Man Made God 002

by Brandon Varnell

  “Yes, yes. Do not worry. I have your reward right here.” After saying this, the man produced several items that were stashed in a small vault behind his desk. “These items are the reward. The first is a letter to the mayor of Solum. Solum is one of the five major cities found on the Sun Continent and the one closest to Watershore. This letter is to let the mayor know about what you did for me. If you show it to him, I am certain he will extend his trust to you. Who knows? He might even give you a quest of his own.”

  Adam accepted the letter and placed it within his pouch. He expected to hear the traditional “Ding!” that came whenever he got a new item or completed a quest, but it didn’t come, much to his surprise.

  “The next items are these.” The mayor turned back to the vault, grabbed something, and presented them to Adam. “These boots are an artifact that has been passed down in my family for many generations. We do not know who made them, where they come from, or even why my family has them. The story passed down says they washed up on shore one day and became a good luck charm, but who knows if that is true.”

  The boots in question were remarkably well-crafted and beautiful for something that washed up on shore. They were made of leather, had laces going up the front, and straps near the top and bottom. Several metal fittings that protected the feet and shins gleamed in the light. Strange runes were etched into the surface. They looked oddly familiar...

  As he stared at them, a status display appeared in his field of view.

  Item Name: Goddess of Creation Greaves

  Item Type: Armor

  Use requirements: Can only be equipped by the wielder of the Goddess of Creation’s Spear.

  Description: These greaves are made from an unknown material. They were created by the Goddess of Creation and can only be worn by the chosen wielder of her spear.

  Abilities: Constitution+150%; Physical Defense+200%; Magical Defense:+200%; Speed+200%

  Special abilities: 60 seconds of Flight; Double Jump

  Adam and even Titania seemed shocked to discover what kind of boots these were. The Goddess of Creation Greaves? This was part of the armor the soul remnant of the knight had spoken of! Adam understood very well that if he wore these, it was like painting a target on his back for the goddesses. That said, it seemed only the goddesses would recognize these boots, so he should be safe so long as he didn’t meet a goddess.

  And those stats were way too tempting for him to pass up.

  “Thank you very much.”

  Adam did not let the mayor of Watershore know how astonished he was as he accepted these greaves.

  “You are welcome. The last reward is small, but please accept these ten thousand gold coins as compensation for saving my son. Once again, I am truly grateful for all you have done for me and my family.”

  At that moment, the familiar “Ding!” that Adam had been expecting echoed around the room, though only he, Titania, and Kureha seemed to hear it. The mayor reacted like nothing happened even after the announcement screen appeared before them.

  [Congratulations! You have completed the quest: [Cure Watershore Mayor’s Son!] Rewards include [Goddess of Creation Greaves], [Letter of Recognition], and 10,000 gold coins! +150,000 experience points! +25,000 reputation points! +15,000 ability points!]

  Ding!

  [Congratulations! You have leveled up! You are now at level 13! +1,125 HP! +20 MP! +5 SP!]

  Ding!

  [Congratulations! Kureha has leveled up! She is now at level 12! +200 HP! +1,600 MP! +10 SP!]

  Once the announcements ended, Adam equipped the [Goddess of Creation Greaves]. The boost he received after putting them on was quite phenomenal, though it was a purely defensive power instead of an offensive one.

  If his stats hadn’t been broken before, they most certainly were now. Not only did his Constitution, Physical and Magical Defense, and Speed receive an exponential increase, but he saw that his Physical Attack and Strength stats had also increased by +10. When he looked at his spear’s stats, he noticed that it had reached level 8 without him knowing, meaning the spear’s Strength and Physical Attack had gone up to +80.

  Kureha’s stats had also increased with her level up.

  After completing the quest, Adam left the mayor’s residence and traveled down the hill toward Watershore.

  “Now that we’ve completed this quest, I think it’s about time for me to log off,” Adam said. “I’ve been playing for way too long and need to see some people in the real world.”

