Digitized Online

by Richard J Thorn

  Once I heard the familiar thud, I opened my eyes and looked straight into the eyes of a...

  "Centaur! You didn't tell me we could be anything other than humanoid!" I yelled at Orge.

  "Uh...hi?" The young, male centaur cautiously extended his hands. "Is there anything wrong with centaurs?"

  I shook my head. "Heavens, no! If I'd have known I could have been a centaur, I'd have chosen that myself." I softened my tone as I realized I wasn't putting on a good first impression.

  "My name's Ivanhoe. Ivanhoe Darkwolf." I thrust out my hand and helped the young centaur to his feet.

  "Jacob." He replied. "Just Jacob." Then he turned to the invisible helper and answered her questions. "Centaur. Male. Hunter."

  "Another huntard, nice!" I smiled.

  "Only the best!" He beamed.

  When he was finished choosing his options - damn, you could even change the color of your hide - Orge stepped forward and took a walk with him.

  Even though I'd already gone through it, it was hard to fathom what it must be like to be told that the world you were born in had been obliterated. I shook my head and walked slowly in the direction Orge had said the entrance to the dungeon was.

  I'd always fantasized about playing a beast race. How would it feel to have four legs and still have your hands free? Then again, maybe not.

  I trudged through the light, wet grass, all the while wondering if I'd passed the entrance. He did say something about it being a secret. Were there any quests associated with it? I wouldn't even know where to begin to start looking for quests like that.

  I was thankful when the grassland turned into proper forest. I was starting to get soaked. I found a shady tree and sat down to take a bit of a rest. I hadn't brought any food - other than the uncooked bear steaks, which I suppose I could cook up if I got hungry enough.

  Again, I took in the beauty of this game world. To be quite honest, I couldn't tell the difference between this and the "real" world. Except for all the game talk. But just looking around, I could stick my nose right up to a tree and not be able to tell that it was just a digital representation of a tree.

  Everything was just so real and life-like. I really don't know how the devs did it, but they did a hell of a job. All the senses were represented. All the usual scents and smells were there - perhaps a bit...enhanced? Sight-wise, I could see everything I would expect to see. Nothing seemed odd or unfamiliar. Aside from the fact that I was in a wholly unfamiliar land.

  I took a large sip of ale and continued on my way. It took another half-hour of searching before I stumbled upon a rock outcropping that looked very suspicious. I knew that had to be it.

  Cautiously, I walked toward it, my bow at the ready. I really didn't know what to expect. Would it be guarded? My heart sped up as adrenaline coursed through my blood.

  From the outside it looked like an old, abandoned mineshaft. However, lit torches lined the walls and it looked to me that someone - or something - had recently inhabited it.

  The creepy, shadowy light made my hair stand on end. I could hear nothing, but that didn't necessarily mean anything.

  I walked cautiously down a long, downward-sloping corridor. I could hear the sounds of dripping water far off in the distance. There were other sounds, too, but I couldn't quite make them out.

  I shivered as the rain dried on my skin. A few minutes later, I thought I heard faint voices. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up and I inched toward the sound.

  I strained my ears to hear what they were saying, but it was in a language that I didn't understand. I saw a flicker of fire coming from a room just up ahead and knew that was where the sounds were coming from.

  I tightened my grip.

  Holding my breath as I rounded the corner, I peered inside the room and saw 4 goblins sitting around a campfire jabbering to each other. I wondered what they were talking about. Maybe the day's haul. What did they do all day? Look for gems in the mine? Then I remembered the goblins in the sewer who all had exactly one shiny gem on them.

  There was a connection, I just knew it.

  My heart froze in my chest when one of the goblins suddenly looked straight at me. Did he see me? Surely he did! Several seconds passed by as he no doubt contemplated if what he was seeing was real.

  Then, his eyes flew open wide and a cry escaped his lips as he jumped to his feet, grabbed his small dagger and charged toward me. Even though I was looking straight at him and prepared, his sudden war cry startled me, nearly causing me to drop my arrows.

