Travail Online: Resurrection: LitRPG Series (Book 2)

by Brian Simons

  Coral could head back to Havenstock now and let the passage of time replenish her HP. Or she could keep fighting. There was a risk she’d be overwhelmed by too many sahuagin and die. After everything she had accomplished the last week, dying at the hands of a fish fiend would be such a waste. And, of course, with Travail Online’s draconian rules, dying would wipe out her bank account and inventory. She’d have to start over from scratch.

  Running away now though, when she was on her way to a full set of new armor, would also be a waste. She had learned the sahuagin’s tricks. If she kept her distance and lured sahuagin from the river one at a time, she could kill them, craft better armor, and fight each round a little better equipped. She decided to give it a shot. Besides, if she really got overwhelmed, she could try sprinting back to Havenstock and hoping the drippy mobs dried out or gave up before they caught her.

  4

  “Oh, you’re up,” Daniel’s mother said, peeking her head through the open door to his bedroom. She had caught him before he slipped on his visor.

  It always irritated Daniel how she equated lying on his bed with his Travail visor on with lying around doing nothing. She would never appreciate how many arduous hours he sank into that game, or how hard he tried to scrape together enough money each month to keep the student loan collectors at bay.

  He also hated that he was technically an adult but couldn’t afford his own place.

  “Yes, Mom. I’m up,” he said.

  “There’s no need for a tone. I just wanted you to know I’m going to the track again. Don’t wait up for me for dinner.”

  Daniel’s mother spent most days at the track, gambling away what little money she had. It was only when her government disability check came in that she spent the evening there too.

  “Ok,” Daniel said without looking up from his desk. His eyes were trained on an envelope from Philadelphia University. It was another student loan bill. His mother’s feet creaked down the stairs toward the front door to the house.

  “Do something about the dishes while I’m gone, would you?” she yelled, and then Daniel heard the front door slam shut.

  He hated that she spent her time at the track. The government money was supposed to go toward food and shelter, but she gambled too much of it away. She never won more than she lost, and they had a hard enough time keeping up with utilities as it was. Daniel paid his mother for his share of the food and other bills, but when she came up short it was always his responsibility to chip in more. It was either that, or go without electricity for a month. Or worse, risk losing their home in the Manayunk section of Philadelphia.

  The gambling was a problem, but she didn’t see it that way. She had a hip injury that kept her out of work years ago, though it had long since healed. She just didn’t bother to tell the government that. It was fraud to keep taking disability checks, but his mother wouldn’t be able to find a real job these days. Not now that robots had taken over her previous post, and most of the other jobs in the country.

  Daniel tore open the envelope in his hands. He owed $2356.04 this month, the same as every month. There goes the money he earned last week in Travail, and that was the most he had ever earned at one time. He’d have to work harder if he was ever going to get ahead.

  He thumbed through the rest of the papers the University had sent and found something new. It was printed on a yellow square of paper in a kind of handwriting font, like someone had written out a sticky note for him.

  Mr. Daniel Ritter:

  We hope this letter finds you well. The University has created a special financial aid program to assist hard working former students who were unable to complete their degrees. To be considered for this program, please fill out the academic and financial application packet and return it to our office.

  We hope to see you back on campus next semester!

  Sincerely,

  Your admissions team at Philadelphia University.

  Daniel was shocked. He had to drop out of college after the government stopped issuing student loans, and he never dreamed there was a path to go back and finish his degree. He had built up a whole life now inside Travail Online, a life he’d have to give up if he went back to school full time.

  Was gaming really a way to live? For the rest of his life? Or would it be better to have a degree to fall back on.

  He put the application packet down for the moment and walked over to his bed. His friends would be expecting him. He placed the visor over his eyes, laid down, and logged in. Just like that, he had left his dark bedroom and appeared in Havenstock.

  Daniel walked north from the sprawling green fields and farmland below the city. As always, it was a beautiful day in Travail. Dozens of other players ran here and there, going about their business in the human city. When he reached the large fountain in the city’s central plaza, he saw that he wasn’t the first to arrive.

  “Marco!” he yelled.

  A young man with black hair and a plain white robe came over to him. “Daniel, am I glad to see you!”

  “You’re a Votary?” Daniel asked, apprising Marco’s religious garb.

  “Yeah, it’s the same way I started last time. Why? You seem surprised that I would ask the old woman for the same setup.”

  Daniel had been scorched to death last week by a zombie dragon. It was a harrowing, painful experience that he wouldn’t soon forget. When he reincarnated, the old woman that ran the character selection process downright refused to let him come back as a Fighter, which was the only class he had ever known until then. She seemed to let Marco have his way though.

  “I guess I was just hoping you hadn’t really been dead. Starting over from scratch is awful,” Daniel said.

