Man Made God 002

by Brandon Varnell

  “I will definitely keep that in mind,” Adam said as he pressed the “yes” button. “Okay. I’ll accept this quest.”

  Ding!

  [The quest: [Journey to the Deadlands!] has been accepted!]

  “Good luck. If you manage to complete this quest, I will not only give you a suitable reward, but I will also give you a more challenging quest… should that be something you want,” Bromley said.

  After meeting with Bromley, Adam left the mayor’s residence and decided to explore Solum. The city was a lively place. There were a lot of people traveling through it, though all of them appeared to be NPCs. No players had appeared in the city besides him yet.

  Something that really hit Adam was how different all the NPCs looked. No two people looked the same. That might have sounded odd if he’d told someone who wasn’t knowledgeable about virtual reality games, but an experienced player would understand.

  A lot of VR games, to cut on the cost of producing the game, had a habit of reusing NPCs over and over again. It wasn’t unusual to see several of the same models being reused hundreds of times. He’d once played a game where an entire village was made with just three models that simply changed hairstyles and skin tone to make them look like different people.

  Yet as Adam looked at the NPCs in this game, he could not see one model being used more than once. Every person looked completely different. He didn’t know if the creator had simply demanded his employees create countless NPCs, or if he used some kind of random NPC generator to build them, but it was rather astounding either way.

  From what he could see, the city was built like a castle town from medieval Europe, but the architecture was closer to that of the Renaissance period. Three-fourths of the city was walled off, while the remaining third was blocked off by a large river that ran past it. The river also featured several watermills, each of which seemed to have a different function.

  On top of the watermills, Solum had several key features. The first was the arena. It was a multistory building located south of the mayor’s residence in its own district. There was also the market district, the bazaar, the residential district where people could buy houses, and several large plots of empty land that seemed to serve no purpose.

  Adam planned to ask the mayor about those plots of land later.

  The cathedral was another place of interest since that was where players who died would appear after being revived. In order to revive there, he had to pay a total of one hundred gold coins and place his hand on a large stone tablet inside of the cathedral. The stone tablet glowed brightly and his name was added to it. This apparently meant he would be revived at this cathedral every time he died, and if he wanted to be revived somewhere else, he would have to do the same thing at another cathedral.

  “That should do it,” said a young nun. She smiled at him. “Now you will revive here every time you are killed. I feel like I should mention this, but just because you revive doesn’t mean you should be reckless. You will lose a level and all of your experience points, ability points, and status points every time you die.”

  “Got it,” Adam said.

  “Also, if you die, your two companions will not get revived with you. They will be stuck wherever you died, which means it is highly possible they will die in the process. Should that happen, they will not revived. Only otherworlders have the ability to revive after death.”

  “Understood.”

  Adam felt a shiver crawl down his spine. He hadn’t thought about that before, but it was a grim reminder that this game was different from other games. If an NPC died in this game, it was permanent.

  Just after Adam finished making this cathedral his reincarnation point, he received a call from Fayte.

  “Hey. I’m guessing you finished your quest for the mayor?” asked Adam.

  “Yes. The Mayor asked us to kill a powerful monster that was in a forest close to the town. It was a level 20 1-star [chimera]. Honestly, Su and I would have died if it wasn’t for Lilith’s help. She managed to keep it distracted and pulled all its agro while we peppered it with magic and arrows from a distance.”

  “Sounds like Lilith has been earning her keep,” Adam said.

  “She has! Even though she’s really quiet, I don’t know what we would do without her.”

  “Since you received the [letter of recognition] from the mayor, does that mean you are heading to Solum?”

  “Yes. We were told it will take at least a day of travel by foot though…”

  “It should only cost five hundred gold coins to rent out horses. I think the lowest level horse has a Speed of +200. If you three rent horses, you should be able to make it within a couple of hours.”

  “Oh! That is a good idea. We’ll do that then.”

  “In that case, give me a call when you’ve reached Solum. I’ll come out to the front gate and greet you.”

  “Will do. You can also introduce us to your companions.”

  “Sounds good.”

  Adam canceled his call with Fayte. During this time, Titania had been quietly observing him with a perplexed frown on her face.

  “I know you have told me this before, but are you sure this Fayte is not your lover?”

  Not it was his turn to frown. “Of course not. Why would you ask me that?”

  “Because the smile you wear whenever you are talking to her is something I would expect from a man speaking with his lover,” Titania answered without shame. “You have a very gentle and tender smile. It’s like just hearing her voice is enough to make you happy.”

  Adam glared at the woman, annoyance suddenly surging inside of him.

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said coldly. “I already have a lover, and it is not Fayte. Now let’s stop talking about this.”

  Without waiting for the woman to respond, Adam turned around and decided to check out the bazaar. He was hoping there would be a place to sell all the items he had in his item pouch.

  “There is no need to be defensive,” Titania muttered as she fluttered her wings and chased after him.

