Resurgence: The Rise of Resurgence Book 1

by Joshua W. Nelson

  We were at a decision point and I wanted to see what the guys wanted to do. “We are getting close to calling it a night here gentlemen. We have enough cash now to get a couple more Summoned Horses and that will allow me to get to the Dark city and sell all of this stuff. That’s going to take time out of our leveling though. So I want to know what you guys want to do. Keep in mind, our inventories are almost filled up with the spells, and I’m going to need to use everyone’s backpacks when I travel to sell this stuff. We are just at a point that we may have to leave this place.”

  “I really hate to leave easy money and easy loot Alex. Anything else we could do?” Wayne asked.

  “I could sell the spells at the vendors and get a little over 1 Gold like Alex said before,” Jason offered.

  “That seems like a waste though, since Alex is pretty sure he can get these spells sold at the Dark city for way more than that, and Alex knows his merchant shit,” Dan piped in.

  I had been thinking about our past runs in the castle, where I would get experience even if I wasn’t right next to the mob when it died. I also remembered how I didn’t get any experience in the sewer or Tim in the dungeon after we had died and been kicked out of the dungeon to our respawn point. I couldn’t be sure, but perhaps because those two events happened within dungeons that were separate from the “normal” world, we weren’t able to get the experience. However, the castle was a part of the regular playing landscape. Anyone could run into the woods and come across it. I thought about this in greater detail and decided it was time for an experiment. And honestly, I was about ready to kick myself in the face for not thinking of this sooner.

  “Before anyone curses me or my lineage,” I said while looking directly at Wayne, “I want to try an experiment. No one is going to get an ass beating on this one though. At least I don’t think so.”

  “I’m hesitant to listen, but go ahead Alex. Remember, I have a really big hammer now and you are a very little man.”

  “Allister will Gate back to Port Town and get our two new horses. Once we know Allister is there, Dan will grab those two guards near the entrance to the cave. Now that they are White, and with your new Constitution, Armor, and weapon, we should be able to kill them without needing any heals. Agreed?”

  “Yeah, if Dan snares and kites one while I take the other with you, I don’t see us having a problem. I wouldn’t be able to do more than those two though without a heal soon after. Could probably do three. Don’t think four.”

  “We only need to do the two to see if my experiment plays out.”

  “Wait, what are you trying to learn this time?” Jason asked.

  “Let’s just see what happens, I don’t want to get anyone’s hopes up.”

  With nothing further to discuss, Jason Gated to Port Town and let us know he had arrived safely. I told him to wait on going to the merchants until the experiment was finished.

  We executed our plan flawlessly and I think Wayne was wrong about his ability to only take three, he likely could have taken four. But more importantly, I knew my experiment was a complete and total success as soon as the first mob went down.

  “Holy shit! Alex, I just got experience!” Jason yelled.

  “Game changer son!” Dan bellowed out.

  “I was thinking back about how I didn’t get any experience, nor did Tim, when we were outside of a dungeon that seemed to be separate from the baseline world. But it didn’t matter how far away I was when you guys killed a mob and I was scouting the castle. I played a hunch, and figured as long as we remained inside the normal world, we could exploit the experience. Truthfully, this is something AltCon should probably fix. But we can tell them about it later,” I said with a big smile on my face.

  “So you want me to grab a couple more Alex?” Dan asked.

  “Nope, we have been at this for hours. I think we need to call it a night and start our rotation. I will wait here until Allister gets back from his trip and then go into our normal rotation. Once Dan logs on to replace me, I will get on my horse and make my way to the Dark city, where I will log out. Once you guys are all back online, just start killing like normal and I will sell our stuff as fast as possible.

  “And too be fair, you and I aren’t even needed Dan. With Wayne’s new gear and Jason’s new Undead spell, those two could go through the whole castle on their own. Having you here TC will make it even faster though with your Snare and kiting. I’m superfluous.”

  “Don’t get cocky man.” Dan said to me.

  “Huh?”

