by Rick Scar
Class requirements: Rogue.”
RAVen wasn’t an experienced gamer, but he knew, this kind of weapon didn’t belong in a starting location for the first to fifth level players. There was a quality gradation to items and weapons: Bronze, Silver, Gold, Diamond, and, best of all—Epic. With every new rank, one could get a better weapon set of the same level.
“What kind of weapon is this? Who can afford this?”
He decided to keep looking and regretted about it—everything was level 30+.
“That’s odd.”
Will left, without saying goodbye. Outside, he noticed a bulletin board which, he thought, wouldn’t hurt to look at. He had a bad feeling about it.
“Posted by: Milli’s Armory.
Hunt Armored Tigers and bring their skins.
Reward: 4 gold a piece.”
“Posted by: Groggy Dick’s Tavern.
Gather Dawn Brew Flowers in north-eastern part of the Woods.
Reward: If you are lucky to return from there alive, we will pay 7 gold per flower.
Important! Raw flowers are deadly! Do not eat those.”
The board was full of suchlike announcements with incredibly generous rewards.
“What the heck is going on? Let’s see… How are we doing on rodents here? This should be a concern in a village, right?”
“Posted by: Oldak.
Exterminate the rats infesting the local warehouse.
Reward: 2 gold each.”
“This must be what the developers were bragging about—a unique gaming process. Stronger monsters for the starting locations; what else could such generous rewards mean?” with these thoughts, RAVen tore the announcement off the board.
“Quest accepted: Rat Slayer.
Go see Oldak, to find out more about the rat problem.
Reward: 50 XP.”
The warehouse was on the outskirts of the village. It was huge, and looked condemned. Entering it before learning more about its inhabitants was probably not the best idea.
“Excuse me, where do I find Oldak?” An old lady, RAVen was talking to, looked at him closely,
“Hitting the bottle somewhere. Not a day sober, since those wretched rats took his warehouse.”
“Since when exactly, you say?”
“Three days ago or so.”
“Thank you.”
It took RAVen some wandering about to find the only tavern in the village. It was a bit dark inside, but when the eyes adjusted, the young man located Oldak and walked right up to him.
“Hey there, mister Oldak.”
The man struggled with his drunken eyes that refused to focus on Will for some time and then replied,
“Who might you be, boy? Haven’t seen you in Skiavra before.”
“The name is White RAVen, and I’m here to take care of your rat problem. I was hoping you could help me by telling what I may need to know, like how many are there, their weaknesses, what do they afraid of, where do they come from—anything you can share.”
“Ah, the rats! Finally, someone brave enough to help poor Oldak.” Sobering up a little, he started talking,
“They came three nights ago. I was at home, and I heard some rumbling in the warehouse, so I went to see what the heck it was. I opened the door, and that’s when I saw them. Four or five of those monsters; it looked like they were looking for something, tearing the boxes and barrels with their awful claws. I barely made it out of there, thank Gods they didn’t follow me. I don’t know about their weaknesses, but the unholy must be dealt with using holy magic, I suppose. The problem is, there’s not a single priest in the village.”
“Task complete: Oldak’s Story.
Reward: 50 XP.
Clear the warehouse of the rats. Bring their skulls as a proof.
Reward:
+10000 XP
+2 gold
Additional task: find out what the rats were looking for.
Reward: ???”
“So, you really want to help me get rid of those rats?”
“I think, I do…” said the young man trying to hide the lack of confidence in his voice.
“You don’t look very tough to me,” said Oldak looking at Will from head to toe, “I’ve seen those things, they are strong, they won’t go down easy.”
“Brain’s over brawn, good sir. I’ll figure something out. I don’t mean to be impudent, but can I borrow your sword? My gear was damaged, that’s why I needed the money in the first place. I’ll give it back when I’m finished, I promise.”
“Hmm… Not sure if it’ll be of any help, but, here,” said Oldak and drew the short sword that was dangling around his hip.
“I need my warehouse back, you hear me?”
“I’ll do my best. One more question though. Where can I purchase some skill books?”
“Down that street, there’s a wooded sign in the shape of an open book, you won’t miss it.”
“Thank you, I think I got all I need now.”
“Short Hunting Sword (Bronze).
Damage: 10-13
+2% Chance to cause the target to bleed over 10 seconds
Requirements: 11 Strength, 12 Agility.
Class requirements: Melee class.
“Perfect. Turns out there are lousy weapons in this location…Maybe the books won’t cost that much after all.”
Will found the place no problem. Unlike the tavern, the place was bright and cozy, and it looked like a decent place in general. A raw-boned old man, with the glasses slipping down his nose, showed out of nowhere. His piercing, I-can-see-right-through-you type of look was pointed at Will.
“What can I help you with, messenger of Gods?”
“Good day t- I’m sorry, what did you call me just now?”
“Messenger of Gods,” repeated the old man and continued, as confusion was retouching Wills face, “The ring on your finger. The infinity symbol. The sign of that the gates will soon be opened.”
“Um…”
“What? Don’t you know what you are wearing on your own finger?” the old man looked at him suspiciously waiting for an answer.
