End Online: Volume 5

by D Wolfin

  With the wolf girl frantically gripping my neck, I have both hands free to paddle upward and ascend to the surface.

  My head emerges from the water as I hear CaptainGordon shouting from atop the ship, “Lower the rope! We can’t let ’em drown out there!”

  Three ropes fall down the from the railing of the ship on the side that I am on. Thankfully the ‘Bastion’ truly does move very slowly, and is still quite close. After swimming thirty meters with Fen clinging to me in pure terror, I reach the ropes hanging down from the ship.

  I grab onto one and signal Fen to grab onto another. She adamantly refuses and grabs onto me instead.

  “Pull us up!” I resignedly shout to the people above.

  The rope tugs at my hand and slowly raises us out of the water. Once we are back on the deck, I can’t stop shivering from a chill that seeps down to my bones. This isn’t a result of the rain, but rather from falling into the ocean. A notification appears in front of me that causes me to curse.

  You have caught a severe cold from falling into the ocean. All stats are reduced by 40% for the next three days. If you fall into the ocean again, the penalty will become 60%. A third time will be fatal.

  Next to me Fen doesn’t appear to be in any better condition, her whole body quivering. A ‘Sick’ status icon joins the end of my buffs in the corner of my vision, and as a part of being my companion, I can see Fen has one too.

  SomaHealer and Moonkite stand up on the other side of the ship, their knees buckling and struggling to move at all. They unequip their armor and replace it with casual clothes all of a sudden and start to move more freely. I conclude that the stat penalty must have brought their stats below the minimum requirements for their armor. If I was wearing heavy armor, I would most likely be forced to do the same.

  I turn to Fen to help her up, but am held back by a startling sight. Fen’s body emits a blinding icy white light that causes me to turn my eyes away. I feel the boat listing hard to one side and my heart clenches at the thought of capsizing.

  As the light fades from my eyes, I make out a few strands of red floating down in the air and a large white object. The strands of red are fabric; what used to be Fen’s dress to be precise. The great white body is Fen, reverted back to her wolf form.

  Chapter 31 – Voyage on the High Seas (Part 2)

  -Aunt Jude-

  Mr. Johnstone has been frequenting my house as of late. I used to see him just once or twice a month, but now he visits weekly. His demeanor has become more docile as well.

  “Jude,” Mr Johnstone says with an unblemished smile, “I truly admire how you manage to maintain your position in society so stably.”

  I raise a cup of coffee to my lips and sip the beverage while maintaining a calm face, “I will try to take that as a compliment.”

  “We have known each other since our days in school and I have always noted that aptitude of yours with respect.”

  Indeed, we have known each other since school. But knowing who a person is and actually forming a relationship with them are two completely different things.

  Liam Johnstone was in my freshman year at school, an individual who came from a smaller house yet was filled with more pride and haughtiness than many of the nobler families. It was an attitude which put distance between him and everyone else.

  I had no personal qualms with him back then; he was simply a person I heard rumors about that I didn’t concern myself with. The following year, however, he ended up in my class. In the seat directly next to me.

  In normal circumstances, this would be the beginning of a good friendship. I admired how hard working he was in class, and all he would have needed to do was turn his head and say a greeting. Yet days, weeks, and even months passed and he never did this, always diligently looking forward. Despite being from a family much higher in society than his, my impression of him continued to improve, despite never sharing words.

  This all changed when he confessed his love to my older sister a year later. I took it as a flat out rejection, and I was filled with burning jealousy and anger.

  ‘Why is it always her? What makes her so much better than me?!’ I feel foolish about it now, but those were my thoughts back then.

  I envied my sister back then, but that doesn’t matter anymore. My school years passed before I knew it and everyone I had known graduated, beginning their own chapter in life.

  Several years later, I visited my sister who had just given birth to a young boy. Liam also happened to be visiting the same hospital in regards to his sister giving birth to a young boy called Chrona Axelle. This is how we reunited and kindled a new friendship through to today. I had once thought of pursuing him as a love interest, but always held myself back.

  “Jude,” Liam Johnstone continues speaking, “I don’t know if you recall, but I currently have a nephew who is the star of our family.”

  “Indeed, I recall you having a nephew, but I have never heard much about him. Why do you bring him up?”

  “I will be direct with you. Would you be interested in arranging a marriage between my nephew and one of your nieces?”

  I expected him to ask this, so I take in his words with calm resolve and pretend to think about them.

  “Arranged marriages aren’t exactly uncommon in the current world.”

  “That’s exactly it.”

  “Let me think about it for a while, my nieces’ happiness is of the most importance in such a matter.”

  “I understand. I hope to receive good news in the matter,” Liam gives me what appears to be a gentle smile, but I can see beyond his false façade.

  He stays at my residence for the next half hour before taking his leave. As the girls are at school, I busy myself with the family business. Our family restores antique items and then sells them off for much higher prices.

