On My Brother's Grave: Reconnaissance: A LitRPG Adventure (Vatenkeist Online Book 1)

by E. M. Hardy

  “Nice,” I whispered in triumph as I figured I could make my avatar look as different as Jason’s as possible. This would allow me to infiltrate his guild and meet those people without them ever guessing I was Jason’s brother.

  After what felt like forever, I finally finished making my avatar. In the end, I settled for a very young-looking character, one I gauged appeared to be around nineteen years old or so. I shortened my avatar’s height to just five-feet-six and made him lean but not lanky thin. I went with shoulder-length red hair, bright emerald eyes and a clean-shaven face.

  For my attire, I struggled a little bit as the game only gave me a few options here. I settled for a plain red top and a green leather coat that had some elegant gold embroidery to it. I then chose the white pair of long gloves, grey trousers and dark brown boots.

  “Proceed,” I then commanded and, in an instant, everything on the screen vanished. Once again I was left in pitch black darkness.

  Out of nowhere, a soothing female voice then asked, “What is your name?”

  A prompt then flashed in front of my eyes. I didn’t know how to interact with it, so I simply tried giving another voice command, “Fhauste. F-H-A-U-S-T-E.”

  “Fhauste accepted. Welcome to Vatenkeist Online.”

  The voice then trailed off and I was once again alone in the darkness. I waited for a moment, wondering if the visor screen would flash and I’d get to play the game now. Another minute passed without anything happening and I wondered if the game suddenly froze or crashed. What if it couldn’t connect to the servers? What would happen then?

  Zap!

  “Ow!” I cried out in surprise as another sudden shock struck my neck. But before I could do anything else, I felt my whole body relax, as if my muscles were under some kind of anesthesia. I quickly lost control over my muscles and, before I could fight back and remove the headgear, my eyes shut tight and I lost consciousness.

  ***

  My eyes fluttered open and I found myself prone on a grassy field, my back against the damp kiss of the ground. I looked straight up and saw the clouds passing by at a gentle pace.

  Where was I? Last thing I remembered was being in my brother’s bedroom, logging into that video game. I then heard a strange electric boom, almost like a sonic boom of sorts but with a static echo, and I quickly hopped to my feet.

  “Hello,” greeted a young woman. She looked to be in her early twenties and was inhumanly gorgeous, with bright blue eyes and long blonde hair. She was wearing what appeared to be some kind of dress, but more befitting for a medieval festival than something I’d see out in the city. “Welcome to Vatenkeist Online.”

  I was taken aback by her words. I then raised a hand in question, and that was when I noticed I was wearing the gloves my avatar had in the Character Creation screen! I then looked at my whole body and realized I was exactly as the designed character I had made just minutes ago.

  “H-hi,” I tried to respond to the lady and figure out what the heck was going on. “This is the game?”

  “Yes, you are currently logged into Vatenkeist Online, the premiere virtual reality roleplaying game by Invertech. My name is Lorelai and I am here to guide you through the tutorial process. We shall first begin by teaching you how to access the menu.”

  This meant I was literally inside the game? If that was true, then the headgear’s design made more sense to me now. I figured that the shock I felt was the hardware connecting to my neural system. This was how I could see, touch and even smell everything in the game as if it were all real. It was a simulated environment… a virtual reality, as the term implied.

  “Okay.” I decided to go along until I could confirm my assumptions. “How do I access the menu, Lorelai?”

  The girl smiled back at me and said, “Simply think or state the words ‘access menu’ and the main menu will appear. The menu is visible to all by default, but you can also hide it so that only you can see it. This can be done simply by thinking or stating the command ‘hide menu.’ You can make it visible again by thinking or stating the command ‘unhide menu.’ Please give it a try now.”

  “All right.” I simply thought of the command phrase, just to try it out, and as she said a blue menu list appeared right in front of me.

