Brent Roth - The Dragon's Wrath: A Virtual Dream

by Brent Roth

  No one knew for sure but you could kill small bears that were around level 50 and they were considerably inferior in comparison. I would either succumb to the cold or die to the [Frost Troll] if I stayed still.

  I took my chance with the cold.

  Preferring the odds of survival at around 25%, I continued to run in the direction that I thought would lead me to safety. Minutes passed as sunlight started to peer through the canopy above and I was relieved to see a marker. The sun was setting behind me to the west and with the village to the east… I was headed in the right direction.

  Exiting the forest line I turned around to look at the forest behind me once more, the ominous feeling still pervaded as the weather was considerably worse here than anywhere else in visible range.

  Running the rest of the way back to the village, I stopped at the elder to alert him of what I had seen, "Elder, I have seen a frost troll in the western forest just now, is the village in danger?"

  The elder stopped for a second and closed his eyes, "Young one, the foul weather that follows the frost troll is often sign enough to warrant caution. But fear not, unless provoked the troll will not come near."

  Having excused myself and now feeling relieved that I wasn't going to be followed by an exceptionally high level monster, I sat down next to the fire and began my work. With a smile creeping across my face I was excited at the prospect of the wolf pelt in front of me, no longer would I be a naked man in underwear with a fur hat and soon-to-be fur boots.

  Well, for a day or two I would be a naked man with a fur hat and fur boots, but not for long! I would have a wolf fur jacket soon.

  As soon as I finished with the pelt and handed it over to the leatherworker, I decided to dance by the fire in celebration. My hips had started to gyrate to the mental track of Disco! Disco! Good! Good! before it clicked that maybe I was meant to live the life of a male stripper with a white fuzzy fur cap and furry boots.

  The thought stopped me mid-dance as I dropped my mouth in horror while the villagers stared on, wondering what manner of devil had possessed me.

  Chapter 6: It's a Grind

  (Tuesday, January 5th Game Day / Saturday, January 2nd Real Day)

  Rolling over to my side I fumbled with my hand over the edge of the bed searching for my water glass. My eyes were closed as I was too lazy to open them, plus it was bright outside my window and I hadn't acclimated yet. Finding my water I took a sip to soothe my dry throat and set the glass down. With a glance at the clock I saw that it was 7:54 AM and I had six minutes to log in.

  I couldn't waste the game's daylight hours.

  That was a verifiable crime.

  Making my way into The Cube and strapping in, I initiated the log-in sequence that had the entire square room dim into complete darkness. My sleep schedule had been appropriately screwed up these past two days as I continued to play the game during every four-hour daylight period and then would log off during the dark hours.

  That meant I was playing from 12:00-4:00 AM, 8:00-12:00 PM, and 4:00-8:00 PM. It was an unhealthy schedule but I at least ate three meals and received enough sleep.

  Today was officially the fifth game day yet only the second day since the game had released, but I was making strides. Having recently finished that annoying rabbit quest and finally acquiring suitable clothing, I could now properly hunt for the full duration of the day without fear of death due to the cold.

  Looking down at my clothing was certainly an upgrade as well, as my eyes were no longer offended by the sight. The white fox-fur boots were the biggest items as my feet were no longer numbed by the snow, while the white wolf-fur coat was able to cover my shoulders and midsection quite comfortably. The white fox-fur cap was a nice little addition too.

  Everything was white and fluffy though.

  Oh well.

  Before I could head out to hunt the village elder approached me once again, "Young one, thanks to you we have enough food to last us the week but there is one problem. There are too many foxes in the forests hunting the rabbits that we need to survive. Will you help us with our problem?"

  And just like that another system message popped up:

  [Will you accept this Quest?].

  I selected [Yes].

  Without bothering to look at the details of the quest I started jogging out towards the forest to the east, having forsaken the western forest that appeared to be normal again. Even if it looked normal, that western forest had proven to be a bit dangerous… my best guess was that was the higher level forest for beginners in the level 10-20 range. Having just recently hit level 5 I was still working my way through the easier forest, mostly due to lack of items though rather than lack of stats.

  I had plenty of attribute points after all.

  Mid-jog I decided to pull-up the [Quest Log] and look at what the requirements were. A quick glance told me all I needed to know, kill ten foxes in the Eastern Forest.

  Done and done.

  From what I could gather it was just a simple chain quest for beginners that started you off with rabbits, then led to foxes, and would eventually lead to wolves.

  In the Middle Kingdoms where there were actual towns and cities the quest systems were much more robust. Even the Southern Kingdoms or the North-Eastern Elven lands had towns and cities… but here in the far North there were just a few sparsely populated villages.

  While other players in different regions were getting rewarded handsomely for collecting furs, I was busy doing charity work to feed the homeless. No, that's not right, they have homes… they're just foodless. They also didn't have to worry about the winter months nearly as much either, with the weather much more tolerant down south.

  All in all, I had to spend nearly sixteen hours just to collect clothing so I could hunt properly and the quests that I received only gave me small increments to the NPC's loyalty bar. My end game was to receive bonus reputation. Everywhere else players got paid in coin and items.

