by Kieron Uchee
Ice Bolt
Lightning
Dragon Fire
Shadows
Airless Breathing
Metamorphic Transformation
Sonic Shard
Sonic Blast
Manaflow
Class
Hidden class, the Thief
Sub Class Paladin
Nanobot Integration
Defensive capability, self-healing, self-warming
Offensive capability, electrical discharge from hands
Strength increase four times normal human with diminishing returns upon leveling
PIM
Stealth detection enabled
Upgraded map functions
Ability to make calls to the Real World
Ability to access GNet from within the game
Ability to leave and enter the game
Avatar integration into gaming matrix
You are not recognized as a player and the gaming AI has no control over you
Not to bad I thought as I stared at the updated notes in my PIM. It was still foggy; the mist had not left the city at all and the day was turning to night. The dampness had a way of stealing into your clothing and chilling you. Choosing to find an Inn for the night I realized that I would need to gather some supplies. Going to the first store I saw open I walked in and began to look at the goods on the shelves.
“May I help you,” The storekeeper asked with a smile. “We have an excellent selection of goods here, from the mundane to the exceptional. What are your needs, sir?”
Glancing at the storekeeper I saw that he was eager to make a sale, business must be slow, the game economy had been based on a steady influx of players and that had dried up thanks to the Old Bastards.
Turning my attention back to the shopkeeper I asked, “Do you have any gear for adventures, the good stuff, a tent, a pack a small cooking stove, some rations along with several changes of clothing fit for hard travel. Also, a bow with two hundred arrows along with a short ax plus a couple of twenty slot belt bags for storage.”
Licking his lips, the man began to scurry around the shop grabbing items and placing them on the counter. When he was finally done, I had a pack that would hold the tent and cooking utensils as well as the food and extra clothing. In addition, I had two additional belt bags with twenty slots each which would allow me to carry a lot of goods. I love having magic ingame.
I now had a small stove, a normal bow with arrows along with a nice short ax. Glancing down the counter I noted he had several packs of smokes for sale, I guessed he was buying them from Sebastian’s operation and then marking the price up. Nice, he should hang a 7/11 sign outside his door. I purchased all the smokes he had, they stacked in piles of 20, so I had 60 packs taking up 3 slots in one of my belt bags.
As I paid for the items, the storekeeper asked, “Would you want to buy a mid grade enchant for the short ax? I have several in stock, fire, Ice, poison and slowdown. They are 100 gold each.
I stared at the storekeeper and then looked at the short ax, thinking, any little bit helps, but I would like something a little more than the basic spells. “Do you have any other enchants, something that will do a little more damage? It all helps and but I don’t want something that just has a chance to proc on every fifth hit.”
The storekeeper stood for a moment and then said, “If you have the gold I have one thing, it is called the Heptagon stone. It holds seven enchants and they can all be applied to your weapon, so while they may not all proc at once the chances are that something will be proccing with every swing. I do have to tell you that it is only loaded with Fire, Slowmo, Ice and Poison. The Mage that made it never filled the last three enchant slots.”
This was an amazing find, and I wanted it, I knew that storekeeper was going to try to bust my bank on the price, but what the heck, it was worth the price. “I would like to see this item,” I asked trying to keep the excitement out of my voice.
Once the storekeeper returned with what looked like a seven-sided small stone I gently picked it up and examined it. My Dragon eyes showed that it glowed with magical energy and that it had three empty slots that could receive an enchant. It was also apparent it was made to be attached to the pommel of a weapon which would then activate the enchants.
Being midgrade enchants they would last for a number of years with the mana that was a part of the structure of the spells. As I stared at the stone I knew I could modify it and make the enchants much more powerful. In fact, by using the stone as a diagram I could take my weapons and modify them without having to use the stone. All I needed was enchants.
“I will take the stone and any enchants you might have in stock,” my voice sounded confident as I made the purchase. In told I spent four thousand gold, a small fortune. In return, I received the stone and eight more enchants. Thanking the merchant, I made my way out the door before he tried to sell me anything else.
It was now night time and the city was in darkness, I slipped into Shadows and slowly made my way down the street, eventually I arrived at the secret entrance to the park. After making sure I was not followed I opened the secret door and slipped through. I was planning on camping next to the old temple at the far end of the park.
Taking my time, I slowly strolled along the stream and through the bushes and trees, climbing up the little knoll I made my way down towards the old temple. As I walked along the path I recalled what had happened in the secret room buried within the earth. I had somehow gained the two swords and the guardian roses, they had become a part of my flesh, only to be ripped from me by the Eldest and then used to kill the Earth Mother.
I stopped and stared at nothing as I thought of the past. I wanted the Eldest sometimes called the Firstborn to pay for what he had done. Knowing there was nothing that I could do right now I continued on, entering the temple and moving to where the hidden entrance was. I quickly opened it and then descended into the darkness.