  “Hmph. Do whatever you want. It’s not like you’ll listen to me,” Titania muttered.

  Adam grimaced. “Are you still mad at me for listening to the soul remnant?”

  “I’m not mad. Why would I be mad? I am merely concerned that you don’t take anything I say into consideration. I am also beginning to wonder whether or not I should even bother giving you a warning when you’re about to do something dangerous. It seems you do not really care for my opinion.”

  As Titania turned her head, Adam recalled how she had not spoken to him once since they left the Forest of Gloom. She had helped him escape and aided him with her songs, but she refused to say a single word. Every time he tried to converse with her, she would pretend she hadn’t heard him. She hadn’t even sat on his shoulder.

  He knew she was mad. From what he understood, the four goddesses who ruled over this world were very important figures both religiously and from a political standpoint. They ruled over all, governed the four continents with fairness and grace, and were respected by everyone—including Titania herself. She did not like that he had listened to the spearman talk about how the goddesses only came to power because they were jealous of their older sister and decided to usurp her position.

  “Fine then. I’ll see you two later.”

  After giving Kureha a scratch behind the ears, Adam logged off of Age of Gods.

  Kureha released a startled yip when Adam suddenly vanished. The little fox ran around for a moment as though expecting Adam to reappear. When it became clear that Adam was gone, she whimpered and laid on the ground.

  Titania didn’t blame Kureha. Even now, after seeing it several times, she still hadn’t gotten used to how Adam could just vanish. She stared at the spot where her companion had been for several long seconds, then closed her eyes.

  “Yip? Yip yip!”

  Titania opened her eyes and looked at Kureha, who stared at her with a questioning gaze. Fox yokai were extremely perceptive and very smart. Even though Kureha did not yet possess a human form, she retained a human level of intelligence.

  “I do not know where he goes when he ‘logs off’ either, I’m afraid. I just know that he returns to his original world.” Titania floated down and pat Kureha on the head with her small hands. The tiny fox yipped once more as her two tails waved behind her. “You think I was being too harsh on him? Perhaps I was. It is not his fault that he doesn’t understand why what that soul remnant said is dangerous. Maybe I will apologize to him when he returns and explain things properly.”

  Titania glanced at the spot where Adam had vanished once more and sighed. There was nothing for either of them to do now except wait.

  The first thing Adam did after logging off was take a shower. It was 3:45pm, and even though he’d been doing nothing but lying in bed all day, he still felt gross.

  After his shower, Adam wandered into the living room. Fayte wasn’t present, but she had left a sandwich and some vegetables like carrots and celery in the fridge. He assumed she made this for him before going out.

  He took the food with him into Aris’ room. The gentle thrum of machinery echoed all around him. A soft buzzing from the vents blew cool air into the room, which was always kept at a temperature of sixty-two degrees. Everything in this room was completely sterilized. This place looked a lot like a laboratory or medical facility. In the center of it all was the large cryobed, within which Aris slept.

  He always felt a chill whenever he entered this room. There was a part of him—an admitted
ly small part—that felt regret over putting his Aris into something created by that madman.

  But if it could heal her… if she could really be cured, then he would put up with it.

  “Hey, Aris. Sorry it took me so long to get off today.” Adam sat down on the chair in front of Aris’s cryobed, placed the plate on his lap, and immediately began talking. “I played Age of Gods a lot longer than I intended to, but some really interesting stuff happened. You remember how I told you about my new companion in Age of Gods last time? Well, I just got another one. She’s a little fox yokai named Kureha. Do you remember when we used to watch those old Japanese cartoons? They sometimes had a fox that could shapeshift into a human. That’s what she is. Titania told me she doesn’t have a human form yet because her level is too low, but she’ll apparently get one after reaching a certain level. Oh! I also got a hidden class! It’s really powerful!”

  Adam kept up a constant stream of upbeat chatter as he slowly consumed his late lunch. He tried not to think about how much he missed hearing Aris’s voice, the warmth of her body, or the scent of her hair. The bed he slept on was incredibly lonely right now, but he believed he could bear it as long as Aris got better.

