by Dakota Krout
They returned to the other standing armor and simply tossed it back into the inferno then waited a few moments to be sure that they had gotten every enemy. The notification appearing in their vision confirmed for them that combat had ended.
Exp: 3,780 (2 * (225 * .3 (Indirect combat)) * Sapling Ghouls x28).
Exp: 1,350 (2 * 225) * Sapling Ghouls x3).
Level increase postponed due to being in a dungeon.
Skill increased: Weak Acid Spray (Novice IX). No longer content with small animals, you now test on larger and larger creatures! The sign of a truly dangerous individual’s disturbed mind.
Skill increased: Aerial Acrobatics (Novice IV). Oh look, he did another flip. At least you didn’t hurt yourself this time, showing that you are making actual progress.
“Level up postponed?” Alexis complained bitterly. “That’s stupid! I have enough now for level eleven!”
“This is actually a safety feature if I am not mistaken,” Poppy interjected before the conversation could spiral downward. “If we die, we lose experience as though we were still at our original level. If we live, we are given as much Exp as if we were still at the lower level as well. This is a win-win-win situation for us because it will also keep the monsters from getting stronger. Also, I totally did a flip and got a new skill.”
“Yer ramblin, Poppy. Take ah deep breath.” Bard swatted the Duelist on the back, making him sputter.
“I’m good, I’m good.” Poppy calmed down, whether it was under his own power or an effect of Bard’s charisma was unknown. “We should get moving, get away from here. The smoke and light will draw in anything that is still out there wandering around.”
“Agreed.” Joe looked at the walls surrounding the dungeon, specifically the fact that the sun was dipping below them. “We should really hurry. I don’t want to be in here after full dark.”
The party moved away from the area, back toward the town square. They looked around, but the square was now empty except for the trees that lined the paths to the new city hall. Of all the areas in town, this one had been changed the most. Where before the city hall was a simple building shoved in among many others, now it was a grand affair that sat alone in the middle of an otherwise empty lot. Only the vegetation and rustling trees kept the lonely manor company.
“I see nothing that’ll attack us,” Joe quietly told the others. Whispering was a bad idea when attempting to be sneaky, as the hissing vowels would draw attention far easier than simply speaking in a modulated tone. “Anyone see something I’m missing?”
Of course none of the others saw something he had missed; at thirty-three, his perception was higher than anyone else’s in the group. They began moving cautiously toward the doors, keeping their eyes open for enemies or traps. Not only did they scan the ground, they watched the trees above them. Unfortunately for all of them, they were simply looking for the wrong size of enemy.
“Ow!” Alexis called, slapping at her neck. The others instantly had their attention on her, trying to figure out what had happened, why she was so loud. Her hand came away, leaving behind a path of blood, both red and blue. Metallic thread-like streaks were also visible, but they didn’t understand what they were. “It’s a… spider? Oh… oh no.”
Alexis was beginning to stiffen, her head already hard to turn. Her words were forced, panicked, and starting to slur, “It went right through mah ‘oison resiss! ‘Ook ow!”
Hearing her warning, the others moved quickly. If the spider had gone through her poison resistance that easily, it must be a deadly concoction indeed. Joe’s vision shifted slightly as the sun fully dropped beyond the horizon, and shadows cloaked the dungeon. Either Darkvision allowed him to make out the details of the spiders better, or they had stopped concealing themselves with the onset of night.
The spiders were large for their species, about the size of Joe’s middle finger. This was not the disturbing aspect of them, oh no. Beyond their size was their form; the arachnids had the torso and head of human women but no human limbs. Instead, they had the legs of spiders, if spider legs were made out of syringes. Yes, the legs on the spiders were made out of hypodermic needles. That was enough for Joe. Nope, nope, nope. He raised both hands, dropping his scepter and dual casting weak acid spray. A fountain of acid shot upward, killing spiders and mutilating the foliage. Some splashed down on him, but the damage was small enough that he ignored it.
