“As much as I would love to hear more about Origin’s man-toy, we need to get going.” insisted their mother. The goddess of fertility, the god of death, the goddess of life and rebirth, and the goddess of sensuality got into Origin’s black convertible and headed off toward their destination.
Origin drove them through the busy streets of Celestia; or rather she drove them from one traffic jam to another. Most gods were terrible drivers and accidents occurred on a frequent basis. No deaths occurred, of course. Even the weakest deity could withstand a high-yield thermonuclear blast without so much as batting an eyelash. They were beings of pure intellect and vital force. Their human forms were simply a means of feeling the authenticity of being like their beloved humans.
After an hour had passed Origin could not stand it anymore. She slammed her hand down on her horn repeatedly then shouted, “Move your asses, damn it!”
“Oh, childe...” murmured Mid from the backseat. She and their brother silence had taken up the rear position, while the matriarch had chosen to ride in the front with the driver.
“Such language, what would your sextoy say if he heard you talk like that?” snipped her brother.
Origin turned around in her seat and looked at Silence. “Do you want me to crash us into a building? I’ll do it.”
That was no idle threat. They were still a great distance from their destination. If she crashed the car they would be fine, but they would have to actually walk the rest of the way. Walking in their game worlds was a fun and authentic experience. Walking in the celestial city was just a pain in the human-like backside.
Their powers were somewhat restricted inside the city for the sake of Earth human lifestyle authenticity. They could all teleport for instance, but they could not legally do it unless it was an emergency because an Earth Human could not do it. The need to walk somewhere due to crashing your vehicle was not considered an emergency. Neither was the need to simply travel across town. Though, certain exceptions could be made if you had a time-sensitive quest to complete in one of the many game worlds that existed. Playing games efficiently outranked the inconvenience of car crashes in the divine worldview.
Silence made a motion across his lips, like he was zipping a zipper. She snorted then turned back toward the front of the vehicle. The other cars began to move again after a few more minutes passed. It took them over two hours to reach their destination. All things considered, it might have been faster if they had actually walked.
“Alright, do you all recall what you need to do?” asked Era.
“Yes.” the siblings said in unison. Their mother had drilled it into them for weeks.
“Right, everyone get dressed and meet me backstage. We don’t have much time left before we have to start thanks to the traffic snarls, but we have enough time to get ready.” said Era, before she waved them off and strode purposefully toward her private dressing area.
The siblings looked at each other then they shrugged before wandering off to their own dressing rooms. They had to get ready, too.
It was not long before the event started. Era wore a business suit that showed far too much, or perhaps just the right amount of, cleavage and an incredibly short mini-skirt. She received lots of attention when she sensually walked out onto the main stage.
A massive crowd of gods and goddess awaited her; many of them began to call out to her by name. She was quite popular. Almost everyone wanted to be personal friends with the buxom and beautiful goddess of fertility, after all.
“Friends, as many of you know I am the president of the O.E.C., the empress Era.” said the goddess. She was answered by a cacophony of cat calls, screams, and more than a few marriage requests.
She laughed in a good natured manner and waited for the crowd to settle down. “As you know, our hot new property Origin A.R.S. is quite popular. I have called this meeting to announce that the next expansion is due to go online shortly!”
“Expansion, is it the new continent?” called a man in the far back. How his voice could be heard over the throng was anyone’s guess, but it had still reached the front.
“Actually, yes! My daughter Theta is in charge of the final debugging of the monster races and several hidden quests on the new continent, so she could not be here today. However, I did manage to drag three of my other children away from the game world long enough to come speak with you all today about the new systems that will come into effect, and the new races that will be available.” replied Era.
“Origin is here isn’t she!” cried out a young male god from the front of the crowd. He was not alone in his interest as several dozen others, both male and female, called out her name.
Era smirked at them. They were always like this when it came to her youngest daughter. “Yes, in fact she is here today.”
The crowd erupted in a sea of enthusiastic cheers. Backstage behind the curtain, Mid snorted. “Gee, I guess I could have stayed home and made pretty rings to sell on the auction site.”
Silence muttered, “Dark Gamer.”
Mid snickered at him then shook her head. “Hey, we need to earn money to live in this city.”
“We all get a share from the company’s profits.” countered Silence. Lack of money was not exactly an issue for them by any stretch of the imagination.
“Yes, but my way is more fun.” said Mid.
Origin ignored them both and listened for her signal to go on stage. She hated these damned press conferences. Her mother always made her wear things like the outfit she had on. The poor thing was wearing what amounted to nothing more than a battle bikini. She wore a gold and ivory colored breast plate that literally only covered her breasts, a set of thong style armor that protected nothing but her remaining dignity, and what she considered to be epic hooker boots. She felt like a goddess of war who had decided to become an exotic dancer in order to work her way through medical school.
She had tried fighting monsters while wearing high-heeled boots a few times. It was doable with a lot of agility, but why bother unless you were saddled on a mount and using them like the ancient Persians of Earth? Sure, they were originally combat footwear for soldiers, but that did not make them an ideal choice for someone who was not trying to fire a bow from horseback.