  “Sure, you are really good at telling us stuff, but only TheClaw is super flowus with his words bro. Don’t forget it!”

  We could hear Jason sigh loudly through our internal links. “And yet another dictionary bids this world adieu. We should start a suicide hotline, for dictionaries, that goes active any time Dan logs on.”

  CHAPTER 19

  September 8th, 2043

  The trip to the Dark city had taken 3.5 hours. I thought I would be exhausted by the time I arrived, but I got there without feeling tired. Everything around me was so new, and I was digesting it all as I traveled toward the city. During that time, I was able to get my Beast Riding skill up to 60 so I was feeling pretty comfortable in the saddle. With my bonuses I was only at 7 Wisdom, and I was thinking it was time to up that a little. It would increase the speed by which I would learn my skills.

  The other thing I noticed as I traveled toward the city was the change in landscape. Outside of Port Town the forests were vibrant and the air was fresh. Everything had a lightness to it, and seemed carefree. Of course that didn’t always feel like the case when you were running from a Dire Wolf, but the environment was one that could be called clean.

  The closer I got to the Dark city, the more the landscape changed. Trees went from being alive and full of leaves, soaring up and up, to becoming more stunted and border line dead. There was also a darkness within the forest surrounding the Dark city that we didn’t have up near Port Town. All of this was likely due to the very nature of the inhabitants, the Races that most would classify as “evil.” And it appeared the mobs along the road I was riding on were less inclined toward the natural inhabitants of the woods and more akin to those you would find in a bog, like snakes and alligators.

  However, my goal wasn’t to stop and smell the roses, or the bog pits in this case. I had hurried to my location, found what I believed to be a safe area, and logged off. Now that I was back in the game, and had checked in with my team, I was ready to begin selling. Thankfully, and this was something I didn’t even think to check, the guys were able to add me to the group despite being a huge distance away. Another thing that AltCon would have to tweak.

  I was just getting ready to send out my first message when I saw a Dark Elf walking past my general direction. I had put on my Blacksuit as soon as I logged in, so there wasn’t any chance the Dark Elf had spotted me. However, I did want to get some information so I hailed him as he walked by.

  He looked around a bit and said, “Who’s there? Who said that?”

  “Sorry, I’m invisible at the moment. I was just wondering, what is the name of this town?”

  “Are you serious? What do you mean what is the name of the town? It’s the same name it has always been.”

  “Ahh, well, I’m not from around here. I came from Port Town. Here, I’ll drop my invisible status.”

  As soon as I did, the Dark Elf’s eyes went really wide. I’m guessing, much like myself, he hadn’t seen any of the light Races like I hadn’t seen any of the Dark Races. And while I knew there were many different variations, I had to admit the Dark Elf looked really cool. He had all white hair that went down to the center of his back. His skin was a deep purple, and his eyes were a bright red. He was a fighter of some sort as I saw he was wearing a sword.

  “Holy hell! You’re a Wood Elf!”

  “Half-Elf actually. Probably from my father’s side, but yeah, good chance he was a wood elf.”

  That got him laug
hing. In the end we were all just playing a game.

  “How did you even get here man? Isn’t the closest town like two days away?”

  “I walked. And yeah, it is.” I didn’t see any need to let people know about the summoned horses. This was something we had learned on the sly and I didn’t intend on letting that get out much even in Port Town.

  “Well this place is called The Citadel. Naturally an ominous type name for the Dark Races,” he informed me. “You know, there isn’t much chance you are going to get in the town man. The guards would strike you down in a heartbeat. So I’m curious why you are here?”

  “I don’t have any intention of going into town. My group came across a bunch of Dark caster spells when I was out on a quest. So I am hoping to undercut the merchants in town and make a little coin. For helping me I will give anyone you know first dibs on what I got. Do you know any casters?”

  “Well what kind of stuff do you have?”

  “I’ve got a few that are for Dark Paladin’s only. A bunch that are Dark Caster only. And then I have some Wizard and Elementalist ones as well. But they are for Dark Races only.”

