End Online: Volume 1
Page 6
- +6 Agility.
- +4 Strength.
- +4 Dexterity.
I couldn’t believe it. This was worlds better than what people had posted on the internet. The fighting prowess plus two was possibly the greatest benefactor giving a larger than normal stamina bar.
Name: Lost
Health: 100/100
Stamina: 80/80
Lvl: 1
Lvl UP: 13%
Str: 15 +4
Agi: 26 +6
Dex: 18 +4
Int: 9
Mnd: 9
Lck: 9
Fame/Infamy: 0
Alignment: +0
God: -
Belief: 0
Equipped Skills:
Aggravation (SLvl 9, 87%)
Advanced Military Arts (SLvl 1, 0%)
[Empty]
[Empty]
[Empty]
[Empty]
[Empty]
[Empty]
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Reserve Skills:
[Empty]
The physical prowess skill was said to be the only skill that provided you with fighting prowess, giving you fifty stamina while at level one enabling you to use the sacred arts with any weapon you were proficient with.
I headed out towards the east gate out of Iceridge the next morning, setting up a simple bed in my locker and sleeping the three hours it took for night to pass. I may not have any money for potions and the like but I was just excited to have my first quest. There was a journal you could open through the main menu that had all your current and past quests recorded along with the progress, although it wrote itself like tale of how you completed it.
As fascinating as it was surely enough at the top of page one, there was “Vengeance of the Centurion” along with the conversation between me and him at accepting the quest and an incomplete status below it.
To the east it was very similar to the city’s north. The only difference was that out here the trees were less dense and on the horizon I could see some considerable sized hills with high mountain peaks behind them. There were also a lot more wolves out here and fewer players, especially considering that the current time in real life is after dinner this will be the busiest time of the day on the server.
Two wolves caught sniff of my scent and all of a sudden came recklessly charging at me. Striking them both a heavy blow while dashing through their charge, I was a little surprised at how fast I was, I even took off forty percent of their health in a single attack.
After dealing with the centurion for the two weeks these wolves just seemed too slow and predictable. I made short work of most of the wolves on my travels to the mountains where the great white wolf was supposed to dwell in the deepest part of a cave.
Gaining three levels getting to the mountain range and then another three just spent wandering around looking for this cave I reached level seven quite easily, my advanced military arts had grown to skill level five and aggravation had raised another level as well. My max health has gained sixty seven points and stamina is at a hundred and thirteen, the advanced military arts however had to have the greatest effect on me getting stronger.
Advanced Military Arts (SLvl 5, 17%) -Active
You have completed the training course at Iceridge
Military Academy showing your determination in the
face of death itself, learning a higher proficiency
of short swords.
SLvl 5:
- Fighting Prowess + 2
- Short sword proficiency.
- Short sword damage bonus 1.5 X base damage.
- +6 Agility.
- +4 Strength.
- +4 Dexterity.
I found the cave a short walk up the base of a mountain, dimly lit by random glowing ores in the walls. It was easy to disclose that it was the correct one considering the large abundance of grey wolves inside. Unfortunately for them however my standard attack will now take off more than half their health so two strikes is all it takes to kill one.
I also learned a sacred art call Triple Thrust that used fifteen stamina, stabbing twice quickly with one weapon and followed by a more powerful thrust from the other. This killed wolves in one strike, however my stamina didn’t regenerate anywhere near fast enough to consider using it often.
With the snow ending just inside the cave, there was practically only one path, occasionally it had a fork in the tunnel but one would usually end abruptly in a dead end. I managed to make use of my aggravation skill by standing close enough until one or two received the “aggro” status and broke off from the pack to attack me, but occasionally more would come. At one point I had six with enough intent to kill me they rivalled the centurion. Most of my stamina and half of my health later I was stuck trying to catch my breath but lucky enough to have survived.
Ten minutes of recklessly charging into fights brought me to a massive open cavern. Inside the stunning sight there was green grass all over the field, apple trees decorating the scenery and created a canopy that blocked most of the view of the ceiling. I could hear a waterfall reverberating somewhere on the other end of the cavern, and from above multiple holes in the ceiling provided a warm light that glowed down through the foliage, lighting up the area like a spring morning. It was like entering an entirely new world.
Suddenly a wolf howl reverberated through the cavern strong enough that I felt the ground vibrate. What followed was a wolf coming out of the trees, apart from the pure white fur it had razor sharp claws, electric blue eyes and a snarl on its face revealing its teeth and saliva. Let’s not forget that the most terrifying thing about this wolf was its stature, standing one and a half times taller than me.
I had eighty percent health and around sixty percent stamina left as the great white wolf initiated combat, as to whether my aggravation works on a boss monster is impossible to tell at the moment but I was curious.
All distracting thoughts left my mind with the speed the boss class wolf closed the distance and with one swipe of its claws sent me flying across the cavern and into a tree. What an incredible attack, not only was my health knocked below fifty percent but an icon on my vision flashed showing that I was dazed and couldn’t move.
