While the armistice forbade people from fighting in the real world, that did not mean no one was willing to break those rules if they thought it would benefit them. This was especially true for rich and powerful families. They were not above using underhanded tactics like sending assassins after someone in the real world, blackmail, bribery, and other violence to get what they wanted.
Adam’s very existence was the perfect example of this.
“I understand,” Aris said with a serious look on her face.
“Good. Now, a lot of people tend to focus on grinding their levels, but that’s not the most efficient way to go about playing this game. While you’re in the Village of Beginning, I want you to instead focus on doing quests…”
Adam gave Aris all the information he could think of to help her succeed faster than anyone else. Aris listened to everything he said, nodding along and asking questions where appropriate. He made sure she knew his “in-game name” and told her about the player chat function. Only after he imparted all the knowledge he could think of did Adam carry her into their bedroom, lay her down, and then get in with her. He watched as she closed her eyes and logged into the game. The device around her neck lit up with a light pink color.
He watched her for a moment, making sure she was logged in, then made a cold expression as he grabbed the phone sitting on the nightstand and made a call.
“Master? Did you need something?”
The voice that spoke sounded middle-aged and firm. His voice reminded Adam of a butler character from an old TV show he used to watch with Aris, though he’d long since forgotten the name. He remembered it had been about a vigilante who fought crime in some made-up city.
“Astaroth… how many of you are still in the Village of Beginnings?”
“All of us except for Lilith, Master. We have not left, just as you requested.”
“Good. Aris just logged on. I want all of you to be on the lookout for her. Tell everyone else to protect her if she ends up in their village.”
“Of course, Master. Don’t worry. We all know how important Miss Aris is to you. We will protect her with our lives.”
“I’m counting on you.”
Adam hung up the phone a moment later, set it on the nightstand, and silently contemplated his situation. Aris was going to be entering a Village of Beginnings. However, there were hundreds of thousands of such villages, which meant the chances of someone from his barely one hundred-strong group of individuals being in the same village as her was about 100,000 to 1. He could only pray that luck was with him.
Ever since the first virtual reality game experienced an in-game rape, it had become mandatory for virtual reality games to have an anti-rape feature. Any man or woman who tried to sexually assault another person was automatically ejected from the game, their account was deleted, an alert went out to the authorities, and the perpetrator was arrested and thrown in jail. While Adam was glad he didn’t have to worry about someone assaulting Aris in-game, there were still other ways of harassing someone that didn’t activate this feature. That was what worried him.
Settling down, Adam closed his eyes and logged into the game.
Treasure Hunt
As had become customary, Adam, Fayte, Lilith, Susan, Titania, and Kureha were sitting at a table in the outdoor food court. They weren’t the only ones. More players had arrived in Solum by now, at least several thousand, and so many of the tables were occupied. Some were eating, some were talking, and some were planning their next quest like Adam’s party was.
Adam eyed the group immediately to their right for a moment. It was a group of all women. They had a good party combination, with one Mage, one Assassin, two frontline fighters, an Archer, and a Priest. One thing Adam noticed was the front-liners had different classes. One was listed as a Magic Swordsman, while the other was a Monk.
They must have changed their class by speaking to a trainer.
“You want to go on a treasure hunt?” asked Fayte, blinking several times. He was sure she was also frowning, but he couldn’t see past her veil.
“That’s right.” Adam reached into his item pouch and pulled out the [unknown scroll], setting it on the table as he unfurled it for the others to see. “I forgot about this until just recently, but I remembered it when I was selling some of the item drops I had. I’m not really sure where it leads.”
“Are you sure going on this treasure hunt is a good idea?” pressed Fayte. “I do not mean to doubt you, but it is possible we’ll run into a lot of danger. You already admitted you don’t know where this leads. What if the enemies there have an even higher level than the ones we fought at Suncrest Mountain?”
Adam had already thought about that and had the perfect answer. “If the area where this map is pointing to has enemies that are too strong for us to beat, we’ll just retreat. I only thought it was a good idea because we don’t have any leads for another hidden class. However, if this does lead to treasure, then I’m sure it will be worth a lot even if it doesn’t have a hidden class, and if it’s worth a lot…”
“Then it might help me earn some of the money I need to win my bet.” Fayte saw where he was going and nodded along. She looked back down at the scroll.
“So you don’t know where this map leads?” asked Susan, also looking curiously at the map.
Adam shook his head, but Titania, who had been eating up until this point, suddenly fluttered over to the map and landed on it. She peered at the map with narrowed eyes. No one said anything as they watched her. Kureha was the only one not paying attention… well, she was the second one. Lilith was paying more attention to Kureha than Titania, though Adam didn’t doubt the woman was still aware of everything happening around them.
“I believe I know where this is,” Titania said at last.
“You do?” asked Adam.
Titania nodded. “It was around… four thousand years ago, I believe. A thousand years after the war against the Demon Lord and his thirteen Lords of Chaos, a powerful mage founded an academy that taught magic. Some of the best and brightest minds of the time went there to learn, and it eventually became renowned for producing unparalleled geniuses when it came to magic. Unfortunately, the greed of men is vast and far-reaching.”