My Dragon eyes were more that up to the task and I could see as if it were a cloudy day. I made my way down the passageway, finally halting as I looked at the area I had not explored on my previous visit. I could see no traps and the walls were made of worked stone. It seemed safe so I continued on traveling for about an hour. Eventually, I came to a side door in the passageway, I considered continuing on or exploring what was behind the door.
It felt like I was in one of the old game shows from long ago, I could almost hear the voice say “And behind this door is, a new car.” There would be no new car for me, but there could be something of value. I slowly grabbed the handle and began to turn it. It was not locked but the door had not been opened in a log time, Fortunately, I was now far stronger than a normal level seven thanks to my Nanobots and the door opened to the pressure I was applying.
I stepped inwards, knowing that the door was not going to be closing on it own. The room was rectangular in shape and had several benches along each wall. At the far end was an altar with a flaming pot and some incense. There were three spirits standing in a triquetra, and another waiting for me as I entered the room.
He led me to the first spirit who began to speak, “I represent the Holy Grail of the Knights of Ilumberia, know my wisdom, know my thoughts.”
The guide then led me to the next spirit who began to speak, “I am the General who wields the weapon of Power which can both Heal and Wound, know what I do.”
Next, I was led me to the third spirit who looked at me and said, “I am the one who holds the Crown and the responsibility of it rest on my word, which is the law. Know my Words.”
The guide then led me along a path that formed the shape of the triquetra which as I recalled was known as a trinity knot. It took a long time to walk the path and it became more difficult as I did so. When I finally arrived at the altar I was trembling with the effort, it had taken all I had to make it to the end of the pathway.
As I stood there the three spirits arrived behind me and I was told to kneel. As I knelt down the first spiri
t placed his hands on my head and blessed me. Then the second spirit raised his sheathed sword and from left to right tapped both my shoulders. The last spirit then also placed one hand on my chest and his other on my head and also blessed me.
At this point, all three spirits spoke and said, “Go forth as a Knight of Ilumberia, then they all faded. The whole thing had happened fairly fast and the fact was I had proceeded on a hunch I should do what they wanted. This may have been some kind of ingame questline that had never been activated when the game went live or perhaps it was a normal quest just waiting for the player to find it.
It did not really matter what it was, I had completed it and the proof was on the altar. A book had appeared shining with a purple aura. I picked it up and read, The Great Spellbook of Law, Tactics, Weaponry, and History. I stood there holding the book and then opened it and began to read, time passed by as the pages turned.
I was not capable of stopping until I reached the end of the book. The knowledge within the book burned itself into my brain, and body, I learned of the existence of Battle Spells and the true meaning of the Law. I suddenly understood tactics and how to command troops and read the land. The history of the order was opened to me, and I realized that these Knights were the ingame equivalent to the Knights of Saint John and the Knights Templar in the real world with one difference. Here the Knights of Ilumberia actually had magic and used it.
Perhaps the most important thing I gained was the knowledge of weapon mastery. I knew all the forms and exercises for almost any weapon I could think of. I may not have the skill yet but with practice, I knew I could master any weapon. Then it all faded into my mind but a new icon called Knighthood appear on my interface. I accessed it and saw several submenus sadly the Battle Spells were blank, but the Law held thousands of pages of boring material.
Looking around I saw that the room was now empty and even as I turned the altar and incense along with the flaming pot all faded from sight. I left the room and made sure to shut the door. Then I continued down the passageway. I glanced at my character stats and added the Weapons master to my growing list of abilities and skills. The list now read,
Gear
Shark tooth knife
two blue maces level three
The Big Book of Discord
Four rings of epic quality
Two Paladin maces of epic quality both scalable with plus 20 strength each per level.
Plate armor named Shadow Born that is scalable of epic quality
The Great Spellbook of Law, Tactics, Weaponry and History.
Race
Elf
Newly Ascended as a minor power
Level seven stats
Strength = 2690
Agility = 2410
Mana = 2445
Health = 2460
Speed = 2410
+ Racial ability limited time double speed
Buffs
Gaiatoci’s Buff of Life and Mana
Ama’s Buff of the Succubae
Companions
Battle Crab Krusty
Angelic Messenger Komhether
Minor Demon Sebastian
Abilities
Ability Persuasion
Ability Pickpocketing
Ability Singing
Ability dual wield spells
Lock picking, the basics 100 percent completed
Lock picking advanced 60 percent remaining
Lock picking master 0 percent completed
Spells
Basic DPS attack Wrath of the Light
Basic magical attack Holy Fire
Basic healing spell Holy Health
Ice Bolt
Lightning
Dragon Fire
Shadows
Airless Breathing
Metamorphic Transformation
Sonic Shard
Sonic Blast
Manaflow
Class
Hidden class, the Thief
Subclass Paladin
Subclass Mage Knight
You have joined the Mage Knights of Ilumberia
You are dedicated to truth, justice, and knowledge.
