From the Beginning

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From the Beginning Page 18

by Benjamin Haynes


  Belt slot Empty

  Skills:

  Basic Attack

  Swift Strike

  Cascading Blades

  Scatter Blades

  Chaotic Shield

  Hidden Power

  Cycle of Fate

  Chaos Hold

  Shadows of Chaos

  Intertwined Fates

  Chaos Dash

  Plight of Chaos

  Chaotic Blast

  Chaotic Subterfuge

  Light of Chaos

  Dominion of Chaos

  Core Attack: Annihilation

  Chaotic Flow

  Evasive Blade Stance

  Lashing Chaos

  Burst of Chaotic Blades

  Leap of Chaos

  Companions:

  Terrance Walsh: Warrior

  Level:35.06

  Attack Power:144

  Defense Power:357

  Health:2212/2212

  Stamina:1262/1262

  Attack Speed +4

  Casting Speed +2

  Critical Hit +4

  Movement Speed +5

  Erchik: Crossbowman

  Level:35.22

  Attack Power:151

  Defense Power:242

  Health:1591/1591

  Stamina:914/914

  Attack Speed +3

  Casting Speed +0

  Critical Hit +3

  Movement Speed +2

  Laurina: Healer

  Level:32.14

  Attack Power:114

  Defense Power:207

  Health:1284/1284

  Mana: 878/878

  Stamina: 512/512

  Attack Speed +1

  Casting Speed +3

  Critical Hit +1

  Movement Speed +1

  Chapter Thirty

  A crowd had formed around them the moment they exited the dungeon. People of all sorts of backgrounds and levels wanted to look at the ones who had conquered the impossible dungeon. All went silent as a loud crack sounded out and was soon followed by the Witches Lighthouse collapsing in on itself with nothing but a pile of rubble left in its wake as the dust settled.

  “We got out of there just in time” Dante remarked as he and the others slipped away from the crowd in the confusion.

  “That’s putting it lightly” Terrance laughed as they all four ducked behind one of the buildings.

  Leaning against the wooden wall of the building Dante thought aloud “We’re gonna need some supplies and a way to hide among the masses now that we are headed to Serlonia.”

  Erchik asked “And what did you have planned?”

  Offering a devilish grin Dante replied “Some simple Shade Cloak’s and a fake collar for our favorite pet of course.” Eyeing Erchik as he said the last part garnering an annoyed sneer from the imp.

  “You know there hasn’t been a Shade Cloak since the Adventurers left don’t you?” Terrance asked ignoring the look Erchik was giving him and Dante both now.

  Shrugging Dante looked the group over. “I figured as much but if we can sneak into the noble district of Serlonia I might have an answer for that. I used to have a place there way back when. If the mystic maids work like they are supposed to then it will be tidy with plenty of food and supplies to last us for the duration of our stay in Serlonia.”

  Laura shook her head “You think it will still be like that when we get there?”

  “Never know,” Dante replied. “the housing was what we called instanced meaning that each Adventurer had their own pocket world that only they and their friends or guildmates could access. I don’t see why it will have changed since the laws of the world would dictate that it stay the same at least on the inside. Only thing that might affect it would be if the building isn’t there anymore but with how new the building was when I bought a place there I doubt it will have been destroyed. It should also be directly linked to my storage which I had a few Shade Cloak’s for when I had to deal with other Adventurers but didn’t want to cause problems for my friends or guild.”

  Terrance looked around thoughtfully at the group. “Hmm, maybe we can form a guild in the next big city we come across other than Serlonia. Might offer up some other options for us as a group.” Erchik, Laura, and Dante all nodded agreement.

  Looking around Dante spoke more quietly “We will want to reach Serlonia before the news of us does. Then we can sneak into my old place or if it’s not there find somewhere else to hide out until we can devise a plan to deal with the queen.”

  Deciding not to draw further attention to themselves Terrance slipped into simple clothes and dawned a hood quickly finding a trade post in the small makeshift town. Dante had handed him extra money to buy horses and a trade wagon for them to use as cover to get into Serlonia. While Terrance did that the others made sure they were seen leaving east in the opposite direction and doubled back once they got enough distance between them and anyone trying to follow them along the road. They met Terrance and the carriage full of trade goods by the ruins of an old fort as they set out on the back roads heading southwest towards one of the smaller entrances of Serlonia.

  Though a bit bumpier than they were used to it was also faster and less eventful on the road each taking turns driving the horses and stopping every few hours to offer the animals food and water as well as rest. By nightfall they were already halfway there and decided to camp out with two people on watch per shift for the night. Erchik and Terrance took the first watch letting Dante and Laurina sleep and they switched out shortly after midnight. Breaking camp in the morning was like second nature and they made quick headway only seeing a few other travelers as they went.

  Everyone seemed to ignore them treating them as if they were indeed nothing more than a merchant group heading from city to city. At midday they reached the small mostly rundown mining town of Lorrett. When the mines stopped producing iron the businesses quickly died out and moved on and now only a few people stayed and worked the granite mines just south of the where the iron mines had been located. It was harder work and produced less money so there weren't many around willing to do it.