  Instead, I shakily activated both freezing and double arrow and unleashed both directly at the small, green goblin.

  The arrows struck their target true and a scream that was poised on the goblin's lips stuck in his frozen throat. His eyes were wide with madness. I shivered at the sight.

  Both arrows pierced him in the chest. But the bigger problem was that now the other 3 goblins were on their feet, their daggers, spears and short swords at the ready.

  One of the shots was a crit, the other took 4 hp from him, leaving him with 34. I nearly burst out laughing as he was blocking the door and the others couldn't get through. That made them so mad.

  I backed up a pace and continued plunking the frozen goblin with arrows while the others grunted and screamed, even beating on their frozen friend to get to me.

  Two more arrows, another crit. Red numbers flashed above his head as the ice spell wore off. The crit sapped another 12 from his health bar. The other one glanced off, inflicting no damage. That not only left him with 22, but more importantly, he was free to attack.

  I used the long corridor to my advantage, pelting them just as fast as I could pull the bowstring. I tried to concentrate on the first one as he was less than half health. Yes! I pumped my fist as I lit him on fire.

  A couple of the goblins pushed in front of their injured, burning comrade. I could tell they had no concern for each other. Each man for himself was their motto.

  That actually worked out to my advantage.

  I side-stepped the crazed goblins the best I could, focusing down the injured one. A minute later, his body burned and riddled with arrows, he crumpled down to the ground, one last scream poised on his thin, green lips

  The moment the life left his raggedy body, a quest box popped up over my vision.

  Hidden quest: Goblin Slayer

  Objective: Slay 100 goblins

  Reward: New title: Goblin Slayer

  1/100 Goblins slain

  200 (x2) xp gained

  Ooh, a secret, hidden quest! I wonder what other goodies I'd find down here. I didn't much care for the title, but 100 goblins? Holy shit. I hope I don't run out of arrows. I made a mental note to pick up every arrow I could scavenge.

  Then I turned my attention to the others. I chose the nearest one, activated my freezing and double arrow, waited until I had a good, clean shot, then froze him in place.

  One of the other goblins got up in my face and I had to kick him out of the way and side-step his short sword. The ringing of their hate-filled war cries filled the passageway, bouncing off the walls. It was a cacophony of madness.

  The sounds of cold, hard steel clanging off the walls and floor rang through the torch-lit hallway. I had to be careful. One mis-step and I would be struck.

  I kited the 3 mad goblins around the hallway, dodging their blows and avoided most of their hits. Although one got a lucky glancing blow in, knocking 5 hp off.

  It took a good five minutes before the 4 goblins lay crumpled on the dirt floor, twisted like rag dolls, their expressions filled with surprise and hate.

  4/100 Goblins slain

  200 (x2) xp gained

  200 (x2) xp gained

  200 (x2) xp gained

  I rifled through their bodies, hoping I'd find more than just worthless baubles. 3 of the 4 had the worthless gem, while the other had two blue gems. I pocketed them, maybe they'd actually be worth something.

  Combined, the goblins had a handful of copper and a few s
ilver on them. Nothing to get excited about. But after 100 of them, I might be stuffed to the gills with coins.

  I searched the room and found a couple more healing potions, some more silver and a decent-looking dagger.

  More importantly, though, was the campfire. Making sure no one was around, I pulled out a couple bear steaks, sat down and roasted them over the fire.

  The smell of delicious meat permeated the air. My stomach growled loudly as I tended to my small wound. It wasn't much, but it could easily become infected. Assuming that was a thing.

  Time passed slowly in the small room and I thought about the current state of affairs. Were we really going to have to face a 15th level boss?

  But what would happen once the fight was over and the AI's minion was defeated? Surely she wouldn't just disappear into the nether, never to be seen again.

