lifeless hands and bodies. Laughing heartily as they enriched themselves upon the works of others.<br><br>At that point, something fragile within him had snapped.<br><br>Screaming in anguish, he grabbed his harpoon that had been laying by his side with one hand. With another, his father's trusty net. He never went anywhere without it, and now wasn't an exception.<br><br>Still screaming, he charged at the pillagers, catching them by surprise. Stabbing and smashing wildly with the harpoon, several thieves fell, their blood and guts spilling out. He caved in heads, gored abdomens, and made sure that blood for blood, his anguish was satisfied.<br>His screams soon fell silent, and was replaced by the screams of the pillagers as they sought to escape from the butcher wearing a mask behind them.<br><br>Their screams for mercy soon attracted the attention of the others. Shouting and laughing, they rushed as one group at the impudent bastard that dared challenge a group of many.<br><br>However, aside from the harpoon, the net on his other hand was far more deadly.<br><br>The net was tossed, and managed to entangle a large number of the pillagers. They struggled to break free from the net, but the net got everywhere, and their efforts only managed to get themselves further entrapped by the net.<br><br>To their horror, he was approaching, vindictive blood thirst pouring out from every pore of his orifice. To make things worse, the mask that he wore blocked out his facial features.<br><br>It would be understandable if he had a rictus full of wrath, but instead there was a small smile on his face. It was... unsettling.<br>It was probably the last thing that they saw.<br><br><br>*******<br>He slowly moved out of the remnants if his burnt village, dragging his net behind him.<br><br>Life was indeed merciless.<br><br>It devours upon itself, and spreads and proliferates, builds and creates upon itself.<br><br>At the same time, there was only so much they can create, so much that they can build.<br><br>Months and years spent building up and improving to move towards a better life, torn down in a scant few hours.<br><br>Destroying and killing life was all too easy... The massacre he had witnessed, even participated in, was proof of that.<br><br>He moved on, dragging the net. He soon reached the outskirts of the village.<br><br>It was left unmarked, safe for a few possessions that have been left behind by the villagers as they escaped from the death trap that was once known as home to them. He limped over and carefully picked up several of these items, examining them and devouring the item with his eyes as though he had come across a treasure.<br><br>It was pretty interesting to note how precious such petty and trivial items were in the wake of such devastation, he mused to himself as he carefully set aside these items for later.<br><br>At that point, he heard a mournful song without any musical accompaniment. It was muffled by the distance, but nevertheless, he could make out the lyrics which were sung in a clear voice:<br><span style="font-style: italic;">"God on high,<br>Hear my prayer,<br><br>In my need,<br>You have always been there.<br><br>He is young,<br>He's afraid<br><br>Let him rest,<br>Heaven blessed.<br><br>Bring him home<br>Bring him home<br>Bring him home."*</span><br><br>It was sung in a tone full of grief, but at the same time, it was oddly comforting. It was like... that feeling of a home-cooked meal after a trying day at work, which appeared for a fleeting moment and left you wanting more.<br><br>Seeking that feeling, he moved in the direction of the song.<br><br>Memories of his happy but brief time at the village flashed through his mind as he staggered through the forest. He was starting to feel the full weight of his wounds as the rage was slowly ebbing away, the morphine of his anger no longer dulling the pain as well as it had done.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">"He's like the son I might have known,<br>If God had granted me a son.<br><br>The summers die<br>One by one<br>How soon they fly<br>On and on<br><br>And I am old<br>And will be gone."*</span><br><br>On and on he moved, his body throbbing with the pain from the many wounds sustained in the battle. He dragged his feet, forcing them on step by step, teeth clenched as he endured, as he withstood the pain.<br><br>At the same time, he recalled the home he had left behind long ago on that fateful day, wrenched away forcefully by the whimsical forces of nature. The wounds hurt, but not as much as he was feeling at the moment.<br><br>He was making steady progress, nevertheless. The song became more audible as time went by.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">"Bring him peace<br>Bring him joy<br>He is young<br>He is only a boy<br><br>You can take<br>You can give<br>Let him be<br>Let him live<br><br>If I die<br>Let me die<br>Let him live<br><br>Bring him home<br>Bring him home<br>Bring him home."*</span><br><br>In the distance within the dark woods, there was a bright light, even though it was clearly night. The song could be heard easily from there. He gritted his teeth, pushing out a final spurt of energy as he moved quickly towards that light, and the song that was clearly coming to a close.<br><br>He arrived at a clearing. It was brightly lit by the full moon, bathing the gently swaying plants and flowers in a soft, silvery light.<br><br>Clearly illuminated by that bright light, he could somehow make out a human figure...<br><br>He was soon overwhelmed by the pain and fatigue however, and keeled over, falling face first onto the verdant growth with a smile on his face.<br><span style="font-style: italic;">*Lyrics from "Bring Him Home" from Les Miserables</span> </div>

* Deep in the confines of a popular dungeon. A young traveling warrior has somehow swept his way to the deepest part on his own, and is currently facing off against the boss of the dungeon, the Kobold Chieftain. The Kobold is armed with a heavy two-handed mace, and swung it with reckless abandon, often sweeping aside parties with impunity. Its blows are often said to be impossible to block. However, the warrior had seemed to easily avoid and parry the clumsy but vicious attacks, and has even managed to land several decisive blows on the boss unit, causing its hp to drop significantly. Rumors of the dungeon hunt soon spread like wildfire to the other dungeon crawlers, and they wondered about the one who had managed such an impressive feat. "Could he be that guy..." "But he was poorly armed and ill-prepared!!" "It is feasible if that warrior was at a high level, but I heard rumors that state otherwise..." "Did he somehow find a way to break the game?" "HAX!!" Regardless of the rumors, several things were clear about the warrior, that he was at a really low level, was equipped with a quarter staff, and utilized a rather unusual skill set. With great interest, some people who were near the deepest part of the dungeon began making their way to the deepest part of the dungeon, hoping to catch a glimpse of that promising individual. ** Good grief. It's nothing too special right? I was currently still in battle against the Chieftain. Of course, I managed to notice several people standing there, watching with interest. It's rather distracting, you know? I decided to act like I didn't see them and focused on fighting the boss monster, which is currently trying to take my head with a vertical swing. Like I have done before, I stepped into the blow and used the spear shaft that I am currently equipped with to intercept the attack, catching the mace by the shaft and deflecting the attack slightly to narrowly avoid the attack. The swing gone off angle, the Kobold Chieftain was again stuck in a recovery position, and is thus vulnerable. I took that chance to counterattack, using a combination sequence that I practiced back at the Warrior's Guild. A horizontal smash aimed at the legs was followed up by bashing at the right side to further stagger the chieftain. Following this, I fired off several stabs at its abdomen, which had a low recovery time and thus let me narrowly dodge the return strike as the chieftain finally recovered. So far, so good. I have been steadily wearing down the Chieftain for some time now, making sure that I didn't squander my stamina too quickly. Blows were aimed at the legs and sides to slow down movement and impede its ability to swing the mace effectively. Yet, no matter how I did this, the HP bar of the Chieftain fell too slowly. I needed a decisive blow, and the openings presented so far were too narrow to exploit properly. As such, if it drags down to a war of attrition between my current level of stamina against his HP, the Chieftain's massive life force and boss-level defenses would surely prevail. This is a case where my lack of attack skills had come to haunt me. An attack skill for warriors acts as an amplifier, drastically improving damage with additional bonuses. However, as a spear man, I had no such skills, and as such could only fall back on using my skill set to buff and increase the potency of my normal attacks. However, an attack skill would surely increase my damage at a far greater rate. If I still had my knife to use as a rudimentary spear head, it would have been a different story, but unfortunately it was destroyed when I lost control under the influence of the skill Berserk Impulse fighting the Goblin War Party. Hmmm... Perhaps if I can use Berserk Impulse, I would be able to ride on the extra power provided to beat the Chieftain. But the current requirements of the skill needed my current HP to be below about 10-11%, as well as the loss of player control. At my current level, a successful blow from the Chieftain will one-shot me from that range, regardless of the extra power and HP regeneration that the skill gives. I couldn't risk losing my control at this juncture. As such, you could well say that my current fighting style is defensive, even conservative in nature. That skill is and should be a finisher and a last resort in that situation. Nevertheless, I wondered if there is a way to add considerable power to my blows without the use of that skill. Thus far, Kite's teachings had let me improve the power of my attacks, using martial arts to target weak spots and deal critical damage. I shuffled through my memories of that short training period spent with my mentor, racking my brains for a path at victory... Well, there was that Jump skill, but it would be really risky to use, and is not exactly a official skill... Well, if I don't have an attack skill, I may as well create one right? Now, how do I go about doing this... I decided to use the idea of martial arts, gathering life energy (ki) and channeling it somehow. Normally, a player only needed to say the name of the skill in order to use it, and the respective mana cost will be paid automatically. However, using a skill and making a skill are two entirely different things. At least, from what I can tell. No one even knows if making an attack skill is even possible, but it wouldn't hurt to try, right? I had the Spearman trait of the Nomadic Imprint, which will generate a new skill if I can meet the conditions. As far as I'm concerned, it was a really good cheat skill since I can create skills to address certain situations, the only weakness being low skill proficiency as a result. As such, I decided to experiment. "Channel and build up mana to the weapon to build up the momentum and power of attacks..." It's a bit complicated to explain, but I took a reference from another RPG game that I used to play. Using just normal attacks, I would channel mana to another separate pool (the Spear Shaft), building up the mana pool with each successive hit. As the combination sequence count builds up, that mana pool gets larger and larger, and the power of my attacks would increase. In a way, I am making my own attack amplifier. The only issue was that once I stop hitting, that mana pool diminishes quickly and that built up power disappears. Nevertheless, it seems to be working. A larger amount of hp was struck off the Chieftain each time I fired off a sequence during an opening. "Well, it's a start." The chieftain seemed to be tiring, his blows becoming slower and easier to predict. By contrast, my attacks only got more powerful over the course of the battle. As such, my fighting spirit stat soon came into play, causing the Chieftain to weaken further and sealing the deal for me. The Chieftain didn't give up however, attempting a final gambit by gathering mana and unleashing an attack skill known as Explosive Smasher. I responded in kind with a basic vertical smash, which was bolstered by the built up mana. The two weapons clashed, the impact exploding outwards in a wave. The resulting explosion caused both weapons to rebound, the force of the blows forcing our arms up in a jarring position. An large opening had finally exposed itself. Well, simply put, my weapon was lighter and I recovered first, bringing the spear shaft down again on the Chieftain's head. The rest of its HP disappeared and the Kobold Chieftain keeled over comically, vanishing in a grey flash and leaving behind the giant mace that it wielded. [You have leveled once to level 26.] Ignoring the crowds of people that had watched my fight with interest, I quickly picked up the dropped loot and somehow escaped from the dungeon. *** It was another peaceful day today for him The sea opens up, presenting an infinitely blue canvas that is constant churning and flowing. He sat leisurely at the edge of the fishing boat, net currently hung below the boat. In his hand he held a long fishing rod with ease. Ever since that dinner, he endeavored to go into the finer points of fishing, seeking out masters of the craft and trading different methods of fishing with them. Secrets and rumors swapped hands, enriching and improving the lives of many as they implemented them into their routine. It was quiet except for the sound of the waves that moved about rhythmically, lulling him to sleep. The boat resembled a cradle for him, and would probably be his grave as well. He was in his natural element, and felt completely as ease in its gentle and familiar embrace. However, over the salty fresh air of the sea breeze, there was a faint smell in the air. Something... disturbing and foreign. He ignored it and was slowly dozing off. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. The sounds of explosions could suddenly be heard over the tempestuous waves. It sounded distant, but it was there nonetheless. He was jolted awake by the noise, and still under the influence of sleep, he drowsily sought out the source of that disturbance. What he saw caused him to fully awake, eyes widening at the size. In the distance, that sleepy village that he called home and worked so hard to improve was in flames. **** "Yeah, tonight we eat!!" I carefully counted the money that I had earned after selling the mace to an aspiring knight. I sincerely prayed for the safety of the monsters that he comes up against, having faced that weapon myself. Not only that, the denizens of the dungeon had dropped some loot as well. I also gained an immense number of levels from the hunt, putting me at level 26 overall from level 11. Overall, it has been a very lucrative experience for me, and I really looked forward to the next dungeon. "This much money should be able to feed us for a long while, right..." I hefted my money pouch carefully with a calculative look on my face. Even while I had earned a fair amount of money from the dungeon, I still had to consider all this... Oh, the troubles of having kids... I wonder about that though. If I just choose to leave behind that meddlesome duo and strike it out on my own, I can easily afford a few upgrades on my equipment... Food problems wouldn't be so large an issue anymore. And I would be able to go back to leveling at a brisk pace. "Kids are indeed troublesome..." I sighed. I decided to settle a few things before I moved on, but for now I should probably wait for the two to return. As tempting as striking out solo sounds, well, it wouldn't be the same without that kid, you know? Thus far, most of my adventure had been defined and shaped by the people around me, that kid included. So call me a sentimental fool, but that was what I feel about the whole issue. "Alright, first things first... I have to get a stockpile of meat up..." I made my way back to the forest, where I heard the sounds of marching, and a cadence being called out. I wasn't all that curious about it. It was probably a troop of soldiers travelling. I continued moving down the road. That supply of meat isn't going to hunt itself, you know? Considering that I'm a bit higher levelled now, I was considering hunting something new. I hear bear is the new white meat... Or should I set up a few traps and catch squirrels instead? No, it's not efficient, there's barely enough meat on those to feed a person... Most birds as well. Definitely try hunting bear. The meat would last us a very long time if I manage to hunt several... I was deep in my thoughts as I moved quickly through the forest. As a result, I bumped against a tree, quite by accident. It didn't quite hurt as I thought I would be, though. Wait... this tree feels all warm and fluffy. Could it be the result of moss? No, it's not moist enough... I guess another fault of mine was that I tend to think too much. I stopped my train of thought and came to a realization. I looked up, and saw a bear. Speak of the devil. "A-a-a Bear?!" Panicking a little, I shuffled several steps backwards, fortunately avoiding a large paw as the bear brought it down in a vicious swipe. I held up the spear shaft, and took a stance. "Indeed, talk about my lucky day..." The bear stood on two legs, standing nearly 3 metres tall. It was covered from head to toe in black fur, with a white crest on its chest. It had short stocky hind legs, and its fore legs are naturally quite massive. Its jaws? Well... I had this to say: "My, grandma, what big teeth you have." Me and my smart mouth. Fortunately, the bear didn't seem to take too much offense. What a nice bear. The nice bear sought to help me expedite my passage to the other side by swinging his paw at my face. Unfortunately, I mistook his kind intentions as a hostile act and responded in kind, bashing his face in with my spear shaft. The nice bear with the good intentions took the hit really well, though, although that hit sent it reeling. At that moment, though, our little altercation was sadly interrupted. A knight entered the fray, spinning and twirling a spear. He was clad in ornate armor, and wore a full face helmet that obscured his features. But what was particularly eye catching was the flag that had been attached to the spear. It was a bloody crimson, and had a insignia of a lion with a sword in its jaws. The volatile and frenetic spear movements caused the flag to billow out behind it in its wake, leaving a bloody blur that trailed behind the spear. It was quite the sight. The bear was naturally confounded by the flag, and stood there stunned. And then it turns out that the knight was a leader of a yakuza group. "Protect the commander!!" "Don't worry, commander, we got your back!!' "Charge into the fray for the commander!!" And then the poor nice bear was set upon by a hungry pack of soldiers, who joined in the fight as well, brandishing swords, axes and maces. Needless to say, it was a one-sided massacre. For the soldiers. What? Did you expect me to say "the bear"? It was a good thing that the kid was not here to see this. The bear, bleeding from many places, collapsed from the burden of its many wounds and vanished in a grey flash, leaving behind a pelt and some meat. Sigh. That meat was supposed to be mine, you know? I decided to move on, but was blocked. The knight stood in the way, wielding his spear in an easy manner. "Young warrior. You fight with bravery and courage." I was just trying to get some food, you know? Rather than bravery and courage, it was more of a case for need. "And you appeared to be skilled with the weapon. Are you a traveling pugilist?" Woah, that knight was not all brawn and virtue after all. The voice sounded oddly muffled and high pitched behind the helmet. "In fact, you must join us in our Crusade. Your sturdy arm and swift movements will be a valuable asset." "No, that's too much effort. I'm going to have to decline." I made to move off, only for the spear head to move menacingly, pointing at my throat. "I'm afraid you don't have a choice in that matter." The soldiers that followed him also moved forward in a threatening fashion. So it turns out that the troop was just another gangster group after all. This is getting dangerous... For the soldiers, anyway. I have a different opinion regarding my abilities. No offense meant to the late, nice bear with the good intentions that eventually paved its way to Hell. ***** He frantically paddled, but the boat didn't move an inch against the current. Reprimanding himself for panicking, he relaxed, took a deep breath and slowly moved the paddle with the current. The boat steadily moved towards the island at a fast pace, powered by overly muscular arms wielding oars that moved as though it was an extension of his hands. The speed could rival that of a motorboat probably. Discipline overriding his impatience, he prepared his mindset for battle. ****** I lashed out, spear shaft spinning around me in a horizontal swing. The spear shaft created an offensive ring about me as it sent several soldiers flying. I needed to create an opening to escape them, but they moved forward in a rag-tag group, brandishing their weapons. If I tried to push through them, I will surely be cut to ribbons. Hence! I took a stance, holding the spear shaft in a relaxed manner. The spear shaft was supported on my left shoulder, as though at ease. Like the Balancer, The form had also appeared in the skill book. I had no idea what was the requirement, but it seems that portions of the skill book revealed itself as certain requirements are met over the course of the journey. The pages between those depicting both stances remained resolutely blank, anyways. I still had no idea what to call the skill yet though, but here is the description: 4th Stance of the Empty Spear One of several stances that was taught to initiates of the Nomadic Order of the Spear before they set off for their pilgrimage. Despite its relaxed and easygoing appearance, this stance devotes all manner to attack and speed for pole arms. Beginner Level 1/5%: +15% STR, +15% AGI while in this stance. Certain movements become easier in this stance. "Dang it, quit being cocky!!" "That arrogant appearance, is he messing with us?" "Get him!!" The soldiers didn't take too kindly to that stance though, as charged as one group. Really, what is up with my adventure so far? It seems to involve angry packs bearing down on me. Of course, humans tend to be more dangerous than wild animals. That was my view on the matter. Otherwise, how is it that humans are able to become the predominant species in this good earth? Some mana had been built up by the earlier blows, adding power to my attacks. It was probably best to get this over with and make my escape. My spear shaft flew from my shoulder, moving downwards in a vertical arc. The spear shaft crashed into a soldier and sent him flying. I didn't need to kill them, just aiming to incapacitate or knock out. While I can easily gain a large experience from killing player characters, there were certain penalties incurred from doing so. For one, you gain the status of a murderer, causing your name to appear above you in red despite your privacy settings. Your fame and reputation will also drop, and shopkeepers will refuse to sell you products, opting to charge a premium for them. Moreover, you are likely to be treated with suspicion, even attacked, by the guards that roamed the cities. In short, it isn't worth it. However, having this kind of situation forced on me meant that I had to respond with violence. "HOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMEE RUUUUUUUUUUUUN!!" BAM. Nevertheless, I took the effort to pull my punches. Still, soldiers were flying back as I swung my spear shaft one handed in a horizontal arc like a baseball bat, returning the shaft to my shoulder after each blow. I made a note to call that 4th stance the baseball stance. Okay, I was joking, but that was the situation I was currently in at the moment. Soldiers flew off into the distance, landing in awkward positions. I couldn't resist embellishing the scene a little bit with many blatant references from anime and some of my childhood delusions. "Explode, my Fiery Soul!! Fire, my Burning Passion!!" Still, what is with those incredibly cheesy lines that sound like they should come from a hot-blooded shounen anime?! For all my intention to make an escape, I was getting carried away with the battle. [Your mind is clouded with the heat of battle. Agility increased by 8%, Movement Speed increased by 12%, your reflexes have become faster and your sense of pain is dulled.] Case in point, this skill activates. Thanks, game, for agreeing with my assessment. On reflection, this is getting ridiculous. Oh well, I will be able to escape easily if I knock out a couple of them anyway. "Work as a group!! You guys can easily take him!! Approach in formation!!" The knight yelled orders as he began his combat dance again, spinning and twirling the spear at my face. It was a confusing sequence that confounded the senses and played mind games. The trajectory was easily predicted by looking at the flag though, and I was able to easily dodge and avoid the blows while keeping up the pressure on the soldiers. Still, for some reason, that dance seemed to have an effect on the soldiers, and a fierce aura began to emanate from their bodies. Suddenly the behavior of the soldiers changed, attacking in waves and covering for one another. Those that were bearing shields approached first, shields clashed together like an impenetrable wall, with warriors equipped with spears behind them. The knight fell back to the rear, still performing the combat sequence. Really... going so far for this one person here. You have to admire their grit and determination. Fortunately, there are ways around this. Most of them require more people than one though. A shield wall can be easily flanked and broken into by cavalry or light infantry equipped with spears. Alternative, siege artillery or battering rams can break holes in their cohesive formation. In that case, magic could also be used in that situation. I had neither of this though, and so I could only face them head on. Why do I always seem to end up in these kinds of problems? I wondered about this to myself as I began to build up a combination attack, channeling the mana to the tips of the spear shaft to further increase momentum and power. It was a simple and repetitive sequence; a vertical swing which bounced off the shield wall into a spinning horizontal strike. With each blow, the attacks became stronger and stronger. I did not notice that several skills were generated in the process: [New skill generated: Stored Power.] [New skill generated: Stored Power Wave.] [New Skill generated: Stored Power Blast.] "What's with that guy?" "It's getting really heated in here..." "Keep it up, he will run out of energy before us!!" "Protect the commander at all costs!!!" The shield wall was forced into the defensive, my attacks phasing smoothly into one another and leaving no opening. Eventually, that built up power reached a peak, and each of my blows were like a battering ram that jarred the wrists and wore down the defensive line. However, it was not enough to break through. I needed to finish things off with a bang somehow. I quickly checked my message bar, and saw that message. [Stored Power at maximum. Power Wave is currently available.] Hmmm... That could work. I smashed the spear shaft at the shield wall once more, creating a slight gap for a brief moment. When the weapon rebounded and reached the peak of the arc, I shouted out the skill name: "Power Wave!!" And brought the spear shaft down again in a vertical arc, where it struck the shield wall. A powerful shockwave exploded from the point of impact, causing the platoon in front of me to scatter and break up. It caused a tremor for a few seconds, and caused the very ground to rupture and crack. Why does this remind me of a certain show about Death Gods? Fortunately, since my current skill proficiency was low, the heavy armor equipped by the soldiers meant that no one was killed by the blast. They were, however, left severely concussed for a short while, and I can easily make my escape. And I would have done that too, if I hadn't stumbled myself. Using that new skill consumed a lot of my stamina. The additional stored power was gone, and my limbs felt like jelly. The knight, who had been pestering me with his posse, was the first to recover, managing to get his footing. Stumbling over, the knight pointed his spear at my throat again. "Even though it took a lot of effort, I have clearly bested you in battle. Now you will join our crusade." I briefly considered my options, but could not find an out to my problem. I decided to just play alongside this clearly delusional knight for now. "Right..." "Good, then it's settled. Glad to make your acquaintance, young Spearman." Wait, did he just mention my class? And also, did the soldiers under his command just vanish into thin air?! The knight took off his helmet... Erm. I mean, her helmet. Flowing golden locks fell across the shoulders, framing a feminine face with blue almond-shaped eyes and full lips. Now that I could get a closer look at her, I found that the armor was clearly made for a woman, a form-fitting plate that obscured most of the bodily features, leaving much to my imagination. She was attractive. Very attractive. Skimpy clothing is definitely overrated in that sense. Excuse me for being a closet pervert at this point. She spoke again in a clear voice, which was no longer impeded by the helmet: "My name is Combatante. Recall this, young spearman, that you have been bested by an aspiring Flagbearer on her path to the top." So her class is that of a Flagbearer... ... This is clearly ironic. Bested by another cannon fodder class. ******* He made it back to the village, where it was under attack from pillagers. All around him, he could only see different shades of red and black. The bright red flame as it slowly devoured the inn and houses. The shockingly red sunset as night slowly fell upon the carnage. The scarlet blood of the friends he knew and cherished that was spilled by the blades of the pillagers striking down mercilessly, leaving none alive. The blood slowly became darker and darker as the sun set upon a once prosperous fishing village. He saw a few pillagers carefully looting the burnt houses and corpses. Taking, prying it from the lifeless hands and bodies. Laughing heartily as they enriched themselves upon the works of others. At that point, something fragile within him had snapped. Screaming in anguish, he grabbed his harpoon that had been laying by his side with one hand. With another, his father's trusty net. He never went anywhere without it, and now wasn't an exception. Still screaming, he charged at the pillagers, catching them by surprise. Stabbing and smashing wildly with the harpoon, several thieves fell, their blood and guts spilling out. He caved in heads, gored abdomens, and made sure that blood for blood, his anguish was satisfied. His screams soon fell silent, and was replaced by the screams of the pillagers as they sought to escape from the butcher wearing a mask behind them. Their screams for mercy soon attracted the attention of the others. Shouting and laughing, they rushed as one group at the impudent bastard that dared challenge a group of many. However, aside from the harpoon, the net on his other hand was far more deadly. The net was tossed, and managed to entangle a large number of the pillagers. They struggled to break free from the net, but the net got everywhere, and their efforts only managed to get themselves further entrapped by the net. To their horror, he was approaching, vindictive blood thirst pouring out from every pore of his orifice. To make things worse, the mask that he wore blocked out his facial features. It would be understandable if he had a rictus full of wrath, but instead there was a small smile on his face. It was... unsettling. It was probably the last thing that they saw. ******* He slowly moved out of the remnants if his burnt village, dragging his net behind him. Life was indeed merciless. It devours upon itself, and spreads and proliferates, builds and creates upon itself. At the same time, there was only so much they can create, so much that they can build. Months and years spent building up and improving to move towards a better life, torn down in a scant few hours. Destroying and killing life was all too easy... The massacre he had witnessed, even participated in, was proof of that. He moved on, dragging the net. He soon reached the outskirts of the village. It was left unmarked, safe for a few possessions that have been left behind by the villagers as they escaped from the death trap that was once known as home to them. He limped over and carefully picked up several of these items, examining them and devouring the item with his eyes as though he had come across a treasure. It was pretty interesting to note how precious such petty and trivial items were in the wake of such devastation, he mused to himself as he carefully set aside these items for later. At that point, he heard a mournful song without any musical accompaniment. It was muffled by the distance, but nevertheless, he could make out the lyrics which were sung in a clear voice: "God on high, Hear my prayer, In my need, You have always been there. He is young, He's afraid Let him rest, Heaven blessed. Bring him home Bring him home Bring him home."* It was sung in a tone full of grief, but at the same time, it was oddly comforting. It was like... that feeling of a home-cooked meal after a trying day at work, which appeared for a fleeting moment and left you wanting more. Seeking that feeling, he moved in the direction of the song. Memories of his happy but brief time at the village flashed through his mind as he staggered through the forest. He was starting to feel the full weight of his wounds as the rage was slowly ebbing away, the morphine of his anger no longer dulling the pain as well as it had done. "He's like the son I might have known, If God had granted me a son. The summers die One by one How soon they fly On and on And I am old And will be gone."* On and on he moved, his body throbbing with the pain from the many wounds sustained in the battle. He dragged his feet, forcing them on step by step, teeth clenched as he endured, as he withstood the pain. At the same time, he recalled the home he had left behind long ago on that fateful day, wrenched away forcefully by the whimsical forces of nature. The wounds hurt, but not as much as he was feeling at the moment. He was making steady progress, nevertheless. The song became more audible as time went by. "Bring him peace Bring him joy He is young He is only a boy You can take You can give Let him be Let him live If I die Let me die Let him live Bring him home Bring him home Bring him home."* In the distance within the dark woods, there was a bright light, even though it was clearly night. The song could be heard easily from there. He gritted his teeth, pushing out a final spurt of energy as he moved quickly towards that light, and the song that was clearly coming to a close. He arrived at a clearing. It was brightly lit by the full moon, bathing the gently swaying plants and flowers in a soft, silvery light. Clearly illuminated by that bright light, he could somehow make out a human figure... He was soon overwhelmed by the pain and fatigue however, and keeled over, falling face first onto the verdant growth with a smile on his face. *Lyrics from "Bring Him Home" from Les Miserables

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> Once Alex left the Commander's office, he checked up on his stats.<br><br><br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto">[/tr]<table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Name</td><td width="25%">Alex</td><td width="25%">Primary Class</td><td width="25%">Dark Shadow Beginner level 6</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Health</td><td width="25%">8435</td><td width="25%">Mana</td><td width="25%">3500</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Level</td><td colspan="3">9</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Health Regen/3Sec</td><td width="25%">300</td><td width="25%">Mana Regen/3Sec</td><td width="25%">50</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Strength</td><td width="25%">345</td><td width="25%">Agility</td><td width="25%">256</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Wisdom</td><td width="25%">320</td><td width="25%">Intelligence</td><td width="25%">235</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Stamina</td><td width="25%">523</td><td width="25%">Vitality</td><td width="25%">234</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Dexterity</td><td colspan="3">40</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Agility</td><td colspan="3">264</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Accuracy</td><td colspan="3">78</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Bonues</td><td colspan="3">+30% to all stats at night<br>70% less visible at night<br>+10% damage from all Shadow-based weapons or spells<br>10% more damage from Light-based attacks<br>10% less visible in the shadows<br>20% more mana<br>Shadow spells cost 40% less</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>Alex’s stats were far beyond a normal person’s stats. He would probably be your average level 100. However, his skills were not as strong as his stats.<br> <br>Alex moved to exit the base, when he overheard 3 people talking about a recent infestation of light mice.<br><br>Alex stopped and listened to them speaking, while wondering, “How can light rats be harmful?”<br><br>The soldiers continued to speak, saying how the rats were 20% more potent to Shadow-based creatures and have been terrorizing the populace.They were asking each other if they wanted to join the extermination force.<br><br>Alex took the initiative, and looked around to find who was leading the expedition to the lair of the light rats. He saw Gwenden standing next to an officer, who was ranked higher than him, on a stage. He heard an announcement for the light mice extermination:<br><br>[Any soldier on base, please report to Officer Mark if you want to be part of the force to exterminate the light mice. He will be in the main lobby]<br><br>Alex walked over to the stage and then asked the officer:<br><br>“I would like to join the extermination quest”<br><br>Mark looked him over and asked:<br><br>“Are you even suited for the task.”<br><br>Gwenden moved to his defence and said:<br><br>“I personally trained him, and I vouch for his skill.”<br><br>Mark looked back at him and opened his mouth:<br><br>“So you’re the rumoured Alex. Very well, considering Gwenden’s high expectations of you. You will join us in this dangerous quest.”<br><br>Alex was thankful, and bowed to Officer Mark, before heading off to join the others who would be attacking the light mice lair with him.<br><br>After a couple more hours, soldiers joined the extermination force and a few other players. Alex met with some of the other beginner Shadow Beings of different classes. There was; John the Dark Sniper, Jack the Invisible Blade, Henry the Trickster and a female who only said that her name was Irene. Each of them didn’t opt for the special trait, and instead change their appearance.<br><br>Alex talked to them and got to know how they became their class. After hearing his class, they were rather shocked, because they had all tried to become a Dark Shadow, but failed. All of them tried, but they were all rejected by an old man, who promptly beat them up on the spot because they “looked weak”. <br><br>Alex partied with Jack, John, Henry and Irene, so when they finally set off for the lair, they would share the exp gain.<br><br>The extermination force was warped there by the force, that had gone there in advance,and had set up a warp point, while they waited for the main force to come in.<br><br>The warp brought a strange sensation to Alex, and once they warped into the lair, they had to recover all of their mana, because the warp, due to being a technological instead of magical transport, was unable to send mana points across the transport.<br><br>All of them prepared their weapons, and advanced into the lair. The first mouse that they saw could not be considered a mouse. <br><br>It had a giant body and shone a bright white light. Alex felt the weak rays of light attacking him, but he shrugged them off, having raised his light resistance a bit in the sun chamber. He estimated the level of the mouse to be around level 90.<br><br>The main force moved to cover, while the close combat assassins melded into the dark areas of the room,got behind the mouse, and waited. <br><br>Alex dove behind a rock closer to the mouse than John, and started to fire at the rat with his USP.45. His hands were steady, and each shot hit the mouse. The streams of darkness coming from the higher-level NPC’s were affecting the light being more than Alex’s beginner regular bullets. The mouse screeched in pain as it was attacked by a heavy rain of bullets, punching through it.<br><br>The light emitting from the mouse got stronger,started to form rays, and attacked the members of the main force.<br><br>While the mouse was distracted attacking the main force, Jack watched as the mouse formed rays to attack the main force. He started to think about how to get to the mouse, as the rays emitting from the mouse would blow his shadow cover away.<br><br>He swiftly moved behind the mouse, pulled out a wire from his wrists, and wrapped it around the mouse’s neck, strangling the mouse, and giving the main force time to counterattack.<br><br>John saw his brother go up close, and then in the brief moment that the mouse paused, he shot multiple Shadow bullets into the eye of the mouse.<br><br>Each of his shots did critical damage, and with the extra damage against light in the cave, the main force quickly finished it off.<br>As each of the players were at low levels, due to having gone through a training program, they gained a lot of exp from helping in killing the higher-leveled creature, but not enough for leveling.<br><br>The extermination force moved carefully through the lair, under the command of Mark and Gwenden.<br><br>They would always engage the mice in areas they found suitable. First, they would lure it into being surrounded, and then launch a heavy attack on the mice. <br><br>Irene brought out a missile launcher, leaving all of the guys stunned on how she could have carried it without movement penalties.<br><br>The hunting continued for a couple more days, and they saw less and less of the mice with each passing day.<br><br>Eventually Mark came across the light mice nest ,and as soon as he entered, he was ambushed and carried away.<br><br>His cries for help did nothing for him, as 5 mice blocked the doorway, and the extermination force took cover.<br><br>The mice immediately started to fire off rays at the exposed extermination force. Of the hundreds of people that were there, immediately after the initial attack, only 120-something people were able to take cover. <br><br>Alex and his party all managed to stay together, and were talking about what to do.<br><br>Henry: “What should we do? Our commander was taken away.”<br><br>Jack: “ Maybe we should run away.”<br><br>Alex: “That would be the best choice of action.”<br><br>John: “But if we leave, we won’t get any rewards, and leaving at this point is considered deserting.”<br><br>Irene: “So our only choice is to fight, hmmm.”<br><br>Alex: “All of the commanding officers have been taken out.”<br><br>As the group was talking, one by one, the rest of the extermination force was taken out.<br><br>By the time they finished their conversation, only 57 of them remained to fight against the light mice.<br><br>The group came to a decision, and called all of the other people to retreat.<br><br>Once they reached a safe place, Alex moved up to speak,<br><br>“We are all here to serve our race.Though now we are at a disadvantage, we must persevere and break through, so we can return home. Abandoning now will only get us killed by our own comrades in the future, so if we manage to win now, we can return back heroes.”<br><br>The listeners were touched by the speech, and all vouched that they would see this to the end.<br><br>Afterwards, they grouped up and marched back into the main nest of the mice.<br><br>They created a small fortified base at the entrance, and when they finished, Jack moved deeper inside to lure out the mice.<br><br>Jack stood in the deeper parts of the base. He looked over his shoulder multiple times to make sure the others were still in sight. He deactivated his shadow cloak, and immediately, a mouse appeared in front of him. And as he looked around, he saw that he was surrounded.<br><br>Jack used a short distance teleport in the direction of the base, and started to use his high AGI stats to run, while keeping the mice on his tail.<br><br>Behind him were not 5 mice, but 10. John saw his brother running back chased by a large number of mice. He prepared his sniper rifle, and loaded in his 10 special Shadow bullets.<br><br>John aimed at the mice carefully, and fired his L1911 at the chasing mice.<br><br>Where his bullets struck, a hole opened up in the mice, and they crouched down, golden blood pouring out of them.<br><br>John then stopped, and lied down. His health was now below 300 points.<br><br>John’s class wasn’t actually a Shadow Sniper, but rather, a Blood Shadow Sniper. His special class skills used up his health points instead of mana, and would reduce his vitality by 5, each time he fired a Blood Shadow Bullet.<br><br>Alex saw John lie down, and on his HUD, his health bar looked like a tiny speck. He ordered some of the people to move his body so he wouldn’t die, and loaded his guns as well, but with a different than regular, kind of ammunition.<br><br>Jack turned around and saw 10 mice vanish into thin air, but they were immediately replaced by twice the number of mice. He was almost at the base, but the mice started to fire light rays at him. His defence was immediately torn apart, and he was blown all the way back into the base.<br><br>Where Jack flew in through, there was a large gaping hole in the construct, and the mice concentrated their fire on the inside.<br><br>The burning rays of light hit Jack, and they were barely stopped by the dark hole that appeared and absorbed all of the light.<br><br>The NPCs had created it,and they recreated the hole with some advanced abilities. The people involved in the recreation however, ran out of mana, and had to meditate to recover.<br><br>Alex joined the rest of the main shooters in shooting at the mice with his Desert Eagle.<br><br>The mice came charging at them, and 5 were constantly shooting light rays at them, making it harder to shoot at the ones charging into the base.<br><br>Eventually, the mice got into the base and started to kill everyone. After the initial attack, everyone had scattered, leaving the players to combat the rest of the mice. <br><br>Jack and John were incapacitated, and Henry wasn’t a frontal fighting type. This left Irene and Alex to fight the 100-something mice. Henry used a hiding skill and disappeared from sight, only to be caught up into a wide range attack from the mice. Henry reappeared, and landed next to John and Jack.<br><br>Irene used her Missile Launcher to fire off an AOE missile at the mice, dropping the whole group’s hp by 10%, but then they focused on her and meet the same fate as Henry.<br><br>Alex was still firing at the mice with his bullets. Each of the bullets sank into the mice, and Alex used the move he had been saving up. Each bullet blew up within the mic,e and the ones who did have a bullet blow up inside of them, were paralyzed for 30 minutes. Alex was now left with 30 mice to fight.<br><br>He activated his Shadow blade and prepared to fight. </div>

Once Alex left the Commander's office, he checked up on his stats. [/tr] | Name | Alex | Primary Class | Dark Shadow Beginner level 6 | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Health | 8435 | Mana | 3500 | | Level | 9 | | | | Health Regen/3Sec | 300 | Mana Regen/3Sec | 50 | | Strength | 345 | Agility | 256 | | Wisdom | 320 | Intelligence | 235 | | Stamina | 523 | Vitality | 234 | | Dexterity | 40 | | | | Agility | 264 | | | | Accuracy | 78 | | | | Bonues | +30% to all stats at night70% less visible at night+10% damage from all Shadow-based weapons or spells10% more damage from Light-based attacks10% less visible in the shadows20% more manaShadow spells cost 40% less | | | Alex’s stats were far beyond a normal person’s stats. He would probably be your average level 100. However, his skills were not as strong as his stats. Alex moved to exit the base, when he overheard 3 people talking about a recent infestation of light mice. Alex stopped and listened to them speaking, while wondering, “How can light rats be harmful?” The soldiers continued to speak, saying how the rats were 20% more potent to Shadow-based creatures and have been terrorizing the populace.They were asking each other if they wanted to join the extermination force. Alex took the initiative, and looked around to find who was leading the expedition to the lair of the light rats. He saw Gwenden standing next to an officer, who was ranked higher than him, on a stage. He heard an announcement for the light mice extermination: [Any soldier on base, please report to Officer Mark if you want to be part of the force to exterminate the light mice. He will be in the main lobby] Alex walked over to the stage and then asked the officer: “I would like to join the extermination quest” Mark looked him over and asked: “Are you even suited for the task.” Gwenden moved to his defence and said: “I personally trained him, and I vouch for his skill.” Mark looked back at him and opened his mouth: “So you’re the rumoured Alex. Very well, considering Gwenden’s high expectations of you. You will join us in this dangerous quest.” Alex was thankful, and bowed to Officer Mark, before heading off to join the others who would be attacking the light mice lair with him. After a couple more hours, soldiers joined the extermination force and a few other players. Alex met with some of the other beginner Shadow Beings of different classes. There was; John the Dark Sniper, Jack the Invisible Blade, Henry the Trickster and a female who only said that her name was Irene. Each of them didn’t opt for the special trait, and instead change their appearance. Alex talked to them and got to know how they became their class. After hearing his class, they were rather shocked, because they had all tried to become a Dark Shadow, but failed. All of them tried, but they were all rejected by an old man, who promptly beat them up on the spot because they “looked weak”. Alex partied with Jack, John, Henry and Irene, so when they finally set off for the lair, they would share the exp gain. The extermination force was warped there by the force, that had gone there in advance,and had set up a warp point, while they waited for the main force to come in. The warp brought a strange sensation to Alex, and once they warped into the lair, they had to recover all of their mana, because the warp, due to being a technological instead of magical transport, was unable to send mana points across the transport. All of them prepared their weapons, and advanced into the lair. The first mouse that they saw could not be considered a mouse. It had a giant body and shone a bright white light. Alex felt the weak rays of light attacking him, but he shrugged them off, having raised his light resistance a bit in the sun chamber. He estimated the level of the mouse to be around level 90. The main force moved to cover, while the close combat assassins melded into the dark areas of the room,got behind the mouse, and waited. Alex dove behind a rock closer to the mouse than John, and started to fire at the rat with his USP.45. His hands were steady, and each shot hit the mouse. The streams of darkness coming from the higher-level NPC’s were affecting the light being more than Alex’s beginner regular bullets. The mouse screeched in pain as it was attacked by a heavy rain of bullets, punching through it. The light emitting from the mouse got stronger,started to form rays, and attacked the members of the main force. While the mouse was distracted attacking the main force, Jack watched as the mouse formed rays to attack the main force. He started to think about how to get to the mouse, as the rays emitting from the mouse would blow his shadow cover away. He swiftly moved behind the mouse, pulled out a wire from his wrists, and wrapped it around the mouse’s neck, strangling the mouse, and giving the main force time to counterattack. John saw his brother go up close, and then in the brief moment that the mouse paused, he shot multiple Shadow bullets into the eye of the mouse. Each of his shots did critical damage, and with the extra damage against light in the cave, the main force quickly finished it off. As each of the players were at low levels, due to having gone through a training program, they gained a lot of exp from helping in killing the higher-leveled creature, but not enough for leveling. The extermination force moved carefully through the lair, under the command of Mark and Gwenden. They would always engage the mice in areas they found suitable. First, they would lure it into being surrounded, and then launch a heavy attack on the mice. Irene brought out a missile launcher, leaving all of the guys stunned on how she could have carried it without movement penalties. The hunting continued for a couple more days, and they saw less and less of the mice with each passing day. Eventually Mark came across the light mice nest ,and as soon as he entered, he was ambushed and carried away. His cries for help did nothing for him, as 5 mice blocked the doorway, and the extermination force took cover. The mice immediately started to fire off rays at the exposed extermination force. Of the hundreds of people that were there, immediately after the initial attack, only 120-something people were able to take cover. Alex and his party all managed to stay together, and were talking about what to do. Henry: “What should we do? Our commander was taken away.” Jack: “ Maybe we should run away.” Alex: “That would be the best choice of action.” John: “But if we leave, we won’t get any rewards, and leaving at this point is considered deserting.” Irene: “So our only choice is to fight, hmmm.” Alex: “All of the commanding officers have been taken out.” As the group was talking, one by one, the rest of the extermination force was taken out. By the time they finished their conversation, only 57 of them remained to fight against the light mice. The group came to a decision, and called all of the other people to retreat. Once they reached a safe place, Alex moved up to speak, “We are all here to serve our race.Though now we are at a disadvantage, we must persevere and break through, so we can return home. Abandoning now will only get us killed by our own comrades in the future, so if we manage to win now, we can return back heroes.” The listeners were touched by the speech, and all vouched that they would see this to the end. Afterwards, they grouped up and marched back into the main nest of the mice. They created a small fortified base at the entrance, and when they finished, Jack moved deeper inside to lure out the mice. Jack stood in the deeper parts of the base. He looked over his shoulder multiple times to make sure the others were still in sight. He deactivated his shadow cloak, and immediately, a mouse appeared in front of him. And as he looked around, he saw that he was surrounded. Jack used a short distance teleport in the direction of the base, and started to use his high AGI stats to run, while keeping the mice on his tail. Behind him were not 5 mice, but 10. John saw his brother running back chased by a large number of mice. He prepared his sniper rifle, and loaded in his 10 special Shadow bullets. John aimed at the mice carefully, and fired his L1911 at the chasing mice. Where his bullets struck, a hole opened up in the mice, and they crouched down, golden blood pouring out of them. John then stopped, and lied down. His health was now below 300 points. John’s class wasn’t actually a Shadow Sniper, but rather, a Blood Shadow Sniper. His special class skills used up his health points instead of mana, and would reduce his vitality by 5, each time he fired a Blood Shadow Bullet. Alex saw John lie down, and on his HUD, his health bar looked like a tiny speck. He ordered some of the people to move his body so he wouldn’t die, and loaded his guns as well, but with a different than regular, kind of ammunition. Jack turned around and saw 10 mice vanish into thin air, but they were immediately replaced by twice the number of mice. He was almost at the base, but the mice started to fire light rays at him. His defence was immediately torn apart, and he was blown all the way back into the base. Where Jack flew in through, there was a large gaping hole in the construct, and the mice concentrated their fire on the inside. The burning rays of light hit Jack, and they were barely stopped by the dark hole that appeared and absorbed all of the light. The NPCs had created it,and they recreated the hole with some advanced abilities. The people involved in the recreation however, ran out of mana, and had to meditate to recover. Alex joined the rest of the main shooters in shooting at the mice with his Desert Eagle. The mice came charging at them, and 5 were constantly shooting light rays at them, making it harder to shoot at the ones charging into the base. Eventually, the mice got into the base and started to kill everyone. After the initial attack, everyone had scattered, leaving the players to combat the rest of the mice. Jack and John were incapacitated, and Henry wasn’t a frontal fighting type. This left Irene and Alex to fight the 100-something mice. Henry used a hiding skill and disappeared from sight, only to be caught up into a wide range attack from the mice. Henry reappeared, and landed next to John and Jack. Irene used her Missile Launcher to fire off an AOE missile at the mice, dropping the whole group’s hp by 10%, but then they focused on her and meet the same fate as Henry. Alex was still firing at the mice with his bullets. Each of the bullets sank into the mice, and Alex used the move he had been saving up. Each bullet blew up within the mic,e and the ones who did have a bullet blow up inside of them, were paralyzed for 30 minutes. Alex was now left with 30 mice to fight. He activated his Shadow blade and prepared to fight.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: #4000FF;">Battle Maiden</span></span><br>Book 1 : Into the Gates of Hell<br>Chapter 1 : The Boy Blue</div><br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">*****</span></div><br><br>Sarah made her way to her table as soon as she left the capsule. Before she sat down, she stretched her stiff body, stretching her arms and arching her back as if she had just woken up from a long sleep. She sits down and grabs her note book.<br><span style="font-style: italic;"><br>‘Prolonged usage would pose health problems. Since VR is no substitute for sleep, the brain will still get tired. They tried to solve this by making time goes 4 times faster in the game. This does not help at all. Not in a VR games.’</span><br><br>She jotted down random thought and observation in her note book. She intends to use Virtual Reality as the topic for her final year project. Virtual reality was made possible a couple of decades ago. Since then it has come a long way. No longer do you need a computer the size of a house to run it, it is now possible to create a terminal no bigger than your standard personal computer. With the advancement of technology and mass production, almost every home can afford such a machine. Unicorn corporation jumped at this opportunity, creating the world first ever VRMMORPG, Royal Road. Their gamble and investment paid off as the game soon becomes the world most successful game in history. <br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">'Making time flow four times faster, could it be the brain has to process information four times from normal?'</span><br>She checks her computer for statistics that she compiled about Royal Road.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">‘Average play time 8-10 hours per day. Amazing numbers. Considering work and school, eating and resting, the rest was spent on Royal Road.’</span><br><br>She begins to write down complicated calculations on her note book, trying to figure out the workload imposed on the brain. But before she could get the answers, she lets out a huge sigh. She realized her pen has run out of ink. <br><br>“Damn it!”<br><br>She does not have a spare pen. Pens are rare these days, so are books. Almost everything is computerized. Schools and offices have long since adopted the paperless approach. Not that it’s a bad thing, but Sarah is the type that works best with pen and paper. In her university, she is the only one that has text books. In a way, it fits nicely with her image.<br><br>Clearly frustrated, she grabs a stuffed bear from her bed. Holding it in one hand, she raised her other hand in a fist. She proceeds to pummel the poor teddy bear with all her strength. After a couple of punches she stopped.<br><br>“Mr. Fluffy, you’re too soft!”<br><br>“Back to the scarecrow then.”<br><br>She lies down inside the capsule and logged on to Royal Road.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">*****</span></div><br><br>The training hall did not have many visitors. Because of that, Graham usually spends his time drinking tea instead of actually training people. There are occasional visitors who wanted to try out the place, but not many returns. Why do boring drills when you can make money and do fun stuff at other place. <br><br>*WHACK!*<br><br>“Stupid store ran out of stock on pen!”<br><br>*WHACK!*<br><br>But lately there is this girl who came by often hitting the straw dummy. Instructor Graham was quite surprised to see her the first time, even more surprised to see her return a couple more times. After the 17th day in a row seeing her return to hit the straw dummy, he is no longer surprised. He is now afraid of her.<br><br>*WHACK!*<br><br>“What kind of book store runs out of pen??!!!”<br><br>*WHACK!!*<br><br>“I’m not wasting paper!! Those gossip magazines are the waste of paper!”<br><br>*WHAAACCCKKKK!!!*<br><br>While at first Instructor Graham was thrilled to have a prospective student, he is having a second thought. It’s nice that she comes often and does not give up easily, but her attitude was rather violent.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">‘I suppose she is suited for the berserker class.’</span> Graham thought.<br><br>She always leaves when other people enter the training hall. After the fifth day, she no longer minds the instructor presence and started cursing even when he is around. It’s not that she ignored him completely, she just does so when she is hitting the dummy. During other time, she was quite polite, especially when eating together with the instructor.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">‘Gah, she’s heading this way. My food, my precious food..’</span> Graham shouts in his head.<br><br>Sera, knowing that the instructor was an ‘honorable knight’, uses this fact to get free meal. No chivalrous knight would eat while a hungry lady is around. <br><span style="font-style: italic;"><br>‘I’m eating this guy's food, I could at least be polite.’</span> was written in Sera's smile, a smile as bright as the sun.<br><br>It was a parasitic relationship.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">*****</span></div><br><br>“Where does this go?”<br>“You connect this one there, the red port. It’s colour-coded damn it!”<br>“Don’t be mad at me. If I know how to do this myself I won’t call you here. Plus, you’re the one bugging me to start playing this game.”<br><br>They were twins, yet their personality was very different. Identical twins, it’s hard to differentiate the both of them if you do not know them. Those that do know them can tell the difference by their demeanors. The older, by four minute, is Scott. The younger is Steve. Steve is way more outgoing than his older brother. He started playing Royal Road the day it was released with his friends. Scott said he’s not interested, as he prefers single player games, to go on his own pace.<br><br>It was a lie. He wanted to play, but he did not want to burden his parent. Growing up as twin, their parent always bought them the same stuff. They did not want one of the twins to feel left out. It is good parenting, but it has its downside. Some things you can share, but not a VR capsule. You can take turn, but it is not as fun. Scott knows that their parents would not be able to afford to buy two capsules, plus the monthly fees. Since he knows Steve is very excited about the game, he felt bad that he won’t be able to play due to him. <br><br>He managed to convince his parent that two people can play the game using one capsule and subscription. Since they were not up to date with technology, they believed him. Unlike Steve, Scott never lied to them before, so his word held huge credibility to them. This was his first lie Scott told his parents. His second lie to his family was to his brother, Steve. He told him that their parents agreed to buy the capsule for him on the condition that he improves his grades. <br><br>For the first time in his life, Steve studied as hard as he can. Even though Scott knows it was a lie, he still joins his brother studying.<br>He was kind in his own way.<br><br>Of course this lie was soon uncovered by his parent. Royal Road became so famous that even farmers at countryside knew what it was. After four month they bought the capsule for them, they learned the truth. However, they were not angry. They were proud even, that Scott managed to make Steve grades increases. They soon came to a compromise, his father offers to buy another capsule, however their allowances is to be reduced. As for the amount reduced, it depends on Steve’s grades on the next test.<br><br>“Why does it have to be my grade and not yours?” Steve complains as he connects the power to his brother’s brand new capsule.<br>“Because my grades are near perfect.” Scott responds in a matter of fact way. <br>“Well, you’re on your own starting the game. I need to salvage as much allowance as I can.”<br>“This is connected right? All I have to do now is go in and log on?”<br>“Yes noob. Send me a PM in game so I can find you later.”<br>Steve move towards the door before turning around.<br><br>“Drink a lot of water, stay hydrated. Don’t drink too much though. Good luck, have fun.”<br>“Have fun studying.” Scott smirked.<br><br>After Steve left, Scott enters the Capsule. A message appears in front of him.<br><br><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="4">Connect to Royal Road?<br><br>Yes||No</td></tr></tbody></table></div><br><br><br>“Yes”<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">*****</span></div><br><br><br>The next thing Scott knew, he was surrounded by a huge empty space. There, a feminine voice greeted him.<br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;">-The scan on your retina and veins has shown that you are an unregistered player. Would you like to create an account?-</span><br><br>“Yes..”<br>What else can he do?<br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;">-Please choose the name of your avatar.-</span><br><br>Before VRMMORPG, it was common to see weird names in online games. People do it for fun. Scott was not an exception. When he was 8, his first online avatar name was SuperSwordX. Now imagine having such names for a VR games. <br><br>‘How ya doing SuperSwordX? ‘<br>‘SuperSwordX, use your super sword attack!!’ <br><br>Scott prefers not to remind himself of the past. Everybody have something they regret. He opted for a more normal name, but not his real name. While no stranger to RPG, this is his first experience in VR. At the very least, the name should be done right. <br><br>“Spoon”<br>He grinned.<br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;">-Please choose your gender from male, female, or neutral-</span><br><br>‘Wait, you can choose other gender? Neutral? What the heck is that?’<br>Scott ponders for a bit, but decides against it. It would be too creepy. And his brother would use this against him. His curiosity has to wait.<br>The twins often try to mess with each others. Playing pranks and tricks is common. Steve once asked a girl out on a date while using Scott’s identity. It can be mean, but there is no ill will behind the pranks. They might be angry for a while, but their bond is very strong. Bromance, is what people call it. There is no BL or yaoi involved. Just bros.<br><br>“Male” <br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;">-Royal Road has 49 different races. You may choose from 29 primary races available.-</span><br><br>“Human.”<br><br>The answer was immediate, since he knew it was the most balanced race available. Scott’s lack of knowledge of the different races made him chose the safest answer. If he wanted to, he could always ask the AI for the lists and description. But he felt impatient, he wanted to enter the world his brother loved so much.<br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;">-You may alter your appearance of your avatar in any way you like.-</span><br><br>In front of Scott, a body materialized. It was a perfect copy of himself. The twins’ looks are almost identical, that for a moment he thought it was Steve in front of him. The twins are not bad looking. Easy on the eyes but not too handsome; just a bit above average. However, their status as twins somehow elevates their popularity among girls. You know the way female twins have this attraction to them? It works both ways.<br>“Change hair colour to blue. Increase hair length”<br><br>The changes were almost instantaneous. Scott looks rather unhappy with the results, as the hair did not turn out as he intended.<br>“Can I have scissors and comb?”<br><br>The AI complied. Scott began styling the hair to look like his brother’s hair style. The only difference is that the colour is blue, the colour that Steve loath. Since 13 years old, Scott is always the one to cut his brother’s hair. Steve said he do not trust strangers to hold a scissor near his head. With ample experiences, he cut the avatar’s hair with expert dexterity. It took less than 5 minutes for him to finish styling the hair.<br><br>“Not bad. Finish with the hair.”<br><br>Scott then added few more minor tweaks to his avatar before finally finishing with the customization.<br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;">-Select a city and kingdom you want to start.-</span><br><br>“Random.”<br>Having spent too much time on his avatar, he decided to make this quick. <br><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br>-Welcome to Royal Road-</span><br>“Can we just go on with it?”<br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;">-Tutorial will now start as requested-</span><br>“Eh?”<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">*****</span></div><br><br><br>After the tutorial, Spoon appears in the center of a busy road. Since he did the tutorial, he no longer felt awkward of his new body. He quickly left the road trying to find a quieter place. He’s not used to crowds, it made him uncomfortable. <br><br>The first thing he did was gather information. He found out from the NPC peddlers that the town he is in is near the center of the Versailles continent. Since it was among the first city users can start off with, its population was rather high. <br><br>The fort city of Greyhold.<br><br>While not the largest city in the kingdom, its size is impressive. It is the preferable pit stop for adventurers passing to and from the Capital.<br><br>“Time to find things to do.”<br><br>Spoon starts wandering around for quests that he can do to pass time and gain money. Since he did the tutorial, and had his brother lecturing him about the game, he knows a lot for a beginner. Since he can’t leave the city for a month, questing is the best thing to do. As he wanders aimlessly, he was unconsciously walking toward a building at a remote part of town. Mainly because he dislikes crowded areas and this place seems peaceful enough.<br><br>As he enters the building, he saw a lot of scare crows lined. A quick scan on the surrounding, there were two other people around. He decides to approach the nearest person.<br><br> An old man with a wooden leg, much like the pirates in cartoons.<br><br>“Good morning sir.” Spoon greeted.<br><br>The old man head turns, looking at spoon. He instinctively sized up Spoon with his eyes.<br>“Good morning young adventurer. Here for training?” He responded.<br><br>“Training? So this place provides trainings for beginners?”<br>“Yes, that is correct. Though it has seen few visitors of late. Are you interested?”<br>“Since I’m already here, might as well give it a go.”<br>“Splendid. Grab the wooden sword of your liking and start hitting the straw training dummies.”<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">‘That’s it?’</span> Spoon thought.<br>“Gladly.” <br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">‘I’ll know after I try.’</span><br><br>Spoon picked a wooden long sword, and head towards the nearest dummy. He started attacking the dummy, mimicking the other person on the front corner of the hall. As Spoon’s attention shifted to the other person, he noticed that it was a girl.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">‘I do not know what the point in hitting the dummy is. Maybe I should ask her.’</span><br>Since he was bored hitting the practice dummy, he head towards the girl and greeted her.<br><br>“Excuse me, but you’re a player right? I’m new here, can I ask a few questions?”<br><br>The girl ceases whatever she was doing and turns to face Spoon. <br><br>As she faced Spoon, he was awe struck. The girl is beautiful, the most beautiful girl he have ever seen. Beauty is subjective, but for Spoon, she was definitely the most beautiful. She looked a bit shy, it was not after some time that her lips moved to respond to his question. Strangely, Spoon did not hear anything coming out or her mouth.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">‘What is this, love at first sight?’<br>‘Impossible, such thing don’t exist. It’s just the fact that I have been single all my life.’<br>‘Still, it should be nice to be friends with her. At least get her name for now.’<br>‘Damn it. If I ask for her name, I have to introduce myself first. SPOON? Why did I named my avatar SPOON? Just to piss off my brother?! Now that I think about it, it’s petty.’<br>‘She’ll think I’m weird and avoid me.’</span><br>Many thoughts raced through Spoon’s head that he did not realize he was staring at her face for a long time now.<br><br>“Are you okay?”<br>Spoon snapped back to reality, or virtual reality, in this case.<br><br>“Ah, sorry. I was lost in thought.”<br><br>Spoon was very embarrassed right now. But before he could ask any further questions, the old man approaches them.<br><br>“Instructor Graham. It’s rare for you to approach me. Do you need something?” Says the girl.<br>“Haha. Today is a special day for me. Wait, for you.”<br>“What do you mean?”<br>“Today, you have finally passed the basic training program.”<br><br>The old guy, Instructor Graham, hands her a sword before continuing his explanation.<br><br>“This is the sword given to all that have passed the training. You have earned it. I have no more to teach you, now you must venture to other place to train yourself. Places other than this place.”<br>“I still can come here to hit the scarecrows right?”<br>“NO. You have reached the maximum potential from this place.”<br><br>She pouted.<br><br>“I’m not here for the stats!”<br>“You are here for my food! No more!!”<br><br>Usually, those who passed the basic training will have high friendship affinity with the instructor. This is a special case. Their affinity is very low.<br><br>Spoon stood in place, confused at what is happening in front of him. He came to a conclusion that the reward for the training was a sword. It also seems like the instructor wanted to chase the girl out. He stood still trying to understand what is happening in front of him. <br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">‘This is awkward. I’ll try to change the topic.’</span><br><br>“Can I see the sword?” Spoon suddenly spoke.<br>He wanted to know if the reward is worth the effort.<br><br>“Sure.”<br><br>As the sword passed from the girl to Spoon, the weight of the sword felt very heavy on Spoon’s hands. He was holding the sword with two hands, while the girl casually uses only one.<br><br>“Item Stat Window”<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="4">Hard Iron Sword</td></tr><tr><td colspan="4">Durability: 54/54<br>Damage: 10-14<br>Awarded to those who completed the Basic Training Program. <br>This widely-used sword is better than basic type weapons that are available in a blacksmith’s workshop.<br>+10 STR<br>Limits:<br>STR 40+<br>VIT 35+</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">‘It requires minimum 40 STR to equip. Spoon only have 10. Given 5 stat point per level, she must be at least lvl 7, to reach the STR requirement. Plus 5 more levels for VIT requirement. She must be at least lvl 12.’</span><br><br>Spoon did not know that you can raise your stats from hitting straw dummy.<br><br>“What are your level if I may ask?”<br>“Level 2. Why?”<br><br>Spoon was confused.<br>“There is no way a lvl 2 can equip this sword!”<br><br>The girl simply laughed and explained to him that leveling up is not the only way to increase stats. She began explaining that her stats were raised through repeatedly hitting the dummy. Spoon finally understood that this is a game that rewards hard work. Of course, he did not know just how hard it actually is.<br><br>“Well, I’ll need to go now.” Said the girl.<br>She put the sword in her inventory and walked out of the training hall.<br><br>“Thank you for explaining things to me. Perhaps we will meet again.”<br><br>There are only two people left in the training hall. The instructor was humming happily while enjoying his bread and tea. Spoon decides to give the training a chance and begin hitting the straw dummy.<br><br>*Whack!*<br><br>*Whack!*<br><br>*Whack!*<br><br>“DARN IT!!” Spoon suddenly shouted.<br><br>As the instructor heard him shouting, tea was spewed out of his mouth. With wide eyes he looked at Spoon.<br><span style="font-style: italic;">‘Don’t tell me he is the same type like the girl.. Please no..’</span><br><br>Spoon smack his sword hard at the dummy.<br><br>*WHACK!*<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">‘I forgot to ask her name!! How stupid could I be??’</span><br><br>*Whack!* Another hit.<br><span style="font-style: italic;"><br>‘Wait, the instructor might know her name. I should ask him.’</span><br><br>Spoon stopped hitting the dummy and walked toward Instructor Graham. The Instructor quickly responded with a shout.<br>“YOU CAN’T HAVE MY LUNCH!!”<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">*****</span></div><br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">&lt;&lt;Prev</span><span style="color: #BFFFBF;"> - - - - </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Next&gt;&gt;</span><br><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=68&amp;t=354" target="_blank"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/xcc1QEF.png" border="0" alt="http%3a%2f%2fi.imgur.com%2fxcc1QEF.png"></a><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=68&amp;t=362&amp;p=1476#p1476" target="_blank"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/HF3aiKG.png" border="0" alt="http%3a%2f%2fi.imgur.com%2fHF3aiKG.png"></a></div><br><br><blockquote><cite> Wrote: </cite>Credits goes to Nobody8 and blueshadows13 for pointing out I have mad grammar skillz (not the good kind), some grammar mistakes might still be present. Also thanks to others in the chatango, for giving feedback on all the chapters I throw out in the chat. This includes Vereliosi, Nobody8 and HikaruMichi, which I forgot to credit for their quote in my summary.<br>I know there are others who read the chapters and gave me feedback, but I just can't remember your names. Go to nearby KFC and say my name, you'll get free fried chickens.</blockquote><br> </div>

Battle Maiden Book 1 : Into the Gates of Hell Chapter 1 : The Boy Blue ***** Sarah made her way to her table as soon as she left the capsule. Before she sat down, she stretched her stiff body, stretching her arms and arching her back as if she had just woken up from a long sleep. She sits down and grabs her note book. ‘Prolonged usage would pose health problems. Since VR is no substitute for sleep, the brain will still get tired. They tried to solve this by making time goes 4 times faster in the game. This does not help at all. Not in a VR games.’ She jotted down random thought and observation in her note book. She intends to use Virtual Reality as the topic for her final year project. Virtual reality was made possible a couple of decades ago. Since then it has come a long way. No longer do you need a computer the size of a house to run it, it is now possible to create a terminal no bigger than your standard personal computer. With the advancement of technology and mass production, almost every home can afford such a machine. Unicorn corporation jumped at this opportunity, creating the world first ever VRMMORPG, Royal Road. Their gamble and investment paid off as the game soon becomes the world most successful game in history. 'Making time flow four times faster, could it be the brain has to process information four times from normal?' She checks her computer for statistics that she compiled about Royal Road. ‘Average play time 8-10 hours per day. Amazing numbers. Considering work and school, eating and resting, the rest was spent on Royal Road.’ She begins to write down complicated calculations on her note book, trying to figure out the workload imposed on the brain. But before she could get the answers, she lets out a huge sigh. She realized her pen has run out of ink. “Damn it!” She does not have a spare pen. Pens are rare these days, so are books. Almost everything is computerized. Schools and offices have long since adopted the paperless approach. Not that it’s a bad thing, but Sarah is the type that works best with pen and paper. In her university, she is the only one that has text books. In a way, it fits nicely with her image. Clearly frustrated, she grabs a stuffed bear from her bed. Holding it in one hand, she raised her other hand in a fist. She proceeds to pummel the poor teddy bear with all her strength. After a couple of punches she stopped. “Mr. Fluffy, you’re too soft!” “Back to the scarecrow then.” She lies down inside the capsule and logged on to Royal Road. ***** The training hall did not have many visitors. Because of that, Graham usually spends his time drinking tea instead of actually training people. There are occasional visitors who wanted to try out the place, but not many returns. Why do boring drills when you can make money and do fun stuff at other place. *WHACK!* “Stupid store ran out of stock on pen!” *WHACK!* But lately there is this girl who came by often hitting the straw dummy. Instructor Graham was quite surprised to see her the first time, even more surprised to see her return a couple more times. After the 17th day in a row seeing her return to hit the straw dummy, he is no longer surprised. He is now afraid of her. *WHACK!* “What kind of book store runs out of pen??!!!” *WHACK!!* “I’m not wasting paper!! Those gossip magazines are the waste of paper!” *WHAAACCCKKKK!!!* While at first Instructor Graham was thrilled to have a prospective student, he is having a second thought. It’s nice that she comes often and does not give up easily, but her attitude was rather violent. ‘I suppose she is suited for the berserker class.’ Graham thought. She always leaves when other people enter the training hall. After the fifth day, she no longer minds the instructor presence and started cursing even when he is around. It’s not that she ignored him completely, she just does so when she is hitting the dummy. During other time, she was quite polite, especially when eating together with the instructor. ‘Gah, she’s heading this way. My food, my precious food..’ Graham shouts in his head. Sera, knowing that the instructor was an ‘honorable knight’, uses this fact to get free meal. No chivalrous knight would eat while a hungry lady is around. ‘I’m eating this guy's food, I could at least be polite.’ was written in Sera's smile, a smile as bright as the sun. It was a parasitic relationship. ***** “Where does this go?” “You connect this one there, the red port. It’s colour-coded damn it!” “Don’t be mad at me. If I know how to do this myself I won’t call you here. Plus, you’re the one bugging me to start playing this game.” They were twins, yet their personality was very different. Identical twins, it’s hard to differentiate the both of them if you do not know them. Those that do know them can tell the difference by their demeanors. The older, by four minute, is Scott. The younger is Steve. Steve is way more outgoing than his older brother. He started playing Royal Road the day it was released with his friends. Scott said he’s not interested, as he prefers single player games, to go on his own pace. It was a lie. He wanted to play, but he did not want to burden his parent. Growing up as twin, their parent always bought them the same stuff. They did not want one of the twins to feel left out. It is good parenting, but it has its downside. Some things you can share, but not a VR capsule. You can take turn, but it is not as fun. Scott knows that their parents would not be able to afford to buy two capsules, plus the monthly fees. Since he knows Steve is very excited about the game, he felt bad that he won’t be able to play due to him. He managed to convince his parent that two people can play the game using one capsule and subscription. Since they were not up to date with technology, they believed him. Unlike Steve, Scott never lied to them before, so his word held huge credibility to them. This was his first lie Scott told his parents. His second lie to his family was to his brother, Steve. He told him that their parents agreed to buy the capsule for him on the condition that he improves his grades. For the first time in his life, Steve studied as hard as he can. Even though Scott knows it was a lie, he still joins his brother studying. He was kind in his own way. Of course this lie was soon uncovered by his parent. Royal Road became so famous that even farmers at countryside knew what it was. After four month they bought the capsule for them, they learned the truth. However, they were not angry. They were proud even, that Scott managed to make Steve grades increases. They soon came to a compromise, his father offers to buy another capsule, however their allowances is to be reduced. As for the amount reduced, it depends on Steve’s grades on the next test. “Why does it have to be my grade and not yours?” Steve complains as he connects the power to his brother’s brand new capsule. “Because my grades are near perfect.” Scott responds in a matter of fact way. “Well, you’re on your own starting the game. I need to salvage as much allowance as I can.” “This is connected right? All I have to do now is go in and log on?” “Yes noob. Send me a PM in game so I can find you later.” Steve move towards the door before turning around. “Drink a lot of water, stay hydrated. Don’t drink too much though. Good luck, have fun.” “Have fun studying.” Scott smirked. After Steve left, Scott enters the Capsule. A message appears in front of him. | Connect to Royal Road?Yes||No | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | “Yes” ***** The next thing Scott knew, he was surrounded by a huge empty space. There, a feminine voice greeted him. -The scan on your retina and veins has shown that you are an unregistered player. Would you like to create an account?- “Yes..” What else can he do? -Please choose the name of your avatar.- Before VRMMORPG, it was common to see weird names in online games. People do it for fun. Scott was not an exception. When he was 8, his first online avatar name was SuperSwordX. Now imagine having such names for a VR games. ‘How ya doing SuperSwordX? ‘ ‘SuperSwordX, use your super sword attack!!’ Scott prefers not to remind himself of the past. Everybody have something they regret. He opted for a more normal name, but not his real name. While no stranger to RPG, this is his first experience in VR. At the very least, the name should be done right. “Spoon” He grinned. -Please choose your gender from male, female, or neutral- ‘Wait, you can choose other gender? Neutral? What the heck is that?’ Scott ponders for a bit, but decides against it. It would be too creepy. And his brother would use this against him. His curiosity has to wait. The twins often try to mess with each others. Playing pranks and tricks is common. Steve once asked a girl out on a date while using Scott’s identity. It can be mean, but there is no ill will behind the pranks. They might be angry for a while, but their bond is very strong. Bromance, is what people call it. There is no BL or yaoi involved. Just bros. “Male” -Royal Road has 49 different races. You may choose from 29 primary races available.- “Human.” The answer was immediate, since he knew it was the most balanced race available. Scott’s lack of knowledge of the different races made him chose the safest answer. If he wanted to, he could always ask the AI for the lists and description. But he felt impatient, he wanted to enter the world his brother loved so much. -You may alter your appearance of your avatar in any way you like.- In front of Scott, a body materialized. It was a perfect copy of himself. The twins’ looks are almost identical, that for a moment he thought it was Steve in front of him. The twins are not bad looking. Easy on the eyes but not too handsome; just a bit above average. However, their status as twins somehow elevates their popularity among girls. You know the way female twins have this attraction to them? It works both ways. “Change hair colour to blue. Increase hair length” The changes were almost instantaneous. Scott looks rather unhappy with the results, as the hair did not turn out as he intended. “Can I have scissors and comb?” The AI complied. Scott began styling the hair to look like his brother’s hair style. The only difference is that the colour is blue, the colour that Steve loath. Since 13 years old, Scott is always the one to cut his brother’s hair. Steve said he do not trust strangers to hold a scissor near his head. With ample experiences, he cut the avatar’s hair with expert dexterity. It took less than 5 minutes for him to finish styling the hair. “Not bad. Finish with the hair.” Scott then added few more minor tweaks to his avatar before finally finishing with the customization. -Select a city and kingdom you want to start.- “Random.” Having spent too much time on his avatar, he decided to make this quick. -Welcome to Royal Road- “Can we just go on with it?” -Tutorial will now start as requested- “Eh?” ***** After the tutorial, Spoon appears in the center of a busy road. Since he did the tutorial, he no longer felt awkward of his new body. He quickly left the road trying to find a quieter place. He’s not used to crowds, it made him uncomfortable. The first thing he did was gather information. He found out from the NPC peddlers that the town he is in is near the center of the Versailles continent. Since it was among the first city users can start off with, its population was rather high. The fort city of Greyhold. While not the largest city in the kingdom, its size is impressive. It is the preferable pit stop for adventurers passing to and from the Capital. “Time to find things to do.” Spoon starts wandering around for quests that he can do to pass time and gain money. Since he did the tutorial, and had his brother lecturing him about the game, he knows a lot for a beginner. Since he can’t leave the city for a month, questing is the best thing to do. As he wanders aimlessly, he was unconsciously walking toward a building at a remote part of town. Mainly because he dislikes crowded areas and this place seems peaceful enough. As he enters the building, he saw a lot of scare crows lined. A quick scan on the surrounding, there were two other people around. He decides to approach the nearest person. An old man with a wooden leg, much like the pirates in cartoons. “Good morning sir.” Spoon greeted. The old man head turns, looking at spoon. He instinctively sized up Spoon with his eyes. “Good morning young adventurer. Here for training?” He responded. “Training? So this place provides trainings for beginners?” “Yes, that is correct. Though it has seen few visitors of late. Are you interested?” “Since I’m already here, might as well give it a go.” “Splendid. Grab the wooden sword of your liking and start hitting the straw training dummies.” ‘That’s it?’ Spoon thought. “Gladly.” ‘I’ll know after I try.’ Spoon picked a wooden long sword, and head towards the nearest dummy. He started attacking the dummy, mimicking the other person on the front corner of the hall. As Spoon’s attention shifted to the other person, he noticed that it was a girl. ‘I do not know what the point in hitting the dummy is. Maybe I should ask her.’ Since he was bored hitting the practice dummy, he head towards the girl and greeted her. “Excuse me, but you’re a player right? I’m new here, can I ask a few questions?” The girl ceases whatever she was doing and turns to face Spoon. As she faced Spoon, he was awe struck. The girl is beautiful, the most beautiful girl he have ever seen. Beauty is subjective, but for Spoon, she was definitely the most beautiful. She looked a bit shy, it was not after some time that her lips moved to respond to his question. Strangely, Spoon did not hear anything coming out or her mouth. ‘What is this, love at first sight?’ ‘Impossible, such thing don’t exist. It’s just the fact that I have been single all my life.’ ‘Still, it should be nice to be friends with her. At least get her name for now.’ ‘Damn it. If I ask for her name, I have to introduce myself first. SPOON? Why did I named my avatar SPOON? Just to piss off my brother?! Now that I think about it, it’s petty.’ ‘She’ll think I’m weird and avoid me.’ Many thoughts raced through Spoon’s head that he did not realize he was staring at her face for a long time now. “Are you okay?” Spoon snapped back to reality, or virtual reality, in this case. “Ah, sorry. I was lost in thought.” Spoon was very embarrassed right now. But before he could ask any further questions, the old man approaches them. “Instructor Graham. It’s rare for you to approach me. Do you need something?” Says the girl. “Haha. Today is a special day for me. Wait, for you.” “What do you mean?” “Today, you have finally passed the basic training program.” The old guy, Instructor Graham, hands her a sword before continuing his explanation. “This is the sword given to all that have passed the training. You have earned it. I have no more to teach you, now you must venture to other place to train yourself. Places other than this place.” “I still can come here to hit the scarecrows right?” “NO. You have reached the maximum potential from this place.” She pouted. “I’m not here for the stats!” “You are here for my food! No more!!” Usually, those who passed the basic training will have high friendship affinity with the instructor. This is a special case. Their affinity is very low. Spoon stood in place, confused at what is happening in front of him. He came to a conclusion that the reward for the training was a sword. It also seems like the instructor wanted to chase the girl out. He stood still trying to understand what is happening in front of him. ‘This is awkward. I’ll try to change the topic.’ “Can I see the sword?” Spoon suddenly spoke. He wanted to know if the reward is worth the effort. “Sure.” As the sword passed from the girl to Spoon, the weight of the sword felt very heavy on Spoon’s hands. He was holding the sword with two hands, while the girl casually uses only one. “Item Stat Window” | Hard Iron Sword | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Durability: 54/54Damage: 10-14Awarded to those who completed the Basic Training Program. This widely-used sword is better than basic type weapons that are available in a blacksmith’s workshop.+10 STRLimits:STR 40+VIT 35+ | | | | ‘It requires minimum 40 STR to equip. Spoon only have 10. Given 5 stat point per level, she must be at least lvl 7, to reach the STR requirement. Plus 5 more levels for VIT requirement. She must be at least lvl 12.’ Spoon did not know that you can raise your stats from hitting straw dummy. “What are your level if I may ask?” “Level 2. Why?” Spoon was confused. “There is no way a lvl 2 can equip this sword!” The girl simply laughed and explained to him that leveling up is not the only way to increase stats. She began explaining that her stats were raised through repeatedly hitting the dummy. Spoon finally understood that this is a game that rewards hard work. Of course, he did not know just how hard it actually is. “Well, I’ll need to go now.” Said the girl. She put the sword in her inventory and walked out of the training hall. “Thank you for explaining things to me. Perhaps we will meet again.” There are only two people left in the training hall. The instructor was humming happily while enjoying his bread and tea. Spoon decides to give the training a chance and begin hitting the straw dummy. *Whack!* *Whack!* *Whack!* “DARN IT!!” Spoon suddenly shouted. As the instructor heard him shouting, tea was spewed out of his mouth. With wide eyes he looked at Spoon. ‘Don’t tell me he is the same type like the girl.. Please no..’ Spoon smack his sword hard at the dummy. *WHACK!* ‘I forgot to ask her name!! How stupid could I be??’ *Whack!* Another hit. ‘Wait, the instructor might know her name. I should ask him.’ Spoon stopped hitting the dummy and walked toward Instructor Graham. The Instructor quickly responded with a shout. “YOU CAN’T HAVE MY LUNCH!!” ***** <<Prev - - - - Next>> [](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=68&t=354)[](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=68&t=362&p=1476#p1476) > Wrote: Credits goes to Nobody8 and blueshadows13 for pointing out I have mad grammar skillz (not the good kind), some grammar mistakes might still be present. Also thanks to others in the chatango, for giving feedback on all the chapters I throw out in the chat. This includes Vereliosi, Nobody8 and HikaruMichi, which I forgot to credit for their quote in my summary. > I know there are others who read the chapters and gave me feedback, but I just can't remember your names. Go to nearby KFC and say my name, you'll get free fried chickens.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> “You must make something beautiful. Beauty is something which cannot be appreciated in such a dark hall. The competition will be held in exactly 4 weeks from now. Please take this time to rest and enjoy yourself. I recommend exploring the city while you can however for those of you who would like to perfect their skills, please feel free to use these forging halls.”<br><br>TRRRRINGGG!<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>Congratulations! You have advanced to the final round of the blacksmithing competition! If you clear this you will go on to become an apprentice of Theodore! <br><br>The competition will be held in the Great White Halls of Skyholm Mountains! You will not be provided any materials or equipment for this final round! So please remember to bring your own items and ores!<br><br>You are no longer bound to be penalized for non attendance. <br><br>- Please confirm your attendance -</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>“Yes!” at once all fifteen finalists shouted. The apprentices had their eyes fixated on the three new comers, an elf, a female and a small boy. <br><br>“Well then, let’s grab some lunch shall we?” Theodore broke the silence that had crept in.<br><br>The players nodded in agreement and the tension they felt soon dissipated. They hurriedly began following Thedore who picked up pace. He had built himself quite the appetite with all the judging, kicking and shouting he did.<br><br>“Congrats!” Pallidus whispered to Weed.<br><br>“Congrats to you too!” Weed winked back.<br><br>“Did you learn dwarvish blacksmithing as well?” Pallidus asked.<br><br>“Yes.”<br><br>“From whom?”<br><br>“Tizen Fuko, in Lavias City.”<br><br>Pallidus froze in his place. “Tizen Fuko?”<br><br>“Yeah from Swords and Charms. He own’s the place.”<br><br>“Never heard of it.” Pallidus frowned. All the research he did indicated that the only way to learn dwarvish blacksmithing was through Skyholm. There were no teachers other than Theodore in Lavias.<br><br>“Well he’s down by the South block, his skill level is ridiculously high.”<br><br>“…well that explains why his apprentice is so good, eh?” Pallidus asked enviously. Theodore only unlocked the dwarvish blacksmithing profession for him but never gave a single lesson. Most of the players had to experiment dwarvish blacksmithing on their own or do their own research before they could figure out how it worked.<br><br>"..." Weed didn't say anything as he didn't know better. It was true that Tizen never really did teach him anything but at the same time, he got a chance to observe the mastero at work.<br><br>They quickly exited the practicing halls and found themselves in front of a busy underground dwarvish street. The ceiling was no more than eight feet high and was glowing in a warm fiery goldish colors; unlike the dark practice halls. It was the first time for all the finalists inside a dwarves city. Unlike previous games, which were heavily influence by Royal Road, RREV did focus on traditional dwarvish architecture. The glowing ceiling was a clear example. Furthermore, the inner city construction was more than just rooms carved out in the ground; it was a proper underground city. It had its own sky, own buildings and own unique flora. Needless to say the players were left with their mouths wide open. Theodore seemed quite pleased with the reaction.<br><br>TRRRINGG!!<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>You are the very first players to discover Northern Mountain City.<br>Reward: Fame +100.<br><br>Every day for one week, double EXP and double item drops. The rarest items will drop from killing the first monster of each type in this region. Subsequent kills will drop common items.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>Some of the players smiled at the message. The apprentices were glad they competed so ferociously with each other, it finally paid off. By attending each apprentice test repeatedly, they were amongst the first ones to find the rumored dwarf city near Lavias. <br><br>The group attracted all sorts of stares from the NPC dwarves. Dwarf participants were greeted with warmly and with well wishes for the final round. The human participants were ignored and treated as lumps of meat consuming precious space in the world. The lone elf however received the harshest of treatment. From angry stares, to being openly cursed at, one dwarf even through a bucket of water at Weed. Weed desperately tried to hide his ears which he believed were the give away to his race, however his facial features were too elvish like to hide.<br><br>After crossing through the busy street, Theodore was joined by dwarf soldiers who stood on both sides of the players. The NPC dwarves were no longer allowed to come near to greet or curse the participant(s). The dwarvish participants glared at Weed. They were deprived of their rightful glory because of him. They already disliked Weed for being an elf; it also didn’t help Weed that Theodore favoured him by waiting till he finished the grandfather clock to end the second round. Weed however refused to participate in the glaring competition; he was more interested in the new world around him. He was really thankful that the guards stepped in between him and the dwarvish population but his instincts told him they weren’t here for him; there was something off about the whole thing. Weed just couldn’t figure out what it was but he had an ominous feeling warning him to be on his guard.<br><br>The guards accompanied the players and Theodore to a dining hall for dwarvish blacksmiths in training. The cafeteria could serve up to a thousand dwarves a meal. Theodore beckoned for the head chef and then dictated a long lunch order…dwarves truly ate a lot. The other players could only salivate as they heard the food being ordered. There were few good cooks in RREV and most of the food was still very expensive. To be able to eat the delicacies which Theodore ordered was the biggest reward some of them could have hoped for.<br><br>Lunch passed away with only sounds of players devouring the food away. Theodore had to repeat some dishes six times and the very best dwarvish delicacies were ordered till the cafeteria had no more to offer! Satisfied with their meals, most of the finalists decided to go their own ways. The female blacksmith declared she wanted to go shopping and no one offered to accompany her. She was definitely a beauty, but the seasoned players knew better. <span style="font-style: italic;"> Never accompany a woman when they want to go shopping. </span><br><br>Thor and Cynbel logged out at the same time. Soon after Pallidus and the little boy did as well. Only Weed and the nine other apprentices were left. Six of these were dwarves and they decided to return to the practicing halls. The other 2 human players seemed to know each other and began wandering about the city. Weed was left on his own, it didn’t bother him it was something he was used to.<br><br>x-x-x-x-x-x-x<br><br>Weed decided to prepare for the upcoming competition. He still wanted to make most of exploring the Northern Mountain City but the competition took precedence.<br><br>‘I need to bring my own resources to the competition.’ Weed thought about it carefully. Theodore had already revealed what was to be prepared for the next round. Going by all his actions so far, Theodore was not moody or fickle in anyway, he was very deep. The first rule to make something useful had a direct connection to the next round. In all honesty, Weed considered himself lucky for making a crafting knife. Had he not been limited by low levels of dwarvish blacksmithing, he might have gone for a big sword as well. ‘So would the items in the second round have any use in the third round?’<br>There was also the added element of being exposed to the Northern City, it too was most likely to be related to the competition in some way. Lastly, Weed didn’t have much time left before the deadline of Rodriguez quest. His plan had always been to wrap up Theodores test in one day and then set out to make the ring, but the final test was schedule 1 week for the time limit of his quest. Weed sat down on the middle of the street and closed his eyes. It was another problem that he had to solve. There were many unknowns and many possibilities that would arise as a consequence of his actions now. He only needed to only think of what needed to be done to become an apprentice of Theodore. Images of all that happened since the first test began flashing in Weeds mind; the first test’s riddle, finding the moonstone, preparing for the second test, the last two competitions…they all had one thing in common, Theodore always played around with words. His words were the only thing that held any significance. The riddle spoke guided him to the moonstone, sending him to the blacksmithing guild and the title of each competition round. Theodore always gave enough hints if one looked at it closely. Weed squinched his eyes as he recollected Theodore’s exact words for the third round…<br><br>“You must make something beautiful. Beauty is something which cannot be appreciated in such a dark hall. The competition will be held in exactly 4 weeks from now. Please take this time to rest and enjoy yourself. I recommend exploring the city while you can however for those of you who would like to perfect their skills, please feel free to use these forging halls.” He spoke out aloud.<br><br>Weed’s presence was almost negligible till he spoke. Thus, few of the dwarves who had been passing by were suddenly startled by Weed’s words. They looked at Weed in disgust and walked away. <span style="font-style: italic;">Elves bad enough, elves sitting on the street, with their eyes shut and talking to themselves? Just as expected. </span><br><br>‘Beauty is something which cannot be appreciated in such a dark hall.’ - The first suspicious line. <br><br>‘Why can’t beauty be appreciated in the dark? The dwarves live underground, they make things all the time underground, and darkness should be their second cousin.’ Weed frowned as he tried to solve the riddle. ‘However, a dwarven city is not dark but rather artificially illuminated. So does this mean the hall was not the best place to hold the competition? But if it was not the best place to hold the competition…then what makes the Great White Halls of Skyholm better? The only difference between a good place and a bad place would be…darkness…lighting?’<br><br>Weed smiled in delight, he knew he was on to something. ‘Lighting would matter if it came down to using something that required to shine…like a precious stone…or a diamond?’<br><br>Weed wore the biggest grin he could, he was getting better at this. ‘The beautiful object needs to be made of precious stone, most likely diamond or something which has a higher refractive index…so now I know what I need.’<br><br>“The competition will be held in exactly 4 weeks from now.” Weed muttered. ‘Surprisingly, he has given plenty of time to prepare. Theodore gave 4 weeks for the first test, 4 weeks for the next test and 4 weeks more for the last test. If time is a measurement of anything to go by then, this last round should be as difficult as any of these previous tests. But why?’<br><br>Weed scratched his chin as he thought about it. ‘Diamonds are relatively easy to find, anyone with a high enough level can engrave on them…either the level is very high or the stone is not diamond? Or is Theodore programmed to give a 4 week break at the end of each major break’ Weed wore a puzzled expression, he wasn’t too sure if he should read deeper into these words; there were just too many variables to consider.<br><br>“Please take this time to rest and enjoy yourself.”<br><br>‘…Not sure what to make of this.’ Weed sighed in frustration. Either he was going paranoid and reading too deep into everything or there really was a secret message hidden away in each and every line.<br><br>“I recommend exploring the city while you can however for those of you who would like to perfect their skills, please feel free to use these forging halls.”<br><br>‘He definitely wants us to explore the city and then use these very forging halls for practice…why? Why is he insisting we explore the city? It’s so big, it would take forever to explore. Another deadend?’<br><br>Weed sighed, the first part was easy, but after that there were just many possibilities.<br><br>‘He’s told us what to make, he’s told us what to use…he has given us time to prepare…and he has told us where to prepare. What does not fit in is why rest and enjoy ourselves? And why should I explore the city?…I guess if the answer doesn’t come to me, it’s best I should go the answer?<br><br>Weed opened his eyes and noticed that the streets were empty and most of the flaming torches on the walls had been dimmed. The glowing ceiling too had dimmed. ‘Interesting material..it glows as much as light there is…Could this be it?’ Weed excitedly jumped and touched the ceiling. It was not transparent like a diamond but it shone according to the light around. It would have appeared as a dull stone in the dark forging halls but in a brighter place it would shine more…<br><br>Weed hurriedly ran around the streets hoping to find someone to talk to. He needed to find a library in this city; answers were always present in books! But no matter whichever direction Weed ran in, there was not a soul insight. It seemed like the dwarves were all asleep and had returned to their homes. Weed looked around and frowned…he didn’t recognize where he was. In his excitement to find the library he ended up lost in the dwarven city. Dwarven cities should never be under estimated in terms of their size and complexity. If players considered the East block of Lavias complicated, then any dwarven city would qualify as a maze that would take an eternity to solve. Dwarvish cities were gigantic, Lavias would be considered a dwarf in comparison to one of these cities. To add to this Dwarvish cities were built in layers, one city layer on top of another. If Lavias was two dimensional then dwarvish cities were three dimensional. However, what really made dwarvish cities confusing was the lack of navigational facilities / maps. Lavias was a beginner’s town, so it had maps all over the city for players to refer to. In contrast, dwarvish city’s like Skyholm were known for intentionally not publishing maps; the dwarven community made a sizeable profit margin on selling maps. Weed began panicking… ‘What if I am stuck here for all eternity?’<br><br><br>----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br>Authors Note:<br><br>1. Will be edited soon.<br><br>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="4">Connect to Royal Road – Elementarem Vim next Chapter?</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&amp;t=418" target="_blank">Yes</a></td><td colspan="2"><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&amp;t=348" target="_blank">No</a></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- </div>

“You must make something beautiful. Beauty is something which cannot be appreciated in such a dark hall. The competition will be held in exactly 4 weeks from now. Please take this time to rest and enjoy yourself. I recommend exploring the city while you can however for those of you who would like to perfect their skills, please feel free to use these forging halls.” TRRRRINGGG! | Congratulations! You have advanced to the final round of the blacksmithing competition! If you clear this you will go on to become an apprentice of Theodore! The competition will be held in the Great White Halls of Skyholm Mountains! You will not be provided any materials or equipment for this final round! So please remember to bring your own items and ores!You are no longer bound to be penalized for non attendance. - Please confirm your attendance - | | --- | “Yes!” at once all fifteen finalists shouted. The apprentices had their eyes fixated on the three new comers, an elf, a female and a small boy. “Well then, let’s grab some lunch shall we?” Theodore broke the silence that had crept in. The players nodded in agreement and the tension they felt soon dissipated. They hurriedly began following Thedore who picked up pace. He had built himself quite the appetite with all the judging, kicking and shouting he did. “Congrats!” Pallidus whispered to Weed. “Congrats to you too!” Weed winked back. “Did you learn dwarvish blacksmithing as well?” Pallidus asked. “Yes.” “From whom?” “Tizen Fuko, in Lavias City.” Pallidus froze in his place. “Tizen Fuko?” “Yeah from Swords and Charms. He own’s the place.” “Never heard of it.” Pallidus frowned. All the research he did indicated that the only way to learn dwarvish blacksmithing was through Skyholm. There were no teachers other than Theodore in Lavias. “Well he’s down by the South block, his skill level is ridiculously high.” “…well that explains why his apprentice is so good, eh?” Pallidus asked enviously. Theodore only unlocked the dwarvish blacksmithing profession for him but never gave a single lesson. Most of the players had to experiment dwarvish blacksmithing on their own or do their own research before they could figure out how it worked. "..." Weed didn't say anything as he didn't know better. It was true that Tizen never really did teach him anything but at the same time, he got a chance to observe the mastero at work. They quickly exited the practicing halls and found themselves in front of a busy underground dwarvish street. The ceiling was no more than eight feet high and was glowing in a warm fiery goldish colors; unlike the dark practice halls. It was the first time for all the finalists inside a dwarves city. Unlike previous games, which were heavily influence by Royal Road, RREV did focus on traditional dwarvish architecture. The glowing ceiling was a clear example. Furthermore, the inner city construction was more than just rooms carved out in the ground; it was a proper underground city. It had its own sky, own buildings and own unique flora. Needless to say the players were left with their mouths wide open. Theodore seemed quite pleased with the reaction. TRRRINGG!! | You are the very first players to discover Northern Mountain City.Reward: Fame +100.Every day for one week, double EXP and double item drops. The rarest items will drop from killing the first monster of each type in this region. Subsequent kills will drop common items. | | --- | Some of the players smiled at the message. The apprentices were glad they competed so ferociously with each other, it finally paid off. By attending each apprentice test repeatedly, they were amongst the first ones to find the rumored dwarf city near Lavias. The group attracted all sorts of stares from the NPC dwarves. Dwarf participants were greeted with warmly and with well wishes for the final round. The human participants were ignored and treated as lumps of meat consuming precious space in the world. The lone elf however received the harshest of treatment. From angry stares, to being openly cursed at, one dwarf even through a bucket of water at Weed. Weed desperately tried to hide his ears which he believed were the give away to his race, however his facial features were too elvish like to hide. After crossing through the busy street, Theodore was joined by dwarf soldiers who stood on both sides of the players. The NPC dwarves were no longer allowed to come near to greet or curse the participant(s). The dwarvish participants glared at Weed. They were deprived of their rightful glory because of him. They already disliked Weed for being an elf; it also didn’t help Weed that Theodore favoured him by waiting till he finished the grandfather clock to end the second round. Weed however refused to participate in the glaring competition; he was more interested in the new world around him. He was really thankful that the guards stepped in between him and the dwarvish population but his instincts told him they weren’t here for him; there was something off about the whole thing. Weed just couldn’t figure out what it was but he had an ominous feeling warning him to be on his guard. The guards accompanied the players and Theodore to a dining hall for dwarvish blacksmiths in training. The cafeteria could serve up to a thousand dwarves a meal. Theodore beckoned for the head chef and then dictated a long lunch order…dwarves truly ate a lot. The other players could only salivate as they heard the food being ordered. There were few good cooks in RREV and most of the food was still very expensive. To be able to eat the delicacies which Theodore ordered was the biggest reward some of them could have hoped for. Lunch passed away with only sounds of players devouring the food away. Theodore had to repeat some dishes six times and the very best dwarvish delicacies were ordered till the cafeteria had no more to offer! Satisfied with their meals, most of the finalists decided to go their own ways. The female blacksmith declared she wanted to go shopping and no one offered to accompany her. She was definitely a beauty, but the seasoned players knew better. Never accompany a woman when they want to go shopping. Thor and Cynbel logged out at the same time. Soon after Pallidus and the little boy did as well. Only Weed and the nine other apprentices were left. Six of these were dwarves and they decided to return to the practicing halls. The other 2 human players seemed to know each other and began wandering about the city. Weed was left on his own, it didn’t bother him it was something he was used to. x-x-x-x-x-x-x Weed decided to prepare for the upcoming competition. He still wanted to make most of exploring the Northern Mountain City but the competition took precedence. ‘I need to bring my own resources to the competition.’ Weed thought about it carefully. Theodore had already revealed what was to be prepared for the next round. Going by all his actions so far, Theodore was not moody or fickle in anyway, he was very deep. The first rule to make something useful had a direct connection to the next round. In all honesty, Weed considered himself lucky for making a crafting knife. Had he not been limited by low levels of dwarvish blacksmithing, he might have gone for a big sword as well. ‘So would the items in the second round have any use in the third round?’ There was also the added element of being exposed to the Northern City, it too was most likely to be related to the competition in some way. Lastly, Weed didn’t have much time left before the deadline of Rodriguez quest. His plan had always been to wrap up Theodores test in one day and then set out to make the ring, but the final test was schedule 1 week for the time limit of his quest. Weed sat down on the middle of the street and closed his eyes. It was another problem that he had to solve. There were many unknowns and many possibilities that would arise as a consequence of his actions now. He only needed to only think of what needed to be done to become an apprentice of Theodore. Images of all that happened since the first test began flashing in Weeds mind; the first test’s riddle, finding the moonstone, preparing for the second test, the last two competitions…they all had one thing in common, Theodore always played around with words. His words were the only thing that held any significance. The riddle spoke guided him to the moonstone, sending him to the blacksmithing guild and the title of each competition round. Theodore always gave enough hints if one looked at it closely. Weed squinched his eyes as he recollected Theodore’s exact words for the third round… “You must make something beautiful. Beauty is something which cannot be appreciated in such a dark hall. The competition will be held in exactly 4 weeks from now. Please take this time to rest and enjoy yourself. I recommend exploring the city while you can however for those of you who would like to perfect their skills, please feel free to use these forging halls.” He spoke out aloud. Weed’s presence was almost negligible till he spoke. Thus, few of the dwarves who had been passing by were suddenly startled by Weed’s words. They looked at Weed in disgust and walked away. Elves bad enough, elves sitting on the street, with their eyes shut and talking to themselves? Just as expected. ‘Beauty is something which cannot be appreciated in such a dark hall.’ - The first suspicious line. ‘Why can’t beauty be appreciated in the dark? The dwarves live underground, they make things all the time underground, and darkness should be their second cousin.’ Weed frowned as he tried to solve the riddle. ‘However, a dwarven city is not dark but rather artificially illuminated. So does this mean the hall was not the best place to hold the competition? But if it was not the best place to hold the competition…then what makes the Great White Halls of Skyholm better? The only difference between a good place and a bad place would be…darkness…lighting?’ Weed smiled in delight, he knew he was on to something. ‘Lighting would matter if it came down to using something that required to shine…like a precious stone…or a diamond?’ Weed wore the biggest grin he could, he was getting better at this. ‘The beautiful object needs to be made of precious stone, most likely diamond or something which has a higher refractive index…so now I know what I need.’ “The competition will be held in exactly 4 weeks from now.” Weed muttered. ‘Surprisingly, he has given plenty of time to prepare. Theodore gave 4 weeks for the first test, 4 weeks for the next test and 4 weeks more for the last test. If time is a measurement of anything to go by then, this last round should be as difficult as any of these previous tests. But why?’ Weed scratched his chin as he thought about it. ‘Diamonds are relatively easy to find, anyone with a high enough level can engrave on them…either the level is very high or the stone is not diamond? Or is Theodore programmed to give a 4 week break at the end of each major break’ Weed wore a puzzled expression, he wasn’t too sure if he should read deeper into these words; there were just too many variables to consider. “Please take this time to rest and enjoy yourself.” ‘…Not sure what to make of this.’ Weed sighed in frustration. Either he was going paranoid and reading too deep into everything or there really was a secret message hidden away in each and every line. “I recommend exploring the city while you can however for those of you who would like to perfect their skills, please feel free to use these forging halls.” ‘He definitely wants us to explore the city and then use these very forging halls for practice…why? Why is he insisting we explore the city? It’s so big, it would take forever to explore. Another deadend?’ Weed sighed, the first part was easy, but after that there were just many possibilities. ‘He’s told us what to make, he’s told us what to use…he has given us time to prepare…and he has told us where to prepare. What does not fit in is why rest and enjoy ourselves? And why should I explore the city?…I guess if the answer doesn’t come to me, it’s best I should go the answer? Weed opened his eyes and noticed that the streets were empty and most of the flaming torches on the walls had been dimmed. The glowing ceiling too had dimmed. ‘Interesting material..it glows as much as light there is…Could this be it?’ Weed excitedly jumped and touched the ceiling. It was not transparent like a diamond but it shone according to the light around. It would have appeared as a dull stone in the dark forging halls but in a brighter place it would shine more… Weed hurriedly ran around the streets hoping to find someone to talk to. He needed to find a library in this city; answers were always present in books! But no matter whichever direction Weed ran in, there was not a soul insight. It seemed like the dwarves were all asleep and had returned to their homes. Weed looked around and frowned…he didn’t recognize where he was. In his excitement to find the library he ended up lost in the dwarven city. Dwarven cities should never be under estimated in terms of their size and complexity. If players considered the East block of Lavias complicated, then any dwarven city would qualify as a maze that would take an eternity to solve. Dwarvish cities were gigantic, Lavias would be considered a dwarf in comparison to one of these cities. To add to this Dwarvish cities were built in layers, one city layer on top of another. If Lavias was two dimensional then dwarvish cities were three dimensional. However, what really made dwarvish cities confusing was the lack of navigational facilities / maps. Lavias was a beginner’s town, so it had maps all over the city for players to refer to. In contrast, dwarvish city’s like Skyholm were known for intentionally not publishing maps; the dwarven community made a sizeable profit margin on selling maps. Weed began panicking… ‘What if I am stuck here for all eternity?’ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Authors Note: 1. Will be edited soon. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Connect to Royal Road – Elementarem Vim next Chapter? | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Yes](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&t=418) | | [No](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&t=348) | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> It has been many years since people began wishing for Virtual Reality.Today It is no longer a Dream the first Virtual Reality video Game is about to Release. Mythical Legends the only game of it's kind is the only thing that has been on any gamers mind. Like anyone interested in video games Alan Duke has been waiting a long time for this.Today he finally gets his hands on the worlds most anticipated game sending him off on an unexpected adventure. Along the way he makes many friends and enemies but the most shocking thing is that he becomes the embodiment of a forgotten goddess that disappeared from the world along time ago in the war between the gods. Thanks to his connection to the Goddess the gods force him to start on the deathly Isles a place for the outcast, Political refuges, banished criminals, and long forgotten colonists and all their decedents. now it is up to him to save the Banished people of the Deathly Isles or fall to unknown enemies...<br>Old summary<br><div class="spoiler"><div class="smalltext" style="margin-bottom:2px"><b>Spoiler</b> : <input type="button" value="Show" class="spoilerButton"></div><div class="spoilerContent"><div style="display: none;">The First Fantasy VRMMO has finally released and Alan Duke gets one of the first platforms sending him off on his adventures. Along the way he makes friends and becomes the embodiment of a forgotten goddess that disappeared from the world along time ago in the war between the gods. Thanks to his connection to the Goddess the gods force him to start on the deathly Isles a place for the outcast, Political refuges, banished criminals, and long forgotten colonists and all their decedents. now it is up to him to save the Banished people of the Deathly Isles...</div></div></div> </div>

It has been many years since people began wishing for Virtual Reality.Today It is no longer a Dream the first Virtual Reality video Game is about to Release. Mythical Legends the only game of it's kind is the only thing that has been on any gamers mind. Like anyone interested in video games Alan Duke has been waiting a long time for this.Today he finally gets his hands on the worlds most anticipated game sending him off on an unexpected adventure. Along the way he makes many friends and enemies but the most shocking thing is that he becomes the embodiment of a forgotten goddess that disappeared from the world along time ago in the war between the gods. Thanks to his connection to the Goddess the gods force him to start on the deathly Isles a place for the outcast, Political refuges, banished criminals, and long forgotten colonists and all their decedents. now it is up to him to save the Banished people of the Deathly Isles or fall to unknown enemies... Old summary **Spoiler** : The First Fantasy VRMMO has finally released and Alan Duke gets one of the first platforms sending him off on his adventures. Along the way he makes friends and becomes the embodiment of a forgotten goddess that disappeared from the world along time ago in the war between the gods. Thanks to his connection to the Goddess the gods force him to start on the deathly Isles a place for the outcast, Political refuges, banished criminals, and long forgotten colonists and all their decedents. now it is up to him to save the Banished people of the Deathly Isles...

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> *<br><br>"Look, <span style="font-style: italic;">Ossan</span> (old man)*, it's annoying if you just keep staring at me practicing with that big smile of yours. I'd go as far as to say that it is creepy." I complained to the man that has been sitting there for the past half-hour, smiling and watching me practice. Meanwhile, I had moved on to another piece of practice, slowly moving from the <span style="font-style: italic;">Balancer</span> stance, which had resembled a horse stance, to a half bow stance.<br><br>Combatante hasn't logged back on yet. I wonder if she's busy with something.<br><br>"What's wrong then, young one, you were practicing rather smoothly before I came along and you noticed me after... a few hours or so. Or is something on your mind?" The <span style="font-style: italic;">Ossan</span> was unfazed by my rebuke, and even smoothly came back with a retort. Which sadly made sense.<br>I wasn't too sure about what he was talking about though.<br><br>"<span style="font-style: italic;">Ossan</span>, I have no idea what you are talking about. Isn't it better to keep thinking during a fight?"<br><br>"Young man, is that what you really believe? Haven't you thought of letting loose for a bit? I believe that you had done so several times in the past."<br><br>Letting loose... is he referring to <span style="font-style: italic;">Berserk Impulse</span>?<br><br>"Young man, sometimes you think too much. You hesitate rather often on your moves, and you miss openings and make yourself vulnerable in the process. Your thoughts, they have been holding you back."<br><br>And not thinking strategically in a battle is a good thing? I brought up as such to the <span style="font-style: italic;">Ossan</span>, who merely smiled.<br><br>"Young man, it seems that for now, we are of opposing mindsets. Perhaps we shall bring this up another time."<br><br>And before my eyes, the <span style="font-style: italic;">Ossan</span> vanished into thin air. Is he some sort of assassin or ninja or something?<br><br>Oh well, at least I can finally practice in peace. I switched exercises, practicing lunges, my spear shaft stabbing forward as I had practiced. Since it was a dashing foot movement, I need not extend it as much as I would have had, for the sake of stability. The thing about extending the spear to its full length in a dash movement was that I wasn't too confident of withdrawing the spear. Holding a long pole by the end is not an easy thing to do after all, and I can be easily disarmed in this situation.<br><br>"Morning, Howard."<br><br>A lunge is a common thing in fencing, a fencer suddenly moving forward in a forward leap, the weapon and arm extending to its full length to catch the opponent. But a spear is far longer than a epee after all.<br><br>"I said, morning, Howard..."<br><br>I lunged, and using the leg that was leading, I pushed myself back, retreating to a safe distance where my spear shaft's long reach would be at an advantage, and made to lunge again to strike at the imaginary opening that opened up in my mind as my imaginary opponent missed his strike...<br><br>"ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING?!!"<br><br>I was jolted from my theoretical revelry, running spear first into a rather angry Tante, who deflected the spear shaft to the side with her spear that she was equipped with. I was caught off guard and stumbled, falling face first onto the ground.<br><br>I looked up, sheepish grin on my face. Perhaps that <span style="font-style: italic;">Ossan</span> was right...<br><br>"Ah, morning, Tante..."<br><br>"Get up."<br><br>Tante's normally clear and melodic voice had a hard edge. It was as though someone struck a bell with too much force. She seemed to be angry for some reason... but the reason was of little importance to me. Whatever the reason, her anger appeared to be directed at me. I am... in the soup, so to speak.<br><br>"No, really, get up, Howard. We have to get moving. We are headed to join an punitive force at the Crypt to the West. I only just found out about this on the Internet, and if we move quickly, we should be able to get there to join in the fun."<br><br>....<br><br>And there I thought that she was angry.<br><br>"Now pack up, we get moving in an hour. I'm going to have to trouble you with my baggage; my men still need to rest."<br><br>Yup, she's still angry.<br><br>**<br><br>In a village to the west, some distance away.<br><br>Preparations are being made as soldiers, knights and paladins ran about, arming themselves for battle. Blacksmiths were hard at work, repairing and upgrading equipment where ever possible, and chefs are doling out servings of stew and bread. Priests are giving out blessings whenever they could, and mages are meditating and preparing spells to use in combat.<br><br>In the middle of the village, the expedition leader, Gordon, is deep in discussion with his party regarding the war tactics for the expedition...<br><br>"What's for lunch?"<br><br>"Just stew and bread."<br><br>"Again?! These chefs aren't very original, aren't they?'<br><br>If you consider this war tactics discussions, that is.<br><br>"Anyways, what are we going to do for our manpower?" Gordon, a level 125 Paladin was chewing on a piece of bread as he spoke, spraying crumbs everywhere. He's currently leading the expedition, and through a long and convoluted quest line, he has somehow arrived at an important position as the expedition leader leading the assault on the Crypt, where there has been report of undead and orc activity within the vicinity.<br><br>Despite this, he has been taking a rather lackadaisical approach to all this so far, chewing his bread while lying against a convenient tree stump in a relaxed manner, somehow lightening the serious atmosphere. In the midst of the chaotic bustle, the discussion was rather calm, the group taking the lead from their relaxed leader and lounging around peacefully. Several soldiers and blacksmiths shook their heads disdainfully as they passed, but it was ignored.<br><br>"Aren't we enough? We have easily 100 soldiers, about 50 archers and 50 mages, and about 25 priests." one of his self-proclaimed lackeys, a level 95 Knight, spoke up, his head covered by a half helmet.<br><br>"The undead aren't to be underestimated though. It's probably best that we get some back up anyway." Morton, a Level 131 Fire Mage, piped up. His twin, Horton, a Level 131 Ice Mage, nodded silently in agreement.<br><br>"But should we be a bit selective with the recruitment? We don't want a repeat of what happened in the last punitive force." another knight spoke up, a bit more uptight than the last.<br><br>A few months back, a punitive force led by Darius, a level 140 Sword Warrior, in order to liberate Baran Village from a large war party of lizard men, fell into disarray after Darius unwisely led the punitive force into an ambush. There were many casualties reported as a result, and the returns weren't even very good.<br><br>That knight had been playing for quite some time now despite being a casual player, and was in that particular group. Also, since that event, he has also actively participated in several raids that were similar to the first, but with better results. As such, we could say that he was a veteran with regards to this particular aspect.<br><br>"I see your point. What do you suggest we get then?" Gordon sat up from the tree stump, all ears for whatever advice he could get. The relaxed look on his face was sharpened as he suddenly became serious. The light atmosphere suddenly became heavy.<br><br>"W-well sir, I would suggest a surplus of priests and paladins since we are supposedly going against undead. Some mages and archers wouldn't hurt as well to mow down the enemy lines." The knight became nervous at Gordon's sudden interest, but emboldened by his success at drawing interest, he made an effort nevertheless.<br><br>"Oh, and since we are supposedly facing undead, we should see a necromancer or two. Some assassins should be recruited as well to take out these key targets." the other knight spoke up, unfazed by the the heavy atmosphere. Gordon rubbed his temple as he heard the candid responses from the rest of his group, keeping silent throughout.<br><br>At last he spoke, in a barely calm voice, as though keeping something back.<br><br>"Hmmm... All valid arguments, but all this is just guesswork right? Did anyone even bother to scout out the area and report back to the force?" Gordon suddenly snapped midway through his musing, all traces of his relaxed nature gone now. His irritated voice had an edge to it.<br><br>The excited babbling from the rest of the group soon fell to a silence at Gordon's outburst. There was awkward mumbling as the group looked at one another, at a loss, their bright ideas shot down by a single sentence. No one had any idea what to do without the necessary intelligence, and the proposals before weren't back by anything concrete either.<br><br>"I'm surrounded by idiots...." Gordon sighed to himself, and continued in a calm voice:<br><br>"Assemble a scout party of about 5 or 6. I need information. What is the terrain like, what are we currently going up against, what are my key targets and their weaknesses." This was said to a rogue, who stood up straight and saluted in a not-so-rogue-like manner.<br>In the meantime, Morton, you begin the recruitment drive. We'll need a powerful vanguard force to breach the enemy lines. That is what we are missing. Our defensive core should be fine, but just in case, get some mages and priests as well. We are looking at about 150 to about 200 extra people in total. Did you get all that or do I have to cram it into your thick, numb skulls?"<br><br>Again, there was an awkward silence as everyone nodded. Gordon suddenly relaxed again, and waved his arm so as to shoo them away.<br><br>"Good, then it's settled. Get to work, everyone, we only have 30 days to perform the suppression and report back to the king. Chop chop!!"<br>At this, everyone within the group scurried off, with the exception of Gordon, as he lay back against the tree stump again and sighed, this time peacefully. Several soldiers continued to look disapprovingly at him, but they were, of course, ignored.<br><br>And so, amidst the hustle and bustle of the war effort, a loud snoring sound could soon be heard above the noise as Gordon slept peacefully, oblivious to the noise and angry looks the soldiers are shooting at him.<br>***<br><br>"Come on, move quickly, we have to get to the recruitment drive before sundown or all the slots will be taken!! And where is my song?"<br><br>Tante hurried me as she ran in her armor, flag raised up and billowing in the breeze. Meanwhile, I was moving slowly behind, burdened by a large amount of baggage. For one person, she always seemed to carry around a large amount of stuff. She didn't seem to be too tired despite the armor she wore, though.<br><br>I was too tired to sing anyway, and even though I had a rather large amount of stamina, it was steadily dropping due to the weight of my heavy burden. On the other hand, I was training my stamina in the process, and it slowly increased as we jogged along the stone path.<br>We were currently still in the forest, and the sun was blotted by the large tree cover that covered the area, making it cooler than normal. In exchange, the atmosphere was humid, and sweat ran down my face.<br><br>It was annoying for Virtual Reality to even imitate that, but I was okay with this, since it was a natural way for the body to cool itself down.<br>I drank a mouth of water from a leather weather canteen as we jogged. Got to keep myself well-hydrated...<br><br>Ah right, I wonder how Blake was doing?<br><br>"Friend List!!"<br><br>I checked my buddy list, and to my pleasant surprise, the normally greyed-out name was now a bright blue, signifying that he was online. Blake was the only other player character that passed out of the basic training program with me back in the Sleepy Fortress. He was a gifted martial artist, but he excelled in using the sword. He was definitely a strong guy to have by your side, but we decided to split ways after the program, promising to keep in touch.<br><br>Let's see... if I remember correctly, by tapping the name on the list, I would be able to "whisper" to him. The "Whisper" feature is a common one found in many games, allowing players to communicate with one another over great distances, even across channels. It was a lot more convenient to use this than a chat room in most situations.<br><br>Let's see... tap the name, and when the name lights up, verbally send a message to initiate a conversation.<br><br>"Oi, Blake, are you there? Hello?" I asked tentatively. There was a good chance in other games that he is currently away from keyboard (AFK), but this is Royal Road. A few seconds later, I got a response.<br><br>"Who's there?" a rather confused voice responded. It seems that Blake has not used the Whisper feature before either, or had no cause to. I wonder what he has been up to since that day?<br><br>"It's Howard here. It has been a while, hasn't it?"<br><br>"Yeah, it's been about 3 weeks since. How have you been doing?" The voice took on a surprised tone, but it sounded pleasantly surprised.<br><br>"I'm having a blast, but my leveling's been on the slow side. How about you?"<br><br>"I'm doing pretty well for myself. I'm now at level 57. You?"<br><br>"... 30."<br><br>"You weren't kidding when you said that, huh. Still, it's nice to hear from someone. I'm currently in a dungeon now, training on my own since I couldn't find a party. Hang on a minute - Eat this, <span style="font-style: italic;">Savage Slice</span>!!" There was a sound of a blade slicing through flesh easily, and a eerie howl as the unfortunate target entered its death throes.<br><br>"Huh... If you don't mind my low level, is it fine that we meet up then? I'm headed to the Crypt, west from the Dryad Forest. There's a raid going on right now, and they are taking in people. It's a great chance to meet more people, not to mention the large amount of experience and loot to be obtained.<br><br>"That sounds awesome. Halcyon Village where I am at the moment's not that far from that location. I should be able to get there in abou- Hold on, there's an opening. Doryah!!" Wait, is he fighting as well as talking at the same time? Sounds of gore and violence could be heard over the conversation as swords were crossed, the noise of people getting stabbed and cut down.<br><br>Then I heard footsteps as someone tried to run away. Blake decided at this point to continue speaking.<br><br>"Either way, I'll see you there. Now if you would excuse me... <span style="font-style: italic;">Dash attack - Slipstream</span>!!"<br><br>More screaming was heard until I cut off the conversation. Holy crap.<br><br>That conversation also jolted something in my memory. That guy was pretty adamant that I go for this...<br><br>"Ah, Tante, I think I forgot to mention this..."<br><br>****<br><br>During my break, I logged off again after explaining to Tantte that I had "school commitments", being in the school fencing club. I wasn't very good, but I had two natural advantages: I was left-handed, which was awkward for most people to fencing against since the majority of them were right-handers and they primarily play against right-handers, and my tall height gave me a naturally longer reach.<br><br>On the other hand, I was not the most flexible person in the world, nor is my physical fitness excellent, so to speak. Also, I'm overly aggressive since the epee does not play by the right of way. In the end, it all balanced out and my coach had the team spar against me to prepare for fights against left-handers. I'm happy to say that this has changed over the 2 years spent in the military, but my flexibility still needs some (scratch that, make that a lot of) work.<br><br>Anyways, the team captain had decided for the whole group, which had graduated from college years back, to meet again today to catch up with one another and see the coach again, including me, the team punching bag.<br><br>Well, I did say to Tante that I <span style="font-style: italic;">had</span> school commitments. It was probably her fault that she missed the past tense in that sentence, but I still felt a little guilty anyway. Either way, we had made good progress, anyway, and it was probably fine to take a decently long break for the day anyway, so she readily agreed to this after some persuasion.<br><br>Speaking of our coach, he was a middle-aged chap who easily gets impatient. When we were in the club a few years back, he was happily married with a little girl by his side. Under his charge, our school team had enjoyed relatively high successes over the years. Other than fencing however, he was an amazing fellow, taking up martial arts in addition to fencing, and scoring several degrees as well.<br><br>It wasn't very pleasant training under him, though. When we were starting out, because my lunge covered the least distance (my physical fitness was terrible back then), he had me utilize a defensive approach, passive maintaining distance and fighting with mainly counters. On hindsight, I should have gone for something that fitted my temperament but I wanted to take on a sports co-curricular activity for a change, and bowling was definitely out because it costs too much money. Other sports as well, in my opinion. I wasn't a very sporty chap back then, I admit.<br><br>Either way, we still met up, and it was agreed that we would meet up at a fast-food restaurant before we went to the "dojo", which was our pet name for the place where we used to train back then.<br><br>Our team captain, Kevin, welcomed me when I arrived. He had a short build, and was the only one who had some experience and knowledge in fencing before we signed up, making him a likely option for team captain. Within the team, we had mostly saber users and a few epee users. The foil, the third of the three, was seen as the hardest weapon of the sport to pick up, and as such, Kevin, who used the foil, had to shift to a saber as a result since the others were beginners in fencing. Two years, and two practices a week isn't a lot of time to practice anyway. Not to mention that our batch was one of the smallest within a few years as well.<br><br>"Oh, if it isn't our only leftie. How's it been these past two years? The army treating you well?" Kevin smiled as we shook hands. In addition to his fencing ability, he was friendly and self-effacing, and he was actually likable unlike most team captains, who tend to be regular jerks.<br><br>"Well enough, though I have already passed out from that Hellhole some time ago." I grinned as I said this, and flexed my left arm playfully, flexing my bicep. Kevin nodded approvingly, and we settled down at a long table to wait for the others. I ordered a strawberry smoothie at the counter as Kevin sat there and sipped a cup of coffee.<br><br>"Ah, then you should have some time before you enter University, then right? What have you been doing in the meantime?" Kevin said as I returned with my order and sat down with a relaxed sigh.<br>"Ah, you know, I have been here and there... picked up a part-time job, took up a few hobbies, also tried a new VR game..."<br><br>"Virtual Reality, huh? It's really useful for training, although nothing beats physical training in real life, in my opinion. Although, would you care to elaborate a little further on this?"<br><br>"I thought you would know the game though, it's Royal Road, have you played it?"<br><br>"Oh, Royal Road? I haven't played it, but I have heard good things about it. Coach positively hates it, he made it clear that he would rather die than have his little girl play the game."<br><br>"He's not going to like hearing this from me, then." We laughed, and I felt a sense of warmth that arose from nostalgia. All fathers, even mine, naturally have a daughter-complex anyway. Oh, stereotypes...<br><br>"Have you kept in touch with the others, then?"<br><br>"Well, I did manage to contact Gerald. He has been overseas for some period of time pursuing his degree, but he is able to come back here for our little reunion today. Shen and Agatha are also coming, they are currently working while aiming for degrees at the local universities. How about things on your side?"<br><br>"Well, I did manage to call Coach to let him know that we are dropping by today, so a surprise is out. Which is just as well, he hates surprises more than he hates VR games anyway. I also got Henry and Blue to come as well."<br><br>"It seems that we got the whole group between us then. It would be like old times, huh?"<br><br>"Yup. For today, anyway." Kevin had a rather sad look on his face as he said that, but covered up his sorrow by taking another sip of coffee and coughing awkwardly. There was a resultant silence as a result.<br><br>The awkward silence was soon broken by the arrival of the other club alumni, who chose to gather as a group and arrive together.<br><br>****<br><br>Coach welcomed us like he would his children. Well, children that was not his daughter, anyway.<br><br>"Well, if it isn't my batch from about 3 years ago. You guys look healthy and strong, time has certainly treated you well. But have you guys been practicing your fencing??"<br><br>There was some mumbling that suggested that this was in the positive. Coach nodded solemnly, and continued:<br><br>"Somehow, I don't believe you, but I'll give you a chance to prove it. Your juniors are currently here for their weekly practice, so I think that you guys can help me train them by sparring with them. They need more exposure to improve themselves. I have high hopes for these guys as well, but you guys have your pride from seniority to uphold, so it should be a good fight."<br><br>As such, we met up with our juniors. We shook hands and we were grouped accordingly. There were about 7 of us on the Senior's side and around 10 on the Junior's side, easily a rather larger batch compared to a few years back, and it was eventually decided that we would go by a round-robin, where each participant faces off the others at least once, and we were playing by Saber rules, sudden death. Coach handed out equipment that was kept in the "dojo" and we took our places and began.<br><br>The equipment consisted of a wire mesh helmet, suit and gloves. The saber had a guard that covered most of the hilt, and the blade was more a long, rather thin and whippy metal rod with a larger tip at the end.<br><br>The saber follows the right of way (players take turns to attack and defend, and you switch roles if the attacker attacks once), but you are able to slash with it as well. The guard was larger than that of a foil and you can score a point by hitting that in addition to parts of the body. As expected, the saber felt really light in my hand.<br><br>I was first up against an equally tall opponent. I had things to be jealous about him, other than height, he was everything that I was not; he had good physical fitness, he was a right-hander, and he was brash and confident. Oh, and he mainly uses the saber. Coach also was particularly proud of this particular recruit, something he wasn't with me. Pissed by all this, I soon ended this with a wristy forehand that swatted aside his guard and bit into his shoulder in one movement after some time spent maintaining distance. Not bad for a guy who was deemed rusty after a long period of time.<br><br>All around me, the seniors were having mixed results as several lost as well. Kevin won his, Shen won his, but the rest lost. Coach shook his head disapprovingly, but it was the first round.<br><br>We fared better in the second and third rounds, however, as the seniors soon got to grips with their rusty fencing skills. I and Shen won one and lost one, bringing our scores go up up to about 2-1, with only Kevin maintaining a perfect streak.<br><br>My fourth opponent was a bit too defensive and maintained a bit too much distance, however, and I quickly covered the distance with a foot movement and tagged him with a simple lunge, like I would with my spear shaft in game. It was a bit disconcerting to see a normally slow and big opponent move so fast, but that was the way it normally was. Smaller players tend to be a bit more agile and fast while taller and larger players fall back on their longer reach. It was a stereotype which has been repeatedly broken in the past, and I reminded my junior of this. Consider him chastised.<br><br>The round robin went on. Kevin soon lost his first match, and we who lost a fair bit weren't too quick to console him, sadly.<br><br>"Argh, my first loss..."<br><br>"Dude, you have already won 8 out of the 9 fights you have been in so far, come on!!"<br><br>The next few opponents were a lot better, and they got into the groove. There was one that performed a cracking parry-riposte win, beating aside my lunge and striking me again for the win. There was another that had a really long lunge that suddenly covered a long distance in a flash. Two demonstrated excellent footwork, and I wondered if they had been taking martial arts before they took up fencing. I lost those fights, easy.<br><br>Nevertheless, I made an effort, but 16 fights in a day can really get to you, and I committed more mistakes as my legs increasingly got fatigued and worn out from bending low. As a rather tall person, I had to squat lower than the others to make the most of my advantage, but at the same time, it can really wear a guy down.<br><br>The last fight was against a junior known as Jacob. That one was my most memorable fight for the day, in my opinion.<br><br>Both sides were equally tired by that time, but when we took our places across one another, I happened to have looked into his eyes… and was forced to hold it there.<br><br>They were burning with the desire to win, a steely look that defied his fatigue and demanded victory at all costs. I involuntarily gulped, caught myself and focused by closing my eyes and taking a deep breath.<br><br>With that, the bout began. The first few moments were spent on getting a feel for the one another’s “killing range”, which not only included the player’s reach, but also how far they can lunge and their burst speed, which basically meant a sudden surge in speed to cover the distance and attack. I was defending, with the right of way currently on Jacob’s side.<br><br>Eventually he started by poking and testing my defences, opting to initiate even though the distancing was not perfect yet. Knowing that this was a feint, I stood my ground. Right of way passed over to me with that attack, and I moved forward, carefully covering the distance. I didn’t want to open myself up to a riposte.<br><br>I decided at this point to try something from in-game. I initiated, covering the distance with a sudden burst and crossing swords with Jacob. At the same time, I twisted my saber outwards to throw him off balance. My blade was on top, and I shifted the trajectory of my attack upwards to try and catch him on his shoulder.<br><br>This movement was similar to the fundamental spear movement <span style="font-style: italic;">lan</span> from the <span style="font-style: italic;">Bajiquan</span> system. Spears have several similarities in common with fencing, mainly the need for distancing, thrusts being the predominant attack, and the way it is handled as an extension of your arm, focusing on small and/or linear movements.<br><br>Unfortunately, the saber was a lot lighter and shorter than a spear, and through force of will, Jacob recovered beautifully and brought in his off-position arm in a forehand that caught me on the side. For some reason, his slash was a lot faster than my thrust, and that made all the difference, netting him the point and winning him the round.<br><br>“Nice counter.”<br><br>“No, senior. You hesitated at the last minute.”<br><br>“Did I?”<br><br>Jacob said nothing else, leaving me with that enigmatic response.<br><br>Eventually it came to an end, and the seniors managed to hold on to their pride somewhat, but it was mostly Shen and Kevin who carried us, mostly, with a score of 11-5 and 12-4 respective.<br><br>"Howard, quit being modest. You did just as well as Shen have done. And the two losses you had in the last two rounds were mostly flukes, in my opinion, even if Coach doesn't admit it." I was rebuked by my fellow seniors as I made this assessment. Yet, I had come out from the round robin with a score of 10-6, being third among the seniors and about 6th overall (a win record of about 62.5%, too.), but I could have been playing so much better, to be honest. I made a note to watch out for these mistakes back at Royal Road.<br><br>Coach soon approached me as we were packing up and preparing to go for dinner (Coach's treat, one should never turn down free food), nodding approvingly.<br><br>"You have changed, indeed. Last time your physical fitness and inflexibility were holding you back, and while you still need to become just a bit more flexible and your physicals still need a bit of work, there is certainly a marked improvement in your fencing. Have you been continuing fencing outside of school?"<br><br>"Not exactly, Coach. You wouldn't like to hear this, but..." I soon told him about my little foray into Virtual Reality Gaming and Royal Road, and how I have been picking up some martial arts on the side.<br><br>Instead of exploding or acting defensive for the sake of his daughter, Coach simply nodded appreciatively as I finished my account.<br><br>"So it does have some effect then... I have wondered why the quality of our competitors had gone up recently, and most of them seem to have included VR Training into their curriculum. I'm glad for the first hand account here. It would take some effort, but I believe we should be able to introduce this as well..."<br><br>I wonder about that. It's definitely a cause to be jealous of then. But it's not exactly my problem now anyway.<br><br>"It's just as you say, Coach. There's definitely an effect. Reflexes and Muscle Memory can be cultivated in the game, although physical fitness and real-life practice is still improved in real life."<br><br>"No, no, no, aside from that... A whole new world to explore, you say. I have traveled over this good Earth many times over, and of course it never ceases to surprise me, but... hmm..."<br><br>I finished my packing up and went to take a quick shower at the changing room. Behind me, cupping his chin as his hands as he sat there, Coach was deep in thought.<br><br>****<br><br>We had a great time chatting with our juniors over a rather large dinner, and it was agreed that we would keep in touch and do this again some time.<br><br>We laughed and made jokes, exchanged emails and numbers. Several of our group even played Royal Road, and I agreed to meet them in game... after I level considerably. My level is a bit on the low side, even if I didn't want to admit it. The others expressed some interest, and would probably join us sooner or later. I look forward to that.<br><br>I really do... I think?<br><br>I was walking home from the train station after the group parted ways. In the advent of cleaner and more advanced technology, the government's campaign to encourage more people to take public transport had been largely successful. Cars are also ridiculous expensive, and so there were few of them on the road, and all of them ran on electrical motors. As a result, the air was clean and fresh, and the sky was no longer blotted out by the smog that was released day by day in the past, opening up to easily a million stars, a stark contrast dancing across the night sky. The half-moon hung over the vicinity, bathing everything in a silvery light.<br><br>"Things have certainly started to change since I took up Royal Road..."<br><br>And it certainly had. Even though my journey so far had been a relatively short one, I had fought several times with my life on the line, and came out victorious each time. It had been a matter of luck, but I relished each and every one of these encounters. Small they may be, but each fight, even the one against rabbits, had contributed to my growth time and again.<br><br>It easily felt more rewarding than real life, which I had felt was a drag. I still had no goal in mind, and I still want to just settle down in a well-paying job and retire early, but perhaps my ambitions have changed, even just a little bit?<br><br>Today's sparring round robin had been a fun and enjoyable experience for me. I fought with my pride as a senior on the line, and had mostly justified it, winning more rounds than I lost. It felt great, being competitive. I felt immense pleasure when I had won, and felt sorrow at my losses. Perhaps that was what athletes feel each time at a tournament. I could empathize with them somewhat, but I'm no professional, to be honest.<br><br>I recalled what I had reflected on during that particular night's practice, where that <span style="font-style: italic;">Ossan</span> had suddenly appeared in front of me with that wide Cheshire cat smile of his, and told me that I had been thinking too much.<br><span style="font-style: italic;"><br>"Was it okay for me to go so far for a game that will only be deleted and replaced with new titles eventually?"<br><br>"Why am I even bothering to make the effort?"<br><br>"Have I forgotten what those RPGs did to me in the past?"<br><br>"Was it okay for me to throw away my pet philosophy regarding these games?"</span><br><br>These thoughts came rushing to me as I immediately thought on this. I had begun my adventure, intent on quitting once the one-month's free trial was over. And yet, I had went through so many brand new experiences thus far as my in-game avatar, immersed myself more deeply in the game than any other game I had play thus far in my short life.<br><br>It was a new experience, so to speak, a breath of fresh air from my dull life so far. I conveniently ignored the games that I had played in my school years, bright lights that lit up my otherwise bright life.<br><br>I still have about a week's worth of the trial left. But we are going to the punitive force... Which will probably take a bit of my one month left... and after that? I didn't want to miss those possibilities...<br><br>I decided to let my last week play out first before I would decide on whether I wanted to continue.<br><br>*****<br><br>Meanwhile, back at the Sleepy Fortress...<br><br>A young man who was dressed in traveler's garb had suddenly appeared there. He was tall and muscular, but his shabby appearance, so similar to that of many newbie players, was naturally ignored by the general populace that resided here.<br><br>"Wow..." and like many new players before him, he was pretty taken by the scene that greeted him as he appeared.<br><br>"Indeed, a new world for me to explore... And here I thought I did everything that I wanted to do so far in my life. The Earth continues to surprise me, each and every other day."<br><br>Like many other new players, he had heard good things about the game through word of mouth, and the thought of a new world to explore has consumed him, and he could not think of anything else. Finally, he gave in to his desires and got a capsule, getting a close contact of his to bring it over immediately and set it up quickly. He had paid a little extra for that, but...<br><br>"Well, time is money after all, but time is still more valuable than money." That was his pet opinion which could not be shaken to this day.<br><br>He had surreptitiously made subtle changes to his avatar as well, making him younger by a few years and taller than he normally was in real life. He had always wanted a couple of inches on his height, and his body, while muscular without any useless fat, could afford to be a bit bulkier...<br><br>Of course, he had also taken the name "Alf" in this game. He had always seen himself as an Alfred or Alfonso or Alfonse anyway.<br><br>After appearing and working out he kinks in his new virtual body, Johnathan Zhang, or as he was now known as, Alf was keen to begin his explorations. He checked his backpack and found 10 pieces of rye bread and a canteen of water.<br><br>"The game was even so kind to suit me up for the challenge, too."<br><br>He dashed to the gate that led to the outside of the city, but was stopped by the Guard that was stationed there.<br><br>"Hold, traveler. I see that you are new to this continent. The world outside of this fortress is a dangerous one, and I see that you are ill-prepared for this. As such, it is the lord's decree that new travelers are to stay within the perimeter of the fortress for the first fourth weeks to prepare. For now, you are not supposed to pass through this point. Or else."<br><br>Alf gave a strange look to the Guard that stood there and spoke like a pompous puppy (at least, that was how he sounded to him). There was an awkward pause as the Guard realized that the newcomer that he had spoken to and threatened had not scarpered off like the others before him. Alf dug his ear nonchalantly, and suddenly lashed out with a large and rather well-muscled arm.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">Bam.</span><br><br>It was sweet and textbook, a left hook aimed at the chin, devoid of any excess movement and perfectly weighted. The blow sent many mixed signals to the brain. The brain was jumbled up by the feedback and soon arrived at this conclusion: fall unconscious, shutting down all bodily functions. As a result, the guard flew up several inches from the blow, simply went limp and fell over like a log. <br><br>Alf massaged the blood back into his fist that was throbbing from the impact. He gave a rather happy grin since no one else stepped forward to try and stop him.<br><br>"Well, that settles it. ONWARDS TO ADVENTURE!!"<br><br>Drawing curious and suddenly surprised looks from passers-by who heard his sudden outburst, Alf dashed out of the city, happily oblivious to the dangers and curiosity that surrounded him.<br><br>**********************<br>Author's Notes:<br><br>I'll probably think of something to say here. </div>