  Stopping at the trade post and exchanging a few items before setting out, Dante reminisce over what the busy city was once like. He even remembered and kind of missed the old cursed stone men on the outskirt that he fought with around his current level who disappeared around the same time the plagues victims did when the new queen took over. Almost missing the runner on the white horse with the black and silver tabard that flew past them on the road while he was daydreaming of adventures long past. When this was a game those were always running about as a decorative NPC, appearing as something like court currier but he knew that nothing in this world was that simple anymore.

  Urging the horses on quicker he felt that he was close to running out of time if he wanted to get to his old home before news of their arrival spread and the queen could prepare before they could get the jump on her. As he had expected when they made it to the gates they were stopped by guards in armor wearing the black and silver tabards and the cargo was inspected. Though the guard sneered at Erchik who played the part of the dumb imp slave they were let through without many questions.

  The city had grown much more than even Dante had expected with a secondary ring of walls stretched further out encompassing much of what was once farmlands before. He’d picked this gateway because it was both close to his old home and there was a trade post on the way. Stopping in just long enough to sale everything for a fairly decent price including the cart though he dismissed the offer off selling his imp slave saying that he preferred to have the help around before setting off down alleyways towards what he once considered a home in this world.

  More scummy and dirty then it was when he was last here the layout had not changed and he reached the stairwell to his old home soon with friends in tow. Walking up the stairs and turning the handle he released a breath of relief as he was welcomed by the sight of his old house. Everything was right where he had left it in the entryway. Before le
tting the others in he instructed them how to operate the door so that they would enter his home specifically and not some other Adventurers. Once they were all in he shut the door and took off the dusty old cloak that had concealed his armor and for the most part his appearance.

  “I’ll have to check to see if the chest still allows me access to my storage but if it does I will rearrange things so we can all sleep in beds tonight. I had a lot of furniture stored because I could never really pick a look or purpose I liked for my place” Dante said as he tossed his cloak on the closest couch and headed up to the second level to find his storage chest.

  Both mystic maids screamed when they saw him but once they realized he was the owner of the house they ran over shouting cheers of happiness at his return and letting him know they kept it clean the whole time while restocking the food goods as they used to. Giving them both polite thanks and telling them to take food and drink to the guests downstairs he went to the back of the room where he had left the chest. Taking a deep breath he opened it up and the interface popped up with a full rundown of all his belongings as well as several notifications of expired event items that would disappear now that he had opened the storage and another less expected notification.

  Attention player

  Your investment in the bank of Serlonia has accrued interest since you have waited to collect the funds. There is a thirty percent tax on the funds since you do not have an active subscription. Would you like to claim your accrued funds?

  Yes/No

  Upon hitting yes his account which boasted a healthy twelve million before now was showing several hundred billion in gold which caused Dante to gasp and sputter. If he managed to stay in this world he was sure he could buy Serlonia with plenty left over with that kind of money. Deciding to deal with that at a later date he pushed aside the remaining notifications and pulled out the beds and activated the housing interface, and rearranging both upstairs and downstairs so that everyone had beds including the maids though he reserved the single bed downstairs for himself and Terrance. Next he rummaged around the patch worked mess of a storage bank and fished out four of the six Shade Cloak’s he’d had stored there and headed downstairs to the others to tell them the good news.

  That night they all got plenty of rest and Dante even managed to get a tub setup for each to take turns cleaning up in while the others lounged in the other room. As he lay in bed slowly falling asleep Dante mentally took stock of everyone’s assets, inventories, and options and he began to formulate a plan that would get him into the castle and possibly a private visit with the queen herself.

  Dante Alexander: Knight Mage

  Level: 38.61

  Attack Power:174

  Defense Power:413

  Health:1866/1866

  Mana:1264/1264

  Stamina:1249/1249

  Attack Speed +5

  Casting Speed +5

  Critical Hit +5

  Movement Speed +5

  Gear:

  Main Hand

  +14 Blade of Chaos

  Off Hand

  +14 Short Sword of Chaos

  Helm

  +19 Hidden Circlet of Chaos +150 HP

  Armor

  +25 Leather Breastplate of Chaos +250 HP and +30% Damage Reduction

  Gloves

  +17 Leather Gloves of Chaos +250 Mana/Stamina, +22 to evasion

  Shoes

  +18 Leather Shoes of Chaos +250 stamina, +87 to evasion

  Set effects:

  2 pieces: + 1 to casting/ attacking speed

  3 Pieces: +1 to critical hit

  Full set: +1 to movement speed, and +40 to Attack

  L Earring slot +20 Earring of the Enchantress +50 Mana/Energy, +20 Attack, +20 Accuracy

  R Earring slot Empty

  L Ring slot Ring of Attack +1 to attack speed

  R Ring slot Empty

  Necklace slot Empty

  Belt slot Empty

  Skills:

