Man Made God 002

by Brandon Varnell

  “Heh heh.”

  “What’s so funny?” asked Fayte.

  Susan blushed a little when she realized she had just laughed out loud, but then she gave a bashful smile as she said, “It’s nothing really. I was just thinking about how long it’s been since I’ve seen you smile like that. I’ve missed that smile.”

  Fayte didn’t know what expression she was making at Susan’s words. She didn’t even know how Susan could tell she was smiling behind her veil, nor did she know or even understand what she was feeling. Guilt mixed with joy. Happiness congealed with sadness. She was feeling so many emotions as she looked at Susan that her face could not adequately express how she felt.

  “I am sorry,” she apologized. “I’ve caused you to worry about me. You have suffered because of me.”

  “N-no! Not at all!” Susan waved her hands back and forth. “I-I’m not the one who is suffering right now! I know how much your current situation is weighing on you! I’m not blaming you at all.”

  “Thank you, Su.” Fayte reached out and tenderly brushed the younger girl’s bangs away from her head like an older sister giving affection to her younger sibling. “Thank you for always sticking by my side even though I know you’re dealing with your own problems right now.”

  Susan had her own hardships to deal with, but even so, she continued to support Fayte and her fight against Levon. Fayte didn’t think she’d ever be able to adequately express how much Susan’s continued friendship meant to her.

  “You’re welcome,” Susan whispered as she looked down, her cheeks and ears turning red.

  Since they had already killed the [black bear], Fayte decided it was time to move on. However, just as she was leaving, she noticed their other companion was not by her side. She looked behind her and noticed that Lilith had not moved at all. The young woman garbed in black assassin’s clothing looked up at the sky, her face hidden by that mask.

  “Lilith? Is everything okay?” she asked.

  Lilith snapped out of her distracted state and walked over to them. Even though Fayte could not see her face, she thought there was a small change in the woman’s eyes. She looked… happy? Yes, she seemed happy for some reason, though Fayte couldn’t begin to guess why.

  “Yes. Everything is fine. Let’s go.”

  “All right.”

  With her two companions in tow, Fayte journeyed deeper into the forest in search for more enemies.

  “Urk… I hate my life…”

  “Ah ha ha ha ha! Aha ha!”

  “S-shut up… stop laughing… hurk!”

  It had been a very long time since Adam traveled via ship… and the last time he had done so, his life had been hanging by a thread. He hadn’t even been aware that he was on a boat until after the ship had already docked in the American Federation’s Rhode Island, since he was unconscious for most of the trip.

  That was probably why he didn’t know he could get motion sickness.

  Which explained why he was half-hanging over the side of the ship, vomiting the contents of his stomach.

  The constant rocking, the way it distorted his sense of sight, and the feeling beneath his feet made his stomach convulse. The world was spinning. It was truly unpleasant. He would have never agreed to travel by boat had he known this would happen.

  On that note, he had no idea he could get motion sickness in a game. Weren’t there settings to get rid of this sort of thing? He really wanted to turn off the motion sickness setting. Why did this game have to be so realistic?!

  “I cannot believe… the most unconventional human I have ever… ever met… could get motion sick!”

  Titania was floating above him, tears of mirth pouring from her eyes as she held her hands to her gut, laughing at his expense. She looked like she was having the time of her life. Adam, on the other hand, had never felt more humiliated in his life.

  “It looks like yer having trouble,” the captain of the ship said, voice sympathetic. “This happens to people sometimes. Don’t worry. After a few days at sea, I am sure you’ll get used to it.”

  The status screen that appeared above his head showed that his name was Red Beard, and he was at level 30. Adam didn’t know why his name was Red Beard. His beard wasn’t even red. It was black—hurk!

  “Oh, God. I want to die.”

  “Aha ha ha ha ha!”

  “Damn fairy.”

  On the captain’s suggestion, Adam went with Titania into his cabin near the bottom of the ship to lie down on the bed, but even that didn’t seem to help. No. It just made matters worse. The rocking down there was even more intense, and he felt like something was screwing up his equilibrium.