Indeed, Will never thought of how NPCs perceived the players. To the best of his knowledge, in other games the AI just ignored the difference between PCs and NPCs.
“Well, you see, I just recently woke up in the woods, and I don’t really remember how or why I got there. So, you know… I don’t have any recollections about this ring either.”
“Good heavens! Why do all them messengers have to be slow-witted!”
RAVen’s nostrils flared.
“They told me, I’ll be back to normal soon. How about you tell me what you know about the ring?”
“Everyone on this Floor knows that. I guess, on other Floors too. The old prophecy says that the messengers from Heavens will come to this world, and they will open the gates to undo the harm done to this world; they will be marked with a symbol,” the old man drew the infinity symbol in the air with his finger. “They will be reborn into this world over and over until they fulfill their destiny.”
“Right! Now I remember… Destiny and stuff. But, before I go save the world, I need to get my pump on, if you know what I mean. I was told you had skill books I could buy. I would like to see what you have.”
“You really are slow-witted, aren’t you?” the old man shook his head, making Will want to smack him in his wrinkled face, “Wait here.”
He went in the back, and came out two minutes later, holding a small book in his hand.
“In this catalogue you will find what you’re looking for. Here you go,” without letting go of the book, when Will grabbed the other end of it, he added, “Hope you remember how to read.”
“Thank you,” said Will, containing his rage. “Alright, let’s see. Warrior, Monk, Druid, Vampire… Ah! Here it is, Rogue. Wow, there are so many skills, and each costs a fortune! All I need is Stealth now…”
The young man was muttering, as he followed the lines with his finger, “Bingo!”
“Skill Book: Invisibility.
Active skill (Apprentice).
Makes you invisible. The effect ends if you are attacked.
Energy required: 20
Duration: 30 seconds
Cooldown: 7 seconds
Class requirements: Rogue, Thief, Ghost Demon.”
“What do they want for it?” muttered Will again, “One and a half gold!? It’s insane! It shouldn’t cost that much!”
Seeing how one gold coin was worth a hundred silver coins, and one silver coin, in turn, was equal to a hundred copper coins, Will’s frustration was understandable. He knew that a skill like that in any other game would cost six copper coins tops! He read way too many guides for various classes to have any doubts here—this skill is essential to his class. He was looking angrily at the book before him, because his hopes had come to nothing.
“What kind of loan shark Floor is this?” sighed Will sorrowfully.
Having gathered the information, and what remotely resembled a weapon, he headed back to the warehouse.
Chapter 5. Patience is the name of the game
There he was, staring at it. No, it was no rat, it was a monster! Five feet tall, hollow eyes with purple haze glowing around them, dagger-like fangs, yellow ribs sticking through its rotten flesh—the scene was as frightening as it was disgusting. That thing was definitely not a low level monster, which meant Will was not on a lower Floor. +10000 XP seemed appropriate for this kind of abomination, but fighting it with bare hands, having no skills or armor, seemed rather stupid.
“Unique gaming experience, my rear end,” thought Will, “It must have something to do with that error…”
He could have asked administrators to have him sent to a lower Floor, or he could try and hack it out here on his own keeping in mind that “…a player being level 1 could kill a level 50 or level 100 enemy.”
He examined the room and the monster in it through the opened door.
“Cursed Rat: level 46.
Health: 5100.”
“How is this possible?! I’ll be poking it with my toothpick for a week! Maybe I just make enough money to buy a bow, running simpler errands, then take a higher ground, where it can never get to me and attack? Maybe search for an exploit? Except I won’t be able to do this from inside—this thing’s aggro range must be around 50 feet, which is the distance from the center to the door. Stealth won’t help either. I’d better go see if there are windows in this warehouse.”
RAVen went around the building, but it was useless—the warehouse was windowless.
“That would be too easy,” said he, and went back to the entrance to take another look at what was going on inside. This time, he noticed an unusual construction under the ceiling near the back wall. It looked like a room, but he couldn’t understand why someone would build a room with no doors or stairs leading to it in such a weird place. The roof could be the only place leading inside that room…
Will knew that if monsters this tough were in the village, going outside the village was just reckless. So, instead of wasting his time, he thought he would do what all newbies that can’t grind mobs do—become an errand boy. But first…
The carpenter’s ladder built in a hurry didn’t seem sturdy at all. Nonetheless, Will thought he would give it a try—the fall wasn’t going to be lethal anyway. He spent twenty minutes atop of twenty three foot high warehouse looking for a hatch, but could find nothing. Seeing no other options, he decided to stick with the plan.
This was incredibly hard, RAVen was exhausted. He was doing small quests for ten hours, and that got him only twenty four silver. He was definitely on the wrong Floor. Based on simple logic—the higher the Floor, the tougher the monsters—he figured he was on the seventh or eighth Floor. Thus, the first three Floors must have had monsters below level 30; the fourth, fifth, and sixth Floors would have been crawling with monsters below level 65 or so. This was, of course, a rough assumption, but there was no way to know for sure.
