by Phoenix Grey
“Oh,” Azure replied with a nod of understanding. It was the first magical element he'd seen to the game. While he was sad for the loss of the arrow, he could also appreciate that finite nature of items. It would make things more challenging, force him to strategize in battle and make sure that his equipment was in good condition.
"So does that mean that I can only use the bow 7 more times before it disappears?"
"No." Uden shook his head. "The durability of arrows is unique in comparison to other weapons. That bow has a durability of 8, so it will last for about 80 shots before it will need to be repaired or replaced. You can fix worn equipment. Arrows are irreparable and will simply splinter whenever they have reached their durability limit."
Taking more care in aiming this time, Azure nocked and loosed again. From what he could tell, he only had fifteen chances to get this right.
His second attempt wasn't much better than the first. His arrow clipped the edge of the target, cartwheeling into the dirt before splintering into dust.
“You've obviously never done this before,” Uden commented dryly, which irritated Azure and only spurned him to try harder.
Despite his morose disposition, Uden was a good teacher, giving Azure tips to improve his aim with every shot. Don't keep a death grip on the bow. One finger above, two fingers below on the arrow. Elbow up. Draw back to the corner of your mouth.
It took a few more arrows before Azure got the hang of aiming. By the time he had emptied his quiver, he was pleased with his progress, having hit two bulls-eyes. He turned back to Uden, who was now sporting a small smirk.
“Not bad, Noobie. Not bad,” he praised Azure, the first sign of warmth that Azure had received from the man. Maybe he wasn't such an asshole after all.
Congratulations! Quest: Train in Archery with Uden has been completed.
Uden no longer thinks you're a complete fucktard. You have earned his respect and 15XP.
Congratulations! New skill learned: Archery Level 1. You can now use a bow and arrow to defeat enemies. Aim strong and true.
“Woot!” Azure cried out, elated at his quick mastery...urm, I mean learning...of how to shoot the bow. He felt on top of the world and more than ready to go kill things.
As if reading his mind, Uden said, “I bet you're ready to go kill things now.”
Azure's mouth fell agape for a moment, wondering if that was just a coincidence or if the game could read into his very thoughts. If it was the latter of the two, Uden showed no signs of being aware. He peered up at the sun, which was sinking behind the horizon, casting an orange glow across the land.
“It's almost time,” he said, turning his gaze toward the field of wheat. “The dark sprites should be coming out soon. We need to prepare. Now that I've shown you how to use the bow, will you help us or run off on your debt?”
A notice popped up.
Quest: Defeat the Dark Sprites
Now that you have received training in archery, it's time to repay your debt to Manny by helping Uden defeat the dark sprites.
Difficulty: Easy
Success: Kill 5 Dark Sprites and Report Back to Manny.
Failure: Die
Reward: Continued room and board at Manny's.
Will you accept this quest: Yes or No?
Azure immediately noticed that the quest screen had changed. Now there was a condition for failure. Die.
Die? Really? That seemed a bit extreme for a quest that was considered Easy. Azure couldn't help but wonder what circumstances would lead to his death. Was he about to go up against a truly powerful foe? At only Level 1, he highly doubted it. Maybe the game assumed that he would do something incredibly stupid and get himself killed...like attack Uden. The thought was tempting, but considering how much sensation Azure felt in the game as it was, he was a bit afraid of the consequences of rash actions.
“I owe your father a great debt,” he thought out loud. “I will help you rid your farm of the dark sprites.”
“Good.” Uden nodded in appreciation.
Azure followed him back to the shed. The sun had receded so much that he could barely see inside, though Uden seemed to know his way around the building well. He walked to where the barrels were stacked, pulling the lid off of one and gathering more arrows into his hand. Upon arriving at Uden's side, Azure could see that the barrel was full of bronze arrows. He watched curiously as Uden laid several of them on the ground parallel to each other. Crouching over them, he waved his hands and whispered an incantation in a language that Azure had never heard before, some smooth flowing speech that reminded him of honey dripping down the side of warm freshly baked bread. Azure held his breath as he noticed a soft glow coming from Uden's fingertips. It wove around his hands like a living fog, breathing eerie illumination into the room.
“Whoa,” Azure mouthed in wonder as he watched the weaselly man in front of him work his magic.
Uden continued to chant the words, his voice rising as he held his hands over the arrowheads. The light from his fingers flowed down like a waterfall into the bronze, circling and swirling around and through it. White fire danced on the sharp tips before soothing into a soft glow.
“Give me your quiver.” Uden reached back but didn't turn to look at Azure.
“What was that?” he asked, handing the quiver over.
“A spell,” Uden replied simply.
It took everything in Azure not to roll his eyes. Annoyance showed through in his voice, though. “I know that. What kind of spell?”
“I imbued them with minor light magic. Regular bronze arrows would work just fine on normal sprites, but not on dark sprites.”
“What's the difference?” He felt like an idiot for asking so many questions, but he truly knew nothing about this world.
“The difference is as it sounds.” Uden placed the imbued arrows in Azure's quiver. “Sprites are normal, made of nature. Dark sprites have been cursed or magicked.”