  “Tell me about it,” Marco said. “I feel like such an idiot. I saw Otto coming at me with a huge axe and I just thought, what’s he up to? Then blammo. No more Marco. I guess I have you to thank for getting rid of him so I could finally reincarnate?”

  “I helped. It was Coral who finished him off though,” Daniel said.

  “That’s right,” Marco said. “I saw the videos all over the internet. You guys are minor celebrities now. Who is she, anyway?”

  Who was Coral? He wasn’t sure how to answer that. She was a constant surprise. “Just some newbie we picked up when you disappeared on us.” Daniel gave Marco a playful punch in the arm. “She’s a good addition to the team though. I think you’ll like her.”

  Marco nodded, but his mouth curled downward in a slight frown.

  “Brace yourself,” Sybil called out. Marco spun around just as Sal bounded up to him and wrapped him up in a bear hug.

  Marco was barely able to speak. “Hi guys.”

  “Nice of you to show up,” Sybil said. She tugged at the loose fabric of his plain white robe. “Have you chosen a god yet?”

  “No,” Marco said. “I’m a Level 4 Votary now. I have to wait until at least Level 5 to pledge myself at one of the temples and change my class to Acolyte.”

  “If you’re still planning on being our healer you should try Ze,” Sybil said. “The goddess of life should have some powerful healing magic available, like regeneration spells.”

  Marco didn’t seem too keen on the idea. “I don’t know how I’d get into any other temples. I figured I’d just join up here with Januar like I’m used to. Father deCretum would probably be glad to see me again too.”

  Sal raised his arm in the air, shaking flabby green ogre skin to and fro as he waved vigorously toward the distance. Daniel turned his head. There she was, Coral_Daring, walking toward them in some cerulean blue getup.

  “New look?” he asked when she got closer.

  “It’s a Sahuagin Suit,” she said. “I went hunting this morning and Skinwove it myself. I’m up to Skinweaving 5, even though it’s all still off the Basic Skinweaving menu.”

  “Fighting and leveling on her own?” Sybil said. “Our little Coral is growing up.”

  “It’s good to be self-sufficient,” Marco said, holding a han
d out toward Coral. “I’m Marco, the fourth member of this little party.” Coral shook his hand, though she looked unsure. “Have we voted you in yet, Coral?”

  “Marco, stop,” Daniel said. The group stood around in awkward silence for a moment.

  Marco opened his mouth to speak again when another player walked up to their group. He was human, like the vast majority of players in Havenstock. His white and gold armor gave him away as a Paladin.

  “Have you given yet?” he said.

  “Given what?” Daniel asked.

  “Gold. To restore Sagma’s temple.”

  “Why would we do that?” Daniel asked.

  The player was taken aback. “He’s the god of wisdom. I’d rather place my money in faith, not my faith in money. Wouldn’t you?”

  “No,” Daniel said, “we’re not interested.” He stared at the other player until the guy got the hint and walked away.

  “That must be related to the system message that popped up earlier,” Coral said. “I was logged in a few hours ago and saw that almost ten million gold had already been collected to rebuild the temple.”

  “Wait,” Sybil said, “that’s a million dollars’ worth of in-game gold.”

  “I know,” Coral said, “but what would compel a person to do that? Is someone running a scam?”

  Sybil just kept shaking her head.

  “I wish I had money to spare like that,” Sal said.

  Marco turned to say something to Sal and Sybil, which gave Daniel a chance to pull Coral aside. “Hey, I’m sorry about Marco. He can be a little moody sometimes. I’m sure you two will get along though. Eventually.”

  “He’s probably just intimidated that I’m at Level 29 and he’s only Level 4,” Coral said, leaning in so that only Daniel would hear. “Come to think of it, I’ve still got you beat too, don’t I?” She smirked at him. Good, she wasn’t letting Marco’s bad mood affect her.

  “For now,” he said. Daniel checked his stats, which were still a far cry from his old Fighter character.

  Name:

  Daniel_of_Manayunk

  Gender:

  Male

  Race:

  Human

  Class:

  Knight

  Level:

  17

  Diplomacy:

  18

  Constitution:

  47

  Dexterity:

  24

  Defense:

  43

  Intelligence:

  23

  Strength:

  52

  Spirit:

  36

  HP:

  940

  Stamina:

  90

  MP:

  72

  Skill Points Available:

  16

  XP:

  32,912

  XP to Next Level:

  3,988

  He was hoping to catch up to Coral ASAP. At least he was a Knight now. He was looking forward to learning just what he could do with this class.

  “Look!” Marco said, pointing. Harold, the Regent of Havenstock, was marching toward them. The castle loomed to the north behind him, sitting atop Havenstock’s highest hill.

  The group stood up as the Regent approached. Just behind him walked a Mage in a yellow robe and yellow conical hat, and Alua, the court Medium. Behind them came a handful of guards.