  Because Adam couldn’t sleep and still felt sick, he decided to log off. The world around him faded. Then the familiar ceiling of his bed appeared over his head. He blinked several times, then felt his stomach rebel and shot out of the bed, rushing to the bathroom, where he began throwing up his breakfast from that morning. He spent nearly five minutes just hovering over the toilet.

  He’d never felt so disgusted with himself.

  It was around noon when he logged out, so it was about time for lunch. Adam went into the kitchen after rinsing out his mouth with mouthwash. He decided to make a grilled beef sandwich, which he did by adding beef, provolone cheese, bell peppers, and onions between two pieces of bread that he slathered with butter and fried in a pan. The scent of frying butter made his mouth water. It also attracted the attention of someone else.

  “What is that heavenly smell?” Fayte asked as she wandered into the living room.

  “Lunch. Want some?” asked Adam.

  “Yes, please.”

  Since Fayte seemed to be hungry, Adam made her a beef sandwich as well, then emerged from the kitchen carrying two plates in hand, which he set on the coffee table.

  “Thank you,” Fayte said.

  She was wearing pajamas that day. It looked to him like she had only just gotten out of bed. Her pajamas were pink and cute, and they seemed to create an interesting contrast with her buxom figure. Her hair, long and golden blonde like threads of honey, flowed from the crown of her head in very gentle waves… though a few ends were sticking out here and there. While her hair was a bit messy, he thought it made her look prettier somehow.

  Fayte Dairing was someone he had only met recently and yet, despite this, he felt shockingly comfortable around her. He’d never expected to feel this way around anyone whose name wasn’t Aris. It made him a little worried since he wasn’t sure he wanted to become personally invested in Fayte… though perhaps it was already too late for him to concern himself over such matters.

  They ate in silence, both thinking their own thoughts, but once they were finished, Fayte smirked at him.

  “So… level 10, huh? You realize that you are the first person to reach level 10 and leave the Village of Beginnings, right? Not even Lin Akamine or the Spear God has achieved that feat yet.”

  “I am aware,” Adam said with a slow nod. “But this is good. I’d like to keep ahead of everyone else in the game since becoming more famous will make helping you win your bet that much easier.”

  Adam was working for Fayte to help her win a bet she made against Levon Pleonexia—the heir of the Pleonexia Family, which was the current most powerful family in the American Federation. The bet was that she needed to earn half the Dairing Family’s annual income, increase her reputation to match or exceed the least powerful among the top ten most powerful families in the American Federation, and create a guild in Age of Gods that ranked among the top five guilds.

  Anyone of these would be hard to achieve. Together, they were basically impossible. Despite this, Fayte refused to back down and continued to try. It was for this reason that Adam felt such a great amount of respect for Fayte—and perhaps why his feelings for her were stronger than they should have been for someone who was just a client.

  Fayte looked like she was touched, but she didn’t dwell on that topic for long and instead asked for tips on reach
ing level 10. Adam told her about how he had reached level 10. Fayte was shocked when he explained how he ended up in a dungeon and faced off against several 2- and 3-star monsters that were over a dozen levels above him. She didn’t think she could do that, which caused Adam to shrug when she intimated as much.

  In return, Fayte told him about her new companion, praising Lilith’s strength and abilities. There was an odd look on his face as she talked about the woman. This caused her to ask about it.

  “It’s nothing. I was just thinking about how impressive Lilith sounds,” he said with a smile. “You should definitely stick by her side. I’m sure she’ll prove to be an asset in the future.”

  “I agree,” Fayte said with a nod.

  After lunch, Adam went into Aris’ room to check on the girl and tell her stories about his time in Age of Gods. He noticed that the gauge, which showed how much Mortems Disease she had left to cure, was about three-fourths covered in blue. That meant she was nearly 75% cured. This shocking development made him incredibly happy because it meant she might be able to leave that cryochamber early.