“Cursed or magicked?” Azure quirked an eyebrow, following but...not really.
“Either cursed by the gods or magicked by a demon, necromancer, or other dark magic user.” He stood and handed the quiver back to Azure.
A notification popped up.
You have received the following item:
Bronze Arrows of Minor Light Magic
Quantity: 10/10
Durability: 1/1
Item Class: Common
Quality: Average
Weight: 0.7 kg
Bonus: +4 Damage Against Dark Magic
Azure stared into the quiver at the soft light emitting from the arrowheads. “Can you teach me how to perform magic?”
“No.” Uden shook his head.
“Then how do you learn?”
“You need two things to be able to learn magic: scrolls and the right level. Scrolls cost money, which I'm guessing you lack. Also, you're too low level to learn any magic yet. Give it time, friend.” Uden clapped him on the shoulder, his voice sympathetic. “You woke up this morning as useless as an infant. You have a long way to go in this world.”
Azure couldn't tell if Uden was trying to be comforting or insulting, but he decided to ignore the possible insult in light of his need to finish the quest and gain a few levels. He knew from playing other games that learning magic would be super important to him in the future. Leveling up as quickly as possible would be a smart move.
“Shall we?” Uden gestured to the door.
“At what level can I learn magic?” Azure asked as he followed Uden out of the shed.
“It depends on what you want to learn,” Uden spoke as he headed for the field. “There are some basic spells that you can learn at lower levels. Of course, the more advanced the spell, the higher level you'll need to be.”
That was rudimentary video game knowledge, and it completely glossed over his original question. Instead, Azure decided to go a different route. “So where would one purchase scrolls? Is there a mage's guild around here or something?”
“Not on thi
s island,” Uden chuckled lightly. “Dare I say that we live a rather isolated life. It's rare that anything exciting passes through here. In fact, this plague on our land is the most exciting thing that's happened in a long time.” He sounded oddly happy about their predicament.
“Plague on your land?” Azure parroted.
“Yes. Much misfortune has befallen our paltry little island as of late. We have angered the great god Finborh, and he's been making life a living hell for us ever since. Once plentiful resources have dwindled. The waters of our rivers and ponds have grown polluted. Crops wither and die. No matter how many sacrifices we make to Finborh, bad stuff keeps happening.”
“You don't seem very upset by that,” Azure mentioned hesitantly as they passed the wheat field and headed towards what appeared to be a small vegetable garden on the outskirts of the property.
“Why would I be? I hate this place,” Uden replied disdainfully.
“Why?” Azure's head jutted back. The land around them was beautiful, a utopia of fresh air and simplicity. He couldn't imagine anyone hating it here.
“I'm a slave to this wretched farm,” Uden told him, stopping at the edge of the garden. Providing protection from livestock and larger creatures, there was a small wooden fence surrounding the acre of land sectioned off for vegetables and herbs. It would not be difficult for smaller critters to slip through, though. Definitely not enough to stop the dark sprites, if they looked anything like Azure imagined them to be.
“All I've ever wanted was to leave this place and expand my knowledge of magic.” Uden stared out into the distance longingly. “But my father thinks that sons are made for slave labor, so he keeps my brother and me prisoners here to work the land.”
Azure's gaze swept across the vast field of wheat, the tall stems swaying lazily in the summer breeze, giving the illusion of the colors changing from gold to brown then back again. Yes, it was beautiful, but Azure also understood that it was a lot of work maintaining something like this. Too much for just one man to handle. He suddenly felt sympathetic to Uden's plight and could see why he was so damned angsty. He wouldn't ever be happy either if he felt trapped, his life passing him by while he worked for someone else's dream.
“Why doesn't he just hire someone to replace you?” Azure asked.
“Despite what you see,” Uden outstretched his arms to encompass the bounty before them, “we live day by day. The plague does what it can to destroy our crops. This sprawling field before you likely won't make it to harvest. Some shit always goes down,” he commented bitterly. “Anyway,” he returned his attention to the vegetable garden, “the dark sprites should be coming out any time now. We should probably get into position.”
He led Azure to a small cluster of trees a few yards away, motioning for him to hide behind them. They pressed their backs against the trunks, the bark scratching lightly against their skin.
Congratulations! New skill learned: Stealth Level 1. You can now move silently about your enemies without them noticing. Attacks while in stealth mode will deal 1% more damage.
Only 1% more damage? Lame. Oh well. Any bonus is better than none, I suppose.
Azure shrugged off the notification, knowing that a greater level in stealth would bring a greater increase in the damage bonus. He'd just have to wait for the skill to grow more powerful like everything else. For now, he needed to focus on the hunt.
“We'll have to work together to get them all. There are usually no more than a dozen,” Uden told him. “Do you best to avoid their magic. They can cast a handful of nasty little spells, and being magicked makes them aggressive.”
Uden Namud has joined your party.
