Endless Fantasy Online

by Devin Auspland

  Alchemist: The alchemist brews potions and poisons to aid his allies or defeat his foes. They strive for creating new things and finding new mixtures to maximize their potential in whatever path they choose. Automatically receive: +1 Intelligence, Book of Basic Potions, Book of Basic Poisons. New Attributes per Level: +1 Intelligence, +3 Attribute Points. Note: If alchemist is your current primary profession, you will be allowed to choose another at your leisure.

  Apprentice Mage: Learning to walk the path of a Mage is hard but rewarding. As you unlock your magical ability, you learn to unlock the power of your mind, and a powerful mind conquers all. Automatically receive: +1 Intelligence, +1 Wisdom, choice of the following spells: Water Jet, Earth Toss. New Attributes per Level: +2 Intelligence, +1 Wisdom, +1 Attribute Points.

  Archer: Killing your foe from afar is your specialty. A good archer can end a fight before it begins. Defeat your enemies before they have time to know what hit them. Automatically receive: +1 Agility, +1 Constitution, Aimed Shot. New Attributes per Level: +2 Agility, +2 Attribute Points.

  Earth Mage: As an earth affinity mage, you specialize in harnessing your earth affinity magic at the cost of your other affinity. No one will be your equal when it comes to earth magic. Automatically receive: +1 Intelligence, +1 Wisdom, Earth Toss, Stoneskin. New Attributes per Level: +2 Intelligence, +1 Wisdom, +1 Attribute.

  Herbalist: All life stems from… a stem. Plants are the center of life, and as an herbalist you are at the center of plants. Learn about a variety of plant life and how it interacts with the world. Herbalists strive to make amazing discoveries in their field. Automatically receive: +1 Intelligence, Book of Basic Herbs, Herb Bag (soulbound), Growth. New Attributes per Level: +1 Intelligence, +3 Attribute Points. Note: If herbalist is your current primary profession, you will be allowed to choose another at your leisure.

  Ranger: Learn to utilize magic to enhance your skills with a bow. Rangers are less proficient with their bow than Archers, but offer more utility through use of their magic. Automatically receive: +1 Agility, +1 Intelligence, Elemental Shot. New Attributes per Level: +1 Agility, 1+ Intelligence, +2 Attribute Points.

  Water Mage: As a water affinity mage, you specialize in harnessing your water affinity magic at the cost of your other affinity. No one will be your equal when it comes to water magic. Automatically receive: +1 Intelligence, +1 Wisdom, Water Jet, Cleanse. New Attributes per Level: +2 Intelligence, +1 Wisdom, +1 Attribute.

  The choices were staggering, and by the time he could read all the additional information they could see the city in the distance and it appeared to be in trouble. Large plumes of thick, dark smoke were bellowing into the air, and there appeared to be large crowds running from the city gates.

  The group looked at one another. Their new home was in trouble. Without uttering a word, the three were in silent agreement. It was time to defend their home.

  CHAPTER SIX

  The Crimson Shadow

  When the party arrived at the front gates, they gazed in horror. The gate guards were absent, but the street was littered with bodies.

  “What the hell is going on?” Patty looked shocked and had a hint of fear in her voice. A large explosion came from the other side of town and they could see another building going up in flames.

  Looking around, Luke saw several families lying dead. Mothers were holding their children as they tried and failed to flee the city. Panic hit Luke when his mind thought of Rose.

  “Rose!” He looked at his friends with dread. “I have to make it to the alchemist’s shop. I have to check on Rose.” His eyes were pleading for them to join him.

  Penny looked at him hard and contemplated whether they should head back to the guild or help Luke. “Luke…” She hesitated. “We’ll join you but we have to head for the guild after.”

  Luke was grateful to them for agreeing to help. While he was also concerned about the guild, they would respawn if they got caught up in all this death but if anything happened to Rose, she’d be gone forever. Luke didn't want to lose his friend and rushed his party down the street.

