by Rick Scott
“You really want to see me?”
I nod. “If you still want me to.”
She pauses a moment more, but now there is a smile on her face.
“Let me go ask my mom,” she says and then her eyes go unfocused.
I got butterflies the size of eagles soaring through my stomach now. I just asked Gilly to meet in real life! Sure it was for more serious reasons… but still. This will be the first time I’ve ever meet anyone like this before. And just the thought of seeing her has me worried about what she might think of me.
“Do you want to come for dinner at six?” she says retuning.
I swallow back a lump in my throat. “Okay.”
She laughs nervously. “Wow. Okay!”
“So… where do you live?”
“Oh!” she says. “L322A number 12.”
322? “Wow… that’s like… really far down.”
I never gave thought to what kind of economic status Gilly is in, but living that far down, her family must be pretty well off.
She just shrugs. “My name is Jill, by the way. When we meet. It’s my real name. It’s Jill.”
“Ryan,” I say and I feel like our relationship has just taken a major step forward into reality. “You can still call me Reece if you want to. I respond to either.”
She laughs at that. “Ditto.”
“But I like Jill. It’s pretty.”
She blushes a bit. “Thanks.”
“Well do you want to still come help me level? You might not get xp but I could always use a nice heal or maybe even a raise every now and then.”
“Today? Oh no. I gotta go and do stuff.”
“Huh?”
“Yeah,” she says. “Like stuff to prepare for when you come over. And…stuff.”
I laugh. “Okay.”
She then grins like a little kid, before jump tackling me with a hug and kiss. “I can’t wait till tonight. See you at six!”
Gilly then promptly logs off and leaves me there scratching my head. Six o’clock is like ten hours away. What on Earth could she be doing that would take her 10 hours to prepare for? Buying something to wear possibly? I think that maybe I should consider doing the same. I’ve never been on a date before so I don’t really know. Times like this I wish Mike and I were on normal speaking terms. He’s had plenty of girlfriends and not the online kind.
Still, even something as important as this, is something I can’t afford to waste time on. I’ve got ten hours of uninterrupted play time ahead of me. And I need to max the heck out of it.
Chapter 24 Solo
I might not have time to gear myself up in the real world, but on Crystal Shards, it’s now embarrassingly imperative that I do so. I’ve gained 34 levels by backstabbing with a level one weapon. And there’s no way I’m spending another 50 levels doing that. If I never see another dockworker again, it would be too soon. And unfortunately, while high in XP, Dockworks are unsurprisingly, quite poor. I pool the total drops I’ve received from killing them all night and have what can barely amount to 5k credits.
I check my new balance after my thief gear has sold.
You have 29,175 Cr
I can see that leveling is going to have to come at the cost of making money, because to upgrade just my katanas to level 32 weapons is going to set me back 7k apiece! There is a whole bunch of other gear I can use but can’t afford as well. A Ninja Tekko glove with +5 dex and a scarf that has +2 evasion. I buy the scarf because it’s only 2k and looks really cool. The gloves at 10k will have to wait though. I finish up with a level 30 black silk gi that gives me crap defense but has +4 points to dodge.
Suited up, I actually start to resemble a ninja, although a very broke one. And literally so, since I’m now down to 10k thanks to my shopping spree. My resolve wavers a little as I wonder how I’m ever going to turn that into 3.5 million.
Level, I tell myself. Get out there and kill stuff!
But I have no idea where I should be going to next. I’m about to shoot a question to the guild chat when I remember something. That message Val Helena sent me.
I check my messages and find the one that she sent on my first day as a level 1 warrior. She said she had prepared me a guide of sorts. I open it up and see it is roughly just that.
Level 1-10 WestWood
Level 11-20 MurkySwamp
Level 21-30 Goatoa Plains
Level 31-40 Yughatha Jungle
Level 41-50 Andor Steppe
Level 51-60 Beaucille Glacier
Level 61-85 Mao Desert
I guess it’s to the jungle I go. Wherever that is. I spend a few minutes studying the in-game map and then pick my closest spawning point to the jungle and head out. It takes me around twenty minutes of traveling from the edge of the Murky Swamps, where Gilly and I, had our first date and through the rolling plains of Goatoa. I see a lot of other players there, partying in groups of five or six and taking on large white hippogriffs that roam the plains. I’m tempted to give one a try myself, but they are only level 20 and I can’t be wasting my time on stuff like that.
I travel on and it begins to get hotter and the grass taller until finally the terrain shifts into the steamy Jungles of Yughatha. The trees are humongous and wide like buildings. Their branches tower over a hundred feet high and spread out in an umbrella like canopy that produces enough shade to produce an eerie twilight beneath. Thick vines and leafy plants fill the spaces in between the massive trees, giving rise to a pungent aroma of decay from the rotting undergrowth they leave behind.
I work my way through the dense foliage, following a narrow pathway. I pause when I feel the presence of something else in the jungle with me. I take a second to cast Shadow Copy. I take a few steps more and something big and black comes charging at me from the side.
I blow Active Dodge and my body becomes a blur as the claws of something passes right through me.