* "Look, Ossan (old man)*, it's annoying if you just keep staring at me practicing with that big smile of yours. I'd go as far as to say that it is creepy." I complained to the man that has been sitting there for the past half-hour, smiling and watching me practice. Meanwhile, I had moved on to another piece of practice, slowly moving from the Balancer stance, which had resembled a horse stance, to a half bow stance. Combatante hasn't logged back on yet. I wonder if she's busy with something. "What's wrong then, young one, you were practicing rather smoothly before I came along and you noticed me after... a few hours or so. Or is something on your mind?" The Ossan was unfazed by my rebuke, and even smoothly came back with a retort. Which sadly made sense. I wasn't too sure about what he was talking about though. "Ossan, I have no idea what you are talking about. Isn't it better to keep thinking during a fight?" "Young man, is that what you really believe? Haven't you thought of letting loose for a bit? I believe that you had done so several times in the past." Letting loose... is he referring to Berserk Impulse? "Young man, sometimes you think too much. You hesitate rather often on your moves, and you miss openings and make yourself vulnerable in the process. Your thoughts, they have been holding you back." And not thinking strategically in a battle is a good thing? I brought up as such to the Ossan, who merely smiled. "Young man, it seems that for now, we are of opposing mindsets. Perhaps we shall bring this up another time." And before my eyes, the Ossan vanished into thin air. Is he some sort of assassin or ninja or something? Oh well, at least I can finally practice in peace. I switched exercises, practicing lunges, my spear shaft stabbing forward as I had practiced. Since it was a dashing foot movement, I need not extend it as much as I would have had, for the sake of stability. The thing about extending the spear to its full length in a dash movement was that I wasn't too confident of withdrawing the spear. Holding a long pole by the end is not an easy thing to do after all, and I can be easily disarmed in this situation. "Morning, Howard." A lunge is a common thing in fencing, a fencer suddenly moving forward in a forward leap, the weapon and arm extending to its full length to catch the opponent. But a spear is far longer than a epee after all. "I said, morning, Howard..." I lunged, and using the leg that was leading, I pushed myself back, retreating to a safe distance where my spear shaft's long reach would be at an advantage, and made to lunge again to strike at the imaginary opening that opened up in my mind as my imaginary opponent missed his strike... "ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING?!!" I was jolted from my theoretical revelry, running spear first into a rather angry Tante, who deflected the spear shaft to the side with her spear that she was equipped with. I was caught off guard and stumbled, falling face first onto the ground. I looked up, sheepish grin on my face. Perhaps that Ossan was right... "Ah, morning, Tante..." "Get up." Tante's normally clear and melodic voice had a hard edge. It was as though someone struck a bell with too much force. She seemed to be angry for some reason... but the reason was of little importance to me. Whatever the reason, her anger appeared to be directed at me. I am... in the soup, so to speak. "No, really, get up, Howard. We have to get moving. We are headed to join an punitive force at the Crypt to the West. I only just found out about this on the Internet, and if we move quickly, we should be able to get there to join in the fun." .... And there I thought that she was angry. "Now pack up, we get moving in an hour. I'm going to have to trouble you with my baggage; my men still need to rest." Yup, she's still angry. ** In a village to the west, some distance away. Preparations are being made as soldiers, knights and paladins ran about, arming themselves for battle. Blacksmiths were hard at work, repairing and upgrading equipment where ever possible, and chefs are doling out servings of stew and bread. Priests are giving out blessings whenever they could, and mages are meditating and preparing spells to use in combat. In the middle of the village, the expedition leader, Gordon, is deep in discussion with his party regarding the war tactics for the expedition... "What's for lunch?" "Just stew and bread." "Again?! These chefs aren't very original, aren't they?' If you consider this war tactics discussions, that is. "Anyways, what are we going to do for our manpower?" Gordon, a level 125 Paladin was chewing on a piece of bread as he spoke, spraying crumbs everywhere. He's currently leading the expedition, and through a long and convoluted quest line, he has somehow arrived at an important position as the expedition leader leading the assault on the Crypt, where there has been report of undead and orc activity within the vicinity. Despite this, he has been taking a rather lackadaisical approach to all this so far, chewing his bread while lying against a convenient tree stump in a relaxed manner, somehow lightening the serious atmosphere. In the midst of the chaotic bustle, the discussion was rather calm, the group taking the lead from their relaxed leader and lounging around peacefully. Several soldiers and blacksmiths shook their heads disdainfully as they passed, but it was ignored. "Aren't we enough? We have easily 100 soldiers, about 50 archers and 50 mages, and about 25 priests." one of his self-proclaimed lackeys, a level 95 Knight, spoke up, his head covered by a half helmet. "The undead aren't to be underestimated though. It's probably best that we get some back up anyway." Morton, a Level 131 Fire Mage, piped up. His twin, Horton, a Level 131 Ice Mage, nodded silently in agreement. "But should we be a bit selective with the recruitment? We don't want a repeat of what happened in the last punitive force." another knight spoke up, a bit more uptight than the last. A few months back, a punitive force led by Darius, a level 140 Sword Warrior, in order to liberate Baran Village from a large war party of lizard men, fell into disarray after Darius unwisely led the punitive force into an ambush. There were many casualties reported as a result, and the returns weren't even very good. That knight had been playing for quite some time now despite being a casual player, and was in that particular group. Also, since that event, he has also actively participated in several raids that were similar to the first, but with better results. As such, we could say that he was a veteran with regards to this particular aspect. "I see your point. What do you suggest we get then?" Gordon sat up from the tree stump, all ears for whatever advice he could get. The relaxed look on his face was sharpened as he suddenly became serious. The light atmosphere suddenly became heavy. "W-well sir, I would suggest a surplus of priests and paladins since we are supposedly going against undead. Some mages and archers wouldn't hurt as well to mow down the enemy lines." The knight became nervous at Gordon's sudden interest, but emboldened by his success at drawing interest, he made an effort nevertheless. "Oh, and since we are supposedly facing undead, we should see a necromancer or two. Some assassins should be recruited as well to take out these key targets." the other knight spoke up, unfazed by the the heavy atmosphere. Gordon rubbed his temple as he heard the candid responses from the rest of his group, keeping silent throughout. At last he spoke, in a barely calm voice, as though keeping something back. "Hmmm... All valid arguments, but all this is just guesswork right? Did anyone even bother to scout out the area and report back to the force?" Gordon suddenly snapped midway through his musing, all traces of his relaxed nature gone now. His irritated voice had an edge to it. The excited babbling from the rest of the group soon fell to a silence at Gordon's outburst. There was awkward mumbling as the group looked at one another, at a loss, their bright ideas shot down by a single sentence. No one had any idea what to do without the necessary intelligence, and the proposals before weren't back by anything concrete either. "I'm surrounded by idiots...." Gordon sighed to himself, and continued in a calm voice: "Assemble a scout party of about 5 or 6. I need information. What is the terrain like, what are we currently going up against, what are my key targets and their weaknesses." This was said to a rogue, who stood up straight and saluted in a not-so-rogue-like manner. In the meantime, Morton, you begin the recruitment drive. We'll need a powerful vanguard force to breach the enemy lines. That is what we are missing. Our defensive core should be fine, but just in case, get some mages and priests as well. We are looking at about 150 to about 200 extra people in total. Did you get all that or do I have to cram it into your thick, numb skulls?" Again, there was an awkward silence as everyone nodded. Gordon suddenly relaxed again, and waved his arm so as to shoo them away. "Good, then it's settled. Get to work, everyone, we only have 30 days to perform the suppression and report back to the king. Chop chop!!" At this, everyone within the group scurried off, with the exception of Gordon, as he lay back against the tree stump again and sighed, this time peacefully. Several soldiers continued to look disapprovingly at him, but they were, of course, ignored. And so, amidst the hustle and bustle of the war effort, a loud snoring sound could soon be heard above the noise as Gordon slept peacefully, oblivious to the noise and angry looks the soldiers are shooting at him. *** "Come on, move quickly, we have to get to the recruitment drive before sundown or all the slots will be taken!! And where is my song?" Tante hurried me as she ran in her armor, flag raised up and billowing in the breeze. Meanwhile, I was moving slowly behind, burdened by a large amount of baggage. For one person, she always seemed to carry around a large amount of stuff. She didn't seem to be too tired despite the armor she wore, though. I was too tired to sing anyway, and even though I had a rather large amount of stamina, it was steadily dropping due to the weight of my heavy burden. On the other hand, I was training my stamina in the process, and it slowly increased as we jogged along the stone path. We were currently still in the forest, and the sun was blotted by the large tree cover that covered the area, making it cooler than normal. In exchange, the atmosphere was humid, and sweat ran down my face. It was annoying for Virtual Reality to even imitate that, but I was okay with this, since it was a natural way for the body to cool itself down. I drank a mouth of water from a leather weather canteen as we jogged. Got to keep myself well-hydrated... Ah right, I wonder how Blake was doing? "Friend List!!" I checked my buddy list, and to my pleasant surprise, the normally greyed-out name was now a bright blue, signifying that he was online. Blake was the only other player character that passed out of the basic training program with me back in the Sleepy Fortress. He was a gifted martial artist, but he excelled in using the sword. He was definitely a strong guy to have by your side, but we decided to split ways after the program, promising to keep in touch. Let's see... if I remember correctly, by tapping the name on the list, I would be able to "whisper" to him. The "Whisper" feature is a common one found in many games, allowing players to communicate with one another over great distances, even across channels. It was a lot more convenient to use this than a chat room in most situations. Let's see... tap the name, and when the name lights up, verbally send a message to initiate a conversation. "Oi, Blake, are you there? Hello?" I asked tentatively. There was a good chance in other games that he is currently away from keyboard (AFK), but this is Royal Road. A few seconds later, I got a response. "Who's there?" a rather confused voice responded. It seems that Blake has not used the Whisper feature before either, or had no cause to. I wonder what he has been up to since that day? "It's Howard here. It has been a while, hasn't it?" "Yeah, it's been about 3 weeks since. How have you been doing?" The voice took on a surprised tone, but it sounded pleasantly surprised. "I'm having a blast, but my leveling's been on the slow side. How about you?" "I'm doing pretty well for myself. I'm now at level 57. You?" "... 30." "You weren't kidding when you said that, huh. Still, it's nice to hear from someone. I'm currently in a dungeon now, training on my own since I couldn't find a party. Hang on a minute - Eat this, Savage Slice!!" There was a sound of a blade slicing through flesh easily, and a eerie howl as the unfortunate target entered its death throes. "Huh... If you don't mind my low level, is it fine that we meet up then? I'm headed to the Crypt, west from the Dryad Forest. There's a raid going on right now, and they are taking in people. It's a great chance to meet more people, not to mention the large amount of experience and loot to be obtained. "That sounds awesome. Halcyon Village where I am at the moment's not that far from that location. I should be able to get there in abou- Hold on, there's an opening. Doryah!!" Wait, is he fighting as well as talking at the same time? Sounds of gore and violence could be heard over the conversation as swords were crossed, the noise of people getting stabbed and cut down. Then I heard footsteps as someone tried to run away. Blake decided at this point to continue speaking. "Either way, I'll see you there. Now if you would excuse me... Dash attack - Slipstream!!" More screaming was heard until I cut off the conversation. Holy crap. That conversation also jolted something in my memory. That guy was pretty adamant that I go for this... "Ah, Tante, I think I forgot to mention this..." **** During my break, I logged off again after explaining to Tantte that I had "school commitments", being in the school fencing club. I wasn't very good, but I had two natural advantages: I was left-handed, which was awkward for most people to fencing against since the majority of them were right-handers and they primarily play against right-handers, and my tall height gave me a naturally longer reach. On the other hand, I was not the most flexible person in the world, nor is my physical fitness excellent, so to speak. Also, I'm overly aggressive since the epee does not play by the right of way. In the end, it all balanced out and my coach had the team spar against me to prepare for fights against left-handers. I'm happy to say that this has changed over the 2 years spent in the military, but my flexibility still needs some (scratch that, make that a lot of) work. Anyways, the team captain had decided for the whole group, which had graduated from college years back, to meet again today to catch up with one another and see the coach again, including me, the team punching bag. Well, I did say to Tante that I had school commitments. It was probably her fault that she missed the past tense in that sentence, but I still felt a little guilty anyway. Either way, we had made good progress, anyway, and it was probably fine to take a decently long break for the day anyway, so she readily agreed to this after some persuasion. Speaking of our coach, he was a middle-aged chap who easily gets impatient. When we were in the club a few years back, he was happily married with a little girl by his side. Under his charge, our school team had enjoyed relatively high successes over the years. Other than fencing however, he was an amazing fellow, taking up martial arts in addition to fencing, and scoring several degrees as well. It wasn't very pleasant training under him, though. When we were starting out, because my lunge covered the least distance (my physical fitness was terrible back then), he had me utilize a defensive approach, passive maintaining distance and fighting with mainly counters. On hindsight, I should have gone for something that fitted my temperament but I wanted to take on a sports co-curricular activity for a change, and bowling was definitely out because it costs too much money. Other sports as well, in my opinion. I wasn't a very sporty chap back then, I admit. Either way, we still met up, and it was agreed that we would meet up at a fast-food restaurant before we went to the "dojo", which was our pet name for the place where we used to train back then. Our team captain, Kevin, welcomed me when I arrived. He had a short build, and was the only one who had some experience and knowledge in fencing before we signed up, making him a likely option for team captain. Within the team, we had mostly saber users and a few epee users. The foil, the third of the three, was seen as the hardest weapon of the sport to pick up, and as such, Kevin, who used the foil, had to shift to a saber as a result since the others were beginners in fencing. Two years, and two practices a week isn't a lot of time to practice anyway. Not to mention that our batch was one of the smallest within a few years as well. "Oh, if it isn't our only leftie. How's it been these past two years? The army treating you well?" Kevin smiled as we shook hands. In addition to his fencing ability, he was friendly and self-effacing, and he was actually likable unlike most team captains, who tend to be regular jerks. "Well enough, though I have already passed out from that Hellhole some time ago." I grinned as I said this, and flexed my left arm playfully, flexing my bicep. Kevin nodded approvingly, and we settled down at a long table to wait for the others. I ordered a strawberry smoothie at the counter as Kevin sat there and sipped a cup of coffee. "Ah, then you should have some time before you enter University, then right? What have you been doing in the meantime?" Kevin said as I returned with my order and sat down with a relaxed sigh. "Ah, you know, I have been here and there... picked up a part-time job, took up a few hobbies, also tried a new VR game..." "Virtual Reality, huh? It's really useful for training, although nothing beats physical training in real life, in my opinion. Although, would you care to elaborate a little further on this?" "I thought you would know the game though, it's Royal Road, have you played it?" "Oh, Royal Road? I haven't played it, but I have heard good things about it. Coach positively hates it, he made it clear that he would rather die than have his little girl play the game." "He's not going to like hearing this from me, then." We laughed, and I felt a sense of warmth that arose from nostalgia. All fathers, even mine, naturally have a daughter-complex anyway. Oh, stereotypes... "Have you kept in touch with the others, then?" "Well, I did manage to contact Gerald. He has been overseas for some period of time pursuing his degree, but he is able to come back here for our little reunion today. Shen and Agatha are also coming, they are currently working while aiming for degrees at the local universities. How about things on your side?" "Well, I did manage to call Coach to let him know that we are dropping by today, so a surprise is out. Which is just as well, he hates surprises more than he hates VR games anyway. I also got Henry and Blue to come as well." "It seems that we got the whole group between us then. It would be like old times, huh?" "Yup. For today, anyway." Kevin had a rather sad look on his face as he said that, but covered up his sorrow by taking another sip of coffee and coughing awkwardly. There was a resultant silence as a result. The awkward silence was soon broken by the arrival of the other club alumni, who chose to gather as a group and arrive together. **** Coach welcomed us like he would his children. Well, children that was not his daughter, anyway. "Well, if it isn't my batch from about 3 years ago. You guys look healthy and strong, time has certainly treated you well. But have you guys been practicing your fencing??" There was some mumbling that suggested that this was in the positive. Coach nodded solemnly, and continued: "Somehow, I don't believe you, but I'll give you a chance to prove it. Your juniors are currently here for their weekly practice, so I think that you guys can help me train them by sparring with them. They need more exposure to improve themselves. I have high hopes for these guys as well, but you guys have your pride from seniority to uphold, so it should be a good fight." As such, we met up with our juniors. We shook hands and we were grouped accordingly. There were about 7 of us on the Senior's side and around 10 on the Junior's side, easily a rather larger batch compared to a few years back, and it was eventually decided that we would go by a round-robin, where each participant faces off the others at least once, and we were playing by Saber rules, sudden death. Coach handed out equipment that was kept in the "dojo" and we took our places and began. The equipment consisted of a wire mesh helmet, suit and gloves. The saber had a guard that covered most of the hilt, and the blade was more a long, rather thin and whippy metal rod with a larger tip at the end. The saber follows the right of way (players take turns to attack and defend, and you switch roles if the attacker attacks once), but you are able to slash with it as well. The guard was larger than that of a foil and you can score a point by hitting that in addition to parts of the body. As expected, the saber felt really light in my hand. I was first up against an equally tall opponent. I had things to be jealous about him, other than height, he was everything that I was not; he had good physical fitness, he was a right-hander, and he was brash and confident. Oh, and he mainly uses the saber. Coach also was particularly proud of this particular recruit, something he wasn't with me. Pissed by all this, I soon ended this with a wristy forehand that swatted aside his guard and bit into his shoulder in one movement after some time spent maintaining distance. Not bad for a guy who was deemed rusty after a long period of time. All around me, the seniors were having mixed results as several lost as well. Kevin won his, Shen won his, but the rest lost. Coach shook his head disapprovingly, but it was the first round. We fared better in the second and third rounds, however, as the seniors soon got to grips with their rusty fencing skills. I and Shen won one and lost one, bringing our scores go up up to about 2-1, with only Kevin maintaining a perfect streak. My fourth opponent was a bit too defensive and maintained a bit too much distance, however, and I quickly covered the distance with a foot movement and tagged him with a simple lunge, like I would with my spear shaft in game. It was a bit disconcerting to see a normally slow and big opponent move so fast, but that was the way it normally was. Smaller players tend to be a bit more agile and fast while taller and larger players fall back on their longer reach. It was a stereotype which has been repeatedly broken in the past, and I reminded my junior of this. Consider him chastised. The round robin went on. Kevin soon lost his first match, and we who lost a fair bit weren't too quick to console him, sadly. "Argh, my first loss..." "Dude, you have already won 8 out of the 9 fights you have been in so far, come on!!" The next few opponents were a lot better, and they got into the groove. There was one that performed a cracking parry-riposte win, beating aside my lunge and striking me again for the win. There was another that had a really long lunge that suddenly covered a long distance in a flash. Two demonstrated excellent footwork, and I wondered if they had been taking martial arts before they took up fencing. I lost those fights, easy. Nevertheless, I made an effort, but 16 fights in a day can really get to you, and I committed more mistakes as my legs increasingly got fatigued and worn out from bending low. As a rather tall person, I had to squat lower than the others to make the most of my advantage, but at the same time, it can really wear a guy down. The last fight was against a junior known as Jacob. That one was my most memorable fight for the day, in my opinion. Both sides were equally tired by that time, but when we took our places across one another, I happened to have looked into his eyes… and was forced to hold it there. They were burning with the desire to win, a steely look that defied his fatigue and demanded victory at all costs. I involuntarily gulped, caught myself and focused by closing my eyes and taking a deep breath. With that, the bout began. The first few moments were spent on getting a feel for the one another’s “killing range”, which not only included the player’s reach, but also how far they can lunge and their burst speed, which basically meant a sudden surge in speed to cover the distance and attack. I was defending, with the right of way currently on Jacob’s side. Eventually he started by poking and testing my defences, opting to initiate even though the distancing was not perfect yet. Knowing that this was a feint, I stood my ground. Right of way passed over to me with that attack, and I moved forward, carefully covering the distance. I didn’t want to open myself up to a riposte. I decided at this point to try something from in-game. I initiated, covering the distance with a sudden burst and crossing swords with Jacob. At the same time, I twisted my saber outwards to throw him off balance. My blade was on top, and I shifted the trajectory of my attack upwards to try and catch him on his shoulder. This movement was similar to the fundamental spear movement lan from the Bajiquan system. Spears have several similarities in common with fencing, mainly the need for distancing, thrusts being the predominant attack, and the way it is handled as an extension of your arm, focusing on small and/or linear movements. Unfortunately, the saber was a lot lighter and shorter than a spear, and through force of will, Jacob recovered beautifully and brought in his off-position arm in a forehand that caught me on the side. For some reason, his slash was a lot faster than my thrust, and that made all the difference, netting him the point and winning him the round. “Nice counter.” “No, senior. You hesitated at the last minute.” “Did I?” Jacob said nothing else, leaving me with that enigmatic response. Eventually it came to an end, and the seniors managed to hold on to their pride somewhat, but it was mostly Shen and Kevin who carried us, mostly, with a score of 11-5 and 12-4 respective. "Howard, quit being modest. You did just as well as Shen have done. And the two losses you had in the last two rounds were mostly flukes, in my opinion, even if Coach doesn't admit it." I was rebuked by my fellow seniors as I made this assessment. Yet, I had come out from the round robin with a score of 10-6, being third among the seniors and about 6th overall (a win record of about 62.5%, too.), but I could have been playing so much better, to be honest. I made a note to watch out for these mistakes back at Royal Road. Coach soon approached me as we were packing up and preparing to go for dinner (Coach's treat, one should never turn down free food), nodding approvingly. "You have changed, indeed. Last time your physical fitness and inflexibility were holding you back, and while you still need to become just a bit more flexible and your physicals still need a bit of work, there is certainly a marked improvement in your fencing. Have you been continuing fencing outside of school?" "Not exactly, Coach. You wouldn't like to hear this, but..." I soon told him about my little foray into Virtual Reality Gaming and Royal Road, and how I have been picking up some martial arts on the side. Instead of exploding or acting defensive for the sake of his daughter, Coach simply nodded appreciatively as I finished my account. "So it does have some effect then... I have wondered why the quality of our competitors had gone up recently, and most of them seem to have included VR Training into their curriculum. I'm glad for the first hand account here. It would take some effort, but I believe we should be able to introduce this as well..." I wonder about that. It's definitely a cause to be jealous of then. But it's not exactly my problem now anyway. "It's just as you say, Coach. There's definitely an effect. Reflexes and Muscle Memory can be cultivated in the game, although physical fitness and real-life practice is still improved in real life." "No, no, no, aside from that... A whole new world to explore, you say. I have traveled over this good Earth many times over, and of course it never ceases to surprise me, but... hmm..." I finished my packing up and went to take a quick shower at the changing room. Behind me, cupping his chin as his hands as he sat there, Coach was deep in thought. **** We had a great time chatting with our juniors over a rather large dinner, and it was agreed that we would keep in touch and do this again some time. We laughed and made jokes, exchanged emails and numbers. Several of our group even played Royal Road, and I agreed to meet them in game... after I level considerably. My level is a bit on the low side, even if I didn't want to admit it. The others expressed some interest, and would probably join us sooner or later. I look forward to that. I really do... I think? I was walking home from the train station after the group parted ways. In the advent of cleaner and more advanced technology, the government's campaign to encourage more people to take public transport had been largely successful. Cars are also ridiculous expensive, and so there were few of them on the road, and all of them ran on electrical motors. As a result, the air was clean and fresh, and the sky was no longer blotted out by the smog that was released day by day in the past, opening up to easily a million stars, a stark contrast dancing across the night sky. The half-moon hung over the vicinity, bathing everything in a silvery light. "Things have certainly started to change since I took up Royal Road..." And it certainly had. Even though my journey so far had been a relatively short one, I had fought several times with my life on the line, and came out victorious each time. It had been a matter of luck, but I relished each and every one of these encounters. Small they may be, but each fight, even the one against rabbits, had contributed to my growth time and again. It easily felt more rewarding than real life, which I had felt was a drag. I still had no goal in mind, and I still want to just settle down in a well-paying job and retire early, but perhaps my ambitions have changed, even just a little bit? Today's sparring round robin had been a fun and enjoyable experience for me. I fought with my pride as a senior on the line, and had mostly justified it, winning more rounds than I lost. It felt great, being competitive. I felt immense pleasure when I had won, and felt sorrow at my losses. Perhaps that was what athletes feel each time at a tournament. I could empathize with them somewhat, but I'm no professional, to be honest. I recalled what I had reflected on during that particular night's practice, where that Ossan had suddenly appeared in front of me with that wide Cheshire cat smile of his, and told me that I had been thinking too much. "Was it okay for me to go so far for a game that will only be deleted and replaced with new titles eventually?" "Why am I even bothering to make the effort?" "Have I forgotten what those RPGs did to me in the past?" "Was it okay for me to throw away my pet philosophy regarding these games?" These thoughts came rushing to me as I immediately thought on this. I had begun my adventure, intent on quitting once the one-month's free trial was over. And yet, I had went through so many brand new experiences thus far as my in-game avatar, immersed myself more deeply in the game than any other game I had play thus far in my short life. It was a new experience, so to speak, a breath of fresh air from my dull life so far. I conveniently ignored the games that I had played in my school years, bright lights that lit up my otherwise bright life. I still have about a week's worth of the trial left. But we are going to the punitive force... Which will probably take a bit of my one month left... and after that? I didn't want to miss those possibilities... I decided to let my last week play out first before I would decide on whether I wanted to continue. ***** Meanwhile, back at the Sleepy Fortress... A young man who was dressed in traveler's garb had suddenly appeared there. He was tall and muscular, but his shabby appearance, so similar to that of many newbie players, was naturally ignored by the general populace that resided here. "Wow..." and like many new players before him, he was pretty taken by the scene that greeted him as he appeared. "Indeed, a new world for me to explore... And here I thought I did everything that I wanted to do so far in my life. The Earth continues to surprise me, each and every other day." Like many other new players, he had heard good things about the game through word of mouth, and the thought of a new world to explore has consumed him, and he could not think of anything else. Finally, he gave in to his desires and got a capsule, getting a close contact of his to bring it over immediately and set it up quickly. He had paid a little extra for that, but... "Well, time is money after all, but time is still more valuable than money." That was his pet opinion which could not be shaken to this day. He had surreptitiously made subtle changes to his avatar as well, making him younger by a few years and taller than he normally was in real life. He had always wanted a couple of inches on his height, and his body, while muscular without any useless fat, could afford to be a bit bulkier... Of course, he had also taken the name "Alf" in this game. He had always seen himself as an Alfred or Alfonso or Alfonse anyway. After appearing and working out he kinks in his new virtual body, Johnathan Zhang, or as he was now known as, Alf was keen to begin his explorations. He checked his backpack and found 10 pieces of rye bread and a canteen of water. "The game was even so kind to suit me up for the challenge, too." He dashed to the gate that led to the outside of the city, but was stopped by the Guard that was stationed there. "Hold, traveler. I see that you are new to this continent. The world outside of this fortress is a dangerous one, and I see that you are ill-prepared for this. As such, it is the lord's decree that new travelers are to stay within the perimeter of the fortress for the first fourth weeks to prepare. For now, you are not supposed to pass through this point. Or else." Alf gave a strange look to the Guard that stood there and spoke like a pompous puppy (at least, that was how he sounded to him). There was an awkward pause as the Guard realized that the newcomer that he had spoken to and threatened had not scarpered off like the others before him. Alf dug his ear nonchalantly, and suddenly lashed out with a large and rather well-muscled arm. Bam. It was sweet and textbook, a left hook aimed at the chin, devoid of any excess movement and perfectly weighted. The blow sent many mixed signals to the brain. The brain was jumbled up by the feedback and soon arrived at this conclusion: fall unconscious, shutting down all bodily functions. As a result, the guard flew up several inches from the blow, simply went limp and fell over like a log. Alf massaged the blood back into his fist that was throbbing from the impact. He gave a rather happy grin since no one else stepped forward to try and stop him. "Well, that settles it. ONWARDS TO ADVENTURE!!" Drawing curious and suddenly surprised looks from passers-by who heard his sudden outburst, Alf dashed out of the city, happily oblivious to the dangers and curiosity that surrounded him. ********************** Author's Notes: I'll probably think of something to say here.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> Chapter 4<br><br>The Way of the Sword<br><br>Crane had decided he wanted to experience dangerous battles on the frontlines of combat and put his strength against another until one fell. He wasn't sure whether he wanted to be a knight, barbarian, or some other sword user yet so he wanted to start small and become a swordsman for now. He stood at the counter of the Warrior's guild and waited for a response. <br><br>The man behind the counter said with enthusiasm, "So you want to be a warrior eh?" Then he got a good look at Crane. "What is this?! You look like you've never held a sword in your whole life yet you think you can just waltz in here and become a swordsman? Get out. Come back in a few years when you've got some hair on your chest!" Crane had expected this response but knew how to deal with it. He was aware you can't get something for nothing and asking an NPC for a profession without having the prerequisites for it was likely to get you laughed out of town. <br><br>Crane closed his eyes and bowed his head before the man and said, "Sir, my whole life I have looked up to swordmasters and knights as the greatest masters of combat, I have been waiting my entire life for this moment. Please give me a chance." Crane could not see the man's face but he knew it would be priceless, he had stolen that line from a book in preparation for this and had little doubt it would work.<br><br>Crane looked up with a solemn expression at the man's face. The man said, "I may have misjudged you boy. Wait here."<br><br>The man got up from his chair and went into a room in the back of the guild. After about five minutes he returned to the counter and said, "Do you really intend to become a powerful warrior?"<br><br>"Yes sir."<br><br>"Hmm, I can't in good conscious let someone who's never held a sword in his life become a warrior, what if I could offer you training?"<br><br>Crane tilted his head, "Sir?"<br><br>The man answered, "If you want, I can give you a quest that will reward you with the warrior profession. Or, if you're willing to go the extra distance, I can give you a letter of recommendation to deliver to an upper tier swordsman instructor, you can train and become immeasurable stronger than you would otherwise. Are you prepared to do what it takes to become the greatest swordmaster you can be?<br><br>Crane had steeled his resolve and answered without pause. "Yes sir."<br><br>"Alright then. This here is a letter of recommendation. Take it to Captain Elestas. She resides in the base and will tell you how to become stronger." He handed the envelope and a military pass to Crane who bowed to him in thanks and left the building.<br><br>It had worked out better than Crane had hoped for. Crane headed for the entrance to Yarsan's military base. Unlike most of the city's gates the gate to the military base was usually shut to discourage tourism. Yarsan as a member of the Kallamore Kingdom had a royal army under the command of the King, although only in Yarsan were nobles required to serve a term, in the entire Kingdom only Nobles and natives were allowed to join the Royal Kallamore Army. But Crane was obviously neither a nobleman or a native so he wanted to find the Captain, learn from her how to become strong and leave as soon as possible. Crane walked up to the soldier at the gate and showed him the military pass. <br><br>"What's a scrawny foreigner like you doing here?"<br><br>Crane said he had a message for Captain Elestas and the soldier started laughing. Crane thought he wasn't going to let him in, but he opened the gate and gave Crane a wicked smile and said, "The Captain will be out in the east yard about this time." <br><br>As Crane walked through the open courtyard he observed various the people inside. At first he just assumed that the guard called him scrawny as an insult, but when he realized that the average frame of a Kallamore soldier was twice his own, he realized that to the guard it was a fact. <br><br>Crane arrived at a vast open area twice the size of a football field with groups of twenty or more men spaced periodically over it who seemed to be practicing combat drills. Crane walked up to a soldier and asked where Captain Elestas would be. The soldier pointed to a figure standing on a raised wooden deck overlooking the groups.<br><br>Crane walked nervously up the deck stairs. When he got closer he saw a woman, late thirties with excessively sharp features and short hair wearing shining steel armor. She noticed him approach and he noticed her hand move to the hilt of the sword on her waist. <br><br>He stopped in his tracks and said. "My name is Crane, and I have a letter for you." He held and the letter and waited. <br><br>Captain Elestas stared at him, scanning every feature before walking over to him and taking the letter, keeping her opposite hand on her sword. She opened the envelope and read it slowly. After standing there for a few minutes, Elestas addressed him. "So you would like to walk down the path of the sword, but have no experience whatsoever?"<br><br>"That is correct."<br><br>"Are you willing to do whatever task is asked of you?"<br><br>Crane knew that she was implying hardships he could not yet imagine. He had read of the adventures of many people, but those books did not include the training that those people put themselves through to attain their strength and skills.<br><br>"Yes."<br><br>Crane was ready to take on any quest no matter how difficult. He would not back down. <br><br>"Very well, consider yourself drafted."<br><br>*Ding*<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>You have have joined the Royal army of Kallamore.<br>You are now apart of the Kallamore 717th Infantry<br>You are entitled to receive basic training<br>You will receive a monthly income of four silvers</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>The blood seemed to drain out of Crane's face as he registered what the Captain had just said and the message that had appeared. At no point had anyone said anything about joining the army. Crane simply could not register what had happened. Usually for something like this, the officer first offered a job, a screen came up, and the user choose to accept or reject the offer. But somehow that entire process had just been skipped.<br><br>"Excuse me mam but-"<br><br>Quicker than he could see, Elestas's sword left it's sheathe and stopped at Crane's face.<br><br>"From now on you will refer to me as Captain Elestas, do you understand?"<br><br>Swallowing hard, Crane nervously answered, "Yes Captain Elestas."<br><br>She removed her sword and said with a smile, "Did you have a question?"<br><br>"Yes Captain Elestas. Why was I not given a choice of denying your offer?" <br><br>She held up the letter and said, "Because he knew you would. The is a letter recommending I draft you into the army, insure you receive standard training, and if you last through the training, provide you with a Warrior class that will lead you to an upper tier warrior class. All that is needed for me to draft someone is their willingness to follow orders, which you have confirmed."<br><br>He had been tricked. Elestas had gotten him to accept becoming a soldier without knowing it himself. <br><br>She smiled at Crane the way a spoiled child smiled when given a brand new toy and said, "Your training begins now. Follow me."<br><br>She walked off the deck followed by Crane and lead him to the nearest group of soldiers. When she approached they stood up straight and faced her, perfectly still. <br><br>Elestas called out for one of the men to come forward and said. "This recruit just joined your unit. It'll be your responsibility to make sure his is up to par." Crane stood up straight and waited for the Captain to leave.<br><br>The man he had been entrusted to looked only a few years older than himself. But he held himself with composure and stared at his new ward. "And you would be?"<br><br>Crane quickly answered, "My name is Crane, and I-"<br><br>"Hold it, from this point on, only speak when spoken to, answer only what has been asked, end each sentence with the word sir, and do everything I say without complaint. Is that clear?"<br><br>Something in his gut told Crane he was not going to be making any friends in the army. "Yes sir."<br><br>"Good. You will call me Pike. Everyone does. The supervision of your training will be left to me."<br>Pike motioned for another member of the group to step forward. "Barrows, can I trust him to you?" The one called Barrows nodded.<br>Pike nodded back to him, "Good, listen Crane, from now until I say so, you will follow Barrows like a shadow and do what he does, and what he tells you to do. During your training Barrows will correct your form. Before that however you must be initiated into this unit. Barrows, your sword." Barrows turned his blade upside down and handed it to Crane by the hilt. After Crane had taken it in hand, Barrows backed away with the others and formed a large circle around Crane and Pike. Pike raised his sword, took in a breath, and lunged at Crane.<br><br>Crane had not been prepared for an attack and could only stand motionless with his own dumbfounded expression when Pike's strike left a clean cut on the hand he was holding his sword. The unexpected pain caused him to unconsciously release his grip. His health bar diminished slightly and he winced. He knew the pain was far less than a real wound of the same caliber would give but it hurt all the same. <br><br>Pike returned to his initial position and started speaking. "Do not release your sword in combat. Do not let your opponent hit your hand. Now pick up your sword."<br><br>Crane bent down to pick up his sword. When he gripped it he looked back to see Pike had already rushed to within two feet of him and had raised his foot to kick Crane's shoulder. The impact was hard enough to send Crane back four feet. His health bar reduced far more than the cut and he now only had half of his health remaining. <br><br>Pike had already returned to his starting position when he started to say, "Do not let your guard down. Do not look away from your opponent. This is the way of a warrior."<br><br>Although the kick was unexpected and made his entire body sore, he had not released his sword. Crane stared down Pike as he got up. Each time Pike was in his starting position he had the same stance, so Crane imitated it. Pike did not move and Crane could only stand there. Five minutes passed without either of them moving, Crane could feel the pressure building around him. Without any indication Pike lunged forward again. Crane raised his hand to his shoulder with the blade at the downward diagonal, a defense stance saw in the picture of a book. He was going to move to the side and try to catch Pike's sword on the opposite side to parry the attack. But when Crane tried to move he realized he couldn't. Pike stabbed Crane in the shoulder, pulled out his weapon and returned to his starting position. "Do not forget to mind your condition in battle. Tension can rob you of speed and your life."<br><br>Crane's health had dropped to less than a fourth. Pike didn't hit any vital points but he was a much higher level than Crane and his attacks did a fair amount of damage to him. One more hit would kill him for sure. Crane harden the grip on his sword and took a relaxed stance with his sword's tip resting on the ground. As he did he felt his awareness increase. He felt could see Pike more clearly. It was not that his vision suddenly improved, it was more like it had been cloudy before this point, and now he saw clearly. He could see Pike breathing, until he stopped. Crane raised his sword just as Pike leaped through the space between them. Crane felt his sword hum as Pike's sword grinded on it and the hilt's met each other with Pike's face only two inches from Crane's. Pike looked at Crane and nodded, releasing the pressure of his sword against Crane. "One cannot fight with a wandering mind. Only with a clear head can a swordsman show his full strength." Pike turned to the rest of the group and dismissed the lot. <br><br>Barrows motioned for Crane to follow him and return his sword. He lead him inside a building within the base where a man in a white robe met him. "Hello Barrows, what can I do for you this evening?" Barrows stepped aside so that the man could see Crane's bloody shoulder. "Ah, I see, Healing Hand." Light in the shape of a large hand looked like it grasped Crane's entire torso before disappearing. His wounds had vanished and his health became full. Crane thanked the man and asked for his name. "I am Priest Lot, of the Church of Magni. Members of our order volunteer to assist the Kallamore army as a token of goodwill." Barrows was off again so Crane thanked the Priest once more and hurried after Barrows.<br><br>Barrows stopped at an iron door and pulled out a key, unlocked it and opened the door to reveal the armory. He gestured to Crane to pick something from inside. There was a high variety of swords, spears, and axes to choose from. As Crane was looking through a barrel of them, Barrows opened a trunk in the back and started to rummage through its contents. Crane wanted to use identify on each sword but doubted Barrows would give him the time to do that, so he just picked up and gave a once over of each sword. When Barrows returned to Crane, he saw that Crane was holding a longsword with a wide guard. Crane looked up at Barrows and showed him his choice. Barrows put down what he had gotten from the trunk and took the sword from Crane's hands and examine it. He then looked carefully at Crane's arms and put the sword back into the barrel. Barrows then moved to a barrel in the corner of the armory and grabbed the handle of a thin bladed sword with a guard over the grip, and passed it to Crane and saying, "This one." Crane looked down at the sword and said "Identify."<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>Training Rapier<br>Durability 35/40<br>Damage 4~6<br>This sword was made for swiftness as opposed to strength<br>Options: AGI +5<br>Requirements:<br>None</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>Crane thought that Barrows must've felt that this was an appropriate weapon for Crane. Barrows then picked up the leather uniform he got out of the truck and passed it to Crane. He equipped it on himself and from his inventory screen looked at the item's stats<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>Infantry Uniform<br>Durability 25/35<br>Defense 7<br>Leather armor made from various hides. Printed with the insignia of the army of Yarsan.<br>Requirements:<br>Membership in the Kallamore Army</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br><br>After Crane equipped the items, Barrows left the room and waited by the door. After Crane exited as well Barrows locked the door and started walking down the hall. Barrows and Crane reached what Crane believed to be the West Courtyard, where Crane saw a similar raised Wooden deck overlooking a large field, but instead of the field being filled with groups of people, the entire field was filled with hundreds of soldiers organized into columns and rows. <br><br>There was someone one the deck shouting the numbers one through twelve and a direction in random orders. Each time a number and direction was called the entire group of people performed an identical movement in the direction. What impressed Crane the most was the elegant beauty of the forms. Each movement could be performed from the end stance of any other movement. This was likely the Kallamore Kingdom's royal swordplay. Barrows and Crane passed the group and headed towards the face of the towering cliff. They reached a door at its base, but before he opened it, Barrows turned to Crane and said, "Party."<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>Barrows has invited you to join his party<br>Accept<br>Yes|No</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>"Yes"<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>You have joined Barrow's party</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>Barrows nodded then continued to lead Crane into the cliff. The passage lead down a flight of stairs to a dome shaped room with several doors spaced in the walls and a bearded man at a desk by the stairs.<br><br>The man looked up to Barrows and said, "You have come for the extermination yes? Those rats are spreading everywhere."<br><br>Barrows nodded and a Screen appeared before Crane.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>Extermination<br>Giant rats have found their way into the depths of the cellar and need to be taking care of.<br>Progress<br>000/200<br>Requirements:<br>Membership in Kallamore Army</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>This quest quest has been accepted by party leader and has been distributed to you</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>Barrows walked to the door furthest on the left and entered, followed by Crane. After the door shut behind him, Barrows sat down, leaning his back on the door. "You need to get used to that sword. Return when the rats are taken care of." <br><br>Barrows was not being lazy and Crane knew it, this was for his sake. Crane walked down the hallway and spotted the first rat. As was scurrying down the hall, Crane observed that although it had the proportions of a normal rat, it looked to be at least three feet in length. Crane already had his sword out and slowly approached the rat. The rat hissed and ran at Crane. Crane raised his sword and the rat leaped at him, and dropped onto the rat, slashing its face. But he lacked the strength to make it a fatal blow. The rat circled back but Crane never lost sight of it. He saw it was trying to get past him on his side so he reeled his sword back and stepped away to give the rat an opening. When it took it, Crane slashed through the rat's side. The rat fell down and slide a few inches, motionless, dead.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>You have leveled up</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br>After the nobleman Torres's quest, Crane was at the point just before a level but had done nothing with it. Crane then remembered that he still had unused stat points from his first level up and wondered how to spend them. He would not be able to cleanly kill the rats without more Strength, but the sword given to Crane by Barrows implied that Crane should fight with speed. At this conclusion Crane decided he would divide his ten points evenly between them as well as for all levels at this time.<br><br>From that point on Crane developed his sword skills with each kill. The area was vast and the rats usually came in pairs or sets of three, but the narrow hallways prevented Crane from being surrounded completely. The rats were large and slow, but they gave little experience. That however was not what he was there for. <br><br>Crane gripped the sword tightly as he faced down a pair rats. He had begun to understand the properties of his sword. It was better for stabbing and thrusting than cleaving. It could also be used to make small precise cuts which although not fatal, can cripple his target. <br><br>Crane still had to work on his aim though. When he would try to stab he would often hit air, when he would attempt to cut at a rat's leg to slow him down he would occasionally miss. He was getting better, but if he ran into a group of more than three rats, he would run away. <br><br>A rat from the pair ran at Crane's leg. Crane stepped back and moved his sword into position. When the rat jumped Crane extended his arm and pierced through the rat. It fell limp as the the other rat ran at Crane and met a similar end.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>Skill Level Up: Sword Mastery [2]<br>Increase Attack power with sword (+20% ATK)<br>Increase Attack speed with sword (+6% ATK SPD)</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>---------------------------------------------------------------------------<br><br>Three and a half hours had passed and Crane had forty rats to go. He had leveled up two more times and gained another level in Sword Mastery. As he thought, the rats were probably about the same strength if not just a bit stronger than rabbit, giving very little experience when killed. Crane found several areas with stored supplies, which was likely the area's original purpose. He used the bandages, herbs and rye bread there to bring himself to full health when he needed it. <br><br>Crane knew where the last ones were because they were all gathered in a single large room Crane had discovered and ran from earlier. Crane stood in front of the door and took a deep breath. He went over each piece of advice given to him by Pike earlier as well as what he had learned since. Crane quieted his mind and moved his hand to open the door.<br><br>*Ding<br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>Quest complete: Extermination<br>You have eradicated all the rats from the cellar.<br>Return for your reward</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>Crane froze with his hand on the doorknob. He had checked the quest status not ten minutes ago and confirmed he was at 160/200.<br>Crane opened the door to find Barrows walking towards him. As he passed through the door he said, "Too long."<br><br>Crane followed him back to the main room where the bearded man greeted him. "Thank you for your efforts. Now we can store supplies there again."<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>You have leveled up</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>Crane nodded to the man and followed Barrows up the stairs and outside. He took Crane to an empty spot near the wall and took out his sword. Crane followed suit. Barrows then took a stance and said, "Mirror me." Crane took a mirror image of the stance as Barrows slashed his sword and said, "One." Crane mirrored the slash and Barrows continued. <br><br>The Twelve forms originated from the powerful knights the King of Kallamore descended from. Each had a different strike pattern that started and ended in one of three positions, which one you choose to end it in is what determined what you next move could be. Each strike had three variations that each served a different purpose. The first variation was a basic attack that targeted an opening. The second variation used a circular wrist flick motion to parry or divert an attack at the attack's weakest point and then counter attack. The last used the circular wrist motion as a feint to invite the opponent to parry the half strength strike with his full strength which left an opening to attack. The three had a rock-paper-scissors relationship with attack beats feint, feint beat counter, and counter beats attack. <br><br>----------------------------------------<br><br>For the next several in game weeks, Barrows fashioned Crane into a respectable fighter. Crane fought monsters outside the city gates along side Barrow with Pike and the rest of his unit and inside the various monster filled chambers in the depths of the base. Barrows drilled the twelve forms into Crane until Crane could perform each one without instruction. After Crane had reached that point he participated in the mass training sessions in the west courtyard aside Barrows. However Barrows never spoke to Crane on any matter that was not related to training. Crane felt that if he was violently killed before Barrows, the man wouldn't bat an eye. Barrows did everything in his power to strengthen Crane but it was solely because he had been commanded to do so. Whenever Crane attempted to start a normal conversation with Barrows, he said nothing. It was almost as if he were thinking that the idea of conversing with Crane was beneath him.<br><br>During the second month after Crane joined as an infantry of Kallamore Kingdom, Crane was doing solo form practice when a message appeared on his screen.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>You have learned new skill: Twelve Forms</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>Crane stopped practicing and went to see Barrows about what it meant. Barrows pulled out his sword and performed each of the twelve forms, however with each slash of his sword, there was a flash of light. What Barrows had done was not a movement, but a sword skill. A skill Crane could now use. <br><br>"Skill Window"<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="2">Skill Window</td></tr><tr><td>Identification [2] 6%: Enables you to learn the true value of unidentified items.<br>Mana cost: 30</td></tr><tr><td>Sword Mastery [5] 59%: Increases attack power and hit rating for swords. <br>+50% ATK +15% ATK SPD while using a sword.</td></tr><tr><td>Twelve Forms [1] 0%: Increases strength and speed of body while fighting using the twelve forms.<br>+10% STR +10% AGI<br>Mana Cost: 20 per second</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>From that point on Crane participated in sparring matches with Barrows. Barrows did not go easy on him, and only stopped before the final blow. During that time, Crane had to go see Priest Lot at least twice a day. But Crane's skill proficiency for the twelve forms and for Sword Mastery increased little by little with each match. After two weeks of blood, sweat, more blood, and a lot of bandages, Pike, by chance, witnessed a sparring session between Crane and Barrows. After Crane had been beaten to the ground, Pike spoke to them. "Barrows, you have done satisfactorily, you are relieved. Crane, tomorrow you are to be in the observation room at sun up. Because you no longer embarrass yourself while holding a sword, you will be tested to see if you are ready to be given the Warrior class." Barrows had left the moment Pike said Crane was no longer his problem and Pike left and he finished talking. Crane could only stand there wondering what had just happened.<br><br>The next morning Pike lead Crane to the room inside the fortress that had a second story deck overlooking it. "Above us are five instructors of the five different upper tier Kallamore warrior classes, Captain Elestas among them. We will spar here and they will observe you. After that they will decide whether you may convert to a Kallamore warrior and depending on how you turn out, decide which of them will be your instructor. However if you show that you are not worthy a being a warrior of Kallamore you will be dishonorably discharged and thrown out of this base. <br><br>Crane raised his sword and said, "Yes sir."<br><br>With a slightly please look, Pike raised own his sword and calmly walked over to him. Crane relaxed his body and took the initiative to strike first using the twelve forms skill. The form of his attack was flawless but Pike had sidestepped and parried it. Crane moved from that position into another strike and from that into another, smoothly and continuously striking Pike who parried, blocked, or dodged each strike with practiced ease. The reason behind the continuous attack chain was because Pike was better than he was. If Crane had given Pike a single moment, Pike who had seen each of Crane's textbook accurate moves a thousand plus times, would take the pace from him in an instance. Even though Crane was using the twelve form which increased his strength and speed, Pike was defending without using any skills, buffs, or even breaking a sweat. Crane had little choice but to use the speed of his thin blade to try to overwhelm him until Pike made a mistake. <br><br>The look on Pike's face told Crane he was amused. Not impressed by Crane's growth, his form or his speed, but amused by his choice of tactics against Pike. Pike and Crane knew of course that a single serious attack with Pike's higher level strength would blow past any defense Crane could use. To prevent Pike from using a attack Crane must force him to defend. Pike was amused because among the dozens of options Crane had, even though he would soon run out of the mana necessary to continue the the use of the twelve forms, he choose to fight in the only way he stood any chance of defeating Pike. Pike was amused, because that meant Crane was fighting against all odds with the intention of winning. <br><br>Crane made a precise slash to Pike's neck, a standard form six attack. Pike raised his sword in a movement that looked like it was suppose to repel the slash, but before the swords met, Pike tucked in his hand, pulled his leg back lowering his stance, and thrust his sword at Crane's neck as Crane's sword passed over Pike's lowered head.<br><br>Crane froze his position when he saw Pike's thrust but Pike's sword had stopped just before piercing Crane's neck. Crane heard applause from the upper balcony as Pike removed his sword from Crane's throat and bowed to them. Crane did as well.<br><br>Crane could not see the people but he heard footsteps from the stairs that lead up to the balcony and saw four people, Captain Elestas among them. Elestas spoke first with a slightly disappointed tone. "That was some impressive sword play. If you had more experience it might have turned into quite a match. I did not tell you last time we met but I am the Knight Instructor, and this man here, the Barbarian Instructor." Crane looked at the large broad shouldered man and wondered to himself how well he could do as a barbarian.<br><br>Crane didn't mind the hardships he'd deal with under Elestas if it meant becoming a Knight of Kallamore, considered to be the strongest knights on the continent, and the man next to her didn't look so bad either. A knight or Barbarian would be just fine with him. But there were two more and one seemed to be missing. <br><br>The other two men were clearly a spearman and paladin respectfully. The spearman who had the largest mustache Crane had ever seen remained quiet while the paladin said, "You have proven your worth and may now become a Kallamore warrior, after that it will be clear what kind of warrior you shall become, I do hope you get faith."<br><br>Crane was a bit confused by what they were saying and asked, "Sir, what do you mean it will become clear? Is there a great difference between a common warrior and a kallamore warrior?"<br><br>The paladin replied, "Of course! I had forgotten you were indeed a foreigner! Yes, although a Kallamore warrior and a common one are the same in most ways, a kallamore warrior has two clear advantages. An increase in stats at conversion for one, and as for the other. Many advanced warrior classes have an added stat which determines you class's attack skill's power. Mine for example is Faith, and Elestas's is honor. When you convert to a kallamore warrior the most fitting stat will be assigned based on the class with your highest potential, that is why I stated 'I hope you get faith', then you could be a warrior under me until your skills improve and then you too would become a paladin. In most cases this also allows you to build up the stat even before becoming the class, granting an obvious advantage. This is truly the secret to why the soldier of the Royal Kallamore army are the strongest in the continent."<br><br>It sounded a lot like cheating to Crane but at least he had not gone through two and a half months of getting the crap beaten out of him for nothing. Elestas brought out the helmet he saw almost every soldier in the base wearing and gave it to Crane. He looked at it and said in a low voice, "Identify."<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>Kallamore Warrior's helmet<br>Durability 50/50<br>Defense 10<br>Made through the secrets of Kallamore royal blacksmiths, this light helmet is the symbol of a Kallamore Warrior.<br>Options:<br>Grants option to Change Class to Kallamore Warrior when first worn<br>Requirements:<br>Membership in the Kallamore Army</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>Crane took in a deep breath and put on the helmet<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>-You can convert to a Kallamore Warrior!<br>If you accept it, you can gain a bonus stat determined by your abilities. Warning, after accepting this class change you lose the ability to convert to a class that was not used by the royal family of Kallamore.<br>Do you want to convert now?<br>Yes|No</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>The last line looked dangerous, if Crane converted he could not change to a class not related to the royal family. The only classes related to the royal family were in the Royal Kallamore Army, meaning if he ever left the army he would never be able to change classes again. But Crane had steeled his resolve, he would not have come this far without the will power to move further.<br><br>"Yes.'<br><br>Crane was engulfed in light. After it died down, a row of messages appeared.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>New Stat Finesse<br>You have learned new skill: Flurry<br>You have learned new skill: Dash<br>You have learned new skill: Power Lunge</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>Elestas came over and said, "Well, show us you stats and skills already."<br><br>"Show Stats and skill window"<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="2">Status Window</td></tr><tr><td>Avatar- Crane.</td><td>Alignment- Neutral</td></tr><tr><td>Level 32</td><td>Class- Kallamore Warrior</td></tr><tr><td>Title- None</td><td>Fame- None</td></tr><tr><td>Health- 1660</td><td>Mana- 1020</td></tr><tr><td>Strength- 80+26</td><td>Agility- 85+31</td></tr><tr><td>Wisdom- 50+20</td><td>Intellect- 50+20</td></tr><tr><td>Vitality- 30+16</td><td>Luck- 0+10</td></tr><tr><td>Leadership- 0+10</td><td>Finesse- XX+10</td></tr><tr><td>Attack- 32</td><td>Defense- 7</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2">+ All stats are added 10<br>+ While using a sword you receive +50% bonus to Attack<br>+ Decreases Mana Consumption for Sword Skills by 50%<br>+ Can learn skills that use the Stat Finesse<br>+ All stats increase by 20% while wearing Kallamore Warrior's helmet<br>+ All stats decrease by 20% while not wearing Kallamore Warrior's helmet</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="2">Skills Window</td></tr><tr><td>Identification [2] 6%: Enables you to learn the true value of unidentified items.<br>Mana Cost: 30</td></tr><tr><td>Sword Mastery [6] 6%: Increases attack power and hit rating for swords. <br>+60% ATK +18 ATK SPD while using a sword.</td></tr><tr><td>Twelve Forms [3] 77%: Increases strength and speed of body while fighting using the twelve forms.<br>+30% STR +30% AGI<br>Mana Cost: 10 per second</td></tr><tr><td>Flurry [1] 0%: Rapid series of thrusts<br>3 thrusts per second<br>Mana Cost: 15 per second</td></tr><tr><td>Dash [1] 0%: Move a great distance in a single step<br>Mana Cost: 10</td></tr><tr><td>Power Lunge [1] 0%: A strengthen piercing attack that covers some distance<br>Mana Cost: 45</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>Crane was surprised to see the jump in his stats. Not only had the class given +10 to all stats but +20% more while he wore his helm! The crowd gathered around, looking at what stat the foreigner had gotten, and they all smacked their foreheads with a, "Oh, no, not that one." when they saw the stat, 'Finesse.'<br><br>From the stairs emerged an older gentleman with balding hair and and a scar across his forehead.<br><br>Crane froze in place as he walked towards him.<br><br>"I told you would would meet again kid, I'll be your instructor."<br><br>Chapter 5 The Variable Stat Finesse &lt;!-- l --&gt;&lt;a class="postlink-local" href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=91&amp;t=576&amp;p=2355#p2355"&gt;viewtopic.php?f=91&amp;t=576&amp;p=2355#p2355&lt;/a&gt;&lt;!-- l --&gt;<br>Chapter 3 Into the Past and Present &lt;!-- l --&gt;&lt;a class="postlink-local" href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=91&amp;t=574"&gt;viewtopic.php?f=91&amp;t=574&lt;/a&gt;&lt;!-- l --&gt; </div>

Chapter 4 The Way of the Sword Crane had decided he wanted to experience dangerous battles on the frontlines of combat and put his strength against another until one fell. He wasn't sure whether he wanted to be a knight, barbarian, or some other sword user yet so he wanted to start small and become a swordsman for now. He stood at the counter of the Warrior's guild and waited for a response. The man behind the counter said with enthusiasm, "So you want to be a warrior eh?" Then he got a good look at Crane. "What is this?! You look like you've never held a sword in your whole life yet you think you can just waltz in here and become a swordsman? Get out. Come back in a few years when you've got some hair on your chest!" Crane had expected this response but knew how to deal with it. He was aware you can't get something for nothing and asking an NPC for a profession without having the prerequisites for it was likely to get you laughed out of town. Crane closed his eyes and bowed his head before the man and said, "Sir, my whole life I have looked up to swordmasters and knights as the greatest masters of combat, I have been waiting my entire life for this moment. Please give me a chance." Crane could not see the man's face but he knew it would be priceless, he had stolen that line from a book in preparation for this and had little doubt it would work. Crane looked up with a solemn expression at the man's face. The man said, "I may have misjudged you boy. Wait here." The man got up from his chair and went into a room in the back of the guild. After about five minutes he returned to the counter and said, "Do you really intend to become a powerful warrior?" "Yes sir." "Hmm, I can't in good conscious let someone who's never held a sword in his life become a warrior, what if I could offer you training?" Crane tilted his head, "Sir?" The man answered, "If you want, I can give you a quest that will reward you with the warrior profession. Or, if you're willing to go the extra distance, I can give you a letter of recommendation to deliver to an upper tier swordsman instructor, you can train and become immeasurable stronger than you would otherwise. Are you prepared to do what it takes to become the greatest swordmaster you can be? Crane had steeled his resolve and answered without pause. "Yes sir." "Alright then. This here is a letter of recommendation. Take it to Captain Elestas. She resides in the base and will tell you how to become stronger." He handed the envelope and a military pass to Crane who bowed to him in thanks and left the building. It had worked out better than Crane had hoped for. Crane headed for the entrance to Yarsan's military base. Unlike most of the city's gates the gate to the military base was usually shut to discourage tourism. Yarsan as a member of the Kallamore Kingdom had a royal army under the command of the King, although only in Yarsan were nobles required to serve a term, in the entire Kingdom only Nobles and natives were allowed to join the Royal Kallamore Army. But Crane was obviously neither a nobleman or a native so he wanted to find the Captain, learn from her how to become strong and leave as soon as possible. Crane walked up to the soldier at the gate and showed him the military pass. "What's a scrawny foreigner like you doing here?" Crane said he had a message for Captain Elestas and the soldier started laughing. Crane thought he wasn't going to let him in, but he opened the gate and gave Crane a wicked smile and said, "The Captain will be out in the east yard about this time." As Crane walked through the open courtyard he observed various the people inside. At first he just assumed that the guard called him scrawny as an insult, but when he realized that the average frame of a Kallamore soldier was twice his own, he realized that to the guard it was a fact. Crane arrived at a vast open area twice the size of a football field with groups of twenty or more men spaced periodically over it who seemed to be practicing combat drills. Crane walked up to a soldier and asked where Captain Elestas would be. The soldier pointed to a figure standing on a raised wooden deck overlooking the groups. Crane walked nervously up the deck stairs. When he got closer he saw a woman, late thirties with excessively sharp features and short hair wearing shining steel armor. She noticed him approach and he noticed her hand move to the hilt of the sword on her waist. He stopped in his tracks and said. "My name is Crane, and I have a letter for you." He held and the letter and waited. Captain Elestas stared at him, scanning every feature before walking over to him and taking the letter, keeping her opposite hand on her sword. She opened the envelope and read it slowly. After standing there for a few minutes, Elestas addressed him. "So you would like to walk down the path of the sword, but have no experience whatsoever?" "That is correct." "Are you willing to do whatever task is asked of you?" Crane knew that she was implying hardships he could not yet imagine. He had read of the adventures of many people, but those books did not include the training that those people put themselves through to attain their strength and skills. "Yes." Crane was ready to take on any quest no matter how difficult. He would not back down. "Very well, consider yourself drafted." *Ding* | You have have joined the Royal army of Kallamore.You are now apart of the Kallamore 717th InfantryYou are entitled to receive basic trainingYou will receive a monthly income of four silvers | | --- | The blood seemed to drain out of Crane's face as he registered what the Captain had just said and the message that had appeared. At no point had anyone said anything about joining the army. Crane simply could not register what had happened. Usually for something like this, the officer first offered a job, a screen came up, and the user choose to accept or reject the offer. But somehow that entire process had just been skipped. "Excuse me mam but-" Quicker than he could see, Elestas's sword left it's sheathe and stopped at Crane's face. "From now on you will refer to me as Captain Elestas, do you understand?" Swallowing hard, Crane nervously answered, "Yes Captain Elestas." She removed her sword and said with a smile, "Did you have a question?" "Yes Captain Elestas. Why was I not given a choice of denying your offer?" She held up the letter and said, "Because he knew you would. The is a letter recommending I draft you into the army, insure you receive standard training, and if you last through the training, provide you with a Warrior class that will lead you to an upper tier warrior class. All that is needed for me to draft someone is their willingness to follow orders, which you have confirmed." He had been tricked. Elestas had gotten him to accept becoming a soldier without knowing it himself. She smiled at Crane the way a spoiled child smiled when given a brand new toy and said, "Your training begins now. Follow me." She walked off the deck followed by Crane and lead him to the nearest group of soldiers. When she approached they stood up straight and faced her, perfectly still. Elestas called out for one of the men to come forward and said. "This recruit just joined your unit. It'll be your responsibility to make sure his is up to par." Crane stood up straight and waited for the Captain to leave. The man he had been entrusted to looked only a few years older than himself. But he held himself with composure and stared at his new ward. "And you would be?" Crane quickly answered, "My name is Crane, and I-" "Hold it, from this point on, only speak when spoken to, answer only what has been asked, end each sentence with the word sir, and do everything I say without complaint. Is that clear?" Something in his gut told Crane he was not going to be making any friends in the army. "Yes sir." "Good. You will call me Pike. Everyone does. The supervision of your training will be left to me." Pike motioned for another member of the group to step forward. "Barrows, can I trust him to you?" The one called Barrows nodded. Pike nodded back to him, "Good, listen Crane, from now until I say so, you will follow Barrows like a shadow and do what he does, and what he tells you to do. During your training Barrows will correct your form. Before that however you must be initiated into this unit. Barrows, your sword." Barrows turned his blade upside down and handed it to Crane by the hilt. After Crane had taken it in hand, Barrows backed away with the others and formed a large circle around Crane and Pike. Pike raised his sword, took in a breath, and lunged at Crane. Crane had not been prepared for an attack and could only stand motionless with his own dumbfounded expression when Pike's strike left a clean cut on the hand he was holding his sword. The unexpected pain caused him to unconsciously release his grip. His health bar diminished slightly and he winced. He knew the pain was far less than a real wound of the same caliber would give but it hurt all the same. Pike returned to his initial position and started speaking. "Do not release your sword in combat. Do not let your opponent hit your hand. Now pick up your sword." Crane bent down to pick up his sword. When he gripped it he looked back to see Pike had already rushed to within two feet of him and had raised his foot to kick Crane's shoulder. The impact was hard enough to send Crane back four feet. His health bar reduced far more than the cut and he now only had half of his health remaining. Pike had already returned to his starting position when he started to say, "Do not let your guard down. Do not look away from your opponent. This is the way of a warrior." Although the kick was unexpected and made his entire body sore, he had not released his sword. Crane stared down Pike as he got up. Each time Pike was in his starting position he had the same stance, so Crane imitated it. Pike did not move and Crane could only stand there. Five minutes passed without either of them moving, Crane could feel the pressure building around him. Without any indication Pike lunged forward again. Crane raised his hand to his shoulder with the blade at the downward diagonal, a defense stance saw in the picture of a book. He was going to move to the side and try to catch Pike's sword on the opposite side to parry the attack. But when Crane tried to move he realized he couldn't. Pike stabbed Crane in the shoulder, pulled out his weapon and returned to his starting position. "Do not forget to mind your condition in battle. Tension can rob you of speed and your life." Crane's health had dropped to less than a fourth. Pike didn't hit any vital points but he was a much higher level than Crane and his attacks did a fair amount of damage to him. One more hit would kill him for sure. Crane harden the grip on his sword and took a relaxed stance with his sword's tip resting on the ground. As he did he felt his awareness increase. He felt could see Pike more clearly. It was not that his vision suddenly improved, it was more like it had been cloudy before this point, and now he saw clearly. He could see Pike breathing, until he stopped. Crane raised his sword just as Pike leaped through the space between them. Crane felt his sword hum as Pike's sword grinded on it and the hilt's met each other with Pike's face only two inches from Crane's. Pike looked at Crane and nodded, releasing the pressure of his sword against Crane. "One cannot fight with a wandering mind. Only with a clear head can a swordsman show his full strength." Pike turned to the rest of the group and dismissed the lot. Barrows motioned for Crane to follow him and return his sword. He lead him inside a building within the base where a man in a white robe met him. "Hello Barrows, what can I do for you this evening?" Barrows stepped aside so that the man could see Crane's bloody shoulder. "Ah, I see, Healing Hand." Light in the shape of a large hand looked like it grasped Crane's entire torso before disappearing. His wounds had vanished and his health became full. Crane thanked the man and asked for his name. "I am Priest Lot, of the Church of Magni. Members of our order volunteer to assist the Kallamore army as a token of goodwill." Barrows was off again so Crane thanked the Priest once more and hurried after Barrows. Barrows stopped at an iron door and pulled out a key, unlocked it and opened the door to reveal the armory. He gestured to Crane to pick something from inside. There was a high variety of swords, spears, and axes to choose from. As Crane was looking through a barrel of them, Barrows opened a trunk in the back and started to rummage through its contents. Crane wanted to use identify on each sword but doubted Barrows would give him the time to do that, so he just picked up and gave a once over of each sword. When Barrows returned to Crane, he saw that Crane was holding a longsword with a wide guard. Crane looked up at Barrows and showed him his choice. Barrows put down what he had gotten from the trunk and took the sword from Crane's hands and examine it. He then looked carefully at Crane's arms and put the sword back into the barrel. Barrows then moved to a barrel in the corner of the armory and grabbed the handle of a thin bladed sword with a guard over the grip, and passed it to Crane and saying, "This one." Crane looked down at the sword and said "Identify." | Training RapierDurability 35/40Damage 4~6This sword was made for swiftness as opposed to strengthOptions: AGI +5Requirements:None | | --- | Crane thought that Barrows must've felt that this was an appropriate weapon for Crane. Barrows then picked up the leather uniform he got out of the truck and passed it to Crane. He equipped it on himself and from his inventory screen looked at the item's stats | Infantry UniformDurability 25/35Defense 7Leather armor made from various hides. Printed with the insignia of the army of Yarsan.Requirements:Membership in the Kallamore Army | | --- | After Crane equipped the items, Barrows left the room and waited by the door. After Crane exited as well Barrows locked the door and started walking down the hall. Barrows and Crane reached what Crane believed to be the West Courtyard, where Crane saw a similar raised Wooden deck overlooking a large field, but instead of the field being filled with groups of people, the entire field was filled with hundreds of soldiers organized into columns and rows. There was someone one the deck shouting the numbers one through twelve and a direction in random orders. Each time a number and direction was called the entire group of people performed an identical movement in the direction. What impressed Crane the most was the elegant beauty of the forms. Each movement could be performed from the end stance of any other movement. This was likely the Kallamore Kingdom's royal swordplay. Barrows and Crane passed the group and headed towards the face of the towering cliff. They reached a door at its base, but before he opened it, Barrows turned to Crane and said, "Party." | Barrows has invited you to join his partyAcceptYes|No | | --- | "Yes" | You have joined Barrow's party | | --- | Barrows nodded then continued to lead Crane into the cliff. The passage lead down a flight of stairs to a dome shaped room with several doors spaced in the walls and a bearded man at a desk by the stairs. The man looked up to Barrows and said, "You have come for the extermination yes? Those rats are spreading everywhere." Barrows nodded and a Screen appeared before Crane. | ExterminationGiant rats have found their way into the depths of the cellar and need to be taking care of.Progress000/200Requirements:Membership in Kallamore Army | | --- | | This quest quest has been accepted by party leader and has been distributed to you | | --- | Barrows walked to the door furthest on the left and entered, followed by Crane. After the door shut behind him, Barrows sat down, leaning his back on the door. "You need to get used to that sword. Return when the rats are taken care of." Barrows was not being lazy and Crane knew it, this was for his sake. Crane walked down the hallway and spotted the first rat. As was scurrying down the hall, Crane observed that although it had the proportions of a normal rat, it looked to be at least three feet in length. Crane already had his sword out and slowly approached the rat. The rat hissed and ran at Crane. Crane raised his sword and the rat leaped at him, and dropped onto the rat, slashing its face. But he lacked the strength to make it a fatal blow. The rat circled back but Crane never lost sight of it. He saw it was trying to get past him on his side so he reeled his sword back and stepped away to give the rat an opening. When it took it, Crane slashed through the rat's side. The rat fell down and slide a few inches, motionless, dead. | You have leveled up | | --- | After the nobleman Torres's quest, Crane was at the point just before a level but had done nothing with it. Crane then remembered that he still had unused stat points from his first level up and wondered how to spend them. He would not be able to cleanly kill the rats without more Strength, but the sword given to Crane by Barrows implied that Crane should fight with speed. At this conclusion Crane decided he would divide his ten points evenly between them as well as for all levels at this time. From that point on Crane developed his sword skills with each kill. The area was vast and the rats usually came in pairs or sets of three, but the narrow hallways prevented Crane from being surrounded completely. The rats were large and slow, but they gave little experience. That however was not what he was there for. Crane gripped the sword tightly as he faced down a pair rats. He had begun to understand the properties of his sword. It was better for stabbing and thrusting than cleaving. It could also be used to make small precise cuts which although not fatal, can cripple his target. Crane still had to work on his aim though. When he would try to stab he would often hit air, when he would attempt to cut at a rat's leg to slow him down he would occasionally miss. He was getting better, but if he ran into a group of more than three rats, he would run away. A rat from the pair ran at Crane's leg. Crane stepped back and moved his sword into position. When the rat jumped Crane extended his arm and pierced through the rat. It fell limp as the the other rat ran at Crane and met a similar end. | Skill Level Up: Sword Mastery [2]Increase Attack power with sword (+20% ATK)Increase Attack speed with sword (+6% ATK SPD) | | --- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Three and a half hours had passed and Crane had forty rats to go. He had leveled up two more times and gained another level in Sword Mastery. As he thought, the rats were probably about the same strength if not just a bit stronger than rabbit, giving very little experience when killed. Crane found several areas with stored supplies, which was likely the area's original purpose. He used the bandages, herbs and rye bread there to bring himself to full health when he needed it. Crane knew where the last ones were because they were all gathered in a single large room Crane had discovered and ran from earlier. Crane stood in front of the door and took a deep breath. He went over each piece of advice given to him by Pike earlier as well as what he had learned since. Crane quieted his mind and moved his hand to open the door. *Ding | Quest complete: ExterminationYou have eradicated all the rats from the cellar.Return for your reward | | --- | Crane froze with his hand on the doorknob. He had checked the quest status not ten minutes ago and confirmed he was at 160/200. Crane opened the door to find Barrows walking towards him. As he passed through the door he said, "Too long." Crane followed him back to the main room where the bearded man greeted him. "Thank you for your efforts. Now we can store supplies there again." | You have leveled up | | --- | Crane nodded to the man and followed Barrows up the stairs and outside. He took Crane to an empty spot near the wall and took out his sword. Crane followed suit. Barrows then took a stance and said, "Mirror me." Crane took a mirror image of the stance as Barrows slashed his sword and said, "One." Crane mirrored the slash and Barrows continued. The Twelve forms originated from the powerful knights the King of Kallamore descended from. Each had a different strike pattern that started and ended in one of three positions, which one you choose to end it in is what determined what you next move could be. Each strike had three variations that each served a different purpose. The first variation was a basic attack that targeted an opening. The second variation used a circular wrist flick motion to parry or divert an attack at the attack's weakest point and then counter attack. The last used the circular wrist motion as a feint to invite the opponent to parry the half strength strike with his full strength which left an opening to attack. The three had a rock-paper-scissors relationship with attack beats feint, feint beat counter, and counter beats attack. ---------------------------------------- For the next several in game weeks, Barrows fashioned Crane into a respectable fighter. Crane fought monsters outside the city gates along side Barrow with Pike and the rest of his unit and inside the various monster filled chambers in the depths of the base. Barrows drilled the twelve forms into Crane until Crane could perform each one without instruction. After Crane had reached that point he participated in the mass training sessions in the west courtyard aside Barrows. However Barrows never spoke to Crane on any matter that was not related to training. Crane felt that if he was violently killed before Barrows, the man wouldn't bat an eye. Barrows did everything in his power to strengthen Crane but it was solely because he had been commanded to do so. Whenever Crane attempted to start a normal conversation with Barrows, he said nothing. It was almost as if he were thinking that the idea of conversing with Crane was beneath him. During the second month after Crane joined as an infantry of Kallamore Kingdom, Crane was doing solo form practice when a message appeared on his screen. | You have learned new skill: Twelve Forms | | --- | Crane stopped practicing and went to see Barrows about what it meant. Barrows pulled out his sword and performed each of the twelve forms, however with each slash of his sword, there was a flash of light. What Barrows had done was not a movement, but a sword skill. A skill Crane could now use. "Skill Window" | Skill Window | | | --- | --- | | Identification [2] 6%: Enables you to learn the true value of unidentified items.Mana cost: 30 | | Sword Mastery [5] 59%: Increases attack power and hit rating for swords. +50% ATK +15% ATK SPD while using a sword. | | Twelve Forms [1] 0%: Increases strength and speed of body while fighting using the twelve forms.+10% STR +10% AGIMana Cost: 20 per second | From that point on Crane participated in sparring matches with Barrows. Barrows did not go easy on him, and only stopped before the final blow. During that time, Crane had to go see Priest Lot at least twice a day. But Crane's skill proficiency for the twelve forms and for Sword Mastery increased little by little with each match. After two weeks of blood, sweat, more blood, and a lot of bandages, Pike, by chance, witnessed a sparring session between Crane and Barrows. After Crane had been beaten to the ground, Pike spoke to them. "Barrows, you have done satisfactorily, you are relieved. Crane, tomorrow you are to be in the observation room at sun up. Because you no longer embarrass yourself while holding a sword, you will be tested to see if you are ready to be given the Warrior class." Barrows had left the moment Pike said Crane was no longer his problem and Pike left and he finished talking. Crane could only stand there wondering what had just happened. The next morning Pike lead Crane to the room inside the fortress that had a second story deck overlooking it. "Above us are five instructors of the five different upper tier Kallamore warrior classes, Captain Elestas among them. We will spar here and they will observe you. After that they will decide whether you may convert to a Kallamore warrior and depending on how you turn out, decide which of them will be your instructor. However if you show that you are not worthy a being a warrior of Kallamore you will be dishonorably discharged and thrown out of this base. Crane raised his sword and said, "Yes sir." With a slightly please look, Pike raised own his sword and calmly walked over to him. Crane relaxed his body and took the initiative to strike first using the twelve forms skill. The form of his attack was flawless but Pike had sidestepped and parried it. Crane moved from that position into another strike and from that into another, smoothly and continuously striking Pike who parried, blocked, or dodged each strike with practiced ease. The reason behind the continuous attack chain was because Pike was better than he was. If Crane had given Pike a single moment, Pike who had seen each of Crane's textbook accurate moves a thousand plus times, would take the pace from him in an instance. Even though Crane was using the twelve form which increased his strength and speed, Pike was defending without using any skills, buffs, or even breaking a sweat. Crane had little choice but to use the speed of his thin blade to try to overwhelm him until Pike made a mistake. The look on Pike's face told Crane he was amused. Not impressed by Crane's growth, his form or his speed, but amused by his choice of tactics against Pike. Pike and Crane knew of course that a single serious attack with Pike's higher level strength would blow past any defense Crane could use. To prevent Pike from using a attack Crane must force him to defend. Pike was amused because among the dozens of options Crane had, even though he would soon run out of the mana necessary to continue the the use of the twelve forms, he choose to fight in the only way he stood any chance of defeating Pike. Pike was amused, because that meant Crane was fighting against all odds with the intention of winning. Crane made a precise slash to Pike's neck, a standard form six attack. Pike raised his sword in a movement that looked like it was suppose to repel the slash, but before the swords met, Pike tucked in his hand, pulled his leg back lowering his stance, and thrust his sword at Crane's neck as Crane's sword passed over Pike's lowered head. Crane froze his position when he saw Pike's thrust but Pike's sword had stopped just before piercing Crane's neck. Crane heard applause from the upper balcony as Pike removed his sword from Crane's throat and bowed to them. Crane did as well. Crane could not see the people but he heard footsteps from the stairs that lead up to the balcony and saw four people, Captain Elestas among them. Elestas spoke first with a slightly disappointed tone. "That was some impressive sword play. If you had more experience it might have turned into quite a match. I did not tell you last time we met but I am the Knight Instructor, and this man here, the Barbarian Instructor." Crane looked at the large broad shouldered man and wondered to himself how well he could do as a barbarian. Crane didn't mind the hardships he'd deal with under Elestas if it meant becoming a Knight of Kallamore, considered to be the strongest knights on the continent, and the man next to her didn't look so bad either. A knight or Barbarian would be just fine with him. But there were two more and one seemed to be missing. The other two men were clearly a spearman and paladin respectfully. The spearman who had the largest mustache Crane had ever seen remained quiet while the paladin said, "You have proven your worth and may now become a Kallamore warrior, after that it will be clear what kind of warrior you shall become, I do hope you get faith." Crane was a bit confused by what they were saying and asked, "Sir, what do you mean it will become clear? Is there a great difference between a common warrior and a kallamore warrior?" The paladin replied, "Of course! I had forgotten you were indeed a foreigner! Yes, although a Kallamore warrior and a common one are the same in most ways, a kallamore warrior has two clear advantages. An increase in stats at conversion for one, and as for the other. Many advanced warrior classes have an added stat which determines you class's attack skill's power. Mine for example is Faith, and Elestas's is honor. When you convert to a kallamore warrior the most fitting stat will be assigned based on the class with your highest potential, that is why I stated 'I hope you get faith', then you could be a warrior under me until your skills improve and then you too would become a paladin. In most cases this also allows you to build up the stat even before becoming the class, granting an obvious advantage. This is truly the secret to why the soldier of the Royal Kallamore army are the strongest in the continent." It sounded a lot like cheating to Crane but at least he had not gone through two and a half months of getting the crap beaten out of him for nothing. Elestas brought out the helmet he saw almost every soldier in the base wearing and gave it to Crane. He looked at it and said in a low voice, "Identify." | Kallamore Warrior's helmetDurability 50/50Defense 10Made through the secrets of Kallamore royal blacksmiths, this light helmet is the symbol of a Kallamore Warrior.Options:Grants option to Change Class to Kallamore Warrior when first wornRequirements:Membership in the Kallamore Army | | --- | Crane took in a deep breath and put on the helmet | -You can convert to a Kallamore Warrior!If you accept it, you can gain a bonus stat determined by your abilities. Warning, after accepting this class change you lose the ability to convert to a class that was not used by the royal family of Kallamore.Do you want to convert now?Yes|No | | --- | The last line looked dangerous, if Crane converted he could not change to a class not related to the royal family. The only classes related to the royal family were in the Royal Kallamore Army, meaning if he ever left the army he would never be able to change classes again. But Crane had steeled his resolve, he would not have come this far without the will power to move further. "Yes.' Crane was engulfed in light. After it died down, a row of messages appeared. | New Stat FinesseYou have learned new skill: FlurryYou have learned new skill: DashYou have learned new skill: Power Lunge | | --- | Elestas came over and said, "Well, show us you stats and skills already." "Show Stats and skill window" | Status Window | | | --- | --- | | Avatar- Crane. | Alignment- Neutral | | Level 32 | Class- Kallamore Warrior | | Title- None | Fame- None | | Health- 1660 | Mana- 1020 | | Strength- 80+26 | Agility- 85+31 | | Wisdom- 50+20 | Intellect- 50+20 | | Vitality- 30+16 | Luck- 0+10 | | Leadership- 0+10 | Finesse- XX+10 | | Attack- 32 | Defense- 7 | | + All stats are added 10+ While using a sword you receive +50% bonus to Attack+ Decreases Mana Consumption for Sword Skills by 50%+ Can learn skills that use the Stat Finesse+ All stats increase by 20% while wearing Kallamore Warrior's helmet+ All stats decrease by 20% while not wearing Kallamore Warrior's helmet | | | Skills Window | | | --- | --- | | Identification [2] 6%: Enables you to learn the true value of unidentified items.Mana Cost: 30 | | Sword Mastery [6] 6%: Increases attack power and hit rating for swords. +60% ATK +18 ATK SPD while using a sword. | | Twelve Forms [3] 77%: Increases strength and speed of body while fighting using the twelve forms.+30% STR +30% AGIMana Cost: 10 per second | | Flurry [1] 0%: Rapid series of thrusts3 thrusts per secondMana Cost: 15 per second | | Dash [1] 0%: Move a great distance in a single stepMana Cost: 10 | | Power Lunge [1] 0%: A strengthen piercing attack that covers some distanceMana Cost: 45 | Crane was surprised to see the jump in his stats. Not only had the class given +10 to all stats but +20% more while he wore his helm! The crowd gathered around, looking at what stat the foreigner had gotten, and they all smacked their foreheads with a, "Oh, no, not that one." when they saw the stat, 'Finesse.' From the stairs emerged an older gentleman with balding hair and and a scar across his forehead. Crane froze in place as he walked towards him. "I told you would would meet again kid, I'll be your instructor." Chapter 5 The Variable Stat Finesse <!-- l --><a class="postlink-local" href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=91&t=576&p=2355#p2355">viewtopic.php?f=91&t=576&p=2355#p2355</a><!-- l --> Chapter 3 Into the Past and Present <!-- l --><a class="postlink-local" href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=91&t=574">viewtopic.php?f=91&t=574</a><!-- l -->

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> It was the only word Alexander could use to accurately describe what was happening around him. The head cook screamed orders at the sub-cooks. These were also shouting, while they watched over their assigned station and the ‘normal’ cooks working at them. <br><br>Waiters were joining the fray, shuffling from one end of he room to another to distribute orders. Fifty cooks were working diligently in this kitchen. Dirty cooking utensils were put down any place not occupied yet. The apprentices then had to quickly remove them and bring them to the washing station, where 3 of the kitchen staff scrubbed one plate after another, cleaned pots and pans swiped glasses and cutlery to make them shine.<br><br>Hacking at meat, slicing vegetables, using blazing fire to cook, the noise in the kitchen was deafening. <br><br>Nonetheless the dining part of the restaurant never so much as heard anything of the chaotic noise in the kitchen. Having a few musicians in the dining area playing soothing music, extravagantly adorned it with chandeliers, a smooth and shiny parquet floor, bright magical light illuminating the place and having employed professionally trained waiters clearly reflected its status of the best restaurant in the Rosenheim kingdom.<br><br>Not to mention the cooks skills, especially the head cook, who was one of the few advanced level cooks in the entire continent. Naturally he was a NPC, since still all high-level positions are taken by NPC’s.<br><br>While the friends of Alexander were already in their mid-forties, here he was still stuck inside the city in a kitchen.<br><br>When the head cook of this restaurant had hired him, Alexander would never have imagined how hard life in the kitchen of a professional, highly established restaurant was.<br><br>Currently he had adapted to this hectic life of being a cook, but it wasn’t easy and actually took him almost the entire month to achieve.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;">------------------------------------------------</div><br>Recap:<br><br>Waiting in front of the restaurant, since the sun had come up Alexander was feeling ready for any kind of challenge. Six other people came to also wait with him. After talking to them for a bit, he realized that they were all players, who also wanted to be hired. Alexander hoped that it wouldn’t be some kind of competition, since he had never in his life cooked for real before.<br><br>He could make himself a sandwich, cook noodles and manage to make a homemade pizza. He never had to cook in real life but had decided to definitely learn it in the game, since he would soon need to cook his own meals, when he moves out of his childhood home to live on his own. <br><br>Finally other people, who probably were part of the kitchen staff, came and the head cook soon opened the doors of the restaurant.<br><br>Following him inside, Alexander and the five other players that wanted to be hired looked at the huge establishment in awe. Probably a thousand people could come and eat here at once. <br><br>Hearing stools scraping across the floor Alexander turned around and saw that the countless kitchen staffs had already changed their clothing and while the cooks went towards doors located directly opposite the entrance to what led to the kitchens, waiters had started to clean the tables and the floor, to completely remove any dirt and dust. They also arranged the countless tables and stools to stand in a symmetrical order to each other.<br><br>Not knowing what they were supposed to do, Alexander and the other five stayed standing at the entrance of the restaurant. A few moments passed in awkward silence until the head cook had reappeared from inside the kitchen. Meanwhile two other players, who were a bit late came and joined us inside.<br><br>The head cook took a long look at us and then turned to face the two, who were running late, asking them:<br><br>“What are you still doing here? Being a cook of this restaurant requires a certain standard and we won’t hire anyone too lax to come in time!”<br><br>The two players in question looked at him in disbelief and stood still. The head cook’s expression had turned into a frown and he simply stood up, picked the two players, who were probably still in their first month of in-game time, up at their neck and threw them outside the doors, which he closed after them.<br><br>Us remaining players were now too aware of the fact that this will probably not be as easy as we had thought.<br><br>“We need a few cooking apprentices in the kitchen for the whole month. You will be paid once a week and for persisting until the end of the month you will receive a reward of three gold coins. So let’s start working!”<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="4"><span style="font-weight: bold;">The apprenticeship at ‘Palais raffiné’</span><br><br>Having been hired to start out as an apprentice cook at the highly established restaurant ‘Palais raffiné’, you will have to endure one month of the hard life of being part of a professional kitchen staff.<br><br><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Difficulty Level</span>: F<br><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Quest rewards</span>: Cooking skill.<br>15 silver per week and an additional 3 gold after one month. <br>During the one month in the restaurant the experience gain of the cooking skill will be increased by 10%.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="4">You have learned the skill Cooking</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>For the first days my job consisted of scrubbing dishes, running around to clear the cooking stations of dirty cooking utensils. It is amazing how many thousands of plates, pots, pans, cutlery and other utensils had to be cleaned every day in such a huge restaurant.<br><br>For having worked so diligently Alexander was promoted at the third day to the peeling area of the kitchen. <br><br>For the next four days he had to peel thousands of potatoes, carrots, onions, apples, oranges and other fruits, generally everything imaginable that could be peeled. Even though the job was very monotone, Alexander had to constantly concentrate or else he would have messed up.<br><br>Thankfully he was able to peel properly after only a few tries and after four days of peeling he thought of himself as being a master-grade peeler, which wasn’t really something one could boast about to others.<br><br>After the first week, Alexander was again promoted even though it didn’t come to a relief to him, since it was always accompanied by having to work more. Two of the five players that started working with him had been fired for being to slow, not working hard enough or maybe simply, because the head cook didn’t like them. Two others had been promoted along with him and other players had taken up their previous positions. Lastly the fifth player apparently was a restaurant cook in real life, which was noticed by the head cook, who had soon promoted him to one of the regular cooks.<br><br>Now having being promoted once more he started to do different kinds of cooking preparations.<br><br>He now had to wash fruits and vegetables by holding them under slightly warm running water. He also had to scrub root vegetables, such as potatoes, with a soft brush to remove any dirt, since not everything was peeled due to different meals needing either peeled or unpeeled ingredients.<br><br>Alexander also had to grate and shred by using an old-fashioned grater-shredder on top of a plate. The smaller holes of the grater-shredder were used for grating to make tiny particles of citrus zest or hard cheese for example. The larger oval shaped holes on the other hand were used for shredding to make short and fine or long and coarse pieces of soft cheese for example.<br>He now also had to prepare different types of egg dishes. He had to hard-boil, soft-boil, fry them or make scrambled eggs. He also needed to crack them, and then pour them into a mixing bowl with flour, sugar and a few other ingredients to create dough for bread or noodles.<br><br>He also had to prepare and chop salad, mushrooms, fruits, vegetables and other things into various different sizes. He had to cut, bruise, crumble, cube, dice, flake, grind, julienne, mash, mince, shred, chop coarsely or chop finely. <br><br>He also learned various different seasoning techniques. <br><br>In his third week he was finally assigned to a certain cooking station to help out there. He didn’t have to help all that needed help anymore, constantly having to be alert if someone called for him over all the shouting.<br><br>He was assigned to the dessert section of the kitchen, where only 5 cooks worked at. It was the most interesting part of his entire time working as part of the kitchen staff. He was finally recognized by the others to be also called a cook and not an apprentice anymore.<br><br>He learned how to make ice cream, cake, cookies, caramel, crème brulee and various other kinds of desserts. He learned how to make simple dishes look extravagant and special. Working at the dessert station for the rest of his stay, he noticed that making desserts was what he was best in.<br><br>During his month in the kitchen he was very grateful to the other cooks, who had given him friendly advice and showed him step by step how to do certain things. If they hadn’t been so helpful and if the atmosphere inside the kitchen wasn’t always filled wit constant chatter and laughter he probably wouldn’t have managed to persist through all that work and stress. <br><br>To show how hard the work truly was, one has to know that Alexander had always logged out after each work day for the beginning two weeks, since he was to mentally tired to do anything else like train his knife mastery further. Even after those two weeks he wasn’t willing to work much more so during that time he went to the city library to read about different places on the Versailles continent.<br><br>By reading the entire night every night for two weeks he managed to increase his wisdom by 6 and his intellect by 4 points. He also created a new stat.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="4">New stat: Concentration</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="4"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Concentration</span><br><br>You are able to concentrate heavily on a task thus increasing its efficiency. You are prohibited from distributing stat bonus points to this stat.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>The incredible thing about this stat was that it gained stat points quite easily. After every couple of hours of reading non-stop it would increase or even after especially hard parts in preparing desserts, where one can absolutely not lose focus or else the taste or appearance would be much worse.<br><br>But Alexander didn’t know if the stat really was useful, since one would naturally increase one’s efficiency if concentrating hard on a task. A person not paying attention to what he is doing, won’t be able to achieve something one of equal ability can do while being immersed in his task.<br><br>Since Alexander gave it his best at most things he did and he wouldn’t be able to distribute stat points to the stat anyway, which he wouldn’t have done even if he was able to do it, he decided to ignore the stat for the time being.<br><br>Various other stats had increased a substantial amount during his time in the kitchen. Especially his agility and stamina, since he prepared food for thousands of people every day while constantly being pressured to create high quality food in a limited time frame.<br><br>By also having used many high quality ingredients due to the restaurant being the finest there was in the entire Rosenheim kingdom, being visited by nobles and other wealthy people every day, Alexander managed to raise his cooking skill to beginner level 8: 79% and earned three gold and sixty silver coins, while at the same time receiving free food as a bonus.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;">--------------------------------------------------------</div><br>Back to the present time:<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="4"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Quest complete!</span><br><span style="text-decoration: underline;">The apprenticeship at ‘Palais raffiné’</span><br><br>For having managed to endure one month of the self-proclaimed hell’s kitchen you have received a generous payment and your relationship to your fellow cooks has improved.<br><br><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Quest rewards</span>: Relationship to cooks of ‘Palais raffiné’ has changed to: friends<br>Increase of discount at grocery markets by 0.5%. <br>Discount at ‘Palais raffiné’ by 10% for your own meal. <br>Fame +4</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="4">You have leveled up!</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>Alexander had finally gained enough experience, having completed three easy quests until now. The blacksmith’s, the archer’s and now the cook’s quest. He decided to invest three points into his strength stat and two into Agility.<br><br>His status window looked impressive for only being level two.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="4">Status Window</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Character name</td><td width="25%">Someone</td><td width="25%">Alignment</td><td width="25%">Neutral</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Level</td><td width="25%">2</td><td width="25%">Profession</td><td width="25%">None</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Title</td><td colspan="3">None</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Fame</td><td colspan="3">11</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Health</td><td width="25%">1610</td><td width="25%">Mana</td><td width="25%">3260</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Strength</td><td width="25%">70 (+20)</td><td width="25%">Agility</td><td width="25%">104 (-10)</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Stamina</td><td colspan="3">79</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Fighting Spirit</td><td width="25%">15</td><td width="25%">Sustenance</td><td width="25%">26</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Wisdom</td><td width="25%">43</td><td width="25%">Intellect</td><td width="25%">64</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Concentration</td><td colspan="3">17</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Luck</td><td width="25%">-1</td><td width="25%">Leadership</td><td width="25%">0</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Attack</td><td colspan="3">27 (+18) - 27 (+22)</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Defense</td><td colspan="3">4</td></tr><tr><td colspan="4">Magic Resistance</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Fire</td><td width="25%">25%</td><td width="25%">Water</td><td width="25%">25%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Earth</td><td width="25%">25%</td><td width="25%">Black Magic</td><td width="25%">25%</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br>By having earned money, he could now finally buy equipment to leave the city.<br>While whistling merrily Alexander quickly left the restaurant behind him to search for a merchant, only to once again get lost. </div>

It was the only word Alexander could use to accurately describe what was happening around him. The head cook screamed orders at the sub-cooks. These were also shouting, while they watched over their assigned station and the ‘normal’ cooks working at them. Waiters were joining the fray, shuffling from one end of he room to another to distribute orders. Fifty cooks were working diligently in this kitchen. Dirty cooking utensils were put down any place not occupied yet. The apprentices then had to quickly remove them and bring them to the washing station, where 3 of the kitchen staff scrubbed one plate after another, cleaned pots and pans swiped glasses and cutlery to make them shine. Hacking at meat, slicing vegetables, using blazing fire to cook, the noise in the kitchen was deafening. Nonetheless the dining part of the restaurant never so much as heard anything of the chaotic noise in the kitchen. Having a few musicians in the dining area playing soothing music, extravagantly adorned it with chandeliers, a smooth and shiny parquet floor, bright magical light illuminating the place and having employed professionally trained waiters clearly reflected its status of the best restaurant in the Rosenheim kingdom. Not to mention the cooks skills, especially the head cook, who was one of the few advanced level cooks in the entire continent. Naturally he was a NPC, since still all high-level positions are taken by NPC’s. While the friends of Alexander were already in their mid-forties, here he was still stuck inside the city in a kitchen. When the head cook of this restaurant had hired him, Alexander would never have imagined how hard life in the kitchen of a professional, highly established restaurant was. Currently he had adapted to this hectic life of being a cook, but it wasn’t easy and actually took him almost the entire month to achieve. ------------------------------------------------ Recap: Waiting in front of the restaurant, since the sun had come up Alexander was feeling ready for any kind of challenge. Six other people came to also wait with him. After talking to them for a bit, he realized that they were all players, who also wanted to be hired. Alexander hoped that it wouldn’t be some kind of competition, since he had never in his life cooked for real before. He could make himself a sandwich, cook noodles and manage to make a homemade pizza. He never had to cook in real life but had decided to definitely learn it in the game, since he would soon need to cook his own meals, when he moves out of his childhood home to live on his own. Finally other people, who probably were part of the kitchen staff, came and the head cook soon opened the doors of the restaurant. Following him inside, Alexander and the five other players that wanted to be hired looked at the huge establishment in awe. Probably a thousand people could come and eat here at once. Hearing stools scraping across the floor Alexander turned around and saw that the countless kitchen staffs had already changed their clothing and while the cooks went towards doors located directly opposite the entrance to what led to the kitchens, waiters had started to clean the tables and the floor, to completely remove any dirt and dust. They also arranged the countless tables and stools to stand in a symmetrical order to each other. Not knowing what they were supposed to do, Alexander and the other five stayed standing at the entrance of the restaurant. A few moments passed in awkward silence until the head cook had reappeared from inside the kitchen. Meanwhile two other players, who were a bit late came and joined us inside. The head cook took a long look at us and then turned to face the two, who were running late, asking them: “What are you still doing here? Being a cook of this restaurant requires a certain standard and we won’t hire anyone too lax to come in time!” The two players in question looked at him in disbelief and stood still. The head cook’s expression had turned into a frown and he simply stood up, picked the two players, who were probably still in their first month of in-game time, up at their neck and threw them outside the doors, which he closed after them. Us remaining players were now too aware of the fact that this will probably not be as easy as we had thought. “We need a few cooking apprentices in the kitchen for the whole month. You will be paid once a week and for persisting until the end of the month you will receive a reward of three gold coins. So let’s start working!” | The apprenticeship at ‘Palais raffiné’Having been hired to start out as an apprentice cook at the highly established restaurant ‘Palais raffiné’, you will have to endure one month of the hard life of being part of a professional kitchen staff.Difficulty Level: FQuest rewards: Cooking skill.15 silver per week and an additional 3 gold after one month. During the one month in the restaurant the experience gain of the cooking skill will be increased by 10%. | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | You have learned the skill Cooking | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | For the first days my job consisted of scrubbing dishes, running around to clear the cooking stations of dirty cooking utensils. It is amazing how many thousands of plates, pots, pans, cutlery and other utensils had to be cleaned every day in such a huge restaurant. For having worked so diligently Alexander was promoted at the third day to the peeling area of the kitchen. For the next four days he had to peel thousands of potatoes, carrots, onions, apples, oranges and other fruits, generally everything imaginable that could be peeled. Even though the job was very monotone, Alexander had to constantly concentrate or else he would have messed up. Thankfully he was able to peel properly after only a few tries and after four days of peeling he thought of himself as being a master-grade peeler, which wasn’t really something one could boast about to others. After the first week, Alexander was again promoted even though it didn’t come to a relief to him, since it was always accompanied by having to work more. Two of the five players that started working with him had been fired for being to slow, not working hard enough or maybe simply, because the head cook didn’t like them. Two others had been promoted along with him and other players had taken up their previous positions. Lastly the fifth player apparently was a restaurant cook in real life, which was noticed by the head cook, who had soon promoted him to one of the regular cooks. Now having being promoted once more he started to do different kinds of cooking preparations. He now had to wash fruits and vegetables by holding them under slightly warm running water. He also had to scrub root vegetables, such as potatoes, with a soft brush to remove any dirt, since not everything was peeled due to different meals needing either peeled or unpeeled ingredients. Alexander also had to grate and shred by using an old-fashioned grater-shredder on top of a plate. The smaller holes of the grater-shredder were used for grating to make tiny particles of citrus zest or hard cheese for example. The larger oval shaped holes on the other hand were used for shredding to make short and fine or long and coarse pieces of soft cheese for example. He now also had to prepare different types of egg dishes. He had to hard-boil, soft-boil, fry them or make scrambled eggs. He also needed to crack them, and then pour them into a mixing bowl with flour, sugar and a few other ingredients to create dough for bread or noodles. He also had to prepare and chop salad, mushrooms, fruits, vegetables and other things into various different sizes. He had to cut, bruise, crumble, cube, dice, flake, grind, julienne, mash, mince, shred, chop coarsely or chop finely. He also learned various different seasoning techniques. In his third week he was finally assigned to a certain cooking station to help out there. He didn’t have to help all that needed help anymore, constantly having to be alert if someone called for him over all the shouting. He was assigned to the dessert section of the kitchen, where only 5 cooks worked at. It was the most interesting part of his entire time working as part of the kitchen staff. He was finally recognized by the others to be also called a cook and not an apprentice anymore. He learned how to make ice cream, cake, cookies, caramel, crème brulee and various other kinds of desserts. He learned how to make simple dishes look extravagant and special. Working at the dessert station for the rest of his stay, he noticed that making desserts was what he was best in. During his month in the kitchen he was very grateful to the other cooks, who had given him friendly advice and showed him step by step how to do certain things. If they hadn’t been so helpful and if the atmosphere inside the kitchen wasn’t always filled wit constant chatter and laughter he probably wouldn’t have managed to persist through all that work and stress. To show how hard the work truly was, one has to know that Alexander had always logged out after each work day for the beginning two weeks, since he was to mentally tired to do anything else like train his knife mastery further. Even after those two weeks he wasn’t willing to work much more so during that time he went to the city library to read about different places on the Versailles continent. By reading the entire night every night for two weeks he managed to increase his wisdom by 6 and his intellect by 4 points. He also created a new stat. | New stat: Concentration | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | ConcentrationYou are able to concentrate heavily on a task thus increasing its efficiency. You are prohibited from distributing stat bonus points to this stat. | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | The incredible thing about this stat was that it gained stat points quite easily. After every couple of hours of reading non-stop it would increase or even after especially hard parts in preparing desserts, where one can absolutely not lose focus or else the taste or appearance would be much worse. But Alexander didn’t know if the stat really was useful, since one would naturally increase one’s efficiency if concentrating hard on a task. A person not paying attention to what he is doing, won’t be able to achieve something one of equal ability can do while being immersed in his task. Since Alexander gave it his best at most things he did and he wouldn’t be able to distribute stat points to the stat anyway, which he wouldn’t have done even if he was able to do it, he decided to ignore the stat for the time being. Various other stats had increased a substantial amount during his time in the kitchen. Especially his agility and stamina, since he prepared food for thousands of people every day while constantly being pressured to create high quality food in a limited time frame. By also having used many high quality ingredients due to the restaurant being the finest there was in the entire Rosenheim kingdom, being visited by nobles and other wealthy people every day, Alexander managed to raise his cooking skill to beginner level 8: 79% and earned three gold and sixty silver coins, while at the same time receiving free food as a bonus. -------------------------------------------------------- Back to the present time: | Quest complete!The apprenticeship at ‘Palais raffiné’For having managed to endure one month of the self-proclaimed hell’s kitchen you have received a generous payment and your relationship to your fellow cooks has improved.Quest rewards: Relationship to cooks of ‘Palais raffiné’ has changed to: friendsIncrease of discount at grocery markets by 0.5%. Discount at ‘Palais raffiné’ by 10% for your own meal. Fame +4 | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | You have leveled up! | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | Alexander had finally gained enough experience, having completed three easy quests until now. The blacksmith’s, the archer’s and now the cook’s quest. He decided to invest three points into his strength stat and two into Agility. His status window looked impressive for only being level two. | Status Window | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Character name | Someone | Alignment | Neutral | | Level | 2 | Profession | None | | Title | None | | | | Fame | 11 | | | | Health | 1610 | Mana | 3260 | | Strength | 70 (+20) | Agility | 104 (-10) | | Stamina | 79 | | | | Fighting Spirit | 15 | Sustenance | 26 | | Wisdom | 43 | Intellect | 64 | | Concentration | 17 | | | | Luck | -1 | Leadership | 0 | | Attack | 27 (+18) - 27 (+22) | | | | Defense | 4 | | | | Magic Resistance | | | | | Fire | 25% | Water | 25% | | Earth | 25% | Black Magic | 25% | By having earned money, he could now finally buy equipment to leave the city. While whistling merrily Alexander quickly left the restaurant behind him to search for a merchant, only to once again get lost.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Learning Curves </span></div><br><br>“So that’s what i hidden class looks like.” Allwind said blinking rapidly as message after message popped up one after another, in front of him eventually stopping, he sat still on the front door step of Lilly’s house giving at the scenery as if he had been hit on the back of the head with something heavy.<br><br>“You really are going to help them?” Lilly asked.<br> “I don’t think i have a choice now, besides i can’t say no to one of your requests Lilly of course i’ll help them,” Allwind replied smiling at the young girl.<br>“Hehe you will be the best knight, if you help them i just know it,” Lilly said grabbing hold of Allwind’s arm in her hand was the silvery feather, Allwind gaze went to it, his hand slowly reaching out to touch it.<br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Pop </span><br><br>The feather exploded in a shower of yellow and white sparks.<br>Suddenly a soft yet sharp pain ran down Allwind’s back causing him to squirm.<br>“Ha my feather,” Lilly cried out as it disappeared.<br>“Umm sorry Lilly i didn’t know that would happen, it’s like i was mesmerised for a moment their felt like i wasn’t in control,” Allwind admitted,<br>“It’s ok. Ha” she cried out again this time pointing at Allwind her eyes going round with shock.<br>“yyyou have wings,” she said her voice going extremely high in her excitement <br>“Hu”<br><br>Franticly looking over his shoulder Allwind did indeed appear to have bright yellow wings, trying to reach them with his hands not quiet believing his eyes the wings moved just before he could reach them creating a small gust of wind before slowly fading and disappearing altogether leaving the two friends speechless.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Resonance reaction</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Skill Light wing <br>Creates the ability to fly for a limited time:<br>current time 30 seconds <br><br>when activatated consumes 100% mana <br>increases Agility 50%<br>increases strength 25%<br>mana regeneration 25%<br><br>Skill – 50% -- level 2</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>“Ok ermm, so i need feathers to upgrade the light wing skill? That’s just cruel.” Allwind muttered as the two of them sat on the step staring at each other one slightly distressed the other beaming with happiness, it was luck for Allwind that Lilly’s grandmother opened the door and dragged her inside as she had chores to do.<br><br>He said his fair wells to both of them before heading down the street not knowing what to do next, the choices were limited however as this body shuddered as he yarned, ‘that’s right i didn’t get any sleep,’ he thought leaning against a wall, ‘i should check out the rest of my new skills and stats before i log off, if that sister of mine corners me ill be done for if i don’t have anything to report,’ sighing he opened the main menu and began to search for the new skills<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Eagle Eye Level 1<br><br>Can spot traps and life forms at a distance, but only when your eyes are closed.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>“Whatever that means?” he muttered <br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Stat: Resonance.<br><br>Able to identify killing intent, reacts strongly to the presence of angels</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>“Is that what made me go do da?” Allwind said looking at the sky for an answer that wasn’t forth coming.<br>‘Better check a few other things while i’m at it. Let’s see, check status,’ Allwind muttered as he went through the menu system ‘check Angelic knight’<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Class Angelic Knight<br><br>Angelic knight tasked with saving the angelic race.<br><br>Class benefits: increase in agility, see skills<br><br>Class restrictions: unable to wear heavy armour.<br><br>Stat destrubution is efected for every one point in strenght two agility must be added.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>“Ehh it didn’t tell me that when it first popped up? Did it?” he asked scratching his head.<br>‘ow well, what’s next’ he thought as his hands went to his hip they brushed passed the two rapier’s that now hung on his waist, ‘that’s right i never checked you out either.’<br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;"> identify </span> he said tapping the swords on the sharp blade<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Duel Rapier’s <br><br>Durability 30/30<br>Damage 5 –10<br>Specially made light swords that were crafted out of one piece of large ore<br><br>Equip:<br>+ 10 Agi <br>Speed increases during attacks.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>‘Looks good’ Allwind thought yarning, ‘guess ill log off now and try hunting later’.<br><br>---------------------------------------------------------------------<br><br> Logging off Alan found that sunlight was now trying to shine through the curtains, this was a weird and completely new experience for him as he would usually go to bed early, not stay up late playing games. He was now up in time to for sunrise, for a moment he was tempted to throw open the curtains and watch the sunrise, however he just looking at the sunlight under the curtains was difficult and hurt his eyes in the end he managed to get into bed and promptly fell asleep as voices from the main room started to filter through the house.<br><br>Opening the door to Alan’s room Sarah first thought that Alan might still be playing royal road, however the sight that greeted her was a peace full one, the capsule was open and Alan appeared to be laid on the bed, ‘he didn’t even manage to get under the covers’ she thought as she quietly entered the room, stepping lightly she managed to cover Alan with the bed covers, without waking him, before the voice in the main room made her wince, they were being too loud, she thought in disgust as she retraced her steps heading in the direction of the voices.<br><br>The voices were coming from the main room and unfortunately she seemed to have missed most of the conversation that was happening between those that were present. Around the table in the dining room were four people her mum and dad sat on one side, while a close friend the student council secretary was sat opposite them, next to him was a teacher from school that they attended, the teacher was a good friend of their dad’s and lived locally, the air around the table could have been cut with a knife it was that depressing.<br><br>“So” her father said looking around the table as he noticed Sarah enter.<br>“He’s out cold, but keep your voices down,” Sarah replied to the unspoken question.<br>“He will not like what’s happened that’s for sure,” her mother said looking like she could blow a fuse at any moment, the student council secretary just hung his head in shame.<br>“It’s not your fault lad,” her father said kindly.<br><br>“Isn’t their anything we can do?” her mother asked trying to remain calm.<br><br>“It’s called a rock and a hard place for a reason,” the teacher said “He will have to go to counselling that’s the condition or he may end up getting kicked out of school.”<br><br>“And the changes he asked for?” Sarah asked.<br>The student council secretary just shook his head, “The budgets all gone into the renovation of the class rooms, we’ve had the CDT department build ramps for the steps but there, a stop gap measure and no good.” He said.<br><br>“He will have to work in the library is all.” The teacher said calmly, “we have allocated a disabled capsule for him so he can join in with the new lesson structure.”<br><br>“So he has to go to a councillor one day a week and then spend 4 days a week at a school that doesn’t care? This isn’t going to go down well, he might actually destroy something,” Sarah said clearly worried.<br><br>“I think we should drop it all on him in one go and get everything out of the way.” Her father said<br>“After diner,” her mother said nodding her head in agreement.<br><br>----------------------------------------------------------------------<br><br>“Today’s DINNER will be a light one,” Alan’s mother informed him detecting his slow advanced into the dining room.<br><br>“Ow looks like someone was up all night,” his father said from where he was sat at the table studying the laptop in front of him. <br><br>“Yeah i finished training, wanted to get it out of the way,” Alan finished pulling himself up to the table.<br>“Really anything good?” this father asked looking up from what he was working on his mother could be seen in the kitchen preparing diner.<br><br>“No idea, we best wait for Sarah to get back or i will just end up repeating myself, when she interrogates me,” Alan finished looking annoyed something didn’t seem right, it was like his parent’s were trying to hid something from him he thought.<br><br>“Well that’s certainly true, Don’t blame her though she has looked up to you ever since you started competing at the national level, i think your accident hurt her more than it did us, so don’t hold it against her if she starts acting like a second mother.” His mum said from the kitchen.<br><br>“I’ll try not too”<br><br>“Talking about Sarah isn’t she bringing a friend over today?” his dad asked.<br>“She said something about it last night in the dungeon,” his mum replied.<br>“No idea as long as it’s not a fan girl i’m not bothered.” Alan said looking at the roof in disgust at that idea, before turning his attention to his dad, “so what else has happened whilst i was asleep.”<br><br>“You picked up on that Hu,” his dad said slightly dejected.<br>“What did you expect he has my brains,” his mother called out.<br>“We, no you have a slight problem,” his dad started. “We had quests this morning i won’t go into details but the short side is this is none negotiable. You have to go see a therapist one day a week. You’ll also have to do all your school work in the library, instead of a class room,” his dad said looking angry.<br><br>“Ow, i take it the student council messed up when,” Alan said managing to remain calm.<br>“Yep that pretty much hits the nail on the head.” His mum called out “On the plus side there getting you ramps for the steps and a disabled capsule for royal road, so you’ll be able to join in with the lessons when they become available.”<br><br>“Really i’ll believe that when i see it.” Alan said his voice dripping with anger.<br><br>Unfortunately it seemed like everything had been decided for him, and his sister managed to have the best timing in the world as she arrived home from school with her friend in toe, which meant that all Alan could do was put his anger aside and eat diner, his breakfast whilst listening to their convocation about fashion and the usual girly talk to which most men are totally oblivious.<br><br>When the talk turned to royal road, Alan was ready to make a hasty retreat not wanting to make a fool out of himself in front of Sarah’s friend, it turned out that she was a class mate from school called Clair, Alan had seen her in school but had never talked to her. Sarah seemed to have other ideas though and promptly jammed her foot behind one of the wheels of his chair.<br><br>“Say Clair you’re in the north right?” she asked as Alan grabbed the wheels so he could escape.<br>“Not fair Sarah,” Clair said clearly upset.<br>“No it’s not fair that the others in class tricked you in to starting in the north.” Sarah said “that’s why i said i was going to help you.” She finished making sure that her foot had been able to completely stop Alan from escaping .<br><br>“Sarah how can you help me you’re in the south? I’m in liberty city in the north.” Clair asked depressed. As the others watched on in silence Alan finally giving up on trying to escape.<br>“Hehe that’s where my secret weapon comes into play,” Sarah said smiling evilly at Alan which left Clair confused.<br><br>“What my idiot sister is trying to say is that you’re not the only one who started in the north.” Alan finished cutting his sister off.<br>“I’m not?”<br>“No you’re not, i’m in the north and as it happens also in liberty city, and if you want I suppose we can team up for a while.” Alan said watching his sister as she nodded her head.<br>“I’m collecting feathers for you in the south so this is your way of paying me back.” His sister said smiling sweetly.<br><br> ----------------------------------------------------<br><br>As the dinner wound down the talk turned to how long the two had been playing and what they could do together with Sarah and Alan’s parents putting in their advice when they deemed it necessary. Both of them would start hunting as soon as they got online agreeing to meet up in game.<br><br>------------------------------------------------- End ---------------------------------------------------------------<br><br>Authors notes :<br><br>1). Due to the somewhat pleasant replies from avid fans, i have on this very special day 8/6/2013 managed to squeeze out another chapter yeay slightly boring i know but it can’t be helped.<br><br>2). Yes today is special it’s the day my biological clock goes forward i’m now 27 (god i’m old) i have no idea why i’m treating you, it should be the other way around.<br><br>3). same rules apply as always if you Heaven permitting fine an error let me know ill change it.<br><br>4). Now i have some slightly bad news (but also good) i have started a royal road short story, this one is unrelated to angelic knight and will be 1 chapter only i’m calling Devious Desire, it’s an evil overlord comedy story so chapter 12 will be delayed somewhat. <br><br>5). If anyone see’s my cake please return it to me i haven’t had any yet. </div>

Learning Curves “So that’s what i hidden class looks like.” Allwind said blinking rapidly as message after message popped up one after another, in front of him eventually stopping, he sat still on the front door step of Lilly’s house giving at the scenery as if he had been hit on the back of the head with something heavy. “You really are going to help them?” Lilly asked. “I don’t think i have a choice now, besides i can’t say no to one of your requests Lilly of course i’ll help them,” Allwind replied smiling at the young girl. “Hehe you will be the best knight, if you help them i just know it,” Lilly said grabbing hold of Allwind’s arm in her hand was the silvery feather, Allwind gaze went to it, his hand slowly reaching out to touch it. Pop The feather exploded in a shower of yellow and white sparks. Suddenly a soft yet sharp pain ran down Allwind’s back causing him to squirm. “Ha my feather,” Lilly cried out as it disappeared. “Umm sorry Lilly i didn’t know that would happen, it’s like i was mesmerised for a moment their felt like i wasn’t in control,” Allwind admitted, “It’s ok. Ha” she cried out again this time pointing at Allwind her eyes going round with shock. “yyyou have wings,” she said her voice going extremely high in her excitement “Hu” Franticly looking over his shoulder Allwind did indeed appear to have bright yellow wings, trying to reach them with his hands not quiet believing his eyes the wings moved just before he could reach them creating a small gust of wind before slowly fading and disappearing altogether leaving the two friends speechless. | Resonance reaction | | --- | | Skill Light wing Creates the ability to fly for a limited time:current time 30 seconds when activatated consumes 100% mana increases Agility 50%increases strength 25%mana regeneration 25%Skill – 50% -- level 2 | | --- | “Ok ermm, so i need feathers to upgrade the light wing skill? That’s just cruel.” Allwind muttered as the two of them sat on the step staring at each other one slightly distressed the other beaming with happiness, it was luck for Allwind that Lilly’s grandmother opened the door and dragged her inside as she had chores to do. He said his fair wells to both of them before heading down the street not knowing what to do next, the choices were limited however as this body shuddered as he yarned, ‘that’s right i didn’t get any sleep,’ he thought leaning against a wall, ‘i should check out the rest of my new skills and stats before i log off, if that sister of mine corners me ill be done for if i don’t have anything to report,’ sighing he opened the main menu and began to search for the new skills | Eagle Eye Level 1Can spot traps and life forms at a distance, but only when your eyes are closed. | | --- | “Whatever that means?” he muttered | Stat: Resonance.Able to identify killing intent, reacts strongly to the presence of angels | | --- | “Is that what made me go do da?” Allwind said looking at the sky for an answer that wasn’t forth coming. ‘Better check a few other things while i’m at it. Let’s see, check status,’ Allwind muttered as he went through the menu system ‘check Angelic knight’ | Class Angelic KnightAngelic knight tasked with saving the angelic race.Class benefits: increase in agility, see skillsClass restrictions: unable to wear heavy armour.Stat destrubution is efected for every one point in strenght two agility must be added. | | --- | “Ehh it didn’t tell me that when it first popped up? Did it?” he asked scratching his head. ‘ow well, what’s next’ he thought as his hands went to his hip they brushed passed the two rapier’s that now hung on his waist, ‘that’s right i never checked you out either.’ identify he said tapping the swords on the sharp blade | Duel Rapier’s Durability 30/30Damage 5 –10Specially made light swords that were crafted out of one piece of large oreEquip:+ 10 Agi Speed increases during attacks. | | --- | ‘Looks good’ Allwind thought yarning, ‘guess ill log off now and try hunting later’. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Logging off Alan found that sunlight was now trying to shine through the curtains, this was a weird and completely new experience for him as he would usually go to bed early, not stay up late playing games. He was now up in time to for sunrise, for a moment he was tempted to throw open the curtains and watch the sunrise, however he just looking at the sunlight under the curtains was difficult and hurt his eyes in the end he managed to get into bed and promptly fell asleep as voices from the main room started to filter through the house. Opening the door to Alan’s room Sarah first thought that Alan might still be playing royal road, however the sight that greeted her was a peace full one, the capsule was open and Alan appeared to be laid on the bed, ‘he didn’t even manage to get under the covers’ she thought as she quietly entered the room, stepping lightly she managed to cover Alan with the bed covers, without waking him, before the voice in the main room made her wince, they were being too loud, she thought in disgust as she retraced her steps heading in the direction of the voices. The voices were coming from the main room and unfortunately she seemed to have missed most of the conversation that was happening between those that were present. Around the table in the dining room were four people her mum and dad sat on one side, while a close friend the student council secretary was sat opposite them, next to him was a teacher from school that they attended, the teacher was a good friend of their dad’s and lived locally, the air around the table could have been cut with a knife it was that depressing. “So” her father said looking around the table as he noticed Sarah enter. “He’s out cold, but keep your voices down,” Sarah replied to the unspoken question. “He will not like what’s happened that’s for sure,” her mother said looking like she could blow a fuse at any moment, the student council secretary just hung his head in shame. “It’s not your fault lad,” her father said kindly. “Isn’t their anything we can do?” her mother asked trying to remain calm. “It’s called a rock and a hard place for a reason,” the teacher said “He will have to go to counselling that’s the condition or he may end up getting kicked out of school.” “And the changes he asked for?” Sarah asked. The student council secretary just shook his head, “The budgets all gone into the renovation of the class rooms, we’ve had the CDT department build ramps for the steps but there, a stop gap measure and no good.” He said. “He will have to work in the library is all.” The teacher said calmly, “we have allocated a disabled capsule for him so he can join in with the new lesson structure.” “So he has to go to a councillor one day a week and then spend 4 days a week at a school that doesn’t care? This isn’t going to go down well, he might actually destroy something,” Sarah said clearly worried. “I think we should drop it all on him in one go and get everything out of the way.” Her father said “After diner,” her mother said nodding her head in agreement. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- “Today’s DINNER will be a light one,” Alan’s mother informed him detecting his slow advanced into the dining room. “Ow looks like someone was up all night,” his father said from where he was sat at the table studying the laptop in front of him. “Yeah i finished training, wanted to get it out of the way,” Alan finished pulling himself up to the table. “Really anything good?” this father asked looking up from what he was working on his mother could be seen in the kitchen preparing diner. “No idea, we best wait for Sarah to get back or i will just end up repeating myself, when she interrogates me,” Alan finished looking annoyed something didn’t seem right, it was like his parent’s were trying to hid something from him he thought. “Well that’s certainly true, Don’t blame her though she has looked up to you ever since you started competing at the national level, i think your accident hurt her more than it did us, so don’t hold it against her if she starts acting like a second mother.” His mum said from the kitchen. “I’ll try not too” “Talking about Sarah isn’t she bringing a friend over today?” his dad asked. “She said something about it last night in the dungeon,” his mum replied. “No idea as long as it’s not a fan girl i’m not bothered.” Alan said looking at the roof in disgust at that idea, before turning his attention to his dad, “so what else has happened whilst i was asleep.” “You picked up on that Hu,” his dad said slightly dejected. “What did you expect he has my brains,” his mother called out. “We, no you have a slight problem,” his dad started. “We had quests this morning i won’t go into details but the short side is this is none negotiable. You have to go see a therapist one day a week. You’ll also have to do all your school work in the library, instead of a class room,” his dad said looking angry. “Ow, i take it the student council messed up when,” Alan said managing to remain calm. “Yep that pretty much hits the nail on the head.” His mum called out “On the plus side there getting you ramps for the steps and a disabled capsule for royal road, so you’ll be able to join in with the lessons when they become available.” “Really i’ll believe that when i see it.” Alan said his voice dripping with anger. Unfortunately it seemed like everything had been decided for him, and his sister managed to have the best timing in the world as she arrived home from school with her friend in toe, which meant that all Alan could do was put his anger aside and eat diner, his breakfast whilst listening to their convocation about fashion and the usual girly talk to which most men are totally oblivious. When the talk turned to royal road, Alan was ready to make a hasty retreat not wanting to make a fool out of himself in front of Sarah’s friend, it turned out that she was a class mate from school called Clair, Alan had seen her in school but had never talked to her. Sarah seemed to have other ideas though and promptly jammed her foot behind one of the wheels of his chair. “Say Clair you’re in the north right?” she asked as Alan grabbed the wheels so he could escape. “Not fair Sarah,” Clair said clearly upset. “No it’s not fair that the others in class tricked you in to starting in the north.” Sarah said “that’s why i said i was going to help you.” She finished making sure that her foot had been able to completely stop Alan from escaping . “Sarah how can you help me you’re in the south? I’m in liberty city in the north.” Clair asked depressed. As the others watched on in silence Alan finally giving up on trying to escape. “Hehe that’s where my secret weapon comes into play,” Sarah said smiling evilly at Alan which left Clair confused. “What my idiot sister is trying to say is that you’re not the only one who started in the north.” Alan finished cutting his sister off. “I’m not?” “No you’re not, i’m in the north and as it happens also in liberty city, and if you want I suppose we can team up for a while.” Alan said watching his sister as she nodded her head. “I’m collecting feathers for you in the south so this is your way of paying me back.” His sister said smiling sweetly. ---------------------------------------------------- As the dinner wound down the talk turned to how long the two had been playing and what they could do together with Sarah and Alan’s parents putting in their advice when they deemed it necessary. Both of them would start hunting as soon as they got online agreeing to meet up in game. ------------------------------------------------- End --------------------------------------------------------------- Authors notes : 1). Due to the somewhat pleasant replies from avid fans, i have on this very special day 8/6/2013 managed to squeeze out another chapter yeay slightly boring i know but it can’t be helped. 2). Yes today is special it’s the day my biological clock goes forward i’m now 27 (god i’m old) i have no idea why i’m treating you, it should be the other way around. 3). same rules apply as always if you Heaven permitting fine an error let me know ill change it. 4). Now i have some slightly bad news (but also good) i have started a royal road short story, this one is unrelated to angelic knight and will be 1 chapter only i’m calling Devious Desire, it’s an evil overlord comedy story so chapter 12 will be delayed somewhat. 5). If anyone see’s my cake please return it to me i haven’t had any yet.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> Comments, suggestion, mistakes please voice them all.<br><br>"" is for dialogue, ** is for sounds and '' is for thoughts.<br><br>Percy quickly gets changed and goes downstairs, and as soon as he reaches the end of the stairs…….. <br><br>*WHAM* *THACK*<br><br>“Oww what’s that for”<br><br>“That’s for not getting down here earlier; you are going to be late for school!”<br><br>“Well I would be there faster if my stupid older sister didn’t give me a concu….ow” <br><br>‘If only we weren’t related and she was weaker, One day, One day……….. I have to bide my time and look for a chance of escape.’<br><br>“Whatever just get going Percy”<br><br>“Fine”<br><br>‘I wish I could hit something right now, the game better be here by the time I get home, or else someone is gonna get it’<br><br>Percy barely makes it to his bus and makes his way to the back all the while plotting and scheming his revenge. By the time he had reached his classroom he had everything planned out, it was a very simple yet evil plan, one that would haunt his sister for the rest of her life. One she would remember every time she sees a bed. Percy walks over to his desk and prepares for the most horrifyingly boring 6 hours of her life.<br><br>The first few periods pass by quickly, mainly because he had double lessons of science and they were doing experiments on chemical reactions. The flame test is being the most noticeable. The lessons were always interesting this time more so, a student left the gas taps on and almost blew up the class. Percy aware of how he had almost met his end decided to put that particular student on his Revenge list as well as his Do Not Help list.<br><br> After all the drama with the gas taps and the clumsy student begging everyone to forgive him and everyone agreeing, except Percy of course no he only agreed on the outside and spent the next two lessons planning Revenge, its lunch. After lunch there will be three more periods and then finally salvation. Percy finds his friends at the far corner and joins them.<br><br>“Hey guys, how is it going guys” <br><br>“Great not much going on, what about you?” The one who replied was Eric, Eric was a big guys standing at 6 foot 8 inches, and he was probably the tallest person in the school as well as the basketball team captain. <br><br>“Well, today I start Royal road, you guys play Royal Road, right? Wanna play together sometime?” <br><br>Jake and Derek seemed to think it was a good idea but as Eric was the only one who ever played with Percy before so he showed an uneasy look. <br>Seeing it Percy tried to reassure him “It’s alright Eric I won’t play like I used to, I have decided to play less aggressively”<br> ‘Or at least I will try, as little as possible ’<br><br>“Alright if you promise, we will meet up some time,” he said uneasily.<br><br>“What level are you guys?”<br><br>“Huh, oh well we are around level 150 we started a several months back but we haven’t been playing much, the top players are at 300 right now.”<br><br>“So we are trying to grind our way up.” This time it was Jake who replied. Jake was as short as you could be in high school standing at 5 foot. Although he was short he was probably the smartest one out of the lot of them put together. He was scouted by many famous schools but chose to go to the same school as the rest of us.<br><br>“When you get to level 75 give us a ring we will power level you” The ever helpful Derek. Percy and Derek have been close friends since second grade. Derek was never the violent he is probably the only person capable of stopping Percy from going on a rampage, should he ever snap. <br><br>“We’re in North right now we are hunting near Morata, where are you starting out?”<br><br>“Huh, umm I’m going start out in Rosenhiem, there is something I have to do there” I replied.<br><br>“Alright, I won’t ask anymore its gamers etiquette.”<br><br>Then the bell rings “Alright I’ll see you guys after the break”<br><br>“Yea see ya”<br><br>“Bye”<br><br>“Good luck”<br><br>The rest of the day is a combination of boredom, finalizing of plans, procrastination and waiting. Finally it’s the end of the last lesson.<br><br>“Now I expect all of you to come back to school after the break without any one getting hurt, understand? Good, now have a great two weeks and ill see you all after the break, dismissed”<br><br>The minute the professor dismissed the class it was like a zoo letting loose all their most dangerous carnivorous animals on a scramble to get the piece of meat or in this case the door. Percy swiftly leaves the room moments ahead of the pack and reaches the bus safely avoiding the scramble. After 10 minutes he hops off the bus ignoring the bus driver who told him to take it easy and made his way across the lawn to his mailbox. Percy opens the mailbox and grabs the package and as quickly as his legs take him climb up the stairs to his room, but not before locking the door, lest he get more injuries. Finally after installing the game into the console and checking if the muscle stimulator was working, he signed in.<br><br>'Welcome to Royal Road' </div>

Comments, suggestion, mistakes please voice them all. "" is for dialogue, ** is for sounds and '' is for thoughts. Percy quickly gets changed and goes downstairs, and as soon as he reaches the end of the stairs…….. *WHAM* *THACK* “Oww what’s that for” “That’s for not getting down here earlier; you are going to be late for school!” “Well I would be there faster if my stupid older sister didn’t give me a concu….ow” ‘If only we weren’t related and she was weaker, One day, One day……….. I have to bide my time and look for a chance of escape.’ “Whatever just get going Percy” “Fine” ‘I wish I could hit something right now, the game better be here by the time I get home, or else someone is gonna get it’ Percy barely makes it to his bus and makes his way to the back all the while plotting and scheming his revenge. By the time he had reached his classroom he had everything planned out, it was a very simple yet evil plan, one that would haunt his sister for the rest of her life. One she would remember every time she sees a bed. Percy walks over to his desk and prepares for the most horrifyingly boring 6 hours of her life. The first few periods pass by quickly, mainly because he had double lessons of science and they were doing experiments on chemical reactions. The flame test is being the most noticeable. The lessons were always interesting this time more so, a student left the gas taps on and almost blew up the class. Percy aware of how he had almost met his end decided to put that particular student on his Revenge list as well as his Do Not Help list. After all the drama with the gas taps and the clumsy student begging everyone to forgive him and everyone agreeing, except Percy of course no he only agreed on the outside and spent the next two lessons planning Revenge, its lunch. After lunch there will be three more periods and then finally salvation. Percy finds his friends at the far corner and joins them. “Hey guys, how is it going guys” “Great not much going on, what about you?” The one who replied was Eric, Eric was a big guys standing at 6 foot 8 inches, and he was probably the tallest person in the school as well as the basketball team captain. “Well, today I start Royal road, you guys play Royal Road, right? Wanna play together sometime?” Jake and Derek seemed to think it was a good idea but as Eric was the only one who ever played with Percy before so he showed an uneasy look. Seeing it Percy tried to reassure him “It’s alright Eric I won’t play like I used to, I have decided to play less aggressively” ‘Or at least I will try, as little as possible ’ “Alright if you promise, we will meet up some time,” he said uneasily. “What level are you guys?” “Huh, oh well we are around level 150 we started a several months back but we haven’t been playing much, the top players are at 300 right now.” “So we are trying to grind our way up.” This time it was Jake who replied. Jake was as short as you could be in high school standing at 5 foot. Although he was short he was probably the smartest one out of the lot of them put together. He was scouted by many famous schools but chose to go to the same school as the rest of us. “When you get to level 75 give us a ring we will power level you” The ever helpful Derek. Percy and Derek have been close friends since second grade. Derek was never the violent he is probably the only person capable of stopping Percy from going on a rampage, should he ever snap. “We’re in North right now we are hunting near Morata, where are you starting out?” “Huh, umm I’m going start out in Rosenhiem, there is something I have to do there” I replied. “Alright, I won’t ask anymore its gamers etiquette.” Then the bell rings “Alright I’ll see you guys after the break” “Yea see ya” “Bye” “Good luck” The rest of the day is a combination of boredom, finalizing of plans, procrastination and waiting. Finally it’s the end of the last lesson. “Now I expect all of you to come back to school after the break without any one getting hurt, understand? Good, now have a great two weeks and ill see you all after the break, dismissed” The minute the professor dismissed the class it was like a zoo letting loose all their most dangerous carnivorous animals on a scramble to get the piece of meat or in this case the door. Percy swiftly leaves the room moments ahead of the pack and reaches the bus safely avoiding the scramble. After 10 minutes he hops off the bus ignoring the bus driver who told him to take it easy and made his way across the lawn to his mailbox. Percy opens the mailbox and grabs the package and as quickly as his legs take him climb up the stairs to his room, but not before locking the door, lest he get more injuries. Finally after installing the game into the console and checking if the muscle stimulator was working, he signed in. 'Welcome to Royal Road'

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> Weed spent his time wandering about the city in the middle of the night. If he approached guards for help, he would be chased away for being an elf intruder. After several failed attempts of getting help, Weed gave up on the idea of asking the dwarf guards for help. He instead decided to map the city in his head as much as he could, till he could find some help. As Weed began mapping it, he started noticing a trend. Just like Lavias, this city too could be sectioned off into five parts (including center). What made it confusing was player’s couldn’t figure out which entrance / exit led where. Sometimes an exit would lead to the floor above, sometimes to the floor below. However unlike Lavias, where players could travel from one block to another either through the central town square or the outskirt’s roads, in the Northern Mountain city, if players used the stairs they could end up in a different block. To sum it up, mentally mapping the dwarven city was impossible for an average human. Weed could at most could remember the turns here and there…but the entire city…it would take a lifetime to uncover. Weed also appreciated his circumstances when he received a pop message saying he gained the lost &amp; found skill. <br><br>Luckily, Weed managed to wile away his time till day break. With more NPC’s on the street, he just began following them around. Though it seemed mundane and a waste of time, something about following the dwarves around got Weed’s interest. There were all sorts of dwarves during different times of the day. Early in the morning, there were the mining dwarves who returned from the mines. They specialized in mining precious stones and gems. Following where they came from, Weed learnt at which levels of the city different ores and precious stones were mined. There were many different types of mines, there were private and public mines. Private mines belonged to some of the dwarvish clans that lived in the city. The public ones were typically those considered too risky to mine in or nearing depletion in minerals. While depleted mines were filled with scavengers, as Weed named them, they would search long before they could find any mineral. The riskier mines, were rather empty, fears of being crushed in boulders or explosions ran high. The rewards here were greater; these mines were filled with an abundance of rare ores and gems. Since, the costs were too high for a clan to dedicate resources to a public mines, thus they never took over such mines. Weed mentally noted to visit these mines whenever he needed precious stones. <br><br>During the later part of the morning, dwarves who specialized in gem polishing and ore refinement could be seen headed to their shops and factories. These shops and factories were located very close to the mines. The stones from the mines were loaded into iron carts on tracks and pushed straight into these shops. Each cart was usually guarded by a two man team of dwarvish soldiers. Only one cart would leave the mine at given point of time. Factories were again owned by clans however the smaller shops were owned by individual dwarves. These dwarves were open to buying freshly dug minerals from the cheapest seller. It didn’t matter to them whether the mineral came from a public or a private mine. Factories on the other hand would only accept resources from their own mines. Weed was often shooed away if he got too close to the carts or factories but he would approach again and again. <br><br>During mid day, the polished gem or refined ore would be packed away in wagons to be taken to a jewelry house or a forging house. Precious stones were guarded heavily as they were no longer stones dug out freshly from the ground but polished gems. Here again Weed interestingly noted that wagons from factories received clan protection where as private shops went for hired mercenaries or in house guards. The factories had a clear edge over the smaller shops in terms of cost advantages. Being larger in scale they could do everything from within at cheaper rates. However, going by the finished products being packed away in the wagons, it was evident that the smaller shops had higher skilled dwarves at polishing and refining. <br><br>Following the wagons, Weed reached higher levels of the city. The forging and jewelry shops were located on the upper levels of the city. The lower levels were dedicated to mining and mining related activities, however as Weed travelled upwards he noticed there were residential areas, shops, farms…garrisons. The higher he went, the poorer the society became. There was a clear difference visible in the wealth in equality between the dwarves. The houses were smaller, the streets were narrower and dirtier. Weed smiled as he realized that human society worked the other way round. The forging / jewelry shops were near the highest levels of the city. The reason was because they needed their chimneys to exit out. The forging / jewelry shops were all owned by individual dwarves. It seemed that clans had no representation in the final product. Weed’s eye’s sparkled as he analyzed the entire value chain. There was wealth of information in what he saw. In the very ore to sword process, he saw the political and economical ideologies of the dwarves. They weren’t much different from humans in terms of societal structure but they appeared to be more closely bonded regardless of social status. <span style="font-style: italic;">Maybe it was because they were all passionate about rocks? </span><br><br>Having travelled from bottom to top of the mountain city, Weed also gained an understanding of the city. There were two types of staircases. Spirals and Straights. Spirals took him up and down but to a different block whereas straight ones took him up and down between the same block. He was also able to recognize the various symbols and markings hidden away in the city. If the exit had a snake carved above it, it meant it was a spiral staircase. Depending on which way the head of the snake pointed, it would indicate which block the stairs would open into. Straight staircases had numbers written above them usually indicating the current level where one stood in the city. The real trick was figuring out directions such as north, south east and west. Unlike human cities, where players could look at stars and guide themselves, dwarvish cities had no stars. However, Weed did notice drivers of wagons continuously referring to an instrument all the time…a compass. It seemed that the dwarves had set up some sort of magnetic contraption around the city on each floor for reference. With that they knew which block of the city they were in at all times.<br><br>Weed was no longer a lost bunny in the city of the dwarves. Weed headed to a dwarf shop and purchased a compass for 10 silver; which was cheaper than purchasing a map of a single floor for 10 gold coins. He headed to the lower levels of the city. A library is a luxury of a developed society, it was bound to be somewhere on the lower floors. Weed was right again with his guess, though he had to ask a few dwarves for directions; they were most unpleased to help him however after a few polite but forceful requests they reconsidered.<br><br>Weed dashed into the library and began reading through the minerals section and dwarf cities. The dwarven city library was identical to the design of the Lavias City library. They were so similar that Weed momentarily forgot he was in Northern Mountain City. Weed recollected himself and began picking books of the shelf. Weed could always log out and search the information he needed on Skyholm’s Great White Halls but he doubted he would get the information he was looking for. It was likely that players would speak about where they can learn dwarvish blacksmithing rather than what the surroundings looked like, their history and origin.<br><br>There was something in nomenclature of game that bothered Weed. The Great Silver Lake was an example to cite. It shone silver at night and thus was known as the Great Silver Lake…would that imply ‘The Great White Halls’ were shining white in color? If they did then a precious stone like diamond or the ceiling material would indeed shine bright…but it would not stand out in the hall. Rather it would have the opposite effect; it would merge with the surroundings owing to the brightness. Ideally, the precious stone would have to be of a different color yet refractive or reflective in nature to outshine the background.<br><br>“Skyholm City….” Weed read out as he found what he was looking for. “Located north of Lavias…built by the Great Emporer Barc Puremoon…………The throne room also known as …The Great White Hall, known for its shining white marble and brightness. The marble was polished by a master of skills so great, that even though a handful of torches are lit in the room, the room absolutely dazzles in white……”<br>Weed shut the book, “Tourist places to visit in Skyholm.” <br><br>‘So it’s a colored stone? Not diamond or the ceiling material?’ Weed raised his eyebrow as he pondered about the question. <br><br>Weed moved on to the next book he had with him, ‘Northern Mountain City – Architecture: History.’ Weed wondered who would ever read these books as he blew of the dust from the book.<br><br>“The Grand history of the Northern Mountain City…” Weed quickly flipped to the last page…“3,000 pages……all in a language I don’t understand.” The book was written in dwarvish scripts. By being elf, Weed only knew two scripts, humans and the elves. Similarly, those players who were dwarvish would know the humans and dwarvish scripts at the start of the game. Learning a language and it’s scripts did not require actual learning in the game, rather once the player acquired the knowledge of the scripts, they would be decrypted into the native language the player understands (mandarin in this case). <br><br>Weed went to the language aisle section to look for a crash course in dwarvish scripts. Weed kept looking around the library in wonder. It was unbelievably identical to the one in Lavias City. Even the various reading sections of the library were in the exact same position as in Lavias. ‘Odd beyond a doubt. However it is a mystery for another time.’ Weed opened the book on basic dwarvish text and began reading it. Although, it was simply identification of alphabets, Weed could see a timer countdown showing that he had to read this book for an entire hour before he knew the basic alphabets. At the end of the hour, Weed got a message saying;<br><br>TRRRINGGG!<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>- You learnt the basic dwarf script – <br><br>- You can now read the dwarf script, however as you read a basic book, you will often find it very hard and slow to read the dwarves script. It is recommended you study all three levels and learn the language. -</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>Weed sighed and pulled out another book on dwarvish scripts; Intermediate Course in Dwarvish Language - Estimated time to learn course: 3 Hours.<br><br>As Weed struggled to contain his boredom he finally received the message he had been waiting for;<br><br>TRRRINGGG!<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>- You learnt the intermediate dwarf script – <br><br>- You can now read the dwarf script, however as you read a intermediate book, you will often find it very slow to read the dwarves script. It is recommended you study all three levels and learn the language. <br><br>- Dwarf Script reading speed increased by 10%.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br><br>‘WTH! I spent three hours reading that! 1 hour in RL spent flipping through gibberish sentences and that only leads to 10% increase in speed?’<br><br>Weed picked up ‘The Grand history of the Northern Mountain City’ however upon opening it each word took 3 seconds to be converted into readable text. Weed sighed as he closed the book and went for the Advanced course in Dwarf scripts. It had an estimated reading time of 24 hours or RL currency US$2. Weed chose to wait it out.<br><br>After a grueling eight hours of staring at a book which made little sense. The words finally started flowing like normal mandarin characters and Weed was able to throw the advance course on dwarvish scripts &amp; languages. He hurriedly opened the book he was looking for;<br><br>“The ceiling of the Northern Mountain City… ‘Water Rock’ is a commonly found stone. It is a very good reflective translucent stone however cannot be used in place of mirrors as it is blurry and mimics the behavior of light subject to heating conditions.”<br><br>‘That explains why the ceiling felt like it was on fire when we saw it for the first time. It just mimics the patterns of the flames.’ <br><br>Weed then flipped through different pages he could find on reflective and refractive stones. Rubies, sapphires, emeralds etc were the stones available; plain simple colored stones. Weed could not help but think that there was more to this. As he returned the book to it’s shelf he noticed the female blacksmith enter the aisle. Their eyes met momentarily, they smiled and crossed each other. Weed turned back once to look at what she was picking up to read… “The Grand history of the Northern Mountain City” and then went to the language and scripts section.<br><br>‘I guess that makes two of us.’ Weed thought to himself. <br><br>As he left the library, he noticed Thor and Cynbel make their way to the library. Behind them Pallidus followed and two other participants. Cynbel and Pallidus greeted Weed before hurrying into the library. Weed quickened his pace, he needed to solve the entire riddle before the others. The lesser time he spent on the riddle, the more time he could dedicate to preparing for the competition. <br><br>The two participants behind Pallidus noticed Weed coming out of the library, figured Weed probably solved the first part of the riddle. It then struck to them that by following Weed, they would gain a head start on even Thor and Cynbel; whom they had been following till now. It was a bit risky to follow a nobody blacksmith but given how much Thedore favored Weed the possibility Weed had solved the answer remained high. In the end, they began tailing Weed. Being dwarves they merged in with the local population and Weed had no clue he was being followed.<br><br>“Salos, do you reckon he really knows what to prepare for the final round?” asked tanned dwarf.<br><br>His counterpart, a thing taller-than-average-dwarf dwarf replied, “Trust me, Moses. He knows it. I can feel it in my bones.”<br><br>“You will feel a lot more in your bones if you turn out to be wrong Salos.” Moses replied as he cracked his knuckles. <br><br>After following Weed for a few minutes, they noticed he went into a pub and came back out before they could even step in. Weed then went into the next pub and came out again before they could step in. <br><br>“Is he looking for someone?” Salos asked.<br><br>“Or something?” Moses suggested.<br><br>The two dwarf players stared at each other and shrugged shoulders; clearly Weed was on to something that they weren’t.<br><br>Weed continued pub hopping, covering one level at a time. After 24 hours of pub hopping, Salos and Moses grew weary, the elf would enter, stay inside for about a minute and then leave. –<br><br>“Moses, I reckon the elf knows nothing. I can feel it in my bones.” Salos whispered.<br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;">*THUD*</span><br><br>Salos lay on the ground out cold with his eye turning blue.<br><br>“Told you, you would feel it in more than just your bones.”<br><br>The two participants headed back to the library to see if they could still find Thor or Cynbel. They weren’t as fortunate but they did find Pallidus exiting.<br><br>“Look it’s the seventh apprentice!” Salos squealed as he pointed at Pallidus.<br><br>“Shhhhh! Lets follow him.”<br><br>Pallidus went straight into a pub. The two participants froze in their steps. <span style="font-style: italic;">Not again!</span><br><br><br><br>----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br>Authors Note:<br><br>1. Will be edited soon.<br>2. A short chapter. ~_~ still a long way to go before I reach till the amazing chapters.... <br><br><br><br>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="4">Connect to Royal Road – Elementarem Vim next Chapter?</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&amp;t=467" target="_blank">Yes</a></td><td colspan="2"><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&amp;t=348" target="_blank">No</a></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- </div>

Weed spent his time wandering about the city in the middle of the night. If he approached guards for help, he would be chased away for being an elf intruder. After several failed attempts of getting help, Weed gave up on the idea of asking the dwarf guards for help. He instead decided to map the city in his head as much as he could, till he could find some help. As Weed began mapping it, he started noticing a trend. Just like Lavias, this city too could be sectioned off into five parts (including center). What made it confusing was player’s couldn’t figure out which entrance / exit led where. Sometimes an exit would lead to the floor above, sometimes to the floor below. However unlike Lavias, where players could travel from one block to another either through the central town square or the outskirt’s roads, in the Northern Mountain city, if players used the stairs they could end up in a different block. To sum it up, mentally mapping the dwarven city was impossible for an average human. Weed could at most could remember the turns here and there…but the entire city…it would take a lifetime to uncover. Weed also appreciated his circumstances when he received a pop message saying he gained the lost & found skill. Luckily, Weed managed to wile away his time till day break. With more NPC’s on the street, he just began following them around. Though it seemed mundane and a waste of time, something about following the dwarves around got Weed’s interest. There were all sorts of dwarves during different times of the day. Early in the morning, there were the mining dwarves who returned from the mines. They specialized in mining precious stones and gems. Following where they came from, Weed learnt at which levels of the city different ores and precious stones were mined. There were many different types of mines, there were private and public mines. Private mines belonged to some of the dwarvish clans that lived in the city. The public ones were typically those considered too risky to mine in or nearing depletion in minerals. While depleted mines were filled with scavengers, as Weed named them, they would search long before they could find any mineral. The riskier mines, were rather empty, fears of being crushed in boulders or explosions ran high. The rewards here were greater; these mines were filled with an abundance of rare ores and gems. Since, the costs were too high for a clan to dedicate resources to a public mines, thus they never took over such mines. Weed mentally noted to visit these mines whenever he needed precious stones. During the later part of the morning, dwarves who specialized in gem polishing and ore refinement could be seen headed to their shops and factories. These shops and factories were located very close to the mines. The stones from the mines were loaded into iron carts on tracks and pushed straight into these shops. Each cart was usually guarded by a two man team of dwarvish soldiers. Only one cart would leave the mine at given point of time. Factories were again owned by clans however the smaller shops were owned by individual dwarves. These dwarves were open to buying freshly dug minerals from the cheapest seller. It didn’t matter to them whether the mineral came from a public or a private mine. Factories on the other hand would only accept resources from their own mines. Weed was often shooed away if he got too close to the carts or factories but he would approach again and again. During mid day, the polished gem or refined ore would be packed away in wagons to be taken to a jewelry house or a forging house. Precious stones were guarded heavily as they were no longer stones dug out freshly from the ground but polished gems. Here again Weed interestingly noted that wagons from factories received clan protection where as private shops went for hired mercenaries or in house guards. The factories had a clear edge over the smaller shops in terms of cost advantages. Being larger in scale they could do everything from within at cheaper rates. However, going by the finished products being packed away in the wagons, it was evident that the smaller shops had higher skilled dwarves at polishing and refining. Following the wagons, Weed reached higher levels of the city. The forging and jewelry shops were located on the upper levels of the city. The lower levels were dedicated to mining and mining related activities, however as Weed travelled upwards he noticed there were residential areas, shops, farms…garrisons. The higher he went, the poorer the society became. There was a clear difference visible in the wealth in equality between the dwarves. The houses were smaller, the streets were narrower and dirtier. Weed smiled as he realized that human society worked the other way round. The forging / jewelry shops were near the highest levels of the city. The reason was because they needed their chimneys to exit out. The forging / jewelry shops were all owned by individual dwarves. It seemed that clans had no representation in the final product. Weed’s eye’s sparkled as he analyzed the entire value chain. There was wealth of information in what he saw. In the very ore to sword process, he saw the political and economical ideologies of the dwarves. They weren’t much different from humans in terms of societal structure but they appeared to be more closely bonded regardless of social status. Maybe it was because they were all passionate about rocks? Having travelled from bottom to top of the mountain city, Weed also gained an understanding of the city. There were two types of staircases. Spirals and Straights. Spirals took him up and down but to a different block whereas straight ones took him up and down between the same block. He was also able to recognize the various symbols and markings hidden away in the city. If the exit had a snake carved above it, it meant it was a spiral staircase. Depending on which way the head of the snake pointed, it would indicate which block the stairs would open into. Straight staircases had numbers written above them usually indicating the current level where one stood in the city. The real trick was figuring out directions such as north, south east and west. Unlike human cities, where players could look at stars and guide themselves, dwarvish cities had no stars. However, Weed did notice drivers of wagons continuously referring to an instrument all the time…a compass. It seemed that the dwarves had set up some sort of magnetic contraption around the city on each floor for reference. With that they knew which block of the city they were in at all times. Weed was no longer a lost bunny in the city of the dwarves. Weed headed to a dwarf shop and purchased a compass for 10 silver; which was cheaper than purchasing a map of a single floor for 10 gold coins. He headed to the lower levels of the city. A library is a luxury of a developed society, it was bound to be somewhere on the lower floors. Weed was right again with his guess, though he had to ask a few dwarves for directions; they were most unpleased to help him however after a few polite but forceful requests they reconsidered. Weed dashed into the library and began reading through the minerals section and dwarf cities. The dwarven city library was identical to the design of the Lavias City library. They were so similar that Weed momentarily forgot he was in Northern Mountain City. Weed recollected himself and began picking books of the shelf. Weed could always log out and search the information he needed on Skyholm’s Great White Halls but he doubted he would get the information he was looking for. It was likely that players would speak about where they can learn dwarvish blacksmithing rather than what the surroundings looked like, their history and origin. There was something in nomenclature of game that bothered Weed. The Great Silver Lake was an example to cite. It shone silver at night and thus was known as the Great Silver Lake…would that imply ‘The Great White Halls’ were shining white in color? If they did then a precious stone like diamond or the ceiling material would indeed shine bright…but it would not stand out in the hall. Rather it would have the opposite effect; it would merge with the surroundings owing to the brightness. Ideally, the precious stone would have to be of a different color yet refractive or reflective in nature to outshine the background. “Skyholm City….” Weed read out as he found what he was looking for. “Located north of Lavias…built by the Great Emporer Barc Puremoon…………The throne room also known as …The Great White Hall, known for its shining white marble and brightness. The marble was polished by a master of skills so great, that even though a handful of torches are lit in the room, the room absolutely dazzles in white……” Weed shut the book, “Tourist places to visit in Skyholm.” ‘So it’s a colored stone? Not diamond or the ceiling material?’ Weed raised his eyebrow as he pondered about the question. Weed moved on to the next book he had with him, ‘Northern Mountain City – Architecture: History.’ Weed wondered who would ever read these books as he blew of the dust from the book. “The Grand history of the Northern Mountain City…” Weed quickly flipped to the last page…“3,000 pages……all in a language I don’t understand.” The book was written in dwarvish scripts. By being elf, Weed only knew two scripts, humans and the elves. Similarly, those players who were dwarvish would know the humans and dwarvish scripts at the start of the game. Learning a language and it’s scripts did not require actual learning in the game, rather once the player acquired the knowledge of the scripts, they would be decrypted into the native language the player understands (mandarin in this case). Weed went to the language aisle section to look for a crash course in dwarvish scripts. Weed kept looking around the library in wonder. It was unbelievably identical to the one in Lavias City. Even the various reading sections of the library were in the exact same position as in Lavias. ‘Odd beyond a doubt. However it is a mystery for another time.’ Weed opened the book on basic dwarvish text and began reading it. Although, it was simply identification of alphabets, Weed could see a timer countdown showing that he had to read this book for an entire hour before he knew the basic alphabets. At the end of the hour, Weed got a message saying; TRRRINGGG! | - You learnt the basic dwarf script – - You can now read the dwarf script, however as you read a basic book, you will often find it very hard and slow to read the dwarves script. It is recommended you study all three levels and learn the language. - | | --- | Weed sighed and pulled out another book on dwarvish scripts; Intermediate Course in Dwarvish Language - Estimated time to learn course: 3 Hours. As Weed struggled to contain his boredom he finally received the message he had been waiting for; TRRRINGGG! | - You learnt the intermediate dwarf script – - You can now read the dwarf script, however as you read a intermediate book, you will often find it very slow to read the dwarves script. It is recommended you study all three levels and learn the language. - Dwarf Script reading speed increased by 10%. | | --- | ‘WTH! I spent three hours reading that! 1 hour in RL spent flipping through gibberish sentences and that only leads to 10% increase in speed?’ Weed picked up ‘The Grand history of the Northern Mountain City’ however upon opening it each word took 3 seconds to be converted into readable text. Weed sighed as he closed the book and went for the Advanced course in Dwarf scripts. It had an estimated reading time of 24 hours or RL currency US$2. Weed chose to wait it out. After a grueling eight hours of staring at a book which made little sense. The words finally started flowing like normal mandarin characters and Weed was able to throw the advance course on dwarvish scripts & languages. He hurriedly opened the book he was looking for; “The ceiling of the Northern Mountain City… ‘Water Rock’ is a commonly found stone. It is a very good reflective translucent stone however cannot be used in place of mirrors as it is blurry and mimics the behavior of light subject to heating conditions.” ‘That explains why the ceiling felt like it was on fire when we saw it for the first time. It just mimics the patterns of the flames.’ Weed then flipped through different pages he could find on reflective and refractive stones. Rubies, sapphires, emeralds etc were the stones available; plain simple colored stones. Weed could not help but think that there was more to this. As he returned the book to it’s shelf he noticed the female blacksmith enter the aisle. Their eyes met momentarily, they smiled and crossed each other. Weed turned back once to look at what she was picking up to read… “The Grand history of the Northern Mountain City” and then went to the language and scripts section. ‘I guess that makes two of us.’ Weed thought to himself. As he left the library, he noticed Thor and Cynbel make their way to the library. Behind them Pallidus followed and two other participants. Cynbel and Pallidus greeted Weed before hurrying into the library. Weed quickened his pace, he needed to solve the entire riddle before the others. The lesser time he spent on the riddle, the more time he could dedicate to preparing for the competition. The two participants behind Pallidus noticed Weed coming out of the library, figured Weed probably solved the first part of the riddle. It then struck to them that by following Weed, they would gain a head start on even Thor and Cynbel; whom they had been following till now. It was a bit risky to follow a nobody blacksmith but given how much Thedore favored Weed the possibility Weed had solved the answer remained high. In the end, they began tailing Weed. Being dwarves they merged in with the local population and Weed had no clue he was being followed. “Salos, do you reckon he really knows what to prepare for the final round?” asked tanned dwarf. His counterpart, a thing taller-than-average-dwarf dwarf replied, “Trust me, Moses. He knows it. I can feel it in my bones.” “You will feel a lot more in your bones if you turn out to be wrong Salos.” Moses replied as he cracked his knuckles. After following Weed for a few minutes, they noticed he went into a pub and came back out before they could even step in. Weed then went into the next pub and came out again before they could step in. “Is he looking for someone?” Salos asked. “Or something?” Moses suggested. The two dwarf players stared at each other and shrugged shoulders; clearly Weed was on to something that they weren’t. Weed continued pub hopping, covering one level at a time. After 24 hours of pub hopping, Salos and Moses grew weary, the elf would enter, stay inside for about a minute and then leave. – “Moses, I reckon the elf knows nothing. I can feel it in my bones.” Salos whispered. *THUD* Salos lay on the ground out cold with his eye turning blue. “Told you, you would feel it in more than just your bones.” The two participants headed back to the library to see if they could still find Thor or Cynbel. They weren’t as fortunate but they did find Pallidus exiting. “Look it’s the seventh apprentice!” Salos squealed as he pointed at Pallidus. “Shhhhh! Lets follow him.” Pallidus went straight into a pub. The two participants froze in their steps. Not again! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Authors Note: 1. Will be edited soon. 2. A short chapter. ~\_~ still a long way to go before I reach till the amazing chapters.... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Connect to Royal Road – Elementarem Vim next Chapter? | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Yes](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&t=467) | | [No](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&t=348) | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> Flash! <br> <br>“Looking for strong tanks to join the party!” <br> <br>“Did you hear about how church members keep disappearing?” <br> <br>“Selling leather and metal armour! They’re mostly undamaged and give bonuses!” <br> <br>“Anyone hunting in the Northern Plains?” <br> <br>A collection of noise assaulted Godou as he appeared in a town square of some sort. There were people everywhere. Truly, it was a crowd that rivaled&nbsp;Tokyo during&nbsp;its peak hour...&nbsp;except the crowd consisted of all&nbsp;nationalities and everyone seemed to be cosplaying... &nbsp; <br> <br>It was a slightly disorienting feeling. <br> <br>“So this is Virtual Reality. Its more realistic then I expected.” Godou remarked quietly to himself. <br> <br>He looked for a suitable place to sit so that he could get used to this feeling. Finding an unoccupied bench in front of a pub,&nbsp;he sat down and took up the task of&nbsp;observing the people in the square. <br> <br>Unlike most beginners, Godou was not heavily affected by the culture shock of suddenly appearing in a new world. He attributed this to his past experiences travelling overseas. As a child, Godou had been mostly raised by his travel-loving charismatic grandfather and now deceased grandmother. <br> <br>Godou’s grandfather used to be a professor in folkloristics and had the talent of mingling with foreign communities like a native. Back when he was still in active research, he had been able to integrate himself into isolated village communities quickly, built good relationships with the villagers and even acquire a few village secrets which are usually not told to outsiders. <br> <br>Godou had often accompanied his grandfather on overseas trips and was also often been&nbsp;accidentally (or so he&nbsp;hoped) abandoned by his grandfather without food, water or money and a language barrier for a few days. Thus, Godou had been forced to inherit his grandfather’s skill in this area. <br> <br>Soon Godou realised that people in the game could be divided into two categories: players and NPCs. At first, Godou hadn’t realised this as he hadn’t expected the artificial intelligence of the game to be so detailed. It was almost as if they were actual people. <br> <br>While he was observing, Godou also started experimenting with the system commands Amakasu had told him, adjusting the settings to suit his preferences. <br> <br>One of the commands had shown him his current inventory which contained a canteen and 10 pieces of rye bread which Godou had assumed was food. &nbsp; &nbsp; <br> <br>Another command had given him a pop up message of his character information which read: <br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Character Name:</td><td width="25%">Godou</td><td width="25%">Alignment:</td><td width="25%">None</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Level:</td><td width="25%">1</td><td width="25%">Class:</td><td width="25%">Classless</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Title:</td><td width="25%">None</td><td width="25%">Reputation:</td><td width="25%">0</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Health:</td><td width="25%">100</td><td width="25%">Mana:</td><td width="25%">100</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Strength:</td><td width="25%">10</td><td width="25%">Agility:</td><td width="25%">10</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Wisdom:</td><td width="25%">10</td><td width="25%">Intellect:</td><td width="25%">10</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Leadership:</td><td width="25%">5</td><td width="25%">Luck:</td><td width="25%">5</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Attack:</td><td width="25%">3</td><td width="25%">Defence</td><td width="25%">0</td></tr><tr><td colspan="4">Magical Resistance:</td></tr><tr><td colspan="4">None</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div> <br> <br> <br>“Playing a game might actually have its benefits. In a game, things like magic and special powers are well known and available to everyone. Ridiculous powers like what I have in reality are common place in a world like this so I can finally be ‘normal’.” Godou couldn't help but&nbsp;mutter&nbsp;to himself. <br> <br>Thinking back on this, Godou thought that it was kind of sad that he could only achieve normality in a virtual world where everyone has powers. <br> <br>“Well time to go exploring” Godou said, throwing irrelevant thoughts away and&nbsp;standing up. Amakasu had told him that new players were confined to their starting town in the first four weeks of game time. However, it never hurt to know the geography of the area. <br> <br>“It would probably be useful in case I’m suddenly challeng-… I hadn’t realised that this mindset had rubbed so deeply into me already” Godou couldn’t believe that he had actually almost said that but he really couldn’t help thinking that way. <br> <br>Ever since obtaining his powers, he&nbsp;had rarely gone through a month without getting involved in a conflict of some sort. And often, that conflict had resulted in something important being destroyed... <br> <br>Doing his best to forget his resurfacing memories, Godou took a step forward. First he would have to find out where he was and then he would– <br> <br>“Hold on a second lad”.&nbsp; <br> <br>A gruff voice called out to him from behind. Godou turned around and saw that it was the bartender of the pub behind him who had called. The bartender gestured at him.&nbsp; <br> <br>“Come over here” <br> <br>Godou complied and walked up to the counter. <br> <br>“What is it Ossan?” <br> <br>“Why don’t we play a little game? As you can see we’re a little understaffed here so I’ll roll these two regular dices and if the total of the numbers on the die is less than 5 then you’re free to go, but if it’s more then you have to work here until the end of the day.” <br> <br>“Wha-” <br> <br>Ding! <br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">The Desperate Bartender’s Unreasonable Request <br> <br>Defeat the bartender’s dice challenge by obtaining the total sum less than five on two dices. <br> <br>Difficulty: F <br> <br>Restrictions: <br>Somebody who doesn’t look busy <br>If you refuse the bartender will forcefully abduct you and force you to work anyway. <br> <br>Rewards: <br>Being able to leave <br>+10 Luck <br>+ 1 FAME <br>Penalties: <br>If you lose then you will have to work for the bartender for one day.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div> <br> <br>A bit taken aback by the sudden request, Godou couldn’t see any way out of it unless he agreed. <br> <br>“Yeah… Okay” <br> <br>The barkeeper rolled the two dices. It was a one and a three. <br> <br>“Looks like I’m free do go” <br> <br>“Hang on! Best out of five!” the barkeeper hastily added. <br> <br>He rolled the dices again. Revealing a two and a one. <br> <br>And again. A one and a one. <br> <br>“Well, since I won three out of the five matches I can go right?” <br> <br>“No! You have to win all five matches” <br> <br>The dices rolled again. A two and a two. <br> <br>And again. A one and a two. <br> <br> <br>Ding! <br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Luck has&nbsp;increased by 1 point</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div> <br> <br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">You completed the Quest! <br>EXP was gained <br>Luck increased by 10 points <br>Fame increased by 1 point</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div> <br> <br>Godou was surprised with this. He hadn’t expected his ridiculous luck from reality to still apply in a game. <br> <br>“What the hell! What kind of punishment is this!!” exclaimed the bartender as he dropped to his knees. <br> <br>“I can’t believe someone was actually able to win this sort of game” remarked one of the other customers in the bar. <br> <br>“Yeah that was ridiculous” <br> <br>“Umm actually I don’t have anything to do right now do if it’s just for a day then I think I’ll be able to fill in for you” Godou said, pitying the bartender. <br> <br>“Really?” The old bartender suddenly looked up to him with puppy dog eyes. Godou suddenly felt a strange chill crawl up his back.&nbsp;It was an indescribable feeling.&nbsp; <br> <br>“Yeah…” Vaguely, Godou saw a resemblance between the bartender and his eccentric classmate friends who were also known as “the Three Idiots”. <br> <br>Ding! <br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">You have accept the temporary job at Mark’s Pub Pay: 15&nbsp;coppers per hour</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div> <br> <br>“Thanks you’re a real life-saver, frankly I wasn’t sure what I’d do when part of my staff when missing” said the bartender, looking professional again. “The name’s Mark by the way” <br> <br>“I am Kusan... I am Godou”, almost forgetting that he was currently playing a game, Godou stopped himself form blurting out his surname out of habit. <br> <br>“Well Godou, let me teach you how to work the machines and then I can get you working” <br> <br>“Ah… actually I’ve done a similar job to this before” Godou piped, recalling the&nbsp;bar he had worked in&nbsp;as one of his many part-time jobs in real life. <br> <br>“Oh really, that makes things easier then. You can show me by taking the next order then.” <br> <br>After he had made sure that Godou’s skills were up to a satisfactory level, Mark joined him and helped. <br> <br>The rest of the day passed quickly for Godou. From the gossiping of the customers, Godou had deduced that he was currently in Tellap town in the Kallamore Kingdom. He had also learnt that the Kallamore Kingdom was a small kingdom surrounded by the Senbain mountains. <br> <br>Apparently, beginners like himself were rare in Kallamore as it was a precarious place to start as suffered from assaults from large hordes of monsters on a weekly basis and newbies would often die very easily before they could become strong enough to defend themselves. The only reason why Kallamore still existed in the face of all the monster raids was because it’s strong military. <br> <br>It also turned out that Kallamore’s pubs very popular places for the defenders to hang out. A pub was a place where you could boast about having fought with no regret and to unfold your tensions, or simply get a drink before going off to the next defending battle. <br> <br>The pubs were the most attended spots for those that defended Senbain to release their experiences. As a result of this, pubs were very competitive with each other which explained why Mark was so desperate to recruit a helper. Pubs were also, to Godou’s surprise, a gambling hotspot for the defenders. Through the defenders were only allowed to clip in small amounts of money, gambling turned out to be another method the defenders used to relieve stress. <br> <br>From time to time during his shift, Godou himself had been challenged to matches by customers, both players and NPCs who had witnessed his victory with in the dice challenge and sought to prove that it was only a fluke. However, Godou’s tenacity for victory could not be denied and he won every single match based on pure luck. <br> <br>At first, they thought Godou was cheating but after winning without so much as touching the dice and standing him 5 metres away from the game legends of his unrivalled luck were beginning to spread. Conversely, these matches also served to further increase Godou’s luck stat. Though, Godou was now worried that he might be forced to become a participant in gambling marathons by people determined to break his winning streak like in the Kusanagi family gatherings. <br> <br>Near the end of his shift, an interesting person came in. Instead of the usual armour that the other customers had worn this one wore white robes with a symbol on it and looked like a priest. Nevertheless, Godou felt that there was something quite wrong with this person but he couldn't quite place his finger on it. <br> <br>“Oh, there’s a face I haven’t seen” The priest remarked when Godou served his order. <br> <br>“Yeah, Godou here saved me from a tough spot by joining in”, Mark affirmed,&nbsp;“I really can’t thank you enough!”. <br> <br>“It’s rare to see you thanking someone” said the priest. <br> <br>“Well it’s rare for me to find someone worth thanking. Oh that reminds me, new adventurers like you, Godou, are not allowed to leave the city until you get used to it. Do you have any plans on what you want to do in the time you’re stuck here?” Mark asked. <br> <br>“Not particularly.”&nbsp; <br> <br>“Okay, then how bout giving him the basic training and education he needs then, Lexus?” Mark said, talking to the priest. “This his luck and personality he’d make a fine paladin or priest, Freya knows you need new recruits with all the men your losing.” <br> <br>The priest, Lexus, seemed surprised. “That’s the first time you’ve ever recommended someone for me to train.” <br> <br>“Lexus, here, is a scouter for the church of Freya” Mark explained to Godou who had been confused by the proceedings. &nbsp;“And at the very least, Godou could become one of the staff at the church” <br> <br>“Are you sure Mark?” <br> <br>“I’m sure, he’s polite and mingled with the customers perfectly, no complaints from the customers about him whatsoever. Plus he’s lucky.” <br> <br>“This is a dangerous place. Luck can only take you so far” <br> <br>“Test him then” <br> <br>“Okay, sorry for leaving you out, Godou, even though the conversation was about you,” Lexus said pulling out a coin, “Let’s test you luck then. Guess which side the coin will hand on.” <br> <br>Ding! <br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">The Scouter’s Test <br> <br>Seeing is believing so upon hearing about your wondrous luck, Lexus wants a live demonstration. &nbsp;Correctly guess the face the coin will land. <br> <br>Difficultly: F <br> <br>Restrictions: <br>Recommendation from the Mark <br> <br>Rewards: <br>+1 Luck <br>+1 fame <br> <br>Penalties: <br>None</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div> <br> <br> <br>Godou wondered why all the quests he got so far had something to do with gambling. <br> <br>“Okay Lexus-san then I’ll go with heads” <br> <br>Lexus tossed the spinning coin up high in the air nearly brushing the roof. <br> <br>“Show off",&nbsp;Mark muttered under his breath. <br> <br>The coin landed on the counter, bounced a few times and rolled, finally falling over to reveal… <br> <br>Ding! <br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">You completed the Quest! <br>Level up! <br>+ 1 Luck <br>+1 FAME</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div> <br> <br> <br>“Oh, wow it actually was heads. Even, though I biased my throw so that it would land on tails.” Lexus unabashedly admitted. <br> <br>“It was like that for every game I saw him play in” Mark said. <br> <br>“One must have the blessings of the goddess to achieve such miracles”&nbsp; <br> <br>Or the luck of the devil... Although that thought emerged, Godou thought it was best not to voice it. <br> <br>“Well, Godou, what do you plan to do when you can leave town?” <br> <br>“I’m not sure, I’m probably wander around and explore” Godou was fairly certain that adventuring was the whole point of the playing a game. &nbsp; <br> <br>“Do you plan on joining any large organisations?” <br> <br>“Not really”&nbsp; <br> <br>Truthfully, Godou didn't have any idea what direction to take. Perhaps he would join an guild or something in the distant future but that was something he would consider when the time comes for it. The fact of the matter was that&nbsp;Godou had&nbsp;only tried&nbsp;out Royal Road because a certain someone had forced him to. Unless something major happened, he didn't intend to approach the game seriously at all, at best&nbsp;it would be a casual&nbsp;hobby or a time-waster for when he had nothing else to do. <br> <br>Oblivious to Godou's thoughts, Lexus had continued speaking. <br> <br>“The world is a dangerous place. Especially around these parts if you’re by yourself. Would you like to receive your basic training and education from the church of Freya? In return you’ll have to work for us at least until you're able to leave.” <br> <br>“Okay” Godou didn’t know much about this world,&nbsp;but Lexus’s offer seemed advantageous to him either way. <br> <br>“Meet me at 9 o’clock in the morning in front of the church of Freya. Mark, you can tell him the way right? Now I have to go back and notify the church that they have a new worker.” With that, Lexus downed the last of his cup and strode out of the pub. <br> <br>“You know, I used to be an adventurer like you when I was younger, until I was injured fighting monsters. Now I’m just a bartender in a pub. ” Mark said as he stared at the door. “Take care on your future travels Godou and make sure it doesn’t happen to you.” <br>------- <br>Who thought I was going to say arrow to the knee? {[999aak}] </div>

Flash! “Looking for strong tanks to join the party!” “Did you hear about how church members keep disappearing?” “Selling leather and metal armour! They’re mostly undamaged and give bonuses!” “Anyone hunting in the Northern Plains?” A collection of noise assaulted Godou as he appeared in a town square of some sort. There were people everywhere. Truly, it was a crowd that rivaled Tokyo during its peak hour... except the crowd consisted of all nationalities and everyone seemed to be cosplaying...   It was a slightly disorienting feeling. “So this is Virtual Reality. Its more realistic then I expected.” Godou remarked quietly to himself. He looked for a suitable place to sit so that he could get used to this feeling. Finding an unoccupied bench in front of a pub, he sat down and took up the task of observing the people in the square. Unlike most beginners, Godou was not heavily affected by the culture shock of suddenly appearing in a new world. He attributed this to his past experiences travelling overseas. As a child, Godou had been mostly raised by his travel-loving charismatic grandfather and now deceased grandmother. Godou’s grandfather used to be a professor in folkloristics and had the talent of mingling with foreign communities like a native. Back when he was still in active research, he had been able to integrate himself into isolated village communities quickly, built good relationships with the villagers and even acquire a few village secrets which are usually not told to outsiders. Godou had often accompanied his grandfather on overseas trips and was also often been accidentally (or so he hoped) abandoned by his grandfather without food, water or money and a language barrier for a few days. Thus, Godou had been forced to inherit his grandfather’s skill in this area. Soon Godou realised that people in the game could be divided into two categories: players and NPCs. At first, Godou hadn’t realised this as he hadn’t expected the artificial intelligence of the game to be so detailed. It was almost as if they were actual people. While he was observing, Godou also started experimenting with the system commands Amakasu had told him, adjusting the settings to suit his preferences. One of the commands had shown him his current inventory which contained a canteen and 10 pieces of rye bread which Godou had assumed was food.     Another command had given him a pop up message of his character information which read: | Character Name: | Godou | Alignment: | None | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Level: | 1 | Class: | Classless | | Title: | None | Reputation: | 0 | | Health: | 100 | Mana: | 100 | | Strength: | 10 | Agility: | 10 | | Wisdom: | 10 | Intellect: | 10 | | Leadership: | 5 | Luck: | 5 | | Attack: | 3 | Defence | 0 | | Magical Resistance: | | | | | None | | | | “Playing a game might actually have its benefits. In a game, things like magic and special powers are well known and available to everyone. Ridiculous powers like what I have in reality are common place in a world like this so I can finally be ‘normal’.” Godou couldn't help but mutter to himself. Thinking back on this, Godou thought that it was kind of sad that he could only achieve normality in a virtual world where everyone has powers. “Well time to go exploring” Godou said, throwing irrelevant thoughts away and standing up. Amakasu had told him that new players were confined to their starting town in the first four weeks of game time. However, it never hurt to know the geography of the area. “It would probably be useful in case I’m suddenly challeng-… I hadn’t realised that this mindset had rubbed so deeply into me already” Godou couldn’t believe that he had actually almost said that but he really couldn’t help thinking that way. Ever since obtaining his powers, he had rarely gone through a month without getting involved in a conflict of some sort. And often, that conflict had resulted in something important being destroyed... Doing his best to forget his resurfacing memories, Godou took a step forward. First he would have to find out where he was and then he would– “Hold on a second lad”.  A gruff voice called out to him from behind. Godou turned around and saw that it was the bartender of the pub behind him who had called. The bartender gestured at him.  “Come over here” Godou complied and walked up to the counter. “What is it Ossan?” “Why don’t we play a little game? As you can see we’re a little understaffed here so I’ll roll these two regular dices and if the total of the numbers on the die is less than 5 then you’re free to go, but if it’s more then you have to work here until the end of the day.” “Wha-” Ding! | The Desperate Bartender’s Unreasonable Request Defeat the bartender’s dice challenge by obtaining the total sum less than five on two dices. Difficulty: F Restrictions: Somebody who doesn’t look busy If you refuse the bartender will forcefully abduct you and force you to work anyway. Rewards: Being able to leave +10 Luck + 1 FAME Penalties: If you lose then you will have to work for the bartender for one day. | | --- | A bit taken aback by the sudden request, Godou couldn’t see any way out of it unless he agreed. “Yeah… Okay” The barkeeper rolled the two dices. It was a one and a three. “Looks like I’m free do go” “Hang on! Best out of five!” the barkeeper hastily added. He rolled the dices again. Revealing a two and a one. And again. A one and a one. “Well, since I won three out of the five matches I can go right?” “No! You have to win all five matches” The dices rolled again. A two and a two. And again. A one and a two. Ding! | Luck has increased by 1 point | | --- | | You completed the Quest! EXP was gained Luck increased by 10 points Fame increased by 1 point | | --- | Godou was surprised with this. He hadn’t expected his ridiculous luck from reality to still apply in a game. “What the hell! What kind of punishment is this!!” exclaimed the bartender as he dropped to his knees. “I can’t believe someone was actually able to win this sort of game” remarked one of the other customers in the bar. “Yeah that was ridiculous” “Umm actually I don’t have anything to do right now do if it’s just for a day then I think I’ll be able to fill in for you” Godou said, pitying the bartender. “Really?” The old bartender suddenly looked up to him with puppy dog eyes. Godou suddenly felt a strange chill crawl up his back. It was an indescribable feeling.  “Yeah…” Vaguely, Godou saw a resemblance between the bartender and his eccentric classmate friends who were also known as “the Three Idiots”. Ding! | You have accept the temporary job at Mark’s Pub Pay: 15 coppers per hour | | --- | “Thanks you’re a real life-saver, frankly I wasn’t sure what I’d do when part of my staff when missing” said the bartender, looking professional again. “The name’s Mark by the way” “I am Kusan... I am Godou”, almost forgetting that he was currently playing a game, Godou stopped himself form blurting out his surname out of habit. “Well Godou, let me teach you how to work the machines and then I can get you working” “Ah… actually I’ve done a similar job to this before” Godou piped, recalling the bar he had worked in as one of his many part-time jobs in real life. “Oh really, that makes things easier then. You can show me by taking the next order then.” After he had made sure that Godou’s skills were up to a satisfactory level, Mark joined him and helped. The rest of the day passed quickly for Godou. From the gossiping of the customers, Godou had deduced that he was currently in Tellap town in the Kallamore Kingdom. He had also learnt that the Kallamore Kingdom was a small kingdom surrounded by the Senbain mountains. Apparently, beginners like himself were rare in Kallamore as it was a precarious place to start as suffered from assaults from large hordes of monsters on a weekly basis and newbies would often die very easily before they could become strong enough to defend themselves. The only reason why Kallamore still existed in the face of all the monster raids was because it’s strong military. It also turned out that Kallamore’s pubs very popular places for the defenders to hang out. A pub was a place where you could boast about having fought with no regret and to unfold your tensions, or simply get a drink before going off to the next defending battle. The pubs were the most attended spots for those that defended Senbain to release their experiences. As a result of this, pubs were very competitive with each other which explained why Mark was so desperate to recruit a helper. Pubs were also, to Godou’s surprise, a gambling hotspot for the defenders. Through the defenders were only allowed to clip in small amounts of money, gambling turned out to be another method the defenders used to relieve stress. From time to time during his shift, Godou himself had been challenged to matches by customers, both players and NPCs who had witnessed his victory with in the dice challenge and sought to prove that it was only a fluke. However, Godou’s tenacity for victory could not be denied and he won every single match based on pure luck. At first, they thought Godou was cheating but after winning without so much as touching the dice and standing him 5 metres away from the game legends of his unrivalled luck were beginning to spread. Conversely, these matches also served to further increase Godou’s luck stat. Though, Godou was now worried that he might be forced to become a participant in gambling marathons by people determined to break his winning streak like in the Kusanagi family gatherings. Near the end of his shift, an interesting person came in. Instead of the usual armour that the other customers had worn this one wore white robes with a symbol on it and looked like a priest. Nevertheless, Godou felt that there was something quite wrong with this person but he couldn't quite place his finger on it. “Oh, there’s a face I haven’t seen” The priest remarked when Godou served his order. “Yeah, Godou here saved me from a tough spot by joining in”, Mark affirmed, “I really can’t thank you enough!”. “It’s rare to see you thanking someone” said the priest. “Well it’s rare for me to find someone worth thanking. Oh that reminds me, new adventurers like you, Godou, are not allowed to leave the city until you get used to it. Do you have any plans on what you want to do in the time you’re stuck here?” Mark asked. “Not particularly.”  “Okay, then how bout giving him the basic training and education he needs then, Lexus?” Mark said, talking to the priest. “This his luck and personality he’d make a fine paladin or priest, Freya knows you need new recruits with all the men your losing.” The priest, Lexus, seemed surprised. “That’s the first time you’ve ever recommended someone for me to train.” “Lexus, here, is a scouter for the church of Freya” Mark explained to Godou who had been confused by the proceedings.  “And at the very least, Godou could become one of the staff at the church” “Are you sure Mark?” “I’m sure, he’s polite and mingled with the customers perfectly, no complaints from the customers about him whatsoever. Plus he’s lucky.” “This is a dangerous place. Luck can only take you so far” “Test him then” “Okay, sorry for leaving you out, Godou, even though the conversation was about you,” Lexus said pulling out a coin, “Let’s test you luck then. Guess which side the coin will hand on.” Ding! | The Scouter’s Test Seeing is believing so upon hearing about your wondrous luck, Lexus wants a live demonstration.  Correctly guess the face the coin will land. Difficultly: F Restrictions: Recommendation from the Mark Rewards: +1 Luck +1 fame Penalties: None | | --- | Godou wondered why all the quests he got so far had something to do with gambling. “Okay Lexus-san then I’ll go with heads” Lexus tossed the spinning coin up high in the air nearly brushing the roof. “Show off", Mark muttered under his breath. The coin landed on the counter, bounced a few times and rolled, finally falling over to reveal… Ding! | You completed the Quest! Level up! + 1 Luck +1 FAME | | --- | “Oh, wow it actually was heads. Even, though I biased my throw so that it would land on tails.” Lexus unabashedly admitted. “It was like that for every game I saw him play in” Mark said. “One must have the blessings of the goddess to achieve such miracles”  Or the luck of the devil... Although that thought emerged, Godou thought it was best not to voice it. “Well, Godou, what do you plan to do when you can leave town?” “I’m not sure, I’m probably wander around and explore” Godou was fairly certain that adventuring was the whole point of the playing a game.   “Do you plan on joining any large organisations?” “Not really”  Truthfully, Godou didn't have any idea what direction to take. Perhaps he would join an guild or something in the distant future but that was something he would consider when the time comes for it. The fact of the matter was that Godou had only tried out Royal Road because a certain someone had forced him to. Unless something major happened, he didn't intend to approach the game seriously at all, at best it would be a casual hobby or a time-waster for when he had nothing else to do. Oblivious to Godou's thoughts, Lexus had continued speaking. “The world is a dangerous place. Especially around these parts if you’re by yourself. Would you like to receive your basic training and education from the church of Freya? In return you’ll have to work for us at least until you're able to leave.” “Okay” Godou didn’t know much about this world, but Lexus’s offer seemed advantageous to him either way. “Meet me at 9 o’clock in the morning in front of the church of Freya. Mark, you can tell him the way right? Now I have to go back and notify the church that they have a new worker.” With that, Lexus downed the last of his cup and strode out of the pub. “You know, I used to be an adventurer like you when I was younger, until I was injured fighting monsters. Now I’m just a bartender in a pub. ” Mark said as he stared at the door. “Take care on your future travels Godou and make sure it doesn’t happen to you.” ------- Who thought I was going to say arrow to the knee? {[999aak}]

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> by VIM1INC » Fri Jun 14, 2013 12:57 pm<br><br>The templar looked carefully at the screen that flashed in front of him. Something... something just went wrong. Terribly wrong.<br><br>A slight hiccup, perhaps even a sneeze in the proceedings. And everyone knew that a sneeze, especially in the mountainous regions, often led to a tiny pebble being dislodged somewhere, causing it to skittle and bounce down the slope until it, by some manner of sorcery, will hit a pile of densely packed snow and ice and debris... And then things started to shift. Very quickly.<br><br>He could not have hiccups or sudden bouts of flu in his plans, so he had in place a wonderful employee plan. Employees actually get shot once a month. It was good for them, he decided. After all, is it not written that "whatever kills you makes you stronger"?<br><br>What? That was the the wrong phrasing? Did he miss out two words by chance?<br><br>Ah, so he had messed up somewhere. It was fine for him, at least the Anons and Leechers would have something to eat. He stared at the screen for a couple of minutes more, then picked up a bell that was sitting there quietly in the corner.<br><br>A light chime resounded loudly in the silent, dark and rather dank (as well as rather whiffy) hall as the templar rang the bell.<br><br>"Yesssss, Masssster?" A being of unknown origins suddenly appeared out of thin air, as though by magic*.<br><br>"Tell me... Igor." The templar finally decided on a name for that mysterious creature, one of his newest creations. After all, every Villain must have a hunchback lackey. "Do you think I am... crazy?"<br><br>The newly-named Igor considered his words carefully. "Wouldn't be able to sssssssaay that, Masssterrr."<br><br>"Of course." the Templar looked at the screen again, and asked another question. "What do you think of my plans then?"<br>"No comment, Massssterrr."<br><br>"Then what do you see on the screen in front of you?" The Templar pointed a gauntleted finger at the screen. Igor took a look, and paled.<br><br>"Masssterrrr, I had no idea that you had... an interesssst in that sssssort of thing."<br><br>"What the hell are you thinking... Tell me then, Igor. What do you see?"<br><br>"I ssssee a penguin moonwalking out of an alley somewhere."<br><br>"Indeed, I see what you see as well. What do you think of this?" <br><br>"Massssterrrr, what is it that you want me to think of it?" Igor said as he (it?) blushed.<br><br>"Seriously, what the hell are you thinking..." the Templar massaged his... temples slowly. "He is a potential menace. See to it at once."<br><br>"Of coursssssse, Masssssterrrr."<br><br>"Unleash the kraken. Oh, and the Lackeys labelled Anon0001, Anon0002, and Anon0003."<br><br>"Thossssse Buffoonssssssss?" Igor looked shocked, or at least, tried to.<br><br>"Of course. We are in need of... some creativity."<br><br>"Indeed, Massssterrrr."<br><br>"Now do you think me mad?"<br><br>"My opinion of you doessss not change, Massssterrrr."<br><br>"Mad. They called me mad. But I will show them. I'll show them all!!! Ha. Haha. Hahaha. Hahahahaha. <span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA!!!</span></span>"<br><br>Igor nodded approvingly. Every villain must have a good maniacal laugh. It would have been best if it were to be accompanied by thunder and lightning, but servants can't be choosers. He turned away and walked to the dungeons, deep in thought. He will be needing some meat, and the latest translated chapter of LMS... </div>

by VIM1INC » Fri Jun 14, 2013 12:57 pm The templar looked carefully at the screen that flashed in front of him. Something... something just went wrong. Terribly wrong. A slight hiccup, perhaps even a sneeze in the proceedings. And everyone knew that a sneeze, especially in the mountainous regions, often led to a tiny pebble being dislodged somewhere, causing it to skittle and bounce down the slope until it, by some manner of sorcery, will hit a pile of densely packed snow and ice and debris... And then things started to shift. Very quickly. He could not have hiccups or sudden bouts of flu in his plans, so he had in place a wonderful employee plan. Employees actually get shot once a month. It was good for them, he decided. After all, is it not written that "whatever kills you makes you stronger"? What? That was the the wrong phrasing? Did he miss out two words by chance? Ah, so he had messed up somewhere. It was fine for him, at least the Anons and Leechers would have something to eat. He stared at the screen for a couple of minutes more, then picked up a bell that was sitting there quietly in the corner. A light chime resounded loudly in the silent, dark and rather dank (as well as rather whiffy) hall as the templar rang the bell. "Yesssss, Masssster?" A being of unknown origins suddenly appeared out of thin air, as though by magic*. "Tell me... Igor." The templar finally decided on a name for that mysterious creature, one of his newest creations. After all, every Villain must have a hunchback lackey. "Do you think I am... crazy?" The newly-named Igor considered his words carefully. "Wouldn't be able to sssssssaay that, Masssterrr." "Of course." the Templar looked at the screen again, and asked another question. "What do you think of my plans then?" "No comment, Massssterrr." "Then what do you see on the screen in front of you?" The Templar pointed a gauntleted finger at the screen. Igor took a look, and paled. "Masssterrrr, I had no idea that you had... an interesssst in that sssssort of thing." "What the hell are you thinking... Tell me then, Igor. What do you see?" "I ssssee a penguin moonwalking out of an alley somewhere." "Indeed, I see what you see as well. What do you think of this?" "Massssterrrr, what is it that you want me to think of it?" Igor said as he (it?) blushed. "Seriously, what the hell are you thinking..." the Templar massaged his... temples slowly. "He is a potential menace. See to it at once." "Of coursssssse, Masssssterrrr." "Unleash the kraken. Oh, and the Lackeys labelled Anon0001, Anon0002, and Anon0003." "Thossssse Buffoonssssssss?" Igor looked shocked, or at least, tried to. "Of course. We are in need of... some creativity." "Indeed, Massssterrrr." "Now do you think me mad?" "My opinion of you doessss not change, Massssterrrr." "Mad. They called me mad. But I will show them. I'll show them all!!! Ha. Haha. Hahaha. Hahahahaha. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA!!!" Igor nodded approvingly. Every villain must have a good maniacal laugh. It would have been best if it were to be accompanied by thunder and lightning, but servants can't be choosers. He turned away and walked to the dungeons, deep in thought. He will be needing some meat, and the latest translated chapter of LMS...