  He wasn’t sure how long he spoke with Aris, but it was about 2:30pm by the time he ran out of topics. Adam wandered into the bedroom, grabbed some medicine meant for motion sickness, and swallowed it. He didn’t know if this would help him in-game. At the same time, he had no desire to begin puking the moment he entered Age of Gods.

  Once he logged on, Adam again found himself in the familiar Age of Gods world. The rocking of the ship still made him feel mildly uncomfortable. Oddly enough, however, he did not get sick nor did he feel a strong desire to vomit. Did that mean the medicine he took in the real world was working in the game? How did that even work?

  “ADAM!!!!”

  The shout startled Adam so much that he nearly fell off the bed. Leaping to his feet, he stared in shock at Titania as she flew in through the door. Her face was pale and panic stricken. He’d never seen her like this.

  “There is big trouble! Come quick!”

  “What is it? What’s wrong?”

  “We’re under attack by pirates!”

  Adam’s mind nearly blanked at the mention of pirates, but then he hurried out of the cabin, up the stairs, and onto the deck. Just like Titania said, they were indeed under attack by pirates. There were currently ten people dressed in red pirate-like outfits on the deck and more coming via boarding planks. They wore cotton shirts with puffy sleeves that showed off their burly chests, their faces were covered in sweat and looked greasy, and they were all swinging cutlasses with reckless abandon as they attacked the panicking crew members of the ship he was on.

  “Damn. We really are under attack!”

  “I told you that already! Now hurry up and help them!”

  Adam didn’t need to be told twice. He gripped the [Rusted Spear] in his hand, activated [Blood Sacrifice], and charged into the fray.

  The pirates were all at level 15. They were called [Black Beard’s Pirates] in the status display screen when Titania used [scan] to help him see what levels they were. They had several attacks, but all of them were sword techniques like [thrust], [slash], and [swashbuckle]. The only one Adam really needed to worry about was [swashbuckle], which was a debuffing skill that had a 25% chance of causing the [fear] status effect.

  Name: Black Beard’s Pirates

  Description: Pirates sailing under the flag of the infamous Black Beard.

  Class: 1-Star

  Lvl: 15

  Health: 10,000/10,000

  MP: 500/500

  Strength: 100

  Constitution: 200

  Dexterity: 100

  Intelligence: 10

  Speed: 50

  Skills:

  Slash: A slashing attack that does 200% damage and has a 100% chance of causing bleed

  MP Cost: 50

  Cooldown Time: 0 Seconds

  Thrust: A thrust technique that causes critical damage

  Damage = Strength * 3

  MP Cost: 100

  Cooldown time: 5 seconds

  Swashbuckle: A taunting skill that has a 25% chance of casting the fear status effect

  MP Cost: 120

  Cooldown time: 30 seconds

  After casting [scan] on the pirates, Titania flew behind Adam and began singing [Song of Vigor].

  Adam flew across the deck and swung the [Rusted Spear], activating the [slash] skill. The blade of his spear tore through the pirate who was attacking one of the crew members. Adam was surprised when the man squealed like a gutted pig.

  -3,640!

  “What the heck?!”

  Even Adam was shocked when he saw the amount of damage his attack had caused. That was a ridiculous amount of damage, but Adam didn’t let his surprise stop him from using [slash] five more times, whittling away at the pirate’s health until the man went down. He did notice every attack after that first one only did -1,320 points of damage, so that previous attack must have been a critical hit.

  Adam’s shockingly powerful attack caused all the pirates to lock onto him, and he soon found himself being trapped within a whirlwind of cutlasses. He was fortunate. These enemies might have been at a higher level than him, but they were not trained fighters. All of them telegraphed their moves like a bunch of rank amateurs.

  Taking advantage of their lack of skill, Adam wove through the hailstorm of attacks. He spun the spear around in his hand and carefully parried each and every attack with a dancer’s grace. Not only did he not allow himself to get hit even once, but he protected Titania as she sang behind him.

  -1,320; MISS; -1,320; -1,320; MISS; MISS; MISS!

