by Dakota Krout
Instead, he walked to the coffee shop and added his name to the growing list of people that were requesting the fragrant drink, then took his seat and pulled out his puzzle cube. Might as well get a jump on the day. Joe decided where he wanted to start, waited for his coffee, then downed it and got to puzzling. People around him came and went, but he didn’t notice, too enthralled by the cube in front of him. An hour and forty-five minutes later, the sun was in the sky, and he was finished for the day.
Characteristic point training completed! +1 to intelligence, wisdom, perception, and dexterity! These stats cannot be increased further by any means other than system rewards, study, or practice for twenty-four hours game time.
Name: Joe ‘Tatum’s Chosen Legend’ Class: Mage (Actual: Rituarchitect)
Profession: Tenured Scholar (Actual: Arcanologist)
Character Level: 15 Exp: 125,993 Exp to next level: 10,007
Rituarchitect Level: 2 Exp: 2,290 Exp to next level: 710
Hit Points: 230/230
Mana: 963/963
Mana regen: 23.65/sec (Base 20.57/sec increased by gear)
Stamina: 200
Characteristic: Raw score (Modifier)
Strength: 22 (1.22)
Dexterity: 33 (1.33)
Constitution: 28 (1.28)
Intelligence: 74 (2.24)
Wisdom: 68 (2.18)
Charisma: 26 (1.26)
Perception: 53 (2.03)
Luck: 30 (1.30)
Karmic Luck: +3
Joe took a deep breath and let out a satisfied sigh. That was good stuff. “Here I go!”
He stood up and brushed off his new robe, then pulled his Mystic Theurge staff out of his ring and used it as a walking stick as he walked over to find his group. They needed to get a move on, daylight was burning! He found them in the usual places, training, crafting, and in Jaxon’s case, a small stall that was offering buffs to passerby. Joe shook his head at the hand-painted sign, which featured sad-faced people crawling in, then walking out with smiles. They all joined together, and Joe laid out his plan.
“Here is what I found, guys. It isn't much, but it’ll give us a starting point.” Joe pulled out the only map he had been able to purchase, a sketchy drawing that he was pretty sure was of this continent. “Take a look at this. Here we are, about thirty miles north of Ardania. Here is Ardania. Here is the edge of the continent. If we continue north for about a hundred miles, we get to the northern edge. If we go south of Ardania, we have about two hundred miles until the edge.”
“Now, as you get closer to the edges, the monsters get stronger.” Joe waffled his hand back and forth. “At least that is what the guy who sold me this thinks. The point is, I found mention that there used to be people that could encourage plants to grow in any season. They could have been druids or the like, but from the book, I think they were Elves. We know for a fact that there are no Elves on this continent anymore, but if there was going to be a place with a greenhouse or similar technology, I think that is the spot to look, right… here. South and west of Ardania by about one hundred and thirty miles. It’ll be fun!”
“One question,” Alexis offered as soon as he finished speaking.
“Shoot.”
“When did you do this research? Yesterday?” She stared him down, and Joe began to sweat. “You didn't just buy the first gear you found and then go gallivanting off to the library, right? That would be… irresponsible.”
“I got the best gear that I could from the most trustworthy source I know.” Joe coughed into his hand and looked at anyone but Alexis. “Any other questions?”
“Are you Joe, the Chosen of Tatum?” a new voice asked him. Joe started to turn to answer the person asking and felt an impact on his Exquisite Shell. “Divine Shell, huh?”
Joe shouted an inarticulate cry that alerted his team, and the man that had just tried to assassinate him glowered. “Oh, I think not. I challenge you to a Duel of the Chosen!”
Duel of the Chosen instance initiated! You have been challenged by the chosen of ??? There is no way to refuse this duel, and no outside source can help or hinder either of you! Good luck, and fight well for your deity! Success: progress toward quest ‘No, I’m right!’ 100 favor points from your deity, 1000 divine energy for your deity! Failure: loss of 100 favor points from your deity, 1000 divine energy lost by your deity!