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> Royal Road, Making The World A Better Place<br> <br>Adding to the game the feature of altering an avatars appearance wasn't easy and was the cause of many quarrels between the programmers and the creative teams. After many arguments and nearly fatal office pranks, both teams agreed to leave the decision to the games master A.I.<br><br>Since the A.I was programmed to have only the best intentions towards the game the creators decided to trust it. They gave it a few days to run whatever incredibly complex calculations it needed, making sure to keep it from overheating as it tried to predict every possible future of the game concerning the said feature and eventually the word "Implement" appeared on its main monitor. The programmers who were overjoyed decided to throw a party to celebrate the news. This party lasted a week, because, being very dedicated and now highly motivated programmers, after a few drinks most of them sat down to work on what they considered was a cool part of the games code. The others programmers soon joined them and together they had a coding marathon that was fueled by very cheap liquor and very expensive black caviar, given to them as a present by a very fat higher up.<br>When the programmers finally awoke from their drunken slumber they understood that they were a week behind schedule. In their hurry no-one bothered to check the lines of code they wrote and their drunken work was inputted into the game, thus successfully adding some of the best "easter eggs" and hidden secrets ever seen in video game history. Some say that it is these lines of code that made "Royal Road" what it is today.<br><br>Thanks to the programmers, who on average were worse looking than the creative minds behind the game and didn't want to bother with acne and a quickly reseeding hairline, players can alter the way they look inside the game.<br><br>When the game was first launched no-one new about this feature except for those who worked on the game. However a few months into the game, more and more people discovered the said feature and this discovery caused weird things to happen to the game play.<br>Suddenly almost all high level players had become gorgeous. Men and women, who looked better than most super models, were suddenly taking over the game. A sudden alienation was created of, so called, ugly players because of this. Parties no longer accepted bad looking players as they considered them to be "noobs" who didn't know anything about the game.<br>Nonetheless, the knowledge of this feature became wide spread making ugly players a very rare sight, most usually seen amongst beginners to the game. This caused an enormous amount of real-life misunderstandings and an astronomic rise in plastic surgeries. It seemed like the amount of bad blind-dates and the money in plastic surgeons bank accounts would continue to rise indefinitely.<br>More and more people were joining the game while the number of suicides amongst professional models was rising at an alarming rate.<br>Thankfully, about half a year after the games launch, order was restored thanks to a player who named himself "Quasimodo".<br>This player chose to look, as his name suggested, like a deformed hunchback. He used the fact that others bullied ugly players, as they considered them weak, and would surprise them with his strength and high level skills. Many other players jumped on the bandwagon and used this method to level up their characters incredibly fast by beating unsuspecting players.<br>Soon enough no-one could no longer tell how strong a player was by his physical appearance. And so, with no need to hide what they looked like, most people changed their avatars to their real-life appearance. Although things like red, gold and different colored eyes, white hair, weird hair styles and strangely colored skin were still things players enjoyed to play around with.<br><br>Nowadays, a year into the game, there are numberless articles and studies that claim that "Royal Road" had managed to create a better world where people no longer judge others by their looks. There are also numberless articles and studies that say that the evolution from "survival of the strongest" to "survival of the smartest" to, what now seems to be, "survival of those who have the most free-time on their hands" will bring an end to the human race. More so, they also claim that by focusing entirely on the gaming aspect of technology man-kind has brought itself to a halt.<br>Since "Royal Road" is considered, by some of the greatest minds in the world, to be the perfect game, there are those who say that no future progress will be made in the field as no future progress can be made. Because the game is the perfect game, all possible progress has been made which means than future progress is impossible as there is nothing to progress.<br>However this could be an excuse by those who are supposed to be making future progress and much rather play the game instead.<br><br>A golden age began in "Royal Road" where physical looks didn't matter and stereotypes were demolished.<br>A world where fame inside a game corresponded to your fame in real-life and where commercials use avatars of high level players instead of professional models. Yet most importantly, and some claim this had the greatest impact on why the world is becoming a nicer place with no more wars and almost no crime, grandfathers and grandmothers could now smack around their grandchildren and if needed defeat them in a sword-fight on occasions where the grandchildren misbehaved or said something rood.<br><br>Still, one problem remained, and that was that in many players, an almost irrational fear of facial pimples was left. But hopefully, as more and more elderly folk start playing "Royal Road" this too will eventually be corrected and no longer will strong players cower at the sight of acute acne. "The Royal Post", January 22, 2037. <br>Daniel N. Amerson. </div>

Royal Road, Making The World A Better Place Adding to the game the feature of altering an avatars appearance wasn't easy and was the cause of many quarrels between the programmers and the creative teams. After many arguments and nearly fatal office pranks, both teams agreed to leave the decision to the games master A.I. Since the A.I was programmed to have only the best intentions towards the game the creators decided to trust it. They gave it a few days to run whatever incredibly complex calculations it needed, making sure to keep it from overheating as it tried to predict every possible future of the game concerning the said feature and eventually the word "Implement" appeared on its main monitor. The programmers who were overjoyed decided to throw a party to celebrate the news. This party lasted a week, because, being very dedicated and now highly motivated programmers, after a few drinks most of them sat down to work on what they considered was a cool part of the games code. The others programmers soon joined them and together they had a coding marathon that was fueled by very cheap liquor and very expensive black caviar, given to them as a present by a very fat higher up. When the programmers finally awoke from their drunken slumber they understood that they were a week behind schedule. In their hurry no-one bothered to check the lines of code they wrote and their drunken work was inputted into the game, thus successfully adding some of the best "easter eggs" and hidden secrets ever seen in video game history. Some say that it is these lines of code that made "Royal Road" what it is today. Thanks to the programmers, who on average were worse looking than the creative minds behind the game and didn't want to bother with acne and a quickly reseeding hairline, players can alter the way they look inside the game. When the game was first launched no-one new about this feature except for those who worked on the game. However a few months into the game, more and more people discovered the said feature and this discovery caused weird things to happen to the game play. Suddenly almost all high level players had become gorgeous. Men and women, who looked better than most super models, were suddenly taking over the game. A sudden alienation was created of, so called, ugly players because of this. Parties no longer accepted bad looking players as they considered them to be "noobs" who didn't know anything about the game. Nonetheless, the knowledge of this feature became wide spread making ugly players a very rare sight, most usually seen amongst beginners to the game. This caused an enormous amount of real-life misunderstandings and an astronomic rise in plastic surgeries. It seemed like the amount of bad blind-dates and the money in plastic surgeons bank accounts would continue to rise indefinitely. More and more people were joining the game while the number of suicides amongst professional models was rising at an alarming rate. Thankfully, about half a year after the games launch, order was restored thanks to a player who named himself "Quasimodo". This player chose to look, as his name suggested, like a deformed hunchback. He used the fact that others bullied ugly players, as they considered them weak, and would surprise them with his strength and high level skills. Many other players jumped on the bandwagon and used this method to level up their characters incredibly fast by beating unsuspecting players. Soon enough no-one could no longer tell how strong a player was by his physical appearance. And so, with no need to hide what they looked like, most people changed their avatars to their real-life appearance. Although things like red, gold and different colored eyes, white hair, weird hair styles and strangely colored skin were still things players enjoyed to play around with. Nowadays, a year into the game, there are numberless articles and studies that claim that "Royal Road" had managed to create a better world where people no longer judge others by their looks. There are also numberless articles and studies that say that the evolution from "survival of the strongest" to "survival of the smartest" to, what now seems to be, "survival of those who have the most free-time on their hands" will bring an end to the human race. More so, they also claim that by focusing entirely on the gaming aspect of technology man-kind has brought itself to a halt. Since "Royal Road" is considered, by some of the greatest minds in the world, to be the perfect game, there are those who say that no future progress will be made in the field as no future progress can be made. Because the game is the perfect game, all possible progress has been made which means than future progress is impossible as there is nothing to progress. However this could be an excuse by those who are supposed to be making future progress and much rather play the game instead. A golden age began in "Royal Road" where physical looks didn't matter and stereotypes were demolished. A world where fame inside a game corresponded to your fame in real-life and where commercials use avatars of high level players instead of professional models. Yet most importantly, and some claim this had the greatest impact on why the world is becoming a nicer place with no more wars and almost no crime, grandfathers and grandmothers could now smack around their grandchildren and if needed defeat them in a sword-fight on occasions where the grandchildren misbehaved or said something rood. Still, one problem remained, and that was that in many players, an almost irrational fear of facial pimples was left. But hopefully, as more and more elderly folk start playing "Royal Road" this too will eventually be corrected and no longer will strong players cower at the sight of acute acne. "The Royal Post", January 22, 2037. Daniel N. Amerson.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> Necromancer<br>A Royal Road Fan Fiction<br>By: Halosty<br>Chapter 11<br><br>Notes: Last week* when we left our protagonist, he died again**. This leaves us with many questions. Will he ever complete the quest***? Will he find true love****? What skills does he have? What is his favorite type of sandwich? All***** of these questions will be answered in the near future! (Now.)******<br><br>*Yesterday<br><br>**That seems to be happening a lot<br><br>***Read the next exciting chapter, which happens to be this one, to find out success or failure for sure!<br><br>****Guess.<br><br>*****Two.<br><br>*******No seriously just get on with the chapter.<br><br>-------------------------<br><br>The sensation of death overwhelmed him, as well as the feeling that a window had popped up... but he was soon jerked out of Royal Road, as expected. Why would there be a pop up window then? Hopefully it didn’t have anything important, but based on the luck he’d been having with that quest, it probably said he’d failed. Unfortunately, he’d have to wait till tomorrow to know for sure.<br><br><br>Mortimer went to see master Valarao, and was shocked how easily he had fit into his life. Just a few days ago he wouldn’t have really considered putting this much effort into physical activity, but here he was practically volunteering for muscle pain and bruises. It was fun, though. He liked the learning, and even the pain he was completely unaccustomed to with his protected lifestyle was an interesting change.<br><br>He felt that he was good at it. He couldn’t be sure, because he didn’t have anyone to compare to, but he felt a remarkable improvement in his skills in Royal Road already. Specifically, from nothing to something. He enjoyed the sparring, but he enjoyed much more the stabbing of skeletons. It was nice to be able to properly use martial arts- they were for killing people after all. Granted, skeletons in a video game were hardly people, but then again, that way he didn’t have to feel bad for liking it.<br><br>Mortimer’s mind was swamped with the moves he had seen master Valarao demonstrate. He’d only had practice with a few of them, but the rest of them were hiding in the back of his mine, aching to get out. Given how he performed his first tries with a new technique, however, he wasn’t going to try them until master Valarao said so. He suspected that way when he messed up he wouldn’t be hit very hard.<br><br>Again, Mortimer collapsed in his bed. At least his sleep for the past few days had been very deep, since he still stayed up late and exercised to boot. Still, he usually managed to eke out six hours of wonderful sleep a night. Then he had to get up and go to school, which was such a waste of time. Since he didn’t have any other options, though, he did his homework on the ride there and back. It had to be done to make his parents happy, and he didn’t want to do it when he could be playing Royal Road.<br><br> And then, of course, he was playing again.<br><br><br> Quietus woke up on a familiar stone slab. <span style="font-style: italic;">They must have fixed the respawn bug in that dungeon,</span> he thought. <span style="font-style: italic;">I’m back at the morgue.</span> Then, he opened his eyes. It was a familiar roof above him. However, it was not in the morgue. He was also on a different stone slab, with a dagger sticking out of his chest. It was a nice dagger. He pulled it out of apparently healed wounds, and then finally noticed the screen in front of him.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>You have learned a skill<br>The Power to Accept Death<br><br><br>Upon death, experience lost will be stored in a buffer, which will give you a 5% bonus on experience until the buffer is empty. In addition, the lockout time upon death is reduced by thirty minutes.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br> Quietus just stared at the message for a while. This skill... it was pretty amazing. He grinned. Now he had less reason to fear death, since it became less annoying. Just a minor setback really.<br><br> Then, he thought about his other skills. They had been ravaged by his many deaths.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>Alchemy<br>Beginner level 1<br><br>You can mix various ingredients to create varied potions and poisons.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>He’d gotten it up to almost beginner level 2 with some practice, but that was long gone. All he had now was a tiny sliver of experience. Well, he’d get it back eventually anyway. Especially with the help of<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>Herb Gathering<br>Beginner level 1<br><br>The ability to gather herbs and distinguish their uses.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>He hadn’t actually used this one yet, but he’d picked it up for future use with his alchemy skill. He could imagine the tasty <del>poisons</del> potions now.<br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>Anatomy<br>Beginner level 4<br><br>Your knowledge of anatomy allows you to strike opponents weaknesses more effectively. Increases critical hit damage when striking a vulnerable location by 20%</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>This one would have been much higher, since he used it as much as he could on those stupid skeletons. However, dying constantly made it much weaker than it should have been.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>Stealth<br>Beginner level 5<br><br>It is harder for people to notice you while this skill is active. All stamina consumption is increased while this skill is in use. Quick movement and combat will cancel the skill.<br>*Stamina use reduced slightly based on level of the skill<br>*Difficulty of detection increased with skill level.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>This one was almost beginner level 6, actually. He used it constantly. Everywhere he went. It was just... convenient. No point in trying to sneak after an enemy had found you anyway, so he used it early and often. Besides, he move slowly enough that the stamina drain was negligible.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>Dagger Mastery<br>Beginner level 1<br><br>*Increases attack power with a dagger by 5%<br>*Increases attack speed with a dagger by 5%<br>*Increases critical hit chance with a dagger by 2%</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>When had he gotten this? Maybe it had been one of those windows he’d had to close because he was watching for traps or something. Almost level 2. It seemed like it would be very useful.<br><br>Quietus looked down at the dagger. <br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>Sacrificial Dagger: Durability: ?? Damage: ??<br><br>This dagger is obviously made for wicked sacrifices. It’s abilities are unknown.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>Unknown abilities. Quietus didn’t particularly care. He liked it. Thus, he would use it. It was also- “Ouch!” definitely quite sharp.<br><br>Quietus finally realized he had been sitting around in the boss room. That could be a problem. However, it appeared the boss was out. Quietus decided this was a good time to sneak out of Seeker’s Den. He stopped for a second to check that the quest was finished. That had to be the secret, right?<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>Explore the ancient ruins<br><br>Rumors exist of a secret power available only to those who do not fear death. Explore a nearby dungeon and unlock the secrets held within.<br><br>Difficulty level: D<br><br>Quest requirements<br><br>Leaving the dungeon before the quest is fulfilled will result in failure.<br><br>Quest status: Completed. Return to “Jack” for a reward.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>Well, that was a relief. Quietus couldn’t think of any other possibilities for the secret in the dungeon. He had honestly been grasping at straws to have figured it out.<br><br>Thus, he left the dungeon. He was surprised it was that easy. He found no skeletons on the way. Perhaps some strange people who didn’t care about the quality of a dungeon had just come through and cleared it out.<br><br>That was a reasonable solution, so he believed it until he stepped out of the dungeon, and it collapsed behind him. He turned around. That was very collapsed. Was it saying, “I’m done being a terrible dungeon with weak mobs and no loot?”<br><br>Probably not, but it sure had looked more structurally sound than that.<br><br>Quietus <del>snuck</del> casually walked back to town, and nothing happened on the way but--- Was that red hair? Indeed, it was. However, the person to whom it belonged was not the bard. How boring.<br><br>As Quietus had been thinking, nothing happened on the way back to town. He could smell the sweet smell of quest rewards already. Although, personally, he was happy with his new dagger.<br><br>End Chapter 11<br><br>... Does anyone know how to make the strikeouts not make everything after it on another line? I happen to like strikeouts, but it's annoying me. Seriously, if you know post in the questions and comments. (might just have to live with it)<br><br>Previous Chapter: &lt;!-- l --&gt;&lt;a class="postlink-local" href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=47&amp;t=359&amp;p=1449#p1449"&gt;viewtopic.php?f=47&amp;t=359&amp;p=1449#p1449&lt;/a&gt;&lt;!-- l --&gt;<br>Next Chapter: &lt;!-- l --&gt;&lt;a class="postlink-local" href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=47&amp;t=483"&gt;viewtopic.php?f=47&amp;t=483&lt;/a&gt;&lt;!-- l --&gt; </div>

Necromancer A Royal Road Fan Fiction By: Halosty Chapter 11 Notes: Last week* when we left our protagonist, he died again**. This leaves us with many questions. Will he ever complete the quest***? Will he find true love****? What skills does he have? What is his favorite type of sandwich? All***** of these questions will be answered in the near future! (Now.)****** *Yesterday **That seems to be happening a lot ***Read the next exciting chapter, which happens to be this one, to find out success or failure for sure! ****Guess. *****Two. *******No seriously just get on with the chapter. ------------------------- The sensation of death overwhelmed him, as well as the feeling that a window had popped up... but he was soon jerked out of Royal Road, as expected. Why would there be a pop up window then? Hopefully it didn’t have anything important, but based on the luck he’d been having with that quest, it probably said he’d failed. Unfortunately, he’d have to wait till tomorrow to know for sure. Mortimer went to see master Valarao, and was shocked how easily he had fit into his life. Just a few days ago he wouldn’t have really considered putting this much effort into physical activity, but here he was practically volunteering for muscle pain and bruises. It was fun, though. He liked the learning, and even the pain he was completely unaccustomed to with his protected lifestyle was an interesting change. He felt that he was good at it. He couldn’t be sure, because he didn’t have anyone to compare to, but he felt a remarkable improvement in his skills in Royal Road already. Specifically, from nothing to something. He enjoyed the sparring, but he enjoyed much more the stabbing of skeletons. It was nice to be able to properly use martial arts- they were for killing people after all. Granted, skeletons in a video game were hardly people, but then again, that way he didn’t have to feel bad for liking it. Mortimer’s mind was swamped with the moves he had seen master Valarao demonstrate. He’d only had practice with a few of them, but the rest of them were hiding in the back of his mine, aching to get out. Given how he performed his first tries with a new technique, however, he wasn’t going to try them until master Valarao said so. He suspected that way when he messed up he wouldn’t be hit very hard. Again, Mortimer collapsed in his bed. At least his sleep for the past few days had been very deep, since he still stayed up late and exercised to boot. Still, he usually managed to eke out six hours of wonderful sleep a night. Then he had to get up and go to school, which was such a waste of time. Since he didn’t have any other options, though, he did his homework on the ride there and back. It had to be done to make his parents happy, and he didn’t want to do it when he could be playing Royal Road. And then, of course, he was playing again. Quietus woke up on a familiar stone slab. They must have fixed the respawn bug in that dungeon, he thought. I’m back at the morgue. Then, he opened his eyes. It was a familiar roof above him. However, it was not in the morgue. He was also on a different stone slab, with a dagger sticking out of his chest. It was a nice dagger. He pulled it out of apparently healed wounds, and then finally noticed the screen in front of him. | You have learned a skillThe Power to Accept DeathUpon death, experience lost will be stored in a buffer, which will give you a 5% bonus on experience until the buffer is empty. In addition, the lockout time upon death is reduced by thirty minutes. | | --- | Quietus just stared at the message for a while. This skill... it was pretty amazing. He grinned. Now he had less reason to fear death, since it became less annoying. Just a minor setback really. Then, he thought about his other skills. They had been ravaged by his many deaths. | AlchemyBeginner level 1You can mix various ingredients to create varied potions and poisons. | | --- | He’d gotten it up to almost beginner level 2 with some practice, but that was long gone. All he had now was a tiny sliver of experience. Well, he’d get it back eventually anyway. Especially with the help of | Herb GatheringBeginner level 1The ability to gather herbs and distinguish their uses. | | --- | He hadn’t actually used this one yet, but he’d picked it up for future use with his alchemy skill. He could imagine the tasty ~~poisons~~ potions now. | AnatomyBeginner level 4Your knowledge of anatomy allows you to strike opponents weaknesses more effectively. Increases critical hit damage when striking a vulnerable location by 20% | | --- | This one would have been much higher, since he used it as much as he could on those stupid skeletons. However, dying constantly made it much weaker than it should have been. | StealthBeginner level 5It is harder for people to notice you while this skill is active. All stamina consumption is increased while this skill is in use. Quick movement and combat will cancel the skill.*Stamina use reduced slightly based on level of the skill*Difficulty of detection increased with skill level. | | --- | This one was almost beginner level 6, actually. He used it constantly. Everywhere he went. It was just... convenient. No point in trying to sneak after an enemy had found you anyway, so he used it early and often. Besides, he move slowly enough that the stamina drain was negligible. | Dagger MasteryBeginner level 1*Increases attack power with a dagger by 5%*Increases attack speed with a dagger by 5%*Increases critical hit chance with a dagger by 2% | | --- | When had he gotten this? Maybe it had been one of those windows he’d had to close because he was watching for traps or something. Almost level 2. It seemed like it would be very useful. Quietus looked down at the dagger. | Sacrificial Dagger: Durability: ?? Damage: ??This dagger is obviously made for wicked sacrifices. It’s abilities are unknown. | | --- | Unknown abilities. Quietus didn’t particularly care. He liked it. Thus, he would use it. It was also- “Ouch!” definitely quite sharp. Quietus finally realized he had been sitting around in the boss room. That could be a problem. However, it appeared the boss was out. Quietus decided this was a good time to sneak out of Seeker’s Den. He stopped for a second to check that the quest was finished. That had to be the secret, right? | Explore the ancient ruinsRumors exist of a secret power available only to those who do not fear death. Explore a nearby dungeon and unlock the secrets held within.Difficulty level: DQuest requirementsLeaving the dungeon before the quest is fulfilled will result in failure.Quest status: Completed. Return to “Jack” for a reward. | | --- | Well, that was a relief. Quietus couldn’t think of any other possibilities for the secret in the dungeon. He had honestly been grasping at straws to have figured it out. Thus, he left the dungeon. He was surprised it was that easy. He found no skeletons on the way. Perhaps some strange people who didn’t care about the quality of a dungeon had just come through and cleared it out. That was a reasonable solution, so he believed it until he stepped out of the dungeon, and it collapsed behind him. He turned around. That was very collapsed. Was it saying, “I’m done being a terrible dungeon with weak mobs and no loot?” Probably not, but it sure had looked more structurally sound than that. Quietus ~~snuck~~ casually walked back to town, and nothing happened on the way but--- Was that red hair? Indeed, it was. However, the person to whom it belonged was not the bard. How boring. As Quietus had been thinking, nothing happened on the way back to town. He could smell the sweet smell of quest rewards already. Although, personally, he was happy with his new dagger. End Chapter 11 ... Does anyone know how to make the strikeouts not make everything after it on another line? I happen to like strikeouts, but it's annoying me. Seriously, if you know post in the questions and comments. (might just have to live with it) Previous Chapter: <!-- l --><a class="postlink-local" href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=47&t=359&p=1449#p1449">viewtopic.php?f=47&t=359&p=1449#p1449</a><!-- l --> Next Chapter: <!-- l --><a class="postlink-local" href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=47&t=483">viewtopic.php?f=47&t=483</a><!-- l -->

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> It didn’t take Weed long to reach Lavias. His running stat was already beginner level 3 and it boosted his speed by about twice but the real added benefit was that stamina consumption while running had been reduced by at about 15%. Weed could only imagine what Master level running would be like. <br><br>He slipped past the guards and through the intricate mesh of streets in the eastern bloc of the city. Past the Central Market and West to Rodriguez house. The master of all identification experts was bound to be Rodriguez the Wise. The stamina taxing journey which normally would take him a day, now took half an hour to get from one end of the city to the other. Weed felt a sense of accomplishment and triumph; the progress he had made felt incredible. Others might have laughed at him for achieving so little during his game play time. But they would have never known of that Weeds quest was level E and it was something he successfully did while at level 0. A level at which everyone would have struggled. Add to it the fact, he was elvish race, the journey from Rodriguez home to Theodores’ would have taken others over 15 days but through sole determination Weed accomplished the same in less than 7 days. Only those who experienced and overcame great struggle could appreciate the joy of small victories.<br><br>Weed crossed Lisa who was teaching another new student archery and dashed straight into the house. He didn’t bother knocking at the door anymore as it was always open. As always, the old man was confined in his armchair<br><br>“Amazing! You really finished the quest,” Rodriguez said. “I was wondering how you fared because you had not appeared on my doorstep for a long time.”<br>Weed smiled, he didn’t have the time to visit the old man, since time was so precious in this quest. Weed handed Rodriguez the moon stone, who took it from his hands with great care.<br><br>“I must confess, this is the first time I have ever seen one and let alone been able to hold one in my hands. Who knew I would have had the opportunity in my lifetime to see a real moonstone.” <br><br>Rodriguez said as he examined the moonstone carefully. “Shall we proceed to my study room?”<br><br>Weed nodded happily. Rodriguez walked up to the same door which led to the library and opened it….this time however it led to a small study room Weed stood dazed as Rodriguez searched his study table for something. He could have sworn that the same door led to the massive underground library yet here once again the very same door led to a small study room. <br><br>Weed decided that his memory was at fault and not to probe deeper into it.<br><br>“Ah here it is!” Rodriguez exclaimed as he took out a magnifying glass from one of the drawers of the study table. From the moment Rodriguez held the moonstone, he noted what seemed to be an unusual aura around the moonstone.<br><br>“Item Identification!” <br><br>Rodriguez’s hands shined as he touched the moonstone. The information of the moonstone was revealed.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">- Moonstone Fragment –</span></span><br><br>A fragment of the moon that fell down on the Versailles continent tens of thousands of years ago; this fragment contains the same properties as that of the moon. In the darkness it will shine white light. Monsters exposed to its white light will become stronger. <br><br>The moonstone also affects certain races, dwarves who see the moonlight’s beauty will become more productive. The undead will become more powerful. Although moonlight exposure does not affect elves and humans, the fragment’s concentrated light may have effects on these races as well.<br><br>To unlock the powers of the Moonstone, test the moonstone in darkness.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>Weed looked around the house to draw shut the curtains but noticed the strange absence of them. He also noticed now how strangely the house had more mirrors reflecting more light into the house.<br><br>“Well, I guess, it can only be tested at night then?” Weed asked.<br><br>Rodriguez thought for a while before replying, “There may be another way….”<br><br>“Which would be?” Weed asked greedily, he was dying to unlock the moonstones secrets and get on with his quest.<br><br>“Considered swallowing it?” Rodriguez asked.<br><br>“….You are serious?” Weed asked just to confirm again.<br><br>Rodriguez nodded. Weed stared at the moonstone, it was probably as big as an orange and as hard as any stone one could find. <br><br>“I can’t swallow this! It’s too big! I don’t think we can cut it either!” <br><br>Rodriguez simply washed the moonstone in the kitchen sink and took an ordinary kitchen knife and began cutting the moonstone like one would cut an apple. He cut the stone into eight slices and served them on a plate to Weed.<br><br>Weed stared at the plate on display. He didn’t even have a chance to stop Rodriguez. ‘What if the moonstone doesn’t work when cut? What if I am supposed to do something else with it? What if eating moonstone turns out to be poisonous?’ These and many more questions swarmed Weed’s mind.<br><br>Rodriguez patiently waited for Weed to try a slice. He too was most curious to learn how to unlock the potential of the moonstone. The two silently stared at the plate of moonstones, till Weed finally picked up a slice and swallowed it whole. He didn’t want to test whether it was actually chewable with the inherent risk of breaking his teeth.<br><br>TRRRINNG!<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">- You ate a Moonstone Fragment –</span></span><br><br>A fragment of the moon that fell down on the Versailles continent tens of thousands of years ago; this fragment contains the same properties as that of the moon. In the darkness it will shine white light. Monsters exposed to its white light will become stronger. <br><br>Through the moons mysterious powers:<br><br>Your dexterity increases by 100.<br>Your weight increased by 1KG.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>Weed smiled, though eating rock was painful and awkward it worked. He swallowed another piece.<br><br>TRRRINNG!<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">- You ate a Moonstone Fragment –</span></span><br><br>Monsters become nearly 50% stronger in the moonlight. The moon light affects different creatures differently, while some become more powerful, others will become faster.<br><br>Through the moons mysterious powers:<br><br>Your dexterity increases by 100!<br>Your skin will become fairer with each passing day!</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>It came as a surprise that the second piece had a different effect when compared to the first. Weed tried another piece.<br><br>TRRRINNG!<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">- You ate a Moonstone Fragment –</span></span><br><br>Moonlight has strange effects on dwarves and none on elves. Elves have dismissed the claim that the moonlight contains strange powers.<br><br>Through the moons mysterious powers:<br><br>You gained a new stat Creativity!<br>Your skin will glow white at night!</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>Weed stood shocked! ‘Glow in the dark? WTF!’<br><br>TRRRINNG!<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">- You ate a Moonstone Fragment –</span></span><br><br>The moonstone affects certain races, dwarves who see the moonlight’s beauty will become more productive. The undead will become more powerful. Although moonlight exposure does not affect elves and humans, the fragment’s concentrated light may have effects on these races as well.<br><br>Through the moons mysterious powers:<br><br>Your creativity increases by 100.<br>All stats will be boosted by 3% at night.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>TRRRINNG!<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">- You ate a Moonstone Fragment –</span></span><br><br>Though moonlight has no effect on elves or humans, it is suspected that concentrated moonlight might have some effect.<br><br>Through the moons mysterious powers:<br><br>Your dexterity increases by 50.<br>Your creativity increases by 100.<br>All stats will be boosted by 2% at night.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>TRRRINNG!<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">- You ate a Moonstone Fragment –</span></span><br><br>The dwarves think highly of the moon and went through the trouble of redesigning their entire dwarven city ceiling to match the moonstone fragment they found.<br><br>Through the moons mysterious powers:<br><br>Your creativity increases by 50.<br>You gained new stat perseverance!</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>Weed finally had the three stats needed for the quest. He wondered how many other players would be able to unlock these stats without the moonstone?<br><br>TRRRINNG!<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">- You ate a Moonstone Fragment –</span></span><br><br>Through the moons mysterious powers:<br><br>Your perseverance increases by 100.<br>Your stamina increases by 100.<br>Your hair is now white in color!</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>Weed stared back into one of the many mirrors in the house. His hair had indeed turned from black to white. The many unintended consequences of eating moonstones! Weed stared at the last moonstone slice, he wondered what horrors or miracles awaited for him in the last slice.<br>TRRRINNG!<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">- You ate a Moonstone Fragment –</span></span><br><br>Through the moons mysterious powers:<br><br>- Your perseverance increases by 150.<br>- Your HP increases by 100.<br>- Your agility increases by 50.<br>- All elemental affinities increase by 1%.<br>- All elemental resistance increase by 0.5%<br>-Mana Conversion increases by 0.001<br>- Your weight has increased by 7kgs.<br>- Your eye sight will become better at night.<br>- When engaged in combat at night, your reflexes will be faster.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>Weed’s mouth was left wide open. The moonstone may have been painful to eat but the rewards could not be compared to other rewards. The moonstone would be worth thousands of gold coins and at least a few hundred dollars in RL. Weed thanked Rodriguez for his guidance and told him of his new stats and abilities. He then requested to be taught the 'identification skill' from Rodriguez, who was most happy to teach him so. Thereafter, he rushed towards Theodore’s cabin, it was time to get the seal of approval.<br><br>-x-x-x-x-x-x-x<br><br>Weed was greeted with stares as he hurried across the central town square, he had indeed grown fairer and his white / silver hair began attracting a lot of attention. Being elf, it only complimented his looks further. He could hear players taking photos of him as he rushed across the square. Some players even began chasing him assuming him to be a rare NPC or a player on a secret mission, however they could not match Weed’s running speed. Even though some were at a higher level than Weed, none of them possessed high stats like Weed.<br><br>Weed stood outside Theodore’s cabin door, there were three other dwarves dressed in white robes waiting for Theodore to answer. Seeing Weed the elf approach the cabin irked them. They could not understand what an elf could possibly have to do with a dwarf. Weed could only guess by looking at their robes that these dwarves were players too. They were wind affinity based users as most wind affinity based users at beginner levels wore the same type of attire.<br><br>A human stepped out of the cabin, he wore a big smile on his face. Apparently, the human player cleared the initial test. <br><br>“NEXT!” came a coarse voice from the cabin, it belonged to Theodore’s, though he sounded tired and irritated. One of the dwarves standing next to Weed, walked in. He gave a confident and smug smile to Weed as he walked in. After a few minutes, he walked out and shook hands with the other dwarves. <br><br>“Passed it.” He whispered to them. They heartily congratulated him and wished him luck for the final test.<br><br>“Next!”<br><br>Another dwarf entered the cabin and exited in a few minutes. It was finally Weed’s turn, he entered the cabin and greeted Theodore. Theodore greeted Weed back and smiled as Weed took his seat. He had been impatiently waiting for Weed. He had his hopes pinned that Weed had suffered as much as he had hoped he would and would fail the test. Failing the test would give him the much needed opportunity to humiliate the elf and the scores would finally be settled between them. Blinded by revenge, Theodore failed to realize Weed's unnaturally fair complexion or the newly acquired white hair; signs of moonstone side effects.<br><br>“Ok elf, show me your stats.”<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="4">Physical Status Window</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Name</td><td width="25%">Weed</td><td width="25%">Class / Level</td><td width="25%">FF/013</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Health</td><td width="25%">350</td><td width="25%">Mana Conversion/Sec</td><td width="25%">0.001</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Health Regen/Sec</td><td width="25%">0</td><td width="25%">Stamina Regen/Sec</td><td width="25%">0.08</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Strength</td><td width="25%">85</td><td width="25%">Agility</td><td width="25%">135</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Wisdom</td><td width="25%">51</td><td width="25%">Intelligence</td><td width="25%">51</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Stamina</td><td width="25%">310</td><td width="25%">Defense</td><td width="25%">55+15</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Dexterity</td><td width="25%">250</td><td width="25%">Luck</td><td width="25%">200</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Creativity</td><td width="25%">250</td><td width="25%">Perseverance</td><td width="25%">250</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Looks/Beauty</td><td colspan="3">18</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>The dwarf was left with his mouth dangling open. All thoughts of humiliating Weed went out the window. A single level up would reward a player with 5 skill points, the stats that Weed had would imply he was over level 150. The last time Theodore had seen Weed’s stats he was just level one and barely had any high level stats. Weed was now at level 13 and he invested all bonus SP and the bonus gained from the moonstone. At the very least all stats improved by at least +1 and some stats like stamina had increased by +200. <br><br>As they moved over to the elemental skills, Theodore witnessed the same thing. Neutral players were usually unable to increase even a single percentage of elemental affinity. Yet here again Weed managed to increase all elemental affinities and resistance!<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="4">Elemental Affinity Status Window</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Fire Affinity</td><td width="25%">3.5%</td><td width="25%">Resistance</td><td width="25%">0.5%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Wind Affinity</td><td width="25%">3.5%</td><td width="25%">Resistance</td><td width="25%">0.5%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Earth Affinity</td><td width="25%">3.5%</td><td width="25%">Resistance</td><td width="25%">0.5%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Water Affinity</td><td width="25%">3.5%</td><td width="25%">Resistance</td><td width="25%">0.5%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Other Affinities</td><td width="25%">1%</td><td width="25%">Resistance</td><td width="25%">0.5%</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>Theodore’s bare minimum expectation for the test was that players had to increase some stats. If players were able to increase stats by more than 10 levels worth of SP they were qualified to learn basic blacksmithing. Those who went more than 20 levels worth of SP got the chance to learn normal blacksmithing. A few rare applicants who had gained more than 200 SP, learnt the dwarvish blacksmithing. The difference between the blacksmithing techniques varied. Basic blacksmithing technique was very low level and could be learnt anywhere. Where as dwarvish blacksmithing could only be learnt through a qualified dwarf master. For players the differences were in the booster effects of blacksmithing that each profession added. Basic blacksmithing was cumbersome to use and added little to no boost effects when applying the skill. Dwarvish Blacksmithing would apply 10% increased effects and usually required players no more than a few hammer swings to use. To sum it up, the more a player could change his character it was more likely that they would learn a better blacksmithing profession. <br><br>Theodore had never expected his students to solve the hidden riddle within his riddle, he had given thousands of students this test but all did the same thing. Some used bonus SP to increase stats while others leveled up. None of them had bothered to dig deeper into the riddle. Weed solved the riddle and used bonus SP. He had over 800 SP invested in his character, he didn’t exactly fit into the categories of normal players. Theodore stared at the stats silently…’Just maybe this type of blacksmithing would be the right choice for him. Theodore considered it for a moment, no player before had received this profession as it required ridiculously high level stat increase requirements and came with several restrictions of its own. Weed easily met all the conditions…in the end the decision was obvious.<br><br>TRRRING!<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>You have passed Theodore’s test! Would you like to learn the profession 'Elemental Blacksmithing'?</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br>Authors Note:<br><br>1. Edited by Knaivvs.<br>2. I would like to thank Alakokaine and Twelve for their inputs in this chapter. Will be posting more about this.<br>3. I hope the stats in the physical stats table are correct, if someone can cross check the numbers and point out to me if I have gone wrong that would be swell. Hopefully, I am close to the actual figure or even correct.<br>4. Just added a little navigation feature to all chapters! :) &lt;---- Really pleased with the outcome. And I am not adding a previous chapter button. ~_~ looks uncool.<br><br>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="4">Connect to Royal Road – Elementarem Vim next Chapter?</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&amp;t=349" target="_blank">Yes</a></td><td colspan="2"><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&amp;t=348" target="_blank">No</a></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- </div>

It didn’t take Weed long to reach Lavias. His running stat was already beginner level 3 and it boosted his speed by about twice but the real added benefit was that stamina consumption while running had been reduced by at about 15%. Weed could only imagine what Master level running would be like. He slipped past the guards and through the intricate mesh of streets in the eastern bloc of the city. Past the Central Market and West to Rodriguez house. The master of all identification experts was bound to be Rodriguez the Wise. The stamina taxing journey which normally would take him a day, now took half an hour to get from one end of the city to the other. Weed felt a sense of accomplishment and triumph; the progress he had made felt incredible. Others might have laughed at him for achieving so little during his game play time. But they would have never known of that Weeds quest was level E and it was something he successfully did while at level 0. A level at which everyone would have struggled. Add to it the fact, he was elvish race, the journey from Rodriguez home to Theodores’ would have taken others over 15 days but through sole determination Weed accomplished the same in less than 7 days. Only those who experienced and overcame great struggle could appreciate the joy of small victories. Weed crossed Lisa who was teaching another new student archery and dashed straight into the house. He didn’t bother knocking at the door anymore as it was always open. As always, the old man was confined in his armchair “Amazing! You really finished the quest,” Rodriguez said. “I was wondering how you fared because you had not appeared on my doorstep for a long time.” Weed smiled, he didn’t have the time to visit the old man, since time was so precious in this quest. Weed handed Rodriguez the moon stone, who took it from his hands with great care. “I must confess, this is the first time I have ever seen one and let alone been able to hold one in my hands. Who knew I would have had the opportunity in my lifetime to see a real moonstone.” Rodriguez said as he examined the moonstone carefully. “Shall we proceed to my study room?” Weed nodded happily. Rodriguez walked up to the same door which led to the library and opened it….this time however it led to a small study room Weed stood dazed as Rodriguez searched his study table for something. He could have sworn that the same door led to the massive underground library yet here once again the very same door led to a small study room. Weed decided that his memory was at fault and not to probe deeper into it. “Ah here it is!” Rodriguez exclaimed as he took out a magnifying glass from one of the drawers of the study table. From the moment Rodriguez held the moonstone, he noted what seemed to be an unusual aura around the moonstone. “Item Identification!” Rodriguez’s hands shined as he touched the moonstone. The information of the moonstone was revealed. | - Moonstone Fragment –A fragment of the moon that fell down on the Versailles continent tens of thousands of years ago; this fragment contains the same properties as that of the moon. In the darkness it will shine white light. Monsters exposed to its white light will become stronger. The moonstone also affects certain races, dwarves who see the moonlight’s beauty will become more productive. The undead will become more powerful. Although moonlight exposure does not affect elves and humans, the fragment’s concentrated light may have effects on these races as well.To unlock the powers of the Moonstone, test the moonstone in darkness. | | --- | Weed looked around the house to draw shut the curtains but noticed the strange absence of them. He also noticed now how strangely the house had more mirrors reflecting more light into the house. “Well, I guess, it can only be tested at night then?” Weed asked. Rodriguez thought for a while before replying, “There may be another way….” “Which would be?” Weed asked greedily, he was dying to unlock the moonstones secrets and get on with his quest. “Considered swallowing it?” Rodriguez asked. “….You are serious?” Weed asked just to confirm again. Rodriguez nodded. Weed stared at the moonstone, it was probably as big as an orange and as hard as any stone one could find. “I can’t swallow this! It’s too big! I don’t think we can cut it either!” Rodriguez simply washed the moonstone in the kitchen sink and took an ordinary kitchen knife and began cutting the moonstone like one would cut an apple. He cut the stone into eight slices and served them on a plate to Weed. Weed stared at the plate on display. He didn’t even have a chance to stop Rodriguez. ‘What if the moonstone doesn’t work when cut? What if I am supposed to do something else with it? What if eating moonstone turns out to be poisonous?’ These and many more questions swarmed Weed’s mind. Rodriguez patiently waited for Weed to try a slice. He too was most curious to learn how to unlock the potential of the moonstone. The two silently stared at the plate of moonstones, till Weed finally picked up a slice and swallowed it whole. He didn’t want to test whether it was actually chewable with the inherent risk of breaking his teeth. TRRRINNG! | - You ate a Moonstone Fragment –A fragment of the moon that fell down on the Versailles continent tens of thousands of years ago; this fragment contains the same properties as that of the moon. In the darkness it will shine white light. Monsters exposed to its white light will become stronger. Through the moons mysterious powers:Your dexterity increases by 100.Your weight increased by 1KG. | | --- | Weed smiled, though eating rock was painful and awkward it worked. He swallowed another piece. TRRRINNG! | - You ate a Moonstone Fragment –Monsters become nearly 50% stronger in the moonlight. The moon light affects different creatures differently, while some become more powerful, others will become faster.Through the moons mysterious powers:Your dexterity increases by 100!Your skin will become fairer with each passing day! | | --- | It came as a surprise that the second piece had a different effect when compared to the first. Weed tried another piece. TRRRINNG! | - You ate a Moonstone Fragment –Moonlight has strange effects on dwarves and none on elves. Elves have dismissed the claim that the moonlight contains strange powers.Through the moons mysterious powers:You gained a new stat Creativity!Your skin will glow white at night! | | --- | Weed stood shocked! ‘Glow in the dark? WTF!’ TRRRINNG! | - You ate a Moonstone Fragment –The moonstone affects certain races, dwarves who see the moonlight’s beauty will become more productive. The undead will become more powerful. Although moonlight exposure does not affect elves and humans, the fragment’s concentrated light may have effects on these races as well.Through the moons mysterious powers:Your creativity increases by 100.All stats will be boosted by 3% at night. | | --- | TRRRINNG! | - You ate a Moonstone Fragment –Though moonlight has no effect on elves or humans, it is suspected that concentrated moonlight might have some effect.Through the moons mysterious powers:Your dexterity increases by 50.Your creativity increases by 100.All stats will be boosted by 2% at night. | | --- | TRRRINNG! | - You ate a Moonstone Fragment –The dwarves think highly of the moon and went through the trouble of redesigning their entire dwarven city ceiling to match the moonstone fragment they found.Through the moons mysterious powers:Your creativity increases by 50.You gained new stat perseverance! | | --- | Weed finally had the three stats needed for the quest. He wondered how many other players would be able to unlock these stats without the moonstone? TRRRINNG! | - You ate a Moonstone Fragment –Through the moons mysterious powers:Your perseverance increases by 100.Your stamina increases by 100.Your hair is now white in color! | | --- | Weed stared back into one of the many mirrors in the house. His hair had indeed turned from black to white. The many unintended consequences of eating moonstones! Weed stared at the last moonstone slice, he wondered what horrors or miracles awaited for him in the last slice. TRRRINNG! | - You ate a Moonstone Fragment –Through the moons mysterious powers:- Your perseverance increases by 150.- Your HP increases by 100.- Your agility increases by 50.- All elemental affinities increase by 1%.- All elemental resistance increase by 0.5%-Mana Conversion increases by 0.001- Your weight has increased by 7kgs.- Your eye sight will become better at night.- When engaged in combat at night, your reflexes will be faster. | | --- | Weed’s mouth was left wide open. The moonstone may have been painful to eat but the rewards could not be compared to other rewards. The moonstone would be worth thousands of gold coins and at least a few hundred dollars in RL. Weed thanked Rodriguez for his guidance and told him of his new stats and abilities. He then requested to be taught the 'identification skill' from Rodriguez, who was most happy to teach him so. Thereafter, he rushed towards Theodore’s cabin, it was time to get the seal of approval. -x-x-x-x-x-x-x Weed was greeted with stares as he hurried across the central town square, he had indeed grown fairer and his white / silver hair began attracting a lot of attention. Being elf, it only complimented his looks further. He could hear players taking photos of him as he rushed across the square. Some players even began chasing him assuming him to be a rare NPC or a player on a secret mission, however they could not match Weed’s running speed. Even though some were at a higher level than Weed, none of them possessed high stats like Weed. Weed stood outside Theodore’s cabin door, there were three other dwarves dressed in white robes waiting for Theodore to answer. Seeing Weed the elf approach the cabin irked them. They could not understand what an elf could possibly have to do with a dwarf. Weed could only guess by looking at their robes that these dwarves were players too. They were wind affinity based users as most wind affinity based users at beginner levels wore the same type of attire. A human stepped out of the cabin, he wore a big smile on his face. Apparently, the human player cleared the initial test. “NEXT!” came a coarse voice from the cabin, it belonged to Theodore’s, though he sounded tired and irritated. One of the dwarves standing next to Weed, walked in. He gave a confident and smug smile to Weed as he walked in. After a few minutes, he walked out and shook hands with the other dwarves. “Passed it.” He whispered to them. They heartily congratulated him and wished him luck for the final test. “Next!” Another dwarf entered the cabin and exited in a few minutes. It was finally Weed’s turn, he entered the cabin and greeted Theodore. Theodore greeted Weed back and smiled as Weed took his seat. He had been impatiently waiting for Weed. He had his hopes pinned that Weed had suffered as much as he had hoped he would and would fail the test. Failing the test would give him the much needed opportunity to humiliate the elf and the scores would finally be settled between them. Blinded by revenge, Theodore failed to realize Weed's unnaturally fair complexion or the newly acquired white hair; signs of moonstone side effects. “Ok elf, show me your stats.” | Physical Status Window | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Name | Weed | Class / Level | FF/013 | | Health | 350 | Mana Conversion/Sec | 0.001 | | Health Regen/Sec | 0 | Stamina Regen/Sec | 0.08 | | Strength | 85 | Agility | 135 | | Wisdom | 51 | Intelligence | 51 | | Stamina | 310 | Defense | 55+15 | | Dexterity | 250 | Luck | 200 | | Creativity | 250 | Perseverance | 250 | | Looks/Beauty | 18 | | | The dwarf was left with his mouth dangling open. All thoughts of humiliating Weed went out the window. A single level up would reward a player with 5 skill points, the stats that Weed had would imply he was over level 150. The last time Theodore had seen Weed’s stats he was just level one and barely had any high level stats. Weed was now at level 13 and he invested all bonus SP and the bonus gained from the moonstone. At the very least all stats improved by at least +1 and some stats like stamina had increased by +200. As they moved over to the elemental skills, Theodore witnessed the same thing. Neutral players were usually unable to increase even a single percentage of elemental affinity. Yet here again Weed managed to increase all elemental affinities and resistance! | Elemental Affinity Status Window | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Fire Affinity | 3.5% | Resistance | 0.5% | | Wind Affinity | 3.5% | Resistance | 0.5% | | Earth Affinity | 3.5% | Resistance | 0.5% | | Water Affinity | 3.5% | Resistance | 0.5% | | Other Affinities | 1% | Resistance | 0.5% | Theodore’s bare minimum expectation for the test was that players had to increase some stats. If players were able to increase stats by more than 10 levels worth of SP they were qualified to learn basic blacksmithing. Those who went more than 20 levels worth of SP got the chance to learn normal blacksmithing. A few rare applicants who had gained more than 200 SP, learnt the dwarvish blacksmithing. The difference between the blacksmithing techniques varied. Basic blacksmithing technique was very low level and could be learnt anywhere. Where as dwarvish blacksmithing could only be learnt through a qualified dwarf master. For players the differences were in the booster effects of blacksmithing that each profession added. Basic blacksmithing was cumbersome to use and added little to no boost effects when applying the skill. Dwarvish Blacksmithing would apply 10% increased effects and usually required players no more than a few hammer swings to use. To sum it up, the more a player could change his character it was more likely that they would learn a better blacksmithing profession. Theodore had never expected his students to solve the hidden riddle within his riddle, he had given thousands of students this test but all did the same thing. Some used bonus SP to increase stats while others leveled up. None of them had bothered to dig deeper into the riddle. Weed solved the riddle and used bonus SP. He had over 800 SP invested in his character, he didn’t exactly fit into the categories of normal players. Theodore stared at the stats silently…’Just maybe this type of blacksmithing would be the right choice for him. Theodore considered it for a moment, no player before had received this profession as it required ridiculously high level stat increase requirements and came with several restrictions of its own. Weed easily met all the conditions…in the end the decision was obvious. TRRRING! | You have passed Theodore’s test! Would you like to learn the profession 'Elemental Blacksmithing'? | | --- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Authors Note: 1. Edited by Knaivvs. 2. I would like to thank Alakokaine and Twelve for their inputs in this chapter. Will be posting more about this. 3. I hope the stats in the physical stats table are correct, if someone can cross check the numbers and point out to me if I have gone wrong that would be swell. Hopefully, I am close to the actual figure or even correct. 4. Just added a little navigation feature to all chapters! :) <---- Really pleased with the outcome. And I am not adding a previous chapter button. ~\_~ looks uncool. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Connect to Royal Road – Elementarem Vim next Chapter? | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Yes](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&t=349) | | [No](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&t=348) | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> Prologue<br><br>It was the beginning of a beautiful day, the sun was shining in through the high window and onto the bed, it illuminated a hideous sight, two huge white cases, these in turn were attached to what could only be surmised as a human being.<br><br>Alan windrow sat up in the hospital bed gazing towards its end, at the now ugly site that his once strong legs had become, it had been twenty weeks since the accident that had crushed not only his legs, but his pride and his life as well.<br><br> Maybe it was fate he mused to himself, he had been in a road accident travelling back from a gymnastic completion that his team had won, his team always won because they were the best he believed.<br><br>Alan at the early age of five had stared in wonder at the acrobats at the circus, he was visiting with his family, he had taken such a profound reaction to what they were doing that he at that tender age had begged his mother to let him join the circus, his mother in turn smiled happily at him and enrolled him at the local sports centre for gymnastics, thinking he would only be there a short while before giving up, his mother was wrong.<br><br>At the age of twelve he won his first competition, after that the flood gates seemed to open, no matter where he went he and his team won competition, after competition at the mere age of fifteen the country was waiting with bated breath as he competed in the national games, of course he won.<br><br> It was on a routine journey home from a competition, that the teams coach crashed, throwing three of the members of the team out of one of the windows Alan included.<br><br>Now he was laid in a hospital bed, every bone from his lower back downward had either broke or shattered completely, the doctors had done their best but in their words he would never walk again, never mind do the one thing that he loved.<br><br>When would it be time, Alan fussed he wanted to get out of the room get away from the hospital the bills were bad enough, but to be stuck here was absolute unforgivable, the other team members had visited him all had expressed their condolences, how he hated them now only two hadn’t visited.<br><br> Clair and Dave, the former had been discharged from hospital after suffering a broken arm she was Alan’s junior and always looked up to him, the later Dave would not dare to show his face he knew that Alan blamed him for the accident and rightly so.<br><br>The door to the room opened to reveal his mother, she entered the room promptly followed by a three of the many nurses, that seemed to buzz around his hospital ward, one of them was pushing a wheel chair at last Alan sighed he could finally escape.<br>It took another five hours, for the casts to be removed from Alan’s legs, revealing equally hideous metal contraptions that were now strapped to his legs, more time past as two orderly’s somehow managed to lift his body up and place it into the wheelchair, they were worried that they would hurt him so they were moving with upmost care until Alan snapped at them.<br><br>He couldn’t feel anything in them because the damage done to his spine at least in the wheelchair his legs could be bent instead of sticking out affording him some minor relief.<br><br>After returning home he was quiet shocked to discover that his entire room had been moved to the ground floor, he had wondered privately how he was going to manage getting up the stairs, not to mention to the toilet, but that thought left his head as his mother explained to him that his room now had an on sweet bath room, she continued on saying that everyone had clubbed together, to make this and that happen all of which passed in one ear and out the other.<br><br>The only other addition to his room was something called a capsule that according to his mother was Clair his sister’s idea, apparently it was a specially adapted version that was laid down like a bed, it would allow him to connect to something called royal road which had no particular meaning to him what so ever.<br><br>Deciding to leave it well alone for the time being, Alan began trying to pick up the pieces of his old life starting with the huge back log of high school work.<br><br>Two month had passed since Alan was discharged from hospital, life had not returned to normal, it was anything but normal, he had managed to keep his temper in check at school, but would explode when no one was around, all the pitying looks he got just made his blood boil, it wasn’t till one of his female class mates witnessed, one of his explosions after school that he found a very good cure.<br><br>She had been a secret admirer and gently whispered in his ear that royal road, which everyone in class played would allow him to walk again, allowing him to become anyone he wanted to be, after his mother picked him up from school he had a very thought full expression on his face, if royal road would allow him to walk then maybe just maybe he could do gymnastics again.<br><br> After getting home he sat in the wheelchair gazing at the capsule, before pressing the open button on the side the lid slowly opened as he manoeuvred the wheelchair to the side of the machine, using the same method he now had to use to get in and out of bed, he managed to leaver himself up and into the capsule before pressing the close button. </div>

Prologue It was the beginning of a beautiful day, the sun was shining in through the high window and onto the bed, it illuminated a hideous sight, two huge white cases, these in turn were attached to what could only be surmised as a human being. Alan windrow sat up in the hospital bed gazing towards its end, at the now ugly site that his once strong legs had become, it had been twenty weeks since the accident that had crushed not only his legs, but his pride and his life as well. Maybe it was fate he mused to himself, he had been in a road accident travelling back from a gymnastic completion that his team had won, his team always won because they were the best he believed. Alan at the early age of five had stared in wonder at the acrobats at the circus, he was visiting with his family, he had taken such a profound reaction to what they were doing that he at that tender age had begged his mother to let him join the circus, his mother in turn smiled happily at him and enrolled him at the local sports centre for gymnastics, thinking he would only be there a short while before giving up, his mother was wrong. At the age of twelve he won his first competition, after that the flood gates seemed to open, no matter where he went he and his team won competition, after competition at the mere age of fifteen the country was waiting with bated breath as he competed in the national games, of course he won. It was on a routine journey home from a competition, that the teams coach crashed, throwing three of the members of the team out of one of the windows Alan included. Now he was laid in a hospital bed, every bone from his lower back downward had either broke or shattered completely, the doctors had done their best but in their words he would never walk again, never mind do the one thing that he loved. When would it be time, Alan fussed he wanted to get out of the room get away from the hospital the bills were bad enough, but to be stuck here was absolute unforgivable, the other team members had visited him all had expressed their condolences, how he hated them now only two hadn’t visited. Clair and Dave, the former had been discharged from hospital after suffering a broken arm she was Alan’s junior and always looked up to him, the later Dave would not dare to show his face he knew that Alan blamed him for the accident and rightly so. The door to the room opened to reveal his mother, she entered the room promptly followed by a three of the many nurses, that seemed to buzz around his hospital ward, one of them was pushing a wheel chair at last Alan sighed he could finally escape. It took another five hours, for the casts to be removed from Alan’s legs, revealing equally hideous metal contraptions that were now strapped to his legs, more time past as two orderly’s somehow managed to lift his body up and place it into the wheelchair, they were worried that they would hurt him so they were moving with upmost care until Alan snapped at them. He couldn’t feel anything in them because the damage done to his spine at least in the wheelchair his legs could be bent instead of sticking out affording him some minor relief. After returning home he was quiet shocked to discover that his entire room had been moved to the ground floor, he had wondered privately how he was going to manage getting up the stairs, not to mention to the toilet, but that thought left his head as his mother explained to him that his room now had an on sweet bath room, she continued on saying that everyone had clubbed together, to make this and that happen all of which passed in one ear and out the other. The only other addition to his room was something called a capsule that according to his mother was Clair his sister’s idea, apparently it was a specially adapted version that was laid down like a bed, it would allow him to connect to something called royal road which had no particular meaning to him what so ever. Deciding to leave it well alone for the time being, Alan began trying to pick up the pieces of his old life starting with the huge back log of high school work. Two month had passed since Alan was discharged from hospital, life had not returned to normal, it was anything but normal, he had managed to keep his temper in check at school, but would explode when no one was around, all the pitying looks he got just made his blood boil, it wasn’t till one of his female class mates witnessed, one of his explosions after school that he found a very good cure. She had been a secret admirer and gently whispered in his ear that royal road, which everyone in class played would allow him to walk again, allowing him to become anyone he wanted to be, after his mother picked him up from school he had a very thought full expression on his face, if royal road would allow him to walk then maybe just maybe he could do gymnastics again. After getting home he sat in the wheelchair gazing at the capsule, before pressing the open button on the side the lid slowly opened as he manoeuvred the wheelchair to the side of the machine, using the same method he now had to use to get in and out of bed, he managed to leaver himself up and into the capsule before pressing the close button.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> “Haaa… I should have expected better.”<br><br>The Cave Troll was down for good. Its body was not singed at all, but well-butchered. The flaming sword was simply an illumination effect. There was no actual change to the damage the sword caused. Not that he would complain, since he was spared the effort of holding a staff and a sword at the same time,but still….<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td><span style="font-weight: bold;">Firebrand</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">(Fireball Subskill)</span><br><br>Mana Consumption: 6/hour<br><br>Created from abused basic fire magic. Find out for yourself what it will work with! Does no damage. But looks cool either way! Reduces durability randomly when used on equipment. Can consume flammable object if left long enough.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">’I guess there should be such limitations. Can never make it too easy for players.’</span><br><br>Winter swung his flaming sword a couple more times, before he decided to try turning it off.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">’How do you turn this off again?’</span><br><br>Well.. the video never covered those…..<br><br>“Cancel,” he tested. The fires shut off like a faucet.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">’Okay. That works.’</span><br> <br>He tested it a couple times more for fun. Turning it on and off. Even tried whirling the sword in patterns like he saw on TV. <br><br>*Slip*<br><br>“Ah,” exclaimed Winter. <br><br>*Stab*<br><br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>You took damage. -25 HP</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>“Shit! Shit! Shit!” Winter’s curse echoed throughout the cave. He could not decide whether to panic or cry.<br><br>(Author: I will leave it to your imagination what happened there)<br>Lesson: Leave such maneuvers to professionals.<br><br><br>Recovering from his last debacle, Winter swore he would never twirl a sword around again. For any reason whatsoever. He was glad Daniel was not around to witness the fiasco, or else he would never hear the end of it.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">’Worse,’</span> Winter shuddered. <br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">’He would definitely tell Celine!’</span><br><br>Winter shuddered again. Meanwhile, a thousand kilometres away, Celine sneezed, though she was wearing a bikini under the Caribbean sun.<br><br>He was glad he found something else to keep him occupied. A troop of Goblins. They were no match for him without the impediment of a staff on his left hand - or a fireball.<br><br><br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">’This might be it,’</span> said Winter to himself. This was the first room with lighting, that he encountered.<br><br>Winter did not spend just two or three days exploring the cave. He spent twelve days! Most of the time was spent in the fifth path. It branched a lot and went for really long. It exited to somewhere within the swamp. He did not bother to check since he was set to finish his current adventure. <br><br>Winter spent a lot of time luring enemies around the maze of caves when he encountered big groups. Now, some of them came up to twenty mixed mobs in a single large room. Sometimes more. He always lured the strong and fast Trolls away first, then thinned down the Goblin ranks, and went to the slow Dirt Moles. He encountered so little Cave Dwellers that it was not worth mentioning them as a threat, since he was so used to killing them.<br><br>Earth Spike was extremely handy, after a few experiments that ended in disaster. Mana bolt was bright and attracted enemies. More than he could handle single-handedly. Fireball, too, was more trouble than it was, not worth the extra damage. It attracted too many mobs.<br><br>Earth Spike was noisy. It exited the uneven rocky ground with a loud grinding sound,which was great in confusing enemies. The sounds echoed around the cave, leaving mainly the monsters he’d injured chasing after him, while the rest were swinging their head around, looking for the source of the sound in the near darkness.. He was much more careful, after he’d made a bad turn, that ended up in a dead end too the first time, chased by a pissed Cave Troll that got hit with a Fireball on the face, accompanied by another five of its kind, and maybe twenty goblins. He was not sure whether it was that many or not. Winter was definitely not keeping track, too focused on staying alive, and too lazy to check the logs.<br><br>He went back to having Fireball on his left hand, until he encountered mobs, since it depleted his sword’s durability pretty quick. His last encounter at the last room of the fifth path was a named Cave Troll. Sadly, he fled like a little girl, since it was surrounded by at least ten normal ones. He managed to lose them only after tripping them up with Earth Spikes. <br><br>Oh. His level had also increased by five from roaming around. He put stat points to Intellect and Wisdom, in anticipation of his release from the curse soon.<br><br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">’This is odd.’</span> <br><br>Underground, Winter expected the most practical illumination to be a torch. But the source of the light ahead was unwavering. It had a reddish hue. It should be a torch, right?<br><br>The corner was too sharp. It was shaped like a hairpin, leaving him unable to see what was the source of the light, without engaging half his head and body. He was worried that it would be another nest of mobs. <br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">’I can always run when it gets dangerous. Yes.'</span><br><br>Having decided his course of action, Winter retraced his steps, using the rough sketch of the cave he stitched onto the rabbit skins. After he was sure he could escape far enough, he tucked the makeshift map back into his inventory and prepared his heart. The word ‘Reflex’ was ready to be uttered the moment he felt danger.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">’Here goes nothing!</span><br><br><br>TTRRRINNG!<br><br>What he saw was unexpected. He caught a glimpse of a dragon breathing fire and uttered the word without another moment of thought. Winter did not even have the time to register the window that signified he had some sort of information from the system.<br>“Reflex!”<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>Augmented effect! Speed x1.1!<br>Augmented effect! Speed x1.3!<br>Augmented effect! Speed x1.5!<br>Augmented effect! Extended time 0.5 Second!<br>Augmented effect! Extended time 0.5 Second!<br>Augmented effect! Extended time 0.25 Second!<br>Augmented effect! Extended time 0.25 second!<br>Augmented effect! 200% movement speed for 20 seconds!</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>In the throes of his extended time, speed, and perceptive ability, he had the time to read off the message while his feet rocketed down where he came from.<br><br>*Crash*<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>You ran into a hard obstacle at great speed! -250HP.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br>*Groan*<br><br>Winter sat up and began gathering himself. His ears were perked up, ready to bolt at the first stomp of the large dragon’s footstep.<br><br>*Silence* <br><br>There was nothing. To be sure, he remained unmoving and waited longer.<br><br>*Silence*<br><br>Scared, but curious as to why the dragon never pursued him despite being awake and breathing fire, he tentatively walked back to the hairpin turn.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">'It is definitely not an Illusion! It looks so solid! It has the feel of weight, fierceness. It is definitely alive!'</span><br><br>Winter was stuck between trying to justify what he saw, and justifying why he was not dead. In any game,dragons were among the ultimate monsters. If you meet one alone, you better be strong, or die like a dog.<br><br>He furtively glanced as little as possible. The visage of the breathing dragon remained still. Even the fire remained still! The breathed flame was several hues of red, with the darkest red at the center of it, closest to the mouth. <br><br>The creature that was unmoving was majestic. It must have been as tall as thirty meters to the top of its head. Its wings were spread wide beautifully. Each scale glittering as crimson as the flame it breathed. From the bottom, Winter could not see the eyes of the dragon. But he was sure it was set in the same tone as the snarl visible at the corner of the great beast’s mouth. <br><br>The stilled scene was even odder, as the fire that was aimed down at a spot was cut off near the end, as if the dragon was but a picture inside a three dimensional movie.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">’It is frozen! The stones!’</span><br><br>A little closer now, Winter could see displaced peebles where the dragon crashed down its feet to brace itself while breathing out inferno. It remained floating on the air. Never going higher or lower, despite Winter spending a few minutes observing.<br><br>He could not touch the dragon from any angle. His movement was stopped up to the point where the fire was cut off. A skeleton missing upper half of its body was where the inferno would have landed. The clothings it wore were completely gone. Whether from age or what incinerated the upper half of the corpse, Winter had no idea.He picked up the charred stick lying beside the skeleton.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td><span style="font-weight: bold;">Damaged Sun’areth</span> (Durability: 50/2000)<br><br>Once a relic of great power, it is damaged beyond repair. Its owner suffered defeat battling Fuenos, the Great Fire Dragon. Crafted from a piece of the Mother Tree, it is unique, meant for great things that unfortunately ceased with the death of its owner. The weapon that is supposed to grow together with its master was ruined before it reached its full potential.<br><br>Restriction:<br>Magician and extended class only<br>Level 60<br><br>Attack: 5-10<br>Magic Attack: 15-25<br><br>+10 INT<br>+15 WIS<br>+500 Mana<br><br>Additional effect: <span style="font-weight: bold;">Recognition</span><br><br>Possessing this staff alone is a mark of great power. Despite its damaged form, a well-practiced Mage would recognize this staff and its true worth. Preferred treatment from Magician-type NPC. Negative familiarity with Priest-type NPC while equipped.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">Cannot be repaired</span></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>Despite being charred, Winter could imagine how beautiful the staff originally was from the uncharred bottom half. The wood was originally a beautiful white, almost like a marble, with veins even paler than the white of its wood. The grain was smooth. The tiny runes visible between the veins were not carved, but as if it was part of the staff itself. A meter and eighty centimeters in length, gradual thickening near the top, with it ending with nothing there. Judging from the empty spot at the top, the top seemed to hold an orb in the past. It was a good weapon, despite the damage.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">’I wonder if I will ever get to see the finished product.'</span><br><br>There was another good news from the system, but he would think about that later. This mystery beckoned him.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="2"><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=99&amp;t=698" target="_blank">&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt; Previous Chapter</a></td><td colspan="2"><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=99&amp;t=708" target="_blank">Next Chapter &gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;</a></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>==========================================================================================================================================================<br>Author's Note:<br><br>1. Credit to -The Slacker- for the diligent PR<br>2. Special Credit to Veresliosi and Vim1inc for bouncing stuff around<br>3. Do let me know of mistakes you find. Try as me and my PR to spot them, we might miss some.<br>4. Next chapter marks the end of spelunking in a cave. Can expect it this Friday.<br>5. Enjoy! </div>

“Haaa… I should have expected better.” The Cave Troll was down for good. Its body was not singed at all, but well-butchered. The flaming sword was simply an illumination effect. There was no actual change to the damage the sword caused. Not that he would complain, since he was spared the effort of holding a staff and a sword at the same time,but still…. | Firebrand (Fireball Subskill)Mana Consumption: 6/hourCreated from abused basic fire magic. Find out for yourself what it will work with! Does no damage. But looks cool either way! Reduces durability randomly when used on equipment. Can consume flammable object if left long enough. | | --- | ’I guess there should be such limitations. Can never make it too easy for players.’ Winter swung his flaming sword a couple more times, before he decided to try turning it off. ’How do you turn this off again?’ Well.. the video never covered those….. “Cancel,” he tested. The fires shut off like a faucet. ’Okay. That works.’ He tested it a couple times more for fun. Turning it on and off. Even tried whirling the sword in patterns like he saw on TV. *Slip* “Ah,” exclaimed Winter. *Stab* | You took damage. -25 HP | | --- | “Shit! Shit! Shit!” Winter’s curse echoed throughout the cave. He could not decide whether to panic or cry. (Author: I will leave it to your imagination what happened there) Lesson: Leave such maneuvers to professionals. Recovering from his last debacle, Winter swore he would never twirl a sword around again. For any reason whatsoever. He was glad Daniel was not around to witness the fiasco, or else he would never hear the end of it. ’Worse,’ Winter shuddered. ’He would definitely tell Celine!’ Winter shuddered again. Meanwhile, a thousand kilometres away, Celine sneezed, though she was wearing a bikini under the Caribbean sun. He was glad he found something else to keep him occupied. A troop of Goblins. They were no match for him without the impediment of a staff on his left hand - or a fireball. ’This might be it,’ said Winter to himself. This was the first room with lighting, that he encountered. Winter did not spend just two or three days exploring the cave. He spent twelve days! Most of the time was spent in the fifth path. It branched a lot and went for really long. It exited to somewhere within the swamp. He did not bother to check since he was set to finish his current adventure. Winter spent a lot of time luring enemies around the maze of caves when he encountered big groups. Now, some of them came up to twenty mixed mobs in a single large room. Sometimes more. He always lured the strong and fast Trolls away first, then thinned down the Goblin ranks, and went to the slow Dirt Moles. He encountered so little Cave Dwellers that it was not worth mentioning them as a threat, since he was so used to killing them. Earth Spike was extremely handy, after a few experiments that ended in disaster. Mana bolt was bright and attracted enemies. More than he could handle single-handedly. Fireball, too, was more trouble than it was, not worth the extra damage. It attracted too many mobs. Earth Spike was noisy. It exited the uneven rocky ground with a loud grinding sound,which was great in confusing enemies. The sounds echoed around the cave, leaving mainly the monsters he’d injured chasing after him, while the rest were swinging their head around, looking for the source of the sound in the near darkness.. He was much more careful, after he’d made a bad turn, that ended up in a dead end too the first time, chased by a pissed Cave Troll that got hit with a Fireball on the face, accompanied by another five of its kind, and maybe twenty goblins. He was not sure whether it was that many or not. Winter was definitely not keeping track, too focused on staying alive, and too lazy to check the logs. He went back to having Fireball on his left hand, until he encountered mobs, since it depleted his sword’s durability pretty quick. His last encounter at the last room of the fifth path was a named Cave Troll. Sadly, he fled like a little girl, since it was surrounded by at least ten normal ones. He managed to lose them only after tripping them up with Earth Spikes. Oh. His level had also increased by five from roaming around. He put stat points to Intellect and Wisdom, in anticipation of his release from the curse soon. ’This is odd.’ Underground, Winter expected the most practical illumination to be a torch. But the source of the light ahead was unwavering. It had a reddish hue. It should be a torch, right? The corner was too sharp. It was shaped like a hairpin, leaving him unable to see what was the source of the light, without engaging half his head and body. He was worried that it would be another nest of mobs. ’I can always run when it gets dangerous. Yes.' Having decided his course of action, Winter retraced his steps, using the rough sketch of the cave he stitched onto the rabbit skins. After he was sure he could escape far enough, he tucked the makeshift map back into his inventory and prepared his heart. The word ‘Reflex’ was ready to be uttered the moment he felt danger. ’Here goes nothing! TTRRRINNG! What he saw was unexpected. He caught a glimpse of a dragon breathing fire and uttered the word without another moment of thought. Winter did not even have the time to register the window that signified he had some sort of information from the system. “Reflex!” | Augmented effect! Speed x1.1!Augmented effect! Speed x1.3!Augmented effect! Speed x1.5!Augmented effect! Extended time 0.5 Second!Augmented effect! Extended time 0.5 Second!Augmented effect! Extended time 0.25 Second!Augmented effect! Extended time 0.25 second!Augmented effect! 200% movement speed for 20 seconds! | | --- | In the throes of his extended time, speed, and perceptive ability, he had the time to read off the message while his feet rocketed down where he came from. *Crash* | You ran into a hard obstacle at great speed! -250HP. | | --- | *Groan* Winter sat up and began gathering himself. His ears were perked up, ready to bolt at the first stomp of the large dragon’s footstep. *Silence* There was nothing. To be sure, he remained unmoving and waited longer. *Silence* Scared, but curious as to why the dragon never pursued him despite being awake and breathing fire, he tentatively walked back to the hairpin turn. 'It is definitely not an Illusion! It looks so solid! It has the feel of weight, fierceness. It is definitely alive!' Winter was stuck between trying to justify what he saw, and justifying why he was not dead. In any game,dragons were among the ultimate monsters. If you meet one alone, you better be strong, or die like a dog. He furtively glanced as little as possible. The visage of the breathing dragon remained still. Even the fire remained still! The breathed flame was several hues of red, with the darkest red at the center of it, closest to the mouth. The creature that was unmoving was majestic. It must have been as tall as thirty meters to the top of its head. Its wings were spread wide beautifully. Each scale glittering as crimson as the flame it breathed. From the bottom, Winter could not see the eyes of the dragon. But he was sure it was set in the same tone as the snarl visible at the corner of the great beast’s mouth. The stilled scene was even odder, as the fire that was aimed down at a spot was cut off near the end, as if the dragon was but a picture inside a three dimensional movie. ’It is frozen! The stones!’ A little closer now, Winter could see displaced peebles where the dragon crashed down its feet to brace itself while breathing out inferno. It remained floating on the air. Never going higher or lower, despite Winter spending a few minutes observing. He could not touch the dragon from any angle. His movement was stopped up to the point where the fire was cut off. A skeleton missing upper half of its body was where the inferno would have landed. The clothings it wore were completely gone. Whether from age or what incinerated the upper half of the corpse, Winter had no idea.He picked up the charred stick lying beside the skeleton. | Damaged Sun’areth (Durability: 50/2000)Once a relic of great power, it is damaged beyond repair. Its owner suffered defeat battling Fuenos, the Great Fire Dragon. Crafted from a piece of the Mother Tree, it is unique, meant for great things that unfortunately ceased with the death of its owner. The weapon that is supposed to grow together with its master was ruined before it reached its full potential.Restriction:Magician and extended class onlyLevel 60Attack: 5-10Magic Attack: 15-25+10 INT+15 WIS+500 ManaAdditional effect: RecognitionPossessing this staff alone is a mark of great power. Despite its damaged form, a well-practiced Mage would recognize this staff and its true worth. Preferred treatment from Magician-type NPC. Negative familiarity with Priest-type NPC while equipped.Cannot be repaired | | --- | Despite being charred, Winter could imagine how beautiful the staff originally was from the uncharred bottom half. The wood was originally a beautiful white, almost like a marble, with veins even paler than the white of its wood. The grain was smooth. The tiny runes visible between the veins were not carved, but as if it was part of the staff itself. A meter and eighty centimeters in length, gradual thickening near the top, with it ending with nothing there. Judging from the empty spot at the top, the top seemed to hold an orb in the past. It was a good weapon, despite the damage. ’I wonder if I will ever get to see the finished product.' There was another good news from the system, but he would think about that later. This mystery beckoned him. | [<<<<< Previous Chapter](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=99&t=698) | | [Next Chapter >>>>>](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=99&t=708) | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | ========================================================================================================================================================== Author's Note: 1. Credit to -The Slacker- for the diligent PR 2. Special Credit to Veresliosi and Vim1inc for bouncing stuff around 3. Do let me know of mistakes you find. Try as me and my PR to spot them, we might miss some. 4. Next chapter marks the end of spelunking in a cave. Can expect it this Friday. 5. Enjoy!

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> Comment/qeustion/reqeust/advice/RAGE :(/post here </div>

Comment/qeustion/reqeust/advice/RAGE :(/post here

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> Lee Jun thought about his two months of grounding. Two months of no VR games or internet. To children of that era, VR games and internet was the same as water and food. It was a must have!<br><br>‘Somehow, I have survived, the torture.’ <br><br>“WAKE UP!!! WAKE UP!!!’ screamed Lee Jun.<br><br>“Good Morning, master Lee Jun!” spoke a computer voice. <br><br>“MUAHAHAHAHA…ITS ALIVE! ALIVE!!” shouted Lee Jun. Clearly, very happy that his computer was listening to him again. <span style="font-style: italic;">(please refer to Author’s notes)</span><br><br>“Though 3AM doesn’t qualify as morning. Why are you so excited master…Sigh…I see the parental lock down has come to an end. Your mother really won’t be happy about this.”<br><br>Lee Jun shot the screen a menacing look back at the glass screen. ‘I really need to change its personality setting.’ He thought to himself. But for the moment, something more pressing had Lee Jun’s attention! Royal Road Elementarem Vim!<br><br>The game was gaining popularity in Korea and most of his school friends were already talking about it. In the span of two months it had already gained an additional 9 million players. It had a total of 15 million players! Though still a very small number when compared to Athenos which had just crossed 1.1 billion (adding nearly 15 million during the same period).<br><br>Lee Jun quickly brought out the VR gear and switched it on. <br><br>-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-<br><br>“Welcome back Weed! A lot has happened since you last visited. Would you like a quick update?”<br><br>“Yes!”<br><br>“There are an additional 3891 guilds in the Air Kingdom, an additional 1.8 million players located in Air Kingdom since you last visited. 362 dungeons have been found and 6 new cities are now accessible. Would you like to know more historical devel…”<br><br>“Skip.”<br><br>Weed’s palms grew sweaty. An additional 1.8 million players in Air Kingdom! When he started it only had some 200,000 players! <br><br>With a flash of light, Weed appeared in the centre of Lavias City which was now packed dense with hundreds or thousands of players. <br><br>“Selling amour! High level amour suitable for class FF!”<br><br>“Delicious food! 1 silver only for a doughnut!”<br><br>“I am looking for a Healer to join our party! No restriction on class or level!”<br><br>Most players ignored Weed. He was wearing the newbie outfit (which had DEF: 0, AGI: 0). Weed felt completely overwhelmed, so much had changed so quickly in the game. The centre of the city used to be fairly quiet with a few NPCs selling goods from their stalls. These NPCs seemed to have disappeared and were now replaced with players everywhere. The dirt road was now paved in stone and there was even a fountain located here. Tall brick buildings replaced the small wooden shacks everywhere. The cold winds that used to blow through the streets had disappeared and instead were replaced with the warmth of sunshine.<br><br>Weed didn’t even know where to begin, he had had no internet access, so he couldn’t even research where neutral players went to in Lavias for training. He considered logging out when he noticed the old man from the café buying groceries. That’s it he thought to himself; the old man!<br><br>He pushed his way through the crowds, “Excuse me! Coming through! Excuse me!”<br><br>“Hey watch it mate!” Screamed a player as Weed pushed past him.<br><br>“Sorry” Screamed back Weed without looking back.<br><br>“What a rude elf.” Scorned back the player.<br><br>After crossing the crowded market place, Weed ran into the alley where he saw the old walk into. He had never met the old man outside the café, so it came as quite a surprise to him. ‘What was he up to? Why was he buying groceries for?’ There were so many questions Weed had. He followed the old man, through the zigzag street maze. So much had changed in 6 months of the game! Weed used to know Lavias so well he could walk around it with his eyes closed. He had no idea where the old man was headed. Soon the tall rich looking buildings gave way to smaller poorer stone cemented houses. The old man was heading deeper and deeper into the poorer side of the neighborhood. At times the old man would stop and as if he were suspicious of being tailed and then resume his journey.<br><br>‘Definitely suspicious.’ Thought Weed who hidden behind a house and a hundred feet behind the old man. After following him for an hour, Weed started wondering where they were going. It had already been a while since they left behind the residential area of the city and were now crossing farmlands. Just as Weed was giving up and returning back to the city, the old man was joined by a hooded figure on a horse pulled cart. They seemed to be talking about something and then the old man smiled and sat on the cart. <br><br>‘The plot thickens! He has an accomplice!’ Weed started to run through the fields to avoid being seen.<br><br>Unfortunately for Weed, he had a very low level and not enough stamina to run for more than half a mile. He soon found himself panting trying to catch his breath. ‘Better to walk. Will follow the cart’s tracks left in the mud.’<br><br>And so he did. The sun started to set and darkness soon fell upon the land. Tracking became significantly harder, Weed would have given up had it not been a full moon night. With the moonlight lighting up his path, he slowly made his way till he reached what appeared to be a ranch. <br><br>‘So this is the mysterious old man’s hideout? Eh?’ Weed had a broad grin on his face. He was sure that not many players knew of this place.<br><br>He walked towards a wooden house located inside the ranch and peeked into a window from which light poured out off. He could see a table set for dinner and an old lady reading a book. As he looked around, he saw the old man walking into the dining hall with some dishes in his hand. <br><br>“Dinner is ready!” <br><br>The old couple then began eating dinner. They talked about how their day went and blah blah blah…Weed could no longer comprehend what they were saying. He stood in utter shock. This was a perfectly normal old couple, eating a perfectly normal dinner in a perfectly normal house located perfectly in the outskirts of the town. There was nothing suspicious about the old man. Weed guessed that the hooded figure the old man met was probably the woman. They are just a normal couple…Weed started cursing his overly wild imagination which always seemed to be building up his expectations. As Weed turned to leave, he saw a dog staring at him.<br><br>“Shoo! Go away.” Said Weed, who didn’t want to be killed by the dog.<br><br>“GRRRR” growled the dog. It didn’t like being ordered by some stranger, no less a stranger weaker than him. The dog could sniff and tell this person was weaker than the squirrels it chased. ‘Easy prey.’ The dog thought to himself.<br><br>As Weed took his first step. The dog started barking loudly as if to say “Your life’s in my paws now, buddy.”<br>“Help! Old man help!!” Weed said as he frantically started knocking on the window.<br><br>The old couple dining was startled by the frantic knocking on their window. The woman placed her hand on her husband’s arm, frightened of the possibility that there maybe thieves outside. The old man reached out for his sword and slowly pulled up the window. He pulled out a chained orb from his pocket and stuck his hand out in the darkness. The orb grew bright and brighter, till the old man could see clearly what was happening. He saw person on the floor, desperately kicking away at his beloved dog in an attempt to keep it away.<br><br>“Snappy! Home! It’s okay Snappy!” ordered the old man. <br><br>‘What? Home? Like now?’ the dog’s ears drooped at the command. His expression seemed to be saying ‘But this person his hilariously weak! Can’t I bite him once!’<br><br>“Home! Now!”<br><br>Weed looked up to thank his savior. “Thanks, old man.”<br><br>“Oh! It’s the head banger!”<br><br>‘Head banger?’ wondered Weed.<br><br>“Come on in. Don’t mind the dog.”<br><br>The old man opened the door and welcomed Weed inside. “Always nice to have company.”<br><br>After exchanging pleasantries with everyone (Weed also greeted the dog, who seemed to be offended on not being acknowledged), the old lady retired for the night leaving the two men to talk to each other. The old man offered a seat at the dinner table and a meal. Weed gladly accepted the dinner which smelt like the most wonderful meal in the whole world. Weed was disgusted with rye bread, it tasted stale and it barely kept hunger at bay. <br><br> The old man sat across the table and asked, “So tell me head banger, what brings you here?”<br><br>“Head banger?” asked Weed.<br><br>“If I remember correctly, the last time we met in Beau’s Café you were banging your head against the table. Were you not?” <br><br>“Yes! I was indeed!”<br><br>“Did you finally give up on it?”<br><br>“No you see, I had some difficult circumstances…umm..so I could not make my way back to Versailles Continent.”<br><br>“I see. It is rather unfortunate that you were away. A great deal of change has swept through these lands, during the time you were not here. You must have seen it for yourself.”<br><br>“Yes.” Weed acknowledged meekly.<br><br>“So, how did you find me?” asked the old man. With his lower body concealed, the old man tightened his grip on his dagger hidden from Weed’s view. The old man had lived long enough to discern truth from lies. He was an intolerant person when it came to lies and had decided to kill Weed if he lied.<br><br>Weed was a bit hesitant to begin with, but he decided to tell the truth. He talked about his first two weeks in Lavias. His suicidal pilgrimage and how when he returned today, simply followed the old man because it was the only familiar face he knew in all of Versailles. The old man was satisfied but he could tell Weed was hiding something. <br><br>“Is there anything else? I can tell you are hiding something from me.”<br><br>Weed was stunned. ‘How did he know I was hiding something? Weed didn’t tell the old man that his underlying motives for following him were to learn of a secret quest or something hidden from the worlds eyes. Is he a player? Something like Intuition is non-existent for AI systems.’<br><br>“I know your hiding something, because of how stealthily you followed me. You have no skills, so your presence is very much visible, even if you think you have hidden it. If you really intended to meet me, you would have done so without trying to hide from me.” <br><br>‘Ah! That explains it.’ Weed then revealed the bit where he expected some amazing quest to be revealed.<br><br>Upon hearing this, the old man burst into a fit of laughter. “That really is an overly active imagination! If I may say so!” The old man kept laughing till his stomach started to hurt. Weed’s ears burnt red with embarrassment. Finally, after the old man settled down, he silently stared at Weed with a smile. ‘What an interesting child.’<br><br>“Do you have somewhere to sleep the night?” asked the old man.<br><br> ‘Sleep? Why would players ever sleep in a VR game?’ In the end Weed decided to go with the flow. “No Sir, I do not.” Weed replied with his gaze lowered.<br><br>“I do not have much to offer. But please feel free to sleep in the barn.”<br><br>They made their way to the barn and the old man pointed to a haystack which Weed found comfortable enough to rest on. The old man left Weed and made his way back to the house. He double checked to make sure Weed wasn’t following him and once inside he said, “Lisa! It’s okay. He doesn’t know anything.” <br><br>The old woman who had pretended to retire for the night walked down the stairs, equipped with a loaded bow. <br><br>A hooded figure accompanied her.<br><br>“So what do you think of the boy?” asked the old man.<br><br>“I don’t know, Rodriguez the Wise. It is too soon to know.” Replied the hooded figure.<br><br><br><br>----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br>Authors Note:<br><br>1. A computer isn't the same as an AI. It has a personality and can reason based on historical informationto a degree but unlike AI's it can't imagine something completely new or hold meaningful conversations for more than a few a minutes.<br>2. Ok, I am taking a break till the 22nd May. :-/ exams. Chapter 10 is the last chapter of this volume. See you all in Volume 2.<br><br><br>----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br>Authors Note:<br><br>1. Editing Credits: Knaivvs<br>2. In case you skipped the prologue, I strongly recommend reading it. Otherwise the starting of this chapter would come across disconnected.<br><br>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="4">Connect to Royal Road – Elementarem Vim next Chapter?</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&amp;t=300" target="_blank">Yes</a></td><td colspan="2"><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&amp;t=348" target="_blank">No</a></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- </div>

Lee Jun thought about his two months of grounding. Two months of no VR games or internet. To children of that era, VR games and internet was the same as water and food. It was a must have! ‘Somehow, I have survived, the torture.’ “WAKE UP!!! WAKE UP!!!’ screamed Lee Jun. “Good Morning, master Lee Jun!” spoke a computer voice. “MUAHAHAHAHA…ITS ALIVE! ALIVE!!” shouted Lee Jun. Clearly, very happy that his computer was listening to him again. (please refer to Author’s notes) “Though 3AM doesn’t qualify as morning. Why are you so excited master…Sigh…I see the parental lock down has come to an end. Your mother really won’t be happy about this.” Lee Jun shot the screen a menacing look back at the glass screen. ‘I really need to change its personality setting.’ He thought to himself. But for the moment, something more pressing had Lee Jun’s attention! Royal Road Elementarem Vim! The game was gaining popularity in Korea and most of his school friends were already talking about it. In the span of two months it had already gained an additional 9 million players. It had a total of 15 million players! Though still a very small number when compared to Athenos which had just crossed 1.1 billion (adding nearly 15 million during the same period). Lee Jun quickly brought out the VR gear and switched it on. -x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x- “Welcome back Weed! A lot has happened since you last visited. Would you like a quick update?” “Yes!” “There are an additional 3891 guilds in the Air Kingdom, an additional 1.8 million players located in Air Kingdom since you last visited. 362 dungeons have been found and 6 new cities are now accessible. Would you like to know more historical devel…” “Skip.” Weed’s palms grew sweaty. An additional 1.8 million players in Air Kingdom! When he started it only had some 200,000 players! With a flash of light, Weed appeared in the centre of Lavias City which was now packed dense with hundreds or thousands of players. “Selling amour! High level amour suitable for class FF!” “Delicious food! 1 silver only for a doughnut!” “I am looking for a Healer to join our party! No restriction on class or level!” Most players ignored Weed. He was wearing the newbie outfit (which had DEF: 0, AGI: 0). Weed felt completely overwhelmed, so much had changed so quickly in the game. The centre of the city used to be fairly quiet with a few NPCs selling goods from their stalls. These NPCs seemed to have disappeared and were now replaced with players everywhere. The dirt road was now paved in stone and there was even a fountain located here. Tall brick buildings replaced the small wooden shacks everywhere. The cold winds that used to blow through the streets had disappeared and instead were replaced with the warmth of sunshine. Weed didn’t even know where to begin, he had had no internet access, so he couldn’t even research where neutral players went to in Lavias for training. He considered logging out when he noticed the old man from the café buying groceries. That’s it he thought to himself; the old man! He pushed his way through the crowds, “Excuse me! Coming through! Excuse me!” “Hey watch it mate!” Screamed a player as Weed pushed past him. “Sorry” Screamed back Weed without looking back. “What a rude elf.” Scorned back the player. After crossing the crowded market place, Weed ran into the alley where he saw the old walk into. He had never met the old man outside the café, so it came as quite a surprise to him. ‘What was he up to? Why was he buying groceries for?’ There were so many questions Weed had. He followed the old man, through the zigzag street maze. So much had changed in 6 months of the game! Weed used to know Lavias so well he could walk around it with his eyes closed. He had no idea where the old man was headed. Soon the tall rich looking buildings gave way to smaller poorer stone cemented houses. The old man was heading deeper and deeper into the poorer side of the neighborhood. At times the old man would stop and as if he were suspicious of being tailed and then resume his journey. ‘Definitely suspicious.’ Thought Weed who hidden behind a house and a hundred feet behind the old man. After following him for an hour, Weed started wondering where they were going. It had already been a while since they left behind the residential area of the city and were now crossing farmlands. Just as Weed was giving up and returning back to the city, the old man was joined by a hooded figure on a horse pulled cart. They seemed to be talking about something and then the old man smiled and sat on the cart. ‘The plot thickens! He has an accomplice!’ Weed started to run through the fields to avoid being seen. Unfortunately for Weed, he had a very low level and not enough stamina to run for more than half a mile. He soon found himself panting trying to catch his breath. ‘Better to walk. Will follow the cart’s tracks left in the mud.’ And so he did. The sun started to set and darkness soon fell upon the land. Tracking became significantly harder, Weed would have given up had it not been a full moon night. With the moonlight lighting up his path, he slowly made his way till he reached what appeared to be a ranch. ‘So this is the mysterious old man’s hideout? Eh?’ Weed had a broad grin on his face. He was sure that not many players knew of this place. He walked towards a wooden house located inside the ranch and peeked into a window from which light poured out off. He could see a table set for dinner and an old lady reading a book. As he looked around, he saw the old man walking into the dining hall with some dishes in his hand. “Dinner is ready!” The old couple then began eating dinner. They talked about how their day went and blah blah blah…Weed could no longer comprehend what they were saying. He stood in utter shock. This was a perfectly normal old couple, eating a perfectly normal dinner in a perfectly normal house located perfectly in the outskirts of the town. There was nothing suspicious about the old man. Weed guessed that the hooded figure the old man met was probably the woman. They are just a normal couple…Weed started cursing his overly wild imagination which always seemed to be building up his expectations. As Weed turned to leave, he saw a dog staring at him. “Shoo! Go away.” Said Weed, who didn’t want to be killed by the dog. “GRRRR” growled the dog. It didn’t like being ordered by some stranger, no less a stranger weaker than him. The dog could sniff and tell this person was weaker than the squirrels it chased. ‘Easy prey.’ The dog thought to himself. As Weed took his first step. The dog started barking loudly as if to say “Your life’s in my paws now, buddy.” “Help! Old man help!!” Weed said as he frantically started knocking on the window. The old couple dining was startled by the frantic knocking on their window. The woman placed her hand on her husband’s arm, frightened of the possibility that there maybe thieves outside. The old man reached out for his sword and slowly pulled up the window. He pulled out a chained orb from his pocket and stuck his hand out in the darkness. The orb grew bright and brighter, till the old man could see clearly what was happening. He saw person on the floor, desperately kicking away at his beloved dog in an attempt to keep it away. “Snappy! Home! It’s okay Snappy!” ordered the old man. ‘What? Home? Like now?’ the dog’s ears drooped at the command. His expression seemed to be saying ‘But this person his hilariously weak! Can’t I bite him once!’ “Home! Now!” Weed looked up to thank his savior. “Thanks, old man.” “Oh! It’s the head banger!” ‘Head banger?’ wondered Weed. “Come on in. Don’t mind the dog.” The old man opened the door and welcomed Weed inside. “Always nice to have company.” After exchanging pleasantries with everyone (Weed also greeted the dog, who seemed to be offended on not being acknowledged), the old lady retired for the night leaving the two men to talk to each other. The old man offered a seat at the dinner table and a meal. Weed gladly accepted the dinner which smelt like the most wonderful meal in the whole world. Weed was disgusted with rye bread, it tasted stale and it barely kept hunger at bay. The old man sat across the table and asked, “So tell me head banger, what brings you here?” “Head banger?” asked Weed. “If I remember correctly, the last time we met in Beau’s Café you were banging your head against the table. Were you not?” “Yes! I was indeed!” “Did you finally give up on it?” “No you see, I had some difficult circumstances…umm..so I could not make my way back to Versailles Continent.” “I see. It is rather unfortunate that you were away. A great deal of change has swept through these lands, during the time you were not here. You must have seen it for yourself.” “Yes.” Weed acknowledged meekly. “So, how did you find me?” asked the old man. With his lower body concealed, the old man tightened his grip on his dagger hidden from Weed’s view. The old man had lived long enough to discern truth from lies. He was an intolerant person when it came to lies and had decided to kill Weed if he lied. Weed was a bit hesitant to begin with, but he decided to tell the truth. He talked about his first two weeks in Lavias. His suicidal pilgrimage and how when he returned today, simply followed the old man because it was the only familiar face he knew in all of Versailles. The old man was satisfied but he could tell Weed was hiding something. “Is there anything else? I can tell you are hiding something from me.” Weed was stunned. ‘How did he know I was hiding something? Weed didn’t tell the old man that his underlying motives for following him were to learn of a secret quest or something hidden from the worlds eyes. Is he a player? Something like Intuition is non-existent for AI systems.’ “I know your hiding something, because of how stealthily you followed me. You have no skills, so your presence is very much visible, even if you think you have hidden it. If you really intended to meet me, you would have done so without trying to hide from me.” ‘Ah! That explains it.’ Weed then revealed the bit where he expected some amazing quest to be revealed. Upon hearing this, the old man burst into a fit of laughter. “That really is an overly active imagination! If I may say so!” The old man kept laughing till his stomach started to hurt. Weed’s ears burnt red with embarrassment. Finally, after the old man settled down, he silently stared at Weed with a smile. ‘What an interesting child.’ “Do you have somewhere to sleep the night?” asked the old man. ‘Sleep? Why would players ever sleep in a VR game?’ In the end Weed decided to go with the flow. “No Sir, I do not.” Weed replied with his gaze lowered. “I do not have much to offer. But please feel free to sleep in the barn.” They made their way to the barn and the old man pointed to a haystack which Weed found comfortable enough to rest on. The old man left Weed and made his way back to the house. He double checked to make sure Weed wasn’t following him and once inside he said, “Lisa! It’s okay. He doesn’t know anything.” The old woman who had pretended to retire for the night walked down the stairs, equipped with a loaded bow. A hooded figure accompanied her. “So what do you think of the boy?” asked the old man. “I don’t know, Rodriguez the Wise. It is too soon to know.” Replied the hooded figure. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Authors Note: 1. A computer isn't the same as an AI. It has a personality and can reason based on historical informationto a degree but unlike AI's it can't imagine something completely new or hold meaningful conversations for more than a few a minutes. 2. Ok, I am taking a break till the 22nd May. :-/ exams. Chapter 10 is the last chapter of this volume. See you all in Volume 2. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Authors Note: 1. Editing Credits: Knaivvs 2. In case you skipped the prologue, I strongly recommend reading it. Otherwise the starting of this chapter would come across disconnected. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Connect to Royal Road – Elementarem Vim next Chapter? | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Yes](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&t=300) | | [No](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&t=348) | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">****<br>*</span></span><br><br>"So let me get this straight." I said seriously. "You found a dungeon around here?"<br><br>"Yes, yes I did." Tante casually replied, grinning.<br><br>"And we are going there to explore it."<br><br>"Of course. The fame and extra experience should not be turned down, especially if you consider your large infamy rating." <br><br>"Please don't remind me."<br><br>"Of course."<br><br>"Do you not realize that there is just the two of us? We will need a larger and better equipped party than this if we were to complete this dungeon." I pointed out, seeing an out to this current situation.<br><br>"Actually, we also have this guy." Tante said, holding up what looked like a monk with a wiry build by the collar of his neck. His hair was shaved nearly bald, his arms looked quite thick and sinewy, and he had an impressive physique so it only stood to reason that that guy must have been a monk or a martial artist, right?<br><br>Despite his large size, it did not stop Tante from being able to lift him easily and drag him around. <br><br>"Yes, I still don't quite get why and how he suddenly showed up around here alone." I remarked. One moment he was just dashing down the pass, the next moment he ran pell-mell into one of Tante's Spirit Warriors, and then Tante absentmindedly grabbed him by the collar and dragged him along.<br><br>"Well, if he was alone, he must be strong." Tante replied. She turned to the monk/martial artist dude. "You are strong, aren’t you?"<br><br>"W-who are you?" The monk/martial artist dude seemed pretty scared and nervous. I would be if I were suddenly kidnapped by a gently smiling girl dressed in armor in the middle of nowhere.<br><br>"Uh... Tante, I think you might be scaring him." Tante snorted, but ultimately just set the monk on the floor, where he sat there nervously quivering on the spot.<br><br>I thought over my words a little bit, and then spoke in what I hoped was a kind and gentle voice: "Please tell me what you are doing here."<br><br>Unfortunately the monk took one look at me, and then turned away quickly as though he had just seen a demon. What? Was there something on my face? Or did I get my voice wrong?<br><br>"Uh..." Tante pointed at my forehead, and then dug around in her bag, bringing out a small hand mirror and handing it to me.<br><br>I took a look, and found a red diamond mark there. I looked up at Tante and asked: "Did you get creative with a red marker while I was in that state?" I rubbed the mark furiously, but to no avail. "And it won't come off!!"<br><br>"Of course it won't come off, that is the mark of the murderer you got here. Recall those 4 buffoons you offed the other day?"<br><br>"Oh right, those. I did recall seeing a comment saying that I have received something known as the Mark of the Murderer..."<br><br>"That's the one. It's something given to Player Killers, and it marks them out with a red diamond mark on the forehead. In addition, it causes the name to appear over the PKer's head in bloody crimson." She nodded at the mark and continued. <br><br> "It's not so easily removed, but if you kill a large amount of monsters, complete many quests, or perform acts of community service, you will be able to remove it. Alternatively I hear that you can wait for the mark to wear off but it takes a really long time. However, for now it's generally a bad thing for you since players and NPCs tend to shy away from players with that mark."<br><br>"Uh, Tante?" I stopped her midway through her long and very informative lecture. "It is nice for you to tell me all this, but I do believe you are scaring him even further." The monk/martial artist dude was surreptitiously shifting himself further and further away from me.<br><br>"Am I? Well then, mister, you shouldn't be scared of this guy. Despite his fierce looks that scream 'I want to murder you in cold blood', he is really just a pussy cat." Tante replied.<br><br>"Right, I am perfectly harmless." I decided to play along for now, but added in an undertone: "I swear I'll kill you later..."<br><br>"Oh? Then I will welcome your challenge with open arms." Tante muttered back, and then spoke to the monk/martial artist dude cheerfully: "I decided that you look strong, so allow me to couch this invitation with a sincere heart: we have discovered a dungeon and we just need a third member to expedite our little trip. Be a dear and join us for this dungeon raid, will you?"<br><br>Tante... Knightly speech and the tone you are using don't exactly mix... Nevertheless it seemed that it had an effect on the monk dude, who was blushing, if only a little.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">**</span></span><br><br>Wisp looked at the young woman with the golden hair and ornate armor with warm eyes.<br><br>At the temple, where it was all about manly brotherhood, filled to the brim with testosterone and machism... There had been quite a noticeable lack of the fairer sex.<br><br>When he had first gotten out of the temple, despite his rigorous spiritual training, he had quite a bit of trouble resisting his carnal desires. No wonder priests had it hard.<br><br>Fortunately, he didn't have much opportunity to interact with women, nor did they want anything to do with him. Or was it unfortunate? He had thought that with his more than impressive build, he would have to fight off the ladies with a broom. Apparently he was severely mistaken.<br><br>Either way, his chosen career as an assistant martial arts instructor didn't give him much chance to interact with women.<br><br>And so he lived in relative peace, free from any threat to his sworn celibacy. And now an attractive young woman was talking to him, asking him out even. You could imagine what kind of effect that had on him.<br><br>He ignored the man that was with her, having noticed the terrifying killing aura that emanated from him. Although it laid dormant, docile for now, there was a good reason why that man received that red Mark on his forehead. It was though he had laid eyes on a vicious predator that saw him as nothing more but food to be eaten, fodder for the slaughter. So he hid his presence from young man, like a prey that froze in place, hoping that the hungry predator wouldn’t notice it, focusing instead on the sweet and heartwarming sight and event that was opening up before him.<br><br>It was interesting how people often block their minds from seeing what they do not wish to see.<br><br>He was about to reply when his mind, which had been lagging several paces behind due to the antics and impressions of the pair, finally caught up, and he managed to catch himself in time, his hand forming the Karana Mudra, which was the Buddhist symbolic gesture of expulsion of demons and negative thoughts.<br><br>"Think pure thoughts..." Wisp desperately thought in his mind as he regulated his breathing and rearranged his expression to what he hoped looked like a serene smile.<br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">***</span></span><br><br>I looked at the monk who was now smiling serenely despite his ordeal a couple of minutes ago.<br><br>"You know... I think he likes you, Tante. Either that or he has got a screw loose in his head." <br><br>"Oh, be quiet." Tante's expression didn't change, but I noticed that her ears were reddening.<br><br>The monk seemed to have gotten over his fright, and now bowed respectfully, hands clasped together in greeting.<br><br>"Peace be with you. I sincerely apologize for my unsightly bearing from earlier." His voice seemed almost melodic. "But I must also apologize, for I must decline your invitation. I have to make due haste, for I hope to reach the next town or village by sundown."<br><br>That wording confirmed my suspicions that he was a monk dude, but the martial artist part was still a possibility. A warrior monk then?<br><br>"Why is that?" Tante asked.<br><br>"I have hoped to make it to the next town to resupply. I had... an unsuccessful economic venture due to circumstances beyond my control. Such is fate. Amitabha." He performed another hand gesture. So wait, a businessman warrior monk dude?<br><br>"Huh.... I suppose we can accompany you to the next town so that we can prepare properly for our dungeon hunt...." I began to ponder over that possibility, but was elbowed aside by Tante.<br><br>"If it is food and drink, we can help you with that, but I would like to head into the dungeon now, please."<br><br>"Tante... It's my supplies that we are talking about." I pointed out but Tante ignored me.<br><br>"Still, I would rather head to the city to prepare adequately. The werewolves that we are likely to come across in the dungeon are much higher leveled as compared to what we can find outside. Not to mention that they are under the leadership of a Lycanthrope." The monk dude spoke in a rational voice, his calm and cool expression a far cry from his earlier appearance. Somehow, that first impression still flashed in my mind, which warped my current impression of him a bit.<br><br>Tante was swayed by the monk dude's words, anyways.<br><br>"You do make some sense..." Tante frowned and thought over it for a moment, but eventually sighed and nodded her head.<br><br>"Forgive my rashness then. We shall accompany you to the nearest town or city so that we can prepare for the dungeon raid properly. There is safety in numbers after all."<br><br>Tante manipulated a game interface that I was unable to see, and a message appeared in front of me with a *ping* sound.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">[Combatante has invited you to her party. Accept? Yes/No]</span><br><br>I accepted, and another message appeared, as well as the party interface.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">[You have joined the party.]</span><br><br>“Party stats window!”<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">[Combatante Level 74]<br>[Howard Level 54]<br>[Wisp Level 65]<br></span><br><br>"Now that we are in a party, allow me to properly introduce myself. My name is Wisp, Level 65 Shaman, Nature Alignment. Pleased to make your acquaintance." The Monk dude, now known as Wisp, clasped his hands together in the standard Chinese salutation. Dude, this isn't a martial arts film.<br><br>"Howard, level 54 Spearman. Likewise." I bowed in reply.<br><br>"Combatante, Level 74 Flag Bearer. My friends call me Tante." Tante spoke cheerfully.<br><br>"Well then Ma'am, might I have the privilege of doing the same?" Wisp bowed in respect as he spoke.<br><br>"Of course." Tante replied, and added in an undertone to me: "He is quite the gentleman. Not like some uncouth battle-crazy spearman I know."<br><br>"Shut up." I muttered back, but I hoisted my haversack and straightened up, stretching my protesting legs.<br><br>"We best get moving then. With a bit of luck we can get through the pass before sundown. Even all three of us can't take on an entire pack of night-strengthened werewolves."<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">*****</span></span><br><br>We actually made good progress, and reached the end of the pass just before the sun began to set. Wisp had a store of stamina which didn't lose to either Tante’s or mine, and we set a distance-eating pace, as we jogged and ran down the pass.<br><br>And suddenly, immense walls came into sight, which blocked out a large part of a city, but from the distance I was able to catch a glimpse of a tall spire which threatened to actually pierce the heavens. (Alright, I had to make the joke somewhere, but you know what I meant.)<br><br>"The Kingdom of Knights... Kallamore." Tante mutter under her breath, awestruck by the sight.<br><br>I attempted to recall what I had read on the primer about the Kingdom as I took in the view before me.<br><br>Kallamore Kingdom was one of the stronger kingdoms in terms of military prowess. Being attacked by demons and monsters on a regular basis, Kallamore Kingdom was forced to adapt to the hostile conditions and hence put a lot of effort into bolstering their military capabilities. Their military might used to be at the forefront of all kingdoms until their strongest knight Kolderim suddenly disappeared one day, and they had faced a decline since then. Nevertheless, the Kingdom of Knights was still a force to be reckoned with.<br><br>From what I recalled, they also had a long-lasting rivalry with the Kingdom of Haven but that bit wasn't all that important to me, since I had little intention of becoming Emperor.<br><br>We made our way to the gates, where we were stopped by the guards stationed there.<br><br>"Halt, who goes there?" The guard called out. Unlike the guards back at the Sleepy Fortress, this one seemed to be equipped in strong and functional armor, and a half helmet finished the look. He was also armed with a spear and a shield, and a short sword hung from a scabbard around his waist.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">Good grief, he is not armed for a quiet night out, more like he is going to war or something,</span> I thought to myself, but I kept my tongue in cheek and replied: "Travellers. We wish to enter this fine city in order to recuperate and restock our supplies."<br><br>In order to not draw attention to my Murderer status, I draped myself in a cloak, which obscured most of my features. On hindsight however, I think that just created even more suspicion among the guards. Perhaps I should grow out my fringe or something?<br><br>"Hmmm..." The guard looked suspicious, but considering the constant threats faced by the city, he had the right to be vigilant. Moreover, he had the advantage over us. A guard house was just stationed nearby, where a troop lay in wait for invaders.<br><br>Eventually the guard came to a decision, having noted his tactical advantage over us,and said: "Alright, it will cost 1 silver to pass. There's three of you, so that will cost you 3 silver."<br><br>"I will pay for it then." Wisp volunteered, but it looked like it hurt him to do so.<br><br>"No, Howard shall do it, won't he?" Tante grinned wickedly at me as she said this.<br><br>I grumbled to myself as I dug in my money pouch and dug out 3 silver coins. While it was a pain, I didn't actually mind paying the toll. Apparently PKing had been more lucrative than I thought. Troublesome perhaps, but it certainly had its merits. Besides, my most recent kills had been in self defence, right? It wasn’t my fault that these nice people wanted to run at me and give me all those nice money and experience. I would accept and cherish their gifts most wholeheartedly. As such, I had amassed a considerable amount of money, which I hoped to use for equipment upgrades.<br><br>"Here." I passed the three silver coins to the guard.<br><br>"Hmmmm..." The guard regarded me suspiciously, but seemed to think nothing of it. I guess my infamy wasn't that high yet, which was a bit of a relief.<br>"You may pass. Please make sure you stay out of trouble. I promise to hunt you down if you do." The guard said, and moved aside to let us pass.<br><br>"You heard the man." Tante was still grinning.<br><br>"Oh, shut up." I muttered back in reply, and I raised my head in order to take in the sights offered by the new city.<br><br>Tante can be surprisingly abrasive at times.<br><br>The road led down to a square, where the many stores and shops set up there were closing for the day. Nevertheless, smoke could still be seen coming up from the chimney on the place where I wanted to go - which was the blacksmith.<br><br>“We’ll split up for a bit. There’re a couple of things I want to pick up and settle as well. We’ll meet up at that inn over there.” Tante pointed out a building in the west part of the square. “Howard, get some better gear. You’ve been using the same chainmail and leather gear since we first met. I dare say it’s actually threatening to fall apart.” Tante briskly took out her money pouch, weighed it carefully, and then set off in another direction.<br><br>“Good grief, where’s your sense of sentimental value?” I shouted after her, but really, she was just reminding me of what I have been wanting to do for the past month or so. That set of armor had actually been with me since I first graduated from the Warrior Guild’s training program. I never really had a chance to perform upgrades, only patching my equipment up with the repair skill when the durability was about to run out. <br><br>Moreover, my Ash White Spear Shaft had a lot of durability from the unbreakable rune carved onto it, and was a growing-type equipment, hence I did not find a need for a weapon upgrade.<br><br>The once shiny chainmail was now cracked and falling apart in several areas, and the leather armor was badly frayed and looked worse for wear. If that wasn’t a sign that you should be changing your gear, I don’t know what might be.<br><br>As part of an MMORPG, equipment upgrades were an essential portion. A certain piece of equipment could last a player about 20-30 levels, and then it would have to be replaced or upgraded if you wished to keep up a certain level of performance. In my case, the chainmail and leather gear had lasted me for a whopping 50 levels or so, and I had grown rather attached to them, as though they were a part of me. As was my Spear Shaft.<br><br>Sadly however, sentimental value has little use in a game like an MMORPG. I did level to 100 at one time in another game equipped with only the beginner equipment and focusing on weapon upgrades only though.<br><br>I entered the Blacksmith Store, and was greeted by the sight of the many blacksmiths hard at work. Metal was being heated, beaten, dunked into water where they sizzled and steamed, heated and beaten some more... Erm, I mean, being worked with careful and industrious hands.<br><br>The clerk who was at the counter bowed deeply in greeting.<br><br>“A customer! Please, come in and have a look at our work... oh...” She looked at my badly damaged and frayed equipment with distaste.<br><br>“Yeah, I’m about due for an upgrade.” I said. “Do you think you have anything for Level 50 and higher?”<br><br>“Are you sure you can afford it?” She asked, which was pretty understandable. Even I would turn away a person who looked like he is under his luck or something.<br><br>“We shall see.”<br><br>The clerk nodded, and headed to the back room. A few minutes later, she reappeared, lugging several pieces of Iron, Bronze and Steel Equipment.<br><br>“I would recommend that you pick up the black steel equipment, steel offers much better defence and would last longer as long as you avoid wet places, since they rust like nobody’s business. It would cost a little extra if you wish to put an anti-rust enchantment on it, but you’ll have to seek help from a dwarf. Alternatively, if rusting is a problem, the bronze offers a much longer durability but has lower defense. From the looks of it, you don’t need a shield.” the clerk helpfully supplied without pause. I listened to her lecture with a blank look.<br><br>“Most informative. Please catch your breath while I have a look.” I nodded and started looking at the steel equipment offered. <br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>Name</td><td colspan="3">Mal's Black Steel Half Helmet</td></tr><tr><td>Stats</td><td colspan="3">Equipment Type: Half Helmet<br>Defense: 18<br>Durability: 95/95</td></tr><tr><td>Description</td><td colspan="3">Made by a retired Knight of Kallamore, this Helm offers great protection from demons and monsters. The blacksmith is often at odds with his brother Hal over which helmet is superior, and this helmet was designed with all the qualities of the half helmet in mind.<br>Due to the material used, it rusts easily.</td></tr><tr><td>Restrictions</td><td colspan="3">Level 48<br>150 STR<br>Warrior/Knight variants only.</td></tr><tr><td>Options</td><td colspan="3">+ 10 STR<br>+ 5 VIT<br>+ 5 END<br>+ 7 HONOR<br><br>+ 10% Earth Affinity<br>Durability lowers every 3 hours in damp conditions.<br>A skilled Blacksmith may be able to enhance this.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>Name</td><td colspan="3">Hal's Black Steel Full Helmet</td></tr><tr><td>Stats</td><td colspan="3">Equipment Type: Full Helmet<br>Defense: 20<br>Durability: 95/95</td></tr><tr><td>Description</td><td colspan="3">Made by an promising blacksmith for his Knight brother to help him survive the war. This Helmet has never been worn in any actual fight, owing to the fact that the blacksmith and his brother has often been at odds over the superiority of either helmet over the other. This helmet has been forged with the qualities of the full helmet in mind.<br>Due to the material used, it rusts easily.</td></tr><tr><td>Restrictions</td><td colspan="3">Level 50<br>170 STR<br>Warrior/ Knight variants only.</td></tr><tr><td>Options</td><td colspan="3">+10 STR<br>+ 5 VIT<br>+ 5 END<br><br>Relationships with older brothers +5%<br>+ 10% Earth Affinity<br>Durability falls every 4 hours<br>in damp conditions.<br>A skilled Blacksmith may be able to enhance this.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>Name</td><td colspan="3">Hard Black Steel Chest Plate</td></tr><tr><td>Stats</td><td colspan="3">Equipment Type: Chest Plate<br>Defense: 25<br>Durability: 75/75</td></tr><tr><td>Description</td><td colspan="3">Made by a young apprentice Blacksmith. The tempering is poor, reducing the durability, but it is otherwise well-made.<br>Due to the material used, it rusts easily.</td></tr><tr><td>Restrictions</td><td colspan="3">Level 50<br>200 STR<br>Warrior/ Knight variants only.</td></tr><tr><td>Options</td><td colspan="3">+ 15 STR<br>+ 10 VIT<br>+ 10 END<br><br>+ 10% Earth Affinity<br>Durability falls every 4 hours<br>in damp conditions.<br>A skilled Blacksmith may be able to enhance this.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>Name</td><td colspan="3">Hardened Black Steel Chainmail</td></tr><tr><td>Stats</td><td colspan="3">Equipment Type: Chain mail<br>Defense: 23<br>Durability: 110/110</td></tr><tr><td>Description</td><td colspan="3">Made by a young apprentice Blacksmith. Due to low skill proficiency, the defense is low.<br>Due to the material used, it rusts easily.</td></tr><tr><td>Restrictions</td><td colspan="3">Level 48<br>180 STR<br>Warrior/ Knight variants only.</td></tr><tr><td>Options</td><td colspan="3">+ 13 STR<br>+ 8 VIT<br>+ 8 END<br><br>+ 13% Earth Affinity<br>Durability falls every 4 hours<br>in damp conditions.<br>A skilled Blacksmith may be able to enhance this.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>Name</td><td colspan="3">Hardened Black Steel Greaves</td></tr><tr><td>Stats</td><td colspan="3">Equipment Type: Leg Armor<br>Defense: 25<br>Durability: 100/100</td></tr><tr><td>Description</td><td colspan="3">Made by an apprentice Blacksmith. The piece isn’t particularly flawed, but not exceptional.<br>Due to the material used, it rusts easily.</td></tr><tr><td>Restrictions</td><td colspan="3">Level 48<br>180 STR<br>Warrior/ Knight variants only.</td></tr><tr><td>Options</td><td colspan="3">+ 13 STR<br>+ 8 VIT<br>+ 8 END<br><br>+ 13% Earth Affinity<br>Durability falls every 4 hours<br>in damp conditions.<br>A skilled Blacksmith may be able to enhance this.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br> <br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>Name</td><td colspan="3">Halk's Stainless Steel Gauntlets</td></tr><tr><td>Stats</td><td colspan="3">Equipment Type: Gloves<br>Defense: 20<br>Durability: 90/90</td></tr><tr><td>Description</td><td colspan="3">Made by a wandering blacksmith, this gauntlet is designed for solid defense against fire. The premise is promising but not suited for practice, owing to the fact that metal heats up like nobody’s business next to fire. Nevertheless, it is a tough piece of equipment and has good blocking power.<br>Due to the material used, it never rusts.</td></tr><tr><td>Restrictions</td><td colspan="3">Level 50<br>180 STR<br>Warrior/ Knight Variants only.</td></tr><tr><td>Options</td><td colspan="3">Can be used to parry an attack<br>Never rusts<br>+ 10 STR<br>+ 5 VIT<br>+ 5 END<br><br>+ 10% Earth Affinity<br>+ 10% Fire Resistance<br>A skilled blacksmith may be able to enhance this.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>Name</td><td colspan="3">Ram's Combat Gloves</td></tr><tr><td>Stats</td><td colspan="3">Equipment Type: Gloves<br>Defense: 10<br>Attack: 10<br>Durability: 90/90</td></tr><tr><td>Description</td><td colspan="3">Made by a wandering Blacksmith, this glove is designed for use by martial artists, and is able to augment the power of fist attacks. Also grants the wearer intimate knowledge of the signature move "Viper Chop".</td></tr><tr><td>Restrictions</td><td colspan="3">Level 50<br>170 STR<br>Warrior/Knight/Monk variants</td></tr><tr><td>Options</td><td colspan="3">Grants the use of the skill "Viper Chop" while equipped.<br>+ 10% damage to fist attacks. <br>+ 15 STR<br><br>+ 10% Earth Affinity<br>A skilled blacksmith might be able to enhance this.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>Name</td><td colspan="3">Ole' Fazz's Steel Toed Boots</td></tr><tr><td>Stats</td><td colspan="3">Equipment type: Shoes<br>Armor rating: 12<br>Durability: 90/90</td></tr><tr><td>Description</td><td colspan="3">Designed by a wandering blacksmith, this pair of shoes is good for marching through hellfire and brimstone in pursuit of a unrequited love. Disclaimer: May melt in fire. Still good for travelling and kicking people in the nadgers though!!</td></tr><tr><td>Restrictions</td><td colspan="3">Level 50<br>150 STR</td></tr><tr><td>Options</td><td colspan="3">Able to moor a boat with those boots.<br>Grants the user the use of the skill "Chicken Run" while equipped.<br><br>+ 50% damage to kicks.<br>+ 15 STR<br>A skilled blacksmith may be able to enhance this.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>I looked at the offerings and grinned.<br><br>"I will take this... and this and this and oh, that one as well." I took everything except the half helmet (I wouldn’t want to meet Mal at this point.) and the gauntlet and counted out the gold coins, stacking them in piles of 10. The clerk's eyes widened at the sight. "I believe this might cover it all?"<br><br>The clerk's jaws had already dropped at this point. She closed them and swept the coins away into the counter in front of her, bowing and constantly saying "Thank you for your patronage.". If I am not mistaken, she gets a cut of the profits as a commission, so she had good reason to be doing this. To the clerk, it could well be a windfall.<br><br>I grinned; it was good to be rich. I weighed the money pouch carefully. Hmmm... I still have a bit left. I raised my head and asked: "I believe I noticed a certain option that stated that the equipment can be enhanced further?"<br><br>"Ah." The clerk's face fell at that question. "I believe you will want her help for that." She pointed out a woman with long auburn hair tied into a ponytail, who was beating industriously away at a piece of molten metal. "She is the best blacksmith here, as well as the Smith's owner. It won't be too easy to persuade her to help you though; she tends to keep to her work quite a bit."<br><br>"I see...” I looked at the woman again. She was beating at the metal like a person possessed, muttering under her breath as she did so. Next to her was pieces of completed equipment. Unlike the previously shiny, I noted that the equipment had a more... organic feel to it. The iron scales actually look quite real... almost as if it was a skin of a drake or something...<br><br>“It’s actually consisting of Monster Drops that are incorporated into the metal. I’m not exactly sure how it works, but the drops confer additional attribute to the metal.” The clerk noticed my interest and helpfully supplied input. I nodded at that information. <br><br>“It seems that she’s awfully busy though.” I noted. The clerk nodded (we are doing an awful lot of nodding, I realised).<br><br>“She’s recently come into ownership of the smith. She suddenly appeared after 2 years in seclusion with that lost art. That technique sort of disappeared with the last owner of the smithy. Since then she has gained quite a bit of interest from our customers, but she always spurns their advances.” The clerk nodded yet again as she continued: “She always seemed to be leaving for Howler’s Pass at night however, and comes back the next day with injuries and a broken set of equipment.” <br><br>“Oi, you at the counter, if you have time to gossip, at least help clear up the place a bit.” one of the blacksmiths working at an anvil scolded.<br><br>“Yes sir!! Please come again!!” the clerk scurried off, and I sighed.<br><br>The clerk was a helpless gossip, and the information seemed to be an important piece. I took a look at the woman working at the equipment enhancements again, and noticed a chestplate lying next to her. Slash marks scored the surface of the chestplate, and it seemed to be made by a beast of some sort. A pretty large beast, by the looks of the size of those slash marks. Strong too.<br><br>Seeing that there was nothing else to be gleaned from this area, I left the Smithy. </div>

**** * "So let me get this straight." I said seriously. "You found a dungeon around here?" "Yes, yes I did." Tante casually replied, grinning. "And we are going there to explore it." "Of course. The fame and extra experience should not be turned down, especially if you consider your large infamy rating." "Please don't remind me." "Of course." "Do you not realize that there is just the two of us? We will need a larger and better equipped party than this if we were to complete this dungeon." I pointed out, seeing an out to this current situation. "Actually, we also have this guy." Tante said, holding up what looked like a monk with a wiry build by the collar of his neck. His hair was shaved nearly bald, his arms looked quite thick and sinewy, and he had an impressive physique so it only stood to reason that that guy must have been a monk or a martial artist, right? Despite his large size, it did not stop Tante from being able to lift him easily and drag him around. "Yes, I still don't quite get why and how he suddenly showed up around here alone." I remarked. One moment he was just dashing down the pass, the next moment he ran pell-mell into one of Tante's Spirit Warriors, and then Tante absentmindedly grabbed him by the collar and dragged him along. "Well, if he was alone, he must be strong." Tante replied. She turned to the monk/martial artist dude. "You are strong, aren’t you?" "W-who are you?" The monk/martial artist dude seemed pretty scared and nervous. I would be if I were suddenly kidnapped by a gently smiling girl dressed in armor in the middle of nowhere. "Uh... Tante, I think you might be scaring him." Tante snorted, but ultimately just set the monk on the floor, where he sat there nervously quivering on the spot. I thought over my words a little bit, and then spoke in what I hoped was a kind and gentle voice: "Please tell me what you are doing here." Unfortunately the monk took one look at me, and then turned away quickly as though he had just seen a demon. What? Was there something on my face? Or did I get my voice wrong? "Uh..." Tante pointed at my forehead, and then dug around in her bag, bringing out a small hand mirror and handing it to me. I took a look, and found a red diamond mark there. I looked up at Tante and asked: "Did you get creative with a red marker while I was in that state?" I rubbed the mark furiously, but to no avail. "And it won't come off!!" "Of course it won't come off, that is the mark of the murderer you got here. Recall those 4 buffoons you offed the other day?" "Oh right, those. I did recall seeing a comment saying that I have received something known as the Mark of the Murderer..." "That's the one. It's something given to Player Killers, and it marks them out with a red diamond mark on the forehead. In addition, it causes the name to appear over the PKer's head in bloody crimson." She nodded at the mark and continued. "It's not so easily removed, but if you kill a large amount of monsters, complete many quests, or perform acts of community service, you will be able to remove it. Alternatively I hear that you can wait for the mark to wear off but it takes a really long time. However, for now it's generally a bad thing for you since players and NPCs tend to shy away from players with that mark." "Uh, Tante?" I stopped her midway through her long and very informative lecture. "It is nice for you to tell me all this, but I do believe you are scaring him even further." The monk/martial artist dude was surreptitiously shifting himself further and further away from me. "Am I? Well then, mister, you shouldn't be scared of this guy. Despite his fierce looks that scream 'I want to murder you in cold blood', he is really just a pussy cat." Tante replied. "Right, I am perfectly harmless." I decided to play along for now, but added in an undertone: "I swear I'll kill you later..." "Oh? Then I will welcome your challenge with open arms." Tante muttered back, and then spoke to the monk/martial artist dude cheerfully: "I decided that you look strong, so allow me to couch this invitation with a sincere heart: we have discovered a dungeon and we just need a third member to expedite our little trip. Be a dear and join us for this dungeon raid, will you?" Tante... Knightly speech and the tone you are using don't exactly mix... Nevertheless it seemed that it had an effect on the monk dude, who was blushing, if only a little. ** Wisp looked at the young woman with the golden hair and ornate armor with warm eyes. At the temple, where it was all about manly brotherhood, filled to the brim with testosterone and machism... There had been quite a noticeable lack of the fairer sex. When he had first gotten out of the temple, despite his rigorous spiritual training, he had quite a bit of trouble resisting his carnal desires. No wonder priests had it hard. Fortunately, he didn't have much opportunity to interact with women, nor did they want anything to do with him. Or was it unfortunate? He had thought that with his more than impressive build, he would have to fight off the ladies with a broom. Apparently he was severely mistaken. Either way, his chosen career as an assistant martial arts instructor didn't give him much chance to interact with women. And so he lived in relative peace, free from any threat to his sworn celibacy. And now an attractive young woman was talking to him, asking him out even. You could imagine what kind of effect that had on him. He ignored the man that was with her, having noticed the terrifying killing aura that emanated from him. Although it laid dormant, docile for now, there was a good reason why that man received that red Mark on his forehead. It was though he had laid eyes on a vicious predator that saw him as nothing more but food to be eaten, fodder for the slaughter. So he hid his presence from young man, like a prey that froze in place, hoping that the hungry predator wouldn’t notice it, focusing instead on the sweet and heartwarming sight and event that was opening up before him. It was interesting how people often block their minds from seeing what they do not wish to see. He was about to reply when his mind, which had been lagging several paces behind due to the antics and impressions of the pair, finally caught up, and he managed to catch himself in time, his hand forming the Karana Mudra, which was the Buddhist symbolic gesture of expulsion of demons and negative thoughts. "Think pure thoughts..." Wisp desperately thought in his mind as he regulated his breathing and rearranged his expression to what he hoped looked like a serene smile. *** I looked at the monk who was now smiling serenely despite his ordeal a couple of minutes ago. "You know... I think he likes you, Tante. Either that or he has got a screw loose in his head." "Oh, be quiet." Tante's expression didn't change, but I noticed that her ears were reddening. The monk seemed to have gotten over his fright, and now bowed respectfully, hands clasped together in greeting. "Peace be with you. I sincerely apologize for my unsightly bearing from earlier." His voice seemed almost melodic. "But I must also apologize, for I must decline your invitation. I have to make due haste, for I hope to reach the next town or village by sundown." That wording confirmed my suspicions that he was a monk dude, but the martial artist part was still a possibility. A warrior monk then? "Why is that?" Tante asked. "I have hoped to make it to the next town to resupply. I had... an unsuccessful economic venture due to circumstances beyond my control. Such is fate. Amitabha." He performed another hand gesture. So wait, a businessman warrior monk dude? "Huh.... I suppose we can accompany you to the next town so that we can prepare properly for our dungeon hunt...." I began to ponder over that possibility, but was elbowed aside by Tante. "If it is food and drink, we can help you with that, but I would like to head into the dungeon now, please." "Tante... It's my supplies that we are talking about." I pointed out but Tante ignored me. "Still, I would rather head to the city to prepare adequately. The werewolves that we are likely to come across in the dungeon are much higher leveled as compared to what we can find outside. Not to mention that they are under the leadership of a Lycanthrope." The monk dude spoke in a rational voice, his calm and cool expression a far cry from his earlier appearance. Somehow, that first impression still flashed in my mind, which warped my current impression of him a bit. Tante was swayed by the monk dude's words, anyways. "You do make some sense..." Tante frowned and thought over it for a moment, but eventually sighed and nodded her head. "Forgive my rashness then. We shall accompany you to the nearest town or city so that we can prepare for the dungeon raid properly. There is safety in numbers after all." Tante manipulated a game interface that I was unable to see, and a message appeared in front of me with a *ping* sound. [Combatante has invited you to her party. Accept? Yes/No] I accepted, and another message appeared, as well as the party interface. [You have joined the party.] “Party stats window!” [Combatante Level 74] [Howard Level 54] [Wisp Level 65] "Now that we are in a party, allow me to properly introduce myself. My name is Wisp, Level 65 Shaman, Nature Alignment. Pleased to make your acquaintance." The Monk dude, now known as Wisp, clasped his hands together in the standard Chinese salutation. Dude, this isn't a martial arts film. "Howard, level 54 Spearman. Likewise." I bowed in reply. "Combatante, Level 74 Flag Bearer. My friends call me Tante." Tante spoke cheerfully. "Well then Ma'am, might I have the privilege of doing the same?" Wisp bowed in respect as he spoke. "Of course." Tante replied, and added in an undertone to me: "He is quite the gentleman. Not like some uncouth battle-crazy spearman I know." "Shut up." I muttered back, but I hoisted my haversack and straightened up, stretching my protesting legs. "We best get moving then. With a bit of luck we can get through the pass before sundown. Even all three of us can't take on an entire pack of night-strengthened werewolves." ***** We actually made good progress, and reached the end of the pass just before the sun began to set. Wisp had a store of stamina which didn't lose to either Tante’s or mine, and we set a distance-eating pace, as we jogged and ran down the pass. And suddenly, immense walls came into sight, which blocked out a large part of a city, but from the distance I was able to catch a glimpse of a tall spire which threatened to actually pierce the heavens. (Alright, I had to make the joke somewhere, but you know what I meant.) "The Kingdom of Knights... Kallamore." Tante mutter under her breath, awestruck by the sight. I attempted to recall what I had read on the primer about the Kingdom as I took in the view before me. Kallamore Kingdom was one of the stronger kingdoms in terms of military prowess. Being attacked by demons and monsters on a regular basis, Kallamore Kingdom was forced to adapt to the hostile conditions and hence put a lot of effort into bolstering their military capabilities. Their military might used to be at the forefront of all kingdoms until their strongest knight Kolderim suddenly disappeared one day, and they had faced a decline since then. Nevertheless, the Kingdom of Knights was still a force to be reckoned with. From what I recalled, they also had a long-lasting rivalry with the Kingdom of Haven but that bit wasn't all that important to me, since I had little intention of becoming Emperor. We made our way to the gates, where we were stopped by the guards stationed there. "Halt, who goes there?" The guard called out. Unlike the guards back at the Sleepy Fortress, this one seemed to be equipped in strong and functional armor, and a half helmet finished the look. He was also armed with a spear and a shield, and a short sword hung from a scabbard around his waist. Good grief, he is not armed for a quiet night out, more like he is going to war or something, I thought to myself, but I kept my tongue in cheek and replied: "Travellers. We wish to enter this fine city in order to recuperate and restock our supplies." In order to not draw attention to my Murderer status, I draped myself in a cloak, which obscured most of my features. On hindsight however, I think that just created even more suspicion among the guards. Perhaps I should grow out my fringe or something? "Hmmm..." The guard looked suspicious, but considering the constant threats faced by the city, he had the right to be vigilant. Moreover, he had the advantage over us. A guard house was just stationed nearby, where a troop lay in wait for invaders. Eventually the guard came to a decision, having noted his tactical advantage over us,and said: "Alright, it will cost 1 silver to pass. There's three of you, so that will cost you 3 silver." "I will pay for it then." Wisp volunteered, but it looked like it hurt him to do so. "No, Howard shall do it, won't he?" Tante grinned wickedly at me as she said this. I grumbled to myself as I dug in my money pouch and dug out 3 silver coins. While it was a pain, I didn't actually mind paying the toll. Apparently PKing had been more lucrative than I thought. Troublesome perhaps, but it certainly had its merits. Besides, my most recent kills had been in self defence, right? It wasn’t my fault that these nice people wanted to run at me and give me all those nice money and experience. I would accept and cherish their gifts most wholeheartedly. As such, I had amassed a considerable amount of money, which I hoped to use for equipment upgrades. "Here." I passed the three silver coins to the guard. "Hmmmm..." The guard regarded me suspiciously, but seemed to think nothing of it. I guess my infamy wasn't that high yet, which was a bit of a relief. "You may pass. Please make sure you stay out of trouble. I promise to hunt you down if you do." The guard said, and moved aside to let us pass. "You heard the man." Tante was still grinning. "Oh, shut up." I muttered back in reply, and I raised my head in order to take in the sights offered by the new city. Tante can be surprisingly abrasive at times. The road led down to a square, where the many stores and shops set up there were closing for the day. Nevertheless, smoke could still be seen coming up from the chimney on the place where I wanted to go - which was the blacksmith. “We’ll split up for a bit. There’re a couple of things I want to pick up and settle as well. We’ll meet up at that inn over there.” Tante pointed out a building in the west part of the square. “Howard, get some better gear. You’ve been using the same chainmail and leather gear since we first met. I dare say it’s actually threatening to fall apart.” Tante briskly took out her money pouch, weighed it carefully, and then set off in another direction. “Good grief, where’s your sense of sentimental value?” I shouted after her, but really, she was just reminding me of what I have been wanting to do for the past month or so. That set of armor had actually been with me since I first graduated from the Warrior Guild’s training program. I never really had a chance to perform upgrades, only patching my equipment up with the repair skill when the durability was about to run out. Moreover, my Ash White Spear Shaft had a lot of durability from the unbreakable rune carved onto it, and was a growing-type equipment, hence I did not find a need for a weapon upgrade. The once shiny chainmail was now cracked and falling apart in several areas, and the leather armor was badly frayed and looked worse for wear. If that wasn’t a sign that you should be changing your gear, I don’t know what might be. As part of an MMORPG, equipment upgrades were an essential portion. A certain piece of equipment could last a player about 20-30 levels, and then it would have to be replaced or upgraded if you wished to keep up a certain level of performance. In my case, the chainmail and leather gear had lasted me for a whopping 50 levels or so, and I had grown rather attached to them, as though they were a part of me. As was my Spear Shaft. Sadly however, sentimental value has little use in a game like an MMORPG. I did level to 100 at one time in another game equipped with only the beginner equipment and focusing on weapon upgrades only though. I entered the Blacksmith Store, and was greeted by the sight of the many blacksmiths hard at work. Metal was being heated, beaten, dunked into water where they sizzled and steamed, heated and beaten some more... Erm, I mean, being worked with careful and industrious hands. The clerk who was at the counter bowed deeply in greeting. “A customer! Please, come in and have a look at our work... oh...” She looked at my badly damaged and frayed equipment with distaste. “Yeah, I’m about due for an upgrade.” I said. “Do you think you have anything for Level 50 and higher?” “Are you sure you can afford it?” She asked, which was pretty understandable. Even I would turn away a person who looked like he is under his luck or something. “We shall see.” The clerk nodded, and headed to the back room. A few minutes later, she reappeared, lugging several pieces of Iron, Bronze and Steel Equipment. “I would recommend that you pick up the black steel equipment, steel offers much better defence and would last longer as long as you avoid wet places, since they rust like nobody’s business. It would cost a little extra if you wish to put an anti-rust enchantment on it, but you’ll have to seek help from a dwarf. Alternatively, if rusting is a problem, the bronze offers a much longer durability but has lower defense. From the looks of it, you don’t need a shield.” the clerk helpfully supplied without pause. I listened to her lecture with a blank look. “Most informative. Please catch your breath while I have a look.” I nodded and started looking at the steel equipment offered. | Name | Mal's Black Steel Half Helmet | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Stats | Equipment Type: Half HelmetDefense: 18Durability: 95/95 | | | | Description | Made by a retired Knight of Kallamore, this Helm offers great protection from demons and monsters. The blacksmith is often at odds with his brother Hal over which helmet is superior, and this helmet was designed with all the qualities of the half helmet in mind.Due to the material used, it rusts easily. | | | | Restrictions | Level 48150 STRWarrior/Knight variants only. | | | | Options | + 10 STR+ 5 VIT+ 5 END+ 7 HONOR+ 10% Earth AffinityDurability lowers every 3 hours in damp conditions.A skilled Blacksmith may be able to enhance this. | | | | Name | Hal's Black Steel Full Helmet | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Stats | Equipment Type: Full HelmetDefense: 20Durability: 95/95 | | | | Description | Made by an promising blacksmith for his Knight brother to help him survive the war. This Helmet has never been worn in any actual fight, owing to the fact that the blacksmith and his brother has often been at odds over the superiority of either helmet over the other. This helmet has been forged with the qualities of the full helmet in mind.Due to the material used, it rusts easily. | | | | Restrictions | Level 50170 STRWarrior/ Knight variants only. | | | | Options | +10 STR+ 5 VIT+ 5 ENDRelationships with older brothers +5%+ 10% Earth AffinityDurability falls every 4 hoursin damp conditions.A skilled Blacksmith may be able to enhance this. | | | | Name | Hard Black Steel Chest Plate | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Stats | Equipment Type: Chest PlateDefense: 25Durability: 75/75 | | | | Description | Made by a young apprentice Blacksmith. The tempering is poor, reducing the durability, but it is otherwise well-made.Due to the material used, it rusts easily. | | | | Restrictions | Level 50200 STRWarrior/ Knight variants only. | | | | Options | + 15 STR+ 10 VIT+ 10 END+ 10% Earth AffinityDurability falls every 4 hoursin damp conditions.A skilled Blacksmith may be able to enhance this. | | | | Name | Hardened Black Steel Chainmail | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Stats | Equipment Type: Chain mailDefense: 23Durability: 110/110 | | | | Description | Made by a young apprentice Blacksmith. Due to low skill proficiency, the defense is low.Due to the material used, it rusts easily. | | | | Restrictions | Level 48180 STRWarrior/ Knight variants only. | | | | Options | + 13 STR+ 8 VIT+ 8 END+ 13% Earth AffinityDurability falls every 4 hoursin damp conditions.A skilled Blacksmith may be able to enhance this. | | | | Name | Hardened Black Steel Greaves | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Stats | Equipment Type: Leg ArmorDefense: 25Durability: 100/100 | | | | Description | Made by an apprentice Blacksmith. The piece isn’t particularly flawed, but not exceptional.Due to the material used, it rusts easily. | | | | Restrictions | Level 48180 STRWarrior/ Knight variants only. | | | | Options | + 13 STR+ 8 VIT+ 8 END+ 13% Earth AffinityDurability falls every 4 hoursin damp conditions.A skilled Blacksmith may be able to enhance this. | | | | Name | Halk's Stainless Steel Gauntlets | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Stats | Equipment Type: GlovesDefense: 20Durability: 90/90 | | | | Description | Made by a wandering blacksmith, this gauntlet is designed for solid defense against fire. The premise is promising but not suited for practice, owing to the fact that metal heats up like nobody’s business next to fire. Nevertheless, it is a tough piece of equipment and has good blocking power.Due to the material used, it never rusts. | | | | Restrictions | Level 50180 STRWarrior/ Knight Variants only. | | | | Options | Can be used to parry an attackNever rusts+ 10 STR+ 5 VIT+ 5 END+ 10% Earth Affinity+ 10% Fire ResistanceA skilled blacksmith may be able to enhance this. | | | | Name | Ram's Combat Gloves | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Stats | Equipment Type: GlovesDefense: 10Attack: 10Durability: 90/90 | | | | Description | Made by a wandering Blacksmith, this glove is designed for use by martial artists, and is able to augment the power of fist attacks. Also grants the wearer intimate knowledge of the signature move "Viper Chop". | | | | Restrictions | Level 50170 STRWarrior/Knight/Monk variants | | | | Options | Grants the use of the skill "Viper Chop" while equipped.+ 10% damage to fist attacks. + 15 STR+ 10% Earth AffinityA skilled blacksmith might be able to enhance this. | | | | Name | Ole' Fazz's Steel Toed Boots | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Stats | Equipment type: ShoesArmor rating: 12Durability: 90/90 | | | | Description | Designed by a wandering blacksmith, this pair of shoes is good for marching through hellfire and brimstone in pursuit of a unrequited love. Disclaimer: May melt in fire. Still good for travelling and kicking people in the nadgers though!! | | | | Restrictions | Level 50150 STR | | | | Options | Able to moor a boat with those boots.Grants the user the use of the skill "Chicken Run" while equipped.+ 50% damage to kicks.+ 15 STRA skilled blacksmith may be able to enhance this. | | | I looked at the offerings and grinned. "I will take this... and this and this and oh, that one as well." I took everything except the half helmet (I wouldn’t want to meet Mal at this point.) and the gauntlet and counted out the gold coins, stacking them in piles of 10. The clerk's eyes widened at the sight. "I believe this might cover it all?" The clerk's jaws had already dropped at this point. She closed them and swept the coins away into the counter in front of her, bowing and constantly saying "Thank you for your patronage.". If I am not mistaken, she gets a cut of the profits as a commission, so she had good reason to be doing this. To the clerk, it could well be a windfall. I grinned; it was good to be rich. I weighed the money pouch carefully. Hmmm... I still have a bit left. I raised my head and asked: "I believe I noticed a certain option that stated that the equipment can be enhanced further?" "Ah." The clerk's face fell at that question. "I believe you will want her help for that." She pointed out a woman with long auburn hair tied into a ponytail, who was beating industriously away at a piece of molten metal. "She is the best blacksmith here, as well as the Smith's owner. It won't be too easy to persuade her to help you though; she tends to keep to her work quite a bit." "I see...” I looked at the woman again. She was beating at the metal like a person possessed, muttering under her breath as she did so. Next to her was pieces of completed equipment. Unlike the previously shiny, I noted that the equipment had a more... organic feel to it. The iron scales actually look quite real... almost as if it was a skin of a drake or something... “It’s actually consisting of Monster Drops that are incorporated into the metal. I’m not exactly sure how it works, but the drops confer additional attribute to the metal.” The clerk noticed my interest and helpfully supplied input. I nodded at that information. “It seems that she’s awfully busy though.” I noted. The clerk nodded (we are doing an awful lot of nodding, I realised). “She’s recently come into ownership of the smith. She suddenly appeared after 2 years in seclusion with that lost art. That technique sort of disappeared with the last owner of the smithy. Since then she has gained quite a bit of interest from our customers, but she always spurns their advances.” The clerk nodded yet again as she continued: “She always seemed to be leaving for Howler’s Pass at night however, and comes back the next day with injuries and a broken set of equipment.” “Oi, you at the counter, if you have time to gossip, at least help clear up the place a bit.” one of the blacksmiths working at an anvil scolded. “Yes sir!! Please come again!!” the clerk scurried off, and I sighed. The clerk was a helpless gossip, and the information seemed to be an important piece. I took a look at the woman working at the equipment enhancements again, and noticed a chestplate lying next to her. Slash marks scored the surface of the chestplate, and it seemed to be made by a beast of some sort. A pretty large beast, by the looks of the size of those slash marks. Strong too. Seeing that there was nothing else to be gleaned from this area, I left the Smithy.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> It has been many years since the idea of virtual reality video games were thought to be a dream, but with the new release of a Virtual Reality called Mythical Legends many were expecting great things. The game has had great hype across all forms of media, and for good reasons. First the game is running on a new system that incorporates not just the GMs, but also artificial intelligences that support the world and create new events and areas as the game progresses. Besides that the NPCs and Mobs of the game cannot be easily told apart from any other players.<br><br>The Beta testers were surprised and overwhelmed by the games realism and by its gameplay. They played throughout the continent of Tellus starting at one of the four kingdoms Redstone, Thorcyn, Thlyiss, and Andesit. Each kingdom was made up of the core races of Humans, Elves, Halflings, and Dwarves. After the six month testing time, the game was accelerated by about 1000 years in game time adding a lot more history. With that it is the day of the Games Release.<br><br>The Day Alan Duke has been waiting for, the Release of Mythical Legends. Alan had been waiting in line for the last seven hours at his neighborhood gaming store, and the two people in front of him started to move forward as the store opens. Once Alan Duke finally got to the counter he gave the employee his pre-order receipt and his debit card. He had purchased the cheapest of the versions, which only had the headset. The other versions were a capsule and a reclining chair which where a little over a college student's budget. Alan then headed back to his dorm.<br><br>Back in his room, Alan pulled the gear out of the box and started reading the instruction manual. After plugging the personal terminal into the wall power outlet and Ethernet outlet, he connected the headset to the terminal jack. Once that was finished he lay down on his bed, put on the headset, and pressed the power button.<br><br>At first there was nothing around him, but darkness along with a weightless sensation. <br><br>“New User detected. Would you like to register?” a computerized female voice said.<br><br> “Yes please!” he said with excitement. <br><br>“What Gender would you like to play as? Male, Female, or Neutral?”<br><br>“Male obviously!”<br><br>“You have selected Male. What Race would you like to play as? Human, Elf, Halfling, or Dwarf?” <br>As she spoke four images of the racial choices appeared in front of him.<br><br>I wonder which one I should start as? I love Elves, but I played as them too often in my old RPGs. I don’t want to be a Halfling even though they are fast, but they are just not my cup of tea. Dwarves are amazing craftsmen, but I think I’m going to stick to being human for now. I could always purchase another account or start over later.<br><br>“I chose human.” Alan Said.<br><br>“You have chosen human.”<br><br>The three other racial profiles vanished.<br><br>“ What would your preferred appearance be?”<br><br>“I would like to see myself, but at about 6ft 4inch please!”<br><br>The human image that remained turned into a mirror image of Alan, but about 5 inches taller. The character was wearing leather boots, black woolen pants, and a white short sleeve shirt. Which is the beginner style. He had a wavy mess of jet black hair that fell just above his eyes. He had pale skin and deep blue, gray eyes. He also was skinny and had barely any muscles.<br><br>“Could you add some muscle and get rid of the acne . . . and . . . turn the eyes crimson red?”<br><br>The characters appearance changed to meet his request. As he looked over it, he thought of other ways to change it, but was not sure what else to do.<br><br>“Would you like to make more changes or do you accept this as your avatar?”<br><br>“I accept this avatar.” <br><br>“What would you like the Name of your character to be?”<br><br>“I would like to be called . . . Aaron!” He said with a grin.<br><br>“Would you like to finalize this character?”<br><br>“Yeah , it’s good.” <br><br>“Your character has been finalized. Would you like to go through the tutorial?”<br><br>“Yes please!” for the next few hours he learned how to move his character.<br><br>“You have completed the tutorial. For the first month of game play you will train on one of the many heavens training grounds before you can select a starting city. At the end of the month you will have a chance to enter heavens training grounds graduating tournament. Where you can earn rewards and improve your abilities.”<br><br>As her computerized voice stopped, gold rings of light came up from Alan’s feet and surrounded him. In a brilliant flash of light he was gone. </div>

It has been many years since the idea of virtual reality video games were thought to be a dream, but with the new release of a Virtual Reality called Mythical Legends many were expecting great things. The game has had great hype across all forms of media, and for good reasons. First the game is running on a new system that incorporates not just the GMs, but also artificial intelligences that support the world and create new events and areas as the game progresses. Besides that the NPCs and Mobs of the game cannot be easily told apart from any other players. The Beta testers were surprised and overwhelmed by the games realism and by its gameplay. They played throughout the continent of Tellus starting at one of the four kingdoms Redstone, Thorcyn, Thlyiss, and Andesit. Each kingdom was made up of the core races of Humans, Elves, Halflings, and Dwarves. After the six month testing time, the game was accelerated by about 1000 years in game time adding a lot more history. With that it is the day of the Games Release. The Day Alan Duke has been waiting for, the Release of Mythical Legends. Alan had been waiting in line for the last seven hours at his neighborhood gaming store, and the two people in front of him started to move forward as the store opens. Once Alan Duke finally got to the counter he gave the employee his pre-order receipt and his debit card. He had purchased the cheapest of the versions, which only had the headset. The other versions were a capsule and a reclining chair which where a little over a college student's budget. Alan then headed back to his dorm. Back in his room, Alan pulled the gear out of the box and started reading the instruction manual. After plugging the personal terminal into the wall power outlet and Ethernet outlet, he connected the headset to the terminal jack. Once that was finished he lay down on his bed, put on the headset, and pressed the power button. At first there was nothing around him, but darkness along with a weightless sensation. “New User detected. Would you like to register?” a computerized female voice said. “Yes please!” he said with excitement. “What Gender would you like to play as? Male, Female, or Neutral?” “Male obviously!” “You have selected Male. What Race would you like to play as? Human, Elf, Halfling, or Dwarf?” As she spoke four images of the racial choices appeared in front of him. I wonder which one I should start as? I love Elves, but I played as them too often in my old RPGs. I don’t want to be a Halfling even though they are fast, but they are just not my cup of tea. Dwarves are amazing craftsmen, but I think I’m going to stick to being human for now. I could always purchase another account or start over later. “I chose human.” Alan Said. “You have chosen human.” The three other racial profiles vanished. “ What would your preferred appearance be?” “I would like to see myself, but at about 6ft 4inch please!” The human image that remained turned into a mirror image of Alan, but about 5 inches taller. The character was wearing leather boots, black woolen pants, and a white short sleeve shirt. Which is the beginner style. He had a wavy mess of jet black hair that fell just above his eyes. He had pale skin and deep blue, gray eyes. He also was skinny and had barely any muscles. “Could you add some muscle and get rid of the acne . . . and . . . turn the eyes crimson red?” The characters appearance changed to meet his request. As he looked over it, he thought of other ways to change it, but was not sure what else to do. “Would you like to make more changes or do you accept this as your avatar?” “I accept this avatar.” “What would you like the Name of your character to be?” “I would like to be called . . . Aaron!” He said with a grin. “Would you like to finalize this character?” “Yeah , it’s good.” “Your character has been finalized. Would you like to go through the tutorial?” “Yes please!” for the next few hours he learned how to move his character. “You have completed the tutorial. For the first month of game play you will train on one of the many heavens training grounds before you can select a starting city. At the end of the month you will have a chance to enter heavens training grounds graduating tournament. Where you can earn rewards and improve your abilities.” As her computerized voice stopped, gold rings of light came up from Alan’s feet and surrounded him. In a brilliant flash of light he was gone.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td width="25%"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Hiatus/Extremely irregular release schedule</span></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div> <br> <br> <br>This is the basic Q&amp;A and discussion thread with a generic name cause I'm a generic person. Feel free to post complaints or point out plot holes as well. Also open to suggestions and pretty much anything else you want to say. I might run polls from time to time as well. <br> <br>If your interested in the stats and such of Godou and a few of the other character you might want to look in the <a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=96&amp;t=1662" target="_blank">Character Databook</a> I made. <br> <br>Table of Contents <br> <br><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Volume 1 - Troublemakers arrive in Virtual Reality</span> </span> <br> <br><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=96&amp;t=601" target="_blank">Prologue 1</a> <br><a href="http://royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=96&amp;t=610&amp;sid=3037f4a481d0e6f9a176715ea541bbf4" target="_blank">Prologue 2</a> <br><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=96&amp;t=669" target="_blank">Chapter 1 - Devil's Luck</a> <br><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=96&amp;t=966" target="_blank">Chapter 2 - Devil's Training</a> <br><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=96&amp;t=1011" target="_blank">Chapter 3 - Time to hunt</a> <br><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=96&amp;t=1049" target="_blank">Chapter 4 - Schemes and Warnings</a> <br><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=96&amp;t=1324" target="_blank">Chapter 5 - The Defence Army Part 1</a> <a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=96&amp;t=1337" target="_blank">|Part 2</a><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=96&amp;t=1352" target="_blank">|Part 3</a> <br><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=96&amp;t=1489" target="_blank">Chapter 6 - The Divine Saint Variants</a> <br><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=96&amp;t=1640" target="_blank">Chapter 7 - Divine Saint of Embinyu</a> <br><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=96&amp;t=1656" target="_blank">Epilogue</a> <br> <br><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Volume 2 - Defend the Frontier Towns</span></span> <br> <br><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=96&amp;t=1875" target="_blank">Chapter 1 - Aftermath</a> <br><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=96&amp;t=1907" target="_blank">Interlude 1 - A Coincidence?</a> <br><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=96&amp;t=2042" target="_blank">Chapter 2 - Calm before the storm</a> <br><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=96&amp;t=2060" target="_blank">Interlude 2 - The Borrowing Note</a> <a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=96&amp;t=2195" target="_blank">Chapter 3 - Trouble Brews</a> <br><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=96&amp;t=2210" target="_blank">Chapter 4 - The Siege Continues</a> <br><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=96&amp;t=2220" target="_blank">Interlude 3 - Lexus and Naidiriv</a> <br><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=96&amp;t=2579" target="_blank">Chapter 5 (Alternate Storyline)</a> <br><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=96&amp;t=2729" target="_blank">Chapter 5 - Elemental Lord Candidate Part 1</a>|<a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=96&amp;t=2816" target="_blank">Part 2</a>| <a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=96&amp;t=3155" target="_blank">Part 3</a> | <a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=96&amp;t=3171" target="_blank">Part 4</a> <br><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=96&amp;t=3225" target="_blank">Chapter 6 - Divine Saint of Freya</a> <br><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=96&amp;t=3291" target="_blank">Chapter 7 - Divine Overlord Godou</a> <br><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=96&amp;t=3321" target="_blank">Epilogue</a> <br> <br><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Volume 3</span></span> <br><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=6435" target="_blank">Prologue</a> <br><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=6751" target="_blank">Chapter 1 - Giving a Helping Hand</a> <br><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=7116" target="_blank">Interlude - Movement from the Embinyu</a> <br><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=8683" target="_blank">Chapter 2 - Encounter </a> <br><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=9649" target="_blank">Chapter 3 - Power Scaling</a> <br><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=12269" target="_blank">Chapter 4 - The Wrath of the Green Slime Part 1</a> Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 <br> <br><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Unfortunate Fool Crossover &nbsp;- Yet to be named?</span></span> <br><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=297&amp;t=2763" target="_blank">Prologue</a> <br> <br>Coding for the navigation table/links for easier copy/paste <br><div class="codeblock"><br><div class="title"><br></div><div class="body" dir="ltr"><code>[table][tr][td100][url=http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=463]Table of Contents[/url][/td100][/tr][tds][url=Previous]Previous[/url][/tds][td2]Exit[/td2][tds][url=http://www.royalroadl.com/fiction/61]Rate this fic?[/url][/tds][/table]</code></div></div><br> </div>

| Hiatus/Extremely irregular release schedule | | --- | This is the basic Q&A and discussion thread with a generic name cause I'm a generic person. Feel free to post complaints or point out plot holes as well. Also open to suggestions and pretty much anything else you want to say. I might run polls from time to time as well. If your interested in the stats and such of Godou and a few of the other character you might want to look in the [Character Databook](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=96&t=1662) I made. Table of Contents Volume 1 - Troublemakers arrive in Virtual Reality [Prologue 1](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=96&t=601) [Prologue 2](http://royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=96&t=610&sid=3037f4a481d0e6f9a176715ea541bbf4) [Chapter 1 - Devil's Luck](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=96&t=669) [Chapter 2 - Devil's Training](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=96&t=966) [Chapter 3 - Time to hunt](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=96&t=1011) [Chapter 4 - Schemes and Warnings](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=96&t=1049) [Chapter 5 - The Defence Army Part 1](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=96&t=1324) [|Part 2](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=96&t=1337)[|Part 3](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=96&t=1352) [Chapter 6 - The Divine Saint Variants](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=96&t=1489) [Chapter 7 - Divine Saint of Embinyu](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=96&t=1640) [Epilogue](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=96&t=1656) Volume 2 - Defend the Frontier Towns [Chapter 1 - Aftermath](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=96&t=1875) [Interlude 1 - A Coincidence?](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=96&t=1907) [Chapter 2 - Calm before the storm](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=96&t=2042) [Interlude 2 - The Borrowing Note](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=96&t=2060) [Chapter 3 - Trouble Brews](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=96&t=2195) [Chapter 4 - The Siege Continues](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=96&t=2210) [Interlude 3 - Lexus and Naidiriv](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=96&t=2220) [Chapter 5 (Alternate Storyline)](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=96&t=2579) [Chapter 5 - Elemental Lord Candidate Part 1](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=96&t=2729)|[Part 2](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=96&t=2816)| [Part 3](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=96&t=3155) | [Part 4](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=96&t=3171) [Chapter 6 - Divine Saint of Freya](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=96&t=3225) [Chapter 7 - Divine Overlord Godou](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=96&t=3291) [Epilogue](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=96&t=3321) Volume 3 [Prologue](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=6435) [Chapter 1 - Giving a Helping Hand](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=6751) [Interlude - Movement from the Embinyu](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=7116) [Chapter 2 - Encounter](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=8683) [Chapter 3 - Power Scaling](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=9649) [Chapter 4 - The Wrath of the Green Slime Part 1](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=12269) Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Unfortunate Fool Crossover  - Yet to be named? [Prologue](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=297&t=2763) Coding for the navigation table/links for easier copy/paste `[table][tr][td100][url=http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=463]Table of Contents[/url][/td100][/tr][tds][url=Previous]Previous[/url][/tds][td2]Exit[/td2][tds][url=http://www.royalroadl.com/fiction/61]Rate this fic?[/url][/tds][/table]`