Still channeling the spell, he turned in place and continued washing the area with the destructive fluid. Just as he stopped, panting, he heard a muffled scream of terror from Alexis. She had fallen over, and a dozen spiders were on her back staring at the others in the party. Before anyone else could make a move, the tiny creatures suddenly pulled hard on the threads connecting them to the branches above and shot into the air, pulling Alexis with them. There was a moan of terror… and a moment later she was dropped, having been slingshot and released above the tree’s foliage. She landed heavily, head first, dying instantly upon impact.
The remaining members of the party simply stood there in shock. In the space of a few seconds, everything had moved from not dangerous at all… to a teammate being dropped out of a tree by freaking needle spiders. Bard looked at Alexis’s body in horror then glanced back at Joe a simple question on his lips, “Fire?”
Joe shook his head. “I’ll walk ahead blasting the trees with acid. We need to clear a path right away; they got bolder with darkness. Keep an eye out; if they come at us across the ground we might be screwed if we don’t see them.” He put his plan into action, stepping forward briskly while keeping a stream of acid angled above himself and toward the building. There were tiny high-pitched screams every once in a while, letting Joe know that he was doing the right thing.
“Nothing on the ground; looks like they really don't want to walk,” Poppy announced quietly, shuddering at his next words. “I think their legs are more for landing on things than for walking.”
“Ah’ve got tae creepy-crawlies like ye wouldn’t imagine.” Bard scratched at his arms angrily. “Nasty little things. Poor ‘Lexis. That musta been ah terrifyin’ way ta go.”
“I’m sure it won’t be an issue,” Joe grunted, remembering that the game had a way of making you… ignore past horrors. Maybe not ignore, perhaps heal from the trauma? Joe almost missed a step as that second thought crossed his mind. That thought hadn’t come from him…
Skill gained: Mental Manipulation Resistance (Novice I). This skill is a staple for the paranoid and frightened. While it might be useful in certain situations, all that you are doing is hurting yourself. Effect: Grants 10+1n% direct resistance to mental manipulation where ‘n’ is skill level. This will help you block out effects of skills such as fear, control, and magical seduction. At rank ten: 2n% less experience lost upon death. Caution: Frequent use of this skill may lead to a damaged mind. It isn’t normal to walk away from a fight where you were killed. By removing some of the mind-altering effects of dying and coming back, you lose experience. With this skill… you lose some of the protections granted to the minds of Travelers. At the beginner ranks, you may start to go insane upon dying.
You have gained a class: Psychomancer (Restricted). A being that inspires fear into the hearts of foe and friend alike, the Psychomancer works to directly control others. Unlike a Bard who evokes reaction through emotion or a necromancer who controls empty bodies of the dead… a Psychomancer controls the living, easily being able to turn groups into puppets at higher levels.
Psychomancer has been absorbed by class: Ritualist. All bonuses from having this class are negated. Caution! This class has the rarity (Restricted). If an official of the Kingdom of Ardania sees this class active without permission from the King or Queen, you will be jailed immediately. To make an appointment with one of the Monarchs, find a trusted governmental official and inform them of this development.
Quest Gained: Please Don’t Kill Me. By gaining a Kingdom-Restricted class, you have set yourself up to become an enemy of the
Kingdom and, therefore, humanity as a whole. Proceed to a government official and turn yourself in. Reward: A fair trial by the Monarchs. Failure: If caught, you face jail time or Sealing.
Quest Gained: I Do What I Want! By gaining a Kingdom-Restricted class, you have set yourself up to be an enemy of the Kingdom and, therefore, humanity as a whole. Find a class trainer. They are well-hidden for obvious reasons. Reward: Advancement of your new class. Failure: Loss of access to hidden Psychomancer trainers. This quest is automatically failed by completing quest ‘Please Don’t Kill Me’.
“One thing after another,” Joe grunted, pausing his forward movement to let his mana recover. Gauging the distance to the building ahead of them, Joe took a deep breath and continued forward, acid once again gushing from his hands. Once they stepped out from under the trees, Joe sighed with relief and dropped his hands. They had been getting heavy.