“What in the…?” Joe looked around, seeing that he was still in the same spot but that there were no other people present. Except, probably, the person that had challenged him to a duel. Joe was in a bad position; he had no anti-personnel rituals, no spell scrolls that would be useful here, and he had no idea what this other fighter would be capable of doing.
*Ting*. Joe felt an impact on his back and turned to find a wetly glistening dagger scraping against his shell and slowly sinking closer to him. He jumped back a few feet, crossing the distance like he was teleporting, thanks to his Master Jump skill. He couldn't let himself get pinned down; slow moving weapons sinking into his flesh would kill him just as much as fast moving weapons.
“You are slow and weak!” The mocking voice reached Joe’s ears. “You serve a weak, pathetic deity, and I'm going to hunt you until he vanishes from the world!”
“Woo, you sure are driving the bus to crazy town, buddy,” Joe called back, looking at the man that was still standing casually in front of him. “You realize that isn't a thing, right? That you’re in a new world, sure, but also a game world?”
“Just die and let me collect my favor.” The response was annoyed, no longer as if a role-player was getting his kicks. The man dashed forward, throwing knives at Joe’s face to try and distract him. Joe ignored the blades, fully focused on the shadows he had been wrapping around the unknown man’s ankles. Just one… more… second.
“Solidified Shadows!” Joe focused the mana through his Mystic Theurge staff and let the manacles he had created become tangible. The other guy tripped instantly, slamming to the ground and letting out an *oof* as the wind was knocked out of him. He rolled forward and sprang up, a mace in his hand that he whacked Joe across the face with before smashing the shadows around his legs. Joe reeled, the force of the blow forcing him to take a few steps backward. “How did you even know where to come after me?”
“You have a bounty!” the man informed him. “You keep showing up at the main temple and going toward the evil side of the place before vanishing for a few seconds, coming back, then turning around and leaving! We know you are whisked away by some dark power that is hiding your real affiliation! I’m only the first of the people that are going to try collecting! That I can grind some favor is only a fringe benefit! Down with the Dark Gods!”
A bottle was tossed at Joe, and in an instant, he was surrounded by blazing light that he couldn’t see through. Was it a flashbang of some kind with an extra-long flash? Just before he was sent flying, Joe heard the words, “Holy Smite!”
He landed on the ground and bounced, his shield at a critical level. Joe got up, ready to end this guy. Enough was enough! “Acid Spray!”
Once more, power ran through his staff and changed forms, this time to a potent acid. He had caught the man running at him full in the face, and Joe decided to channel this spell! He could only cast a single spell at a time while using the staff, so it stood to reason that he kept hosing this creep down!
“My robe!” The man sputtered as his outer layer of clothing fell apart. “You jerk! For Ra-torian! Holy Smite!”
Joe was rocked back, tumbling across the ground again. This time, his shell shattered, and he took damage.
Holy Smite deals 300 light damage! 262 damage absorbed by Exquisite Shell! Hp -38 !
Joe popped back to his feet and whipped his staff around. This guy wanted to play with light? Fine! Joe started grabbing the shadows and spinning them into a whirling concertina wire. He stared at the other man, who had fallen to his knees and was just now struggling to his feet. Joe almost felt bad for the guy; the acid had done a number on his…
everything. That was fine though, and Joe had needed a solid ten seconds to get the wire how he wanted it anyway.
He sent the darkness after his opponent, only at the last second activating Solidified Shadows and shredding the man into meat paste. Joe coughed and looked down, finding three daggers embedded in his chest. When had he thrown…?
Duel of the Chosen complete!
You have earned progress toward the ongoing quest: ‘No, I’m right!’ You have defeated your first opponent! Success! You gain 100 reputation points from your deity and 1000 divine energy for your deity!
You have died! Calculating… PvP, Chosen Duel, no experience lost. You will be respawned at your bind point in one hour!