  It floated around wherever I desired, as if the game read my mind. I reached out and, to my surprise, I could physically interact with the menu screen. I figured I didn’t have anything in my inventory yet since I had just started the game and I probably didn’t have any abilities or magic spells. I did wonder what kind of character Jason had when he played the game and what his character looked like. Melancholy invaded my heart but I pressed on, knowing I wouldn’t achieve much if I just stayed here in the tutorial section and wallowed in self-pity.

  I tapped the “Status” option and the menu changed, quickly showing me a rundown of my current character build as well as a preview of my avatar. It was a neat preview too – it was in full 3D, like a hologram.

  Lorelai then asked, “Would you need an explanation regarding your abilities?”

  “No, they’re pretty self-explanatory but why are all my stats at 10?” I asked Lorelai.

  “You are currently a novice and have no main class at this point,” Lorelai answered with a chirpy tune in her voice. “Once you have completed the tutorial, you will be given the option to choose your class and adjust your stats based on the actions you have conducted. This will also determine your starting point in the world of Vatenkeist.”

  I then looked at her with suspicion and asked, “Are you real? Are you another player in the game or a moderator?”

  Lorelai then replied with the most wicked smile I had ever seen, “If you can’t tell, then it doesn’t really matter now, does it?”

  “Answer the question,” I demanded.

  “I am a programmed Non-Player Character or NPC in the game,” she answered with a dead tone, as if the personality code had been shut off to answer my direct inquiry. However, as soon as she finished her statement, she came back to life and looked at me with a cheerful smile.

  That was so weird. At least, I knew I could demand straight answers from these NPCs whenever needed.

  “All right then, let’s not waste time. How do we continue on with the tutorial?” I asked.

  Lorelai nodded and then waved her hand. A sword materialized out of thin air right in front of me. Its blade was embedded on the ground. When I studied it, I discovered it wasn’t a very good make – the hilt was poorly structured, the pommel looked too heavy and the blade had scratch marks. Whoever had designed the items in this game had really paid attention to detail.

  However, I didn’t want a sword. If I were to make important decisions in this game, I was going to make them starting now.

  “Can we get rid of the sword? Give me something more agile to use, like a bow and some arrows.”

  Lorelai looked at me with worry and, for the first time since we had met, I felt a tinge of humanity in her, even though I knew she was just a programmed character. She stared at me, almost as if gauging me, and then waved her hand again. The sword disappeared and in its place was a simple wooden short bow and a quiver with several arrows.

  I picked the quiver up and tied it to my back so I could quickly reach for ammunition. I then grabbed the bow and faced Lorelai, “All right. Now let’s do this.”

  Chapter Three

  Another flick of the wrist from Lorelai, and a blue jelly-like creature with big eyes materialized just fifteen feet away from us. It resembled a rain drop in some ways but it was as large as a common dog. The creature bounced on the ground a bit and stared blankly back at me.

  “In order to attack the Jelly, you simply need to fire your bow and arrow,” Lorelai stated.

  That sounded simple enough. I was quite proficient with a wide range of weapons, and firing a bow and arrow should be as mundane as brewing my average morning coffee. I took an arrow from my quiver and nocked it onto my bow. I
aimed and fired.

  Suddenly, I felt this overwhelming sensation of uneasiness just as my fingers let the bowstring loose. It was like the bow felt heavier in my grip and, in that moment, my attack missed. The arrow gave a lifeless thud inches away from the Jelly.

  “What happened?” I asked. “I totally had that thing in my sights. How could I miss?”

  Lorelai giggled, “Remember: you are in a virtual world, playing as a novice. Your physical skills in real life do not translate here. You are a novice with a base Agility score of 10. That ability stat determines speed, accuracy and damage with ranged and light melee weapons. Your ability to hit and deal damage will increase as you level up and acquire better skills.”

  Well, damn it. I gritted my teeth and took up another arrow. I fired again and this time the attack hit the mark, striking the Jelly dead center. The creature shrieked and looked back at me with a pair of angry eyes, but it did not retaliate just yet.

