by A P Gore
Noah was about to hop on a suitable branch when the tree shuddered, and he almost lost his grip on the branch. Somehow, he clung to it. The reason for the shudder was the rat. It was charging the tree again and again, throwing itself at the tree trunk.
Noah cast another perception spell on the rat. As he suspected, it wasn't an enrage transformation like the snake. It was something else, and now the rat had 50% resistance to spirit attacks.
Noah moved around the branch and planted his butt where he wouldn't fall easily. From there, he could watch the rat as it charged the tree. Noah's spirit was back to 150. He lay on the branch, gripping it tightly with his left hand, and extended his right hand to target the rat.
Whenever the rat came closer, charging the tree, Noah scored a critical hit for 10 damage by targeting the rat’s head. It was damn wrong for the rat’s spirit resistance to suck up his damage, but he couldn’t do anything about it. Slow and steady was his only option.
The rat's patience and persistence was paying off. The tree trunk was breaking apart, and in couple more hits Noah knew he would be kissing the ground. His spirit was depleted again, but fortunately the rat’s life was reduced to 30 as well.
Noah had enough spirit left for two more shots, and the rat was charging the tree to bring him down. Noah knew if he fell down, he might not get up. The stupid game would break his leg and stun him for a few seconds. Game over!
Noah's heart kicked into overdrive. Now it was a fight to the death.
His dagger’s shining blade caught his attention. If he wanted to survive, he would need to attack the rat's head, piercing its brain, or slash beneath its throat. He wasn't sure if the throat was a weak spot, but it had to be. In real life, the brain, heart, and throat all were weak points for every person or creature. If the game was following the real-life rules, why would it have different weak points?
Noah dropped out of the tree onto the rat's back, shooting two back-to-back poison orbs at its head.
The rat halted in its tracks as Noah rolled away and grabbed his dagger. By the time he was on his feet again, the rat had recovered and charged him. Noah crouched and threw himself under the rat's mouth, slashing it just below his neck. A spray of blood shot from the rat’s throat and showered his face.
It was disgusting. Rat blood was all over his face; it even got into his mouth, and it tasted foul.
But it worked.
The rat squealed in pain and died.
Noah rolled to his side, spitting the blood out of his mouth. The game was too much realistic when it came to blood and gore. He was spitting and vomiting all over the place when a new notification popped up.
You have dealt a critical hit with the dagger. Damage inflicted: 10. You have killed a giant rat. Experience gained: 100 (2x for the level difference.)
Noah stumbled away from the vomit and gore to flop on his back in the grass. His neck and shirt were drenched in rat's blood too, but he couldn’t care less. He was exhausted, tired, and frightened. But at the same time, he was proud that he’d managed to kill the rat. Thanks to the few moves the blacksmith had taught him, he’d been able to slice its throat and deal critical damage. But was it worth it? It seemed like too much work for a measly 100 points of experience. He still needed about 2800 experience to get to level 3. It was a tall task, and he wanted to reach level 5 as soon as possible so he could multi-class. The Cursemancer class wasn't cutting it for him. He needed a second class to survive.
He ruminated for a minute and decided to put a couple points in his first skill, poison orb, leaving him with three undistributed skill points, but the spend boosted his poison orb to level 4. He spotted a progression bar next to the poison orb skill, which was at 42%.
Ah, it will level up once the progression gets to 100%. That was a welcome thought.
He checked the final damage number of the spell. It sat comfortably at 24. That was better than the measly 12 damage he was doing before.
He was done for the day, so he jumped back to his feet, wiped the rat blood from his face, and started walking in the direction of town. Only ten steps later, he heard a low growl nearby. His chin jutted to the left, toward the source of the sound. Five pairs of rage-filled red eyes glared at him. His skin crawled with fear.
His heart leaped in his chest when a tail wrapped around his head and a butt landed on his shoulder. It was his worse day ever, attacked by an enemy demon and a pack of man-eating rats. Well, soon they would be fighting amongst themselves over his dead body. He would be drinking coffee in his respawn room soon enough.