Skill change: Weak Acid Spray has become ‘Acid Spray’ (Beginner 0). After using this spell on living beings constantly, it has shifted slightly to be more dangerous to living material! +5 acid damage per second to living things.
Exp: 1,620 (2 * 30 * Phobic Spiders x27).
“As horrible as this has all been, I’m getting excellent returns,” Poppy announced, looking over the notifications that were appearing. “The horror of coming face-to-face with so many phobias all at once is mentally draining, though.” He turned the door handle, threw open the door, and his top half vanished into a fine red mist as a paw the size of a manhole cover blew through him.
Poppy’s legs toppled over, crunching against the ground as a bear the size of a truck stepped out of the open door and used the limbs as a welcome mat. Joe stared at the bear as it came into view, unconsciously activating his intrusive scan.
Name: Sir Bearington. Class: Raid Boss. Title: Cursed Champion of a Fallen Deity (Spriggan).
Highest stat: Strength.
Ongoing effects: Enraged. Bear. Grizzly Damage. Triple Speed. Forced Sentience. Enlarged Bear. Jailor. Boss Monster. Item Destruction. Run.
“See you tomorrow, Bard.” Joe winced as a bloody paw whipped toward him. He took the hit full-on, entirely unable to dodge or block the strike he could barely see coming toward him.
Critical hit! You have taken 835 blunt damage! Undying Robes effect activated. Health set to 1!
Joe slid to the ground bonelessly, nearly literally. He had so many notifications for broken bones… Joe cast lay on hands on himself, instantly raising his health to forty-one of his possible one hundred. Using the insight he had gained from learning how to mend bones with his main healing spell, this spell instantly ranked up.
Skill increase: Lay on Hands (Beginner VI). Having proven that you are more knowledgeable about the intricacies of healing, your previous skill level has been changed to reflect your actual skill level.
Wow, he must be in a really bad situation if the prompts weren’t even being mean to him. Joe pulled himself into a sitting position just in time to see Bard get flattened. The Skald survived the first hit, but the follow-up blow sent him into a tree. Into a tree. Not into the branches but actually creating a hole in the trunk from the force like a bad cartoon. The bear started to turn around, chuffing in dissatisfaction at a boring fight and caught sight of Joe sitting up.
It lumbered toward him, rage flaring in its eyes. Just before crushing him, intelligence shown through, replacing the fury that had filled the massive beast. With a strange, crafty facial expression, one paw came down on Joe’s robe while the other scooped him out of the garment. The twisting torsion ripped Joe’s arm off, but the bear grabbed that as well. Then the bear’s jaws opened and closed around Joe’s face.
You have died! Calculating… you lose 1800 experience! Your item ‘Undying Robe’ has been destroyed! You will respawn in 6 real-world hours. Enjoy the relaxation; we are sure that you have earned it!
~ Chapter Twenty-three ~
Sitting in the respawn room, Joe couldn’t do anything that could impact the game. No chatting with people in the guild, no researching the strange quest lines that he kept coming upon. Did other people have such strange things happening to them? They must, Joe decided firmly. He was not the smartest, strongest, or best player out there, and yet he was stumbling upon strange and overly high-powered quests. He decided to go online and look for any information that might have made it through the restrictions the creators of the game put in place.
To his shock–and a tinge of pure jealousy–Joe found that there was now an official game news channel that had all sorts of general information. The official reason was that the Mage’s College had been powering a spell that prevented ‘scrying into their world’. Now that the College had instituted a leadership change, they were ‘fine with outsiders being prepared for the challenges they might face’. Joe rolled his eyes hard enough that he almost fell over at that one.
Trying to play catch-up was a bit fruitless, but his anger mellowed as he learned that all that was offered online was really general information: guild names, simple maps, and a few plans for the game. It seemed that people were hiding their class paths still. He also found a site filled with lore and learned a bit more about Ardania itself, which was nice. For instance, he found the reason that he had only ever exited via a single gate of the city: as it turned out, Ardania was massive–easily the size of New York City–with entire quest lines through the urban sprawl which allowed you to never step out of the walls and still gain levels while experiencing combat. The next gate out of the city was practically miles away.