  “Good,” Lorelai stated. “The Jelly is currently programmed to be passive. Let us now activate its aggression, so I can teach you about your Hit Points or HP.”

  As soon as she said it, I saw the Jelly rushing towards me. I dodge rolled out of the way, barely evading its tackle. But as I began to rise back up, it charged again and slammed against my chest with such a heavy force I felt the wind get knocked right out of me.

  Blood flowed from my mouth as I felt the pain ring through my entire body. It was like getting hit by a truck in the middle of the highway. A little dizzy, I fell to one knee. I tried to move, but my whole being was frozen in place. The Jelly seemed more agitated after that hit and started to charge in once more. Now in survival mode, I struggled to get out of the way, but my body simply refused to budge.

  “To hell with you,” I cursed and tried to escape one last time. In that instant, my whole body flashed and I felt the sensation of control return.

  I jumped to the side at the very last second and fired another arrow. This one struck home too and, as it did, the Jelly burst into several blobs. On the ground, I noticed a small round glass bottle with a cork on it. I quickly picked it up and, upon closer inspection, saw that it contained a shimmering but colorless liquid.

  Lorelai clapped her hands at my triumph and said with glee, “Congratulations! You’ve slain your first enemy in Vatenkeist Online! Please pull up your main menu and then go back to your status screen.”

  “Access menu,” I uttered the command phrase.

  As soon as the main screen popped up, I tapped on the Status button to take a look at my current condition. That was when I saw that my HP was down.

  “That tackle dealt you 5 points of damage,” Lorelai explained. “Once your HP drops to 0, you’ll be rendered unconscious. If you are not healed or given time to rest within thirty seconds, you’ll then die.”

  “Die?” I repeated, frowning. “What happens if I do?”

  Lorelai smiled, “Do not worry. You won’t be gone permanently. You will re-spawn at the last town you saved at. Every settlement has a Save Girl for you to speak to and assign a new spawn point.”

  That was a relief. For a second, I thought it would be like those TV shows where I’d die in the real world if I died in the game. Then again, this game wouldn’t be so popular if it was deadly like that. From what I’d heard and what Jason used to say, there were millions of people playing this game.

  “Also take a look at your current condition. The ‘Bloodied’ condition is when your current HP drops to a quarter of your HP maximum. That Jelly dealt a critical blow when it hit you, which is why it did more damage than it should have. A third thing you need to understand is that when a single hit deals damage equivalent to half of your HP or more, you are momentarily knocked down and stunned.”

  Which was why I felt paralyzed for some time. It made sense.

  “How can I replenish HP?” I asked. I was trying to keep a mental note of all the basic information she was teaching me. I didn’t want to look like a complete moron when I was done with this tutorial. I could end up as the next target if I didn’t at least know the basics. I wanted to find my brother’s guildmates, not end up like him.

  Lorelai pointed to the bottle I had picked up and said, “That is a Healing Potion. It will recover up to 30 Hit Points. There are greater potions out there, but they are rarer drops and can be more expensive in town shops.”

  I looked at the bottle with curiosity and then back at Lorelai. Could an NPC like her lie to a player? Was there even a chance of something like that ever happening?

  What’s there to lose? I figured as I chugged down the potion. If I died, I’d likely re-spawn right here anyway since I hadn’t been to any of the game’s towns. I’d be right back where I started if this damn thing didn’t work.

  Once the potion was gone, I felt a warm wave rise up through my body, and the exhaustion that plagued me disappeared. The bruise on my ribs where the Jelly had struck was fully healed and I felt completely reinvigorated.

  I checked my status one more time. The “Bloodied” status had vanished and my HP was back at 8.