“Daddy!” A sweet demonic voice disrupted his thoughts. It wasn't the evil demon wrapping its tail around his head, but rather the four-year-old kid demon who liked licking his face. Which she was doing now.
“Thia, what are you doing here? And don’t do that, its painted in rat’s blood.”
“Daddy. Need. Help. Thia. Help.” Thia howled at the rats and leaped from his shoulder, landing on top of a rat and piercing its brain with her tail. That seemed to be her favorite attack. The rat died within two stabs of her tail. She jumped to the next rat.
Noah wasn’t about to stand there and watch a small girl doing all the work for him. The fear of death he’d felt just a moment before vanished as the strong demon girl joined him in the fight, so he sprinted forward and focused on firing off poison orbs at two rats, back and forth. He was targeting their heads, and though he didn't look at the damage numbers, he was sure he’d get at least one critical strike between 3-4 shots.
One of the rats died after the seventh shot, but the other one latched onto his thigh with its teeth, and he was out of spirit. The pain in his leg was unbearable, and he was completely unable to move it. It was as if it were paralyzed, except for the continued agony. A red notification popped up in the corner of his eye.
He hated these notifications, and he had to do something about them before they got him killed in the heat of battle. For now, he ignored the notification and sliced his dagger at the rat’s throat. The rat died and fell across his chest, then vanished. But that one moment of the rat’s weight on his chest was enough to steal Noah’s breath.
“Daddy. Okay?” Thia landed next to his head. Her bloody tail wrapped around his head, and she bent forward to look in his eyes. “Thia. Killed. Rats. Three.”
For the first time, Noah thanked the maker for crossing paths with the cute little demon. He would have been scraping the floor of the respawn room if she hadn't come to his rescue.
“Thanks, Thia.” His leg still radiated pain, however. He glanced at his health and found it below half. He was sitting at 130, and it was ticking down. He checked his notifications and found the reason.
You have been infected with rat poison. You are taking twenty damage every five seconds. Effect lasts until antidote is provided.
That explained his dead leg, too.
“Thia. Help. Daddy.” Her tail unwrapped from his head and shot at his face. He closed his eyes, expecting a stab in the eye, but instead the pain flared in his neck.
“What the...” A steady stream of energy flowed into his body. His health was improving, not like a river flowing in the sea, but like a faucet into a small pond. His health loss stopped after a minute, then the bar started filling back up. When it was back at 170, the health gain stopped, and Thia collapsed against his chest, unconscious.
17. The Fun
S weat mixed with rat's blood left a weird taste in Noah's mouth, but it wasn't immediately important. Thia was in danger, and he needed to focus on that. Heart pounding, Noah sat up, carefully holding small Thia in his arms. He checked her pulse, which was slow but still thumping. A quick perception check told him her life was below the halfway mark, but it was stable. Thank God, she wasn’t in an immediate danger.
Did she heal me at the expense of her life?
It had to be that. There was no other explanation for him to gain life and for her to lose it.
Why did you do it, Thia?
Tears blurred h
is vision. The girl loved him, for some unknown reason, and he’d been hell-bent on sending her away. But what other choice was there? He couldn't take her with him to the human town. He had seen the bloodthirsty look demons gave him, and the same would happen with Thia in the human town. There was another danger too: other players. Other players would kill her for cheap experience. Heck, he would’ve considered the same before seeing the complexity of demon society with his own eyes. Humans in the real world tended to look down on other beings, be they celestial beasts, dark mages, or extinct ancient beings. In their eyes, they were all the same, lower lifeforms. When he’d entered the game, he thought the same about the demons, but a few days with them had changed his views—for the better.
He cleared the dirt from Thia's face, then put her on the ground and got to his feet. His left leg was still wobbly, but he could at least stand on it. After gathering the rat skins and a couple of crystals that emitted red light, he lifted Thia back up in his arms and slogged toward the town. He couldn’t stay in the forest, waiting for another predator to come for him.