  I almost regretted choosing the North.

  Entering the forest I soon came across the first of my targets, a [Northern White Fox] that was digging at the ground. I had snuck up from behind as it was still clawing away at what looked to be a small hole of sorts when it dawned on me that there might be a rabbit inside.

  Two birds with one find?

  I'll take it.

  Quickly going through the motions and drawing my bow, I release with a thwack and watch as the fox immediately slumps down from the one-hit kill. Nocking a second arrow I make my way towards the fox as I see a [Northern White Rabbit] leap out and make a dash for it.

  Unfortunately it took the easiest path for me to trace and with another thwack it collapsed a moment later. Now this was hunting that I could get behind. Tying the feet of the two animals together with some twine I bought, I slung them over my shoulder and continued on.

  By the end of the fourth hour as the sun started to set I returned to the village with a treasure trove of animals swaying to and fro. Not only did I collect the ten foxes but I also netted seven rabbits and leveled up twice. Excited and jubilant from my successful hunt I was soon frowning when the village elder approached.

  If he wanted to take ten foxes from me as compensation for simply issuing a quest with no reward I would be quite upset. No, I would be quite pissed… I'm not that nice of a guy to continue giving things away for free.

  The village elder continued his approach and waved at me with a smile, the same smile that con-artists used on their victims… I shuddered at the thought of what was to come.

  Stopping just short of bumping into me, the elder patted my shoulder and spoke, "You are truly the First of the North, such a splendid hunt and in such a short amount of time. You have earned the appreciation of every inhabitant here… but we are still quite short on food…."

  …Yeah.

  Yeah, I understood what he wanted but he wasn't going to get the whole fox.

  If he was going to word it that way and leave it open-ended then I was going to giv
e him an open-ended type of reply, "I will share the extra meat of the foxes I have slain once I have finished skinning them, I would have no use for it otherwise." This way I was only losing 30 copper opposed to 120 copper coins… it was bearable, and kept me in good standing with the village-folk.

  It was… bearable.

  Eyes beaming with pride and what appeared to be genuine gratefulness the elder bowed his head as he continued to pat my shoulders. The quest had completed and he spoke up once more, "You are a blessing from the Gods just as the tales have told, with this meat I believe we can survive until the end of the month without a hungry mouth. If you are up for the challenge…" …he continued on until I received the next part of the quest-chain, slaying ten wolves.

  Just like I had thought it was a simple pre-determined numerical kill-chain that just advanced up the ladder. I didn't expect much more but it would have been nice if I at least received bonus experience or something for these quests. I wasn't receiving anything at the moment and it was a bit disheartening.

  Oh well, after selling the fox furs I would be 90 copper coins closer to my goal which meant I could now afford a woodcutting axe and a small ice-axe as well.

  Things were looking up!

  Chapter 7: A Camp Site

  (Friday, January 22nd Game Day / Friday, January 8th Real Day)

  Crossing the river at its shallowest point at four feet deep, I made my way to the other side of the bank and looked around. There was a small circular clearing near the base of the mountain just to my east that would serve as an excellent campsite, and was actually a location I had previously scouted during the Alpha phase of testing.

  South of that location was a forest that extended for nearly a hundred miles along the riverbank and was teeming with creatures and monsters to boot. To the north was the tail end of the mountain, a rock wall that ended precipitously at the bank of the river and continuing again on the other bank.

  I called it the breach.

  The river flowed northwards into the sea a few miles from here, meaning there was an estuary rich with sea life within a few minutes' walk with an abundance of oysters, clams, crustaceans, fish, and birds ripe for the picking. There were even seals along the beach and on the small islands in the nearby area with whales and sharks abound.

  This was the one location that I had found in nearly six months of searching the North that I believed had potential. Almost everything a person or trade smith could ever want or need could be found here.

  Sure, it was undeveloped and completely raw, but that was the appeal.

  These were raw resources ripe for the taking, with no established town, city, or kingdom to lay claim. And if I was right in my thinking, it would all be mine to claim. This was the First of the North's territory, my territory.

  Having finally reached the location that I had thoroughly scouted during the Alpha phase I dropped my gear with joyous relief.

  The first part of my journey was now complete.

  The past week had been spent laboriously hunting in order to fulfill the hunting quests of the village elder and in an attempt to gather enough resources to continue to the next stage. That next stage was now here, the building phase. A player home that would allow me to settle the land and claim territory would be worth all of the effort.

  A forward operating base from which to build upon into a flourishing town… that was my goal. Without time to spare I quickly sorted through the collection of items I had brought along.

  There was a woodcutting axe that would double as my melee weapon, two small ice-picks for which to help me scale the mountain in a few weeks' time, a shovel to dig with, a drawknife to shave bark off the logs in order to build my log cabin, along with three sets of rope and an attached grappling hook.

  In addition to my complete set of gear I also had fur clothing that covered me from head to toe. I now had leather & fur boots, pants, vest, coat, gloves, vambraces, cap, quiver, and a bag.