“What happened?” asked Susan, her gaze hooked on Titania. She seemed to be the most interested in what the fairy was saying. Her eyes were bright and vibrant like a child being told fantastical bedtime stories by her parents.
“The academy was built in the center of three neighboring countries,” Titania explained. “These countries were, at the time, the three most powerful countries on the Sun Continent. They had always been in something of a stalemate. No country could gain more power than the other. However, all sides wished to become stronger than their neighbors.” Titania walked along the map, looking at it as though she was remembering something from the past. “I do not know who struck the first blow, but the three countries eventually tried to absorb the magic academy into their kingdoms. When the academy refused, all three countries attacked and burned the academy down, then began warring with each other over the remains. That is actually how the original three great powers of the Sun Continent were destroyed and the current Sun Kingdom that covers the whole continent formed.”
While Susan looked like she was embroiled in the tale, Fayte merely cupped her chin and seemed to be pondering something.
“Do you remember what those kingdoms were called?” asked Susan.
Titania shook her head. “I’m afraid I do not. Those kingdoms were destroyed around the time I had just reached maturity. While we fairies had not yet isolated ourselves from the outside world, we still did not leave our home very often. I only heard about all this after it happened because a few humans passing through our village were refugees from those kingdoms. One of them had a map similar to this one. I recognize some of the landmarks on it.”
“Oh…” Susan’s shoulders slumped as though disappointed.
They discussed the matter a
bit more and eventually decided to travel to this magic academy. Since it was a magic academy, Adam was hoping they would have a [hidden class scroll] for Fayte, who they still needed to upgrade with a new class. The Mage class was not very good, and none of the classes she could upgrade to by speaking with a trainer were good enough either—not in his mind.
To prepare for the journey, Adam took Fayte, Susan, Lilith, Titania, and Kureha to several stores. They bought [middle-grade health potions] and [middle-grade magic potions]—one hundred of each for everybody. They also bought a few scrolls that released spells like the [fireball scroll], and there was even a [tent scroll].
“That [tent scroll] is useful if you are going on a long journey,” an older man called Justice said. “While there are a lot of small towns and villages spread across the Sun Continent, there are also large stretches of land with nothing but monsters. This [tent scroll] will allow you to set up a tent, which monsters cannot enter. It basically keeps you safe from any monster, and it lasts a full twenty-four hours. Just be warned: you can’t set up a [tent] if there are already monsters in the area, so you’ll need to clear the monsters out first.”
The old man, Justice, was the owner of the equipment store, which sold all kinds of supplies necessary for travel. Adam was shocked to discover they not only sold potions and scrolls, but they also sold cookware.
Having already experienced cooking in this game, Adam knew that food had actual flavor. Most video games never bothered giving food flavor, or rather, none of the virtual reality games he had played until now had the processing ability to affect the senses known as taste and smell. Food might have a use in other games, but it was usually to replace health potions.
Of course, in-game food could not replace food in the real world. Even if they ate in Age of Gods, they would still have to log off and eat a real meal to maintain their bodies’ functions.
“We should buy several of these,” Fayte suggested. “They will be useful for us, especially for you two.”
Adam knew she was talking to Titania and Kureha. Whenever he logged off, those two would remain where he left them. This meant they were vulnerable. If a monster or even a player with a blood-thirsty streak came by, they could easily be killed, especially since their levels were still low.
“I’ll take ten [tent scrolls],” Adam said.
“Righto. With the [tent scrolls] added, your total will come to 60,000 gold coins.”
Adam didn’t hesitate to pay for the supplies, watching as the money in his inventory dropped. It wasn’t much. Adam had a lot of gold because he constantly sold the item drops he got from monsters. Even after spending 60,000 gold coins, he still had 1,083,000 left.
After buying their supplies, they made their way to the stables and rented four horses. Because they wanted to move fast, they rented [midnight stallions], which had a speed of +1,000, which was the equivalent of a car with a maximum speed of 245 miles per hour.
Titania and Kureha both made themselves comfortable on him. The fairy sat upon his shoulder and the fox yokai turned his head into a burrow. A little ways off, Lilith’s eyes burned into the back of his head. Adam still didn’t know if she was jealous of him for having Kureha using his head as a pillow, or his two companions for being so close to him. Given what happened between them several nights ago, he wasn’t sure he wanted to know.
According to Titania, the journey to the magic academy would take several days, provided they didn’t run into any enemies. Adam was certain it would take them even longer. They couldn’t focus solely on travel. Without constantly leveling up, without grinding for experience points, they would eventually fall behind everyone else’s levels.
Speaking of…
“Fayte, do you know what the average level is right now?” Adam asked as they traveled across a vast plain via horseback.
“At the moment, the average level is still 10, though some people have recently broken into level 11,” Fayte answered. “Lin Akamine is at level 12. I also heard the Spear God reached level 12 two days ago. They are the only ones so far.”
