Regicide

by Dakota Krout

  “Wha… where is here? Isn’t this a park? Who are you?” Joe stammered and coughed from a sudden attack of nerves.

  “Another Traveler. Of course. Citizen, you are approaching the local prison dungeon of the Kingdom of Ardania. Unless you have business here or are a prisoner awaiting trial by the Royal Family, you are to vacate the premises immediately.” The man was obviously a Royal Guardsman, a cut above the city guard in terms of power, equipment, training, and authority.

  “Sheesh, almost vacated my bladder when those fancy spears came out of nowhere!” Joe shuddered as he took a step back. “I’m leaving, sorry to bother you. I had no idea. Thank you for the warning.”

  No response came to his words, but now Joe was faced with a serious issue. There was something in there that he needed, and he was uncertain if he would ever be able to find it elsewhere. Something the guard had said, though… Joe’s face fell as he realized exactly what he needed to do to get into the dungeon. He took a deep breath and started walking. Before following through on his plan, Joe needed to accomplish a few other tasks beforehand. Retracing his steps out of the center of the city, he went to one of his favorite places, the library.

  Boris was inside, pouring over a large book as Joe opened the door. The intrusive light made Boris look up, and he cracked a smile. “Joe! Our most recent addition to the ranks of the Scholars, how can I help you? I hear that it is thanks to your efforts that our library has recently grown in power and breadth of knowledge! You had the Mage’s College grant us research privileges as a reward when you could ask for anything? When we heard that…” He wiped at his eyes to clear away a forming tear.

  Boris stood and walked toward Joe, actually giving him a very uncomfortable hug. “You have no idea what you have done for us, but I can tell you right now that you have earned a hefty reward. This has been approved by the entire council, so get ready for a few ranks in your profession!”

  You have gained 8308 experience toward your profession! You are now a level nine scholar! Having attained this level, books up to rarity ‘Special’ are available to you! Reputation with Scholars increased by 2617! You have reached the reputation rank of ‘Friend’. You have gained two items: Blank Bestiary and weapon mod ‘Classify’.

  Blank Bestiary: This is a magical book that stores information on any Classified creature. Not the ‘protected information’ type, but the phylum and such. This book can also absorb other non-magical bestiaries to gain their information.

  Weapon mod ‘Classify’: Equipping this to a weapon will allow you to Classify a creature. A simple melee attack with the weapon will scan the creature, giving a linked Bestiary basic information. Multiple attacks will increase the detail while killing the creature will do a full scan of their body.

  “That’s… wow.” Joe gulped as he was handed a thin book and a small, dangling weapon talisman. “I actually had something for you, as well. I found some information that I think you will really appreciate having a chance to study.”

  “Oh? Do tell.” Boris was smiling happily, sure that Joe had already given them all the surprises he was going to. Joe showed him a crooked grin as a long tube appeared from his ring.

  “I have the blueprints here for a structure… with Artifact rarity.” Joe pulled out the blueprint and handed it to Boris who took it with trembling hands and a completely dumbfounded look of astonishment.

  “Artifact? You are giving this to the Scholars?” Boris staggered back to his seat, sitting heavily as he looked over the shifting building plans. “But why? You could sell this for a fortune! A Noble title! You could…” Boris shook his head, unable to find the words he wanted to say. “This certainly counts as lost knowledge. I… this is as much as I can approve right now. Take this item. For any more… I need to go see the full council again. Twice in two weeks!”

  You have gained 1100 experience toward your profession! You are now a level ten scholar! Profession rank increase! You are now a ‘Tenured Scholar’. All scholarly skills increase 20% faster. It will now take a vote of the council for you to lose any scholarly privileges. Permanent gains: +5 intelligence, +5 perception.

  Your true profession has reached level ten! Profession rank increase! ‘Occultist’ has been upgraded to ‘Arcanologist’! You can now see the truth of material in books up to the ‘Master’ ranks!

  Item gained: Combination Gem (Consumable). Use this gem to instantly combine any skills, negating cost and time to complete. (Bound to Joe)

  “A combination gem?” Joe stared at the small, shining gem in the palm of his hand. “What in the world…?”