  When the group reached the turn that took them to the merchant’s row, they stopped. In front of them were two figures in dark leather attacking some locals. Before confirming with his party on how to proceed, Luke had swung his bow off his back and released an arrow. To his surprise, his party didn’t hesitate either and following his arrow was Penny and Nanoc charging the dark armored assailants with their weapons drawn.

  The arrow struck one man in the back and he let out a scream. “Son of a…” The man was turning around, but they cut his response off. Nanoc brought his axe down and across the chest of the man, almost splitting him in two.

  The man’s partner responded quickly and took a leap backwards. Penny slammed her sword on her shield and activated her taunt. The man blindly walked forward against his will and began attacking her. Distracted by the taunt, the man could not dodge the flurry of arrows Luke released on him. After the third arrow hit its mark, the man dropped to the ground lifeless.

  Traveler HotZone (Red) defeated. 200 exp added.

  Traveler Boomer (Red) defeated. 150 exp added.

  Killing other travelers not marked as Red, attacking NPCs unprovoked, breaking the law and other illegal activities will mark you Red. Other travelers and NPCs will see this status on you and will be allowed to attack you on site without penalty until this status goes away. The Red status will cause town guards to attack you on site.

  Note: This is a one time system message.

  Luke rushed over and cast nature’s regrowth on the merchant with a slash in his chest. “Stay with us.” The man’s cut started to stitch back together. Reality hit Luke hard as he looked up at the battlefield. Luke just killed a man. The man was young, younger than Luke but all life had drained from his face. His eyes were white and blood stained his armor.

  Did I do that? Did I… did I kill someone? Luke shuttered at the thought of being a murderer. The man’s body slowly began to vanish, leaving behind its armor, weapons and bags. The equipment dropped from the body in the same layout it had been in, creating a pseudo-outline of a person. It resembled a crime scene outline but filled in with equipment.

  Luke stared at the spot where the man used to be. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up. Penny was staring down at him with a concerned look on her face. “Luke… We have to keep moving.” She paused for a moment before continuing. “Isn’t Rose’s shop up ahead?”

  Luke pushed his glasses up and, for the first time, noticed the tears streaming from his eyes. He enjoyed being part of a party and taking out wolves. It was a game after all but this was different. He wasn’t sure how to cope with this, but he knew one thing: he didn’t want anything bad to happen to Rose. Rose took him in, cared for him and gave him a home when he wasn’t sure about his future. He wanted to make sure she was safe and would bottle up his emotions until then.

  “Rose!” he shouted as he burst through the front door. “Rose!” he repeated with growing concern. He ran into the back office but it was empty. Running out back to check the greenhouse, he noticed blood on the doorknob. The greenhouse was also empty, and he wasn’t sure how to feel. Does this mean she was safe or should he be concerned?

  Nanoc and Penny came into the shop and found Luke putting vials into his bag. He noticed the two enter and tossed them some health potions. “Let’s take these potions and head to the guild house. Let's find out what happened to Shrapnel and the others.”

  Luke started walking past them for the door but Penny stopped him. “Luke? Is Rose ok?”

  He looked back with watery eyes. “I don’t know… no one's here and I can’t just sit around and wait for her. Can we… can we just go, please?” She nodded and followed him outside.

  Running for the guild house, the team stopped several times to pass out health potions to NPCs and travelers alike. They tried to get information from people, but no one really knew what was going on. Everyone could just agree that th
e city was under attack by masked men and they seemed to kill everyone on sight.

  The group made it to their guild home without any more encounters and were happy to see it still in one piece. When they entered, the building appeared to be abandoned. None of the guild members were there and items laid scattered everywhere.

  “This makes no sense.” Nanoc commented.

  “Wait! Can’t you post in the guild message board? I don’t have access as a probationary member.” Added Luke.

  Penny was quick to answer. “We can’t. I tried and the whole message board is blacked out with a message saying something about an area event quest going on and communications being blocked.”

  “Well… where do we go from here?” Luke inquired.