The goddess heard her signal and took a deep breath. She pressed her index fingers to the corners of her mouth and forced her lips into a smile. “Time to shine...”
Origin stepped out onto the stage and she was immediately assaulted by a throng of cheering voices and the flash of cameras. She did not throw her hands up to cover her eyes like she had done the first time she had done this, centuries ago.
The blue haired goddess of love strode across the stage; her diaphanous half-skirt flowed behind her in parallel to her streaming hair. The effect was not lost on the crowd and many of them gasped and cried out for her to love them. Whether they meant it, or they were just trying to be authentic was not something that she chose care about.
“Greetings people of Celestia. I am Origin, the next in line to inherit the Origin Entertainment Conglomerate. Yes, before you ask I am named after the company. I only say so due to the fact that I am asked that question every time I bother to do one of these press conferences. I have answered it the same way for centuries now.” said Origin in a slow and deliberate manner. If she did not treat them as though they were small children, they might not understand.
Various people in the crown smirked or snorted. They were used to her superior attitude at this point. That was why she was given the title of Ice Queen by those who did not know her. She always seemed frigid and for lack of a better term, ‘bitchy’ to those who were not within her circle of friends and close associates. The fact that her general bitchiness in public stemmed from their idiotic questions and occasional pawing never seemed to register in the minds of most of the other gods and goddesses.
“Before we begin, allow me to answer the common questions that you media types like to ask. Yes, the company is doing well financially
. No, I am not accepting marriage proposals at this time. No, I won’t make an exception for you. Also, no, that really was not me in those leaked erotic photos that showed up on D-Net last year. They were cunning forgeries, get over it already.”
Various members of the crowd laughed at the last answer. Only a year before D-Net, the divine Internet of Celestia, had been gifted with the erotic image of two frost hounds mating. One of the ice elemental dogs from ARS, the official name of the game world that the OEC operated, had Origin’s head in place of the head of the dog on the bottom. The frigid bitch in heat meme had become popular for a time.
Origin was used to that sort of thing, though. She knew that she was a nice girl, despite the way other people treated her at times. She could not help it if she was simply not interested in socializing. The party scene was not really her thing. She liked to play games, watch anime, and daydream about the one guy who she knew that was not an idiotic asshole, was that so wrong?
In many ways, it could explain her attachment to Scott. He, even when they first met back on Earth, had made her feel comfortable in his presence. Sure, he did not know that he had met her before, but Origin knew.
“Anyway, down to business. The new updates have been mentioned on and off for thirty years or so, now. They are not really news worthy, but if you insist I will answer questions.”
Hands immediately shot up into the air. Origin sighed loudly then pointed at the least perverted looking individual. “Yes?”
“Will you marry me?” he asked her in a serious tone of voice. The crowd erupted into a fit of laughter for a moment.
She stared at him impassively. Her eyes bored into him like he was a neighborhood dog about to take a dump on her freshly cut lawn. He began to look nervous as the seconds ticked by. A brief moment passed and he could not take it any longer. Slowly, he began to squat down. Eventually, he disappeared below the shoulder level of his neighbors in the crowd. He did not want her to keep staring at him with such baleful eyes.
“Any, other questions?” asked Origin.
Several hands when up once more and Origin pointed to a woman in the middle of the crowd. “Yes, the new continent... When will the expansion be released?”
“We’ll release it in another eight years, so anticipate it. Alright?”
“Wow, so soon! That’s great.”
“Right, questions?” asked Origin.
She called on a few more people. They chose to ask legitimate questions. However, after she had answered several people someone else asked a dumb question.
A girl who wore glasses and a trench coat asked, “Is there any truth to the rumor that you actually have a boyfriend?”
Origin frowned at the girl. Who wears a trench coat to a game development press conference? Her question was ridiculous as well. “No, I do not.”
“Really, so the video I am seeing right now is not of your avatar Rhea Ardente renting a single room in Meaden despite being in a party of two?” asked the suspiciously attired individual.
“Wha... What video are you talking about?” asked Origin. She tried to avoid hesitating, but she had dragged her answer out just enough to capture further attention from the crowd.
The crowd went wild as various bloggers and game site reporters began scrambling for their authentic-looking Earth Human smart phones. It did not take long for them to begin finding the video in question.
“Whoa, hunky.” cried one girl. She bit her lip and nodded her head.
“He has blue hair, too... interesting.” said a random male reporter.
Origin’s left eyebrow began to twitch, but she regained her composure. “It does not matter what that video states. I am currently not attached in any sort of relationship. I paid for the inn lodgings, because that adventurer helped me out with my low-level avatar after my recent reincarnation. We went hunting, nothing more.”
“No way, I want to hunt with Origin.” called out a hideously fat man who looked like he had recently eaten three or four other men. He was a big fella.