  “They are fairly rare,” Boris told him in a distracted voice, “too expensive to use routinely; normally, it is far cheaper to simply combine the skills and wait out the time needed. Fairly regularly, though, I have heard of people attempting to combine a dozen or more skills at once, obviously hoping for something amazing. And who wants to spend over a hundred thousand gold on an attempt? On an experiment? At five thousand gold each, a combination gem is far more palatable. Also, you don’t need to use up space in your bag on it; you can store it in the bank and use it at will.”

  Joe made a strangled noise as he looked at the gem in a new light. If he had gained this at the start of the game and it wasn’t bound to him, he would have walked out and sold it to the highest bidder. Now, he recognized the real value it held for someone who could learn any skill. With a trembling hand, he stored it in his ring for a rainy day. “This was far more than I was ever hoping for, Boris. Thank you very much, but I shouldn’t accept this. I gave that to you as a gift.”

  “My boy, you may have pushed us into prominence once more. This is far and away less than you deserve, but it is all I can grant.” Boris’s eyes focused on Joe again. “Oh, by the way, if it is of any interest to you, the Mage’s College handed over a large amount of books of spells that no one has been able to cast in decades or centuries. You now have access to them, and I have a feeling that if anyone can learn their secrets… it is you.”

  “As tempting as that sounds, I will be very busy for quite a few… let’s hope only days.” Joe ruefully chuckled. “Things are about to get not very fun for me. I… I’ll see you soon, Boris.”

  The head librarian watched Joe go with a flicker of worry. What could this practically immortal Traveler be worried about? Perhaps it was time for the Scholars to branch out of studying history and see what was happening in the present. Boris touched a communication crystal and was soon engrossed in a conversation with very interesting people.

  Joe next went to the bank, paying for a safety deposit box and storing everything in it that he thought could get him in trouble. He walked out of the bank in simple clothes; no armor, weapons, or storage ring. Joe did have on his Exquisite Shell at the maximum amount of possible mana investment, so he still looked like he was walking in a glittering glass suit. From the bank, he went to the training grounds and began looking for the Captain.

  The Captain was in his office, sitting and filling out paperwork with rather poor handwriting. Grumbling as he was interrupted, he looked up and shifted his expression from unpleasant to gleeful in the span of a moment. “Joe! I’ve been looking for you; I have some very fun and exciting news for you!”

  “I’m glad, Captain, but I am sadly not here for a happy occasion. I have some things I need to talk to you about.” Seeing Joe’s serious face, the Captain actually looked a bit… abashed?

  “Now, Joe, it’s not that bad. Really, this is good for all of us. I think that if you just give me a chance, we can-” the Captain was cut off by Joe.

  “Sir! I am here to tell you that I unintentionally gained a restricted class.” Joe’s words wiped all emotion from the Captain’s face, leaving behind only a cool stare. “I am turning myself in and will fully cooperate with whatever needs to be done.”

  “I… don’t think that you actually understand what needs to be done.” The Captain slowly stood, staring directly into Joe’s eyes. “Tell me, lad, what class di
d you get?”

  “Psychomancer.”

  Horror appeared in the Captain’s eyes, and his mouth moved wordlessly until he forced a few words out, “What skill did you obtain that granted you this class?”

  “Mental Manipulation-” as the words crossed his lips, the Captain moved faster than Joe would have believed possible, his sword appearing in his hand and whipping toward Joes neck, “-Resistance,” the word tumbled from his numb lips as the sword hit his Exquisite Shell, bouncing away but reducing its protection to dangerously low levels.

  “Resistance?” The finished skill name seemed to cause the Captain to relax, though Joe remained standing still in wide-eyed horror. How bad was this class that he would be attacked instantly and without warning even with a reputation of ally? Sheathing his sword, the Captain seemed far less apologetic than Joe felt he should be. “That’s… we can work with that. I’ll help you, give you a reference and collect references for you. Joe, you need to be escorted to the city’s dungeon to await trial. I will try to expedite the trial but… we are at war. You need to be tried by either the King or Queen for this. It might be a while. Possibly a long time.”

