Man Made God 001
Page 22
Ding!
[You have been offered a new quest: [Find Ms. Romelda’s Wedding Ring!] Will you accept? Yes or no?]
“Don’t worry, Ms. Romelda. I will do my best to find your ring,” Adam said as he pressed “yes.”
Ms. Romelda’s eyes teared up. She sniffled several times as she raised her hand to wipe the tears from her eyes.
“Oh… thank you so much, young man. I truly appreciate this. That wedding ring is the last memento I have of my dearly departed husband.”
Ding!
[The quest: [Find Ms. Romelda’s Wedding Ring!] has been accepted!]
Level 10
“So that was one of the so-called Village of Beginnings,” Titania said.
“You know of them?” Adam asked.
“I have never been to one myself before now, of course, but everyone has heard of them. Long ago, the people who grew tired of the constant wars and strife that plagued the world moved away from the four main continents and established these Villages of Beginnings to avoid the constant killing. The reason they are called the Village of Beginnings is because everyone who lives inside them is incredibly weak.”
“So there was in-game lore like that…”
“What does ‘in-game’ mean?”
“Uh… never mind.”
Adam and Titania kept a constant stream of chatter going as they traveled south. The rolling hills were filled with players seeking to level up. Most of the players this close to the village were new. Their levels were only at 1 or 2. Adam watched as a pair, one man and one woman, took turns attacking a [wild rabbit] before turning away from them and continuing on.
“Have you ever been to the ocean?” asked Adam.
“Who do you think you’re talking to, young man? I traveled all over this world for over five hundred years and saw all there is to see before I was tasked with becoming the Guardian of the Spear. Of course I have been to the ocean.”
Titania was, as always, sitting on his shoulder. It seemed to be her favorite place. The only times she left was when he logged off and when they were in combat.
The salty scent of the sea reached Adam seconds before they arrived at the beach. Waves gently lapped at the sandy shore, a few seagulls flew in the blue sky above, and the waters were so blue it was hard to judge where the ocean ended and the sky began.
Adam saw no signs of goblins, but Ms. Romelda said they were near the cliffs, which were further east. He could see them in the distance and judged them to be about one mile from where he stood. Spear in hand, he marched toward the cliffs.
“What can you tell me about goblins?” asked Adam.
“Goblins are disgusting and vile creatures,” were Titania’s first few words. “They are short and smelly, and their skin is the color of puke.”
“I see you really like goblins, don’t you? Tell me what you really think.”
“They are a mischievous, violent race. They like to pretend they are harmless at first. Whenever they arrive in a new village, they will play what could be construed as pranks. Thievery, vandalism, and the like. However, this is all a ploy to make villagers lower their guard while they learn the lay of the land. Once the goblins know everything they need to, they launch an attack on the nearby village. The men are slaughtered. The women are used to make babies. There are no goblin women, so they must procreate with other races, but what sane woman would sleep with a goblin?”
“So they’re like a race of murdering rapists? That’s just great.”
These goblins sounded like a nasty piece of work.
Adam did not know much about goblins beyond what he knew from stories and video games, and there was never any real lore about them in those games. Well, there might have been, but if there was, he had never paid it much attention.
It wasn’t long before they arrived at the cliffs. There were no caves near the beach and no method of climbing up the cliffs, so Adam had to travel further inland and loop around. Most of the monsters in this area like the [wild hog] and the [crystal snake] were only at level 5. Adam didn’t even see a goblin until Titania called out to him.
“Look over there. [Goblins].”
Adam turned his head and saw that, indeed, there were several goblins just a little ways off. They were, just as Titania had said, short humanoid creatures with green skin, bald heads, and gangly arms and legs. The clothing they wore was threadbare, obviously stolen. None of it matched. One goblin might be wearing overalls several sizes too big, while another might have a too large shirt and too small pants.
They looked like very awkward creatures.
“Any ideas? Kill them or follow them?” asked Adam.
“You should definitely follow them,” Titania said. “If there are goblins here, then there is a nest, and if there is a nest, the people living in the Village of Beginnings will be in danger. Better to take them out now.”
Adam did not consider himself a hero. His hands were far too stained with blood for that, but he didn’t mind doing some pest control. He was actually hoping that if he exterminated this entire nest, he would finally reach level 10.
“What do their levels look like?” he asked.
“One moment,” Titania said as she used [scan] and sent him the information.
Name: Goblin
Description: Goblins are vile and evil creatures who like to pillage, rape, and murder members of the Races of Light.
Class: Regular
Lvl: 11
Health: 600/600
MP: 10/10
Strength: +80
Constitution: +40
Dexterity: +10
Intelligence: +5
Speed: +5
Abilities: Bash
Description: The Goblin hits someone with a cudgel
Causes Strength * 2 damage to whoever gets hit
MP Consumption: 5
Cooldown time: 0 seconds
The [goblins] seemed pretty weak for level 11 monsters. Those creatures down in the dungeon where Adam rescued Trader Wilkins’ son had been a lot stronger, and they were only at level 10.