  “Damn, that sounds pretty cool. I do have a few buddies that might be interested. What level are they?”

  “Levels 12 and 15,” I said.

  “Hmm. My friends are level 11 so they might be interested in the level 12’s, but I doubt they would be able to afford the level 15’s.”

  My new Dark Elf friend, who turned out to be named Tom, contacted his friends and after a short conversation and them traveling to me, I sold seven of the level 12 spells, each for 3 Gold. The level 12 spells from merchants at The Citadel were going for 5 Gold a piece, just like in Port Town.

  I thanked Tom for his assistance and told him to look me up if he ever made his way up to Port Town. It always helps to have friendly acquaintances throughout the game and in the different locations who can be eyes and ears on what the market had going on. With those sales I still had 28 level 12 spells, 8 level 15 spells and three robes. I planned to sell the level 15 spells at 7 Gold a piece and the Robes for quite a bit more. Those would be up for auction.

  I sent out a general message to the people in the area letting them know what I had. Much like in Port Town, it was on a first come, first serve basis. If you messaged me first, you got a spell. If you didn’t, you would have to wait till next time.

  I also included the Robes. I said they would be on auction and that the bidding would start in one hour and start on each for 20 Gold.

  As soon as I was done with the message I started getting Private Messages from the folks in The Citadel. Most wanted spells. A few wanted to know where I got them. No one was hostile at least.

  I made a bevy of transactions over the course of the hour. I sold all the level 12 spells and 5 of the level 15 spells. In total I pocketed 140 Gold. There was our last horse.

  Once the hour was up I linked the three Robes again and explained that bidding would begin at 20 Gold. The bidding would only go on for 20 minutes. If no one met the 20 Gold minimum, I would pack up and head out. I talked through the logistics saying that if you wanted a certain robe, send me the amount you are offering and either the words Diner, Librarian, or Lab Assistant. Those were the names on each Robe.

  After five minutes I didn’t have any takers. Certainly my Private Messages were lighting up with people wanting to know where I got the robes from, but I wasn’t interested in giving away my trade secrets.

  After 10 minutes I sent another message out repeating the same parameters for the auction. At this point I didn’t think I was going to get any takers at all.

  With only a few minutes left in the auction I got a Private Message from Tom who asked if he could act as a proxy for someone else. I didn’t have a problem with that, as long as they were available to exchange coin for the item. According to Tom, the caster planned to Gate back to The Citadel in a few minutes and would be able to get the money to me.

  So I sent out a message that said, “Lab Assistant / 20” as the caster was a Wizard. If someone came in with a higher bid I would send out the same thing, only 21 instead of 20 after the name of the item. It had proven to be an effective way to manage auctions.

  Once the time limit was up I contacted Tom and let him know that his auction had won and that I was still in the same location. I sent out an additional message thanking everyone for their business. I got a few Private Messages asking me if they could buy a robe if they got some money together later. I told them it was possible but that they would need to travel to Port Town in order to get it. Funny, I didn’t receive any replies from anyone after I told them that.

  After 10 minutes, Tom arrived with another Dark Elf who was in a decent robe. It looked like it was high quality but likely didn’t have any bonus stats. Pretty much like everything I was wearing. We exchanged the Robe for 20 Gold and I thanked both heartily. I bid Tom goodbye and reminded him to look me up if he made it to Port Town.

  Throughout this whole endeavor, I kept seeing a message flash across my screen that I had received experience. The guys were tearing through those dead heads.

  * * *

  Since it was marginally on my way back to the castle, I stopped off at Port Town and bought our last Summoned Horse before heading back to the guys. During that time, I maxed out my Beast Riding skill to level 75. I was finding the travels much smoother and faster. And as a bonus, the horse was just an extension of me, so I was able to travel with either my Blacksuit or Conceal/Stealth and it covered the horse as well. Although it didn’t raise my levels for either of the skills while I was on the horse. I didn’t know if this was an error in the coding, or a part of the game. However, I knew if I just ran around in Conceal/Stealth, eventually it would go up.