  Quest Complete: Please Don’t Kill Me. By gaining a Kingdom-Restricted class, you have set yourself up to be an enemy of the Kingdom and, therefore, humanity as a whole. You have found a government official you trusted and turned yourself in. Good for you! I’m thinking lawful neutral is a good descriptor of your personality, boring and bland. Reward: A fair trial by the Monarchs.

  Quest Failed: I Do What I Want! You turned yourself in instead of seeking an instructor. Too bad. You could have done great things. Terrible things, yes, but great things nonetheless.

  “If you think it’ll help, the reason Wolfmen are marching right now is that I built an Artifact-ranked building and they want to get control of it. Since I forgot to meet up with my guild leader, I am the only person with permissions for the building right now.” Joe was actually kicking himself as he had forgotten to give Aten the ability to run the defenses. Hopefully ‘automatic’ would suffice.

  “That… you built… that, yes, that may actually be a little helpful. More than a little, now that I think about it.” The Captain reached under his desk and pulled out a bottle filled with amber liquid.

  “Stamina potion?”

  “Whisky,” the Captain corrected him as he poured two glasses full. “I know a few Royal Guards, so I’ll try to get you light duty in the dungeon. Healing others and such. It’s… it’s not a fun place to be, Joe. You did the right thing, but… I need to call in the guards to escort you. Finish your drink quickly. Guards!”

  “Surprise!” The door burst open, and a lovely lady with copper hair with just a touch of gray in it stepped through the open doorway with a wide smile.

  Joe, mid-chug, looked at her and sprayed twenty-year whiskey across the room. A small rainbow appeared as the spray went in front of the window, but due to the circumstances, it wasn’t noticed by anyone. “Mom?”

  ~ Chapter Thirty-seven ~

  The entrance to the dungeon was just ahead, but Joe was still reeling from the revelation that he had just been given. Not only had his mother joined the game in a long-term pod to be able to see him more frequently, but she was dating the Captain! The conversation replayed in his head once again.

  “Joe? Blas? Sweetie, didn’t you warn him? I thought that was the whole plan! As soon as you saw him coming, you made me wait in the bedroom!” Joe’s mother was looking between the two of them with great concern, but then her eyes squinted and she crossed her arms. “Alright, what’s going on here?”

  Three guards appeared in the room through the main door, looking at the occupants curiously. The Captain–Blas, apparently–ran his hands through his hair. “Oh, man. This is a little intense so early in the relationship. Guards, I need you to…” He looked at the two people standing next to him and swallowed with great difficulty. His next words were very strained, “I need you to arrest this man and bring him to the dungeon to await trial before a monarch.”

  The guards all recognized Joe and so were very reluctant to arrest him. They slowly pulled out manacles and clipped them around his shimmering wrists. The metal adjusted to fit more precisely, but Joe could still have easily slipped his hands out of them if he wanted since his Shell stopped them from getting too close to the skin. Joe looked at his mom in wonder and tried to shake some sense into his head. “I’ll talk to you soon, Mom! This isn’t the Captain’s doing; something came up, and I came here for this exact reason, okay? He will explain everything, and we’ll get this all figured out. It’s so good to see you.”

  At that point, Joe had been gently pushed out the door and led to the dungeon. Once again, as they got close, Royal Guards seemed to materialize in a half-circle before them, but this time, they took Joe into custody. One of them also took the instructions that Blas had sent along, nodding in confirmation at the request for light duty and explaining that he had come of his own free will. There was also a whispered conversation that Joe was only able to hear snatches of with his high perception.

  “No, really… good guy… no beatings… -ing serious right now.” The guard had an aggrieved look on his face, and his voice got a bit angry. “Just treat him like a healer that is here to help you out of his own free will because that is what he is! He has the health of a ten-year-old; he’ll fall apart at the first real attack!” Real confidence booster. That guard should change jobs to being a Bard.