Adam followed the [goblins] as per Titania’s suggestion, keeping behind the trees and using his talent at moving silently to avoid being spotted. He was not an Assassin-class player and therefore didn’t have any skills related to stealth. However, this game was surprisingly realistic and allowed him to use skills brought over from the real world in this one. Adam was almost certain no Assassin-class player could defeat him in stealth except for maybe Lilith.
The goblins never even looked back.
They eventually led him to a cave located not far from the ledge of the cliff. It looked like the mouth of a giant monster emerging from the ground. The [goblins] jabbered at two other [goblins] guarding the gate before disappearing deeper into the caves. Adam couldn’t understand what they were saying. It sounded like gibberish to him.
“Okay. Let’s move,” he said, gripping his spear tightly as he broke into a sprint.
As Adam burst through the treeline, Titania flew off his shoulder and began chanting [Song of Valor], which increased his physical and magical defense by 210%. Meanwhile, Adam quickly activated [Blood Sacrifice] to double his attack power.
The [goblins] noticed him before he could reach them. They jabbered and squawked before readying their makeshift clubs. Both [goblins] looked angry, like he was a vile fiend for intruding on their territory. He could see the rage in the whites of their eyes, which were now bloodshot with anger and blood lust.
Adam reached them and thrust out his spear. The [thrust] skill activated and stabbed the first goblin through the throat. Because he had [Blood Sacrifice] active, his attack did -1,108 points of damage, which was more than enough to one-shot the [goblin]. The creature released a loud death gurgle as it fell backward.
The other [goblin] tried to attack him, swinging its club with reckless abandon, but Adam stepped back, shuffled sideways along the ground, and swung his spear in a motion that drew a line from the goblin’s left shoulder
to right hip. As always, he felt the resistance of his weapon digging through flesh, muscle, and bone.
-1,039!
The goblin went down in a heap.
Ding!
[You defeated two [goblins]! Items dropped: [club], [wedding ring], and 120 gold coins. +600 experience!]
Adam took out the [wedding ring] from his inventory and looked it over. It was a simple wedding band made of silver. It didn’t have any embellishments on it, but it was well-crafted. He assumed this was Ms. Romelda’s wedding ring, which meant his quest was technically complete and he could go back to the village.
But that might not net him enough experience points to level up.
Without even glancing in the direction of the Village of Beginnings, Adam stepped into the caves and began descending. Darkness almost immediately engulfed him. The deeper he traveled, the darker it seemed to become, until he could barely see two feet in front of him.
“It’s a good thing I have a torch,” Adam muttered as he brought a torch from his inventory and lit it up.
“This Village of Beginnings certainly has many problems surrounding it,” Titania muttered.
“Speaking of the Village of the Beginnings, how did you and this spear end up on this island?” asked Adam.
“I am unsure,” Titania said. “When I was sealed away with that spear, I did not know where I was being sealed.”
“And who sealed you?” asked Adam.
“…”
Adam sensed Titania’s reluctance to speak and sighed. “It’s fine if you don’t want to tell me.”
“I apologize.”
Adam glanced at Titania out of the corner of his eye to see the tiny woman looking a little odd. She wore a conflicted expression. Perhaps some part of her did want to tell him about how she was sealed away with that spear, but the rest of her was resistant to the idea.
Well, they had just met. He would find it more odd if she trusted him enough to tell him something so important right off the bat.
Some noise up ahead caused Adam and Titania to quiet down. They slowed their pace to a crawl and readied themselves for combat. [Blood Sacrifice] had already worn off, but Adam was not worried about that. Even without it, he’d only need two swings to take the life of a [goblin].
Around the next corner was the band of [goblins] who had entered ahead of him. It didn’t look like they had noticed him, but that could change if he made too much noise. Adam slowly crept along the cavern floor, once more using his real life talent for stealth to close the distance without them noticing. Once he was in range, Adam stabbed his spear forward and activated [thrust].
-528!
His first attack came so close to killing his target that he almost swore, but his next attack disposed of it. While he managed to kill the first [goblin] before it could retaliate, the other two that were with their now dead companion turned toward him and angrily advanced on him with clubs drawn. They released garbled words that made no sense. However, one didn’t need to speak goblin to know what they were saying.
Adam didn’t hesitate. He twirled the spear in his hands several times and activated multiple [slash] attacks. Rather than just attack at random, however, Adam danced around his opponent, shuffling his feet against the ground in what, had someone been looking at him from a bird’s-eye view, would have looked like the petals of a sakura blossom.
MISS; MISS; -528; MISS; MISS; -528; MISS; -528; -528!
Each goblin was hit with [slash] twice, which reduced their health to zero, killing them in less time than it took to blink. Adam stepped over their corpses and continued on.
Ding!
[You have defeated three [goblins]! Items dropped: [wooden club], [silver necklace], and 240 gold coins. +900 experience points!]