  “Sir Daniel_of_Manayunk!” the Regent yelled. “Just the person I wanted to see.”

  Uuuuuse me, a voice whispered into Daniel’s mind. He looked around at his friends, but none of them had said anything. He thought he was losing his marbles for a second. It must have been the wind.

  “First of all,” the Regent said, “take off that leather nonsense.” Daniel hesitated. He was still wearing a set of leather armor Coral had made him, but he didn’t have anything to replace it with.

  As if sensing his hesitation, the Regent continued. “I can’t have my best Knight, my only Knight at the moment, dressed like a cheap Rogue. Here is your new armor and a sword, gifts from your generous liege.”

  Daniel equipped the new gear, which automatically unequipped his previous outfit. He was grateful that it happened quickly, without the awkwardness of stripping down to his virtual skivvies first.

  >> Iron Armor (full set). For iron men and iron maidens alike. Constitution +13, Defense +15, Spirit +2. No set bonus. Weight penalty: Increases Stamina Point consumption from running and swimming by +50%.

  >> Iron Longsword. This one’s a real two-hander. Strength +10. If wielder can use swords to block enemy attacks, Iron Longsword also provides Defense +10. Durability: 10/35.

  “Much better,” the Regent said. “Now we should discuss your knightly responsibilities. I sought you out because the kingdom has urgent need of your service. I have long wanted to secure the mining sites north of here, close to Hiber Camp, and now is the time. They contain rare metals that we will need for advanced armor and weapons.”

  Daniel thought about the last time he was in that area. He happened upon a mine, but a dwarf woman named Wenda was mining it. If there were other mines around there, they were probably all claimed by the dwarves. “What do you mean by secure?”

  “The mines are unprotected,” the Regent said. “We need to annex them to our Kingdom and prevent our enemies from using those resources against us.”

  What enemies?, Daniel wondered.

  “Conquer the first mine, then return. I will send guards to keep it secure once you clear it of dwarves. Do you accept your new quest?”

  Daniel didn’t have much of a choice. The Regent had no love for the other races, so even though stealing land from the dwarves was against Daniel’s own moral code, it was right in line with the Regent’s. If Daniel wanted a new quest, and the rewards that went along with it, he was going to have to do the Regent’s bidding.

  “Yes, Your Highness.”

  New Quest: Out of Your Mine (I)

  Dispossess the dwarves of one of their mines! The Regent demands that Havenstock take control of mining sites containing valuable resources. Conquer one mine, then return to the Regent for another quest. (Spoiler: the next quest will involve conquering another mine).

  Reward: Gem x3 (random type)

  Randomized rewards were a nuisance. They could go through all the trouble of completing a mission and end up with three basic gems like agate that were almost valueless. Still, there was a chance at earning a diamond level gemstone or better, which would sell for thousands of gold.

  “Your Highness,” Coral said, “there is an issue that may have come to your attention. It seems that Sagma’s temple is actively soliciting donations for a construction project.”

  Alua stepped forward. “But Sagma was destroyed ages ago,” she said. She looked concerned nonetheless.

  “Well, someone is collecting gold in his name,” Coral said.

  “Why is that a concern that should rise to my attention?” the Regent asked.

  “If players are being tricked into giving their gold away,” Coral said, “they can’t spend it here in Havenstock’s shops, or the Central Exchange. What would that do to the economy?”

  “It would perhaps impact our tax collection efforts,” the Regent said. “The tax revenue funds our standing army. You think something underhanded is at work?”

  “I don’t see why else people would donate their hard-earned gold to build a temple for a god they’ve never known,” Coral said.

  “I will not set my Knight on this errand without more proof,” the Regent said. “Keep an ear out for news on this topic, but don’t let it distract you from the mines.

  “Here is your budget for your true quest,” the Regent continued, handing Daniel a small orange pouch with gold coins in it. “As a Knight, you may take hirelings, should you choose to unlock that skill. I recommend that you do. You’ll pay them daily out of this fund alone, more gold for higher level hirelings. When the money runs out, it’s out, so hire wisely.”

  Daniel accepted the coin
pouch.

  Sybil started to speak. “Your Highness—”

  “You are ineligible for payment,” the Regent said, cutting her off. He turned back toward Daniel. “Unlock your skills now, while you are safely inside the city.”

  Daniel had 16 skill points he hadn’t used, mostly because his last class, Scout, had such useless skills associated with it. He opened his skill menu now as a Knight.

  Superintend. Use your status as a Knight (and a little bit of gold) to convince NPCs to complete tasks for you. You may offer to hire anyone whose level equals 50% or less of your Diplomacy. This restriction eases with each additional level of Superintend. Hiring cost is proportional to each hireling’s level. (1 skill point)