  That was all Joe got to hear before the entrance to the dungeon yawned before him, the odd, horizontally elongated opening reminding him of a pair of smiling lips more than anything else. As he was led in, he felt like he was being swallowed whole by a filthy abomination. The obvious looks of readiness on the faces of the Royal Guard surrounding him wouldn’t have bothered him… but their gazes were directed outward, not at him. So they were keeping him safe from something in the area? Whatever it was didn’t appear, and their expressions turned to relaxation as they entered an obviously man-made area. Wooden gates thickly coated in metal closed behind them, and Joe got an unfortunate message.

  You have entered a prison colony dungeon! As a prisoner, your respawn location has been automatically set to this fortification. Players are unable to delete their characters while incarcerated. You will be released in: (awaiting trial) hours. Experience gains are halved for prisoners. Reputation gains are halved in the dungeon, reputation losses are tripled.

  “Yikes,” Joe muttered, earning him a wry, knowing look from one of the guards. If you were unable to delete your character, committing high crimes just became much more unpalatable. He needed to warn some of the thief types in his guild when he got out of here. Escorted into one of the nicer buildings, Joe was left standing outside of an ornate office door. The guard that had been given instructions went in, coming out and nodding at him after a few minutes.

  “Warden wants to see you. In ya go.” The guard held open the door as Joe walked inside. The Warden was sitting behind a desk, fingers steepled as he looked Joe over critically.

  The first words out of his mouth were abrupt and no-nonsense, “You are a healer, I’m told? While you are under our tender care, you will be in charge of healing any guards or prisoners that become injured. Are you a journeyman healer yet?”

  “Ah, no, sir,” Joe hesitantly responded, unsure of the correct way to address the powerful man.

  “I see. So you do not have a way to regenerate limbs? That’s too bad. Can you do focused healing? Mend bones, clear away poison, or reattach limbs?”

  “All of those things to varying degrees,” Joe told him plainly. “I don’t have too much experience reattaching limbs, but I can do it.”

  “Hm,” the Warden responded noncommittally. “You are a Beginner-ranked healer then? That’s fine. We will have you start with the prisoners first, in that case. Show us what you can do. Stay out of restricted areas. Don’t do stupid things. Try not to make enemies. Get out.”

  Joe
left the room feeling very… inadequate. Businesslike, professional, and a powerful intellect, those were the words he would use to describe the Warden. Himself? Joe looked inward and found that he tended to lose sight of the big picture for a short-term gain. He was doing side quests all over the place, and when was the last time he had made a new ritual? What the… Joe’s brow furrowed, and he pulled open his active effects tab. He had a debuff, ‘cowed’. As soon as he saw it and realized what was happening, the debuff shattered.

  High-ranked leadership skill resisted!

  Skill increased: Mental Manipulation Resistance (Novice III). You know that sometimes there are good reasons to follow the orders of another, but you just don’t care! To anarchy! Onward, buttercup! There’s (censored) to spread! Increase this skill to stop yourself from being censored!

  Uh-oh. Joe hoped that increasing this skill wouldn’t impact his trial. He was taken directly to the infirmary which was absolutely packed. In fact, there was a line of groaning people laying on the ground outside of the building. Joe saw a guard being carried, and when they skipped the line and a complaint rang out, another guard peeled off the procession and beat the already injured man to the point that he couldn’t complain. Guards can do what they want. Message. Received.

  Joe followed his escort in, and he was introduced to a harried healer. The man in blood-stained white clothes looked annoyed even as he used the opportunity to down a mana potion. The guard explained the situation, and the healer nodded and looked at Joe. “What is it? Something on my face? Go heal people! If you find something outside of your capabilities, call me over. I’ll be working with the heroes, not the villains, so don’t bother calling me over to save a prisoner. Get moving.”

  With no other option, Joe went to the front of the lines to get to work. As expected, the shorter line was filled with guards and had triple the amount of healers working in it at any time. Joe got to work healing damaged prisoners, getting into a battle rhythm of healing any life-threatening injuries and ignoring any other type. Broken arm? End of the line. Hole in your chest? Head injury? Deadly poison? Get healed.