  The weather could no longer hinder my plans. But, even so… it was still cold. As the sun had already started to set I decided to build a camp fire.

  Starting a fire was fairly easy in the game as I had already learned how to use fire magic during the Beta phase; I was able to start practicing and built up my proficiency based off memory of how the mechanics worked. Knowing the mechanics in this game helped a lot, but to progress properly you would still need to learn from an instructor. Sadly, there were no such instructors in the far North. So, all I could manage was a small flame off my hand.

  I basically mastered the magical equivalent of the lighter.

  Go me.

  With the fire built I now had to move on to the next part of my plan, the log cabin. I only had about six in-game weeks until the "Event," so I needed to keep things rolling. I decided to start surveying the trees first and found the majority of the pines to be between 6" and 12" thick and a minimum of around 30-35 feet tall.

  For simplicity's sake I elected to go with a 30'x30' cabin, utilizing the average 8" thickness trees and cutting them down to match. Doing the math quickly in my head, I would need roughly 48 logs to make four walls at a standard 8' minimum ceiling. Then I would probably need at least 24 more logs for the roof if I just split them in half and laid them out to make a low hanging roof.

  Those were doable numbers.

  Walking around the area while looking for the prime location for my cabin, I decided on keeping it close to the river bank for now. Marking a thirty feet square with the help of the in-game in-laid schematic system, I could visually see grid lines on the game world and could alter them as I saw fit.

  It was an essential tool, really.

  Once I finished with the design, I grabbed the shovel and started to dig.

  Digging was hardly the most efficient of the tasks I had set forth but I believed it would be extremely conducive to my work in the long run. By creating a dugout cabin that sat 4' below the surface I not only made it easier to get the logs of the roof up by myself without a hoist or crane, but it also served to insulate the cabin from the weather.

  The low hanging roofline would also be aesthetically pleasing once I tossed some dirt on top and had grass growing. Yeah, I was convinced it would look pretty awesome in the end.

  Something I could be proud of.

  Well, there is a saying that sentiment only goes so far and I had just about reached that point as I yelled out to the world, "Want To Buy laborers, Please Send Tell!" …of course that was directed at no one in particular, seeing as I was the only person in what people affectionally termed the northern wastelands.

  Oh well.

  A funny thing about digging is how monotonous it is… digging ditches or shoveling dirt or concrete is a rough job despite the little thought it requires. It's physically demanding and just plain laborious. A man of my size can burn 600-700 calories in an hour digging or shoveling, where if I was to go swimming for the same duration I would probably burn 300-400.

  Yeah, this was intensive work and the game system made it nearly identical to the real world.

  I didn't sign up to do virtual manual labor.

  It really wasn't funny.

  Completely zoned out as I had learned to do years ago while working such jobs in real life, I found myself working through the night and into the next day. Nearly eight hours of digging later, I was almost done.

  In truth, I would have never been able to move almost 3,600 cubic feet of dirt in a day or even a few days if it wasn't for my stupid level of strength and endurance in-game. I was a bit stronger and recovered incredibly quickly, meaning a short break by the fire while munching on rabbit jerky or enjoying some fire-roasted salmon plucked from the river and I was good to go without any lingering soreness.

  But, it was still monotonous.

  In an effort to maximize my time, I made my way through the clearing and to the closest trees in the vicinity. The tall pines, firs, and spruces were perfect for the log cabin and didn't have too many branches to clean.

&
nbsp; The only real issue would be moving them all, thankfully the forest started but thirty feet away from my dugout. I grabbed the woodcutting axe and started hacking away, intending to fell at least 48 trees before my endurance gave out. With woodchips and splinters flying off into the distance, the first tree was felled in about two minutes.

  Since they weren't too thick it went by fairly quickly.

  The chirping of the birds had been disturbed as that first tree fell but as time went by they returned; some no longer with a home but that was only a temporary disruption. Squirrels were jumping between the tree tops as well in an attempt to relocate, but they seemed to be playing as they watched me work.

  Perhaps this was the first time these squirrels had seen a person, and their curiosity got the better of them. As I made it to the tenth tree my axe had started to dull a bit, so I took a small break to sharpen it with a whetstone and then continued on.

  Halfway through I had gotten used to the swinging and chopping, and was actually receiving proficiency points in lumberjacking. Needless to say I was felling trees in about a minute now and was able to finish the forty eight in about two hours.

  I still had plenty of stamina left so I decided to start dragging all of the trees closer to the dig site. The dragging of the logs actually burned my stamina pretty quickly, despite my high Strength and Endurance attribute, dragging or carrying around 200-400 pound trees wasn't easy when they were over 30' in length. So I switched to rolling them in the end.

  I had to keep things rolling, after all.

  In a furious rush to finish as soon as possible, I started the process to debark the trees with a draw knife and was surprised to find that the game had auto-corrected the logs so they were smoother than I had actually cut them.

  If I had to even them all out individually it would have taken far too long. I spent nearly four hours stripping all of the trees and gained even more proficiency in wood working.