  Despite the fact that this was a video game and this body of his was not real, Adam still felt his limbs growing heavy as the battle continued. He danced across the deck, spun his spear, and used [slash] multiple times in quick succession to cut down one of the pirates. This must have been the fourth one he’d killed. Adam didn’t know how many more he had to defeat because it seemed like two more pirates replaced each one that died. To make matters worse, [Blood Sacrifice] ended and the cooldown time appeared.

  “Adam! The ship! Let’s take this fight to the pirate ship!” Titania shouted.

  A glance at where Titania pointed revealed the pirate ship that had attacked them. It was much larger than their own vessel by at least fifty feet, making it around one hundred feet in length from bow to stern. Several boarding planks attached the two ships together. The pirates kept running across the boarding planks and landing on the ship he was on.

  With a grimace, Adam leapt onto the nearest boarding plank and began swatting off the pirates attempting to walk across it. He didn’t use an actual skill, so the amount of damage he did was only -1, but they were all knocked aside and fell into the water with a loud splash.

  Adam landed on the pirate ship and was immediately attacked by at least ten pirates. All of them were at level 15. He gritted his teeth hard and began dancing across the deck, shuffling his feet along the floorboards as he spun the spear around his body to both attack and defend. His movements were swift like a rabbit hopping back and forth. While he managed to avoid letting himself be hit, he couldn’t really attack either, and since he wasn’t using [slash] or [thrust], it meant his attacks were still only doing -1 damage.

  With a snarl on his face, Adam leapt back and thrust out the spear, then spun around to avoid being struck by an incoming pirate and thrust his spear out again. He caught the man in the chest. However, he did not remain there for long and kept dancing around his enemies while also unleashing a flurry of [slash] attacks.

  -1,056; MISS; MISS; MISS; -990; -990; MISS!

  Sweat formed on Adam’s brow as the attacks continued coming in ceaselessly. He ducked under a cutlass swung horizontally, stabbed out with his spear to impale the attacker, then yanked his spear back out and twirled the weapon around his body to [slash] at multiple targets. He was glad this skill had no cooldown time. His attacks hit several pirates and dealt them -990 damage, though he also misse
d several times.

  More enemies were incoming. He had already adjusted his stance into a defensive form, feet planted firmly on the planks so he could knock back any attack that came his way. He was like a turtle hiding within its shell. The incoming swings from cutlasses glanced off his spear as though it was a shell instead of a weapon, but he knew he couldn’t remain on the defensive forever.

  As the battle continued, Adam realized he could feel the intent coming from his spear. It felt like it wanted him to attack. Then again, he could have just been imagining things.

  Either way, he renewed his assault, attacking with an elegance and grace that caused the pirates around him to back off. They seemed wary of how intense his assault was. Thrust his spear. Danced again. Thrust his spear again. Had someone been looking at his dance from a bird’s eye view, they would have seen how his movements formed the shape of petals on the ground.

  -1,056; -1,056; -1,056; -1,056; -1,056!

  Ding!

  [Congratulations! Thanks to your comprehension of Spear Intent, you have learned a new skill: [Dance of the Sakura Blossoms]!]

  Adam felt shock course through him like lightning when he saw the skill name, but he did not hesitate to activate it.

  His dance continued the same as before, but this time, his attacks began dealing serious damage to the pirates. He shuffled along the ground and thrust his spear at lightning speed. None of his enemies could follow his movements either. They tried to attack him, tried to keep up, but he was constantly in motion.

  -1,056; -2,112; -4,224; -8,448; MISS!

  Adam had yet to see what the skill did, but the longer the dance continued with consecutive hits, the more damage he seemed to inflict on his enemies. Every time he missed, the amount of damage he could do was reset and his skill went into cooldown.

  The unfortunate aspect of this skill was that it was limited to one person at a time, which meant he couldn’t focus on multiple enemies. That said, the amount of damage he could deal with this new skill was enough to one-shot the pirates attacking him. As the amount of damage he inflicted increased, the pirates began falling in droves.