The wolf knew I was incapable of movement and took its time in turning and approaching me. It was only a few steps away from me when the effect disappeared, and before I suffered another potentially fatal blow I jumped as hard as I could into the branches of the tree above me. Moving across a few trees my agility really showed its value, especially considering I nearly fell down a few times as my hands were occupied holding onto the short swords and couldn’t hold onto any branches, all I could do was balance.
Meanwhile underneath the great white wolf was tracking my movements and following underneath me, I was personally a little afraid I wasn’t high enough and it would simply jump up and swat me down. Managing to recover ten percent of my health and the entirety of my stamina, I launched myself down at the wolf, catching it unaware and sinking my two blades into the top of its head. Landing on the ground and following by pulling one hand backwards into the position to activating triple strike, aiming at the exposed stomach it revealed when it reared up on its hind legs from my initial attack.
My mind had completely entered the zone, I rolled out of the way after my skill finished just in case and put some distance between us. It was considerably more wary of me now that I’m a genuine threat to it, I did just instantly take off forty percent of its health with two perfect critical strikes in vulnerable areas. I also had to be wary, the wolf would strike unexpectedly in a combination of multiple ways, and while managing to prevent most of the damage by evading sideways or backwards, a clean hit would take off more than half my remaining health.
Both the wolf and I were down to thirty percent health, we were both feeling exhausted and sluggish, but the wolf still held the upper hand. I didn’t have enough strength to jump back up and hide in the foliage, and the wolf didn’t have enough to launch the attacks dealin
g with extreme speed like it’s very first one.
Weaving through the trees, we exchanged blows in gaps between the trunks, I fended off most of the slashes it sent out with its claws and evaded its jaws when it got too close, swinging my swords back twice for each of its attacks. It was nothing short of luck that the fight shortly swung in my favour, the wolf adopted a limp and I gained complete dominance over it in speed. A short dash and I was under its head unleashing the triple thrust on its exposed neck, ended out fight.
I felt a little guilty, it was such a beautiful creature. Yet it was doomed to death, this is the shame of boss monsters. It appears I levelled up a few times from the fight, and the loot menu rewarded me a giant canine tooth and great white wolf pelt, the quest item and a crafting item. Somehow I felt ripped off.
Exploring the cavern I discovered the waterfall I heard when entering and a considerable sized pond at the very back of the cavern. In the centre was a small hill clear of all trees, the mid afternoon sun shone directly through a hole travelling from the ceiling through to side of the mountain, bathing the entire clearing in warmth. A man could easily slide down it and into this area, although I doubt he would survive.
Retrieving the few apples that had been knocked out of the trees from the attacks of the great white wolf, I stowed most them all in my inventory as food and rested in the clearing eating a few. I find that food in this game can be truly delicious, especially these apples. Once I had finished naturally recovering I travelled the foliage to collect even more apples and stockpile my inventory with them.
My journal had updated to describe my fight with the boss, although to recite it in the form that a bard would use when singing heroic tales was something I would not do even if it lead to my grave!
Leaving the cave behind I started heading back to Iceridge, all the snow giving the appearance of a glorious city of white, with the sun fall on it creating quite the image. It was truly a sight to see, bringing out the beauty of this world.
I arrived back at the Iceridge Military Academy just before dusk, entering as all the players from the days training were leaving in groups of two or three, chatting to each other like school friends. Perhaps they were, I even recognized a few who were doing the training while I was still there but didn’t approach anyone. I did however overhear some people chatting that the “Delinquent” was back, but I was already preoccupied and gave it no thought.
I found Centurion Markus about to leave the training field and stopped him before he was gone.
“Centurion. It is done. I have slain the great white wolf for you.” I didn’t see the point of bantering around the issue. This isn’t exactly the type of person to enjoy small talk after.
“QUIET! Do you want everyone to know what I asked of you?” Well, I guess not, I certainly hope to be the first person to have discovered and done that quest, but it’s hard to determine with the large number of players out there. The centurion lead me to the room out of the training area where he gave me the quest before continuing.
“So, the great white wolf is no more then? Show me some proof!”
“Very well, hopefully this shall suffice.” I remove from my inventory the great white wolf pelt I gained from killing the boss and placed it on the table in front of me. It was a massive pelt that matched the size of the beast easily.
Your quest has been successfully completed
“MY LORD!” The centurion’s eyes popped out of his head as the pelt, “This thing has easily doubled in size since I fought it!” Now that he mentions it the scar running down his face doesn’t exactly match the size of this wolf’s paw, I can’t believe I never picked up on that originally!
I fail as a detective.
“Well, you need to be rewarded of course, I honestly did not think you would be able to do it but your efforts are highly commendable. Give me one moment.” He wasn’t yelling which made me feel a little uneasy but he grabbed the wolf pelt and dragged it into a room behind this one that I had not been in before.
