Man Made God 002

by Brandon Varnell

  “Yes, please. We were hoping you could tell us whatever you know,” Fayte said as Adam took another sip of tea. It was becoming more agreeable with his palette the more he drank it.

  “I’m afraid I don’t know much.” Abigail frowned as she pulled her long braid to her front and began playing with it. “The Deadlands have always been a place where the dead wander. Legends say that a battle took place there many thousands of years ago, but we don’t know if that’s true since there are no written records of that time. That said, the dead have become a lot more active lately. Several villagers who have wandered too close were attacked and one was even killed.”

  “That sounds like trouble,” Adam muttered, then asked in a louder voice. “Is it true that there is a fog surrounding the Deadlands that drains people of their health?”

  “It is true.” Abigai’s pale face gained a dark appearance as she tilted her head forward. “The Deadlands have always been like that, which is why we villagers have always been told to stay away.”

  “Is there a way to counteract the effects?” asked Titania. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

  Abigail was gazing at Titania with an uncertain expression… but it was a look she and Adam were intimately familiar with by this point.

  “She is a fairy, if that is what you’re curious about,” Adam supplied for the woman who looked like she was barely holding her tongue. “The reason she’s not taller is because she’s only at level 14 right now.”

  “S-so I see.” Abigail flushed pink at being caught staring and tried to get back on topic. “Anyway, you asked if there was a way to counteract the fog? There is not. At least, not completely. We do have a medicine that the local doctor created, which can lessen the effects, but the medicine only lasts for two hours and it only lessons the effects by 50%. You will still lose health, so you’ll want to be careful if you plan on traveling through the Deadlands.”

  After she finished speaking, Abigail gave each person in their party a single dose of medicine, which was called [Death Antidote]. It had the effect of cutting the [Death Curse], which Adam presumed was the fog surrounding the Deadlands, by 50%. She also told them that if they wanted more, they needed to travel to the doctor’s home and buy some from him.

  Because Adam didn’t know how long they were going to stay in the Deadlands, he bought twenty [Death Antidotes] for 10,000 gold coins from the doctor. That price seemed kind of steep to him. However, he wasn’t able to haggle the price down. Once they had enough antidotes, Adam and his companions journeyed to the Deadlands, which was only half an hour away from Hope Village.

  Just like he’d been told, the Deadlands really was covered in a thick fog. Not even he could see through it. The fog was black and seemed to roil back and forth, never traveling beyond a certain point. It was like there was an invisible barrier that kept the fog from spreading further.

  Adam and Lilith tethered everyone’s horses to a tree so they wouldn’t run off. He didn’t know if horses in this game could run off, but he figured it was better to be safe than sorry.

  “Titania, once we enter the Deadlands, I think you should sing the [Song of Refreshing Rain]. That might help counteract the effects of the fog,” Adam said.

  “That is a good idea,” Titania agreed.

  “Is everyone ready?”

  Adam looked at his companions. Fayte was standing beside him with a determined gaze, Susan looked frightened but unwilling to back off, and Lilith appeared as emotionless as always. Kureha hopped down from his head and gave an enthusiastic yip. It was like she was telling him without words that she was ready.

  “All right. Let’s decide on our formation, and then we can head in.”

  Because it looked like he’d been silently nominated as the party leader, Adam decided on their formation. He was at the front, while Lilith had the rear. Fayte would be next to him and Kureha would travel alongside Lilith. This was because his and Kureha’s stats were higher than Lilith’s and Fayte’s. Having her at the front with him would have unbalanced their party formation. Titania and Susan were in the center of the formation since one of them was a long-range attacker and the other was a healer/support type.

  They took the antidotes and Titania began to sing [Song of Refreshing Rain] as they journeyed into the Deadlands.

  -3-; -3; -3; -3; -3!

  From the moment they entered, Adam and the others experienced the health draining effects of the Deadlands. Their health was brought down by -3 every second, which was -15 every five seconds.