  My parents have long since retired, old age crippling their minds with dementia and forcing them into a retirement village. They were the ones who started this restoration business, and passed down a large quantity of items they acquired ranging from the Victorian era heritage items to ancient relics from times long lost. Some are put to use after being sold, while others that are valued much higher become collectables and decorations.

  There are no scientifically proven bloodline traits even today, yet our family does indeed have one. Every single member of the Sylvester family has had a vested interest in the archaic. Not only are we naturally skilled with handling and preserving antique items, but with practice we are also able to calculate the approximate age of the items. These inborn talents give us the advantage in the field and are what has helped our family prosper in the past.

  Despite living a mediocre life beneath others, my sister also had the same blood running through her veins. Three and a half years ago, she dragged her husband off to an archaeological ruin to see it up close and personal. It still pains me to think about how she is gone. Despite all of the questionable life choices she made, she was still my sister.

  My distracted thoughts cause me to slip and cut my finger on the knife in my hand. Despite being nearly two thousand years old, it still remains sharp enough to leave small cuts. It is some form of ceremonial, ceramic weapon. As such, there is no rust on it. Careful polishing, using light chemicals to break away the hard packed dirt and stains, and repeating this process slowly brings back the edge it once had.

  This is extremely delicate work, as the years have caused the materials themselves to deteriorate and become brittle. I also can’t remove too much, as the value and authenticity of an ancient weapon is in that ancient patina. An artifact of this age, but with the appearance of something manufactured recently would cause endless speculation and claims of fraudulence.

  By early afternoon, there’s still a small blemish on the leather hilt of the weapon. Perhaps, once upon a time, it was blood. The leather wrapped around the handle has long since become petrified and is extremely brittle if restored incorrectly. With a cotton swab, I dab a droplet of mildly aci
dic solvent that should lighten the stain.

  An alarm quietly goes off on the watch I have next to me on the table. It’s time to leave to pick the girls up from school. Placing the dagger down in front of me, I quickly make some adjustments to my appearance before heading out.

  An hour later, I am out front of Jordan Grammar Academy. The academy is in the middle district and is split into two sections. One for the junior students, grade one to six, and one for the senior students, grade seven through to twelve. The sons and daughters of many prestigious families from all the way up in the Upper District attend here, which is precisely why I had my nieces enrolled here. Connections formed now will be with them for life, and I am sure they will one day thank me.

  Enrolling the girls in such a high class school would normally be impossible for me as someone from the Lower District. Yet I managed to call in a few favors, and the usually upturned noses accepted my girls with smiles on their faces.

  Joelle and Shari walk out of the school gate with one of their friends, stopping momentarily to look around for me. It takes them awhile since I am parked amongst all the other parents and even a few butlers, but they eventually spot me standing next to my car expectantly.

  Joelle says her goodbyes to her friend, who also heads off toward his own parents. Seeing who his parents are, I immediately know his identity.

  ‘So, he is a Lord,’ I think to myself with a sigh.

  I don’t mean he is a lord as in royalty, but as that he is someone from the Lord family. They run an investment business, managing the purchases and sales of assets on others’ behalf. The family is quite successful at what they do, but that industry is full of top class businessmen where the ruthless dominate the weak. It is truly a dog eat dog world to be in.

  “Auntie, we’re here,” Shari says enthusiastically upon reaching me, as if I did not know they had arrived.

  “Yes, I trust you enjoyed school today? Now, hop in the car and we will head home.”

  “We always enjoy Friday,” Shari continues, speaking for both herself and Joelle as they get in the car. “That’s because we get to speak to Holly tomorrow!”

  “Oh, is that so?” I can’t help but frown as I get into the car.

  These girls are far too obsessed with their brother, but that does have merit in itself. Their love for that failure of an older brother is something I can use to make them obey me. I must teach them consider the Sylvester family’s heritage and future as their responsibility, no matter the actions necessary. They may blame me for it, but I know that one day they will come to understand.

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

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

  -Mikhail-

  As soon as my spies spot Lost and his party leaving Swordbreak, I immediately make my move to break out of the confines of the guild that was created around me. No, created around my soul bound skill. The former guild leaders, now elders of the new guild, are incredibly cunning. They constantly set traps and post guards in inconvenient locations to prevent me from escaping. My title of guild master is a prison.

  I only have one chance to escape. I have memorized the movement of the guards. When they are posted, and where. After this attempt, the deployment will inevitably change to prevent it from happening again.

  I have secretly been training a skill in crafting cloth items; mostly clothing. I craft a makeshift rope with this skill, vaguely similar to what the princesses use to escape their confinements in commonly known children’s stories. The thought of escaping like this is degrading, but the ploy will be all the more effective due to being unexpected.

  Waiting for nightfall and the midnight shift of the guard, I silently bide my time. Once the hour approaches, I quickly extend the cloth out the window and down five stories to the ground. I slide down the rope at a speed which may cause some people to become dizzy with vertigo.

  Once I reach the ground, I slip into the nearby shadows and change my equipment to that of dark grey cloth to further evade any wandering eyes. I slip behind a building and into an unlit alley, rapidly escaping from the guild headquarters.