  Meeting In-Game

  Fayte’s call came about four hours after she informed him of their successful completion of the quest given to them by the Mayor of Watershore. Adam traveled to the gate, plain white mask still in place, and discovered that Fayte’s party was not the only player party entering Solum. Numerous players were traveling inside—and many more were already inside. There were so many that the poor gate guards looked completely harried as they asked everyone to form a line so they could check to make sure each player had a [letter of recognition].

  “It looks like you’re good to go. Please enter. Welcome to Solum!”

  “You guys have a [letter of recognition]. Very good! You are free to enter Solum.”

  “It seems you otherworlders don’t have a [letter of recognition]. In that case, I am afraid you can’t enter. Please go back to Watershore and speak with the mayor there.”

  While most of the players had a [letter of recognition], there were a few who did not, and these players were turned away at the gate. Some of them accepted this. A few looked unresigned but could only sigh and leave. However, there was at least one group that didn’t look pleased and refused to accept it.

  “Do you really think you can hold my Black Beard Alliance at the gate like this?! You fools! We are not some simpering weaklings who can be controlled by a group of NPCs! Make way!”

  The man who had spoken was somewhere in his sixties, though he didn’t have a spot of gray hair. His face was lined with a few wrinkles to denote his age. He also stood with a slight stoop. Even so, his black hair was long and thick, and he was sporting a full bush of hair on his face. His beard made Adam think of a really prickly shrub.

  Adam didn’t know who this man was or what kind of guild the Black Beard Alliance was, but his outfit resembled an old-school pirate costume. He guessed these people were pirate role players or something to that effect.

  “Do not contest us
guards, otherworlder,” the gate guard who had spoken was the same one who’d talked to Adam when he first arrived. “If you try to force your way into the city, I can promise you won’t like the results.”

  While some of the players present realized what was going to happen and backed away from the guards, the members of the Black Beard Alliance became belligerent.

  “You think we’re afraid of you?!”

  “Don’t make us laugh!”

  “Bring it on!”

  “I’ll make mincemeat outta ya!”

  Adam had no idea who these people were, but they were clearly stupid. Stupider than stupid. They were as dumb as a box of rocks. Did they not look at the guard’s level? Every guard was at least level 40, and the man they were currently shouting at was a level 50 guard captain. While he couldn’t see the levels of these players, he doubted any of them had a higher level than he did.

  Which meant all of them were, at most, at level 10 or 11.

  “I cannot see this ending well,” Titania said with a frown.

  “Me neither,” Adam admitted.

  “Yip, yip!” Kureha added her own two gold coins.

  While their conversation was softly spoken, it seemed several people near them still heard their words. Several eyes turned to them. The moment they noticed the masked person standing beside them with a fairy on one shoulder and a two-tailed fox on his head, they freaked.

  “Who is that?! How does he already have two pets?!”

  “I don’t know… but isn’t that thing on his shoulder a fairy?”

  “She definitely looks like a fairy. Oh, my gosh! Can you make a fairy your pet?!”

  “She’s very pretty. Too bad she’s so tiny.”

  “Wait a moment! I’ve heard of this guy! Isn’t that Adam?! He’s the player who all those international announcements have been about!”

  “For real?!”

  “For real, man. We’d better not mess with this dude. I heard he killed the Rising Phoenix Alliance’s guild master just for looking at him wrong.”

  The conversations cropping up around them didn’t bother Adam, but Titania gained several throbbing veins on her forehead. She looked like she wanted to murder everyone present. Her face was also red with humiliation and shame.

  “These people… think I’m a pet… and they called me short. Damn it.”

  “They don’t know any better,” Adam soothed. “Don’t let it bother you.”

  She sent him a sharp glare. “How can I not let it bother me?”

  Adam didn’t say anything, partly because he couldn’t think of anything constructive to say, but also because the argument between the guard captain and the Black Beard Alliance had reached a peak. He was looking forward to whatever happened next.

  “That does it! We’re forcing our way through!” the old man in charge shouted.

  With a loud “arrrg!” that made them sound like cliched pirates, the group charged at the guard captain and the gate. The one in front wielded a cutlass. Adam wondered where he got it. The rest were just using normal swords.

  None of them realized the danger they were in.

  It happened in the blink of an eye. The guard captain drew his sword and swung it several times in a flash. It was so fast that even Adam needed to blink twice because he realized he had actually missed what happened.

  -20,000; -20,000; -20,000; -20,000; -20,000; -20,000; -20,000; -20,000!

  The large numbers that appeared above the Black Beard Alliance was enough to shock and frighten everyone in the crowd. Even Adam was a little surprised by the high damage number, but he also expected it. That level 50 wasn’t just for show.

  Right now there was not a single player who had more than +3,000 HP. Even Adam only had +2,225 HP. Never mind -20,000 damage. Even if the guard captain had only done -2,000 damage, he would have still insta-killed these idiots.

  The members of the Black Beard Alliance dropped to the ground, their bodies unmoving. Adam had learned that player bodies would remain for an entire hour before dissolving and reappearing in whatever town or cathedral they were registered to. While he was sure this wouldn’t normally bother anyone who played a lot of VRMMOs, right now it served as a grim reminder of what happened to people who disobeyed the rules of the game.