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> by VIM1INC » Mon Jun 17, 2013 11:29 pm<br><br>*<br><br>Squawk!! Squawk!!<br><br>Peril followed the tasty fish treat, moonwalking clumsily at the same pace as the chicken that bore it, with his arms reaching out backwards in a bid to snatch the fish. As one can probably imagine, it was an awkward thing to be doing.<br><br>As he passed, things started falling upon where he had just been, crashing noisily onto the floor with a loud cacophony of sounds.<br><br>*Thunk* An anvil crashed onto the floor with a loud crash.<br><br>*Crash* A passing cart had a fateful meeting with a wall.<br><br>*Ting* A triangle kissed the dirt.<br><br>*Whoosh*, *thunk*, *thunk*, *thunk*. Arrows barely missed Peril by inches and scored critical hits on a wooden sign.<br><br>*WRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY* Dio Brando just went Za Warudo (The World) and brought a steamroller crashing onto the floor.<br><br>"Darn it, 0001. Can't you aim better?" 0002 scolded his fellow Anon.<br><br>"I will like to see you try, idiot!!" 0001 retorted, flinging throwing knives at his intended target.<br><br>*ShikShikShik!!* Several knives bit deeply into flesh. It wasn't Peril's though.<br><br>"Ow!! Goddamit, 0001, watch where you are aiming!!" 0003 cried out in pain.<br><br>"Idiots. I am surrounded by idiots." 0002 said, shaking his head. He raised his head and looked around. "Is the Kraken in position?"<br><br>"We have an Air Mage transport him from the Ocean. Cthullu wants him back by 12 though, he's due for a facial." 0003 replied, pulling out the knives from his arm and chest with a wince.<br><br>"Do squids get facials? No, don't answer that." 0002 shoved his fist into 0001's mouth, forestalling the question.<br><br>"Uuuuuu... At least let me give the signal. I always wanted a chance to say it." 0001 gave a teary look, or at least tried to. It was difficult to create an expression if you had no face, or if your entire face was covered by a full face mask.<br><br>"Huuuuh... Must you? Fine, if you insist." Sighing, 0002 consented.<br><br>"Yay!! Well, here I go then. UNLEASH ZE KRAKEN!!" 0001 roared happily. An ominous clanging noise could be heard as chains unraveled...<br><br>"..."<br><br>"What's with the french accent?"<br><br>**<br><br>*Squawk Squawkity Squawk!!* &lt;Come back, me precious treat!! Come to Peril!!!&gt;<br><br>Peril gave up on Moonwalking and performed a movement skill. By falling and using forward momentum, Peril slid on his belly, covering a large amount of distance within a second. It was an all or nothing move however, as Peril could feel himself coming to a halt as Friction himself said "Can't let you do that, Peril!!"<br>Still, he was still closing the distance with the chicken...<br><br>300 metres...<br><br>&lt;REPLACE Whistling Sound, normally used to describe a falling object in cartoons.&gt;<br><br>250 metres...<br><br>&lt;Whistling sound became higher pitched.&gt;<br><br>200 metres...<br><br>&lt;The whistling sound became louder. Something is close!!&gt;<br><br>150 metres...<br><br>&lt;THE FALLING OBJECT IS UPON US!!&gt;<br><br>100 metres... Peril could just taste the fishy goodness in his mouth.<br><br>*CRASH*<br><br>"SQUAWK!!"<br><br>And all of a sudden, a Kraken came falling from the heavens!! The poor chicken stood no chance, and was squished out of existence. (Fazwick, Chickenmancer Extraordinaire: Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!) <br><br>"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWR!!!" The Kraken bellowed its defiance to the very heavens, causing the earth itself to shake!! An epic force of nature, the Kraken was known for sinking ships by the dozens!! It had not tried city destruction yet, but she's a keen learner!!<br><br>But enough about the Chicken (Faz: But Chickens are important!!)... Peril pushed himself up from the ground, jaws dropping involuntarily at the epic sight before him. But more importantly, his fish!!<br><br>Fazwick was standing at the side, having momentarily gotten over the loss of his chicken, racking his brains for a plan. An epiphany finally dawned on him, and he put on a husky voice and did his best Old Spice Impression:<br><br>"Hello Penguin... Now look at the area where your beloved fish stood. Now look at the Kraken. Now back at your non-existent fish. And now back at the Kraken. Sadly, the fish isn't the kraken. But with some frying, the kraken is way better than fish. Now look down. Back up. Where are you? You at Long John Silvers, with the kraken that has been fried. What's in your hand? I have it, it's calamari, fried just the way you love it. And now, look again, the calamari is now grilled. Anything is possible if you eat a kraken instead of a fish. I'm on a horse."<br><br>Peril's species is the Great Emperor Penguin,<span style="font-style: italic;"> Aptenodytes forsteri</span>. The greatest of all the penguins, its diet comprised of fish, crustaceans... <span style="font-style: italic;">and cephalopods</span>.<br><br>Does the Kraken look like a giant squid (a cephalopod) to you?<br><br>Peril looked at the Kraken again, drool coming out of its mouth. </div>

by VIM1INC » Mon Jun 17, 2013 11:29 pm * Squawk!! Squawk!! Peril followed the tasty fish treat, moonwalking clumsily at the same pace as the chicken that bore it, with his arms reaching out backwards in a bid to snatch the fish. As one can probably imagine, it was an awkward thing to be doing. As he passed, things started falling upon where he had just been, crashing noisily onto the floor with a loud cacophony of sounds. *Thunk* An anvil crashed onto the floor with a loud crash. *Crash* A passing cart had a fateful meeting with a wall. *Ting* A triangle kissed the dirt. *Whoosh*, *thunk*, *thunk*, *thunk*. Arrows barely missed Peril by inches and scored critical hits on a wooden sign. *WRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY* Dio Brando just went Za Warudo (The World) and brought a steamroller crashing onto the floor. "Darn it, 0001. Can't you aim better?" 0002 scolded his fellow Anon. "I will like to see you try, idiot!!" 0001 retorted, flinging throwing knives at his intended target. *ShikShikShik!!* Several knives bit deeply into flesh. It wasn't Peril's though. "Ow!! Goddamit, 0001, watch where you are aiming!!" 0003 cried out in pain. "Idiots. I am surrounded by idiots." 0002 said, shaking his head. He raised his head and looked around. "Is the Kraken in position?" "We have an Air Mage transport him from the Ocean. Cthullu wants him back by 12 though, he's due for a facial." 0003 replied, pulling out the knives from his arm and chest with a wince. "Do squids get facials? No, don't answer that." 0002 shoved his fist into 0001's mouth, forestalling the question. "Uuuuuu... At least let me give the signal. I always wanted a chance to say it." 0001 gave a teary look, or at least tried to. It was difficult to create an expression if you had no face, or if your entire face was covered by a full face mask. "Huuuuh... Must you? Fine, if you insist." Sighing, 0002 consented. "Yay!! Well, here I go then. UNLEASH ZE KRAKEN!!" 0001 roared happily. An ominous clanging noise could be heard as chains unraveled... "..." "What's with the french accent?" ** *Squawk Squawkity Squawk!!* <Come back, me precious treat!! Come to Peril!!!> Peril gave up on Moonwalking and performed a movement skill. By falling and using forward momentum, Peril slid on his belly, covering a large amount of distance within a second. It was an all or nothing move however, as Peril could feel himself coming to a halt as Friction himself said "Can't let you do that, Peril!!" Still, he was still closing the distance with the chicken... 300 metres... <REPLACE Whistling Sound, normally used to describe a falling object in cartoons.> 250 metres... <Whistling sound became higher pitched.> 200 metres... <The whistling sound became louder. Something is close!!> 150 metres... <THE FALLING OBJECT IS UPON US!!> 100 metres... Peril could just taste the fishy goodness in his mouth. *CRASH* "SQUAWK!!" And all of a sudden, a Kraken came falling from the heavens!! The poor chicken stood no chance, and was squished out of existence. (Fazwick, Chickenmancer Extraordinaire: Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!) "RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWR!!!" The Kraken bellowed its defiance to the very heavens, causing the earth itself to shake!! An epic force of nature, the Kraken was known for sinking ships by the dozens!! It had not tried city destruction yet, but she's a keen learner!! But enough about the Chicken (Faz: But Chickens are important!!)... Peril pushed himself up from the ground, jaws dropping involuntarily at the epic sight before him. But more importantly, his fish!! Fazwick was standing at the side, having momentarily gotten over the loss of his chicken, racking his brains for a plan. An epiphany finally dawned on him, and he put on a husky voice and did his best Old Spice Impression: "Hello Penguin... Now look at the area where your beloved fish stood. Now look at the Kraken. Now back at your non-existent fish. And now back at the Kraken. Sadly, the fish isn't the kraken. But with some frying, the kraken is way better than fish. Now look down. Back up. Where are you? You at Long John Silvers, with the kraken that has been fried. What's in your hand? I have it, it's calamari, fried just the way you love it. And now, look again, the calamari is now grilled. Anything is possible if you eat a kraken instead of a fish. I'm on a horse." Peril's species is the Great Emperor Penguin, Aptenodytes forsteri. The greatest of all the penguins, its diet comprised of fish, crustaceans... and cephalopods. Does the Kraken look like a giant squid (a cephalopod) to you? Peril looked at the Kraken again, drool coming out of its mouth.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> Alan arrived home angrier than he had probably been in his entire life, he was glad the house was empty so that he could calm down without anybody taking notice, he’d gotten plenty of surprised looks on his way home from school, mainly from the students who were going about their day as well as people around town, some even had the courage to try and great him but all they got back in response would be a mumble as Alan pushed his wheelchair home.<br><br>AS he entered his room, he picked up his mobile that he had left on the his dresser and quickly texted his mum and sister, letting them know he was all right and at home with the only explanation being that the student council had allowed him a three day leave.<br><br>After waiting for ten minutes for the replies to come back, one of which was in block capitals his sister promising divine retribution, on certain faculty members did he finally managed to achieve some measure of calmness. ‘Three days hu, i wonder if i can truly lose myself in this,’ he thought as he gazed at the Royal Road capsule.<br><br>****<br><br>Logging on, Allwind found himself looking at a wooden door, ‘last time i logged in, i appeared inside what’s going on?’ he wondered looking around he found himself outside the Gym, where he had been training, the door in front of him was locked turning back towards the main house he was court by surprise to see Lilly standing upside down against the house wall in a perfect handstand.<br><br>“Granddad will be back soon,” she said trying to blow her hair out of the way so she could see Allwind, to talk to him.<br>“You’re getting better at handstands, i see.”<br>“Yup and you’re angry, are you angry at me?”<br>“No not you, just some stupid people that i had to meet earlier,”<br>“Ow, were they bad people?”<br>“They could be labelled that way yes.”<br>“Shouldn’t you punish them?”<br>“Punish them, why?”<br>“Because you’re a knight right, you should punish bad people,”<br>“It’s not as simple as that unfortunately,” Allwind sighed wishing it really was that simple.<br><br>Suddenly a new voice joined the conversation “he’s right Lilly the continents are not that simple and neither are people.”<br>“You were listening?” Allwind ask turning to the instructor as he aproched.<br>“I heard most of the convocation. It seems like you’re ready to move on to the next stage of training, are you ready for the next stage? I can promise you one thing, it will be allot tougher than any think you can imagine.”<br><br>“I started this i will finish the training,” Allwind replied wanting to get back to practising.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Quest complete:<br>You have finished the first step in becoming a knight but more training awaits you.<br>Reward<br>+ 10 fame</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>“You are the first person to clear the first stage, of the training so fast as a result people will recognise you as an upcoming knight.” The instructor prised Allwind, “are you truly ready for what comes next?” <br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Quest: Advanced knight training<br>To become a knight you must train your mind and body to the extreme will you take the training?<br>Reward:<br>Upon passing the training you will be granted access to the knight class.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>“I accept” Allwind said glancing at Lilly who had now righted herself and was smiling at him, as her granddad unlocked the door to the gym.<br><br>Inside had changed drastically, there were now three training dummy’s, and allot more mats spread around the floor, as well as the old Equipment, the most startling change though was the appearance Scarecrows that were now in the room.<br><br>Instead of the usual dummy these seemed more like monsters, they had iron chest armour for a start in one hand they seemed to be holding what could only be described as a lance and in the other a shield.<br><br>Allwind slowly approached the new scarecrow marvelling at its construction, just as he was about to reach out and touch it the lance on one of its arms moved incredibly quickly, rotating the upper half of the scarecrow, sending Allwind flying backwards off his feet, thankfully the mats on the floor absorbed the impact of his landing.<br><br>“IT MOVED,” Allwind shouted in surprise.<br>“You don’t expect monsters and the enemy, to stand still while you try to kill them do you this is training real training.” The Instructor said calmly.<br>“Sorry i just wasn’t expecting that.” Allwind replied looking sheepish.<br>“You will have to expect the unexpected from now on if you are going to continue training.”<br>“So i have to attack it without getting hit, this is going to be interesting?” Allwind said as he headed to the weapons rack and retrieved the two short swords that he usually used.<br><br>This time when he approached the scarecrow he was ready, dodging the first attack he managed to land one of his own but didn’t count on the scarecrow turning all the way around and sending him flying again this time with it shield.<br><br>“I can see why people have not passed this training course.” He said picking himself back up from the floor.<br>“You may quit any time you want,” the instructor replied looking slightly depressed.<br>“Cheer up old man we’re just getting started” Allwind replied as he charged at the scarecrow.<br><br>‘I will pass this training’ was the thought in his head as he dodged under the swinging lance, ‘besides this is good for stress relief,’ stepping back he took a look around the room his gaze drawn, to the walking beam that had two scarecrows next to it, ‘if this one moves chances are they do to, so much fun.’<br><br>---------------------------------------------- End --------------------------------------<br><br>authors notes:<br><br>yeay another chapter :) enjoy<br><br>29/4/13: edited quest boxes their so cool now :) </div>

Alan arrived home angrier than he had probably been in his entire life, he was glad the house was empty so that he could calm down without anybody taking notice, he’d gotten plenty of surprised looks on his way home from school, mainly from the students who were going about their day as well as people around town, some even had the courage to try and great him but all they got back in response would be a mumble as Alan pushed his wheelchair home. AS he entered his room, he picked up his mobile that he had left on the his dresser and quickly texted his mum and sister, letting them know he was all right and at home with the only explanation being that the student council had allowed him a three day leave. After waiting for ten minutes for the replies to come back, one of which was in block capitals his sister promising divine retribution, on certain faculty members did he finally managed to achieve some measure of calmness. ‘Three days hu, i wonder if i can truly lose myself in this,’ he thought as he gazed at the Royal Road capsule. **** Logging on, Allwind found himself looking at a wooden door, ‘last time i logged in, i appeared inside what’s going on?’ he wondered looking around he found himself outside the Gym, where he had been training, the door in front of him was locked turning back towards the main house he was court by surprise to see Lilly standing upside down against the house wall in a perfect handstand. “Granddad will be back soon,” she said trying to blow her hair out of the way so she could see Allwind, to talk to him. “You’re getting better at handstands, i see.” “Yup and you’re angry, are you angry at me?” “No not you, just some stupid people that i had to meet earlier,” “Ow, were they bad people?” “They could be labelled that way yes.” “Shouldn’t you punish them?” “Punish them, why?” “Because you’re a knight right, you should punish bad people,” “It’s not as simple as that unfortunately,” Allwind sighed wishing it really was that simple. Suddenly a new voice joined the conversation “he’s right Lilly the continents are not that simple and neither are people.” “You were listening?” Allwind ask turning to the instructor as he aproched. “I heard most of the convocation. It seems like you’re ready to move on to the next stage of training, are you ready for the next stage? I can promise you one thing, it will be allot tougher than any think you can imagine.” “I started this i will finish the training,” Allwind replied wanting to get back to practising. | Quest complete:You have finished the first step in becoming a knight but more training awaits you.Reward+ 10 fame | | --- | “You are the first person to clear the first stage, of the training so fast as a result people will recognise you as an upcoming knight.” The instructor prised Allwind, “are you truly ready for what comes next?” | Quest: Advanced knight trainingTo become a knight you must train your mind and body to the extreme will you take the training?Reward:Upon passing the training you will be granted access to the knight class. | | --- | “I accept” Allwind said glancing at Lilly who had now righted herself and was smiling at him, as her granddad unlocked the door to the gym. Inside had changed drastically, there were now three training dummy’s, and allot more mats spread around the floor, as well as the old Equipment, the most startling change though was the appearance Scarecrows that were now in the room. Instead of the usual dummy these seemed more like monsters, they had iron chest armour for a start in one hand they seemed to be holding what could only be described as a lance and in the other a shield. Allwind slowly approached the new scarecrow marvelling at its construction, just as he was about to reach out and touch it the lance on one of its arms moved incredibly quickly, rotating the upper half of the scarecrow, sending Allwind flying backwards off his feet, thankfully the mats on the floor absorbed the impact of his landing. “IT MOVED,” Allwind shouted in surprise. “You don’t expect monsters and the enemy, to stand still while you try to kill them do you this is training real training.” The Instructor said calmly. “Sorry i just wasn’t expecting that.” Allwind replied looking sheepish. “You will have to expect the unexpected from now on if you are going to continue training.” “So i have to attack it without getting hit, this is going to be interesting?” Allwind said as he headed to the weapons rack and retrieved the two short swords that he usually used. This time when he approached the scarecrow he was ready, dodging the first attack he managed to land one of his own but didn’t count on the scarecrow turning all the way around and sending him flying again this time with it shield. “I can see why people have not passed this training course.” He said picking himself back up from the floor. “You may quit any time you want,” the instructor replied looking slightly depressed. “Cheer up old man we’re just getting started” Allwind replied as he charged at the scarecrow. ‘I will pass this training’ was the thought in his head as he dodged under the swinging lance, ‘besides this is good for stress relief,’ stepping back he took a look around the room his gaze drawn, to the walking beam that had two scarecrows next to it, ‘if this one moves chances are they do to, so much fun.’ ---------------------------------------------- End -------------------------------------- authors notes: yeay another chapter :) enjoy 29/4/13: edited quest boxes their so cool now :)

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> -The scan on your iris and veins has determined that you are an unregistered user. Do you want to create a new account?<br><br>Hearing those words, Hussain said yes, his eyes searching a face to the voice. “Damn, technology these days.” Not wanting to waste time, Hussain decided to answer the next question levelled at him by the voice.<br><br>-Select your Avatar.<br><br>“A what? What’s an avatar?”<br><br>Information flashed across the screen:<br><br>An avatar is the graphical representation of the user or the user's alter ego or character. It may take either a three-dimensional form, as in games or virtual worlds, or a two-dimensional form as an icon in Internet forums and other online communities. It can also refer to a text construct found on early systems such as MUDs. It is an object representing the user. The term "avatar" can also refer to the personality connected with the screen name, or handle, of an Internet user..<br><br><br>“OK, that’s enough, next...”<br><br>-Name your character<br><br>Hussain thought about this for a while. He thought about what he had in mind, but he didn’t want to be known in game as the person who he was outside of it, so he smiled and said, “Blitz?”. Hussain was skeptical about the name being available, but it seemed that it was available. He smiled as the next question came his way<br><br>-Select your gender from Male, Female or Neutral?<br><br>“Male.. Please.”<br><br>-Royal Road has forty-nine races. You may select your race from—<br><br>“Human.”<br><br>-You may alter your appearance according to your specifications—<br><br>“Yes please, work from my current appearance,” Hussain waited for his image to come up on screen, he marvelled at the level of detail that was visible and smiled.<br><br>“Now, cleanly shave the head, lower my height to 5ft 10in, give me a skin fade from the head to the beard, make the beard fuller,now grow it up to the tache... Nice, very nice. Make those shoulders a bit bigger, not so big, now the thighs, the arms, make that chest more solid, the calf muscles bigger, widen that back.”<br><br>Hussain smiled, then asked for the character model to be spun around.<br><br>“Make the forearms and fist a bit bigger. Many thanks.”<br><br>-Your account has been activated. Your stats and class shall be determined while you are in game-<br><br>“Enough of this, take me to the game,” Hussain was happy with his creation and wanted to get into the game as soon as possible.<br><br>-Select a city and kingdom you want to start.<br><br>“Random”<br><br>-Welcome to...<br><br>“Skip this, get me into the game.”<br><br>Bright lights flashed all around Hussain. He closed his eyes. When he opened them, he saw a cacophony of colour, tall buildings, and many temples and traditional, ancient chinese houses and buildings. Holding his hands up to his face, Hussain was surprised to see how large his forearms were. He opened and closed his hands, twisted his wrists, and started jumping up and down. Pleased with the outcome, Hussain decided to do a few squats, only to be interrupted by a voice behind him. Looking over his shoulder, Hussain saw a large figure clad in silver armor.<br><br>“State your business citizen.” Said the man blankly. <br><br>Hussain raised an eyebrow at the man’s words. Fierce eyes looked back at Hussain through a silver helmet. The man’s hand played with the handle of the huge sword slung at his waist. Hussain wondered if this was a real person or a NPC. Hussain didn’t know what to say. <br><br>“State your name and business citizen?” The man’s voice seemed like he was demanding a reply. Hussain opened his mouth.<br><br>“My name is Hus.. I mean Blitz, sir,” Blitz looked at the man and continued, “My business is looking for work and a means of living sir.”<br><br>Upon hearing that, the man nodded his head and sighed, “A new one again huh? There’s been a few of you lately turning up here in Pusean. This here is Pusean, a small, emerging kingdom in the east, when compared to those in the central. Unfortunately for you, there is no training hall here in Pusean. You might choose to look for work with someone, but most choose to join the church or try for one of the many temple positions.”<br><br>Blitz scratched his head, feeling nothing on the top, he decided to rub it and asked another question, “How do I do what you do?”<br><br>The man laughed at Blitz’s question, “Do what I do? To do what I do will require much training. Hmm, there’s not really a training garrison here, but the Pusean temple are recruiting new, adept monks. You could try there. Tell them Major Heron sent you.”<br>With that, Major Heron pointed in the direction of some steps that lead up a steep hill. Major Heron waved goodbye and continued his obvious patrol of the quiet streets. Blitz watched him as he walked away, then turning his head back to the steps, Blitz began his long trek up the steps.<br><br>Blitz must have been walking for what seemed like days. His legs were aching, his clothes wet with sweat and sticking to his skin. Blitz considered himself to be relatively fit, and the changes he had made to his appearance seemed to not have made any difference. He decided to stop and catch his breath. He looked back the way he came, and saw that the bottom of the steps were no longer visible. <br><br>Shaking his head, Blitz blurted out,“Oh my days..”<br><br>Figuring that he was close to the top anyway, Blitz pushed on, ignoring the burn in his legs. Then, there was a sound. <br>--<br>Ting<br> <br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>Your stamina has increased by 2</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>--<br>Blitz smiled as the pain in his legs seemed to ease. Breathing a little easier now, he decided to have a look at his stats to see what he had to work with. Not that he’d know how to make heads or tails out of it, but he wanted to see it anyway.<br><br>“Stats Window” he said out loud, and an overlay came up.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="4">Status Window</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Name</td><td width="25%">Blitz</td><td width="25%">Profession</td><td width="25%">N/A</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Title</td><td width="25%">None</td><td width="25%">Reputation</td><td width="25%">0</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Level</td><td colspan="3">1</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Health</td><td width="25%">100</td><td width="25%">Mana</td><td width="25%">100</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Strength</td><td width="25%">11</td><td width="25%">Agility</td><td width="25%">10</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Wisdom</td><td width="25%">10</td><td width="25%">Intelligence</td><td width="25%">10</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Stamina</td><td width="25%">12</td><td width="25%">Luck</td><td width="25%">0</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Leadership</td><td colspan="3">0</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>Blitz tugged on his beard and wondered if this was good or not, then decided to carry on up the hill. After another two hours, he finally saw the makings of a roof. Smiling, he walked a bit further, and then the temple door came into view. It was a solid red door, with a dragon in a circle painted in the middle. This was encased by a high wall, on which stone statues,which looked like tigers, stood facing outwards. Blitz decided to take a quick rest, as he had started to breathe heavily once more. Finally feeling better, he walked up to the big door and knocked.<br><br>There was a noise behind the door, before it was opened by three burly guys dressed in monks robes, akin to the robes worn by monks at chinese temples. They looked at Blitz passively and said nothing. Blitz thought that they would at least have asked what he wanted, but they said nothing. <br><br>Resigning himself to speaking first, he said,“My name is Blitz. I was told by Major Heron that the temple was recruiting, so I am here to seek admission.” <br><br>Blitz looked at the men pensively, and started shifting nervously.One of the men approached Blitz and stretched out his hand without a word. He began touching Blitz’s shoulders and arms. He walked around Blitz, and began touching his thighs. Blitz had to react when the man attempted to put his hands on his bottom. <br><br>Jumping to one side, Blitz uttered,“Batty Bwoy, remove your hands off of me. You can’t be feeling up a man like some pussy.”<br><br>Without a word, the two other monks sprang out, jumping up in the air and landing next to Blitz, holding him firmly in place. Blitz struggled, kicking his legs, but he was held in a vice-like grip, one of the monks touched him on his shoulder, and his legs failed to respond after that. Then, the first monk who was touching him up flashed a smile, and slowly began to approach Blitz. Blitz feared the worst, but his legs couldn't move. He was held tightly at the upper, and lower half couldn’t move. The only option left was..<br><br>“L-l-log out, Log out, log me out quick!” Blitz screamed as the option flashed. <br><br>-Yes. <br><br>The lights went out... </div>

-The scan on your iris and veins has determined that you are an unregistered user. Do you want to create a new account? Hearing those words, Hussain said yes, his eyes searching a face to the voice. “Damn, technology these days.” Not wanting to waste time, Hussain decided to answer the next question levelled at him by the voice. -Select your Avatar. “A what? What’s an avatar?” Information flashed across the screen: An avatar is the graphical representation of the user or the user's alter ego or character. It may take either a three-dimensional form, as in games or virtual worlds, or a two-dimensional form as an icon in Internet forums and other online communities. It can also refer to a text construct found on early systems such as MUDs. It is an object representing the user. The term "avatar" can also refer to the personality connected with the screen name, or handle, of an Internet user.. “OK, that’s enough, next...” -Name your character Hussain thought about this for a while. He thought about what he had in mind, but he didn’t want to be known in game as the person who he was outside of it, so he smiled and said, “Blitz?”. Hussain was skeptical about the name being available, but it seemed that it was available. He smiled as the next question came his way -Select your gender from Male, Female or Neutral? “Male.. Please.” -Royal Road has forty-nine races. You may select your race from— “Human.” -You may alter your appearance according to your specifications— “Yes please, work from my current appearance,” Hussain waited for his image to come up on screen, he marvelled at the level of detail that was visible and smiled. “Now, cleanly shave the head, lower my height to 5ft 10in, give me a skin fade from the head to the beard, make the beard fuller,now grow it up to the tache... Nice, very nice. Make those shoulders a bit bigger, not so big, now the thighs, the arms, make that chest more solid, the calf muscles bigger, widen that back.” Hussain smiled, then asked for the character model to be spun around. “Make the forearms and fist a bit bigger. Many thanks.” -Your account has been activated. Your stats and class shall be determined while you are in game- “Enough of this, take me to the game,” Hussain was happy with his creation and wanted to get into the game as soon as possible. -Select a city and kingdom you want to start. “Random” -Welcome to... “Skip this, get me into the game.” Bright lights flashed all around Hussain. He closed his eyes. When he opened them, he saw a cacophony of colour, tall buildings, and many temples and traditional, ancient chinese houses and buildings. Holding his hands up to his face, Hussain was surprised to see how large his forearms were. He opened and closed his hands, twisted his wrists, and started jumping up and down. Pleased with the outcome, Hussain decided to do a few squats, only to be interrupted by a voice behind him. Looking over his shoulder, Hussain saw a large figure clad in silver armor. “State your business citizen.” Said the man blankly. Hussain raised an eyebrow at the man’s words. Fierce eyes looked back at Hussain through a silver helmet. The man’s hand played with the handle of the huge sword slung at his waist. Hussain wondered if this was a real person or a NPC. Hussain didn’t know what to say. “State your name and business citizen?” The man’s voice seemed like he was demanding a reply. Hussain opened his mouth. “My name is Hus.. I mean Blitz, sir,” Blitz looked at the man and continued, “My business is looking for work and a means of living sir.” Upon hearing that, the man nodded his head and sighed, “A new one again huh? There’s been a few of you lately turning up here in Pusean. This here is Pusean, a small, emerging kingdom in the east, when compared to those in the central. Unfortunately for you, there is no training hall here in Pusean. You might choose to look for work with someone, but most choose to join the church or try for one of the many temple positions.” Blitz scratched his head, feeling nothing on the top, he decided to rub it and asked another question, “How do I do what you do?” The man laughed at Blitz’s question, “Do what I do? To do what I do will require much training. Hmm, there’s not really a training garrison here, but the Pusean temple are recruiting new, adept monks. You could try there. Tell them Major Heron sent you.” With that, Major Heron pointed in the direction of some steps that lead up a steep hill. Major Heron waved goodbye and continued his obvious patrol of the quiet streets. Blitz watched him as he walked away, then turning his head back to the steps, Blitz began his long trek up the steps. Blitz must have been walking for what seemed like days. His legs were aching, his clothes wet with sweat and sticking to his skin. Blitz considered himself to be relatively fit, and the changes he had made to his appearance seemed to not have made any difference. He decided to stop and catch his breath. He looked back the way he came, and saw that the bottom of the steps were no longer visible. Shaking his head, Blitz blurted out,“Oh my days..” Figuring that he was close to the top anyway, Blitz pushed on, ignoring the burn in his legs. Then, there was a sound. -- Ting | Your stamina has increased by 2 | | --- | -- Blitz smiled as the pain in his legs seemed to ease. Breathing a little easier now, he decided to have a look at his stats to see what he had to work with. Not that he’d know how to make heads or tails out of it, but he wanted to see it anyway. “Stats Window” he said out loud, and an overlay came up. | Status Window | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Name | Blitz | Profession | N/A | | Title | None | Reputation | 0 | | Level | 1 | | | | Health | 100 | Mana | 100 | | Strength | 11 | Agility | 10 | | Wisdom | 10 | Intelligence | 10 | | Stamina | 12 | Luck | 0 | | Leadership | 0 | | | Blitz tugged on his beard and wondered if this was good or not, then decided to carry on up the hill. After another two hours, he finally saw the makings of a roof. Smiling, he walked a bit further, and then the temple door came into view. It was a solid red door, with a dragon in a circle painted in the middle. This was encased by a high wall, on which stone statues,which looked like tigers, stood facing outwards. Blitz decided to take a quick rest, as he had started to breathe heavily once more. Finally feeling better, he walked up to the big door and knocked. There was a noise behind the door, before it was opened by three burly guys dressed in monks robes, akin to the robes worn by monks at chinese temples. They looked at Blitz passively and said nothing. Blitz thought that they would at least have asked what he wanted, but they said nothing. Resigning himself to speaking first, he said,“My name is Blitz. I was told by Major Heron that the temple was recruiting, so I am here to seek admission.” Blitz looked at the men pensively, and started shifting nervously.One of the men approached Blitz and stretched out his hand without a word. He began touching Blitz’s shoulders and arms. He walked around Blitz, and began touching his thighs. Blitz had to react when the man attempted to put his hands on his bottom. Jumping to one side, Blitz uttered,“Batty Bwoy, remove your hands off of me. You can’t be feeling up a man like some pussy.” Without a word, the two other monks sprang out, jumping up in the air and landing next to Blitz, holding him firmly in place. Blitz struggled, kicking his legs, but he was held in a vice-like grip, one of the monks touched him on his shoulder, and his legs failed to respond after that. Then, the first monk who was touching him up flashed a smile, and slowly began to approach Blitz. Blitz feared the worst, but his legs couldn't move. He was held tightly at the upper, and lower half couldn’t move. The only option left was.. “L-l-log out, Log out, log me out quick!” Blitz screamed as the option flashed. -Yes. The lights went out...

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> “Fine I’ll teach you!” snapped Theodore in defeat. “However, only if you can pass my test.”<br><br>“No. I refuse to learn anything from you if it requires me to complete a quest. For all I know it may be an impossible to accomplish feat and you are setting me up for failure.” Replied Weed shrewdly. He was a bit worried that if he negotiated too hard then the dwarf might not teach him at all and their relationship would sour further however if he gave in too easily, he would definitely receive an impossible to complete quest which would be of no value to Weed.<br><br>“No, don’t misunderstand me, you need to be of a certain level before you learn these skills and the opportunity to do so only exists in a tiny window. The test must be completed before the next full moon, otherwise you will have to wait another month to take the test!” Replied Theodore hurriedly. The dwarf was sneakier than Weed had anticipated; he wasn’t going to let Weed back out of the quest, he planned to make Weed suffer a terrible price for the insult. “You may consider it a test or a minimum requirement but it is absolutely necessary for you to undergo this trial. Even I, Theodore son of Utmiz, had to undergo this trial at the coming of age ceremony, all dwarves undergo it.”<br><br>Weed considered it; he really had no option. Doing Theodores test next month would give him more time but it would mean failing Rodriguez’s test. Time was of the essence – Weed calculated by accepting the quest / test now he would only be disadvantaged by a week, to take it next month would mean to wait and do nothing for a whole month. “Fine, share the details of the test first.”<br><br>“Weed, before I talk about the test with you, I want you to understand something about dwarves. Dwarves blood is thicker than elven blood. Even distant cousins are treated as first brothers. We may be oddities living beneath the ground like moles digging away, but we have our pride for our close knit relationship. If you pass this test, you will be one of us. Though elf you may be and hated by all, we will still stand before your foes as our own, we will risk our lives and walk down to the very gates of hell if we must. You must honor the first principle of this code. The second principle of the code is the secrecy of our skills. Our skills are valuable across the lands, humans pays fortunes for it and would go on to pay mountains of gold to learn how to forge as well as us. Though we may love gold we are not bloody lizards to sell our secrets to anyone outside our brethren. You must treasure the gift I am about to teach you and protect its origin and history with utmost secrecy. Can you do that much?”<br><br>“Yes.” Replied Weed solemnly. <br><br>“Excellent. The foundations of blacksmithing are dexterity with our hands, creativity of our minds and perseverance of our souls. We prize our creations more than gold and cherish our skills more than our lives. Elves are creatures of poor and weakness in soul. They lack love and compassion. Thus, my test for you is Weed. Forge yourself a new and show to me that you are indeed worthy of learning the sacred skills of blacksmithing.”<br><br>TRRRING!<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td><span style="font-weight: bold;">Quest Part 1: Forge yourself a new </span><br><br>“The foundations of blacksmithing are dexterity with our hands, creativity of our minds and perseverance of our souls. We prize our creations more than gold and cherish our skills more than our lives. Elves are poor creatures with weakness in soul. They lack love and compassion. Thus, my test for you is Weed. Forge yourself a new and show to me that you are indeed worthy of learning the sacred skills of blacksmithing.” – Theodore Balkan son of Utmiz Balkan.<br><br>To learn the great secrets of the dwarves, you have been asked acquire new stats or raise stats or you must do whatever you can to forge yourself a new; worthy of the blacksmithing skills. <br><br>How well you do in the test will determine your future blacksmithing skills to a great extent.<br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;">Rank:</span> D<br><span style="font-weight: bold;">Reward:</span> You will be permitted to learn the great art of blacksmithing.<br><span style="font-weight: bold;">Quest limit: </span> 3 Weeks<br><span style="font-weight: bold;">Quest Requirement: </span> None.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>“Do you accept Weed, or should I consider it too difficult for you?” scorned the Dwarf. Theodore was confident that Weed would fail the test, he was particularly disadvantaged by the fact that he was starting a week late. <br><br>“Yes.” Weed wasn’t a slightest bit hesitant to accept a level D quest, rather he was more than happy to do so, if it meant that he was one step closer to a secret profession, then he had no choice but to embrace the challenges as they came.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>You have accepted the Quest.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>Theodore had an evil grin on his face. “Please then, please show me your stats window.”<br><br>Weed was hesitant to show his stats, but went ahead – there was no embarrassment in front of an NPC.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="4">Physical Status Window</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Name</td><td width="25%">Weed</td><td width="25%">Class / Level</td><td width="25%">FF/001</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Health</td><td width="25%">250</td><td width="25%">Mana Conversion/Sec</td><td width="25%">0</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Health Regen/Sec</td><td width="25%">0</td><td width="25%">Stamina Regen/Sec</td><td width="25%">0.01</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Strength</td><td width="25%">0</td><td width="25%">Agility</td><td width="25%">5</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Wisdom</td><td width="25%">50</td><td width="25%">Intelligence</td><td width="25%">50</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Stamina</td><td width="25%">105</td><td width="25%">Defense</td><td width="25%">0</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Dexterity</td><td width="25%">0</td><td width="25%">Luck</td><td width="25%">200</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Looks/Beauty</td><td colspan="3">5</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>Weed was slightly surprised at the slight change in stats but he then recollected the bonus SP for selecting Elves were Health, Wisdom, Intelligence and Elemental Affinity. If he had to guess, STR increased and decreased to 0 or just decreased to 0, Stamina increased due to continuous physical activity; pushing the wheel barrow for nearly 7 days. Luck came from the compensation of wrong affinity selection. There was an additional stat – Looks; Weed really considered it the most useless stat ever. All other stats remained unchanged.<br><br>“Hmmm. Nothing very impressive in particular, if anything, you are terribly weak!” Commented Theodore. “Alright show me your elemental stats.”<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="4">Elemental Affinity Status Window</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Fire Affinity</td><td width="25%">2.5%</td><td width="25%">Resistance</td><td width="25%">0%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Wind Affinity</td><td width="25%">2.5%</td><td width="25%">Resistance</td><td width="25%">0%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Earth Affinity</td><td width="25%">2.5%</td><td width="25%">Resistance</td><td width="25%">0%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Water Affinity</td><td width="25%">2.5%</td><td width="25%">Resistance</td><td width="25%">0%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Other Affinities</td><td width="25%">0%</td><td width="25%">Resistance</td><td width="25%">0%</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>“I see! I understand! You are a neutral elf!” exclaimed the dwarf excitedly. “Definitely, a weird rare conflicting combination if I may say so. As you are elf, you have an increased elemental affinity compared to other weak humans however it is because you are neutral; the bonus has been spread out. Does it serve any purpose? None whatsoever.”<br><br>Theodore scratched his beard for a while as he stared at the stats. ‘Well this journey is going to be extremely difficult for you and you brought this upon yourself. Never insult a dwarf or you’ll have to pay a terrible price.’<br><br>“Well then elf, begone, farewell and see you in three weeks!” Before Weed knew what was happening, Theodore took Weed’s cup from his hand and pushed Weed out the door.<br><br>Weed stood outside the cabin for a few minutes bewildered with abrupt end of the conversation. Weed walked through the forest pondering about everything Theodore said. The quest wasn’t as simple it appeared. On the face of it, Weed just needed to invest a few skill points into his character and simply rebuild his character but then it wouldn’t be a Difficulty level D quest. Most VR noobs / newbies might have done that, but Weed was different. Weed already figured there was a riddle involved here, ‘Dexterity of the hands, creativity of the mind and perseverance of the soul.’<br><br>‘If I look at it like this, then all that I need to focus on is dexterity, creativity and stamina stats? So if I invested the 300 points I have into that, would it be enough? There were other lines as well - We prize our creations more than gold and cherish our skills more than our lives. Elves are poor creatures with weakness in soul. They lack love and compassion. Did these remaining lines mean anything?’ Weed reached the end of the forest and headed back to the Eastern Gate.<br><br>“Alak.” Weed whispered.<br><br>“Yes Weed?” Alak asked while still invisible.<br><br>“What did you think of Theodores challenge?”<br><br>“Nothing new.”<br><br>Weed was a little surprised with the reply. ‘Nothing new?’ Does this mean Theodore gives out the challenges often? “Could you elaborate on that more?”<br><br>“Nothing new means nothing new! That has always been Theodore! Weed when are we going to look for a fairy pond? Let’s leave this quest and look for a fairy pond!”<br><br>“Yes, sure why not, but only if you tell me what you meant by nothing new.”<br><br>Alak thought about it for a little while, “NO! Weed is a liar! I wont tell! Hmph!”<br><br>Weed tried getting Alak to talk after that, but to no avail, she just refused to say anything. Weed had no choice but to give up expecting Alak to help – fairies were outright selfish creatures – Weed thought to himself.<br><br>Weed was glad he didn’t invest his SP before the quest, otherwise it would have been significantly harder to alter his characters build but it was time for research before he could proceed further. He needed to know more about the elf race, neutral affinity, Lavias City. He also had questions about Rodriguez, Lisa and Theodore. Had any other players met them before and tried their quests? There were a lot of questions to which Weed needed answers to, but staying in RREV any longer seemed pointless. <br><br>- Log out. -<br><br>x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x<br><br>Lee Jun stared at the analog clock on his computer screen while laying on his bed. He was lost in thought about the riddle, he didn’t rush to forums to see the answers, he wanted to think of at least a few ideas and see if he was able to guess even remotely what others may have already considered (assuming others had solved this riddle).<br><br>He took a sip of lime juice and a bit of his sandwich – moms really are the best. Lee Jun considered himself lucky that he could finish at least one quest before his mom came back from her business trip. He now needed an effective time management plan to skillfully avoid his mom’s wrath and dislike for VR games. Fortune once again smiled upon Lee Jun, with summer breaks going on, his mom was more than happy to have him inside VR games rather outside disturbing her work. So it would be okay if he stretched the hours a bit here and there, but going on the excessive side would definitely lead to grounding. ‘Maybe if I had a VR pro-gaming elective she would not say much…may be…’ He decided to find out more about his elective options when school would restart.<br><br>“Computer, open forums relating to–RREV Elves, RREV Neutral Affinity, RREV Lavias City. If you find any overlapping forums, open those too. Also, see if we have something in deep dive.”<br>“Found 1132 forums on Elves, 291 on Neutral Affinity and 314 on Lavias City. Currently, there is one live deep dive discussion going on – topics include Lavias City, Wind Affinity, Wind Temple, Journey to the next Wind City. Would you like to attend it?”<br><br>“Yes.” Weed put on his VR gear. <br><br>The screen read – Connecting …-<br><br><br>x-x-x—x-x-x-xx—xx-x-x-x-x-x-x-x<br><br><br>VR had opened a new realm of human interaction and communication. Though originally VR was created for gaming, everyone realized it was a great tool to cut costs. OZ Deep dive was the most secure and popular encrypted network. It provided a great way to share information and collaborate with others. Rather than buying huge office buildings for employees, now employees connected to the OZ network of their company and simply worked in VR offices. This did not mean companies stopped having RL offices, it just meant they required less RL office space. Essentially VR changed the way society was structured and worked. No longer did people have to commute to office every day or, children have to go to school. <br><br>The substantial benefits weren’t limited to simply cost cutting on real estate and travelling costs, it also meant employees could have the best VR infrastructure, each employee could have a cabin, no more paper waste was generated or threats of information leaks were down! In schools bullying came down substantially (except PE which happened once-three times a week, where students did have to attend the class in RL) as the VR environment was continuously monitoring them, teachers could display 3D animated learning models in the fields of chemistry, biology and physics. Even everyday social interactions like going to a café could now be done over VR. People could taste food and ambience of restaurants around the world which they normally couldn’t do so from luxury of their beds or sofas. <br><br>Again none of this meant RL cafes closed, it just meant Starbucks and Costa also had their own VR networks for people to connect to. People still went to cafes and restaurants when hungry in RL and people still went to RL hospitals when ill. There were some professions where VR had minimal impact, medical care, policing, fire safety etc these were few to list examples. Another where VR had minimal impact was VR programming. <br><br>It was rather ironic that those who created VR spaces still had to go to work in RL. However, it would be interesting to note, that there are three aspects to VR; there is the hardware which OZ Deep Dive provided, the operating VR space and the VR space itself.<br><br>The single rule to VR was that changes could never be created in real time to a VR environment. The VR space would have to go offline, the programmers would make changes in RL and then upload and launch the new system online. Thus the irony, those who made VR spaces could never work in one.<br><br>x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-xx-x—xx-x-x-x-x-<br><br>The surroundings changed and Lee Jun found himself in a café. Just like Lee Jun, there were at least a hundred other people listening to a person talk about his experience in Lavias.<br><br>“Although the name is Lavias, it is not the heaven city, just located on a high altitude. When I first heard Lavias, like most of you I too expected it to be the heaven city, but it seems Unicorn Corp was cutting corners and just went for similar names and topography. Though honestly, I wish the city was flying, it would have added better dynamics of wind affinity players who could try their flying skills with more freedom.”<br><br>A person from the crowd asked, “Seen any of those talking birds?” A few people laughed, those brainless birds were really cute in RR and their absence in RREV Lavias was missed.<br><br>“No, I have so far travelled all six cities available but no birds anywhere, RREV is similar to RR but I don’t think they are related in anyway.” <br><br>“Mr Cho, some of the dungeons we find are also similar to those in RR, enemy units as well. Of course there has been tweaking in their stats and the addition of elemental affinities, but don’t you think it’s too curious?”<br><br>“Well, even if I did have some thought’s too it, at this point we all would simply be speculating. I will take more questions at the end of the discussion. I wanted to talk about the newest city we have unlocked, so I shall quickly summarize the key points of Lavias. It’s not too bad of a city to start in if you are Wind affinity, all other affinities should just avoid it. The city is located near fire border, so avoid the western side. There are a few beginner dungeons and hunting grounds near the northern and eastern side but I’d advise to headed to the next city where the monster drops are better. If there are any other affinity players here who started in Lavias, my best advise would be to head to the temple and learn what ever skill they can offer….”<br><br>Lee Jun interrupted at this point. “And if they don’t have any skill to offer?”<br>“Then you are most likely to be a neutral affinity player and I would recommend to learn lots of professions and decide on your affinity soon. However, if you are even more willing, then delete your character, neutral affinity is one of the worst affinities out there. I simply see no point in it.” Replied Cho.<br><br>“What about hidden affinities?” rebutted Lee Jun.<br><br>“Well it’s not like you can’t change affinities later in the game. If I am not mistaken, there are already quite a few players who changed affinities. There was a player in Earth Kingdom, I believe, he changed from Earth affinity to Metal Affinity a hidden affinity, fire and water have had one too. Air kingdom is one of the more difficult starting points, so we haven’t made as much progress as other kingdoms.”<br><br>Lee Jun wanted to ask more questions, but Cho had a timetable to stick to. He continued with information on wind affinity, “For those of you who want to learn how to fly, I suggest, heading to the next city, AirBour located near the mountains, just follow the trail from the northern gates. It may be best to improve your class before attempting to fly. Trust me, you don’t want to jump off a cliff and have your character die.”<br><br>Most wind users in the room started laughing, some of them had personally experienced it. It was common mistake to learn skills that required a higher class and then to try it out, this often resulted in players dying or severely injuring themselves. <br><br>“On a more serious note, up your class, boost your MC stat and elemental affinity.”<br><br>“How do we boost elemental affinity?” The question indicated that the person who asked so was a clear newbie, Cho decided to ignore it and move on.<br><br>Lee Jun logged of the discussion, there was nothing more there right now that interested him. He would have liked to listen on…but time was of the essence. He then turned his attention to the glass computer screen and checked forums on elves.<br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;">- All you need to know about the RREV Elf Race by CTS Media –</span><br><br>‘Good for elemental users…bonus to elemental stats…most suited profession is …mage and related….in the short run very weak but in the long run, can have significant impact on game. Most useless skill is looks attribute….inability to carry weight and low strength render them as difficult to use characters in the beginning……don’t take neutral affinity with elf, conflicts with boosts of elemental stats. …..(already know that)…best starting city is middle earth…..invest initial SP in STR &amp; DEF.’<br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;">- All you need to know about neutral affinity by JJB Media –</span><br><br>‘BEGIN IN MIDDLE EARTH! AVOID ALL OTHER STARTING CITIES!...(wow whats with the caps..)…middle earth offer most doable quests for neutrals…can learn more professions before elemental users giving rise in demand for neutral players. Most parties in Earth Kingdom are happy to have neutral, good atmosphere….risk of accidently learning Force Affinity is high but pay off is not bad, Earth Kingdom recruits force users heavily…’<br><br>There was nothing available that Lee Jun didn’t already know. He tried searching forums about Rodriguez but nothing turned up. When he tried Lisa, a few topics on the archery profession in Lavias turned up and how one could get Lisa to teach them, the only mention of Rodriguez there was that she lives with her husband. Lee Jun searched “Theodore” and the screen flooded with hundreds of articles.<br><br>“What the heck…” whispered Lee Jun to himself.<br><br>“Theodore Balkan…spotted in Fire Kingdom…air kingdom…also known as the travelling blacksmith, wandering dwarf, the oddity of Versailles….can learn blacksmithing from him…quest test difficult D…” Lee Jun’s eyes widened, maybe this was it but at the same time he was disappointed that he wasn’t the first player to discover this quest. If he wasn’t the first then that means the rewards were common to all players. ‘Would it really be worth spending a month learning simple blacksmithing?’ Lee Jun continued reading the article, “The Travelling Blacksmith shifts from one kingdom to another depending on his mood. He has 12 apprentices and more than 8000 players have confirmed taking his blacksmithing test. Passing rate is fairly high however after clearing the test he makes players compete for top position. Winners are selected as apprentices. Though appears initially as a hidden / unique profession and often confused for similarities with Legendary Moonlight Sculptor, apprentices claim that the blacksmithing taught is the same as those taught in schools. NPC is still being investigated, though most players have written it off as a ”<br><br>Lee Jun sunk back into his bed… ‘8000 people have already taken this test? Common blacksmithing skills? I need a freaking break here!!’<br><br><br><br>----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br>Authors Note:<br><br>1. I wrote a long chapter, then I felt it didn't suit my style, so I split the chapter into two parts. Then I felt, it was best suited for one chapter....so the end result it one long chapter. <br>2. I have begun focusing on quality, so there should be fewer mistakes. This hasn't been proof read, but that will be done soon. <br>3. I made some changes in the teaser released section as well, :-/ teaser releases are more like draft versions.<br>4. I wanted to talk about the impact VR has had in fictional RL this isn't all that important to the story now, but I have planned a subplot for it.<br>5. I could have written long details of elves and neutral affinity, but honestly there isn't all that much information to give. It's what has already been established. I just wanted to focus on Weed and RPG elements for the next few chapters. One of my reasons for not bringing in Lee Hyun at this stage is that the game has been online for 2.5 months. It's not like players have had a lot of game time to establish themselves well. I promise to show more Lee Hyun as the RPG plot develops and the larger role he ends up playing, but that wont be for a while. I just don't want to rush the story - as readers I hope you appreciate that.<br>6. In case anyone is wondering what happened to the wheel barrow and the 1000 gold coins, its in Theodore's cabin. Weed just hasn't realized that as yet.<br><br>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="4">Connect to Royal Road – Elementarem Vim next Chapter?</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&amp;t=322" target="_blank">Yes</a></td><td colspan="2"><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&amp;t=348" target="_blank">No</a></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- </div>

“Fine I’ll teach you!” snapped Theodore in defeat. “However, only if you can pass my test.” “No. I refuse to learn anything from you if it requires me to complete a quest. For all I know it may be an impossible to accomplish feat and you are setting me up for failure.” Replied Weed shrewdly. He was a bit worried that if he negotiated too hard then the dwarf might not teach him at all and their relationship would sour further however if he gave in too easily, he would definitely receive an impossible to complete quest which would be of no value to Weed. “No, don’t misunderstand me, you need to be of a certain level before you learn these skills and the opportunity to do so only exists in a tiny window. The test must be completed before the next full moon, otherwise you will have to wait another month to take the test!” Replied Theodore hurriedly. The dwarf was sneakier than Weed had anticipated; he wasn’t going to let Weed back out of the quest, he planned to make Weed suffer a terrible price for the insult. “You may consider it a test or a minimum requirement but it is absolutely necessary for you to undergo this trial. Even I, Theodore son of Utmiz, had to undergo this trial at the coming of age ceremony, all dwarves undergo it.” Weed considered it; he really had no option. Doing Theodores test next month would give him more time but it would mean failing Rodriguez’s test. Time was of the essence – Weed calculated by accepting the quest / test now he would only be disadvantaged by a week, to take it next month would mean to wait and do nothing for a whole month. “Fine, share the details of the test first.” “Weed, before I talk about the test with you, I want you to understand something about dwarves. Dwarves blood is thicker than elven blood. Even distant cousins are treated as first brothers. We may be oddities living beneath the ground like moles digging away, but we have our pride for our close knit relationship. If you pass this test, you will be one of us. Though elf you may be and hated by all, we will still stand before your foes as our own, we will risk our lives and walk down to the very gates of hell if we must. You must honor the first principle of this code. The second principle of the code is the secrecy of our skills. Our skills are valuable across the lands, humans pays fortunes for it and would go on to pay mountains of gold to learn how to forge as well as us. Though we may love gold we are not bloody lizards to sell our secrets to anyone outside our brethren. You must treasure the gift I am about to teach you and protect its origin and history with utmost secrecy. Can you do that much?” “Yes.” Replied Weed solemnly. “Excellent. The foundations of blacksmithing are dexterity with our hands, creativity of our minds and perseverance of our souls. We prize our creations more than gold and cherish our skills more than our lives. Elves are creatures of poor and weakness in soul. They lack love and compassion. Thus, my test for you is Weed. Forge yourself a new and show to me that you are indeed worthy of learning the sacred skills of blacksmithing.” TRRRING! | Quest Part 1: Forge yourself a new “The foundations of blacksmithing are dexterity with our hands, creativity of our minds and perseverance of our souls. We prize our creations more than gold and cherish our skills more than our lives. Elves are poor creatures with weakness in soul. They lack love and compassion. Thus, my test for you is Weed. Forge yourself a new and show to me that you are indeed worthy of learning the sacred skills of blacksmithing.” – Theodore Balkan son of Utmiz Balkan.To learn the great secrets of the dwarves, you have been asked acquire new stats or raise stats or you must do whatever you can to forge yourself a new; worthy of the blacksmithing skills. How well you do in the test will determine your future blacksmithing skills to a great extent.Rank: DReward: You will be permitted to learn the great art of blacksmithing.Quest limit: 3 WeeksQuest Requirement: None. | | --- | “Do you accept Weed, or should I consider it too difficult for you?” scorned the Dwarf. Theodore was confident that Weed would fail the test, he was particularly disadvantaged by the fact that he was starting a week late. “Yes.” Weed wasn’t a slightest bit hesitant to accept a level D quest, rather he was more than happy to do so, if it meant that he was one step closer to a secret profession, then he had no choice but to embrace the challenges as they came. | You have accepted the Quest. | | --- | Theodore had an evil grin on his face. “Please then, please show me your stats window.” Weed was hesitant to show his stats, but went ahead – there was no embarrassment in front of an NPC. | Physical Status Window | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Name | Weed | Class / Level | FF/001 | | Health | 250 | Mana Conversion/Sec | 0 | | Health Regen/Sec | 0 | Stamina Regen/Sec | 0.01 | | Strength | 0 | Agility | 5 | | Wisdom | 50 | Intelligence | 50 | | Stamina | 105 | Defense | 0 | | Dexterity | 0 | Luck | 200 | | Looks/Beauty | 5 | | | Weed was slightly surprised at the slight change in stats but he then recollected the bonus SP for selecting Elves were Health, Wisdom, Intelligence and Elemental Affinity. If he had to guess, STR increased and decreased to 0 or just decreased to 0, Stamina increased due to continuous physical activity; pushing the wheel barrow for nearly 7 days. Luck came from the compensation of wrong affinity selection. There was an additional stat – Looks; Weed really considered it the most useless stat ever. All other stats remained unchanged. “Hmmm. Nothing very impressive in particular, if anything, you are terribly weak!” Commented Theodore. “Alright show me your elemental stats.” | Elemental Affinity Status Window | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Fire Affinity | 2.5% | Resistance | 0% | | Wind Affinity | 2.5% | Resistance | 0% | | Earth Affinity | 2.5% | Resistance | 0% | | Water Affinity | 2.5% | Resistance | 0% | | Other Affinities | 0% | Resistance | 0% | “I see! I understand! You are a neutral elf!” exclaimed the dwarf excitedly. “Definitely, a weird rare conflicting combination if I may say so. As you are elf, you have an increased elemental affinity compared to other weak humans however it is because you are neutral; the bonus has been spread out. Does it serve any purpose? None whatsoever.” Theodore scratched his beard for a while as he stared at the stats. ‘Well this journey is going to be extremely difficult for you and you brought this upon yourself. Never insult a dwarf or you’ll have to pay a terrible price.’ “Well then elf, begone, farewell and see you in three weeks!” Before Weed knew what was happening, Theodore took Weed’s cup from his hand and pushed Weed out the door. Weed stood outside the cabin for a few minutes bewildered with abrupt end of the conversation. Weed walked through the forest pondering about everything Theodore said. The quest wasn’t as simple it appeared. On the face of it, Weed just needed to invest a few skill points into his character and simply rebuild his character but then it wouldn’t be a Difficulty level D quest. Most VR noobs / newbies might have done that, but Weed was different. Weed already figured there was a riddle involved here, ‘Dexterity of the hands, creativity of the mind and perseverance of the soul.’ ‘If I look at it like this, then all that I need to focus on is dexterity, creativity and stamina stats? So if I invested the 300 points I have into that, would it be enough? There were other lines as well - We prize our creations more than gold and cherish our skills more than our lives. Elves are poor creatures with weakness in soul. They lack love and compassion. Did these remaining lines mean anything?’ Weed reached the end of the forest and headed back to the Eastern Gate. “Alak.” Weed whispered. “Yes Weed?” Alak asked while still invisible. “What did you think of Theodores challenge?” “Nothing new.” Weed was a little surprised with the reply. ‘Nothing new?’ Does this mean Theodore gives out the challenges often? “Could you elaborate on that more?” “Nothing new means nothing new! That has always been Theodore! Weed when are we going to look for a fairy pond? Let’s leave this quest and look for a fairy pond!” “Yes, sure why not, but only if you tell me what you meant by nothing new.” Alak thought about it for a little while, “NO! Weed is a liar! I wont tell! Hmph!” Weed tried getting Alak to talk after that, but to no avail, she just refused to say anything. Weed had no choice but to give up expecting Alak to help – fairies were outright selfish creatures – Weed thought to himself. Weed was glad he didn’t invest his SP before the quest, otherwise it would have been significantly harder to alter his characters build but it was time for research before he could proceed further. He needed to know more about the elf race, neutral affinity, Lavias City. He also had questions about Rodriguez, Lisa and Theodore. Had any other players met them before and tried their quests? There were a lot of questions to which Weed needed answers to, but staying in RREV any longer seemed pointless. - Log out. - x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x Lee Jun stared at the analog clock on his computer screen while laying on his bed. He was lost in thought about the riddle, he didn’t rush to forums to see the answers, he wanted to think of at least a few ideas and see if he was able to guess even remotely what others may have already considered (assuming others had solved this riddle). He took a sip of lime juice and a bit of his sandwich – moms really are the best. Lee Jun considered himself lucky that he could finish at least one quest before his mom came back from her business trip. He now needed an effective time management plan to skillfully avoid his mom’s wrath and dislike for VR games. Fortune once again smiled upon Lee Jun, with summer breaks going on, his mom was more than happy to have him inside VR games rather outside disturbing her work. So it would be okay if he stretched the hours a bit here and there, but going on the excessive side would definitely lead to grounding. ‘Maybe if I had a VR pro-gaming elective she would not say much…may be…’ He decided to find out more about his elective options when school would restart. “Computer, open forums relating to–RREV Elves, RREV Neutral Affinity, RREV Lavias City. If you find any overlapping forums, open those too. Also, see if we have something in deep dive.” “Found 1132 forums on Elves, 291 on Neutral Affinity and 314 on Lavias City. Currently, there is one live deep dive discussion going on – topics include Lavias City, Wind Affinity, Wind Temple, Journey to the next Wind City. Would you like to attend it?” “Yes.” Weed put on his VR gear. The screen read – Connecting …- x-x-x—x-x-x-xx—xx-x-x-x-x-x-x-x VR had opened a new realm of human interaction and communication. Though originally VR was created for gaming, everyone realized it was a great tool to cut costs. OZ Deep dive was the most secure and popular encrypted network. It provided a great way to share information and collaborate with others. Rather than buying huge office buildings for employees, now employees connected to the OZ network of their company and simply worked in VR offices. This did not mean companies stopped having RL offices, it just meant they required less RL office space. Essentially VR changed the way society was structured and worked. No longer did people have to commute to office every day or, children have to go to school. The substantial benefits weren’t limited to simply cost cutting on real estate and travelling costs, it also meant employees could have the best VR infrastructure, each employee could have a cabin, no more paper waste was generated or threats of information leaks were down! In schools bullying came down substantially (except PE which happened once-three times a week, where students did have to attend the class in RL) as the VR environment was continuously monitoring them, teachers could display 3D animated learning models in the fields of chemistry, biology and physics. Even everyday social interactions like going to a café could now be done over VR. People could taste food and ambience of restaurants around the world which they normally couldn’t do so from luxury of their beds or sofas. Again none of this meant RL cafes closed, it just meant Starbucks and Costa also had their own VR networks for people to connect to. People still went to cafes and restaurants when hungry in RL and people still went to RL hospitals when ill. There were some professions where VR had minimal impact, medical care, policing, fire safety etc these were few to list examples. Another where VR had minimal impact was VR programming. It was rather ironic that those who created VR spaces still had to go to work in RL. However, it would be interesting to note, that there are three aspects to VR; there is the hardware which OZ Deep Dive provided, the operating VR space and the VR space itself. The single rule to VR was that changes could never be created in real time to a VR environment. The VR space would have to go offline, the programmers would make changes in RL and then upload and launch the new system online. Thus the irony, those who made VR spaces could never work in one. x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-xx-x—xx-x-x-x-x- The surroundings changed and Lee Jun found himself in a café. Just like Lee Jun, there were at least a hundred other people listening to a person talk about his experience in Lavias. “Although the name is Lavias, it is not the heaven city, just located on a high altitude. When I first heard Lavias, like most of you I too expected it to be the heaven city, but it seems Unicorn Corp was cutting corners and just went for similar names and topography. Though honestly, I wish the city was flying, it would have added better dynamics of wind affinity players who could try their flying skills with more freedom.” A person from the crowd asked, “Seen any of those talking birds?” A few people laughed, those brainless birds were really cute in RR and their absence in RREV Lavias was missed. “No, I have so far travelled all six cities available but no birds anywhere, RREV is similar to RR but I don’t think they are related in anyway.” “Mr Cho, some of the dungeons we find are also similar to those in RR, enemy units as well. Of course there has been tweaking in their stats and the addition of elemental affinities, but don’t you think it’s too curious?” “Well, even if I did have some thought’s too it, at this point we all would simply be speculating. I will take more questions at the end of the discussion. I wanted to talk about the newest city we have unlocked, so I shall quickly summarize the key points of Lavias. It’s not too bad of a city to start in if you are Wind affinity, all other affinities should just avoid it. The city is located near fire border, so avoid the western side. There are a few beginner dungeons and hunting grounds near the northern and eastern side but I’d advise to headed to the next city where the monster drops are better. If there are any other affinity players here who started in Lavias, my best advise would be to head to the temple and learn what ever skill they can offer….” Lee Jun interrupted at this point. “And if they don’t have any skill to offer?” “Then you are most likely to be a neutral affinity player and I would recommend to learn lots of professions and decide on your affinity soon. However, if you are even more willing, then delete your character, neutral affinity is one of the worst affinities out there. I simply see no point in it.” Replied Cho. “What about hidden affinities?” rebutted Lee Jun. “Well it’s not like you can’t change affinities later in the game. If I am not mistaken, there are already quite a few players who changed affinities. There was a player in Earth Kingdom, I believe, he changed from Earth affinity to Metal Affinity a hidden affinity, fire and water have had one too. Air kingdom is one of the more difficult starting points, so we haven’t made as much progress as other kingdoms.” Lee Jun wanted to ask more questions, but Cho had a timetable to stick to. He continued with information on wind affinity, “For those of you who want to learn how to fly, I suggest, heading to the next city, AirBour located near the mountains, just follow the trail from the northern gates. It may be best to improve your class before attempting to fly. Trust me, you don’t want to jump off a cliff and have your character die.” Most wind users in the room started laughing, some of them had personally experienced it. It was common mistake to learn skills that required a higher class and then to try it out, this often resulted in players dying or severely injuring themselves. “On a more serious note, up your class, boost your MC stat and elemental affinity.” “How do we boost elemental affinity?” The question indicated that the person who asked so was a clear newbie, Cho decided to ignore it and move on. Lee Jun logged of the discussion, there was nothing more there right now that interested him. He would have liked to listen on…but time was of the essence. He then turned his attention to the glass computer screen and checked forums on elves. - All you need to know about the RREV Elf Race by CTS Media – ‘Good for elemental users…bonus to elemental stats…most suited profession is …mage and related….in the short run very weak but in the long run, can have significant impact on game. Most useless skill is looks attribute….inability to carry weight and low strength render them as difficult to use characters in the beginning……don’t take neutral affinity with elf, conflicts with boosts of elemental stats. …..(already know that)…best starting city is middle earth…..invest initial SP in STR & DEF.’ - All you need to know about neutral affinity by JJB Media – ‘BEGIN IN MIDDLE EARTH! AVOID ALL OTHER STARTING CITIES!...(wow whats with the caps..)…middle earth offer most doable quests for neutrals…can learn more professions before elemental users giving rise in demand for neutral players. Most parties in Earth Kingdom are happy to have neutral, good atmosphere….risk of accidently learning Force Affinity is high but pay off is not bad, Earth Kingdom recruits force users heavily…’ There was nothing available that Lee Jun didn’t already know. He tried searching forums about Rodriguez but nothing turned up. When he tried Lisa, a few topics on the archery profession in Lavias turned up and how one could get Lisa to teach them, the only mention of Rodriguez there was that she lives with her husband. Lee Jun searched “Theodore” and the screen flooded with hundreds of articles. “What the heck…” whispered Lee Jun to himself. “Theodore Balkan…spotted in Fire Kingdom…air kingdom…also known as the travelling blacksmith, wandering dwarf, the oddity of Versailles….can learn blacksmithing from him…quest test difficult D…” Lee Jun’s eyes widened, maybe this was it but at the same time he was disappointed that he wasn’t the first player to discover this quest. If he wasn’t the first then that means the rewards were common to all players. ‘Would it really be worth spending a month learning simple blacksmithing?’ Lee Jun continued reading the article, “The Travelling Blacksmith shifts from one kingdom to another depending on his mood. He has 12 apprentices and more than 8000 players have confirmed taking his blacksmithing test. Passing rate is fairly high however after clearing the test he makes players compete for top position. Winners are selected as apprentices. Though appears initially as a hidden / unique profession and often confused for similarities with Legendary Moonlight Sculptor, apprentices claim that the blacksmithing taught is the same as those taught in schools. NPC is still being investigated, though most players have written it off as a ” Lee Jun sunk back into his bed… ‘8000 people have already taken this test? Common blacksmithing skills? I need a freaking break here!!’ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Authors Note: 1. I wrote a long chapter, then I felt it didn't suit my style, so I split the chapter into two parts. Then I felt, it was best suited for one chapter....so the end result it one long chapter. 2. I have begun focusing on quality, so there should be fewer mistakes. This hasn't been proof read, but that will be done soon. 3. I made some changes in the teaser released section as well, :-/ teaser releases are more like draft versions. 4. I wanted to talk about the impact VR has had in fictional RL this isn't all that important to the story now, but I have planned a subplot for it. 5. I could have written long details of elves and neutral affinity, but honestly there isn't all that much information to give. It's what has already been established. I just wanted to focus on Weed and RPG elements for the next few chapters. One of my reasons for not bringing in Lee Hyun at this stage is that the game has been online for 2.5 months. It's not like players have had a lot of game time to establish themselves well. I promise to show more Lee Hyun as the RPG plot develops and the larger role he ends up playing, but that wont be for a while. I just don't want to rush the story - as readers I hope you appreciate that. 6. In case anyone is wondering what happened to the wheel barrow and the 1000 gold coins, its in Theodore's cabin. Weed just hasn't realized that as yet. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Connect to Royal Road – Elementarem Vim next Chapter? | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Yes](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&t=322) | | [No](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&t=348) | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> Ting<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>[You are the first to discover the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Pusean Underground Arena</span><br>+20 Fame<br>+10 Infamy</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>A loud noise could be heard coming from inside as Blitz and Bumpy entered. Inside was a stadium-shaped arrangement, but with rows of benches, with people standing,shouting, and holding slips of paper. In the middle was a large platform, but it quickly dawned on him that this was some type of fighting arena, and everyone’s attention seemed to be focused on the fight that was ongoing. Two men were engaged in combat, there was blood everywhere, and dismembered body parts were strewn across the floor. One of the combatants held a shield and a serrated short sword, and was advancing on the other, who held a claymore. Both men were clad in heavy armor, with helmets hiding their faces. <br><br>Blitz watched as the two men slowly began circling each other, and were using their feet to remove obstacles at their feet. The crowd was in an uproar, with people shouting “Kill him!” The man with the claymore then struck out with an overhead chop, aiming downwards. The man with the short serrated sword and shield easily jumped backwards, then, moving to the side, he lunged to stab his short sword at the claymore wielder. The claymore wielder expertly rolled out of the way and instantly sprang up. This seemed to be an even match.<br><br>The men began circling each other once more, the man with the sword and shield, feigned a stabbing attack. The feign seemed to have worked, as the man with the claymore swung wildly and missed. The sword and shield user, sensing his opportunity, rushed in and bashed the claymore wielder in the face. The sword and shield user’s shield dazed the claymore user. There were sounds of Ooh's and Aah's coming from the crowd, as the action was building to a fever pitch. The claymore wielder was now immobilized and knelt on one knee, in the hopes of regaining his form, but, his weapon was loose in his hand. The fighter with the shield seized the opportunity and stepped on the claymore, knocking it to the floor. <br><br>The now empty-handed claymore user brandished a knife from his boot and swung it upwards at the short sword user, who backed away with a laugh. The claymore(no longer lol) user, was still on his knee. Wiping his face, he sheathed his knife and tried to reach for the claymore. However, the shield user was ready, and quickly ran in, and in one motion, kicked the claymore wielder in the face with his boot, knocking his head back. Then, using the claymore user’s knee,he jumped up high, aimed the short sword downwards, and with the aid of gravity, buried it accurately between the man’s neck and shoulder bone. The attack was well-placed, for the armor worn by the claymore user had straps on either side, and thus, it was a weak point.<br><br>The man's eyes and mouth opened wide in shock. He then spurted blood out from his mouth, as the sword and shield user viciously yanked the serrated sword from the man’s neck. Blood, bone and tissue matter was sprayed across the arena; the claymore user tried in vain to apply pressure to his neck in an attempt to stop the bleeding, but it seemed to be a pointless effort. The crowd was hysterical, cheering and roaring. The short sword user began walking around the arena with his shield and sword held up in the air, shaking them in a victory parade around the bloody arena. He then paused at a row of seats and looked up. The crowd went silent instantly.<br><br>Located above was an old man with an eye patch, who sat in a chair and was wearing an obsidian robe. He was flanked by two men in hooded attire. The man gave a thumbs down, and the crowd cheered once more. The sword and shield user nodded and calmly walked over to the claymore user, who was beyond help. With a swift stroke,the claymore user’s head was severed from the torso, his arms flailing wildly, his legs kicking out madly. The crowd found it funny as the head began a mini tour of the arena floor and decided to park itself facing Blitz; the eyes were blank and staring into the void, one of them was filled with dirt, and Blitz was sure he saw tears welling up in the dead man’s eyes.<br><br>“Hey, what's your name?” Bumpy shuffled over and shook Blitz from his stare down with the severed head. Blitz had to tear his eyes away from the head, and looked at Bumpy who shouted at him again over the noise of the crowd. <br><br>“What.. Is.. Your... Name?” Bumpy shouted once more. <br><br>Blitz nodded and answered,“Blitz. The name is Blitz.” <br><br>Bumpy nodded, then hobbled over to a fat man, who was clearly taking bets and distributing pieces of paper, when the ring announcer began speaking.<br><br>“Well, well, I guess someone lost their head tonight. Ha ha ha,” The crowd laughed as the announcer jumped into the center of the ring and kicked the head out of the way.<br><br>“Aaand the winner is, the crimson warrior! This win takes him to five consecutive victories so far - can anyone stop this new dynamo, he seems set to challenge the arena cha--.”<br><br>The announcer stopped short as the fat man taking bets called him over and whispered something into his ear. The announcer then smiled and walked back to the center of the arena.<br><br>“Well, well, well, do we have a treat for you slumdogs.” The crowd began to cheer and began shouting in unison, demanding to know what it was. <br><br>The announcer replied,“We have a new face entering our illustrious brotherhood. He’s been training at the Pusean temple under Abbot Fung himself, and judging by the looks of it, he has the body that says this is true.”<br><br> The announcer was looking directly at the man next to Blitz. However, it turned out that his eyes were bad, and he was really looking at Blitz.<br><br>“Wait, what?” Blitz looked over to Bumpy, who was smiling and calling him over. The crowd was clapping and patting Blitz on the back, pushing him towards Bumpy, and the entrance to the arena floor. <br><br>Blitz finally got pushed next to Bumpy and asked,“What the hell did you do?” <br><br>Blitz looked at Bumpy as though he wanted to strangle him. Bumpy calmly responded,“Don’t worry about it, it’s a piece of cake. You have a better foundation than him. You can even use weapons here so its OK. Plus, all you have to do is survive for five minutes and you’re in.”<br><br>Blitz replied, “I’m in? I’m in what? What are you talking about?” <br><br>“Look, stop worrying, just run around the arena a lil’ bit until the time is up and you get a bunch of money. And you get to be on the roster.”<br><br>“On the what? The roster?”<br><br>---<br>Ting<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>- Ring Entrance - <br><br>You have been forced into the Underground fight arena. You must survive for five minutes or defeat your opponent. You can choose any weapon to fight.<br><br>Difficulty level: D<br><br>Quest rewards: A spot on the roster<br><br>You cannot refuse the quest</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br>---<br><br>Blitz blinked in shock at the message on his screen, “What do you mean I can’t refuse?” <br><br>Blitz thought of logging out, but then remembered how the three monks had waited for him to log back in. He relaxed his breathing and calmed himself. Alll he had to do was move around the arena and stay away from the ‘crimson warrior’.<br><br>- <br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>You have accepted the quest</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div> <br>- <br><br>“OK, here’s the plan. You go in there and move around for a bit. Run around him and stay alive for five minutes.”<br><br>Blitz, now with a calm expression on his face, looked at Bumpy and said, “Sounds easy enough.”<br><br>Bumpy was shocked. He watched as Blitz walked into the arena and went to the side. The crowd started cheering loudly. Blitz tried to tune out the noise, and in so doing, a message popped up.<br><br>--<br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>New stat: Focused Mind<br><br>-Focused Mind-<br>Your attention is solely on your target, your mind is clear and sharp, you can see clearly now.<br>Unable to put points into this stat.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br>--<br><br>The crimson warrior wiped off the blood and gore from his armor, wiped his feet and nonchalantly re-entered the arena. The crowd went wild, then the crimson warrior raised his sword and shield high once more, and roared aloud. This garnered more cheers from the crowd. He then pointed his sword at Blitz, who was trying to stay calm. But upon remembering what the sword had just done, he panicked and lost focus. His heart now beating rapidly, he was struggling for control when the announcer signalled the beginning of the match.<br><br>The crimson warrior turned his back to Blitz and began shouting at the crowd, whipping them into a frenzy. Then with his shoulder heaving, he turned back to face Blitz. He faked a charge, which got a rise out of Blitz, as he flinched and ran to the side. The crowd and the crimson warrior laughed. <br><br>Blitz, at this time, had one thought going through his mind, ‘Survive.’<br><br>Jumping to one side, Blitz almost tripped over a severed arm on the floor, but regained his balance just in time. The crowd seemed to be in a jovial mood, as they were laughing at the hijinks happening on the arena floor. Blitz was trying to keep a mental clock for when the five minutes would be over, and then maybe he could get out of the ring unscathed. However, it seemed the crimson warrior had other plans - he made a horizontal slash with his sword, aimed at the upper body of Blitz, who leaned back out of the way, then quickly rushed to the other side of the arena. He turned to face the crimson warrior, who, to Blitz’s amazement, was just turning around<br>“Whoa..” Blitz uttered these words as the warrior turned around to face him. Blitz immediately had a thought, and his eyes widened. If what he was thinking was true, then what he was about to do would further drive home the point.<br><br>The crimson warrior was looking at Blitz. He threw off his helmet in obvious frustration, as he had wanted to end the fight in that stroke. The crimson warrior had pale white skin and a scar on his left cheek, he had blonde, shoulder-length hair. With a menacing look in his eyes, the crimson warrior raised his hands and started shaking the sword and shield in the air. The same way he did when he defeated the claymore user no less than thirty minutes ago. This action now garnered more loud noises from the crowd. He advanced towards Blitz a bit more slowly this time, determined not to let him escape again.<br><br>Blitz watched as the crimson warrior approached him much more ponderously, with a determined look, the kind a predator gives its prey. Normally, a stare like this would cause panic in any opponent, but Blitz was immune to it. He had a vision and a goal in mind, and was focused on seeing if what he thought earlier could be actualised. Blitz began walking towards the warrior to meet him, stepping lightly.<br><br>The crimson warrior stopped momentarily, obviously perplexed at the sight of this physically strapping, bald, thick-bearded guy who lacked any real combat experience, was advancing towards him. He smiled at this and was glad that this newcomer was going to accept his death like a man. He thought he would at least give the newcomer a warrior’s death. He picked up his pace, and pulled back his sword to do a stab.<br><br>Blitz saw the sword pull back. And then, as if in slow motion, the sword came towards him. He grinned, as the experiment had proved to be fruitful. He easily dodged to the right and shoved the crimson warrior from behind. The crimson warrior’s momentum increased as he stumbled and fell to his knees. Blitz laughed, which caused the crowd to laugh at the crimson warrior. However, what Blitz was laughing at was the fact that the realisation of the last three weeks of chores had come in handy/ He now had a deeper appreciation of water jus and firewood, not to mention the broomsticks.<br>--<br>Ting<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>You have learned a new passive skill<br>-Footwork (Going around)-<br>Pivots, side-steps, lateral movement. Pivots around an attack or two but takes too much energy to move your entire body when your opponent is only moving his arm. Moving around your opponent is a great way to use angles and to simultaneously attack and defend. Drains energy and/or stamina.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br>--<br><br>The crimson warrior, now on his knees, was furious. The humiliation he suffered at the hands of this newcomer was embarrassing, to say the least. Now the crowd - his crowd, were laughing at him. <br><br>Standing up. the warrior turned and pointed at Blitz,“You.. You run like chicken. Stand and fight me.” <br><br>Saying those words, the warrior threw down his shield. He began taking off his chest plate, which then fell to the earthen arena floor with a thud. He kicked them to one side. He lowered his stance and started tossing his sword from his left hand to his right hand continuously. <br><br>Then he spoke,“Look, I make easy for you. No shield, no armor, like real men. Now you fight. And die.”<br><br>Blitz, not wanting to push his luck anymore, held up his hands in resignation. He turned and looked back at Bumpy on the outside of the arena, and said,“The five minutes are up, aren’t they?”<br><br>Bumpy looked at Blitz, his mouth open, and nodded.He then replied, “Erm, yeah.. Yes! The time is over announcer, he survived the five minutes. He did it.” <br><br>Jumping into the ring, Bumpy hobbled over to Blitz and lifted his hand up. The announcer, who was transfixed by the action, then ran to the center and spoke up,“Yes, the time limit has been reac--” <br><br>The announcer was cut short by the crimson warrior, who interrupted by shouting“No, match not over. Fight must continue. I ask fight to continue by challenge champ right.”<br><br>It seemed that there was a rule where, if you won five consecutive matches, you had the chance to fight the arena champ for your chance to claim the title, and along with it, the money. However, you could forfeit the right to challenge anyone, as per the challengers’ right.<br><br>The crimson warrior looking up at the ‘VIP’ box, and addressed the one-eyed man seated in the chair wearing the obsidian robe, “Old Man Fox, let fight continue. Must teach newcomer his place.” <br><br>The crowd was silent, as everyone awaited the decision of ‘Old Man Fox’, who signalled one of the hooded men next to him, and whispered something into his ear. The hooded man then walked down to the arena floor, called over the announcer, and whispered something in his ear.<br><br>The announcer then ran back to the middle of the ring, “We have been most lucky today, yes, indeed we have.. Our honorable brother Fox has decreed that the match continue until one person is unable to fight.”<br><br>-<br>Ting<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>- Encore - <br><br>The crimson warrior has issued you a challenge. You must accept. Old Man Fox commands it. Quest rewards from the previous quest, to survive five minutes, will be added to this.<br><br>Difficulty level: Unknown<br><br>Quest rewards: A spot on the roster<br><br>You cannot refuse the quest</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>Bumpy turned to Blitz and shook his head, resting a hand on Blitz’s shoulder,“I’m sorry about all this. You’re in this mess because of me. If you hadn’t followed me, you would've been back at the temple by now.”<br><br>Blitz looked at Bumpy, and then flashed a glance at the crimson warrior, who was grinning and nodding his head.<br><br>“I guess, I’ll have to think of something - Seems easy enough.”<br><br>Bumpy looked at Blitz as though he was crazy. He could see the look in Blitz’s eyes, as though he had a plan. Bumpy secretly hoped it was a good plan, because they needed all the luck and plans they could get. Both of them needed it right now.<br><br>He then whispered to Blitz,“Well, try and make it as quick as possible. The longer you try and tango with him, the more his experience will get the better of you.”<br><br>Bumpy and the announcer cleared out of the arena, and Blitz looked at the crimson warrior, who was still grinning in delight, as he went back to lowering his stance and tossing his blade from hand to hand. Then he instantly jumped forward, trying to get a reaction from Blitz, who stood still watching the warrior. The warrior was not phased by the lack of a reaction. He smiled as he began to circle around the arena. <br><br>Blitz followed suit and began circling the warrior as well. Blitz was now watching the warrior, looking for any opportunity he might see to end the fight as quickly as possible, when suddenly, the warrior charged at Blitz. The crimson warrior began to zigzag, while still tossing his weapon from hand to hand, in an effort to confuse his opponent. Blitz was now forced to take two steps back, as the warrior leapt into the air.<br><br>The warrior was in the air with both his hands up, the sword in the left hand, which he quickly tossed to the right hand, and was coming down with a downward strike aimed at Blitz. Blitz watched everything as though it was in slow motion, the man was aiming for a slash that would cut from Blitz’s left shoulder, cleaving all the way across his chest. As the man descended, Blitz noticed the warrior had left his abdomen open for attack. Was this a ploy, Blitz wondered, discarding the thought and knowing he had to end it quick. Blitz instinctively side stepped from the sword trajectory with his new footwork.<br><br>“Huhn.” <br><br>Then, Blitz delivered a punch into the warrior’s exposed midsection.There was a dull sound and a crack, as the punch hit home. The warrior was seemingly wrapped around Blitz’s right hand, like a car wreck around a tree. And then, Blitz finished the rotation on the swing, which sent the warrior sprawling across the arena floor, the warrior’s leg twitched momentarily, and his mouth was foaming. <br><br>There was a deathly silence. Then Blitz finally moved, and the crowd went crazy.<br>--<br>Ting<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>Quest complete<br><br>You have received 4 gold<br>You have gained a level<br>You have gained a level<br><br>Strength rises by 1 point. (+1 STR)<br>Agility rises by 1 point. (+1 AGI)<br>Vitality rises by 1 point. (+1 VIT)<br>Fame rises by 20 points. (+20 FAME)<br>Life rises by 100 points. (+100 HP)</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br>--<br><br>Blitz looked at his fist in awe, and then at the warrior stretched on the ground. Then, he was suddenly lifted into the air by someone, that someone being Bumpy, who was grinning like a cheshire cat. Blitz couldn't contain his excitement, and was happy with his performance. And with the crowd cheering on, he felt as though he was on top of the world. The crowd went silent, as Old Fox stood up and walked out of the arena, signalling for the crimson warrior to be removed. Two old men scuttled into the arena and dragged the warrior off by the legs. Blitz smiled at the irony.<br><br>“That was a peach, man. You did it. I can’t believe it.” <br><br>Bumpy was more excited than Blitz at the outcome of the match, obviously because he was going to get paid and would be able to pay back some of his debts. Bumpy went over to collect the winnings, and they split the money 50/50. Bumpy also made sure that Blitz’s name was entered on the roster for the fight schedules. </div>

Ting | [You are the first to discover the Pusean Underground Arena+20 Fame+10 Infamy | | --- | A loud noise could be heard coming from inside as Blitz and Bumpy entered. Inside was a stadium-shaped arrangement, but with rows of benches, with people standing,shouting, and holding slips of paper. In the middle was a large platform, but it quickly dawned on him that this was some type of fighting arena, and everyone’s attention seemed to be focused on the fight that was ongoing. Two men were engaged in combat, there was blood everywhere, and dismembered body parts were strewn across the floor. One of the combatants held a shield and a serrated short sword, and was advancing on the other, who held a claymore. Both men were clad in heavy armor, with helmets hiding their faces. Blitz watched as the two men slowly began circling each other, and were using their feet to remove obstacles at their feet. The crowd was in an uproar, with people shouting “Kill him!” The man with the claymore then struck out with an overhead chop, aiming downwards. The man with the short serrated sword and shield easily jumped backwards, then, moving to the side, he lunged to stab his short sword at the claymore wielder. The claymore wielder expertly rolled out of the way and instantly sprang up. This seemed to be an even match. The men began circling each other once more, the man with the sword and shield, feigned a stabbing attack. The feign seemed to have worked, as the man with the claymore swung wildly and missed. The sword and shield user, sensing his opportunity, rushed in and bashed the claymore wielder in the face. The sword and shield user’s shield dazed the claymore user. There were sounds of Ooh's and Aah's coming from the crowd, as the action was building to a fever pitch. The claymore wielder was now immobilized and knelt on one knee, in the hopes of regaining his form, but, his weapon was loose in his hand. The fighter with the shield seized the opportunity and stepped on the claymore, knocking it to the floor. The now empty-handed claymore user brandished a knife from his boot and swung it upwards at the short sword user, who backed away with a laugh. The claymore(no longer lol) user, was still on his knee. Wiping his face, he sheathed his knife and tried to reach for the claymore. However, the shield user was ready, and quickly ran in, and in one motion, kicked the claymore wielder in the face with his boot, knocking his head back. Then, using the claymore user’s knee,he jumped up high, aimed the short sword downwards, and with the aid of gravity, buried it accurately between the man’s neck and shoulder bone. The attack was well-placed, for the armor worn by the claymore user had straps on either side, and thus, it was a weak point. The man's eyes and mouth opened wide in shock. He then spurted blood out from his mouth, as the sword and shield user viciously yanked the serrated sword from the man’s neck. Blood, bone and tissue matter was sprayed across the arena; the claymore user tried in vain to apply pressure to his neck in an attempt to stop the bleeding, but it seemed to be a pointless effort. The crowd was hysterical, cheering and roaring. The short sword user began walking around the arena with his shield and sword held up in the air, shaking them in a victory parade around the bloody arena. He then paused at a row of seats and looked up. The crowd went silent instantly. Located above was an old man with an eye patch, who sat in a chair and was wearing an obsidian robe. He was flanked by two men in hooded attire. The man gave a thumbs down, and the crowd cheered once more. The sword and shield user nodded and calmly walked over to the claymore user, who was beyond help. With a swift stroke,the claymore user’s head was severed from the torso, his arms flailing wildly, his legs kicking out madly. The crowd found it funny as the head began a mini tour of the arena floor and decided to park itself facing Blitz; the eyes were blank and staring into the void, one of them was filled with dirt, and Blitz was sure he saw tears welling up in the dead man’s eyes. “Hey, what's your name?” Bumpy shuffled over and shook Blitz from his stare down with the severed head. Blitz had to tear his eyes away from the head, and looked at Bumpy who shouted at him again over the noise of the crowd. “What.. Is.. Your... Name?” Bumpy shouted once more. Blitz nodded and answered,“Blitz. The name is Blitz.” Bumpy nodded, then hobbled over to a fat man, who was clearly taking bets and distributing pieces of paper, when the ring announcer began speaking. “Well, well, I guess someone lost their head tonight. Ha ha ha,” The crowd laughed as the announcer jumped into the center of the ring and kicked the head out of the way. “Aaand the winner is, the crimson warrior! This win takes him to five consecutive victories so far - can anyone stop this new dynamo, he seems set to challenge the arena cha--.” The announcer stopped short as the fat man taking bets called him over and whispered something into his ear. The announcer then smiled and walked back to the center of the arena. “Well, well, well, do we have a treat for you slumdogs.” The crowd began to cheer and began shouting in unison, demanding to know what it was. The announcer replied,“We have a new face entering our illustrious brotherhood. He’s been training at the Pusean temple under Abbot Fung himself, and judging by the looks of it, he has the body that says this is true.” The announcer was looking directly at the man next to Blitz. However, it turned out that his eyes were bad, and he was really looking at Blitz. “Wait, what?” Blitz looked over to Bumpy, who was smiling and calling him over. The crowd was clapping and patting Blitz on the back, pushing him towards Bumpy, and the entrance to the arena floor. Blitz finally got pushed next to Bumpy and asked,“What the hell did you do?” Blitz looked at Bumpy as though he wanted to strangle him. Bumpy calmly responded,“Don’t worry about it, it’s a piece of cake. You have a better foundation than him. You can even use weapons here so its OK. Plus, all you have to do is survive for five minutes and you’re in.” Blitz replied, “I’m in? I’m in what? What are you talking about?” “Look, stop worrying, just run around the arena a lil’ bit until the time is up and you get a bunch of money. And you get to be on the roster.” “On the what? The roster?” --- Ting | - Ring Entrance - You have been forced into the Underground fight arena. You must survive for five minutes or defeat your opponent. You can choose any weapon to fight.Difficulty level: DQuest rewards: A spot on the rosterYou cannot refuse the quest | | --- | --- Blitz blinked in shock at the message on his screen, “What do you mean I can’t refuse?” Blitz thought of logging out, but then remembered how the three monks had waited for him to log back in. He relaxed his breathing and calmed himself. Alll he had to do was move around the arena and stay away from the ‘crimson warrior’. - | You have accepted the quest | | --- | - “OK, here’s the plan. You go in there and move around for a bit. Run around him and stay alive for five minutes.” Blitz, now with a calm expression on his face, looked at Bumpy and said, “Sounds easy enough.” Bumpy was shocked. He watched as Blitz walked into the arena and went to the side. The crowd started cheering loudly. Blitz tried to tune out the noise, and in so doing, a message popped up. -- | New stat: Focused Mind-Focused Mind-Your attention is solely on your target, your mind is clear and sharp, you can see clearly now.Unable to put points into this stat. | | --- | -- The crimson warrior wiped off the blood and gore from his armor, wiped his feet and nonchalantly re-entered the arena. The crowd went wild, then the crimson warrior raised his sword and shield high once more, and roared aloud. This garnered more cheers from the crowd. He then pointed his sword at Blitz, who was trying to stay calm. But upon remembering what the sword had just done, he panicked and lost focus. His heart now beating rapidly, he was struggling for control when the announcer signalled the beginning of the match. The crimson warrior turned his back to Blitz and began shouting at the crowd, whipping them into a frenzy. Then with his shoulder heaving, he turned back to face Blitz. He faked a charge, which got a rise out of Blitz, as he flinched and ran to the side. The crowd and the crimson warrior laughed. Blitz, at this time, had one thought going through his mind, ‘Survive.’ Jumping to one side, Blitz almost tripped over a severed arm on the floor, but regained his balance just in time. The crowd seemed to be in a jovial mood, as they were laughing at the hijinks happening on the arena floor. Blitz was trying to keep a mental clock for when the five minutes would be over, and then maybe he could get out of the ring unscathed. However, it seemed the crimson warrior had other plans - he made a horizontal slash with his sword, aimed at the upper body of Blitz, who leaned back out of the way, then quickly rushed to the other side of the arena. He turned to face the crimson warrior, who, to Blitz’s amazement, was just turning around “Whoa..” Blitz uttered these words as the warrior turned around to face him. Blitz immediately had a thought, and his eyes widened. If what he was thinking was true, then what he was about to do would further drive home the point. The crimson warrior was looking at Blitz. He threw off his helmet in obvious frustration, as he had wanted to end the fight in that stroke. The crimson warrior had pale white skin and a scar on his left cheek, he had blonde, shoulder-length hair. With a menacing look in his eyes, the crimson warrior raised his hands and started shaking the sword and shield in the air. The same way he did when he defeated the claymore user no less than thirty minutes ago. This action now garnered more loud noises from the crowd. He advanced towards Blitz a bit more slowly this time, determined not to let him escape again. Blitz watched as the crimson warrior approached him much more ponderously, with a determined look, the kind a predator gives its prey. Normally, a stare like this would cause panic in any opponent, but Blitz was immune to it. He had a vision and a goal in mind, and was focused on seeing if what he thought earlier could be actualised. Blitz began walking towards the warrior to meet him, stepping lightly. The crimson warrior stopped momentarily, obviously perplexed at the sight of this physically strapping, bald, thick-bearded guy who lacked any real combat experience, was advancing towards him. He smiled at this and was glad that this newcomer was going to accept his death like a man. He thought he would at least give the newcomer a warrior’s death. He picked up his pace, and pulled back his sword to do a stab. Blitz saw the sword pull back. And then, as if in slow motion, the sword came towards him. He grinned, as the experiment had proved to be fruitful. He easily dodged to the right and shoved the crimson warrior from behind. The crimson warrior’s momentum increased as he stumbled and fell to his knees. Blitz laughed, which caused the crowd to laugh at the crimson warrior. However, what Blitz was laughing at was the fact that the realisation of the last three weeks of chores had come in handy/ He now had a deeper appreciation of water jus and firewood, not to mention the broomsticks. -- Ting | You have learned a new passive skill-Footwork (Going around)-Pivots, side-steps, lateral movement. Pivots around an attack or two but takes too much energy to move your entire body when your opponent is only moving his arm. Moving around your opponent is a great way to use angles and to simultaneously attack and defend. Drains energy and/or stamina. | | --- | -- The crimson warrior, now on his knees, was furious. The humiliation he suffered at the hands of this newcomer was embarrassing, to say the least. Now the crowd - his crowd, were laughing at him. Standing up. the warrior turned and pointed at Blitz,“You.. You run like chicken. Stand and fight me.” Saying those words, the warrior threw down his shield. He began taking off his chest plate, which then fell to the earthen arena floor with a thud. He kicked them to one side. He lowered his stance and started tossing his sword from his left hand to his right hand continuously. Then he spoke,“Look, I make easy for you. No shield, no armor, like real men. Now you fight. And die.” Blitz, not wanting to push his luck anymore, held up his hands in resignation. He turned and looked back at Bumpy on the outside of the arena, and said,“The five minutes are up, aren’t they?” Bumpy looked at Blitz, his mouth open, and nodded.He then replied, “Erm, yeah.. Yes! The time is over announcer, he survived the five minutes. He did it.” Jumping into the ring, Bumpy hobbled over to Blitz and lifted his hand up. The announcer, who was transfixed by the action, then ran to the center and spoke up,“Yes, the time limit has been reac--” The announcer was cut short by the crimson warrior, who interrupted by shouting“No, match not over. Fight must continue. I ask fight to continue by challenge champ right.” It seemed that there was a rule where, if you won five consecutive matches, you had the chance to fight the arena champ for your chance to claim the title, and along with it, the money. However, you could forfeit the right to challenge anyone, as per the challengers’ right. The crimson warrior looking up at the ‘VIP’ box, and addressed the one-eyed man seated in the chair wearing the obsidian robe, “Old Man Fox, let fight continue. Must teach newcomer his place.” The crowd was silent, as everyone awaited the decision of ‘Old Man Fox’, who signalled one of the hooded men next to him, and whispered something into his ear. The hooded man then walked down to the arena floor, called over the announcer, and whispered something in his ear. The announcer then ran back to the middle of the ring, “We have been most lucky today, yes, indeed we have.. Our honorable brother Fox has decreed that the match continue until one person is unable to fight.” - Ting | - Encore - The crimson warrior has issued you a challenge. You must accept. Old Man Fox commands it. Quest rewards from the previous quest, to survive five minutes, will be added to this.Difficulty level: UnknownQuest rewards: A spot on the rosterYou cannot refuse the quest | | --- | Bumpy turned to Blitz and shook his head, resting a hand on Blitz’s shoulder,“I’m sorry about all this. You’re in this mess because of me. If you hadn’t followed me, you would've been back at the temple by now.” Blitz looked at Bumpy, and then flashed a glance at the crimson warrior, who was grinning and nodding his head. “I guess, I’ll have to think of something - Seems easy enough.” Bumpy looked at Blitz as though he was crazy. He could see the look in Blitz’s eyes, as though he had a plan. Bumpy secretly hoped it was a good plan, because they needed all the luck and plans they could get. Both of them needed it right now. He then whispered to Blitz,“Well, try and make it as quick as possible. The longer you try and tango with him, the more his experience will get the better of you.” Bumpy and the announcer cleared out of the arena, and Blitz looked at the crimson warrior, who was still grinning in delight, as he went back to lowering his stance and tossing his blade from hand to hand. Then he instantly jumped forward, trying to get a reaction from Blitz, who stood still watching the warrior. The warrior was not phased by the lack of a reaction. He smiled as he began to circle around the arena. Blitz followed suit and began circling the warrior as well. Blitz was now watching the warrior, looking for any opportunity he might see to end the fight as quickly as possible, when suddenly, the warrior charged at Blitz. The crimson warrior began to zigzag, while still tossing his weapon from hand to hand, in an effort to confuse his opponent. Blitz was now forced to take two steps back, as the warrior leapt into the air. The warrior was in the air with both his hands up, the sword in the left hand, which he quickly tossed to the right hand, and was coming down with a downward strike aimed at Blitz. Blitz watched everything as though it was in slow motion, the man was aiming for a slash that would cut from Blitz’s left shoulder, cleaving all the way across his chest. As the man descended, Blitz noticed the warrior had left his abdomen open for attack. Was this a ploy, Blitz wondered, discarding the thought and knowing he had to end it quick. Blitz instinctively side stepped from the sword trajectory with his new footwork. “Huhn.” Then, Blitz delivered a punch into the warrior’s exposed midsection.There was a dull sound and a crack, as the punch hit home. The warrior was seemingly wrapped around Blitz’s right hand, like a car wreck around a tree. And then, Blitz finished the rotation on the swing, which sent the warrior sprawling across the arena floor, the warrior’s leg twitched momentarily, and his mouth was foaming. There was a deathly silence. Then Blitz finally moved, and the crowd went crazy. -- Ting | Quest completeYou have received 4 goldYou have gained a levelYou have gained a levelStrength rises by 1 point. (+1 STR)Agility rises by 1 point. (+1 AGI)Vitality rises by 1 point. (+1 VIT)Fame rises by 20 points. (+20 FAME)Life rises by 100 points. (+100 HP) | | --- | -- Blitz looked at his fist in awe, and then at the warrior stretched on the ground. Then, he was suddenly lifted into the air by someone, that someone being Bumpy, who was grinning like a cheshire cat. Blitz couldn't contain his excitement, and was happy with his performance. And with the crowd cheering on, he felt as though he was on top of the world. The crowd went silent, as Old Fox stood up and walked out of the arena, signalling for the crimson warrior to be removed. Two old men scuttled into the arena and dragged the warrior off by the legs. Blitz smiled at the irony. “That was a peach, man. You did it. I can’t believe it.” Bumpy was more excited than Blitz at the outcome of the match, obviously because he was going to get paid and would be able to pay back some of his debts. Bumpy went over to collect the winnings, and they split the money 50/50. Bumpy also made sure that Blitz’s name was entered on the roster for the fight schedules.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> The sun was setting over the city, yet as night came, the city continued to be shine. There were flashes everywhere in the city. Bullets would shoot from dark alleys, and bodies were strewn all over the streets. This was the new VRMMORPG Phantom Guns Online .<br>************************************************************************************************************<br>It became massively popular in the first month of its release, and after 4 months of its release, it overshadowed Royal Road in both popularity and users. It was the first VRMMORPG that was not centered around a core AI. The game was controlled by thousands of AIs, who would manage the game and create a suitable game experience for each player. It was known throughout the world as the pinnacle of modern programming.<br><br>The gameplay for Phantom Guns Online was different from Royal Road. The quest system was similar, as were many stats, but as the main method of combat featured Guns, there were completly different skills. Players professions would have different tiers. For example: a beginner magic gunslinger and an advanced gunslinger, depending on what tier their class was, they would be able to learn new skills and progress their current skills further. Each race would have a special skill that would affect them throughout the game, and depending on its level, the player's avatar will receive more race-limited quests. Each race has its own type of armour which cannot be worn by other races, however, class armour is universal.<br>************************************************************************************************************<br>Alex smiled as he watched the bloodbath from one of the hills that surrounded the city. Then, once he deemed it fit for him to join the fight, he jumped. Alex landed in the midst of 30 players, who were fighting on opposing teams. Alex, with a gun in each hand, started to fire at both teams.<br>************************************************************************************************************<br> Alex, now 20, is living with the couple who adopted him. The couple, being more well-off than most of the people in America, have given Alex everything he ever needed or wanted. <br><br>When Alex asked for the new VRMMORPG, his adoptive parents bought him: both the game and the capsule, without even questioning why.<br><br>Alex was now outfitted to play the game he most desired, where he could become what he truly was, a bloodthirsty killing machine.<br><br>The day before the release of the highly anticipated Phantom Guns Online, Alex was, for the first time since adoption, ecstatic.<br><br>He was finally able to do what he had always fantasized about doing, killing someone in a brutal manner.<br>He checked and double checked that his capsule was working properly, and played some RR to kill time. <br><br>He logged out and then carefully watched the clock, as it would say when PG would go online.<br><br>The game launched, and Alex immediately went into his capsule to start playing as soon as he could.<br><br>When Alex selected Phantom Guns as the game he would like to play, he was taken into the character creation lobby.<br><br>He was floating in the darkness, when an AI’s voice told him.<br><br>[The scan on your retina and veins has shown that you are an unregistered player. Would you like to create an account?]<br><br>Alex thought in in his mind, “Of course I would. Why else would I be here? They need to stop wasting my time.” But he decided to keep calm and answer normally.<br><br>“Yes.”<br><br>[Please choose the name of your avatar.]<br><br>Alex thought to himself, “Hmm, that’s tricky. I don’t really want to use my real name, but being called something else is a bit strange,so I think I’ll go with my name, for simplicity.”<br><br>“Alex.”<br><br>[Phantom Guns Online has 30 races. Please pick from the primary 11 available.]<br><br>“What are the races available?”<br><br>[Phantom Guns Online primary 11 races are: Human, Cyborg, Elf, Automation, Genetically Modified Human, Vampire, Half elf half human, Half vampire half human, Half elf half vampire, Shadow Being, Light Being ]<br><br>Alex mused, “ Humans are too boring, Automation’s do not get inborn magic, and Cyborg is too cliche. Hmmm, perhaps a Shadow Being. It sounds dark and scary.”<br><br>“Shadow Being.”<br><br>[Please select a sub race of Shadow Being, these include: Shadow Human, Shadow Elf, Shadow Vampire and any half mixes of the above sub races. Shadow Being will start off with skill Shadow Control]<br><br>Alex thought about his race,“A Shadow Vampire would be too common, but a pure Shadow Human would be the most balanced, I believe.” <br><br>“Shadow Human.”<br><br>[You have selected Shadow Human. Please confirm]<br><br>“Shadow Human.”<br><br>[Your avatar has been created. You may modify your appearance or give it one special trait]<br><br>“Keep appearance the same, but have shadows swirl around the hands.”<br><br>[Your appearance has been successfully created. Please select a starting location]<br><br>“Random.”<br><br>[You will start in the default city for Shadow Beings: The City of Darkness]<br><br>Alex was suddenly transported into the midst of a city where everything was black, except for the lamps, which shone an eerie blue over the roads. </div>

The sun was setting over the city, yet as night came, the city continued to be shine. There were flashes everywhere in the city. Bullets would shoot from dark alleys, and bodies were strewn all over the streets. This was the new VRMMORPG Phantom Guns Online . ************************************************************************************************************ It became massively popular in the first month of its release, and after 4 months of its release, it overshadowed Royal Road in both popularity and users. It was the first VRMMORPG that was not centered around a core AI. The game was controlled by thousands of AIs, who would manage the game and create a suitable game experience for each player. It was known throughout the world as the pinnacle of modern programming. The gameplay for Phantom Guns Online was different from Royal Road. The quest system was similar, as were many stats, but as the main method of combat featured Guns, there were completly different skills. Players professions would have different tiers. For example: a beginner magic gunslinger and an advanced gunslinger, depending on what tier their class was, they would be able to learn new skills and progress their current skills further. Each race would have a special skill that would affect them throughout the game, and depending on its level, the player's avatar will receive more race-limited quests. Each race has its own type of armour which cannot be worn by other races, however, class armour is universal. ************************************************************************************************************ Alex smiled as he watched the bloodbath from one of the hills that surrounded the city. Then, once he deemed it fit for him to join the fight, he jumped. Alex landed in the midst of 30 players, who were fighting on opposing teams. Alex, with a gun in each hand, started to fire at both teams. ************************************************************************************************************ Alex, now 20, is living with the couple who adopted him. The couple, being more well-off than most of the people in America, have given Alex everything he ever needed or wanted. When Alex asked for the new VRMMORPG, his adoptive parents bought him: both the game and the capsule, without even questioning why. Alex was now outfitted to play the game he most desired, where he could become what he truly was, a bloodthirsty killing machine. The day before the release of the highly anticipated Phantom Guns Online, Alex was, for the first time since adoption, ecstatic. He was finally able to do what he had always fantasized about doing, killing someone in a brutal manner. He checked and double checked that his capsule was working properly, and played some RR to kill time. He logged out and then carefully watched the clock, as it would say when PG would go online. The game launched, and Alex immediately went into his capsule to start playing as soon as he could. When Alex selected Phantom Guns as the game he would like to play, he was taken into the character creation lobby. He was floating in the darkness, when an AI’s voice told him. [The scan on your retina and veins has shown that you are an unregistered player. Would you like to create an account?] Alex thought in in his mind, “Of course I would. Why else would I be here? They need to stop wasting my time.” But he decided to keep calm and answer normally. “Yes.” [Please choose the name of your avatar.] Alex thought to himself, “Hmm, that’s tricky. I don’t really want to use my real name, but being called something else is a bit strange,so I think I’ll go with my name, for simplicity.” “Alex.” [Phantom Guns Online has 30 races. Please pick from the primary 11 available.] “What are the races available?” [Phantom Guns Online primary 11 races are: Human, Cyborg, Elf, Automation, Genetically Modified Human, Vampire, Half elf half human, Half vampire half human, Half elf half vampire, Shadow Being, Light Being ] Alex mused, “ Humans are too boring, Automation’s do not get inborn magic, and Cyborg is too cliche. Hmmm, perhaps a Shadow Being. It sounds dark and scary.” “Shadow Being.” [Please select a sub race of Shadow Being, these include: Shadow Human, Shadow Elf, Shadow Vampire and any half mixes of the above sub races. Shadow Being will start off with skill Shadow Control] Alex thought about his race,“A Shadow Vampire would be too common, but a pure Shadow Human would be the most balanced, I believe.” “Shadow Human.” [You have selected Shadow Human. Please confirm] “Shadow Human.” [Your avatar has been created. You may modify your appearance or give it one special trait] “Keep appearance the same, but have shadows swirl around the hands.” [Your appearance has been successfully created. Please select a starting location] “Random.” [You will start in the default city for Shadow Beings: The City of Darkness] Alex was suddenly transported into the midst of a city where everything was black, except for the lamps, which shone an eerie blue over the roads.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> The story the corpse told was pretty clear. The now dead corpse had been involved in a duel with a fire breathing dragon, and had lost, obviously. It was a fool’s proposition any day, for Winter, facing a dragon alone. The wizard got the worse end of the deal, but hit back with something that froze the dragon. <br><br>Freezing was too mild of a word. Fuenos was untouchable. It reminded Winter of an insect trapped inside an amber. The world seemed to stop for Fuenos within a set space. Anything in front of the wizard was frozen, uncrossable. Winter had no idea what sort of magic could possibly do this. He was most definitely interested to know.<br><br>He tried anything he could within his knowledge. Firing spells at it did nothing. Fireballs and Mana bolts were stopped cold at the barrier. Earth Spike showed as ‘Unable to Cast’ inside the field. Mind boggling. He tried attacking it with his sword. It immediately lost five durability in a single hit. <br><br>He could see a glimmer of dragon’s hoard a little further behind the dragon. But there was no way to reach the back end. For all he knew, it was also frozen like Fuenos, a moot proposition to reach them. Winter quit puzzling it out after exhausting all possibilities he could come up with. He promised himself to revisit this puzzle. There was not enough information to figure anything out. If it was about magic, a face immediately popped into Winter’s mind. Minalan’s daughter’s loving smile.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">'Yes. Minalan. Have to ask him first.'</span><br><br>Equipping his pretty powerful but damaged new weapon, Winter believed he was ready to confront the named Cave Troll and its posse. The system might have landed him a winning card, for once.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td><span style="font-weight: bold;">Asric’s Cursed Bracer</span><br><br>Created by the Fallen Mage, Asric. Contains a strong curse. Whatever purpose left for the item by Asric, no one bothered to recall. It has intricate carvings around its whole body, topped with a black round gem at its center. A beautiful piece for its alluded reputation to bring misfortune to its wearer. No one has any idea as to what will happen when the curse is fully powered. <br><br>(50102/100000)<br><br>-50% Mana regeneration<br>400% Mana cost for any spell cast.<br>Mana quantity reduced to 25% while worn<br><br>Additional Effect: <span style="font-style: italic;">Spell Multiplication</span><br>Perfectly copies every spell you cast up to Tier 06. Random amount between 1 to 8 will be picked every 24 hours.<br><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Multiplier of the day is 8</span><br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">No further identification possible at the moment</span></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>The curse finally provided Winter with some perks. He surmised that the benefit kicked in at 50000/100000. Coincidentally, it was moments before he cast Reflex, which was how he had augmented speed and ran himself up the wall. <br><br>Winter had no idea how the effect augmentation was calculated or arranged. He only could assume it worked for some and did not work for others. Experimentation was the word he both liked and dread with Royal Road, recently.<br><br>“Mana Bolt!” <br><br>“Whoa!” <br><br>He was unprepared for the effect. One appeared,followed by eight, a hair’s breadth later. His spell went a little wide since he lost focus. This was his first true attempt at attempting to slay decently difficult mobs with magic. So far, he had had a hard enough time using the sword, and most of his magic had been used to kill a mob in a single cast. With the new staff to boost his damage, Winter believed he could do it. He practiced a few maneuvers he had in mind, before moving to the last room he had to clear.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;">xXx</div><br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>You leveled up!</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br>“Well, that was surprisingly easy,” said Winter to nobody in particular.<br><br>His plan worked perfectly. The plan was to kill as many monsters as possible from a distance, before running away and redoing it. It worked even better, since his first burst of focused rain of Fireball killed the Cave Troll he targeted instantly. He killed a few more, before barricading the path with Earth Spike and accelerating away with Reflex. With the multiplied cast, it either tripped them, or impaled their feet. Slowed them down, either way. When Winter came back, the improvised caltrops would be gone without a trace. The mobs would return to their approximate spots, minus the few mobs he'd wasted.<br><br>After spending God knows how long, Winter managed to clear the nest. The battle with Urbo, the named mob,was exhilarating, to put it mildly. He managed to land twenty blows give or take, before the juiced up Reflex wore out. He tested and proved a theory that an attack that landed on the same spot resulted in greater damage for the subsequent hit, the second time he used Reflex with augmented effect. It felt as if Urbo slowed so much, that he could land the four accurate stabs to its right eye and dodge the flailing claws after. Only two managed to hit cleanly upon the same spot.<br><br>This was the first decently armed Troll that Winter faced. It wore armor, and a face helmet.It also had a sword and shield that would give him a run for his money, if he was not juiced up real good like today. <br><br>“Two gold, six silvers. Silver Threaded Armor, Hardened Steel Sword, Battered Kite Shield. Oh. A ring with +300 HP! Great!” Plus three level ups in total after clearing the room.<br><br>Winter checked the loot he got from Urbo. It was a decept drop. He immediately equipped the ring, enjoying the boost. He was not injured at all for the day, since he had used a hit and run tactic. He hoped he could get rid of the curse soon, and fully enjoy the life of a mage. <br><br>Of course, such a trip would not be complete without a treasure chest. And as expected, it was there, but smaller than the trunk he was expecting. It was a small strongbox. Probably the size of a decent loaf of bread. The content of the box was decent, despite his disappointment at its size. Sixty gold was added to his wallet, and twenty assortments of raw jewels of differing shapes, sizes and colors. Winter was glad he talked himself into finishing up this exploration.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;">xXx</div><br><br>“Phew. It is so bright out here!” <br><br>He was back to using his sword. He depleted <span style="font-style: italic;">Sun’areth</span>’s durability by ten points during his gleeful rampage, exploiting the bonus fully. It was a good thing he did, since the current multiplier was set to 1. He hoped that the day after, it would change to a more favorable number though he has no further plan to kill any mobs. Winter wanted to test a few more things about the bonus.<br><br>Winter had spent maybe 14 to 15 days days inside a dark cave, with only his own spells as illumination. He was surprised that he was not blinded when he stepped out into the sun. He could see a gathering in the distance. They were not the lizardmen, but players. Probably a thousand or two.<br><br><br><br>“Hey, What is going on here?” Winter hailed a player lounging at the edge of the gathering.<br><br>“Where have you been, old man? In a cave?” The rude youngster had no idea how right he was.<br><br>“I was a little lost. My sense of direction is bad. Does it have something to do with the lizardmen up there?” <br><br>The youngster, obviously a warrior judging from his gear, replied offhandedly,<br><br>“Yes. Yes. We are about to attack them. Now. Stay there!”<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">’This guy....!’</span><br><br>Winter was terribly offended. He could take not being given respect. But disrespected and then impoliteness was a bad recipe for him. Winter was running through scenarios on what he would usually do to such youngsters in real life, when the youngster was called away.<br><br>“Leader! We are ready!” One voice shouted at a distance.<br><br>“Okay! Let us go!” The youngster replied in an even louder voice. He donned his helmet and jogged away from Winter. <br><br>Winter was not a good judge of weapons or armor levels, that was usually used as a benchmark to guess a player’s level. He was still a little too fresh. But the rude youngster had a reason to be rude and cocky. His level was in mid 150s and he was pretty skilled. Everyone in the melee was lining up with the gray, steel-armored cockerel. The all range players were behind the packed mass of frontline fighters. <br><br>Winter had no idea how many were gathering atop the hill. He could only see, probably a couple hundreds. The lizardmen were going to lose. Eventually. Winter only cared at that moment whether the monsters could last long enough until he could get a little payback. His head had hatched a plan.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;">xXx</div><br><br>It took him five days days of waiting. Winter spent the first day scouting the terrain from the higher position of another hill. He could see that the lizardmen outnumbered the players considerably, but were disorganized. He also spied a large cart with offerings of Rainbow Fish. How did he know? The cart itself had a rainbow visible from where he was. <br><br>While he was spelunking, apparently the players around Cosare and the lizardmen horde had been busy. He gathered from his short stop back in town to dump his loot (selling junk and leaving the rest in Minalan’s care) that the players that died from ambushes had banded together to form the force that were now going to besiege the lizardmen. Apparently, the same event happened last year too, (in-game) that obviously, Winter would not know since he had not spent the whole year yet within Royal Road. The punitive force quest would be formed after the gathering lizards were sighted. And the dead, clueless newbie was the impetus of the news that the time was right.<br><br>It took him a full day to run back to town. It was his first experience with long distance travel, where he had to run until his stamina bar dropped to nearly zero. He chose to rent a horse for the trip back to the lake, at the cost of five gold, with twenty five gold for deposit. It probably took him four hours to get there. Mainly, it was due to him not being an experienced horseman. Still, the stable owner was as good as his word. It was the most docile horse the man had and the smoothest horse ride for Winter. <br><br>The whole time, he prayed for the lizardmen to hold on long enough. They had been badly depleted, but managed to hold on, and on. Until the fifth day, when Winter’s multiplier bonus reached the maximum of 8 again. Winter spent the extra two days nervously, sleeping for a short time, and swinging his wooden sword in real life, and the occasional sewing, that was badly done, but improved his expertise nonetheless. The timing was a near thing. The horde that was probably double the players’ size, had been chipped to a few straggling hundreds that would die in the morning. <br><div style="text-align: center;">xXx</div><br><br>*Shak* *Shak* *Shak*<br><br>Winter moved among the low grasses as silently as he could manage. He had been moving at a slow crawl for a couple hours now. He was close enough to be able to hear the lizardmen huddling together, hissing at each other. The players down the hill were cautious, refusing to engage the monsters at night, with good, high ground advantage. It worked in Winter’s favor.<br><br>From the small bits of rags the Goblins wore, he had constructed a badly patched hood (Def+1). Nobody would see how bad Winter’s needlework was if all went right. It was the sort of ill conceived plan that Daniel would immediately shoot down if he was around. The word ‘harebrained scheme’, stupid plan’ or ‘disaster in the making’ was what Daniel would use to pressure Ronald to quit such a bad plan. But Ronald became uncaring about consequences when he got riled up like this. Best Daniel could do in such a situation, was to cooperate with his best friend, to cause minimal damage and mayhem. <br><br>Winter laid down in wait. The seconds ticked to minutes. The minutes that ticked forward finally reached dawn. He could hear whatever was left of the lizardmen horde, hissing together aggressively. He could also feel the mild tremor of numerous feet drumming upon his body. The players had moved. The situation was ideal. Every single monster was turned away from him. He crept closer and closer. He would probably be visible, very clearly, if even one of the reptiles chose to turn around. Winter still had a considerable distance to go, going around the lake and reaching the offering cart. <br><br>Another piece of information he had gathered while in town. It was rare for players to manage to fish any Rainbow Fish before the lizardmen gathered. After the punitive force was done? There would be none left, since the members of the force would pretty much fish the lake dry. From what rumors he got, aside from what the punitive force seized last year, the players did not even get ten Rainbow Fish, despite spending two days angling. Therefore, the best way to get the fish was to join the punitive force. Or steal it.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;">xXx</div><br><br>“CHHAARRRGEEE!!!”<br><br>Winter heard the order loud and clear. He recognized the overly loud voice belonging to the rude, cocky youngster. The last battle was soon engaged in earnest. <br><br>Abandoning caution to the wind, Winter stood up and jogged to the cart. <br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>You obtained Rainbow Fish x 2160<br>100% load reached<br>Stamina consumption 200%<br>Movement speed -75%</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>Winter clicked his tongue. He was expecting to cart the whole thing away. Seemed like he had to do it in stages. Or not. He already could hear the overly loud voice nearing the rise.<br><br>Jackal was a decent veteran of Royal Road. He rose to his current status and skill through his ability and hard work, and a lot of intimidation. He was also terribly blind to his failings. Particularly brashness, arrogance, and rudeness. He once held the position of an army drill sergeant, and was good at his job, until he was dishonorably discharged due to insubordination.Jackal’s prior training allowed him to be a really good warrior. Not the best, at the moment, but he thought he should be. He looked youthful, since he had altered his age radically. <br><br>Jackal was delighting in carving the lizardmen. At level 60 to 70 in average, lizardmen could never kill him in a single combat. Excessively outnumbered, Jackal was trying to kill as much as he could to gain as much EXP and public service points from the quest. That made him the first to crest the rise, and saw a figure blowing up the cart. It was uncanny vision. He and several witnesses would tell everyone else that ever asked him about the event later.<br><br>"What else could the person be but a Master Wizard? He carried a staff! As black as the night! I recognize AOE skill. That was not it. There was no magic circle over the air. A wave of fireball blew up the cart! Ask the rest. They will tell you the same." Jackal would also swear that the hooded figure looked straight at him, before speeding away, whatever the reason was.<br><br>The image of a black-hooded figure raining fire, and speeding away so fast that he could barely track the figure, stayed in his mind, and the mind of everyone else that witnessed it. Whether it was a fortune or misfortune, nobody could answer. When asked what a Master Wizard would want by destroying a cart of Rainbow Fish, none was able to answer.<br><br>Jackal was never able to reconcile the figure of a swordsman with snow white hair, blue, piercing eyes, dressed in black, with the dark-hooded person of approximately the same height and build. The event gave way to the eventual birth of the Black Wizard, a figure that was rumored to be strong, but was an unknown element within Royal Road.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;">xXx</div><br><br>“Phew. That was close. Too bad I had to blow up the rest of the cart.”<br><br>Winter unequipped his hood and began mounting his rented house. He gave the horse a tap with his heels and clicked his tongue.It slowly moved away from the far distance he tethered it. <br><br>He did not expect to end up using &lt;&lt;Fire Strike&gt;&gt;. A new spell he purchased while he was in town. It was available for cheap too, since it was only 5 gold coins. Ironically, he would have preferred sitting down at the lakeside, spending a little time fishing. Winter had bought the rod, bait, and had already learned the skill. Maybe next time.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td><span style="font-weight: bold;">Fire Strike</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">(Tier 03)</span><br><br>Mana Consumption: 10<br><br>A stronger, basic level fire magic. You summon a pillar of fire that splits into four fireballs. Allows multiple targeting. This skill is a stepping stone to greater magic that will require players to be able to split their focus. No scorch effect.<br><br>Additional effect: Knockback 50% Stun 5%<br><br>5.0s Cooldown<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">“Break apart! Fire Strike!”</span></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>He managed to get away with 1040 Rainbow Fish. The limit before he was slowed down due to weight restriction. It somehow remained fresh, despite being clearly dead and remained exposed to open air for the five days of the siege, and probably some. It was a judgement call for Winter, between attempting to loot as much as he could, and not getting away, or dumping the fish, then blowing it up. He thought he had made the right choice. He could, of course, get himself killed and still win. Probably lose some fishes plus a level. But he wanted to leave the scene without anyone recognizing him. It already differed from his plan, when the punitive force members reached the rise sooner than he thought, and actually spotted him. He used reflex to escape double time. He could not resist smirking at the rude youngster before speeding away with his loot, and getting away with his crime.<br><br>Winter had absolutely no idea that his patched cloak and hood gave him a very sinister look, combined with his half-charred <span style="font-style: italic;">Sun’areth</span> staff. The truth to the Black Mage legend could not be further than the truth. It was a man who was unhappy with a rude youngster and had decided to teach him a lesson in humility. Who cares if the rest of the force was collateral damage, right? It is a harsh life on earth.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;">xXx</div><br><br>“No fish! Dammit!” A priest threw his fishing rod into the lake. <br><br>He had spent the rest of the day fishing to finish up his quest, which required a Rainbow Fish. It was the main reason he joined the punitive force. The rest of the players lined up, surrounding the lake with their fishing rods, had the same luck with the priest.<br><br>The priest had only heard the stories, since he had been far back healing. The black-hooded figure of a Master Wizard that blew up a cart full of Rainbow Fish. He had no idea what to make of it. There was no rhyme or sense why someone with skills so advanced would do such a thing. The Rainbow Fish quest was a side reward from the punitive force quest this year. It gave no great reward for someone with an expected level of 250 at least, a figure only less than ten wizards achieved, at the moment. Last year, the fish was not even part of any quest!<br><br>“I caught one!” A Rogue beside the priest yelled.<br><br>“Sell it to me!”<br><br>“No. Sell it to me! I will give you a good price!”<br><br><div style="text-align: center;">xXx</div><br><br>“Uncle Winter! You are back!”<br><br>*Hugs*<br><br>“Hi, Adria. I am back. Have you been good?” Winter picked her up gently.<br><br>“I am, Uncle Winter. The best!” <br><br>Minalan concurred when Winter glanced at him.<br><br>“Good. Uncle Winter only gives presents to good children. You are good, are you not?” Winter raised his eyebrows in question. He used such a move on Celine and a few more children, when they were younger. It made them squirm, as if Ronald knew that they had done something bad.<br><br>“I....” <br><br>Adria was squirming under the gaze. She was clearly about to crack. Winter brought their eyes closer together, just a hand length apart.<br><br>“Hm... I think she has been good. Yes,” Minalan could barely could hold back his laughter at Winter’s theatrics.<br><br>“Then tonight, we are having a feast!” Winter declared grandly. Minalan and Adria clapped.<br><br>“What will be having tonight, Uncle Winter?” Adria, who was finally put down on the ground, asked in curiosity.<br><br>“Tonight, we eat the best dish of fish this town can make! A lot of it!”<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="2"><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=99&amp;t=704" target="_blank">&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt; Previous Chapter</a></td><td colspan="2"><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=99&amp;t=728" target="_blank">Next Chapter &gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;</a></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>==========================================================================================================================================================<br>Author's Note:<br><br>1. Credit to -The Slacker- for the diligent PR<br>2. I credit myself this time for thinking this one up. <br>4. Do let me know of mistakes you find. Try as me and my PR to spot them, we might miss some.<br>4.This will make it the last release for the week and the last release of Indiana Jones title. A tad early, but better than late, right?<br>5. A little experiment with putting a separator. Do let me know whether you think it helps the reading experience.<br>6. Enjoy folks. Next chapter is just Winter resting a little. Might be boring. But can't always go on adventuring right? </div>

The story the corpse told was pretty clear. The now dead corpse had been involved in a duel with a fire breathing dragon, and had lost, obviously. It was a fool’s proposition any day, for Winter, facing a dragon alone. The wizard got the worse end of the deal, but hit back with something that froze the dragon. Freezing was too mild of a word. Fuenos was untouchable. It reminded Winter of an insect trapped inside an amber. The world seemed to stop for Fuenos within a set space. Anything in front of the wizard was frozen, uncrossable. Winter had no idea what sort of magic could possibly do this. He was most definitely interested to know. He tried anything he could within his knowledge. Firing spells at it did nothing. Fireballs and Mana bolts were stopped cold at the barrier. Earth Spike showed as ‘Unable to Cast’ inside the field. Mind boggling. He tried attacking it with his sword. It immediately lost five durability in a single hit. He could see a glimmer of dragon’s hoard a little further behind the dragon. But there was no way to reach the back end. For all he knew, it was also frozen like Fuenos, a moot proposition to reach them. Winter quit puzzling it out after exhausting all possibilities he could come up with. He promised himself to revisit this puzzle. There was not enough information to figure anything out. If it was about magic, a face immediately popped into Winter’s mind. Minalan’s daughter’s loving smile. 'Yes. Minalan. Have to ask him first.' Equipping his pretty powerful but damaged new weapon, Winter believed he was ready to confront the named Cave Troll and its posse. The system might have landed him a winning card, for once. | Asric’s Cursed BracerCreated by the Fallen Mage, Asric. Contains a strong curse. Whatever purpose left for the item by Asric, no one bothered to recall. It has intricate carvings around its whole body, topped with a black round gem at its center. A beautiful piece for its alluded reputation to bring misfortune to its wearer. No one has any idea as to what will happen when the curse is fully powered. (50102/100000)-50% Mana regeneration400% Mana cost for any spell cast.Mana quantity reduced to 25% while wornAdditional Effect: Spell MultiplicationPerfectly copies every spell you cast up to Tier 06. Random amount between 1 to 8 will be picked every 24 hours.Multiplier of the day is 8No further identification possible at the moment | | --- | The curse finally provided Winter with some perks. He surmised that the benefit kicked in at 50000/100000. Coincidentally, it was moments before he cast Reflex, which was how he had augmented speed and ran himself up the wall. Winter had no idea how the effect augmentation was calculated or arranged. He only could assume it worked for some and did not work for others. Experimentation was the word he both liked and dread with Royal Road, recently. “Mana Bolt!” “Whoa!” He was unprepared for the effect. One appeared,followed by eight, a hair’s breadth later. His spell went a little wide since he lost focus. This was his first true attempt at attempting to slay decently difficult mobs with magic. So far, he had had a hard enough time using the sword, and most of his magic had been used to kill a mob in a single cast. With the new staff to boost his damage, Winter believed he could do it. He practiced a few maneuvers he had in mind, before moving to the last room he had to clear. xXx | You leveled up! | | --- | “Well, that was surprisingly easy,” said Winter to nobody in particular. His plan worked perfectly. The plan was to kill as many monsters as possible from a distance, before running away and redoing it. It worked even better, since his first burst of focused rain of Fireball killed the Cave Troll he targeted instantly. He killed a few more, before barricading the path with Earth Spike and accelerating away with Reflex. With the multiplied cast, it either tripped them, or impaled their feet. Slowed them down, either way. When Winter came back, the improvised caltrops would be gone without a trace. The mobs would return to their approximate spots, minus the few mobs he'd wasted. After spending God knows how long, Winter managed to clear the nest. The battle with Urbo, the named mob,was exhilarating, to put it mildly. He managed to land twenty blows give or take, before the juiced up Reflex wore out. He tested and proved a theory that an attack that landed on the same spot resulted in greater damage for the subsequent hit, the second time he used Reflex with augmented effect. It felt as if Urbo slowed so much, that he could land the four accurate stabs to its right eye and dodge the flailing claws after. Only two managed to hit cleanly upon the same spot. This was the first decently armed Troll that Winter faced. It wore armor, and a face helmet.It also had a sword and shield that would give him a run for his money, if he was not juiced up real good like today. “Two gold, six silvers. Silver Threaded Armor, Hardened Steel Sword, Battered Kite Shield. Oh. A ring with +300 HP! Great!” Plus three level ups in total after clearing the room. Winter checked the loot he got from Urbo. It was a decept drop. He immediately equipped the ring, enjoying the boost. He was not injured at all for the day, since he had used a hit and run tactic. He hoped he could get rid of the curse soon, and fully enjoy the life of a mage. Of course, such a trip would not be complete without a treasure chest. And as expected, it was there, but smaller than the trunk he was expecting. It was a small strongbox. Probably the size of a decent loaf of bread. The content of the box was decent, despite his disappointment at its size. Sixty gold was added to his wallet, and twenty assortments of raw jewels of differing shapes, sizes and colors. Winter was glad he talked himself into finishing up this exploration. xXx “Phew. It is so bright out here!” He was back to using his sword. He depleted Sun’areth’s durability by ten points during his gleeful rampage, exploiting the bonus fully. It was a good thing he did, since the current multiplier was set to 1. He hoped that the day after, it would change to a more favorable number though he has no further plan to kill any mobs. Winter wanted to test a few more things about the bonus. Winter had spent maybe 14 to 15 days days inside a dark cave, with only his own spells as illumination. He was surprised that he was not blinded when he stepped out into the sun. He could see a gathering in the distance. They were not the lizardmen, but players. Probably a thousand or two. “Hey, What is going on here?” Winter hailed a player lounging at the edge of the gathering. “Where have you been, old man? In a cave?” The rude youngster had no idea how right he was. “I was a little lost. My sense of direction is bad. Does it have something to do with the lizardmen up there?” The youngster, obviously a warrior judging from his gear, replied offhandedly, “Yes. Yes. We are about to attack them. Now. Stay there!” ’This guy....!’ Winter was terribly offended. He could take not being given respect. But disrespected and then impoliteness was a bad recipe for him. Winter was running through scenarios on what he would usually do to such youngsters in real life, when the youngster was called away. “Leader! We are ready!” One voice shouted at a distance. “Okay! Let us go!” The youngster replied in an even louder voice. He donned his helmet and jogged away from Winter. Winter was not a good judge of weapons or armor levels, that was usually used as a benchmark to guess a player’s level. He was still a little too fresh. But the rude youngster had a reason to be rude and cocky. His level was in mid 150s and he was pretty skilled. Everyone in the melee was lining up with the gray, steel-armored cockerel. The all range players were behind the packed mass of frontline fighters. Winter had no idea how many were gathering atop the hill. He could only see, probably a couple hundreds. The lizardmen were going to lose. Eventually. Winter only cared at that moment whether the monsters could last long enough until he could get a little payback. His head had hatched a plan. xXx It took him five days days of waiting. Winter spent the first day scouting the terrain from the higher position of another hill. He could see that the lizardmen outnumbered the players considerably, but were disorganized. He also spied a large cart with offerings of Rainbow Fish. How did he know? The cart itself had a rainbow visible from where he was. While he was spelunking, apparently the players around Cosare and the lizardmen horde had been busy. He gathered from his short stop back in town to dump his loot (selling junk and leaving the rest in Minalan’s care) that the players that died from ambushes had banded together to form the force that were now going to besiege the lizardmen. Apparently, the same event happened last year too, (in-game) that obviously, Winter would not know since he had not spent the whole year yet within Royal Road. The punitive force quest would be formed after the gathering lizards were sighted. And the dead, clueless newbie was the impetus of the news that the time was right. It took him a full day to run back to town. It was his first experience with long distance travel, where he had to run until his stamina bar dropped to nearly zero. He chose to rent a horse for the trip back to the lake, at the cost of five gold, with twenty five gold for deposit. It probably took him four hours to get there. Mainly, it was due to him not being an experienced horseman. Still, the stable owner was as good as his word. It was the most docile horse the man had and the smoothest horse ride for Winter. The whole time, he prayed for the lizardmen to hold on long enough. They had been badly depleted, but managed to hold on, and on. Until the fifth day, when Winter’s multiplier bonus reached the maximum of 8 again. Winter spent the extra two days nervously, sleeping for a short time, and swinging his wooden sword in real life, and the occasional sewing, that was badly done, but improved his expertise nonetheless. The timing was a near thing. The horde that was probably double the players’ size, had been chipped to a few straggling hundreds that would die in the morning. xXx *Shak* *Shak* *Shak* Winter moved among the low grasses as silently as he could manage. He had been moving at a slow crawl for a couple hours now. He was close enough to be able to hear the lizardmen huddling together, hissing at each other. The players down the hill were cautious, refusing to engage the monsters at night, with good, high ground advantage. It worked in Winter’s favor. From the small bits of rags the Goblins wore, he had constructed a badly patched hood (Def+1). Nobody would see how bad Winter’s needlework was if all went right. It was the sort of ill conceived plan that Daniel would immediately shoot down if he was around. The word ‘harebrained scheme’, stupid plan’ or ‘disaster in the making’ was what Daniel would use to pressure Ronald to quit such a bad plan. But Ronald became uncaring about consequences when he got riled up like this. Best Daniel could do in such a situation, was to cooperate with his best friend, to cause minimal damage and mayhem. Winter laid down in wait. The seconds ticked to minutes. The minutes that ticked forward finally reached dawn. He could hear whatever was left of the lizardmen horde, hissing together aggressively. He could also feel the mild tremor of numerous feet drumming upon his body. The players had moved. The situation was ideal. Every single monster was turned away from him. He crept closer and closer. He would probably be visible, very clearly, if even one of the reptiles chose to turn around. Winter still had a considerable distance to go, going around the lake and reaching the offering cart. Another piece of information he had gathered while in town. It was rare for players to manage to fish any Rainbow Fish before the lizardmen gathered. After the punitive force was done? There would be none left, since the members of the force would pretty much fish the lake dry. From what rumors he got, aside from what the punitive force seized last year, the players did not even get ten Rainbow Fish, despite spending two days angling. Therefore, the best way to get the fish was to join the punitive force. Or steal it. xXx “CHHAARRRGEEE!!!” Winter heard the order loud and clear. He recognized the overly loud voice belonging to the rude, cocky youngster. The last battle was soon engaged in earnest. Abandoning caution to the wind, Winter stood up and jogged to the cart. | You obtained Rainbow Fish x 2160100% load reachedStamina consumption 200%Movement speed -75% | | --- | Winter clicked his tongue. He was expecting to cart the whole thing away. Seemed like he had to do it in stages. Or not. He already could hear the overly loud voice nearing the rise. Jackal was a decent veteran of Royal Road. He rose to his current status and skill through his ability and hard work, and a lot of intimidation. He was also terribly blind to his failings. Particularly brashness, arrogance, and rudeness. He once held the position of an army drill sergeant, and was good at his job, until he was dishonorably discharged due to insubordination.Jackal’s prior training allowed him to be a really good warrior. Not the best, at the moment, but he thought he should be. He looked youthful, since he had altered his age radically. Jackal was delighting in carving the lizardmen. At level 60 to 70 in average, lizardmen could never kill him in a single combat. Excessively outnumbered, Jackal was trying to kill as much as he could to gain as much EXP and public service points from the quest. That made him the first to crest the rise, and saw a figure blowing up the cart. It was uncanny vision. He and several witnesses would tell everyone else that ever asked him about the event later. "What else could the person be but a Master Wizard? He carried a staff! As black as the night! I recognize AOE skill. That was not it. There was no magic circle over the air. A wave of fireball blew up the cart! Ask the rest. They will tell you the same." Jackal would also swear that the hooded figure looked straight at him, before speeding away, whatever the reason was. The image of a black-hooded figure raining fire, and speeding away so fast that he could barely track the figure, stayed in his mind, and the mind of everyone else that witnessed it. Whether it was a fortune or misfortune, nobody could answer. When asked what a Master Wizard would want by destroying a cart of Rainbow Fish, none was able to answer. Jackal was never able to reconcile the figure of a swordsman with snow white hair, blue, piercing eyes, dressed in black, with the dark-hooded person of approximately the same height and build. The event gave way to the eventual birth of the Black Wizard, a figure that was rumored to be strong, but was an unknown element within Royal Road. xXx “Phew. That was close. Too bad I had to blow up the rest of the cart.” Winter unequipped his hood and began mounting his rented house. He gave the horse a tap with his heels and clicked his tongue.It slowly moved away from the far distance he tethered it. He did not expect to end up using <<Fire Strike>>. A new spell he purchased while he was in town. It was available for cheap too, since it was only 5 gold coins. Ironically, he would have preferred sitting down at the lakeside, spending a little time fishing. Winter had bought the rod, bait, and had already learned the skill. Maybe next time. | Fire Strike (Tier 03)Mana Consumption: 10A stronger, basic level fire magic. You summon a pillar of fire that splits into four fireballs. Allows multiple targeting. This skill is a stepping stone to greater magic that will require players to be able to split their focus. No scorch effect.Additional effect: Knockback 50% Stun 5%5.0s Cooldown“Break apart! Fire Strike!” | | --- | He managed to get away with 1040 Rainbow Fish. The limit before he was slowed down due to weight restriction. It somehow remained fresh, despite being clearly dead and remained exposed to open air for the five days of the siege, and probably some. It was a judgement call for Winter, between attempting to loot as much as he could, and not getting away, or dumping the fish, then blowing it up. He thought he had made the right choice. He could, of course, get himself killed and still win. Probably lose some fishes plus a level. But he wanted to leave the scene without anyone recognizing him. It already differed from his plan, when the punitive force members reached the rise sooner than he thought, and actually spotted him. He used reflex to escape double time. He could not resist smirking at the rude youngster before speeding away with his loot, and getting away with his crime. Winter had absolutely no idea that his patched cloak and hood gave him a very sinister look, combined with his half-charred Sun’areth staff. The truth to the Black Mage legend could not be further than the truth. It was a man who was unhappy with a rude youngster and had decided to teach him a lesson in humility. Who cares if the rest of the force was collateral damage, right? It is a harsh life on earth. xXx “No fish! Dammit!” A priest threw his fishing rod into the lake. He had spent the rest of the day fishing to finish up his quest, which required a Rainbow Fish. It was the main reason he joined the punitive force. The rest of the players lined up, surrounding the lake with their fishing rods, had the same luck with the priest. The priest had only heard the stories, since he had been far back healing. The black-hooded figure of a Master Wizard that blew up a cart full of Rainbow Fish. He had no idea what to make of it. There was no rhyme or sense why someone with skills so advanced would do such a thing. The Rainbow Fish quest was a side reward from the punitive force quest this year. It gave no great reward for someone with an expected level of 250 at least, a figure only less than ten wizards achieved, at the moment. Last year, the fish was not even part of any quest! “I caught one!” A Rogue beside the priest yelled. “Sell it to me!” “No. Sell it to me! I will give you a good price!” xXx “Uncle Winter! You are back!” *Hugs* “Hi, Adria. I am back. Have you been good?” Winter picked her up gently. “I am, Uncle Winter. The best!” Minalan concurred when Winter glanced at him. “Good. Uncle Winter only gives presents to good children. You are good, are you not?” Winter raised his eyebrows in question. He used such a move on Celine and a few more children, when they were younger. It made them squirm, as if Ronald knew that they had done something bad. “I....” Adria was squirming under the gaze. She was clearly about to crack. Winter brought their eyes closer together, just a hand length apart. “Hm... I think she has been good. Yes,” Minalan could barely could hold back his laughter at Winter’s theatrics. “Then tonight, we are having a feast!” Winter declared grandly. Minalan and Adria clapped. “What will be having tonight, Uncle Winter?” Adria, who was finally put down on the ground, asked in curiosity. “Tonight, we eat the best dish of fish this town can make! A lot of it!” | [<<<<< Previous Chapter](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=99&t=704) | | [Next Chapter >>>>>](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=99&t=728) | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | ========================================================================================================================================================== Author's Note: 1. Credit to -The Slacker- for the diligent PR 2. I credit myself this time for thinking this one up. 4. Do let me know of mistakes you find. Try as me and my PR to spot them, we might miss some. 4.This will make it the last release for the week and the last release of Indiana Jones title. A tad early, but better than late, right? 5. A little experiment with putting a separator. Do let me know whether you think it helps the reading experience. 6. Enjoy folks. Next chapter is just Winter resting a little. Might be boring. But can't always go on adventuring right?

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> Author's word:<br><br>I am writing this section as there were interest of how Winter progressed. It is also from the lack of the *ahem* expertise increase I showed. This is to supplement the missing parts that I either forgot or did not cover. <br><br>In the future, you can expect more details, since that is what everyone seems to want from my writing style. <br><br>Do not expect immediate increase in detail however. This takes time and planning, and I cannot imagine how I will react if suddenly a lot of details that was not there suddenly appeared the next chapter.<br><br>Expect the progress to go up the next volume. I think I can manage that.<br><br>For now, let us go with a little summary and progress of what we have in Volume 1 (001 - 010)<br><br>==============================================================================================================================<br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;">Chapter 003 - Cursed Mage</span><br><br>This was how Winter's Status Window looks like before he got cursed. It is already in the chapter too.<br><br><br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="4"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Status Window</span></td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Name</td><td width="25%">Winter</td><td width="25%">Alignment</td><td width="25%">Neutral</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Level</td><td width="25%">5</td><td width="25%">Profession</td><td width="25%">Magician</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Title</td><td colspan="3">None</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Fame</td><td colspan="3">0</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Health</td><td width="25%">200</td><td width="25%">Mana</td><td width="25%">200</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Strength</td><td width="25%">19</td><td width="25%">Agility</td><td width="25%">19</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Vitality</td><td colspan="3">24</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Wisdom</td><td width="25%">30 (10+20)</td><td width="25%">Intellect</td><td width="25%">30 (10+20)</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Stamina</td><td width="25%">30</td><td width="25%">Fighting Spirit</td><td width="25%">10</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Luck</td><td width="25%">0</td><td width="25%">Leadership</td><td width="25%">0</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Charisma</td><td colspan="3">1</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Attack</td><td width="25%">2-3</td><td width="25%">Magic Attack</td><td width="25%">4-6</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Defense</td><td width="25%">2</td><td width="25%">Magic Defense</td><td width="25%">4</td></tr><tr><td colspan="4">Magic Resistance</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Fire</td><td width="25%">10%</td><td width="25%">Water</td><td width="25%">10%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Earth</td><td width="25%">10%</td><td width="25%">Wind</td><td width="25%">10%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Holy</td><td width="25%">10%</td><td width="25%">Dark</td><td width="25%">10%</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="4"><ul><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br><li>+20 points to INT and WIS</li><br><li>+50% Magic Attack</li><br><li>-50% Stamina</li><br><li>+10% All Magic Resistance</li><br><li>Unable to use Medium or Heavy Armor</li><br><li>Unable to use Heavy Weapon</li><br><li>Unable to use weapons with Iron contents</li></span></span></ul><br></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div> </div>

Author's word: I am writing this section as there were interest of how Winter progressed. It is also from the lack of the *ahem* expertise increase I showed. This is to supplement the missing parts that I either forgot or did not cover. In the future, you can expect more details, since that is what everyone seems to want from my writing style. Do not expect immediate increase in detail however. This takes time and planning, and I cannot imagine how I will react if suddenly a lot of details that was not there suddenly appeared the next chapter. Expect the progress to go up the next volume. I think I can manage that. For now, let us go with a little summary and progress of what we have in Volume 1 (001 - 010) ============================================================================================================================== Chapter 003 - Cursed Mage This was how Winter's Status Window looks like before he got cursed. It is already in the chapter too. | Status Window | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Name | Winter | Alignment | Neutral | | Level | 5 | Profession | Magician | | Title | None | | | | Fame | 0 | | | | Health | 200 | Mana | 200 | | Strength | 19 | Agility | 19 | | Vitality | 24 | | | | Wisdom | 30 (10+20) | Intellect | 30 (10+20) | | Stamina | 30 | Fighting Spirit | 10 | | Luck | 0 | Leadership | 0 | | Charisma | 1 | | | | Attack | 2-3 | Magic Attack | 4-6 | | Defense | 2 | Magic Defense | 4 | | Magic Resistance | | | | | Fire | 10% | Water | 10% | | Earth | 10% | Wind | 10% | | Holy | 10% | Dark | 10% | | * +20 points to INT and WIS * +50% Magic Attack * -50% Stamina * +10% All Magic Resistance * Unable to use Medium or Heavy Armor * Unable to use Heavy Weapon * Unable to use weapons with Iron contents | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- |

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> Small contribution for ya:<br><br>The Basic Training Programme, as far as the book describes it, is through beating a scarecrow provided by any one of the centers until you reach the maximum amount of stat values obtainable through that method (about 40 each of STR, AGI, VIT, etc, You will also learn and obtain some points in the Fighting Spirit Stat and Sustenence Stat, and skill proficiency in the skill Swords Mastery as well). The time taken is somewhere in the region of about 4 weeks of gaming time, although some time off is taken by Weed to finish his quest and rest (he sleeps about 4 hours, about 16 hours in real life, and then there must be other daily life essentials to take into account). <br>The duration may take longer but it seems that you will complete the training when you maxed out the set amount of all obtainable stats from the training.<br><br>Also: (100 Copper = 1 Silver, 100 Silver = 1 Gold)<br>Rye Bread: 1 for three coppers lol.<br>A set of Basic Leather Gear: About 30 silvers from an NPC<br>Rabbit Leather: sellable to shops for 10 copper, players may buy it for about 30-50 coppers depending on market demand and supply. take it as you will.<br><br>Good luck with writing your FF!! </div>

Small contribution for ya: The Basic Training Programme, as far as the book describes it, is through beating a scarecrow provided by any one of the centers until you reach the maximum amount of stat values obtainable through that method (about 40 each of STR, AGI, VIT, etc, You will also learn and obtain some points in the Fighting Spirit Stat and Sustenence Stat, and skill proficiency in the skill Swords Mastery as well). The time taken is somewhere in the region of about 4 weeks of gaming time, although some time off is taken by Weed to finish his quest and rest (he sleeps about 4 hours, about 16 hours in real life, and then there must be other daily life essentials to take into account). The duration may take longer but it seems that you will complete the training when you maxed out the set amount of all obtainable stats from the training. Also: (100 Copper = 1 Silver, 100 Silver = 1 Gold) Rye Bread: 1 for three coppers lol. A set of Basic Leather Gear: About 30 silvers from an NPC Rabbit Leather: sellable to shops for 10 copper, players may buy it for about 30-50 coppers depending on market demand and supply. take it as you will. Good luck with writing your FF!!

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> &lt;The Return to the Citadel&gt;<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">“This is ridiculous! Does 'he' take us for fools!?”<br><br>The man yelled out angrily. He had long black hair that reached down to his shoulders. He was not very physically built but he was gifted in magic. However, despite not being a powerful warrior, he could still give off an imposing aura. The recent turn of events had thrown him into a fit of rage.<br><br>“It can’t be helped. If things had remained as they were then who knows what horrible things would have happened.”<br><br>His friend could only shrug his shoulders at the recent changes. It was beyond their powers to do anything about it.<br><br>His friend had a very imposing height. With the makings of a powerful warrior, he was extremely skilled in the art of combat. He had short red hair and a well toned body. Along with his powerfully built and agile body, he was also very intellectually gifted and very easy to get along with.<br><br>“Don’t you see that this will only make things worse for us! I had a hard enough time before and then ‘he’ does this!”<br>“There’s nothing that we can do against ‘him’. We should just go along with the new system and find our own ways to make it work.”<br>“...I guess you’re right. I will try it out and see how it goes.”<br><br>The mage and the warrior decided to wait and see how things went.<br></span><br>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br><br>After having destroyed the entrance of the dungeon they decided to head back to town in order to turn in the quest.<br><br>“So what are your plans after this?”<br><br>Sun asked the members of the party. From what he had seen so far, they were most likely a registered party that had hunted together for quite some time. In his world, there were the parties of people that had known each other for a number of years and actively hunt together and then there were the groups that were made up of strangers in order to complete one or two quests. Their party was most likely the former.<br><br>“Well, we aren’t planning on staying in Rosenheim for very long. We were planning on traveling around to different kingdoms to hunt and raise our skills.”<br><br>Yong Li spoke on behalf of his party. They had managed to reach level 150 after finishing the dungeon. Thanks to Sun’s help they were able to fight high level monsters so their experience rose very quickly and they got very good equipment<br><br> Aside from experience, all of them managed to gain massive increases in fighting spirit and their combat skills rose rapidly because they were fighting stronger monsters. They were now stronger than most characters for their level. The average player would only fight monsters that were weaker than them, giving them less experience and skill training. There was no growth in fighting spirit by doing that either.<br><br>By hunting with Sun, they could now fight monsters that were stronger than them, allowing them to raise their level and skills much faster than most other players. They had not thought this far ahead but this would help them survive more battles in the future.<br><br>“What are you going to do Sun? If you aren’t planning on doing anything why don’t you come with us?”<br><br>Da Xia gave him a suggestion. The rest of the party nodded in agreement. It was nice having a priest in the party and they really liked Sun.<br><br>‘Hm...’<br><br>It was a good proposition to travel with them.<br><br>“Thanks for the offer but I have to refuse.”<br>“So what are you going to do?”<br><br>Feng Yun asked since he still had not said what he was planning on doing after this.<br><br>“I need to go back to the church and take care of some business.”<br>“Ah, so you have to do something for the church.”<br><br>Clerical quests are often tedious and hold penalties if refused. So whenever priests are requested to a mission, they have to accept or they will get penalized. Ever since the return of the Holy Artifacts of Freya, the number of church related commissions have been on the rise.<br><br>They began to approach the city and enter into the castle gates. The city guards recognized the group and addressed them respectfully. It had been almost a month since they had left to complete the dungeon. Since then, the Senior Priest Harold had spread the word to the other NPCs that Sun and his party had gone to clear away an undead dungeon. Since undead threaten public safety, they are commended for their valor.<br><br>After they entered the town, Sun had a suggestion.<br><br>“Since you’re going to be leaving the kingdom soon and I’m going to be busy later, why don’t we go get something to eat at a restaurant?”<br>“What do you have in mind?”<br><br>For players, eating good food was very expensive. Most low level players in their fifties could only afford barley bread, and even some could not afford that so they had to eat grass or bark.<br><br>After level 100, users would have more money but good food was still a luxury. These users would usually stick to barley bread or they would go to a cheap bar or restaurant to eat. Eating good food was usually reserved to the rich and the high leveled. There was the cooking skill, but it was too tedious for most users to learn outside of the professional cooks.<br><br>Even for Sun, the cooking skill was tedious. He could cook food for them himself, but he didn’t want to. He had just spent a month hunting undead in a dungeon. During that time, he took care of most of the cooking himself. Da Xia would help from time to time, but for the most part the rest were useless when it came to cooking. So he wanted someone to cook for him since he was feeling lazy.<br><br>“I know a good place.”<br><br>Sun took them through the city to a restaurant he visited frequently. The name of the restaurant was ‘Rosen Place’. The restaurant was known to have good service and great food. It was located near the fountain so it received a lot of business.<br><br>“Uwaa, this place is amazing.”<br><br>Feng Yun was amazed as she walked into the restaurant.<br><br>“This place looks like it’s rather expensive.”<br><br>Hou Yi was rather concerned with the pricing. Even though they had earned quite a bit from hunting, they still felt uncomfortable spending a lot of money on food.<br><br>That was reasonable because they were more than aware of the high costs of hunting and equipment. In some kingdoms, it was not unreasonable for there to be high taxes and other miscellaneous costs.<br><br>“Don’t worry. It’s not that expensive.”<br><br>Sun reassured them about the price. Since he was rather stingy himself, he would never allow himself to each somewhere that was expensive.<br><br>Sun walked up to the man at the counter to ask for a table.<br><br>“Hey, can I get a table for six?”<br>“Oh, I haven’t seen you in awhile. I heard that you went to hunt some undead.”<br>“Yea, I just came back from that.”<br>“Nice job. Everyone feels a lot safer now thanks to you and your friends.”<br><br>Anyone that was affiliated with the Church of Freya had heard of him by now. Since the Church of Freya was the kingdom’s national religion, almost all the citizens that cares knew Sun by now, if they had not already known.<br><br>“Come right this way.”<br><br>The worker led them to a empty table.<br><br>“Please let us know when you are ready to order.”<br><br>The man then returned back to the head of the store to deal with other customers. A menu of the foods that were available popped up in front of them.<br><br>“So what do you want to order?”<br><br>Sun asked them as they looked through his menu. Since he could see this thing, he assumed that they could as well. After looking through the menu they placed their orders.<br><br>After a while, a waitress came by and delivered their food. The food was served in rather large quantities so they decided to share so that they could taste a bit of everything.<br><br>“This is delicious!”<br>“Tasty.”<br><br>They couldn’t help but comment on how the food tasted. That was to be expected since they were not used to eating out like this. In Royal Road they limited themselves to simple foods since good food was expensive. Even in real life they mainly ate whatever was convenient.<br>Sun was happy. It had been so long since he could sit around and eat together with his friends.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">‘It has been so long since I’ve been gone.’<br></span><br>He missed his fellow holy knight brothers. Even though he had made new friends in this world, his brothers were important to him.<br><br>“Sun...what’s wrong?”<br><br>Surprisingly enough it was Xuehua that noticed something was amiss with Sun’s behavior. Even though she didn’t talk much, she was very observant of those around her.<br><br>“I was just thinking about some people I haven’t seen in awhile.”<br>“I’m sure that you’ll see them again soon.”<br><br>Feng Yun comforted him and encouraged him to eat some more.<br><br>“Oh, wait. Excuse me for a moment, I need to take this whisper.”<br><br>Yong Li said abruptly as he stood up and started talked off to the side.<br><br>“What’s he doing?”<br><br>Sun asked since it looked like Yong Li was talking to the air. Then he remembered.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">‘So yea, for the last few days I’ve been going along with this expedition with the church. Yea, I know it’s been quite a bit of time since I’ve come back to the guild but I can’t just leave or I’ll get penalized for the quest. I think we’ll be done with it in a few days. I’ll talk to you later; the commander is looking at me funny.’<br></span><br>The Paladin Alexander!<br>Back during the expedition in Lexington, there was a weird person named Alexander that was constantly talking to thin air. Sun did not think that this was mere coincidence.<br><br>“He got a whisper from his friend.”<br>“Whisper?”<br><br>Sun asked inquisitively. His teammates thought about it and came to the conclusion that, even though Sun was a relatively strong priest, he was still a novice when it came to RPGs.<br><br>“A whisper is a function that is available for you to contact your friends.”<br><br>Hou Yi began to explain.<br><br>“To use the whisper all you need to do is say the command ‘whisper’ and the name of the person that you want to whisper. In order to whisper someone, you need to know their name, what they look like, and you need to have made contact with them at least once.”<br>“Okay I understand now.”<br><br>Sun nodded at the explanation. Then he came to a realization.<br><br>“Then this means that, even though you’re going to another kingdom, I’m going to be able to keep in contact with all of you.”<br>“Yea, talk to us whenever we’re available.”<br><br>Feng Yun answered him enthusiastically.<br><br>“Oh, there’s one more thing about whispers.”<br>“What is it?”<br>“Whispers don’t work when either person is in a dungeon. Only guild chat works in dungeons.”<br><br>Feng Yun made sure to tell Sun about the restriction of whispering so that he doesn’t think that they were ignoring him.<br><br>“I’ll keep that in mind.”<br><br>At the moment Yong Li finished up his whisper and returned to the table.<br><br>“Now that we’re done eating, let’s pay the bill.”<br>“Sure, let me call them over.”<br><br>Sun called over one of the waiters for the bill.<br><br>“This was a lot lower than I expected.”<br><br>Yong Li was surprised at the cost of the meal. The total cost of the meal had only been 2 gold. The cost had been reduced a lot because Sun had a lot of fame and had a lot of public reputation in the area.<br><br>Since the rest of the party had been involved in the quest, they would receive benefits from the town for about a week, such as price reductions and special sales.<br><br>“Let’s go turn in the quest now.”<br><br>Da Xia reminded them since they still needed to go pick up their reward. The party then began to walk their way to the church to see Senior Priest Harold.<br><br>“Where is Senior Priest Harold?”<br><br>Sun asked a nearby acolyte.<br><br>“He should be in the prayer room. Also Calvin has returned from his trip and has requested that you see him.”<br>“Thank you for the help.”<br><br>They entered into the prayer room to see Senior priest Harold praying in front of a statue of Freya. He noticed Sun’s party entering the room and turned around to greet them.<br><br>“Welcome back. How was the situation at the Corpse Tomb?”<br>“There were some difficulties but we got rid of the abomination that was producing the undead. Afterwards we destroyed the entrance to seal the rest of the undead that we couldn’t kill.”<br><br>Senior Priest Harold had a content look on his face.<br><br>“I see. That’s wonderful. As expected of you Sun. I also thank you five for accompanying our fellow priest to this dangerous place.”<br>“I found this in the abomination’s corpse.”<br><br>Sun held up the Pendant of Agatha that he had gotten. Harold frowned when he saw it.<br><br>“So it is as I feared. The priest that was supposed to come here a few months ago but never arrived has perished to the undead. I will take care of the arrangements to notify the rest of the church and his family.”<br>“What should I do with this?”<br><br>Sun held up the pendant again.<br><br>“You are more than qualified to use it yourself Sun. The Church is expecting many great things from you after all. Let me give the rewards for this commission.”<br><br>Ttring!<br><br>You have completed the quest to clear away the Corpse Tomb!<br><br>The peace of the people of the Citadel of Serabourg from the undead has been maintained once more. Though it is regretful that one of the church’s priests had died, they expect great things from the Priest that had cleared away the undead. The Church commends the great adventurers that fought to protect the people from the undead.<br><br>-Fame has increased by 300.<br>-Contribution with the Citadel of Serabourg has increased by 10.<br>-Contribution with the Church of Freya has increased by 15.<br>-Public value of the church has increased by 100.<br>-Level up.<br>-Level up.<br>-Level up.<br>-Faith has increased by 10.<br>-You can now use the Pendant of Agatha.<br><br>For completing the quest, all the members of the party received fame, experience and contribution. Sun was the only one that got the bonus to his faith stat and could use the Pendant of Agatha.<br><br>“Drop by the armory to get your reward. Though it may not be much, please accept what we have to offer.”<br><br>Harold gave them a note to give to the armory manager. Each of them was rewarded with a new weapon. Since the weapons that they had gotten from the undead were kind of weak, the new weapons from the church were more than acceptable.<br><br>“Sun, you’ve grown since I’ve last saw you. Let me change out your equipment.”<br><br>The manager of the armory provided Sun with a new set of gear since he was a member of the church. He put on the new equipment as well as the pendant.<br><br>“Thanks for all the hard work.”<br>“The same could be said for you.”<br><br>The two of them exchanged pleasantries as he left. Da Xia was ecstatic. She had expected good rewards from the quest since it was from the Church, but she was not expecting to get a new weapon.<br><br>“Thanks for everything Sun!”<br>“I should be thanking you for all the help.”<br><br>Sun politely thanked the rest of them for their help. If it had not been for them, then he would had sat around and waited for Calvin to come back from his trip.<br><br>“By the way, aren’t you going to leave soon?”<br><br>They had mentioned that they were going to travel to different kingdoms after this.<br><br>“Why don’t I help you buy supplies for your trip?”<br>“Thanks for the help.”<br><br>The rest of the afternoon they went around visiting the local stores for travel supplies. By 4 p.m they were ready to leave. Sun went to the city gates to say his farewells.<br><br>“Bye everyone!”<br>“Baiii Sun!”<br><br>They waved back at Sun until they were out of sight. Then Sun started to walk back to the church.<br><br>‘If I remember correctly Calvin wanted to see me.’<br><br>Calvin had come back from his trip and Sun had many things that he wanted to ask him about.<br><br>‘Hopefully he has found some clues as to how I can return to my world.’ </div>

<The Return to the Citadel> “This is ridiculous! Does 'he' take us for fools!?” The man yelled out angrily. He had long black hair that reached down to his shoulders. He was not very physically built but he was gifted in magic. However, despite not being a powerful warrior, he could still give off an imposing aura. The recent turn of events had thrown him into a fit of rage. “It can’t be helped. If things had remained as they were then who knows what horrible things would have happened.” His friend could only shrug his shoulders at the recent changes. It was beyond their powers to do anything about it. His friend had a very imposing height. With the makings of a powerful warrior, he was extremely skilled in the art of combat. He had short red hair and a well toned body. Along with his powerfully built and agile body, he was also very intellectually gifted and very easy to get along with. “Don’t you see that this will only make things worse for us! I had a hard enough time before and then ‘he’ does this!” “There’s nothing that we can do against ‘him’. We should just go along with the new system and find our own ways to make it work.” “...I guess you’re right. I will try it out and see how it goes.” The mage and the warrior decided to wait and see how things went. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After having destroyed the entrance of the dungeon they decided to head back to town in order to turn in the quest. “So what are your plans after this?” Sun asked the members of the party. From what he had seen so far, they were most likely a registered party that had hunted together for quite some time. In his world, there were the parties of people that had known each other for a number of years and actively hunt together and then there were the groups that were made up of strangers in order to complete one or two quests. Their party was most likely the former. “Well, we aren’t planning on staying in Rosenheim for very long. We were planning on traveling around to different kingdoms to hunt and raise our skills.” Yong Li spoke on behalf of his party. They had managed to reach level 150 after finishing the dungeon. Thanks to Sun’s help they were able to fight high level monsters so their experience rose very quickly and they got very good equipment Aside from experience, all of them managed to gain massive increases in fighting spirit and their combat skills rose rapidly because they were fighting stronger monsters. They were now stronger than most characters for their level. The average player would only fight monsters that were weaker than them, giving them less experience and skill training. There was no growth in fighting spirit by doing that either. By hunting with Sun, they could now fight monsters that were stronger than them, allowing them to raise their level and skills much faster than most other players. They had not thought this far ahead but this would help them survive more battles in the future. “What are you going to do Sun? If you aren’t planning on doing anything why don’t you come with us?” Da Xia gave him a suggestion. The rest of the party nodded in agreement. It was nice having a priest in the party and they really liked Sun. ‘Hm...’ It was a good proposition to travel with them. “Thanks for the offer but I have to refuse.” “So what are you going to do?” Feng Yun asked since he still had not said what he was planning on doing after this. “I need to go back to the church and take care of some business.” “Ah, so you have to do something for the church.” Clerical quests are often tedious and hold penalties if refused. So whenever priests are requested to a mission, they have to accept or they will get penalized. Ever since the return of the Holy Artifacts of Freya, the number of church related commissions have been on the rise. They began to approach the city and enter into the castle gates. The city guards recognized the group and addressed them respectfully. It had been almost a month since they had left to complete the dungeon. Since then, the Senior Priest Harold had spread the word to the other NPCs that Sun and his party had gone to clear away an undead dungeon. Since undead threaten public safety, they are commended for their valor. After they entered the town, Sun had a suggestion. “Since you’re going to be leaving the kingdom soon and I’m going to be busy later, why don’t we go get something to eat at a restaurant?” “What do you have in mind?” For players, eating good food was very expensive. Most low level players in their fifties could only afford barley bread, and even some could not afford that so they had to eat grass or bark. After level 100, users would have more money but good food was still a luxury. These users would usually stick to barley bread or they would go to a cheap bar or restaurant to eat. Eating good food was usually reserved to the rich and the high leveled. There was the cooking skill, but it was too tedious for most users to learn outside of the professional cooks. Even for Sun, the cooking skill was tedious. He could cook food for them himself, but he didn’t want to. He had just spent a month hunting undead in a dungeon. During that time, he took care of most of the cooking himself. Da Xia would help from time to time, but for the most part the rest were useless when it came to cooking. So he wanted someone to cook for him since he was feeling lazy. “I know a good place.” Sun took them through the city to a restaurant he visited frequently. The name of the restaurant was ‘Rosen Place’. The restaurant was known to have good service and great food. It was located near the fountain so it received a lot of business. “Uwaa, this place is amazing.” Feng Yun was amazed as she walked into the restaurant. “This place looks like it’s rather expensive.” Hou Yi was rather concerned with the pricing. Even though they had earned quite a bit from hunting, they still felt uncomfortable spending a lot of money on food. That was reasonable because they were more than aware of the high costs of hunting and equipment. In some kingdoms, it was not unreasonable for there to be high taxes and other miscellaneous costs. “Don’t worry. It’s not that expensive.” Sun reassured them about the price. Since he was rather stingy himself, he would never allow himself to each somewhere that was expensive. Sun walked up to the man at the counter to ask for a table. “Hey, can I get a table for six?” “Oh, I haven’t seen you in awhile. I heard that you went to hunt some undead.” “Yea, I just came back from that.” “Nice job. Everyone feels a lot safer now thanks to you and your friends.” Anyone that was affiliated with the Church of Freya had heard of him by now. Since the Church of Freya was the kingdom’s national religion, almost all the citizens that cares knew Sun by now, if they had not already known. “Come right this way.” The worker led them to a empty table. “Please let us know when you are ready to order.” The man then returned back to the head of the store to deal with other customers. A menu of the foods that were available popped up in front of them. “So what do you want to order?” Sun asked them as they looked through his menu. Since he could see this thing, he assumed that they could as well. After looking through the menu they placed their orders. After a while, a waitress came by and delivered their food. The food was served in rather large quantities so they decided to share so that they could taste a bit of everything. “This is delicious!” “Tasty.” They couldn’t help but comment on how the food tasted. That was to be expected since they were not used to eating out like this. In Royal Road they limited themselves to simple foods since good food was expensive. Even in real life they mainly ate whatever was convenient. Sun was happy. It had been so long since he could sit around and eat together with his friends. ‘It has been so long since I’ve been gone.’ He missed his fellow holy knight brothers. Even though he had made new friends in this world, his brothers were important to him. “Sun...what’s wrong?” Surprisingly enough it was Xuehua that noticed something was amiss with Sun’s behavior. Even though she didn’t talk much, she was very observant of those around her. “I was just thinking about some people I haven’t seen in awhile.” “I’m sure that you’ll see them again soon.” Feng Yun comforted him and encouraged him to eat some more. “Oh, wait. Excuse me for a moment, I need to take this whisper.” Yong Li said abruptly as he stood up and started talked off to the side. “What’s he doing?” Sun asked since it looked like Yong Li was talking to the air. Then he remembered. ‘So yea, for the last few days I’ve been going along with this expedition with the church. Yea, I know it’s been quite a bit of time since I’ve come back to the guild but I can’t just leave or I’ll get penalized for the quest. I think we’ll be done with it in a few days. I’ll talk to you later; the commander is looking at me funny.’ The Paladin Alexander! Back during the expedition in Lexington, there was a weird person named Alexander that was constantly talking to thin air. Sun did not think that this was mere coincidence. “He got a whisper from his friend.” “Whisper?” Sun asked inquisitively. His teammates thought about it and came to the conclusion that, even though Sun was a relatively strong priest, he was still a novice when it came to RPGs. “A whisper is a function that is available for you to contact your friends.” Hou Yi began to explain. “To use the whisper all you need to do is say the command ‘whisper’ and the name of the person that you want to whisper. In order to whisper someone, you need to know their name, what they look like, and you need to have made contact with them at least once.” “Okay I understand now.” Sun nodded at the explanation. Then he came to a realization. “Then this means that, even though you’re going to another kingdom, I’m going to be able to keep in contact with all of you.” “Yea, talk to us whenever we’re available.” Feng Yun answered him enthusiastically. “Oh, there’s one more thing about whispers.” “What is it?” “Whispers don’t work when either person is in a dungeon. Only guild chat works in dungeons.” Feng Yun made sure to tell Sun about the restriction of whispering so that he doesn’t think that they were ignoring him. “I’ll keep that in mind.” At the moment Yong Li finished up his whisper and returned to the table. “Now that we’re done eating, let’s pay the bill.” “Sure, let me call them over.” Sun called over one of the waiters for the bill. “This was a lot lower than I expected.” Yong Li was surprised at the cost of the meal. The total cost of the meal had only been 2 gold. The cost had been reduced a lot because Sun had a lot of fame and had a lot of public reputation in the area. Since the rest of the party had been involved in the quest, they would receive benefits from the town for about a week, such as price reductions and special sales. “Let’s go turn in the quest now.” Da Xia reminded them since they still needed to go pick up their reward. The party then began to walk their way to the church to see Senior Priest Harold. “Where is Senior Priest Harold?” Sun asked a nearby acolyte. “He should be in the prayer room. Also Calvin has returned from his trip and has requested that you see him.” “Thank you for the help.” They entered into the prayer room to see Senior priest Harold praying in front of a statue of Freya. He noticed Sun’s party entering the room and turned around to greet them. “Welcome back. How was the situation at the Corpse Tomb?” “There were some difficulties but we got rid of the abomination that was producing the undead. Afterwards we destroyed the entrance to seal the rest of the undead that we couldn’t kill.” Senior Priest Harold had a content look on his face. “I see. That’s wonderful. As expected of you Sun. I also thank you five for accompanying our fellow priest to this dangerous place.” “I found this in the abomination’s corpse.” Sun held up the Pendant of Agatha that he had gotten. Harold frowned when he saw it. “So it is as I feared. The priest that was supposed to come here a few months ago but never arrived has perished to the undead. I will take care of the arrangements to notify the rest of the church and his family.” “What should I do with this?” Sun held up the pendant again. “You are more than qualified to use it yourself Sun. The Church is expecting many great things from you after all. Let me give the rewards for this commission.” Ttring! You have completed the quest to clear away the Corpse Tomb! The peace of the people of the Citadel of Serabourg from the undead has been maintained once more. Though it is regretful that one of the church’s priests had died, they expect great things from the Priest that had cleared away the undead. The Church commends the great adventurers that fought to protect the people from the undead. -Fame has increased by 300. -Contribution with the Citadel of Serabourg has increased by 10. -Contribution with the Church of Freya has increased by 15. -Public value of the church has increased by 100. -Level up. -Level up. -Level up. -Faith has increased by 10. -You can now use the Pendant of Agatha. For completing the quest, all the members of the party received fame, experience and contribution. Sun was the only one that got the bonus to his faith stat and could use the Pendant of Agatha. “Drop by the armory to get your reward. Though it may not be much, please accept what we have to offer.” Harold gave them a note to give to the armory manager. Each of them was rewarded with a new weapon. Since the weapons that they had gotten from the undead were kind of weak, the new weapons from the church were more than acceptable. “Sun, you’ve grown since I’ve last saw you. Let me change out your equipment.” The manager of the armory provided Sun with a new set of gear since he was a member of the church. He put on the new equipment as well as the pendant. “Thanks for all the hard work.” “The same could be said for you.” The two of them exchanged pleasantries as he left. Da Xia was ecstatic. She had expected good rewards from the quest since it was from the Church, but she was not expecting to get a new weapon. “Thanks for everything Sun!” “I should be thanking you for all the help.” Sun politely thanked the rest of them for their help. If it had not been for them, then he would had sat around and waited for Calvin to come back from his trip. “By the way, aren’t you going to leave soon?” They had mentioned that they were going to travel to different kingdoms after this. “Why don’t I help you buy supplies for your trip?” “Thanks for the help.” The rest of the afternoon they went around visiting the local stores for travel supplies. By 4 p.m they were ready to leave. Sun went to the city gates to say his farewells. “Bye everyone!” “Baiii Sun!” They waved back at Sun until they were out of sight. Then Sun started to walk back to the church. ‘If I remember correctly Calvin wanted to see me.’ Calvin had come back from his trip and Sun had many things that he wanted to ask him about. ‘Hopefully he has found some clues as to how I can return to my world.’