Will felt like taking a break and grabbing something to eat. He opened the capsule door and rubbed his temples. Then he got out, and went to the kitchen to make himself a sandwich. While eating, he checked forums to see if anyone had posted anything interesting, but nothing worth reading came up. When he opened his email box, there was a message from Pak.
“Sup, Will! Hope you’re already playing the Ascension, just like the rest of the world. Have you seen those trailers? Anyway, just wanted to let you know that our entire clan has moved from the Gates of Darkness to Ascension, so, if you’re interested, join us. We are the SoulCrushers. Talk soon.”
Will felt he was lucky to be friends with such a guy. Pak was a good person—trustworthy, open, and sincere. He was a weirdo, but no sell out.
This was where it struck him. He could get skill books via the in-game mail system! Since it could be used to communicate between the Floors, Will could make arrangements with Pak and get stuff from him on the cheap.
“Hey, Terror =D. Thanks for the invitation, but I was going to play solo, if you recall. I’ll let you know if I’m up to something big. My nickname is White RAVen. Which Floor is your clan on, by the way?”
Will hit send and looked at the clock. It was nine in the evening, and he thought it was early enough to play a little more. In the following three hours, he made ten silver coins, after which he logged off and went to bed. The regimen was important, and he didn’t want to go too hard on himself.
“Tomorrow is another day, maybe it won’t seem so bad tomorrow,” thought Will.
He could not be more wrong…
Getting paid in peanuts for cleaning backyards, working the land, delivering mail, searching for lost cats (or dogs, or hares, or bears), keeping an eye on someone’s cattle, picking fruits, helping an old lady (or a boy, or a blacksmith, or every single one of them) was insanely difficult! This adaptive virtual reality was full of those small quests. It was a dirty job, but someone had to do it, and that someone was keeping his eyes on the prize.
Will was in the middle of yet another moral strength test—helping a hunter to skin animal carcasses—when he got a message,
“Player Light Terror sent you a friend request.”
Confirm.
Another message followed, “Wow! Is this name super cool or what! I love it!
We are based on the second Floor right now, but we have branches on the first and third Floors. Which one are you on?”
Will was hesitant to reveal the whole truth regarding his whereabouts,
“Glad you liked it. I’m on the third right now. Listen, I have a favor to ask. Do you guys have any skill books for the Rogue I could buy? I need Stealth and some other active skills. I’d be grateful if you could send me a couple. I’m really low on cash though, but I’ll pay you back as soon as I can. I always pay my debts, you can rely on that.”
He sent the message and continued his work. Twenty minutes later, three books came in the mail: one for Stealth, one for another active skill, and the third for a passive skill.
“Well, that was fast!”
“Skill Book: Underhand Blow.
Active skill (Apprentice).
Damage dealt to the target off-guard is increased by 20%.
Energy required: 30
Cooldown: 20 seconds
Class requirements: Rogue.”
“Skill Book: Gunman.
Passive skill (Apprentice).
Increased firearm mastery level.
+2 Fire rate
+2 Fire range
+1 Level neglect when using firearms
Class requirements: none.”
Will learned the skills and read the message that came with the books,
“Here, these set me back two silver. It ain’t cheap, but consider it a gift. Let me know if you need anything else.”
“Two silver?! For crying out loud, what Floor am I on?” thought Will, “I can get everything I need at reasonable prices from Pak now, can’t I?”
He wrote Pak right b
ack asking him to get a crossbow, a dagger, and some other goods under thirty silver. Having sent the money (including what he owed for the books), Will had ten more coins left.
“I thought you said you were low on cash, and that you were playing solo. Where did you get this money? Did you find buried treasure or something? I made only six silver and forty three copper coins in the last thirty six hours! What the hell?! Our dudes on the third are going all out trying to make some coin too. Either way, can’t say anything about the weapons, the clan doesn’t have that, we’re just starting out, but I’ll see what they have in stores. What exactly are you looking for?”
“Preferably, something without class limitations. I really need that crossbow and a couple dozen quivers with bolts, magic enhanced, if possible. As for the rest, I need class specific stuff with good damage dealing capacity. If you can find cheap potions, that’d be great too. Thanks!”
Somehow, Will felt better—everything seemed not as bad. All that was left to do was to find a way to kill that monster rat. Considering the level difference, he was bound to get handsomely rewarded.
The young man was almost done with his last assignment, when a message popped up.
“Level Up!”
This was very gratifying. Only one thing was clear to Will from doing all this hard work—you couldn’t get a lot of XP for it. The most what he got for a single quest was 21XP, and he had to have 300XP to get level 2.
“You worked hard for the good of Skiavra villagers. Their attitude toward you has improved.
Current attitude status: 32/100 (Neutral)”
Leveling up was automatically upgrading a class specific Attribute—+1 Agility for Rogues, +1 Wisdom for Mages, +1 Strength for Warriors, and so on.
Having distributed the points, Will looked at the skills he could learn.
“You learned a new skill.
Picklock. Passive skill (Apprentice).
You can pick simple locks.”
He logged off to grab a bite. Ten minutes later, he was back in the game doing menial work quest. In an hour or so, a message came,