The Crimson Quest: A LitRPG Adventure

by J. B. Smith

  “You have to calm down. Set it where your stamina and health are displayed at the bottom of your view. This way you can keep an eye on your stamina.

  Johnny stopped and did what I told him to do. Then I realized that I forgot to open my inventory. I had leveled and not even distributed my points to you . How could I have been a fool? I stopped and got straight to work. How did I want to use my experience points? I wanted to be stronger, for sure. If I was having trouble killing this little rat, I must have been quite weak. But, I also wanted to be who cker. I saw how fast Todd was and it looked really cool. After playing around with my points a bit, I finally made my choice.

  Note to the user: you have 4 points to distribute. Use your points wisely.

  Walker Williamson - Level 2

  Male Male - Warrior

  Statistics:

  HP: 12/12

  Endurance: 10

  Mana: 10

  Attributes:

  Strength: 3 (+2 added!)

  Persuasion: 2

  Intelligence: 1

  Willpower: 1

  Sneak: 2 (+1 added!)

  Agility: 2 (+1 added!)

  Skills:

  None yet

  Benefits:

  None yet

  Capacities:

  None yet

  The menu has disappeared. I had improved my agility, strength and stealth. My overall health had increased to 12? Okay, I guess you get 2 extra health every time you level up. But how was my health at 12/12 when I was bitten by the rat? “I am completely healed now. Does leveling up heal you? "

  "Probably. I've seen games do this before," Johnny replied.

  I jumped back and forth from side to side. Wow, I felt a little lighter. Agility was something I needed for sure. "Why are you dancing?" Johnny asked.

  "I do not dance. I'm just testing my improved agility. Am I looking at you faster? "

  "Maybe a little. You still seem pretty slow."

  I held my fist in the air. How much stronger was I? I looked at Johnny. "Can I hit you? I want to test my new strength . "

  Johnny looked offended. “I'm not your punching bag. I don't want you to hit me.

  "I was joking," I replied, laughing. "You can relax now."

  Johnny walked in front of me. "Let's find a quest."

  "This is what we do. Isn't there a list of quests or something like that?

  I opened up my inventory and menus but didn't see any sort of quest locator system. It was strange. How to find the quest? Guess we just had to ask around? We continued to walk for several minutes. “Wait,” I say. "Look over there."

  Not far away was a large medieval town with figures running around. "This is where everyone comes together."

  I started to run and Johnny followed me. My legs were pounding faster and faster as I kept an eye on my stamina bar. After many stopping and starting sessions, we had arrived in the village. It was beautiful. Hundreds of players ran around and wore all kinds of different types of armor. Many had swords, bows, and other weapons. “We can surely find a quest here,” I said.

  “And something to eat,” Johnny replied.

  A thin paved path led us into the village. The buildings had green tiled roofs and were made of beautiful beige cobblestones. Conversations filled the air as the figures entered and left the various stores. Suddenly , a little troll almost hit me. "Hi," he yelled as he walked past me.

  After that, an orc almost crashed into me. “Get the hell out of my way,” he cried as he rode a white wolf.

  Wow there were so many different characters and pets. It was so awesome. Suddenly a little elf jumped in front of me. “I can dance,” he cried. "If you look at me, you have to pay me."

  His badge appeared above his head:

  Samson the Elf - Level 14

  Elf

  The elf crossed his legs and did a wacky little dance. He had large ears and a small triangle-shaped head. To be honest, he looked like a scary little bat. He jumped up and down and clapped his hands. Honestly, her dancing sucked. “You saw the dance,” he said . "Now pay the starving artist."

  "Why?" I asked.

  “For my art. It was a work of art that you just witnessed.

  "No it wasn't," Johnny replied. "I'm actually trying to forget what I just saw."

  The elf became irritated. "Hey. You two are cheaters! I work as an artist for a living. It's my job here.

  “We're new,” I replied. "We just want to find a quest."

  The elf looked in all directions. "A quest? Are you looking for a quest?"

  "Yeah. How do I find them?"

  His pointed little finger motioned for me to close . "If it's gold your after, I can help you."

  "How? You were just asking us for gold, now are you going to give us some?

  "Let me explain," he replied. "Come to my place. It's too noisy in here.

  We followed the elf to one of the smallest hospices in the village. "This is it," he said. "That's good, isn't it?"

  I looked closely at the door. There were shards peeling it off. When he opened it, there was a creak as the wood collapsed. Then there was a loud noise as the elf slammed the door behind us. I quickly understood why the door was like this. I looked around the house while the elf was busy lighting a candle. Slowly the light grew inside the house until I could see everything with clarity. There were paintings hanging on the wall everywhere. But what was strange was that they were just paintings of himself .