Nanobot Integration
Defensive capability, self-healing, self-warming
Offensive capability, electrical discharge from hands
Strength increase four times normal human with diminishing returns upon leveling
PIM
Stealth detection enabled
Upgraded map functions
Ability to make calls to the Real World
Ability to access GNet from within the game
Ability to leave and enter the game
Avatar integration into gaming matrix
You are not recognized as a player and the gaming AI has no control over you
Wow, I needed to level up and do so in a hurry or all that I had gained would be underutilized. Plus, I had another subclass. Mage Knight. I needed to find some time to do some research, the Battle spells in particular needed to be looked at. Also, I resolved that before I entered the abandoned city proper I would work on the enchants for my Maces and the short ax.
Continuing on I eventually began to climb a long flight of circular steps which finally ended at a door. It was locked but using my skills as a thief I quickly picked the lock and then pushed open the door. I could see no one was there so I entered the room and closed the door.
I was in a circular room and with stairs that led both up and down. I quickly explored the tower, it was four stories high and the bottom floor had a locked doorway led out to a street. I was in the abandoned zone. The top of the tower was flat and had a small room on it that held a stack of wood and a stove along with a bench and a simple bed. Setting up camp there I quickly made a fire and soon the room was warm. I lit the candles I had found on a shelf along with an oil-filled lamp.
Unpacking my camping gear, I laid down the blankets and put my cloak on top of them. I then locked the door and made a simple meal of bread with cheese and a spicy sausage. Once I was done I cleaned up and then sat on the bed and pulled out the heptagon enchanted stone.
This was going to take a while I thought and then began to submerge myself in the intricacies of the enchantment by watching the mana flow in the stone. After several hours, I had a good understanding of how the enchant worked and I felt I could adapt it to work on my Maces and the short ax.
It took several hours but by the time I was done both Maces now had the ability to proc one of the four enchants on the heptagon. With every swing, one or more of the enchants should activate, and the enchants could stack. Unfortunately, the short ax would not accept my enchants, and I ended up placing the Heptagon on the end of the handle. This worked and the weapon began to glow with a rainbow hue of colors. It was puzzling that I could not enchant the short ax, but it still worked out in the end.
Reverse engineering spells and enchants was an ability I had through the use of my Dragon eyes, and I resolved to keep it hidden. Actually, as I thought about myself I decided to try to keep a low profile on this trip and during my stay with the Dwarves, as a spy should not be noticed. With that I covered myself and closed my eyes, I needed to rest for a few hours before hitting the Abandoned city.
Chapter 23 The Abandoned City
Having rested for a few hours I was eager to explore, going to the roof I transformed with what now amounted to a simple thought and then jumped off the tower and glided to the ground. Going back to Human form I entered Shadows and began to walk down the streets through the mist.
I had traveled several blocks without seeing anyone when suddenly I saw an Undead. She was walking down the street showing more bone than flesh, with her empty eye sockets glowing a bright blue. She seemed to know where she was going so I followed her down several streets until we stopped in front of what used to be a large temple.
Looking at the statues and mosaics on the wall surrounding it, I realized it was a temple dedicated to a martial order. I observed the undead Zombie, as she walked up to
the front of the gate and halted, I guessed that the ground was consecrated, and she could not enter. Interesting.
During the few minutes that I had been observing her, a small group of Zombies had approached. They were being led by someone wearing a dark cowl and robes. It became clear after observing the group that the bugger the dark robes was alive. What the hell, I thought, this is getting strange. I decided to follow the man when we were finished here. Meanwhile, he continued to exhort and order the Zombies to go past the gate onto the temple grounds.
Suddenly the whole group of Zombies turned and rushed at the broken gates of the temple, then as they entered the temple grounds, a golden-white fire appeared and began to race up the Zombies legs burning away the remnants of flesh and turning the bones to ash.
I continued to watch as the last of the Zombies disappeared and the lone living man was left standing on the street. With a muttered curse, he turned and walked away, I turned and followed him. I was planning on returning to the temple latter, who knew what I might find, after all, I am a Thief now.
Following the man, I noticed that the streets were dirty and full of debris, the windows on the building were dark and many were broken. Most of the homes and buildings had doors still closed, but a few hung open. There was no water splashing in any of the fountains that we passed, it was truly a dead part of the city.
The Rats, on the other hand, were alive and well, large creatures that were about four times the size of a normal rat. There were many of them, I saw at least ten moving in the fog. Also, Spiders, their webs hung between buildings and they waited for prey to become entangled, I saw several Zombies wrapped up in the webbing. These Spiders were oversized also; they were about two to three meters in diameter and stood damn near 4 meters tall on their legs.
Then there were the Slugs, three meters long and one meter around, they had a circular mouth layered with fangs, ugly looking fat bastards. I would not want one to bite me. We slowly passed these monsters and eventually the man made it to a tower located in a small square.
Once he entered and shut the door I observed the tower with my Dragon eyes and quickly saw that it was covered with wards and other nasty enchants. I would not be getting in there anytime soon, and the square had a slow but steady constant flow Zombies and Slugs passing through.