  More than the drop in their health, however, what really made Adam surprised was the feeling standing in this fog gave him. It felt like his soul was being drained. His mind and body felt sluggish. He was able to shake it off, of course, but the fact that he could feel it was proof of how powerful this cursed fog was.

  +30; +30; +30; +30; +30!

  Fortunately, Titania’s [Song of Refreshing Rain] recovered +30 health every one second, which meant they were recovering more health than they lost. His only concern was whether she could keep it up. Fortunately, she had a crap ton of magic points.

  “Let me know if you are running low on magic,” Adam said. “I have [low-grade mana potions] ready.”

  Titania said nothing, but she did nod at him.

  The ground was thick and wet like a marshland. Their feet made squelching noises as they walked through what Adam believed was mud. He realized after checking his stats that the terrain affected their Speed and Movement. Adam had a -5 negative status effect applied to his Speed, which meant he was reduced to +5 for Speed and +25 for Movement. The others were similarly affected, except for Titania who was flying.

  They didn’t run into any enemies for several minutes, but then a figure appeared within the fog. It floated through the air, its entire body covered in a tattered black cloak. White bones peeked out from beneath its long sleeves. Red eyes flashed within a skull from underneath the hood covering its head. It didn’t carry any weapons, but Adam didn’t think this creature needed them.

  Titania cast [scan] before quickly switching back to singing.

  Name: Wraith

  Description: A lost soul born from intense despair and hatred. Wraiths wander the earth, resurrecting the dead and attacking the living.

  Class: None

  Lvl: 15

  Health: 3,000/3,000

  MP: 10,000/10,000

  Physical Attack: +40

  Constitution: +50

  Dexterity: +25

  Intelligence: +120

  Speed: +25

  Skills:

  wraith releases a monstrous and bone-chilling howl that causes 100% damage and has a 10% chance of casting Stun

  MP cost: 150

  Cooldown time: 5 seconds

  Rend: The wraith can use the sharp bones of its hands like claws to tear the flesh off a human

  250% damage

  MP cost: 50

  Cooldown time: 0 seconds

  Summon Undead: wraiths have the ability to summon undead

  Limits: Only one undead can be summoned at any given time

  MP cost: 1,200

  Cooldown time: 15 seconds

  “It looks like our first enemy has arrived,” Adam said, turning to Fayte, Lilith, and Susan. “I would like to see what you three can do before we travel too far into this fog. Would you mind fighting this [wraith]? If it becomes too much of a problem, I’ll step in and take care of it.”

  “It would be good for you to see how we fight.” Fayte turned her gaze to him before looking at Susan and Lilith. He was sure she was smiling behind her veil. “Let’s show Adam how we deal with monsters.”

  “I will provide cover fire,” Susan said. For once, she sounded confident and sure of herself. It was very unlike the girl he’d been getting to know. Adam wondered if perhaps she was one of those people who could only feel confident when she was role playing as someone else.

  “As will I,” Fayte added. “Lilith?”

  Lilith didn’t res
pond with words and instead readied her dagger and rushed across the ground. She was a little slower than normal because of the mud, but she still reached the [wraith] within a few seconds and attacked with [slash].

  -150!

  The moment she struck the [wraith], it turned to her and released a fierce [howl] that caused -50 damage, though it didn’t stun Lilith, and Titania’s [Song of Refreshing Rain] ensured most of the damage was healed two seconds after she was injured. During that time, Fayte launched an [Energy Bolt] at the [wraith]. The colorless energy ball slammed into the [wraith] and knocked it back.

  -170!

  Susan also knocked back an arrow and used [Deadeye] to fire at it. The attack struck the [wraith] right in the face, penetrating its left eye and dealing -140 damage, which meant she’d struck a critical hit.

  Of course, the [wraith] still had over +2,500 health. Those three attacks were practically negligible, but the three women did not give up and continued with the strategy of having Lilith pull its agro and dodge its attacks, while Susan and Fayte peppered the monster with long-range attacks.