Your Awareness increases by 0.4
Skill Up! Your awareness is now 32
Your Dodge increases by 0.7
I then recognize what nearly hit me as the huge paw of a giant panther and its clawing back at me for a second strike. I use Retreat and flip backwards into the jungle and the wildcat, that’s as big as a horse, pounces after me. Crap!
I find my footing amongst the mass of tree roots on the forest floor and leap to the side to avoid the Panther as it snarls and claws wildly at me. I’ve never fought anything so quick before. I force myself to get in the zone, to study its movements and anticipate its attacks. I lose my Shadow trying to gauge it’s rhythm of bites and swipes, but then get a real evasion when I finally predict it’s about to strike my head and successfully duck under it.
Your Evasion increases by 0.3
Skill Up! Your Evasion is now 52.
I calm down a little with the success and the big cat doesn’t seem so scary anymore. I start jabbing into its thick black fur with my Kunai blades and take off an amazing 10% with each hit. I then get a double attack and land four blows in a flurry.
The panther whines and winces with the hits and I roll out of the way of its pounce when it retaliates. I use Charge Strike, closing the gap again and give it another blender like hail of slashes from my blades. I get a satisfying round of critical hits, doing double damage and the panther expires.
You defeated the Jungle Panther!
You gain 12000 experience points!
You find a Panther Fang.
You find a Panther Fang.
My heart is still pounding with adrenaline and it feels like I’ve finally had a decent fight.
I check to see how much these fangs are worth and see they go for about 1k each on the auction board. Not bad I suppose. Not huge money but the exp is ok. I trek further into the jungle and discover another panther. I use sneak to move undetected and maneuver myself behind it.
I open combat with a backstab!
The panther roars as I take an instant 25% off its health bar. It whips around to claw my stomach but I avoid it wit
h a quick hop back. I Charge in again and work down its HP with five or six quick slashes and dodge a snap from its jaws in between.
You defeated the Jungle Panther!
You gain 12000 experience points!
Kill chain x1 You gain 6000 experience points!
You find a Panther Fang.
This one felt like it went down a lot easier than the first. Perhaps because I was already anticipating its attack pattern. Or perhaps the surprise attack of their first one threw me off guard and gave me a false impression of how hard the beasts truly were. Whatever the case, I recast Shadow Copy and go hunting for more.
I keep fighting jungle panthers for about an hour and after a while they really don’t seem that hard at all. I blow another hour chain killing them to reach level 40.
Congratulations! You have gained a level!
You are now level 40.
You have learned the new passive ability “Wall Run”
Your advanced training allows you to traverse vertical surfaces while sprinting.
Whoa! I have to try this out. I fix on one of the building sized trees and dash toward it head on. I leap onto the massive trunk when I get close and keep on sprinting. The world tilts as I charge up the smooth tan bark of the tree and dart from side to side to avoid the branches that extend from its flanks. I get a third of the way up the tree and feel myself tiring. I aim for one of the branches and hop onto it for a rest.
When I land, my lungs are burning from both exhaustions and exhilaration. I can see the entire jungle expanse below me, trails weaving through the undergrowth like tiny streams. Birds soar above the lower treetops, calling to one another with loud caws and whistles. I breathe out a sigh of pure amazement and delight. A sight like this is almost reward alone for hitting level forty ninja.
But still it’s only halfway there.
It’s been a few hours now, but compared to last night, the pace is slow. The panthers seem easy enough to kill now, but I’m having to kill more and more of them to level each time. Maybe I need to think bigger. After all, I was going toe to toe with those dockworkers at level 20 with noob gear on. Maybe that was the key. This guide Val Helena has given me works for playing it safe, but if I want level fast like I did last night, I need to start punching way above my weight class. I need to play like I’m rolling Gambler’s boon.
And with Shadow Copy, I think that maybe I can do it.
I see the Steppe of Andor is next on this list. I prepare to fast travel there, since I have the spawn point unlocked, but I won’t be staying. My true destination will be the ice fields to its north and the Beaucille Glacier beyond.
I’m just about to travel when I notice something large moving through the jungle below me. It’s a panther, but where the normal ones are as big as a horse, this one is more like an elephant! I focus to see what it is.
Sheeba
Legendary Monster
Level: ???
The great huntress of the Yughatha patrols her territory without mercy. Beastmen and the races of men, fear her alike. It is said her fangs are sharp enough to piece the strongest mythril plate and her roar so powerful that one may die just from hearing it.
Affinity: Thunder
Adrenaline spikes my blood as I consider the possibility of trying to fight it. But no way, I’m not 85 yet. But then again this is a lower level area than the mines. Maybe it’s won’t be as tough as Gruzug. I do something I rarely do. I pull up another window and search the net for any information I can find on Sheeba. I pull up some guy’s page who has a whole list of LMs on it.
I find his entry for Sheeba.