  “That’s quite the story,” a voice said from the doorway as he finally finished telling Aris about how he’d faced off against the Spider Queen. “Just what the heck have you been doing in Age of Gods anyway?”

  “Fayte.” Adam smiled as he turned to face the young woman leaning against the door with her arms crossed. “Had a good time with your friend?”

  “And how do you know I was with my friend?” asked Fayte as she walked into the room. She was wearing a simple pair of pajama bottoms and a button-up shirt. She was not wearing shoes or socks, so her small, beautiful, jade-like feet were about the only thing besides her forearms, neck, and face that was visible.

  Fayte was a gorgeous woman with shimmering blonde hair and intelligence blue eyes. Her skin was soft, unblemished, and fair. As expected of an aristocrat who’d been born from several generations worth of selective breeding, she had beautiful features. Her small nose, pouty lips, and soft cheekbones were framed by several bangs that trailed down either side of her face. Adam absently found himself following the elegant curve of her neck before shifting his attention back to her eyes.

  “Our fridge is full,” Adam explained. “I figured if you were out and didn’t need to pick up anything, you’d be with that friend you told me about.”

  “Susan,” Fayte supplied as she pulled up a second chair and sat next to him. She looked at the girl still sleeping in the cryobed, then turned to him. “I see you’re eating the lunch I made for you… though it’s a little late for lunch.”

  Adam shrugged. “I only woke up a little over an hour ago.”

  “What time did you start playing?”

  “About… two or three this morning.”

  “You’ve been playing for that long?” Fayte’s eyes went wide. “Isn’t that dangerous? I know entering the virtual world doesn’t leave any long-term mental effects like a lot of people used to believe, but it’s still not good to remain in bed all day. Your body needs nutrition, after all.”

  “Don’t worry. You know my body has that regeneration ability, right?” When Fayte nodded, Adam continued. “Thanks to that power, my muscles are always at their peak physical condition. They will never atrophy from disuse. I can even survive long periods of time without food.”

  “So… what you are saying is that you’ll always be…”

  “A stud?”

  Fayte’s worried expression changed into an amused smile. “Yes, I suppose that word does fit you.”

  Adam shrugged. “I will be like this for the rest of my natural life.”

  “And how long is that?”

  “Don’t know. I’ll probably live longer than most humans, but I’m not sure how much longer,” he admitted.

  “That’s still very impressive. I wish I could remain eternally youthful.”

  “Don’t we all?”

  Because he didn’t have to worry about his muscles atrophying from disuse, Adam could have gone back into the game after talking to Aris… but he decided not to when Fayte asked if he wanted to play some old-school video games with her. That night, he spent most of his time kicking Fayte’s butt at multiplayer fighting games.

  It was a lot of fun.

  The First Players to Reach Level 10

  They were called [cockatrice], and they looked like a two-legged dragon or a serpentine creature with a rooster’s head. Wings sprouted from their torso, but they weren’t the kind of wings that Adam would have expected to see on a chicken. Covered in thick green leather, these pinions possessed a reptilian quality that went well with their dragon-esque body. Three taloned feet scraped against the ground as one of them snorted, fire shooting from the nostrils in its beak.

  These [cockatrice] were all at level 15. There were sixteen of them.

  They were also surrounding him and his party.

  “Kureha!” Adam shouted. “Light ‘em up!”

  Kureha released a loud yip as her first tail pointed straight into the air, flames igniting from the tip and turning into a scorching ball of fire, an inferno that shot upward for several feet before exploding. The explosion created a series of flaming bullets that fell from the sky like rain. This was her skill [Firestorm].

  -3,876;-3,876; -3,876; -3,876; -3,876; -3,876; -3,876; -3,876; -3,876; -3,876; -3,876; -3,876; -3,876; -3,876; -3,876!