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> Something a little shorter to cap off today's chapter. Good night, everyone.<br><br>*********<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">Meanwhile, back at the Sleepy Fortress…</span><br><br>“Look, just help me keep an eye out for that guy when he tries to pass through again.” Puppy pleaded with the other 3 guys whom he had brought with him to his post.<br><br>“Yeah, it’s our job to keep newcomers out of trouble.” Richard agreed as he rubbed the bruise on his cheek where he was struck, wincing as he did so. <br><br>“Oh, don’t give me that crap. You only want to get even with the guy that hit you.” Thomas, a junior guard laughed as he said this. He nudged the other guard that was standing next to him in mirth. “Even Harold here agrees with me, and he barely has any opinions on anything.”<br><br>“…” Harold didn’t say anything, but nodded anyway.<br><br>“Come on, back us up here. If this case becomes a persistent problem, it will eventually set a precedent…” Puppy said this as he thought back to the day before. <br><br>Already he had been heckled by other newcomers who had seen the young man punch his way in and out of the city. Keen to not waste 4 weeks stuck in the city, several had even managed to sneak out of the city as a result. Puppy had not heard back from those newcomers, which clearly meant that they were most likely killed in a fight against the mobs that roamed the outskirts of the fortress.<br><br>As you could probably see, it was a dangerous precedent. That guy was clearly an abnormal case; newcomers clearly cannot survive outside the city without the proper preparation. If this keeps up, well, there is some good and some bad coming out of this. It would be made clear to newcomers that they can’t survive and prepare accordingly. On the other hand, if people manage to get out of the city, it means that the guards just aren’t doing their job properly.<br><br>If the commander manages to hear of this, we will be screwed, Puppy shuddered as he thought about this. The commander had a funny attitude when it came to dealing with insubordination or inability to comply with the rules.<br><br>“Ha ha, you are funny indeed, Puppy. Harold and I will just get back to patrolling the city now, huh?” Thomas guffawed as he made to move off, motioning to Harold to do the same.<br><br>“How many times have I told you, don’t call me Puppy!!” Puppy shouted angrily.<br><br>“But everyone calls you Puppy…”<br><br>“That’s a lousy reason to call me Puppy then!!! I have a name you know…”<br><br>“But to us you’ll always be Puppy. Isn’t that right, Alf?” Thomas turned to a muscular young man who was just suddenly standing there grinning happily. Puppy’s eyes bulged at the sight of Alf nodding happily in agreement.<br><br>“You!! You bastard, you had the nerve to show up here again?” Puppy angrily shouted, the red on his face turning a positive purple in his rage.<br><br>“Yup, it’s another beautiful day to get out there and find stuff to beat up.” Alf said this as he grinned, revealing straight white teeth.<br><br>“Damn it, why can’t you just stay in the city for the first four weeks like the other newcomers?”<br><br>“Why should I?”<br><br>“Because of you the commander docked my freaking pay for a week!!”<br><br>“What, Puppy, you have met Alf here before?” Thomas asked with a confused expression. <br><br>“Yes!! He’s that jerk that hit me and Richard the other day!!”<br><br>“What are you saying; Alf here’s a swell guy.” Thomas naturally defended his new friend. Alf nodded encouragingly. <br>“You must have been deceived by him; this punk is definitely a jerk.” Puppy spoke up with indignation.<br><br>“Look, Thomas, you are either with us or against us.” Richard yelled as he told on Puppy’s side.<br><br>“Dang it, Alf’s my friend, and I have to back him up here!! This must be some serious misunderstanding.” Thomas spoke indignantly, his ears reddening.<br><br>“…” Harold didn’t say anything, but stood there quietly watching the furious exchange of words that was fast turning ugly.<br><br>Alf was also standing there watching. He was starting to feel rather miffed that he was being left out of the conversation. Time was being wasted, even if the intentions were good. He sighed to himself, and made his move, his arms lashing out without warning. <br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">*WHACK*<br><br>*SMACK*<br><br>*BIFFBIFFBIFF*<br><br>*POW*</span><br><br>Alf patted his hands together and surveyed his handiwork. All three guards that were arguing are now lying face down on the ground, having been knocked out by a straight, a left hook, and a series of jabs followed by an uppercut to the chin.<br><br>Well, that’s one way to resolve an argument… :o <br><br>He turned to the other guard that was standing next to him.<br><br>“Well, tell Tom that it was nice that he stood up for me, okay Harry?” Alf asked. <br><br>Harold stood there, bemused by the violence that suddenly exploded before him, but he managed to give a small nod. Alf nodded, satisfied with the answer, and suddenly struck Harold with a jab to the temple. Harold fell over as well.<br><br>“I guess that settles this then. Onward to adventure!!” Alf, now mediator extraordinaire, shouted to himself and ran out of the city, the unconscious guards now out of his mind.<br><br>Minutes later, the guards finally recovered and got up. Thomas had a sheepish look on his face. Harold, who had long recovered, just stood there and watched his friends.<br><br>“Well, that was awkward.” Richard said, rubbing the second bruise that has suddenly appeared on his other cheek.<br><br>“I guess… Damn it, did he have to hit so hard?” Puppy rubbed his chin and moved his jaws to check if anything was broken.<br><br>“Ah, looks like you were right, Puppy.” Thomas didn’t want to admit it, but did so grudgingly.<br><br>“Indeed, I am. This is why you shouldn’t argue with a senior.” Puppy spoke pompously, ignoring the fact that Thomas called him Puppy again.<br><br>"Next time for sure." Puppy muttered vindictively, clenching his fist.<br><br>"I can agree with that." Thomas grumbled.<br><br>“Well, that aside, can we let it be agreed among us that we didn’t get knocked out by a newcomer, alright? It would be embarrassing if anyone found out.” Richard asked, wincing as he got up… He was going to feel that for a week.<br><br>“Huh?” Thomas had a suitably confused look on his face.<br><br>“I have no idea what you are talking about.” Puppy spoke up, knowing that his usually angry face betrayed no emotion.<br><br>“Well done, both of you.” Richard smiled.<br><br>**********************<br>Author's note:<br><br>This is the first time I'm dividing a chapter into smaller portions. So how was it? Was it easier to digest? I hoped that you have enjoyed the story. See you guys next chapter. </div>

Something a little shorter to cap off today's chapter. Good night, everyone. ********* Meanwhile, back at the Sleepy Fortress… “Look, just help me keep an eye out for that guy when he tries to pass through again.” Puppy pleaded with the other 3 guys whom he had brought with him to his post. “Yeah, it’s our job to keep newcomers out of trouble.” Richard agreed as he rubbed the bruise on his cheek where he was struck, wincing as he did so. “Oh, don’t give me that crap. You only want to get even with the guy that hit you.” Thomas, a junior guard laughed as he said this. He nudged the other guard that was standing next to him in mirth. “Even Harold here agrees with me, and he barely has any opinions on anything.” “…” Harold didn’t say anything, but nodded anyway. “Come on, back us up here. If this case becomes a persistent problem, it will eventually set a precedent…” Puppy said this as he thought back to the day before. Already he had been heckled by other newcomers who had seen the young man punch his way in and out of the city. Keen to not waste 4 weeks stuck in the city, several had even managed to sneak out of the city as a result. Puppy had not heard back from those newcomers, which clearly meant that they were most likely killed in a fight against the mobs that roamed the outskirts of the fortress. As you could probably see, it was a dangerous precedent. That guy was clearly an abnormal case; newcomers clearly cannot survive outside the city without the proper preparation. If this keeps up, well, there is some good and some bad coming out of this. It would be made clear to newcomers that they can’t survive and prepare accordingly. On the other hand, if people manage to get out of the city, it means that the guards just aren’t doing their job properly. If the commander manages to hear of this, we will be screwed, Puppy shuddered as he thought about this. The commander had a funny attitude when it came to dealing with insubordination or inability to comply with the rules. “Ha ha, you are funny indeed, Puppy. Harold and I will just get back to patrolling the city now, huh?” Thomas guffawed as he made to move off, motioning to Harold to do the same. “How many times have I told you, don’t call me Puppy!!” Puppy shouted angrily. “But everyone calls you Puppy…” “That’s a lousy reason to call me Puppy then!!! I have a name you know…” “But to us you’ll always be Puppy. Isn’t that right, Alf?” Thomas turned to a muscular young man who was just suddenly standing there grinning happily. Puppy’s eyes bulged at the sight of Alf nodding happily in agreement. “You!! You bastard, you had the nerve to show up here again?” Puppy angrily shouted, the red on his face turning a positive purple in his rage. “Yup, it’s another beautiful day to get out there and find stuff to beat up.” Alf said this as he grinned, revealing straight white teeth. “Damn it, why can’t you just stay in the city for the first four weeks like the other newcomers?” “Why should I?” “Because of you the commander docked my freaking pay for a week!!” “What, Puppy, you have met Alf here before?” Thomas asked with a confused expression. “Yes!! He’s that jerk that hit me and Richard the other day!!” “What are you saying; Alf here’s a swell guy.” Thomas naturally defended his new friend. Alf nodded encouragingly. “You must have been deceived by him; this punk is definitely a jerk.” Puppy spoke up with indignation. “Look, Thomas, you are either with us or against us.” Richard yelled as he told on Puppy’s side. “Dang it, Alf’s my friend, and I have to back him up here!! This must be some serious misunderstanding.” Thomas spoke indignantly, his ears reddening. “…” Harold didn’t say anything, but stood there quietly watching the furious exchange of words that was fast turning ugly. Alf was also standing there watching. He was starting to feel rather miffed that he was being left out of the conversation. Time was being wasted, even if the intentions were good. He sighed to himself, and made his move, his arms lashing out without warning. *WHACK* *SMACK* *BIFFBIFFBIFF* *POW* Alf patted his hands together and surveyed his handiwork. All three guards that were arguing are now lying face down on the ground, having been knocked out by a straight, a left hook, and a series of jabs followed by an uppercut to the chin. Well, that’s one way to resolve an argument… :o He turned to the other guard that was standing next to him. “Well, tell Tom that it was nice that he stood up for me, okay Harry?” Alf asked. Harold stood there, bemused by the violence that suddenly exploded before him, but he managed to give a small nod. Alf nodded, satisfied with the answer, and suddenly struck Harold with a jab to the temple. Harold fell over as well. “I guess that settles this then. Onward to adventure!!” Alf, now mediator extraordinaire, shouted to himself and ran out of the city, the unconscious guards now out of his mind. Minutes later, the guards finally recovered and got up. Thomas had a sheepish look on his face. Harold, who had long recovered, just stood there and watched his friends. “Well, that was awkward.” Richard said, rubbing the second bruise that has suddenly appeared on his other cheek. “I guess… Damn it, did he have to hit so hard?” Puppy rubbed his chin and moved his jaws to check if anything was broken. “Ah, looks like you were right, Puppy.” Thomas didn’t want to admit it, but did so grudgingly. “Indeed, I am. This is why you shouldn’t argue with a senior.” Puppy spoke pompously, ignoring the fact that Thomas called him Puppy again. "Next time for sure." Puppy muttered vindictively, clenching his fist. "I can agree with that." Thomas grumbled. “Well, that aside, can we let it be agreed among us that we didn’t get knocked out by a newcomer, alright? It would be embarrassing if anyone found out.” Richard asked, wincing as he got up… He was going to feel that for a week. “Huh?” Thomas had a suitably confused look on his face. “I have no idea what you are talking about.” Puppy spoke up, knowing that his usually angry face betrayed no emotion. “Well done, both of you.” Richard smiled. ********************** Author's note: This is the first time I'm dividing a chapter into smaller portions. So how was it? Was it easier to digest? I hoped that you have enjoyed the story. See you guys next chapter.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> TRRRING!<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td><span style="color: #FF0000;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Quest: Help Saxenas1 with his FF by contributing suggestions.</span></span><br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;">Q1. I need help! I have lots of ideas and the main / sub plots ready in my head! However, I don't know what I should be focusing on. What do you find most interesting and suggest I should I focus on:</span><br><br>A. Lee Hyun and VRMMORPG developments?<br>B. The RPG Angle?<br>C. Something in between? (please feel to elaborate in your comment).<br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;">Q2. Do you (readers) prefer quality (near perfection english, with near perfect spellings and perfect grammar?) or quantity (2-3 chapters a week but high risk of lots of mistakes)?</span><br>A. Quality<br>B. Quantity<br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;">Rank:</span> E<br><span style="font-weight: bold;">Reward:</span> More chapters suited to the way you like it!<br><span style="font-weight: bold;">Quest limit: </span> You need to cast your vote asap!<br><span style="font-weight: bold;">Quest Requirement: </span> Must be a fan of LMS [Fulfilled]. Must love Elementarem Vim[????].</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br><br>To vote: (example) type Q1 - A, Q2 - B. <br><br>Also, feel free to add in extra comments, ideas, nominations for your own name to be introduced as a character in the FF or anything else that you would like to discuss (praises are most welcome - good source of ego boosting).<br><br>Please note SPAM will not be tolerated. ^^v </div>

TRRRING! | Quest: Help Saxenas1 with his FF by contributing suggestions.Q1. I need help! I have lots of ideas and the main / sub plots ready in my head! However, I don't know what I should be focusing on. What do you find most interesting and suggest I should I focus on:A. Lee Hyun and VRMMORPG developments?B. The RPG Angle?C. Something in between? (please feel to elaborate in your comment).Q2. Do you (readers) prefer quality (near perfection english, with near perfect spellings and perfect grammar?) or quantity (2-3 chapters a week but high risk of lots of mistakes)?A. QualityB. QuantityRank: EReward: More chapters suited to the way you like it!Quest limit: You need to cast your vote asap!Quest Requirement: Must be a fan of LMS [Fulfilled]. Must love Elementarem Vim[????]. | | --- | To vote: (example) type Q1 - A, Q2 - B. Also, feel free to add in extra comments, ideas, nominations for your own name to be introduced as a character in the FF or anything else that you would like to discuss (praises are most welcome - good source of ego boosting). Please note SPAM will not be tolerated. ^^v

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> “Grandfather, what happened to your staff?” Mnamanth asked curiously. His grandfather never let go of the staff. It was handed down generation after generation; a family heirloom. <br><br>The old kobold smiled. “It was time we let it go, Mnamanth.”<br><br>He showed Mnamanth the key he acquired. “All the riches....of the Crissssto are now mine!!” He spoke with a crooked smile.<br><br>Mnamanth could not understand, no amount of wealth was enough to make up for the Great Black’s scale. <br><br>“But it’s our sacred tradition!” Mnamanth exclaimed in a panicky tone. <br><br>“Who need’s old traditions! We got all of Kendelbreu’s wealth!” The Elder replied gleefully as he put the key on a chain and around his neck. <br><br>Mnamanth was angry that his would be precious treasure was traded off for just more money. He had enough money hidden away from the elf and his grandfather, he didn’t need more. However, the staff symbolized power. It symbolized power to lead the tribe. He could only stare at the Elder with contempt.<br><br>-x-x-x-x-x-<br><br>Weed slowly made his way to the Great White Hall. He wobbled with every step he took; the mine cart ride was worse than what anyone could imagine it to be. It was self-explanatory why dwarves didn’t take the fastest ride to Skyholm.<br> <br>His virtual stomach made several backflips whenever his mind thought of his ride inside the mine cart. Weed had taken roller coaster rides before. He even liked them. But 24 hours nonstop ride from Northern Mountain City to Skyholm, might have been a bit too much for anyone. After the parting kick from the Elder, he held on for his dear life as the cart dropped sharply. Apparently, the game developers thought it would be fun to leave cart controls in the hands of the players. This meant, if at any time Weed lost control, he would derail and die. So Weed couldn’t shut his eyes and clench his teeth hoping for the ride to finish. He had to be constantly vigilant and make decisions such as how to lean to turn the cart etc while his stomach lurched with every turn of the cart’s wheel.<br><br>Whenever he thought the worst was over, the mine cart track would prove him wrong. Up and down, round and round. Swirling in circles, falling through dizzying heights. He often felt the cart was making a circular overhead turn when his bodily gravity was pull toward his head; an unnecessary addition. Then, there were several very sharp turns which would leave Weed praying. He would lean extremely to the right, almost tilting the cart to manage those turns. He feared that the cart would surely be dislodged from the track and throwing him into the abyss. <br><br>It was as if some demon coded the game, at these very twisted ‘Temple Run’ like turns a number of pop messages would block Weed’s view. <br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>- You are dizzy.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>- Alak is dizzy!</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>- You are dizzier.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>- You are nauseated.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>- Alak is feeling nauseated! You should avoid moving in such away that causes discomfort to the fairy.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>This particular message grabbed Weed’s attention. He really wanted to kill the screen when he read it. <span style="font-style: italic;"> ‘If I could avoid discomfort, I would have done so you stupid ….’ </span><br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>- You threw up.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>Weed had to quickly close them, or time the turning perfectly in order to avoid being thrown off the track.<br><br>The worst experience Weed had was probably the feeling of the cart being completely airborne with him having zero control over it. Every time the cart jumped into the air, Weed would have to pull the cart on it’s hind wheels to survive the landing impact. Weed was terrified of the landing but the jump in itself would be the most pleasant part of the ride. As the cart sailed through the air, the rickety ride would momentarily pause. As he did not see the tracks at the other end, numerous times the cart would crash land before continuing its course. This left Weed’s rear completely sore. <br><br> It would be better if the mine track was dark. However, most of the track was dimly lit with shining lanterns of sorts, being able to see the track did not help with his nausea. Even stretches of the track that had no lighting, were lit up by his whole body was illuminating skin. excecive; e.g: were lit up by his illuminating body.<br><br>As Weed slowly exited the mines, another message popped up.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>Alak fainted.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>Weed smiled; at least the suffering was shared. Weed looked around and found himself in open grounds. Weed fell to his knees and kissed the ground. How many days had it been since he last saw the sun? The clouds? the trees? Weed didn’t mind the dwarvf’s underground city....he did however mind the ‘Great Shortcut.’ <br><br>Two dwarves passing by wondered why the elf was rolling on the ground and laughing away crazily.<br><br>“Excuse me.” Weed asked them as he got up. Weed snapped his fingers, dwarves won’t reply to him, they hate elves. He completely forgot about the discrimination after living with the Kobolds who treated him as one their own.<br><br>One of the dwarf turned around and looked at Weed. “Yes?”<br><br>“Are you players?” Weed asked with a glimmer of hope.<br><br>“Yes.”<br><br>Weed jumped and hopped in the air! <span style="font-style: italic;">No more discrimination!</span> <br><br>The two players stared at Weed and started laughing who was making a fool of himself. <br><br>The player socked Weed in the eye. The helped Weed calm down. Once Weed calmed down, he turned to the dwarves, “Great White Hall in Skyholm, how far is it?”<br><br>Both players pointed towards a lonely castle in the distance. <br>“Will take you two-three hours. Are you heading there for the blacksmithing competition?” asked the dwarf.<br><br>“Yes.” Weed enthusiastically replied.<br><br>“No use. The tickets for the event are sold out.....”<br><br>Weed had already left running at top speed. The two dwarves were left with their mouths open, Weed was like the ‘Road Runner’ when he ran. He left only a trail of dust behind him.<br><br>“Who was he?”<br><br>“I have no idea...”<br><br>“Fuck, this game is filled with weirdos.”<br><br>“You think there is a way to get in and watch?”<br><br>“Only, if you kill the entire army deployed there.”<br><br>“I guess not then...”<br>-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-<br><br>Weed paid no attention to the surroundings as he whizzed by. His running speed now felt somewhat slow compared to the mine cart. <br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>You are still reeling under the effects of nausea and imbalance. Slow down!</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>Weed ignored the message and continued to run.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>You are dizzy!</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>Weed resisted the dizziness and continued he was only a few hundred meters away from the castle. Since he had been dizzy and nauseated he didn’t realize there was someone in front of him until he ran into the stranger’s back and fell to the ground with a solid thud.<br> <br> “Ouch” Weed said, as sat on the floor dazed trying to understand what happened.<br> <br>“Sorry laddie, I did’na see you there be’in as though youse a wee little elf”<br><br>Weed looked up, and then up some more to realize that he crashed against what could only be a giant. The giant offered a hand and pulled Weed up like he was light as a feather.<br><br>“No… no problem, I was lost in thought …. not paying attention. My name ... Weed” Weed fumbled around with words. He was so used to speaking with the kobolds that he forgot how to speak naturally!<br><br>“Ach well thankee but I shoulda been payin’ more attention meself. I was caught by the spectacle of it all lad”<br><br>“Spectacle?” Weed asked with surprised tone.<br> <br>“A’ course, the competition. I mean even you an elf ha’ come to watch. Name’s Gengis.”<br> <br>“Watch?” Weed asked completely confused.<br><br>“Aye! The Blacksmithing competition!”<br><br>Weed looked around; there was a complete festival like atmosphere to the competition. Vendors had setup stalls outside the castle, selling all sorts of refreshments. Many blacksmiths had also opened stalls, claiming to be able to repair any item just as good as the apprentices of Theodore Balkan. Merchants too flocked here, hoping to buy goods of the apprentices. Weed side stepped the giant and looked ahead; there was a long queue of players waiting to buy tickets.<br><br>Weed was shocked to see the overwhelming number of people trying to watch the competition. He did not think that so many people would be interested in the competition. Little did Weed know, that word of the participants entering the Northern Mountain City had spread far and wide. More and more players were curious to know the exact location of the secret city. Thus, they turned up to watch the competition and interrogate the finalists.<br><br>“Che! I think I need to wait all day fo’ th’s competition to start. Guess I should be appy I bought me standing ticket.”<br><br>“It hasn’t started?” Weed asked.<br><br>“Naah. I think whole day to go. None of the finalists have arrived either. I ‘ear there were only 15 finalists. ‘ll twelve apprentices made it. I’m much ‘ore curious to learn ‘bout the other three. Say who do you reckon ‘ill be winner?” <br><br>“…”<br><br>The Giant looked around and noticed that Weed was nowhere to be found. “Oh well.”<br><br>Lee Jun logged out and fell to the floor. Though he felt no dizziness or nausea now, his mind was trying to overcome the terribly illusionary nausea. Lee Jun slowly crawled to his bed. <span style="font-style: italic;"> ‘Just need to wake up in another 8 hours or so.’ </span><br><br>After setting the alarm, he looked one last time at the computer screen, checking the alarm, before conking off…<br>.<br>.<br>.<br>.<br>.<br>.<br>.<br>.<br>.<br>.<br><br>“Jun?” His mom walked into the room. She had been on a marathon work stretch. She looked at her sleeping drooling son and smiled. He too had been working hard in his game. She sat beside him and stroked his hair, she was well aware intellectual brilliance. Geniuses are difficult to raise; they live in a world of their own. She could not comprehend that world but decided to support him in whatever she could; as long as a healthy balance was maintained. <br><br>Lee Jun’s mother, tucked him in bed and kissed him on the forehead.<br><br>She looked at the computer screen, it was reading a countdown for the alarm. <span style="font-style: italic;">You have worked hard enough today. Health is more important.</span><br><br>“Computer, terminate alarm.”<br><br>- Alarm terminated. -<br><br>“Sleep well.” She said as she switched off the lights and closed the door.<br><br><br><br><br><br>----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br>Authors Note:<br><br>1. Partially been proof read by Zapper. O_o? Hope I got the name right this time.<br>2. Thank you so much V4LKYR13 and Tewlve for writing this.<br>3. A short chapter....but whatever...(PS: 5.6 wont be longer to compensate.)<br>4. We are nearing the end of Arc 0.<br><br>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="4">Connect to Royal Road – Elementarem Vim next Chapter?</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&amp;t=540" target="_blank">Yes</a></td><td colspan="2"><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&amp;t=348" target="_blank">No</a></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- </div>

“Grandfather, what happened to your staff?” Mnamanth asked curiously. His grandfather never let go of the staff. It was handed down generation after generation; a family heirloom. The old kobold smiled. “It was time we let it go, Mnamanth.” He showed Mnamanth the key he acquired. “All the riches....of the Crissssto are now mine!!” He spoke with a crooked smile. Mnamanth could not understand, no amount of wealth was enough to make up for the Great Black’s scale. “But it’s our sacred tradition!” Mnamanth exclaimed in a panicky tone. “Who need’s old traditions! We got all of Kendelbreu’s wealth!” The Elder replied gleefully as he put the key on a chain and around his neck. Mnamanth was angry that his would be precious treasure was traded off for just more money. He had enough money hidden away from the elf and his grandfather, he didn’t need more. However, the staff symbolized power. It symbolized power to lead the tribe. He could only stare at the Elder with contempt. -x-x-x-x-x- Weed slowly made his way to the Great White Hall. He wobbled with every step he took; the mine cart ride was worse than what anyone could imagine it to be. It was self-explanatory why dwarves didn’t take the fastest ride to Skyholm. His virtual stomach made several backflips whenever his mind thought of his ride inside the mine cart. Weed had taken roller coaster rides before. He even liked them. But 24 hours nonstop ride from Northern Mountain City to Skyholm, might have been a bit too much for anyone. After the parting kick from the Elder, he held on for his dear life as the cart dropped sharply. Apparently, the game developers thought it would be fun to leave cart controls in the hands of the players. This meant, if at any time Weed lost control, he would derail and die. So Weed couldn’t shut his eyes and clench his teeth hoping for the ride to finish. He had to be constantly vigilant and make decisions such as how to lean to turn the cart etc while his stomach lurched with every turn of the cart’s wheel. Whenever he thought the worst was over, the mine cart track would prove him wrong. Up and down, round and round. Swirling in circles, falling through dizzying heights. He often felt the cart was making a circular overhead turn when his bodily gravity was pull toward his head; an unnecessary addition. Then, there were several very sharp turns which would leave Weed praying. He would lean extremely to the right, almost tilting the cart to manage those turns. He feared that the cart would surely be dislodged from the track and throwing him into the abyss. It was as if some demon coded the game, at these very twisted ‘Temple Run’ like turns a number of pop messages would block Weed’s view. | - You are dizzy. | | --- | | - Alak is dizzy! | | --- | | - You are dizzier. | | --- | | - You are nauseated. | | --- | | - Alak is feeling nauseated! You should avoid moving in such away that causes discomfort to the fairy. | | --- | This particular message grabbed Weed’s attention. He really wanted to kill the screen when he read it. ‘If I could avoid discomfort, I would have done so you stupid ….’ | - You threw up. | | --- | Weed had to quickly close them, or time the turning perfectly in order to avoid being thrown off the track. The worst experience Weed had was probably the feeling of the cart being completely airborne with him having zero control over it. Every time the cart jumped into the air, Weed would have to pull the cart on it’s hind wheels to survive the landing impact. Weed was terrified of the landing but the jump in itself would be the most pleasant part of the ride. As the cart sailed through the air, the rickety ride would momentarily pause. As he did not see the tracks at the other end, numerous times the cart would crash land before continuing its course. This left Weed’s rear completely sore. It would be better if the mine track was dark. However, most of the track was dimly lit with shining lanterns of sorts, being able to see the track did not help with his nausea. Even stretches of the track that had no lighting, were lit up by his whole body was illuminating skin. excecive; e.g: were lit up by his illuminating body. As Weed slowly exited the mines, another message popped up. | Alak fainted. | | --- | Weed smiled; at least the suffering was shared. Weed looked around and found himself in open grounds. Weed fell to his knees and kissed the ground. How many days had it been since he last saw the sun? The clouds? the trees? Weed didn’t mind the dwarvf’s underground city....he did however mind the ‘Great Shortcut.’ Two dwarves passing by wondered why the elf was rolling on the ground and laughing away crazily. “Excuse me.” Weed asked them as he got up. Weed snapped his fingers, dwarves won’t reply to him, they hate elves. He completely forgot about the discrimination after living with the Kobolds who treated him as one their own. One of the dwarf turned around and looked at Weed. “Yes?” “Are you players?” Weed asked with a glimmer of hope. “Yes.” Weed jumped and hopped in the air! No more discrimination! The two players stared at Weed and started laughing who was making a fool of himself. The player socked Weed in the eye. The helped Weed calm down. Once Weed calmed down, he turned to the dwarves, “Great White Hall in Skyholm, how far is it?” Both players pointed towards a lonely castle in the distance. “Will take you two-three hours. Are you heading there for the blacksmithing competition?” asked the dwarf. “Yes.” Weed enthusiastically replied. “No use. The tickets for the event are sold out.....” Weed had already left running at top speed. The two dwarves were left with their mouths open, Weed was like the ‘Road Runner’ when he ran. He left only a trail of dust behind him. “Who was he?” “I have no idea...” “Fuck, this game is filled with weirdos.” “You think there is a way to get in and watch?” “Only, if you kill the entire army deployed there.” “I guess not then...” -x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x- Weed paid no attention to the surroundings as he whizzed by. His running speed now felt somewhat slow compared to the mine cart. | You are still reeling under the effects of nausea and imbalance. Slow down! | | --- | Weed ignored the message and continued to run. | You are dizzy! | | --- | Weed resisted the dizziness and continued he was only a few hundred meters away from the castle. Since he had been dizzy and nauseated he didn’t realize there was someone in front of him until he ran into the stranger’s back and fell to the ground with a solid thud. “Ouch” Weed said, as sat on the floor dazed trying to understand what happened. “Sorry laddie, I did’na see you there be’in as though youse a wee little elf” Weed looked up, and then up some more to realize that he crashed against what could only be a giant. The giant offered a hand and pulled Weed up like he was light as a feather. “No… no problem, I was lost in thought …. not paying attention. My name ... Weed” Weed fumbled around with words. He was so used to speaking with the kobolds that he forgot how to speak naturally! “Ach well thankee but I shoulda been payin’ more attention meself. I was caught by the spectacle of it all lad” “Spectacle?” Weed asked with surprised tone. “A’ course, the competition. I mean even you an elf ha’ come to watch. Name’s Gengis.” “Watch?” Weed asked completely confused. “Aye! The Blacksmithing competition!” Weed looked around; there was a complete festival like atmosphere to the competition. Vendors had setup stalls outside the castle, selling all sorts of refreshments. Many blacksmiths had also opened stalls, claiming to be able to repair any item just as good as the apprentices of Theodore Balkan. Merchants too flocked here, hoping to buy goods of the apprentices. Weed side stepped the giant and looked ahead; there was a long queue of players waiting to buy tickets. Weed was shocked to see the overwhelming number of people trying to watch the competition. He did not think that so many people would be interested in the competition. Little did Weed know, that word of the participants entering the Northern Mountain City had spread far and wide. More and more players were curious to know the exact location of the secret city. Thus, they turned up to watch the competition and interrogate the finalists. “Che! I think I need to wait all day fo’ th’s competition to start. Guess I should be appy I bought me standing ticket.” “It hasn’t started?” Weed asked. “Naah. I think whole day to go. None of the finalists have arrived either. I ‘ear there were only 15 finalists. ‘ll twelve apprentices made it. I’m much ‘ore curious to learn ‘bout the other three. Say who do you reckon ‘ill be winner?” “…” The Giant looked around and noticed that Weed was nowhere to be found. “Oh well.” Lee Jun logged out and fell to the floor. Though he felt no dizziness or nausea now, his mind was trying to overcome the terribly illusionary nausea. Lee Jun slowly crawled to his bed. ‘Just need to wake up in another 8 hours or so.’ After setting the alarm, he looked one last time at the computer screen, checking the alarm, before conking off… . . . . . . . . . . “Jun?” His mom walked into the room. She had been on a marathon work stretch. She looked at her sleeping drooling son and smiled. He too had been working hard in his game. She sat beside him and stroked his hair, she was well aware intellectual brilliance. Geniuses are difficult to raise; they live in a world of their own. She could not comprehend that world but decided to support him in whatever she could; as long as a healthy balance was maintained. Lee Jun’s mother, tucked him in bed and kissed him on the forehead. She looked at the computer screen, it was reading a countdown for the alarm. You have worked hard enough today. Health is more important. “Computer, terminate alarm.” - Alarm terminated. - “Sleep well.” She said as she switched off the lights and closed the door. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Authors Note: 1. Partially been proof read by Zapper. O\_o? Hope I got the name right this time. 2. Thank you so much V4LKYR13 and Tewlve for writing this. 3. A short chapter....but whatever...(PS: 5.6 wont be longer to compensate.) 4. We are nearing the end of Arc 0. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Connect to Royal Road – Elementarem Vim next Chapter? | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Yes](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&t=540) | | [No](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&t=348) | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> Chapter 3 - Aoxtz Weapon-<br> <br>0:00:00<br> <br>..........Login.......<br> <br>Username: ******<br>Password: ******<br> <br>Connecting......<br> <br>Once again they materialized, and they were still inside the bedroom. As they regained control over their bodies, they noticed something was different.<br> <br>They could sense everything around them. The light was shining through the walls, objects, air, and even the monsters from the dungeons first floor. But after a few seconds it disappeared. Then Cliff walked into the bedroom.<br> <br>"Hello, it's good that you’re back, because now I can proceed with explaining some more details about Aoxtz. You probably sense a lot of things since you regained consciousness. Everyone that gets infused with AX will sense that because that is the pinnacle of Aoxtz. When you reach that point, the boundaries of physics will no longer affect you. Once your body recognizes that you have enough experience in Aoxtz you will sense where you have to go, follow it, you understand?"<br> <br>"Yes, but why do we need this skill?"<br> <br>"Well, you want to learn how to make your own weapon right, Xandit?"<br> <br>"Yes."<br> <br>"To craft using the special materials that I gave you, you’ll need to use the Blacksmithing art of Aoxtz."<br> <br>"Okay."<br> <br>"Now then, as I'm only allowed to tell you two ways of using Aoxtz, I will tell you two basic fundamentals of using Aoxtz. First is the skill Absorb of AX. Everything around you exists out of AX and you can draw it out of objects or even living beings. Second is how to manipulate AX. For example, to change a wooden sword to an iron sword. But an iron sword is stronger than a wooden one so more AX is needed to create an iron sword. Also if you use up all you internal AX you will die as it is now part of your body. So always try to use external AX. It is important that you are very careful when fighting someone who can also use AX, because he can try to use your own AX against you. Well that's all I'm allowed to tell you, but fear not, I will show you how to manipulate the special materials in a weapon."<br> <br>So Cliff, Xandit and Sanni walked to the ABTC Room.<br> <br>Once in the room Cliff chanted and again a magical glow appeared around him. Then he started to hammer the material and they gradually began to change form. After 10 to 15 minutes a sword was created.<br> <br>"When you are done with your creation drop some of your own blood on it. Then you name the creation and it will be your link to you. I wish you the best of luck. As I have some business to take care of, I will be gone for 3 weeks or so."<br> <br>"See you in 3 weeks then."<br> <br>"Teleport" Cliff disappeared and they were left alone to create their weapons.<br> <br>Xandit and Sanni already knew what kind of weapon they wanted. They started making prototypes with the iron ore they had mined for the creation of this room. After 6 days of trial and error they finally managed to created the weapon they wanted to make out of iron.<br> <br>*Ting<br><blockquote><cite>Quote:</cite>You learned the skill Blacksmithing<br> <br>Blacksmithing skill level 6.27%<br>+9 strength<br>+125 stamina<br>+2 intelligence</blockquote><br> <br>"Well let's try to make it out of the special material."<br> <br>"Yeah.... let’s try that"<br> <br>After 10 days of attempting to forge it, he still hadn’t managed to get it to take the shape he desired.<br> <br>"This....... @$#%^ HELL, I have been hammering for 10 days and it’s still not done!"<br> <br>"Calm down Xandit, you need to hit it in the right way."<br> <br>Xandit looked at Sanni’s work and saw it was almost finished.<br> <br>"Try hitting it at a steady pace while drawing AX from your surrounding and infuse it into the metal but watch your HP bar, heal up when it gets too low."<br> <br>After another 5 days of hard work they both finished their weapons.<br> <br>*Ting<br><blockquote><cite>Quote:</cite>You learned the skill Aoxtz Blacksmithing<br> <br>Aoxtz Blacksmithing skill level 0.02%<br>+5 strength<br>+8 AX</blockquote><br> <br>Xandit and Sanni both cut themselves and dropped some blood on the weapons.<br> <br>*-System Message- Request Name:<br> <br>Xandit named his Brandr.<br> <br>The weapon he made was not only for offence but also for defense. It was a gauntlet with a small kite shield and a blade attached. With Brandr he could defend from an attack and immediately counter<br> <br>*-System Name Accepted-,<br>*Brandr Stats,<br>*Ting.<br><blockquote><cite>Quote:</cite>Brandr<br> <br>Brandr weapon level 3.00%<br>Durability: 100/100<br>P. Damage: 15-17<br>AX: 0/?<br> <br>Equip: Xandit<br> <br>Brandr made out off unknown material, forged with the art of Aoxtz.<br>As result Brandr will improve when Xandit levels up.<br>Additional effects can appear.</blockquote><br> <br>*-System Message- Request Name:<br> <br>Sanni named hers Agni.<br> <br>The weapon she made was a magical gauntlet for offensive magic and support/defense magic<br> <br>*-System Name Accepted-,<br>*Agni Stats,<br>*Ting.<br><blockquote><cite>Quote:</cite>Agni<br> <br>Agni weapon level 3.00%<br>Durability: 100/100<br>M. Damage: 15-17<br>AX: 0/?<br> <br>Equip: Sanni<br> <br>Agni, made out of unknown material and forged with the art of Aoxtz.As result Agni will improve when Sanni levels up.<br>Additional effects can appear.</blockquote><br> <br>They immediately wanted to try out their weapon's. It wasn't a problem for Xandit but for Sanni it wa-<br><br>"Did you hear that Sanni?"<br> <br>"I think it came from the living room."<br> <br>"I will go look."<br> <br>Xandit walked to the living room with caution. On entering the room he saw Cliff.<br> <br>"CLIFF IS BACK...." he yelled to Sanni.<br> <br>She walked in the room and said hello to Cliff. "Did you take care of your business?"<br> <br>"I did, have you made your weapons?"<br> <br>"Yeah, I'm going to practice in the combat room, only Sanni has a problem."<br> <br>So Cliff asked Sanni. "What's the problem?"<br> <br>"Well I created a magic gauntlet but I don't know any magic." (:X Fail.)<br> <br>"Did you look in the strategy room?"<br> <br>"Why?"<br> <br>"Because when I was decorating the room, I also placed a bookshelf in the room with book's about war tactics and basic magic."<br> <br>"Well then I'm going to read them."<br> <br>Sanni walked to the strategy room to pick up the books about magic. She took them to the living room and started reading them one by one.<br> <br>Cliff went to the combat room to look what Xandit was doing. To his regret he saw him fail when using his weapon on the training dummy's. He had no technique in the use of the sword and shield, he was just hammering away on the dummy and after 10 minutes he was too tired to even lift up Brandr. He wasted all his stamina with useless movements. Cliff could no long watch Xandit, and intervened.<br> <br>"Xandit you need to learn sword and shield style because hacking and slashing won't get you anywhere. I would recommend you go read some books about the use of the sword and shield. There are some basic books in the strategy room."<br> <br>Xandit took a hit to his pride because of Cliff’s remark but he knew Cliff was right. Still he did not like it.<br> <br>Now Sanni and Xandit were both reading books. After several hours Sanni was done reading so she went to practice in the combat room. After a few tries she casted a fireball but she was still inefficient with the skill so her MP was almost zero.<br> <br>Xandit was also done with reading and again started training, but this time under the guidance of Cliff.<br> <br>[3 days later.]<br><br>*Ting<br><blockquote><cite>Quote:</cite>You learned the skill Sword and Shield<br>Sword and Shield skill level 1.00%<br>You are more efficient with Sword and Shield<br> <br>You learned the skill Counter<br>Counter skill level 1.00%<br>You are more efficient with Counter<br> <br>You learned the skill Fireball<br>Fireball skill level 1.00%<br>Fireball cost less MP<br> <br>You learned the skill Heal<br>Heal skill level 1.00%<br>Heal cost less MP<br> <br>MP +300<br>STR +7<br>DEX +5<br>STA +165<br>WIS +5<br>INT +5</blockquote><br> <br>"Well I have taught you the basics AGAIN! Then I can just as well give you two boots of speed and some basic leather armor."<br> <br>*Ting<br><blockquote><cite>Quote:</cite>Received.<br> <br>Boots of speed.<br>+10% movement speed.<br> <br>leather armor.<br>6 defense.</blockquote><br> <br>System show stats<br>*Ting<br><br><a href="http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/94/stats1ch3.png/" target="_blank"><img src="http://img94.imageshack.us/img94/9973/stats1ch3.png" border="0" alt="http%3a%2f%2fimg94.imageshack.us%2fimg94%2f9973%2fstats1ch3.png"></a><br><br>System add.<br>Scan, Sword and Shield, Counter, Fireball and Heal to primary skills. <br><br>"You have come a long way. I think it is time to go to the first floor of the dungeon and clear it." Cliff said<br><br>*Ting <br><blockquote><cite>Quote:</cite>Quest.<br><br>Fight for your life<br><br>Clear floor 1 of the dungeon<br><br>Quest difficulty: B<br>Quest reward: unknown, increase friendship with Cliff<br><br>Do you accept.<br>YES / NO<br><br>If you refuse, your character will be reset</blockquote><br><br>"Well let's do it." Xandit said, One can only think this way when you have no knowledge about how difficult a B! Quest is.<br><br>"Good luck."<br><br>"Teleport Dungeon F1."<br><br>With a flash of light they disappeared. <br><br>In the dungeon light also came off the wall's like in the base. Looking around Xandit saw a monster and used-<br><br>"Scan" <br><br>*Ting<br><br><a href="http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/805/stats2ch3.png/" target="_blank"><img src="http://img805.imageshack.us/img805/8651/stats2ch3.png" border="0" alt="http%3a%2f%2fimg805.imageshack.us%2fimg805%2f8651%2fstats2ch3.png"></a> <br><br>The problem with using Scan was that he had to say it out loud and that got the attention off the Cobalt. <br><br>The Cobalt rushed to Xandit and attacked him, but Xandit defended with his shield. He immediately counter but he only did 33 Damage and noticed his health bar was almost zero. In the time he was watching his health bar, he was hit again and died.<br><br>Xandit thought he would reappear in the white void. To his surprise he woke up in the machine he had seen himself in, on the cameras that monitored his room. But it did not last long. A few seconds later he was in the white void again. <br><br>-END- V1CH3 </div>

Chapter 3 - Aoxtz Weapon- 0:00:00 ..........Login....... Username: ****** Password: ****** Connecting...... Once again they materialized, and they were still inside the bedroom. As they regained control over their bodies, they noticed something was different. They could sense everything around them. The light was shining through the walls, objects, air, and even the monsters from the dungeons first floor. But after a few seconds it disappeared. Then Cliff walked into the bedroom. "Hello, it's good that you’re back, because now I can proceed with explaining some more details about Aoxtz. You probably sense a lot of things since you regained consciousness. Everyone that gets infused with AX will sense that because that is the pinnacle of Aoxtz. When you reach that point, the boundaries of physics will no longer affect you. Once your body recognizes that you have enough experience in Aoxtz you will sense where you have to go, follow it, you understand?" "Yes, but why do we need this skill?" "Well, you want to learn how to make your own weapon right, Xandit?" "Yes." "To craft using the special materials that I gave you, you’ll need to use the Blacksmithing art of Aoxtz." "Okay." "Now then, as I'm only allowed to tell you two ways of using Aoxtz, I will tell you two basic fundamentals of using Aoxtz. First is the skill Absorb of AX. Everything around you exists out of AX and you can draw it out of objects or even living beings. Second is how to manipulate AX. For example, to change a wooden sword to an iron sword. But an iron sword is stronger than a wooden one so more AX is needed to create an iron sword. Also if you use up all you internal AX you will die as it is now part of your body. So always try to use external AX. It is important that you are very careful when fighting someone who can also use AX, because he can try to use your own AX against you. Well that's all I'm allowed to tell you, but fear not, I will show you how to manipulate the special materials in a weapon." So Cliff, Xandit and Sanni walked to the ABTC Room. Once in the room Cliff chanted and again a magical glow appeared around him. Then he started to hammer the material and they gradually began to change form. After 10 to 15 minutes a sword was created. "When you are done with your creation drop some of your own blood on it. Then you name the creation and it will be your link to you. I wish you the best of luck. As I have some business to take care of, I will be gone for 3 weeks or so." "See you in 3 weeks then." "Teleport" Cliff disappeared and they were left alone to create their weapons. Xandit and Sanni already knew what kind of weapon they wanted. They started making prototypes with the iron ore they had mined for the creation of this room. After 6 days of trial and error they finally managed to created the weapon they wanted to make out of iron. *Ting > Quote:You learned the skill Blacksmithing > > Blacksmithing skill level 6.27% > +9 strength > +125 stamina > +2 intelligence "Well let's try to make it out of the special material." "Yeah.... let’s try that" After 10 days of attempting to forge it, he still hadn’t managed to get it to take the shape he desired. "This....... @$#%^ HELL, I have been hammering for 10 days and it’s still not done!" "Calm down Xandit, you need to hit it in the right way." Xandit looked at Sanni’s work and saw it was almost finished. "Try hitting it at a steady pace while drawing AX from your surrounding and infuse it into the metal but watch your HP bar, heal up when it gets too low." After another 5 days of hard work they both finished their weapons. *Ting > Quote:You learned the skill Aoxtz Blacksmithing > > Aoxtz Blacksmithing skill level 0.02% > +5 strength > +8 AX Xandit and Sanni both cut themselves and dropped some blood on the weapons. *-System Message- Request Name: Xandit named his Brandr. The weapon he made was not only for offence but also for defense. It was a gauntlet with a small kite shield and a blade attached. With Brandr he could defend from an attack and immediately counter *-System Name Accepted-, *Brandr Stats, *Ting. > Quote:Brandr > > Brandr weapon level 3.00% > Durability: 100/100 > P. Damage: 15-17 > AX: 0/? > > Equip: Xandit > > Brandr made out off unknown material, forged with the art of Aoxtz. > As result Brandr will improve when Xandit levels up. > Additional effects can appear. *-System Message- Request Name: Sanni named hers Agni. The weapon she made was a magical gauntlet for offensive magic and support/defense magic *-System Name Accepted-, *Agni Stats, *Ting. > Quote:Agni > > Agni weapon level 3.00% > Durability: 100/100 > M. Damage: 15-17 > AX: 0/? > > Equip: Sanni > > Agni, made out of unknown material and forged with the art of Aoxtz.As result Agni will improve when Sanni levels up. > Additional effects can appear. They immediately wanted to try out their weapon's. It wasn't a problem for Xandit but for Sanni it wa- "Did you hear that Sanni?" "I think it came from the living room." "I will go look." Xandit walked to the living room with caution. On entering the room he saw Cliff. "CLIFF IS BACK...." he yelled to Sanni. She walked in the room and said hello to Cliff. "Did you take care of your business?" "I did, have you made your weapons?" "Yeah, I'm going to practice in the combat room, only Sanni has a problem." So Cliff asked Sanni. "What's the problem?" "Well I created a magic gauntlet but I don't know any magic." (:X Fail.) "Did you look in the strategy room?" "Why?" "Because when I was decorating the room, I also placed a bookshelf in the room with book's about war tactics and basic magic." "Well then I'm going to read them." Sanni walked to the strategy room to pick up the books about magic. She took them to the living room and started reading them one by one. Cliff went to the combat room to look what Xandit was doing. To his regret he saw him fail when using his weapon on the training dummy's. He had no technique in the use of the sword and shield, he was just hammering away on the dummy and after 10 minutes he was too tired to even lift up Brandr. He wasted all his stamina with useless movements. Cliff could no long watch Xandit, and intervened. "Xandit you need to learn sword and shield style because hacking and slashing won't get you anywhere. I would recommend you go read some books about the use of the sword and shield. There are some basic books in the strategy room." Xandit took a hit to his pride because of Cliff’s remark but he knew Cliff was right. Still he did not like it. Now Sanni and Xandit were both reading books. After several hours Sanni was done reading so she went to practice in the combat room. After a few tries she casted a fireball but she was still inefficient with the skill so her MP was almost zero. Xandit was also done with reading and again started training, but this time under the guidance of Cliff. [3 days later.] *Ting > Quote:You learned the skill Sword and Shield > Sword and Shield skill level 1.00% > You are more efficient with Sword and Shield > > You learned the skill Counter > Counter skill level 1.00% > You are more efficient with Counter > > You learned the skill Fireball > Fireball skill level 1.00% > Fireball cost less MP > > You learned the skill Heal > Heal skill level 1.00% > Heal cost less MP > > MP +300 > STR +7 > DEX +5 > STA +165 > WIS +5 > INT +5 "Well I have taught you the basics AGAIN! Then I can just as well give you two boots of speed and some basic leather armor." *Ting > Quote:Received. > > Boots of speed. > +10% movement speed. > > leather armor. > 6 defense. System show stats *Ting [](http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/94/stats1ch3.png/) System add. Scan, Sword and Shield, Counter, Fireball and Heal to primary skills. "You have come a long way. I think it is time to go to the first floor of the dungeon and clear it." Cliff said *Ting > Quote:Quest. > > Fight for your life > > Clear floor 1 of the dungeon > > Quest difficulty: B > Quest reward: unknown, increase friendship with Cliff > > Do you accept. > YES / NO > > If you refuse, your character will be reset "Well let's do it." Xandit said, One can only think this way when you have no knowledge about how difficult a B! Quest is. "Good luck." "Teleport Dungeon F1." With a flash of light they disappeared. In the dungeon light also came off the wall's like in the base. Looking around Xandit saw a monster and used- "Scan" *Ting [](http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/805/stats2ch3.png/) The problem with using Scan was that he had to say it out loud and that got the attention off the Cobalt. The Cobalt rushed to Xandit and attacked him, but Xandit defended with his shield. He immediately counter but he only did 33 Damage and noticed his health bar was almost zero. In the time he was watching his health bar, he was hit again and died. Xandit thought he would reappear in the white void. To his surprise he woke up in the machine he had seen himself in, on the cameras that monitored his room. But it did not last long. A few seconds later he was in the white void again. -END- V1CH3

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> As the Title implies i would heartily welcome all your input and feedback here in this thread and hope that it would help me improve my writing and this Fan Fic {[999abo}] <br>Cheers!<br>Thanks to several helpful authors for proofreading my material:<br>VIM1INC<br>DreadMoirai<br>Shadow<br>and others who i forgot to mention please put your name here then {[999baz}] </div>

As the Title implies i would heartily welcome all your input and feedback here in this thread and hope that it would help me improve my writing and this Fan Fic {[999abo}] Cheers! Thanks to several helpful authors for proofreading my material: VIM1INC DreadMoirai Shadow and others who i forgot to mention please put your name here then {[999baz}]

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> Prologue B<br><br><br>Andre’s fiancé, Shara, also grew up in a rich family, but unlike Andre’s family her family gained money from the release of Royal Road.<br>They got richer because of Royal Road. Shara’s mother had invested from the start in the Unicorn Corporations. She was the biggest share holder and had a lot of influence over the company as a result.<br><br>Shara is a smart and thoughtful woman, she was a beauty with a slim body and long golden hair. Her eyes were like a deep ocean you would lose your way in and when you looked at her you saw perfection.<br><br>She looked perfect on the outside but on the inside, she had a bone disease that sometimes made it very painful to be awake. As a result, she got a sleeping spray for whenever the pain was too much for her to handle. Because of that she always needed someone to be there for her. That person was Andre, her first love and also her future husband.<br><br>[One day before the release of Royal Road.]<br><br>"Shara, "<br><br>"Yes mother? "<br><br>"Do you know anything about the situation of Andre’s family? "<br><br>"No, but I think Andre doesn't want me to worry about it as tomorrow we’re going on a date. But he promised to tell me afterwards. "<br>"Ok, tell me as soon as you know. " "It will probably be too late by then. Have to cancel the agreement with Andre’s family, I’ll never let my daughter marry a penniless man.”<br><br>[Two Days later.]<br>Shara got a phone call.<br><br>"Hello, this is Shara. "<br><br>"Hello, you’re speaking with a Memorial hospital receptionist. "<br><br>"How can I help you? "<br><br>"I am calling you about a patient we have in our care. A Mr. Andre, you are the<br>only person we could find to notify of the patient's whereabouts".<br><br>"What….! Why is Andre in the hospital? What do you mean the only person you could find? Is Andre ok? Is he hurt?"<br><br>"Miss, please calm down. Andre fainted and did not wake up, that’s why he was brought to the hospital. You are the only living relative on file because both his parents committed suicide. Andre has gone into a coma. He is in stable condition at the moment but only his brain is way to active. That could become a problem in the future. As we aren't a hospital for coma patients we would like to move him to another hospital. If you could come by we can discuss what to do."<br><br>-END- Prologue B </div>

Prologue B Andre’s fiancé, Shara, also grew up in a rich family, but unlike Andre’s family her family gained money from the release of Royal Road. They got richer because of Royal Road. Shara’s mother had invested from the start in the Unicorn Corporations. She was the biggest share holder and had a lot of influence over the company as a result. Shara is a smart and thoughtful woman, she was a beauty with a slim body and long golden hair. Her eyes were like a deep ocean you would lose your way in and when you looked at her you saw perfection. She looked perfect on the outside but on the inside, she had a bone disease that sometimes made it very painful to be awake. As a result, she got a sleeping spray for whenever the pain was too much for her to handle. Because of that she always needed someone to be there for her. That person was Andre, her first love and also her future husband. [One day before the release of Royal Road.] "Shara, " "Yes mother? " "Do you know anything about the situation of Andre’s family? " "No, but I think Andre doesn't want me to worry about it as tomorrow we’re going on a date. But he promised to tell me afterwards. " "Ok, tell me as soon as you know. " "It will probably be too late by then. Have to cancel the agreement with Andre’s family, I’ll never let my daughter marry a penniless man.” [Two Days later.] Shara got a phone call. "Hello, this is Shara. " "Hello, you’re speaking with a Memorial hospital receptionist. " "How can I help you? " "I am calling you about a patient we have in our care. A Mr. Andre, you are the only person we could find to notify of the patient's whereabouts". "What….! Why is Andre in the hospital? What do you mean the only person you could find? Is Andre ok? Is he hurt?" "Miss, please calm down. Andre fainted and did not wake up, that’s why he was brought to the hospital. You are the only living relative on file because both his parents committed suicide. Andre has gone into a coma. He is in stable condition at the moment but only his brain is way to active. That could become a problem in the future. As we aren't a hospital for coma patients we would like to move him to another hospital. If you could come by we can discuss what to do." -END- Prologue B

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> Since the first Volume is done, I thought it time to update this page. With the introductory arc finished we can move on to the real story. There are now enough chapters that I can make a table of contents which will stay on the top of this page.<br><br>Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy the story.<br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Volume 1</span></span><br><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=108&amp;t=720" target="_blank">Prologue</a><br><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=108&amp;t=721" target="_blank">Chapter 1-Building Up Strength</a><br><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=108&amp;t=725" target="_blank">Chapter 2-Much Ado About Nothing</a><br><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=108&amp;t=729" target="_blank">Chapter 3-A Glimmer of Opportunity</a><br><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=108&amp;t=739" target="_blank">Chapter 4-In a Pit of Monsters</a><br><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=108&amp;t=750" target="_blank">Chapter 5-A Reward Beyond Compare</a><br><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=108&amp;t=769" target="_blank">Chapter 6-It's a Boy</a><br><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=108&amp;t=770" target="_blank">Chapter 7-Seventeen Days Left</a><br><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=108&amp;t=793" target="_blank">Chapter 8-More Beast than Man</a><br><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=108&amp;t=795" target="_blank">Chapter 9-Faces New and Old</a><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=108&amp;t=809" target="_blank">Chapter 10-A Trainee Once More</a><br><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=108&amp;t=825" target="_blank">Chapter 11-Pack Mentality</a><br><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=108&amp;t=836" target="_blank">Chapter 12-Rewards and Slaughter</a><br><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=108&amp;t=846" target="_blank">Chapter 13-Wrath and Despair</a><br><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=108&amp;t=860" target="_blank">Chapter 14-The Second Stage</a><br><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=108&amp;t=912" target="_blank">Chapter 15-The Test Begins</a><br><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=108&amp;t=972" target="_blank">Chapter 16-The Truth of All Things</a><br><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=108&amp;t=1002" target="_blank">Chapter 17-A Test of Leadership</a><br><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=108&amp;t=1035" target="_blank">Chapter 18-A Precarious Balance</a><br><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=108&amp;t=1104" target="_blank">Chapter 19-Endings and New Beginnings</a><br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Volume 2</span></span><br><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=108&amp;t=1124" target="_blank">Chapter 0.5-The Trickster's Game</a><br><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=108&amp;t=1213" target="_blank">Chapter 1-Bonds Broken and Forged Anew</a> </div>

Since the first Volume is done, I thought it time to update this page. With the introductory arc finished we can move on to the real story. There are now enough chapters that I can make a table of contents which will stay on the top of this page. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy the story. Volume 1 [Prologue](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=108&t=720) [Chapter 1-Building Up Strength](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=108&t=721) [Chapter 2-Much Ado About Nothing](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=108&t=725) [Chapter 3-A Glimmer of Opportunity](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=108&t=729) [Chapter 4-In a Pit of Monsters](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=108&t=739) [Chapter 5-A Reward Beyond Compare](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=108&t=750) [Chapter 6-It's a Boy](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=108&t=769) [Chapter 7-Seventeen Days Left](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=108&t=770) [Chapter 8-More Beast than Man](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=108&t=793) [Chapter 9-Faces New and Old](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=108&t=795)[Chapter 10-A Trainee Once More](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=108&t=809) [Chapter 11-Pack Mentality](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=108&t=825) [Chapter 12-Rewards and Slaughter](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=108&t=836) [Chapter 13-Wrath and Despair](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=108&t=846) [Chapter 14-The Second Stage](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=108&t=860) [Chapter 15-The Test Begins](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=108&t=912) [Chapter 16-The Truth of All Things](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=108&t=972) [Chapter 17-A Test of Leadership](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=108&t=1002) [Chapter 18-A Precarious Balance](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=108&t=1035) [Chapter 19-Endings and New Beginnings](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=108&t=1104) Volume 2 [Chapter 0.5-The Trickster's Game](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=108&t=1124) [Chapter 1-Bonds Broken and Forged Anew](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=108&t=1213)

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> If you could play the game what classes would you pick?<br>Feel free to post whatever classes you would pick and some skill you think you would<br>be able to pull of with those two classes. There are no wrong classes if you want to be a necro/priest and somehow kill yourself with your own spells then by all means feel free to do it XD </div>

If you could play the game what classes would you pick? Feel free to post whatever classes you would pick and some skill you think you would be able to pull of with those two classes. There are no wrong classes if you want to be a necro/priest and somehow kill yourself with your own spells then by all means feel free to do it XD

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> by LaDenouement » Tue Jun 25, 2013 12:26 am<br><br>Peril had been unable to do anything but watch, as his giant cephalopod got taken away... without a single piece of food getting into his gaping hole of a mouth. <br><br>“Squawk... My food... My squid and fish...” Peril uttered in shock.<br><br>Observing from the side, Noue waited for the right moment to catch Peril.<br><br>“Now’s my chance!” Noue said grinning as he leapt off the roof and ran stealthily through alleyways to get nearer to Peril. <br><br>Just as he was about to pounce onto the penguin disguised as a man, Noue fell backwards in shock. A strange sound was emitting from Peril that Noue could only identify as a cry. Peril was sitting on the ground and crying like a hungry child lost in a strange place, which, in sense, he was just that.<br><br>At this sight, all thoughts of capturing Peril suddenly disappeared from Noue’s mind. Instead, Noue walked slowly towards Peril and sat down in front of him. Peril continued to cry, taking no notice of Noue’s presence. Noue sighed and pulled his rucksack around.<br><br>“Peril... Hey, Peril! What do you think is in my bag?” Noue asked, patting his bulky rucksack.<br><br>Peril sniffled and realised there was a familiar scent in the air. It was subtle but definitely there.<br><br>“Squawk, squawk, squawk!” Peril exclaimed happily, “Fish, fish, fish!”<br><br>“That’s right! Fish!” Noue laughed, taking out a packet of dried fish. Peril lunged out eagerly for the packet but Noue pulled back and said, “Now, now. I’ll give you the fish, but you have to promise me you will stop crying.”<br>“And also that you’ll join our guild,” Faz said, suddenly appearing beside Peril, “Otherwise, no fish.”<br><br>Hearing the words ‘no fish’ caused Peril to start to cry again. Noue glared at Faz and kicked his shin.<br>“Hey!” Faz yelled as he fell to the ground, cradling his shin.<br><br>Noue turned back to Peril and smiled, “Now, now. What did I say? No more crying.”<br><br>Not bothering to wipe his tears and running mucus, Peril nodded and did his best to stop crying. Without hesitation, Noue grabbed the edge of Faz’s cape and used it to wipe Perils’ tears and mucus away.<br><br>“Hey! Hey! You kick my shin and now you’re using my cape to wipe the penguin’s mucus?! Girl, that is just disgusting!” Faz raged as he hurriedly untied his cape.<br><br>It was as though Peril and Noue were in their own world - neither of them showed much of a reaction to Faz’s ranting. Noue’s expression did change a bit though, his smile widened into a grin as he handed Peril the fish. <br><br>Peril’s eyes immediately lit up and he began to eat the fish happily. Noue patted Peril’s head and was met with a big childish grin. Taken back, Noue smiled, sighing with relief. It seemed the plan had succeeded in the end. </div>

by LaDenouement » Tue Jun 25, 2013 12:26 am Peril had been unable to do anything but watch, as his giant cephalopod got taken away... without a single piece of food getting into his gaping hole of a mouth. “Squawk... My food... My squid and fish...” Peril uttered in shock. Observing from the side, Noue waited for the right moment to catch Peril. “Now’s my chance!” Noue said grinning as he leapt off the roof and ran stealthily through alleyways to get nearer to Peril. Just as he was about to pounce onto the penguin disguised as a man, Noue fell backwards in shock. A strange sound was emitting from Peril that Noue could only identify as a cry. Peril was sitting on the ground and crying like a hungry child lost in a strange place, which, in sense, he was just that. At this sight, all thoughts of capturing Peril suddenly disappeared from Noue’s mind. Instead, Noue walked slowly towards Peril and sat down in front of him. Peril continued to cry, taking no notice of Noue’s presence. Noue sighed and pulled his rucksack around. “Peril... Hey, Peril! What do you think is in my bag?” Noue asked, patting his bulky rucksack. Peril sniffled and realised there was a familiar scent in the air. It was subtle but definitely there. “Squawk, squawk, squawk!” Peril exclaimed happily, “Fish, fish, fish!” “That’s right! Fish!” Noue laughed, taking out a packet of dried fish. Peril lunged out eagerly for the packet but Noue pulled back and said, “Now, now. I’ll give you the fish, but you have to promise me you will stop crying.” “And also that you’ll join our guild,” Faz said, suddenly appearing beside Peril, “Otherwise, no fish.” Hearing the words ‘no fish’ caused Peril to start to cry again. Noue glared at Faz and kicked his shin. “Hey!” Faz yelled as he fell to the ground, cradling his shin. Noue turned back to Peril and smiled, “Now, now. What did I say? No more crying.” Not bothering to wipe his tears and running mucus, Peril nodded and did his best to stop crying. Without hesitation, Noue grabbed the edge of Faz’s cape and used it to wipe Perils’ tears and mucus away. “Hey! Hey! You kick my shin and now you’re using my cape to wipe the penguin’s mucus?! Girl, that is just disgusting!” Faz raged as he hurriedly untied his cape. It was as though Peril and Noue were in their own world - neither of them showed much of a reaction to Faz’s ranting. Noue’s expression did change a bit though, his smile widened into a grin as he handed Peril the fish. Peril’s eyes immediately lit up and he began to eat the fish happily. Noue patted Peril’s head and was met with a big childish grin. Taken back, Noue smiled, sighing with relief. It seemed the plan had succeeded in the end.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> Weed slowly made his way back up the hill towards Theodore’s clearing, he wasn’t really looking forward to the competition. There were probably players way better than him at the competition. To draw comparison, Weed just learnt the dwarvish blacksmithing skill 15 days ago versus some of the other players who had learnt the skill way before taking the first test, forge yourself anew. Some of these players were aiming to be apprentices of Theodore and thus had begun preparations much before joining the game. One could argue that Weed had the additional benefit of being an elemental blacksmith; however it would only count as an advantage if he knew how to use it. In the end, as Weed thought of it, it was dork versus blacksmithing obsessed fanatics; Weed considered himself as the dork.<br><br>Even if Weed were to look the preparation players usually put in,there was an additional twist to the entire test to become apprentice; it was open to anyone who had cleared the first test…even the current apprentices. Though no apprentice had ever succeeded to be reselected; it became an unspoken intense competition between them to try to win it at least once more. The crowds booed them and jeered them for trying to spoil others chances of winning. However, they would ignore the crowds, it was not a competition for glory or unlocking a secret quest, it was simply to decide amongst themselves who truly deserved Theodores apprentice title / Theodores best apprentice.<br><br>The other apprentices had obviously been chosen way before Weed While he had been working hard to increase his skills; he wasn’t very optimistic. After coming this far, Weed could not stop now; the quest’s penalty for not turning up was excessively expensive. As Weed reached Theodore’s cabin he was greeted by queer stares of other participants; blacksmithing elves were an oddity of the highest order. Elves were known, through fictional tales and games, for their elemental affinity and combat abilities not blacksmithing. Weed held his hood tightly, not wanting to expose his silver hair he was already enough of a circus attraction. <br><br>“Excuse me, are you here for the blacksmithing competition?” asked a human, draped in pearly blue cotton robes. The human character was middle aged, tall and broad shoulders. Going by appearances, he gave of a look of a wanderer; players who played the game as explorers of new worlds etc etc. Shabby appearances, funky clothes, light weapons armed…very wanderer like.<br><br>“Yes.” Weed replied; there was no point to lie about it.<br><br>“Watching or participating?” <br><br>“…participating.”<br><br>“Wow! You might be the only elf taking part in the competition this time. I wish I did something more to stand out.” The human participant moved closer to Weed as more people gather near the forest clearing. “Really crowded isn’t it? At least a hundred participants this time, maybe two to three hundred at most. Sounds intense?”<br><br>“Is Theodore really that good?” Weed asked as he struggled to think of conversational topics.<br><br>“No. I guess when he started off with the competitions a lot of players thought it was a serial quest of some sort. Turned out to be one of the many long pointless quests in this game. The highest profession he teaches is dwarvish blacksmithing. Could always learn it from a dwarven city…” The participant happily chirped away information he had researched when he first received the quest forging oneself anew.<br><br>“Then, why the rush of participants?”<br><br>“You don’t know?” The human asked happily; at least there was someone here who was not prepared about the test. “Recruitment! A lot of famous blacksmithing houses come here to identify potential new recruits. Those who stand out are even hired by Nobility; good money there. However, the position of apprentice is the jewel! 15% discount on all materials purchased from any shop in Versailles Continent. There is also unrestricted access to all dwarvish cities in Air Kingdom. Hooohhooohooo, apprentice is the position, is the most coveted position! I prepared the entire month notching up my dwarvish blacksmithing skills, how about you? What did Theodore teach you upon clearing the first test?”<br><br>“…Basic…” Weed was hesitant to say the entire title. Attention of others was something he avoided out of personal preference.<br><br>“Basic Blacksmithing?” The participant interrupted before Weed could say more. The participant stared at the elf for a moment, he could understand why Weed was hesitating. Most players who cleared the test learned advanced blacksmithing. The difference in treatment was evidently clear between dwarves and elves. ‘Dwarves never got along with elves, history was proved right once again’ the human participant thought.<br><br> “Well I don’t think you will be able to clear the next test with just that. Did you learn advance after that?” He asked hopefully.<br><br>“…Yes.”<br><br>“Two rounds at most. I don’t think advance level players would last longer. You really should learn dwarvish blacksmithing! Its like the next level of blacksmithing. Don’t give up hope! You really shouldn’t!” The human participant added the last few lines as he imagined Weed wallowing in despair. “The first apprentice only learnt basic blacksmithing as well! Ignot the dwarf, of fire kingdom, basic blacksmithing skills only and I personally feel he is the best apprentice out there.”<br><br>“Who said Ignot is the best?” Asked a coarse deep voice, it came from behind Weed. Weed and the overly bearing wanderer turned around to see a dwarf clad in white armor perched on the stone while juggling two hammers.<br><br>The wanderer stepped back; his experiences with this particular dwarf had warned him that the player sitting on the rock was not to be trifled with.<br><br>“Thor is the best.” The dwarf said after the awkward moment of silence. <br>“Thor?” Weed whispered to the wanderer. The wanderer stared back at Weed in disbelief, every player of RREV had heard of Thor at least once. His skills were legendary, not just in RREV but other game titles where blacksmithing was an option. His skills were in fact so great that there were several rumors of how he could create his own blacksmithing technique in any game.<br><br>“The twelfth apprentice of Theodore and heir of the forging throne.” Scorned back the dwarf. Clearly, the dwarf had taken offense that there were noobs who didn’t know of Thor.<br><br>“Heir of the forging throne?” Weed whispered back to the wanderer.<br><br>“……not sure myself…first time I am hearing of this.” The wanderer replied back.<br><br>The dwarf started turning red in anger, ‘how dare they make a fool of me!’ he thought to himself. His grip on his hammers tightened as he considered throwing it at the human noob and the elf noob.<br><br>“Is that you Thor?” asked another dwarf dressed in black armor, as he joined the trio’s conversation. Unlike the juggling hammer dwarf, this dwarf had a dark aura to him. He didn’t hold a hammer, but a very long pearly silver flange.<br><br>“Cynbel Orangerock.” Hissed Thor, the two considered each other eternal rivals. Every time a new game was released with blacksmithing options, both Cynbel and Thor could be found there. Cynbel was the number one VR blacksmith till Thor came along, since then both of them have ferociously fought against each other. There fights weren’t limited blacksmithing but also usually escalated to sword versus hammer blows, physical punching, clawing…verbal abuses…hissing like animals at each other…staring competitions…the low levels of weird hatred they had for each other knew no bounds.<br><br>“Whose Cynbel?” Weed asked curiously, he was completely oblivious of these players and their legacy. It couldn’t be helped; Weed had only played one other game before RREV and that had no blacksmithing profession. At the age of 10, there are just so many games one could have tried, though some children begin VR gaming as young as four but none would have been able to play VRMMORPG before the age of six (legal restrictions) and even then there were parental concerns. Most children typically began VRMMORPG around the age of 9-11.<br><br>“Elf how old are you?” Cynbel asked, his intuition was telling him the elf was far too young to know and understand their greatness.<br><br>“…” Weed didn’t respond. No matter how much society changed, it was never safe for kids to give away their RL details to strangers…or at least that’s what they were taught at school.<br><br>The other three players understood Weed’s silence; in front of them stood a hatchling, completely new to the VR gaming world.<br><br>“Greatness is defined by action and not words Thor.” Cynbel replied as he turned around and began walking away. “Elf, you don’t need to know who we are, well at least not who Thor is.”<br><br>BANG! A loud noise exploded where Cybnbel stood. All the participants and audience who had gathered near Theodores cabin and were chattering away, suddenly fell quiet. When the dust settled, they all could see Cynbel with his shield raised. Cynbel wore a smile that he hid from others view; ‘every victory counts’. Thor had thrown a hammer straight at Cynbel. Their personal battle had already begun even before the competition.<br><br>“If you like throwing hammers around Thor, do it at the elemental colosseum.” Saying that Cynbel lowered his shield and walked away. Thor frowned and jumped off the rock and walked away as well. Their fight had only just begun.<br><br>Murmurers broke out in the crowd, the two dwarves distinctively stood out; not for their scuffle but for their armor and weapons. Thor’s signature was white armor and two hammers and Cynbel’s was black armor a flange and distinctive glowing blue long shield.<br><br>“Thor and Cynbel, twelfth and second apprentice.” The wanderer pointed out to Weed. “Those two are one of the best blacksmiths.”<br><br>“I thought Ignot was the best?” Weed asked, slightly confused.<br><br>“Yeah..I lied, I only said that to cheer you up…”<br><br>“…”<br><br>“My name is Pallidus.”<br><br>“…”<br><br>“Thought of adding a little Latin twist to my name.” Pallidus smiled as replied. “And you would be?”<br><br>“Weed”<br><br>Pallidus stared at the elf for a moment; filled with doubt and then shook hands. The name Weed was revered once again in the gaming world with reappearance of Lee Hyun; it was only to be expected that players would use this name…however the elf in front of him gave of an eerie resemblance to another player named Weed which he knew of.<br><br><br>----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br>Authors Note:<br><br>1. Edited by Knaivvs.<br>2. Pallidus :) Hope you get it.<br><br><br>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="4">Connect to Royal Road – Elementarem Vim next Chapter?</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&amp;t=398" target="_blank">Yes</a></td><td colspan="2"><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&amp;t=348" target="_blank">No</a></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- </div>

Weed slowly made his way back up the hill towards Theodore’s clearing, he wasn’t really looking forward to the competition. There were probably players way better than him at the competition. To draw comparison, Weed just learnt the dwarvish blacksmithing skill 15 days ago versus some of the other players who had learnt the skill way before taking the first test, forge yourself anew. Some of these players were aiming to be apprentices of Theodore and thus had begun preparations much before joining the game. One could argue that Weed had the additional benefit of being an elemental blacksmith; however it would only count as an advantage if he knew how to use it. In the end, as Weed thought of it, it was dork versus blacksmithing obsessed fanatics; Weed considered himself as the dork. Even if Weed were to look the preparation players usually put in,there was an additional twist to the entire test to become apprentice; it was open to anyone who had cleared the first test…even the current apprentices. Though no apprentice had ever succeeded to be reselected; it became an unspoken intense competition between them to try to win it at least once more. The crowds booed them and jeered them for trying to spoil others chances of winning. However, they would ignore the crowds, it was not a competition for glory or unlocking a secret quest, it was simply to decide amongst themselves who truly deserved Theodores apprentice title / Theodores best apprentice. The other apprentices had obviously been chosen way before Weed While he had been working hard to increase his skills; he wasn’t very optimistic. After coming this far, Weed could not stop now; the quest’s penalty for not turning up was excessively expensive. As Weed reached Theodore’s cabin he was greeted by queer stares of other participants; blacksmithing elves were an oddity of the highest order. Elves were known, through fictional tales and games, for their elemental affinity and combat abilities not blacksmithing. Weed held his hood tightly, not wanting to expose his silver hair he was already enough of a circus attraction. “Excuse me, are you here for the blacksmithing competition?” asked a human, draped in pearly blue cotton robes. The human character was middle aged, tall and broad shoulders. Going by appearances, he gave of a look of a wanderer; players who played the game as explorers of new worlds etc etc. Shabby appearances, funky clothes, light weapons armed…very wanderer like. “Yes.” Weed replied; there was no point to lie about it. “Watching or participating?” “…participating.” “Wow! You might be the only elf taking part in the competition this time. I wish I did something more to stand out.” The human participant moved closer to Weed as more people gather near the forest clearing. “Really crowded isn’t it? At least a hundred participants this time, maybe two to three hundred at most. Sounds intense?” “Is Theodore really that good?” Weed asked as he struggled to think of conversational topics. “No. I guess when he started off with the competitions a lot of players thought it was a serial quest of some sort. Turned out to be one of the many long pointless quests in this game. The highest profession he teaches is dwarvish blacksmithing. Could always learn it from a dwarven city…” The participant happily chirped away information he had researched when he first received the quest forging oneself anew. “Then, why the rush of participants?” “You don’t know?” The human asked happily; at least there was someone here who was not prepared about the test. “Recruitment! A lot of famous blacksmithing houses come here to identify potential new recruits. Those who stand out are even hired by Nobility; good money there. However, the position of apprentice is the jewel! 15% discount on all materials purchased from any shop in Versailles Continent. There is also unrestricted access to all dwarvish cities in Air Kingdom. Hooohhooohooo, apprentice is the position, is the most coveted position! I prepared the entire month notching up my dwarvish blacksmithing skills, how about you? What did Theodore teach you upon clearing the first test?” “…Basic…” Weed was hesitant to say the entire title. Attention of others was something he avoided out of personal preference. “Basic Blacksmithing?” The participant interrupted before Weed could say more. The participant stared at the elf for a moment, he could understand why Weed was hesitating. Most players who cleared the test learned advanced blacksmithing. The difference in treatment was evidently clear between dwarves and elves. ‘Dwarves never got along with elves, history was proved right once again’ the human participant thought. “Well I don’t think you will be able to clear the next test with just that. Did you learn advance after that?” He asked hopefully. “…Yes.” “Two rounds at most. I don’t think advance level players would last longer. You really should learn dwarvish blacksmithing! Its like the next level of blacksmithing. Don’t give up hope! You really shouldn’t!” The human participant added the last few lines as he imagined Weed wallowing in despair. “The first apprentice only learnt basic blacksmithing as well! Ignot the dwarf, of fire kingdom, basic blacksmithing skills only and I personally feel he is the best apprentice out there.” “Who said Ignot is the best?” Asked a coarse deep voice, it came from behind Weed. Weed and the overly bearing wanderer turned around to see a dwarf clad in white armor perched on the stone while juggling two hammers. The wanderer stepped back; his experiences with this particular dwarf had warned him that the player sitting on the rock was not to be trifled with. “Thor is the best.” The dwarf said after the awkward moment of silence. “Thor?” Weed whispered to the wanderer. The wanderer stared back at Weed in disbelief, every player of RREV had heard of Thor at least once. His skills were legendary, not just in RREV but other game titles where blacksmithing was an option. His skills were in fact so great that there were several rumors of how he could create his own blacksmithing technique in any game. “The twelfth apprentice of Theodore and heir of the forging throne.” Scorned back the dwarf. Clearly, the dwarf had taken offense that there were noobs who didn’t know of Thor. “Heir of the forging throne?” Weed whispered back to the wanderer. “……not sure myself…first time I am hearing of this.” The wanderer replied back. The dwarf started turning red in anger, ‘how dare they make a fool of me!’ he thought to himself. His grip on his hammers tightened as he considered throwing it at the human noob and the elf noob. “Is that you Thor?” asked another dwarf dressed in black armor, as he joined the trio’s conversation. Unlike the juggling hammer dwarf, this dwarf had a dark aura to him. He didn’t hold a hammer, but a very long pearly silver flange. “Cynbel Orangerock.” Hissed Thor, the two considered each other eternal rivals. Every time a new game was released with blacksmithing options, both Cynbel and Thor could be found there. Cynbel was the number one VR blacksmith till Thor came along, since then both of them have ferociously fought against each other. There fights weren’t limited blacksmithing but also usually escalated to sword versus hammer blows, physical punching, clawing…verbal abuses…hissing like animals at each other…staring competitions…the low levels of weird hatred they had for each other knew no bounds. “Whose Cynbel?” Weed asked curiously, he was completely oblivious of these players and their legacy. It couldn’t be helped; Weed had only played one other game before RREV and that had no blacksmithing profession. At the age of 10, there are just so many games one could have tried, though some children begin VR gaming as young as four but none would have been able to play VRMMORPG before the age of six (legal restrictions) and even then there were parental concerns. Most children typically began VRMMORPG around the age of 9-11. “Elf how old are you?” Cynbel asked, his intuition was telling him the elf was far too young to know and understand their greatness. “…” Weed didn’t respond. No matter how much society changed, it was never safe for kids to give away their RL details to strangers…or at least that’s what they were taught at school. The other three players understood Weed’s silence; in front of them stood a hatchling, completely new to the VR gaming world. “Greatness is defined by action and not words Thor.” Cynbel replied as he turned around and began walking away. “Elf, you don’t need to know who we are, well at least not who Thor is.” BANG! A loud noise exploded where Cybnbel stood. All the participants and audience who had gathered near Theodores cabin and were chattering away, suddenly fell quiet. When the dust settled, they all could see Cynbel with his shield raised. Cynbel wore a smile that he hid from others view; ‘every victory counts’. Thor had thrown a hammer straight at Cynbel. Their personal battle had already begun even before the competition. “If you like throwing hammers around Thor, do it at the elemental colosseum.” Saying that Cynbel lowered his shield and walked away. Thor frowned and jumped off the rock and walked away as well. Their fight had only just begun. Murmurers broke out in the crowd, the two dwarves distinctively stood out; not for their scuffle but for their armor and weapons. Thor’s signature was white armor and two hammers and Cynbel’s was black armor a flange and distinctive glowing blue long shield. “Thor and Cynbel, twelfth and second apprentice.” The wanderer pointed out to Weed. “Those two are one of the best blacksmiths.” “I thought Ignot was the best?” Weed asked, slightly confused. “Yeah..I lied, I only said that to cheer you up…” “…” “My name is Pallidus.” “…” “Thought of adding a little Latin twist to my name.” Pallidus smiled as replied. “And you would be?” “Weed” Pallidus stared at the elf for a moment; filled with doubt and then shook hands. The name Weed was revered once again in the gaming world with reappearance of Lee Hyun; it was only to be expected that players would use this name…however the elf in front of him gave of an eerie resemblance to another player named Weed which he knew of. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Authors Note: 1. Edited by Knaivvs. 2. Pallidus :) Hope you get it. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Connect to Royal Road – Elementarem Vim next Chapter? | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Yes](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&t=398) | | [No](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&t=348) | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> by LaDenouement » Fri Jun 14, 2013 2:26 am<br><br><br>“Has Peril really entered into Royal Road?”<br><br>“Is it even possible for Peril to survive in such an environment?”<br><br>“Will his in-game-avatar be a penguin? Expert sources have said that it would most likely take some time before such animal implementations would be introduced into the game.”<br><br>The press conference was crowded with reporters vying for answers to their questions about the fascinating event. Even though the event had long since been planned, most had not believed it would really happen. It had just seemed too unrealistic, too impossible, and yet, it did happen. Peril, the world’s smartest penguin had entered into the world’s most popular VRMMORPG, Royal Road!<br><br>***<br><br>A stirring commotion in the heart of the kingdom had caught Noue’s eye as he entered, but when he looked over earlier, all he had seen was another human player and had thought nothing of it. Moments later, that avatar reappeared in his sight, along with a crowd of players who could not help but stare at the player’s avatar. Curious, Noue watched the character make his way through the crowd.<br><br>‘<span style="font-style: italic;">Waddle, waddle.</span>’ Noue’s eyebrows rose as he began to laugh at the imagined sound effects he heard in his head. ‘<span style="font-style: italic;">Waddle, waddle.</span>’ The avatar was a human, and yet it was waddling its way through instead of walking. <br>“Could it be...?” Noue burst into a booming laughter that caught the avatar’s attention. The waddling human turned towards Noue with his head tilted to the side. <br><br>“Squawk!” A strange sound emerged from the avatar’s mouth. “... Y-yes? Do you know me?”<br><br>Even though the avatar was talking in plain English, all Noue could hear in his head was the sole ‘<span style="font-style: italic;">Squawk!</span>’. He doubled over in laughter and amazement. “I can’t believe it! This is too ridiculous. A penguin... in Royal Road! Unbelievable!” <br><br>The avatar’s eye twitched and eyebrows furrowed in anger. He then steadied himself before waddling into a run and tackling Noue, shoving him into a stall of cabbages. The balls of cabbage began to roll everywhere and the shopkeeper screamed, “Bloody murder! My cabbages!!!”<br><br>At the sight of the shopkeeper, Noue gulped and immediately prepared to log out.<br><br>“A penguin...” He muttered, taking one last look at the strange player, as his avatar transported itself elsewhere and logged out.<br><br>***<br><br>Lydia stumbled out of the capsule, rushed to her laptop and typed up a forum post. <br><br>[<span style="font-style: italic;">Guys, I just met the smartest bird in the world on Royal Road. It’s unbelievable. We have to recruit it! We have to recruit that penguin, Peril!</span>] </div>

by LaDenouement » Fri Jun 14, 2013 2:26 am “Has Peril really entered into Royal Road?” “Is it even possible for Peril to survive in such an environment?” “Will his in-game-avatar be a penguin? Expert sources have said that it would most likely take some time before such animal implementations would be introduced into the game.” The press conference was crowded with reporters vying for answers to their questions about the fascinating event. Even though the event had long since been planned, most had not believed it would really happen. It had just seemed too unrealistic, too impossible, and yet, it did happen. Peril, the world’s smartest penguin had entered into the world’s most popular VRMMORPG, Royal Road! *** A stirring commotion in the heart of the kingdom had caught Noue’s eye as he entered, but when he looked over earlier, all he had seen was another human player and had thought nothing of it. Moments later, that avatar reappeared in his sight, along with a crowd of players who could not help but stare at the player’s avatar. Curious, Noue watched the character make his way through the crowd. ‘Waddle, waddle.’ Noue’s eyebrows rose as he began to laugh at the imagined sound effects he heard in his head. ‘Waddle, waddle.’ The avatar was a human, and yet it was waddling its way through instead of walking. “Could it be...?” Noue burst into a booming laughter that caught the avatar’s attention. The waddling human turned towards Noue with his head tilted to the side. “Squawk!” A strange sound emerged from the avatar’s mouth. “... Y-yes? Do you know me?” Even though the avatar was talking in plain English, all Noue could hear in his head was the sole ‘Squawk!’. He doubled over in laughter and amazement. “I can’t believe it! This is too ridiculous. A penguin... in Royal Road! Unbelievable!” The avatar’s eye twitched and eyebrows furrowed in anger. He then steadied himself before waddling into a run and tackling Noue, shoving him into a stall of cabbages. The balls of cabbage began to roll everywhere and the shopkeeper screamed, “Bloody murder! My cabbages!!!” At the sight of the shopkeeper, Noue gulped and immediately prepared to log out. “A penguin...” He muttered, taking one last look at the strange player, as his avatar transported itself elsewhere and logged out. *** Lydia stumbled out of the capsule, rushed to her laptop and typed up a forum post. [Guys, I just met the smartest bird in the world on Royal Road. It’s unbelievable. We have to recruit it! We have to recruit that penguin, Peril!]

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> “So how can I help you Weed?” Asked Rodriguez.<br><br>“I need to solve Theodores riddle. It’s just not about being his apprentice but about being the best apprentice that there has ever been.”<br><br>“Could you please repeat the quest?”<br><br>“The foundations of blacksmithing are dexterity with our hands, creativity of our minds, and perseverance of our souls. We prize our creations more than gold and cherish our skills more than our lives. Elves are creatures of poor and weakness in soul. They lack love and compassion. Thus, my test for you is Weed, forge yourself anew and show to me that you are indeed worthy of learning the sacred skills of blacksmithing.” Weed finished reciting the lines, he had them completely memorized by now and didn’t even have to open the quest window to see it.<br><br>“Well the first obvious trap is that you just need to change the configuration of your stats by mindlessly investing points anywhere you felt like.” Rodriguez immediately answered upon hearing the lines.<br><br>Weed smiled, it didn’t matter which game it was Rodriguez the Wise truly lived up to his name. He reached the same conclusion instantaneously as he did. However, this was where the more challenging part lay if it did not mean that, then did it mean one needed to invest heavily in the three attributes described? Or was that also a trap?<br><br>“I do not believe that the first line is a trap. Theodore is a straightforward dwarf however that does not mean we ourselves could misunderstand what he says…..This truly is a challenging riddle worth solving.” <br><br>After writing it down on paper, Rodriguez started analyzing the lines in every manner possible. He first considered Versailles history and everything about the Dwarves race. He tried thinking of references of these lines in context with stories or legends related to crafting skills. <br><br>Weed frowned, even Rodriguez was struggling. <br><br>An hour or so passed, when Rodriguez got up angrily. “Confound it! Whatever does it possibly mean! This is just an incomplete riddle! Did he say anything more or before which isn’t mentioned in the quest?”<br><br>Weed thought about it for a while and then repeated the two codes. <br><br>“No, that has nothing to do with the quest. Anything to do with the quest?”<br><br>Weed strained his memory, there was one thing that did stick out but he had dismissed it later… “Theodore did say it would be challenging for me to finish the quest since I would be starting a week later…he said that this quest had to be completed before the full moon. Does that mean anything to you?”<br><br>Rodriguez’s eyes gleamed. “Yes it does! The full moon has played a pivotal role in dwarves history, it is said that the light of the moon is bestowed with strange magical properties. Though the dwarves have always claimed so, the elves dismissed this claim as they could never feel any such magical properties from it. Maybe it is something restricted to the dwarf’s race but this is the clue that will solve the riddle.”<br><br> Rodriguez walked towards one of the many doors in his house and unlocked it with a key that hung around his neck. “Weed this way.”<br><br>Weed followed him, the door led to an underground passage which opened up to the basement. <br><br>“Holy …..!” Weed exclaimed in shock. In front of him was the largest library he had ever seen, the basement stretched endlessly, there were maybe thousands of book shelves with millions of books stacked on them.<br><br>“You are the first I am showing this place to Weed, it is not often am I presented with a challenge that requires me to come down here. I must say if Theodore gives each of his student’s such a puzzle then there is no chance of him ever finding an apprentice. Now I am sure, we just need to find the relation between the coming of age ceremony and the moonlight and when we do the answer would present itself before us.”<br><br>“But where will we begin?” Asked Weed as he tried to absorb the ostentatious size of the hidden library.<br><br>“Begin? Why we are already there.” Rodriguez replied calmly as if he had done this a million times before. He simply went up to a bookshelf and randomly picked up a book.<br><br>“Hmmm…yes there it is….The Moonlight….<br><br>The moon is bright, silver and white <br>It lights the path that many seek, Yet we dwarves are meek<br>Too frightened are we, To seek the joyful light of thee<br><br>Savage beasts and monstrous birds, Haunt those who dare to seek the absurd<br>Yet only at night, the frightful night<br>you reveal yourself only to those who dare, Lucky are they for they get to stare<br>At the white light, the enticing silver moonlight.<br><br>The winds are laid, and the river is roaring by; We pray as we face the eastern sky; <br><br>Content are we to take a chance and glance<br>Through scrolls rather than through holes<br>The bright refreshing light, the enticing silver moonlight.<br><br>The sky has fallen, great fortune has befallen<br>There’s many a dwarves who will toil to-night. For every night is a full moon night.<br>The stars are bright, and the night is still, and dwarves singing by, <br>And many a face is upward turned to gaze at the fallen moon’s bright eye…”<br> <br>“Sounds like gibberish.” Commented Weed when it finally finished.<br><br>“Yes, you shouldn’t be surprised most dwarf poems are like that.” Rodriguez said as he put away the book.<br>“Well did we find our answer?” Asked Weed impatiently.<br><br>“What do you think of the poem, Weed?”<br><br>“Well if the poem is the final clue, then it is pretty obvious. I am looking for a moonstone.” Weed replied.<br><br>Rodriguez dropped the book he was holding, he had read this verse a great many number of times and even then it had escaped him, only when Weed brought the riddle could he even begin imagining there was meaning behind this poem. Many of the great scholars would have failed to see this answer. One needed familiarity with the poem, Versailles history and so many other references to conclude that the answer was the moonstone, yet here stood an elf who replied instantly that it was a moonstone that too after hearing the poems verse only once! Rodriguez slowly picked up the book and asked, “And what makes you say that?” Rodriguez wanted to test the elf to see the logical reasoning the elf had employed.<br><br>“Well it is not just that from what I understand, you may have read out an extract of the poem, only the relevant portion.”<br><br>“Correctly assumed so.”<br><br>“Well, isn’t it straight forward then? It does say that the heavens have fallen and it is a great fortune. I assumed the analogy of heavens was connected with the moon. Now the dwarves who love the moon wouldn’t be happy if it fell. They love the moon too much for that but here they are more than gleeful. So it must be that a rock that fell from the heavens which they assumed to be part of the moon. And it goes on to say that they are going to toil harder at night for there is a full moon every night. Clearly that’s not possible. So they must have used the moonstone as a decoration piece or something.”<br><br>Rodriguez mouth was left wide open. ‘Brilliant!’<br><br>Weed continued, “If you think about this poem only as a clue, then you can also conclude that there is a moonstone somewhere where monstrous animals roam. So monstrous that the dwarves are too frightened to go there. If I had to guess it would be the eastern side of a mountain, possibly where there is a river crossing by…”<br><br>“Yes, you are indeed correct Weed. There are two such dwarf towns that I can think of where the river is close by, one is in Fire Kingdom, which is too far from here, and the other is very near Lavias.”<br><br>“The Northern Mountain pass range?” Weed asked excitedly, all though this was a D level quest, it was turning out to be exceedingly difficult given the added dimension of a hidden riddle.<br><br>Rodriguez nodded gesturing a yes. <br><br>“Then it would be right to assume, that the moonstone has mystical properties which will enable me to forge myself a new?”<br><br>“Correctly guessed again Weed. I should start calling you Weed the Wise.” Rodriguez joked but he was truly amazed at the elf’s ability to solve the riddle. “Long long ago, the heavens did fall on earth, they were dangerous times as many powerful beasts roamed the Versailles continent then. A famous elvish astronomer said that two fiery tadpoles in the heavens crashed into the moon and the moon cried silver tears. Thousands of years later, an adventurous dwarf, quite a bit of an oddity, found one of the moonstones and brought it back to his brethren. The moonstone became the centre jewel stone of their ceiling. Or at least that’s what I have read, how true is it, I am not sure myself. Well, Weed, I can guide you no further, the answer lies near the city of the northern mountain range.”<br><br>“I had one question, how long do dwarves live for?” Weed asked curiously.<br><br>The question surprised Rodriguez, “I guess no more than 200 years. Why do you ask so?”<br><br>“I was just wondering whether Theodore was the one who found the moonstone to begin with, as he dares to live out in the open.”<br><br>Rodriguez smiled, ‘Close Weed, he did not find it but it was his great ancestors who did.’<br><br>Weed thanked Rodriguez for the clue and hastily made his way outside.<br><br>Rodriguez locked the library door and went back to his armchair smiling. ‘Weed the Wise, not a bad title, a bit rough around the edges but a gem in the making.’<br><br><br>----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br>Authors Note:<br><br>1. Editing Credits Knaivvs.<br>2. So part of the crossing 100 pages celebration, I decided to go for the completion of Vol 2 and release of Vol 3. Have fun with the extra postings.<br><br>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="4">Connect to Royal Road – Elementarem Vim next Chapter?</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&amp;t=328" target="_blank">Yes</a></td><td colspan="2"><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&amp;t=348" target="_blank">No</a></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- </div>

“So how can I help you Weed?” Asked Rodriguez. “I need to solve Theodores riddle. It’s just not about being his apprentice but about being the best apprentice that there has ever been.” “Could you please repeat the quest?” “The foundations of blacksmithing are dexterity with our hands, creativity of our minds, and perseverance of our souls. We prize our creations more than gold and cherish our skills more than our lives. Elves are creatures of poor and weakness in soul. They lack love and compassion. Thus, my test for you is Weed, forge yourself anew and show to me that you are indeed worthy of learning the sacred skills of blacksmithing.” Weed finished reciting the lines, he had them completely memorized by now and didn’t even have to open the quest window to see it. “Well the first obvious trap is that you just need to change the configuration of your stats by mindlessly investing points anywhere you felt like.” Rodriguez immediately answered upon hearing the lines. Weed smiled, it didn’t matter which game it was Rodriguez the Wise truly lived up to his name. He reached the same conclusion instantaneously as he did. However, this was where the more challenging part lay if it did not mean that, then did it mean one needed to invest heavily in the three attributes described? Or was that also a trap? “I do not believe that the first line is a trap. Theodore is a straightforward dwarf however that does not mean we ourselves could misunderstand what he says…..This truly is a challenging riddle worth solving.” After writing it down on paper, Rodriguez started analyzing the lines in every manner possible. He first considered Versailles history and everything about the Dwarves race. He tried thinking of references of these lines in context with stories or legends related to crafting skills. Weed frowned, even Rodriguez was struggling. An hour or so passed, when Rodriguez got up angrily. “Confound it! Whatever does it possibly mean! This is just an incomplete riddle! Did he say anything more or before which isn’t mentioned in the quest?” Weed thought about it for a while and then repeated the two codes. “No, that has nothing to do with the quest. Anything to do with the quest?” Weed strained his memory, there was one thing that did stick out but he had dismissed it later… “Theodore did say it would be challenging for me to finish the quest since I would be starting a week later…he said that this quest had to be completed before the full moon. Does that mean anything to you?” Rodriguez’s eyes gleamed. “Yes it does! The full moon has played a pivotal role in dwarves history, it is said that the light of the moon is bestowed with strange magical properties. Though the dwarves have always claimed so, the elves dismissed this claim as they could never feel any such magical properties from it. Maybe it is something restricted to the dwarf’s race but this is the clue that will solve the riddle.” Rodriguez walked towards one of the many doors in his house and unlocked it with a key that hung around his neck. “Weed this way.” Weed followed him, the door led to an underground passage which opened up to the basement. “Holy …..!” Weed exclaimed in shock. In front of him was the largest library he had ever seen, the basement stretched endlessly, there were maybe thousands of book shelves with millions of books stacked on them. “You are the first I am showing this place to Weed, it is not often am I presented with a challenge that requires me to come down here. I must say if Theodore gives each of his student’s such a puzzle then there is no chance of him ever finding an apprentice. Now I am sure, we just need to find the relation between the coming of age ceremony and the moonlight and when we do the answer would present itself before us.” “But where will we begin?” Asked Weed as he tried to absorb the ostentatious size of the hidden library. “Begin? Why we are already there.” Rodriguez replied calmly as if he had done this a million times before. He simply went up to a bookshelf and randomly picked up a book. “Hmmm…yes there it is….The Moonlight…. The moon is bright, silver and white It lights the path that many seek, Yet we dwarves are meek Too frightened are we, To seek the joyful light of thee Savage beasts and monstrous birds, Haunt those who dare to seek the absurd Yet only at night, the frightful night you reveal yourself only to those who dare, Lucky are they for they get to stare At the white light, the enticing silver moonlight. The winds are laid, and the river is roaring by; We pray as we face the eastern sky; Content are we to take a chance and glance Through scrolls rather than through holes The bright refreshing light, the enticing silver moonlight. The sky has fallen, great fortune has befallen There’s many a dwarves who will toil to-night. For every night is a full moon night. The stars are bright, and the night is still, and dwarves singing by, And many a face is upward turned to gaze at the fallen moon’s bright eye…” “Sounds like gibberish.” Commented Weed when it finally finished. “Yes, you shouldn’t be surprised most dwarf poems are like that.” Rodriguez said as he put away the book. “Well did we find our answer?” Asked Weed impatiently. “What do you think of the poem, Weed?” “Well if the poem is the final clue, then it is pretty obvious. I am looking for a moonstone.” Weed replied. Rodriguez dropped the book he was holding, he had read this verse a great many number of times and even then it had escaped him, only when Weed brought the riddle could he even begin imagining there was meaning behind this poem. Many of the great scholars would have failed to see this answer. One needed familiarity with the poem, Versailles history and so many other references to conclude that the answer was the moonstone, yet here stood an elf who replied instantly that it was a moonstone that too after hearing the poems verse only once! Rodriguez slowly picked up the book and asked, “And what makes you say that?” Rodriguez wanted to test the elf to see the logical reasoning the elf had employed. “Well it is not just that from what I understand, you may have read out an extract of the poem, only the relevant portion.” “Correctly assumed so.” “Well, isn’t it straight forward then? It does say that the heavens have fallen and it is a great fortune. I assumed the analogy of heavens was connected with the moon. Now the dwarves who love the moon wouldn’t be happy if it fell. They love the moon too much for that but here they are more than gleeful. So it must be that a rock that fell from the heavens which they assumed to be part of the moon. And it goes on to say that they are going to toil harder at night for there is a full moon every night. Clearly that’s not possible. So they must have used the moonstone as a decoration piece or something.” Rodriguez mouth was left wide open. ‘Brilliant!’ Weed continued, “If you think about this poem only as a clue, then you can also conclude that there is a moonstone somewhere where monstrous animals roam. So monstrous that the dwarves are too frightened to go there. If I had to guess it would be the eastern side of a mountain, possibly where there is a river crossing by…” “Yes, you are indeed correct Weed. There are two such dwarf towns that I can think of where the river is close by, one is in Fire Kingdom, which is too far from here, and the other is very near Lavias.” “The Northern Mountain pass range?” Weed asked excitedly, all though this was a D level quest, it was turning out to be exceedingly difficult given the added dimension of a hidden riddle. Rodriguez nodded gesturing a yes. “Then it would be right to assume, that the moonstone has mystical properties which will enable me to forge myself a new?” “Correctly guessed again Weed. I should start calling you Weed the Wise.” Rodriguez joked but he was truly amazed at the elf’s ability to solve the riddle. “Long long ago, the heavens did fall on earth, they were dangerous times as many powerful beasts roamed the Versailles continent then. A famous elvish astronomer said that two fiery tadpoles in the heavens crashed into the moon and the moon cried silver tears. Thousands of years later, an adventurous dwarf, quite a bit of an oddity, found one of the moonstones and brought it back to his brethren. The moonstone became the centre jewel stone of their ceiling. Or at least that’s what I have read, how true is it, I am not sure myself. Well, Weed, I can guide you no further, the answer lies near the city of the northern mountain range.” “I had one question, how long do dwarves live for?” Weed asked curiously. The question surprised Rodriguez, “I guess no more than 200 years. Why do you ask so?” “I was just wondering whether Theodore was the one who found the moonstone to begin with, as he dares to live out in the open.” Rodriguez smiled, ‘Close Weed, he did not find it but it was his great ancestors who did.’ Weed thanked Rodriguez for the clue and hastily made his way outside. Rodriguez locked the library door and went back to his armchair smiling. ‘Weed the Wise, not a bad title, a bit rough around the edges but a gem in the making.’ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Authors Note: 1. Editing Credits Knaivvs. 2. So part of the crossing 100 pages celebration, I decided to go for the completion of Vol 2 and release of Vol 3. Have fun with the extra postings. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Connect to Royal Road – Elementarem Vim next Chapter? | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Yes](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&t=328) | | [No](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&t=348) | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> Arthe and Frith had been traveling upriver for about 2 days now and she had finally forgiven him for his ill advised 'naked' comment, which was a pretty good thing as he wasn't sure he could take much more of the beatings and the silent treatment. Frith had only spoken to him twice in that time and they were only to tell him it was time for him to cook food.<br><br>Still all that was done with now and they were back on friendly terms with each other, as they had traveled they had seen more and more signs of the same corruption that had affected the river. There were dying trees and rotting plant life all around them and the air smelt of stagnation and decay, even the few animals they had seen were thin and sickly. They had come across the remains of a bear at one point and its fur was rotting right off its bones so quickly they could see it happening, the two of them still had no idea what was causing this horrific destruction but they knew it had to be stopped and soon before it started to affect nearby villages.<br><br>They tracked the trail of decay to a nearby mountain where the river began, as they climbed they came across signs of construction and excavation. There were huge craters dug into the hillside and scaffolding was scattered around everywhere, the materials used appeared to be old rotten wood and rusted metal. Arthe began to wonder what manner of creatures would use such shoddy materials to construct buildings, even the stupidest monsters knew to use fresh hard woods as support struts. The only clue they discovered was a few pieces of discarded armor and some old bones.<br><br>It took them another 2 hours to climb to the top of the mountain and when they finally reached the summit they discovered a tower in an advanced state of construction, the stones of the tower oozed sludge and by the side of it was a mine shaft tunneling straight into solid rock. Various crates and boxes lay just outside the cave entrance filled with rocks and ores, issuing forth from the tower entrance was a mournful wailing and a sinister whispering. Everything about the tower said evil, the very wind seemed to recoil at the sheer malevolence emanating from within. Arthe and Frith felt shivers run up their spines and they looked at each other for reassurance, then they began to deliberate over where to go first, the mines or the tower. <br><br>Eventually they decided on the mines as it appeared to emit less of an evil influence than the tower and also seemed to be a more likely source of the corruption filtering down from the mountain. As they entered into the gloomy cavern they spotted a human figure lying on the ground just meters from the entrance, upon closer inspection the figure was revealed to be a man. His body was so thin and sickly that it was difficult to tell if he was even alive or not, but a coughing fit soon confirmed his existence among the living.<br><br>"Who, 'cough' who's there? If it's one of you monsters you can kill me now I'm not gonna get up for it. 'cough'"<br><br>Arthe rushed over to the man and began casting numerous healing spells on him.<br><br>"Healing hand! Life's Embrace! Cleanse Poison! Cure Sickness! Tell me who did this to you, are there any more like you, why are you here?"<br><br>The man tried to stand after Arthe had finished his spells but Frith gently forced him back down, then she handed him a water bottle and some dried food which he promptly gulped down.<br><br>"Thank you strangers, I don't know why you have come to this Freya forsaken place but I am glad you are here. I was forced to come here along with many others by evil monsters, their master wanted us to build him a base of operations so that he could conquer the rest of the country. I've been here for 2 months now and in that time many of my friends and family have perished at the hands of those scum, worked to death here in the mine or fed to the master's servants."<br><br>"What manner of creatures would do this? Even the undead do not treat living people this way!" Arthe exclaimed.<br><br>"Ha creatures you say, no, the master is a man much like you and me. It is his servants that are the beasts, but even they are not as depraved and evil as he is. Some of them even sneak food to us on occasion, they may be monsters but even they cannot understand why a someone would treat others of his race this way. You look like a couple of strong adventurers, could you help me?"<br><br>"Ding"<br>The Slaves Request:<br>A nameless slave wants you to free the other slaves held captive and slay both the slaves master and his servants in the mine and the tower.<br>Servants remaining: 50/50<br>Mine Foreman remaining: 1/1<br>Slave overseers remaining: 5/5<br>Master Slain: 0/1<br>Slaves freed: 0/65<br><br>Quest requirements: Save the life of the nameless slave. Must be level 150 or higher.<br><br>Quest rewards: Reputation gain with local inhabitants, ownership of the mountain tower and mine. (if all slaves saved many will work for you)<br>Quest fails if more than half of the slaves are killed OR if you allow the escape of the foreman or the overseers.<br><br><br>"I accept this request and will bring justice upon these evil doers. Please make your way down the mountain and wait for us at the bottom. We will be done shortly do not fear." Arthe said, as Frith also accepted the quest.<br><br>"Thank you both but I shall wait here and bear witness to the demise of these fiends with my own eyes."<br><br>Arthe then gave the man the rest of his food and his old sword for protection in case one of the monsters should find him, then he and Frith headed into the mineshaft. They proceeded deep into the mine, the only light was the lanterns on the walls and a faint glow from Arthe's belt. After about ten minutes they came upon their first group of slaves, 10 humans were guarded by 5 spear wielding creatures and one creature wielding a whip and a scimitar. The creatures looked very similar to dwarves but had grey, stone like skin, and no hair at all.<br><br>"Psst Arthe, they're Kuaknomi. Rock dwellers, they are the evil version of dwarves and delight in causing misery to others. They are also very thick skinned and can shrug off weaker blows. Their only weakness is the belly or the neck, that and their love of money. We'll have to be quick and accurate if we are going to save those slaves." Frith whispered.<br><br>Arthe examined the Kuaknomi closely then decided to try and draw them towards him rather than fight near the slaves, he pulled out a couple of gold coins and threw them at the nearest creatures. To start with they grabbed their spears tighter and began to look for the source of the projectiles but then they realized what had been thrown and they started grubbing on the floor for the gold, Arthe then threw more coins a bit closer to him and sure enough the 5 spear wielders ran straight for them. He nodded to Frith when they came close enough for him to charge at and gestured for her to run and attack the foreman, who hadn't moved away from the slaves even though he was staring fixatedly at the coins.<br><br>Then Arthe charged at the surprised Kuaknomi, who didn't even have their spears anymore as they had dropped them in their haste to get at the coins, the five creatures were no match for him and he used Targeted Thrust to stab each one in the belly before decapitating them when the bent over in agony. In the meantime Frith was circling the overseer repeatedly stabbing it lightly in the belly and on its hands, eventually it was forced to drop the whip and she ducked in close and finished it off with a strong jab straight into its eye. When all the bodies had turned grey and disappeared Arthe went and spoke to the slaves, who were huddled in a group clutching their pickaxes in fear, while Frith retrieved his coins and the rest of the loot.<br><br>"Don't worry we are not here to harm you, the way back to the entrance is clear. Allow me to heal your wounds and then you should take those spears and make your way to the mine entrance."<br><br>After saying this Arthe proceeded to heal each of the slaves, curing them of their most debilitating wounds and cleansing them of sickness. The miners thanked him profusely and the strongest amongst them picked up the spears and led the way for the others.<br>Arthe rested for a bit to recover some of his Mana and had a proper look around as he did, it appeared that the slaves were mining iron and some strange black ore. He picked up a piece of the ore and nearly dropped it again when he felt the energy trapped within it, he handed the piece to Frith so she could identify it and when she had she gasped loudly.<br><br>"What is it, is something wrong?" Arthe asked, quickly getting to his feet and looking around.<br><br>"No don't worry it's nothing like that but you should take a look at this, it's incredible."<br><br>She handed the ore back to Arthe and then began to gather up as much of the already mined pieces as she could, he looked at the mineral chunk again and then he too gave a small gasp of shock.<br><br>Runite ore:<br>This ore can only be found in places of great natural magic, the ore contains large amounts of pure power and can be used to power spells and trap incoming magic. When purified by holy power the ore becomes pure white and can be used to improve resistances to dark magic as well as bolster both stamina and endurance. If smelted the resulting metal will have massive magic resistance and will provide huge bonuses to Mana points and Vitality, due to it's light weight the metal can even be used to create plate armor for mages.<br><br>After reading this Arthe also began to gather up as much of the ore as he could find, it would sell for incredible amounts of money and as far as he knew no one else even knew of its existence. Frith had become a little too excited by the ore and was even hacking chunks of it out of the walls, at this point Arthe began to worry and pointed out that should they complete the quest then the mine would be theirs anyway so she didn't need to be quite so greedy.<br><br>After Frith had cooled down the two of them pressed on through the mines, they encountered several more groups of slaves and Kuaknomi who were quickly dispatched in the same manner as the first. Eventually they came to the bottom of the mine shaft and discovered the source of the river at the same time, in the center of a great cavern was a natural spring surrounded by slaves and Kuaknomi. On a platform situated right by the side of the spring was a larger than normal Kuaknomi who was overseeing some sort of machinery, the mechanism appeared to be dropping all of the dirt and refuse from the mining operation straight into the spring which was turning a filthy brown colour. The surrounding area around the pool was covered in the same sort of slime and corrosion Arthe had seen on the tower and at the foot of the mountain, as he looked on one of the slaves poured a barrel of some steaming green fluid straight into the pool and a cloud of foul vapor covered the surface of the water.<br><br>Arthe and Frith could not use the same tactic as they had before to dispatch the monsters as they were too far away and too spread out, however there were only 11 Kuaknomi down there including the foreman. The reason for this small number of enemies, despite the large group of slaves, became obvious when the two of them realized that in an iron cage next to the foreman was a group of children. if the slaves rebelled the kids would be pushed into the pool and drown. This made the rescue much more challenging and Arthe had almost given up when he had a brainwave, he quickly sneaked down into the cavern and hid behind a rock near to an unguarded slave.<br>He waved to the slave to get his attention and when the slave came nearer he began to whisper his plan to it. The idea was that the slave would claim to have found a large deposit of Runite, Arthe would give him some of the pieces he grabbed earlier as proof, then the foreman would have to come away from the cage to check it out. When he did Frith would sneak up to the platform and guard it whilst Arthe dispatched the foreman and hunted the rest of the Kuaknomi.<br><br>Well that's the way it should have worked, all went well until Arthe engaged the foreman in battle and the slaves decided to help him out, Arthe was worried about this as he didn't want any of them to die. Before any of them got hurt he decided to use his trump card and activated his Wrath of the Heavens skill, after forcing the foreman closer to the group of fighting slaves. When he did so many of the slaves and Kuaknomi stopped fighting in shock, the brief pause didn't last long as the majority of the monsters began to scream in pain. Even as they were dying the slaves continued to hit them with pickaxes and rocks, Arthe finished off the injured foreman using Blade Dance to slice open its belly and cut its throat. Frith only had to face two opponents during this time and since she was stood on the narrow platform they could only approach her one at a time, this meant she made short work of them.<br><br>Once all the enemies were dead Arthe, who didn't have to heal any of the slaves thanks to his Wrath of heaven skill, went over to the pool and prepared to cast Purify Nature. Due to the size of the pool and the corrosion surrounding it his spell cost him almost 1500 Mana to cast, but when it was done he received two messages informing him that he had been blessed with all of the optional blessings. This was because the spring was the source of the river and as such affected all life along it, Arthe had cleansed the water as well as everything that drank from it or used it to grow.<br><br>Blessing of Water:Mana regeneration is increased by 45% for 1 day<br>Blessing of Earth Life points are increased by 300 for 1 day<br>Blessing of Plant Life: Experience gain is doubled for 1 day<br>Blessing of Animal Life: Attack power and speed is increased by 50% for 1 day<br><br>Frith had freed the children and had collected all the loot whilst Arthe was purifying the spring and when she checked her quest info she realized that their work was not yet done.<br><br>The Slaves Request:<br>Servants remaining: 15/50<br>Mine Foreman remaining: 0/1<br>Slave overseers remaining: 1/5<br>Master Slain: 0/1<br>Slaves freed: 50/65<br><br>She quickly distributed the Kuaknomi weapons to the slaves, most of the gear was junk in comparison to her and Arthe's existing equipment, and went to get her partner. <br><br>"Hey we still have 17 enemies left to kill and 15 slaves to rescue, my guess is they're all in the tower. We'd best get a move on before the master guy realizes we've killed most of his servants, otherwise I don't like the odds of us rescuing the remaining slaves."<br><br>"Agreed, what do we do about this lot though, take them with us or leave them at the entrance to the mine?" Arthe gestured towards the freed slaves.<br><br>"I say have we take a couple of the stronger ones to help us find our way around the tower and leave the rest outside, we won't be able to protect such a large group but we could probably manage 1 or 2."<br><br>"Sounds like a plan, lets get moving then."<br><br><br>Arthe, Frith and the slaves all headed for the entrance and when they got there they asked for 2 volunteers to help show them around the tower. One of the men from the first group they rescued was the first to sign up and a tough looking woman was the second, Arthe gave both of them some armor he had held on to and made sure they knew how to use the spears they were wielding before entering the tower. Arthe led the way listening to the directions given by the newly freed slaves, the inside of the tower was full of chests of ore and racks of weaponry. The small group searched the first floor of the tower for enemies and found 2 Kuaknomi guarding a couple of female slaves in what appeared to be a makeshift kitchen, needless to say the monsters were slain quickly and quietly. Then the group headed up to the next floor.<br><br>This floor had pallets all over the floor, it looked like the sleeping quarters for the Kuaknomi. 4 of the fiends were sleeping and so the group crept up to them and stabbed them all in the throat at the same time, the two attacked by the slaves were still alive but couldn't talk because of their wounds and they quickly bled to death. At the far end of this room was a cage holding 8 more slaves, which were swiftly freed and told to leave the tower quickly. The stair case to the next floor was only half complete and so it was inevitable that the group would make some noise, when they did it attracted the attention of 3 Kuaknom who came dashing down the stairs. Only to meet their end on the points of the slaves spears, Arthe had told them to thrust the spears ahead of them when the climbed the stairs in case of just such an event. The male slave had to drop his weapon and grab one of the dead guards weapons because his spear was firmly impaled through the chests of two of the guards and couldn't be removed until they had finished dying. The group would have dispatched them already but they knew that now some guards had heard them their time limit had shortened, 5 slaves were still left to be rescued and there were 6 Kuaknomi remaining as well as the master.<br><br>On the 3rd floor was a room filled with weaponry, a forge was built in the corner and 3 slaves were working at it guarded by 4 Kuaknom. Unfortunately these guards had heard them coming and so were prepared for a fight, but Arthe had also prepared for this. He had a handful of gold which he threw straight at the guards, causing a fatal distraction. Well fatal for them, the 2 freed slaves shouted to the forge workers to attack the guards which they did. As they did Frith and Arthe charged the injured monsters and finished them off, in the scuffle one of the forge workers had been badly stabbed but Arthe quickly healed him before he could expire.<br><br>"The master is above with 2 women, he said he was going to use them to aid him in an experiment of some kind. Please you must hurry and rescue them!" This plea came from one of the forge workers, who had grabbed Arthe's arm before he left.<br><br>Neither Frith nor Arthe liked the sound of that so they told the slaves who had accompanied them to wait on this floor, while they headed up to the fourth. The top floor was a room that resembled a library/alchemists lab, there were books lining the walls and strange glass instruments scattered on tables around the room. None of which held any interest for Arthe at that point, his gaze was firmly fixed on the man in robes chanting some sort of spell in a hideous language. Between the man and 2 guards was a couple of slave women bound hand and foot and lying in the center of some sort of magic circle.<br><br>Frith charged at the nearest guard whilst Arthe engaged the other, using Shield Bash and Targeted Thrust he quickly dispatched his opponent and began to attack the still chanting man. His sword clashed against some sort of barrier and rather than keep fruitlessly attacking he cut the ropes binding the slaves and sent them quickly from the room. As the man's chanting increased in speed Arthe began to sense the presence of great evil, he turned to Frith who had just finished off the last of the Kuaknom and told her to run from the room fast.<br><br>"No I'm not gonna let you attack that madman alone!"<br><br>"Go now, he's summoning some sort of demon! This is not a foe your sword can defeat, go get those slaves to safety! Don't worry about me just leave NOW!"<br><br>Arthe finally managed to persuade Frith to leave, just as she left the summoning reached its peak and the man thrust a dagger straight into his heart. Instead of dying he began to change; his body started to grow, spikes erupted from his back and shoulder, huge fangs protruded from his gaping jaw and talons forced their way through his boots and gloves. Finally the metamorphosis was complete and there stood a monster straight from the very nightmares of the insane. The beast dripped viscous slime and its very breath was corrosive, Arthe's belt lit up so brightly its light could be seen by those outside the tower. <br><br>Taking a deep breath, Arthe readied himself for battle. By his reckoning the demon was around level 200, in contrast his current level was only 174. With his inflated stats and his High level holy skills the fight should be fairly simple, even so he had not faced a monster with this level of power before and even he felt the cold hand of fear gripping his spine. Blessing himself with every buff he had Arthe charged into battle, the demon roared and blasted him with some sort of dark spear. Claws slashed against armor and swords skittered off of scales, from outside the onlookers could see flashes of gold light mixed with explosions of red and purple.<br><br>Frith and the slaves stood watch as the battle raged for nearly 3 hours, towards the end both gold and red lights got dimmer and dimmer, finally there was one more intense explosion of bright white light and then all was silent. The slaves held their breath in hope and fear while Frith completely disregarded Arthe's instructions and charged back into the tower, climbing the stairs in record time she burst into the top room.<br><br>Arthe was lying against the wall holding his sword by his side, the body of the demon was nowhere to be seen. As a testament to the ferocity of the battle Arthe's armor was dented and ruptured in dozens of places and blood poured from numerous wounds up and down his body. Frith gasped at the sheer sight of someone bearing so many wounds and ran over to him, she began to shake him to try and wake him up at the same time as she pulled out a couple of health potions and tried to force them down his throat.<br><br>"Damn you Arthe wake up, don't you go and die on me, don't you bloody dare. I still haven't had the chance to punish you for sending me away and recklessly fighting alone, if you die I''ll bloody well kill you!"<br><br>She gave up on the potions and began to remove his armor and wrap him in dozens of bandages, the wounds looked even more severe with his armor off and some of them smoked while others were filled with a foul smelling black substance. <br><br>"crap your wounds are poisoned as well, seriously look at the kind of state you get into when I'm not around."<br><br>"Hey do you mind not shouting so loud, I'm trying to sleep here." Arthe said lazily as he slowly opened his eyes.<br><br>"Arthe you're alive! Thank Freya! and what do you mean sleep! You try and sleep much longer and you'll never wake up again!"<br><br>"Fine, fine I'll get up. Hey don't suppose you've got a Mana potion handy, if you do I'll have myself all fixed up and good as new in no time."<br><br>Frith rooted through her pack for a Mana potion which Arthe promptly drank, then he began to cast various healing spells on himself beginning with a poison cure. When he had finished Frith gave him a massive hug and wouldn't let go even when Arthe tried to stand up.<br><br>It was in this position that the freed slaves found them in a while later when they finally worked up the courage to enter the tower.<br><br><br>"Hey guys, Quest complete." Arthe waved to them over Frith's back.<br><br>The 50 plus people crammed into the room and stairwell let out a huge cheer. </div>

Arthe and Frith had been traveling upriver for about 2 days now and she had finally forgiven him for his ill advised 'naked' comment, which was a pretty good thing as he wasn't sure he could take much more of the beatings and the silent treatment. Frith had only spoken to him twice in that time and they were only to tell him it was time for him to cook food. Still all that was done with now and they were back on friendly terms with each other, as they had traveled they had seen more and more signs of the same corruption that had affected the river. There were dying trees and rotting plant life all around them and the air smelt of stagnation and decay, even the few animals they had seen were thin and sickly. They had come across the remains of a bear at one point and its fur was rotting right off its bones so quickly they could see it happening, the two of them still had no idea what was causing this horrific destruction but they knew it had to be stopped and soon before it started to affect nearby villages. They tracked the trail of decay to a nearby mountain where the river began, as they climbed they came across signs of construction and excavation. There were huge craters dug into the hillside and scaffolding was scattered around everywhere, the materials used appeared to be old rotten wood and rusted metal. Arthe began to wonder what manner of creatures would use such shoddy materials to construct buildings, even the stupidest monsters knew to use fresh hard woods as support struts. The only clue they discovered was a few pieces of discarded armor and some old bones. It took them another 2 hours to climb to the top of the mountain and when they finally reached the summit they discovered a tower in an advanced state of construction, the stones of the tower oozed sludge and by the side of it was a mine shaft tunneling straight into solid rock. Various crates and boxes lay just outside the cave entrance filled with rocks and ores, issuing forth from the tower entrance was a mournful wailing and a sinister whispering. Everything about the tower said evil, the very wind seemed to recoil at the sheer malevolence emanating from within. Arthe and Frith felt shivers run up their spines and they looked at each other for reassurance, then they began to deliberate over where to go first, the mines or the tower. Eventually they decided on the mines as it appeared to emit less of an evil influence than the tower and also seemed to be a more likely source of the corruption filtering down from the mountain. As they entered into the gloomy cavern they spotted a human figure lying on the ground just meters from the entrance, upon closer inspection the figure was revealed to be a man. His body was so thin and sickly that it was difficult to tell if he was even alive or not, but a coughing fit soon confirmed his existence among the living. "Who, 'cough' who's there? If it's one of you monsters you can kill me now I'm not gonna get up for it. 'cough'" Arthe rushed over to the man and began casting numerous healing spells on him. "Healing hand! Life's Embrace! Cleanse Poison! Cure Sickness! Tell me who did this to you, are there any more like you, why are you here?" The man tried to stand after Arthe had finished his spells but Frith gently forced him back down, then she handed him a water bottle and some dried food which he promptly gulped down. "Thank you strangers, I don't know why you have come to this Freya forsaken place but I am glad you are here. I was forced to come here along with many others by evil monsters, their master wanted us to build him a base of operations so that he could conquer the rest of the country. I've been here for 2 months now and in that time many of my friends and family have perished at the hands of those scum, worked to death here in the mine or fed to the master's servants." "What manner of creatures would do this? Even the undead do not treat living people this way!" Arthe exclaimed. "Ha creatures you say, no, the master is a man much like you and me. It is his servants that are the beasts, but even they are not as depraved and evil as he is. Some of them even sneak food to us on occasion, they may be monsters but even they cannot understand why a someone would treat others of his race this way. You look like a couple of strong adventurers, could you help me?" "Ding" The Slaves Request: A nameless slave wants you to free the other slaves held captive and slay both the slaves master and his servants in the mine and the tower. Servants remaining: 50/50 Mine Foreman remaining: 1/1 Slave overseers remaining: 5/5 Master Slain: 0/1 Slaves freed: 0/65 Quest requirements: Save the life of the nameless slave. Must be level 150 or higher. Quest rewards: Reputation gain with local inhabitants, ownership of the mountain tower and mine. (if all slaves saved many will work for you) Quest fails if more than half of the slaves are killed OR if you allow the escape of the foreman or the overseers. "I accept this request and will bring justice upon these evil doers. Please make your way down the mountain and wait for us at the bottom. We will be done shortly do not fear." Arthe said, as Frith also accepted the quest. "Thank you both but I shall wait here and bear witness to the demise of these fiends with my own eyes." Arthe then gave the man the rest of his food and his old sword for protection in case one of the monsters should find him, then he and Frith headed into the mineshaft. They proceeded deep into the mine, the only light was the lanterns on the walls and a faint glow from Arthe's belt. After about ten minutes they came upon their first group of slaves, 10 humans were guarded by 5 spear wielding creatures and one creature wielding a whip and a scimitar. The creatures looked very similar to dwarves but had grey, stone like skin, and no hair at all. "Psst Arthe, they're Kuaknomi. Rock dwellers, they are the evil version of dwarves and delight in causing misery to others. They are also very thick skinned and can shrug off weaker blows. Their only weakness is the belly or the neck, that and their love of money. We'll have to be quick and accurate if we are going to save those slaves." Frith whispered. Arthe examined the Kuaknomi closely then decided to try and draw them towards him rather than fight near the slaves, he pulled out a couple of gold coins and threw them at the nearest creatures. To start with they grabbed their spears tighter and began to look for the source of the projectiles but then they realized what had been thrown and they started grubbing on the floor for the gold, Arthe then threw more coins a bit closer to him and sure enough the 5 spear wielders ran straight for them. He nodded to Frith when they came close enough for him to charge at and gestured for her to run and attack the foreman, who hadn't moved away from the slaves even though he was staring fixatedly at the coins. Then Arthe charged at the surprised Kuaknomi, who didn't even have their spears anymore as they had dropped them in their haste to get at the coins, the five creatures were no match for him and he used Targeted Thrust to stab each one in the belly before decapitating them when the bent over in agony. In the meantime Frith was circling the overseer repeatedly stabbing it lightly in the belly and on its hands, eventually it was forced to drop the whip and she ducked in close and finished it off with a strong jab straight into its eye. When all the bodies had turned grey and disappeared Arthe went and spoke to the slaves, who were huddled in a group clutching their pickaxes in fear, while Frith retrieved his coins and the rest of the loot. "Don't worry we are not here to harm you, the way back to the entrance is clear. Allow me to heal your wounds and then you should take those spears and make your way to the mine entrance." After saying this Arthe proceeded to heal each of the slaves, curing them of their most debilitating wounds and cleansing them of sickness. The miners thanked him profusely and the strongest amongst them picked up the spears and led the way for the others. Arthe rested for a bit to recover some of his Mana and had a proper look around as he did, it appeared that the slaves were mining iron and some strange black ore. He picked up a piece of the ore and nearly dropped it again when he felt the energy trapped within it, he handed the piece to Frith so she could identify it and when she had she gasped loudly. "What is it, is something wrong?" Arthe asked, quickly getting to his feet and looking around. "No don't worry it's nothing like that but you should take a look at this, it's incredible." She handed the ore back to Arthe and then began to gather up as much of the already mined pieces as she could, he looked at the mineral chunk again and then he too gave a small gasp of shock. Runite ore: This ore can only be found in places of great natural magic, the ore contains large amounts of pure power and can be used to power spells and trap incoming magic. When purified by holy power the ore becomes pure white and can be used to improve resistances to dark magic as well as bolster both stamina and endurance. If smelted the resulting metal will have massive magic resistance and will provide huge bonuses to Mana points and Vitality, due to it's light weight the metal can even be used to create plate armor for mages. After reading this Arthe also began to gather up as much of the ore as he could find, it would sell for incredible amounts of money and as far as he knew no one else even knew of its existence. Frith had become a little too excited by the ore and was even hacking chunks of it out of the walls, at this point Arthe began to worry and pointed out that should they complete the quest then the mine would be theirs anyway so she didn't need to be quite so greedy. After Frith had cooled down the two of them pressed on through the mines, they encountered several more groups of slaves and Kuaknomi who were quickly dispatched in the same manner as the first. Eventually they came to the bottom of the mine shaft and discovered the source of the river at the same time, in the center of a great cavern was a natural spring surrounded by slaves and Kuaknomi. On a platform situated right by the side of the spring was a larger than normal Kuaknomi who was overseeing some sort of machinery, the mechanism appeared to be dropping all of the dirt and refuse from the mining operation straight into the spring which was turning a filthy brown colour. The surrounding area around the pool was covered in the same sort of slime and corrosion Arthe had seen on the tower and at the foot of the mountain, as he looked on one of the slaves poured a barrel of some steaming green fluid straight into the pool and a cloud of foul vapor covered the surface of the water. Arthe and Frith could not use the same tactic as they had before to dispatch the monsters as they were too far away and too spread out, however there were only 11 Kuaknomi down there including the foreman. The reason for this small number of enemies, despite the large group of slaves, became obvious when the two of them realized that in an iron cage next to the foreman was a group of children. if the slaves rebelled the kids would be pushed into the pool and drown. This made the rescue much more challenging and Arthe had almost given up when he had a brainwave, he quickly sneaked down into the cavern and hid behind a rock near to an unguarded slave. He waved to the slave to get his attention and when the slave came nearer he began to whisper his plan to it. The idea was that the slave would claim to have found a large deposit of Runite, Arthe would give him some of the pieces he grabbed earlier as proof, then the foreman would have to come away from the cage to check it out. When he did Frith would sneak up to the platform and guard it whilst Arthe dispatched the foreman and hunted the rest of the Kuaknomi. Well that's the way it should have worked, all went well until Arthe engaged the foreman in battle and the slaves decided to help him out, Arthe was worried about this as he didn't want any of them to die. Before any of them got hurt he decided to use his trump card and activated his Wrath of the Heavens skill, after forcing the foreman closer to the group of fighting slaves. When he did so many of the slaves and Kuaknomi stopped fighting in shock, the brief pause didn't last long as the majority of the monsters began to scream in pain. Even as they were dying the slaves continued to hit them with pickaxes and rocks, Arthe finished off the injured foreman using Blade Dance to slice open its belly and cut its throat. Frith only had to face two opponents during this time and since she was stood on the narrow platform they could only approach her one at a time, this meant she made short work of them. Once all the enemies were dead Arthe, who didn't have to heal any of the slaves thanks to his Wrath of heaven skill, went over to the pool and prepared to cast Purify Nature. Due to the size of the pool and the corrosion surrounding it his spell cost him almost 1500 Mana to cast, but when it was done he received two messages informing him that he had been blessed with all of the optional blessings. This was because the spring was the source of the river and as such affected all life along it, Arthe had cleansed the water as well as everything that drank from it or used it to grow. Blessing of Water:Mana regeneration is increased by 45% for 1 day Blessing of Earth Life points are increased by 300 for 1 day Blessing of Plant Life: Experience gain is doubled for 1 day Blessing of Animal Life: Attack power and speed is increased by 50% for 1 day Frith had freed the children and had collected all the loot whilst Arthe was purifying the spring and when she checked her quest info she realized that their work was not yet done. The Slaves Request: Servants remaining: 15/50 Mine Foreman remaining: 0/1 Slave overseers remaining: 1/5 Master Slain: 0/1 Slaves freed: 50/65 She quickly distributed the Kuaknomi weapons to the slaves, most of the gear was junk in comparison to her and Arthe's existing equipment, and went to get her partner. "Hey we still have 17 enemies left to kill and 15 slaves to rescue, my guess is they're all in the tower. We'd best get a move on before the master guy realizes we've killed most of his servants, otherwise I don't like the odds of us rescuing the remaining slaves." "Agreed, what do we do about this lot though, take them with us or leave them at the entrance to the mine?" Arthe gestured towards the freed slaves. "I say have we take a couple of the stronger ones to help us find our way around the tower and leave the rest outside, we won't be able to protect such a large group but we could probably manage 1 or 2." "Sounds like a plan, lets get moving then." Arthe, Frith and the slaves all headed for the entrance and when they got there they asked for 2 volunteers to help show them around the tower. One of the men from the first group they rescued was the first to sign up and a tough looking woman was the second, Arthe gave both of them some armor he had held on to and made sure they knew how to use the spears they were wielding before entering the tower. Arthe led the way listening to the directions given by the newly freed slaves, the inside of the tower was full of chests of ore and racks of weaponry. The small group searched the first floor of the tower for enemies and found 2 Kuaknomi guarding a couple of female slaves in what appeared to be a makeshift kitchen, needless to say the monsters were slain quickly and quietly. Then the group headed up to the next floor. This floor had pallets all over the floor, it looked like the sleeping quarters for the Kuaknomi. 4 of the fiends were sleeping and so the group crept up to them and stabbed them all in the throat at the same time, the two attacked by the slaves were still alive but couldn't talk because of their wounds and they quickly bled to death. At the far end of this room was a cage holding 8 more slaves, which were swiftly freed and told to leave the tower quickly. The stair case to the next floor was only half complete and so it was inevitable that the group would make some noise, when they did it attracted the attention of 3 Kuaknom who came dashing down the stairs. Only to meet their end on the points of the slaves spears, Arthe had told them to thrust the spears ahead of them when the climbed the stairs in case of just such an event. The male slave had to drop his weapon and grab one of the dead guards weapons because his spear was firmly impaled through the chests of two of the guards and couldn't be removed until they had finished dying. The group would have dispatched them already but they knew that now some guards had heard them their time limit had shortened, 5 slaves were still left to be rescued and there were 6 Kuaknomi remaining as well as the master. On the 3rd floor was a room filled with weaponry, a forge was built in the corner and 3 slaves were working at it guarded by 4 Kuaknom. Unfortunately these guards had heard them coming and so were prepared for a fight, but Arthe had also prepared for this. He had a handful of gold which he threw straight at the guards, causing a fatal distraction. Well fatal for them, the 2 freed slaves shouted to the forge workers to attack the guards which they did. As they did Frith and Arthe charged the injured monsters and finished them off, in the scuffle one of the forge workers had been badly stabbed but Arthe quickly healed him before he could expire. "The master is above with 2 women, he said he was going to use them to aid him in an experiment of some kind. Please you must hurry and rescue them!" This plea came from one of the forge workers, who had grabbed Arthe's arm before he left. Neither Frith nor Arthe liked the sound of that so they told the slaves who had accompanied them to wait on this floor, while they headed up to the fourth. The top floor was a room that resembled a library/alchemists lab, there were books lining the walls and strange glass instruments scattered on tables around the room. None of which held any interest for Arthe at that point, his gaze was firmly fixed on the man in robes chanting some sort of spell in a hideous language. Between the man and 2 guards was a couple of slave women bound hand and foot and lying in the center of some sort of magic circle. Frith charged at the nearest guard whilst Arthe engaged the other, using Shield Bash and Targeted Thrust he quickly dispatched his opponent and began to attack the still chanting man. His sword clashed against some sort of barrier and rather than keep fruitlessly attacking he cut the ropes binding the slaves and sent them quickly from the room. As the man's chanting increased in speed Arthe began to sense the presence of great evil, he turned to Frith who had just finished off the last of the Kuaknom and told her to run from the room fast. "No I'm not gonna let you attack that madman alone!" "Go now, he's summoning some sort of demon! This is not a foe your sword can defeat, go get those slaves to safety! Don't worry about me just leave NOW!" Arthe finally managed to persuade Frith to leave, just as she left the summoning reached its peak and the man thrust a dagger straight into his heart. Instead of dying he began to change; his body started to grow, spikes erupted from his back and shoulder, huge fangs protruded from his gaping jaw and talons forced their way through his boots and gloves. Finally the metamorphosis was complete and there stood a monster straight from the very nightmares of the insane. The beast dripped viscous slime and its very breath was corrosive, Arthe's belt lit up so brightly its light could be seen by those outside the tower. Taking a deep breath, Arthe readied himself for battle. By his reckoning the demon was around level 200, in contrast his current level was only 174. With his inflated stats and his High level holy skills the fight should be fairly simple, even so he had not faced a monster with this level of power before and even he felt the cold hand of fear gripping his spine. Blessing himself with every buff he had Arthe charged into battle, the demon roared and blasted him with some sort of dark spear. Claws slashed against armor and swords skittered off of scales, from outside the onlookers could see flashes of gold light mixed with explosions of red and purple. Frith and the slaves stood watch as the battle raged for nearly 3 hours, towards the end both gold and red lights got dimmer and dimmer, finally there was one more intense explosion of bright white light and then all was silent. The slaves held their breath in hope and fear while Frith completely disregarded Arthe's instructions and charged back into the tower, climbing the stairs in record time she burst into the top room. Arthe was lying against the wall holding his sword by his side, the body of the demon was nowhere to be seen. As a testament to the ferocity of the battle Arthe's armor was dented and ruptured in dozens of places and blood poured from numerous wounds up and down his body. Frith gasped at the sheer sight of someone bearing so many wounds and ran over to him, she began to shake him to try and wake him up at the same time as she pulled out a couple of health potions and tried to force them down his throat. "Damn you Arthe wake up, don't you go and die on me, don't you bloody dare. I still haven't had the chance to punish you for sending me away and recklessly fighting alone, if you die I''ll bloody well kill you!" She gave up on the potions and began to remove his armor and wrap him in dozens of bandages, the wounds looked even more severe with his armor off and some of them smoked while others were filled with a foul smelling black substance. "crap your wounds are poisoned as well, seriously look at the kind of state you get into when I'm not around." "Hey do you mind not shouting so loud, I'm trying to sleep here." Arthe said lazily as he slowly opened his eyes. "Arthe you're alive! Thank Freya! and what do you mean sleep! You try and sleep much longer and you'll never wake up again!" "Fine, fine I'll get up. Hey don't suppose you've got a Mana potion handy, if you do I'll have myself all fixed up and good as new in no time." Frith rooted through her pack for a Mana potion which Arthe promptly drank, then he began to cast various healing spells on himself beginning with a poison cure. When he had finished Frith gave him a massive hug and wouldn't let go even when Arthe tried to stand up. It was in this position that the freed slaves found them in a while later when they finally worked up the courage to enter the tower. "Hey guys, Quest complete." Arthe waved to them over Frith's back. The 50 plus people crammed into the room and stairwell let out a huge cheer.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>Your mission has been accepted by the Kobold representative. As per it’s terms:<br><br>1. You will hand over Kendelbreu’s map and Kendelbreu’s treasure to the Kobolds. <br>2. You will invest your own money in purchasing necessary ingredients to manufacture weapons for the Kobold Army.<br>3. In return for these services, the Kobold will share 5% of Kendelbreu’s treasure with you.<br>4. You will be compensated with market value of goods at the time of payment + 55 Silver.<br>5. You have also been granted exclusive weapon sale rights to the Kobolds. The Kobold Army will only purchase weapons, armors and shields from you.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>Once the deal was sealed. The Elder stepped out of his hut and told the Kobolds waiting outside the news. There was widespread joy on their faces. They chanted the Elder’s name in praise for the deal seemed to be unbelievably good. Warriors were requested to take their own measurements and give them to Weed who would be residing with the Elder.<br><br>Weed too was delighted with his plan. With a single move he secured many victories. He and the Kobold would soon have their little revenge on Kendelbreu. Weed would gain the promised 5% cut from the wicked dwarf’s wealth. He would also get money for everything he sold to the kobolds. He also gained exclusive weapon sales rights. The cherry on the cake was that he could improve his relationship with the Kobolds.<br><br>Weed opened the alchemy book. It was the first book on alchemy he came across, even the Northern Mountain City had limited books on alchemy. He was curious to see what mysterious recipes were hidden away in this book. As Weed flipped through the pages, there was text written in Kobold’s language, some pages were written in a dwarvish language, some pages in elvish and some in human. The book was very old and seemed to be passed from hand to hand. Though old, it was very well preserved, only few pages couldn’t be read as they were torn or the ink had faded. Weed was certain, that there must be some restoration art available to restore the book to it’s former glory.<br><br>As Weed continued flipping through pages, there were some scripts which even Weed couldn’t decipher. Luckily, Weed didn’t have to worry about learning the different languages at once as there were drawings accompanied with each recipe. One such drawing caught his eye. It depicted a black colored scorpion with 4 pincers. The next scene, showed taking the scorpion tail and pressing a sword against it. A black drop dripped into a cauldron. After stirring thoroughly, the wooden mixing spoon was shown melted. <span style="font-style: italic;">Is that acid? </span> Weed wondered.<br><br>As he continued reading, arrows and swords could be dipped into it and there seemed to be a lot of “+” signs. Weed could only understand it as some sort of added benefit. Weed looked at his inventory, he had 103 scorpion tails. If he used this recipe, he could charge the dwarves more for an ingredient that is unavailable in the market. Weed smiled devilishly as the idea took roots, he could recover his margins here. <br><br>Weed had been assigned several Kobolds to help him with anything he required. He had to ask one of the kobold to translate the recipe for him.<br><br>Weed then turned to the long line of Kobolds who stood in front of him. Weed quickly took their measurements and began calculating how much ore would he require. He had limited amount of money and ore himself. A lot of the ore he previously bought was simply lying in Rodriguez ranch. Weed quickly wrote a letter, requesting Rodriguez to release his stockpile of ore and handed it over to a Kobold. He especially told the Kobold not attract any attention in Lavias. He didn’t want other players to learn of the Kobold Hall’s existence just yet. Weed send another Kobold to call for the Elder’s grandson, as they would have to buy ore.<br><br>Once he was done with measurements and calculating how much ore he needed. The translator returned to him with the recipe. A Weed took the recipe, the Kobold handed it over with a warning, “Much too dangerous this. Terrible Terrible Omen.”<br><br>Weed paid no heed. In war, there was nothing terrible. Only surviving mattered. The title of the recipe was Bone Acid Poison. The main ingredient of the acid was the black scorpion tail venom. It’s venom when mixed with the right contents would form deadly poison that would eat away any organic substance. Weed wondered if this could work against the scorpions. Technically their shell was organic in nature as it was formed through their very skins toughening.The concoction was listed as one of the hundred banned poisons for having no cure. Even if they couldn’t melt the shell it was quite possible to poison the creature. He needed some time to prepare this poison however as he would have to collect the ingredients first. Weed added notes to his shopping list.<br><br>Weed noted in the translated recipe that the venom was stronger as the scorpion grew older. Weed had only baby tails. <span style="font-style: italic;"> Guess this will have to do.</span>. The other ingredient had some strange name but the kobold who translated the page seemed to know them. On the side many little notes were scribbled in kobold script, it was instruction on how to store the liquid.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">‘I wonder, will this work looking at the alchemist book.’ </span><br><br>Once he had a plan set. Weed accompanied with the grandson went shopping. They picked up ore from local Kobold and dwarf traders. Both Weed and the kobold negotiated hard on the prices. Most of the ore came from dwarf traders. These dwarf traders were either too poor to do business in their own city or were led by some dwarven <span style="font-style: italic;">mafia</span> who were out to scam the Kobolds and take advantage of their poverty. Once done with the ore, the grandson handed the alchemy ingredients to an attendant and led Weed to the end of the kobold town. Next to the town stood a cave and inside were some really old alchemy equipment, many rusted and some broken. Ideally, Weed would have bought new equipment but money was of the essence. He needed all the money he had to buy ore. Weed took what was needed and what could be repaired. It took Weed one day to repair the broken equipment and was all set to begin alchemy.<br>“Thank you for helping.” he said to a kobold bringing ingredients “Please put them next to me on that table.” Weed pointed at the table next to him. He was standing in front of alchemic tubes, burners and several reagents. It was a slow and time consuming process, but as per the notes, the acid would significantly boost kill stats. A direct hit to the flesh would burn away the skin. The victim would die quickly in agony while feeling a burning sensation. Weed began creating the acid as carefully as he could. In it’s raw form it was most concentrated. Weed had to dilute it several times with water so that the cauldron would not burn away. His motto was the motto of every alchemist that lived before him, “live to experiment and for god sakes do not touch the stuff you create.”<br><br>They were not common chemistry ingredients as he knew off like in the competition where he could mix tin and copper and create bronze. The mixture contained some bodily parts and fluids of creatures he had not encountered and plants he had no idea where to gather from. Weed classified the process as sort of a witch brew.<br><br>“Please stand at the far side and don’t move.” Weed told his Kobold assistants as he pointed a vague area at the far end of the cave.<br><br>Weed finally brought out scorpion tails, following the instructions, he made a small cut on it’s tip and pressed out the venom. Black venom dripped out slowly into the mixture. The mixture instantly turned black and started bubbling. He then dropped the shell into the final reagent. It quickly dissolved. He took out the remaining tails he had and added them in the same way. Though he did not have giant scorpion tails, he had many baby scorpion tails.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>Alchemist skill level up! – You are now beginner level 3 alchemist!</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>You created one of the 100 banned poisons, Bone Acid Poison! Made of black scorpion tail venom this poison is so deadly that there has been no known cure for it. Even after death, it continues to remain in an active state. When the kingdoms were in a warring state, the poison was the preferred choice. However it not only killed soldiers but lay the ground to waste for decades. As it is so deadly and does more bad than good, all kingdom’s have banned its creation. If you accidently touch it you will die!</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>“There. We are done.” Weed smiled as he stared at the message. It gave him goosebumps to think that this poison was so scary. <br><br>“Start pouring it into these vials.” Weed motioned the kobold assistants to help him. As his assistant poured the poison into the vial, the acid burned through the vial and dripped on to the assistant. The Kobold hissed in pain but soon began crying and screaming in agony. The poison burned through his reptilian skin. Within moments, the entire Kobold was consumed by the acid. Weed and the other assistants only stared in horror. All that was left was now a pile of armor on the ground. <br><br>“At least it’s working as intended.” Weed sighted to the Elder’s grandson who stood at the cave entrance in horror.<br> <br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>New Unique Personal Quest Stat unlocked! - Cold Blooded Cruelty!<br><br>Master this Stat to learn more about it’s secrets!</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>Cold Blooded Cruelty! Is now Beginner level two!</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>Weed didn’t even bother opening his personal quest section. He had enough idea to know what it was about. <br><br><br><br>----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br>Authors Note:<br><br>1. Will be edited soon. Please do expect a lot of mistakes as we worked .....very late to write this. O.O these days all my messages have this.<br>2. Thank you so much V4LKYR13 and Alakokaine for writing this.<br>3. A short chapter by 5.4 will be slightly longer to make up for it.<br><br>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="4">Connect to Royal Road – Elementarem Vim next Chapter?</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&amp;t=528" target="_blank">Yes</a></td><td colspan="2"><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&amp;t=348" target="_blank">No</a></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- </div>

| Your mission has been accepted by the Kobold representative. As per it’s terms:1. You will hand over Kendelbreu’s map and Kendelbreu’s treasure to the Kobolds. 2. You will invest your own money in purchasing necessary ingredients to manufacture weapons for the Kobold Army.3. In return for these services, the Kobold will share 5% of Kendelbreu’s treasure with you.4. You will be compensated with market value of goods at the time of payment + 55 Silver.5. You have also been granted exclusive weapon sale rights to the Kobolds. The Kobold Army will only purchase weapons, armors and shields from you. | | --- | Once the deal was sealed. The Elder stepped out of his hut and told the Kobolds waiting outside the news. There was widespread joy on their faces. They chanted the Elder’s name in praise for the deal seemed to be unbelievably good. Warriors were requested to take their own measurements and give them to Weed who would be residing with the Elder. Weed too was delighted with his plan. With a single move he secured many victories. He and the Kobold would soon have their little revenge on Kendelbreu. Weed would gain the promised 5% cut from the wicked dwarf’s wealth. He would also get money for everything he sold to the kobolds. He also gained exclusive weapon sales rights. The cherry on the cake was that he could improve his relationship with the Kobolds. Weed opened the alchemy book. It was the first book on alchemy he came across, even the Northern Mountain City had limited books on alchemy. He was curious to see what mysterious recipes were hidden away in this book. As Weed flipped through the pages, there was text written in Kobold’s language, some pages were written in a dwarvish language, some pages in elvish and some in human. The book was very old and seemed to be passed from hand to hand. Though old, it was very well preserved, only few pages couldn’t be read as they were torn or the ink had faded. Weed was certain, that there must be some restoration art available to restore the book to it’s former glory. As Weed continued flipping through pages, there were some scripts which even Weed couldn’t decipher. Luckily, Weed didn’t have to worry about learning the different languages at once as there were drawings accompanied with each recipe. One such drawing caught his eye. It depicted a black colored scorpion with 4 pincers. The next scene, showed taking the scorpion tail and pressing a sword against it. A black drop dripped into a cauldron. After stirring thoroughly, the wooden mixing spoon was shown melted. Is that acid? Weed wondered. As he continued reading, arrows and swords could be dipped into it and there seemed to be a lot of “+” signs. Weed could only understand it as some sort of added benefit. Weed looked at his inventory, he had 103 scorpion tails. If he used this recipe, he could charge the dwarves more for an ingredient that is unavailable in the market. Weed smiled devilishly as the idea took roots, he could recover his margins here. Weed had been assigned several Kobolds to help him with anything he required. He had to ask one of the kobold to translate the recipe for him. Weed then turned to the long line of Kobolds who stood in front of him. Weed quickly took their measurements and began calculating how much ore would he require. He had limited amount of money and ore himself. A lot of the ore he previously bought was simply lying in Rodriguez ranch. Weed quickly wrote a letter, requesting Rodriguez to release his stockpile of ore and handed it over to a Kobold. He especially told the Kobold not attract any attention in Lavias. He didn’t want other players to learn of the Kobold Hall’s existence just yet. Weed send another Kobold to call for the Elder’s grandson, as they would have to buy ore. Once he was done with measurements and calculating how much ore he needed. The translator returned to him with the recipe. A Weed took the recipe, the Kobold handed it over with a warning, “Much too dangerous this. Terrible Terrible Omen.” Weed paid no heed. In war, there was nothing terrible. Only surviving mattered. The title of the recipe was Bone Acid Poison. The main ingredient of the acid was the black scorpion tail venom. It’s venom when mixed with the right contents would form deadly poison that would eat away any organic substance. Weed wondered if this could work against the scorpions. Technically their shell was organic in nature as it was formed through their very skins toughening.The concoction was listed as one of the hundred banned poisons for having no cure. Even if they couldn’t melt the shell it was quite possible to poison the creature. He needed some time to prepare this poison however as he would have to collect the ingredients first. Weed added notes to his shopping list. Weed noted in the translated recipe that the venom was stronger as the scorpion grew older. Weed had only baby tails. Guess this will have to do.. The other ingredient had some strange name but the kobold who translated the page seemed to know them. On the side many little notes were scribbled in kobold script, it was instruction on how to store the liquid. ‘I wonder, will this work looking at the alchemist book.’ Once he had a plan set. Weed accompanied with the grandson went shopping. They picked up ore from local Kobold and dwarf traders. Both Weed and the kobold negotiated hard on the prices. Most of the ore came from dwarf traders. These dwarf traders were either too poor to do business in their own city or were led by some dwarven mafia who were out to scam the Kobolds and take advantage of their poverty. Once done with the ore, the grandson handed the alchemy ingredients to an attendant and led Weed to the end of the kobold town. Next to the town stood a cave and inside were some really old alchemy equipment, many rusted and some broken. Ideally, Weed would have bought new equipment but money was of the essence. He needed all the money he had to buy ore. Weed took what was needed and what could be repaired. It took Weed one day to repair the broken equipment and was all set to begin alchemy. “Thank you for helping.” he said to a kobold bringing ingredients “Please put them next to me on that table.” Weed pointed at the table next to him. He was standing in front of alchemic tubes, burners and several reagents. It was a slow and time consuming process, but as per the notes, the acid would significantly boost kill stats. A direct hit to the flesh would burn away the skin. The victim would die quickly in agony while feeling a burning sensation. Weed began creating the acid as carefully as he could. In it’s raw form it was most concentrated. Weed had to dilute it several times with water so that the cauldron would not burn away. His motto was the motto of every alchemist that lived before him, “live to experiment and for god sakes do not touch the stuff you create.” They were not common chemistry ingredients as he knew off like in the competition where he could mix tin and copper and create bronze. The mixture contained some bodily parts and fluids of creatures he had not encountered and plants he had no idea where to gather from. Weed classified the process as sort of a witch brew. “Please stand at the far side and don’t move.” Weed told his Kobold assistants as he pointed a vague area at the far end of the cave. Weed finally brought out scorpion tails, following the instructions, he made a small cut on it’s tip and pressed out the venom. Black venom dripped out slowly into the mixture. The mixture instantly turned black and started bubbling. He then dropped the shell into the final reagent. It quickly dissolved. He took out the remaining tails he had and added them in the same way. Though he did not have giant scorpion tails, he had many baby scorpion tails. | Alchemist skill level up! – You are now beginner level 3 alchemist! | | --- | | You created one of the 100 banned poisons, Bone Acid Poison! Made of black scorpion tail venom this poison is so deadly that there has been no known cure for it. Even after death, it continues to remain in an active state. When the kingdoms were in a warring state, the poison was the preferred choice. However it not only killed soldiers but lay the ground to waste for decades. As it is so deadly and does more bad than good, all kingdom’s have banned its creation. If you accidently touch it you will die! | | --- | “There. We are done.” Weed smiled as he stared at the message. It gave him goosebumps to think that this poison was so scary. “Start pouring it into these vials.” Weed motioned the kobold assistants to help him. As his assistant poured the poison into the vial, the acid burned through the vial and dripped on to the assistant. The Kobold hissed in pain but soon began crying and screaming in agony. The poison burned through his reptilian skin. Within moments, the entire Kobold was consumed by the acid. Weed and the other assistants only stared in horror. All that was left was now a pile of armor on the ground. “At least it’s working as intended.” Weed sighted to the Elder’s grandson who stood at the cave entrance in horror. | New Unique Personal Quest Stat unlocked! - Cold Blooded Cruelty!Master this Stat to learn more about it’s secrets! | | --- | | Cold Blooded Cruelty! Is now Beginner level two! | | --- | Weed didn’t even bother opening his personal quest section. He had enough idea to know what it was about. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Authors Note: 1. Will be edited soon. Please do expect a lot of mistakes as we worked .....very late to write this. O.O these days all my messages have this. 2. Thank you so much V4LKYR13 and Alakokaine for writing this. 3. A short chapter by 5.4 will be slightly longer to make up for it. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Connect to Royal Road – Elementarem Vim next Chapter? | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Yes](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&t=528) | | [No](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&t=348) | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> “I think we are close. Very close.” Masin had a smile on his face now. Of course he would. They had managed to trap the monster in the middle of a large tar pit they constructed. Weed had the honored role to play decoy and lure the scorpion up since he was proven to be the swiftest. Though Weed had his apprehensions and protests, Tasha the snake commented about the last race they ran together. It was a four to one vote, four in favour of Weed the decoy and one against. Needless to say, Weed voted against the idea. In the end, Weed had no choice but to accept the plan.<br><br>It was a simple plan that almost went smoothly for once. Well almost. Weed also had the unacknowledged credit for the plan. He drew inspiration from the sticky tar that the deceased Yaluk left his boots on. The dwarves at once agreed to the idea. Tar was a common nemesis to scorpions and miners. Once stuck, always stuck.<br><br>Initially, they looked for a natural pitfall one which they could fill with tar and save on time. However, to find one near the lair was difficult. In the end they decided to dig. Masin stood as look out and the other four began digging. <br><br>Sarkaan and Tasha grunted in amusement when they saw Weed pick up the shovel. They didn’t think Weed could help much in digging. Once Weed began, the dwarves were left staring. The dwarves grew even more astonished and impressed when they saw Weed digging and mining.<br> <br>Due to all the digging he did in the Northern Mountain Range, Weed’s skill level had already reached the Intermediate level. Weed was more efficient and faster in digging through the ground than most of the dwarves in the city would be.<br> <br>Sarkaan was amused. The elf not only ran faster than him but was probably better at digging as well. ‘Just who is this elf? He won Kendelbreu’s trust in an instant, he glows in the dark, he runs faster than the wind and digs better than a dwarf mole?’<br> <br>Sarkaan approached Weed as he was digging and asked him, “Elf, once we are done with this, would you like to form a crew with me?<br> <br>TRRING!<br> <br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>-You have been offered a job in Sarkaan’s mining crew!<br> <br>-You will be paid 25 silvers per day for every day you work in a mine.<br><br>- You will also be shared a percentage of the crew’s profit!</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>Weed replied, “I’m honored that you would make me such an offer. But I’m sorry but I cannot take up your offer.”<br> <br>TRRING!<br> <div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>-You have declined the job offer</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>“...” Sarkaan left it at that.<br>Once the pitfall was well over 10 meters deep, they began collecting the tar. The found barrels left inside the old mine which they used to collect the tar in. The hole itself was covered using old timbers that were probably destined to be a support and leathers from his own inventory. Rabbits, Foxes and Wolves fur he had plenty. Weed used each items thinking to compensate it with a black diamond baby scorpion later.<br><br>The final touch was sprinkling a layer of earth over it to make it look natural. Weed put a stacked stone to mark the beginning of the pit and the same for the end of it. It was a masterful construction. Without the markers he would not had known there was a pitfall there. There was constant questioning about the need to be so thorough, however Weed had the final say since he was decoy. He didn’t want to take the risk of having the trap fail or falling in the pit with the monster. He also pointed out how he contributed the most in this venture therefore he was temporary leader, however this argument was not only dismissed but trampled upon by the dwarves. Though divided, the four dwarves united against the idea of an elf self proclaiming to be leader of the dwarves.<br><br>Finding the scorpion was not too hard. Weed only need to make god awful loud noise to be noticed. After banging his Harbringer version six’s side on a rock for a while, Masin’s nose finally gave the signal. “ITS HERE!”<br><br>Just as dramatic as it’s last entrance, the earth trembled before a huge amount of earth erupted into the air. The scorpion crawled out and went almost right at Weed who was standing close to the trap. Weed only needed to run through the trap while the monster chased behind him. The plan was simple, Weed was going to run over the false cover whereas the scorpion would follow him and fall in. Placing his faith in the dwarves and their continuous claims of being masters of construction (and not mining). Masin who supervised the construction assured that it would support him easily as he ran past it quickly. He was standing on the center of the pit with Weed when he told him that. Only the monster’s weight would cause the collapse.<br><br>The bit about the plan they did not anticipate was of course how closely the scorpion would be tailing behind Weed. The scorpion was right at Weed’s heels when the floor of the trap gave way. Weed could feel the pull of gravity as the floor beneath his feet fell. Summoning all his strength, Weed pushed against the falling planks of wood and leapt to safety. As if the tar in the pit wasn’t enough, the three dwarves poured barrels of sticky tar over the monster. <br><br>The scorpion screeched and struggled but all its efforts were futile. It was completely stuck. Although the dwarves had been quibbling since they lost their comrades, the sight of the struggling scorpion left them in good cheer. They did not attempt to kill the monster despite it being immobilized. Its shell was like an indestructible armor. Killing the baby scorpions was easier. <br><br>“I think it is just around the corner.” Masin whispered as he guided them to the nest. They were stopping near a bend in the cave. Weed’s enchanced hearing could hear the familiar scraping sounds. A lot of it, accompanied by clickings too. Without any need of being told, all of them drew their weapons. Tasha, Tinaquarrier, Masin and Saarkan had already been wearing their exceedingly heavy dwarven armor. They now completed the set by adding a large hammer on one hand and a stout metal shield on the other. The open face helmets they put on looked very heavy to Weed. He was stuck to carrying his only weapon. Harbringer version six and no heavy armor. For once in unision, they were allowed to be loud. <br><br>“CHAARRRGEE!” <br><br>With victory almost at hand, the dwarves underwent a transformation. Masin who was afraid for his life through out the jounrey now led the charge forward. Weed was glad to be on the back when he saw the number of the ‘baby scorpions’. There were hundreds of them. Their size vary from smallest the size of a rabbit to one as large as a fox. <br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>-15 HP Damage<br>-16 HP Damage<br>-18 HP Damage<br>-23 HP Damage<br>-30 HP Damage<br>-37 HP Damage<br>-25 HP Damage<br>-27 HP Damage<br>-29 HP Damage<br> -Critical Hit!-</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>- Black Baby Arachnid Scorpio Killed.<br><br>- Loot - Black Scorpion Tail. <br><br>- You have leveled up! Now level FF/14.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>It took time, but Weed managed to eventually kill off one. Weed sneaked off to the side after collecting the japtem. He was letting the dwarves do the work this time. He earned it. They were also doing much better than him. It took them a single blow to kill one while he need to rain continuous blows to kill even one.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">‘This is odd. No black diamond.’</span><br><br>The feeling of something missing again crept into his mind. The loot he clearly said Black Arachnid Scorpio Tail. <br><br>‘Maybe I need to kill some more. Maybe it’s drop rate is really low.’<br>Weed did kill a lot more. He also sneakily looted a good amount of what the dwarves killed. Without their knowledge to his own pile of loot. He doubted they would notice. All four were screaming their defiance, hammering their point home with their weapon and booted feet on some occasion.<br><br>‘Something is wrong here. No black diamond still.’ <br><br>Weed had killed over twenty of the dangerous critters. Also, looted about the same number. Still nothing. He moved from smaller ones to the larger ones, the loot was the same; scorpion tail. It took the five of them a while to finish off the whole lot of baby scorpions. With the floor finally visible and quiet, all five of them then began scouring the floor for the fabled diamond. There was a growing sense of disappointment looming on their faces. There were scorpion tails everywhere but no diamond. Weed then noticed something strange, while Tinaquarrier, Masin and him were searching the floor, the other two were scanning the walls.<br><br>“Hey, over here! There is a door here!” Tasha shouted. Weed was most suspicious, it felt like those two never came here for the baby scorpions to begin with. Almost as if they knew that there was no black diamond loot to be earned from killing the baby scorpions.<br><br>Tasha was on the other side of the large expanse that made the lair of the scorpion. Some bits of bones clearly dwarven origin were strewn around. Weed took care to be respectful and avoid stepping on them even though he was in a game as he didn’t want to upset the dwarves. <br><br>“Help me up. It is too heavy.” said Tasha as he tried to pull the door. The door was made from thick metal with studdings on the edges that connect the hinges. There was no hole where the lock usually goes. Just a plain barrier.Sarkaan helped Tasha out. Other than those two, everyone was confused. Nobody expected to find a door in the monster’s lair. <br><br>“Where on Versailles did that come from?” Tinaquarrier asked.<br><br>Weed’s mind suddenly made the missing connection. It was all a scam in gigantic proportion.<br><br>“Son of a... you two knew about the the treasure too!” Weed cursed. <br><br>“You don’t know what you are talking about, elf.” Tasha said as he pulled out his daggar.<br><br>“Get back.” Sarkaan shouted as he pulled out his hammer.Saarkan’s tone was very different from his usual rather meek personality. <br><br>Weed did not think too much about it earlier when he saw the scorpion killing crusade. Masin and Tinaquarrier were good fighters, but the two liars were a lot better.Tinaquarrier and Masin were not responding to their little confrontation. They pushed past the two (who didn’t attack as no one wanted to spill more blood) and kicked the door open to get a good look of what was inside. <br><br>There were chests stacked neatly on one corner of the room. The other corner held bars of metals stacked equally neat. Even if Weed was not a dwarf, he could guess what the whole set up means.<br><br>TRRRING!<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>-You have found Kendelbreu’s treasure!</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>Weed looked unsurprised at the pop up message.<br><br>“Its the old man’s treasure?” Tinaquarrier asked as he stared at the vast invaluable and priceless treasures. <br><br>Even Tasha and Sarkaan were at a loss of words, they had no idea it was so much. Masin too was still rooted on the spot when the earth trembled again.*STOMP* *STOMP*<br><br>Weed who was least interested in the treasure hadn’t stepped into the room, he took few steps back. The earth exploded into the air and a giant black scorpion crawled out.<br><br>“DID IT ESCAPE?” Weed shouted out.<br><br>The dwarves were panic stricken as well, they did not anticipate this.<br><br>As Weed looked closely, it didn’t resemble the previous scorpion.....there were no signs of it being trapped in tar either.....<span style="font-style: italic;">FUCK!</span> Weed thought as he stepped on baby scorpion carcass. Some scorpions have mating partners....<br><br>“RUN!” Tasha shouted. <br><br>Three dwarves managed to escape but Sarkaan was done in. He stood closest to the scorpion got stung to death.<br><br>As the ran back out the lair they met their old foe, the trapped tar covered scorpion had escaped. Covered in tar it slowly crawled towards them. It had walked into its lair and saw its babies all dead. The screech it emanated was so loud that all of them were forced to put their hands on their head. The floor and ceiling of the mine vibrated.The tar hampered the scorpion’s ability to jump. It now walked like a regular scorpion or a spider. Weed was not sure since it looked like a crossbreed.<br><br>The rest did not need to be told twice. They were scattering across the large room. The treasure room remained open and forgotten at the moment. If one scorpion was not bad enough, two definitely didn’t help. It was every dwarf and elf for himself.<br><br>The mother scorpion targeted Tasha first. It was probably because his body was slathered in the resulting gunk of the baby scorpion the most. Tasha pulled out his daggars, ready for a duel to the death. <br><br>“I am sorry Tina...” Tasha could be heard shouting. However, Tinaquarrier and Masin were a good distance ahead of him now. All of them could only hear the victorious screech and the last scream of pure fear. <br><br>“Dump your armor!” Weed shouted behind him while running.<br><br>The large monsters were not satisfied with Tasha or Sarkaan alone. The parents were determined to find the remaining killers of their children.<br><br>As Weed ran way ahead of the rest of the party. He could not even hear the rest of the party anymore. <br><br>‘Dammit. It dug through the floor!’ Weed thought as he passed the tar pit where the original / first scorpion was supposed to be trapped. It now had another hole beside it with tar stuck to its edges. From there, he relied on his memory to get himself out.<br><br>*pant**pant*<br><br>Weed now stood right at the entrance of the mine. He had taken several wrong turns and had to refer back to his map. <br><br>‘Am I the only survivor?’ Weed wondered as he looked back.<br><br>As if in answer, one naked Tinaquarrier hurtled through the exit. Masin also naked too ran past Weed. Weed didn’t have the time to think why they were naked or why were they still running. His feet already felt the stomping motion of the angry mother and father scorpion giant...<br><br><br><br>----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br>Authors Note:<br><br>1. Will be edited soon. Please do expect a lot of mistakes as we worked .....very late to write this.<br>2. Thank you so much V4LKYR13 for <span style="font-style: italic;">accepting my pleading request for help</span> :twisted: to write this chapter! While all I had to do was check the language...<br>3. These two chapters have been the most fun to write. Also the fastest written chapters.<br><br>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="4">Connect to Royal Road – Elementarem Vim next Chapter?</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&amp;t=513" target="_blank">Yes</a></td><td colspan="2"><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&amp;t=348" target="_blank">No</a></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- </div>