  My thoughts also turned toward the forbidden black stone. Orge mentioned something about it being a dev stone. Maybe some kind of cheat stone? I wondered if I could somehow crack the code and figure it out.

  He also said that using it could bring heat down upon us. Which was the last thing I wanted to do. But surely small things wouldn't. I pulled it out and held it in my hands. Instantly it thrummed as heat coursed through it.

  Other than using it to help Orge bring new players into the game, I really didn't know how to access and unleash its powers. And I was a bit worried that even if I could, I might not know how to properly control that power.

  I wasn't quite ready to deal with that yet, so I carefully placed the orb back in my pack. Soon.

  Moments later, the steaks were done. I only had a few drops of ale to wash it down with, but it would have to do. I tore into the tasty meat and within minutes was ready to continue my dungeon-delving.

  Besides goblins, I wondered what else I would stumble upon. The only other creatures I'd faced were rats and wild animals.

  I'm sure that before the nuclear blast I knew all of the creatures in the game, but at the moment I couldn't recall a fucking thing. That was the worst feeling. Knowing you had a life before, but not being able to recall any of it.

  Stuffing everything back in my pack, I gathered as many arrows as I could find and continued down the long corridor.

  Up ahead, I heard sickening sounds that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up and my stomach turn. I didn't realize exactly what they were until I came face to face with the largest spider I'd ever seen.

  For the briefest of moments, we just stood, face to face, sizing each other up.

  The moment I reached for my bow, she sprung upon me, teeth chattering and red eyes blazing. I barely had time to jump aside.

  I started my rotation and fired off my first volley, immobilizing the large arachnid before she could immobilize me. As I peppered her with my deadly arrows, I wondered what other surprises were in store for me. A few arrows more and she was nearly down.

  That's when I saw something I never thought I'd see in my wildest dreams. A goblin RIDING a fucking spider. Holy shit.

  He saw me and charged forward with his trusty steed. He squealed in delight and threw a spear in my direction that clanged inches in front of me.

  As the goblin-led spider skittered toward me, I rolled under it at the last moment and continued attacking the injured spider. I was getting pretty good at kiting, but did wish I had some traps I could throw out. Maybe that would come in a few levels. That would be exciting.

  As quickly as I could, I dispatched the lone spider and turned my attention to the goblin-ridden one.

  Hidden quest: Spider Leg Stew

  Objective: Obtain 5 Pristine Spider Legs

  Reward: 10 gp, Spider Leg Stew

  250 xp (x2) gained

  Nice! I'd just bet that the dungeon was crawling with hidden quests. Now I wanted to find all of them.

  I didn't have time to ponder the information as it scrolled by as the goblin lunged his steel-tipped spear at me, missing my face by mere inches.

  I sucked in my breath at how close I'd just come to being scalped. Holy shit. Well, now that I knew about the spider legs, I needed to avoid hurting them at all costs. Anywhere else on the body was fair game, however.

  Question was, did I go for the spider first or the goblin. The spider turned around and charged at me and my mind was made up. Nocking two arrows, I shot them straight at the spider's nightmare-inducing face. One missed, but the second didn't.

  Unfortunately, the one that hit was just a regular arrow. Crap. The spider kicked out and knocked me flat on my back. It took everything I had not to lose my bow.

  Before I could roll out of the way, the goblin speared me in the chest.

  I was able to pull it out and move out of the way before the spider's massive mandibles tore me to shreds. I didn't know if these were venomous, but I didn't want to take a chance.

  I needed a distraction and when I saw my flaming arrow cooldown pop, I knew what I needed to do. Activating it, I carefully aimed right at the goblin's throat.

  He squawked, grabbed his throat, thrashed around a bit and fell to the floor.

  Blood was oozing out of my own wound and I knew I needed to bandage it soon or I'd start losing hp, but I needed to take care of the spider and goblin first.

  As the goblin was writhing around on the floor, I kited the spider around, casting arrow after arrow. When the goblin finally pulled the arrow out of his throat and began to move on me menacingly, I plunked a freezing arrow right in his face.