  The guard captain scoffed as he sheathed his sword and glared at everyone present. “Henceforth, the otherworlders who just died and anyone calling themselves a member of the Black Beard Alliance are banned from entering Solum, regardless of whether they have a [letter of recognition] or not. Let this be a reminder to anyone who wants to try entering Solum without a [letter of recognition].”

  Ding!

  [This is a national announcement. As of 9:30am Eastern Standard Time, Black Beard, Maverik Blade, Blood Red, Darth Vicious, Burning Fighting Fighter, Bold Flavor, Bloodletter, Howler, Captain D, and That Scurvy Cur have been banned from entering Solum. Anyone who associates with them will similarly be banned from entering Solum. We hope everyone who plays Age of Gods will follow the rules from now on.]

  A nationwide announcement was only announced to players of a specific nation, unlike the international announcements involving Adam. This meant only people from the American Federation heard this announcement, though he was sure word would soon spread across the entire world. People loved to spread news in online forums and chat groups.

  “Those announcements are very odd,” Titania muttered. “Just why do they keep happening?”

  Adam did not know how to explain announcements to an NPC, so he didn’t say anything. He’d caught sight of several distinct individuals out of the corner of his eye as well. They forced his attention away from Titania.

  A group of three had appeared within the crowd, drawing the attention of everyone present, men and women alike. Everybody gave the group a second glance, if not because of the veiled beauty standing in the middle, then because of the cute girl and the gorgeous masked woman by her side.

  The veiled woman was wearing a mage’s robe. It wasn’t anything special, but the color was light blue and had silver lining the hem, sleeves, and collar.

  Her outfit wasn’t what attracted everyone’s attention though. It was what she was hiding underneath that outfit. Her chest was so large that it strained against the robes, practically bulging out of her clothes. Adam guessed clothes in Age of Gods didn’t come with built-in bras. On top of having a large chest, the woman possessed a wasp-thin waist and curvaceous hips, the kind that could turn any hot-blooded male into a vicious beast. And while she had a veil covering her face, nothing could be done to hide her stunning blue eyes.

  Standing on the veiled woman’s left was a girl in light armor: a leather jerkin, brown boots, white pants, and carrying a bow and quiver of arrows on her back.

  She couldn’t have been more than fifteen or sixteen years old. Seventeen at the most. At about two heads shorter than the veiled woman, the girl was rather petite, with a small body that was more adorable than beautiful. Adam was vaguely reminded of a cute, little mouse. He was sure there would be many men who’d love to act like a starving cat in front of her, but there would probably be just as many who desired to protect her from harm. She had that kind of harmless aura that brought out a virtuous person’s protective instincts and a vicious person’s merciless ones.

  Last but not least was the woman on the right, who looked sinful even when compared to the buxom woman in the middle.

  Decked out in all black clothes, with a mask covering the lower half of her face, the woman looked very much like an assassin. What little could be seen of her skin was pale but unblemished. Her eyes were dark and cold, causing the woman to give off an untouchable feeling, like she was a queen none could lay their hands on. She, like the veiled woman, had a rather impressive figure. Large breasts. A small waist. Wide hips. However, it wasn’t as pronounced as her companion’s. Even so, the sinful curves of her body were the kind that could undoubtedly send nations into ruin.

  He was reminded of a Greek story abou
t a woman whose beauty was so renowned that two men actually started a war over her.

  Adam walked toward the group, who were also staring at the corpses of the Black Beard Alliance. No one else stood near them. Perhaps the men and women present felt a sense of shame or reverence toward this trio.

  The women’s attention shifted when he stepped in front of them. No one said anything for a moment, but then Adam finally spoke.

  “I see you made it,” he said.

  “Adam?” Fayte stepped forward.

  “It’s me.” Adam raised a hand in greeting.

  Fayte placed a hand against her chest and heaved a deep breath as though to calm her racing heart. He wondered if perhaps she’d been worried he was someone else, but he discarded the thought when she focused on him. While he could not see her face, Adam knew her well enough to understand that she was smiling.

  “It looks like we’ve finally met in the game world,” she said.

  “Seems so,” he agreed.

  “Allow me to introduce you to my two companions.” She gestured toward the two on either side of her. “The one on my left is Susan. She’s the person I kept telling you about. And this person here is Lilith. She’s been a big help since she joined us.”

  “U-um… hello,” Susan said in a very shy voice. “It’s very nice to meeth—ack! I-I bit my tongue!”

  Adam’s lips trembled for a moment as he watched the girl press a hand to her mouth, tears in her eyes. He’d never met someone who got so nervous they bit their tongue during their own introduction. A part of him was tempted to pat this girl on the head and gently reassure her.

  “It’s nice to meet you too, Susan,” Adam said. Even he was surprised by the softness in his voice, but he couldn’t deny that he didn’t want to frighten her. This girl reminded him of a rabbit. She might die of a heart attack if he acted too forward. “I hope we can get along together.”