End Online: Volume 6

by D Wolfin

  Sighing helplessly at the two girls who are now looking at me with puppy dog eyes, I roll over to the two girls and say cheerfully, “I haven’t seen you two in a long time, yet you have grown so much. You are doing well at school and I can tell that you are being looked after. I’m very happy for you two.”

  “I miss you, Holly. Why can’t we see you more often?” Shari asks innocently.

  “Things don’t always work out the way we want them to. We can only make the best of a situation with what we are given, always remember that.”

  Joelle is a bit more mature and asks, “Hollis, you didn’t tell us you had a girlfriend. How long have you been together? I really want to meet her.”

  “Oh, perhaps one day you will meet her. But a girlfriend, huh. What about you, any boys you like?”

  Joelle quickly blushes like a rose and I teasingly follow up, “I didn’t know this either, why don’t you tell me a little about him?”

  “Well, he’s... you see, he’s really nice to me. He’s always considerate and caring-”

  “Name. Start with his name first.”

  “Oh! His name is Ryan. He asked me to be his girlfriend a month ago and I couldn’t say no, so we... well, yeah.”

  “I’m sure he is a really nice boy. Have you kissed him yet?”

  “K-K-Kissed?! No! That’s far too embarrassing... W-We did hold hands last week though.”

  I smile and tease my sister some more as she blushes more and more. Joelle has grown up in many ways since I last saw her, and that truly makes me happy. As for her to be so embarrassed over holding hands, I admire her innocent youth. I try not to think of a day when she is all grown up and that innocence will be gone.

  “We haven’t gone out together in so long, how about we go do some shopping? We will eat out tonight for dinner as I didn’t know you were coming and didn’t prepare anything. Don’t tell Aunt Jude though, it will be our little secret.”

  “Don’t worry, we won’t!” Both girls state excitably.

  ***************************************************

  Several days later, our imprisonment time in End Online is finally over. At least it is for Verde, Fen and myself. Sir Laurence is still locked away for another week for assaulting the guards and “disturbing the safety of the city”, or so his charges say.

  I honestly can’t believe the idiot. Who else would have the crazy idea of attacking the guards? I have to admit that it did indeed help us not get caught before we got into the building, but there were other methods of approach as well. He could have delayed them by distracting them, or simply barring the way. As long as he did not attack them, he would probably have been out before us.

  The guard releases Fen, Verde, and myself outside the front of the prison with a superficial warning of “don’t do it again”. Of course we are going to break into the museum again, but this time we will be more prepared.

  I chat with both Sir Laurence and Gladox through a private chat. According to Gladox, the tablet is still currently safe inside the museum and the AI swordsman hasn’t made an appearance yet. The idiot prince is dejected about being in prison still and hopes we can wait until he gets out before attempting it again.

  I completely reject his idea, but Gladox offers to break him out of prison. I know that a player can’t break themselves out of prison unless they have some rare skills, but I never suspected it to be possible to break someone out. Apparently, if you are caught in the attempt, you will only be imprisoned until the player you tried to rescue is released as well.

  If Gladox gets caught in this endeavor, he will only be locked away for a week, so he doesn’t mind a great deal. I question Gladox as to why he didn’t mention that before so he could break us out, but he explains that if he was caught and imprisoned, there would be no one to watch over the tablet.

  To prepare for tonight’s break in, I first head to the market. During the week I couldn’t play, I did some research at the End Forums and devised a new plan. We will still break in the same way we did last time, but add an extra variable to counter any guards.

  My plan is to use what is called a ‘Masking Potion’, a potion made from basic low quality herbs with a reagent, that will cover up our scent. The potion is originally used to help players infiltrate monster territories without them noticing, but this additional use for the potion is basically guaranteed to help.

  I also happen to learn that a reagent is needed in nearly every potion. Without it, the potion will have a vicious taste that can be very off-putting. I had never known this part of potion making as I never studied guides on it thoroughly enough. However, the reagent will also lower the effectiveness of the potions, so I decide to still make most of my private stock without it.

  The reagent for the ‘Masking Potion’ is a small white onion like monster drop called ‘Soul Mucus’. It has a very insignificant value and is fortunately sold at many stores. It is also the reagent for a considerable amount of other potions, none of which are currently applicable to me right now.

  I purchase a hundred ‘Soul Mucus’ from an NPC store for a price of two silver coins. Fen and Verde then follow me to a quieter location in the city where I bring out my mortar and pestle for potion creation.

  Ignoring the players looking at me as I’m grinding up the herbs required, I take an hour to finish creating a total of 45 ‘Masking Potions’. This is to ensure we have enough if the effect runs out before we finish escaping with the tablet.

  Taking out one of the potions and inspecting it, while I feel it has a short duration, I am still satisfied.

  Standard Masking Potion

  A beginner potion that conceals a person’s scent. The potion is odorless and tasteless, representing the concealment it creates.