Name: Sheeba
Approximate Level: 45
Type: Panther
Normal Attacks: claw and bite
Special attacks: Savage [Hold + critical + bleeding]
Tail Swipe [Stun for 3 seconds]
Thunder Roar [Massive AOE]
Drops: Sheeba’s Fang [Used to craft Sheeba’s Dagger
Level 45… that’s not so bad. Is it? Maybe I can do it. And that dagger looks pretty amazing. I then look up the fang on the auction house to see how much it’s worth.
Sheeba’s Fang In stock: 0 Last trade: 192,000 Cr
My heart hits my throat. Holy cow! This is the kind of big win that I’ve been waiting for. As I close the window and contemplate giving Sheba a go, I notice a group of players trekking through the jungle towards her about a hundred feet away. There are at least two parties and they’re all in the same guild, most in their high twenties and low thirties. A raiding party. They’re definitely going for her.
I pull up my stats to consider what kind of chances I got.
Class: Ninja
Level: 40
Strength: 6
Dexterity: 60
Agility: 70
Intelligence: 4
Mind: 6
Vitality: 8
HP: 221/221
Stamina: 127/127
TP: 85/85
I’ve been focusing all my attribute points on only Dex and Agility. My HP is so low from putting nothing into vitality that one hit from that thing is sure to kill me. My heart sinks at my chances. I’m no Aiko, yet. I can’t take that thing on. And if I die, I have no idea where my last home point is even set to. I’d have to get find a way back here somehow, and naked.
As I watch the guild close to about thirty feet, something snaps inside me.
If I don’t get there first, I’ll never know if I even had a chance.
The words I was preaching to myself earlier, come flying back at me.
If I need to start punching above my weight class, then this was a golden opportunity.
I cast Shadow Copy and take off in a sprint along the tree branch. I line myself up with a jump to the forest floor below, making a beeline for Sheeba. I have no idea if I’ll even survive the fall, but to heck with it, I’m committed now.
I leap through the air, over the heads of the dozen or so players marching through the jungle below me. A few of them point. Some even curse, realizing I’m going to beat them to the LM.
I focus on Sheeba, hitting Charge Strike continuously until I finally get within range and it activates. I go from falling to flying, sailing directly toward Sheeba and land a katana strike that causes the massive beast to let out an ear shattering roar.
Sheeba uses Thunder Roar!
Your Shadow absorbs the attack.
I hear the death cries of a couple of the raiders as the roar goes off and then Sheeba spins about to face me with a tail swipe. I narrowly duck under it. The beast roars at me with a mouth that’s big enough to swallow me whole. My heart is in my throat. My Shadow Copy is down and I’m facing a Legendary Monster.
Solo.
I’m in for the fight of my life!
Chapter 25 Sheeba
I get in two quick slashes on Sheeba’s nose and blow my Retreat in a backflip, more from fear than strategy. The beast moves as fast as its smaller cousins, but being twice the size, the claws and bites are much harder to dodge. Don’t panic, I tell myself, just focus on its attacks.
I give up attacking for a while and do just that.
I study and anticipate, leaping to the side and using as much room as I can within the tight confines of the jungle. I’m faintly aware of the party of raiders arriving now. But I’m too focused on Sheeba to see who they are or even pay attention to what they’re saying, but I do get the distinct sense that they are pissed at me.
I use that as a motivator. Dying right now would be added embarrassment in front of a crowd relishing to see my demise. Sheeba rears back with a move I haven’t seen before and I blow my Active Dodge in response. I shift to the side in a blur as it jaws clamp down on the space I was just standing in.
A quickly check of my log.
Sheeba uses Savage.
You dodge the attack!
Whew! I’ve got to be sure not to get hit by that one!
My confidence builds as
I predict and duck under another tail swipe. I flank the beast to hammer it with a series of stabs to its left paw and then roll away when it swipes at me with the same. I check its HP and am chagrined to see I’ve done only 1% damage to it.
Essh!
But still… it is damage. It’s just a matter of keeping it up.
And not getting hit in the meantime.
Sheeba rears her head back again.
Sheeba readies Thunder Roar.
Oh man! I haven’t recast Shadow Copy yet! I do so and complete the spell in what must be milliseconds before the AOE goes off. Again I hear death cries from the guild members watching me.
My heart rate continues to soar as the battle goes on. Every second I’m on the edge, every attack I dodge possibly my last. Five minutes go by with little movement either way. Me dodging, Sheeba attacking. I’ve got to go on the offensive or this fight will never end! I start to work in hits between my dodges, striking as lighting as fast as I can. I get hopeful when I see the large number of critical attacks that go off as well, doubling my damage output. I check its HP.
95%
I remember I don’t have shadow copy up then and do a quick backflip to recast the spell. I then get an idea. I save my stamina, dodging passively and then blow an Active Dodge when it tries to bite me with savage again. I then see the moment I’ve been waiting for.
Sheeba readies Thunder Roar.
The big panther rears back and I go all out. In the two or three seconds it takes for its roar to go off, I land a dozen hits to its black-furred hide. My shadow disappears but I keep on slicing. Only when it lets loose with a tail swipe do I back off to dodge again.
Hollers of rage or disbelieve emerge from the crowd.