  Then I turned my attention back to the spider. I knew it was low on health. If I could just get another arrow or 3 in it. Before I could finish it off, the spider suddenly turned its back on me and netted me with a very sticky web. The harder I struggled, the more it held me fast.

  Panic welled up inside me as the spider advanced on me, it's foot-long fangs gleaming menacingly in the dancing torch light. The goblin, sensing my distress, dragged his bleeding body over to me and with all his remaining effort, lifted his spear high in the air, a murderous look in his eyes and brought it down upon my head.

  Chapter 10

  I closed my eyes, steeling myself for my inevitable death. But it never came.

  What came, instead, was a whooping holler and hot fire as Esmerelda burst into the room. She rained fire from every direction, instantly killing the goblin and making the spider recoil. The heat burned away the sticky web that was holding me fast, freeing me up to pelt the spider with a double arrow.

  She whooped and cried out as the beast fell to the ground.

  "Wanna group up?" She smirked and tossed her blue hair over her shoulder. "I couldn't let you have all the fun."

  "Thank God you came along when you did!" I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her hotly on the lips.

  "Ooh, making out in a dungeon, me likey!"

  5/100 Goblins slain

  200 (x2) xp gained

  250 (x2) xp gained

  I shared my quests with her.

  "Think we'll find more?" She asked. Picking through the carnage for any valuables, she picked up the goblin's spear.

  Hidden quest: Goblin Spears

  Objective: Collect 50 Goblin Spears

  Reward: Variable

  "I guess that answered that question," I said and grabbed the spear myself, activating the quest.

  1/50 Goblins Spears Collected

  I started checking the spider's legs. Exactly one of them were "pristine." I didn't need to worry about missing it as it was glowing light blue.

  1/5 Pristine Spider Legs Collected

  "How did you find me down here, anyway?" I checked the room for valuables, coming up darn near empty-handed. Then I rummaged around in my pack for a bandage and applied it to my chest wound, instantly stopping the bleeding and healing 10 hp, putting me almost back up to full health.

  "Orge said you'd be down here. That new guy, Jacob, he's a hoot." She said, then rummaged around in her pack. "Oh, here." She handed me a canteen. "I thought you could use some ale." She smiled.
r />   I gratefully took the flask and greedily drank of the strong liquid. "Thanks!" I said, smacking my lips together. "You're a gem, you know that?"

  "I know." She smirked. She grabbed my hand and pressed it to her breast and held it there expectantly.

  "You're serious about making out in the middle of the dungeon?" I shook my head. I was adventurous, but this was insane.

  Her eyes sparkled. "I live for adventure. Just keep your bow at the ready."

  Esmerelda pulled off her armor, exposing her ripe, luscious melons to my greedy gaze. The soft, amber torchlight flickered and danced off her exposed, naked flesh, casting delicious, tempting shadows across her skin.

  "Suck them..." She moaned as she pulled my head toward her large, fat nipple. "Make me cum in my panties until I scream so loud they send a goblin horde after us."

  I shivered at her words. She really was a sex pot. And the thought that I could fuck her whenever I wanted appealed to me. No strings attached.

  I popped one of her fat, pink nipples into my mouth and began sucking on them as I ran my hands all over her slender body. She had the physique of a goddess and she was not shy in letting me know it.

  She threw her arms around me and pulled me into her breasts, mashing my face into her tit flesh. My cock jumped in my pants when she ran her hands down my chest and reached inside, grasping it in her slender fingers.

  Esmerelda had such a light, silky touch that I nearly shot my load all over her pretty hands. I kissed her nipple, causing it to harden under my ministrations. Then I worked the other one as I kneaded her soft flesh with my strong hands.

  She tossed back her head and moaned as her fingers encircled my engorged shaft. She stroked me lightly as I kissed her chest and worked my way down to her belly.