  [Firestorm] was an AOE skill that attacked all enemies within a twenty yard radius of the user. That might not sound like the attack covered a very wide area, but when all of your enemies were bunched close together and surrounding you, it could be used to devastating effect.

  The [cockatrice] were all struck, their bodies igniting, leathery skin turning a scorching black. Adam wrinkled his nose as the scent of burnt leather filled the atmosphere. While the game avoided blood and gore, it was still way too realistic. Fortunately, he was fairly used to the smell of burning flesh.

  High in the sky above the battle, Titania was singing [Song of Vigor]. Thanks to her vigorous and upbeat song, Kureha’s attack power increased from what would have been around -680 points of damage to over -3,876. Such a substantial rise was only possible because Titania’s song increased their Physical and Magical Attack by 300%.

  These [cockatrice] only had around +13,000 health, so the moment Kureha released her attack was the moment the battle had been decided. Adam finished them off with [Energy Sweep], swinging his spear in a full circle and unleashing a wave of energy that washed over these creatures.

  -11,347; -11,347; -11,347; -11,347; -11,347; -11,347; -11,347; -11,347; -11,347; -11,347; -11,347; -11,347; -11,347; -11,347; -11,347; -11,347!

  Even Adam became surprised when he saw the massive damage sign over all of the surrounding [cockatrice]. It was only after thinking about it that he realized this was natural. Even though he had not activated [Blood Sacrifice], his attack still did -2,225 damage naturally. Multiply that by the 170% increase his skill did and then multiply it further by 300% and this was what you got. Still…

  “This feels like overkill,” he muttered to no one in particular.

  Ding!

  [You have defeated sixteen [cockatrice]! Items dropped: x10 [Cockatrice Feathers] and 40,000 gold coins. +40,200 experience points!]

  “Good girl,” Adam said with a smile as he affectionately rubbed Kureha’s head. The fox yokai really seemed to like having her head pet. She rubbed herself affectionately against his hand and released a strange mrrring noise, which he guessed was like a fox’s version of purring.

  Titania fluttered down on her ephemeral wings, arms crossed and a displeased look on her face. “You realize, of course, that Kureha was not the only one who aided you, yes? Without my songs, neither of your attacks would have done nearly enough damage to defeat these monsters so quickly.”

  “You are right,” Adam said with a nod. “Does that mean you wan
t me to pet your head too?”

  “D-do not be daft! I am not some simpleton who enjoys having her head pet!” Titania snapped, cheeks lighting up like a bonfire at night. She turned her head and huffed. “However, you cannot just praise Kureha. A compliment or two would be nice. You should learn to show more appreciation toward me and everything I do for you.”

  “Mmm. You bring up a good point.” Adam stood back up, much to Kureha’s displeasure. He ignored the fox as she rubbed herself on his leg and smiled at Titania. “Thank you. Ever since you joined my party, fighting monsters has been much easier.”

  “You are very welcome,” Titania said with a slight smile.

  “I also rely on you a lot for your knowledge. Thank you for knowing so much.”

  “Ah. Well, you are welcome, of course. I’m glad I could be of help.”

  “And I’m really glad to have someone I can talk to. Thanks for being around to converse with me.”

  “I-I do not think you need to go that far.”

  “Also, I appreciate your beauty. Thanks for being such great eye candy.”

  “I don’t know that means! But I know you are making fun of me!”

  It had been two days since their journey into the Forest of Gloom. Adam had spent an entire day logged off Age of Gods. He believed he deserved a break after what he had been through. That day had been spent either sitting by Aris’s side or playing console games with Fayte, which he had won more often than not.

  After logging in the previous day, he had begun his journey with Kureha and Titania to Solum, which was the first major city he could travel to within the game. According to the map he had, the journey would take about a day on foot—of course, he didn’t mean walking, but running. If he walked, it would probably take several days. A one day trip was only about five hours with his +50 Movement stat. He’d already calculated how fast he could travel, and it seemed like he could go thirty miles per hour if he ran at full speed.