What came from that room was an absolutely horrendous noise of tearing, thumping and cursing. It belonged in a horror movie.
Centurion Markus returned holding onto a snowy white cloak long enough to cover up down to my ankles and it also had an oversized hood with lots of extra room. The material was covered in the wolf’s thick white fur coat all over the outside, although trimmed to about half its original length. The fur didn’t exactly feel thick when it was bashing me around, but the quality of the material was truly marvellous.
“This here will keep all the cold out of your bones. It doesn’t have much in terms of defensive power, but it can be worn over any armour. Also, you are best hiding that face of yours, just looking at it makes me feel violent inside! Pulling the hood over your head will help with that, although it will inhibit your movement speed, so it’s no good for battle.”
“I also have some coins here for your efforts, it’s a decent amount so don’t waste it and get yourself some proper equipment!”
He slides across 3 gold coins and hands me the cloak, I was near shedding tears of joy of being able to hide my face which should prevent my aggravation skill from destroying NPC’s opinions of me!
Equipping the cloak the cold chill in the air around me immediately disappeared, allowing my body to warm up to a comfortable temperature.
“Now! You never told me your name before! What is it!?” I wasn’t entirely sure if he was asking me or demanding I tell him.
“My name is Lost-“
“HAHAHAHA! NAME! PATHETIC!” That’s it. I turn around and walk away from this child. Before I get out of the room however he has more to say.
“Come back sometime if you want to get even stronger, I will be sure to per-son-al-ly train you. HAHAHA!”
Well, I don’t exactly see myself ever going back to see that guy ever again if I could help it, but stranger things have happened.
Putting the military academy behind me I need to find myself some actual armour, but it’s night time now so it can wait until tomorrow.
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Name: Lost
Health: 167/167
Stamina: 113/113
Lvl: 10
Lvl UP: 42%
Str: 17 +4
Agi: 29 +6
Dex: 20 +4
Int: 9
Mnd: 9
Lck: 9
Fame/Infamy: 0
Alignment: +0
God: -
Belief: 0
Equipped Skills:
Aggravation (SLvl 10, 21%)
Advanced Military Arts (SLvl 6, 12%)
[Empty]
[Empty]
[Empty]
[Empty]
[Empty]
[Empty]
[Empty]
Reserve Skills:
[Empty]
White Wolf Winter Cloak
Made from the pelt of the great white wolf, tailored by an unknown man of master skills. It will prevent any cold from entering and placing the hood on will conceal your face, preventing people from recognizing you.
Requirements:
- Level 10
- Agi 15
- Dex 11
Defence: 4
Durability: 50/50
Weight: 12.3 lbs
Ice Resistance: 40%
Fire Resistance: -10%
Abilities:
- Regulates the air around the wearer to always be at the optimal temperature.
- Placing the hood over your head conceals your face, intimacy with NPC's can neither increase nor decrease.
- 50% movement penalty when face is concealed.
Chapter 3 – Money Made and Everything Lost
I was glad to finally be out of the barracks and away from Centurion Markus. It’s not that I particularly hate him or anything, I will simply never be able to get along with him.
Pulling the oversized hood of the ‘White wolf winter cloak’ over my head, it came down to just above my
eye level, covering about the top quarter of my vision. Some strange icons appear in the top left of my vision, an outline of a person with a question mark in it and a figure of a stopwatch, I figure these are the mask identity and slow enchants currently on me.
It was certainly odd however as I don’t feel like I had been slowed down, at least not until I tried running and felt like all the air surrounding me at become a thick mud, to the point where moving in any direction was incredibly difficult. Understanding that this was the feeling of being ‘slowed’, I returned to walking for the duration of the time it took to enter the central courtyard.
At first I was a little surprised at how busy it was, the players crowded the area trying to get into the item shops they wanted. I guess this is End Online’s peak hour, it must be an extremely good server to handle this many people at once in a single area.
I weave through the crowd until I arrived at the weapon shop I had previously browsed through before my training began, coincidentally also before I had money too. But things are different now, I have three gold to my name and could buy one of the nicer looking weapons off the wall if I want to.
Inside the shop was exactly the same as I remembered, the only difference was spots on the wall had been emptied or replaced by new stock. The shop is considerably crowded just like everywhere else around here, I got bumped into and pushed around a fair bit while looking along the wall for a nice weapon.
I spotted a steel katana with a self-repair enchant that you would never have to sharpen or maintain, it did a base damage of 52 – 56 and would cost me twelve gold and forty silver. Far too expensive and outside my budget unfortunately, however, I consider a weapon that would never cost me any more to be rather tempting.
‘This is for the best.’ I tell myself slowly in my mind. putting some basic consideration into the fact that I was only currently proficient in short swords plus the purchase price of the sword is more money than I could even manage at this point in time..