Another interesting topic in the news was that the company running Eternia had ramped up production of pods and VR setups, and even with all of the new gear, they were backlogged for at least two years. Apparently, there were huge shipments of the data Cores being distributed to government buildings, though. Miraculously, none of the high-priced items had been stolen even though there had been attempts to do so. An expected quarter million players would be joining the game every two weeks from now on, and Joe felt extra thankful he had joined the game when he did.
Joe closed his browser and decided to do other things. After the obligatory call to his mother, he felt better about diving into some practice. A bit frustrated that he had closed everything down before making his call, he got back on the internet and found some instructional videos and practical exercises for learning to draw. This was a skill that he didn’t really think about much, but it was very important to his class. He had a feeling that simple chalk wouldn’t work for him much longer, and being able to add more detail into a smaller space was going to be important.
When he finally was sick of working, he took a short nap. His alarm was set for five minutes before he was going to be allowed back into the game, so Joe forced himself to relax and get some shuteye. He was awake and ready when the portal reappeared, immediately stepping through it into the small shrine near the village. Bard was waiting for him, apparently arriving here moments before Joe had.
“Morning, Joe,” Bard called over cheerlessly. “That was ah right nasty beastie, huh? Ye… did ye change? Never seen ye without yer bathrobe.”
Joe looked down at his armor, noting a distinct lack of a certain life-saving robe. “You’ve got to be kidding me. The bear stole my robe? I’ve had that robe since I joined the game! I thought that was just a weird animation! Ah! The message! I didn’t even think about that; it said it was destroyed!”
Bard watched him with wide-eyes as Joe ranted and raved for a few minutes, yelling obscenities and kicking trees. It took a minute of melting the vegetation around him with acid, but Joe eventually calmed down. Bard coughed and tried to sound consoling, “Mayhap it were… for tae best. Time to move on ta better things?”
“Ugh. Maybe. Whatever. It isn’t like I can do anything about it,” Joe conceded grumpily.
Bard nodded, silently agreeing with him. “Shall we get back ta town? Ahm sure ‘Lexis is waitin’ on me, and you seem… upset.”
“Give me a moment, I have a ton
of notifications.” Joe tapped the blinking icon that was waiting for him, and a golden halo of energy surrounded and exploded outward from his body. Euphoria filled him; he had reached level ten!
He looked over his quests, specifically ‘Building a Specialization’. Now that he was level ten, he could go to the location Tatum had marked for him and find… whatever it was that would allow him to specialize. His face clouded as he once again saw the quest options for his newly gained Psychomancer class; that was going to be a very tough decision. Get training in a class that was obviously incredible, or don’t piss off the Kingdom. He had a feeling that even if it wasn’t specifically stated, getting the training would ensure that the trial wouldn’t go well if he were discovered. Joe started feeling a bit ill.
“Let’s go. Thanks for waiting, Bard. Plenty of things going on, as per usual.” They started walking toward the transformed town, seeing the twisted stone walls as soon as they exited the tree line. From the look of the people out front, the dungeon was still active, and Joe’s party wasn’t the only one that had failed to survive after entering it. They met up with their party, Bard going directly into Alexis’s embrace.
“I have to tell you, that was not an auspicious first trial run,” Poppy told Joe with a hint of a smirk on his face. “I do hope this won’t be indicative of our future time together.”
“We have never had a full party wipe before, and I hope to never do so again.” Joe rolled his eyes as Poppy pulled a face and pretended to be weighing his options.
Jaxon yawned lightly, scratched at his eyes, and looked around. “I thought that it was a very beneficial experience. Even after dying twice in there, I gained two levels when I re-entered the game. Something about doing the most direct damage to the Ghouls. I also gained a Title, it’s called… ‘Anything for the team’ and has three dots on either side of it.”
“Oh!” Joe exclaimed with wide eyes. “That’s called a broken title, you can apparently combine them together to make more beneficial ones.”