Chapter Thirteen
Joe was furious about the interruption but had nothing to do and so used the short amount of time that he had remaining until respawn researching what was happening out in the ‘real world’. While most of the news centers were slowly going off-air, especially since they were mainly coastal broadcasting stations, there were plenty of people streaming from their phones.
It looked like a nightmare come to life, and there didn't seem to be much anyone could do to stop what was happening. Bullets dealt some damage, but unless it was a perfect shot or really high caliber, not much happened at all to the monster getting shot. Not many people that were standing their ground were surviving for very long. High-powered weapons were hard to get ahold of. The government was gone, so there were no bombs, tanks, or missiles hitting. That was actually for the best most likely, as the issue was so widespread that there would have been as much loss of life and property damage from friendly fire either way.
The portal opened for Joe, and he stepped through and into the Pathfinder’s Hall. He walked around and found his people again, then explained what had happened. “It’s fine. It just seems to be something that’s going to be happening from now on. Listen, it’ll be easier for me if we got moving. The fewer people that know where I am at any given time would be lovely. Anyone need anything? No? Great.”
They all went to the Temple section of the Pathfinder’s Hall and teleported as far south as possible: Ardania. Joe felt sick looking around. The entire place was stuffed, and more people were arriving every second. “Quick, let’s get out of here!”
Exiting the continuously growing crowd was not easy, and there was far more pushing and shoving than Joe wanted to use. He stood behind Bard, using the Skald as a tank that slowly drove the crowd. At one point, Joe heard a yelp, and Alexis suddenly was sporting a nasty smile. “Some thief just learned that it's a bad idea to pick my pocket. There was a nasty pain poison in there that will also turn his hand red for a few days.”
Joe needed to stop in the shopping district to grab as many glass panes as had been completed, then they simply continued through the city on the main road until they came out the southern gates. Joe had never been this way before, or this far, and it took a little while to realize how truly massive this city was. Twenty-five million permanent residents had not made this a small space, and being a self-sustaining city meant that there were crops and places for animals to graze as well. The size and scope of the wall that surrounded the entire city made Joe's head spin.
They had already been traveling for hours by the time the southern gate came into view, and they were ready to abandon the city and get some fresh air and elbow room. They passed into the wildlands that were south of Ardania, and all of a sudden, there was practically no one around them. Most of the newbies were far too scared to go out and about, and none of them had signed up to be torn apart by monsters. In fact, they were specifically running from that. Joe’s group started making good time at that point, and they were able to follow a basic dirt road that seemed to align with their destination pretty well.
“Joe!” Poppy startled the party leader out of his thoughts and pointed at a small building that was just off the path. “Is that one of those fast-travel points that you can use?”
The Rituarchitect took a closer look, and sure enough, there was a shrine next to the road. Like most of the other ones that he had seen to this point, the shrine was eroded and faded. Whatever it had once been dedicated to could be a fun debate, but Joe decided that he would rather just take it for himself and Tatum. “Thanks, Poppy! You guys want a break really quick?”
“Sounds nice to me!” Jaxon gave Joe a thumbs-up and started doing seemingly impossible stretches on the ground next to the shrine. The others sat just out of view and pulled out some food for a makeshift lunch.
Joe walked over to the shrine and put his hand on the small altar.
You have found an unguarded shrine! As you are not currently under attack, you have the option to rededicate this shrine to your deity. Would you like to do so now? Yes / No
After saying yes, the heavily eroded shrine simply collapsed inward as Joe’s mana washed outward. More and more mana fell off, and Joe struggled to keep upright as the shrine sank away and was replaced by a small building; the patchwork roof turned into a stone book placed upside down, and the walls became books placed open and upright. All in all, a proper rest stop.
You have earned a reward from the continuous quest: Reclamation of the Lost. After making a new shrine for Tatum, you have been blessed! You have gained: +1 strength.