  I got back to the guys during a down time between killing the mobs. I gave Wayne his new Summoned Horse spell and he immediately activated it and went out for a ride. I told him not to travel too far, in case we needed to bail him out of a jam. He shook his head at me like I routinely rode on the short bus, before he headed out to practice his skill. Dan had already done the same, and due to his Wisdom being second only to Jason, had already maxed out his skill.

  While we had a break I asked Dan what the good word at the Tavern was.

  “It’s pretty quiet dude. Yesterday, all anyone could talk about was the deal that AltCon gave us on those games. Everyone was talking about who was going to be the first to get them. Then after a bit that died down. Now it is the usual droll conversations.”

  “I meant to ask you, did you get your games? Allister, Wayne?”

  They all answered in the affirmative. “That’s pretty cool, so have you played them at all?”

  “Who has time to play other games Alex? Resurgence takes up all of our time,” Jason responded. Dan and Wayne hadn’t played at all either.

  “Well why did you rush out to buy them if you knew you weren’t going to play them at all?” I asked.

  “Because AltCon gave us such a great deal, so how could we not?” Wayne said while still riding his steed.

  “What about the folks at the Tavern Dan? Many of them playing the games?”

  “Hmmm, I don’t know. Let me check.”

  Over the next thirty minutes while we waited for the undead to respawn, Dan seemed to be in conversation with people at, or from, the Tavern. He looked over at me and said, “You know, that’s kind of weird Alex. I just talked to a bunch of people, who all rushed out to buy the games, but no one seems to be playing them. Guess everyone is busy with Resurgence.”

  “I guess they are, but I doubt anyone else is running three hour rotations to make sure they don’t lose a cash cow,” I said while laughing. “Oh well, different strokes and all that. I just wonder why AltCon would offer a bunch of games, when they want those same people to be playing Resurgence as a job.”

  “Well that’s easy bro,” Dan responded. “First off, they are such an awesome company that of course they wanted to give us a deal. And secon
dly, it’s about profit. They are trying to eat their cake with both hands.”

  “What the hell does that mean Dan?” Jason asked.

  “You know, they are gettin’ all in there and eating with both hands.”

  “I think the phrase you are thinking of is ‘Have your cake and eat it too.’ That’s the correct phrase.”

  “Actually, it isn’t. In the 16h century the phrase was coined that one ‘Can’t have their cake and eat their cake too.’ But just like the phrase you quoted, it’s dumb.”

  “You can’t just go making up your own sayings Dan.”

  “Just think about it. When have you ever gone into a restaurant and ordered some cake and then sat there looking at it because you didn’t want to appear gluttonous. Who the fuck orders cake and doesn’t eat it? You better believe if I have my cake I want to eat that shit too! Otherwise what’s the point of having cake?!?”

  “But that’s not how it goes! Alex? Wayne? Back me up here guys,” Jason pleaded.

  “Sorry Allister, but I’m with Dan on this one. I’ve never liked that saying either. But I like Dan’s. Way more apropos. I’m going to start using it,” I said.

  Jason looked around for Wayne but he was off in the woods on his horse. All we heard was Wayne’s voice as he said, “Bet your ass I’m eating my cake. That’s mine bitches.”

  I can’t remember another time that Jason looked so defeated. Or a time that Dan’s smile was larger than it was at that moment. These were special friendships indeed.

  * * *

  I knew it would happen eventually. The mobs we were fighting were not giving us much in the way of experience. Our experience bar, in fact, had barely moved since we reached level 15. Undoubtedly the cash was awesome, but now that we had our horses, and a solid bank roll, everyone was getting tired of doing the same old thing. And I was in total agreement. I had retained 60 Gold following the sale of my spells, and still had a few more to sell next time I ventured down to The Citadel. I also had the two Robes I could sell. Finally, we had earned another 120 Gold during our ten-hour campaign slaughtering the undead and several more spells. It was time to call it a day on the castle of undead and move to pastures with more Blues in them.