  Requirements:

  - Level 10

  Item Type: Potion

  Effect: Major mask scent, minor conceal presence

  Effect Time: 3min 42sec

  Weight: 0.1 lbs

  The first few potions only had a duration of just over three minutes, but my ‘Potion Production’ skill finally levelled up to level 20 in the middle of creating the potions. The duration of the potion increased greatly after the skill growth, becoming a massive 72 seconds longer than what is recorded on the forums.

  I split the potion into three even stacks and distribute one to Verde, holding onto the other stack for Fen who doesn’t have a personal inventory. With fifteen potions each, we can conceal ourselves for a little over fifty minutes. That should be more than enough time to break into the museum and steal the tablet.

  Just as I am leaving my secluded spot and am about to return to the inn, I run into a familiar player.

  “Lost, how good it is to see you!”

  Chronix, with his expensive armor and large sword strapped to his back, stands in front of me with a sinister grin. I recall how Mason told me he told him we were in Koga City in order to throw him off our track and I can’t believe I had completely forgotten about him.

  “No need to be silent, we’re good friends, aren’t we?”

  “The feeling isn’t mutual. How on earth did you track me down here?”

  “There’s no need for that. It is just a coincidence that we met.”

  I have a feeling that he used player tracking scrolls or spells, else how could he find me so many times? Luckily we are currently in the city so he won’t be able to attack.

  Glancing around, I see several players standing in shadows and spying from the corners of buildings. Chronix definitely wants to stir up trouble again.

  “I don’t have time for you, and we won’t be leaving the city, so give it up.”

  I lead the way as we walk past Chronix and back toward the busy sections of the city. Chronix doesn’t stop us, expressing a thoughtful look. As if coming to some kind of conclusion, I hear him give some faint orders to his guild members behind us. I hear something about “hidden” and “waiting” but I am already too far to hear the rest.

  Returning to our inn
where Gladox is, Verde, Fen, and I patiently wait out the rest of the day before silently leaving in the early stages of the night. Gladox had already left to go break Sir Laurence out of the prison, planning on arriving at the museum shortly after we get there.

  At the museum, the amount of guards seems to have mysteriously multiplied since last time, making our task even more difficult.

  “We can’t go around the back,” Verde says quietly as we watch the guards constantly patrolling the perimeter.

  “It doesn’t matter, we can still use the same method as last time, just from a different origin. However, I have a bad feeling for some reason.”

  Fen nods her head silently, reflecting that she also has some kind of foreboding premonition.

  I use my ‘Partial Draconic Transformation’ and fly into the sky high enough to get a good view of the surroundings. I notice that there is a large building almost a hundred meters behind the museum. The distance between the two is daunting, but it should still be possible.

  We quickly move towards that area where the building is. There are no guards around it so it mustn’t be a very important place. I fly up to the top of the building before lowering a long rope. I am fortunate to have bought this earlier today in case it would be needed.

  Fen and Verde quickly scale the rope and reach the top of the building. With our plan about to be set in motion, Fen looks at me nervously.

  “Lost, all this for me... You really don’t have to.”

  “Don’t say anymore. It is something I want to do more than anything else. I will help you no matter what it takes.”

  “...Thank you.”

  “Okay, time to start. Verde, drink your first potion... Verde?”

  Verde is gripping the edge of the roof and looking down at the ground twenty meters below with a ghastly pale face that can be seen even in this darkness. It is a strange sight because I never imagined her with a fear of heights. The museum is only a little more than half as tall as this building, so there must been some sort of threshold as to how high she needs to be before she gets scared like this.

  “Y-yes.”

  Verde drinks her ‘Masking Potion’ as I give one to Fen and consume one myself. I don’t feel any different after drinking it, but a small icon of a blurred figure appears in the corner of my screen with a countdown. At least this will make it easy to tell when to take the next potion.

  “Let’s go!”

  I grab Fen and Verde before they can react and launch off the roof. My wings extend to either side of me - white in stark contrast with the dark sky - and glide toward the museum. I frantically beat my wings to stay aloft as much as possible, but I am slowly losing altitude.

  After reaching fifty meters, halfway to the museum, I start getting very nervous. If we do manage to land on the museum roof, it will be a very close call with colliding with the wall. I flap my wings even harder, charging forward through the air in a white streak.

  Forty meters left. Thirty meters. Ten meters. I give one last powerful burst with my wings and straighten my body horizontally. We briefly scuff the top of the wall before sliding onto the roof on our stomachs.

  ‘Safe!’ I excitably call out in my mind.

  The guards below seem to be alerted by the sound of our landing and are searching the area, but can’t seem to locate us. The potion is definitely working to conceal us from the guard’s sense of smell.

  Feeling relieved, I quickly stand up and mouth an apology to Fen and Verde for the rough landing. They are both a little disgruntled but are smart enough to not make any noises.

  “Lost, Sir Laurence and I are here, hiding across the street,” Gladox’s voice sounds in my mind. “The guards are still looking for us, what do you want us to do?”

  “Stay hidden for now. After we get the tablet, we will all escape together, travel to Kano City and teleport out of the beast realm.”

  “Roger that, I will wait for Fen here.”