  Penny scratched the back of her head before snapping her fingers together. “Backstab!” Luke could tell she was pulling menus up and scrolling through options because her hands and eyes were zooming around in front of her. “My party sense ability shows him heading for the castle. I bet we’ll find more guild members over there.” Both men nodded and ran back outside in the castle's direction.

  As they got closer, they saw a large number of travelers and NPCs being rounded up in front of the castle. The group kept their distance but stayed close enough to listen.

  “Hurry up.” said a man, dressed the same way as the two they had slain. He was pushing a group of NPCs along with the edge of his blade. One of the NPCs, a frail looking older gentleman, stumbled and fell to the ground. “I said hurry!” the man repeated as he moved the tip of his blade toward the man's face. “Get up and move or you’re just dead weight.” A few other NPCs helped the man to his feet, and they were back en route to the castle.

  New skill acquired: Sneak, Beginner 0. While others try to be honest and fair, you sneak around in the dark, looking for opportunities to strike. What are you really doing hiding in those bushes? Cost: 1 stamina per second. Effect: +x% chance to sneak and +1x% chance to perform a sneak attack when attacking while hidden, where x = skill level.

  “They’re heading for the castle. We should circle around and get a better vantage point,” Penny whispered as she pointed down an alley. Proceeding down the alley they started looking for a building that had windows facing the castle. They quickly found one and slowly entered the unlocked door. Luke pointed to the staircase and Penny nodded. The group moved upstairs and entered the room that should contain the windows facing the castle’s courtyard.

  It was a small bedroom and, like the rest of the home, was empty of occupants. The group moved to either side of the window and peeked out. The castle’s courtyard was packed with travelers and NPCs. Surrounding the crowd were more of the dark armored people garnishing their blades. In front of the castle was a hastily erected stage with a man walking up to it.

  “People, people.” The man was raising his hands, trying to settle the crowd down. He was wearing what appeared to be a thick black robe with a hooded cloak. “I know you're all concerned with what’s going on but I’m here to answer all your questions.” A man in the crowd tried speaking up but was quickly silenced with a sword hilt to the back of his head. With a sinister voice, he continued. “Now there, I don’t like interruptions. I am Shadow Incarnate, and I am your new king.”

  The dark armored people among the crowd started cheering uncontrollably while the rest of the crowd appeared to just look confused. A guard approached the stage and spoke. “You… you are not our king! Our king died and we serve the royal family!” The crowd looked uncomfortable and unsure who to side with.

  Shadow Incarnate started smiling and dark shadows filled his eyes as they became matte black. Dark clouds formed above and darkness fell upon them. He lifted his arm and faced his palm out toward the guard. A large black fireball formed in the open palm and with a forward thrust of of his hand it shot toward the guard at an alarming speed. The fireball connected with the guard’s metal chest plate and instantly spread across his entire body. The man let out shouts of pain as the fireball consumed his flesh, but it appeared to be doing no damage to his equipment. When the fire finally put itself out, all that was left of the guard was his equipment and bones.

  “Now rise, child of shadows.” The man raised both his arms up slowly and the skeleton of the guard’s bones started clacking. The guard slowly stood back up as a newly raised skeleton, with dark flames for eyes behind his helmet. The crowd started shouting in terror but the dark armored men prevented them from going anywhere.

  “That's not right,” whispered Nanoc as his grip tightened on his axe.

  “Now you know what your king is capable of and what happens to those who disobey.” He paused to let his threat sink in. “Join me, join your new king, join the Crimson Shadow!” Applause and shouts of encouragement again rained from the dark armored members of the crowd. Nothing but fear was shown on the faces of everyone else in the crowd.

  “The Crimson Shadow! Is this guy a traveler?” Luke questioned aloud.

  “No way. The beta only started a month ago. I was in the second round of participants and I’ve only been in the game for a little over 3 weeks. There’s no way he gained that much power in a month. That's got to be a master level skill. I know travelers are part of the Crimson Shadow but there's no way this guy’s a traveler.” Penny responded but hesitated. “We… we need to go down there. It's one thing being trapped in a game, but I can’t be trapped in a game where that man rules over me.”