With Thia’s added weight, it took almost two hours to reach the town gate. He had to take a couple of breaks along the way to replenish his stamina. A couple of times ,Thia opened her eyes, smiled at him and then went slipped back into unconsciousness. Whenever that happened, his chest tightened with fear. He hated seeing her like that, and he hated the game more when his thoughts wandered to the real world again and again. He could have called an ambulance by now, if they were in the real world.
He hated being so weak that he had to take help from a four-year-old girl. He hated the stupid game that made the small girl face such dangers. If only her mother were still alive, Thia would have been safely tucked in her arms. The game was cruel and stupid and idiotically made the little girl fight for her loved ones. He wished they had a filter or something to stop monsters from attacking kids. How could they allow monsters hitting a little girl like this? If he ever met the developer, he planned to raise this point.
The familiar scent of alcohol filled the inn. Noah had never drunk alcohol in real life because it never suited his stomach. Here, smelling it daily made him consider trying it. Mathial was moving between the tables, filling scratched wooden mugs and chatting cheerfully with his demon customers. One of the demons moved suddenly, and Mathial almost lost his balance, but the heavy blacksmith managed to steady himself with a nasty curse pointed at the source.
It was business as usual for the inn. But as soon as Mathial spotted the injured girl in Noah's arms, he set down the big jar of alcohol rushed over. Noah had never seen the blacksmith leave alcohol unattended before. He always complained about the demons stealing his alcohol when he wasn't around, but today he seemed less bothered about the possibility. Mathial glanced at Thia and rushed out of the room, coming back after few seconds with a red vial and a few bandages. Noah had put down the girl on a table by that time. Mathial poured the red vile into Thia's mouth, while Noah rested his tired butt on a chair.
“What is that vial?”
“Health potion. Rare and expensive. And if you keep getting this girl in trouble, I'll start charging you for them.” Mathial replied with a scowl.
Thia's life bar went up a moment after the health potion entered her stomach. That was the beauty of being in a game; in real life, they had nanites which could bring a man back from the brink of death, but it took time. Weeks, sometimes. But in the game, it was super easy.
Mathial handed him the bandages. “These are for you. But they will cost you a couple coppers. What did you put her through? And did you see the tailor? You stinking every day is bad for business.”
Noah ignored Mathial's complaint. It wasn't so much business with the same 5-6 demons visiting his inn every day to drink cheap alcohol, and the demons themselves reeked worse than him.
“Did you know she is a killing machine?” Noah wrapped the bandage around the wound on his leg. It was still bleeding. Slowly, but enough for him to lose a couple of points life every five seconds. The bandage magically wrapped around his leg, and his health started raising back up. It was a good thing he was in a game so he wouldn't have to change the bandages and care for the wound. Once his life bar filled up, the bandages would drop and there would be no trace of any wound. The game simplified many things, reducing them to simple bars and numbers, but it failed to simplify one thing: human emotion. If he had a bar for what he was feeling for the demon girl, the number in it would have gone beyond the boundaries of the bar.
“Daddy.” Thia opened her eyes. Noah watched those beautiful brown eyes scan the room before stopping on him. A radiant, innocent smile brightened her face, easing Noah's heart. Her tail wrapped around his hand. He guessed she was still weak, otherwise she would have been all over his face by now.
“Thank you, Thia.” He grabbed her hand and squeezed it lightly. Her tail jumped up and caressed his ears, sending tingles across his body. To heck with the digital tail or digital NPC, the girl cared for him with her heart, and she wasn't an NPC for him anymore. He would take care of her until he found a safe arrangement for her.
Congratulations! Your caring for Thia has made a little space in Thia’s heart for you. +5000 reputation with Thia.
Current Status: Friend
Current Reputation: 10000
Stupid Game!
This yet more proof the game didn't know squat about emotions and relationships. If he went by reputation rank, Thia was at the friend level. In reality, she showed much more love than the stupid game said. Her actions contradicted everything the game told him. She was ready to die for him. That didn't sound like something a digital NPC would do. There was a heart inside that demon girl, and he had started caring for that heart. Maybe just a little, but she had made a space in his heart.