“I think we are close. Very close.” Masin had a smile on his face now. Of course he would. They had managed to trap the monster in the middle of a large tar pit they constructed. Weed had the honored role to play decoy and lure the scorpion up since he was proven to be the swiftest. Though Weed had his apprehensions and protests, Tasha the snake commented about the last race they ran together. It was a four to one vote, four in favour of Weed the decoy and one against. Needless to say, Weed voted against the idea. In the end, Weed had no choice but to accept the plan. It was a simple plan that almost went smoothly for once. Well almost. Weed also had the unacknowledged credit for the plan. He drew inspiration from the sticky tar that the deceased Yaluk left his boots on. The dwarves at once agreed to the idea. Tar was a common nemesis to scorpions and miners. Once stuck, always stuck. Initially, they looked for a natural pitfall one which they could fill with tar and save on time. However, to find one near the lair was difficult. In the end they decided to dig. Masin stood as look out and the other four began digging. Sarkaan and Tasha grunted in amusement when they saw Weed pick up the shovel. They didn’t think Weed could help much in digging. Once Weed began, the dwarves were left staring. The dwarves grew even more astonished and impressed when they saw Weed digging and mining. Due to all the digging he did in the Northern Mountain Range, Weed’s skill level had already reached the Intermediate level. Weed was more efficient and faster in digging through the ground than most of the dwarves in the city would be. Sarkaan was amused. The elf not only ran faster than him but was probably better at digging as well. ‘Just who is this elf? He won Kendelbreu’s trust in an instant, he glows in the dark, he runs faster than the wind and digs better than a dwarf mole?’ Sarkaan approached Weed as he was digging and asked him, “Elf, once we are done with this, would you like to form a crew with me? TRRING! | -You have been offered a job in Sarkaan’s mining crew! -You will be paid 25 silvers per day for every day you work in a mine.- You will also be shared a percentage of the crew’s profit! | | --- | Weed replied, “I’m honored that you would make me such an offer. But I’m sorry but I cannot take up your offer.” TRRING! | -You have declined the job offer | | --- | “...” Sarkaan left it at that. Once the pitfall was well over 10 meters deep, they began collecting the tar. The found barrels left inside the old mine which they used to collect the tar in. The hole itself was covered using old timbers that were probably destined to be a support and leathers from his own inventory. Rabbits, Foxes and Wolves fur he had plenty. Weed used each items thinking to compensate it with a black diamond baby scorpion later. The final touch was sprinkling a layer of earth over it to make it look natural. Weed put a stacked stone to mark the beginning of the pit and the same for the end of it. It was a masterful construction. Without the markers he would not had known there was a pitfall there. There was constant questioning about the need to be so thorough, however Weed had the final say since he was decoy. He didn’t want to take the risk of having the trap fail or falling in the pit with the monster. He also pointed out how he contributed the most in this venture therefore he was temporary leader, however this argument was not only dismissed but trampled upon by the dwarves. Though divided, the four dwarves united against the idea of an elf self proclaiming to be leader of the dwarves. Finding the scorpion was not too hard. Weed only need to make god awful loud noise to be noticed. After banging his Harbringer version six’s side on a rock for a while, Masin’s nose finally gave the signal. “ITS HERE!” Just as dramatic as it’s last entrance, the earth trembled before a huge amount of earth erupted into the air. The scorpion crawled out and went almost right at Weed who was standing close to the trap. Weed only needed to run through the trap while the monster chased behind him. The plan was simple, Weed was going to run over the false cover whereas the scorpion would follow him and fall in. Placing his faith in the dwarves and their continuous claims of being masters of construction (and not mining). Masin who supervised the construction assured that it would support him easily as he ran past it quickly. He was standing on the center of the pit with Weed when he told him that. Only the monster’s weight would cause the collapse. The bit about the plan they did not anticipate was of course how closely the scorpion would be tailing behind Weed. The scorpion was right at Weed’s heels when the floor of the trap gave way. Weed could feel the pull of gravity as the floor beneath his feet fell. Summoning all his strength, Weed pushed against the falling planks of wood and leapt to safety. As if the tar in the pit wasn’t enough, the three dwarves poured barrels of sticky tar over the monster. The scorpion screeched and struggled but all its efforts were futile. It was completely stuck. Although the dwarves had been quibbling since they lost their comrades, the sight of the struggling scorpion left them in good cheer. They did not attempt to kill the monster despite it being immobilized. Its shell was like an indestructible armor. Killing the baby scorpions was easier. “I think it is just around the corner.” Masin whispered as he guided them to the nest. They were stopping near a bend in the cave. Weed’s enchanced hearing could hear the familiar scraping sounds. A lot of it, accompanied by clickings too. Without any need of being told, all of them drew their weapons. Tasha, Tinaquarrier, Masin and Saarkan had already been wearing their exceedingly heavy dwarven armor. They now completed the set by adding a large hammer on one hand and a stout metal shield on the other. The open face helmets they put on looked very heavy to Weed. He was stuck to carrying his only weapon. Harbringer version six and no heavy armor. For once in unision, they were allowed to be loud. “CHAARRRGEE!” With victory almost at hand, the dwarves underwent a transformation. Masin who was afraid for his life through out the jounrey now led the charge forward. Weed was glad to be on the back when he saw the number of the ‘baby scorpions’. There were hundreds of them. Their size vary from smallest the size of a rabbit to one as large as a fox. | -15 HP Damage-16 HP Damage-18 HP Damage-23 HP Damage-30 HP Damage-37 HP Damage-25 HP Damage-27 HP Damage-29 HP Damage -Critical Hit!- | | --- | | - Black Baby Arachnid Scorpio Killed.- Loot - Black Scorpion Tail. - You have leveled up! Now level FF/14. | | --- | It took time, but Weed managed to eventually kill off one. Weed sneaked off to the side after collecting the japtem. He was letting the dwarves do the work this time. He earned it. They were also doing much better than him. It took them a single blow to kill one while he need to rain continuous blows to kill even one. ‘This is odd. No black diamond.’ The feeling of something missing again crept into his mind. The loot he clearly said Black Arachnid Scorpio Tail. ‘Maybe I need to kill some more. Maybe it’s drop rate is really low.’ Weed did kill a lot more. He also sneakily looted a good amount of what the dwarves killed. Without their knowledge to his own pile of loot. He doubted they would notice. All four were screaming their defiance, hammering their point home with their weapon and booted feet on some occasion. ‘Something is wrong here. No black diamond still.’ Weed had killed over twenty of the dangerous critters. Also, looted about the same number. Still nothing. He moved from smaller ones to the larger ones, the loot was the same; scorpion tail. It took the five of them a while to finish off the whole lot of baby scorpions. With the floor finally visible and quiet, all five of them then began scouring the floor for the fabled diamond. There was a growing sense of disappointment looming on their faces. There were scorpion tails everywhere but no diamond. Weed then noticed something strange, while Tinaquarrier, Masin and him were searching the floor, the other two were scanning the walls. “Hey, over here! There is a door here!” Tasha shouted. Weed was most suspicious, it felt like those two never came here for the baby scorpions to begin with. Almost as if they knew that there was no black diamond loot to be earned from killing the baby scorpions. Tasha was on the other side of the large expanse that made the lair of the scorpion. Some bits of bones clearly dwarven origin were strewn around. Weed took care to be respectful and avoid stepping on them even though he was in a game as he didn’t want to upset the dwarves. “Help me up. It is too heavy.” said Tasha as he tried to pull the door. The door was made from thick metal with studdings on the edges that connect the hinges. There was no hole where the lock usually goes. Just a plain barrier.Sarkaan helped Tasha out. Other than those two, everyone was confused. Nobody expected to find a door in the monster’s lair. “Where on Versailles did that come from?” Tinaquarrier asked. Weed’s mind suddenly made the missing connection. It was all a scam in gigantic proportion. “Son of a... you two knew about the the treasure too!” Weed cursed. “You don’t know what you are talking about, elf.” Tasha said as he pulled out his daggar. “Get back.” Sarkaan shouted as he pulled out his hammer.Saarkan’s tone was very different from his usual rather meek personality. Weed did not think too much about it earlier when he saw the scorpion killing crusade. Masin and Tinaquarrier were good fighters, but the two liars were a lot better.Tinaquarrier and Masin were not responding to their little confrontation. They pushed past the two (who didn’t attack as no one wanted to spill more blood) and kicked the door open to get a good look of what was inside. There were chests stacked neatly on one corner of the room. The other corner held bars of metals stacked equally neat. Even if Weed was not a dwarf, he could guess what the whole set up means. TRRRING! | -You have found Kendelbreu’s treasure! | | --- | Weed looked unsurprised at the pop up message. “Its the old man’s treasure?” Tinaquarrier asked as he stared at the vast invaluable and priceless treasures. Even Tasha and Sarkaan were at a loss of words, they had no idea it was so much. Masin too was still rooted on the spot when the earth trembled again.*STOMP* *STOMP* Weed who was least interested in the treasure hadn’t stepped into the room, he took few steps back. The earth exploded into the air and a giant black scorpion crawled out. “DID IT ESCAPE?” Weed shouted out. The dwarves were panic stricken as well, they did not anticipate this. As Weed looked closely, it didn’t resemble the previous scorpion.....there were no signs of it being trapped in tar either.....FUCK! Weed thought as he stepped on baby scorpion carcass. Some scorpions have mating partners.... “RUN!” Tasha shouted. Three dwarves managed to escape but Sarkaan was done in. He stood closest to the scorpion got stung to death. As the ran back out the lair they met their old foe, the trapped tar covered scorpion had escaped. Covered in tar it slowly crawled towards them. It had walked into its lair and saw its babies all dead. The screech it emanated was so loud that all of them were forced to put their hands on their head. The floor and ceiling of the mine vibrated.The tar hampered the scorpion’s ability to jump. It now walked like a regular scorpion or a spider. Weed was not sure since it looked like a crossbreed. The rest did not need to be told twice. They were scattering across the large room. The treasure room remained open and forgotten at the moment. If one scorpion was not bad enough, two definitely didn’t help. It was every dwarf and elf for himself. The mother scorpion targeted Tasha first. It was probably because his body was slathered in the resulting gunk of the baby scorpion the most. Tasha pulled out his daggars, ready for a duel to the death. “I am sorry Tina...” Tasha could be heard shouting. However, Tinaquarrier and Masin were a good distance ahead of him now. All of them could only hear the victorious screech and the last scream of pure fear. “Dump your armor!” Weed shouted behind him while running. The large monsters were not satisfied with Tasha or Sarkaan alone. The parents were determined to find the remaining killers of their children. As Weed ran way ahead of the rest of the party. He could not even hear the rest of the party anymore. ‘Dammit. It dug through the floor!’ Weed thought as he passed the tar pit where the original / first scorpion was supposed to be trapped. It now had another hole beside it with tar stuck to its edges. From there, he relied on his memory to get himself out. *pant**pant* Weed now stood right at the entrance of the mine. He had taken several wrong turns and had to refer back to his map. ‘Am I the only survivor?’ Weed wondered as he looked back. As if in answer, one naked Tinaquarrier hurtled through the exit. Masin also naked too ran past Weed. Weed didn’t have the time to think why they were naked or why were they still running. His feet already felt the stomping motion of the angry mother and father scorpion giant... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Authors Note: 1. Will be edited soon. Please do expect a lot of mistakes as we worked .....very late to write this. 2. Thank you so much V4LKYR13 for accepting my pleading request for help :twisted: to write this chapter! While all I had to do was check the language... 3. These two chapters have been the most fun to write. Also the fastest written chapters. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Connect to Royal Road – Elementarem Vim next Chapter? | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Yes](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&t=513) | | [No](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&t=348) | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> The Lost Sun Revamped - Chapter 5 : Weakness<br><br><br>Sun stomped out the remnants of the campfire.<br><br>“It’s time for us to continue moving.”<br><br>The paladins finished up with their breakfast and picked up their weapons.<br><br>The atmosphere was sharply different from the previous day. Before the expedition, they had been inexperienced and rebellious. Under Sun’s tutelage, they have become disciplined members of the Church of Freya.<br><br>Of course, there would have been little effect on their behavior from simply buffing and healing them.<br><br>In the beginning, he didn’t really have any idea about what to do to get the rookies disciplined. But Sun simply did whatever he felt like doing. He would put the paladins that didn’t like him at the front of the squadron, where they inevitably place their life in mortal peril. He would spare only the most minimal of healing for them and eventually they would get their act together.<br><br>The paladins that were disrespectful would find themselves situated at the back of the group. They wouldn’t think much of it at the time, but after a few battles they would be ordered to the front. At which point they would be under-leveled and insufficiently skilled. After fighting a few battles and realizing how dangerous it was for their level they would be placed in the middle of the formation, where they could safely acquire experience with a considerably lower risk.<br><br>Scouting missions were given to the paladins he liked and the items from hunting were distributed according to how he felt.<br><br>The opposition eventually died out within the group as he gained favor with a larger number of paladins. Furthermore, his high faith stat for his level gained him a certain respect from the more devoted paladins. As his leadership and charisma increased, the more the paladins trusted him rather than simply going along with the group.<br><br>And then there was Alexander.<br><br>Reckless, nonchalant, and weird.<br><br>Those were the words he would use to describe him.<br><br>Although he was relatively strong; at little stronger than the paladins in group, he would always rush into monsters without any hint of a plan. In the middle of combat, Sun would look over and see him doing the most random things.<br><br>“Paladin in the front, use your shields! Paladins in the back use holy magic! Everyone else kill or do something!”<br><br>Sun was shouting really unspecific orders to the platoon.<br>The paladins had become accustomed to it and follow his orders.<br><br>“Under the protection of the goddess you shall not pass!”<br><br>The paladins in front cast their heavy defensive skills.<br><br>“The enemies I face shall meet the judgment of the blade!”<br><br>Sun looked at his platoon, pleased at the progress they were making. It was their fifth day of the expedition and he was nearly out of holy water. He looked around to check everyone’s status, healing those below 70% health. However, looking around, he noticed that Alexander was nowhere to be seen. It was then that Sun looked over to his side, where he noticed Alexander standing there talking to himself.<br><br>‘What the hell is this guy doing here?’<br><br>He had ordered him to be part of the frontal guard, but here he was sitting next to him talking to thin air.<br><br>“So yea, for the last few days I’ve been going along with this expedition with the church. Yea, I know it’s been quite a bit of time since I’ve come back to the guild but I can’t just leave or I’ll get penalized for the quest. I think we’ll be done with it in a few days. I’ll talk to you later; the commander is looking at me funny.”<br><br>“Ah, it seems like the paladins are done fighting already”<br><br>“What are you doing here when you’re supposed to be over there?”<br><br>Sun questioned him while pointing towards the paladins.<br><br>“Well, I was busy PMing someone so I couldn’t go to the front. I was busy talking to my guildies about where I was and the chain quest I had.”<br><br>‘I don’t understand this guy.’<br><br>Sun didn’t want to waste any time trying to decipher the nonsense he was saying.<br><br>“I never thought that I would ever have to feel like Storm.” He muttered to himself silently.<br><br>The monsters remained relatively the same level throughout the dungeon so the rate at which they were leveling decreased considerably. However, it was still relatively decent experience.<br><br>Soon they reached a fork in the road.<br><br>“Commander, there appears to be two separate paths.”<br><br>“That’s strange.”<br><br>Sun thought back.<br><br>“According to what Jacob had said, there were only twenty-five passages in the entire cave and they were supposed to be singular paths.”<br><br>Sun walked over to the two passages. He looked around for any signs of the right path. Picking up a rock, he threw it into each of the passages. The only reply was a dull sound from the rock making contact with the ground. He tried a number of other things to see if he could get some response but all of them failed.<br><br>“Commander should we split into two groups and explore each route or stick together?”<br><br>The paladins looked towards him for guidance.<br><br>“Give me a moment.”<br><br>Sun began to think about his next course of action. He closed his eyes and then tried something he hadn’t done in a while.<br><br>Elemental Perception!<br><br>A skill he had commonly used in his world but ceased working ever since he came here. It was a skill that primarily focused on sensing the position of objects based on their elemental composition. Despite initially failing when he came to this world, after he had converted to the priest class he was slightly able to use it.<br><br>He tried scanning through the two paths, but most of the route was blurry. However, after comparing the two routes, he came to a decision.<br><br>“I feel a faint holy presence coming from the left passage. On the right passage, I feel a larger dark presence.”<br><br>“So what is it that we are going to do?”<br><br>The paladins trusted in his judgment, either that or they were resigned to their fate of following him around..<br><br>“There might be another platoon of paladins in the left passage. On the other hand, there seems to be something at the end of the right passage. It could possibly be what we are searching for.”<br><br>“The five of you take the left passage. If there is a platoon of paladins, then rendezvous with their group. If there is a considerable amount of danger, then return along this path to us. The rest of us will enter the right passage.”<br><br>The five paladins he picked went into the left passage.<br><br>The rest of the platoon continued on to the right passage. They continued walking down the path for an hour.<br><br>‘This is strange…’<br><br>Sun thought to himself. Usually by now, there would have been at least two or three undead monster attacks. However, ever since they entered the cave, they have not seen a single undead creature. He would have dismissed it as nothing had he not known that the cave was supposed to be crawling with the undead.<br><br>Alexander, on the other hand, was bored at the lack of undead.<br><br>To alleviate his boredom, he started making strange hand gestures with his hands. Sun didn’t think much of it; he simply thought that he was doing something random again. However, he looked over at him again. Seeing Alexander manipulate his hands in the air reminded him of something. Then he realized what Alexander had been doing.<br><br>‘That looks like what I do when I click on those box things that show up!’<br><br>Sun came to the realization that Alexander was capable of doing the same things as him.<br><br>‘I should ask him about these things later’<br><br>Finishing this quest took priority and he could ask Alexander later. He was finally going to get some answers about where he was and how to get back.<br><br>The group of paladins halted and took out their weapons. Something was moving around up ahead.<br><br>Though he could guess what it was, he had to make sure.<br><br>“Who goes there!?”<br><br>Sun yelled into the darkness.<br><br>From the shadows came a number of paladins. Aside from their armor being covered in blood, they looked relatively fine.<br><br>“It’s the paladins from the Church of Lexington! They’re alive!.”<br><br>Some of the platoon members walked up to greet their fellow paladins.<br><br>However, they were moving strangely.<br><br>Sun had a bad feeling. He quickly turned on his Elemental Perception and looked over the paladins. There was no trace of holy element coming from them.<br><br>“Get away from them!”<br><br>“What is it Commander?”<br><br>One of the paladins that had come out of the cave lifted his sword up.<br><br>“Holy Fire!”<br>A white flame burst from below the paladin, engulfing him.<br><br>“Commander, what are you doing!”<br><br>“Look carefully!”<br><br>The paladins directed his gaze towards the Lexington paladins.<br><br>Now illuminated by the holy fire that Sun had cast, the injuries on the paladins were now visible.<br>Many of them had large gashes around their entire bodies and shattered armor.<br><br>“Impossible!”<br><br>“Holy Fire!”<br><br>Sun recast his spell on the next paladin.<br><br>“So this is what has become of the Paladins that disappeared in last month’s undead scourge.”<br><br>One month prior, the Church in Lexington suffered a huge casualty from an undead scourge. In the confusion, many paladins were unaccounted for at the end of the battle.<br><br>“Those filthy bastards…”the paladins were furious that their brothers were transformed into undead slaves.”<br><br>Sun continued to cast the holy spell.<br><br>Holy Fire [3]<br><br>An arcane magic used by priests. In the series of arcane magic, these skills were commonly used by high priests during the warring period. In the arcane magic series, a total of 20 spells are in existence. There is no way to learn the spells except through self-discovery. This spell is a variation of fire magic, with holy magic as its base. It burns through the enemy with an incinerating flame. The damage towards the undead is doubled. The spell’s damage is dealt to the enemy over time, as long as the enemy stays within the spell field. The area of effect and duration increases with the skill’s level.<br>Cost: 125 mana<br>Spell lasts for 10 seconds.<br>Damaged based on Priest-related stats.<br>Area of effect: 1.2 square meters<br><br>Holy Fire was extremely useful for dispatching slow moving undead. As the skill level increases, then spell could be used for a large number of enemies. However, now it was good enough to get rid of lower level undead and later on would have additional skill effects.<br><br>It was a long, painful fight for the paladins to have to kill their deceased fellows but it had to be done. After the fight, it was dreadfully quiet. None of the paladins were willing to speak up and could only cast their eyes downward in anger.<br>The paladins picked up the remains of the paladins and moved them to one place.<br>Sun cast a final Holy Fire on them. Holy Fire was an offensive spell made for war. However, it had another uncommon use.<br><br>By burning the body, it could no longer be desecrated by the necromancers for their purposes. Furthermore, it purified the souls of the deceased so that they couldn’t be brought back as ghosts.<br><br>“In the name of the goddess, they will pay for what they have done.”<br><br>One by one, they put their swords together. Sun walked forwards and joined them with his staff.<br><br>“Let’s go.”<br><br>As they kept down the path, they saw more and more undead paladins. They cut through each wave and burned each and every body.<br><br>The paladins did not falter and their determination grew with every battle.<br><br>It was not the only thing that was growing. From hunting the undead, their levels have increased substantially. The undead paladins were higher level than the undead they had faced up until now, but the pace of the fighting did not slow down. They continued along the horrid path for a few more days. After several days of continuous battle, the paladins reached an average level of 60. Sun, on the other hand, managed to leech enough experience to level 45<br><br>“Commander, I see a light up ahead.”<br><br>Sun continued onwards with his platoon. At the end of the path was a large opening littered with the various corpses, some of which were the remnants of the Lexington paladins. Sitting on a throne of corpses was a single man.<br><br>“So the dogs of the church have managed to make it this far.”<br><br>“Don’t fuck with us!”<br><br>Some of the paladins yelled back in rage.<br><br>“I don’t know what you possibly mean..”<br><br>The man played around dishonestly. He picked up a corpse off the ground and reanimated it with dark energy.<br><br>“I’ll let you run away and get your pitiful reinforcements from your little church.”<br><br>The necromancer said arrogantly. The necromancer was more than confident in his own abilities.<br><br>“Or, I can kill you all right now. Take your choice.”<br><br>Sun spoke up in defiance.<br><br>“That’s enough out of you. You will pay for your crimes against humanity!”<br><br>The necromancer was still calm as ever, at least until he looked up and saw Sun’s face.<br><br>“You!”<br><br>The necromancer boiled over with rage.<br><br>“Once again you have come to foil our plans! This time you will not escape. You, and everyone here, will die!”<br><br>The necromancer stomped, making the ground shake, as he rapidly drained his mana to animate all the corpses on the floor. In an instant, hundreds of undead began to stand up from the ground. There were so many types of undead: undead mages, knights, skeletons, archers, zombies, hellhounds, abominations, and undead paladins.<br><br>“Kill them all. Their bodies will be fuel for the Embinyu god.”<br><br>The necromancer commanded his minions as he sat back down onto his throne.<br><br>They began to fight against the undead legion. With the power of the holy blessings that Sun provided, they were able to fight against the enemy. However, there was a limit to what the buff was able to do. Sun devoted entirely to healing the paladins with his holy magic, since they were receiving an absurdly large amount of damage. There was a limit to his mana and soon his ran out. With no more supporting magic, the number of paladins began to decrease as they were killed by the undead.<br><br>Backing into the passage, they had already lost ten paladins. An undead knight broke through the paladins’ defense towards Sun.<br><br>‘Shit. No more mana.’<br><br>Sun’s mana was completely depleted and couldn’t use any magic to dispatch the undead.<br>He closed his eyes as the undead knight’s sword swung his way. The paladins were busy fending off the undead and couldn’t help.<br><br>“Shiiing”<br><br>Something struck against the undead knight’s sword.<br><br>But it was not his body.<br><br>“Alexander!”<br><br>Alexander parried the blow with his shield. Then he cleaved through the undead knight with his sword.<br><br>“Are you alright?”<br><br>He checked the condition of the commander.<br><br>“Yea, thanks.”<br><br>“No problem. If you had died, then the quest would penalize me.”<br><br>Once again, he was saying something incomprehensible but at the moment that did not matter to him.<br><br>Their situation had not changed in the slightest. They were still drastically outnumbered by the undead.<br><br>“I think I got an idea.”<br><br>Alexander said amidst fighting the undead.<br><br>“What is is?”<br><br>Sun asked, as he used some of his regenerated mana to heal and purge undead.<br><br>“They’re being controlled by the necromancer right?”<br><br>Sun nodded in reply.<br><br>“Then if we kill him, we win.”<br><br>Sun looked at Alexander as if he had said something completely retarded.<br><br>“And how do you expect to reach him through all the undead?”<br><br>Without a single plan in mind, Alexander charged through the undead wave.<br><br>He didn’t get very far as more undead struck him down onto the floor and started to literally kick him to death.<br><br>His health bar dropped rapidly as he was attacked by the undead trampling all over him.<br><br>“Holy Seeking Strike!”<br><br>He threw his blade out towards the necromancer. Then he died a slow, horrible painful death to the undead feet.<br><br>-Swish-<br><br>The necromancer didn’t see the sword coming for him. That was reasonable since the sword’s aim was horribly off-target and instead of aiming for a vital point like the head or chest, it flew and stabbed him in the leg.<br><br>“GAHKH?!”<br><br>“The fuck is this shit!? I don’t care about their bodies anymore. Just kill...”<br><br>-Boooom-<br><br>“What is it now?”<br><br>The necromancer was displeased with being interrupted in the middle of his command.<br><br>“Don’t you think that it’s a little bit early to be gloating?”<br><br>“Calvin!”<br><br>“You did well by yourself Sun. Let us take it from here.”<br><br>“Captain, are you alright?!” the five paladins he had sent down the left passage had met up with Calvin’s platoon.<br><br>Calvin and the paladins from the Citadel of Serabourg walked towards the mass of undead.<br><br>“Don’t be a fool Calvin! There’s no way that you can handle that many undead.”<br><br>“Let the power of the divine cleanse their souls! Holy Smite!”<br><br>Calvin pointed his finger into the air as he released a large amount of holy magic.<br>The undead burst into flames one after another. Close to a third of the undead were vaporized by the holy spell.<br><br>“Forwards.”<br><br>The paladins from Serabourg dashed forwards and cut through the undead.<br><br>The necromancer panicked at the sudden change in the situation. He tried to get up and run away but Alexander’s sword was firmly nailing him to the chair.<br><br>Sun did not stand by idly. After regaining some of his mana, he walked up to Calvin. Then he held his hands out and formed a bow of light. Using his bow, he shot the undead with his Divine Light Arrows.<br><br>Soon the undead were cleared and necromancer was depleted of his mana.<br><br>“Damn you. We will not stand for you constantly meddling in our affairs.”<br><br>The necromancer cursed at him.<br><br>“I have never met you in my life”<br><br>Sun told the necromancer coldly. All of the paladins gathered around the necromancer.<br><br>Then they plunged their swords into him repeatedly.<br><br>With a shriek of pain, the necromancer died but not before cursing him one last time.<br><br>“Damn you Angel! The Embinyu will get you!”<br><br>Sun, Calvin, and the rest of the paladins made their way back to the entrance after a few days and went back to Lexington.<br><br>“What was the progress of your expedition?”<br><br>Jacob asked Sun and Calvin when they returned.<br>After they reported the results of their expedition, Jacob gave a sigh.<br><br>“I see. It is a pity that Alexander met his end like that. I had only meant for him to go on a scouting mission, but to think that it ended up like this. He was a most valiant paladin.”<br><br>Jacob called together the expedition for an announcement.<br><br>“The expedition to clear away the necromancers from the Dawes Caverns was a success. We have exterminated ten necromancers within the cave, along with countless undead. However, it pains me to say that we have lost a number of our brothers in this mission. They were all brave and valiant soldiers that have passed away in the middle of combat. We must remember them for their actions and how they fought for peace.”<br><br>“I would like to dedicate this grave marker to the men that perished here in the battle against the undead. We will live and carry on the peace that they sought to maintain!”<br><br>Jacob walked over to a large rock and drove a single holy paladin blade deep into the center.<br><br>“May those brave men rest in peace.”<br><br>Sun stood there silently. He had thought that he would be able to do something this time, but it was always him that was being saved. Back in his world it was the same, nothing has change since then. He was still weak. He clenched his fist tightly<br><br>“Sun, come back with me to the Citadel of Serabourg. We can decide what to do after we get there.”<br><br>“You’re right. I need to decide where I need to go and what I need to do from here on out.”<br><br>‘And what this Angel nonsense is about…’<br><br>Sun released his fist, but not before a few drop of blood fell to the floor.<br><br>They left the city of Lexington and returned to the Citadel of Serabourg.<br><br>“…”<br><br>“…”<br><br>“We need more stone over here!”<br><br>“We got it. Someone go and rebuild a perimeter around the town.”<br><br>“Commander, one of our holy brothers is here to see you.”<br><br>Jacob looked up from his work to see his fellow paladin.<br><br>“Commander, I have returned.”<br><br>“As expected of a freedman, you have come back as expected.”<br><br>Alexander logged back on after a whole day and walked back out of the dungeon.<br>Then he came back to the church and turned in his quest.<br><br>“Because of your extraordinary accomplishments in this mission, I will honor you to the best of my ability.”<br><br>After giving him the reward, Jacob looked up into the sky.<br><br>“Reconstruction will take us quite some time. However, soon we will restore order to Lexington and it will prosper once more. It will take time, but will you assist us in the reconstruction of Lexington?”<br><br>“Sure, but can I invite my friends?”<br><br>“Of course.” </div>

The Lost Sun Revamped - Chapter 5 : Weakness Sun stomped out the remnants of the campfire. “It’s time for us to continue moving.” The paladins finished up with their breakfast and picked up their weapons. The atmosphere was sharply different from the previous day. Before the expedition, they had been inexperienced and rebellious. Under Sun’s tutelage, they have become disciplined members of the Church of Freya. Of course, there would have been little effect on their behavior from simply buffing and healing them. In the beginning, he didn’t really have any idea about what to do to get the rookies disciplined. But Sun simply did whatever he felt like doing. He would put the paladins that didn’t like him at the front of the squadron, where they inevitably place their life in mortal peril. He would spare only the most minimal of healing for them and eventually they would get their act together. The paladins that were disrespectful would find themselves situated at the back of the group. They wouldn’t think much of it at the time, but after a few battles they would be ordered to the front. At which point they would be under-leveled and insufficiently skilled. After fighting a few battles and realizing how dangerous it was for their level they would be placed in the middle of the formation, where they could safely acquire experience with a considerably lower risk. Scouting missions were given to the paladins he liked and the items from hunting were distributed according to how he felt. The opposition eventually died out within the group as he gained favor with a larger number of paladins. Furthermore, his high faith stat for his level gained him a certain respect from the more devoted paladins. As his leadership and charisma increased, the more the paladins trusted him rather than simply going along with the group. And then there was Alexander. Reckless, nonchalant, and weird. Those were the words he would use to describe him. Although he was relatively strong; at little stronger than the paladins in group, he would always rush into monsters without any hint of a plan. In the middle of combat, Sun would look over and see him doing the most random things. “Paladin in the front, use your shields! Paladins in the back use holy magic! Everyone else kill or do something!” Sun was shouting really unspecific orders to the platoon. The paladins had become accustomed to it and follow his orders. “Under the protection of the goddess you shall not pass!” The paladins in front cast their heavy defensive skills. “The enemies I face shall meet the judgment of the blade!” Sun looked at his platoon, pleased at the progress they were making. It was their fifth day of the expedition and he was nearly out of holy water. He looked around to check everyone’s status, healing those below 70% health. However, looking around, he noticed that Alexander was nowhere to be seen. It was then that Sun looked over to his side, where he noticed Alexander standing there talking to himself. ‘What the hell is this guy doing here?’ He had ordered him to be part of the frontal guard, but here he was sitting next to him talking to thin air. “So yea, for the last few days I’ve been going along with this expedition with the church. Yea, I know it’s been quite a bit of time since I’ve come back to the guild but I can’t just leave or I’ll get penalized for the quest. I think we’ll be done with it in a few days. I’ll talk to you later; the commander is looking at me funny.” “Ah, it seems like the paladins are done fighting already” “What are you doing here when you’re supposed to be over there?” Sun questioned him while pointing towards the paladins. “Well, I was busy PMing someone so I couldn’t go to the front. I was busy talking to my guildies about where I was and the chain quest I had.” ‘I don’t understand this guy.’ Sun didn’t want to waste any time trying to decipher the nonsense he was saying. “I never thought that I would ever have to feel like Storm.” He muttered to himself silently. The monsters remained relatively the same level throughout the dungeon so the rate at which they were leveling decreased considerably. However, it was still relatively decent experience. Soon they reached a fork in the road. “Commander, there appears to be two separate paths.” “That’s strange.” Sun thought back. “According to what Jacob had said, there were only twenty-five passages in the entire cave and they were supposed to be singular paths.” Sun walked over to the two passages. He looked around for any signs of the right path. Picking up a rock, he threw it into each of the passages. The only reply was a dull sound from the rock making contact with the ground. He tried a number of other things to see if he could get some response but all of them failed. “Commander should we split into two groups and explore each route or stick together?” The paladins looked towards him for guidance. “Give me a moment.” Sun began to think about his next course of action. He closed his eyes and then tried something he hadn’t done in a while. Elemental Perception! A skill he had commonly used in his world but ceased working ever since he came here. It was a skill that primarily focused on sensing the position of objects based on their elemental composition. Despite initially failing when he came to this world, after he had converted to the priest class he was slightly able to use it. He tried scanning through the two paths, but most of the route was blurry. However, after comparing the two routes, he came to a decision. “I feel a faint holy presence coming from the left passage. On the right passage, I feel a larger dark presence.” “So what is it that we are going to do?” The paladins trusted in his judgment, either that or they were resigned to their fate of following him around.. “There might be another platoon of paladins in the left passage. On the other hand, there seems to be something at the end of the right passage. It could possibly be what we are searching for.” “The five of you take the left passage. If there is a platoon of paladins, then rendezvous with their group. If there is a considerable amount of danger, then return along this path to us. The rest of us will enter the right passage.” The five paladins he picked went into the left passage. The rest of the platoon continued on to the right passage. They continued walking down the path for an hour. ‘This is strange…’ Sun thought to himself. Usually by now, there would have been at least two or three undead monster attacks. However, ever since they entered the cave, they have not seen a single undead creature. He would have dismissed it as nothing had he not known that the cave was supposed to be crawling with the undead. Alexander, on the other hand, was bored at the lack of undead. To alleviate his boredom, he started making strange hand gestures with his hands. Sun didn’t think much of it; he simply thought that he was doing something random again. However, he looked over at him again. Seeing Alexander manipulate his hands in the air reminded him of something. Then he realized what Alexander had been doing. ‘That looks like what I do when I click on those box things that show up!’ Sun came to the realization that Alexander was capable of doing the same things as him. ‘I should ask him about these things later’ Finishing this quest took priority and he could ask Alexander later. He was finally going to get some answers about where he was and how to get back. The group of paladins halted and took out their weapons. Something was moving around up ahead. Though he could guess what it was, he had to make sure. “Who goes there!?” Sun yelled into the darkness. From the shadows came a number of paladins. Aside from their armor being covered in blood, they looked relatively fine. “It’s the paladins from the Church of Lexington! They’re alive!.” Some of the platoon members walked up to greet their fellow paladins. However, they were moving strangely. Sun had a bad feeling. He quickly turned on his Elemental Perception and looked over the paladins. There was no trace of holy element coming from them. “Get away from them!” “What is it Commander?” One of the paladins that had come out of the cave lifted his sword up. “Holy Fire!” A white flame burst from below the paladin, engulfing him. “Commander, what are you doing!” “Look carefully!” The paladins directed his gaze towards the Lexington paladins. Now illuminated by the holy fire that Sun had cast, the injuries on the paladins were now visible. Many of them had large gashes around their entire bodies and shattered armor. “Impossible!” “Holy Fire!” Sun recast his spell on the next paladin. “So this is what has become of the Paladins that disappeared in last month’s undead scourge.” One month prior, the Church in Lexington suffered a huge casualty from an undead scourge. In the confusion, many paladins were unaccounted for at the end of the battle. “Those filthy bastards…”the paladins were furious that their brothers were transformed into undead slaves.” Sun continued to cast the holy spell. Holy Fire [3] An arcane magic used by priests. In the series of arcane magic, these skills were commonly used by high priests during the warring period. In the arcane magic series, a total of 20 spells are in existence. There is no way to learn the spells except through self-discovery. This spell is a variation of fire magic, with holy magic as its base. It burns through the enemy with an incinerating flame. The damage towards the undead is doubled. The spell’s damage is dealt to the enemy over time, as long as the enemy stays within the spell field. The area of effect and duration increases with the skill’s level. Cost: 125 mana Spell lasts for 10 seconds. Damaged based on Priest-related stats. Area of effect: 1.2 square meters Holy Fire was extremely useful for dispatching slow moving undead. As the skill level increases, then spell could be used for a large number of enemies. However, now it was good enough to get rid of lower level undead and later on would have additional skill effects. It was a long, painful fight for the paladins to have to kill their deceased fellows but it had to be done. After the fight, it was dreadfully quiet. None of the paladins were willing to speak up and could only cast their eyes downward in anger. The paladins picked up the remains of the paladins and moved them to one place. Sun cast a final Holy Fire on them. Holy Fire was an offensive spell made for war. However, it had another uncommon use. By burning the body, it could no longer be desecrated by the necromancers for their purposes. Furthermore, it purified the souls of the deceased so that they couldn’t be brought back as ghosts. “In the name of the goddess, they will pay for what they have done.” One by one, they put their swords together. Sun walked forwards and joined them with his staff. “Let’s go.” As they kept down the path, they saw more and more undead paladins. They cut through each wave and burned each and every body. The paladins did not falter and their determination grew with every battle. It was not the only thing that was growing. From hunting the undead, their levels have increased substantially. The undead paladins were higher level than the undead they had faced up until now, but the pace of the fighting did not slow down. They continued along the horrid path for a few more days. After several days of continuous battle, the paladins reached an average level of 60. Sun, on the other hand, managed to leech enough experience to level 45 “Commander, I see a light up ahead.” Sun continued onwards with his platoon. At the end of the path was a large opening littered with the various corpses, some of which were the remnants of the Lexington paladins. Sitting on a throne of corpses was a single man. “So the dogs of the church have managed to make it this far.” “Don’t fuck with us!” Some of the paladins yelled back in rage. “I don’t know what you possibly mean..” The man played around dishonestly. He picked up a corpse off the ground and reanimated it with dark energy. “I’ll let you run away and get your pitiful reinforcements from your little church.” The necromancer said arrogantly. The necromancer was more than confident in his own abilities. “Or, I can kill you all right now. Take your choice.” Sun spoke up in defiance. “That’s enough out of you. You will pay for your crimes against humanity!” The necromancer was still calm as ever, at least until he looked up and saw Sun’s face. “You!” The necromancer boiled over with rage. “Once again you have come to foil our plans! This time you will not escape. You, and everyone here, will die!” The necromancer stomped, making the ground shake, as he rapidly drained his mana to animate all the corpses on the floor. In an instant, hundreds of undead began to stand up from the ground. There were so many types of undead: undead mages, knights, skeletons, archers, zombies, hellhounds, abominations, and undead paladins. “Kill them all. Their bodies will be fuel for the Embinyu god.” The necromancer commanded his minions as he sat back down onto his throne. They began to fight against the undead legion. With the power of the holy blessings that Sun provided, they were able to fight against the enemy. However, there was a limit to what the buff was able to do. Sun devoted entirely to healing the paladins with his holy magic, since they were receiving an absurdly large amount of damage. There was a limit to his mana and soon his ran out. With no more supporting magic, the number of paladins began to decrease as they were killed by the undead. Backing into the passage, they had already lost ten paladins. An undead knight broke through the paladins’ defense towards Sun. ‘Shit. No more mana.’ Sun’s mana was completely depleted and couldn’t use any magic to dispatch the undead. He closed his eyes as the undead knight’s sword swung his way. The paladins were busy fending off the undead and couldn’t help. “Shiiing” Something struck against the undead knight’s sword. But it was not his body. “Alexander!” Alexander parried the blow with his shield. Then he cleaved through the undead knight with his sword. “Are you alright?” He checked the condition of the commander. “Yea, thanks.” “No problem. If you had died, then the quest would penalize me.” Once again, he was saying something incomprehensible but at the moment that did not matter to him. Their situation had not changed in the slightest. They were still drastically outnumbered by the undead. “I think I got an idea.” Alexander said amidst fighting the undead. “What is is?” Sun asked, as he used some of his regenerated mana to heal and purge undead. “They’re being controlled by the necromancer right?” Sun nodded in reply. “Then if we kill him, we win.” Sun looked at Alexander as if he had said something completely retarded. “And how do you expect to reach him through all the undead?” Without a single plan in mind, Alexander charged through the undead wave. He didn’t get very far as more undead struck him down onto the floor and started to literally kick him to death. His health bar dropped rapidly as he was attacked by the undead trampling all over him. “Holy Seeking Strike!” He threw his blade out towards the necromancer. Then he died a slow, horrible painful death to the undead feet. -Swish- The necromancer didn’t see the sword coming for him. That was reasonable since the sword’s aim was horribly off-target and instead of aiming for a vital point like the head or chest, it flew and stabbed him in the leg. “GAHKH?!” “The fuck is this shit!? I don’t care about their bodies anymore. Just kill...” -Boooom- “What is it now?” The necromancer was displeased with being interrupted in the middle of his command. “Don’t you think that it’s a little bit early to be gloating?” “Calvin!” “You did well by yourself Sun. Let us take it from here.” “Captain, are you alright?!” the five paladins he had sent down the left passage had met up with Calvin’s platoon. Calvin and the paladins from the Citadel of Serabourg walked towards the mass of undead. “Don’t be a fool Calvin! There’s no way that you can handle that many undead.” “Let the power of the divine cleanse their souls! Holy Smite!” Calvin pointed his finger into the air as he released a large amount of holy magic. The undead burst into flames one after another. Close to a third of the undead were vaporized by the holy spell. “Forwards.” The paladins from Serabourg dashed forwards and cut through the undead. The necromancer panicked at the sudden change in the situation. He tried to get up and run away but Alexander’s sword was firmly nailing him to the chair. Sun did not stand by idly. After regaining some of his mana, he walked up to Calvin. Then he held his hands out and formed a bow of light. Using his bow, he shot the undead with his Divine Light Arrows. Soon the undead were cleared and necromancer was depleted of his mana. “Damn you. We will not stand for you constantly meddling in our affairs.” The necromancer cursed at him. “I have never met you in my life” Sun told the necromancer coldly. All of the paladins gathered around the necromancer. Then they plunged their swords into him repeatedly. With a shriek of pain, the necromancer died but not before cursing him one last time. “Damn you Angel! The Embinyu will get you!” Sun, Calvin, and the rest of the paladins made their way back to the entrance after a few days and went back to Lexington. “What was the progress of your expedition?” Jacob asked Sun and Calvin when they returned. After they reported the results of their expedition, Jacob gave a sigh. “I see. It is a pity that Alexander met his end like that. I had only meant for him to go on a scouting mission, but to think that it ended up like this. He was a most valiant paladin.” Jacob called together the expedition for an announcement. “The expedition to clear away the necromancers from the Dawes Caverns was a success. We have exterminated ten necromancers within the cave, along with countless undead. However, it pains me to say that we have lost a number of our brothers in this mission. They were all brave and valiant soldiers that have passed away in the middle of combat. We must remember them for their actions and how they fought for peace.” “I would like to dedicate this grave marker to the men that perished here in the battle against the undead. We will live and carry on the peace that they sought to maintain!” Jacob walked over to a large rock and drove a single holy paladin blade deep into the center. “May those brave men rest in peace.” Sun stood there silently. He had thought that he would be able to do something this time, but it was always him that was being saved. Back in his world it was the same, nothing has change since then. He was still weak. He clenched his fist tightly “Sun, come back with me to the Citadel of Serabourg. We can decide what to do after we get there.” “You’re right. I need to decide where I need to go and what I need to do from here on out.” ‘And what this Angel nonsense is about…’ Sun released his fist, but not before a few drop of blood fell to the floor. They left the city of Lexington and returned to the Citadel of Serabourg. “…” “…” “We need more stone over here!” “We got it. Someone go and rebuild a perimeter around the town.” “Commander, one of our holy brothers is here to see you.” Jacob looked up from his work to see his fellow paladin. “Commander, I have returned.” “As expected of a freedman, you have come back as expected.” Alexander logged back on after a whole day and walked back out of the dungeon. Then he came back to the church and turned in his quest. “Because of your extraordinary accomplishments in this mission, I will honor you to the best of my ability.” After giving him the reward, Jacob looked up into the sky. “Reconstruction will take us quite some time. However, soon we will restore order to Lexington and it will prosper once more. It will take time, but will you assist us in the reconstruction of Lexington?” “Sure, but can I invite my friends?” “Of course.”

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> *<br><br>We were travelling from the Abandoned Drake Cave after a rather unfruitful hunt. We didn't earn much, and so I intended to travel to a popular dungeon that I heard of. Exploring is fun and all, but I'm losing money here. It was probably best to go stock up and level up a fair bit before I kept moving. There was a rather major problem, though...<br><br>"Howard, I'm hungry..."<br><br>"Eh? But we have already stopped twice for meals today, haven't we? Where's the rabbit jerky I gave you?"<br><br>Holy crap. It has only been 2 days since I gave the child a share of the rabbit jerky that I stocked up, you know? It was a pretty sizable portion as well...<br><br>"Tooth had some, and I had some... And then well... you know." The kid gave a sheepish grin.<br><br>Ah, so there's the problem.<br><br>The culprit's accomplice in question, a lizard man with a diminutive build, grunted and squealed several times in succession.<br><br>"Oh, and Tooth says he's hungry as well."<br><br>I wanted to say something offensive, but both of my... companions are still rather tender in age... Instead, I have to play the responsible older mentor...<br><br>Having children with you is troublesome...<br><br>I can see why so many young couples prefer to advance their careers first.<br><br>I sighed.<br><br>"Okay, we will stop for a meal."<br><br>"Yay!!"<br><br>"There's just one problem..."<br><br>"What is it?" The kid and his lizard companion stared at me questioningly.<br><br>"See for yourself." I showed them the contents of my bag. Both my young “protégés” took a good look...<br><br>... and made a rather good impression of that guy depicted in Edvard Munch's "The Scream".<br><br>**<br><br>He had fished up another large one today.<br><br>The poor fish suffered a stab through the eye and was killed instantly.<br><br>"Ah, the eye was the best part..."<br><br>The old man that was accompanying him today was dismayed at the loss.<br><br>He didn't make any comments. Then again, he never did. He dragged the now limp carcass to shore and hung it up to let the blood drip dry.<br><br>Then again, it was custom for some ethnic cultures to eat the fish eyes, considering it to be quite the delicacy. However, he had never tried cooking the fish the way others would, preferring to boil, roast, or salt the fish before eating it. Occasionally, he would drain the fish blood and eat the meat raw. That was the only way he knew how to prepare a fish. Several months marooned on a deserted island can do that to a person. As such, the notion of eating the fish's eyes was a foreign one to him.<br><br>"Say, would you like to come to our place for dinner tonight? The missus's making fish the proper way. You will like it, it's a guarantee." The old man said this as he nodded encouragingly.<br><br>He remained silent, not knowing what to say.<br><br>"I'll take that as a yes then!! Silence means consent... See you at sunset!!"<br><br>With that, the old man happily left, oblivious to the frantic reaction that occurred.<br><br>***<br><br>"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, THERE'S NO FOOD LEFT?!"<br><br>"GRAAAAAAHH!!!"<br><br>And there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth.<br><br>"Exactly what I meant. There's no food left. Here, see for yourself."<br><br>"WE ALREADY SAW!!"<br><br>And yet, the irrefutable truth was laid bare for all to see. There was no food left. That which I have feared for the most part of our trip has come to pass at a surprisingly early part of our journey.<br><br>I had stocked my "larders" generously to last a considerable period of time for one person, but a second, and soon a third addition to our rag-tag group put a rather large strain on my stockpile. We haven't exactly completed anything substantial, you know? I really fear about the future of the party at this rate.<br><br>"Well, there's no helping it. Pack your bags, we are going hunting."<br><br>"Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh??"<br><br>"Don't "ehhhhh" me. You lot ate my entire stock of food, even the stale bread that I brought along. Come on now, if we don't hunt, you don't eat. And that means no roast meat..."<br><br>"Ehhhh?"<br><br>"No jerky."<br><br>"Ehhhhhhhhhhhhh?"<br><br>"And let's see... no stew, no bread, no soup, nothing that I can cook."<br><br>"Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh?"<br><br>"But need is no cause for fear."<br><br>Woah, a shining light of hope!! I almost see angels descending, too!! Funny how much morale can be built due to the prospect of filling one's stomach.<br><br>"I somehow got my hands on this!! Feast your eyes on this treasure!!"<br><br>I rummaged through my bag...<br><br>"Ta-dah!!"<br><br>... and dug out a green packet.<br><br>Yes, for some strange reason, I had found these for sale at the Warrior's Guild back at the Sleepy Fortress. Out of nostalgia, I picked up a few packets. Surprisingly, they cost less than even the bread that was for sale everywhere, so I made sure to pick up a large quantity when I found out about the cheap price. Of course, those were for emergencies only, but I believe now was a case that qualifies as one.<br><br>"What is that?"<br><br>"Gaaaah?"<br><br>Surprisingly, for their ability to eat their way through my food, I am shocked that they didn't manage to find this treasure.<br><br>"Why don't you give it a try?" I gave them an encouraging smile. I took a packet for myself and carefully opened it up. I took a fork and dug inside the packet, managing to extract a portion of the rice and meat that was vacuum-packed inside. It had a strange texture, was pretty sticky and had a rather intriguing aroma.<br><br>"Looks weird... Oh wow, it's all sticky and stuff... Smells weird too."<br><br>Kid had managed to open his packet as well. Tooth was having a bit of trouble though.<br><br> I had managed to find one of Royal Road's best-kept secrets, in my opinion. For all that effort to create a medieval theme, Royal Road had added modern combat rations into the game. I ate that quite a lot during my two years spent in Military Service while out in the field, so seeing this again brought back a sense of nostalgia...<br><br>The combat rations had deep roots in history as well. Back in the Sengoku period, Oda Nobunaga and his men would eat fried rice dumplings. It was preserved by the frying process, and was eaten by adding hot water to it to prepare an instant meal. Much like how you make instant noodles, which were carefully fried or dried out before it was packaged after being made and bundled up into circular shapes. Canned products also featured heavily in a war, but it was difficult to carry about, and being stored in the tin cans, the food attains a rather metallic taste...<br><br>Food that can be easily preserved and stockpiled with immense nutritional value was invaluable to any army. Many campaigns have grinded to a halt due to the lack of food, after all.<br><br>Today, combat rations have evolved to include other kinds of food within its burgeoning arsenal, using exotic flavours such as cream pasta and macaroni and cheese, going as far as to include local desserts like sweet potato soup in its ranks.<br><br>And yet, for all those different flavors, the ones I had back then all tasted the same, including the desserts. They had been drowned in preservatives, which killed off most of the taste, I guess...<br><br>Alright, essay aside...<br><br>"Well, down the hatch!!"<br><br>As one group, we took a bite.<br><br>"Ah... that salty but otherwise difficult to place flavor... It slides easily down the throat, but in a strange fashion... It does bring back memories." I had tears in my eyes as I said that, as flooded with nostalgia as I was.<br><br>It tasted similar to what I had last time... I took a look at how the others were doing. I wonder if they had liked it? As it transpires, turns out they didn't just like it. I turned my head happily...<br><br>"WOAH!!"<br><br>... and saw both Tooth and Kid lying on the floor, twitching as their leg muscles spasm-ed. They must love it, right?<br><br>"Hahaha... it's bad to sleep after you eat, you know... Eh, guys? Are you okay?" I laughed awkwardly as I took a closer look.<br><br>Holy crap, how is it that they are foaming at the mouth?! Wait, is that the poison status and paralyzed status on their hp bar?!<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">[You have been poisoned. Your hp will slowly decrease.]<br><br>[You have been paralyzed. You cannot move.]</span><br><br>Poison?! No, it must be Karma striking for eating all my food. I recovered quickly from my panic, and nodded knowingly at the sky. Amen to that. Sighing, I ate the rest of my combat rations, and looked through my bag for an antidote. Their hp shouldn't drop that fast anyways.<br><br>Remember, kids, food or otherwise, remember to pack some antidotes and other emergency supplies. You'll never know when you'll need them.<br><br>Incidentally, when I checked my status bar later, I found that a skill was generated by the Nomadic Imprint ability:<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">Iron Constitution<br><br>Improves poison immunity and resistances through building up the physical condition of the body.<br><br>Beginner Level 1/0%: +0.5% resistance to all elements and the poison status.</span><br><br>Funnily, a large amount of skill proficiency (with increasing amounts each time I ate a consecutive packet in one sitting) was raised each time I ate a packet of combat rations for some reason, so it was leveled rather quickly.<br><br>****<br><br>He knocked, and the door was opened unto him. The old man was there with a big grin on his face.<br><br>"Ah, it's you!! Now don't just stand there in the cold, come in, come in!!"<br><br>He was quickly dragged in. The house seemed well-swept and airy, but the sturdy stone walls were breaking down slowly in several areas with several cracks in them, giving it a rather shabby appearance.<br><br>"Welcome to my humble abode. It's not much, but it's home."<br><br>He was led into a room that was equally clean but poor looking. There, a table had been set for dinner. An elderly lady was busy stoking the fire as a covered pan steamed and bubbled at the edges. The strong scent of parsley flooded the air.<br><br>"Oi, old man. Did you bring back another one of your drunken friends today? When are you going to land that big one that you have been going on about?"<br><br>A heavily henpecked husband even at their advanced ages!!<br><br>"I'm working on it... get back to cooking, woman. Gyahahaha!!!" The old man seemed unfazed by it though, and laughed heartily in response.<br><br>"The missus keeps nagging at me over that "big one", you know? It has even gotten to the point where it just flows into one ear and flows out the other."<br><br>Yup, love don't last, the honeyed and blissful union only lasts for a few years. It eventually fades away over time, leaving only a working relationship, where couples tend to stay together, and I quote "for the sake of the children".<br><br>Perhaps, it was natural that nagging overtime would naturally become numb to the henpecked spouse. Perhaps arguing over the most trivial of things was their way of displaying affection. I don't get married couples sometimes...<br><br>Forgive this author for irresponsibly leaving such a negative impression of marriage on the reader and possibly driving down the birth rate even by a smidgen... *bows*<br><br>Anyways, the old man turned to he that was standing there, frozen by cultural shock.<br><br>"Gyahahaha, don't just stand there, have a seat, have a seat!!"<br><br>With that, he took a seat. Ill at ease, he looked around.<br><br>Over the course of years spent fishing and eating mainly fish as a diet, he had built up a body of steel. Sadly, it left him with a huge physique, and as such it was simply a case of the furniture being too small for him. The overly muscular man seemed out of place in this kind of setting as he sat there uncomfortably, all the while wearing his mask, which he seemed to take comfort in.<br><br>"Wahahaha!! It's rude to wear a mask in someone else's place right? Come on, take it off, take it off," The old man said this as he tugged the mask off without warning.<br><br>Before he could do anything about it, the mask was taken off, revealing a youthful face with brown hair and blue eyes. It didn't quite suit him though, and it was as if someone took a head of a youth and implanted it onto a muscular body of an adult.<br><br>"Cor, you are quite a looker eh? It won't do to starve a growing lad like you. Here you go, and eat up quickly!!"<br><br>The elderly lady served up a plate of steamed fish in front of him. It was a trout, steamed until the eyes became white, and garnished with a generous amount of ginger, parsley, celery and fried garlic.<br><br>He carefully cut out a slice with his knife and put it in his mouth, chewing slowly. The meat was tender, yet had a firm texture to it, which was comparable to chicken. The unpleasant fishy smell was covered by the aromatic vegetables, and at the same time gave it some crunchiness to it.<br><br>He swallowed. And quickly took another bite, and another, taking care to fillet his portions carefully without taking any fish bones with him.<br><br>"Hohoho. Looks like the missus snagged another fan with her fantastic cooking, she has. Gyahahaha!!" The old man laughed heartily as he ate another slice of fish.<br><br>"This is the best part." The old lady pointed at the face of the fish in front of her. Using the fork, she dug into the eyes. It was like a horror scene. She carefully extracted the jelly like substance surrounding the white eyeball and ate it. And then she smiled.<br><br>"Go on, give it a try."<br><br>He looked at the faces around him that were nodding encouragingly and picked his fork. Hands trembling, he poked out the eye and put it in his mouth, quickly swallowing. There was a fishy taste, but that was it.<br><br>"No no, not like that. Keep it in your mouth for as long as possible. It will taste better. Swallowing it like that will cause you to miss the nuances the eyes will offer you."<br><br>Emboldened by his first attempt and assure of the fact that eyeball wouldn’t kill him, he tried the other eyeball, letting it roll around in his mouth. It tasted different. It was pretty difficult to describe, but perhaps this best describes it: A rush of fatty fish flavor accompanied by a gelatinous spongy texture.<br><br>He drank the rice wine (sake) that was handed out. It was a fresh experience for him.<br><br>Life thrives and flourishes, spreading and creating, yet at the same time destroying. It creates, proliferates, and devours itself at the same time. In the process, new and wonderful things like this fish are created...<br><br>It was strangely philosophical, yet at the same time screams of simple pleasures...<br><br>The next time he hunted, he took care not to pierce the eye.<br><br>*****<br><br>"Urgh... I want to go home... Mama, where are you..."<br><br>"Gaaaaaa...."<br><br>Following our enjoyable meal where I plucked them from the grasp of death with an antidote, morale was strangely low.<br><br>Incidentally, the rations tasted better when it was heated on a fire, but I was too lazy to do so.<br><br>I carefully sharpened the camping knife and tied it back onto the Ash Spear Shaft, reassembling the Knife spear.<br><br>I was slightly disappointed that I didn't get to try out the weapon the last time, but the only monster that we found back at the Abandoned Drake Cave was Tooth here.<br><br>And then Tooth went and joined the party, creating the current situation that we are in. Simply put, my material earnings quickly fell to a negative due to the opportunity cost incurred by not killing Tooth.<br><br>Hmmm... it looks like a little bit of my Economics Education from college finally came in useful.<br><br>"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaa.... If only I skewered him like a shish kebab back then." I sighed.<br><br>"Grah?" Tooth looked at me with a questioning look on his face.<br><br>"Oh, nothing."<br><br>It probably wasn't worth it anyway. Tooth's only level 8 and at the juvenile stage anyway, so the drops aren't likely to be very good. Even with the rare drop bonus I would have gotten, chances are that I wouldn't get anything good from him anyway, with that battered shield and rusty sword that he was equipped with. Regardless, I intended to recoup my losses quickly. Having reassembled the Knife Spear, I stood up.<br><br>"Come along now. It's time to recoup my investment." Having said this, I turned around to make them move quickly to the next spot...<br><br>“kuuuuuuuuuu...”<br><br>And found them asleep.<br><br>Good grief. I knew kids sleep a lot, but this is getting ridiculous. At this point, it was best to use an easy and gentle approach with them...<br><br>"Get up!! Get moving!! You have 10 seconds to move, on the double!! Hut!! Hut!! Hut!!"<br><br>"Uuuuuu... What a cruel person you are... I'm sleepy..."<br><br>"Get moving!!"<br><br>*SMACK*<br><br>With some light nagging and beating with my spear, I force marched them to our destination.<br><br>******<br><br>Hmmm... So in the end I came here alone, huh?<br><br>I stood at the entrance of the Kobold Raider's dungeon.<br><br>At the front of the cave, several NPCs and merchants were glibly hawking their supplies.<br>"Potions for emergencies, I'll sell them cheap."<br><br>"Bandages and other supplies, bulk buys encouraged!!"<br><br>"Food cooked by a chef, I may still be unskilled but my food can still raise stats!! Eat your fill before you head in!!"<br><br>At the same time, people were seeking out a party...<br><br>"Level 12 Bard with several useful songs, including a Healing Song, looking for a party. I'll be sure to brighten up your hunting experience!!"<br><br>"Oh, a Bard. Great, we are need of a support class. Come join us!!"<br><br>"Level 17 Knight seeking a tanking role. NONE SHALL PASS!!"<br><br>"Erm, I'm a lvl 14 Shaman. My skills are still unpolished, but I have several offensive and support skills, and can fill up any missing roles in a party."<br><br>"Could you fill up an attacker role? We are short on attackers here."<br><br>"I'll try my best. Please to make your acquaintance."<br><br>Incidentally, the kid had logged off, citing the need to sleep, and taking Tooth with him.<br><br>It was troublesome, but I was glad for finally getting some alone time.<br><br>"So that was how parents feel when their kids are finally asleep..."<br><br>The heavy burden of having to take care of the two leeches has finally been lifted, if only temporarily.<br><br>"ORRRRRAAAAAAAA!! LET'S DO THIS!!"<br><br>My motivation was at an all time high... The day looked to be a fruitful one. My excitable action did draw curious looks from the other dungeon crawlers, though. <br><br>However, my level is rather low, and my weapon was far from impressive. It might be difficult to get a party at my current state. Still, I must make an effort. It's important to give as much information as possible. No point hiding things here and there.<br><br>"Erm, I'm a level 11 Spearman with several useful skills such as Repair and Identify. I can also perform an attacker role with a bit of support. My skill proficiency might be low, but I promise to fight hard."<br><br>"A spearman? Sounds pretty weak."<br><br>"Are you a suicide lead or something?"<br><br>A negative response at so early a stage?! I'm pretty hurt, you know...<br><br>"Well... I can put up one heck of a fight, so I hope you can give me a chance. I do have several useful offensive skills, you know..."<br><br>"Right... right..." They didn't sound too convinced.<br><br>Sigh... I guess solo fighting has its benefits as well... But I'm low on bandages and other supplies. I guess I will have to make do with what I have...<br><br>I gave up on looking for a party and went inside the dungeon.<br><br>*******<br><br>"Crap, I shouldn't have come alone, huh..."<br><br>It's only the first floor, and already I'm facing problems.<br><br>I was up against goblins, which are at least level 20. Level wise, they are nearly twice as strong as me. And naturally, they move together in groups, so they are a bit of a pain. In this case, there were 3 of them.<br><br>Nevertheless, their attack pattern was simplistic, with little variation. By comparison, wolves were a bit tougher in my opinion. My weapon wasn't suited for blocking though, but I was able to keep them at bay with its longer reach.<br><br>Hence, I made an effort.<br><br>First, I should carefully gauge their strength and ability.<br><br>I took the Balancer Stance, which boosted my stats as long as I stay in the stance.<br><br>I easily parried the first clumsy spear thrust by a goblin, followed by a second and a third.<br><br>Good grief, their martial prowess needs some work. The trainees back at the Warrior's Guild could fight way better than this.<br><br>I swung the spear in a short horizontal swing, the knife "spearhead" catching the goblin by the throat.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">[You have dealt a critical hit.]</span><br><br>It took off a considerable amount of its HP bar.<br><br>Targeting weak spots in the anatomy seems to be the key to fighting higher levelled opponents. It improves your chances of a critical hit, and you deal more damage if you target weak spots on the body. Moreover, if you target different spots on the body, you can cripple opponents.<br><br>I had been fighting simplistic and low levelled mobs like wolves and foxes for the most part of my adventure, so I didn't manage to go into depth during battles.<br><br>As I was slowly analyzing the mobs while defending myself:<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">[You are immersed in the heat of battle. Your agility has increased by 4%. Your movement speed is increased by 6%. Your reflexes have increased. Your sense of pain is dulled.]</span><br><br>That ought to be <span style="font-style: italic;">Combat Immersion</span> activating.<br><br>It was a bit of a cheat skill, but basically it accelerates the senses, movement speed and reflexes. I could see a goblin spear coming, and it was aimed at my chest.<br><br>"Too slow!!"<br><br>I easily parried the incoming attack, and stabbed out with my spear, putting my weight and forward movement into the attack for additional impetus.<br><br>It was textbook, straight from the GREAT BIG REGURGITATING SPEAR ENCYCLOPEDIA AKA Kite, and the first attack I tried with a spear.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">"When an opening reveals itself, commit to it!!"</span><br><br>It was just a normal stab used by infantry spearmen.<br><br>As anti-climatic as it sounds, I don't have a single proper attacking skill. I could only utilize the buffs and power-ups I gained so far to improve the attacking prowess of my normal attacks, and work it from there.<br><br>I recalled an interesting thing I saw from watching a show from a few years back:<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">"After all, an attack's much stronger if you use two hands."</span><br><br>The attack scored a bullseye, striking the neck.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">[You have dealt a fatal critical hit.]</span><br><br>The entire hp bar was knocked off immediately.<br><br>"Eh? Did he just take out a goblin in one blow?"<br><br>"How did he do that? And he's taking on a group of them by himself!!"<br><br>"His equipment doesn't look very good, but it's practical and does the job right... Maybe..."<br><br>There was some gossip coming from the other parties hunting around here, but I ignored it and concentrated on the fight. At my level, I could easily die if I take a blow from those goblins, even if their blows seem to have become slower due to my sharpened senses.<br><br>However, that thought caused my concentration to sway a bit, and I didn't dodge a goblin attack fast enough. It caught me by the side, missing my vitals but still leaving a flesh wound. It didn't hurt too much thanks to the Combat Immersion skill, though.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">[You have lost 7% of your hp.]</span><br><br>"Dang it, that hurt!!" I raised a gloved hand and sent it slamming down on the goblin's head. It sent it reeling, and I smashed the spear one handed at its side to create further distance. This time, I jabbed the spear at the legs. They seem to tell you if you hit something important, anyway.<br><br>[Opponent's leg is badly damaged. Movement speed is reduced.]<br><br>Ah, like that. What a useful game interface. Either way, I finished off the goblin with a quick jab to the chest.<br><br>Wow, that was quite a good amount of experience. The exp bar filled up rather drastically, and I was pretty close to levelling.<br><br>"Alright, now for the third one to make it a clean sweep!!"<br><br>The last goblin snarled and charged at me with the sword.<br><br>Oh, it ends with a simplistic charge, huh?<br><br>I decided to play along. Besides, the extra movement speed will improve the momentum of my charge.<br><br>Not that I have any intention to follow through with the charge completely anyway.<br><br>I always wanted to do this again, anyway. I used the momentum to leap upwards.<br><br>First, gain a good amount of height.<br><br>Next, at peak, put the weight into the stab.<br><br>Simple and to the point. The result;<br><br>"KAMEN RIDER KIIIIIICK!!"<br><br>Yup, it's just Jump that I used against the wolves.<br><br>But hey, with a bit of imagination, it does resemble it, right?<br><br>Virtual reality is great for that sort of thing. What is a game, if not for having fun?<br><br>There was just one problem with this mindset though...<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">[You have dealt a fatal critical blow.]<br><br>[You have lost 15% of your HP.]<br><br>[The durability of your Knife Spear has fallen by 3.]</span><br><br>"Owww..."<br><br>I didn't land properly, and while I did kill the bugger, I hurt myself in the process doing so, and my weapon durability fell by quite a bit as a result of the impact. I made a note to practice safe landing in the future.<br><br>"Is he an idiot?"<br><br>"Good thing we didn't invite him into the party, huh?"<br><br>"He was pretty tough though. Could he be a higher-levelled player in disguise?"<br><br>Nope, you wish.<br><br>The slain goblin disappeared in a grey flash, leaving behind loot and coins.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">[You have leveled up to 12.]</span><br><br>Oh well, didn't matter, got exp, got loot. My HP can be recovered using bandages anyway.<br><br>I picked up the loot, but before I moved off to find the next small party of goblins;<br><br>"Ah... the sweet smell of money." I carefully counted the money dropped, which was a few coppers. Wasn't much, but it all adds up. Everything adds up in the end.<br><br>Money is a pretty scarce but tangible resource after all.<br><br>********<br><br>Was it supposed to be this easy?<br><br>I carefully applied bandages after the HP regeneration from <span style="font-style: italic;">Berserk Impulse</span> pushed me back over the set HP threshold, letting me regain control over myself.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">[You have regained 1% of your HP. Bleeding has stopped.]</span><br><br>"Geez... broke the Knife Spear in the process. I need a more durable weapon... And that knife didn't come cheaply too..."<br><br>All around me, covered in blood and badly mutilated, were dead goblins.<br><br>I came across a war party after hunting a few small groups. I couldn't escape, so I stayed back and fought.<br><br>3 or 4 goblins were one thing, but all 15 at once... Not as easy, simply put. I was knocked into the HP threshold, and then from there I didn't quite recall things...<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">Berserk Impulse</span> boosted my stats and HP regeneration by a substantial amount, but in exchange I lose control of my actions while that skill is active. The power boost I receive is equivalent to that of a cheat key, but it was dangerous since you attack everything indiscriminately, after all.<br><br>Berserk Impulse and Combat Immersion did level up once in the process, and I gained a couple of levels to get to 17. Again, all points to Agility 1st. Speed is important if you have a stronger but heavy and slow weapon after all. Strength does help your attacking speed theoretically, but Agility directly boosts speed. And with speed comes force. Simple physics, you know?<br><br>Of course, you also need to consider strength since it sets the limit as to how fast you can swing the weapon, and what I would like to call the "afterburner" effect. No sense being able to swing at high speeds if you can’t even properly hold the weapon.<br><br>Stat allocation aside, hunting felt really rewarding. I got skill proficiency, a good amount of experience and I had fun in the process. And there was still all that loot to consider.<br><br>"Great. I give thanks to the great spirits for all that good loot."<br><br>I carefully looted the goblins. The mob drops aren't very good, but at least they would sell for a bit when I come up to the nearest city. Each of the goblins dropped mostly coppers, but one did drop a silver coin though.<br><br>I would make sure to cherish that silver coin from now on... until the kid and Tooth force me to spend it, that is.<br><br>Alright, time to move on.<br><br>The goblins faded to grey flashes as I quickly moved to another area.<br><br>*******<br><br>It was slightly harder to hunt without the knife attached to the spear, but it was more comfortable to use without it.<br><br>The increased levels did make up for the loss of my knife, but it was a painful loss regardless.<br><br>Either way, for some odd reason, I was sweeping through the dungeon with ease, and soon found myself at the deepest portion of the room, where a boss monster resided, increasing my level further to about level 25.<br><br>Of course, when I hit level 21, I started adding points to Strength to increase my hunting efficiency. See the explanation above for as to why I did this, I have no intention of writing another essay on the topic for the sake of not going off course.<br><br>The monsters do get marginally stronger as you head deeper inside the dungeon. I found level 22 goblin warriors, level 25 goblin squad commanders, level 24 Kobolds, level 26 Kobold Fighters;<br><br>And the boss monster that resided there, the level 33 Kobold Chieftain. Unlike most Kobolds, that had wolf like snouts but rather short and stocky bodies, the Chieftain was tall and well muscled, wore a large metal helmet on its head, and wielded a large two handed mace as a weapon.<br><br>That mace was not a unique drop, but from what I heard from other dungeon crawlers, it was custom for most passing knights to pick it up. The weapon was really slow due to its weight, but it had immense power and the ability to easily dent and weaken armor, which was a valuable asset to have. You would have to forgo the use of a shield, but it was a powerful weapon nonetheless.<br><br>The Kobold Chieftain used that mace against me now, weapon swinging down in a deadly horizontal swing.<br><br>I ducked under the clumsy attack and smashed its legs with the spear shaft. It knocked away some HP, but the chieftain was unfazed.<br><br>Huh. Boss monsters are a large step up from the regular mobs, huh?<br><br>I stepped back, and took a stance. It was important to analyse the boss carefully for key attack patterns. In this case, the Kobold Chieftain favors horizontal swings as a means of catching multiple persons at once. In this case therefore, the party should spread out while having the tanker going up close to limit its ability to swing the mace properly.<br><br>Then again, that was when you are fighting him as a party.<br><br>The Kobold Chieftain swung his mace again. It was impossible to parry or block this kind of hit, so I dodged it again... Wait.<br><br>Did he just swing a two handed mace with just one hand?<br><br>A humongous, well muscled fist came rushing at me, catching me heavily on the chest.<br><br>"Gaaaark!"<br><br>I was pushed back a great distance by the blow, the air driven from my lungs.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">[You have lost 15% of your HP.]<br><br>[You are stunned; you cannot move for a short period of time.]</span><br><br>Crap. That was dangerous. The Kobold Chieftain didn't display that kind of behavior against party groups. That must be the AI doing its thing. In any case, I had better be careful.<br><br>I caught some air as I breathed in heavily.<br><br>Case in point, the Chieftain took advantage of my momentary stun and was charging at me, its mace raised in a two handed grip. It seemed that this time, he had no intention of faking out.<br><br>“In that case...”<br><br>I stood my ground, spear held in the Fencer stance. Basically, I faced the opponent by my side, non-master hand leading and the spear shaft pointed spear first.<br><br>I didn't gain any stat boosts while in this stance, but it would make performing what I had in mind a lot easier.<br><br>The Chieftain swung. I judged the timing of the attack, and stepped forward, catching the mace with the spear moving in small circular movements.<br><br>While the mace had immense destructive power, when one catches the blow before it could gather the momentum, the power of the attack was diminished, and it is a lot easier to parry. It took an astute sense of timing to pull this off, but it should be worth it.<br><br>The circular movement of the spear shaft deflected the mace of its initial path, throwing the mace off balance and forcing the chieftain into a jarring position. It was a pseudo-stun, which was the window of opportunity that I needed.<br><br>"Sei!!"<br><br>Spear shaft moving in wide arcs to gather angular momentum, I bashed the chieftain several times in succession, catching it on the head, side, legs and back. The ricochet of the blows let me phase into another attack, riding on the initial momentum to add power to the hits.<br><br>The series of heavy attacks knocked a large amount off its HP bar, but it was far from over. The Chieftain naturally had a high amount of life points, being a boss monster.<br><br>I created some distance between us as the chieftain recovered and lashed out with a muscled arm which I dodged, and resumed my stance. It was going to be a long fight at the rate…<br><br>- Continued in Chapter 8. </div>

* We were travelling from the Abandoned Drake Cave after a rather unfruitful hunt. We didn't earn much, and so I intended to travel to a popular dungeon that I heard of. Exploring is fun and all, but I'm losing money here. It was probably best to go stock up and level up a fair bit before I kept moving. There was a rather major problem, though... "Howard, I'm hungry..." "Eh? But we have already stopped twice for meals today, haven't we? Where's the rabbit jerky I gave you?" Holy crap. It has only been 2 days since I gave the child a share of the rabbit jerky that I stocked up, you know? It was a pretty sizable portion as well... "Tooth had some, and I had some... And then well... you know." The kid gave a sheepish grin. Ah, so there's the problem. The culprit's accomplice in question, a lizard man with a diminutive build, grunted and squealed several times in succession. "Oh, and Tooth says he's hungry as well." I wanted to say something offensive, but both of my... companions are still rather tender in age... Instead, I have to play the responsible older mentor... Having children with you is troublesome... I can see why so many young couples prefer to advance their careers first. I sighed. "Okay, we will stop for a meal." "Yay!!" "There's just one problem..." "What is it?" The kid and his lizard companion stared at me questioningly. "See for yourself." I showed them the contents of my bag. Both my young “protégés” took a good look... ... and made a rather good impression of that guy depicted in Edvard Munch's "The Scream". ** He had fished up another large one today. The poor fish suffered a stab through the eye and was killed instantly. "Ah, the eye was the best part..." The old man that was accompanying him today was dismayed at the loss. He didn't make any comments. Then again, he never did. He dragged the now limp carcass to shore and hung it up to let the blood drip dry. Then again, it was custom for some ethnic cultures to eat the fish eyes, considering it to be quite the delicacy. However, he had never tried cooking the fish the way others would, preferring to boil, roast, or salt the fish before eating it. Occasionally, he would drain the fish blood and eat the meat raw. That was the only way he knew how to prepare a fish. Several months marooned on a deserted island can do that to a person. As such, the notion of eating the fish's eyes was a foreign one to him. "Say, would you like to come to our place for dinner tonight? The missus's making fish the proper way. You will like it, it's a guarantee." The old man said this as he nodded encouragingly. He remained silent, not knowing what to say. "I'll take that as a yes then!! Silence means consent... See you at sunset!!" With that, the old man happily left, oblivious to the frantic reaction that occurred. *** "WHAT DO YOU MEAN, THERE'S NO FOOD LEFT?!" "GRAAAAAAHH!!!" And there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth. "Exactly what I meant. There's no food left. Here, see for yourself." "WE ALREADY SAW!!" And yet, the irrefutable truth was laid bare for all to see. There was no food left. That which I have feared for the most part of our trip has come to pass at a surprisingly early part of our journey. I had stocked my "larders" generously to last a considerable period of time for one person, but a second, and soon a third addition to our rag-tag group put a rather large strain on my stockpile. We haven't exactly completed anything substantial, you know? I really fear about the future of the party at this rate. "Well, there's no helping it. Pack your bags, we are going hunting." "Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh??" "Don't "ehhhhh" me. You lot ate my entire stock of food, even the stale bread that I brought along. Come on now, if we don't hunt, you don't eat. And that means no roast meat..." "Ehhhh?" "No jerky." "Ehhhhhhhhhhhhh?" "And let's see... no stew, no bread, no soup, nothing that I can cook." "Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh?" "But need is no cause for fear." Woah, a shining light of hope!! I almost see angels descending, too!! Funny how much morale can be built due to the prospect of filling one's stomach. "I somehow got my hands on this!! Feast your eyes on this treasure!!" I rummaged through my bag... "Ta-dah!!" ... and dug out a green packet. Yes, for some strange reason, I had found these for sale at the Warrior's Guild back at the Sleepy Fortress. Out of nostalgia, I picked up a few packets. Surprisingly, they cost less than even the bread that was for sale everywhere, so I made sure to pick up a large quantity when I found out about the cheap price. Of course, those were for emergencies only, but I believe now was a case that qualifies as one. "What is that?" "Gaaaah?" Surprisingly, for their ability to eat their way through my food, I am shocked that they didn't manage to find this treasure. "Why don't you give it a try?" I gave them an encouraging smile. I took a packet for myself and carefully opened it up. I took a fork and dug inside the packet, managing to extract a portion of the rice and meat that was vacuum-packed inside. It had a strange texture, was pretty sticky and had a rather intriguing aroma. "Looks weird... Oh wow, it's all sticky and stuff... Smells weird too." Kid had managed to open his packet as well. Tooth was having a bit of trouble though. I had managed to find one of Royal Road's best-kept secrets, in my opinion. For all that effort to create a medieval theme, Royal Road had added modern combat rations into the game. I ate that quite a lot during my two years spent in Military Service while out in the field, so seeing this again brought back a sense of nostalgia... The combat rations had deep roots in history as well. Back in the Sengoku period, Oda Nobunaga and his men would eat fried rice dumplings. It was preserved by the frying process, and was eaten by adding hot water to it to prepare an instant meal. Much like how you make instant noodles, which were carefully fried or dried out before it was packaged after being made and bundled up into circular shapes. Canned products also featured heavily in a war, but it was difficult to carry about, and being stored in the tin cans, the food attains a rather metallic taste... Food that can be easily preserved and stockpiled with immense nutritional value was invaluable to any army. Many campaigns have grinded to a halt due to the lack of food, after all. Today, combat rations have evolved to include other kinds of food within its burgeoning arsenal, using exotic flavours such as cream pasta and macaroni and cheese, going as far as to include local desserts like sweet potato soup in its ranks. And yet, for all those different flavors, the ones I had back then all tasted the same, including the desserts. They had been drowned in preservatives, which killed off most of the taste, I guess... Alright, essay aside... "Well, down the hatch!!" As one group, we took a bite. "Ah... that salty but otherwise difficult to place flavor... It slides easily down the throat, but in a strange fashion... It does bring back memories." I had tears in my eyes as I said that, as flooded with nostalgia as I was. It tasted similar to what I had last time... I took a look at how the others were doing. I wonder if they had liked it? As it transpires, turns out they didn't just like it. I turned my head happily... "WOAH!!" ... and saw both Tooth and Kid lying on the floor, twitching as their leg muscles spasm-ed. They must love it, right? "Hahaha... it's bad to sleep after you eat, you know... Eh, guys? Are you okay?" I laughed awkwardly as I took a closer look. Holy crap, how is it that they are foaming at the mouth?! Wait, is that the poison status and paralyzed status on their hp bar?! [You have been poisoned. Your hp will slowly decrease.] [You have been paralyzed. You cannot move.] Poison?! No, it must be Karma striking for eating all my food. I recovered quickly from my panic, and nodded knowingly at the sky. Amen to that. Sighing, I ate the rest of my combat rations, and looked through my bag for an antidote. Their hp shouldn't drop that fast anyways. Remember, kids, food or otherwise, remember to pack some antidotes and other emergency supplies. You'll never know when you'll need them. Incidentally, when I checked my status bar later, I found that a skill was generated by the Nomadic Imprint ability: Iron Constitution Improves poison immunity and resistances through building up the physical condition of the body. Beginner Level 1/0%: +0.5% resistance to all elements and the poison status. Funnily, a large amount of skill proficiency (with increasing amounts each time I ate a consecutive packet in one sitting) was raised each time I ate a packet of combat rations for some reason, so it was leveled rather quickly. **** He knocked, and the door was opened unto him. The old man was there with a big grin on his face. "Ah, it's you!! Now don't just stand there in the cold, come in, come in!!" He was quickly dragged in. The house seemed well-swept and airy, but the sturdy stone walls were breaking down slowly in several areas with several cracks in them, giving it a rather shabby appearance. "Welcome to my humble abode. It's not much, but it's home." He was led into a room that was equally clean but poor looking. There, a table had been set for dinner. An elderly lady was busy stoking the fire as a covered pan steamed and bubbled at the edges. The strong scent of parsley flooded the air. "Oi, old man. Did you bring back another one of your drunken friends today? When are you going to land that big one that you have been going on about?" A heavily henpecked husband even at their advanced ages!! "I'm working on it... get back to cooking, woman. Gyahahaha!!!" The old man seemed unfazed by it though, and laughed heartily in response. "The missus keeps nagging at me over that "big one", you know? It has even gotten to the point where it just flows into one ear and flows out the other." Yup, love don't last, the honeyed and blissful union only lasts for a few years. It eventually fades away over time, leaving only a working relationship, where couples tend to stay together, and I quote "for the sake of the children". Perhaps, it was natural that nagging overtime would naturally become numb to the henpecked spouse. Perhaps arguing over the most trivial of things was their way of displaying affection. I don't get married couples sometimes... Forgive this author for irresponsibly leaving such a negative impression of marriage on the reader and possibly driving down the birth rate even by a smidgen... *bows* Anyways, the old man turned to he that was standing there, frozen by cultural shock. "Gyahahaha, don't just stand there, have a seat, have a seat!!" With that, he took a seat. Ill at ease, he looked around. Over the course of years spent fishing and eating mainly fish as a diet, he had built up a body of steel. Sadly, it left him with a huge physique, and as such it was simply a case of the furniture being too small for him. The overly muscular man seemed out of place in this kind of setting as he sat there uncomfortably, all the while wearing his mask, which he seemed to take comfort in. "Wahahaha!! It's rude to wear a mask in someone else's place right? Come on, take it off, take it off," The old man said this as he tugged the mask off without warning. Before he could do anything about it, the mask was taken off, revealing a youthful face with brown hair and blue eyes. It didn't quite suit him though, and it was as if someone took a head of a youth and implanted it onto a muscular body of an adult. "Cor, you are quite a looker eh? It won't do to starve a growing lad like you. Here you go, and eat up quickly!!" The elderly lady served up a plate of steamed fish in front of him. It was a trout, steamed until the eyes became white, and garnished with a generous amount of ginger, parsley, celery and fried garlic. He carefully cut out a slice with his knife and put it in his mouth, chewing slowly. The meat was tender, yet had a firm texture to it, which was comparable to chicken. The unpleasant fishy smell was covered by the aromatic vegetables, and at the same time gave it some crunchiness to it. He swallowed. And quickly took another bite, and another, taking care to fillet his portions carefully without taking any fish bones with him. "Hohoho. Looks like the missus snagged another fan with her fantastic cooking, she has. Gyahahaha!!" The old man laughed heartily as he ate another slice of fish. "This is the best part." The old lady pointed at the face of the fish in front of her. Using the fork, she dug into the eyes. It was like a horror scene. She carefully extracted the jelly like substance surrounding the white eyeball and ate it. And then she smiled. "Go on, give it a try." He looked at the faces around him that were nodding encouragingly and picked his fork. Hands trembling, he poked out the eye and put it in his mouth, quickly swallowing. There was a fishy taste, but that was it. "No no, not like that. Keep it in your mouth for as long as possible. It will taste better. Swallowing it like that will cause you to miss the nuances the eyes will offer you." Emboldened by his first attempt and assure of the fact that eyeball wouldn’t kill him, he tried the other eyeball, letting it roll around in his mouth. It tasted different. It was pretty difficult to describe, but perhaps this best describes it: A rush of fatty fish flavor accompanied by a gelatinous spongy texture. He drank the rice wine (sake) that was handed out. It was a fresh experience for him. Life thrives and flourishes, spreading and creating, yet at the same time destroying. It creates, proliferates, and devours itself at the same time. In the process, new and wonderful things like this fish are created... It was strangely philosophical, yet at the same time screams of simple pleasures... The next time he hunted, he took care not to pierce the eye. ***** "Urgh... I want to go home... Mama, where are you..." "Gaaaaaa...." Following our enjoyable meal where I plucked them from the grasp of death with an antidote, morale was strangely low. Incidentally, the rations tasted better when it was heated on a fire, but I was too lazy to do so. I carefully sharpened the camping knife and tied it back onto the Ash Spear Shaft, reassembling the Knife spear. I was slightly disappointed that I didn't get to try out the weapon the last time, but the only monster that we found back at the Abandoned Drake Cave was Tooth here. And then Tooth went and joined the party, creating the current situation that we are in. Simply put, my material earnings quickly fell to a negative due to the opportunity cost incurred by not killing Tooth. Hmmm... it looks like a little bit of my Economics Education from college finally came in useful. "Haaaaaaaaaaaaaa.... If only I skewered him like a shish kebab back then." I sighed. "Grah?" Tooth looked at me with a questioning look on his face. "Oh, nothing." It probably wasn't worth it anyway. Tooth's only level 8 and at the juvenile stage anyway, so the drops aren't likely to be very good. Even with the rare drop bonus I would have gotten, chances are that I wouldn't get anything good from him anyway, with that battered shield and rusty sword that he was equipped with. Regardless, I intended to recoup my losses quickly. Having reassembled the Knife Spear, I stood up. "Come along now. It's time to recoup my investment." Having said this, I turned around to make them move quickly to the next spot... “kuuuuuuuuuu...” And found them asleep. Good grief. I knew kids sleep a lot, but this is getting ridiculous. At this point, it was best to use an easy and gentle approach with them... "Get up!! Get moving!! You have 10 seconds to move, on the double!! Hut!! Hut!! Hut!!" "Uuuuuu... What a cruel person you are... I'm sleepy..." "Get moving!!" *SMACK* With some light nagging and beating with my spear, I force marched them to our destination. ****** Hmmm... So in the end I came here alone, huh? I stood at the entrance of the Kobold Raider's dungeon. At the front of the cave, several NPCs and merchants were glibly hawking their supplies. "Potions for emergencies, I'll sell them cheap." "Bandages and other supplies, bulk buys encouraged!!" "Food cooked by a chef, I may still be unskilled but my food can still raise stats!! Eat your fill before you head in!!" At the same time, people were seeking out a party... "Level 12 Bard with several useful songs, including a Healing Song, looking for a party. I'll be sure to brighten up your hunting experience!!" "Oh, a Bard. Great, we are need of a support class. Come join us!!" "Level 17 Knight seeking a tanking role. NONE SHALL PASS!!" "Erm, I'm a lvl 14 Shaman. My skills are still unpolished, but I have several offensive and support skills, and can fill up any missing roles in a party." "Could you fill up an attacker role? We are short on attackers here." "I'll try my best. Please to make your acquaintance." Incidentally, the kid had logged off, citing the need to sleep, and taking Tooth with him. It was troublesome, but I was glad for finally getting some alone time. "So that was how parents feel when their kids are finally asleep..." The heavy burden of having to take care of the two leeches has finally been lifted, if only temporarily. "ORRRRRAAAAAAAA!! LET'S DO THIS!!" My motivation was at an all time high... The day looked to be a fruitful one. My excitable action did draw curious looks from the other dungeon crawlers, though. However, my level is rather low, and my weapon was far from impressive. It might be difficult to get a party at my current state. Still, I must make an effort. It's important to give as much information as possible. No point hiding things here and there. "Erm, I'm a level 11 Spearman with several useful skills such as Repair and Identify. I can also perform an attacker role with a bit of support. My skill proficiency might be low, but I promise to fight hard." "A spearman? Sounds pretty weak." "Are you a suicide lead or something?" A negative response at so early a stage?! I'm pretty hurt, you know... "Well... I can put up one heck of a fight, so I hope you can give me a chance. I do have several useful offensive skills, you know..." "Right... right..." They didn't sound too convinced. Sigh... I guess solo fighting has its benefits as well... But I'm low on bandages and other supplies. I guess I will have to make do with what I have... I gave up on looking for a party and went inside the dungeon. ******* "Crap, I shouldn't have come alone, huh..." It's only the first floor, and already I'm facing problems. I was up against goblins, which are at least level 20. Level wise, they are nearly twice as strong as me. And naturally, they move together in groups, so they are a bit of a pain. In this case, there were 3 of them. Nevertheless, their attack pattern was simplistic, with little variation. By comparison, wolves were a bit tougher in my opinion. My weapon wasn't suited for blocking though, but I was able to keep them at bay with its longer reach. Hence, I made an effort. First, I should carefully gauge their strength and ability. I took the Balancer Stance, which boosted my stats as long as I stay in the stance. I easily parried the first clumsy spear thrust by a goblin, followed by a second and a third. Good grief, their martial prowess needs some work. The trainees back at the Warrior's Guild could fight way better than this. I swung the spear in a short horizontal swing, the knife "spearhead" catching the goblin by the throat. [You have dealt a critical hit.] It took off a considerable amount of its HP bar. Targeting weak spots in the anatomy seems to be the key to fighting higher levelled opponents. It improves your chances of a critical hit, and you deal more damage if you target weak spots on the body. Moreover, if you target different spots on the body, you can cripple opponents. I had been fighting simplistic and low levelled mobs like wolves and foxes for the most part of my adventure, so I didn't manage to go into depth during battles. As I was slowly analyzing the mobs while defending myself: [You are immersed in the heat of battle. Your agility has increased by 4%. Your movement speed is increased by 6%. Your reflexes have increased. Your sense of pain is dulled.] That ought to be Combat Immersion activating. It was a bit of a cheat skill, but basically it accelerates the senses, movement speed and reflexes. I could see a goblin spear coming, and it was aimed at my chest. "Too slow!!" I easily parried the incoming attack, and stabbed out with my spear, putting my weight and forward movement into the attack for additional impetus. It was textbook, straight from the GREAT BIG REGURGITATING SPEAR ENCYCLOPEDIA AKA Kite, and the first attack I tried with a spear. "When an opening reveals itself, commit to it!!" It was just a normal stab used by infantry spearmen. As anti-climatic as it sounds, I don't have a single proper attacking skill. I could only utilize the buffs and power-ups I gained so far to improve the attacking prowess of my normal attacks, and work it from there. I recalled an interesting thing I saw from watching a show from a few years back: "After all, an attack's much stronger if you use two hands." The attack scored a bullseye, striking the neck. [You have dealt a fatal critical hit.] The entire hp bar was knocked off immediately. "Eh? Did he just take out a goblin in one blow?" "How did he do that? And he's taking on a group of them by himself!!" "His equipment doesn't look very good, but it's practical and does the job right... Maybe..." There was some gossip coming from the other parties hunting around here, but I ignored it and concentrated on the fight. At my level, I could easily die if I take a blow from those goblins, even if their blows seem to have become slower due to my sharpened senses. However, that thought caused my concentration to sway a bit, and I didn't dodge a goblin attack fast enough. It caught me by the side, missing my vitals but still leaving a flesh wound. It didn't hurt too much thanks to the Combat Immersion skill, though. [You have lost 7% of your hp.] "Dang it, that hurt!!" I raised a gloved hand and sent it slamming down on the goblin's head. It sent it reeling, and I smashed the spear one handed at its side to create further distance. This time, I jabbed the spear at the legs. They seem to tell you if you hit something important, anyway. [Opponent's leg is badly damaged. Movement speed is reduced.] Ah, like that. What a useful game interface. Either way, I finished off the goblin with a quick jab to the chest. Wow, that was quite a good amount of experience. The exp bar filled up rather drastically, and I was pretty close to levelling. "Alright, now for the third one to make it a clean sweep!!" The last goblin snarled and charged at me with the sword. Oh, it ends with a simplistic charge, huh? I decided to play along. Besides, the extra movement speed will improve the momentum of my charge. Not that I have any intention to follow through with the charge completely anyway. I always wanted to do this again, anyway. I used the momentum to leap upwards. First, gain a good amount of height. Next, at peak, put the weight into the stab. Simple and to the point. The result; "KAMEN RIDER KIIIIIICK!!" Yup, it's just Jump that I used against the wolves. But hey, with a bit of imagination, it does resemble it, right? Virtual reality is great for that sort of thing. What is a game, if not for having fun? There was just one problem with this mindset though... [You have dealt a fatal critical blow.] [You have lost 15% of your HP.] [The durability of your Knife Spear has fallen by 3.] "Owww..." I didn't land properly, and while I did kill the bugger, I hurt myself in the process doing so, and my weapon durability fell by quite a bit as a result of the impact. I made a note to practice safe landing in the future. "Is he an idiot?" "Good thing we didn't invite him into the party, huh?" "He was pretty tough though. Could he be a higher-levelled player in disguise?" Nope, you wish. The slain goblin disappeared in a grey flash, leaving behind loot and coins. [You have leveled up to 12.] Oh well, didn't matter, got exp, got loot. My HP can be recovered using bandages anyway. I picked up the loot, but before I moved off to find the next small party of goblins; "Ah... the sweet smell of money." I carefully counted the money dropped, which was a few coppers. Wasn't much, but it all adds up. Everything adds up in the end. Money is a pretty scarce but tangible resource after all. ******** Was it supposed to be this easy? I carefully applied bandages after the HP regeneration from Berserk Impulse pushed me back over the set HP threshold, letting me regain control over myself. [You have regained 1% of your HP. Bleeding has stopped.] "Geez... broke the Knife Spear in the process. I need a more durable weapon... And that knife didn't come cheaply too..." All around me, covered in blood and badly mutilated, were dead goblins. I came across a war party after hunting a few small groups. I couldn't escape, so I stayed back and fought. 3 or 4 goblins were one thing, but all 15 at once... Not as easy, simply put. I was knocked into the HP threshold, and then from there I didn't quite recall things... Berserk Impulse boosted my stats and HP regeneration by a substantial amount, but in exchange I lose control of my actions while that skill is active. The power boost I receive is equivalent to that of a cheat key, but it was dangerous since you attack everything indiscriminately, after all. Berserk Impulse and Combat Immersion did level up once in the process, and I gained a couple of levels to get to 17. Again, all points to Agility 1st. Speed is important if you have a stronger but heavy and slow weapon after all. Strength does help your attacking speed theoretically, but Agility directly boosts speed. And with speed comes force. Simple physics, you know? Of course, you also need to consider strength since it sets the limit as to how fast you can swing the weapon, and what I would like to call the "afterburner" effect. No sense being able to swing at high speeds if you can’t even properly hold the weapon. Stat allocation aside, hunting felt really rewarding. I got skill proficiency, a good amount of experience and I had fun in the process. And there was still all that loot to consider. "Great. I give thanks to the great spirits for all that good loot." I carefully looted the goblins. The mob drops aren't very good, but at least they would sell for a bit when I come up to the nearest city. Each of the goblins dropped mostly coppers, but one did drop a silver coin though. I would make sure to cherish that silver coin from now on... until the kid and Tooth force me to spend it, that is. Alright, time to move on. The goblins faded to grey flashes as I quickly moved to another area. ******* It was slightly harder to hunt without the knife attached to the spear, but it was more comfortable to use without it. The increased levels did make up for the loss of my knife, but it was a painful loss regardless. Either way, for some odd reason, I was sweeping through the dungeon with ease, and soon found myself at the deepest portion of the room, where a boss monster resided, increasing my level further to about level 25. Of course, when I hit level 21, I started adding points to Strength to increase my hunting efficiency. See the explanation above for as to why I did this, I have no intention of writing another essay on the topic for the sake of not going off course. The monsters do get marginally stronger as you head deeper inside the dungeon. I found level 22 goblin warriors, level 25 goblin squad commanders, level 24 Kobolds, level 26 Kobold Fighters; And the boss monster that resided there, the level 33 Kobold Chieftain. Unlike most Kobolds, that had wolf like snouts but rather short and stocky bodies, the Chieftain was tall and well muscled, wore a large metal helmet on its head, and wielded a large two handed mace as a weapon. That mace was not a unique drop, but from what I heard from other dungeon crawlers, it was custom for most passing knights to pick it up. The weapon was really slow due to its weight, but it had immense power and the ability to easily dent and weaken armor, which was a valuable asset to have. You would have to forgo the use of a shield, but it was a powerful weapon nonetheless. The Kobold Chieftain used that mace against me now, weapon swinging down in a deadly horizontal swing. I ducked under the clumsy attack and smashed its legs with the spear shaft. It knocked away some HP, but the chieftain was unfazed. Huh. Boss monsters are a large step up from the regular mobs, huh? I stepped back, and took a stance. It was important to analyse the boss carefully for key attack patterns. In this case, the Kobold Chieftain favors horizontal swings as a means of catching multiple persons at once. In this case therefore, the party should spread out while having the tanker going up close to limit its ability to swing the mace properly. Then again, that was when you are fighting him as a party. The Kobold Chieftain swung his mace again. It was impossible to parry or block this kind of hit, so I dodged it again... Wait. Did he just swing a two handed mace with just one hand? A humongous, well muscled fist came rushing at me, catching me heavily on the chest. "Gaaaark!" I was pushed back a great distance by the blow, the air driven from my lungs. [You have lost 15% of your HP.] [You are stunned; you cannot move for a short period of time.] Crap. That was dangerous. The Kobold Chieftain didn't display that kind of behavior against party groups. That must be the AI doing its thing. In any case, I had better be careful. I caught some air as I breathed in heavily. Case in point, the Chieftain took advantage of my momentary stun and was charging at me, its mace raised in a two handed grip. It seemed that this time, he had no intention of faking out. “In that case...” I stood my ground, spear held in the Fencer stance. Basically, I faced the opponent by my side, non-master hand leading and the spear shaft pointed spear first. I didn't gain any stat boosts while in this stance, but it would make performing what I had in mind a lot easier. The Chieftain swung. I judged the timing of the attack, and stepped forward, catching the mace with the spear moving in small circular movements. While the mace had immense destructive power, when one catches the blow before it could gather the momentum, the power of the attack was diminished, and it is a lot easier to parry. It took an astute sense of timing to pull this off, but it should be worth it. The circular movement of the spear shaft deflected the mace of its initial path, throwing the mace off balance and forcing the chieftain into a jarring position. It was a pseudo-stun, which was the window of opportunity that I needed. "Sei!!" Spear shaft moving in wide arcs to gather angular momentum, I bashed the chieftain several times in succession, catching it on the head, side, legs and back. The ricochet of the blows let me phase into another attack, riding on the initial momentum to add power to the hits. The series of heavy attacks knocked a large amount off its HP bar, but it was far from over. The Chieftain naturally had a high amount of life points, being a boss monster. I created some distance between us as the chieftain recovered and lashed out with a muscled arm which I dodged, and resumed my stance. It was going to be a long fight at the rate… - Continued in Chapter 8.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> Life was easy. He had parents who paid for everything, classes which were always passed, and friends who didn’t care one way or another. Life was simple. There was no reason to work hard. What would it give him? Just a lot of sweat and hard work, and for what? Then he heard about it. The brand new state of the art technology that allowed for virtual reality had finally been perfected. And with that announcement came another announcement, a new game. A game that all experts agreed would be best game ever invented. Royal Road. With such technology, he could finally do anything he wanted. No longer would work be meaningless. If he wanted to be good at sword fighting or being a wizard, all he had to do was work for it!<br><br>“That will be $10,000.00, Sir. You will also need to make arrangements with Unicorn, Co. to make sure you pay the $300.00 monthly charge for the game. Now, would you like us to deliver the capsule to your home, or do you want to do it yourself?” The clerk in Games-R-Us asked. <br><br>Adrian Tyne looked on in enjoyment. It was so close! He could practically feel his excitement levels rising every second he stood there. Ever since he first learned about the new technology, he had devoted hours to earning money. He knew his parents probably wouldn’t spring for $10,000.00 without knowing what it was for, but he did get them to promise to give him $300.00 extra each month. That made sure his Royal Road bill would be paid for. The long hours at minimum wage where very annoying though. But he had done it. $10,000.00 collected and saved. Of course he had to dip into his funds that he received for groceries and crises, but that didn’t really matter to him. He just cared about the game. He would finally have something to work towards!<br><br>“If you would deliver it to my address as well as install it, I would be much obliged. I can also promise a large tip if they can get it there within the hour.” Adrian replied. He quickly left the store. He flagged down a cab to take him back to his townhouse. He was practically shaking in excitement. The time had finally come! After months of waiting, he had rushed out to buy the game the first day it had come out. The capsules were an addition he hadn’t exactly expected, but it made sense that he would have to lie in a capsule to be fully immersed in the virtual reality. <br><br>“Your tip goes up for every red light and stop sign you run.” Adrian told his cabbie after contemplating the cab’s speed. He had to get home! <br><br>“Right you are, Guv.” The cabbie replied. His words didn’t seem to have had any effect at first, but Adrian quickly noticed an increase in speed as well as the occasional stop sign ran. The cabbie was definitely getting a big tip. <br><br>The cab pulled up to his house after fifteen more minutes. Adrian got out and slipped the cabbie $50.00. He ran up the stairs to the door to his apartment. He wanted to read over the many tips and the information on Unicorn’s website one more time before the installer’s arrived. <br>“Ok. NPC’s give quests. Fame allows the player to gain higher level quests. Fame also allows for discounts from shops. Quests range from F-S. There are over 1000 different classes to choose from though most of those are hidden classes that are found very rarely. Most classes can be based upon a few things though. There are the artistic classes, the combat classes, and the mage classes. Yada, yada, yada… Ah! Here is what I was looking for: the species.” Adrian closely scrutinized the various species he could choose from. Each one gave different benefits. The Human species promised an even distribution of stats. A Human could choose any job and become good at it. Other species though had a more uneven distribution of stats. <br><br>Adrian already knew what class he wanted. He wanted to become a wizard. All his life he had dreamed of wielding magic. Now, he finally could. This game didn’t offer just saying a spell and casting the spell. No, this game went so much farther. The website promised that wizards could feel the magic in the air. Wizards could feel the mana in the spells. He wanted to feel that so badly! Thus, he was looking for a class that allowed a higher level of magic and magic regeneration. Those were the two crucial stats for any mage. <br><br>He instantly declined the barbarian and the human species. His main interest was the Elven races. Why Unicorn decided to have so many Elf races was a good question though. There were five races of elves and probably more could be unlocked as the popularity and storyline of Royal Road increased. The only problem associated with the Elves would be the low number of people who chose to become one. Adrian believed, rightly, that many people would choose to become humans. He didn’t have a clue how long it would be until he met his first human. The Elf races were born in their own homeland. They couldn’t choose one of the human-dominated countries to first appear in. With the very lacking information on his opening surroundings, choosing an Elf race could become a very dangerous proposition. Adrian didn’t despair though. The fewer users around me, the faster I can become stronger. It was a good attitude to have. A glass half-full attitude! <br><br>Adrian got off his computer as he heard the doorbell ringing. He hurried to open the door. Directing the moving men to his room, he watched as they installed the software and capsule. He thanked them and, as promised, gave them their tip. The door shut. It was time!<br><br>Adrian practically threw himself into the capsule. He quickly made sure everything was in the proper place. Game installed, virtual reality set, everything checked out! Adrian connected to Royal Road for the very first time.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">The scan on your iris and vein has determined that you are an unregistered user. Do you want to create a new account?</span><br><br>“Yes.” Adrian confidently replied. He looked around curiously as he waited for the voice to speak again. He stood (floated?) in endless black. It was like he stood in outer space. Though there were no stars to shine even the slightest light. It kind of freaked him. This was just the first taste of virtual reality for him.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">Select the name of your avatar.</span><br><br>“Shit!” For all his thinking and forward planning, he still hadn’t settled on a name for his character. Adrian wracked his brain quickly. <br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">Are you sure you want your name to be Shit?</span><br><br>“What? No! Let me think for a moment.” Adrian tried to pace, except… he was floating. He shook his head to clear it of the useless thoughts. He needed a name. Something cool! Ice, Slayer, Regis? No, no. All those names were juvenile! Maybe something to do with magic? Hmm… <br><br>“Pyre.” <br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">Select your gender from male, female, or neutral.</span><br><br>“Male.” Neutral? Why the hell do they offer neutral? He had to ignore the question as the voice continued.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">Royal Road has forty-nine races. You may select your race from the primary twenty.</span><br><br>“Shadow Elf.” It took him hours of thinking to pick the shadow elf. While the defensive capabilities of the shadow elf were very low, the species balanced it out by being very strong in magic, agility, and magic recovery. Their strength wasn’t too bad either. He would have to do something to get his endurance up though. <br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">You may alter your appearance.</span><br><br>“Uh… I want my hair to be solid black instead of black/brown I have now. I also want it to be long enough to put in a pony-tail. Also, make my eyes ruby red. Might as well make my appearance more interesting.” Adrian decided not to touch his actual appearance. He would make friends based on his real looks instead of some made-up face. The eyes and hair wouldn’t change his overall look, so he didn’t mind changing that. <br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">Your account has been activated. Your stats and class shall be determined while you are playing Royal Road.</span><br><br>“Alright.”<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">Select a city you want to start in.</span><br><br>“Shadow Haven.”<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">Welcome to Royal Road. Do you wish to start the tutorial?</span><br><br>“Yes, Mam!” <br><br>The game had begun. Over the entire globe, one million people logged onto Royal Road that day. Every hardcore gamer who could scrounge up the money immediately bought Royal Road the first day it came out. The main clientele came from South Korea where Unicorn originated. Very few people from other countries even knew of the game. Adrian was very lucky to be one of the few. Later on, different types of people would visit Royal Road for business, advertising purposes, or job related activities, but on that first day, only the gamers played it. And they were astounded. No longer would they have to push buttons or click a mouse. Now they could move their hands and swing their swords. The game offered unlimited food options. They could eat anything they wanted to. They could swim at the beaches or lakes. A whole new world opened up to them that day. Gone was the desire to play their PS96s or their Xbox 5000s. Virtual Reality was the only way to go. <br><br>Pyre looked around in awe. The tutorial had been amazing, but this! This was almost divine. Surrounding him was endless twilight. Shadows stalked every corner, and a lone breeze blew through the air. He was in the Shadowlands, the native home of the Shadow Elves. <br><br>Pyre turned and turned as he saw the hundreds of elves surrounding him. Each one had an AI installed into them. Each one was different and could offer amazing benefits. Any one of them could set him on his path. Pyre had a plan. He desperately wanted to find a hidden class that would lead him on the path to becoming the strongest wizard in the game. The Bersis continent was huge though. Such a class would be extremely difficult to find. Thus, his plan: visit the library. But first, he needed actual skills in magic.<br><br>“Selling fruits and vegatables!”<br><br>“Get your armor and swords here!” <br><br>“Step right up Ladies and Gentleelves! The best dresses and clothes money can buy.”<br><br>Shouts assailed him everywhere he looked. This was awesome! Now, where was the local library?<br><br>To learn magic, a person needed a few things. The first thing a person needed was the mana to charge the spell. The intelligence and wisdom stats governed the amount of mana a person contained as well as the mana regeneration. Those stats also allowed for higher level spells to be used when they were leveled up. The second thing an aspiring mage needed was a spellbook. Spellbooks actually taught the spell an aspiring mage wanted to know. A good mage would also need a skill book. Skill books could teach affinities to certain magics. Most fire mages, for example, relied heavily on their mastery of the fire magic skill. Skills advanced from beginner to intermediate to advance to master. The higher on the ladder a mage climbed, the easier it was to use fire spells. <br><br>“Ah! There it is.” Pyre raced off towards the third biggest building in the city. As the wind rushed past his face, he couldn’t help but marvel. He was already moving faster than he ever had in real life. He could feel the muscles moving in his body as he moved forward. He could smell the delicacies that were baking in the restaurants that lined the streets. No longer did NPCs not have a life. Now, they ate, worked, and did everything a user would do. The wonders of virtual reality and AI.<br><br>Pyre threw open the library doors. He stepped into… paradise. Three stories of nothing but books stood before him. Even the history books here would be awesome solely because he could actually have adventures like that! <br><br>“Ah, a foreigner! You are the first one I have ever seen.” A very pretty older woman… elf… said from behind a counter. “Come, come. There are many books here for your viewing pleasure. I will have to restrict your access to some of the more… esoteric texts though. Don’t want you learning some things too soon.” She chuckled. <br><br>“That is perfectly acceptable, my beautiful lady. I will trust your wisdom.” Pyre said with perfect sincerity. It had been rumored that the more the NPCs liked you, the better the chance to get quests and rewards. Pyre had already decided to be as polite and charming to everyone he encountered. He never knew when he could stumble upon a treasure. <br><br>“Ah, thank you. My name is Nynavia. If you need any help, I will be very, very happy to help you.” Nynavia said with a playful purr in her voice. <br><br>Pyre looked on in astonishment for a moment. She couldn't be suggesting… could she? He shook his head. Now wasn't the time. He had hours of studying to do. He very much needed to get himself acquainted with all the kingdoms of the time. Then, he would need to look into the history of the Bersis continent. Another subject would be the history and actions of the shadow elves. Knowing his species would be very helpful. <br><br>“I will certainly seek you out if I have need, Nynavia. Now, I do believe it is time for me to get reading.” So saying, Pyre walked off into the library. He quickly found the first book of his list. He started to pile up books he planned to read on a table hidden in a corner of the library. Three books soon became thirty as he continued to build up his pile. Finally, he started reading. <br><br>“The Bersis Continent is large. It is generally seen to be made up of the North, South, East, West, and Central Areas. The North consists of terrifying blizzards and below freezing temperatures ever since the collapse of the Nifleheim Empire. The monsters there are some of the most powerful on the continent. <br><br>The East and West are largely unexplored areas. There are said to be many kingdoms just waiting to be found in these areas. Many of the other species make their home in these regions. The South is made up of many tribal kingdoms as well as a few large human kingdoms. A large part of the Southern region is made up of deserts and mountains. This is a dangerous part of the Bersis continent. <br><br>The Central area is largely human-orientated though it is believed that the dwarves occupy a mountain range in one of the kingdoms. There have been many wars among the species and monster that have eventually seen the humans winning most of them. This has led to humans having firm control over this area though it is known that the monsters take every opportunity to attack.”<br><br>“*Whistle* I so have to go see all this. I will ignore the North for now, but the South, East, and West all sound amazing to go to. If I could discover an entire kingdom, I just know that my fame and reputation will shoot up. Of course, I would have to find my way out of the Shadowlands first. Damn! If only Unicorn offered a map…” Pyre went back to his reading while making plans for his future. <br>*Ding* Intelligence increase by 1 point. (+1 INT)<br><br>“Oh… That is very interesting. I did not know you could do that…” Pyre was extremely surprised. To be able to level up his stats just by reading, he hadn’t read anything like that on the Royal Road website. That did change things though. He had planned to read as much as possible and then get to quests, but now he could raise his intelligence and hopefully wisdom just by reading more books. Wisdom and intelligence were essential to being a mage. The more he upped them now, the better off he would be in the future. <br><br>“Time to start reading!” So yelling, Pyre dived back into his books. <br><br>Soon a week passed and then two in the game. Pyre logged off for five to six hours each day to sleep and get in a quick run before immediately logging back onto Royal Road. He was officially addicted. The 4x speed of gameplay to real life couldn't be more amazing. He had played for 14 days in Royal Road. Every sense he had told him that he had played for 14 days. But, in the outside world, he only played for three and a half days. It was mind-blowing! <br><br>Each day in Royal Road was spent in speed-reading. He already spent more than 250 hours reading. His stats were starting to love him. His wisdom and intelligence both increased by 13 and 14 respectively. That was equal to six level ups! He still had to stay in town for another two weeks though, and his food officially ran out. <br><br>“Nynavia!” Pyre whined. “Do you have any food you can share with me?” He pleaded. “I am starving!”<br><br>Nynavia couldn’t help but chuckle at the cute expression on the foreigner’s face. He looked so pathetic. It was so cute! <br><br>“Well… I suppose,” She took on a thinking pose with her chin resting in her hands. “And you have been so amazing in your desire to read lately. Hmm… Ok! I will feed you two meals a day for your remaining time in this library if you do something for me.”<br><br>*Ding* Helping Nynavia!<br><br>If you ‘help’ Nynavia to her satisfaction, she will make sure you are fed. The help will be tiring, so a meal will be helpful before beginning. <br>Difficulty Level: F<br>Quest Requirements: Be in the library at Shadow Haven at a certain time in the year. Have Nynavia interested in you. <br><br>Alright! My first quest! From here on, I am sure I can find more quests and quickly become an awesome mage. <br><br>“I would love to help you, Nynavia! Whatever you ask, I will endeavor to do to your heart’s content.” Pyre waxed poetically. If only he knew just what she wanted…<br><br>“Well, I want to…”<br><br>Three Hours Later<br><br>“………………” <br><br>“*Giggles* Don’t worry. You were surprisingly good for your first time. Maybe we can continue this at another time. I mean, you did say you would continue until my heart’s content. *Giggles*.” Nynavia got up from the bed and went to take a shower. <br><br>Pyre could only look at the ceiling in a daze. He had just lost his virginity, sort of. It would be different for a girl. They actually had physical proof. Males though… yes, he could say he actually lost his virginity. At least it was to a very attractive older woman, elf, whatever. <br><br>“Shit!” He looked at the door that separated him from the bathroom. He could hear the shower running in there. “Well, in for a nickel might as well be in for a dollar.” Pyre rolled off the bed and headed to the bathroom. He had a shower to share!<br><br>Two hours later<br><br>“Ah. At least my endurance went up by one. I guess I can say something positive for this adventure did happen.” Pyre chuckled to himself before opening the next book in his stack. He had easily finished the first stack of thirty he borrowed. He was now looking through as many books on wizards and magic that he could find. He also planned to go to the mage’s guild later. He wanted to check out the prices for a spell. He might be raising his stats while reading, but he also needed to raise his mastery over spells. <br><br>Spells were very easy to learn. It was turning those spells into usable combat spells that was difficult. Anyone could go buy a fireball spell for three silvers. The spell would do about 15 damage plus catch enemies on fire. A mage, though, could use the same fireball spell and do double the damage based on their spell mastery skill and use half the mana. Fire magic mastery, ice magic mastery, lightning magic mastery, wind magic mastery, and earth magic mastery were the main types of skills for mages. The higher the skill level, the more damage dealt and the less mana cost when using an elemental spell. Other vital skills included magic mastery and meditation. One helped keep the mana cost of spells down, while the other skill helped to restore mana. There were rumored to be even more hidden skills in the world as well.<br><br>Pyre looked up from his book to check the time. There was no real way to tell the time by the sun in the Shadowlands. The place lived up to its name. Night and day never appeared. The land remained shrouded in shadow at all hours. Thankfully, the game designers had installed clocks in main thoroughfares of the city. <br><br>Shaking his head at the random turn of thoughts, Pyre quickly got up from his seat and headed out of the library. He had already pinpointed the location of the Mage’s Guild earlier in the week. While many larger cities had a Mage’s Guild, the books he read suggested that there were many different kinds of guilds for magic users. He wanted a guild that catered to users of elemental magic and not summoning magic. <br><br>As he walked through the streets, he took notice of the shadows cloaking the different buildings. That told the people that the sun had set in the outside world. As night deepened around the world, the shadows took on a more ominous shading. The shadows hid the buildings and players during the night hours. During the day hours, the shadows retreated from the buildings. This provided another way to tell the time in a land where the sun never fully shone.<br><br>“How may I help you, Sir?” Pyre turned his attention back to his surroundings to find that he had arrived at the Guild. The young man before him was one of the many people hired by the guild to help guide people to where they needed to go. Pyre couldn’t tell if the elf was a NPC or user, but it really didn’t matter. As far as he could tell, every person around him could be a user or NPC and he wouldn’t know. The developers of Royal Road had created something truly unique. <br><br>“I am looking to take on an apprenticeship if possible.” Pyre answered confidently. He hoped that one of the stronger NPC mages would take pity on him and help him start out. Honestly, he didn’t even know if it was possible, but he figured there was a decent possibility.<br><br>“Um… we usually don’t accept anyone that comes in off the street, but then we have never had a foreigner try to enter either. You will have to take it up with the masters. I will guide you.” Pyre followed the guide into the guild. <br><br>Pyre looked around in awe as he walked into the guild. The building before him only had about three floors, but it was the items inside that trapped his interest. Spinning balls of magic floated around the rooms, and all manner of items were placed wherever they could be stored. It was literally a treasure trove for mages. <br><br>As he followed his guide up the marble staircase, Pyre couldn’t help but reflect on the wealth displayed. The RR website implied that mages suffered from great poverty since so many regents were needed to learn the magical arts. Certain jewels had to be bought to learn spells, all manner of herbs had to be obtained, and the spells themselves were supposed to cost a lot of money to buy just one spell. Yet the interior of the mage’s guild seemed to show just the opposite. There were freaking GOLD handrails! That is not the mark of poverty but of great riches!<br><br>“Here we are. I would caution you to show utmost respect. The masters are meeting now, so you should be able to make your plea before all the masters. You are indeed lucky since the meeting is about the appearance of so many foreigners in the lands. Otherwise the masters would be scattered to their towers in the countryside. Wait here until I come to collect you.” The guide gently knocked on the door before entering and closing the door. <br><br>Pyre looked around. He appeared to be in a waiting room. That likely suggested that the room before him was the room where the administration work of the guild was done. He took a seat in a magnificent upholstered chair. It was almost divine in how comfortable it was. He waited. <br><br>“The masters will see you now.” After an hour of waiting and boredom, the guide finally came back out of the room. Pyre leaped to his feet. He really wanted to hurry up.<br><br>“This is the foreigner who wants to learn out arts, Masters.” The guide said politely as he led Pyre into the room. This was the first time Pyre saw what were clearly high level characters. Each master had a finely polished staff or rod next to them, and all of their robes appeared glossy and extremely expensive. Rings and amulets and crowns also appeared on the masters. In all, Pyre could easily say he stood before some of the strongest shadow elves in the game. <br><br>“Young Wilkin tells us that you want to become an apprentice and learn the mysterious of magic. If you are a shadow elf, shouldn’t your parents have inducted you into the powers of magic? I have never heard of someone as old as you not knowing any kind of magic.” The master at the far left said. Pyre was momentarily stuck. He had no idea that shadow elves learned magic basically from the cradle. Lucky!<br><br>“As you know, Honored One, I am a foreigner. I was once a slave set free by the Holy One. I never had the opportunity to learn magic before now. That is why I have come to the capital of the shadow elf homeland. I want to learn of my people, and to do that, I want to learn all the secrets of magic.” Pyre said with great sincerity. He was trying to be as respectful as possible. This opportunity to speak with all the masters of the mage’s guild would not come again.<br><br>“Heh.” The master in the middle chuckled. “A child such as you thinks to learn all the secrets of magic! Preposterous! Only the Archmage can learn magic to its fullest. And there hasn’t been a shadow elf Archmage in centuries. Only the bloody humans and prissy High Elves have produced an Archmage recently. That’s two people. Only two archmages are alive right now. And you want to learn all the secrets of magic. Don’t make me laugh, Child!”<br><br>Pyre’s eyebrow shot up. There was actually such a class as Archmage? And it could learn all the secrets of magic… that had to mean that there were no magical restrictions on the class. If he could get that class, all his dreams of using magic would surely come true! <br><br>Most magical classes had certain restrictions. A mage could only use certain spells. If one wanted to specialize in fire magic, that mage couldn’t really use earth or water magic effectively. The RR website said that level 200 would allow users to branch out a little, but at that level it would be very difficult to raise another type of magic. The Archmage class would allow use of all types of magic including summons if he understood the master correctly. This was BIG information!<br><br>‘Hmm. Time to play up the slave card.’ “I have been a slave all my life, Masters. I have suffered undue cruelty. I have been powerless. Now, though, now I want power. I see magic as my means to power. I beg of you Masters to take me in as an apprentice. I promise you that my work will exemplary!” Please work. <br><br>“Chht.” The middle master got up and left the room. He was soon followed by the other six masters. Hopes failing, Pyre looked each master in the eye trying to convey his seriousness. Finally they all walked out. Learning under a master of magic would have seen his progress skyrocket very quickly. He would have been able to learn spells probably for free because the master could have taught him instead of having to buy the spell. The guild certainly looked rich enough to support any apprentice in such a manner. Now his plans were falling down. <br><br>“Ehem.” A coughing noise broke the silence. Pyre whipped around to see another master in the room that he hadn’t seen on his earlier inspection. This was another beautiful female shadow elf. Long silver hair rolled down her back, and her eyes shone like rubies. It was funny that red eyes were predominant in the shadow elf race. Here he thought he would be unique with his eye color. <br><br>“If you truly wish to reach for the sky, Young One, I will take you on as an apprentice. Too long have the Shadow Elves been laughed at by the High Elves. Too long has this guild stifled any true talent. I will train you until such a time as I believe you are ready to walk the path of power. My name is Talia, Master of the Rains.” His mouth dropped. She was honestly the most beautiful female he had ever seen. Then his brain kicked in. She would train him!<br><br>“Thank you, Master!” Pyre shouted eagerly. “I will not let you down!”<br><br>“Fu fu fu. I would hope not, My New Apprentice. I would hope not. Fu fu fu!” It was at that moment when he heard her laugh that chills started running down his spine. <br><br>*Ding* Hidden Class: If you accept it, you can use exclusive skills related to the nature of the class. Do you want to convert now?<br><br>“Yes…”<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Character Name</td><td width="25%">Pyre</td><td width="25%">Alignment</td><td width="25%">Neutral</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Level</td><td width="25%">1</td><td width="25%">Profession</td><td width="25%">Apprentice to Master of the Rains</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Health</td><td colspan="3">100</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Mana</td><td width="25%">175+150</td><td width="25%">Strength</td><td width="25%">7</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Agility</td><td width="25%">15</td><td width="25%">Stamina</td><td width="25%">10</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Wisdom</td><td width="25%">30+20</td><td width="25%">Intelligence</td><td width="25%">31+20</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Luck</td><td width="25%">0</td><td width="25%">Attack</td><td width="25%">3</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Defense</td><td colspan="3">0</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div> </div>

Life was easy. He had parents who paid for everything, classes which were always passed, and friends who didn’t care one way or another. Life was simple. There was no reason to work hard. What would it give him? Just a lot of sweat and hard work, and for what? Then he heard about it. The brand new state of the art technology that allowed for virtual reality had finally been perfected. And with that announcement came another announcement, a new game. A game that all experts agreed would be best game ever invented. Royal Road. With such technology, he could finally do anything he wanted. No longer would work be meaningless. If he wanted to be good at sword fighting or being a wizard, all he had to do was work for it! “That will be $10,000.00, Sir. You will also need to make arrangements with Unicorn, Co. to make sure you pay the $300.00 monthly charge for the game. Now, would you like us to deliver the capsule to your home, or do you want to do it yourself?” The clerk in Games-R-Us asked. Adrian Tyne looked on in enjoyment. It was so close! He could practically feel his excitement levels rising every second he stood there. Ever since he first learned about the new technology, he had devoted hours to earning money. He knew his parents probably wouldn’t spring for $10,000.00 without knowing what it was for, but he did get them to promise to give him $300.00 extra each month. That made sure his Royal Road bill would be paid for. The long hours at minimum wage where very annoying though. But he had done it. $10,000.00 collected and saved. Of course he had to dip into his funds that he received for groceries and crises, but that didn’t really matter to him. He just cared about the game. He would finally have something to work towards! “If you would deliver it to my address as well as install it, I would be much obliged. I can also promise a large tip if they can get it there within the hour.” Adrian replied. He quickly left the store. He flagged down a cab to take him back to his townhouse. He was practically shaking in excitement. The time had finally come! After months of waiting, he had rushed out to buy the game the first day it had come out. The capsules were an addition he hadn’t exactly expected, but it made sense that he would have to lie in a capsule to be fully immersed in the virtual reality. “Your tip goes up for every red light and stop sign you run.” Adrian told his cabbie after contemplating the cab’s speed. He had to get home! “Right you are, Guv.” The cabbie replied. His words didn’t seem to have had any effect at first, but Adrian quickly noticed an increase in speed as well as the occasional stop sign ran. The cabbie was definitely getting a big tip. The cab pulled up to his house after fifteen more minutes. Adrian got out and slipped the cabbie $50.00. He ran up the stairs to the door to his apartment. He wanted to read over the many tips and the information on Unicorn’s website one more time before the installer’s arrived. “Ok. NPC’s give quests. Fame allows the player to gain higher level quests. Fame also allows for discounts from shops. Quests range from F-S. There are over 1000 different classes to choose from though most of those are hidden classes that are found very rarely. Most classes can be based upon a few things though. There are the artistic classes, the combat classes, and the mage classes. Yada, yada, yada… Ah! Here is what I was looking for: the species.” Adrian closely scrutinized the various species he could choose from. Each one gave different benefits. The Human species promised an even distribution of stats. A Human could choose any job and become good at it. Other species though had a more uneven distribution of stats. Adrian already knew what class he wanted. He wanted to become a wizard. All his life he had dreamed of wielding magic. Now, he finally could. This game didn’t offer just saying a spell and casting the spell. No, this game went so much farther. The website promised that wizards could feel the magic in the air. Wizards could feel the mana in the spells. He wanted to feel that so badly! Thus, he was looking for a class that allowed a higher level of magic and magic regeneration. Those were the two crucial stats for any mage. He instantly declined the barbarian and the human species. His main interest was the Elven races. Why Unicorn decided to have so many Elf races was a good question though. There were five races of elves and probably more could be unlocked as the popularity and storyline of Royal Road increased. The only problem associated with the Elves would be the low number of people who chose to become one. Adrian believed, rightly, that many people would choose to become humans. He didn’t have a clue how long it would be until he met his first human. The Elf races were born in their own homeland. They couldn’t choose one of the human-dominated countries to first appear in. With the very lacking information on his opening surroundings, choosing an Elf race could become a very dangerous proposition. Adrian didn’t despair though. The fewer users around me, the faster I can become stronger. It was a good attitude to have. A glass half-full attitude! Adrian got off his computer as he heard the doorbell ringing. He hurried to open the door. Directing the moving men to his room, he watched as they installed the software and capsule. He thanked them and, as promised, gave them their tip. The door shut. It was time! Adrian practically threw himself into the capsule. He quickly made sure everything was in the proper place. Game installed, virtual reality set, everything checked out! Adrian connected to Royal Road for the very first time. The scan on your iris and vein has determined that you are an unregistered user. Do you want to create a new account? “Yes.” Adrian confidently replied. He looked around curiously as he waited for the voice to speak again. He stood (floated?) in endless black. It was like he stood in outer space. Though there were no stars to shine even the slightest light. It kind of freaked him. This was just the first taste of virtual reality for him. Select the name of your avatar. “Shit!” For all his thinking and forward planning, he still hadn’t settled on a name for his character. Adrian wracked his brain quickly. Are you sure you want your name to be Shit? “What? No! Let me think for a moment.” Adrian tried to pace, except… he was floating. He shook his head to clear it of the useless thoughts. He needed a name. Something cool! Ice, Slayer, Regis? No, no. All those names were juvenile! Maybe something to do with magic? Hmm… “Pyre.” Select your gender from male, female, or neutral. “Male.” Neutral? Why the hell do they offer neutral? He had to ignore the question as the voice continued. Royal Road has forty-nine races. You may select your race from the primary twenty. “Shadow Elf.” It took him hours of thinking to pick the shadow elf. While the defensive capabilities of the shadow elf were very low, the species balanced it out by being very strong in magic, agility, and magic recovery. Their strength wasn’t too bad either. He would have to do something to get his endurance up though. You may alter your appearance. “Uh… I want my hair to be solid black instead of black/brown I have now. I also want it to be long enough to put in a pony-tail. Also, make my eyes ruby red. Might as well make my appearance more interesting.” Adrian decided not to touch his actual appearance. He would make friends based on his real looks instead of some made-up face. The eyes and hair wouldn’t change his overall look, so he didn’t mind changing that. Your account has been activated. Your stats and class shall be determined while you are playing Royal Road. “Alright.” Select a city you want to start in. “Shadow Haven.” Welcome to Royal Road. Do you wish to start the tutorial? “Yes, Mam!” The game had begun. Over the entire globe, one million people logged onto Royal Road that day. Every hardcore gamer who could scrounge up the money immediately bought Royal Road the first day it came out. The main clientele came from South Korea where Unicorn originated. Very few people from other countries even knew of the game. Adrian was very lucky to be one of the few. Later on, different types of people would visit Royal Road for business, advertising purposes, or job related activities, but on that first day, only the gamers played it. And they were astounded. No longer would they have to push buttons or click a mouse. Now they could move their hands and swing their swords. The game offered unlimited food options. They could eat anything they wanted to. They could swim at the beaches or lakes. A whole new world opened up to them that day. Gone was the desire to play their PS96s or their Xbox 5000s. Virtual Reality was the only way to go. Pyre looked around in awe. The tutorial had been amazing, but this! This was almost divine. Surrounding him was endless twilight. Shadows stalked every corner, and a lone breeze blew through the air. He was in the Shadowlands, the native home of the Shadow Elves. Pyre turned and turned as he saw the hundreds of elves surrounding him. Each one had an AI installed into them. Each one was different and could offer amazing benefits. Any one of them could set him on his path. Pyre had a plan. He desperately wanted to find a hidden class that would lead him on the path to becoming the strongest wizard in the game. The Bersis continent was huge though. Such a class would be extremely difficult to find. Thus, his plan: visit the library. But first, he needed actual skills in magic. “Selling fruits and vegatables!” “Get your armor and swords here!” “Step right up Ladies and Gentleelves! The best dresses and clothes money can buy.” Shouts assailed him everywhere he looked. This was awesome! Now, where was the local library? To learn magic, a person needed a few things. The first thing a person needed was the mana to charge the spell. The intelligence and wisdom stats governed the amount of mana a person contained as well as the mana regeneration. Those stats also allowed for higher level spells to be used when they were leveled up. The second thing an aspiring mage needed was a spellbook. Spellbooks actually taught the spell an aspiring mage wanted to know. A good mage would also need a skill book. Skill books could teach affinities to certain magics. Most fire mages, for example, relied heavily on their mastery of the fire magic skill. Skills advanced from beginner to intermediate to advance to master. The higher on the ladder a mage climbed, the easier it was to use fire spells. “Ah! There it is.” Pyre raced off towards the third biggest building in the city. As the wind rushed past his face, he couldn’t help but marvel. He was already moving faster than he ever had in real life. He could feel the muscles moving in his body as he moved forward. He could smell the delicacies that were baking in the restaurants that lined the streets. No longer did NPCs not have a life. Now, they ate, worked, and did everything a user would do. The wonders of virtual reality and AI. Pyre threw open the library doors. He stepped into… paradise. Three stories of nothing but books stood before him. Even the history books here would be awesome solely because he could actually have adventures like that! “Ah, a foreigner! You are the first one I have ever seen.” A very pretty older woman… elf… said from behind a counter. “Come, come. There are many books here for your viewing pleasure. I will have to restrict your access to some of the more… esoteric texts though. Don’t want you learning some things too soon.” She chuckled. “That is perfectly acceptable, my beautiful lady. I will trust your wisdom.” Pyre said with perfect sincerity. It had been rumored that the more the NPCs liked you, the better the chance to get quests and rewards. Pyre had already decided to be as polite and charming to everyone he encountered. He never knew when he could stumble upon a treasure. “Ah, thank you. My name is Nynavia. If you need any help, I will be very, very happy to help you.” Nynavia said with a playful purr in her voice. Pyre looked on in astonishment for a moment. She couldn't be suggesting… could she? He shook his head. Now wasn't the time. He had hours of studying to do. He very much needed to get himself acquainted with all the kingdoms of the time. Then, he would need to look into the history of the Bersis continent. Another subject would be the history and actions of the shadow elves. Knowing his species would be very helpful. “I will certainly seek you out if I have need, Nynavia. Now, I do believe it is time for me to get reading.” So saying, Pyre walked off into the library. He quickly found the first book of his list. He started to pile up books he planned to read on a table hidden in a corner of the library. Three books soon became thirty as he continued to build up his pile. Finally, he started reading. “The Bersis Continent is large. It is generally seen to be made up of the North, South, East, West, and Central Areas. The North consists of terrifying blizzards and below freezing temperatures ever since the collapse of the Nifleheim Empire. The monsters there are some of the most powerful on the continent. The East and West are largely unexplored areas. There are said to be many kingdoms just waiting to be found in these areas. Many of the other species make their home in these regions. The South is made up of many tribal kingdoms as well as a few large human kingdoms. A large part of the Southern region is made up of deserts and mountains. This is a dangerous part of the Bersis continent. The Central area is largely human-orientated though it is believed that the dwarves occupy a mountain range in one of the kingdoms. There have been many wars among the species and monster that have eventually seen the humans winning most of them. This has led to humans having firm control over this area though it is known that the monsters take every opportunity to attack.” “*Whistle* I so have to go see all this. I will ignore the North for now, but the South, East, and West all sound amazing to go to. If I could discover an entire kingdom, I just know that my fame and reputation will shoot up. Of course, I would have to find my way out of the Shadowlands first. Damn! If only Unicorn offered a map…” Pyre went back to his reading while making plans for his future. *Ding* Intelligence increase by 1 point. (+1 INT) “Oh… That is very interesting. I did not know you could do that…” Pyre was extremely surprised. To be able to level up his stats just by reading, he hadn’t read anything like that on the Royal Road website. That did change things though. He had planned to read as much as possible and then get to quests, but now he could raise his intelligence and hopefully wisdom just by reading more books. Wisdom and intelligence were essential to being a mage. The more he upped them now, the better off he would be in the future. “Time to start reading!” So yelling, Pyre dived back into his books. Soon a week passed and then two in the game. Pyre logged off for five to six hours each day to sleep and get in a quick run before immediately logging back onto Royal Road. He was officially addicted. The 4x speed of gameplay to real life couldn't be more amazing. He had played for 14 days in Royal Road. Every sense he had told him that he had played for 14 days. But, in the outside world, he only played for three and a half days. It was mind-blowing! Each day in Royal Road was spent in speed-reading. He already spent more than 250 hours reading. His stats were starting to love him. His wisdom and intelligence both increased by 13 and 14 respectively. That was equal to six level ups! He still had to stay in town for another two weeks though, and his food officially ran out. “Nynavia!” Pyre whined. “Do you have any food you can share with me?” He pleaded. “I am starving!” Nynavia couldn’t help but chuckle at the cute expression on the foreigner’s face. He looked so pathetic. It was so cute! “Well… I suppose,” She took on a thinking pose with her chin resting in her hands. “And you have been so amazing in your desire to read lately. Hmm… Ok! I will feed you two meals a day for your remaining time in this library if you do something for me.” *Ding* Helping Nynavia! If you ‘help’ Nynavia to her satisfaction, she will make sure you are fed. The help will be tiring, so a meal will be helpful before beginning. Difficulty Level: F Quest Requirements: Be in the library at Shadow Haven at a certain time in the year. Have Nynavia interested in you. Alright! My first quest! From here on, I am sure I can find more quests and quickly become an awesome mage. “I would love to help you, Nynavia! Whatever you ask, I will endeavor to do to your heart’s content.” Pyre waxed poetically. If only he knew just what she wanted… “Well, I want to…” Three Hours Later “………………” “*Giggles* Don’t worry. You were surprisingly good for your first time. Maybe we can continue this at another time. I mean, you did say you would continue until my heart’s content. *Giggles*.” Nynavia got up from the bed and went to take a shower. Pyre could only look at the ceiling in a daze. He had just lost his virginity, sort of. It would be different for a girl. They actually had physical proof. Males though… yes, he could say he actually lost his virginity. At least it was to a very attractive older woman, elf, whatever. “Shit!” He looked at the door that separated him from the bathroom. He could hear the shower running in there. “Well, in for a nickel might as well be in for a dollar.” Pyre rolled off the bed and headed to the bathroom. He had a shower to share! Two hours later “Ah. At least my endurance went up by one. I guess I can say something positive for this adventure did happen.” Pyre chuckled to himself before opening the next book in his stack. He had easily finished the first stack of thirty he borrowed. He was now looking through as many books on wizards and magic that he could find. He also planned to go to the mage’s guild later. He wanted to check out the prices for a spell. He might be raising his stats while reading, but he also needed to raise his mastery over spells. Spells were very easy to learn. It was turning those spells into usable combat spells that was difficult. Anyone could go buy a fireball spell for three silvers. The spell would do about 15 damage plus catch enemies on fire. A mage, though, could use the same fireball spell and do double the damage based on their spell mastery skill and use half the mana. Fire magic mastery, ice magic mastery, lightning magic mastery, wind magic mastery, and earth magic mastery were the main types of skills for mages. The higher the skill level, the more damage dealt and the less mana cost when using an elemental spell. Other vital skills included magic mastery and meditation. One helped keep the mana cost of spells down, while the other skill helped to restore mana. There were rumored to be even more hidden skills in the world as well. Pyre looked up from his book to check the time. There was no real way to tell the time by the sun in the Shadowlands. The place lived up to its name. Night and day never appeared. The land remained shrouded in shadow at all hours. Thankfully, the game designers had installed clocks in main thoroughfares of the city. Shaking his head at the random turn of thoughts, Pyre quickly got up from his seat and headed out of the library. He had already pinpointed the location of the Mage’s Guild earlier in the week. While many larger cities had a Mage’s Guild, the books he read suggested that there were many different kinds of guilds for magic users. He wanted a guild that catered to users of elemental magic and not summoning magic. As he walked through the streets, he took notice of the shadows cloaking the different buildings. That told the people that the sun had set in the outside world. As night deepened around the world, the shadows took on a more ominous shading. The shadows hid the buildings and players during the night hours. During the day hours, the shadows retreated from the buildings. This provided another way to tell the time in a land where the sun never fully shone. “How may I help you, Sir?” Pyre turned his attention back to his surroundings to find that he had arrived at the Guild. The young man before him was one of the many people hired by the guild to help guide people to where they needed to go. Pyre couldn’t tell if the elf was a NPC or user, but it really didn’t matter. As far as he could tell, every person around him could be a user or NPC and he wouldn’t know. The developers of Royal Road had created something truly unique. “I am looking to take on an apprenticeship if possible.” Pyre answered confidently. He hoped that one of the stronger NPC mages would take pity on him and help him start out. Honestly, he didn’t even know if it was possible, but he figured there was a decent possibility. “Um… we usually don’t accept anyone that comes in off the street, but then we have never had a foreigner try to enter either. You will have to take it up with the masters. I will guide you.” Pyre followed the guide into the guild. Pyre looked around in awe as he walked into the guild. The building before him only had about three floors, but it was the items inside that trapped his interest. Spinning balls of magic floated around the rooms, and all manner of items were placed wherever they could be stored. It was literally a treasure trove for mages. As he followed his guide up the marble staircase, Pyre couldn’t help but reflect on the wealth displayed. The RR website implied that mages suffered from great poverty since so many regents were needed to learn the magical arts. Certain jewels had to be bought to learn spells, all manner of herbs had to be obtained, and the spells themselves were supposed to cost a lot of money to buy just one spell. Yet the interior of the mage’s guild seemed to show just the opposite. There were freaking GOLD handrails! That is not the mark of poverty but of great riches! “Here we are. I would caution you to show utmost respect. The masters are meeting now, so you should be able to make your plea before all the masters. You are indeed lucky since the meeting is about the appearance of so many foreigners in the lands. Otherwise the masters would be scattered to their towers in the countryside. Wait here until I come to collect you.” The guide gently knocked on the door before entering and closing the door. Pyre looked around. He appeared to be in a waiting room. That likely suggested that the room before him was the room where the administration work of the guild was done. He took a seat in a magnificent upholstered chair. It was almost divine in how comfortable it was. He waited. “The masters will see you now.” After an hour of waiting and boredom, the guide finally came back out of the room. Pyre leaped to his feet. He really wanted to hurry up. “This is the foreigner who wants to learn out arts, Masters.” The guide said politely as he led Pyre into the room. This was the first time Pyre saw what were clearly high level characters. Each master had a finely polished staff or rod next to them, and all of their robes appeared glossy and extremely expensive. Rings and amulets and crowns also appeared on the masters. In all, Pyre could easily say he stood before some of the strongest shadow elves in the game. “Young Wilkin tells us that you want to become an apprentice and learn the mysterious of magic. If you are a shadow elf, shouldn’t your parents have inducted you into the powers of magic? I have never heard of someone as old as you not knowing any kind of magic.” The master at the far left said. Pyre was momentarily stuck. He had no idea that shadow elves learned magic basically from the cradle. Lucky! “As you know, Honored One, I am a foreigner. I was once a slave set free by the Holy One. I never had the opportunity to learn magic before now. That is why I have come to the capital of the shadow elf homeland. I want to learn of my people, and to do that, I want to learn all the secrets of magic.” Pyre said with great sincerity. He was trying to be as respectful as possible. This opportunity to speak with all the masters of the mage’s guild would not come again. “Heh.” The master in the middle chuckled. “A child such as you thinks to learn all the secrets of magic! Preposterous! Only the Archmage can learn magic to its fullest. And there hasn’t been a shadow elf Archmage in centuries. Only the bloody humans and prissy High Elves have produced an Archmage recently. That’s two people. Only two archmages are alive right now. And you want to learn all the secrets of magic. Don’t make me laugh, Child!” Pyre’s eyebrow shot up. There was actually such a class as Archmage? And it could learn all the secrets of magic… that had to mean that there were no magical restrictions on the class. If he could get that class, all his dreams of using magic would surely come true! Most magical classes had certain restrictions. A mage could only use certain spells. If one wanted to specialize in fire magic, that mage couldn’t really use earth or water magic effectively. The RR website said that level 200 would allow users to branch out a little, but at that level it would be very difficult to raise another type of magic. The Archmage class would allow use of all types of magic including summons if he understood the master correctly. This was BIG information! ‘Hmm. Time to play up the slave card.’ “I have been a slave all my life, Masters. I have suffered undue cruelty. I have been powerless. Now, though, now I want power. I see magic as my means to power. I beg of you Masters to take me in as an apprentice. I promise you that my work will exemplary!” Please work. “Chht.” The middle master got up and left the room. He was soon followed by the other six masters. Hopes failing, Pyre looked each master in the eye trying to convey his seriousness. Finally they all walked out. Learning under a master of magic would have seen his progress skyrocket very quickly. He would have been able to learn spells probably for free because the master could have taught him instead of having to buy the spell. The guild certainly looked rich enough to support any apprentice in such a manner. Now his plans were falling down. “Ehem.” A coughing noise broke the silence. Pyre whipped around to see another master in the room that he hadn’t seen on his earlier inspection. This was another beautiful female shadow elf. Long silver hair rolled down her back, and her eyes shone like rubies. It was funny that red eyes were predominant in the shadow elf race. Here he thought he would be unique with his eye color. “If you truly wish to reach for the sky, Young One, I will take you on as an apprentice. Too long have the Shadow Elves been laughed at by the High Elves. Too long has this guild stifled any true talent. I will train you until such a time as I believe you are ready to walk the path of power. My name is Talia, Master of the Rains.” His mouth dropped. She was honestly the most beautiful female he had ever seen. Then his brain kicked in. She would train him! “Thank you, Master!” Pyre shouted eagerly. “I will not let you down!” “Fu fu fu. I would hope not, My New Apprentice. I would hope not. Fu fu fu!” It was at that moment when he heard her laugh that chills started running down his spine. *Ding* Hidden Class: If you accept it, you can use exclusive skills related to the nature of the class. Do you want to convert now? “Yes…” | Character Name | Pyre | Alignment | Neutral | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Level | 1 | Profession | Apprentice to Master of the Rains | | Health | 100 | | | | Mana | 175+150 | Strength | 7 | | Agility | 15 | Stamina | 10 | | Wisdom | 30+20 | Intelligence | 31+20 | | Luck | 0 | Attack | 3 | | Defense | 0 | | |