Quest update: Reclamation of the Lost: Daily Divine Energy generation has increased by 100!
“Looking good!” Alexis called over as the sun hit the white marble of the new shrine.
“Thanks!” Joe called back distractedly. He had his eyes closed and was listening for the nagging sensation that usually accompanied finding a waypoint. Something else was ringing in his ears though, and it stayed as constant as tinnitus. What was that? Joe focused in on it and suddenly realized that the entire shrine had a single note of music continuously coming off of it.
Skill increased: Magical Synesthesia (Novice II). Realizing the directional angle of this skill was the important first step toward mastery! Or did you just so happen to look in the direction after hearing the sound?
“I suppose it makes sense that this is a magical building.” Joe stared at the shrine and decided to look in all the standard places. He followed all the lines and checked each crevice. He only found the bind point after he almost gave up, then followed a hunch and pressed his finger into a page on the ceiling. He lost a point of health and a drop of blood, but a white ring of energy seemed to expand outward for about ten paces, and Joe knew that he had found what he was looking for. “Excellent.”
“Hey, guys!” Joe called to the others. “Looks like we can make a trail of these and use them for fast travel if we can keep finding and converting them, so keep an eye out!”
“So, we could sleep every night in the guild and then just resume our trip in the morning?” Alexis perked up considerably at this happy news. “It shall be my first priority, party leader!”
Joe rolled his eyes even as Bard chuckled. Maybe being in a relationship made odd comments like that seem funny? Joe also decided not to mention the fact that if he had enough shrines, his deity would get unlocked in the future. They didn’t need to know. “At least we won't need to go into Ardania if we don't want to.”
The others pulled faces at the thought of going back there, and they decided to get on the road again. After they had been walking for another half hour, they found a large camp of people. The strangest thing was that they were this far out into the wildlands, and most of them were still level one and weaponless. Joe was concerned, but the people seemed happy enough. He went over to one of the people and asked where they were going. The man looked at him blankly, then took in his garb, weapon, and the similar state of the people with Joe.
“Oh! Hey there, I thought you had just gotten separated from us.” The man smiled cheerfully and waved at Joe as he got closer. “We’re going to our guild’s area. There are so many people coming in with non-combat classes that some guilds are starting various divisions. We are going to be a part of the farming di
vision. Plenty of work, food, shelter, protection from monsters.”
“What do you get out of doing the work? I assume you are going to be feeding the guild?” Joe looked at the man quizzically.
“What do you mean?” The farmer seemed confused, then angry. “I just told you. Food, shelter, protection from monsters.”
“You’re willingly going off to be a serf in a feudalistic system?” Joe bluntly asked the guy. “For how long?”
“Until I can go back to my house in Iowa, dude.” The soon-to-be farmer started to walk away, fists clenched. “Leave me alone.”
Joe was flabbergasted. He had no idea how someone could so willingly and cheerfully… just give up? Did he even look into the guild that he had joined? Looked at options? Then he remembered that there were so many people joining right now that there was no realistic way for them to make demands of potential employers. With such a huge workforce arriving, there would always be someone else that would take any job—no questions asked. Joe was suddenly afraid for the future of this continent. Guilds would still be subject to the crown but would likely be making their own little kingdoms all over the place.
“Let’s… let’s get out of here, guys.” Joe started walking past the giant camp full of refugees, only just now realizing that almost everyone that had come from Earth suddenly fit into that horrific category. He needed to do something, something that would help them all. All of humanity. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It would be a long journey.
They had gotten about a half mile away from the camp when Alexis suddenly spoke up, “Joe, I’m seeing a… is that a pride of lions? Are we in a different biome than our area or something? Anyway, I think they are going after that camp. Should we go after them?”
“Not even a question.” Joe flicked his eyes in the direction she was indicating, only seeing long grass swaying against the wind from this distance. “Anything will tear through that group of level ones, and even if they have people that are guarding them, they can’t be everywhere. Let’s go.”