  My informants let me know of Lost’s party logging out and where. This is possibly the best news so far as it will let me catch up to them quite easily. All that is left is to somehow integrate into the group and conduct my investigation into the party leader and that strange ‘Companion’.

  Reaching the spot where they logged off, I also leave virtual reality and rest while my informants keep an eye on that location from a distance.

  I start to become restless, expecting the call that they have logged back in at any moment. As a result, I end up having a poor night’s sleep and drowsiness affects me greatly the following morning.

  They finally log back on, and I wait another hour before logging on and following them, using my spies to track them.

  Lost’s party eventually reaches the coastal town of Trope, an area where it is much easier for me to spy on them from a close distance. I had once shown my face in front of Lost, when Mr. Lee confronted him in the outskirts of the Kingdom of Dalbe, so I make sure to cover it with a helmet that hides my appearance. It was only momentary, but I can’t risk him recognizing me by chance.

  I follow them closely along the docks as they search for a ship to take them to some southern island. As an employee of Idea Imagine, I have a vague concept on the place, but I have never seen it.

  Listening to others describe it as an island, I inwardly laugh. Being the size of a kingdom, I would hardly describe it as an island. It is closer to being a continent.

  Following my targets into an unknown inn, I sit at a table nearby without letting my focus waver from them. When a pirate enters and eventually ends up taking up their commission to sail across the ocean, I finally see my opportunity to integrate with the party. It is almost like the opportunity is presenting itself on a silver platter.

  I am outraged when the pirate asks for twice the amount of gold from me than anyone else, but that doesn’t last long. A hand clasps my shoulder, and a chill runs up my spine even before I recognize her voice. It is Moonkite, the leader of the original party who took note of my special skill and played a large role in the creation of the guild, ‘Hero’s Vanguard’.

  The rest of the party is with her, plus another who I don’t know. This golden opportunity suddenly feels like the entire thing was one big trap to start with. While I was tailing Lost and his party, I never had the slightest inclination that I, too, was being followed.

  Everything seems to go downhill from there, Moonkite adding me to their party and keeping a closer watch on me than ever before. It is only when we set out to sea, where I can’t possibly escape, that her eyes aren’t firmly affixed upon me.

  Our voyage turns out to be full of strange surprises for me. The iron plating on the boat and the strange cannon and other crafted inventions are things that I, an employee of the game’s creator, have never even thought possible.

  I have a conversation with Henry, my boss, about the situation. I hope he will interfere and separate the rest of my party from me so I can get closer to Lost and his companion, but am met with stubborn refusal. According to Henry, I simply have put up with it as outside interference could create needless suspicion from my targets. As such, I am once again trapped within the clutches of the guild.

  I do quite enjoy the battle with the sea monsters, relishing it even more when one of my party members perishes. Looking in from outside the game versus actually being in it create two completely different sets of experiences.

  I don’t need to worry about the attacks of the sea monster, since my real life expertise in martial arts is more than enough for me to survive anything short of the ship sinking. The ship sinking would create a considerable dilemma, given Lost’s party would also be sent back to their spawn point. I look at the kingdom insignia on the backs of their right hands, and frown at the thought of chasing them down again.

  For the pur
pose of countering every possible outcome, I have some employees stationed near the spawn locations in both Grenton and Iceridge. If they do end up dying and respawning, my spies can quickly respond and continue tracking them until I catch up.

  I notice Lost approach stealthily as I am talking with Henry. His eavesdropping may go unnoticed by a standard player, but I recognize his intentions immediately.

  ‘Does he suspect me?’ I inwardly worry as I move away from him and continue talking to Henry who is beside my real body.

  The biggest shock comes during a storm that hits the boat late one evening. Four players are blown off the ship by the aftermath of a single lightning bolt. When they climb back onto the ship, they are all afflicted with a terrible cold from the icy waters of the ocean, even the companion Fen.

  As the sickness overcomes and weakens the companion, a blinding light issues from her body. What is revealed from the light is not a girl anymore, but the body of a massive, snow-white wolf. Fragments of the red dress she once wore float about in the air, before the stormy winds catch them and carry them off into the sky.

  Seeing the wolf, I immediately recall the day when Henry informed me about the ‘children’ that the master AI entity ‘Xilbril’ gave birth to. They have strange abilities, capable of affecting the game around them. Some are in the form of NPCs, while others play at being various monsters. What is to stop them from changing in between the two?

  While thinking of how this child AI has attached itself to Lost in the game, my mind becomes blank and my heart turns cold.

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

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

  -Lost-

  Fen’s massive wolf body causes the ship to list sideways as one side drops dangerously low, threatening to sink into the ocean. She is lightly panting and her eyes remain closed.

  Her wolf form is slightly different than when I first met her though. Back then she was only about three meters tall and five meters long. Although she is currently lying down on her side, if she were to stand up she would be four meters tall and seven meters long; truly a queen among beasts.