Noah carried Thia upstairs and then took a bath. He wanted hot tea, but Mathial declined to give it to him without a bath. It made sense. No one liked a stinking person, not even his deceased wife had been willing to come close to him when he smelled like a chemistry reaction after a full day’s work in the lab.
When all hygiene customs were attended to, and he smelled a little better, Noah went back upstairs and ordered a cup of tea from Mathial. It was included in his daily rent, so at least he didn't have to spend anything for it. The tea was good, but it wasn't the masala tea or coffee he used to love.
“Mathial, where can I get a cup of coffee? Do you have a tea house or something in town?” He doubted the town would have one. Mathial might surprise him, though.
Mathial stared at him like he had asked the stupidest question ever. “What is coffee, human? Is that the cat’s dung you humans eat?” He laughed at his own joke.
By this time, Noah had grown accustomed to Mathial's stupid poop jokes and had stopped reacting to them. The more he reacted, the stupider they became.
When Mathial's laughter died down, Noah replied, “Something like tea, but totally different in taste. And has more caffeine than tea.”
“Caffeine?”
“Forget it.”
A bright golden-red notification popped up.
Devine Quest unlocked: Your Goddess Sumara loves Starbugs coffee. If you discover the ingredients and make similar tasting coffee, you will gain her blessings. Reward: Blessings from Goddess Sumara. Hey, Noah. If you make any kind of coffee, I'll reward you with something nice… and something naughty (**Wink**). Select herbalism as your second utility profession. That's a hint from me. -Sumara. Do you accept? Yes/No.
Noah accepted the quest. According to the forums, he could have two utility professions active at a time, and he could change it easily at any town’s mage college or by asking any high mage—for a fee, of course. There was no harm in accepting the quest, as the utility profession retained bonuses even if he changed it back and forth.
He glanced at his experience which now sat at 1740. His progression toward the next level of poison orb was at 80%. The barrage of poison orbs he had cast at the rats had h
elped him make progress. When Thia woke up and came upstairs, rubbing her sleepy eyes, he checked on the weather. It was a nice, sunny evening with a warm breeze. He should have enough time to visit the tailor and get clothes for both of them before the shop closed for the day.
The visit to tailor was quite fruitful. The tailor didn’t have any girl’s clothes, but he had a few things for demon boys. They fit Thia perfectly. Fortunately for Noah, they both walked out wearing new clothes and in high spirits. Thia was especially happy with her new clothes, and she was constantly showing them to Noah.
On their way back to the inn, they came across a few demon boys playing a hockey-like game. He let Thia play with them while he settled on a nearby stone bench, watching the kids cheer, crackle, shout, and enjoy the game.
The world suddenly went black, and Noah felt like he was being pulled away to some other place. He tried to shout, but his mouth wouldn’t open. It was a strange sensation, like his mind was pulled out of his body. But it ended as quickly as it had begun, though he wasn't back on the bench where Thia and other demon kids played. Instead, he stood inside a viewer’s box in a huge basketball stadium. But how was that even possible? Then the strangest thing happened. Another Noah walked into the box with Tia, holding a big tub of popcorn in her hands. She was just four years old. He remembered the occasion. They were here for her first magical baseball game. The players played a version of baseball where they could use magically enhanced equipment.
Noah’s eyes flooded with tears as he saw the other Noah enjoying the game with Tia. It was his memory from the past—one he had forgotten. He stood there absorbing every word his Tia said to his former self. It filled his heart with joy and his eyes with tears. The glass-man was right, the game had evoked one of his memories. He tried to search his mind for others, but none were there. Only this. At least this would remain, and he would take any memory of his daughter over nothing. When the game ended, Noah and Tia rose from their seats, and Tia stumbled forward. The remaining popcorn from her tub flew into the air. Noah jumped forward to save her, but he was pulled back into the game world. He opened his tear-filled eyes to find Thia was still playing with the other kids.