From behind the stage curtain Mid and Silence tried their best not to laugh as their scantily clad sister had to deal with the fall out of the most recent scandal. The crowd probably believed her story, but that did not matter. The legend of the blue haired boyfriend would spread far and wide.
***
The forest did not seem as beautiful as before. Scott could not help but notice that without Rhea’s presence he felt a bit lonelier than he would like to admit. It was a fleeting sensation, however. She would return in a few days. Until then, he had a few things to take care of and he wanted to get to them.
“Alright, let’s see. I need to sell my loot, but there is no way that I’m going back to town while that bonus is in effect.” Scott unequipped his survival lore ring then stretched a little. He would not head back into the mine just yet. There was one more thing to take care of first.
He had not gained any levels, but he had gained a lot of ability points. It had been extremely difficult for the ability point obsessed part of his brain not to immediately spend those points as soon as he could upgrade something. However, he had persevered.
After the last few days and the random battles on the way to the mine, he had over thirteen hundred points to spend. He intended to use them all so that he would be as strong as possible before heading back inside to hunt alone.
“Hmm, I need to go ahead and upgrade my level-up bonuses for attack and defense. That will give me all my leveling passives...” He spent eighty points on that then took a hard look at what he had to work with.
Scott considered his options now. Both his health and his agility would take quite a few ability points to increase. His health would require one hundred seventy points, and his agility would require one hundred forty points.
Thinking out loud, he said, “I’ve been agile enough to avoid the monsters for the most part... what I am really lacking is mana and attack strength.”
The sorcerer considered his options for the moment. He could nearly double his mana pool if he spent most of his ability points in that direction. That would be enough mana to increase the level of his spells several times before Rhea returned. In fact, he could increase the level of his freeze spell without even going into the mine. He only needed to use it eleven more times.
“That would be a waste of the bonus time, though. I’ll hunt and use my spells normally until time runs out...” Scott made his decision. He dumped a large portion of his ability points directly into his mana pool and increased it eight times, bringing his mana to a whopping one hundred one.
His strength was a bit lopsided compared to his true agility. He opted to increase that as well. Scott increased his strength by five, which in turn increased his attack by twenty points.
“Only eighteen ability points left?” He could increase one of his other stats, but there was little point in that at the moment. He was about as good as he was going to get in that regard. Scott decided to check his status to see how things had changed.
<<< Status >>>
Name: Scott Jacobs | Class: Sorcerer | Race: Human
Age: 18 | Level: 7
EXP: 1308
Next Level: 1232
Ability Points: 18
Health: 90[90] | Mana: 101[101]
Attack: 30[213] | Defense: 30[315]
Strength: 34[34] | Agility: 31[20] | Accuracy: 22[22]
Intellect: 35[35] | Luck: 16[16]
<<< * >>>
“Much Better.” Scott smiled happily at his stats. Things were quite a bit better balanced now. His accuracy could use a little work and his luck was on its own at the moment, but he really did not have much else that he could do till later.
The sorcerer closed down his status screen and unequipped his armor. He removed it from his inventory piece-by-piece and visually inspected it. He did not want to waste any more time from his bonus period that he had to, but he needed to assess whether his armor and weapons needed repairs. He had taken a few hits during the last few
days, but they seemed to be reasonably intact. He should be good for one more day, he hoped.
After logging his gear back into his inventory, he said, “Equip all.”
He could tag primary armor, weapons, and accessories to auto-equip. Only one item per slot, unless it could be dual-worn, was available for tagging. His quilted cloth armor was considered under-padding for his main armor, so he could add it to that slot. It saved a lot of time.
Completely geared up and ready, Scott dumped the crap items from his inventory. They would be fine inside the sanctuary area, and he would have a lot more space for items that he gathered during the hunt.
The sorcerer strolled toward the mine entrance, a look of dedicated resolve on his features. Unlike the last few days, Rhea was not around to bring out his goofy and playful side. Playtime was over. He did not know what had changed within him that caused him to become so gleefully destructive, but he had come to terms with it over the last two weeks.
He had once been a soldier, but he had rarely had to fire his weapon at anyone. Despite being a trained soldier, his business had mostly been nothing more than standing around and waiting for things to happen. Now, killing truly was his business... and if the Fayth that he had accumulated recently was any indicator, business was good.
Chapter 5: Secrets and Strategies
The dim light of a torch stone provided both illumination and difficulty for Scott as he silently stalked the corridors of the mine. The light afforded him the ability to see, but it also generated many shadows in the area that granted his opponents more places to hide. He considered using more than one of them, but his supply was limited.
Unlike Rhea, he did not receive many of them in his drops. He believed that he had enough of them left to grind the monsters in the mine until the bonus ran out, but he would have to procure more of them when he went to sell his loot in town.
He heard the change in the musical score long before he saw his next opponent. That was partially due to how the world worked, and partially due to the fact that his next opponent was lying in wait in a location high above his head. A soft hissing noise provided a clue to its actual location. Scott looked up just in time to be hit with a thick strand of sticky webbing.
Origin ARS (Origin A.R.S. Book 2) Page 6