  At some point, the wraith used [Summon Undead] to summon a skeletal creature with +1,000 health. This added to the level of difficulty they were faced with. However, Adam decided to take care of it himself. He used [slash] once to reduce its health to zero, allowing the women to continue attacking the [wraith] until, at last, its health reached zero.

  Ding!

  [Congratulations! You have defeated a [wraith]! Items dropped: [Wraith’s Cloak], [Ghastly Ring], and 1,000 gold coins! +200 experience points!]

  Adam noticed right away that the amount of experience he gained was far less than what he normally gained from defeating enemies of the same level. He knew this was because the experience gained was being shared by everyone. Likewise, he did not get the item drops, which ended up going to Susan, who struck the killing blow. Of course, she couldn’t use the cloak and the ring didn’t have any useful abilities for her since all it did was boost someone’s resistance to darkness and increase their Magic Attack by +10. She gave them both to Fayte.

  “You three work well together,” Adam said after the spoils had been sorted.

  “Thank you,” Fayte said. “We’ve been working together for several days now, so I think we’ve become intimate with each other’s attack patterns and fighting styles.”

  “That [Luck] stat of yours is also pretty useful.” Adam looked at Susan. “It seems your [Luck] stat is part of what gave you the chance to land the killing blow.”

  “You think so?” asked Susan.

  “Well, maybe. It’s hard to say for sure, but I think [Luck] affects every aspect of a player’s gameplay.” Adam still didn’t know exactly what [Luck] did. This was honestly just guesswork right now. “Anyway, let’s continue on. We need to figure out what is causing the dead to rise.”

  Everyone gave him a firm nod, and so the group of six got back in their original formation with Adam in the lead and journeyed deeper into the Deadlands.

  Broken Silence Within the Crypt

  Ding!

  [You have defeated a [wraith]! Items dropped: [Ring of Darkness], [Cloak of Darkness], [Dark Heart], and 2,000 gold coins! +200 experience points!]

  Adam watched as another enemy fell before his spear. He had long since lost count of how many enemies they came across. Sometimes they came in groups of two or three, but other times they came alone. In either case, he had wanted to show the girls—Fayte, Susan, and Lilith—what kind of skills he had but…

  “They’re dying too quickly,” Adam said with a sigh. “I can’t show them my skills if they die in a single hit.”

  The problem, Adam concluded, was that his skill [Blood Sacrifice] was simply too powerful. Whenever Adam activated the skill, his damage increased from -2,465 to -7,395. These [wraith] monsters only had +3,000 health, which meant he dealt more than double what they actually had. Even his attacks like [thrust] was enough to one-shot these things without relying on [Blood Sacrifice].

  -3-; -3; -3; -3; -3!

  +30; +30; +30; +30; +30!

  The effects of the [Death Curse] continued to drain their health, but Titania’s [Song of Refreshing Rain] restored the damage before it could become a problem. Since the [Death Antidote] they had taken before entering reduced the damage they received by half, Adam concluded they could have not taken the antidote and would still have been fine thanks to Titania.

  “I feel like you’re way too powerful,” Fayte muttered as Adam walked back over to her.

  “If you think this is bad, you should see what happens when Titania uses [Song of Vigor],” Adam said.

  -3-; -3; -3; -3; -3!

  +30; +30; +30; +30; +30!

  “You’re really strong,” Susan agreed, though unlike Fayte, who seemed displeased somehow, she had stars in her eyes.

  “Ahahaha, thank you, Su,” Adam said with a grin, even though he knew she couldn’t see it behind his mask.

  Lilith said nothing, but how could Adam not see the pride shining in her eyes whenever she looked at him? It was enough to make him uncomfortable.

  They had been journeying through the Deadlands for about half an hour now. While the quest was to discover why the dead were rising, they hadn’t found anything that would indicate how or why that was happening. So far, all they had discovered was a disgusting marshland.

  The marshlands seemed to stretch on for miles, though that might have been Adam’s perception of the place. He couldn’t see more than ten feet in any direction thanks to the fog surrounding them.

  “Doesn’t this fog vaguely remind you of the ‘fog of war’ found in old-school RTS games?” asked Fayte.