“They’re probably grinding in high-level killing fields,” Adam muttered. “Or maybe they’re going the more dangerous route and tackling dungeons solo.”
There were always a few abnormal players who could do what many considered impossible, like doing solo raids on dungeons or defeating boss-level enemies by themselves. Adam was one such person. It was especially easy for someone like Adam, who was an experienced combatant in real life, to defeat high-level opponents in Age of Gods thanks to the additional realism. Adam was certain he would never be able to do what he did in this game if not for the fact that his virtual body moved and felt exactly like his real one.
Adam was currently at level 16. That was the highest level a player possessed in the game right now. Fayte, Susan, and Lilith were all at level 14.
The reason their levels were so high was because of the high-level killing fields they went to. The area around the Sunset Mountain Range was filled with enemies that were all between levels 30 and 40. Thanks to the unique skills possessed by Titania and Adam, they had been able to kill a number of high-level enemies, which earned them a lot more experience points than enemies closer to their levels.
The enemies they ran into on the road were between levels 20 and 25, which was still pretty high-level, but they could not compare to enemies like the ones they had fought against when they were helping Lilith become a Demon Knight Assassin.
There were four enemies that they ran into on their travels: level 20 [demon bear], level 22 [slime], level 24 [giant mantis], and the level 25 [storm wolf].
“Fayte, Susan, Titania, and Kureha! Stay back and attack from a distance. Lilith, let me pull its agro, and then attack while it’s distracted!” Adam shouted as their group prepared to once again battle a [storm wolf]. However, the one they were fighting right now was not a regular [storm wolf].
The creature before them stood on four thick legs that were all muscle. Not an ounce of fat could be seen beneath that bristling fur. Sharp claws jutted from its paws and scratched against the ground, creating four gouges in the soil. This particular [storm wolf] had midnight blue fur covering every inch of its body except for the belly, which was coated in a layer of soft white fur. Odd white stripes within the fur reminded Adam of lightning bolts. With a massive horn jutting from its head, a row of sharp fangs, and vibrant blue eyes, the snarling creature before them was something that would have caused children nightmares.
Everyone listened to Adam’s words. Fayte, Susan, and Kureha moved backward, while Titania flew into the air. The first thing Titania did was cast [scan] on the [storm wolf].
Name: Storm Wolf
Description: Storm wolves are evolved versions of the fire wolf. They are much stronger than dire wolves and have powers over lightning.
Class: 1-Star
Level: 25
Health: 150,000/150,000
MP: 6,000/6,000
Strength: +500
Constitution: +800
Dexterity: +500
Intelligence: +500
Speed: +500
Skills:
Skill Name: Slash
Description: The storm wolf attacks with its powerful claws
Damage = Strength + Speed
MP Cost: 40
Cooldown Time: 0 Seconds
Skill Name: Storm Flash
Description: Storm wolves can instantly teleport to anywhere within one hundred feet of their current location
MP Cost: 1,500
Cooldown Time: 30 seconds
Skill Name: Thunderstorm
Description: The storm wolf calls down a thunderstorm from overhead and damages every enemy within fifty feet of its target
MP Cost: 200
Cooldown Time: 10 seconds
Skill Name: Thunderbolt
Description: Fires a compressed bolt of lightning from its horn
Has a 10% chance of causing stun
MP Cost: 100
Cooldown Time: 15 seconds
It was a fairly powerful enemy with stats that could one-shot any player outside of him right now. That was why Adam was drawing all of its agro. He wanted to make sure the others didn’t get hit by this beast.
-3,937!
A single [slash] from Adam brought the amount of health their enemy had down by almost four thousand points. Because his attack was so powerful, this also had the effect of drawing the [storm wolf’s] agro, which meant it was now focused solely on him.
Titania did not sing [Song of Vigor] like she usually did, but instead began singing the steady and daunting [Song of Valor], which increased everybody’s physical and magical defense by 300%. She did this was because Adam had told her not to increase their attack power. Adam wanted everyone to gain experience fighting as a unit. That couldn’t happen if he kept killing their enemies in a few attacks.
-850!
Susan’s [Fairy Shot] struck the [storm wolf] in the right flank. The arrow became deeply embedded into its flesh. This did not seem to bother the monster as it continued attacking Adam, who wove through the numerous claw strikes using deft footwork. He ducked underneath one massive paw, leaped over another, and then skipped back several yards to put some distance between him and his enemy. The [storm wolf] released a frustrated howl as it charged at him.
-390!
Among everyone, Fayte was still the weakest, but that was not because of her level. It was because of her class. Susan had even worse equipment than her, but she also possessed the Fairy Archer Class, which gave the girl an incredible boost every time she leveled up. Once she gained a few more levels, her current stats would no longer be able to compare to her stats now.
-4,245; MISS; MISS; MISS!
Adam frowned as three of his attacks missed, but he realized that was the difference between their stats. His Hit-Rate was at 50%, but that [storm wolf] had a high Dexterity, meaning it probably had a high Dodge-Rate.
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