  “...”

  I glare in the distance at the direction Gladox should be, but I know he can’t see me.

  “Don’t glare at me like that. My intentions are pure.”

  “You can see me?!”

  “Haha, no. But you’re predictable.”

  I groan in displeasure and choose to not reply. Instead, I lead the way as Verde, Fen, and I go to the window we broke in through last time. The window itself is in perfect condition, as if it was never broken in the first place.

  It is at this moment I hear a large commotion at the front of the building. The guards are shouting loudly and the sound of clashing steel rings out.

  “Gladox, what’s happening at the front of the building?!”

  “I’m not sure, it looks like a large group of players are fighting the guards.”

  “A large group?”

  “Yeah, at least a hundred players.”

  My thought process goes in overdrive as I try to figure out why a group of players would be fighting the guards, especially at such a coincidental location and time.

  ‘It isn’t that AI swordsman, he should be by himself... %$@&! It must be Chronix! Don’t tell me he followed us here?! $#!%! Well, at least he can distract the guards!’

  “Come on, we have to be quick!”

  I recklessly smash the window and roll a rope down before jumping in the opening. There is enough noise out front of the building that they shouldn’t hear us entering the building.

  Fen and Verde follow me down shortly afterwards, all of us charging toward the room where the tablet is kept. I had planned to be more cautious and take it slow to avoid detection, but right now speed is of the essence.

  The sound of a door banging open comes from the front of the building as I try to urge Verde to keep up with Fen and I. Both the wolf girl and myself have to slow down drastically so Verde can keep up with us, but we still want to go faster.

  All the guards must have been attracted by the commotion at the front of the door as we make a beeline for the stone tablet and don’t encounter a single one.

  The sound of fighting and yells are getting closer to us, but luckily we get to the room where the tablet is being stored before they reach us.

  I stop in shock as I enter the room, Fen and Verde running into me and nearly knocking us all over.

  In the center of the room is a broken case where the stone tablet used to be. Shattered glass covers the floor, and some is even embedded in the wall behind the case.

  The tablet is currently in the hands of the AI swordsman who is standing next to the broken glass. I can tell he hit the case with such an inhuman strength that the shattered remains only travelled in a single location.

  At the same time, a second door in the room bursts open and a party of six players casually walks in. It is Chronix and several of the ‘Swords of Light’ guild members.

  “Lost, fancy meeting you here,” Chronix says while examining the room in fine detail. When he sees the AI swordsman and the stone tablet in his hand, his eyes widen with surprise.

  “So this is what you were after? Getting locked in prison for trying to steal some useless relic? I had thought more of you.”

  Chronix monologues to himself on several other recent topics, recreating an uncanningly accurate series of events I have gone through. I warily keep an eye on both him and the AI holding the tablet.

  The swordsman completely ignores Chronix, as if he isn’t even there. He stares disdainfully at Fen beside me before speaking in the tone a king would use.

  “You have arrived too late. This trial has already been completed by me. Return to whence you came before making a fool of yourself. Mother’s system is about to strengthen and increase the difficulty, so I will be leaving.”

  Just like that, without any further discussion, the swordsman turns around and walks out the back of the room. Strangely, every step he takes causes him to move five meters. It is like an illusion that is difficult to follow.

  Fen stands there embarrassed, lowering her head in defeat.


  “Fen, you are not alone. We can beat him!”

  I grab Fen’s hand, ignoring her surprise, and pull her along to chase after the other AI. Verde stumbles slightly as she also breaks into a run to follow.

  “You are really interested in this tablet, aren’t you?” Chronix calls out amusedly. “Don’t worry, I am generous enough to help you get it! I will even protect it for you!”

  I curse as Chronix and his party charge forward and follow. Their players are at a much higher level than us, each in the 300’s. Due to running at a speed Verde can keep up with, they are also able to follow behind us.

  We were supposed to get the stone tablet before the other AI did. Not only did he get to it moments before us, but now Chronix and his group are trying to get it for no other reason than it would be inconvenient for me. It can’t possibly get any worse than this...

  Chapter 43 – Possession Chase

  - Lost -

  While chasing the AI swordsman, we unexpectedly don’t encounter any guards along the way. It must have something to do with either the swordsman knowing where they are and avoiding them, or Chronix’s men holding them back, I’m not sure which.

  The swordsman is quick, slowly pulling away from Fen, Verde, and myself. He glances over his shoulder at us with an air of smug superiority. Even I can tell that this AI is profoundly arrogant. However, this could be used against him in combat to give us a chance to surprise him and gain the upper hand.We soon escape through the open rear door of the museum that Verde was unable to open in time. As our group exits the door we see the AI casually leaping over one of the walls behind the museum and out of sight, not even bothering to give us a second glance.

  “Damn it. Fen, Verde, escape through the streets. I will follow the AI and let you know where he goes.”

  Still in my draconian form, I fly up into the air and over the wall in pursuit of my quarry, while Fen and Verde run in a different direction. Chronix and his party have no method to get over the wall and are forced to follow after the two girls.