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> *<br><br>He was different from the other fishermen. Where the others used rods instead, he cast a net.<br><br>He would catch vast amounts of fish, but occasionally he came across a big one, which He would subdue with his fists. Hands dripping blood, he dragged the carcass back to shore. Where it was carefully salted and preserved for sale.<br><br>Over time, his arms became steel.<br><br>His net would haul back ridiculous amounts of fish, the net becoming a death trap for the marine life. Behind the facade of a silent and peaceful lake, lives were ended every other day, be it through nature or fisherman's bait, or mostly through his net.<br><br>He kept to himself, and even wore a mask on his face to hide his identity.<br><br>But deep down... behind the silent and taciturn mask, was something... a bit more fragile.<br><br>**<br><br>"It's a nice day for it..."<br><br>I breathed in deeply as I took in the morning view.<br><br>Before me, was a bountiful meadow. Lush green grass covered the undulating plains like a carpet.<br><br>And it was decorated. Mother Gaia smiled brightly upon the place, and bestowed it with all her glory.<br><br>Flowers with different hues as far as the eye can see. The fresh spring breeze gambolled along as though at play, and the flowers and other greenery its willing playmates as they swayed gently to the rhythm. Upon this place, the sky embraced the Earth, as though in a reunion between long lost lovers.<br><br>And then I put on a scowl.<br><br>"Atlas must be slacking off."*<br><br>I tugged the kid by the hands.<br><br>"Come along kid, let's get moving."<br><br>"Eh? Where?"<br><br>"..."<br><br>For a kid that claims to want to be Emperor someday, he seems awfully attached to his home.<br><br>"Look, kid. You DID say that you want to be Emperor some day right?"<br><br>"Yeah, that's why I study and train hard!!"<br><br>"So I'm bringing you along for an adventure. Experience would make you stronger much faster than if you just stayed home and practiced."<br><br>"But..."<br><br>"You still owe me money anyway."<br><br>"Guh!!"<br><br>A few days ago, he went through 10 rabbit meat skewers. Just yesterday, he ate half of my roasted wolf meat. Even though Lili made me share the chunk of wolf meat that I cooked, I still included it into the debt.<br><br>Lili doesn't know, of course. What she didn't know won't hurt her, right?<br><br>"Look on the bright side. You pick up something on this journey, food and drink is provided, and you pay off your debt. Isn't this a good thing?"<br><br>"Ummm... I guess so?"<br><br>"Right, so then it's settled. We have outgrown this place, let's go somewhere else!!"<br><br>"At least let me walk..."<br><br>And so, dragging the kid by his hands in a way that is fast becoming a recurring theme in this story, I set off away from the fields that covered the outskirts of the Sleepy Fortress.<br><br>***<br><br>He got his hands on a Harpoon. It was about 3 metres long with a barbed spearhead. It felt light and sturdy in his hands.<br><br>He held the weapon in one hand as easily as you would a twig. In his other hand was his trusty net.<br><br>The net has been with him for years now. It was a keepsake from his father. He had diligently kept it in good condition, and methodically fixed it when it was broken.<br><br>His father had taught him the basics of fishing. They would spend nights hunting in the open sea.<br><br>But one ill-fated day during a storm, the boat capsized, and his father was engulfed by the waves. He, on the other hand, survived, but spent 3 days swimming over and over, calling for his father. The ocean even ate the tears he shed in that valiant task.<br><br>He weakened from fatigue and lack of sustenance, and fell unconscious.<br><br>Yet Lady Luck smiled upon him, and he was washed ashore upon the island.<br><br>His hands clutched around the net from his father.<br><br>****<br><br>"Now that's more like it."<br><br>It was a dark, dank and humid cave.<br><br>I came across it by accident. A chance encounter of sorts. Let's just say I bent down to tie a shoelace and saw it in the distance. Lucky.<br><br>Well, I did recall an ability that I saw in the stat window...<br><br>It didn't smell very good, but it was something I was more used to than the fields on the outskirts of the Fortress. If you have gone through the jungles of Brunei, it was thick with the smell of decay, but at the same time it was filled with the pungent aroma of life.<br><br>Trees, plants, Fungi, animals and Bacteria feed upon the decay from the undergrowth. It was their sustenance, their way of growth. They grow and grow, living and flourish among the decay...<br><br>And eventually die themselves. Their dead corpses fall upon the undergrowth, where over time they are broken down... and returned to the Earth.<br><br>As morbid as it sounds, it was a lot more preferable to the verdant and lush green field, which had seemed so artificial, too ersatz for my taste. The cave was exactly as I describe, except for a few minor details that were of little concern to the story. Despite being devoid of vegetation naturally, the strong smell of decay still entered my nostrils.<br><br>Coincidentally, I conveniently ignored the bloodbath from that time where I went insane fighting against wolves. It's not as if wolves are particularly difficult enemies... right? *Looks at reader with a threatening expression.*<br><br>Good, we are of one agreement then.<br><br>Breaking out of my philosophical revelry, I considered doubling back to the town to stock up on supplies, but decided against it. Exploring the place blindly and without due preparation adds to the fun anyway.<br><br>"This place seems creepy..." The kid was understandably worried.<br><br>"You'll have to go in whether you like it or not. Even an Emperor must dirty his hands sometimes."<br><br>"But..."<br><br>He needs a bit more persuasion... Let's try this.<br><br>"There might be treasure..."<br><br>"Treasure? Why didn't you say so earlier!!" The kid dashed in immediately.<br><br>"So gullible, like a child... Heh heh heh." I chuckled to myself, pleased at my own quick thinking.<br><br>"He is a child anyway, so I best take care of him. It would suck to have him get into trouble. I won't be able to recoup my losses then."<br><br>With that happy thought, I headed into the cave.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">“T-tring!!”</span><br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>]You are the first to discover The Abandoned Drake Cave.<br><br>Double experience points and gold will be given for 7 days. Rare items will drop from the first monster in the cave that you kill. <br><br>Fame + 50.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>As I suspected, it was an undiscovered area, which was a rare sight near beginner areas where not even a rock was left unturned. It was indeed, my lucky day. As first discoverers of a new area, we received a bonuses of double experience points and gold, and very rare items will drop from the first mob we kill.<br><br>"Hmmm, I might be able to get something good from here."<br><br>It would be best to kill a particularly powerful monster then. A stronger mob would naturally give better drops.<br><br>However, Drakes are cousins, many times removed, of dragons by nature. They may be far inferior to even wyverns, but a drake is still a powerful force to be reckoned with, especially at our levels.<br><br>Well, if they are still living here, anyway. It did say "Abandoned" after all...<br><br>"I won't know until I try. Now where's that kid..."<br><br>I have not seen heads or tails of him ever since I entered. The place was pitch-black. There was barely any light.<br><br>"Kid must have gotten lost."<br><br>No surprises here. Oh well, it was nice knowing him. Still... I paused in my tracks, thinking to myself… And an epiphany finally struck me.<br><br>"CRAP!!! WHAT IF HE GETS TO THE GOOD DROPS BEFORE ME!!"<br><br>Must hurry, hurry!! I equipped my Spear Shaft, and dashed off into the darkness.<br><br><br><br>*****<br><br>He awoke.<br><br>Found out that he was washed up upon the shore, on an unfamiliar place.<br><br>No strength to move. Lay there for hours.<br><br>He got up, dragging his only remnant of his father's memory with him.<br><br>******<br><br>"Boy, look out there. What do you see?"<br><br>"Nothing but Sea... Ow!!"<br><br>"Hahaha, look again. In fact, look deeper. The ocean, it is teeming with life. It sustains by feeding upon itself, and creating more life. It is a natural cycle..."<br><br>"What do you mean?"<br><br>"What I'm saying is that, all life comes from the ocean. Within that origin of yours, lies the salty sea blood of your forefathers. And some day, you will return to the sea. It will call out to you when the time comes..."<br><br>The two fishermen that were father and son sat side by side in companionable silence, casting their nets to hunt for fish.<br><br>*******<br><br>Hungry....<br><br>He finally built up enough strength and got up. His stomach felt dry and empty. He took some sea water. It didn't quite agree with him, so he spat it out. But yet, it moistened the tongue, if only for a brief moment.<br><br>His stomach grumbled.<br><br>At this point, fatigue and lack of food for several days had taken his toll on him. He was like a newborn baby. His legs gave away under him, and he sank to his knees.<br><br>Food...<br><br>Of course, there wasn't any way he could procure some in his current physical state. He didn't even have the strength to forage for food. In this situation, it was hopeless.<br><br>He tugged the net closer to him for a little comfort. At least he still has this with him...<br><br>Suddenly, a weight was felt upon the net. He had not noticed it for some odd reason, as fatigued as he is. He pulled the net a bit closer, and that saw in it...<br><br>... laid several sweet fish, still alive, but barely since they were removed from the sea. They flip-flopped in a futile attempt, mouths opening and closing as they gasped for air.<br><br>Grasping one, he held it close...<br><br>... And bit into it. The fish squirmed and struggled at his hand, but just like him, the fish had been weakened from the ordeal, and couldn't break free. The fish blood tasted like iron in his mouth... but it filled him with life. As he chewed the meat rigorously, as though new life was breathed upon him, he recalled his father's words...<br><br>"The ocean, it is teeming with life. It sustains by feeding upon itself, and creating more life. It is a natural cycle..."<br><br>Through the end of a life, life is started anew in another...<br><br>Tears ran down his eyes as he slowly ate the alive but slowly dying fish, as he made a promise to live on...<br><br>……………<br><br>At this point, he broke out of his revelry. He had felt an immense weight on the net. Bracing his feet against the ground, he tugged and pulled at the net. Whatever was at the end of the net put up a valiant effort to break free.<br><br>It was a powerful struggle between the hunter and the hunted. But it was clear that he had the upper hand.<br><br>His hand grasped the harpoon.<br><br>He could see the silhouette of his quarry in the thrashing water. His arm, strengthened through years of hunting, lashed at the shadow with the harpoon. He felt a good response upon the harpoon as it fiercely pierced into a body.<br><br>The water foamed as the shadow struggled. It slowly ran red with its life blood. The struggle continued... But the prey was weakening.<br><br>Eventually he tugged out the prey. Gasping and struggling vigorously, it was an alligator pike about several meters long. It had silvery scales and a giant long snout like that of an alligator. A great gaping wound could be seen on its body. It was not long for this world.<br><br>He grasped the harpoon in both of his hands and stabbed it into the side of the pike, pinning it to the floor. Reaching the end of its tether, the pike could only twitch feebly as it quickly passed on.<br><br>He reflected upon the kill as he carefully withdrew the harpoon from the pike.<br><br>The village will eat well tonight.<br><br>Life sustains itself by devouring upon itself... and in the process, spreads out and flourishes.<br><br>********<br><br>"I should have done this a long time ago..." I held up the torch that I have lit, wincing as I rubbed against my head. In my hurry, I had ran into a couple of stalactites in places where the ceiling was lower.<br><br>It reminded me of the times where I hit my head while taking public transport. While I was trekking through the jungles of Brunei, I constantly got caught in tree branches and spider webs. While walking through a cave, like I was doing now. Height is pretty overrated, no matter what other people say.<br><br>The cave became smaller and smaller as I moved deeper inside. It was pretty uncanny how the creators of this game captured this level of geographical accuracy. Although one must wonder how a drake, let alone a colony of them, was able to live there in these conditions. No wonder they moved out.<br><br>"Anyways, I should prepare accordingly."<br><br>It was going to be tricky fighting in such cramped conditions, especially with my weapon, the spear. Or more accurately, the spear shaft, which used smashing attacks like a quarterstaff, unlike the spear. It was perhaps an irony that this was the case.<br><br>However, Kite foresaw this and taught me certain methods to get around it.<br><br>I rummaged in my bag.<br><br>"It should be here somewhere... There we go."<br><br>I took out my trusty camping knife and some rope. The knife was double edged and sharpened to a keen edge, which was strange for a camping knife, but should be useful for what I had in mind.<br><br>"Tie the knot like this... wind it around the hilt... make sure it was not wound around the blade..."<br><br>I murmured Kite's instructions as a means of recall as I carefully tied several knots to secure the knife in place, my tongue sticking out in concentration.<br><br>"That should do it."<br><br>I held up the spear shaft as I took a good look at my work. I had tied the knife around the spear shaft. For the moment, the spear was complete, but it is not at its true state. In a sense, it is complete, yet it is also incomplete. Philosophical thinking aside... I used the identification skill.<br><br>"Identify!!"<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>Knife Ash Spear (Durability 50/50)<br><br>Through the process of improvisation, the spear is complete, although not it is at its true state. It would, however, serve as a means of offense, if only for a time. The keen edge of the knife improves the attacking ability of the weapon.<br><br>Damage: 20-30<br>Agility + 10<br>Restriction: Level 10, Only the Player Character "Howard" may use this weapon. Weapon cannot be repaired.<br>Soul-linked (this weapon is permanently linked to the Player Character "Howard". Grows as the player character grows.<br>When Durability falls to 0/50, this weapon reverts to the Ash Spear Shaft instead of breaking. The knife cannot be recovered.<br>This weapon can be dismantled into its component parts</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>With the knife, the offensive prowess of the spear shaft has improved slightly. It is in an unstable state, however, and would break easily as a result.<br><br>Nevertheless, with the spear that is predominantly based around stabbing, I should be able to fight properly in the cave.<br>"Now, I should get moving."<br><br>I moved on with my improvised weapon, in search of a powerful mob to kill.<br><br>Oh, and kept my eye for the kid. He must be hungry right about now.<br><br>The cave was dark, but the light of the torch lit the path ahead. The sharpened knife tied around the spear shaft glinted wickedly in the fire light. I moved quickly, taking care to avoid the stalactites that stuck out from the ceiling.<br><br>*********<br><br>"Guh... I shouldn't have ran ahead."<br><br>The child rubbed his stomach as he moved slowly in the darkness.<br><br>Excited by the prospect of rare items and treasure, he had ran ahead of Howard, and as a result of the darkness that now surrounded him, he was now lost. To make matters worse, he was feeling hungry right about now. Still, he wasn't too worried.<br><br>"So this... is an adventure."<br><br>He has not been out of the fortress for most of his time spent here. His idea of an adventure was going out to the fields with his friends to hunt down animals. Or going through the Training Center there and beating on the statue with the sword that was passed down to him.<br><br>Ah yes, the sword.<br><br>It had belonged to a knight that used to pass by each day to visit the inn that he worked at. The innkeeper had a good opinion of him. After dinner, over foaming cups of beer, he would invite the child to sit on his lap to listen while the knight talked about the many adventures he had been on.<br>The child had sat with wide eyes as he took in accounts of mighty dragons and great warriors from generation past. Stories of enormous temples, lost in the sands of time. And a tomb built for a noble king in a distant kingdom by a famous sculptor.<br><br>And then he heard of the ultimate goal for all adventurers, which was to become Emperor. And they did it through various means. Dreams often made the man. That was where he promised himself, that he will one day become Emperor. Nevertheless, dreams or otherwise, he was still hungry.<br><br>"Some meat would be nice... Or maybe even the fried rice that Mama makes on weekends."<br><br>And then he suddenly remembered. He dug through his backpack, and took out a piece of rabbit jerky. Howard had passed him a few pieces when they set off.<br><br>"You have a ridiculous appetite... we can't just keep stopping each time to eat when you get hungry. You will have to learn to eat on the go."<br><br>Howard had said this as he passed him a few pieces of jerky.<br><br>Now, the child took the jerky and bit into it, chewing rigorously at the hardened meat.<br><br>"For a guy that is bent on even a few coppers, he has been generous..."<br><br>The child's optimistic impression could not have been further away from the truth.<br><br><br><br>Howard had given him the jerky not out of the goodness of his heart, but rather because it was the lesser of two evils. He was burning through good ingredients and spices each time they had a meal. As such, he was burning through a good amount of money.<br><br>Even though the meat was procured from his hunting, and he had hunted down herbs and wild mushrooms to cut costs.<br><br>"I can't afford to cook every other day. We only just started our adventure..."<br><br>Hence the Rabbit Jerky, which took up the bulk of his rabbit stockpile from his first day of the hunt. It kept well and filled the stomach. It also forced people to chew slowly, which gave time for the brain to signify that the stomach was full.<br><br>Of course, he remembered to record down the expense lost each time he cooked a meal.<br><br>"Eventually the child should get something good... And it will be mine. All mine... Huhuhuhahahahaha..."<br><br>*ahem*<br><br>It was an investment for the future.<br><br>"Maybe I should charge interest as well. No, that would take too much effort."<br><br>He didn't think that coppers could go into decimals when interest got involved...<br><br>"Maybe I should round it up to the nearest copper?"<br><br>That would surely be the most elegant means of resolving this issue.<br><br>"No, I don't have a calculator..."<br><br>It is truly the downfall of this generation... that kind of dependence on machinery.<br><br><br><br>Anyways, the child was busy eating the rabbit jerky given to him by Howard, out of the goodness of his heart and not for any ulterior motive such as the one detailed above. Seriously. Now forgive this author for going off point for so long.<br><br>He tore off another chunk of jerky and chewed slowly, while sitting in the dark. It was tough and hard, but it beats the living crap out of stale bread any other day.<br><br>"Gotta keep my protein level up."<br><br>Everything is a learning and training process for him. Protein lets him build up muscle and hence become stronger.<br><br>Growl...<br><br>"Weird, I'm eating now, and yet I'm still hungry. Wait, why does this seem like de javu?"<br><br>The child suddenly recalled the attack by the wolves. He finished his jerky quickly and drew the sword slung around his shoulder in one smooth movement, slashing downwards at the darkness with a vertical slash.<br><br>It caught resistance, which meant that something was nearby. A squeal could be heard as the sword drew blood.<br><br>Howard had taught the child what he could remember from his time at the Warrior's Guild.<br><br>"That knowledge is somewhat useless to me now, but perhaps you could make some use of it?" was what he said. Don't get too suspicious about this one now, dear reader.<br><br>The child took a stance, sword pointing at the supposed enemy in a two-handed grip.<br><br>Grunting and growling noises could be heard as whatever he attacked charged at him.<br><br>***************<br><br>"Hmmmm... double back... past the rock that reminds me of the flying spaghetti monster... All hail the flying spaghetti monster."<br><br>I had conveniently drawn out a simple map using a piece of charcoal from a camp fire and some paper. It wasn't very well done due to the disorientating darkness that made it difficult for me to draw, but at least it will help me get around much quicker.<br><br>What was weird was the mysterious lack of monsters. You would have thought that I might have come across something right about now.<br><br>"Even the game interface said that that there were monsters in here..."<br><br>What a disappointment. Well, the cave is abandoned after all. Regardless, I did not give up on the hunt.<br><br>"There's got to be some clue around here somewhere..."<br><br>However, in this dim light, it was difficult to make any observations. The skill that might help in this situation, <span style="font-style: italic;">Combat Immersion</span>, was only available during combat.<br><br>"The quickest way would be to get into a fight. But there's no monsters to be found..."<br><br>So I have been doubling back a few times to see if I had missed anything. But so far I have been drawing blanks.<br><br>"Hmmm... at this rate we might want to go back and recoup first. I'll go find the kid, and we'll see what he has gotten so far."<br><br>I made to head back to the entrance of the cave. Suddenly, I could feel my senses sharpening, my pulse raising in excitement. My muscles suddenly felt tense. It was <span style="font-style: italic;">Combat Immersion</span> activating itself.<br><br>From my fight with the wolves, I had gained 2 new skills, <span style="font-style: italic;">Combat Immersion</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">Berserk Impulse</span>. Initially I had dismissed them as difficult to use in battle. But since then, I had discovered several useful things about both skills, other than helping me increase my Endurance Stat. One of them, for <span style="font-style: italic;">Combat Immersion</span> at least, was as a means of detecting enemies.<br><br>Combat Immersion activates itself during the heat of battle, but an initial state would activate when any sign of the enemy was detected, be it subconsciously or otherwise. So even if it was on a minimal level, it still serves as a means to alert me to a sign of danger.<br><br>In the distance, I could see and hear with my slightly sharpened senses, signs of a fight ahead. Even in the darkness, I could easily hear the guttural sounds of a beast grunting and growling and see flashes of a sword as it leaves a silvery trail while slashing in wide arcs. There wasn't anyone else that I know of to be in the cave, so my best guess would be the kid.<br><br>"Dang it, DROPS!!"<br><br>I still haven't forgotten that the first drop bonus was in effect. Otherwise, the kid would have whispered me to gloat about his little victory right about now. With this negative thought in my head, I equipped my newly improvised spear and dashed off in the direction of the fight.<br><br>*************<br><br>The child was facing off with a mysterious creature. It was difficult to make it out in this pitch black darkness, but he could see a silhouette of the beast. It seemed to be about as tall as a human (please remember this), and wielded a sword and shield as a weapon.<br><br>He could also make out a tail in the shadows as he clashed with the opposing sword.<br><br>Going by that observation, it appeared to be a Lizard man, which is a member of the dragonoid family, although far lower down the dragonic hierarchy as it would have liked. Nevertheless, it had a good amount of intelligence, and was able to utilize several different kinds of rudimentary weapons, which in this case was a sword and shield.<br><br>The child slashed at the shadowed figure, but the sword was handily blocked by the shield. The much smaller sword was a lot easier to use in the cramped cave, but the child was having difficulty getting through the lizard man's defenses. The sword used two-handed would be able to attack with far more force, but the sword-shield combination had a greater amount of versatility. There was more ways to fight and kill with both arms moving individually rather than as a concerted force.<br><br>Couple it with the lizard man's natural ability to see well in the dark, and you could guess why the child was having trouble.<br><br>"Tch... then I'll have to attack a bit more aggressively then." He held his hand in a Kendo stance, and swung down the sword, calling out a cadence.<br><br>"Head!!"<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">*TWACK!!*</span><br><br>The sword moved in downwards arc, describing a silvery crescent as it sliced at the opponent. The lizard man blocked with the shield, and it bounced off, the child rigorously brought down the sword down again upon the shield.<br><br>"Head!! Head!! Head!! Head!!"<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">*TWACK!! TWACK!! TWACK!! TWACK!! TWACK!! TWACK!! TWACK!!*</span><br><br>He opted to attack with more force, landing a series of vertical slashes to hammer away at the lizard man's defences. The shield absorbed the bulk of the blows, but the lizard man was at once forced to go on the defensive as it desperately looked for an opening to attack.<br><br>A simplistic attack however, had less openings to exploit. A great man once said, "there are many more ways a complex plan can fail as compared to a simple one with the same goal in mind". <br><br>While complexity is added to cover for weaknesses, at the same time it opens up several more. Therefore, the simplest and most straightforward attacking method was to take a simple attack with the fewest weaknesses and constantly use it in battle. Nevertheless, there was a fatal flaw in this offensive approach. There's something called stamina after all.<br><br>At the child's current physical ability, it was difficult for him to sustain this manner of attacking. His stamina was far lower than average for obvious reasons. The series of blows soon weakened over time, and eventually petered to a halt.<br><br>The lizard man was unscathed.<br><br>Now he was back at square one, with depleted stamina and the Lizard Man was able to weather off the worst of the assault, and still had plenty of stamina to fight with. However, the poorly made wooden shield had been in bad condition, and was severely battered earlier, and as such rendered useless. As such, the lizard man was armed with only a one-handed sword against a two-handed sword user.<br><br>Nevertheless, It was its turn to go on the counter attack as it started things off with a backhand upper, its sword searing upwards.<br><br>The child swatted the opposing sword away as he turtled up, taking care to parry away the blows with minimal force and create openings for his counter attacks. Both combatants sustained damage as they took hits from one another.<br><br>There was plenty of potential left to be realized by the child. He may have had his stamina depleted, but he had a lot of fighting spirit, and was a quick learner, improving by leaps and bounds over the short period of time he was travelling with Howard.<br><br>It was simply a matter of taking the child out of his comfort zone and thrusting him into the unknown, forcing him to constantly break through the limits forced upon him. A child has its ambition channelled through such means, and as such grows in a different direction. It was a matter of nurture, as opposed to nature.<br><br>The lizard man, controlled by Artificial Intelligence, was no slouch either. Already it is adapting to the new form of offense and defence, and is creating new and innovative modes of attack.<br><br>Despite this, it was still locked in a stalemate. It was a constant struggle between opposing parties as both combatants attacked and defended desperately, seeking an opening to deal a decisive blow.<br><br>Both were so engrossed in the fight to notice that a third party has impinged upon the battlefield.<br><br>********************<br><br>I nodded appreciatively at the sight of the two combatants fighting.<br><br>"Keuheuheuheu."<br><br>An evil laugh from someone up to no good!!<br><br>But really, you have to laugh.<br><br>The kid was fighting seriously with a lizard man no more than half my size. The lizard was armed with a sword the size of a dagger and shield no bigger than a large dinner plate. It looked to be a fight of epic proportions... if it were compared to those of a fight between kindergartners. Nevertheless, it was a good experience for the kid.<br><br>I sat back and chewed on a piece of rabbit jerky as I watched. If he gets into trouble I'll step in and skewer the lizard like a shish kebab. I have always wanted to taste lizard meat anyways. Typical of my ethnic group, willing to eat anything that moves of its own locomotion...<br><br>Oh, that kid is going on the aggressive!! What an impressive series of vertical swings!! The lizard man is immediately forced onto the defensive... that shield was heavily battered and rendered useless and was quickly discarded.<br><br>And then the blows just petered out due to lack of stamina, and the lizard man swings back with a vicious uppercut!! Is the kid in trouble?!<br><br>But what's this? The kid beats aside the sword and counterattacks, and the lizard man defends well before responding with his own!! But wait, the kid parries like a champion and fires off a searing forehand towards the head!! The lizard man defends that as well!! It's a never ending exchange of attack and defence!! Why am I speaking like a sports announcer now? I don't know, but this is a sight to behold!!<br><br>I casually watched the duel while eating the rabbit jerky, blow-by-blow commentary going through my head.<br><br>Eventually, the exchange was becoming so repetitive that even the lizard man lost its stamina.<br><br>Both sides were equally tired... But what's this? It seems that both parties have reached an understanding with one another!! Oh god, are they even shaking hands?!<br><br>The kid held out his hand with the lizard man, as though seeing him as an equal. The lizard man gave a toothy grin and accepted the hand shake, gnarled hand grasping the smooth one of the child and shaking once.<br><br>It was a scene of hot-blooded manliness out from a shounen manga, shrunken down to midget size. Now I have seen everything...<br><br>The lizard man and the child made simple conversation, the lizard man using plenty of hand gestures while grunting and squealing. The boy laughed, and finally noticed that I was standing watching, He ran over with his... new friend.<br><br>"How long were you here?"<br><br>"Not long. You were enjoying yourself, so I figured that I'd watch. Who's your friend?"<br><br>The kid gave a wide smile while excitedly gesturing to the lizard man.<br><br>"This little guy says his name is Dwarf Tooth!!"<br><br>In response to the child's excitable outburst, the lizard man made a grunt.<br><br>"But he says you could call him Tooth. He has a... bit of an issue with his height."<br><br>The lizard man nodded sadly. Lizard men do tend to be a lot taller, easily reaching about the size of a human adult. This one was barely reaching up to my stomach.<br><br>"Anyways, we fought, and he said that it was fun!! And I told him that we are on an adventure, and he asks whether he can come."<br><br>"What the..."<br><br>"I'm not kidding. He says that he can bring his own food and take care of himself, so it shouldn't be a problem. Can we bring him along, please??"<br><br>The kid looked at me as though begging me to let him keep a lost puppy that he found. I sighed... and gave my consent.<br><br>Until today, I still haven't given up the idea of cooking the newly named Tooth. Lizard meat ought to taste pretty good after all. And that was how we got the third member of our little party. We didn't get any good drops, but the child managed to make a friend. It was like the ending of a children's storybook with all the pictures.<br><br>To look at it pessimistically, I got myself another mouth to feed. My wallet ought to be crying right about now.<br>*****************************************************************************************<br>Author's notes:<br><br>*Primordial Titan of astronomy and navigation. Atlas and his brother Menoetius sided with the Titans in their war against the Olympians, the Titanomachy. When the Titans were defeated, many of them (including Menoetius) were confined to Tartarus, but Zeus condemned Atlas to stand at the western edge of Gaia (the Earth) and hold up Uranus (the Sky) on his shoulders, to prevent the two from resuming their primordial embrace.<br><br>- Adapted from Wikipedia. </div>

* He was different from the other fishermen. Where the others used rods instead, he cast a net. He would catch vast amounts of fish, but occasionally he came across a big one, which He would subdue with his fists. Hands dripping blood, he dragged the carcass back to shore. Where it was carefully salted and preserved for sale. Over time, his arms became steel. His net would haul back ridiculous amounts of fish, the net becoming a death trap for the marine life. Behind the facade of a silent and peaceful lake, lives were ended every other day, be it through nature or fisherman's bait, or mostly through his net. He kept to himself, and even wore a mask on his face to hide his identity. But deep down... behind the silent and taciturn mask, was something... a bit more fragile. ** "It's a nice day for it..." I breathed in deeply as I took in the morning view. Before me, was a bountiful meadow. Lush green grass covered the undulating plains like a carpet. And it was decorated. Mother Gaia smiled brightly upon the place, and bestowed it with all her glory. Flowers with different hues as far as the eye can see. The fresh spring breeze gambolled along as though at play, and the flowers and other greenery its willing playmates as they swayed gently to the rhythm. Upon this place, the sky embraced the Earth, as though in a reunion between long lost lovers. And then I put on a scowl. "Atlas must be slacking off."* I tugged the kid by the hands. "Come along kid, let's get moving." "Eh? Where?" "..." For a kid that claims to want to be Emperor someday, he seems awfully attached to his home. "Look, kid. You DID say that you want to be Emperor some day right?" "Yeah, that's why I study and train hard!!" "So I'm bringing you along for an adventure. Experience would make you stronger much faster than if you just stayed home and practiced." "But..." "You still owe me money anyway." "Guh!!" A few days ago, he went through 10 rabbit meat skewers. Just yesterday, he ate half of my roasted wolf meat. Even though Lili made me share the chunk of wolf meat that I cooked, I still included it into the debt. Lili doesn't know, of course. What she didn't know won't hurt her, right? "Look on the bright side. You pick up something on this journey, food and drink is provided, and you pay off your debt. Isn't this a good thing?" "Ummm... I guess so?" "Right, so then it's settled. We have outgrown this place, let's go somewhere else!!" "At least let me walk..." And so, dragging the kid by his hands in a way that is fast becoming a recurring theme in this story, I set off away from the fields that covered the outskirts of the Sleepy Fortress. *** He got his hands on a Harpoon. It was about 3 metres long with a barbed spearhead. It felt light and sturdy in his hands. He held the weapon in one hand as easily as you would a twig. In his other hand was his trusty net. The net has been with him for years now. It was a keepsake from his father. He had diligently kept it in good condition, and methodically fixed it when it was broken. His father had taught him the basics of fishing. They would spend nights hunting in the open sea. But one ill-fated day during a storm, the boat capsized, and his father was engulfed by the waves. He, on the other hand, survived, but spent 3 days swimming over and over, calling for his father. The ocean even ate the tears he shed in that valiant task. He weakened from fatigue and lack of sustenance, and fell unconscious. Yet Lady Luck smiled upon him, and he was washed ashore upon the island. His hands clutched around the net from his father. **** "Now that's more like it." It was a dark, dank and humid cave. I came across it by accident. A chance encounter of sorts. Let's just say I bent down to tie a shoelace and saw it in the distance. Lucky. Well, I did recall an ability that I saw in the stat window... It didn't smell very good, but it was something I was more used to than the fields on the outskirts of the Fortress. If you have gone through the jungles of Brunei, it was thick with the smell of decay, but at the same time it was filled with the pungent aroma of life. Trees, plants, Fungi, animals and Bacteria feed upon the decay from the undergrowth. It was their sustenance, their way of growth. They grow and grow, living and flourish among the decay... And eventually die themselves. Their dead corpses fall upon the undergrowth, where over time they are broken down... and returned to the Earth. As morbid as it sounds, it was a lot more preferable to the verdant and lush green field, which had seemed so artificial, too ersatz for my taste. The cave was exactly as I describe, except for a few minor details that were of little concern to the story. Despite being devoid of vegetation naturally, the strong smell of decay still entered my nostrils. Coincidentally, I conveniently ignored the bloodbath from that time where I went insane fighting against wolves. It's not as if wolves are particularly difficult enemies... right? *Looks at reader with a threatening expression.* Good, we are of one agreement then. Breaking out of my philosophical revelry, I considered doubling back to the town to stock up on supplies, but decided against it. Exploring the place blindly and without due preparation adds to the fun anyway. "This place seems creepy..." The kid was understandably worried. "You'll have to go in whether you like it or not. Even an Emperor must dirty his hands sometimes." "But..." He needs a bit more persuasion... Let's try this. "There might be treasure..." "Treasure? Why didn't you say so earlier!!" The kid dashed in immediately. "So gullible, like a child... Heh heh heh." I chuckled to myself, pleased at my own quick thinking. "He is a child anyway, so I best take care of him. It would suck to have him get into trouble. I won't be able to recoup my losses then." With that happy thought, I headed into the cave. “T-tring!!” | ]You are the first to discover The Abandoned Drake Cave.Double experience points and gold will be given for 7 days. Rare items will drop from the first monster in the cave that you kill. Fame + 50. | | --- | As I suspected, it was an undiscovered area, which was a rare sight near beginner areas where not even a rock was left unturned. It was indeed, my lucky day. As first discoverers of a new area, we received a bonuses of double experience points and gold, and very rare items will drop from the first mob we kill. "Hmmm, I might be able to get something good from here." It would be best to kill a particularly powerful monster then. A stronger mob would naturally give better drops. However, Drakes are cousins, many times removed, of dragons by nature. They may be far inferior to even wyverns, but a drake is still a powerful force to be reckoned with, especially at our levels. Well, if they are still living here, anyway. It did say "Abandoned" after all... "I won't know until I try. Now where's that kid..." I have not seen heads or tails of him ever since I entered. The place was pitch-black. There was barely any light. "Kid must have gotten lost." No surprises here. Oh well, it was nice knowing him. Still... I paused in my tracks, thinking to myself… And an epiphany finally struck me. "CRAP!!! WHAT IF HE GETS TO THE GOOD DROPS BEFORE ME!!" Must hurry, hurry!! I equipped my Spear Shaft, and dashed off into the darkness. ***** He awoke. Found out that he was washed up upon the shore, on an unfamiliar place. No strength to move. Lay there for hours. He got up, dragging his only remnant of his father's memory with him. ****** "Boy, look out there. What do you see?" "Nothing but Sea... Ow!!" "Hahaha, look again. In fact, look deeper. The ocean, it is teeming with life. It sustains by feeding upon itself, and creating more life. It is a natural cycle..." "What do you mean?" "What I'm saying is that, all life comes from the ocean. Within that origin of yours, lies the salty sea blood of your forefathers. And some day, you will return to the sea. It will call out to you when the time comes..." The two fishermen that were father and son sat side by side in companionable silence, casting their nets to hunt for fish. ******* Hungry.... He finally built up enough strength and got up. His stomach felt dry and empty. He took some sea water. It didn't quite agree with him, so he spat it out. But yet, it moistened the tongue, if only for a brief moment. His stomach grumbled. At this point, fatigue and lack of food for several days had taken his toll on him. He was like a newborn baby. His legs gave away under him, and he sank to his knees. Food... Of course, there wasn't any way he could procure some in his current physical state. He didn't even have the strength to forage for food. In this situation, it was hopeless. He tugged the net closer to him for a little comfort. At least he still has this with him... Suddenly, a weight was felt upon the net. He had not noticed it for some odd reason, as fatigued as he is. He pulled the net a bit closer, and that saw in it... ... laid several sweet fish, still alive, but barely since they were removed from the sea. They flip-flopped in a futile attempt, mouths opening and closing as they gasped for air. Grasping one, he held it close... ... And bit into it. The fish squirmed and struggled at his hand, but just like him, the fish had been weakened from the ordeal, and couldn't break free. The fish blood tasted like iron in his mouth... but it filled him with life. As he chewed the meat rigorously, as though new life was breathed upon him, he recalled his father's words... "The ocean, it is teeming with life. It sustains by feeding upon itself, and creating more life. It is a natural cycle..." Through the end of a life, life is started anew in another... Tears ran down his eyes as he slowly ate the alive but slowly dying fish, as he made a promise to live on... …………… At this point, he broke out of his revelry. He had felt an immense weight on the net. Bracing his feet against the ground, he tugged and pulled at the net. Whatever was at the end of the net put up a valiant effort to break free. It was a powerful struggle between the hunter and the hunted. But it was clear that he had the upper hand. His hand grasped the harpoon. He could see the silhouette of his quarry in the thrashing water. His arm, strengthened through years of hunting, lashed at the shadow with the harpoon. He felt a good response upon the harpoon as it fiercely pierced into a body. The water foamed as the shadow struggled. It slowly ran red with its life blood. The struggle continued... But the prey was weakening. Eventually he tugged out the prey. Gasping and struggling vigorously, it was an alligator pike about several meters long. It had silvery scales and a giant long snout like that of an alligator. A great gaping wound could be seen on its body. It was not long for this world. He grasped the harpoon in both of his hands and stabbed it into the side of the pike, pinning it to the floor. Reaching the end of its tether, the pike could only twitch feebly as it quickly passed on. He reflected upon the kill as he carefully withdrew the harpoon from the pike. The village will eat well tonight. Life sustains itself by devouring upon itself... and in the process, spreads out and flourishes. ******** "I should have done this a long time ago..." I held up the torch that I have lit, wincing as I rubbed against my head. In my hurry, I had ran into a couple of stalactites in places where the ceiling was lower. It reminded me of the times where I hit my head while taking public transport. While I was trekking through the jungles of Brunei, I constantly got caught in tree branches and spider webs. While walking through a cave, like I was doing now. Height is pretty overrated, no matter what other people say. The cave became smaller and smaller as I moved deeper inside. It was pretty uncanny how the creators of this game captured this level of geographical accuracy. Although one must wonder how a drake, let alone a colony of them, was able to live there in these conditions. No wonder they moved out. "Anyways, I should prepare accordingly." It was going to be tricky fighting in such cramped conditions, especially with my weapon, the spear. Or more accurately, the spear shaft, which used smashing attacks like a quarterstaff, unlike the spear. It was perhaps an irony that this was the case. However, Kite foresaw this and taught me certain methods to get around it. I rummaged in my bag. "It should be here somewhere... There we go." I took out my trusty camping knife and some rope. The knife was double edged and sharpened to a keen edge, which was strange for a camping knife, but should be useful for what I had in mind. "Tie the knot like this... wind it around the hilt... make sure it was not wound around the blade..." I murmured Kite's instructions as a means of recall as I carefully tied several knots to secure the knife in place, my tongue sticking out in concentration. "That should do it." I held up the spear shaft as I took a good look at my work. I had tied the knife around the spear shaft. For the moment, the spear was complete, but it is not at its true state. In a sense, it is complete, yet it is also incomplete. Philosophical thinking aside... I used the identification skill. "Identify!!" | Knife Ash Spear (Durability 50/50)Through the process of improvisation, the spear is complete, although not it is at its true state. It would, however, serve as a means of offense, if only for a time. The keen edge of the knife improves the attacking ability of the weapon.Damage: 20-30Agility + 10Restriction: Level 10, Only the Player Character "Howard" may use this weapon. Weapon cannot be repaired.Soul-linked (this weapon is permanently linked to the Player Character "Howard". Grows as the player character grows.When Durability falls to 0/50, this weapon reverts to the Ash Spear Shaft instead of breaking. The knife cannot be recovered.This weapon can be dismantled into its component parts | | --- | With the knife, the offensive prowess of the spear shaft has improved slightly. It is in an unstable state, however, and would break easily as a result. Nevertheless, with the spear that is predominantly based around stabbing, I should be able to fight properly in the cave. "Now, I should get moving." I moved on with my improvised weapon, in search of a powerful mob to kill. Oh, and kept my eye for the kid. He must be hungry right about now. The cave was dark, but the light of the torch lit the path ahead. The sharpened knife tied around the spear shaft glinted wickedly in the fire light. I moved quickly, taking care to avoid the stalactites that stuck out from the ceiling. ********* "Guh... I shouldn't have ran ahead." The child rubbed his stomach as he moved slowly in the darkness. Excited by the prospect of rare items and treasure, he had ran ahead of Howard, and as a result of the darkness that now surrounded him, he was now lost. To make matters worse, he was feeling hungry right about now. Still, he wasn't too worried. "So this... is an adventure." He has not been out of the fortress for most of his time spent here. His idea of an adventure was going out to the fields with his friends to hunt down animals. Or going through the Training Center there and beating on the statue with the sword that was passed down to him. Ah yes, the sword. It had belonged to a knight that used to pass by each day to visit the inn that he worked at. The innkeeper had a good opinion of him. After dinner, over foaming cups of beer, he would invite the child to sit on his lap to listen while the knight talked about the many adventures he had been on. The child had sat with wide eyes as he took in accounts of mighty dragons and great warriors from generation past. Stories of enormous temples, lost in the sands of time. And a tomb built for a noble king in a distant kingdom by a famous sculptor. And then he heard of the ultimate goal for all adventurers, which was to become Emperor. And they did it through various means. Dreams often made the man. That was where he promised himself, that he will one day become Emperor. Nevertheless, dreams or otherwise, he was still hungry. "Some meat would be nice... Or maybe even the fried rice that Mama makes on weekends." And then he suddenly remembered. He dug through his backpack, and took out a piece of rabbit jerky. Howard had passed him a few pieces when they set off. "You have a ridiculous appetite... we can't just keep stopping each time to eat when you get hungry. You will have to learn to eat on the go." Howard had said this as he passed him a few pieces of jerky. Now, the child took the jerky and bit into it, chewing rigorously at the hardened meat. "For a guy that is bent on even a few coppers, he has been generous..." The child's optimistic impression could not have been further away from the truth. Howard had given him the jerky not out of the goodness of his heart, but rather because it was the lesser of two evils. He was burning through good ingredients and spices each time they had a meal. As such, he was burning through a good amount of money. Even though the meat was procured from his hunting, and he had hunted down herbs and wild mushrooms to cut costs. "I can't afford to cook every other day. We only just started our adventure..." Hence the Rabbit Jerky, which took up the bulk of his rabbit stockpile from his first day of the hunt. It kept well and filled the stomach. It also forced people to chew slowly, which gave time for the brain to signify that the stomach was full. Of course, he remembered to record down the expense lost each time he cooked a meal. "Eventually the child should get something good... And it will be mine. All mine... Huhuhuhahahahaha..." *ahem* It was an investment for the future. "Maybe I should charge interest as well. No, that would take too much effort." He didn't think that coppers could go into decimals when interest got involved... "Maybe I should round it up to the nearest copper?" That would surely be the most elegant means of resolving this issue. "No, I don't have a calculator..." It is truly the downfall of this generation... that kind of dependence on machinery. Anyways, the child was busy eating the rabbit jerky given to him by Howard, out of the goodness of his heart and not for any ulterior motive such as the one detailed above. Seriously. Now forgive this author for going off point for so long. He tore off another chunk of jerky and chewed slowly, while sitting in the dark. It was tough and hard, but it beats the living crap out of stale bread any other day. "Gotta keep my protein level up." Everything is a learning and training process for him. Protein lets him build up muscle and hence become stronger. Growl... "Weird, I'm eating now, and yet I'm still hungry. Wait, why does this seem like de javu?" The child suddenly recalled the attack by the wolves. He finished his jerky quickly and drew the sword slung around his shoulder in one smooth movement, slashing downwards at the darkness with a vertical slash. It caught resistance, which meant that something was nearby. A squeal could be heard as the sword drew blood. Howard had taught the child what he could remember from his time at the Warrior's Guild. "That knowledge is somewhat useless to me now, but perhaps you could make some use of it?" was what he said. Don't get too suspicious about this one now, dear reader. The child took a stance, sword pointing at the supposed enemy in a two-handed grip. Grunting and growling noises could be heard as whatever he attacked charged at him. *************** "Hmmmm... double back... past the rock that reminds me of the flying spaghetti monster... All hail the flying spaghetti monster." I had conveniently drawn out a simple map using a piece of charcoal from a camp fire and some paper. It wasn't very well done due to the disorientating darkness that made it difficult for me to draw, but at least it will help me get around much quicker. What was weird was the mysterious lack of monsters. You would have thought that I might have come across something right about now. "Even the game interface said that that there were monsters in here..." What a disappointment. Well, the cave is abandoned after all. Regardless, I did not give up on the hunt. "There's got to be some clue around here somewhere..." However, in this dim light, it was difficult to make any observations. The skill that might help in this situation, Combat Immersion, was only available during combat. "The quickest way would be to get into a fight. But there's no monsters to be found..." So I have been doubling back a few times to see if I had missed anything. But so far I have been drawing blanks. "Hmmm... at this rate we might want to go back and recoup first. I'll go find the kid, and we'll see what he has gotten so far." I made to head back to the entrance of the cave. Suddenly, I could feel my senses sharpening, my pulse raising in excitement. My muscles suddenly felt tense. It was Combat Immersion activating itself. From my fight with the wolves, I had gained 2 new skills, Combat Immersion and Berserk Impulse. Initially I had dismissed them as difficult to use in battle. But since then, I had discovered several useful things about both skills, other than helping me increase my Endurance Stat. One of them, for Combat Immersion at least, was as a means of detecting enemies. Combat Immersion activates itself during the heat of battle, but an initial state would activate when any sign of the enemy was detected, be it subconsciously or otherwise. So even if it was on a minimal level, it still serves as a means to alert me to a sign of danger. In the distance, I could see and hear with my slightly sharpened senses, signs of a fight ahead. Even in the darkness, I could easily hear the guttural sounds of a beast grunting and growling and see flashes of a sword as it leaves a silvery trail while slashing in wide arcs. There wasn't anyone else that I know of to be in the cave, so my best guess would be the kid. "Dang it, DROPS!!" I still haven't forgotten that the first drop bonus was in effect. Otherwise, the kid would have whispered me to gloat about his little victory right about now. With this negative thought in my head, I equipped my newly improvised spear and dashed off in the direction of the fight. ************* The child was facing off with a mysterious creature. It was difficult to make it out in this pitch black darkness, but he could see a silhouette of the beast. It seemed to be about as tall as a human (please remember this), and wielded a sword and shield as a weapon. He could also make out a tail in the shadows as he clashed with the opposing sword. Going by that observation, it appeared to be a Lizard man, which is a member of the dragonoid family, although far lower down the dragonic hierarchy as it would have liked. Nevertheless, it had a good amount of intelligence, and was able to utilize several different kinds of rudimentary weapons, which in this case was a sword and shield. The child slashed at the shadowed figure, but the sword was handily blocked by the shield. The much smaller sword was a lot easier to use in the cramped cave, but the child was having difficulty getting through the lizard man's defenses. The sword used two-handed would be able to attack with far more force, but the sword-shield combination had a greater amount of versatility. There was more ways to fight and kill with both arms moving individually rather than as a concerted force. Couple it with the lizard man's natural ability to see well in the dark, and you could guess why the child was having trouble. "Tch... then I'll have to attack a bit more aggressively then." He held his hand in a Kendo stance, and swung down the sword, calling out a cadence. "Head!!" *TWACK!!* The sword moved in downwards arc, describing a silvery crescent as it sliced at the opponent. The lizard man blocked with the shield, and it bounced off, the child rigorously brought down the sword down again upon the shield. "Head!! Head!! Head!! Head!!" *TWACK!! TWACK!! TWACK!! TWACK!! TWACK!! TWACK!! TWACK!!* He opted to attack with more force, landing a series of vertical slashes to hammer away at the lizard man's defences. The shield absorbed the bulk of the blows, but the lizard man was at once forced to go on the defensive as it desperately looked for an opening to attack. A simplistic attack however, had less openings to exploit. A great man once said, "there are many more ways a complex plan can fail as compared to a simple one with the same goal in mind". While complexity is added to cover for weaknesses, at the same time it opens up several more. Therefore, the simplest and most straightforward attacking method was to take a simple attack with the fewest weaknesses and constantly use it in battle. Nevertheless, there was a fatal flaw in this offensive approach. There's something called stamina after all. At the child's current physical ability, it was difficult for him to sustain this manner of attacking. His stamina was far lower than average for obvious reasons. The series of blows soon weakened over time, and eventually petered to a halt. The lizard man was unscathed. Now he was back at square one, with depleted stamina and the Lizard Man was able to weather off the worst of the assault, and still had plenty of stamina to fight with. However, the poorly made wooden shield had been in bad condition, and was severely battered earlier, and as such rendered useless. As such, the lizard man was armed with only a one-handed sword against a two-handed sword user. Nevertheless, It was its turn to go on the counter attack as it started things off with a backhand upper, its sword searing upwards. The child swatted the opposing sword away as he turtled up, taking care to parry away the blows with minimal force and create openings for his counter attacks. Both combatants sustained damage as they took hits from one another. There was plenty of potential left to be realized by the child. He may have had his stamina depleted, but he had a lot of fighting spirit, and was a quick learner, improving by leaps and bounds over the short period of time he was travelling with Howard. It was simply a matter of taking the child out of his comfort zone and thrusting him into the unknown, forcing him to constantly break through the limits forced upon him. A child has its ambition channelled through such means, and as such grows in a different direction. It was a matter of nurture, as opposed to nature. The lizard man, controlled by Artificial Intelligence, was no slouch either. Already it is adapting to the new form of offense and defence, and is creating new and innovative modes of attack. Despite this, it was still locked in a stalemate. It was a constant struggle between opposing parties as both combatants attacked and defended desperately, seeking an opening to deal a decisive blow. Both were so engrossed in the fight to notice that a third party has impinged upon the battlefield. ******************** I nodded appreciatively at the sight of the two combatants fighting. "Keuheuheuheu." An evil laugh from someone up to no good!! But really, you have to laugh. The kid was fighting seriously with a lizard man no more than half my size. The lizard was armed with a sword the size of a dagger and shield no bigger than a large dinner plate. It looked to be a fight of epic proportions... if it were compared to those of a fight between kindergartners. Nevertheless, it was a good experience for the kid. I sat back and chewed on a piece of rabbit jerky as I watched. If he gets into trouble I'll step in and skewer the lizard like a shish kebab. I have always wanted to taste lizard meat anyways. Typical of my ethnic group, willing to eat anything that moves of its own locomotion... Oh, that kid is going on the aggressive!! What an impressive series of vertical swings!! The lizard man is immediately forced onto the defensive... that shield was heavily battered and rendered useless and was quickly discarded. And then the blows just petered out due to lack of stamina, and the lizard man swings back with a vicious uppercut!! Is the kid in trouble?! But what's this? The kid beats aside the sword and counterattacks, and the lizard man defends well before responding with his own!! But wait, the kid parries like a champion and fires off a searing forehand towards the head!! The lizard man defends that as well!! It's a never ending exchange of attack and defence!! Why am I speaking like a sports announcer now? I don't know, but this is a sight to behold!! I casually watched the duel while eating the rabbit jerky, blow-by-blow commentary going through my head. Eventually, the exchange was becoming so repetitive that even the lizard man lost its stamina. Both sides were equally tired... But what's this? It seems that both parties have reached an understanding with one another!! Oh god, are they even shaking hands?! The kid held out his hand with the lizard man, as though seeing him as an equal. The lizard man gave a toothy grin and accepted the hand shake, gnarled hand grasping the smooth one of the child and shaking once. It was a scene of hot-blooded manliness out from a shounen manga, shrunken down to midget size. Now I have seen everything... The lizard man and the child made simple conversation, the lizard man using plenty of hand gestures while grunting and squealing. The boy laughed, and finally noticed that I was standing watching, He ran over with his... new friend. "How long were you here?" "Not long. You were enjoying yourself, so I figured that I'd watch. Who's your friend?" The kid gave a wide smile while excitedly gesturing to the lizard man. "This little guy says his name is Dwarf Tooth!!" In response to the child's excitable outburst, the lizard man made a grunt. "But he says you could call him Tooth. He has a... bit of an issue with his height." The lizard man nodded sadly. Lizard men do tend to be a lot taller, easily reaching about the size of a human adult. This one was barely reaching up to my stomach. "Anyways, we fought, and he said that it was fun!! And I told him that we are on an adventure, and he asks whether he can come." "What the..." "I'm not kidding. He says that he can bring his own food and take care of himself, so it shouldn't be a problem. Can we bring him along, please??" The kid looked at me as though begging me to let him keep a lost puppy that he found. I sighed... and gave my consent. Until today, I still haven't given up the idea of cooking the newly named Tooth. Lizard meat ought to taste pretty good after all. And that was how we got the third member of our little party. We didn't get any good drops, but the child managed to make a friend. It was like the ending of a children's storybook with all the pictures. To look at it pessimistically, I got myself another mouth to feed. My wallet ought to be crying right about now. ***************************************************************************************** Author's notes: *Primordial Titan of astronomy and navigation. Atlas and his brother Menoetius sided with the Titans in their war against the Olympians, the Titanomachy. When the Titans were defeated, many of them (including Menoetius) were confined to Tartarus, but Zeus condemned Atlas to stand at the western edge of Gaia (the Earth) and hold up Uranus (the Sky) on his shoulders, to prevent the two from resuming their primordial embrace. - Adapted from Wikipedia.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">January, 1945.</span></span><br><br>The dull *krump* *krump* of artillery rolled like thunder in the distant horizon as the two men silently gazed at the tombstone before them, hearts unbearably crushing in agony whilst crows soar overhead seemingly laughing at their misery as though it didn’t mattered. That it was insignificant. Gerhard hated crows.<br><br><img src="http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk285/black_ferrus/Blut%20und%20Eisen/Thelastmeeting1_zpsb03c9524.jpg" border="0" alt="http%3a%2f%2fi283.photobucket.com%2falbums%2fkk285...3c9524.jpg"><br><br>"Albert…. Why did you have to do this to us!", the kneeling figure cried out, his voice barely containing the grief coursing through his body.<br><br>"Dieter…. We must leave soon", Gerhard whispered softly.<br><br>"But <span style="font-style: italic;">bruder</span> &lt;brother&gt;….. how…how can I explain to mother that I let him out of my sight for only a moment… and now this. One of her sons is DEAD!", Dieter wailed.<br><br>Gerhard gazed up into the darkening sky which throbbed and flashed with enemy bombers being peppered by a soaring hail of flak, the orange streaks racing high into the air to explode against their hulls. Already Prussia was being bombarded in preparation for the unstoppable Russian offensive steamrolling through the German lines in the east. Thousands of men were dying at this moment all to buy time for the evacuation.<br><br>"We… we are probably not long for this world too. The Russians are only days away from <span style="font-style: italic;">Tirschtiegel</span> but <span style="font-style: italic;">Vater und mutter</span> &lt;father and mother&gt; are refusing to evacuate with the other refugees. Our little sister Anne is trying to convince them but they are being way too stubborn. Saying that this is our land and that the Russians can never evict a von Natzmer from his birthright without first paying in blood", Gerhard shook his head in disbelief.<br><br>"Like the Russkies will care about rights…. They are here for vengeance. Soon our people will bleed for what we have done in Russia"<br>"You believe we won't win this, Gerhard?", his brother turned his head to look at him, eyes red from weeping.<br><br>"… I am just a realist. Hitler is a dreamer. We are losing this war because of his madness. And now… there is no place that is safe. At least Hannah and Hermann are in Berlin right now, thank <span style="font-style: italic;">gott </span>&lt;god&gt;"<br><br>"So.. it's finally the end, is it?"<br><br>Gerhard glanced at his brother briefly before turning to look at the tombstone of his little brother. All that remained of the studious and serious little brother.<br><br>"Albert…. You should have gone to university like papa wanted…", Gerhard muttered hoarsely.<br><br>Soon it began to rain, the air smelling like iron and ash as the war slowly crept closer to German homes, acting finally as a signal for Dieter to rise shakily. Seeing this, Gerhard put his officer's cap on before walking towards the grave and depositing an old sketchbook and pen, belongings of a once promising future now snuffed out before its time.<br><br>"Dieter", Gerhard grasped his other little brother, the last one he had left and said, "I hope your division gets out of here in one piece"<br><br>"What about you? What is the <span style="font-style: italic;">Großdeutschland</span> ordered to do this time?", Dieter demanded bitterly.<br><br>Gerhard smiled sadly as he replied, "We are to hold at all cost. Come lets not talk about this and return back to our units. The men need us for the dark days to come".<br><br>As they began walking away, Gerhard turned around one last time and said in parting to Albert's grave, "Brother… don’t stay too comfortable, it looks like I will be seeing you again shortly. I won't leave you alone in <span style="font-style: italic;">Himmel</span> &lt;Heaven&gt; for too long"<br><br>Only the pitter patter of rain was the reply to the disappearing backs of the two war weary men. </div>

January, 1945. The dull *krump* *krump* of artillery rolled like thunder in the distant horizon as the two men silently gazed at the tombstone before them, hearts unbearably crushing in agony whilst crows soar overhead seemingly laughing at their misery as though it didn’t mattered. That it was insignificant. Gerhard hated crows.  "Albert…. Why did you have to do this to us!", the kneeling figure cried out, his voice barely containing the grief coursing through his body. "Dieter…. We must leave soon", Gerhard whispered softly. "But bruder <brother>….. how…how can I explain to mother that I let him out of my sight for only a moment… and now this. One of her sons is DEAD!", Dieter wailed. Gerhard gazed up into the darkening sky which throbbed and flashed with enemy bombers being peppered by a soaring hail of flak, the orange streaks racing high into the air to explode against their hulls. Already Prussia was being bombarded in preparation for the unstoppable Russian offensive steamrolling through the German lines in the east. Thousands of men were dying at this moment all to buy time for the evacuation. "We… we are probably not long for this world too. The Russians are only days away from Tirschtiegel but Vater und mutter <father and mother> are refusing to evacuate with the other refugees. Our little sister Anne is trying to convince them but they are being way too stubborn. Saying that this is our land and that the Russians can never evict a von Natzmer from his birthright without first paying in blood", Gerhard shook his head in disbelief. "Like the Russkies will care about rights…. They are here for vengeance. Soon our people will bleed for what we have done in Russia" "You believe we won't win this, Gerhard?", his brother turned his head to look at him, eyes red from weeping. "… I am just a realist. Hitler is a dreamer. We are losing this war because of his madness. And now… there is no place that is safe. At least Hannah and Hermann are in Berlin right now, thank gott <god>" "So.. it's finally the end, is it?" Gerhard glanced at his brother briefly before turning to look at the tombstone of his little brother. All that remained of the studious and serious little brother. "Albert…. You should have gone to university like papa wanted…", Gerhard muttered hoarsely. Soon it began to rain, the air smelling like iron and ash as the war slowly crept closer to German homes, acting finally as a signal for Dieter to rise shakily. Seeing this, Gerhard put his officer's cap on before walking towards the grave and depositing an old sketchbook and pen, belongings of a once promising future now snuffed out before its time. "Dieter", Gerhard grasped his other little brother, the last one he had left and said, "I hope your division gets out of here in one piece" "What about you? What is the Großdeutschland ordered to do this time?", Dieter demanded bitterly. Gerhard smiled sadly as he replied, "We are to hold at all cost. Come lets not talk about this and return back to our units. The men need us for the dark days to come". As they began walking away, Gerhard turned around one last time and said in parting to Albert's grave, "Brother… don’t stay too comfortable, it looks like I will be seeing you again shortly. I won't leave you alone in Himmel <Heaven> for too long" Only the pitter patter of rain was the reply to the disappearing backs of the two war weary men.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> Chapter Twelve - Taboo<br><br>The sun was high in the sky making the shadows creep closer to their casters.<br>One would expect that high in the mountains it would be hotter than in the plateau, with it being closer to the sun and all, but the reality was different.<br>It was pleasant during the day but in the morning water buckets and puddles were covered with a fresh layer of ice.<br>Black smoke was rising from a high mountain valley surrounded by all sides with dangerous mountain tops as sharp as needles. So sharp that even in the fiercest of winters, Iggeld had never seen snow land on them. They were always bare, sticking out like fangs pointed at the sky.<br>Smoke originated from the only visible opening in a tight ring of stone that surrounded the valley. It rose straight up until it passed a high wall next to it. At that point a ferocious wind struck it and dispersed it, turning it into a cover of grey that covered the valley.<br>The inhabitants of the place didn't notice it from the ground but dragon riders, returning to their homes after long flights told their families about a dark cloud that seemed to hover over the roofs.<br>But no one complained.<br>The smoke was rising from heated tar, used to fill gaps in the stone wall, the wall they had been building in a joint effort to ensure a comfortable life for their families. It was probably the only wall in existence that wasn't built to protect from an enemy or from wild beasts. The reason the wall was being built thick enough for four people to walk comfortably next to each other at the top was so that it would extend as high into the sky as possible. The higher it was the more wind it stopped- an annoying wind that sneaked under your clothes, freezing you to the bone and at the same time pushing you to the ground and making you stumble and fall. This never ending wind, more like a hurricane than wind, was the reason people used to call the place "Wind Valley".<br>When the wall was half way up, the wind became almost non-existent, and only on the far side of the valley, where the dragon lairs were deep inside a stone mountain wall, could the wind still be felt. Now that the wall towered high over their heads, more and more people began to refer to the valley as "Iggeld's Valley".<br><br>Work on the wall progressed fast. There was no need to carry stone from afar. Stone smiths, brought from Dragon Town carved stone from the mountains around them and a bundle of workers worked with pleasure.<br>Good food and great pay kept their enthusiasm high.<br>"It'll be finished soon." Said Ratsha to the man next to him. One could tell he was no ordinary man from afar. Tall, muscular and with a straight confident posture, even without a sword at his hip the man was without doubt a great warrior.<br>"What?" Iggeld wasn't paying attention. His eyes were looking at where the dragons, the love of his life and the only reason he crawled out of his bed in the morning, were at.<br>Like Ratsha, he too was nothing but ordinary. The hardships he went through forced him to become strong or perish. Like his dragon, who grew up to be the strongest tamed dragon alive, he too matured into a powerful man. He was the only one who still considered himself a dragon farmer, others started to respect him as the founder and leader of their small settlement. But Ratsha also knew that if you put a sword in his hands instead of a brush for cleaning dragon scales, Iggeld could cut through a dozen men with ease.<br>"What is with you today?" Ratsha tapped Iggeld on the back. Iggeld hardly budged, although Ratsha could break a table in half with such a tap.<br>"Nothing… I'm just a bit nervous."<br>"Not about that kid? I swear to the gods, Iggeld! A rabbit could tear you to pieces with that nature of yours. Be firm! The same way you are with that winged toad of yours. If you don't want an outsider raising one of your precious lizards just say so, there is no one here who will dispute your word."<br>"I don't know… he has the right qualities for the part. He's patient, kind, calm and most importantly hard working."<br>"Then what's the problem?"<br>"You know very well what it is! He's an outsider! Who knows where he came from? What if he takes a dragon back with him to whatever land he came from? Huh?"<br>"You surprise me. Usually you're too trusting for your own good. You'll give a man the shirt of your back if he says he needs it and you'll add your pants and shoes just in case. But when the matter concerns oversized lizards you become an overprotective parent…"<br>Ratsha was almost twice the age of his friend, and although Iggeld had grown taller that him and also just a bit wider in the shoulders, he understood Iggeld was hoping for advice that Ratsha didn't know to give.<br>"Listen," Ratsha said after a deep sigh, "I saw the boy, even talked with him on several occasions and he left a good impression. Don't worry about the outsider part. You've seen yourself how many of them there are lately. Every time Chernish flies us to one of the big cities there are always hundreds of them everywhere. I don't know how this one got so far but he clearly has a passion for dragons. You and the rest of the breeders have worked him to death the last month. If he hasn't left after that I don't think you have anything to worry about."<br>"You're right, we both see how many outsiders have come lately. There seems to be more and more of them with each passing day. What scares me about them is that all of them seem to focus on fighting and getting stronger. What if his dragon grows up to become some bloodthirsty beast like many of their wild brothers?"<br>"So that's the root of your worries? Look at Chernish! He'll tear a man to shreds if you command him but will come crawling to you with his tail between his legs begging for forgiveness if he accidentally breaks something."<br>"But…"<br>"And I for one think that a battle dragon would be a good addition to the valley. Your pup is good and all but during a few times the three of us fought together, he looked like he was playing rather than fighting. I'd love to see a dragon trained for war. Wouldn't that be a fearsome sight?"<br>"I'll show him! There will be no battle dragons under my watch! If he tries something like that he'll see what happens when my dragon starts to battle!" Iggeld was waving his hands around almost hitting himself with anger.<br>"Ahah! Did you notice there? You already decided. So when are you telling the brat?"<br>"You…" he showed Ratsha his fist, "I told him I'd decide by the end of the week. Might as well get it finished now." He began walking towards the large caves on the other side of the valley, where the dragons slept and the dragon keepers worked around the clock. Ratsha stayed behind and helped carry stones up the wall, taking by himself the load of three men.<br><br><br>In the silence of the night, with no market sounds or street noises, every footstep echoed through the stone corridors. The weak chatter from the library floor was gone on the fourth floor and now that he stepped onto the fifth floor Jon could hear his heart beating in his chest.<br>It was a slow and steady heartbeat. His breath came out in a measured pace, breathing in through his nose and exhaling through his mouth. The night was cold and the heat from the day had already left the stone building so his breath came out as small white clouds. Other than a small icon at the side of his peripheral vision everything else was dark. The icon indicated the meditation state was active. Jon found it perfect for trying to keep hidden and silent. It kept him calm and concentrated.<br>He moved slowly, relying on the wall beside him as everything else was pitch black. The only window, at the end of the corridor, hardly let any moonlight through. Only a small place near it was lit with a pale glow.<br>Jon remembered the layout of the floor as all of the dormitory floors were built in the same way. He reached a wooden door and opened it slowly, making sure to lift it up a little so the hinges didn't make a sound. His sneak skill silenced the action even more without him knowing about it.<br>The sounds of breathing filled the room and a weak smell of feet hung in the air. He waited to see if anyone would wake but the three of them didn't stir. The room was brighter than the corridor but not because of the large window. Jars, flasks and different glowing objects were scattered around the room, making the room seem larger than it was from the weird way the shadows in it fell.<br><br>Jon was glad to find out players, especially mage trainees, sleep inside the game instead of sleeping in real life. A player could play for three game days nonstop without sleep before he logged out to sleep, however most beginners practiced another method. They would sleep inside the game like the rest of the Npcs. Eight hours of sleep counted as two hours of sleep in real life. As each real day was four days of game time that meant four times of two hour sleep outside the game. In total eight hours of sleep a day, more than enough to keep the body going. Food and feces were taken care of by the capsule, allowing a person to play for up to a week at a time without ever logging out and stepping out of the capsule. Electric stimulation made sure to keep the muscles from deteriorating, which resulted in a large number of beginners playing the first month in the game time without ever leaving Royal Road.<br>The reason for this phenomenon was more common amongst mages was the "Well Rested" bonus. It was explained in the "Fundamentals of Magic" book all mages had to read to get the magic mastery skill. If a player slept inside the game, once he woke, in addition to his stamina, Hp and Mp being fully restored, he would also get an increased chance of spells and skills working properly. A bonus to the Mp and Hp regeneration was also added for the next twelve hours.<br><br>Jon wasn't about to miss this chance, so when he entered the room his knife was already drawn. There were three two-floor beds in the room, and each of them had a player sleeping in the lower bunk. Slowly he walked to the closest bed, careful not to step on the clutter that covered the floor.<br>The player was sleeping on his back. One of his hands fell of the bed and his legs were spread wide apart under the covers. It was a young boy around eight.<br>The game didn't have an age limit, but a young one such as him was a rare sight and would usually be accompanied by one of his parents.<br>Jon ignored the boy and passed to the next bed.<br>The man slept soundly. Just like the boy he too was on his back, his hand lay on his stomach and he was breathing through a wide open mouth. A two or three days worth of beard wasn't enough to mask the resemblance he had with the small boy.<br>-'I guess this is the father…'- He thought to himself as he stood over him and positioned the tip of the knife to the man's eyeball.<br>-'Silent Strike!'-<br>The blade slid through the eye socket and reached the brain with a weak downward push. A liquid spilled from the hole, dark, darker than anything in the room. It slid down the man's cheeks but didn't make it to the bedcover; the body disappeared before it could.<br><br>You have killed a player!<br>Fame is decreased by 20 points. (-20 Fame)<br>A red mark has appeared on your forehead, it will disappear in 6 hours.<br><br>Jon didn't check to see if any loot was left under the blanket, he just froze, listening for sounds and looking into the darkness for unusual movement. Satisfied that everything was alright he stepped over to the next bed and slipped the knife behind the ear of the teenager sleeping on his side in it.<br><br>You have killed a player!<br>Fame is decreased by 20 points. (-20 Fame)<br>A red mark has appeared on your forehead, it will disappear in 12 hours.<br><br>Before leaving the room he passed next to the young boy's bed and covered the child's feet with a blanket.<br>-'Eighteen to go…'-<br>Jon continued to sneak into one room after another, leaving the rooms he passed with messy but empty beds. His palm was sticky and wet but he didn't bother to wipe it, not until he was done.<br><br>You have killed a player!<br>Fame is decreased by 20 points. (-20 Fame)<br>A red mark has appeared on your forehead, it will disappear in 84 hours.<br><br>Sneak Mastery Levels Up<br><br>He rejoiced when he read the skill level up massage.<br>As he decided to play the game seriously, becoming stronger appealed to him and seeing the system notices that informed him of it was something he started lusting for. He didn't have a certain path he wanted to concentrate on, yet, so he tried to use as much skills and do as many things as he could simultaneously in hopes of seeing that small white massage appear before his eyes.<br><br>Jon moved slowly and carefully but since rooms were close together and each had at least three players, after half an hour he was standing over his last kill, a beautiful woman that slept in her mage robes.<br>Even though he hardly moved, he was hot and sweating heavily. Sneaking required him to use all of his muscles to control his steps and the soles of his feet were about to cramp. He wiped the sweat from his brows, careful not to wake her. He had already killed two players in this room but besides the woman there were two more. Although she was the last one, he didn't bother with any ceremonies. The knife slipped in and out of her the same way it did with the other twenty. Fast, steady and without hesitation.<br><br>You have killed a player!<br>Fame is decreased by 20 points. (-20 Fame)<br>A red mark has appeared on your forehead, it will disappear in 126 hours.<br><br>Silent Strike Levels Up<br>Level 4: Deal 15% more damage.<br>Chance of a critical hit increases by 40%.<br>Critical damage increased by 5%.<br>Cost: 45 Mp<br><br>You Have Become "Dark"<br>For acquiring negative 500 fame your type has been changed to dark.<br>Quest lines, events and areas that were inaccessible to you before are now open.<br>"Hell's Kitchen" tavern has been marked on your map.<br>Daily Password: Mimaks<br><br>"Blood" Class Acquired<br>+500 Hp<br><br>You have become a "Blood Mage"<br>There are many ways to earn this title but the easiest is gaining negative fame.<br>Those who have earned themselves the blood title as their class can choose to use Hp instead of Mp for skills and spells.<br>While using your own life to power up class skills is frowned upon there are even holy knights who use this method. However for a mage to use life force to cast spells is considered a taboo. The law forbids it in all but the most distant places. One of the unofficial roles of the mages' guild is to hunt down users of blood magic.<br>Blood magic is treated as a gateway to magic much more sinister and foul, and for a magic practitioner who deals with forces, many of which are beyond his control, it is very easy to go down the path of evil.<br><br>Blood Magic Mastery Acquired<br>This skill governs your control over magic cast with vitality instead of magic.<br>Blood magic is stronger than simple magic but using it comes with many risks.<br>Higher mastery will reduce the pain that comes with the use of one's health. It will also increase the power of your blood magic and help you with controlling your spells.Level 1: Blood magic is 20% more powerful.<br><br>Drain Life Skill Acquired<br>Just like a mage can increase his mana flow and learn how to gather mana from his surroundings, the blood mage can collect life force from living beings.<br>As long as the blood mage has living things around him he can toy with the aspect of immortality. Taking the life force of others into himself, the blood mage will be healed from even the most grave of injuries and illnesses.<br>Level 1: Heal 1 Hp for every 50Hp drained.<br>Drain 25 Hp a second.<br><br><br>If there was anyone awake in the room he would have seen Jon's eyes sparkle from excitement.<br>While the skills were to his liking what he was most pleased with was the five hundred points bonus to his health. It was half of his current Hp points and it was a permanent bonus.<br>A warm feeling spread through his body as he re-read the system messages. It was a good feeling, almost intoxicating. Jon realized that if he weren't careful he could get addicted to it. He wanted to wallow in it longer but a scraping sound from the window brought him back to the dark room he was in and made him crouch behind the bed, listening and searching. The meditation icon disappeared while he hid there silently.<br>After a few minutes of silence the icon returned and Jon was standing next to another player's bed.<br><br>Done with what he came to do Jon was in no hurry to leave. He decided to try out his newly acquired skills.<br>Cutting his forearm, the same way he did when he trained his heal skill, he felt a fresh wave of adrenaline spread through his body together with an accompanying pain. His heart became a few beats faster but not enough to cancel the meditation state.<br>-'Drain Life!'-<br>He waited but nothing happened. There were no tentacles of life energy entering him, there was no magic light and his Hp was down forty points and it wasn't returning.<br>He tried again but this time either nothing happened.<br>-'Hmm…'-<br>It hit him after a moment. The skill needed a target and Jon didn't designate one.<br>-'It probably works by touch.'- He touched the shoulder of a player he was standing next to. Gently, careful not to wake him up, he put the tip his index finger to the bare skin of the sleeping player. Waiting a moment to see if he would stir he held the knife an inch from the boy's throat, just in case he had to silence him fast.<br>-'Drain Life!'-<br>A faint red glow appeared on his finger and seemed to move up his hand, creeping slowly under his sleeve. The veins and arteries on the player's shoulder, next to where Jon's finger was touching, became visible as a weak orange glow lit them from underneath the skin.<br>His Hp bar returned to full in less then two seconds but Jon didn't even notice. He was looking intensely at the visible veins. He could see them tremor slightly as blood moved through them. A feeling of freshness spread through his body. The muscles that were threatening to cramp a few seconds ago felt rested and relaxed and he no longer sweated.<br>-'Useful.'- Was all that passed through his mind in the few seconds he stood over the player.<br><br>The player neither wake nor even move a hand. If he were awake at that moment he would've seen his screen flashing red, warning him that his health was critical.<br>Jon waited too long to cancel the skill. He was killing the player and it didn't seem like he was about to stop. As the seventh second passed the red glow changed suddenly into a bright white light. It no longer moved up his hand but simply shone at the tip of his finger. Surprised, Jon canceled the skill but the light didn't disappear.<br>The player's body turned grey and disappeared, which meant that he was dead.<br>All of his Hp was drained by Jon and only a small bright ball of light was left in his place. It floated from side to side over Jon's spread palm. Moving in small circles around itself, the light it gave off was much stronger than one would expect from something as small as a sand grain.<br><br>Soul Trap Skill Learned<br>A dangerous consequence of using the "Drain Life" skill without care is this evil result.<br>When the player uses this skill with full Hp the drained life force doesn't have anywhere to go so it just lingers around the player.<br>If such a user continues to drain the target's life until the target dies, the lingering life force that doesn't know where to go will keep the soul of the dead target behind so that it has a place to stay. The soul of the dead player can then be used by the player for powering up his own skills and spells.<br>The soul can be placed in an appropriate container for future use. There are many such containers but precious gemstones are the most common, with a higher grade of gem stone being able to hold more than one soul.<br>When the soul is used for such an action it will be consumed and will no longer be part of the circle of life, never able to reincarnate.<br>Warning: Excessive soul trapping can anger the gods for messing with the circle of life.<br>Level 1: Can trap souls of level five and lower.<br><br>Jon's lips parted in a smile that kept growing until it turned into a grin.<br>-'With this skill I can cast almost any magic I want! I can become invincible!'- A deep chuckle escaped from his throat.<br>He looked around himself but there was no chance of finding a gem stone in the messy room. Refusing to let the soul go he tried to push it into the red gem stuck in the middle of his forehead.<br><br>The gemstone is already full.<br><br>-'Damn!'-<br>Left with no other choice he dropped his hand, letting go of the small grain of soul in it. The source of the bright light began to slowly rise until it passed through the stone ceiling and left the room in complete darkness.<br>Weird floating shapes covered Jon's vision. Blinded from the strong light his eyes were no longer used to the darkness and he couldn't see his hand even if he put it in front of his face. He dropped to the floor, laying still and holding his breath. There was another player sleeping in the room and the light could've woken him up. Until his eyes got used to the night again he was helpless. He lay motionless, listening to the steady breathing coming from behind him to the left. Jon was in a risky situation but the smile on his face still hung there, showing two rows of white teeth and two fangs larger and sharper than most people had. Jon was secretly proud of his large fangs. He considered himself a big meat eater and he always enjoyed ripping large chunks of meat with his fangs.<br><br>Slowly his eyes got used to the dark room and he began to differentiate shapes. He waited a while longer and when the moonlight from the window was enough for him to see where he was stepping he left the room as silently as he had entered it.<br>His first desire from when he just started playing was fulfilled and although he was satisfied he was still hungry for more. As he went down the stairs this bothered him, he thought he'd be happier once he gained control over the alluring purple magic. He didn't notice the crowd and almost collided with a wall of people that was blocking the main hall on the first floor.<br>Jon listened to them, circling to the building exit.<br>"I hope it works."<br>"Well… thirds time the charm, as they say."<br>"I never saw someone fly before. I hope he succeeds!"<br>"How much wisdom does the equipment give?"<br>"Shh! He's starting."<br><br>Jon was taller then most of the crowd and by standing on his toes he could see a mage in the center. He was wearing a glowing robe and hood. The fingers that held a weirdly shaped book each had a large ring. Three necklaces surrounded his neck, one of which dropped to the level of his naval. Six earrings were visible on his left ear.<br>The player was chanting slowly as he read from the book. A weak hum came from two other mages that stood on his sides with their arms pointing at him.<br>Jon didn't stay to see if it would work. All he wanted was to get as far away as possible from the mages' building before someone happened to discover what had happened during the night. A mage trying to absorb a high level spell was the least of his interest.<br><br>Unlike most spells that only had to be read and understood to be used, very high level spells were a gamble to learn. First you had to find a spell book, which was rare and very pricy. Once you put your hands on such a book just like a normal spell book all you had to do was to read it. However, unlike those books, a high level spell book would teach you only one spell and learning that spell wouldn't always succeed. If you didn't manage to learn it the first time you wouldn't get another chance. The magic would escape from the book pages and you would be left with an empty book.<br>The wisdom stat affected your chance of learning the spell and for that reason mage guilds kept wisdom gear that it would rent to mages trying to learn a high level spell.<br>It was all written in the first book all mages read, "Fundamentals of Magic", and Jon wasn't interested in seeing that in person.<br><br>He stepped out into the cold night air with slight relief. He regretted that his impatience got the better of him now that the killing was done with. He still had plans that required him to be in the citadel for them to be completed.<br>But now that the deed was done guards would chase him ad try to capture him if they was him. He can sneak around them but most Npcs would refuse to trade or even talk to him. Still, Jon has decided to let go of the past and intended to do the same for this as well. What was done is now gone so he looked at the compass in his menu, checked what direction was north and began walking to the gate.<br><br>It was morning but the sun has yet to come up. Npcs were already out and about on the street. Windows and doors were opened wide to change the stale air of the room with fresh morning air. Women made the majority of the crowd, on their way to try and be the first customers of the just opening shops and stalls.<br>There were hardly any players around. They could easily be differentiated by the way they talk ed and what they wore. They were probably still hunting while the night time exp bonus was active.<br>Jon could feel stares on himself as he walked. Once or twice he even caught people whispering and pointing at him.<br>-'So it's like this…'- His negative fame was attracting attention and if he didn't do something about it feared the guards would be called to arrest him. He looked around himself and stepped into a side alley just as two guards turned round the corner to the main street Jon had left.<br>Jon hurried his steps. He wanted to get to the gate before the sun rose.<br><br>Like always there were two guards standing at the sides of the gate. A whole platoon, twelve soldiers, were stationed at the gate at any given moment.<br>During the day there were four guards on active duty, two looking outside at incoming people and two looking inside to protect the peace of the citadel. At night however, there weren't many people who would leave the safety of the citadel so only two guards were stationed, the rest were sleeping in a small building next to the wall.<br>There was no way of leaving the citadel but the gate. Jon didn't feel like climbing over the high walls and unfortunately he wouldn't learn how to fly anytime soon. He didn't want to be pursued by the guards so he did what he got pretty good at doing ever since he entered the game.<br>He began to sneak up to the gate, chanting spells silently, making them ready for when he strikes.<br>The torches at the gate were still burning when he arrived. The sun wasn't up but it was beginning to show its presence over the far reaches of the forest.<br>-'Swift! Back Wind!'- He had to sneak but he was in a hurry for time. Any moment now two more guards could come.<br>His right palm was a faint blue color and his left, the one holding the knife, made small crackling sounds weaker than the burning torches, from electricity that ran along the blade.<br>He decided to try out the "Chilling Grasp" and "Static Hand" skills to ensure a kill. If he got unlucky and one of the guards was a captain he would be in a problem.<br><br>Jon summoned a magic ball of mana. His control magic passive skill paid off and the blue ball of light didn't even shake.<br>He moved the orb outside the gate and moved it around to taunt the guards. They took the bait and moved closer to check what it was.<br>"Ever seen somtin like that?"<br>"Nah… You?"<br>"Not sure…"<br>Both of them stood under the orb looking up at its blinding light. Jon was only a few steps from them, moving as silent as a spider.<br>When he was behind the left guard he moved the blue orb quickly to the right. His plan worked and their stares followed. The right guard didn't see his friend being killed next to him.<br>Jon stepped up to the left guard placing his right hand over the man's mouth and freezing his face to prevent any sounds.<br>-'Silent strike!'- His left hand cut his throat confidently in one swift motion, sending a shock of electricity that stunned as well as damaged.<br>"I remembered! I saw somtin like this at the magic vendor. He was selling those things as toys for kids. You could choose from a bunch of colors."<br>"You should get one for your kid." He rubbed his eyes as he said that, trying to clear floating lights from his vision. Jon waited for the hand to come down so he had room to grab and slice his throat the same way he did with the other.<br><br>Jon's level may only be fifteen but his stats and skill were already far higher. The bonus from the dragon meat was like leveling forty levels. Add to that the "Silent Strike" skill of level four, a level usually seen by level seventy rogues, and a combination of magic spells to go with his attacks Jon had become a formidable opponent.<br>Also working for him were his proficiency in different martial arts and the experience of many combat situations. The poor guards didn't stand a chance even if they fought him fair and square.<br><br>Jon left the bodies for the other guards to find.<br>He did search them first, hoping to find a ring or a necklace with an embedded gemstone but they had nothing of the sort. The equipment appealed to Jon, as it was high quality armor and weapons but he decided not to take them as they all had the Rozenheim emblem on them. After he finished the quest and got the fame to walk around the citadel freely again, using any of these gear would bring up too many questions. And carrying the heavy armor in his inventory would overburden him.<br><br>Walking along the citadel wall he heard sounds of fighting and saw, in the weak early morning sun, players running around hunting animals. He took out his bow and equipped a quiver of arrows. Taking his time, he slowly headed north, sending arrows flying every few steps. He had no intention of killing the players, he was simply having fun training his skills and getting stronger.<br>And he was planning to get stronger fast, no matter what it took. </div>

Chapter Twelve - Taboo The sun was high in the sky making the shadows creep closer to their casters. One would expect that high in the mountains it would be hotter than in the plateau, with it being closer to the sun and all, but the reality was different. It was pleasant during the day but in the morning water buckets and puddles were covered with a fresh layer of ice. Black smoke was rising from a high mountain valley surrounded by all sides with dangerous mountain tops as sharp as needles. So sharp that even in the fiercest of winters, Iggeld had never seen snow land on them. They were always bare, sticking out like fangs pointed at the sky. Smoke originated from the only visible opening in a tight ring of stone that surrounded the valley. It rose straight up until it passed a high wall next to it. At that point a ferocious wind struck it and dispersed it, turning it into a cover of grey that covered the valley. The inhabitants of the place didn't notice it from the ground but dragon riders, returning to their homes after long flights told their families about a dark cloud that seemed to hover over the roofs. But no one complained. The smoke was rising from heated tar, used to fill gaps in the stone wall, the wall they had been building in a joint effort to ensure a comfortable life for their families. It was probably the only wall in existence that wasn't built to protect from an enemy or from wild beasts. The reason the wall was being built thick enough for four people to walk comfortably next to each other at the top was so that it would extend as high into the sky as possible. The higher it was the more wind it stopped- an annoying wind that sneaked under your clothes, freezing you to the bone and at the same time pushing you to the ground and making you stumble and fall. This never ending wind, more like a hurricane than wind, was the reason people used to call the place "Wind Valley". When the wall was half way up, the wind became almost non-existent, and only on the far side of the valley, where the dragon lairs were deep inside a stone mountain wall, could the wind still be felt. Now that the wall towered high over their heads, more and more people began to refer to the valley as "Iggeld's Valley". Work on the wall progressed fast. There was no need to carry stone from afar. Stone smiths, brought from Dragon Town carved stone from the mountains around them and a bundle of workers worked with pleasure. Good food and great pay kept their enthusiasm high. "It'll be finished soon." Said Ratsha to the man next to him. One could tell he was no ordinary man from afar. Tall, muscular and with a straight confident posture, even without a sword at his hip the man was without doubt a great warrior. "What?" Iggeld wasn't paying attention. His eyes were looking at where the dragons, the love of his life and the only reason he crawled out of his bed in the morning, were at. Like Ratsha, he too was nothing but ordinary. The hardships he went through forced him to become strong or perish. Like his dragon, who grew up to be the strongest tamed dragon alive, he too matured into a powerful man. He was the only one who still considered himself a dragon farmer, others started to respect him as the founder and leader of their small settlement. But Ratsha also knew that if you put a sword in his hands instead of a brush for cleaning dragon scales, Iggeld could cut through a dozen men with ease. "What is with you today?" Ratsha tapped Iggeld on the back. Iggeld hardly budged, although Ratsha could break a table in half with such a tap. "Nothing… I'm just a bit nervous." "Not about that kid? I swear to the gods, Iggeld! A rabbit could tear you to pieces with that nature of yours. Be firm! The same way you are with that winged toad of yours. If you don't want an outsider raising one of your precious lizards just say so, there is no one here who will dispute your word." "I don't know… he has the right qualities for the part. He's patient, kind, calm and most importantly hard working." "Then what's the problem?" "You know very well what it is! He's an outsider! Who knows where he came from? What if he takes a dragon back with him to whatever land he came from? Huh?" "You surprise me. Usually you're too trusting for your own good. You'll give a man the shirt of your back if he says he needs it and you'll add your pants and shoes just in case. But when the matter concerns oversized lizards you become an overprotective parent…" Ratsha was almost twice the age of his friend, and although Iggeld had grown taller that him and also just a bit wider in the shoulders, he understood Iggeld was hoping for advice that Ratsha didn't know to give. "Listen," Ratsha said after a deep sigh, "I saw the boy, even talked with him on several occasions and he left a good impression. Don't worry about the outsider part. You've seen yourself how many of them there are lately. Every time Chernish flies us to one of the big cities there are always hundreds of them everywhere. I don't know how this one got so far but he clearly has a passion for dragons. You and the rest of the breeders have worked him to death the last month. If he hasn't left after that I don't think you have anything to worry about." "You're right, we both see how many outsiders have come lately. There seems to be more and more of them with each passing day. What scares me about them is that all of them seem to focus on fighting and getting stronger. What if his dragon grows up to become some bloodthirsty beast like many of their wild brothers?" "So that's the root of your worries? Look at Chernish! He'll tear a man to shreds if you command him but will come crawling to you with his tail between his legs begging for forgiveness if he accidentally breaks something." "But…" "And I for one think that a battle dragon would be a good addition to the valley. Your pup is good and all but during a few times the three of us fought together, he looked like he was playing rather than fighting. I'd love to see a dragon trained for war. Wouldn't that be a fearsome sight?" "I'll show him! There will be no battle dragons under my watch! If he tries something like that he'll see what happens when my dragon starts to battle!" Iggeld was waving his hands around almost hitting himself with anger. "Ahah! Did you notice there? You already decided. So when are you telling the brat?" "You…" he showed Ratsha his fist, "I told him I'd decide by the end of the week. Might as well get it finished now." He began walking towards the large caves on the other side of the valley, where the dragons slept and the dragon keepers worked around the clock. Ratsha stayed behind and helped carry stones up the wall, taking by himself the load of three men. In the silence of the night, with no market sounds or street noises, every footstep echoed through the stone corridors. The weak chatter from the library floor was gone on the fourth floor and now that he stepped onto the fifth floor Jon could hear his heart beating in his chest. It was a slow and steady heartbeat. His breath came out in a measured pace, breathing in through his nose and exhaling through his mouth. The night was cold and the heat from the day had already left the stone building so his breath came out as small white clouds. Other than a small icon at the side of his peripheral vision everything else was dark. The icon indicated the meditation state was active. Jon found it perfect for trying to keep hidden and silent. It kept him calm and concentrated. He moved slowly, relying on the wall beside him as everything else was pitch black. The only window, at the end of the corridor, hardly let any moonlight through. Only a small place near it was lit with a pale glow. Jon remembered the layout of the floor as all of the dormitory floors were built in the same way. He reached a wooden door and opened it slowly, making sure to lift it up a little so the hinges didn't make a sound. His sneak skill silenced the action even more without him knowing about it. The sounds of breathing filled the room and a weak smell of feet hung in the air. He waited to see if anyone would wake but the three of them didn't stir. The room was brighter than the corridor but not because of the large window. Jars, flasks and different glowing objects were scattered around the room, making the room seem larger than it was from the weird way the shadows in it fell. Jon was glad to find out players, especially mage trainees, sleep inside the game instead of sleeping in real life. A player could play for three game days nonstop without sleep before he logged out to sleep, however most beginners practiced another method. They would sleep inside the game like the rest of the Npcs. Eight hours of sleep counted as two hours of sleep in real life. As each real day was four days of game time that meant four times of two hour sleep outside the game. In total eight hours of sleep a day, more than enough to keep the body going. Food and feces were taken care of by the capsule, allowing a person to play for up to a week at a time without ever logging out and stepping out of the capsule. Electric stimulation made sure to keep the muscles from deteriorating, which resulted in a large number of beginners playing the first month in the game time without ever leaving Royal Road. The reason for this phenomenon was more common amongst mages was the "Well Rested" bonus. It was explained in the "Fundamentals of Magic" book all mages had to read to get the magic mastery skill. If a player slept inside the game, once he woke, in addition to his stamina, Hp and Mp being fully restored, he would also get an increased chance of spells and skills working properly. A bonus to the Mp and Hp regeneration was also added for the next twelve hours. Jon wasn't about to miss this chance, so when he entered the room his knife was already drawn. There were three two-floor beds in the room, and each of them had a player sleeping in the lower bunk. Slowly he walked to the closest bed, careful not to step on the clutter that covered the floor. The player was sleeping on his back. One of his hands fell of the bed and his legs were spread wide apart under the covers. It was a young boy around eight. The game didn't have an age limit, but a young one such as him was a rare sight and would usually be accompanied by one of his parents. Jon ignored the boy and passed to the next bed. The man slept soundly. Just like the boy he too was on his back, his hand lay on his stomach and he was breathing through a wide open mouth. A two or three days worth of beard wasn't enough to mask the resemblance he had with the small boy. -'I guess this is the father…'- He thought to himself as he stood over him and positioned the tip of the knife to the man's eyeball. -'Silent Strike!'- The blade slid through the eye socket and reached the brain with a weak downward push. A liquid spilled from the hole, dark, darker than anything in the room. It slid down the man's cheeks but didn't make it to the bedcover; the body disappeared before it could. You have killed a player! Fame is decreased by 20 points. (-20 Fame) A red mark has appeared on your forehead, it will disappear in 6 hours. Jon didn't check to see if any loot was left under the blanket, he just froze, listening for sounds and looking into the darkness for unusual movement. Satisfied that everything was alright he stepped over to the next bed and slipped the knife behind the ear of the teenager sleeping on his side in it. You have killed a player! Fame is decreased by 20 points. (-20 Fame) A red mark has appeared on your forehead, it will disappear in 12 hours. Before leaving the room he passed next to the young boy's bed and covered the child's feet with a blanket. -'Eighteen to go…'- Jon continued to sneak into one room after another, leaving the rooms he passed with messy but empty beds. His palm was sticky and wet but he didn't bother to wipe it, not until he was done. You have killed a player! Fame is decreased by 20 points. (-20 Fame) A red mark has appeared on your forehead, it will disappear in 84 hours. Sneak Mastery Levels Up He rejoiced when he read the skill level up massage. As he decided to play the game seriously, becoming stronger appealed to him and seeing the system notices that informed him of it was something he started lusting for. He didn't have a certain path he wanted to concentrate on, yet, so he tried to use as much skills and do as many things as he could simultaneously in hopes of seeing that small white massage appear before his eyes. Jon moved slowly and carefully but since rooms were close together and each had at least three players, after half an hour he was standing over his last kill, a beautiful woman that slept in her mage robes. Even though he hardly moved, he was hot and sweating heavily. Sneaking required him to use all of his muscles to control his steps and the soles of his feet were about to cramp. He wiped the sweat from his brows, careful not to wake her. He had already killed two players in this room but besides the woman there were two more. Although she was the last one, he didn't bother with any ceremonies. The knife slipped in and out of her the same way it did with the other twenty. Fast, steady and without hesitation. You have killed a player! Fame is decreased by 20 points. (-20 Fame) A red mark has appeared on your forehead, it will disappear in 126 hours. Silent Strike Levels Up Level 4: Deal 15% more damage. Chance of a critical hit increases by 40%. Critical damage increased by 5%. Cost: 45 Mp You Have Become "Dark" For acquiring negative 500 fame your type has been changed to dark. Quest lines, events and areas that were inaccessible to you before are now open. "Hell's Kitchen" tavern has been marked on your map. Daily Password: Mimaks "Blood" Class Acquired +500 Hp You have become a "Blood Mage" There are many ways to earn this title but the easiest is gaining negative fame. Those who have earned themselves the blood title as their class can choose to use Hp instead of Mp for skills and spells. While using your own life to power up class skills is frowned upon there are even holy knights who use this method. However for a mage to use life force to cast spells is considered a taboo. The law forbids it in all but the most distant places. One of the unofficial roles of the mages' guild is to hunt down users of blood magic. Blood magic is treated as a gateway to magic much more sinister and foul, and for a magic practitioner who deals with forces, many of which are beyond his control, it is very easy to go down the path of evil. Blood Magic Mastery Acquired This skill governs your control over magic cast with vitality instead of magic. Blood magic is stronger than simple magic but using it comes with many risks. Higher mastery will reduce the pain that comes with the use of one's health. It will also increase the power of your blood magic and help you with controlling your spells.Level 1: Blood magic is 20% more powerful. Drain Life Skill Acquired Just like a mage can increase his mana flow and learn how to gather mana from his surroundings, the blood mage can collect life force from living beings. As long as the blood mage has living things around him he can toy with the aspect of immortality. Taking the life force of others into himself, the blood mage will be healed from even the most grave of injuries and illnesses. Level 1: Heal 1 Hp for every 50Hp drained. Drain 25 Hp a second. If there was anyone awake in the room he would have seen Jon's eyes sparkle from excitement. While the skills were to his liking what he was most pleased with was the five hundred points bonus to his health. It was half of his current Hp points and it was a permanent bonus. A warm feeling spread through his body as he re-read the system messages. It was a good feeling, almost intoxicating. Jon realized that if he weren't careful he could get addicted to it. He wanted to wallow in it longer but a scraping sound from the window brought him back to the dark room he was in and made him crouch behind the bed, listening and searching. The meditation icon disappeared while he hid there silently. After a few minutes of silence the icon returned and Jon was standing next to another player's bed. Done with what he came to do Jon was in no hurry to leave. He decided to try out his newly acquired skills. Cutting his forearm, the same way he did when he trained his heal skill, he felt a fresh wave of adrenaline spread through his body together with an accompanying pain. His heart became a few beats faster but not enough to cancel the meditation state. -'Drain Life!'- He waited but nothing happened. There were no tentacles of life energy entering him, there was no magic light and his Hp was down forty points and it wasn't returning. He tried again but this time either nothing happened. -'Hmm…'- It hit him after a moment. The skill needed a target and Jon didn't designate one. -'It probably works by touch.'- He touched the shoulder of a player he was standing next to. Gently, careful not to wake him up, he put the tip his index finger to the bare skin of the sleeping player. Waiting a moment to see if he would stir he held the knife an inch from the boy's throat, just in case he had to silence him fast. -'Drain Life!'- A faint red glow appeared on his finger and seemed to move up his hand, creeping slowly under his sleeve. The veins and arteries on the player's shoulder, next to where Jon's finger was touching, became visible as a weak orange glow lit them from underneath the skin. His Hp bar returned to full in less then two seconds but Jon didn't even notice. He was looking intensely at the visible veins. He could see them tremor slightly as blood moved through them. A feeling of freshness spread through his body. The muscles that were threatening to cramp a few seconds ago felt rested and relaxed and he no longer sweated. -'Useful.'- Was all that passed through his mind in the few seconds he stood over the player. The player neither wake nor even move a hand. If he were awake at that moment he would've seen his screen flashing red, warning him that his health was critical. Jon waited too long to cancel the skill. He was killing the player and it didn't seem like he was about to stop. As the seventh second passed the red glow changed suddenly into a bright white light. It no longer moved up his hand but simply shone at the tip of his finger. Surprised, Jon canceled the skill but the light didn't disappear. The player's body turned grey and disappeared, which meant that he was dead. All of his Hp was drained by Jon and only a small bright ball of light was left in his place. It floated from side to side over Jon's spread palm. Moving in small circles around itself, the light it gave off was much stronger than one would expect from something as small as a sand grain. Soul Trap Skill Learned A dangerous consequence of using the "Drain Life" skill without care is this evil result. When the player uses this skill with full Hp the drained life force doesn't have anywhere to go so it just lingers around the player. If such a user continues to drain the target's life until the target dies, the lingering life force that doesn't know where to go will keep the soul of the dead target behind so that it has a place to stay. The soul of the dead player can then be used by the player for powering up his own skills and spells. The soul can be placed in an appropriate container for future use. There are many such containers but precious gemstones are the most common, with a higher grade of gem stone being able to hold more than one soul. When the soul is used for such an action it will be consumed and will no longer be part of the circle of life, never able to reincarnate. Warning: Excessive soul trapping can anger the gods for messing with the circle of life. Level 1: Can trap souls of level five and lower. Jon's lips parted in a smile that kept growing until it turned into a grin. -'With this skill I can cast almost any magic I want! I can become invincible!'- A deep chuckle escaped from his throat. He looked around himself but there was no chance of finding a gem stone in the messy room. Refusing to let the soul go he tried to push it into the red gem stuck in the middle of his forehead. The gemstone is already full. -'Damn!'- Left with no other choice he dropped his hand, letting go of the small grain of soul in it. The source of the bright light began to slowly rise until it passed through the stone ceiling and left the room in complete darkness. Weird floating shapes covered Jon's vision. Blinded from the strong light his eyes were no longer used to the darkness and he couldn't see his hand even if he put it in front of his face. He dropped to the floor, laying still and holding his breath. There was another player sleeping in the room and the light could've woken him up. Until his eyes got used to the night again he was helpless. He lay motionless, listening to the steady breathing coming from behind him to the left. Jon was in a risky situation but the smile on his face still hung there, showing two rows of white teeth and two fangs larger and sharper than most people had. Jon was secretly proud of his large fangs. He considered himself a big meat eater and he always enjoyed ripping large chunks of meat with his fangs. Slowly his eyes got used to the dark room and he began to differentiate shapes. He waited a while longer and when the moonlight from the window was enough for him to see where he was stepping he left the room as silently as he had entered it. His first desire from when he just started playing was fulfilled and although he was satisfied he was still hungry for more. As he went down the stairs this bothered him, he thought he'd be happier once he gained control over the alluring purple magic. He didn't notice the crowd and almost collided with a wall of people that was blocking the main hall on the first floor. Jon listened to them, circling to the building exit. "I hope it works." "Well… thirds time the charm, as they say." "I never saw someone fly before. I hope he succeeds!" "How much wisdom does the equipment give?" "Shh! He's starting." Jon was taller then most of the crowd and by standing on his toes he could see a mage in the center. He was wearing a glowing robe and hood. The fingers that held a weirdly shaped book each had a large ring. Three necklaces surrounded his neck, one of which dropped to the level of his naval. Six earrings were visible on his left ear. The player was chanting slowly as he read from the book. A weak hum came from two other mages that stood on his sides with their arms pointing at him. Jon didn't stay to see if it would work. All he wanted was to get as far away as possible from the mages' building before someone happened to discover what had happened during the night. A mage trying to absorb a high level spell was the least of his interest. Unlike most spells that only had to be read and understood to be used, very high level spells were a gamble to learn. First you had to find a spell book, which was rare and very pricy. Once you put your hands on such a book just like a normal spell book all you had to do was to read it. However, unlike those books, a high level spell book would teach you only one spell and learning that spell wouldn't always succeed. If you didn't manage to learn it the first time you wouldn't get another chance. The magic would escape from the book pages and you would be left with an empty book. The wisdom stat affected your chance of learning the spell and for that reason mage guilds kept wisdom gear that it would rent to mages trying to learn a high level spell. It was all written in the first book all mages read, "Fundamentals of Magic", and Jon wasn't interested in seeing that in person. He stepped out into the cold night air with slight relief. He regretted that his impatience got the better of him now that the killing was done with. He still had plans that required him to be in the citadel for them to be completed. But now that the deed was done guards would chase him ad try to capture him if they was him. He can sneak around them but most Npcs would refuse to trade or even talk to him. Still, Jon has decided to let go of the past and intended to do the same for this as well. What was done is now gone so he looked at the compass in his menu, checked what direction was north and began walking to the gate. It was morning but the sun has yet to come up. Npcs were already out and about on the street. Windows and doors were opened wide to change the stale air of the room with fresh morning air. Women made the majority of the crowd, on their way to try and be the first customers of the just opening shops and stalls. There were hardly any players around. They could easily be differentiated by the way they talk ed and what they wore. They were probably still hunting while the night time exp bonus was active. Jon could feel stares on himself as he walked. Once or twice he even caught people whispering and pointing at him. -'So it's like this…'- His negative fame was attracting attention and if he didn't do something about it feared the guards would be called to arrest him. He looked around himself and stepped into a side alley just as two guards turned round the corner to the main street Jon had left. Jon hurried his steps. He wanted to get to the gate before the sun rose. Like always there were two guards standing at the sides of the gate. A whole platoon, twelve soldiers, were stationed at the gate at any given moment. During the day there were four guards on active duty, two looking outside at incoming people and two looking inside to protect the peace of the citadel. At night however, there weren't many people who would leave the safety of the citadel so only two guards were stationed, the rest were sleeping in a small building next to the wall. There was no way of leaving the citadel but the gate. Jon didn't feel like climbing over the high walls and unfortunately he wouldn't learn how to fly anytime soon. He didn't want to be pursued by the guards so he did what he got pretty good at doing ever since he entered the game. He began to sneak up to the gate, chanting spells silently, making them ready for when he strikes. The torches at the gate were still burning when he arrived. The sun wasn't up but it was beginning to show its presence over the far reaches of the forest. -'Swift! Back Wind!'- He had to sneak but he was in a hurry for time. Any moment now two more guards could come. His right palm was a faint blue color and his left, the one holding the knife, made small crackling sounds weaker than the burning torches, from electricity that ran along the blade. He decided to try out the "Chilling Grasp" and "Static Hand" skills to ensure a kill. If he got unlucky and one of the guards was a captain he would be in a problem. Jon summoned a magic ball of mana. His control magic passive skill paid off and the blue ball of light didn't even shake. He moved the orb outside the gate and moved it around to taunt the guards. They took the bait and moved closer to check what it was. "Ever seen somtin like that?" "Nah… You?" "Not sure…" Both of them stood under the orb looking up at its blinding light. Jon was only a few steps from them, moving as silent as a spider. When he was behind the left guard he moved the blue orb quickly to the right. His plan worked and their stares followed. The right guard didn't see his friend being killed next to him. Jon stepped up to the left guard placing his right hand over the man's mouth and freezing his face to prevent any sounds. -'Silent strike!'- His left hand cut his throat confidently in one swift motion, sending a shock of electricity that stunned as well as damaged. "I remembered! I saw somtin like this at the magic vendor. He was selling those things as toys for kids. You could choose from a bunch of colors." "You should get one for your kid." He rubbed his eyes as he said that, trying to clear floating lights from his vision. Jon waited for the hand to come down so he had room to grab and slice his throat the same way he did with the other. Jon's level may only be fifteen but his stats and skill were already far higher. The bonus from the dragon meat was like leveling forty levels. Add to that the "Silent Strike" skill of level four, a level usually seen by level seventy rogues, and a combination of magic spells to go with his attacks Jon had become a formidable opponent. Also working for him were his proficiency in different martial arts and the experience of many combat situations. The poor guards didn't stand a chance even if they fought him fair and square. Jon left the bodies for the other guards to find. He did search them first, hoping to find a ring or a necklace with an embedded gemstone but they had nothing of the sort. The equipment appealed to Jon, as it was high quality armor and weapons but he decided not to take them as they all had the Rozenheim emblem on them. After he finished the quest and got the fame to walk around the citadel freely again, using any of these gear would bring up too many questions. And carrying the heavy armor in his inventory would overburden him. Walking along the citadel wall he heard sounds of fighting and saw, in the weak early morning sun, players running around hunting animals. He took out his bow and equipped a quiver of arrows. Taking his time, he slowly headed north, sending arrows flying every few steps. He had no intention of killing the players, he was simply having fun training his skills and getting stronger. And he was planning to get stronger fast, no matter what it took.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> The wagon pulled by birds sped away. Tasha and Tinaquarrier sat opposite to Weed. Other than the open disgust they showed for him in the beginning there seemed to be no other reaction. Weed quietly stared out the window, as he saw buildings flash by, the wagon seemed to be moving further and further away from the main city and into the outskirts. The most distinguishable feature between the two regions was the walled enclosure of the main city and the water rocks. <br><br>The outskirts were sparsely populated and very dark. The buildings grew fewer were soon replaced by only pillars. Signs of reckless mining were visible everywhere. Weed stared in the darkness with great curiosity. An hour later, the wagon continued speeding away with no signs of slowing down.<br><br>“How far is it?” Weed asked suspiciously, with his fears of being kidnapped deepening.<br><br>“We are already there.” Grunted Tasha as he looked very uncomfortable to break the silence.<br><br>Weed stared back out, all he could see was pitch black now. <span style="font-style: italic;">Where am I? </span><br><br>“They used to be known as the Grand Northern Mines hundreds of years ago. Now, its just vast lands of emptiness. Our ancestors dug it out till the earth bled dry. It really is nothingness, for over a thousand miles.” Tasha added to reassure Weed.<br><br>“Then the Forbidden Mines is the new name for the Grand Northern Mines?” Weed asked hoping to strike a conversation.<br><br>“Yes. Greed is the enemy of the heart and mind. Our ancestors failed to understand. The Grand Northern City used to be located entirely on just one floor. Now these mines have been claimed by enemies. They forced us to dig deep and dig high, confined us to no more than a few leagues away from the city’s wall.”<br><br>Tinaquarrier raised his hand; enough had been spoken about the bitter past. The wagon drew to a sudden stop. The doors opened and in front stood two stout dwarves holding spears. They resembled the guards Weed had seen earlier when entering the hole near the eastern mountain face. <br><br>“Aren’t these the same guards?” Weed asked.<br><br>Tasha and Tinaquarrier ignored Weed.<br><br>As Weed stepped out of the carriage he noticed a huge fort set up. There were soldiers everywhere. At least twenty guards were moving along side Weed and the dwarves acting as shields. The sense of danger was high; Weed could only wonder what or who the enemy was.<br><br>“Miners never come this deep, so soldiers protect us with their lives.” Tasha added seeing Weed’s apprehension. “The enemy know what we are coming after, so they aim to take the lives of the miners first, it is the swiftest way for them to decide victory.”<br><br>“Is that what happened to Tullia’s husband?” Weed asked.<br><br>Tasha froze in his steps he had no idea they had been overheard. Tinaquarrier grabbed Weed by the collar and pushed him against the wall. “I knew elves had big ears, I didn’t know they were this big.” He dug his arm into Weed’s neck, choking him as he said the last few words. <br><br>“He died of a mine collapse. Hear me elf? You never saw any of this.” Tinaquarrier added menacingly. <br><br>Weed barely could nod his head before Tinaquarrier let his collar go.<br><br>“Whats his problem?” Weed asked Tasha as Tinaquarrier walked inside the fort.<br><br>“Weed-nim, Tullia is Tinaquarrier sister. He just lost his brother in law. Other than that, I guess the old man didn’t tell you but this entire operation is a secret. Mining in the forbidden mines has been outlawed. Why do you think they are called forbidden?” Tasha asked with a smile.<br>“Because they are dangerous?” Weed replied as he straightened his attire.<br><br>Tasha chuckled, “Weed-nim, the dwarven profession mining is dangerous. Yet, we miners breath and live for it. It’s called forbidden for being outlawed, to stop our recklessness.”<br><br>As Weed walked into the fort, he could see soldiers everywhere. Some held spears, others hammers and shields. Everyone was clad heavily even inside the fort. The walls were covered with sentry guards, blue flaming torches were lit along the wall. Sandbags were piled randomly across the floor, with marks of dried blood.<br><br>“What happened here?” Weed whispered to Tasha.<br><br>“We were ambushed two nights ago.”<br><br>“Who is the enemy?” Weed asked as he tried to fit the pieces of the puzzle.<br><br>“…” Tasha ignored the question; he couldn’t believe there was someone foolish to volunteer to mine without knowing the risks involved.<br><br>A soldier stood in front of Weed, presenting him armor. <br><br>“For me?” Weed asked.<br><br>The soldier nodded indicating a yes.<br><br>As Weed grabbed it, he struggled to hold it up. “Tooo heav heavy…” He said he collapsed under its weight.<br><br>The dwarves broke out into laughter, amidst all the bloodshed and violence, seeing an elf struggle to lift simple armor was hilarious. It just went on to prove that dwarves were the more superior race.<br><br>As Weed begged for help, a large shadow hovered over Weed. A dwarf larger than all others, lifted the armor with his two fingers.<br><br>“So even the most basic is too heavy eh?” He said.<br><br>The soldiers at once stopped laughing and stood in attention and saluted the dwarf. Clearly, he was their supervisor. <br><br>“The name is Thunderous Nigel of the East or that’s what the King called me. I go by Nigel.” Said the huge dwarf as he passed his massive hand to Weed to help him get up.<br><br>“Weed.” <br><br>“Well Weed, I see you your not only Cristo’s friend but also Balkan’s candidate.”<br>“…”<br><br>“Now there are three rules you must adhere to while you are here.”<br><br>“….”<br><br>“Rule number One, Never ever travel outside the fort without guards. The last idiot who Kendelbreu sent died this morning. Arrogant lad, I must say. He was a delight with his hands but too ambitious.”<br><br>‘So that makes me the only candidate here?’ Weed wondered.<br><br>“Rule number Two! Never ever ever, do anything on your own. Death is for the curious and ambitious. If you have any ambitions leave it at home.”<br><br>“…”<br><br>“Last Rule. Rule number three! Always listen to your supervisor when faced with a situation that doesn’t fit rule number one or two. You are a dwarven soldier this moment forth before a miner. That means my rules are absolute as law, breaking them means risking death. Get me?”<br><br>Weed nodded, he had no idea what he got himself into. ‘A soldier before a miner? What is this boot camp?’<br><br>“Any questions, Weed?” Nigel asked.<br><br>“When do we begin?” Weed asked meekly.<br><br>“Right now. Your team is ready.” Nigel said point to a group of dwarves sitting behind him.<br><br>There six dwarves in the group of which two Weed already knew; Tasha and Tinaquarrier.<br><br>Tasha introduced everyone to Weed. <br><br>“Sarkaan, foreman. Masin, sniffer. Dol’arc and Yaluk rope masters. Narre and Tinaquarrier miners and I am ace of the crew.”<br><br>Weed politely greeted each of them politely, however he incited no response. Talking to an elf was a taboo, working with one? The crew didn’t even want to begin ranking this in terms of disgust. Weed didn’t mind, he was already sick of the whole dwarf hate elf race discrimination. <br>“So whats a foreman? Sniffer and rope master? And ace?” Weed whispered.<br><br>Unfortunately, everyone heard him. Some of the crew started cursing in their local dialect. “Great we get the idiot who also happens to be an elf.”<br><br>Tasha sighed as he picked up small stones lying on the ground. <br><br>“See here elf.” Tasha said with a change of tone, as he placed a stone on the ground. “First you need to sniff out the ore or ruby. Hence, the sniffer. You need rope masters, to help you get around dangerous canyons, gorges etc. You need miners to mine without damaging the ore or the cave, otherwise it will collapse on everyone. Miners have the most important job, since everyone’s lives depends on it. Lastly, you need a foreman, to coordinate everything between everyone. He is the captain of the crew. Lastly there is the ace, he is the most useless person on the team, he is jack of all trades but specializes in none. In case we lose someone, he can quickly substitute them so that the group can go on or isn’t stuck anywhere. Aces aren’t needed in a team, but if a mine is classified above a certain danger threshold a team must contain one or more aces. Do you have any questions for me?”<br><br>“So does a sniffer sniff out the ore?” Weed asked jokingly.<br><br>“Yes.” Tasha replied with all seriousness. There were no lies in his words.<br><br>“You are serious?”<br><br>“…”<br><br>“How does he know what it smells like?” Weed asked when he didn’t get a reply.<br><br>“The old man found the black diamond. However, as he tried to extract it, the cave gave in. In the end the old man was only able to bring back small traces of black diamond dust. The only proof of the fabled stone in existence.”<br><br>With the end of that explanation, they started to prepare to go into the mines. <br><br>“Hey elf, do you have all your supplies ready?” asked the foreman of the crew, Sarkaan asked.<br><br>“Yes sir! I packed the shovel, pickaxe, ropes and my food supplies” replied Weed, “I also have a map of the mines.”<br><br>Now the whole crew was astonished! A map of the Forbidden Mines!?! That was a very valuable item that was extremely rare to come across!<br><br>“Don’t lie to us, elf!” Sarkaan said. <br><br>“How can you, an elf, possess a map of one of the most dangerous mines in this city, when not even dwarves can get a hand on it?”<br><br> “I received it from Kendelbreu.” Weed replied. He didn’t know that the name would have a ripple effect.<br><br>The dwarves’ eyes grew wide. Kendelbreu was once known to be the one of the richest dwarves in all of Versailles! He had a knack of discovering the most of most profitable mines in the city. He was known to guard his secrets and rarely talked to anyone. Ever since his disastrous exploration into the Forbidden Mines, he had kept quiet about his experience inside. He now worked as a mine recruiter for the benefactor funding these mining operations. Many a times, was he coaxed into revealing details about the mine, but he never let a detail slip. What happened in those mines 20 years ago remained a secret to this very date.<br><br>“Tasha is he telling the truth?”<br><br>Tasha and Tinaquarrier nodded, both of them had witnessed it in the wagon. They never expected the old man to open up to anyone, much less an elf. The dwarves now regarded the elf in a new light. Not only had he gotten a map of the most dangerous mine in the Northern mountain range, he probably also saved their lives by doing so! With this map, the dwarves could safely navigate through the mines and look for the black diamond.<br><br>“Hmmm, we have misjudged you elf” Sarkaan said, “You are now a highly valued member of our crew. However, know this; you have the lives of this crew in your hands. Whether or not we die will depend on how accurate this map is. Also before you think of running off with the diamond and abandoning us, remember this, I will personally search for you till the ends of Versailles and kill you a hundred times.” He whispered the last bit audible only to Weed.<br><br>After saying this, Sarkaan reintroduced Weed to the crew. The crew regarded him with newfound respect and greeted him like one of their own. <br><br>“My name is Yaluk. Nice to meet you.” said a young dwarf with red hair.<br><br>“I’m Masin. Good to have you with us, elf” The smallest dwarf in height, compared to other crew members. In fact Weed considered him to be the dwarf of dwarves.<br><br>“You can call me Dol’arc.” Said the dwarf, wearing an eye patch.<br><br> “I’m called Narre.” Said the female dwarf miner. She was fairly young and too pretty to be a dwarf. Weed could only wonder if she really was a dwarf.<br><br>TRRRINGG!<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>-Relationship with dwarves: +10</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>Weed only had one word in his head, <span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Hypocrites. </span></span> Just like reality, where people shun you for being different but then cuddle next to you if you possess something valuable in their eyes. As unreal as this game was, it stirred very real emotions. Lee Jun too had encountered such people many times before behind their smiles were concealed lies. As he considered whether or not to tear up the map, he received a nudge on the shoulder.<br><br>“Don’t mind them Weed.” Said Tasha, “They mean you no harm.” <br><br>Weed hadn’t realized his emotions were visible to everyone. Smiling and quickly loading his supplies into the armored wagon, Weed took a window seat to have an excuse to be alone. With this, the crew boarded wagons accompanied by foot soldiers. They started making their way to the entrance of the labyrinth of caves as indicated on the map.<br><br><br><br><br>----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br>Authors Note:<br><br>1. Will be edited soon.<br>2. Thank you so much Nithink for volunteering to co-author.<br>3. Thank you V4lkyr13 for doing a <span style="font-style: italic;">zing</span> check on it.<br>4. Ok officially giving up on trying to maintain self control. I'll publish them as I write them. Good luck keeping up with my writing.<br><br><br>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="4">Connect to Royal Road – Elementarem Vim next Chapter?</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&amp;t=491" target="_blank">Yes</a></td><td colspan="2"><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&amp;t=348" target="_blank">No</a></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- </div>

The wagon pulled by birds sped away. Tasha and Tinaquarrier sat opposite to Weed. Other than the open disgust they showed for him in the beginning there seemed to be no other reaction. Weed quietly stared out the window, as he saw buildings flash by, the wagon seemed to be moving further and further away from the main city and into the outskirts. The most distinguishable feature between the two regions was the walled enclosure of the main city and the water rocks. The outskirts were sparsely populated and very dark. The buildings grew fewer were soon replaced by only pillars. Signs of reckless mining were visible everywhere. Weed stared in the darkness with great curiosity. An hour later, the wagon continued speeding away with no signs of slowing down. “How far is it?” Weed asked suspiciously, with his fears of being kidnapped deepening. “We are already there.” Grunted Tasha as he looked very uncomfortable to break the silence. Weed stared back out, all he could see was pitch black now. Where am I? “They used to be known as the Grand Northern Mines hundreds of years ago. Now, its just vast lands of emptiness. Our ancestors dug it out till the earth bled dry. It really is nothingness, for over a thousand miles.” Tasha added to reassure Weed. “Then the Forbidden Mines is the new name for the Grand Northern Mines?” Weed asked hoping to strike a conversation. “Yes. Greed is the enemy of the heart and mind. Our ancestors failed to understand. The Grand Northern City used to be located entirely on just one floor. Now these mines have been claimed by enemies. They forced us to dig deep and dig high, confined us to no more than a few leagues away from the city’s wall.” Tinaquarrier raised his hand; enough had been spoken about the bitter past. The wagon drew to a sudden stop. The doors opened and in front stood two stout dwarves holding spears. They resembled the guards Weed had seen earlier when entering the hole near the eastern mountain face. “Aren’t these the same guards?” Weed asked. Tasha and Tinaquarrier ignored Weed. As Weed stepped out of the carriage he noticed a huge fort set up. There were soldiers everywhere. At least twenty guards were moving along side Weed and the dwarves acting as shields. The sense of danger was high; Weed could only wonder what or who the enemy was. “Miners never come this deep, so soldiers protect us with their lives.” Tasha added seeing Weed’s apprehension. “The enemy know what we are coming after, so they aim to take the lives of the miners first, it is the swiftest way for them to decide victory.” “Is that what happened to Tullia’s husband?” Weed asked. Tasha froze in his steps he had no idea they had been overheard. Tinaquarrier grabbed Weed by the collar and pushed him against the wall. “I knew elves had big ears, I didn’t know they were this big.” He dug his arm into Weed’s neck, choking him as he said the last few words. “He died of a mine collapse. Hear me elf? You never saw any of this.” Tinaquarrier added menacingly. Weed barely could nod his head before Tinaquarrier let his collar go. “Whats his problem?” Weed asked Tasha as Tinaquarrier walked inside the fort. “Weed-nim, Tullia is Tinaquarrier sister. He just lost his brother in law. Other than that, I guess the old man didn’t tell you but this entire operation is a secret. Mining in the forbidden mines has been outlawed. Why do you think they are called forbidden?” Tasha asked with a smile. “Because they are dangerous?” Weed replied as he straightened his attire. Tasha chuckled, “Weed-nim, the dwarven profession mining is dangerous. Yet, we miners breath and live for it. It’s called forbidden for being outlawed, to stop our recklessness.” As Weed walked into the fort, he could see soldiers everywhere. Some held spears, others hammers and shields. Everyone was clad heavily even inside the fort. The walls were covered with sentry guards, blue flaming torches were lit along the wall. Sandbags were piled randomly across the floor, with marks of dried blood. “What happened here?” Weed whispered to Tasha. “We were ambushed two nights ago.” “Who is the enemy?” Weed asked as he tried to fit the pieces of the puzzle. “…” Tasha ignored the question; he couldn’t believe there was someone foolish to volunteer to mine without knowing the risks involved. A soldier stood in front of Weed, presenting him armor. “For me?” Weed asked. The soldier nodded indicating a yes. As Weed grabbed it, he struggled to hold it up. “Tooo heav heavy…” He said he collapsed under its weight. The dwarves broke out into laughter, amidst all the bloodshed and violence, seeing an elf struggle to lift simple armor was hilarious. It just went on to prove that dwarves were the more superior race. As Weed begged for help, a large shadow hovered over Weed. A dwarf larger than all others, lifted the armor with his two fingers. “So even the most basic is too heavy eh?” He said. The soldiers at once stopped laughing and stood in attention and saluted the dwarf. Clearly, he was their supervisor. “The name is Thunderous Nigel of the East or that’s what the King called me. I go by Nigel.” Said the huge dwarf as he passed his massive hand to Weed to help him get up. “Weed.” “Well Weed, I see you your not only Cristo’s friend but also Balkan’s candidate.” “…” “Now there are three rules you must adhere to while you are here.” “….” “Rule number One, Never ever travel outside the fort without guards. The last idiot who Kendelbreu sent died this morning. Arrogant lad, I must say. He was a delight with his hands but too ambitious.” ‘So that makes me the only candidate here?’ Weed wondered. “Rule number Two! Never ever ever, do anything on your own. Death is for the curious and ambitious. If you have any ambitions leave it at home.” “…” “Last Rule. Rule number three! Always listen to your supervisor when faced with a situation that doesn’t fit rule number one or two. You are a dwarven soldier this moment forth before a miner. That means my rules are absolute as law, breaking them means risking death. Get me?” Weed nodded, he had no idea what he got himself into. ‘A soldier before a miner? What is this boot camp?’ “Any questions, Weed?” Nigel asked. “When do we begin?” Weed asked meekly. “Right now. Your team is ready.” Nigel said point to a group of dwarves sitting behind him. There six dwarves in the group of which two Weed already knew; Tasha and Tinaquarrier. Tasha introduced everyone to Weed. “Sarkaan, foreman. Masin, sniffer. Dol’arc and Yaluk rope masters. Narre and Tinaquarrier miners and I am ace of the crew.” Weed politely greeted each of them politely, however he incited no response. Talking to an elf was a taboo, working with one? The crew didn’t even want to begin ranking this in terms of disgust. Weed didn’t mind, he was already sick of the whole dwarf hate elf race discrimination. “So whats a foreman? Sniffer and rope master? And ace?” Weed whispered. Unfortunately, everyone heard him. Some of the crew started cursing in their local dialect. “Great we get the idiot who also happens to be an elf.” Tasha sighed as he picked up small stones lying on the ground. “See here elf.” Tasha said with a change of tone, as he placed a stone on the ground. “First you need to sniff out the ore or ruby. Hence, the sniffer. You need rope masters, to help you get around dangerous canyons, gorges etc. You need miners to mine without damaging the ore or the cave, otherwise it will collapse on everyone. Miners have the most important job, since everyone’s lives depends on it. Lastly, you need a foreman, to coordinate everything between everyone. He is the captain of the crew. Lastly there is the ace, he is the most useless person on the team, he is jack of all trades but specializes in none. In case we lose someone, he can quickly substitute them so that the group can go on or isn’t stuck anywhere. Aces aren’t needed in a team, but if a mine is classified above a certain danger threshold a team must contain one or more aces. Do you have any questions for me?” “So does a sniffer sniff out the ore?” Weed asked jokingly. “Yes.” Tasha replied with all seriousness. There were no lies in his words. “You are serious?” “…” “How does he know what it smells like?” Weed asked when he didn’t get a reply. “The old man found the black diamond. However, as he tried to extract it, the cave gave in. In the end the old man was only able to bring back small traces of black diamond dust. The only proof of the fabled stone in existence.” With the end of that explanation, they started to prepare to go into the mines. “Hey elf, do you have all your supplies ready?” asked the foreman of the crew, Sarkaan asked. “Yes sir! I packed the shovel, pickaxe, ropes and my food supplies” replied Weed, “I also have a map of the mines.” Now the whole crew was astonished! A map of the Forbidden Mines!?! That was a very valuable item that was extremely rare to come across! “Don’t lie to us, elf!” Sarkaan said. “How can you, an elf, possess a map of one of the most dangerous mines in this city, when not even dwarves can get a hand on it?” “I received it from Kendelbreu.” Weed replied. He didn’t know that the name would have a ripple effect. The dwarves’ eyes grew wide. Kendelbreu was once known to be the one of the richest dwarves in all of Versailles! He had a knack of discovering the most of most profitable mines in the city. He was known to guard his secrets and rarely talked to anyone. Ever since his disastrous exploration into the Forbidden Mines, he had kept quiet about his experience inside. He now worked as a mine recruiter for the benefactor funding these mining operations. Many a times, was he coaxed into revealing details about the mine, but he never let a detail slip. What happened in those mines 20 years ago remained a secret to this very date. “Tasha is he telling the truth?” Tasha and Tinaquarrier nodded, both of them had witnessed it in the wagon. They never expected the old man to open up to anyone, much less an elf. The dwarves now regarded the elf in a new light. Not only had he gotten a map of the most dangerous mine in the Northern mountain range, he probably also saved their lives by doing so! With this map, the dwarves could safely navigate through the mines and look for the black diamond. “Hmmm, we have misjudged you elf” Sarkaan said, “You are now a highly valued member of our crew. However, know this; you have the lives of this crew in your hands. Whether or not we die will depend on how accurate this map is. Also before you think of running off with the diamond and abandoning us, remember this, I will personally search for you till the ends of Versailles and kill you a hundred times.” He whispered the last bit audible only to Weed. After saying this, Sarkaan reintroduced Weed to the crew. The crew regarded him with newfound respect and greeted him like one of their own. “My name is Yaluk. Nice to meet you.” said a young dwarf with red hair. “I’m Masin. Good to have you with us, elf” The smallest dwarf in height, compared to other crew members. In fact Weed considered him to be the dwarf of dwarves. “You can call me Dol’arc.” Said the dwarf, wearing an eye patch. “I’m called Narre.” Said the female dwarf miner. She was fairly young and too pretty to be a dwarf. Weed could only wonder if she really was a dwarf. TRRRINGG! | -Relationship with dwarves: +10 | | --- | Weed only had one word in his head, Hypocrites. Just like reality, where people shun you for being different but then cuddle next to you if you possess something valuable in their eyes. As unreal as this game was, it stirred very real emotions. Lee Jun too had encountered such people many times before behind their smiles were concealed lies. As he considered whether or not to tear up the map, he received a nudge on the shoulder. “Don’t mind them Weed.” Said Tasha, “They mean you no harm.” Weed hadn’t realized his emotions were visible to everyone. Smiling and quickly loading his supplies into the armored wagon, Weed took a window seat to have an excuse to be alone. With this, the crew boarded wagons accompanied by foot soldiers. They started making their way to the entrance of the labyrinth of caves as indicated on the map. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Authors Note: 1. Will be edited soon. 2. Thank you so much Nithink for volunteering to co-author. 3. Thank you V4lkyr13 for doing a zing check on it. 4. Ok officially giving up on trying to maintain self control. I'll publish them as I write them. Good luck keeping up with my writing. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Connect to Royal Road – Elementarem Vim next Chapter? | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Yes](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&t=491) | | [No](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&t=348) | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <span style="font-weight: bold;">The King's Jester - Chapter 2 Merchant Kain</span><br><br><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>Warning You are dying of starvation</td></tr></tbody></table></div><br><br>It has been quite some time since Lazarus has eaten any food. It is not easy for one who slays men to recklessly walk into a city or town and expect no one to come forward to take his head. There are many who would take on the odds of one to ten thousand for a shot at his bounty put up by people who wanted vengeance.<br><br>So now Lazarus roamed aimlessly through the area looking for the main road that connects cities and sets up a small camp at the edge of the forest peering at the road waiting to ambush someone who walks by.<br><br>The road was empty and not many travelers come by this part so that means less chances to find someone to rob for food. But at the same time there are less troublesome witnesses to take care of.<br><br>In the distance came an older man in his twenties that goes by the name Kain. He recently sold a bunch of silk to a guild, telling them lots of stories how the price is bound to rise! Little did they know that he just scammed them into buying third rate silk and the market is about to drop. He walks greedily down the road to the main city and neglected to hire bodyguards because he was afraid that the guild would had found out if he stood any longer.<br><br>That was his mistake.<br><br>A desperate looking young boy with sullen eyes approached Kain, ‘Ah, probably another beggar’ and he looked Kain straight into his eyes.<br><br>There was a certain depth to him. An deep empty gaze that sucks at your hopes and dreams. <br><br>Kain gulped,“You need something kid?”. ‘He’s probably just lost, why is a kid doing alone in the middle of this place?’ “You lost?”<br><br>Lazarus took out his rusty blade. ‘AHAHA! Who does this kid think I am?’ But then there was those eyes ...they just told him there’s something off about that kid.<br><br>“How about this kid, i’ll give you 2 pieces of silver and you scram ok?”<br>He nodded no and spoke in a soft tone, “ I want some food...”<br><br>‘Pff ahaha! that’s all he wants?’ “Why don’t you just go to that city down the rode with me?”<br><br>He again nods no. Only now did Kain realize that the kid was a pker and he starts sweating feverishly. ‘aw shit...that guild probably sent this kid out here’<br><br>“I am willing to trade this for food.” Kain approached the boy cautiously and looked at the equipment. There was a silver longsword and some plates made for warriors. The requirements were around level 100.<br><br>‘Holy crap...where the hell did this kid get this stuff?’ The merchant looked at the items and appraised them at several dozen gold.<br><br>“How about this, I’ll give you all the food I got on me and 50 pieces of silver?”<br><br>Lazarus happily accepted the trade.<br><br>“And since i’m feeling like such a nice guy, I’ll add you as a contact and fence some of your goods later alright?”<br><br><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>Kain added to contacts</td></tr></tbody></table></div><br><br>‘Good thing I didn't piss him off. Player killers are unpredictable. If i'm trading with this kid again next time i’m going to bring very minimal stuff in case he just decides to kill me.’<br><br>“Alright then see ya, i’ll be heading north to the city”<br><br>They walk separate ways and Lazarus eats his food with a small happiness. He thanked Kain for his kindness and went off his own way.<br><br>‘Did that kid not know I scammed him? Sheesh...eh maybe next time i’ll introduce him to a blacksmith I know.’<br><br>Author's Notes: Hope you enjoy this chapter. I'll try to release 1 chapter per week or 4-5 per month... Going to basic training in a few weeks so I won't be able to write until I get into AIT and get access to a computer. If I am not able to write... Maybe i'll release 5 chapters for every month I miss. And yes, the chapters are pretty short. I'm pretty new to writing. </div>

The King's Jester - Chapter 2 Merchant Kain | Warning You are dying of starvation | | --- | It has been quite some time since Lazarus has eaten any food. It is not easy for one who slays men to recklessly walk into a city or town and expect no one to come forward to take his head. There are many who would take on the odds of one to ten thousand for a shot at his bounty put up by people who wanted vengeance. So now Lazarus roamed aimlessly through the area looking for the main road that connects cities and sets up a small camp at the edge of the forest peering at the road waiting to ambush someone who walks by. The road was empty and not many travelers come by this part so that means less chances to find someone to rob for food. But at the same time there are less troublesome witnesses to take care of. In the distance came an older man in his twenties that goes by the name Kain. He recently sold a bunch of silk to a guild, telling them lots of stories how the price is bound to rise! Little did they know that he just scammed them into buying third rate silk and the market is about to drop. He walks greedily down the road to the main city and neglected to hire bodyguards because he was afraid that the guild would had found out if he stood any longer. That was his mistake. A desperate looking young boy with sullen eyes approached Kain, ‘Ah, probably another beggar’ and he looked Kain straight into his eyes. There was a certain depth to him. An deep empty gaze that sucks at your hopes and dreams. Kain gulped,“You need something kid?”. ‘He’s probably just lost, why is a kid doing alone in the middle of this place?’ “You lost?” Lazarus took out his rusty blade. ‘AHAHA! Who does this kid think I am?’ But then there was those eyes ...they just told him there’s something off about that kid. “How about this kid, i’ll give you 2 pieces of silver and you scram ok?” He nodded no and spoke in a soft tone, “ I want some food...” ‘Pff ahaha! that’s all he wants?’ “Why don’t you just go to that city down the rode with me?” He again nods no. Only now did Kain realize that the kid was a pker and he starts sweating feverishly. ‘aw shit...that guild probably sent this kid out here’ “I am willing to trade this for food.” Kain approached the boy cautiously and looked at the equipment. There was a silver longsword and some plates made for warriors. The requirements were around level 100. ‘Holy crap...where the hell did this kid get this stuff?’ The merchant looked at the items and appraised them at several dozen gold. “How about this, I’ll give you all the food I got on me and 50 pieces of silver?” Lazarus happily accepted the trade. “And since i’m feeling like such a nice guy, I’ll add you as a contact and fence some of your goods later alright?” | Kain added to contacts | | --- | ‘Good thing I didn't piss him off. Player killers are unpredictable. If i'm trading with this kid again next time i’m going to bring very minimal stuff in case he just decides to kill me.’ “Alright then see ya, i’ll be heading north to the city” They walk separate ways and Lazarus eats his food with a small happiness. He thanked Kain for his kindness and went off his own way. ‘Did that kid not know I scammed him? Sheesh...eh maybe next time i’ll introduce him to a blacksmith I know.’ Author's Notes: Hope you enjoy this chapter. I'll try to release 1 chapter per week or 4-5 per month... Going to basic training in a few weeks so I won't be able to write until I get into AIT and get access to a computer. If I am not able to write... Maybe i'll release 5 chapters for every month I miss. And yes, the chapters are pretty short. I'm pretty new to writing.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> “See you next time, Uncle Ronald,” <br><br>said Julianne while she hugged me. Her avatar, Odette, being excessively tall due to her racial trait, left my legs trailing off the ground. I was the only victim of this particular treatment as she spent time joined with Daniel’s group. Julianne was oblivious to the undercurrent of excitement most of the male players have. They were expecting more girls from Julianne’s school to join them within a week or so game time. I would too, if I was sticking around. But I have something else to do.<br><br>“Take care of yourself too, Julianne.”<br><br>There was no need to say more. I now had Daniel and Odette in my friend list. Also, bothersome Tolan, that I could not shake off without being overly rude. Upon further enquiry, the receptionist was attached. So I lost interest in her quickly.<br><br>It took us 72 days to finish up on the punitive force quest. Killing 1000 monsters could not be done in a hurry, after all. I picked Blessed Silver Ring as my choice of reward from the fat Bishop Leeroy. It had 10% Mana regeneration property with bonus of +100 Mana while equipped. Unfortunately, I could not equip it. It had a level limitation of 80.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="4"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Status Window</span></td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Name</td><td width="25%">Winter</td><td width="25%">Alignment</td><td width="25%">Neutral</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Level</td><td width="25%">63</td><td width="25%">Profession</td><td width="25%">Magician</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Title</td><td colspan="3">None</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Fame</td><td colspan="3">120</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Health</td><td width="25%">450</td><td width="25%">Mana</td><td width="25%">150</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Strength</td><td width="25%">125 (100+25)</td><td width="25%">Agility</td><td width="25%">190</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Vitality</td><td colspan="3">60</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Wisdom</td><td width="25%">75 (55+20)</td><td width="25%">Intellect</td><td width="25%">75 (55+20)</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Stamina</td><td width="25%">50</td><td width="25%">Fighting Spirit</td><td width="25%">14</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Luck</td><td width="25%">0</td><td width="25%">Leadership</td><td width="25%">1</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Charisma</td><td colspan="3">4</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Attack</td><td width="25%">25-30</td><td width="25%">Magic Attack</td><td width="25%">15-16</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Defense</td><td width="25%">24</td><td width="25%">Magic Defense</td><td width="25%">22</td></tr><tr><td colspan="4">Magic Resistance</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Fire</td><td width="25%">10%</td><td width="25%">Water</td><td width="25%">10%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Earth</td><td width="25%">10%</td><td width="25%">Wind</td><td width="25%">10%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Holy</td><td width="25%">10%</td><td width="25%">Dark</td><td width="25%">10%</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="4"><ul><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br><li>+20 points to INT and WIS</li><br><li>+50% Magic Attack</li><br><li>-50% Stamina</li><br><li>+10% All Magic Resistance</li><br><li>Unable to use Medium or Heavy Armor</li><br><li>Unable to use Heavy Weapon</li><br><li>Unable to use weapons with Iron contents</li></span></span></ul><br></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>That was how my current status window looked like. I had leapt 15 levels from finishing up the quest alone, while 24 levels were from leeching from the group, with a 10 level bonus from participating in the boss kill. <br><br>After the demise of the event boss, I was relegated back to my useless role of being a cook helper and permanent leecher, with the occasional dash of firing arrows at mobs. My current defense was decent, since Daniel had gifted me with his old gear.They were pretty rare items, judging by how much defense they had. I was now wrapped in a black leather shirt, pants and gloves, with the same for boots. Julianne helped me to resize it properly. Her tailoring skill was already intermediate, and she could handle leather goods easily.<br><br>“Let me know if you have more cool magic!” Said Tolan excitedly. We parted with him throwing those words.<br><br>I believed 200g was too much for my current level. But who complains about having too much money right? It made me wonder what other event bosses they had in Royal Road, if they would be as lucrative after killing. (Author: He decidedly ignored that it was not him who did most of the work) <br><br>“Uncle Winter!” Yelled Adria when she spotted me. She was skipping around the street, playing a game with other children of her age. I lifted her and spun her around, leaving her squealing. Unwittingly, I laughed at her joy. <br><br>“Is Minalan in?” <br><br>“Yes. He is back at the shop. I will take you there.”<br><br>“No need, little one. Go play with them.”<br><br>Her expression said she was disappointed. I picked that up pretty quickly.<br><br>“I can use a guide, you know. I sort of forget where the place is,” she brightened at that.<br><br>Bidding farewell to her playmates, she showed me a shortcut to the shop. I could have taken the main street without getting lost. The large hand still stuck out from the edge of the district, after all. Impossible to miss.<br><br>“We are here.” <br><br>Adria waved her hand with a flourish. We had arrived.<br><br>“Here is a present for you. Don’t eat all of it at once,” I put a bag of sweet candy in her hand.<br><br>“Now shoo. I have business with your Dad,” I did not need to try. She had already gone through the side door to spend her time consuming the sweet goods.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">‘Hope you can’t get cavities in Royal Road’</span><br><br><br>The bell jingled with my entrance. Minalan was serving two customers. <br><br>“Identify.” Blue glow enveloped a shield one of the two players was holding out to him.<br><br>I stood at a corner while they were finishing up their business. Money exchanged hands, as the other player bought an item, and they left with happy expressions.<br><br>“I see that the shop is doing well.”<br><br>“It is. Thanks to you, Winter,” he was of course, referring to my scheme of ‘Free Identification’ service.<br><br>He flipped the signboard with a gesture of his hand from across the room. The sign obeyed. Now we had privacy.<br><br>“You arrived at a good time. My distant friend came through faster than I thought they would. This arrived a week ago,” Minalan took out a book with ornate runes and gold gildings at the side. The leather was thick and heavy. He marked the book with a strip of leather.<br><br>“Is that the Master’s Journal?” I asked. He nodded in reply and handed it to me.<br><br>Opening to the marked page, I read it carefully.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td><span style="font-style: italic;">The bracer was rumored to be a container of magic. Of vast proportions! A significant amount of evidence also pointed to one or several other abilities. But at this point in time, I am not interested in writing more wild, unproven conjectures. <br><br>Rumor as it is, when there are twenty different written accounts, it is hard to discount. All accounts spoke of Asric’s tireless ability to continuously cast spells, outlasting his challengers, and to keep on going. I do not have the ring on hand, nor have I ever seen it, to confirm the supposition of the accounts. Those that wrote what they dare to put on paper about the ring, claim possibilities that the ring has the ability to heal injuries. <br><br>Asric had survived numerous duels, ambushes, assassination attempts and various other contrived methods to hasten his death. There were bound to be times some came close, as no person could be vigilant when they are asleep. It becomes plausible with one of the two items in front of me. The bracer clearly wholly relates to Mana. <br><br>Like my apt pupil, who is a genius of his generation, I dare not test the strength of the curse. I am not arrogant enough to believe in my prowess, despite the praises heaped on me. Nor do I believe that the curse seeks to completely harm its wearer. For some odd reason, I feel some sort of purpose to the curse, yet am unable to puzzle it. Perhaps I am right. But I could be completely wrong. <br><br>I sympathize with the magic practitioners that had the bracer forced on them, as to our kind, only our magical strength should eclipse our wisdom and knowledge, for it is the goal of all magical learning. To improves our magical prowess through our learning capacity. What tale they would tell, we shall never know, for there is no written account reliable enough left.</span></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>The journal went on a few more paragraphs. Praising the ingenuity and construction of the bracer. Then Winter found what he was looking for.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td><span style="font-style: italic;">The curse is strong. But a curse has to be powered by a magical source. Which I think the bracer already has in minute quantity, and continuously draws from the wearer. A curse, like a blessing, is an expression of magic. While a blessing is positive, a curse would run negative. I thought of two possible methods to remove the curse.<br>The first one would be to wholly negate the magic. It will also, unfortunately, negate its enchantment properties. The bracer may as well be a pretty ornament. There is also the problem of summoning enough Mana to do it. My personal effort in full, did not diminish the curse at all, in any manner I could detect. I believe a collection of some hundred with my strength might be able to do it. Yet who would claim the bracer then, for there is only one of it. For myself, while I hold no interest, nothing could be said with regard to others.<br><br>The second choice would be to put a strong enough blessing to counter its negative magical state. I unfortunately dismissed this choice, as the whole might of Freya’s church would be needed for such an endeavor. The members of the church are indeed benevolent. It would also be the reason for their rejection, for there is no wide ranging benefit aside from personal curiosity to fuel the endeavor. In fact, it is very possible the removal of the curse will rekindle a more tragic tale than Asric’s.<br><br>In the progress of writing the second choice, my mind latched on the idea that this bracer should be returned to its owner, though he is long from this world. So should the cursed ring. Perhaps Asric, in his final act of genius, deliberately cursed the pinnacle of his works to be an exercise of futility. One final laugh he claims against magic practitioners with warped greed or ambition, that searched for and will continue to search for, the elusive method to use his tragic legacy, when he probably provided none.<br><br>I believe the answer to the unfortunates who had the bracer forced on them is a simple one. It is so glaringly obvious, that it is laughable. I shall let my most excellent pupil give it careful thought, for it shows his lack of analytical ability to miss such an obvious clue. </span></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>I cursed under my breath. For all my angst, it turned out to be nothing. I could wait until the counter maxed out, in about three months and the bracer would come off on its own. The game creator really has a cruel streak.<br><br>“What will do you with the bracer, Winter?”<br><br>A quest window popped up with the question.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cursed Bracer of Asric</span><br>After receiving Minalan’s assistance, you finally obtained the answer you seek. You have free reign from the choice between attempting to remove the curse and returning the bracer to the maker’s tomb. The reward you receive will hinge on what action you take, and so will the nature of the quest, with every interaction with other characters and clues you obtain.<br><br>Difficulty level: C<br>Quest Requirement: <span style="font-style: italic;">Good relationship with Minalan and Adria. Equipped <span style="font-weight: bold;">Asric’s Cursed Bracer</span> </span><br>Reward: Unknown <br><br>Automatic acceptance</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>Quest accepted.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>I pondered on the quest for a second, before answering.<br><br>“No idea. I will think of something when it is ready to come off. For now, I think I will stay for a couple days before heading out again.” <br><br>The counter had already hit about 45000. It had gone faster since my Mana pool increased from my level ups. I expected from a rough calculation, that it would take about two more months before it was ready to be parted from me.<br><br>“That is good. Adria missed you. She kept asking when you will be coming back.” <br><br>In response to that statement, I decided to spoil Adria with the tale of my exploits, grandly overblown in proportion. The golem was larger, the minions more, and I was the hero of the day. The last part was true. But I made it much more of course. Story telling was my past time activity since I had to content with Celine once and a couple more. So I was well practiced. Adria was enraptured with the story for the whole time. <br><br>“But I have the last say in the fight. With protection from my comrades, I managed to have time to cast a powerful spell. A thousand bolts of lightning were summoned to strike down the large golem. The force of the blow was so strong that a crater was left when the spell was done. We happily went down the crater to claim our reward. And your uncle here received this sword.” <br><br>I unsheathed my new sword. It has better balance than my old Copper Sword and a lot better damage. Killing a wolf was as easy as how fast I can get to it. Adria clapped at the ending. I let her hold the sword carefully. Minalan clapped too. <br><br>“Okay, Adria. Time to sleep. Don’t forget to brush your teeth.”<br><br>“Aww. I want to hear more.” <br><br>“Sorry, Adria. There is nothing else to tell. Uncle Winter needs to go for more adventures to have stories!” I roared in menace and chased her around the table. She pretended to be scared and ran to the kitchen. I reclaimed the sword she left on the table. <br><br>I did the cooking again for our dinner. My cooking skill was at Beginner level 3. But as before, it was still better than the criminally terrible food Minalan served. We cleared the table while Adria prepared herself to sleep.<br><br>“Good night, Uncle Winter. See you tomorrow?” I bent for the kiss on my cheek. That was new.<br><br>She wore a plain shift with her hair bound in a single neat braid. A sleeping cap with stars circling the top, ending with a fluffy bulb, decorated her head. I had never seen her in her sleeping attire, since I never stayed this late. <br><br>“Good night, Adria. See you tomorrow. Promise.” <br><br>She reluctantly parted with my neck and went to her room. She still glanced at me furtively from behind her door, before closing it firmly. She reminded me so much of Celine when she was younger,before she grew up and became a devil.<br><br>I had quiet words with Minalan regarding his training method. He was puzzled since that was how he was trained, and it was a first for him to hear it was done differently. I let it drop, since he appeared to be genuinely puzzled. We traded stories of happenings since our parting, for a while.<br><br>“By the way, do you have any more of that scroll?” I asked. I was of course referring to the magic scroll he gave me.<br><br>“No. That was the first one I saw. I will ask around if you are interested.” <br><br>“Thanks. Let me know if you find some. It might be useful in the future.”<br><br>I bid him good night, since it was getting really late, and promised to visit for lunch tomorrow.<br><br>“Okay. I think I will take this and this,” the fat cook that had helped me, was choosing what ingredients he wanted from what I had in my inventory. A promise was a promise, for me. <br><br>“19 Forest Tree Fruit and 52 Tree Snake Meat. Okay. Thank you for sharing them with me.”<br><br>“You’re welcome. Thank you too for your help. I expect more in the future.”<br><br>She laughed at my comment. I spent a little time helping her to cook. It was late at night anyway, and I had nothing to do. <br><br>“By the way, have you heard of Rainbow Fish?” She asked me a question during our break.<br><br>“Rainbow Fish?”<br><br>“It is a wonderful food ingredient. I heard it gifts those that eat the fish with good luck. It is also very delicious, I heard.” I nodded and beckoned her to continue.<br><br>“You see, soon there will be a cooking competition. The theme for this year is fish. I need to collect that fish to have a winning chance. Therefore, I will be grateful if you can go and collect it for me.” <br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">‘Why not? I have nothing to do for now anyway.’</span><br><br>I told her as much and agreed to do it.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td><span style="font-weight: bold;">Rainbow Fish </span><br><br>You are tasked by Sella, the Inn’s cook, to retrieve this particular fish. <br>The fish can be found two days south of Cosare, within a lake at the top of a hill. <br>It was said this fish has seven colors,shines and is the sacred food of lizardmen. <br>Please beware in your adventure to not attract their ire!<br><br>Difficulty: E<br>Reward: <span style="font-style: italic;">Familiarity with Sella. Intermediate cooking ingredients. Sella’s personal cookbook recipe.</span><br><br>Time Limit: 28 days</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>I accepted the quest and logged out.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="2"><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=99&amp;t=667" target="_blank">&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt; Previous Chapter</a></td><td colspan="2"><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=99&amp;t=695" target="_blank">Next Chapter &gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;</a></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>==========================================================================================================================================================<br>Author's Note:<br><br>1. Credit to -The Slacker- for the diligent PR<br>2. Special Credit to Veresliosi, Vim1inc, Saxenas1 for bouncing stuff around<br>3. Do let me know of mistakes you find. Try as me and my PR to spot them, we might miss some.<br>4. This is the last chapter of Volume 1. Thank you for reading the whole volume. <br>5. Enjoy the read, everyone! </div>

“See you next time, Uncle Ronald,” said Julianne while she hugged me. Her avatar, Odette, being excessively tall due to her racial trait, left my legs trailing off the ground. I was the only victim of this particular treatment as she spent time joined with Daniel’s group. Julianne was oblivious to the undercurrent of excitement most of the male players have. They were expecting more girls from Julianne’s school to join them within a week or so game time. I would too, if I was sticking around. But I have something else to do. “Take care of yourself too, Julianne.” There was no need to say more. I now had Daniel and Odette in my friend list. Also, bothersome Tolan, that I could not shake off without being overly rude. Upon further enquiry, the receptionist was attached. So I lost interest in her quickly. It took us 72 days to finish up on the punitive force quest. Killing 1000 monsters could not be done in a hurry, after all. I picked Blessed Silver Ring as my choice of reward from the fat Bishop Leeroy. It had 10% Mana regeneration property with bonus of +100 Mana while equipped. Unfortunately, I could not equip it. It had a level limitation of 80. | Status Window | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Name | Winter | Alignment | Neutral | | Level | 63 | Profession | Magician | | Title | None | | | | Fame | 120 | | | | Health | 450 | Mana | 150 | | Strength | 125 (100+25) | Agility | 190 | | Vitality | 60 | | | | Wisdom | 75 (55+20) | Intellect | 75 (55+20) | | Stamina | 50 | Fighting Spirit | 14 | | Luck | 0 | Leadership | 1 | | Charisma | 4 | | | | Attack | 25-30 | Magic Attack | 15-16 | | Defense | 24 | Magic Defense | 22 | | Magic Resistance | | | | | Fire | 10% | Water | 10% | | Earth | 10% | Wind | 10% | | Holy | 10% | Dark | 10% | | * +20 points to INT and WIS * +50% Magic Attack * -50% Stamina * +10% All Magic Resistance * Unable to use Medium or Heavy Armor * Unable to use Heavy Weapon * Unable to use weapons with Iron contents | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | That was how my current status window looked like. I had leapt 15 levels from finishing up the quest alone, while 24 levels were from leeching from the group, with a 10 level bonus from participating in the boss kill. After the demise of the event boss, I was relegated back to my useless role of being a cook helper and permanent leecher, with the occasional dash of firing arrows at mobs. My current defense was decent, since Daniel had gifted me with his old gear.They were pretty rare items, judging by how much defense they had. I was now wrapped in a black leather shirt, pants and gloves, with the same for boots. Julianne helped me to resize it properly. Her tailoring skill was already intermediate, and she could handle leather goods easily. “Let me know if you have more cool magic!” Said Tolan excitedly. We parted with him throwing those words. I believed 200g was too much for my current level. But who complains about having too much money right? It made me wonder what other event bosses they had in Royal Road, if they would be as lucrative after killing. (Author: He decidedly ignored that it was not him who did most of the work) “Uncle Winter!” Yelled Adria when she spotted me. She was skipping around the street, playing a game with other children of her age. I lifted her and spun her around, leaving her squealing. Unwittingly, I laughed at her joy. “Is Minalan in?” “Yes. He is back at the shop. I will take you there.” “No need, little one. Go play with them.” Her expression said she was disappointed. I picked that up pretty quickly. “I can use a guide, you know. I sort of forget where the place is,” she brightened at that. Bidding farewell to her playmates, she showed me a shortcut to the shop. I could have taken the main street without getting lost. The large hand still stuck out from the edge of the district, after all. Impossible to miss. “We are here.” Adria waved her hand with a flourish. We had arrived. “Here is a present for you. Don’t eat all of it at once,” I put a bag of sweet candy in her hand. “Now shoo. I have business with your Dad,” I did not need to try. She had already gone through the side door to spend her time consuming the sweet goods. ‘Hope you can’t get cavities in Royal Road’ The bell jingled with my entrance. Minalan was serving two customers. “Identify.” Blue glow enveloped a shield one of the two players was holding out to him. I stood at a corner while they were finishing up their business. Money exchanged hands, as the other player bought an item, and they left with happy expressions. “I see that the shop is doing well.” “It is. Thanks to you, Winter,” he was of course, referring to my scheme of ‘Free Identification’ service. He flipped the signboard with a gesture of his hand from across the room. The sign obeyed. Now we had privacy. “You arrived at a good time. My distant friend came through faster than I thought they would. This arrived a week ago,” Minalan took out a book with ornate runes and gold gildings at the side. The leather was thick and heavy. He marked the book with a strip of leather. “Is that the Master’s Journal?” I asked. He nodded in reply and handed it to me. Opening to the marked page, I read it carefully. | The bracer was rumored to be a container of magic. Of vast proportions! A significant amount of evidence also pointed to one or several other abilities. But at this point in time, I am not interested in writing more wild, unproven conjectures. Rumor as it is, when there are twenty different written accounts, it is hard to discount. All accounts spoke of Asric’s tireless ability to continuously cast spells, outlasting his challengers, and to keep on going. I do not have the ring on hand, nor have I ever seen it, to confirm the supposition of the accounts. Those that wrote what they dare to put on paper about the ring, claim possibilities that the ring has the ability to heal injuries. Asric had survived numerous duels, ambushes, assassination attempts and various other contrived methods to hasten his death. There were bound to be times some came close, as no person could be vigilant when they are asleep. It becomes plausible with one of the two items in front of me. The bracer clearly wholly relates to Mana. Like my apt pupil, who is a genius of his generation, I dare not test the strength of the curse. I am not arrogant enough to believe in my prowess, despite the praises heaped on me. Nor do I believe that the curse seeks to completely harm its wearer. For some odd reason, I feel some sort of purpose to the curse, yet am unable to puzzle it. Perhaps I am right. But I could be completely wrong. I sympathize with the magic practitioners that had the bracer forced on them, as to our kind, only our magical strength should eclipse our wisdom and knowledge, for it is the goal of all magical learning. To improves our magical prowess through our learning capacity. What tale they would tell, we shall never know, for there is no written account reliable enough left. | | --- | The journal went on a few more paragraphs. Praising the ingenuity and construction of the bracer. Then Winter found what he was looking for. | The curse is strong. But a curse has to be powered by a magical source. Which I think the bracer already has in minute quantity, and continuously draws from the wearer. A curse, like a blessing, is an expression of magic. While a blessing is positive, a curse would run negative. I thought of two possible methods to remove the curse.The first one would be to wholly negate the magic. It will also, unfortunately, negate its enchantment properties. The bracer may as well be a pretty ornament. There is also the problem of summoning enough Mana to do it. My personal effort in full, did not diminish the curse at all, in any manner I could detect. I believe a collection of some hundred with my strength might be able to do it. Yet who would claim the bracer then, for there is only one of it. For myself, while I hold no interest, nothing could be said with regard to others.The second choice would be to put a strong enough blessing to counter its negative magical state. I unfortunately dismissed this choice, as the whole might of Freya’s church would be needed for such an endeavor. The members of the church are indeed benevolent. It would also be the reason for their rejection, for there is no wide ranging benefit aside from personal curiosity to fuel the endeavor. In fact, it is very possible the removal of the curse will rekindle a more tragic tale than Asric’s.In the progress of writing the second choice, my mind latched on the idea that this bracer should be returned to its owner, though he is long from this world. So should the cursed ring. Perhaps Asric, in his final act of genius, deliberately cursed the pinnacle of his works to be an exercise of futility. One final laugh he claims against magic practitioners with warped greed or ambition, that searched for and will continue to search for, the elusive method to use his tragic legacy, when he probably provided none.I believe the answer to the unfortunates who had the bracer forced on them is a simple one. It is so glaringly obvious, that it is laughable. I shall let my most excellent pupil give it careful thought, for it shows his lack of analytical ability to miss such an obvious clue. | | --- | I cursed under my breath. For all my angst, it turned out to be nothing. I could wait until the counter maxed out, in about three months and the bracer would come off on its own. The game creator really has a cruel streak. “What will do you with the bracer, Winter?” A quest window popped up with the question. | Cursed Bracer of AsricAfter receiving Minalan’s assistance, you finally obtained the answer you seek. You have free reign from the choice between attempting to remove the curse and returning the bracer to the maker’s tomb. The reward you receive will hinge on what action you take, and so will the nature of the quest, with every interaction with other characters and clues you obtain.Difficulty level: CQuest Requirement: Good relationship with Minalan and Adria. Equipped Asric’s Cursed Bracer Reward: Unknown Automatic acceptance | | --- | | Quest accepted. | | --- | I pondered on the quest for a second, before answering. “No idea. I will think of something when it is ready to come off. For now, I think I will stay for a couple days before heading out again.” The counter had already hit about 45000. It had gone faster since my Mana pool increased from my level ups. I expected from a rough calculation, that it would take about two more months before it was ready to be parted from me. “That is good. Adria missed you. She kept asking when you will be coming back.” In response to that statement, I decided to spoil Adria with the tale of my exploits, grandly overblown in proportion. The golem was larger, the minions more, and I was the hero of the day. The last part was true. But I made it much more of course. Story telling was my past time activity since I had to content with Celine once and a couple more. So I was well practiced. Adria was enraptured with the story for the whole time. “But I have the last say in the fight. With protection from my comrades, I managed to have time to cast a powerful spell. A thousand bolts of lightning were summoned to strike down the large golem. The force of the blow was so strong that a crater was left when the spell was done. We happily went down the crater to claim our reward. And your uncle here received this sword.” I unsheathed my new sword. It has better balance than my old Copper Sword and a lot better damage. Killing a wolf was as easy as how fast I can get to it. Adria clapped at the ending. I let her hold the sword carefully. Minalan clapped too. “Okay, Adria. Time to sleep. Don’t forget to brush your teeth.” “Aww. I want to hear more.” “Sorry, Adria. There is nothing else to tell. Uncle Winter needs to go for more adventures to have stories!” I roared in menace and chased her around the table. She pretended to be scared and ran to the kitchen. I reclaimed the sword she left on the table. I did the cooking again for our dinner. My cooking skill was at Beginner level 3. But as before, it was still better than the criminally terrible food Minalan served. We cleared the table while Adria prepared herself to sleep. “Good night, Uncle Winter. See you tomorrow?” I bent for the kiss on my cheek. That was new. She wore a plain shift with her hair bound in a single neat braid. A sleeping cap with stars circling the top, ending with a fluffy bulb, decorated her head. I had never seen her in her sleeping attire, since I never stayed this late. “Good night, Adria. See you tomorrow. Promise.” She reluctantly parted with my neck and went to her room. She still glanced at me furtively from behind her door, before closing it firmly. She reminded me so much of Celine when she was younger,before she grew up and became a devil. I had quiet words with Minalan regarding his training method. He was puzzled since that was how he was trained, and it was a first for him to hear it was done differently. I let it drop, since he appeared to be genuinely puzzled. We traded stories of happenings since our parting, for a while. “By the way, do you have any more of that scroll?” I asked. I was of course referring to the magic scroll he gave me. “No. That was the first one I saw. I will ask around if you are interested.” “Thanks. Let me know if you find some. It might be useful in the future.” I bid him good night, since it was getting really late, and promised to visit for lunch tomorrow. “Okay. I think I will take this and this,” the fat cook that had helped me, was choosing what ingredients he wanted from what I had in my inventory. A promise was a promise, for me. “19 Forest Tree Fruit and 52 Tree Snake Meat. Okay. Thank you for sharing them with me.” “You’re welcome. Thank you too for your help. I expect more in the future.” She laughed at my comment. I spent a little time helping her to cook. It was late at night anyway, and I had nothing to do. “By the way, have you heard of Rainbow Fish?” She asked me a question during our break. “Rainbow Fish?” “It is a wonderful food ingredient. I heard it gifts those that eat the fish with good luck. It is also very delicious, I heard.” I nodded and beckoned her to continue. “You see, soon there will be a cooking competition. The theme for this year is fish. I need to collect that fish to have a winning chance. Therefore, I will be grateful if you can go and collect it for me.” ‘Why not? I have nothing to do for now anyway.’ I told her as much and agreed to do it. | Rainbow Fish You are tasked by Sella, the Inn’s cook, to retrieve this particular fish. The fish can be found two days south of Cosare, within a lake at the top of a hill. It was said this fish has seven colors,shines and is the sacred food of lizardmen. Please beware in your adventure to not attract their ire!Difficulty: EReward: Familiarity with Sella. Intermediate cooking ingredients. Sella’s personal cookbook recipe.Time Limit: 28 days | | --- | I accepted the quest and logged out. | [<<<<< Previous Chapter](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=99&t=667) | | [Next Chapter >>>>>](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=99&t=695) | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | ========================================================================================================================================================== Author's Note: 1. Credit to -The Slacker- for the diligent PR 2. Special Credit to Veresliosi, Vim1inc, Saxenas1 for bouncing stuff around 3. Do let me know of mistakes you find. Try as me and my PR to spot them, we might miss some. 4. This is the last chapter of Volume 1. Thank you for reading the whole volume. 5. Enjoy the read, everyone!