  “You know… it kind of does.” Adam smiled as some good memories appeared within his mind—not that anyone could see it with his mask on. “Aris and I used to play RTS games all the time. She was an avid fan of War of Worlds.”

  “I played that one!” Susan suddenly announced. “Isn’t it a great game? I love how they combined realistic military equipment with a futuristic twist. I also appreciated how it didn’t rely on a turn-based system. It made everything seem so much more exciting, and the way the terrain affected soldiers and vehicles was such a great touch that I—oh! I-I’m sorry! I completely forgot myself and spoke out of turch—ouch! My tongue!”

  -3-; -3; -3; -3; -3!

  +30; +30; +30; +30; +30!

  Adam could not stop himself from wincing as the embarrassed and nerve-wracked Susan suddenly bit her tongue... again. He was really worried about this girl. He hoped she didn’t bite her tongue like that in real life.

  “I don’t think you were speaking out of turn at all,” Fayte said as she reached over and rubbed the younger girl’s head, her actions soft and gentle. “Feel free to speak up whenever you have something to add.”

  “Fayte is right,” Adam added. “Don’t hold back on my account.”

  Adam didn’t know what it was about Susan, but ever since they began this journey, he’d felt an odd desire to protect her. It was different from the feelings he had toward Aris. He wanted to protect Aris, and he gave his all for her, but Susan brought out a desire that felt like half-primitive male instinct and half-older brother. He wondered if Fayte maybe felt something similar.

  Well, the female equivalent of whatever he felt.

  “I wish I knew what you people were talking about,” Titania said with a huff. She did not like it when they started talking about things from the real world.

  Fayte and Adam shared a look. Like him, Fayte and Susan had been stunned by Titania’s realism, by how “human” she felt. This was, of course, disregarding the fact that she was only one foot tall and had wings on her back.

  “Don’t forget to keep singing,” Adam said.

  “I know,” Titania muttered as she began singing [Song of Refreshing Rain] again.

  -3-; -3; -3; -3; -3!

  +30; +30; +30; +30; +30!

  “There is something up ahead,” Lilith announced.

  “I
t’s a castle!” Susan gasped.

  Indeed, as they walked closer to the shadow that had suddenly appeared in front of them, the group found themselves standing next to the large wall of a very old rampart. The stones were aged and worn. Moss and vines grew all over the stones and stuck out between the cracks. Adam placed his hand against the wall. He couldn’t feel the texture thanks to his [Dragon Bone Gauntlets], but the vines felt squishy and pliant.

  They traveled along the rampart wall and soon came upon the derelict remains of an archway. Judging from the remains lying on the ground, the twisted metal strewn about, this place had once housed a portcullis, but it had long since been destroyed. Adam couldn’t say by what. The metal was warped so bad he could figure out nothing from this simple observation.

  With Susan sticking close to Fayte, Adam taking point, and Lilith and Kureha in the rear, they walked into the castle courtyard. Titania fluttered down and landed on Adam’s shoulder. Perhaps she was getting nervous because she grabbed a fistful of his hair. She fortunately did not stop singing [Song of Refreshing Rain] to replenish the health they continuously lost.

  -3-; -3; -3; -3; -3!

  +30; +30; +30; +30; +30!

  Perhaps it was because of the fog, but Adam could not see anything, not even the remains of the castle that should have been around there somewhere. The only thing present seemed to be his companions. However…

  “Do you hear that?” asked Adam.

  “Did you hear something?” Fayte asked.

  “It is the sound of footsteps,” Lilith, whose hearing was nearly as good as his, said. She narrowed her dark eyes and held her dagger in a reverse grip.

  Susan huddled closer to Fayte, who stood protectively in front of the girl. Adam closed his eyes and tilted his head, steadying his breathing as he stretched out with his senses, trying to determine where the source of those footsteps was coming from. The footsteps themselves were uneven. However, they were moving much faster than the [undead skeleton] he fought back in the Village of Beginnings.