  “Very good,” she said. “I advise you to pick up the Jelly bits as you can sell those in an apothecary shop in town. Enemy drops can be used to earn gold, craft items and potions, or fulfill quests. Keep in mind you can store items in a bag. I will give you one to start with, but it is quite small and limited. You will need to purchase or loot a better one in the future.”

  Lorelai snapped her fingers and a sling bag appeared on the ground. I picked it up and wore it on my shoulder. I didn’t waste any time and scooped up the four Jelly bits – which all felt like really solid pillows rather than gelatin – and tossed them in my bag.

  “Congratulations, you have completed the tutorial,” Lorelai then told me. “You now know how to use your menu, deal with combat encounters, keep track of your HP and condition, use items and loot. I have one last thing to teach you and one question left for you before I assign you a starting town.”

  “What is it?” I asked, surprising myself that I was actually enjoying this.

  Lorelai raised her fist and a screen came into existence. The screen was displaying several men in different outfits. Lorelai first tapped on the image of a man wearing full chain mail armor and wielding a sword. She then explained, “This is the Warrior class. This class can use all kinds of armor and weapons, and is generally for melee fighters. They are the ones who dive right into the thick of combat.”

  I shrugged. “That’s not for me.”

  She swiped at the screen and selected the image of a man wearing a long black robe and carrying a book in one hand and a crystal ball in the other. “This is the Mage class. They focus on devastating spells that allow them to freeze enemies and blast them with fireballs, or they can also teleport through the battlefield. There are multiple types of mages and you’ll unlock specializations as you level up. Each specialization dictates what kind of magic you can cast. While they are capable of massive damage output though, they have less-developed physical defenses and lower HP.”

  That was an interesting option. I could deal a lot of damage to multiple enemies if I chose to become a mage. However, the one unappealing aspect was that the Mage was a little squishy. One wrong move and I could instantly get knocked out. Not good.

  Onto the next class, Lorelai brought up the image of a man in all black leather and a concealing hood. Instead of a big sword, this group was using a pair of daggers. She then explained, “This is the Assassin class. They also work as thieves. This class focuses on stealth attacks, thievery, traps, rapid stabs and dashing in and out of combat. Instead of relying on armor for defense, they rely on their speed to evade attacks.”

  I raised an eyebrow in interest. Now that was a class I could picture myself in. Getting up close and personal had always been my thing. However, I had to curb my enthusiasm right away; I had to remember that, here, I was a different person and I would not be bringing my skillset along with me. It had
taken me years of dedicated training to become proficient at killing like a shadow. And, obviously, I wouldn’t have such a luxury of time in-game. Of all the ways to murder someone, stealth killing was the one where being good enough just didn’t fit the bill. Unless you were an expert, it always seemed to backfire.

  Seeing how I didn’t say another word, Lorelai went onto the following option. The man in the image was wearing leather armor, had a bow and arrow in hand and a falcon on his shoulder.

  “This is the Hunter class,” Lorelai said. “This class focuses on ranging the wild, befriending animal companions and fighting from afar. The abilities you’ll learn as you level up will focus on marking your prey, tracking specific enemies and mastering different terrain.”

  I rubbed my chin. A class dedicated to tracking and hunting down preys? That sounded exactly like my plan.

  “I like that,” I told her. “Sign me up for the Hunter.”

  “Very well,” Lorelai said. “There is however one last option I need to show you before we end the tutorial. This is known as the Battle Priest class.”

  I watched as she revealed an image of a man in heavy plate armor, wielding a flail in one hand and a shield in the other. The shield bore a symbol resembling a metal gauntlet holding a lightning bolt.

  “Okay, I’ll admit that looks pretty badass,” I commented.

  Lorelai grinned and explained further, “The Battle Priest doesn’t have a lot of combat abilities but can still deal a lot of divine damage, especially against fiends and the undead. However, the main focus of a Battle Priest is to heal and buff allies. Their strong defense also makes them reliable tanks that may draw in enemy attention, allowing their allies to dish out the real pain.”