  My head turned and I saw another painting of him. I looked the other way and it was there. Another painting of her creepy little face. After that, the next painting I saw was even more bizarre. It was a painting of him eating a banana. W ACI. Who has a painting of himself eating a banana? And why would you hang it in your home? I continued to scan the area and saw more paintings of him. They were everywhere! He must have had over two dozen paintings of himself. “It's a nice collection that you have here,” I said awkwardly.

  "Do you sit all day and paint pictures of yourself?" Johnny asked.

  "Each piece is original," replied the elf, pointing to the painting above his bed.

  By changing the subject, I tried to get back to work. "So what about this gold?"

  The elf raised his voice. “I'm about to tell you about it. But first, I wanted to tell you that I have a special event for today only. Three paintings for the price of one. The offer will not last long . That I can assure you.

  "Well," Johnny mumbled. "How much is the one of you who blows bubbles under a giant mushroom?" I kinda like that one in a weird way.

  "What?" I asked with surprise. “Back to gold. This is what is important to her .

  The elf rushed over to the painting and pulled it off the wall. "Here," he cried in panic. "Put him in your arms," he said, pushing him towards Johnny.

  Johnny held the board and looked at it. "Where can I find a bubble blower?" h e asked with a tone slow.

  "It will be four pieces of gold," asked the elf.

  “Four gold coins? But I don't have any gold.

  The elves' squinty little eyes grew larger. “How dare you waste an artist's time. Do you know how much people pay for my time? "

  Johnny tried to suppress a smile, but he couldn't. The elf was not smiling. In fact, he was getting quite upset. Was he really that delusional? I guess he was. Before Johnny could say anything else that might anger the elf, I interrupted him. “Your art is beautiful,” I said. “But the truth is, we can't afford it. Your art is reserved for the rich. We cannot afford such talent.

  A shy look came to his face. “Not everyone can afford the finer things in life,” he said with nervous hands. “Once you've earned your gold, you can come back and buy it. The deal will always be good. I promise."

  Come back to waste my gold on those hideous paintings of his warped little face? I do not think so. But, I wouldn't let the elf know that. “It will give me something to look forward to. An additional motivation to obtain this gold. Thank you for this offer. "

  The elf lowered his h
ead as I asked him about the quest. “So what are the details of this quest?”

  The elf put his hands behind his back. “This situation is very personal for me. I have been betrayed and I must take revenge.

  "Betrayed by whom?"

  “My cousin,” he replied . "My cousin in the outside world."

  "What did he do to you?" Johnny asked.

  “Sit down at the table. It will take a while to explain. "

  In the center of the room was a small yellow table. On top of the table was a bowl of weird bi scuits . I sat down and Johnny did the same. "Can I have a muffin?" Johnny asked. “Please, I'm so hungry. You have no idea how hungry I am.

  The elf looked like he didn't want to share. I could see it in his greedy little eyes. “These are my homemade cookies . This is the last of my lot, ”he said with a hiss. "Then take one."

  Johnny grabbed a cookie and took a big bite. There was a pop. "What's the shit?" This stuff is hard as a rock.

  Then Johnny felt his front tooth. “I think part of my tooth has fallen out. It seems you - it normal?

  Johnny opened his mouth wide as I tried to examine him. He was right. A small piece was missing on his right front tooth. It wasn't anything major, but it was chipped for sure. “You might need to see a dentist,” I said.

  "A dentist? But I don't like these guys. Does that make me ugly? Maybe I would like to meet some girls here.

  The elf slammed both hands on the table. "You should have nibbled it," he said with a roar. “These cookies are made for snacking. I angered them like this for the sole purpose of not overeating. It's a survival tactic that I invented.

  "Do you make hard cookies to survive?" It doesn't sound like a good life, ”Johnny replied.

  "I'm sure your tooth will be fine," I replied with quick words. “Please, let's start this quest. Okay?"

  Johnny munched on the cookie while desperately trying to eat some more. I was hungry, but not enough to try one of his crappy bi scuits. Johnny finished his hard cookie while the elf remained silent. The elf seemed to have a strange kind of pleasure in not telling us what to do. To be honest, it was starting to piss me off. If he had a job for us, he needed to tell us what it was. It was time to throw a curve ball at him. “Forget it,” I said, standing up.

  "What? What do you mean?" asked the elf.

  "We are leaving. Tell us what to do, or we will leave."

  “Fine. My cousin isn't far from here. After stealing my gold, he moved to a small cave.

  "Why would he move to a cave?"

  “He thinks no one will disturb him there. The cave is small and has no valuables. For this reason, no one explores it anymore. It's just an empty space in the game. ”

  "How that little issue of yours va- she pay?"

  “Seven gold coins. Two for you, two for your friend and three for me.

