by Seth Ring
Putting the book away, Thorn decided to leave. It had been a couple of days, and he was confident that Ouroboros and the others had moved on by now. While part of him wanted to see them again so that he could crush them into the dirt, Thorn recognized that he was not a match for the team, so it would be better for him to avoid them if at all possible.
Limping along with low health, Thorn made his way back toward town. Due to his wounds and running into a few kobold patrols, it took him almost the whole night to get back to town. His [Night Vision] ability worked like a charm, so he had no problem finding his way back in the dark.
The sun had just risen when he made it back to the gates, where the guards greeted him with curious looks. Over the course of the night, his wounds had continued to heal, leaving him with a bit more than 50% of his health. Health recovered slowly, and only sleep or a blessing from the temple could restore him to 100%.
Despite all he had been through, Thorn felt no need for sleep. He was puzzled at first but then remembered that time was passing in the game seven times faster than normal, which meant that he would only need to sleep once a week or so. He had experienced that before, but because of his natural clock, he had been going to bed each night anyway.
Since it was morning, he hobbled his way into the town's Temple and made a donation of a silver, instantly feeling rejuvenated as the on-duty priest blessed him. As he was about to leave, one of the priests stopped him with a winning smile.
"Excuse me, traveler, I could not help but notice the air of piousness about you. I can tell that you are one who is devout. A true believer. Have you considered becoming a priest?"
Startled, Thorn looked at the notification that popped up.
Class: Priest
By pledging yourself to the service of a god, you can gain the power to defend your faith. The type of abilities granted by this class are variable depending on the god you pledge yourself to. You are being offered a class change by an NPC Priest that serves the human god Mayordi.
"What is involved in becoming a priest?" asked Thorn. One of his goals was to gain a class, so he figured that there was no harm in asking.
"For a simple donation of silver, I can grant you the status of a believer, and from there you have to go through a bit of training."
"Wait, you mean I have to buy the class?"
"No, no, nothing so corporal. The silver is a testament to your faith, and once your faith has been proven, you gain the privilege of serving Mayordi."
A bit more inquiry revealed that, for a larger donation, higher ranked classes were available, and with a large enough donation, he could even gain multi-category classes. Shocked at the mercenary nature of the priest, it wasn't until he was outside that he realized Mayordi was the God of Merchants.
Having turned down the class change, Thorn reviewed his goals. He had come into this game a blank slate, his only goal to experience freedom and adventure. Well, so far, he had plenty of both. Not only the freedom of making his own choices, doing what he wanted, when he wanted, but also the freedom of others making their own choices, most recently to his detriment. While it had sort of worked out for him in the end, the experience had been a sobering reminder that he was not the center of this world.
As Xavier Lee, Thorn was, arguably, the center of the world. One of the richest people on earth, certainly the richest kid, with people to take care of his every need and to fulfill his every command. He had come to Nova Terra with the idea of escaping that gilded cage and had succeeded with flying colors.
The difficult truth of it was, however, that escaping that cage meant leaving the protection of people who cared about him. Freedom and protection seemed to be mutually exclusive. His right to happiness went only as far as his ability to act. Once someone stronger or more powerful came along, he was tossed to the side after being used for their purposes.
The adventure had been good, though. Rather painful, all things considered. Thorn was not averse to a bit of pain, provided that it allowed him to achieve his goals. But the question became, what next?
Without question, Thorn wanted to gain a class and start working toward establishing himself in the world of Nova Terra. While he had made some connections, Thorn had spent most of his time following others around, trying to learn about the game. Considering his experiences over the last couple days, Thorn felt that he had learned more than enough and was ready to strike out on his own. A class would be instrumental in that.
As far as classes went, Thorn had been putting a lot of thought into what sort of class he wanted to have. While his size, speed, and strength lent themselves to some sort of combat class, there was something about focusing so much on fighting that turned him off. Even if he chose a different category of class, his fighting ability would not evaporate. That left Utility, Support, Production, and Leadership classes as possibilities.
Utility Classes were pretty much out, since they focused too much on combat for Thorn's liking, as was Production, since Thorn had no desire to be chained to one location doing the same thing over and over. Support was an interesting idea to Thorn, but as he mulled over it, he rejected it for the simple fact that Supports worked best in parties, and he had no desire to play with others anymore.
The only category of classes left was Leadership, which Thorn had never imagined himself moving toward. However, the more he thought about it, the more it seemed to make sense to him. His titles were focused that way, and the abilities tied to them gave bonuses when interacting with Wolfkin. A Leadership class would suit him.
Second, the new title that Thorn had received [Lord Greymane, the Moon Wolf] seemed to indicate that, in order for it to be realized, he had to take back Greymane Keep from the corrupted Wolfkin. Thinking back on it, Thorn seemed to remember that Gargish was a corrupted Wolfkin. Chances were Thorn would be fighting more werewolves soon. Having become the avatar of the Moon Wolf, Hati, Thorn seemed tied to the Wolfkin species. He could only imagine that his future would be full of meetings with them.
Apart from getting a class and exploring what was going on with Greymane Keep, Thorn was also interested in continuing his study under the trainers at the Training Hall. Dovon, Janus, Hamm, and Master Sun had helped him in getting used to this world, and Thorn believed that there was much more for him to learn. His power lent itself to fighting, and Thorn was very interested in seeing if he could incorporate his existing training with practical combat in Nova Terra.
Sitting down on the steps to the temple, Thorn took a moment to breathe and organize his thoughts. Too much had happened in the last couple days, from being jumped by Gargish to meeting and being betrayed by Mina, Ouroboros, Velin, and Jorge. Despite the ups and downs, one thing was for sure. Thorn’s adventures were only beginning.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Growing up traveling between the USA and Ghana, West Africa, books were Seth's constant companions. As he grew, so too did his imagination. To vent his thoughts and ideas, Seth would spend hours telling his younger brother fantastical tales of heroes and villains, of magic, technology, and skill. This eventually morphed into a love of games and story-telling that has continued to this day. Eventually, Seth thought it would be a good idea to write some of his stories down since he was running out of room in his head. Seth Ring currently lives with his wife and kids in the United States of America.
Seth funds his stories through Patreon, a crowdfunding website that allows fans to get new work as quickly as possible while supporting his world creation process. As Seth writes, he posts his work to Patreon for members of the Nova Terra community to read and give feedback on. What happens to the characters who live in Nova Terra is, in part, driven by the discussion and poll outcomes of the community.
To join the vibrant, growing community of fans exploring and directing Nova Terra, head to Patreon and become a patron.
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Acknowledgments
&
nbsp; A huge thank you to my friends and family who encouraged and supported me on this wonderful journey.
Thank you to my Patrons, who make my writing possible.
A special thank you to the following Patrons who have gone above and beyond the call of duty in funding this story:
Berzerker
Brandon Nichols
Brandon Terry
Colby Chandler
James A. Ring