Azure immediately noticed that he could now see Uden's name in the bottom right-hand side of his vision along with red, blue, and yellow bars, which he could only assume gave him an indication of Uden's health, mana, and stamina. All were full except for the blue bar, which had a small fraction missing, Azure assumed because of the mana that Uden had expended to imbue his arrows. He focused on Uden's name for a moment, and a translucent screen popped up.
Name: Uden Namud
Race: Half-Human, Half-Imp
Level: 3
Health: 120
Mana: 130
Stamina: 120
“I can see your stats now,” Azure commented.
The screen seemed to show all of the pertinent information, though none of Uden's more personal details were visible. Azure was admittedly a bit disappointed as he was curious what types of skills Uden had. But he could understand how some players might want to keep that information private from their party members.
“And I yours,” Uden replied with a bit of annoyance. “You're more of a noob than I gave you credit for. How have you even survived this long?”
Azure wondered if it was even worth bothering to explain his situation to Uden. Before he had a chance to decide, his attention was wrenched away by something coming out of the forest. There was a light across the garden from them, but it was unlike anything Azure had ever seen. If darkness could emit a light, then this is what it would look like. Balls of smoke with a meaty nucleus that radiated a soft glow. They bobbed up and down in the air unsteadily, approaching at a leisurely pace. Slipping effortlessly between the rail spacing, it wasn't until they were much closer that Azure could make out the shapes of humanoid figures in the center of the fog that they emitted. They were still larger than he had imagined they'd be, about a foot tall each. But the most disturbing thing about the creatures were their glowing yellow eyes. Though they hadn't detected him, he could almost feel the gaze of the sprites piercing everything around them.
“There are quite a few of them,” he whispered while counting. Eight in total when they stopped flowing out of the forest and settled over the garden.
“But no match for us,” Uden said with a sly smirk. Azure got the feeling that he enjoyed killing things. “Can you see their colors?” he asked.
“They're...black,” Azure replied.
He could almost feel Uden rolling his eyes. “That's not what I meant. What I meant was their color in relation to your level.”
“I have no idea what you're talking about,” Azure said dryly, trying to push back his frustration.
“You've never analyzed an enemy before?” Uden seemed surprised.
“I've never fought an enemy before,” Azure clarified.
Uden let out a deep sigh before recomposing himself. “All right. So target one of the dark sprites and concentrate on analyzing it.”
Azure zeroed in on a dark sprite hovering over a large gourd. He squinted as he thought about analyzing the small creature. A second later, a purple bar appeared below the dark sprite. Azure had expected to see the creature's stats pop up, much like they had with Uden when they'd become party members. He couldn't help but wonder if he'd done something wrong. Not wanting to face Uden's ridicule, he concentrated harder, but no further information appeared.
Congratulations! New skill learned: Analyze Level 1. You will now be able to see how dangerous a foe is in relation to your own level. Use this skill frequently to avoid getting yourself killed.
Sweet! Another skill.
“It's purple,” Azure said, forgetting his previous disappointment.
“That means you're evenly matched. It has just as much of a chance of killing you as you do of killing it,” Uden informed him. “It is blue for me, which means I'm a higher level and can kill it easily. Every foe you'll encounter will have a colored bar beneath it to tell you how strong it is. Green means that it's a slightly higher level than you. With careful planning, you should be able to kill it. Yellow means that it's a more challenging foe. Still killable, but you'll need to be extremely careful, and the odds aren't in your favor. It's better to approach yellows with an extra party member. An orange foe, you won't be able to take down on your own, and I wouldn't recommend going up against one without at least two other party members. Red foes you will want to steer clear of at all costs if you're alo
ne. Those are the ones that are likely to kill you in a single hit. They're not impossible to take down in a party, but you'd need a lot of members to balance out the enemy's higher level, and you'd all need quite a bit of skill. For now, if you encounter a red enemy, just run.”
The tutorial was much appreciated. While it took away a bit of the realism, Azure was glad that there was a way to tell whether a battle was worth fighting or better to walk away from.
“I was hoping I'd be able to see their stats like I can see yours,” he mentioned.
“As you level up the Analyze skill, more information about the enemy will become available to you. It takes time, though. Use the skill as much as possible to level it quickly.”
Azure took the time to analyze all of the dark sprites. Every single one of them had the purple bar beneath. He was suddenly glad that Uden would be fighting by his side. Had he been made to take on this challenge alone, the odds of him surviving should the dark sprites decide to mob him were low.
“Done,” he told Uden when he had finished.
“Good. Now we wait.” Uden watched the sprites as they bobbed above the vegetables.
Returning his attention to the first one he had analyzed, Azure noticed it settling over the gourd, hovering only a few inches above it. As it did, the flesh of the gourd began to turn gray and wither away. In fact, much of the garden was being destroyed by the other dark sprites as they flitted from vegetable to vegetable.
“What are we waiting for?” Azure asked, feeling anxiety from seeing Manny's crops die right before his very eyes.
“Just a while longer.” Uden held up his palm to calm Azure.
“If we don't go now, there won't be anything left.” Azure furrowed his brow in frustration.
Without another word, Uden slipped from behind the tree and took off at a sprint towards the dark sprites, daggers in hand.