  "Why three for you?"

  “This is the deal. You didn't pay for my dance when you should have. That's why I get the extra gold coin.

  I rolled my eyes. "Fine. How do we get there?"

  "I'll send you a friend request," he replied.

  Within seconds, a message appeared in front of me:

  Friends request

  Samson The Elf wants to add you as a friend. I accept? Yes No?

  I quickly accepted his request. “Okay, I accepted it. Now what?"

  A strange look came to the elf's face. “I created a detailed map. That way, I'll never forget where he lives. I waited a long time for him to get my gold back.

  "Why didn't you get it yourself?" Johnny asked.

  “He knows what I look like. It would be stupid to try to get it myself. It is an outside job. "

  "Do you have any weapons for us?" I asked.

  The elf laughs. “Your weapons would be of no use to you. It's a stealth mission. Only the most devious will survive. "

  “Our stealth skill is the lowest it can be,” Johnny replied.

  “It doesn't worry me. I have the information you need. See, there's a brief window of opportunity. You would never know without me of course. See? See how smart I am?

  "And that window of opportunity would be?"

  A slowly growing smile appeared on the elf's face. “Very soon. See, he can't resist a few drinks. He must have a buzz to numb his depression. He has depression. It's part of the reason he lives in the cave.

  "So when is he going to get drunk?" At what time exactly? "

  “He's very predictable. I've been watching it for weeks now. As soon as the sun goes down, he leaves his cave. It's like a clock. "

  "It's kinda scary that you're still looking at him," Johnny replied.

  "Give me the card," I say with one hand. "So we go in there and get the gold?" So what?

  “You give me my share. That's what."

  Give him his share? Sometimes I almost forgot it was a game. In a normal console game, I might be tempted to steal its part. But, it just seemed wrong in this world. It just seemed too real. "So we just brought him back here?"

  The elf laughs. "Do you really think I'm that stupid?" Of course not. I will be there. Not detected of course. My stealth skills are pretty good. "

  Follow us? Damn, that little quest was hardly worth it. In fact, I almost regretted having met this elf in the first place. Surely the official NPC-type quest has to be better than this? Still, I decided to follow the elf just because I was in desperate need of getting my first gold coins. "So are you coming with us?"

  He waved his hand in the air. “I'll be there and watch. Just go. I will wait for you outside his cave at my usual place.

  I looked at the map. It was shit. There were scribbles and all kinds of garbage that made it hard to read. "Just show us where his cave is," I said.

  "I can not. I am busy at the moment. Are your map reading skills poor? "

  “Well, you've just got a line to a big tree. Me me , there are thousands of trees. How am I supposed to know which tree it is? "

  The elf rolled his eyes. “You have to use your imagination. If you take a closer look you will see that it is a very large tree. And look here, ”he said with a shaking finger. “They are golden balls. The tree has golden balls on it.

  "Okay. So where is this tree?

  "You have no sense of adventure, do you?" he asked with slanted eyes. “You just have to leave the entrance to the village and take a left. Walk about a thousand feet and you will see the tree. My cousin's cave is under the tree stump. Are you happy?"

  "Yes," I replied, heading for the door. “Let's go Johnny.

  Suddenly I stopped. "Wait. Where's his hidden gold?

  “Under his bed. He dug a hole about three feet deep.

  "Three feet? Aren't we going to need a shovel?

  “The dirt will be soft. He checks his gold every day.

  I rolled my eyes and hoped I wasn't going to regret taking this quest. Johnny and I left the elf's house and quickly left the village.

  Chapter ten

  "That ugly little elf was pretty boring," Johnny said.

  “I know. He was weird too,” I replied. “I think he really believes he's an elf now . For example, he has to live in the game full time.

  I stopped walking. Maybe it was an elf? Maybe he had been here so long that he actually believed he was a real elf? It seemed so strange to consider that some players were actually living a "second life" in the gaming world. I could see how this could happen . I even had times when I got lost and forgot about the outside world. I guess if you spent enough time here it could happen to anyone. My feet kept moving but I haven't seen the tree yet.

  "Two hundred and four feet," Johnny muttered.

  "You count?"

  "Yeah. He said about a thousand feet. Remember?"

  “Good idea,” I replied.

  We kept walking until we saw him. The tree was absolutely massive. Easily a few hundred meters high. It wasn't the height that was so impressive, it was the width. It must have been almost a hundred feet wide. On top of that, there were huge golden balls
. Below, there was a black hole. "We have to go?" Johnny asked.

  "Yes. But first, we have to wait for him to leave.

  I looked up at the sky. It wouldn't be long before sunset. "Don't we need to hide?" Johnny asked.

  “Let's sit at the top of the c ave. This is the best place.

  "It makes me a little nervous."