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> <div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>- Cold blooded cruelty skill leveled up! Now beginner level 5!<br><br>- Cold blooded cruelty skill leveled up! Now beginner level 6!</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>Ripple Effect beginner level 2! – Your actions now have impact on greater social circles! Master this stat to unlock all its effects.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>Ripple Effect beginner level 3! - Your actions now have impact on greater social circles! Master this stat to unlock all its effects.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>Weed hastily closed the messages. He didn’t have a clue why he kept receiving those messages and what was so cruel about trying to unite a pair of lovers. <span style="font-style: italic;"> ‘May be some sort of system error…</span> Without giving it a second thought he shifted his focus back to Lisa.<br><br>Silence loomed in the Great White Hall. For Rodriguez even the seconds inched away slowly like minutes as he awaited Lisa’s reply. Lisa stared at Rodriguez with a pitiful, sad and yet joyful expression. There were a thousand thoughts buzzing in her head. There was so much she wanted to say and yet she could not find the words to speak.<br><br>The audience, NPC and players alike, stood still in silence awaiting Lisa’s reply. NPC’s were in it for the romance but the players were already past that. They were more interested to know whether Weed had succeeded in pulling off the most brilliant and glorious victory in the finals. It was truly a sneakily crafted victory right under their noses; if he did manage to win.<br><br>“But...” She finally spoke. “But...since when?”<br><br>“Since the first time I laid my eyes on you.”<br><br>“...”<br><br>“Lisa, touch the ring. I wish to show you something...”<br><br>Lisa cautiously moved forward and touched the ring with her finger. Instantly, her consciousness was transported to a memory Rodriguez etched into the ring. Everything she now saw and felt were from Rodriguez perspective.... <br><br>There were white roses everywhere and a young Lisa was tending to them. Lisa slowly watered each rose, speaking gently to the flower, nurturing them with her words of encouragement.<br><br>As she took the next step forward, she unknowingly stepped on a man who was hidden beneath the overgrown grass with a book over his face. <br><br>“Ouch” came a young man’s voice. It was a young Rodriguez who had been staring at the fair maiden secretly. <br><br>Lisa continued to ignore the man as tended to the roses. She continued stepping on him while watering the roses. Lisa could feel the Rodriguez felt as her younger self dug her heels deep into his arm.<br><br>“Well thats terribly rude.” her younger self, finally said.<br><br>“...”<br><br> “Will you please move, you are making this more difficult for me.” Lisa continued, sounding terribly irritated.<br><br>A lovestruck Rodriguez, continued to stare at her in awe. He nodded his head every time she said something even if she called him an idiot, he nodded his head in agreement. The young Lisa finally lost her cool and put away the watering can before stomping off.<br><br>Rodriguez began to chase after her....profusely apologizing. He didn’t want her to go or leave his sight for a single second...<br><br>Many more such memories of Rodriguez attempting to woo Lisa flashed one after another. Some made Lisa cry, others made her laugh. Unlike watching the memory from a screen, Lisa could feel every bit of what Rodriguez felt at the time they first met....the etched memory disappeared and Lisa resurfaced to the present moment.<br><br>In the brief moment of what had transpired, she had tears in her eyes; they had truly spent a long time in each other’s company. Rodriguez had been there for her whenever she needed him, yet she was so thick headed towards his feelings...<br><br>“Of course old fool who else would look after you” Lisa cried as she helped Rodriguez up.<br><br>The NPC’s went wild and burst into cheers. Some nobles even threw roses at the old romantic pair. They weren’t sure what just transpired but were certain there was a romantic gestures contained within the ring. Weed had instantly built fame for himself amongst the nobles, soon there would be a whole bunch who would want a ring just like the one Rodriguez used to propose to Lisa.<br><br>Rodriguez smiled quickly slipped the ring onto her finger lest she changed her mind! As he did so, the couple were surrounded in a warm red glow, flowers bloomed at their feet, and a chorus of bells rung out in the air around them. The NPC and some players in the crowd started to whistle and applaud, yelling for a kiss which they obligingly provided afterwhich Lisa turned bright red.<br><br>Weed smiled, the cat was in the bag. Though the ring was imperfect, uniting the old pair was perfectly done. He had no clue what memory was etched into the ring, but he thanked his stars for that added ability as it appeared to have played a critical role. Now all that was left was Theodore’s judgement. Dwarves are masters of steel just like their title they are hard on the outside but very soft on the inside. Theodore eyes glistened with tears, he had known the pair longer than most of his own dwarvish comrades. <br><br>The other finalists were left with their mouths wide open. Nobody had seen that coming; a proposal during the competition. <span style="font-style: italic;"> Was it all planned from the start? </span>. Thor was most angry and jealous of Weed, this was not blacksmithing this was playing cupid. He swore to appeal Theodore’s decision in case Weed won.<br><br>Most of the players were holding themselves back from rushing to grab and make off with Weed solely because of Snappy’s presence. A player like Weed was very rare, he had the brains and guts to pull off a such a stunt. It would most likely secure his victory. Having him on their team / guild would be a huge advantage especially since RREV had only just begun. For now, all of them could only applaud away in the distance.<br><br>As Theodore struggled to reign in the wild applauses and quiet everyone down, Rodriguez motioned Weed closer and whispered, “The ring is beyond measure. It’s value cannot be captured in gold, titles or words. Truly, in memories and feelings.” Rodriguez winked at Weed as he spoke the last few lines.<br><br>“You truly are the Wise one, come see us at the ranch tomorrow! I may have never had the courage to go on had it not been for you! There is much preparation for the wedding that needs to be undertaken!”<br><br>TRRRIINNNG!<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td><span style="font-weight: bold;">Quest: Find a suitable ring for Lisa – Has been completed.</span><br><br>The ring for Lisa was most suitable! Rodriguez commends you for your efforts in finding a suitable ring for Lisa.<br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;">Reward:</span><br><br>The Wise – You have acquired a title.<br><br>Other players won’t see the title, but NPC’s will and as your fame increases so will the number that knows of you. Having been named Weed the Wise you gain the following benefits.<br><br>+30 to Wisdom<br>+20 to Intelligence<br><br>Librarians, Scholars, Elders, etc. will respect you more. You begin with a higher reputation with these individuals (NPCs).</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>TRRRINNNG!<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>Quest: The Wedding Planner!<br><br>You have helped Rodriguez connect with his love. He has asked you to stop by the house tomorrow to discuss plans for the wedding!<br><br>Reward: ????<br>Difficulty: E<br><br>Quest Limitations: You may not turn down this quest as you have been selected as best man! If you fail to turn up, you will face the ire of Rodriguez, his friends and all nobles who witnessed this beautiful couple unite.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>As Weed read the message, Rodriguez took of the library key which hung around his neck and handed it to Weed. Another message popped up before Weed could close the first one.<br><br>TRRRINNNG!<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td><span style="font-weight: bold;">Hidden Quest: Unite the old couple - Has been completed.</span><br><br>Rather than blindly seeking an end result of the perfect ring, you strove to go beyond your role in assisting Rodriguez find a suitable ring for Lisa! You united the old couple!<br><br>This reward is only for those who are interested in something beyond a reward; an adventure.<br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;">Reward:</span><br><br>You received a key! - wonder which door does it open?</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>Weed accepted the key suspiciously as Rodriguez winked at him a second time. <span style="font-style: italic;"> Is this part of some serial quest? </span> Weed didn’t have much time to think about it as Theodore dragged the elf back onto the stage. After sometime the commotion died down and the crowd once more looked toward Theodore. Theodore, slowly examined each item made by each of the contestants. He even got off stage and examined the ring on Lisa’s hand.<br><br>He then examined every other finalists’ item once again. As he stood there his face looked to be in pain. Into the tension that filled the air he stepped forward and began to speak.<br><br>“This has been an extremely difficult round to judge. Probably, the most difficult decision I have ever had to make in my life.” He looked at the old couple and smiled when he said those lines. “I have examined and re-examined each and every item prepared in this room from each and every round... My decision....it is final and I won’t change my mind...the winner of the Moonlight Apprentice Competition is the Elf- Weed!”<br><br>NPCs were esctatic, the players in the audience were totally expecting it and joined the growing applause. However, there wasn’t joy everywhere. The announcement brought pandemonium amongst the dwarves present at the event, how could the elf win! He was an elf! Dwarves hated elves, his level was much lower than Cynbels or Thors, and his materials were not very impressive. Some of the dwarves began cursing at Theodore accusing him to be blinded by the melodramatic event that had unfolded a few moments ago.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;"> “Bloody fool!” </span> Cried out a dwarf noble as he stomped away.<br><br>Some of the players and finalists were surprised that the NPC dwarves reacted so strongly against the elf winning, they were sure that everyone was in support of Weed winning. Weed however totally saw this coming, he knew that winning through such an elaborate scheme would have repercussions more so since he was an elf. As he stood there wondering who would be the next person to speak up against him, from his left Thor shouted out, “NO! I don’t accept this how could he win. Helping an old couple unite is playing cupid not blacksmithing! Theodore have you gone blind?”<br><br>Most the dwarf NPC’s rallied behind Thor’s word. An elf winning a blacksmithing competition was blasphemy! No dwarf in the audience would stand for it!<br><br>“Very well, I will explain even though there is no need. Firstly there are only thirteen of you present. The two, who failed to turn stand disqualified for non attendance. So everything they made previously has no value in my eyes. For the first challenge he built a knife it had no level restrictions and it improved a crafters ability. Let us compare with the disqualified Volcan’s sword it was restricted to people above level 200 with a high fire affinity. Now tell me which was more useful it was obviously the knife which Weed proved by using it for the next challenge. Which is also the reason why all of you made it to the second round.” Theodore said as he looked at the thirteen contenders.<br><br>“For the second challenge it was to make something unique, you all made something unique....all of your items showed excellent attention to detail, they were made through the combination of skills and techniques. Literally some of the best works I have seen in all of Versailles.”<br><br>By this point dwarves were looking at each other and nodding, after all what he was saying was right. <br><br>“And finally in the last challenge I asked for you to make something beautiful. This is where some of you were disqualified. I never said stop making something useful. Although, your items in the second round were unique....not all of them were useful in the final round were they now?”<br><br>“...”<br><br>“The only ones to make something useful and unique were Thor, Cynbel, Pallidus, Eurneid and Weed.”<br><br>Some of the finalists sighed, Theodore continued to remain an elusive with his words.<br><br>“Amongst you five, three of you are already my apprentice...I have no idea why you bother participating again and again. I enjoy your works and have no qualms in advancing you to the next round...but you all are already my apprentice, you cannot win again to become my apprentice. You all do produce the finest of works but there is no further reward to this...”<br>Thor and Cynbel smacked the foreheads in unison; that explains why no apprentice ever won for a second time. It wasn’t the fact that their work was less impressive but rather they were already apprentices and there was nothing to be won. In their intense competition between each other they completely overlooked this small detail. Noticing, no dwarf or human had an objection so far, Theodore continued with his explanation, “So it really was a decision between Eurneid and Weed. I never said it must be made of metal. The Ring as a work by itself was nice but what made it beautiful was the fact it was the physical representation of love, a love that he helped bring together two souls and what can be more beautiful than a love fulfilled between two people.”<br><br>As some dwarves raised their voices again, Theodore continued speaking, “Furthermore, his ring is useful as we just saw, it is unique for a variety of reasons and beautiful. The tiny gemstone used, perfectly stands out in this bright room. Eurneid, I am not sure how useful that sculpture is but as it stands till I judged it gave off no benefit whatsoever. It’s not unique either you already made a statue last round...That is why I say Weed is the winner.”<br><br>The NPC dwarves lost their reasons to argue. Theodore was the craftiest of the lot. Although his decision appeared to be a biased one made on emotion, his reasons hinted a more deeper thought put into his decisions. Players could not believe how difficult Theodore’s rules were. Each successive round, he demanded more and more from each contestant without letting them know so! The players in the audience weren’t just impressed with Weed but by the other three apprentices as well! Thor, Cynbel and Pallidus had all shown their mettle by keeping up with Theodore’s crafty demands!<br><br>The other candidates bowed to the audience and got off stage. Theodore’s decision was final and fighting further would only worsen relationships. <span style="font-style: italic;"> ‘Choose your battles wisely. </span><br><br>Seeing no further arguments against his decision, Theodore spoke up, “Weed as the winner I present to you the thirteenth weapon of Völundr, Holy hammer of Völundr, use it wisely.”<br><br>TRRRINNNG!!!<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>You have won the blacksmithing competition! Theodore acknowledges your raw talent! You are the 13th and final apprentice of Theodore just as there are 13 moons in a year!<br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;">Reward: </span> <br><br>Holy hammer of Völundr - Imbued with special elemental affinities this weapon grows with its user capabilities! Boosts all stats by 5%!<br><br>Super effective in combat against dark forces! Does additional 50% damage!<br><br>All the accumulated wisdom of the hammer is now exclusively available to you!</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>Weed’s jaws dropped as he re-read the hammer’s description. Weapons which grew along with users were the rarest of the rarest in any game. They were on par with cheats! It was like winning a secondary partner in battle! In addition, there was the overwhelming effect it had on dark creatures! The benefits of battle wisdom and historical knowledge locked away in it! Though, such weapons always came with risks...but Weed was so happy to receive something so rare he overlooked the risks or the fact that this was the thirteenth such weapon.<br><br>As Weed accepted the hammer, Theodore leaned forward whispered, “So you’re the last one well that’s a goddamn, surprise and shame. I still don’t really like you Elf, but I respect your crafting. Would like to become a member of the Sons of Ivaldi.”<br><br>TRRRINNNG!!!<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>You have received an invitation to become a member of the Sons of Ivaldi, a secret blacksmithing society! Not much is known of their origins or their membership!</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>Weed’s body tingled with excitement. It just kept getting better and better. He solved Rodriguez quest and a hidden quest! He won the blacksmithing competition and now was extended an invitation to a secret blacksmithing society! Was there anything that could possibly go wrong? Sure, he had a bad start but since then everything had been going fantastically well! It all felt so surreal! So far in the game, he seemed to be struggling everywhere. He would make tidbits of progress and then dramatically fall or be punished. But maybe today was different, maybe his bad fortune finally came to an end…just maybe he was on the path to win the billion dollar prize in RL. He trembled as he accepted the invitation.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>Welcome to the Sons of Ivaldi!<br><br>We are an extremely secretive Order whose purpose is maintaining the balance of the worlds from behind the scenes!<br><br>+ Dexterity increased by additional 30 points.<br>+ Creativity increased by additional 30 points.<br>+ Perseverance increased by additional 30 points.<br>+ Mana Conversion Stat increases by 0.009<br>+ In dwarven lands, all stats will be increased by 5%<br>+ In Elvish lands, all stats will be increased by 2%<br>+ Enables you to equip certain items specialized for the profession.<br>+ Enables you to learn all craft skills to the stage of a master.<br>+ Grants extra options to items that are produced or refined.<br>+ Increases Defensive Power for all dwarvish melee skills by 5%<br>+ Increased Attack Power for all elvish melee skills by 2%<br>+ Decreases Stamina consumption for Elemental Blacksmithing Skill<br><br>+ You received a scroll containing all the information relating to the Sons of Ivaldi! Remember this information is highly confidential and can have dire consequences if shared with others!<br>+ You received a seal as proof of your membership! Do not lose this seal as it will not be replaced! Losing this seal is the same as losing your membership!</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>Although a low level quest, becoming Theodore’s apprentice had substantial benefits. Weed bowed to receive the hammer. Once Theodore let go of the hammer, Weed struggled to hold it up....it was too heavy!<br><br>The audience laughed as they noticed how Weed struggled to hold up the weapon. Theodore lowered his head in embarrassment. The elf had succeeded in ruining the ‘awe moment’ once again. After struggling with it for 5 minutes, Weed finally put down the hammer. It was too heavy for him to lift up let alone stash it away in his inventory! Some players realized how serious this situation was and wondered what would happen now. They could offer helping Weed....but they rather just make off with the hammer instead! They didn’t have a clue what type of weapon it was but it must be special and rare...<br><br>“Aye...elf how long are you just going to stand there?” Theodore asked. “I didn’t get permission to rent out these halls all day...”<br><br>Weed gave off an embarrassed smile. This was supposed to be his moment, where he proudly walked off stage with his winnings....instead he stood there like a lost lamb struggling to pick up the hammer.<br><br>“Could it be possible for you to keep this till I level up?” Weed whispered to Theodore.<br><br>“Eh?” Theodore asked as Weed inaudible.<br><br>“Could you please keep this till I am able to wield such a mighty weapon?” Weed asked once again a bit louder.<br><br>The players laughed away. <span style="font-style: italic;"> Poor Weed! So weak that he can’t even wield Theodore’s reward! </span><br><br>Theodore frowned; his eyes never misjudged the caliber of an apprentice before. In his eyes Weed was truly ready for wielding the hammer. Even, if Weed wasn’t ready, the weapon would adjust to Weed’s ability. A situation like this should never arise and there had never been a precedent like this before. It could only happen if the weapon rejects the owner. This so seemed to be the case here; the Holy hammer of Völundr was rejecting Weed. <br><br>“Try lifting it again.” Theodore said.<br><br>Weed tried once again but it seemed that it became heavier! Players laughed away, this kept getting funnier and funnier. Most of the players were plain jealous of Weed for winning the competition so elegantly and receiving a prize. They were also certain he received something else when Theodore whispered something to Weed just before he received the hammer. Especially since, Weed’s eyes appeared to pop out when Theodore whispered into his ears. In their minds seeing Weed struggle to lift his own reward was justice for being too lucky! Once again, NPCs reacted very differently from players. They were aghast that Weed was unable to wield the weapon. Some of them were very apprehensive of what it could possibly mean.<br><br>Weed used the identification skill on the hammer hoping to unravel the mystery but nothing turned up. Theodore made his way to the hammer and slowly lifted it up… “Elf you sure are weak.” He said as he made lifting the hammer appear so simple.<br><br>Weed tried his luck again to lift the hammer but to no avail. He tried again and again till he received an electrifying shock from the hammer that reduced 50% of his health in one go. Stunned Weed quickly let go off the hammer and backed away like a scared mouse.<br>Some players held their stomach as they howled away in laughter.<br><br>“That is very peculiar…” Theodore said, “It really shouldn’t be doing that. I mean you would have to be truly evil or dark natured or something along those lines for a holy hammer to reject you…”<br><br>The players laughed once again. Theodore was excellent with his jokes. However, the NPCs became more and more nervous. <br><br>“…” Weed stayed silent. He had been receiving quite a few cruelty leveling up messages and then there was the fact that he was dark natured.<br><br>The players continued to laugh but stopped as the sensed the tension in the air. Some of the nobles disappeared from the balcony view and soldiers made their way slowly forward…<br><br>“By the sons of Thor…” Theodore spoke in shock, “You …you..you are dark natured..”<br><br>Theodore seemed most upset and distraught. It was as if he had been betrayed or as if he had the worst mistake of his life…<br><br>“…” Weed wasn’t sure whether this was a good thing or a bad thing. He wasn’t even sure what was happening anymore. Soldiers in the hall rushed at Weed and some NPC women screamed and fainted. Quite a few of the NPC civilian population rushed towards the exit. Dark natured were the seeds of chaos and destruction. All NPCs were traumatized to have unknowingly stayed in the presence of one for so long. Light natured players armed their weapons; those with dark nature were by default their enemies. Some jumped on to the stage to finish Weed off in front of the nobles that remained and take credit for doing a good deed.<br><br>Weed slowly backed up but he was surrounded from all sides… “Bloody F*ck!” <br><br>- Auto Censorship applied! –<br><br>As a player rushed towards Weed with his weapon held high, the ground violently shook. Everyone standing or running immediately fell to their feet. The ceiling crumbled a little and dust fell down. Soldiers nervously looked at each other wondering that was Weed’s power…but he too happened to be on the floor appearing to be very confused.<br><br><span style="font-style: italic;"> ‘Earthquake?’ </span> wondered Weed. He wasn’t the only player thinking that.<br><br>The building shook once again and everything came to a grinding halt. Nobody moved in fear. A cold dark breeze began to blow the halls and the flames started to flicker wildly…till they died out. The brightly lit white hall instantly was marooned in darkness…only a small white afterglow emanating from the floor dimly lit the halls. Weed in his dark cape was barely visible. A chilling sensation ran through everyone's back, Rodriguez was most alarmed as he gripped Lisa’s hand tightly. He knew this sensation very well, it was the effect Shadow had on most people when he was in the vicinity...<br><br><br><br>----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br>Authors Note:<br><br>1. Thank you so much V4LKYR13 for helping out. Thank you Tewlve for writing this!<br>2. Hope you all like it. See you in 5.11 a bonus chapter!<br>3. Will be edited soon.<br><br>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="4">Connect to Royal Road – Elementarem Vim next Chapter?</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&amp;t=678" target="_blank">Yes</a></td><td colspan="2"><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&amp;t=348" target="_blank">No</a></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- </div>

| - Cold blooded cruelty skill leveled up! Now beginner level 5!- Cold blooded cruelty skill leveled up! Now beginner level 6! | | --- | | Ripple Effect beginner level 2! – Your actions now have impact on greater social circles! Master this stat to unlock all its effects. | | --- | | Ripple Effect beginner level 3! - Your actions now have impact on greater social circles! Master this stat to unlock all its effects. | | --- | Weed hastily closed the messages. He didn’t have a clue why he kept receiving those messages and what was so cruel about trying to unite a pair of lovers. ‘May be some sort of system error… Without giving it a second thought he shifted his focus back to Lisa. Silence loomed in the Great White Hall. For Rodriguez even the seconds inched away slowly like minutes as he awaited Lisa’s reply. Lisa stared at Rodriguez with a pitiful, sad and yet joyful expression. There were a thousand thoughts buzzing in her head. There was so much she wanted to say and yet she could not find the words to speak. The audience, NPC and players alike, stood still in silence awaiting Lisa’s reply. NPC’s were in it for the romance but the players were already past that. They were more interested to know whether Weed had succeeded in pulling off the most brilliant and glorious victory in the finals. It was truly a sneakily crafted victory right under their noses; if he did manage to win. “But...” She finally spoke. “But...since when?” “Since the first time I laid my eyes on you.” “...” “Lisa, touch the ring. I wish to show you something...” Lisa cautiously moved forward and touched the ring with her finger. Instantly, her consciousness was transported to a memory Rodriguez etched into the ring. Everything she now saw and felt were from Rodriguez perspective.... There were white roses everywhere and a young Lisa was tending to them. Lisa slowly watered each rose, speaking gently to the flower, nurturing them with her words of encouragement. As she took the next step forward, she unknowingly stepped on a man who was hidden beneath the overgrown grass with a book over his face. “Ouch” came a young man’s voice. It was a young Rodriguez who had been staring at the fair maiden secretly. Lisa continued to ignore the man as tended to the roses. She continued stepping on him while watering the roses. Lisa could feel the Rodriguez felt as her younger self dug her heels deep into his arm. “Well thats terribly rude.” her younger self, finally said. “...” “Will you please move, you are making this more difficult for me.” Lisa continued, sounding terribly irritated. A lovestruck Rodriguez, continued to stare at her in awe. He nodded his head every time she said something even if she called him an idiot, he nodded his head in agreement. The young Lisa finally lost her cool and put away the watering can before stomping off. Rodriguez began to chase after her....profusely apologizing. He didn’t want her to go or leave his sight for a single second... Many more such memories of Rodriguez attempting to woo Lisa flashed one after another. Some made Lisa cry, others made her laugh. Unlike watching the memory from a screen, Lisa could feel every bit of what Rodriguez felt at the time they first met....the etched memory disappeared and Lisa resurfaced to the present moment. In the brief moment of what had transpired, she had tears in her eyes; they had truly spent a long time in each other’s company. Rodriguez had been there for her whenever she needed him, yet she was so thick headed towards his feelings... “Of course old fool who else would look after you” Lisa cried as she helped Rodriguez up. The NPC’s went wild and burst into cheers. Some nobles even threw roses at the old romantic pair. They weren’t sure what just transpired but were certain there was a romantic gestures contained within the ring. Weed had instantly built fame for himself amongst the nobles, soon there would be a whole bunch who would want a ring just like the one Rodriguez used to propose to Lisa. Rodriguez smiled quickly slipped the ring onto her finger lest she changed her mind! As he did so, the couple were surrounded in a warm red glow, flowers bloomed at their feet, and a chorus of bells rung out in the air around them. The NPC and some players in the crowd started to whistle and applaud, yelling for a kiss which they obligingly provided afterwhich Lisa turned bright red. Weed smiled, the cat was in the bag. Though the ring was imperfect, uniting the old pair was perfectly done. He had no clue what memory was etched into the ring, but he thanked his stars for that added ability as it appeared to have played a critical role. Now all that was left was Theodore’s judgement. Dwarves are masters of steel just like their title they are hard on the outside but very soft on the inside. Theodore eyes glistened with tears, he had known the pair longer than most of his own dwarvish comrades. The other finalists were left with their mouths wide open. Nobody had seen that coming; a proposal during the competition. Was it all planned from the start? . Thor was most angry and jealous of Weed, this was not blacksmithing this was playing cupid. He swore to appeal Theodore’s decision in case Weed won. Most of the players were holding themselves back from rushing to grab and make off with Weed solely because of Snappy’s presence. A player like Weed was very rare, he had the brains and guts to pull off a such a stunt. It would most likely secure his victory. Having him on their team / guild would be a huge advantage especially since RREV had only just begun. For now, all of them could only applaud away in the distance. As Theodore struggled to reign in the wild applauses and quiet everyone down, Rodriguez motioned Weed closer and whispered, “The ring is beyond measure. It’s value cannot be captured in gold, titles or words. Truly, in memories and feelings.” Rodriguez winked at Weed as he spoke the last few lines. “You truly are the Wise one, come see us at the ranch tomorrow! I may have never had the courage to go on had it not been for you! There is much preparation for the wedding that needs to be undertaken!” TRRRIINNNG! | Quest: Find a suitable ring for Lisa – Has been completed.The ring for Lisa was most suitable! Rodriguez commends you for your efforts in finding a suitable ring for Lisa.Reward:The Wise – You have acquired a title.Other players won’t see the title, but NPC’s will and as your fame increases so will the number that knows of you. Having been named Weed the Wise you gain the following benefits.+30 to Wisdom+20 to IntelligenceLibrarians, Scholars, Elders, etc. will respect you more. You begin with a higher reputation with these individuals (NPCs). | | --- | TRRRINNNG! | Quest: The Wedding Planner!You have helped Rodriguez connect with his love. He has asked you to stop by the house tomorrow to discuss plans for the wedding!Reward: ????Difficulty: EQuest Limitations: You may not turn down this quest as you have been selected as best man! If you fail to turn up, you will face the ire of Rodriguez, his friends and all nobles who witnessed this beautiful couple unite. | | --- | As Weed read the message, Rodriguez took of the library key which hung around his neck and handed it to Weed. Another message popped up before Weed could close the first one. TRRRINNNG! | Hidden Quest: Unite the old couple - Has been completed.Rather than blindly seeking an end result of the perfect ring, you strove to go beyond your role in assisting Rodriguez find a suitable ring for Lisa! You united the old couple!This reward is only for those who are interested in something beyond a reward; an adventure.Reward:You received a key! - wonder which door does it open? | | --- | Weed accepted the key suspiciously as Rodriguez winked at him a second time. Is this part of some serial quest? Weed didn’t have much time to think about it as Theodore dragged the elf back onto the stage. After sometime the commotion died down and the crowd once more looked toward Theodore. Theodore, slowly examined each item made by each of the contestants. He even got off stage and examined the ring on Lisa’s hand. He then examined every other finalists’ item once again. As he stood there his face looked to be in pain. Into the tension that filled the air he stepped forward and began to speak. “This has been an extremely difficult round to judge. Probably, the most difficult decision I have ever had to make in my life.” He looked at the old couple and smiled when he said those lines. “I have examined and re-examined each and every item prepared in this room from each and every round... My decision....it is final and I won’t change my mind...the winner of the Moonlight Apprentice Competition is the Elf- Weed!” NPCs were esctatic, the players in the audience were totally expecting it and joined the growing applause. However, there wasn’t joy everywhere. The announcement brought pandemonium amongst the dwarves present at the event, how could the elf win! He was an elf! Dwarves hated elves, his level was much lower than Cynbels or Thors, and his materials were not very impressive. Some of the dwarves began cursing at Theodore accusing him to be blinded by the melodramatic event that had unfolded a few moments ago. “Bloody fool!” Cried out a dwarf noble as he stomped away. Some of the players and finalists were surprised that the NPC dwarves reacted so strongly against the elf winning, they were sure that everyone was in support of Weed winning. Weed however totally saw this coming, he knew that winning through such an elaborate scheme would have repercussions more so since he was an elf. As he stood there wondering who would be the next person to speak up against him, from his left Thor shouted out, “NO! I don’t accept this how could he win. Helping an old couple unite is playing cupid not blacksmithing! Theodore have you gone blind?” Most the dwarf NPC’s rallied behind Thor’s word. An elf winning a blacksmithing competition was blasphemy! No dwarf in the audience would stand for it! “Very well, I will explain even though there is no need. Firstly there are only thirteen of you present. The two, who failed to turn stand disqualified for non attendance. So everything they made previously has no value in my eyes. For the first challenge he built a knife it had no level restrictions and it improved a crafters ability. Let us compare with the disqualified Volcan’s sword it was restricted to people above level 200 with a high fire affinity. Now tell me which was more useful it was obviously the knife which Weed proved by using it for the next challenge. Which is also the reason why all of you made it to the second round.” Theodore said as he looked at the thirteen contenders. “For the second challenge it was to make something unique, you all made something unique....all of your items showed excellent attention to detail, they were made through the combination of skills and techniques. Literally some of the best works I have seen in all of Versailles.” By this point dwarves were looking at each other and nodding, after all what he was saying was right. “And finally in the last challenge I asked for you to make something beautiful. This is where some of you were disqualified. I never said stop making something useful. Although, your items in the second round were unique....not all of them were useful in the final round were they now?” “...” “The only ones to make something useful and unique were Thor, Cynbel, Pallidus, Eurneid and Weed.” Some of the finalists sighed, Theodore continued to remain an elusive with his words. “Amongst you five, three of you are already my apprentice...I have no idea why you bother participating again and again. I enjoy your works and have no qualms in advancing you to the next round...but you all are already my apprentice, you cannot win again to become my apprentice. You all do produce the finest of works but there is no further reward to this...” Thor and Cynbel smacked the foreheads in unison; that explains why no apprentice ever won for a second time. It wasn’t the fact that their work was less impressive but rather they were already apprentices and there was nothing to be won. In their intense competition between each other they completely overlooked this small detail. Noticing, no dwarf or human had an objection so far, Theodore continued with his explanation, “So it really was a decision between Eurneid and Weed. I never said it must be made of metal. The Ring as a work by itself was nice but what made it beautiful was the fact it was the physical representation of love, a love that he helped bring together two souls and what can be more beautiful than a love fulfilled between two people.” As some dwarves raised their voices again, Theodore continued speaking, “Furthermore, his ring is useful as we just saw, it is unique for a variety of reasons and beautiful. The tiny gemstone used, perfectly stands out in this bright room. Eurneid, I am not sure how useful that sculpture is but as it stands till I judged it gave off no benefit whatsoever. It’s not unique either you already made a statue last round...That is why I say Weed is the winner.” The NPC dwarves lost their reasons to argue. Theodore was the craftiest of the lot. Although his decision appeared to be a biased one made on emotion, his reasons hinted a more deeper thought put into his decisions. Players could not believe how difficult Theodore’s rules were. Each successive round, he demanded more and more from each contestant without letting them know so! The players in the audience weren’t just impressed with Weed but by the other three apprentices as well! Thor, Cynbel and Pallidus had all shown their mettle by keeping up with Theodore’s crafty demands! The other candidates bowed to the audience and got off stage. Theodore’s decision was final and fighting further would only worsen relationships. ‘Choose your battles wisely. Seeing no further arguments against his decision, Theodore spoke up, “Weed as the winner I present to you the thirteenth weapon of Völundr, Holy hammer of Völundr, use it wisely.” TRRRINNNG!!! | You have won the blacksmithing competition! Theodore acknowledges your raw talent! You are the 13th and final apprentice of Theodore just as there are 13 moons in a year!Reward: Holy hammer of Völundr - Imbued with special elemental affinities this weapon grows with its user capabilities! Boosts all stats by 5%!Super effective in combat against dark forces! Does additional 50% damage!All the accumulated wisdom of the hammer is now exclusively available to you! | | --- | Weed’s jaws dropped as he re-read the hammer’s description. Weapons which grew along with users were the rarest of the rarest in any game. They were on par with cheats! It was like winning a secondary partner in battle! In addition, there was the overwhelming effect it had on dark creatures! The benefits of battle wisdom and historical knowledge locked away in it! Though, such weapons always came with risks...but Weed was so happy to receive something so rare he overlooked the risks or the fact that this was the thirteenth such weapon. As Weed accepted the hammer, Theodore leaned forward whispered, “So you’re the last one well that’s a goddamn, surprise and shame. I still don’t really like you Elf, but I respect your crafting. Would like to become a member of the Sons of Ivaldi.” TRRRINNNG!!! | You have received an invitation to become a member of the Sons of Ivaldi, a secret blacksmithing society! Not much is known of their origins or their membership! | | --- | Weed’s body tingled with excitement. It just kept getting better and better. He solved Rodriguez quest and a hidden quest! He won the blacksmithing competition and now was extended an invitation to a secret blacksmithing society! Was there anything that could possibly go wrong? Sure, he had a bad start but since then everything had been going fantastically well! It all felt so surreal! So far in the game, he seemed to be struggling everywhere. He would make tidbits of progress and then dramatically fall or be punished. But maybe today was different, maybe his bad fortune finally came to an end…just maybe he was on the path to win the billion dollar prize in RL. He trembled as he accepted the invitation. | Welcome to the Sons of Ivaldi!We are an extremely secretive Order whose purpose is maintaining the balance of the worlds from behind the scenes!+ Dexterity increased by additional 30 points.+ Creativity increased by additional 30 points.+ Perseverance increased by additional 30 points.+ Mana Conversion Stat increases by 0.009+ In dwarven lands, all stats will be increased by 5%+ In Elvish lands, all stats will be increased by 2%+ Enables you to equip certain items specialized for the profession.+ Enables you to learn all craft skills to the stage of a master.+ Grants extra options to items that are produced or refined.+ Increases Defensive Power for all dwarvish melee skills by 5%+ Increased Attack Power for all elvish melee skills by 2%+ Decreases Stamina consumption for Elemental Blacksmithing Skill+ You received a scroll containing all the information relating to the Sons of Ivaldi! Remember this information is highly confidential and can have dire consequences if shared with others!+ You received a seal as proof of your membership! Do not lose this seal as it will not be replaced! Losing this seal is the same as losing your membership! | | --- | Although a low level quest, becoming Theodore’s apprentice had substantial benefits. Weed bowed to receive the hammer. Once Theodore let go of the hammer, Weed struggled to hold it up....it was too heavy! The audience laughed as they noticed how Weed struggled to hold up the weapon. Theodore lowered his head in embarrassment. The elf had succeeded in ruining the ‘awe moment’ once again. After struggling with it for 5 minutes, Weed finally put down the hammer. It was too heavy for him to lift up let alone stash it away in his inventory! Some players realized how serious this situation was and wondered what would happen now. They could offer helping Weed....but they rather just make off with the hammer instead! They didn’t have a clue what type of weapon it was but it must be special and rare... “Aye...elf how long are you just going to stand there?” Theodore asked. “I didn’t get permission to rent out these halls all day...” Weed gave off an embarrassed smile. This was supposed to be his moment, where he proudly walked off stage with his winnings....instead he stood there like a lost lamb struggling to pick up the hammer. “Could it be possible for you to keep this till I level up?” Weed whispered to Theodore. “Eh?” Theodore asked as Weed inaudible. “Could you please keep this till I am able to wield such a mighty weapon?” Weed asked once again a bit louder. The players laughed away. Poor Weed! So weak that he can’t even wield Theodore’s reward! Theodore frowned; his eyes never misjudged the caliber of an apprentice before. In his eyes Weed was truly ready for wielding the hammer. Even, if Weed wasn’t ready, the weapon would adjust to Weed’s ability. A situation like this should never arise and there had never been a precedent like this before. It could only happen if the weapon rejects the owner. This so seemed to be the case here; the Holy hammer of Völundr was rejecting Weed. “Try lifting it again.” Theodore said. Weed tried once again but it seemed that it became heavier! Players laughed away, this kept getting funnier and funnier. Most of the players were plain jealous of Weed for winning the competition so elegantly and receiving a prize. They were also certain he received something else when Theodore whispered something to Weed just before he received the hammer. Especially since, Weed’s eyes appeared to pop out when Theodore whispered into his ears. In their minds seeing Weed struggle to lift his own reward was justice for being too lucky! Once again, NPCs reacted very differently from players. They were aghast that Weed was unable to wield the weapon. Some of them were very apprehensive of what it could possibly mean. Weed used the identification skill on the hammer hoping to unravel the mystery but nothing turned up. Theodore made his way to the hammer and slowly lifted it up… “Elf you sure are weak.” He said as he made lifting the hammer appear so simple. Weed tried his luck again to lift the hammer but to no avail. He tried again and again till he received an electrifying shock from the hammer that reduced 50% of his health in one go. Stunned Weed quickly let go off the hammer and backed away like a scared mouse. Some players held their stomach as they howled away in laughter. “That is very peculiar…” Theodore said, “It really shouldn’t be doing that. I mean you would have to be truly evil or dark natured or something along those lines for a holy hammer to reject you…” The players laughed once again. Theodore was excellent with his jokes. However, the NPCs became more and more nervous. “…” Weed stayed silent. He had been receiving quite a few cruelty leveling up messages and then there was the fact that he was dark natured. The players continued to laugh but stopped as the sensed the tension in the air. Some of the nobles disappeared from the balcony view and soldiers made their way slowly forward… “By the sons of Thor…” Theodore spoke in shock, “You …you..you are dark natured..” Theodore seemed most upset and distraught. It was as if he had been betrayed or as if he had the worst mistake of his life… “…” Weed wasn’t sure whether this was a good thing or a bad thing. He wasn’t even sure what was happening anymore. Soldiers in the hall rushed at Weed and some NPC women screamed and fainted. Quite a few of the NPC civilian population rushed towards the exit. Dark natured were the seeds of chaos and destruction. All NPCs were traumatized to have unknowingly stayed in the presence of one for so long. Light natured players armed their weapons; those with dark nature were by default their enemies. Some jumped on to the stage to finish Weed off in front of the nobles that remained and take credit for doing a good deed. Weed slowly backed up but he was surrounded from all sides… “Bloody F*ck!” - Auto Censorship applied! – As a player rushed towards Weed with his weapon held high, the ground violently shook. Everyone standing or running immediately fell to their feet. The ceiling crumbled a little and dust fell down. Soldiers nervously looked at each other wondering that was Weed’s power…but he too happened to be on the floor appearing to be very confused. ‘Earthquake?’ wondered Weed. He wasn’t the only player thinking that. The building shook once again and everything came to a grinding halt. Nobody moved in fear. A cold dark breeze began to blow the halls and the flames started to flicker wildly…till they died out. The brightly lit white hall instantly was marooned in darkness…only a small white afterglow emanating from the floor dimly lit the halls. Weed in his dark cape was barely visible. A chilling sensation ran through everyone's back, Rodriguez was most alarmed as he gripped Lisa’s hand tightly. He knew this sensation very well, it was the effect Shadow had on most people when he was in the vicinity... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Authors Note: 1. Thank you so much V4LKYR13 for helping out. Thank you Tewlve for writing this! 2. Hope you all like it. See you in 5.11 a bonus chapter! 3. Will be edited soon. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Connect to Royal Road – Elementarem Vim next Chapter? | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Yes](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&t=678) | | [No](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&t=348) | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> This Topic is for me personally, to help in writing my fanfic. The origional cite already has a very extensive information panel, but i'm making my own that will include anything that shows up in my own fanfic :). I warn you this is a <span style="color: #FF4000;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">SPOILER</span></span></span> as I will be going through each chapter and pulling out the information, though I will also post how far into the novel my info comes from, at this point I am done <span style="color: #FF4000;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Vol. 1 Chap. 8.</span></span></span> If there's anything that you find that seems wrong based on the book just ask and I will investigate. Warning, if you're replying with any information you have gained, I have only read up to Vol. 14 Chap. 2 so please don't post any info after that. Anyway, Enjoy (^u^)/<br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Beginning Royal Road</span></span><ul><br><li>Capsule price: 10,000,000 won=$10,000</li><br><li>monthly bill: 300,000 won=$300</li><br><li>fourty-nine races, beginning may select from twenty nine<ul>**available at beginning<br><li>Barbarian(**??)<ul><br><li>Very large.</li></ul></li><br><li>Dwarf**<ul><br><li>well known for advanced metals technology</li><br><li>despise elves</li></ul></li><br><li>Elf**<ul><br><li>arrogant</li><br><li>elemental and spirit magic</li><br><li>despise dwarves</li></ul></li><br><li>Human**</li><br><li>Orc<ul><br><li>Born with unnatural strength and a battle instinct</li><br><li>Grow up within 2-3 years highly fertile race</li></ul><br></li></ul></li><br><li>Alter appearance is allowed</li><br><li>People with same name is allowed</li><br><li>new player begins his adventure in a capital or a major city of comparable size</li><br><li>beginning area has a bulletin board with maps and descriptions of starter kingdom</li><br><li>confined to the city for one week real life=4 weeks in game</li></ul><br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Starter Stats Window</span></span><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Character name</td><td width="25%">Weed</td><td width="25%">Alignment</td><td width="25%">Neutral</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Level</td><td width="25%">1</td><td width="25%">Profession</td><td width="25%">None</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Title</td><td colspan="3">None</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Reputation</td><td colspan="3">0</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Health</td><td width="25%">100</td><td width="25%">Mana</td><td width="25%">100</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Strength</td><td width="25%">10</td><td width="25%">Agility</td><td width="25%">10</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Vitality</td><td colspan="3">10</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Stamina</td><td colspan="3">10</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Wisdom</td><td width="25%">10</td><td width="25%">Intellect</td><td width="25%">10</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Luck</td><td width="25%">0</td><td width="25%">Leadership</td><td width="25%">0</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Attack</td><td colspan="3">3</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Defense</td><td colspan="3">0</td></tr><tr><td colspan="4">Magic Resistance</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Fire</td><td width="25%">0%</td><td width="25%">Water</td><td width="25%">0%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Earth</td><td width="25%">0%</td><td width="25%">Black Magic</td><td width="25%">0%</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Starter Stats</span></span><ul><br><li>Agility (AGI): Evasion and accuracy</li><br><li>Life: Health, 1 point life stat= 1 HP</li><br><li>Charisma</li><br><li>Dexterity</li></ul><br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Starter items</span></span><ul><br><li>canteen</li><br><li>10 pieces rye bread</li><br><li>white shirt and pants (traveler's outfit)</li></ul><br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Living in game</span></span><ul><br><li>Death: Item drop. Access denied to RR for one day. <br>Health: &lt;30% character slows down. &lt;10% character slowly dies.<br>Murderer: Item drop rate at death increases.<ul><br><li>Name displayed to everyone in red, and a bloody diamond on the forehead.</li></ul><br>Friends List: Enables you to whisper (pm) other characters.<br>Satiation<ul><br><li>basically hunger</li><br><li>overfeed yourself your avatar gains weight</li><br><li>can die of starvation</li></ul><br>Personal relationships<ul>Later referred to as intimacy with NPC's. This can be built through compliments or gifts (lol more like bribes), with tougher NPC's like the Training Hall instructor, you may be required to show them your "skills"; basically impress them in some way, or show them you are of the same mind, you have the same opinions as them (i.e. Weed claims to adore sculpture to gain intimacy with the sculpture shop owner)<br><li>allows you to do other things like gain hidden quests or go to private areas not accessible to the public</li></ul><br>Fame<ul><br><li>dictates quest availability and development of personal relationships</li><br><li>Can get items cheaper at grocery stores or blacksmith’s workshops</li></ul><br>Money: 100 copper=1 silver<br>Transportation: Horses and horse-drawn carriages<br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="4">Example Horse stats window</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Name</td><td width="25%">Arse</td><td width="25%">Type</td><td width="25%">Neutral</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Level</td><td width="25%">3</td><td width="25%">Species</td><td width="25%">Horse</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Title</td><td colspan="3">Stallion</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Reputation</td><td colspan="3">-300</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Health</td><td width="25%">30</td><td width="25%">Mana</td><td width="25%">0</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>Assigned to the punitive force bound to the Lair of Litvart. This quick-witted colt often tries to outfox the owner. It hates water and refuses to gallop in rain. It needs extra care, or it may die of sickness.<br><br>P.S.: Beware, it farts very often.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div></li></ul><br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Training Hall</span></span><ul><br><li>open to all users, but most use it to try new skills</li><br><li>place to acquire basic training<ul><br><li>Forty strength gained while doing training<br>Level four sword mastery gained while doing training</li></ul></li><br><li>Scarecrows placed with wooden swords in front</li><br><li>can raise basic stats: vitality, agility, fame, Life and strength</li><br><li>gain new stats<ul><br><li>Fighting spirit</li><br><li>Sustenance</li></ul><br></li></ul><br><br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Landscape</span></span><br>For any new area found, the explorer(s) will be rewarded with fame, double EXP and higher rate of item drop for one week.<ul><br><li>Rosenheim Kingdom (current monarchs King Theodarren and Queen Evane)<br>Rosenheim Royal Army: average level for infantrymen is almost thirty, and a knight’s level surpasses 150.<br>Titled Knights: knights with their own name among the ranks, lvl 180-220<ul><br><li>The Citadel of Serabourg <br>Cave Lasok (dungeon maybe)<br>Eline Village</li><br><li>Grave Mountains: 3 hr. trip on horseback from Citadel of Serabourg<ul><br><li>Lair of Litvart: Underground dungeon 5 floors. Consists of Kobolds (lvl 20ish) and Goblins (lvl 50ish). First dungeon discovered in Rosenheim. Average of twenty other players on each floor. Fourth floor contains a secret chamber, in a dark crevasse where goblin raiders are regenerated, ten yards deeper than regeneration point. Secret Chamber contains Queen Worm.</li></ul><br>West Valley: contains Hippies</li></ul></li><br><li>Brent Kingdom (Boarders Rosenheim, dispatched assassins to kill Queen Evane)</li><br><li>Ten Forbidden Areas (highly dangerous)<ul><br><li>Gray Pass</li></ul></li><br><li>Forest of No Return<ul><br><li>Elf Domain</li><br><li>elements and spirits are magnified in effect within the forest</li></ul><br></li></ul><br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Leveling</span></span><ul><br><li>less exp for monster lower level than you</li><br><li>gets harder to level</li><br><li>by raising stats early on, weed can level easier cause he is able to kill monsters of a higher level</li><br><li>five unallocated stat points gained every lvl</li></ul><br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Attainable Stats</span></span><br>Maximum number of stats: 15<ul><br><li>Fighting spirit: You can call on superhuman strength temporarily, or bring weaker monsters to their knees with a force in your eyes alone. You are prohibited from distributing stat bonus points to this stat, and it rises spontaneously, depending on the avatar’s action, especially if you fight monsters for a long time, or often confront monsters stronger than your current level.</li><br><li>Sustenance: You are likely to use less stamina in action. You are prohibited from distributing stat bonus points to this stat. Does not show up in stats window (I don't know why)</li><br><li>Art: A gift in comprehending and practicing beauty, art renders meals and products elegant in an aesthetic and practical sense. Improves when you see, hear, smell, taste or touch beautiful things, or create artworks. Cannot be deleted, Increases automatically.</li></ul><br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Skills</span></span><br>When a user is undecided in class, the max number of skills is 10.<ul><br><li>Sword mastery<ul><br><li>level 3 <ul><br><li>Increases Attack Power with a sword (+30% ATK)</li><br><li>Increases Attack Speed with a sword (+9% ATK SPD)</li></ul></li><br><li>Level 5<ul><br><li>Increased strength with a sword (+50% ATK)</li><br><li>Increased agility with a sword (+15% ATK SPD)</li></ul><br></li></ul></li><br><li>Sculpture Mastery: Enables you to carve or engrave various types of materials. Artworks of a high artistic value are worth a fortune. Easier to win a girl’s heart.<ul><br><li>level 2<ul><br><li>Enables to produce more complicated works.</li><br><li>Decreases the rate at which you fail the skill.</li></ul><br></li></ul><br><ul><br><li>Engraving knife technique: Enables you to carve the invisible, the intangible. makes the weapon used blaze white.<ul><br><li>Level 1: 50 mana consumed per second</li></ul><br></li></ul></li><br><li>Fire Mastery<ul><br><li>Magic Attacks<ul><br><li>Fireball</li></ul><br></li></ul></li><br><li>Priest(ess)/Holy Mastery<ul><br><li>Spells<ul><br><li>Blessing (buff): “Divine power leads us to a triumph, Blessing!”</li><br><li>Heal Hand: “By the power of the Holy Spirit, restore her health. Healing Hand!”</li></ul><br></li></ul></li><br><li>Archery Mastery</li><br><li>Bandage: First aid basically<ul><br><li>Enables you to stop bleeding</li><br><li>Increases life of the wounded when tended</li><br><li>Level 4: tend minor injury by rolling gauze twice</li></ul></li><br><li>Item Idetification: Enables you to learn the true value of unidentified items.<ul><br><li>Level 1: 30 mana consumption</li></ul></li><br><li>Repair: Enables you to repair weapons and armors.<ul><br><li>level 5: can forge new weapons and gears.</li></ul></li><br><li>Handicraft: Has extra effects on various types of craft skills, and sword mastery. Increased through use of hands.<ul><br><li>level 3<ul><br><li>Enables you to learn cooking and tailoring skills.</li><br><li>Increases attack power with melee and long range weapons. (+3% ATK)</li><br><li>Increases attack rower with fists. (+5% ATK)</li></ul></li><br><li>level 7<ul><br><li>Enhances your craft skills in every field</li></ul><br></li></ul></li><br><li>Cooking: Almost extinct except for professional cooks. Can learn anywhere, by paying a membership fee to a chef’s guild or by serving an apprenticeship in a restaurant<ul><br><li>level 2<ul><br><li>Enhances the taste of meals.</li><br><li>Increases speed of recovery of stamina when served.</li><br><li>Increase life when served. (+5% LIFE)</li></ul></li><br><li>level 4<ul><br><li>Increase max HP by 50 points until satisfaction factor goes down</li></ul><br></li></ul></li><br><li>Tailoring</li><br><li>Imperial Formless Sword Technique: Learned from "The Book of Secret Sword Techniques From the Imperial Family of Arpens".<ul><br><li><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>This skill is tailored for Sculptors by Emperor Geihar Von Arpen. As the level in Sculpture Mastery rises, the Attack Power of the skill increases by 1%.<br><br>It is composed of five movements, one breathing technique and one footstep.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div></li></ul><br></li></ul><br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Quests</span></span><br>Limit: only allowed 3 quests at a time. Doing quests Earns money, experience, items and public service. It also builds personal relationships with NPC's, this and public service points allows you to learn about other quests that you would not be able to get without it.<ul><br><li>Quest Informtion<ul><br><li>title</li><br><li>description (basically story behind quest)</li><br><li>difficulty: from F-A then S being the hardest<ul><br><li>B level determined to require balanced party of lvl 300 power rankers, or a lone lvl 400</li></ul></li><br><li>requirements (what you need before you will be offered the quest)</li><br><li>restrictions (similar to requirements, only available to certain races or professions)</li><br><li>reward (not always shown up front)</li><br><li>Consequences of failure (only applied to certain quests)</li></ul><br>Quest Completion<ul><br><li>Out come of story</li><br><li>Rewards<ul><br><li>Level up (depending on experience gain from quest)<br>Anything other than items such as public service points (items and money are gained by going to the NPC that gave the quest)</li></ul><br></li></ul><br>Serial Quests<ul><br><li>Quest chain, one quest leads to the next (quests get harder as they are completed)</li></ul><br></li></ul><br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Profession/Class</span></span><br>Gives ten unallocated stat points. Without a profession one cannot learn skills of any profession, and converting to a profession later will leave one behind other people of the same profession skill wise. Generally players accept a class before level ten, but they will also be searching for hidden classes.<ul><br><li>Cleric--Healer<br>Bard--singer providing things like buff and debuffs (don't know if they can inflict damage)<br>Sculptor--not often a combat class<ul><br><li>sculptures when viewed can provide buffs for the extent of a day</li><br><li>Subclasses:<ul><br><li>Moonlight Sculptor (secret class)</li><br><li>Legendary Moonlight Sculptor (hidden class)--though the overall class doesn't display combat ability, the subclass does. </li></ul></li></ul><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td width="25%">Character Name</td><td width="25%">Weed</td><td width="25%">Alignment</td><td width="25%">Neutral</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Level</td><td width="25%">68</td><td width="25%">Profession</td><td width="25%">Legendary Moonlight Sculptor</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Title</td><td colspan="3">None</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Fame</td><td colspan="3">250</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Health</td><td width="25%">3460</td><td width="25%">Mana</td><td width="25%">340</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Strength</td><td width="25%">235 +20</td><td width="25%">Agility</td><td width="25%">200 +20</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Vitality</td><td colspan="3">89 +20</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Wisdom</td><td width="25%">16 + 20</td><td width="25%">Intellect</td><td width="25%">10 + 20</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Stamina</td><td width="25%">89 + 20</td><td width="25%">Fighting Spirit</td><td width="25%">67 + 20</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Luck</td><td width="25%">5 + 20</td><td width="25%">Leadership</td><td width="25%">68 + 20</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Art</td><td colspan="3">29 + 100</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Attack</td><td colspan="3">170</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Defense</td><td colspan="3">30</td></tr><tr><td colspan="4">Magic Resistance</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Fire</td><td width="25%">0%</td><td width="25%">Water</td><td width="25%">0%</td></tr><tr><td width="25%">Earth</td><td width="25%">0%</td><td width="25%">Black Magic</td><td width="25%">0%</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>+ All stats are added 20 points.<br>+ Art stat is added extra 80 points.<br>+ In moonlit night, all stats increase by 30% in addition.<br>+ Enables you to equip certain items specialized for the class.<br>+ Enables you to learn all craft skills to the stage of a master.<br>+ Grants extra options to items that are produced or refined.<br>+ Increases Attack Power for the Engraving Knife technique.<br>+ Decreases Mana Consumption for the Engraving Knife technique.<br>+ Enables you to learn secret skills based on your level in Sculpture Mastery.<br>+ Increases Fame by creating a statue of extraordinary image or artistic value.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br>Ranger: Adventuring Class. Plus 50% Attack when working with weapon designed for subclass.<br>Warrior: Plus 50% Attack when working with weapon designed for subclass.<br>Scout (may just be skill acquired through rangers??)<br>Mage<ul><br><li>Fire</li></ul><br>Archer<br>Monk: melee punching attacks<br>Priest(ess): Provides healing and Divine protection (buffs) through holy magic<br>Berserker<br>Royal Guard: a profession that serves the government and earns a wage<ul><br><li>Denarion: <ul><br><li>Command of ten footsoldiers</li><br><li>entitled to regular training. Upon completion basic sword techniques and military equipment received.</li><br><li>Wage Monthly: 20 Silvers.</li></ul><br></li></ul><br><ul><br><li>Centurion: <ul><br><li>Command of 100 footsoldiers</li><br><li>Deemed Sub-knight, can become Knight of Red Order through annual trial</li><br><li>entitled to regular training.</li><br><li>Wage Monthly: 3 Gold.</li></ul></li><br><li>Royal Knight</li></ul><br>Cook<br>Explorer: Adventuring Class<br>Paladin: warrior of the church. Can use holy spells</li></ul><br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Parties</span></span><br>When creating a party or group in which to go hunting, it is best to create a very well rounded one. Which enables the party to function better and slay monsters quickly.<ul><br><li>Squishies: Generally Magic type, then can inclict a lot of damage but cannot take a lot because they have low health as most of their stat points gained through lvling goes to Mana.</li><br><li>Ranged: Usually an Archer, but it can also be any class that can throw projectiles. Their main purpose is to lure monsters so a party doesn't have to fight an entire group of monsters just to get to the monster they want. Ranged will generally shoot from afar, and can act as a scout because they have improved sight.</li><br><li>Tanker: The main attacker of melee damage. They tend to take aggro (the monsters attention) so that the monster doesn't attack the squishies. they will have higher defense and health so they can take a lot of damage. They are also able to inflict a lot of damage. Position is often taken by a warrior or similar class, but someone with high agility and dodge would suffice but isn't ideal.</li></ul><br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Shops</span></span><ul><br><li>Sculpture Shop--frequented by noble women<br>Grocery Store<br>Blacksmith's Workshop<br>Pub--frequented by bards who can make money there and are a source of information<br></li></ul><br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Weapons</span></span><br>All weapons can have "options", these are the extra things the weapon adds when equipped. two of the same weapon could have different options depending on lvl of blacksmithing or success of blacksmithing <ul><br><li>Wooden Sword--can be taken from training hall</li><br><li>Iron Sword</li><br><li>Hard Iron Sword--Awarded to those who completed the Basic Training Program. This widely-used long sword is better than basic type weapons that are available in a blacksmith’s workshop.<ul><br><li>Durability: 54</li><br><li>Damage: 10-14</li><br><li>Equip: +10 STR</li><br><li>Requirement: STR 40+, VIT 35+</li></ul></li><br><li>Zahab’s Engraving Knife--A short tiny engraving knife, specifically built for delicate workmanship. This knife is very sharp.<ul><br><li>Durability: 1000</li><br><li>Damage: 40-54</li><br><li>Equip: Increases your chances of scoring a critical hit.<br>Doubles sculpting ability</li></ul></li><br><li>Bow of Theo Grande--A short bow that is strung with an Orc’s muscle, crudely built, it has low accuracy but substantial attack power convenient for novices in archery.<ul><br><li>Durability: 50</li><br><li>Damage: 5-6</li><br><li>Multiple shot speed: 4</li><br><li>Price: 1gold 2silver</li></ul></li><br><li>Mace of Red Spirit<ul><br><li>Durability: 105</li><br><li>Damage: 96-105</li></ul><br></li></ul><br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Clothing/Armor</span></span><ul><br><li>Blue Boots for ranger class</li></ul><br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Production Tools</span></span><ul><br><li>Blacksmith’s Hammer of Thomas: +15% success rate forging weaponry. Enables produce upgraded weapons.</li></ul><br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Jewelry</span></span><br>Acts much like clothes and armor<ul><br><li>Shine’s Blessing Ring (Rare):Heals 3 MP/sec for 5 min.</li><br><li>Messiah Earring: Mag def. up. Fire magic +8% exp.</li></ul><br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Clans/Guilds</span></span><br>The objective of every clan with high-level rankers is to enthrone an Emperor in their midst—to found their own empire on the Versailles Continent, and rule over all creation.<br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Lordship</span></span><br>Becoming the owner of a town or city<ul><br><li>With taxes collected monthly, feudal lords and monarchs can build essential facilities such as granaries and blacksmiths’ workshops in towns under their supervision, or throw in money to enlist recruits and train them well.</li><br><li>Given a ruler who administers the affairs of state, the economy develops, technology advances. Technological innovation leads to better weaponry produced by blacksmiths, and the size of a city depends on its public security and sanitation.</li><br><li>In laying down national and regional policies and setting up diplomatic ties with other countries, the king on the top of a pyramid-­like society exercises greater authority than anyone else.</li><br><li>Kings encourage cities and fortresses to expand in their domain, drawing more immigrants who become subject to their rule.</li></ul><br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">War</span></span><ul><br><li>Armies engage in Battle under direction of generals</li></ul><br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Monsters</span></span><br>Night time: monsters are 50% stronger, with 30% more EXP<br>**found near beginner cities<ul><br><li>Fox**: lvl 5 high agility, attacks: scratch, tail attacks cause high damage. Drops: Pelt and meat.</li><br><li>Goblin: lvl 50 5-6 times stronger than kobold. armed with spears. Drops: Silver, steel shield and bronze spear.<ul><br><li>Goblin Raiders: lvl 58</li><br><li>Goblin Alchemist</li><br><li>Goblin Warrior</li></ul></li><br><li>Hippie</li><br><li>Kobold: lvl 20 (untitled) &lt;4 feet tall, armed with with coarse wooden shields, bronze swords and slingshots. Rely on numbers in battle. Drops: Copper or poorly smelted iron.<ul><br><li>Kobold Rascals: lvl 23</li><br><li>Kobold Warrior: lvl 28</li></ul></li><br><li>Queen Worm: Extremely hard shelled with yellow fluid for blood. Creates offspring faster than what can be killed, offspring are droves of little bugs that become aggressive when the mother is attacked. Mother spews light green fumes that are poisonous, the Queen of queens' poison melts what ever it touches.</li><br><li>Rabbit**</li><br><li>Raccoon**</li><br><li>Troll: Drops: Troll blood($$$)</li><br><li>Wolf**:very high agility, attacks: bite and scratch</li></ul><br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Items/Drops</span></span><ul><br><li>Pelts<ul><br><li>Fox: Most widely used production material for clothes.</li></ul><br>Meat: turned to steak when cooked on bonfire<br>Tablets: Item of food to cause an effect. Range of effects unknown.<ul><br><li>Found by Weed after killing the Queen of Queen Worms<br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>A Tablet of the Emperor<br><br> This tablet is made of a variety of rare herbs by an ancient emperor, to clear the mind when it is taken.<br><br> Effect:<br> Increases Mana (+200 Mana)</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div></li></ul><br>Scrolls: can be bought in stores, they can do a variety of different things.<ul><br><li>Identification Scroll: Mostly used on rarely obtained magical items. Price: several gold coins</li><br><li>Found by Weed after killing the Queen of Queen Worms<br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>The Successor to the Legendary Emperor<br><br> I am Geihar Von Arpen, the first emperor of the Continent, who put an end to timeless divisions.<br><br> My final years have been far from fulfilling. No one has recognized my distress, my superiority! Why does no one understand my profession? Why does everyone look down upon my profession in disrespect?<br> <br> Enslaved to prejudices, the talented have refused to understand my goodwill and succeed me in my trade. Even with my children, this is true. That imbecilic and senseless bunch! They do not deserve to be my successor. I entrust my secret trade to you.<br><br> I love beautiful statues. The statues that are carved with the magnificent spirit of Kvasir have never forsaken me. As long as I love and trust them, they are loyal to me.<br><br> Who will believe this? That this lowly Sculpture Mastery is the cornerstone of my quest from a humble farmer in a country town to the man who united the Continent. Listen, my successor who walks in the path of sculpture.<br><br> A very difficult path awaits you. The path that a hundred out of a hundred men shall give up and a nation of men will not fare any better.<br><br> However, my successor, I encourage you to stay the course in the face of the toughest challenges. Hardship brings a value of its own, and toughness produces a result of its own too.<br><br> The Grand Master of Sculpture!<br><br> You must learn the secrets of Sculpture Mastery which I failed to learn. It shall remain the wish of every man who has learned the sculptural art.<br><br> I hereby entrust you gifts of value.<br><br> The Emperor Geihar, the conqueror of the earth, the sea and the sky through Sculpture Mastery.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div></li></ul><br>Skill Books: allows reader to learn new skills. Colour of book determines the rarity.<ul><br><li>Gold Flashing: A-grade very rare</li></ul><br><ul><br><li>Found by Weed after killing the Queen of Queen Worms<br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>The Book of Secret Sword Techniques from the Imperial Family of Arpens<br><br> The Emperor Geihar Von Arpen recorded the Flawless Sword Techniques on behalf of the Imperial Family’s perpetuity and prosperity.<br><br> The book is composed of five movements and one footstep.<br><br> All members of the Imperial Family were, by origin, knights. The skill is initially restricted to the Knight class, but the Emperor Geihar Von Arpen considered his successor in Sculpture Mastery, so he refined the skill for a Sculptor to learn a weakened version of the skill.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div></li></ul><br></li></ul><br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Important NPC's</span></span><ul><br><li>Rodriguez the Sage: Praised as Star of Wisdom. ill-natured, naughty and narrow­-minded. Well respected by those that work under him. Can be found in his manor in the northern section of the Citadel of Serabourg. Also known as the Dead end of quests, because he plays with people where he gets what he wants but only listens to adventurers' problems. Has an obsession with Queen Evane. Looking for the person that contains <span style="font-style: italic;">The Will of the Emperor</span></li><br><li>Geihar von Arpen: Class: Legendary Moonlight Scupltor. The legendary emperor who was the first and only to conquer and rule the entire continent. the person containing <span style="font-style: italic;">The Will of the Emperor</span> will succeed him.</li><br><li>Serabourg Training Hall Instructor (Docke?): Orc with a Barbarian for a wife. Very proud. Only get's along with those who prove themselves, especially in sword mastery.</li><br><li>Sir Midvale: Distinguished Knight part of the Red Order recently promoted to Royal Knight. Friend to Serabourg Training Hall Instructor. Though widely thought of as chivalrous, he has little care for the lives of those beneath his command.</li></ul><br><br><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Item Transaction Site</span></span><ul><br><li>A real life website where players of RR can buy and sell items.</li><br><li>The market favors sellers as the demand far exceeds the supply.</li><br><li>Status online determines how attention catching a person's posts are (Weed being at high status of triple diamond)</li></ul><br> </div>

This Topic is for me personally, to help in writing my fanfic. The origional cite already has a very extensive information panel, but i'm making my own that will include anything that shows up in my own fanfic :). I warn you this is a SPOILER as I will be going through each chapter and pulling out the information, though I will also post how far into the novel my info comes from, at this point I am done Vol. 1 Chap. 8. If there's anything that you find that seems wrong based on the book just ask and I will investigate. Warning, if you're replying with any information you have gained, I have only read up to Vol. 14 Chap. 2 so please don't post any info after that. Anyway, Enjoy (^u^)/ Beginning Royal Road * Capsule price: 10,000,000 won=$10,000 * monthly bill: 300,000 won=$300 * fourty-nine races, beginning may select from twenty nine **available at beginning + Barbarian(**??) - Very large. + Dwarf** - well known for advanced metals technology - despise elves + Elf** - arrogant - elemental and spirit magic - despise dwarves + Human** + Orc - Born with unnatural strength and a battle instinct - Grow up within 2-3 years highly fertile race * Alter appearance is allowed * People with same name is allowed * new player begins his adventure in a capital or a major city of comparable size * beginning area has a bulletin board with maps and descriptions of starter kingdom * confined to the city for one week real life=4 weeks in game Starter Stats Window | Character name | Weed | Alignment | Neutral | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Level | 1 | Profession | None | | Title | None | | | | Reputation | 0 | | | | Health | 100 | Mana | 100 | | Strength | 10 | Agility | 10 | | Vitality | 10 | | | | Stamina | 10 | | | | Wisdom | 10 | Intellect | 10 | | Luck | 0 | Leadership | 0 | | Attack | 3 | | | | Defense | 0 | | | | Magic Resistance | | | | | Fire | 0% | Water | 0% | | Earth | 0% | Black Magic | 0% | Starter Stats * Agility (AGI): Evasion and accuracy * Life: Health, 1 point life stat= 1 HP * Charisma * Dexterity Starter items * canteen * 10 pieces rye bread * white shirt and pants (traveler's outfit) Living in game * Death: Item drop. Access denied to RR for one day. Health: <30% character slows down. <10% character slowly dies. Murderer: Item drop rate at death increases. + Name displayed to everyone in red, and a bloody diamond on the forehead. Friends List: Enables you to whisper (pm) other characters. Satiation + basically hunger + overfeed yourself your avatar gains weight + can die of starvation Personal relationships Later referred to as intimacy with NPC's. This can be built through compliments or gifts (lol more like bribes), with tougher NPC's like the Training Hall instructor, you may be required to show them your "skills"; basically impress them in some way, or show them you are of the same mind, you have the same opinions as them (i.e. Weed claims to adore sculpture to gain intimacy with the sculpture shop owner) + allows you to do other things like gain hidden quests or go to private areas not accessible to the public Fame + dictates quest availability and development of personal relationships + Can get items cheaper at grocery stores or blacksmith’s workshops Money: 100 copper=1 silver Transportation: Horses and horse-drawn carriages | Example Horse stats window | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Name | Arse | Type | Neutral | | Level | 3 | Species | Horse | | Title | Stallion | | | | Reputation | -300 | | | | Health | 30 | Mana | 0 | | Assigned to the punitive force bound to the Lair of Litvart. This quick-witted colt often tries to outfox the owner. It hates water and refuses to gallop in rain. It needs extra care, or it may die of sickness.P.S.: Beware, it farts very often. | | --- | Training Hall * open to all users, but most use it to try new skills * place to acquire basic training + Forty strength gained while doing training Level four sword mastery gained while doing training * Scarecrows placed with wooden swords in front * can raise basic stats: vitality, agility, fame, Life and strength * gain new stats + Fighting spirit + Sustenance Landscape For any new area found, the explorer(s) will be rewarded with fame, double EXP and higher rate of item drop for one week. * Rosenheim Kingdom (current monarchs King Theodarren and Queen Evane) Rosenheim Royal Army: average level for infantrymen is almost thirty, and a knight’s level surpasses 150. Titled Knights: knights with their own name among the ranks, lvl 180-220 + The Citadel of Serabourg Cave Lasok (dungeon maybe) Eline Village + Grave Mountains: 3 hr. trip on horseback from Citadel of Serabourg - Lair of Litvart: Underground dungeon 5 floors. Consists of Kobolds (lvl 20ish) and Goblins (lvl 50ish). First dungeon discovered in Rosenheim. Average of twenty other players on each floor. Fourth floor contains a secret chamber, in a dark crevasse where goblin raiders are regenerated, ten yards deeper than regeneration point. Secret Chamber contains Queen Worm. West Valley: contains Hippies * Brent Kingdom (Boarders Rosenheim, dispatched assassins to kill Queen Evane) * Ten Forbidden Areas (highly dangerous) + Gray Pass * Forest of No Return + Elf Domain + elements and spirits are magnified in effect within the forest Leveling * less exp for monster lower level than you * gets harder to level * by raising stats early on, weed can level easier cause he is able to kill monsters of a higher level * five unallocated stat points gained every lvl Attainable Stats Maximum number of stats: 15 * Fighting spirit: You can call on superhuman strength temporarily, or bring weaker monsters to their knees with a force in your eyes alone. You are prohibited from distributing stat bonus points to this stat, and it rises spontaneously, depending on the avatar’s action, especially if you fight monsters for a long time, or often confront monsters stronger than your current level. * Sustenance: You are likely to use less stamina in action. You are prohibited from distributing stat bonus points to this stat. Does not show up in stats window (I don't know why) * Art: A gift in comprehending and practicing beauty, art renders meals and products elegant in an aesthetic and practical sense. Improves when you see, hear, smell, taste or touch beautiful things, or create artworks. Cannot be deleted, Increases automatically. Skills When a user is undecided in class, the max number of skills is 10. * Sword mastery + level 3 - Increases Attack Power with a sword (+30% ATK) - Increases Attack Speed with a sword (+9% ATK SPD) + Level 5 - Increased strength with a sword (+50% ATK) - Increased agility with a sword (+15% ATK SPD) * Sculpture Mastery: Enables you to carve or engrave various types of materials. Artworks of a high artistic value are worth a fortune. Easier to win a girl’s heart. + level 2 - Enables to produce more complicated works. - Decreases the rate at which you fail the skill. + Engraving knife technique: Enables you to carve the invisible, the intangible. makes the weapon used blaze white. - Level 1: 50 mana consumed per second * Fire Mastery + Magic Attacks - Fireball * Priest(ess)/Holy Mastery + Spells - Blessing (buff): “Divine power leads us to a triumph, Blessing!” - Heal Hand: “By the power of the Holy Spirit, restore her health. Healing Hand!” * Archery Mastery * Bandage: First aid basically + Enables you to stop bleeding + Increases life of the wounded when tended + Level 4: tend minor injury by rolling gauze twice * Item Idetification: Enables you to learn the true value of unidentified items. + Level 1: 30 mana consumption * Repair: Enables you to repair weapons and armors. + level 5: can forge new weapons and gears. * Handicraft: Has extra effects on various types of craft skills, and sword mastery. Increased through use of hands. + level 3 - Enables you to learn cooking and tailoring skills. - Increases attack power with melee and long range weapons. (+3% ATK) - Increases attack rower with fists. (+5% ATK) + level 7 - Enhances your craft skills in every field * Cooking: Almost extinct except for professional cooks. Can learn anywhere, by paying a membership fee to a chef’s guild or by serving an apprenticeship in a restaurant + level 2 - Enhances the taste of meals. - Increases speed of recovery of stamina when served. - Increase life when served. (+5% LIFE) + level 4 - Increase max HP by 50 points until satisfaction factor goes down * Tailoring * Imperial Formless Sword Technique: Learned from "The Book of Secret Sword Techniques From the Imperial Family of Arpens". + | This skill is tailored for Sculptors by Emperor Geihar Von Arpen. As the level in Sculpture Mastery rises, the Attack Power of the skill increases by 1%.It is composed of five movements, one breathing technique and one footstep. | | --- | Quests Limit: only allowed 3 quests at a time. Doing quests Earns money, experience, items and public service. It also builds personal relationships with NPC's, this and public service points allows you to learn about other quests that you would not be able to get without it. * Quest Informtion + title + description (basically story behind quest) + difficulty: from F-A then S being the hardest - B level determined to require balanced party of lvl 300 power rankers, or a lone lvl 400 + requirements (what you need before you will be offered the quest) + restrictions (similar to requirements, only available to certain races or professions) + reward (not always shown up front) + Consequences of failure (only applied to certain quests) Quest Completion + Out come of story + Rewards - Level up (depending on experience gain from quest) Anything other than items such as public service points (items and money are gained by going to the NPC that gave the quest) Serial Quests + Quest chain, one quest leads to the next (quests get harder as they are completed) Profession/Class Gives ten unallocated stat points. Without a profession one cannot learn skills of any profession, and converting to a profession later will leave one behind other people of the same profession skill wise. Generally players accept a class before level ten, but they will also be searching for hidden classes. * Cleric--Healer Bard--singer providing things like buff and debuffs (don't know if they can inflict damage) Sculptor--not often a combat class + sculptures when viewed can provide buffs for the extent of a day + Subclasses: - Moonlight Sculptor (secret class) - Legendary Moonlight Sculptor (hidden class)--though the overall class doesn't display combat ability, the subclass does. | Character Name | Weed | Alignment | Neutral | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Level | 68 | Profession | Legendary Moonlight Sculptor | | Title | None | | | | Fame | 250 | | | | Health | 3460 | Mana | 340 | | Strength | 235 +20 | Agility | 200 +20 | | Vitality | 89 +20 | | | | Wisdom | 16 + 20 | Intellect | 10 + 20 | | Stamina | 89 + 20 | Fighting Spirit | 67 + 20 | | Luck | 5 + 20 | Leadership | 68 + 20 | | Art | 29 + 100 | | | | Attack | 170 | | | | Defense | 30 | | | | Magic Resistance | | | | | Fire | 0% | Water | 0% | | Earth | 0% | Black Magic | 0% | | + All stats are added 20 points.+ Art stat is added extra 80 points.+ In moonlit night, all stats increase by 30% in addition.+ Enables you to equip certain items specialized for the class.+ Enables you to learn all craft skills to the stage of a master.+ Grants extra options to items that are produced or refined.+ Increases Attack Power for the Engraving Knife technique.+ Decreases Mana Consumption for the Engraving Knife technique.+ Enables you to learn secret skills based on your level in Sculpture Mastery.+ Increases Fame by creating a statue of extraordinary image or artistic value. | | --- | Ranger: Adventuring Class. Plus 50% Attack when working with weapon designed for subclass. Warrior: Plus 50% Attack when working with weapon designed for subclass. Scout (may just be skill acquired through rangers??) Mage + Fire Archer Monk: melee punching attacks Priest(ess): Provides healing and Divine protection (buffs) through holy magic Berserker Royal Guard: a profession that serves the government and earns a wage + Denarion: - Command of ten footsoldiers - entitled to regular training. Upon completion basic sword techniques and military equipment received. - Wage Monthly: 20 Silvers. + Centurion: - Command of 100 footsoldiers - Deemed Sub-knight, can become Knight of Red Order through annual trial - entitled to regular training. - Wage Monthly: 3 Gold. + Royal Knight Cook Explorer: Adventuring Class Paladin: warrior of the church. Can use holy spells Parties When creating a party or group in which to go hunting, it is best to create a very well rounded one. Which enables the party to function better and slay monsters quickly. * Squishies: Generally Magic type, then can inclict a lot of damage but cannot take a lot because they have low health as most of their stat points gained through lvling goes to Mana. * Ranged: Usually an Archer, but it can also be any class that can throw projectiles. Their main purpose is to lure monsters so a party doesn't have to fight an entire group of monsters just to get to the monster they want. Ranged will generally shoot from afar, and can act as a scout because they have improved sight. * Tanker: The main attacker of melee damage. They tend to take aggro (the monsters attention) so that the monster doesn't attack the squishies. they will have higher defense and health so they can take a lot of damage. They are also able to inflict a lot of damage. Position is often taken by a warrior or similar class, but someone with high agility and dodge would suffice but isn't ideal. Shops * Sculpture Shop--frequented by noble women Grocery Store Blacksmith's Workshop Pub--frequented by bards who can make money there and are a source of information Weapons All weapons can have "options", these are the extra things the weapon adds when equipped. two of the same weapon could have different options depending on lvl of blacksmithing or success of blacksmithing * Wooden Sword--can be taken from training hall * Iron Sword * Hard Iron Sword--Awarded to those who completed the Basic Training Program. This widely-used long sword is better than basic type weapons that are available in a blacksmith’s workshop. + Durability: 54 + Damage: 10-14 + Equip: +10 STR + Requirement: STR 40+, VIT 35+ * Zahab’s Engraving Knife--A short tiny engraving knife, specifically built for delicate workmanship. This knife is very sharp. + Durability: 1000 + Damage: 40-54 + Equip: Increases your chances of scoring a critical hit. Doubles sculpting ability * Bow of Theo Grande--A short bow that is strung with an Orc’s muscle, crudely built, it has low accuracy but substantial attack power convenient for novices in archery. + Durability: 50 + Damage: 5-6 + Multiple shot speed: 4 + Price: 1gold 2silver * Mace of Red Spirit + Durability: 105 + Damage: 96-105 Clothing/Armor * Blue Boots for ranger class Production Tools * Blacksmith’s Hammer of Thomas: +15% success rate forging weaponry. Enables produce upgraded weapons. Jewelry Acts much like clothes and armor * Shine’s Blessing Ring (Rare):Heals 3 MP/sec for 5 min. * Messiah Earring: Mag def. up. Fire magic +8% exp. Clans/Guilds The objective of every clan with high-level rankers is to enthrone an Emperor in their midst—to found their own empire on the Versailles Continent, and rule over all creation. Lordship Becoming the owner of a town or city * With taxes collected monthly, feudal lords and monarchs can build essential facilities such as granaries and blacksmiths’ workshops in towns under their supervision, or throw in money to enlist recruits and train them well. * Given a ruler who administers the affairs of state, the economy develops, technology advances. Technological innovation leads to better weaponry produced by blacksmiths, and the size of a city depends on its public security and sanitation. * In laying down national and regional policies and setting up diplomatic ties with other countries, the king on the top of a pyramid-­like society exercises greater authority than anyone else. * Kings encourage cities and fortresses to expand in their domain, drawing more immigrants who become subject to their rule. War * Armies engage in Battle under direction of generals Monsters Night time: monsters are 50% stronger, with 30% more EXP **found near beginner cities * Fox**: lvl 5 high agility, attacks: scratch, tail attacks cause high damage. Drops: Pelt and meat. * Goblin: lvl 50 5-6 times stronger than kobold. armed with spears. Drops: Silver, steel shield and bronze spear. + Goblin Raiders: lvl 58 + Goblin Alchemist + Goblin Warrior * Hippie * Kobold: lvl 20 (untitled) <4 feet tall, armed with with coarse wooden shields, bronze swords and slingshots. Rely on numbers in battle. Drops: Copper or poorly smelted iron. + Kobold Rascals: lvl 23 + Kobold Warrior: lvl 28 * Queen Worm: Extremely hard shelled with yellow fluid for blood. Creates offspring faster than what can be killed, offspring are droves of little bugs that become aggressive when the mother is attacked. Mother spews light green fumes that are poisonous, the Queen of queens' poison melts what ever it touches. * Rabbit** * Raccoon** * Troll: Drops: Troll blood($$$) * Wolf**:very high agility, attacks: bite and scratch Items/Drops * Pelts + Fox: Most widely used production material for clothes. Meat: turned to steak when cooked on bonfire Tablets: Item of food to cause an effect. Range of effects unknown. + Found by Weed after killing the Queen of Queen Worms | A Tablet of the Emperor This tablet is made of a variety of rare herbs by an ancient emperor, to clear the mind when it is taken. Effect: Increases Mana (+200 Mana) | | --- | Scrolls: can be bought in stores, they can do a variety of different things. + Identification Scroll: Mostly used on rarely obtained magical items. Price: several gold coins + Found by Weed after killing the Queen of Queen Worms | The Successor to the Legendary Emperor I am Geihar Von Arpen, the first emperor of the Continent, who put an end to timeless divisions. My final years have been far from fulfilling. No one has recognized my distress, my superiority! Why does no one understand my profession? Why does everyone look down upon my profession in disrespect? Enslaved to prejudices, the talented have refused to understand my goodwill and succeed me in my trade. Even with my children, this is true. That imbecilic and senseless bunch! They do not deserve to be my successor. I entrust my secret trade to you. I love beautiful statues. The statues that are carved with the magnificent spirit of Kvasir have never forsaken me. As long as I love and trust them, they are loyal to me. Who will believe this? That this lowly Sculpture Mastery is the cornerstone of my quest from a humble farmer in a country town to the man who united the Continent. Listen, my successor who walks in the path of sculpture. A very difficult path awaits you. The path that a hundred out of a hundred men shall give up and a nation of men will not fare any better. However, my successor, I encourage you to stay the course in the face of the toughest challenges. Hardship brings a value of its own, and toughness produces a result of its own too. The Grand Master of Sculpture! You must learn the secrets of Sculpture Mastery which I failed to learn. It shall remain the wish of every man who has learned the sculptural art. I hereby entrust you gifts of value. The Emperor Geihar, the conqueror of the earth, the sea and the sky through Sculpture Mastery. | | --- | Skill Books: allows reader to learn new skills. Colour of book determines the rarity. + Gold Flashing: A-grade very rare + Found by Weed after killing the Queen of Queen Worms | The Book of Secret Sword Techniques from the Imperial Family of Arpens The Emperor Geihar Von Arpen recorded the Flawless Sword Techniques on behalf of the Imperial Family’s perpetuity and prosperity. The book is composed of five movements and one footstep. All members of the Imperial Family were, by origin, knights. The skill is initially restricted to the Knight class, but the Emperor Geihar Von Arpen considered his successor in Sculpture Mastery, so he refined the skill for a Sculptor to learn a weakened version of the skill. | | --- | Important NPC's * Rodriguez the Sage: Praised as Star of Wisdom. ill-natured, naughty and narrow­-minded. Well respected by those that work under him. Can be found in his manor in the northern section of the Citadel of Serabourg. Also known as the Dead end of quests, because he plays with people where he gets what he wants but only listens to adventurers' problems. Has an obsession with Queen Evane. Looking for the person that contains The Will of the Emperor * Geihar von Arpen: Class: Legendary Moonlight Scupltor. The legendary emperor who was the first and only to conquer and rule the entire continent. the person containing The Will of the Emperor will succeed him. * Serabourg Training Hall Instructor (Docke?): Orc with a Barbarian for a wife. Very proud. Only get's along with those who prove themselves, especially in sword mastery. * Sir Midvale: Distinguished Knight part of the Red Order recently promoted to Royal Knight. Friend to Serabourg Training Hall Instructor. Though widely thought of as chivalrous, he has little care for the lives of those beneath his command. Item Transaction Site * A real life website where players of RR can buy and sell items. * The market favors sellers as the demand far exceeds the supply. * Status online determines how attention catching a person's posts are (Weed being at high status of triple diamond)

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> The Lost Sun Revamped - Ch. 2 : Church Activities<br><br>------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br><br>The next day Sun lazily woke up from his slumber. Without Adair or anyone else to wake him up, he slept far longer than he usually did. With a loud yawn, he rubbed his eyes with his hand and got out of his bed. <br><br>With a slight rumbling in his stomach, he decided to go and find some breakfast. However, seeing as it was rather late already, it would probably be lunch instead. The lot he was at the other night was once again filled with various paladins eating their lunch. Today there was roast meat being served and the sight of the sizzling meat on the fire intensified his hunger even further.<br><br>“So I see that you’ve finally awoken!” a familiar face called out to him. The priest he had met last night, Calvin, was cooking the food for the church once again. “Come over here and get something to eat.”<br><br>He gestured over to Sun to get him to come over for some food. After giving him a plate of roast meat, Calvin handed the cooking position to another member of the church and then got his own meal as well. The two of them took their lunch and headed over to some empty seats.<br><br>“This is going to be your first day as a cleric of the Order of Freya.” Calvin struck up a conversation. “If you have any questions or if you want to know about your duties in the church then feel free to ask me anytime.”<br><br>There were a lot of things that he wanted to ask. However, given the bizarre situation and the incomprehensible things that have happened since his arrival, he chose not say anything about the strange presence that he saw in the beginning or the transparent windows that he can see as to not draw any unnecessary attention. Calvin had told him the other day that he didn’t know about the God of Light, so asking him about it wouldn’t help much.<br><br>“What exactly am I supposed to do here?” Sun asked Calvin inquisitively. In his mind, it wouldn’t make sense for a member of a clergy to leech off of the church without doing anything.<br><br>“I’m glad that you asked that.” Calvin began to explain the various jobs around the church that needed to be done. “You can see that this church hold a great influence over this city.”<br><br>Calvin pointed out the various townspeople visiting the church. “Most of the work consists of maintaining the church’s services and activities. There’s a lot a different things that are done around here and I can’t list them all right now but I’ll tell you as they come up.”<br><br>A bell started to ring from the church’s main building. This bell was used on several occasions to announce the start of the church’s services. After having set up in the morning, the church was now ready to handle its various visitors. Calvin had Sun tag along with him since he was the only other cleric at the church. Then they came to their first duty of the Freya church, the preparation of the [Holy Water]. [Holy Water] was a powerful substance that is commonly used against the undead. Because of its various added effects aside from vanquishing evil, it was a highly desired item to have.<br><br>Calvin began to explain how to prepare the [Holy Water]. “There are various steps to purifying and blessing the water. In the past, there was a holy grail which could generate an endless supply of holy water but it was lost long ago. So the method we are using can only generate a small amount of [Holy Water].”<br><br>He walked over to a small basin of water and pulled out a basket filled with various different materials. He gestured for Sun to do the same.<br><br>“First, coat your hands with a thin layer of holy energy. This is so that you do not harm any of the materials that we will be using and for the purification of the waters as well. To place holy energy over your hands, simply focus on your hands and imagine the holy energy becoming solid.”<br><br>Following Calvin’s instructions, Sun covered his hands with a layer of holy energy.<br><br>“Good, you’re catching on quicker than I thought you would. Now reach into the basket and get the angel root. Place it in the center of the water. Next, get the light crystal powder and sprinkle it over the surface of the water. Lay the holy pearls in a circle around the angel root.”<br><br>Calvin looked over to see if Sun had completed all the tasks correctly. Satisfied with what he saw, he moved on to the next step.<br><br>“Now this is the truly difficult part. Dip your hands into the water and strongly focus the holy energy into the water. While doing this, move your hands clockwise across the surface of the water. Once the angel root and the light crystal powder have dissolved, remove the pearls from the water.”<br><br>Sun could feel the mana rapidly draining from his body as he pours the holy light into the water. Slowly, but surely, the root and the powder began to dissolve. The water soon started to glow with a soft light and then fade back into the water. He removed the pearls from the water and after putting them away, sat down in exhaustion.<br><br>“Great job!” Calvin congratulated him. “It’s amazing that you were able to make over a gallon of [Holy Water] on your first try. You must have a great understanding of the holy arts.”<br><br>After setting aside the [Holy Water], Calvin told him that it was now time to bless the adventurers that sought to use the protection of the Goddess Freya. However this service wasn’t free and had a small cost to it.<br><br>“Even if we’re a church, we’re not running a charity here.” Calvin explained his reasoning.<br><br>“Makes sense, even the Holy Temple doesn’t necessarily do thing for free either.” Sun thought to himself about the practices of his own church. “The Pope loves money so much; he would probably sell his position in the church if he could.”<br><br>“Now that we have the [Holy Water], the next part of work is use the Holy Water on those that seek the Goddess’s protection.” Calvin explained moving on to the main section of the church. “To use the [Holy Water]’s blessing, simply sprinkle it over the person’s body while reciting the prayer of the Goddess Freya. Before giving anyone the blessing, you must charge them ten silvers for the blessing.”<br><br>He finished up the rest of the explanation with some minor details and then he left Sun in order to do some other clerical work.<br><br>“Good luck with the blessings!” Calvin said as he walked away.<br><br>Sun sat behind a desk in a little wooden chair, wondering what he was supposed to do. At the time, there wasn’t anybody seeking the blessings so the room was rather empty. However, in about ten minutes, the large metal doors of the church swung open and a large number of peculiarly dressed people came into the church. From the looks of it, many of them were adventurer teams composed of warriors, swordsmen, rouges, and archers. Contrary to the large mob rush he was expecting, the church was designed in such a way that the crowd had to line up single file to receive the blessings. The first customer was a sword using adventurer.<br><br>“I would like to receive the blessing.” The adventurer asked.<br><br>“In order to receive the blessing, a charge of ten silvers is needed.” Sun explained to him.<br><br>“Ten silvers? Isn’t that kind of expensive?” he protested the price of the blessing. Obviously this fellow was receiving the blessing for the first time and was unaware of the standard fee. Given the state of his equipment, the person was relatively low level and ten silvers was a large expense to him. However, Sun was not aware of this concept known as ‘levels’ and thought that this guy was just being stingy.<br><br>“Customer, the price is the same for all that wish to receive the blessing. It would be unfair to decrease the cost because you feel that it is too much. This revenue is essential to the upkeep of this church and its followers. If you do not wish to receive the blessing, then please leave because you are holding up the rest whom wish to receive the god’s blessing.” However this was not what he truly believed. The truth behind his sudden devotion and charisma to his work was what Calvin had brought up before he left.<br><br>“Most of the money goes to paying for the church’s upkeep as well as for our meals. As an added bonus, you get to keep 5% of the money from selling the blessings.” Sun recalled Calvin’s words from earlier. His meals, as well as his income, depended on the sale of the blessing and 5% meant fifty coppers per blessing. He wasn’t going to let some punk come in trying to cut him short.<br><br>The people waiting in line voiced their approval at Sun’s words. Since the line was relatively long, most hated having to wait any longer than needed. The time that was used to bless an individual was rather long since the clerics or paladins usually recited the entire verse of the Goddess of Freya, which took pages of text.<br><br>The adventurer was conflicted over his situation. The ten silvers was a large expense to him but the benefits of the buff were, as he heard from a friend, quite significant. Since decent hunting parties were hard to come by, and hunting solo was far too difficult for him, he decided to rely on the church’s buff to hunt.<br><br>He finally came to a decision. “I’ll pay the fee.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out ten silvers as payment. He felt that having a slightly lower monetary gain from hunting was better than not being able to hunt at all. If he tried to recklessly hunt along, he might die causing him to drop a few levels and lose some skill proficiency. Worst of all, he might even lose some of his gear.<br><br>The adventurer stood by and waited to be blessed.<br><br>“So what do I do now?” Sun thought to himself. From Calvin’s explanation, he had to recite the Goddess of Freya’s prayer in order for the blessing to work. The problem was that he didn’t know it.<br><br>He decided to wing it and say the thing that he has been saying for the past few years.<br><br>“May the benevolence of the God of Light be with you in your journey and protect you from evil. Thus the will of the God of Light bestows upon you its blessings and grant you the power to redeem the souls of the wicked.” Sun said some random nonsense, put some [Holy Water] in his hand, and sprinkled it over the adventurer. Instead of soaking the man as he thought it would, the Holy Water turned into sparkles and attached itself to the adventurer. The small bits of light then disappeared and a window popped up again.<br><br>Successfully applied the Blessing of the Goddess.<br>You learn Divine Blessing Skill.<br><br>Since he didn’t know what this skill was, Sun tried touching the window that appeared. Surprisingly enough, something happened. The text on the window changed to something else.<br><br>Divine Blessing [1]<br>Allows the caster to increase a target’s stats for a period of time without the use of holy water. The use of Holy Water in the spell will prolong and enhance the effects of the blessing. The use of Holy Water will not consume mana. Holy Water increases duration by 300% and increases the effectiveness by 100%.<br>Mana Consumption: 100 mana<br>Effects: Life +10%, Mana +10%, All Stat +5%, additional 5% increase in Faith. Health and Mana regeneration increased by 20%. Lasts for 4 hours.<br><br>“Wow, I didn’t think that it would actually work.” Sun said to himself. “How was I able to touch those window things though? They’re transparent.”<br><br>The adventurer was surprised that the blessing was done so quickly. In fact, he started to think that it wasn’t done correctly. However, after looking at his stats, there was a considerable increase in all of his stats. Delighted, he left the church to go hunt in the fields. The rest of the line was amazed at the speed at which the blessing was applied and began clamoring forward.<br><br>Sun continued to bless the players with his skills. Every now and then, a window would pop up stating that his skill level in the Divine Blessing skill has increased. By the end of the day, he managed to sell more than hundred blessings. Taking his share of the revenue, he managed to make about sixty silvers. His skill managed to reach level 4 from repeatedly casting the spell and Holy Mastery rose up to level 3. It was thanks to the [Holy Water] that he was able to elevate his skill levels so quickly; as it would appear that its use elevated the skill far more rapidly than if it was used alone. It appear that using the [Holy Water] to activate the skill didn’t require him to use any mana so he could cast it infinitely as long as there was [Holy Water]. It was akin to using higher tier materials on lower tier skills to raise the skill proficiency quicker.<br>Sun continued to work at the blessing station afterwards. Each following day there were increasingly larger amounts of people that were trying to get the blessing. Thankfully, with the increase in the level of the Divine Blessing skill, he was capable of producing more [Holy Water] and was able to meet the demand. A few days later, he was told that he had another job to do and that another member of the church will handle blessing. Calvin explained to him casually about today’s job.<br><br>“Today is the time where we hold the congregation. So I need you to help me set up the materials.”<br><br>Calvin took out a number of religious items: candles, books, paintings, goblets, and other holy artifacts. The plain hall of worship was rapidly being adorned with the various items that the two of them held.<br><br>“I find it hard to believe that this is still the same room that I saw half an hour ago.” Sun marveled at the majesty of the room. He was correct in doing so. Earlier the room simply had a symbol of the Church of Freya and several pews for people to sit in. Now, the room was elaborately decorated with painting of historical battles, statues of the Goddess Freya, holy artifacts from a long ago war, and keepsakes from famous leaders from the past.<br><br>However, that was simply around the pews. The front of the room had a table with white petals scattered ceremoniously around the table. Several candles were lit and placed in intricately designed vessels and were arranged in the shape of the symbol of the Order of Freya. In the middle of the table was the Holy Book of the church, and around it were several jewels that represented an aspect of the Goddess Freya: rubies for the goddess’s protection, jade for fertility, topaz to give strength, and aquamarine for courage.<br><br>It was surely a sight to behold.<br><br>“Well, now that we’re done with that, let’s begin the congregation.” Calvin clapped his hands as he finished setting up the last of the materials.<br><br>“Wait, what am I supposed to do?” Sun didn’t have any knowledge about this religion’s customs or beliefs so he wouldn’t be able to help much.<br><br>“After it starts, I will start by leading the audience in prayer. Then I will state the various events that have occurred that is relevant to the Order and its people. Once we’re all done, then the mission assignments for the paladins are announced. If I need you to do something, I will tell you. Otherwise, just stand next to me at the podium.”<br><br>Sun nodded to show he understood and then it began. A couple thousand people entered the church and the pews were packed.<br><br>“Will everyone please rise for the prayer of the Goddess Freya.” Calvin spoke to the congregation.<br>The audience stood up and listened as Calvin and the paladins recited the prayer. Sun joined in the prayer but, since he didn’t know the words, he simply closed his eyes and put a benevolent expression on his face while contemplating in his mind about the beautiful women in the crowd.<br><br>+1 Faith for participating in the religious ceremony.<br><br> After the prayer, Calvin brought up various points about the armies of darkness were gathering and that the church was waiting for a hero to retrieve the lost Grail. Then the topic moved to the recently growing activity of malicious necromancers and their opposition to the church as well as the necromancers’ connections to the Embinyu denominations.<br><br>“I would like to introduce a recent addition to the Order. This is Sun, a cleric that joined the church. Though he is very inexperienced, he shows a lot of future potential. I would like everyone to welcome Sun.”<br><br>After Calvin had introduced him, the crowd began to applaud him for having joined the Order.<br><br>“Since our new member is relatively new to the church, be sure to help him out.”<br><br>Sun felt extremely grateful that Calvin had thought that far ahead for him.<br><br>“Now since he’s already up here, let’s have him sing us a song!”<br><br>Maybe a little less grateful now…<br><br>Due to the urging of the crowd, Sun was compelled to sing a song. Given his current level of mana, he wasn’t able to do anything impressive like the ‘Hymn of the God of Light’ he did a few months back in his world. So he chose a significantly shorter but popular song, ‘The God of Light’s Benevolence’. Since he felt that a simple song wouldn’t be impressive enough, he chose to use his holy energy to make it a holy hymn as the holy knights did back in the Holy Temple.<br><br>“What is this pleasant presence?” a relaxed elderly man asked.<br><br>While others bathed in the holy light that Sun was radiating, some enjoyed the clear melody of his voice and the compassionate expression on his beautiful face. After he finished the song, the crowd erupted in cheer and applause.<br><br>“Now that was a wonderful performance by our very own Sun. Next up is the assignment of the missions to the paladin. First off, Paladin Jacob will be assigned to the Nejar region to help the residents set up a church and assist in agricultural advances, Paladin Haison wil be assigned to…” Calvin began listing off all of the missions for the paladins of the order.<br><br>A certain topic spread like a wildfire and became known amongst many townspeople and players. A new cleric was in the town’s Church of Freya. The townsfolk were quite pleased with the sudden development because the shortage of clerics in the monastery was causing great concern over the current state of the kingdom. The players had a different view about him.<br><br>“Have you visited the new cleric at the Church of Freya lately?” the party leader of a group of mid-level players said to his team mates.<br><br>“Not recently. Why do you ask?” the archer asked back to the knight.<br><br>“The blessing service is amazing. There’s this one cleric there that’s been doing an amazing job.”<br><br>“But the line for that is horribly long. I would be better off hunting with the time I spend waiting in that line.” The warrior of the party complained.<br><br>“That’s the thing though!” the knight with fervor evident in his voice. “This new guy blesses everyone so quickly. It’s amazing. Usually it takes about five minutes for them to bless someone but this guy does it in like thirty seconds.”<br><br>“I hear that he’s a pretty good singer as well.” The mage added in his opinion. “I hear that during his performances, the audience feels invigorated and the atmosphere is heavenly.”<br><br>The female cleric chimed in. “You must mean that beautiful guy with long blonde hair, blue eyes, and fair skin! I could look at him forever. Too bad he’s an NPC though, such a waste of beauty.”<br><br>In his own world, Sun was incapable of getting women to approach him because of a simple reason. The Sun Knight of the Church of the God of Light loved only God and not women. Now for a completely different reason he was being subject to the same fate.<br><br>The men believed that the cleric was an NPC as well, as players were usually unable to join the Order unless they have some remarkable achievement. If fact, they were glad that the cleric was an NPC. The world would be such a cruel place if a man as handsome as that actually existed.<br><br>Well at least the men in this world didn't hate him, sadly for the same reason women don't like him.<br><br>Sun sneezed in the middle of his meal.<br><br>“I must be coming down with a cold.” He said wiping his nose with a tissue. “I don’t feel sick though.”<br><br>He has been working at the church for over three weeks now. In a few more days he will be able to leave the city and look for clues. Due to his various duties around the church, he had made amazing progress for the first month of gameplay compared to other players.<br><br>His current amount of money was thirty-ish gold, earned from the sale of the blessings from the past few weeks. He managed to elevate his Divine Blessing to Intermediate level 1 and his Holy Mastery to Beginner level 8. His public service points in the community and the Church of Freya were quite high. Due to the time spent praying and doing other clerical work, his Faith stat increased by 30 over the course of his stay. His advancement in reaching Intermediate in Divine Blessing gave him 10 bonus stats in Faith, Intelligence, and Wisdom for having a class relating to the skill. From completing the various jobs around the church he managed to level up twice. Following the suggestion from one of the windows, he decided to invest the points equally in Intelligence and Wisdom.<br><br>However his time was not solely spent in the pursuit of monetary gain. In his free time, he sought out various books about the history of the continent and tried to find something that could help him find his way back.<br><br>“The more I read, the stranger this place feels to the place I came from.” Sun voiced his frustration over his complete lack of clues about his world.<br><br>However, not all was completely unknown. He has managed to confirm a few things from his research so far. The fact that he was able to use holy magic in the name of the God of Light meant one thing. There is some connection between the Goddess Freya and his religion; though not explicitly stated anywhere, there had to be connection.<br><br>The other discovery that he made was another thing that further strengthened his belief that his world is out there. The world that is known isn’t the entirety of the world and undiscovered frontier exists at the edges of the known world.<br><br>Then the day came when he had finished the one month restriction on new players and he could finally exit the city. In the middle of collecting his belongings, Calvin came into the room.<br><br>“Sun, it is time for the ceremony.” Calvin said in a much for serious tone that usual.<br><br>“What ceremony?” Sun asked. He wasn’t aware that there was going to be any church services today.<br><br>“Just come with me.” Calvin replied walking out of the room.<br><br>The two of them entered the main chamber of the church. Usually the room was empty, but today there were paladins lined up on both sides of the walls. Each of the paladins had their swords and shield in their hands, standing imposingly. A wide pathway led up to a podium where Calvin walked over and stood behind.<br><br>“Cleric Sun, it has been one month since you have arrived at our church. In that time, you have become an important part of our faith and I believe it is time.” Calvin reached below and picked up a long-sword and walked over to Sun.<br><br>“Wait, what is he planning to do with that?” Sun quickly looked around the room to see if there was anywhere he could run to. However, paladins were scattered all around the room and there was only one exit that was at the other end of the hall.<br><br>“Sun, kneel down.” Calvin commanded him.<br><br>Seeing no other choice, Sun put a knee down on the floor and lowered his head.<br><br>“In the name of the Goddess Freya; I, Calvin Adalus Sanci, hereby proclaim that the cleric Sun has completed the trial and will receive the blessings of the goddess. Do you, Sun, accept the Goddess’s blessing?”<br><br>“So that’s what he was doing.” Sun thought to himself. He had been worried that they were going to do something horrible to him.<br><br>“I do.” He answered Calvin.<br><br>“Then from this day forth, you are an official member of the Church of Freya. All is according to the will of the Goddess.”<br><br>Class Change<br>Class: Cleric has been changed to the Class: Holy Priest.<br>Name: Sun Type: Neutral<br>Level: 3 Class: Holy Priest<br>Title: Order of Freya Fame: 0<br>Life: 140 Mana: 250<br>Str: 10+20 Dex: 10+20 Vit: 10+20<br>Wis: 25+50 Int: 25+50 Faith: 40+50<br>Leadership: 0+20 Luck: 0+20<br>Resistance to magic: Holy<br>+All stats are added 20 points.<br>+Wisdom, Intelligence, and Faith stat are added extra 30 points.<br>+Enables you to equip certain items specialized for the class.<br>+Holy Mastery has been generated.<br>+All holy effects are increased by 50%. </div>

The Lost Sun Revamped - Ch. 2 : Church Activities ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The next day Sun lazily woke up from his slumber. Without Adair or anyone else to wake him up, he slept far longer than he usually did. With a loud yawn, he rubbed his eyes with his hand and got out of his bed. With a slight rumbling in his stomach, he decided to go and find some breakfast. However, seeing as it was rather late already, it would probably be lunch instead. The lot he was at the other night was once again filled with various paladins eating their lunch. Today there was roast meat being served and the sight of the sizzling meat on the fire intensified his hunger even further. “So I see that you’ve finally awoken!” a familiar face called out to him. The priest he had met last night, Calvin, was cooking the food for the church once again. “Come over here and get something to eat.” He gestured over to Sun to get him to come over for some food. After giving him a plate of roast meat, Calvin handed the cooking position to another member of the church and then got his own meal as well. The two of them took their lunch and headed over to some empty seats. “This is going to be your first day as a cleric of the Order of Freya.” Calvin struck up a conversation. “If you have any questions or if you want to know about your duties in the church then feel free to ask me anytime.” There were a lot of things that he wanted to ask. However, given the bizarre situation and the incomprehensible things that have happened since his arrival, he chose not say anything about the strange presence that he saw in the beginning or the transparent windows that he can see as to not draw any unnecessary attention. Calvin had told him the other day that he didn’t know about the God of Light, so asking him about it wouldn’t help much. “What exactly am I supposed to do here?” Sun asked Calvin inquisitively. In his mind, it wouldn’t make sense for a member of a clergy to leech off of the church without doing anything. “I’m glad that you asked that.” Calvin began to explain the various jobs around the church that needed to be done. “You can see that this church hold a great influence over this city.” Calvin pointed out the various townspeople visiting the church. “Most of the work consists of maintaining the church’s services and activities. There’s a lot a different things that are done around here and I can’t list them all right now but I’ll tell you as they come up.” A bell started to ring from the church’s main building. This bell was used on several occasions to announce the start of the church’s services. After having set up in the morning, the church was now ready to handle its various visitors. Calvin had Sun tag along with him since he was the only other cleric at the church. Then they came to their first duty of the Freya church, the preparation of the [Holy Water]. [Holy Water] was a powerful substance that is commonly used against the undead. Because of its various added effects aside from vanquishing evil, it was a highly desired item to have. Calvin began to explain how to prepare the [Holy Water]. “There are various steps to purifying and blessing the water. In the past, there was a holy grail which could generate an endless supply of holy water but it was lost long ago. So the method we are using can only generate a small amount of [Holy Water].” He walked over to a small basin of water and pulled out a basket filled with various different materials. He gestured for Sun to do the same. “First, coat your hands with a thin layer of holy energy. This is so that you do not harm any of the materials that we will be using and for the purification of the waters as well. To place holy energy over your hands, simply focus on your hands and imagine the holy energy becoming solid.” Following Calvin’s instructions, Sun covered his hands with a layer of holy energy. “Good, you’re catching on quicker than I thought you would. Now reach into the basket and get the angel root. Place it in the center of the water. Next, get the light crystal powder and sprinkle it over the surface of the water. Lay the holy pearls in a circle around the angel root.” Calvin looked over to see if Sun had completed all the tasks correctly. Satisfied with what he saw, he moved on to the next step. “Now this is the truly difficult part. Dip your hands into the water and strongly focus the holy energy into the water. While doing this, move your hands clockwise across the surface of the water. Once the angel root and the light crystal powder have dissolved, remove the pearls from the water.” Sun could feel the mana rapidly draining from his body as he pours the holy light into the water. Slowly, but surely, the root and the powder began to dissolve. The water soon started to glow with a soft light and then fade back into the water. He removed the pearls from the water and after putting them away, sat down in exhaustion. “Great job!” Calvin congratulated him. “It’s amazing that you were able to make over a gallon of [Holy Water] on your first try. You must have a great understanding of the holy arts.” After setting aside the [Holy Water], Calvin told him that it was now time to bless the adventurers that sought to use the protection of the Goddess Freya. However this service wasn’t free and had a small cost to it. “Even if we’re a church, we’re not running a charity here.” Calvin explained his reasoning. “Makes sense, even the Holy Temple doesn’t necessarily do thing for free either.” Sun thought to himself about the practices of his own church. “The Pope loves money so much; he would probably sell his position in the church if he could.” “Now that we have the [Holy Water], the next part of work is use the Holy Water on those that seek the Goddess’s protection.” Calvin explained moving on to the main section of the church. “To use the [Holy Water]’s blessing, simply sprinkle it over the person’s body while reciting the prayer of the Goddess Freya. Before giving anyone the blessing, you must charge them ten silvers for the blessing.” He finished up the rest of the explanation with some minor details and then he left Sun in order to do some other clerical work. “Good luck with the blessings!” Calvin said as he walked away. Sun sat behind a desk in a little wooden chair, wondering what he was supposed to do. At the time, there wasn’t anybody seeking the blessings so the room was rather empty. However, in about ten minutes, the large metal doors of the church swung open and a large number of peculiarly dressed people came into the church. From the looks of it, many of them were adventurer teams composed of warriors, swordsmen, rouges, and archers. Contrary to the large mob rush he was expecting, the church was designed in such a way that the crowd had to line up single file to receive the blessings. The first customer was a sword using adventurer. “I would like to receive the blessing.” The adventurer asked. “In order to receive the blessing, a charge of ten silvers is needed.” Sun explained to him. “Ten silvers? Isn’t that kind of expensive?” he protested the price of the blessing. Obviously this fellow was receiving the blessing for the first time and was unaware of the standard fee. Given the state of his equipment, the person was relatively low level and ten silvers was a large expense to him. However, Sun was not aware of this concept known as ‘levels’ and thought that this guy was just being stingy. “Customer, the price is the same for all that wish to receive the blessing. It would be unfair to decrease the cost because you feel that it is too much. This revenue is essential to the upkeep of this church and its followers. If you do not wish to receive the blessing, then please leave because you are holding up the rest whom wish to receive the god’s blessing.” However this was not what he truly believed. The truth behind his sudden devotion and charisma to his work was what Calvin had brought up before he left. “Most of the money goes to paying for the church’s upkeep as well as for our meals. As an added bonus, you get to keep 5% of the money from selling the blessings.” Sun recalled Calvin’s words from earlier. His meals, as well as his income, depended on the sale of the blessing and 5% meant fifty coppers per blessing. He wasn’t going to let some punk come in trying to cut him short. The people waiting in line voiced their approval at Sun’s words. Since the line was relatively long, most hated having to wait any longer than needed. The time that was used to bless an individual was rather long since the clerics or paladins usually recited the entire verse of the Goddess of Freya, which took pages of text. The adventurer was conflicted over his situation. The ten silvers was a large expense to him but the benefits of the buff were, as he heard from a friend, quite significant. Since decent hunting parties were hard to come by, and hunting solo was far too difficult for him, he decided to rely on the church’s buff to hunt. He finally came to a decision. “I’ll pay the fee.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out ten silvers as payment. He felt that having a slightly lower monetary gain from hunting was better than not being able to hunt at all. If he tried to recklessly hunt along, he might die causing him to drop a few levels and lose some skill proficiency. Worst of all, he might even lose some of his gear. The adventurer stood by and waited to be blessed. “So what do I do now?” Sun thought to himself. From Calvin’s explanation, he had to recite the Goddess of Freya’s prayer in order for the blessing to work. The problem was that he didn’t know it. He decided to wing it and say the thing that he has been saying for the past few years. “May the benevolence of the God of Light be with you in your journey and protect you from evil. Thus the will of the God of Light bestows upon you its blessings and grant you the power to redeem the souls of the wicked.” Sun said some random nonsense, put some [Holy Water] in his hand, and sprinkled it over the adventurer. Instead of soaking the man as he thought it would, the Holy Water turned into sparkles and attached itself to the adventurer. The small bits of light then disappeared and a window popped up again. Successfully applied the Blessing of the Goddess. You learn Divine Blessing Skill. Since he didn’t know what this skill was, Sun tried touching the window that appeared. Surprisingly enough, something happened. The text on the window changed to something else. Divine Blessing [1] Allows the caster to increase a target’s stats for a period of time without the use of holy water. The use of Holy Water in the spell will prolong and enhance the effects of the blessing. The use of Holy Water will not consume mana. Holy Water increases duration by 300% and increases the effectiveness by 100%. Mana Consumption: 100 mana Effects: Life +10%, Mana +10%, All Stat +5%, additional 5% increase in Faith. Health and Mana regeneration increased by 20%. Lasts for 4 hours. “Wow, I didn’t think that it would actually work.” Sun said to himself. “How was I able to touch those window things though? They’re transparent.” The adventurer was surprised that the blessing was done so quickly. In fact, he started to think that it wasn’t done correctly. However, after looking at his stats, there was a considerable increase in all of his stats. Delighted, he left the church to go hunt in the fields. The rest of the line was amazed at the speed at which the blessing was applied and began clamoring forward. Sun continued to bless the players with his skills. Every now and then, a window would pop up stating that his skill level in the Divine Blessing skill has increased. By the end of the day, he managed to sell more than hundred blessings. Taking his share of the revenue, he managed to make about sixty silvers. His skill managed to reach level 4 from repeatedly casting the spell and Holy Mastery rose up to level 3. It was thanks to the [Holy Water] that he was able to elevate his skill levels so quickly; as it would appear that its use elevated the skill far more rapidly than if it was used alone. It appear that using the [Holy Water] to activate the skill didn’t require him to use any mana so he could cast it infinitely as long as there was [Holy Water]. It was akin to using higher tier materials on lower tier skills to raise the skill proficiency quicker. Sun continued to work at the blessing station afterwards. Each following day there were increasingly larger amounts of people that were trying to get the blessing. Thankfully, with the increase in the level of the Divine Blessing skill, he was capable of producing more [Holy Water] and was able to meet the demand. A few days later, he was told that he had another job to do and that another member of the church will handle blessing. Calvin explained to him casually about today’s job. “Today is the time where we hold the congregation. So I need you to help me set up the materials.” Calvin took out a number of religious items: candles, books, paintings, goblets, and other holy artifacts. The plain hall of worship was rapidly being adorned with the various items that the two of them held. “I find it hard to believe that this is still the same room that I saw half an hour ago.” Sun marveled at the majesty of the room. He was correct in doing so. Earlier the room simply had a symbol of the Church of Freya and several pews for people to sit in. Now, the room was elaborately decorated with painting of historical battles, statues of the Goddess Freya, holy artifacts from a long ago war, and keepsakes from famous leaders from the past. However, that was simply around the pews. The front of the room had a table with white petals scattered ceremoniously around the table. Several candles were lit and placed in intricately designed vessels and were arranged in the shape of the symbol of the Order of Freya. In the middle of the table was the Holy Book of the church, and around it were several jewels that represented an aspect of the Goddess Freya: rubies for the goddess’s protection, jade for fertility, topaz to give strength, and aquamarine for courage. It was surely a sight to behold. “Well, now that we’re done with that, let’s begin the congregation.” Calvin clapped his hands as he finished setting up the last of the materials. “Wait, what am I supposed to do?” Sun didn’t have any knowledge about this religion’s customs or beliefs so he wouldn’t be able to help much. “After it starts, I will start by leading the audience in prayer. Then I will state the various events that have occurred that is relevant to the Order and its people. Once we’re all done, then the mission assignments for the paladins are announced. If I need you to do something, I will tell you. Otherwise, just stand next to me at the podium.” Sun nodded to show he understood and then it began. A couple thousand people entered the church and the pews were packed. “Will everyone please rise for the prayer of the Goddess Freya.” Calvin spoke to the congregation. The audience stood up and listened as Calvin and the paladins recited the prayer. Sun joined in the prayer but, since he didn’t know the words, he simply closed his eyes and put a benevolent expression on his face while contemplating in his mind about the beautiful women in the crowd. +1 Faith for participating in the religious ceremony. After the prayer, Calvin brought up various points about the armies of darkness were gathering and that the church was waiting for a hero to retrieve the lost Grail. Then the topic moved to the recently growing activity of malicious necromancers and their opposition to the church as well as the necromancers’ connections to the Embinyu denominations. “I would like to introduce a recent addition to the Order. This is Sun, a cleric that joined the church. Though he is very inexperienced, he shows a lot of future potential. I would like everyone to welcome Sun.” After Calvin had introduced him, the crowd began to applaud him for having joined the Order. “Since our new member is relatively new to the church, be sure to help him out.” Sun felt extremely grateful that Calvin had thought that far ahead for him. “Now since he’s already up here, let’s have him sing us a song!” Maybe a little less grateful now… Due to the urging of the crowd, Sun was compelled to sing a song. Given his current level of mana, he wasn’t able to do anything impressive like the ‘Hymn of the God of Light’ he did a few months back in his world. So he chose a significantly shorter but popular song, ‘The God of Light’s Benevolence’. Since he felt that a simple song wouldn’t be impressive enough, he chose to use his holy energy to make it a holy hymn as the holy knights did back in the Holy Temple. “What is this pleasant presence?” a relaxed elderly man asked. While others bathed in the holy light that Sun was radiating, some enjoyed the clear melody of his voice and the compassionate expression on his beautiful face. After he finished the song, the crowd erupted in cheer and applause. “Now that was a wonderful performance by our very own Sun. Next up is the assignment of the missions to the paladin. First off, Paladin Jacob will be assigned to the Nejar region to help the residents set up a church and assist in agricultural advances, Paladin Haison wil be assigned to…” Calvin began listing off all of the missions for the paladins of the order. A certain topic spread like a wildfire and became known amongst many townspeople and players. A new cleric was in the town’s Church of Freya. The townsfolk were quite pleased with the sudden development because the shortage of clerics in the monastery was causing great concern over the current state of the kingdom. The players had a different view about him. “Have you visited the new cleric at the Church of Freya lately?” the party leader of a group of mid-level players said to his team mates. “Not recently. Why do you ask?” the archer asked back to the knight. “The blessing service is amazing. There’s this one cleric there that’s been doing an amazing job.” “But the line for that is horribly long. I would be better off hunting with the time I spend waiting in that line.” The warrior of the party complained. “That’s the thing though!” the knight with fervor evident in his voice. “This new guy blesses everyone so quickly. It’s amazing. Usually it takes about five minutes for them to bless someone but this guy does it in like thirty seconds.” “I hear that he’s a pretty good singer as well.” The mage added in his opinion. “I hear that during his performances, the audience feels invigorated and the atmosphere is heavenly.” The female cleric chimed in. “You must mean that beautiful guy with long blonde hair, blue eyes, and fair skin! I could look at him forever. Too bad he’s an NPC though, such a waste of beauty.” In his own world, Sun was incapable of getting women to approach him because of a simple reason. The Sun Knight of the Church of the God of Light loved only God and not women. Now for a completely different reason he was being subject to the same fate. The men believed that the cleric was an NPC as well, as players were usually unable to join the Order unless they have some remarkable achievement. If fact, they were glad that the cleric was an NPC. The world would be such a cruel place if a man as handsome as that actually existed. Well at least the men in this world didn't hate him, sadly for the same reason women don't like him. Sun sneezed in the middle of his meal. “I must be coming down with a cold.” He said wiping his nose with a tissue. “I don’t feel sick though.” He has been working at the church for over three weeks now. In a few more days he will be able to leave the city and look for clues. Due to his various duties around the church, he had made amazing progress for the first month of gameplay compared to other players. His current amount of money was thirty-ish gold, earned from the sale of the blessings from the past few weeks. He managed to elevate his Divine Blessing to Intermediate level 1 and his Holy Mastery to Beginner level 8. His public service points in the community and the Church of Freya were quite high. Due to the time spent praying and doing other clerical work, his Faith stat increased by 30 over the course of his stay. His advancement in reaching Intermediate in Divine Blessing gave him 10 bonus stats in Faith, Intelligence, and Wisdom for having a class relating to the skill. From completing the various jobs around the church he managed to level up twice. Following the suggestion from one of the windows, he decided to invest the points equally in Intelligence and Wisdom. However his time was not solely spent in the pursuit of monetary gain. In his free time, he sought out various books about the history of the continent and tried to find something that could help him find his way back. “The more I read, the stranger this place feels to the place I came from.” Sun voiced his frustration over his complete lack of clues about his world. However, not all was completely unknown. He has managed to confirm a few things from his research so far. The fact that he was able to use holy magic in the name of the God of Light meant one thing. There is some connection between the Goddess Freya and his religion; though not explicitly stated anywhere, there had to be connection. The other discovery that he made was another thing that further strengthened his belief that his world is out there. The world that is known isn’t the entirety of the world and undiscovered frontier exists at the edges of the known world. Then the day came when he had finished the one month restriction on new players and he could finally exit the city. In the middle of collecting his belongings, Calvin came into the room. “Sun, it is time for the ceremony.” Calvin said in a much for serious tone that usual. “What ceremony?” Sun asked. He wasn’t aware that there was going to be any church services today. “Just come with me.” Calvin replied walking out of the room. The two of them entered the main chamber of the church. Usually the room was empty, but today there were paladins lined up on both sides of the walls. Each of the paladins had their swords and shield in their hands, standing imposingly. A wide pathway led up to a podium where Calvin walked over and stood behind. “Cleric Sun, it has been one month since you have arrived at our church. In that time, you have become an important part of our faith and I believe it is time.” Calvin reached below and picked up a long-sword and walked over to Sun. “Wait, what is he planning to do with that?” Sun quickly looked around the room to see if there was anywhere he could run to. However, paladins were scattered all around the room and there was only one exit that was at the other end of the hall. “Sun, kneel down.” Calvin commanded him. Seeing no other choice, Sun put a knee down on the floor and lowered his head. “In the name of the Goddess Freya; I, Calvin Adalus Sanci, hereby proclaim that the cleric Sun has completed the trial and will receive the blessings of the goddess. Do you, Sun, accept the Goddess’s blessing?” “So that’s what he was doing.” Sun thought to himself. He had been worried that they were going to do something horrible to him. “I do.” He answered Calvin. “Then from this day forth, you are an official member of the Church of Freya. All is according to the will of the Goddess.” Class Change Class: Cleric has been changed to the Class: Holy Priest. Name: Sun Type: Neutral Level: 3 Class: Holy Priest Title: Order of Freya Fame: 0 Life: 140 Mana: 250 Str: 10+20 Dex: 10+20 Vit: 10+20 Wis: 25+50 Int: 25+50 Faith: 40+50 Leadership: 0+20 Luck: 0+20 Resistance to magic: Holy +All stats are added 20 points. +Wisdom, Intelligence, and Faith stat are added extra 30 points. +Enables you to equip certain items specialized for the class. +Holy Mastery has been generated. +All holy effects are increased by 50%.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> Alex was then transported from the Commander’s office into the basement of the base, where he found a training facility that would put the United States special forces’ training facilities to shame. Alex was told by the Commander that he should find someone called Gwenden, who would start off his training. Alex, sure enough, managed to find Gwenden, and after telling him the Commander had sent him to be trained by him, Gwenden sharpened his eyes and carefully looked over Alex.<br><br>“The Commander sent a weakling like you to be trained by me?”<br><br>“Yes.”<br><br>“Well, as much as I find this to be a pointless expenditure, he must have seen great potential in you.”<br><br>Alex who desperately wanted to get as far away from the Commander as possible, wanted to speed up this process as much as possible.<br><br>“So, will you accept me?”<br><br>Gwenden eyed Alex and then asked Alex a question,<br><br>“Did you manage to stand up to the Commander’s Aura of Fear and not run away?”<br><br>“Yes, but I was overcome with fear and had to use pure willpower to keep my legs from running.”<br><br>“Good enough for me. Now we will start your training, I am sure you have seen your new skills?”<br><br>“Yes, but what about them?”<br><br>“They are what we will be training last. As much as you want to test them out, you need to improve your base stats first.”<br><br>Alex dreaded what was about to come next, but asked how they would be improved.<br><br>“How?”<br><br>“For your Strength, Stamina, Agility, and Vitality stats, we will make you run up and down the stairs from floor 1 to 100, 100 times each day, for 2 weeks. Failure to do so will simply mean your training time will increase.”<br><br>Alex knew it would be something horrible, and yet this answer made his spirits fall even more. But Gwenden ignored Alex’s expression and continued,<br><br>“The training will begin from now until midnight. Better get running, weakling.”<br><br>Alex resigned himself to his fate and started to jog up and down the stairs. He only stopped to recover his stamina and to eat. <br><br>For the first week of Alex’s training, Alex would wake up tired, and then go to sleep tired. He missed the quota for all 7 of those days. Alex’s spirit was broken, and every day, he would be like a mindless machine, day after day repeating the same steps, while his mind recovered in a place deep inside his head. <br><br>It was Alex’s summer vacation from school, and as Phantom Guns operated at a rate of 1 day in reality was 10 days in-game, Alex wasn’t bothered about logging out, since his capsule could handle food and his parents would be out.<br><br>By the time the 2nd week had finished, Alex hit the quota every day, with a couple of hours to spare. His Stamina, Agility, Vitality, and Strength had all increased by more than 100. Alex was probably already the strongest hand-to-hand combat player at that time, but he hadn’t learned any shooting skills in the game.<br><br>Gwenden saw how his stats had improved and was surprised at his growth, and he started to smile wickedly just like the Commander.<br><br>Alex suddenly had a bad feeling when he saw Gwenden smile after looking at his stats.<br><br>Gwened then told Alex,<br><br>“You have managed to complete your training, so now we will move on to the next stage of physical training. First, you ran up and down stairs. Now, you will have to keep a 5 ton weight above your head for 5 hours. There is no punishment for failure, because if you do, you will probably die.”<br><br>Alex was then lead to a room where there was a man, who wasn’t dressed like the rest of the people on the base, stood on a large stand . <br><br>“Trainee, stand underneath me. This will be your final phase of the base stat training.”<br><br>Alex complied and stood under him. He moved his arms up as the sign at the bottom of the stand showed. Then, a sudden crushing weight was placed onto his arms. Alex’s face contorted in pain. Alex’s stamina was being consumed at 100 points a second. He did a quick calculation and found he could only hold on for 5 minutes. After it finished through consumed his stamina, Alex’s health then slowly started to decrease. Alex was receiving a strength stat every 10 seconds and a stamina one every 20. His vitality was increasing as well, but his health would be gone in a few seconds, and he still had 4 hours left to go on the clock. His vision started to blur, and eventually started to give up on passing the test.<br><br>Gwenden was watching Alex’s performance, and was awaiting the moment where Alex would be crushed, because that would be when his true nature as a Shadow Being would surface. Gwenden knew that no matter what Alex did, he would end up crushed.<br><br>Alex, after finally being crushed, wasn’t immediately logged out. He awoke floating in darkness and heard a voice calling him. A female appeared before him and started to talk to him,<br><br>“I am your shadow, and only if you accept me, will you gain the true power of your race. Will you accept me?”<br><br>Alex looked at the female and saw that she was beautiful, her body was slim and curved, and her hair was long as straight. But true to a shadow, formless, her body kept shifting and changing. It was never the same, and looking at her was making Alex sleepy.<br>After hearing what she said, Alex immediately accepted, because he wanted more power than everyone else in the game.<br><br>“Yes, I will accept you.”<br><br>Her sweet voice lulled Alex into her grasp,<br><br>“Before I give you power, you must complete a series of challenges.”<br><br>“What are those challenges?”<br><br>“You will know in due time. However, before I leave, I will give you a parting gift.”<br><br>The girl reached out to him and Alex, unresisting, was kissed on the cheek.<br>______________________________________________________________________________<br><br>Gwenden watched as Alex was crushed underneath the rock, and saw his shadow still there. He breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that Alex had managed to succeed in entering his shadow’s world. He left and then covered the room in darkness, so Alex could revive in peace.<br>______________________________________________________________________________<br><br>Alex was stunned at what the girl who claimed to be his shadow had done. Before Alex could make a comeback, she had already disappeared into the darkness. Alex felt his body move again, and he saw himself emerging from his own shadow into dark room. The first thought that came to Alex’s head was to find Gwenden and beat him into telling him why he wasn't told what was gonna happen, and so he set off to find Gwenden. Little did he notice that his shadow was now in a different form. Once the shape of him, now it was the shape of the girl he met in his shadow world.<br><br>As soon as Alex found Gwenden, he started to question him,<br><br>“GWENDEN YOU BASTARD!!! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME ABOUT--URGH.”<br><br>But was soon stopped, as Gwenden shoved a fist into his stomach, making him double over in pain. He towered over Alex and then calmly told him,<br><br>“Now it is time for you to increase your intelligence and wisdom.”<br><br>Gwenden dragged a helpless Alex into a different room, and placed a mountain of books in front of him. <br><br>“Read these by the end of the week.”<br><br>After saying those last words, Gwenden walked out of the room, leaving Alex, who curled up in pain, with the mountain of books. As he closed the door, he locked it so Alex couldn't get out until Gwenden allowed him too.<br>______________________________________________________________________________<br> <br>Alex, who was curled up into a ball, was staring at Gwenden with murderous eyes as he left the room. After he recovered, he immediately started to read the nearest book “Cutting with the Shadows”. After he finished it, he received a couple of stat messages.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>Intelligence has permanently increased by 1!</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>Wisdom has permanently increased by 1</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>Shadow Understanding proficiency has increased!</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>He saw that reading the books would be helpful to him, so he started to read the books at a faster rate. His eyes would only take seconds to read each page, and he was finishing a book every half hour. Yet, as fast as he was reading it, it was not enough to read all of the books by the end of the week.<br><br>On the 3rd day of continuous reading, he gained a new skill.<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td>You have gained the skill Quick Reading! [Active] [Passive]<br><br>When the skill is active, you will read twice as fast. When the skill is not active, you will read 10% faster.<br>Cost 5 mp/s.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br><br>Alex took to his new skill, and with his now large mana pool, activated the skill and started to read. At the increased pace, he was able to finish almost all of the books but 1. It was the day before the deadline, and the last book in front of him was a book that was thicker than his head. He picked it up and started to read it, only to find out it was encrypted. Alex put his hands to his head, and started to lament about how he would be unable to finish his task. Then, Alex looked closer. Whenever the shadows on his hand moved over the letters, they started to form into readable words. He used the skill Shadow Control, so the shadows would be thicker, and he slowly started to read the book.<br><br>Once he finished reading all of the books, his Intelligence and Wisdom stats had by then, increased a lot, while many of his skill proficiencies were all at Beginner level 1-2. His Shadow Understanding Skill, however, was at Beginner Level 5. <br><br>Alex heard the door unlock and saw Gwenden standing in the door frame. Alex, whose murderous intent never vanished, immediately started to glare at Gwenden with dark and murderous eyes. But Gwenden was unfazed by his glare and went over, picked him up, tossed him over his shoulder, and started to walk out of the door before Alex could attack him. <br><br>Alex knew resistance was futile, so he just laid there until Gwenden brought him to a new training center. </div>

Alex was then transported from the Commander’s office into the basement of the base, where he found a training facility that would put the United States special forces’ training facilities to shame. Alex was told by the Commander that he should find someone called Gwenden, who would start off his training. Alex, sure enough, managed to find Gwenden, and after telling him the Commander had sent him to be trained by him, Gwenden sharpened his eyes and carefully looked over Alex. “The Commander sent a weakling like you to be trained by me?” “Yes.” “Well, as much as I find this to be a pointless expenditure, he must have seen great potential in you.” Alex who desperately wanted to get as far away from the Commander as possible, wanted to speed up this process as much as possible. “So, will you accept me?” Gwenden eyed Alex and then asked Alex a question, “Did you manage to stand up to the Commander’s Aura of Fear and not run away?” “Yes, but I was overcome with fear and had to use pure willpower to keep my legs from running.” “Good enough for me. Now we will start your training, I am sure you have seen your new skills?” “Yes, but what about them?” “They are what we will be training last. As much as you want to test them out, you need to improve your base stats first.” Alex dreaded what was about to come next, but asked how they would be improved. “How?” “For your Strength, Stamina, Agility, and Vitality stats, we will make you run up and down the stairs from floor 1 to 100, 100 times each day, for 2 weeks. Failure to do so will simply mean your training time will increase.” Alex knew it would be something horrible, and yet this answer made his spirits fall even more. But Gwenden ignored Alex’s expression and continued, “The training will begin from now until midnight. Better get running, weakling.” Alex resigned himself to his fate and started to jog up and down the stairs. He only stopped to recover his stamina and to eat. For the first week of Alex’s training, Alex would wake up tired, and then go to sleep tired. He missed the quota for all 7 of those days. Alex’s spirit was broken, and every day, he would be like a mindless machine, day after day repeating the same steps, while his mind recovered in a place deep inside his head. It was Alex’s summer vacation from school, and as Phantom Guns operated at a rate of 1 day in reality was 10 days in-game, Alex wasn’t bothered about logging out, since his capsule could handle food and his parents would be out. By the time the 2nd week had finished, Alex hit the quota every day, with a couple of hours to spare. His Stamina, Agility, Vitality, and Strength had all increased by more than 100. Alex was probably already the strongest hand-to-hand combat player at that time, but he hadn’t learned any shooting skills in the game. Gwenden saw how his stats had improved and was surprised at his growth, and he started to smile wickedly just like the Commander. Alex suddenly had a bad feeling when he saw Gwenden smile after looking at his stats. Gwened then told Alex, “You have managed to complete your training, so now we will move on to the next stage of physical training. First, you ran up and down stairs. Now, you will have to keep a 5 ton weight above your head for 5 hours. There is no punishment for failure, because if you do, you will probably die.” Alex was then lead to a room where there was a man, who wasn’t dressed like the rest of the people on the base, stood on a large stand . “Trainee, stand underneath me. This will be your final phase of the base stat training.” Alex complied and stood under him. He moved his arms up as the sign at the bottom of the stand showed. Then, a sudden crushing weight was placed onto his arms. Alex’s face contorted in pain. Alex’s stamina was being consumed at 100 points a second. He did a quick calculation and found he could only hold on for 5 minutes. After it finished through consumed his stamina, Alex’s health then slowly started to decrease. Alex was receiving a strength stat every 10 seconds and a stamina one every 20. His vitality was increasing as well, but his health would be gone in a few seconds, and he still had 4 hours left to go on the clock. His vision started to blur, and eventually started to give up on passing the test. Gwenden was watching Alex’s performance, and was awaiting the moment where Alex would be crushed, because that would be when his true nature as a Shadow Being would surface. Gwenden knew that no matter what Alex did, he would end up crushed. Alex, after finally being crushed, wasn’t immediately logged out. He awoke floating in darkness and heard a voice calling him. A female appeared before him and started to talk to him, “I am your shadow, and only if you accept me, will you gain the true power of your race. Will you accept me?” Alex looked at the female and saw that she was beautiful, her body was slim and curved, and her hair was long as straight. But true to a shadow, formless, her body kept shifting and changing. It was never the same, and looking at her was making Alex sleepy. After hearing what she said, Alex immediately accepted, because he wanted more power than everyone else in the game. “Yes, I will accept you.” Her sweet voice lulled Alex into her grasp, “Before I give you power, you must complete a series of challenges.” “What are those challenges?” “You will know in due time. However, before I leave, I will give you a parting gift.” The girl reached out to him and Alex, unresisting, was kissed on the cheek. \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ Gwenden watched as Alex was crushed underneath the rock, and saw his shadow still there. He breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that Alex had managed to succeed in entering his shadow’s world. He left and then covered the room in darkness, so Alex could revive in peace. \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ Alex was stunned at what the girl who claimed to be his shadow had done. Before Alex could make a comeback, she had already disappeared into the darkness. Alex felt his body move again, and he saw himself emerging from his own shadow into dark room. The first thought that came to Alex’s head was to find Gwenden and beat him into telling him why he wasn't told what was gonna happen, and so he set off to find Gwenden. Little did he notice that his shadow was now in a different form. Once the shape of him, now it was the shape of the girl he met in his shadow world. As soon as Alex found Gwenden, he started to question him, “GWENDEN YOU BASTARD!!! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME ABOUT--URGH.” But was soon stopped, as Gwenden shoved a fist into his stomach, making him double over in pain. He towered over Alex and then calmly told him, “Now it is time for you to increase your intelligence and wisdom.” Gwenden dragged a helpless Alex into a different room, and placed a mountain of books in front of him. “Read these by the end of the week.” After saying those last words, Gwenden walked out of the room, leaving Alex, who curled up in pain, with the mountain of books. As he closed the door, he locked it so Alex couldn't get out until Gwenden allowed him too. \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ Alex, who was curled up into a ball, was staring at Gwenden with murderous eyes as he left the room. After he recovered, he immediately started to read the nearest book “Cutting with the Shadows”. After he finished it, he received a couple of stat messages. | Intelligence has permanently increased by 1! | | --- | | Wisdom has permanently increased by 1 | | --- | | Shadow Understanding proficiency has increased! | | --- | He saw that reading the books would be helpful to him, so he started to read the books at a faster rate. His eyes would only take seconds to read each page, and he was finishing a book every half hour. Yet, as fast as he was reading it, it was not enough to read all of the books by the end of the week. On the 3rd day of continuous reading, he gained a new skill. | You have gained the skill Quick Reading! [Active] [Passive]When the skill is active, you will read twice as fast. When the skill is not active, you will read 10% faster.Cost 5 mp/s. | | --- | Alex took to his new skill, and with his now large mana pool, activated the skill and started to read. At the increased pace, he was able to finish almost all of the books but 1. It was the day before the deadline, and the last book in front of him was a book that was thicker than his head. He picked it up and started to read it, only to find out it was encrypted. Alex put his hands to his head, and started to lament about how he would be unable to finish his task. Then, Alex looked closer. Whenever the shadows on his hand moved over the letters, they started to form into readable words. He used the skill Shadow Control, so the shadows would be thicker, and he slowly started to read the book. Once he finished reading all of the books, his Intelligence and Wisdom stats had by then, increased a lot, while many of his skill proficiencies were all at Beginner level 1-2. His Shadow Understanding Skill, however, was at Beginner Level 5. Alex heard the door unlock and saw Gwenden standing in the door frame. Alex, whose murderous intent never vanished, immediately started to glare at Gwenden with dark and murderous eyes. But Gwenden was unfazed by his glare and went over, picked him up, tossed him over his shoulder, and started to walk out of the door before Alex could attack him. Alex knew resistance was futile, so he just laid there until Gwenden brought him to a new training center.

<div class="chapter-inner chapter-content"> If players were asked where was the Lavias Public library, no user would know. It wasn’t exactly one of the places which users imagined spending their time in for beginner level quests. A five story building, 2 below ground and thee above, it was one of the lesser popular buildings but a strategic asset to the Air Kingdom.<br><br>Weed went to Lavias’s only library in the central town, it was rather dull and empty. The library wasn’t as big as Rodriguez’s private collection however it was still pretty big. He checked with the librarian if there were any books on magical ponds and fairies. Luckily, Lavias had the largest public library in Air Kingdom, and there thousands of books available on every subject and the librarian gave Weed directions to the books location.<br><br>In an age where everything was electronic, the concept of a book was reduced to a novelty. Most of the newer generation would loathe reading a book but when the same task was reduced to a part of a VR game quest, players would have no issues reading a book. In fact they rather enjoyed the old feel and touch of book. To those on a quest, it was one of the many important aspects of treasure hunting.<br><br>“Alak.” Weed whispered to avoid attracting attention.<br><br>“…”<br><br>“I am in the library, I am looking for clues on the fairy pond, you interested in helping me or not?”<br><br>“WEEEEEED!!! I had no idea you cared so much for me.”<br><br>“Well it just so happens I do care about my friends.”<br><br><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td><span style="font-weight: bold;">- Deceit Beginner level 4 – 5% -</span></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br><br>“Tell me Weed how can I help you? Anything just let me know!”<br><br>“Well I, thought we should know whatever we can about fairy ponds, that’s why we are here in the Lavias Library.”<br><br>“There was no need to come to the Lavias library for that! You could have just asked me!” Alak chuckled.<br><br>“Well, I had another quest which I had to do, but I wasn’t making any progress in it. So I figured I could do both jobs together. Though Rodriguez would be really angry at us for deviating from the quest he gave us. But I felt finding your home was more important.”<br><br>“….”<br><br>“I mean if Rodriguez does ask why I failed to get a ring for his beloved Lisa, I could always say that finding Alak’s home was so much more important than his stupid love.”<br><br>“….” Alak began panicking, he never meant for Weed to stop working on Rodriguez’s quest. Alak loved his master and never wanted to come between his master and his masters love.<br><br>“I don’t think Rodriguez can do much to me, but I fear he might really hurt you. Wouldn’t it be a good idea to run away? Just you and me, Alak. No Rodriguez forever! I might be a beginner, with terrible stats but you will help me right?”<br><br>“NOOOOOOO!!! I don’t want to leave master! I don’t want to upset master!” cried Alak. <br><br>“Come on now Alak! Don’t you want to go back to your home? Visit your family fairies? Sure Rodriguez is going to be angry, but what will he do? Track us down to the end of Versailles and rip out your wings? Even if you don’t have wings, I will still carry you to your fairy pond. I think wings are the most important part of fairy, their very defining feature so if your fellow fairies refuse to accept you for being wingless, I’ll save you from your misery. Would you prefer drowning in the pond or lying on a lotus leaf for an eternal wait of acceptance?”<br><br>“My wings! *sob* *sob*” Alak began crying and her light grew dimmer.<br><br>“Its okay, lets quickly find the fairy pond! I am sure we can find it tonight if we worked together.” Weed said with enthusiasm.<br><br>“Really?” Alak asked seeking comfort and assurance.<br><br>“Of course not! Are you crazy! It might take us months or years at the very least, you better be prepared for a rough journey Alak, there will be terrible monsters everywhere and I fear I might lose my life. By the way if I die, does that mean you will also die?” Weed was enjoying torturing the fairy psychologically. <br><br>“Weed-nim, I think it’s best if we finish Rodriguez’s quest first and then did mine. Mine is not all that important to begin with. We can do it later.” Alak replied while trying to dodge Weed’s last question.<br><br>“No Alak, I told you, it is just not possible. I am completely stuck at the quest. There is no way to do it. Let’s begin our adventure to find the fairy pond.”<br><br>“But Weed-nim, we haven’t even tried it. I am sure I can solve the problem.”<br><br>“….” Weed paused, it was a planned pause. He then showed mixed emotions of distrust and skepticism on his face. <br><br>“Come on Weed-nim, there must be some way for us to solve Rodriguez quest.”<br><br>“There might be one way, it is related to the moonstone and Theodore’s quest. The quicker I learn how to be a blacksmith, the quicker I can make the ring, but it is really difficult for me to find this moonstone. Especially since I can’t seem to be able to describe it to Snappy.”<br><br>“No problem!” Alak replied happily, as she sped around Weed. “Alak will tell Snappy what Weed-nim is looking for!”<br><br>“Oh no Alak! I couldn’t possibly let you bear that burden!”<br><br>“No Weed, I can do this, then we can get Rodriguez permission to find the fairy pond!”<br><br>“If you insist, Alak, but I am putting my trust in you here. I mean if you don’t help, then I might as well give up on Rodriguez quest and focus on finding a fairy pond.”<br><br>“I promise!”<br><br>Weed smiled, fairies were beyond gullible. That was definitely useful information that he had read just moments ago. Weed checked if there was anything moonstone and then read up about the only moonstone to be ever found. It always shined like the moon at night and looked like an ordinary white stone in the morning. ‘So Theodore was describing it correctly, it really is a fragment of the moon.’<br><br>Weed put back all the books in the shelf and returned to the northern mountain pass. He cautiously slid towards the eastern side and waited for the sun to set. He lay down and tried to sleep, he figured he could replenish his stamina and level up his skill at the same time while doing so.<br>At night, Weed brought Snappy for his nightly walk and woke up Alak. Alak described to Snappy what the moonstone looked like but Snappy replied it was more to do with smell than looks when it came to finding. He also told Alak that dogs were color blind but the moon was white in color to them so it would be possible to find it, however he had never seen anything white as the moon on the ground. Alak relayed everything Snappy barked to Weed. Weed, then asked if Snappy had seen the jewel in the Dwarf City Ceiling to which Snappy replied that he was never allowed inside a dwarf city.<br><br>Another dead end. Weed offered any amount of fresh meat (not even meaty treat) to Snappy if he searched the nearby mountains for the next entire week and a dragon bone (which is supposed to be huge) if he found the moonstone. Upon hearing this offer Snappy sped up to the other mountains in search for the mystical moonstone.<br><br>“Alak?” <br><br>“Yes, Weed-nim?” “There are 1300 holes that I have dug here, so could you please re-check each of them?”<br><br>“What! No! I don’t want to!” replied Alak.<br><br>“I see, I might as well give up on this quest and look for the fairy pond. I bet Rodriguez will be furious with me.”<br><br>“Weed-nim, you search elsewhere, I’ll check the holes you have already dug.”<br><br>“Alak! That is an excellent idea!” Weed exclaimed. “You are brilliant!”<br><br>The fairy happily fluttered around Weed, being praised felt nice.<br><br>Saying that Weed rushed towards the foot of the mountain and screamed back to Alak, “I am going to search in the forest and risk my lives against wolves, you look up there where it is safer.” (Deceit skill – Beginner level 4 – 6%).<br><br>Weed couldn’t hear what the fairy said but he was sure that the fairy was more than glad to agree. Weed decided to take a break from digging holes. He was sick of hunting foxes during the day and needed a break from everything to think more clearly. They weren’t much of a hunt to begin with. What he truly eyed were wolves, no level of fox loot compared to wolf loot. A single fox hide sold for a mere 3 copper where as a wolf hide went for as high as 10 copper.<br><br>Weed using his stealth cloak, snuck up on a pack of wolves that had just caught dinner. In an instant he lashed out on the unprepared group of hungry wolves. His sword mastery was already level 5 and he dealt considerable damage with a single strike. There was nothing better than hunting, Weed thought, VR gaming’s raison d’être could be to satisfy the violent tendencies of men. The pack of peaceful wolves was butchered in seconds.<br><br>Weed shook his sword to cleanse the glistening red blood on it. He had 6 days left to find the moonstone and his progress was nil. ‘Is this really a level D quest?’ Even the E level quest was very difficult given the time it required to complete and Weed’s low level. However the reward had been satisfactory in the case of returning Snappy back.<br><br>Weed collected his loot and began to head back. He was staring at the eastern face of the mountain glow and he froze in his place. ‘The eastern side of a mountain, possibly where there is a river crossing by….It couldn’t be!’ Weed cursed his folly; he had forgotten to look for a place next to a river! This was the Northern Mountain range; all the maps indicated that the moonstone should have fallen around here yet there was no sight of any river nearby just forests everywhere. Weed took a moment to recollect the words of Rodriguez, ‘two cities….city of the northern mountain range….’<br><br>Weed ran back to the Lavias Library with Alak and began scanning through different sections: The history of Lavias, history of Air Kingdom, Topography, and history of changing topography. After several hours of speed reading (gained +1 wisdom), he finally found what he was looking for, the old entrance of the Dwarven City of the Northern Mountain Range. It was there next to which a mighty river flowed. Over time the river changed courses and what remained was a huge lake. Judging by the distance it would take at least 3 days to make the journey. Weed estimated, just the journey to and fro would take 6 days. That was the exactly the amount of time Weed had left. He wasn’t even sure if would have the time left to search for the moon stone. <br><br>Weed cursed his idiocy bitterly; he felt as if his idiocy knew no bounds.<br><br><br><br>----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br>Authors Note:<br><br>1. Edited by Knaivvs. <br>2. Released early as part of celebration releases. Hope the chapters aren't too short!<br>3. <img src="http://i.imgur.com/hGUTSVa.jpg" border="0" alt="http%3a%2f%2fi.imgur.com%2fhGUTSVa.jpg"><br>4. W is Weeds position at the Northern Mountain Range Pass and the un-named dot is the dwarven city's old entrance is located.<br>5. Small edit, all though I say pack of wolves were slaughtered here, it was a small group of 5-6.<br><br>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<div style="text-align: center;"><div style="max-width: 100%; overflow:auto"><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="4">Connect to Royal Road – Elementarem Vim next Chapter?</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&amp;t=346" target="_blank">Yes</a></td><td colspan="2"><a href="http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&amp;t=348" target="_blank">No</a></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- </div>

If players were asked where was the Lavias Public library, no user would know. It wasn’t exactly one of the places which users imagined spending their time in for beginner level quests. A five story building, 2 below ground and thee above, it was one of the lesser popular buildings but a strategic asset to the Air Kingdom. Weed went to Lavias’s only library in the central town, it was rather dull and empty. The library wasn’t as big as Rodriguez’s private collection however it was still pretty big. He checked with the librarian if there were any books on magical ponds and fairies. Luckily, Lavias had the largest public library in Air Kingdom, and there thousands of books available on every subject and the librarian gave Weed directions to the books location. In an age where everything was electronic, the concept of a book was reduced to a novelty. Most of the newer generation would loathe reading a book but when the same task was reduced to a part of a VR game quest, players would have no issues reading a book. In fact they rather enjoyed the old feel and touch of book. To those on a quest, it was one of the many important aspects of treasure hunting. “Alak.” Weed whispered to avoid attracting attention. “…” “I am in the library, I am looking for clues on the fairy pond, you interested in helping me or not?” “WEEEEEED!!! I had no idea you cared so much for me.” “Well it just so happens I do care about my friends.” | - Deceit Beginner level 4 – 5% - | | --- | “Tell me Weed how can I help you? Anything just let me know!” “Well I, thought we should know whatever we can about fairy ponds, that’s why we are here in the Lavias Library.” “There was no need to come to the Lavias library for that! You could have just asked me!” Alak chuckled. “Well, I had another quest which I had to do, but I wasn’t making any progress in it. So I figured I could do both jobs together. Though Rodriguez would be really angry at us for deviating from the quest he gave us. But I felt finding your home was more important.” “….” “I mean if Rodriguez does ask why I failed to get a ring for his beloved Lisa, I could always say that finding Alak’s home was so much more important than his stupid love.” “….” Alak began panicking, he never meant for Weed to stop working on Rodriguez’s quest. Alak loved his master and never wanted to come between his master and his masters love. “I don’t think Rodriguez can do much to me, but I fear he might really hurt you. Wouldn’t it be a good idea to run away? Just you and me, Alak. No Rodriguez forever! I might be a beginner, with terrible stats but you will help me right?” “NOOOOOOO!!! I don’t want to leave master! I don’t want to upset master!” cried Alak. “Come on now Alak! Don’t you want to go back to your home? Visit your family fairies? Sure Rodriguez is going to be angry, but what will he do? Track us down to the end of Versailles and rip out your wings? Even if you don’t have wings, I will still carry you to your fairy pond. I think wings are the most important part of fairy, their very defining feature so if your fellow fairies refuse to accept you for being wingless, I’ll save you from your misery. Would you prefer drowning in the pond or lying on a lotus leaf for an eternal wait of acceptance?” “My wings! *sob* *sob*” Alak began crying and her light grew dimmer. “Its okay, lets quickly find the fairy pond! I am sure we can find it tonight if we worked together.” Weed said with enthusiasm. “Really?” Alak asked seeking comfort and assurance. “Of course not! Are you crazy! It might take us months or years at the very least, you better be prepared for a rough journey Alak, there will be terrible monsters everywhere and I fear I might lose my life. By the way if I die, does that mean you will also die?” Weed was enjoying torturing the fairy psychologically. “Weed-nim, I think it’s best if we finish Rodriguez’s quest first and then did mine. Mine is not all that important to begin with. We can do it later.” Alak replied while trying to dodge Weed’s last question. “No Alak, I told you, it is just not possible. I am completely stuck at the quest. There is no way to do it. Let’s begin our adventure to find the fairy pond.” “But Weed-nim, we haven’t even tried it. I am sure I can solve the problem.” “….” Weed paused, it was a planned pause. He then showed mixed emotions of distrust and skepticism on his face. “Come on Weed-nim, there must be some way for us to solve Rodriguez quest.” “There might be one way, it is related to the moonstone and Theodore’s quest. The quicker I learn how to be a blacksmith, the quicker I can make the ring, but it is really difficult for me to find this moonstone. Especially since I can’t seem to be able to describe it to Snappy.” “No problem!” Alak replied happily, as she sped around Weed. “Alak will tell Snappy what Weed-nim is looking for!” “Oh no Alak! I couldn’t possibly let you bear that burden!” “No Weed, I can do this, then we can get Rodriguez permission to find the fairy pond!” “If you insist, Alak, but I am putting my trust in you here. I mean if you don’t help, then I might as well give up on Rodriguez quest and focus on finding a fairy pond.” “I promise!” Weed smiled, fairies were beyond gullible. That was definitely useful information that he had read just moments ago. Weed checked if there was anything moonstone and then read up about the only moonstone to be ever found. It always shined like the moon at night and looked like an ordinary white stone in the morning. ‘So Theodore was describing it correctly, it really is a fragment of the moon.’ Weed put back all the books in the shelf and returned to the northern mountain pass. He cautiously slid towards the eastern side and waited for the sun to set. He lay down and tried to sleep, he figured he could replenish his stamina and level up his skill at the same time while doing so. At night, Weed brought Snappy for his nightly walk and woke up Alak. Alak described to Snappy what the moonstone looked like but Snappy replied it was more to do with smell than looks when it came to finding. He also told Alak that dogs were color blind but the moon was white in color to them so it would be possible to find it, however he had never seen anything white as the moon on the ground. Alak relayed everything Snappy barked to Weed. Weed, then asked if Snappy had seen the jewel in the Dwarf City Ceiling to which Snappy replied that he was never allowed inside a dwarf city. Another dead end. Weed offered any amount of fresh meat (not even meaty treat) to Snappy if he searched the nearby mountains for the next entire week and a dragon bone (which is supposed to be huge) if he found the moonstone. Upon hearing this offer Snappy sped up to the other mountains in search for the mystical moonstone. “Alak?” “Yes, Weed-nim?” “There are 1300 holes that I have dug here, so could you please re-check each of them?” “What! No! I don’t want to!” replied Alak. “I see, I might as well give up on this quest and look for the fairy pond. I bet Rodriguez will be furious with me.” “Weed-nim, you search elsewhere, I’ll check the holes you have already dug.” “Alak! That is an excellent idea!” Weed exclaimed. “You are brilliant!” The fairy happily fluttered around Weed, being praised felt nice. Saying that Weed rushed towards the foot of the mountain and screamed back to Alak, “I am going to search in the forest and risk my lives against wolves, you look up there where it is safer.” (Deceit skill – Beginner level 4 – 6%). Weed couldn’t hear what the fairy said but he was sure that the fairy was more than glad to agree. Weed decided to take a break from digging holes. He was sick of hunting foxes during the day and needed a break from everything to think more clearly. They weren’t much of a hunt to begin with. What he truly eyed were wolves, no level of fox loot compared to wolf loot. A single fox hide sold for a mere 3 copper where as a wolf hide went for as high as 10 copper. Weed using his stealth cloak, snuck up on a pack of wolves that had just caught dinner. In an instant he lashed out on the unprepared group of hungry wolves. His sword mastery was already level 5 and he dealt considerable damage with a single strike. There was nothing better than hunting, Weed thought, VR gaming’s raison d’être could be to satisfy the violent tendencies of men. The pack of peaceful wolves was butchered in seconds. Weed shook his sword to cleanse the glistening red blood on it. He had 6 days left to find the moonstone and his progress was nil. ‘Is this really a level D quest?’ Even the E level quest was very difficult given the time it required to complete and Weed’s low level. However the reward had been satisfactory in the case of returning Snappy back. Weed collected his loot and began to head back. He was staring at the eastern face of the mountain glow and he froze in his place. ‘The eastern side of a mountain, possibly where there is a river crossing by….It couldn’t be!’ Weed cursed his folly; he had forgotten to look for a place next to a river! This was the Northern Mountain range; all the maps indicated that the moonstone should have fallen around here yet there was no sight of any river nearby just forests everywhere. Weed took a moment to recollect the words of Rodriguez, ‘two cities….city of the northern mountain range….’ Weed ran back to the Lavias Library with Alak and began scanning through different sections: The history of Lavias, history of Air Kingdom, Topography, and history of changing topography. After several hours of speed reading (gained +1 wisdom), he finally found what he was looking for, the old entrance of the Dwarven City of the Northern Mountain Range. It was there next to which a mighty river flowed. Over time the river changed courses and what remained was a huge lake. Judging by the distance it would take at least 3 days to make the journey. Weed estimated, just the journey to and fro would take 6 days. That was the exactly the amount of time Weed had left. He wasn’t even sure if would have the time left to search for the moon stone. Weed cursed his idiocy bitterly; he felt as if his idiocy knew no bounds. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Authors Note: 1. Edited by Knaivvs. 2. Released early as part of celebration releases. Hope the chapters aren't too short! 3.  4. W is Weeds position at the Northern Mountain Range Pass and the un-named dot is the dwarven city's old entrance is located. 5. Small edit, all though I say pack of wolves were slaughtered here, it was a small group of 5-6. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Connect to Royal Road – Elementarem Vim next Chapter? | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Yes](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&t=346) | | [No](http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&t=348) | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------