“You are quite skilled with a spear. Are you a spearman in your world?” asked Titania.
“I’m actually an assassin in my world,” Adam admitted with a sardonic laugh. “However, when I was younger, the girl I loved was a talented spearman. She was the one who taught me how to wield a spear.”
Adam went silent after that as memories played out in his mind. The angelic face of a young girl who couldn’t have been more than eight or nine years old, framed by locks of black hair, and possessing the most stunning green eyes, appeared within his mind. She wore a brilliant grin filled with confidence. He almost choked as the memories returned to him.
“Adam! Look at my new technique! I just learned it today!”
“You don’t know how to read?! That’s okay. I can teach you.”
“Adam… my parents… they said I can’t be with you anymore, but don’t worry! I don’t care what they say. I’m not going to stop seeing you.”
“Adam… hic… I don’t want… to ever leave you. Let’s run away together… I don’t want to be my father’s daughter anymore… I just want to be with you…”
Adam placed a hand against his chest, clutching it as an almost physical pain pierced his heart. He stumbled forward. Ignoring Titania’s surprised shout, he took several shuddering breaths and shunted those unwanted memories away. He didn’t… need them anymore. He didn’t want them anymore. These memories only brought pain.
“Lexi is gone,” he whispered. “Aris is the only person I need now.”
He nodded once. Yes, Lexi wasn’t around anymore. She had disappeared from the face of this world without a trace, and he could never find her no matter how hard he searched. She was probably dead. The only person in his life who mattered now was the girl he was living with.
Titania said nothing. Her eyes were pools of unknown emotion as she stared at him.
They continued on, traveling deeper into the cave. There weren’t many [goblins] at first, but their numbers increased the further Adam and Titania descended. At first, they would run into groups of two, then three, and then four. The amount of experience points Adam gained by the time they reached the bottom was +3,600.
The bottom of this cave was vast and connected to the ocean. A large body of water sat not several yards away from the cavern entrance, flowing in through a passage that overlooked a small bay. The water looked dark, though Adam was sure it was just his eyes playing tricks on him due to the lack of light.
There were several [goblins] near the shore. They were dumping something in the water, and it took Adam several seconds to realize those strange chunks were actually body parts. His lips thinned when he saw the hand of what looked like a young child hitting the water with a splash.
“Let’s kill them quickly and leave,” Adam said as he stepped out of the passage and into the cavern.
Titania once more began singing [Song of Valor] as Adam activated [Blood Sacrifice]. He charged toward the group of four [goblins], who didn’t notice his presence until he was nearly right on top of them.
-1,108!
His first attack impaled a goblin through the chest. He yanked his spear out of the now dead [goblin’s] body, spun the blade around, and used [slash] to cut another [goblin] down before it could recover from its surprise.
-1,039!
While he managed to take out the first two [goblins] quickly, the other two recovered and attacked at the same time. He was fortunate their attacks were so clumsy. Adam skipped backward to avoid their downward swings, then [thrust] his blade at the [goblin] on his left, killing it in one shot. The other went down when he performed [slash] two times to form an X-pattern on its flesh.
Ding!
[You have defeated 4 [goblins]! Items dropped: x4 [wooden clubs], [ladies undergarments], and 1,000 gold coins. +1,200 experience gained!]
Adam sighed as he looked at the amount of experience points he had gained. It wasn’t bad, but he still needed about +7,000 more to level up.
He looked around and saw that there was no one present, no more enemies to slay, which meant he couldn’t level up here.
“Let’s go back and complete this quest,” he said. “With luck, we will earn enough experience points for me to reach level 10… Titania?”
Titania had not spoken to him in awhile, which Adam realized was because she had been staring at the waters this entire time. He frowned and wondered what she was doing. Just as he was about to ask her, she screamed at him.
“MOVE!”
Adam didn’t ask questions as he leapt aside seconds before something burst out of the water, struck the place where he had been standing, and cracked apart the rock floor. It was a long, black tentacle. It must have been at least two feet thick, and was covered in barnacles and warts. Even as he watched, the tentacle retracted back into the water.
“What the hell was that?!” asked a shocked Adam.
“Let me [scan] it for you,” Titania said.
Name: Giant Octopus
Description: A one-thousand year old octopus that has grown to be several dozen feet large. It has been relying on the goblins to feed it human flesh.
Class: 2-star
Lvl: 20
Health: 40,000/40,000
MP: 900/900
Strength: +600
Constitution: +1,600
Dexterity: +100
Intelligence: +50
Speed: +500
Abilities:
Tentacle Slam
Description: Slams enemy into the ground with a tentacle
MP required: 10
Cooldown time: 0 seconds
Tentacle Sweep
Description: Sweeps away all enemies with tentacle
100% chance of knocking enemies off their feet
MP required: 20
Cooldown time: 5 seconds
Needle Shot
Description: Shoots needles from its mouth
50% chance of poisoning someone who is hit
MP required: 100
Cooldown time: 10 seconds