  “If a high level guard can’t do anything, what are we supposed to do?” Luke rebutted.

  “I agree with Luke. As much as I want to shed some blood with my axe, I don’t want that blood to be mine,” Nanoc chimed in.

  “I’m going down.” Penny had a serious look on her face. “If we don’t stand now then when? We’re immortal, remember? Even if he kills us, we’ll just come back to fight him again.” She smiled but Luke could tell it was a fake smile. Penny was just as scared as he was.

  The two men agreed to her plan, and they headed downstairs. They left through the back door, trying to stay as silent as possible. “Should we just attack or is there more to your plan?” Luke nocked an arrow, awaiting her reply.

  “I think the focus is to take out as many of the Crimson Shadow as we can, so the NPCs can get away. Their safety is our number one priority. Remember, they don’t respawn.”

  “I get to take out Crimson Shadow members? And it's not even my birthday,” Luke teased playfully. When he got a nod from Penny, he released his arrow and it flew directly into the back of a Crimson Shadow member.

  Sneak Attack!

  Attacking while not being seen has the chance of scoring a Sneak Attack. Sneak Attacks do significantly increased damage.

  “Ahhh!” the man screamed as he dropped his blade and reached toward his back looking for the intruder. Penny and Nanoc began their charge.

  When they reached the crowd, they collided with a row of ready Crimson Shadow members. Penny quickly activated her taunt and Nanoc’s skin went red with rage. Distracted by her taunt, an armor bound thug’s back was torn open by Nanoc’s large axe. Unfortunately, there were still six other people raining down attacks on her shield, and she was quickly getting overrun. Right before a man could stab her in the side, an arrow struck him with such force that he stumbled back. She didn’t bother looking over her shoulder as she knew it was Luke covering her flank.

  Luke cast nature’s regrowth on her, but a quick review of his party screen showed nothing promising. Even with his heal, Penny was well below half health and Nanoc wasn’t too far behind.

  Five or six more thugs started charging Penny but were interrupted when a few travelers jumped on them. “We got your back!” screamed Guild Master Shrapnel as he threw a small red fireball from his hands.

  NPCs started taking off in all directions once the chaos broke out. Luke and his team continued their onslaught, but he started noticing something. Every target they did significant damage to started getting back up and their wounds seemed to be healin
g themselves. The man whose back was sliced open by Nanoc was charging him again only moments later. The slice on his back had strange black semi-translucent tentacles coming from it and they were pulling the wound back together. By the time the man reached Nanoc again his wound was fully closed, and the tentacles vanished.

  Looking around, Luke saw Shadow Incarnate smiling with his fully black eyes glowing. “Hey guys,” he panted as he released another arrow and noticed his stamina bar was down to 20%. “I think that the main guy is healing everyone.”

  “Yeah.” Penny raised her shield to block several strikes, but a dagger still broke through her defences and sliced along her side. “Ahh! Yeah, I noticed! Not much we can really do. He's beyond us.”

  Luke didn’t accept that and ran forward. He dodged a few strikes as he got closer to the main crowd. When he thought he was close enough, he took a shot at Shadow Incarnate. The arrow flew true but stopped mid-air when it was a foot from its target. Black ripples glimmered around Shadow Incarnate as a transparent shield came into view. The arrow ignited in black flames and turned to dust.

  “You dare take a shot at me. AT ME! Your new king!” Shadow Incarnate raised his hand and a familiar black fireball formed in the man's palm. He shot the fireball at Luke and Luke took off running.

  His running was in vain as the fireball quickly gained ground on him. When it was about to connect, a white and red column of light shot down from the sky, piercing and dispersing the dark clouds above. The fireball faded from existence as a man appeared clad in full plate armor and wielding a golden bastard sword in one hand and a large golden shield with a phoenix insignia on it in the other. The insignia was engulfed in flames and the phoenix appeared to be living.