  Basic Attack

  Swift Strike

  Cascading Blades

  Scatter Blades

  Chaotic Shield

  Hidden Power

  Cycle of Fate

  Chaos Hold

  Shadows of Chaos

  Intertwined Fates

  Chaos Dash

  Plight of Chaos

  Chaotic Blast

  Chaotic Subterfuge

  Light of Chaos

  Dominion of Chaos

  Core Attack: Annihilation

  Chaotic Flow

  Evasive Blade Stance

  Lashing Chaos

  Burst of Chaotic Blades

  Leap of Chaos

  Companions:

  Terrance Walsh: Warrior

  Level:35.06

  Attack Power:144

  Defense Power:357

  Health:2212/2212

  Stamina:1262/1262

  Attack Speed +4

  Casting Speed +2

  Critical Hit +4

  Movement Speed +5

  Erchik: Crossbowman

  Level:35.22

  Attack Power:151

  Defense Power:242

  Health:1591/1591

  Stamina:914/914

  Attack Speed +3

  Casting Speed +0

  Critical Hit +3

  Movement Speed +2

  Laurina: Healer

  Level:32.14

  Attack Power:114

  Defense Power:207

  Health:1284/1284

  Mana: 878/878

  Stamina: 512/512

  Attack Speed +1

  Casting Speed +3

  Critical Hit +1

  Movement Speed +1

  Chapter Thirty-One

  In case he might be recognize him based on the information provided by people who witnessed his antics at the Witches Lighthouse, Dante sent Laurina out with a small list of items they would need for the plan to work. Royal garb for Laurina, Terrance, and himself as well as a suitable slave outfit fit for a royal slave. Glimmer Dust and a few other alchemical items, four Appearance Transfusion Coupon’s from the tailor, and a barbershop seat from the local shop to be sent to his storage. He was sure that his plan would work but decided it was best not to hold back and gave Laurina full access to his storage and the money there.

  “But…” she protested until Dante held up a hand silencing her.

  “We need these items today” he said quickly. “You are the only one who can safely step out of this house and fetch them without rousing too much suspicion. You’ll need money to throw around especially for some of the more costly items and you do not want to be carrying around that many millions in gold to purchase the items. There are pickpockets in this town so the moment you get an item send it right to storage and we can grab it here from the storage locker upstairs.”

  Aghast at the amount of money in his storage she began to argue again before he pushed her out the door closing it behind her and slumping on the couch as he waited for her return. Hours went by as the three companions kept themselves busy rooting through Dante’s storage for anything useful or playing chess with the set left over among the many decorations of the house.

  Sun setting and the air growing cooler Dante began to worry about Laurina until he heard the door downstairs open and he rushed down to see a rather annoyed and disheveled Laurina leaning against the door and huffing.

  “Damned vultures!” she shouted to no one in particular, “Every last one of the lot a money grubbing handed greedy little vulture!”

  This caused Dante to chuckle and shake his head while waving her over to the sofa he was now leaning on. Once she settled in he inquired about the shopping list.

  “I was able to get everything, cost a pretty penny but it should all be in the storage. Though I think I filled the last slot with the glimmer dust” she informed him glaring the whole while to let him know she was displeased about the task.

  Smiling he clapped his hands together. “Good phase one is done, now we will get phase two out of the way.”
Waving over one of the maids he handed her another list and a key and offered her directing to get started.

  Laurina looked at him curiously. “If you had more for me to get I could have gotten it while I was out.”

  Offering a wry smile and a wink he replied simply “This is all special order and only she could procure it for us without raising suspicion. With that said we need to get setup for a party tomorrow night and the items you retrieved will be just the ticket for us to attend it.”

  Ignoring further questions Dante went upstairs gesturing for the other three to follow and dug all the requested items out of the storage locker. After setting up the Mystic Tier Alchemy stand, the barber chair with its accompanying floor to ceiling mirror Dante started on the alchemical concoction. Combining the Flame root, Glimmer Dust, Moon Thistle, and Cleansed Water Dante came out with four Appearance Change Gel and combined it with the Appearance Transfusion Coupon from the tailor creating Seven Day Appearance Change Coupon’s which he applied to the four Shade Cloak’s which began to shimmer. Combining an outfit with each Shade Cloak the cloaks all took on the appearance of the outfit while keeping its ability to hide a wearers name and stats from everyone.

  After creating more Appearance Change Gel Dante sat in the barber seat in front of the mirror and applied one of the three vials to his face and hair. Giggling as it tingled and tickled while opening an interface in the mirror for him giving the option to change his appearance for the duration of the Appearance Change Gel which lasted seven days. Making his hair a sunny blonde color, ears more pointy and skin a sun kissed tan, finishing with changing his eyes to an emerald green shade he hit the accept button and after putting on his Shade Cloak which sported a rich forest green color trimmed in gold and boasted the title Royal Banquet Outfit Dante eyed himself in the mirror seeing only a stranger in front of him.

 

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