The pickaxe is a great tool, but not a weapon. I need something that requires less precision but will still feel natural in my hands. I catch a glimpse of myself in the reflection of a nearby sword. The little black axe embroidered on my collar answers the question for me.
“An axe,” I say.
He steps out from behind the counter and I notice he is wearing a green and yellow kilt. His legs are the size of tree trunks. I would not want to meet him on the field of battle. He leads me, past the ring where the two men continue to fight, to a wall adorned with an array of axes. A double-edged battleaxe catches my eye. It’s made of a dark black metal. The blade shimmers. I know that’s the one I want before I look at the others.
“I want that one.”
“You have quite the taste. That will set you back five gold.”
I gulp at the thought. That’s almost half a year’s wages on an axe. I have an idea.
“Five gold? Throw in some free training and you’ve got a deal.”
His eyes cut at me for a moment as he thinks over what I’ve said. I don’t know if NPCs are allowed to haggle, but I give it a try anyways.
“Deal.” He extends his hand and we grasp each other by the forearm, cementing our agreement.
Congratulations! You have learned the skill ‘Barter.’ May prices ever fall in your favor.
I place the gold in his hand and the axe appears in my inventory. It is beautiful.
Item: Meteoric Iron Axe. +10 strength. 10% armor penetration. This double-edged axe was forged from the heart of a meteorite.
When I take the axe in my hand, it feels natural, like I’ve held it my whole life. It reminds me of my pickaxe the way it fits my hand. I can’t wait to take it to battle. That harpy won’t know what hit it.
“If you wait until Lokston is finished, he’ll teach you your ability.”
I take a seat by the ring and watch as Lokston spars with a young man. The young man can’t be much older than me. He is fast, but Lokston is faster. His swings blur through the air, making contact before the man has a chance to raise his sword in defense. I definitely came to the right place.
When their training is over, Lokston approaches me.
“Ready to learn to fight?” he asks.
I nod my assent and we step into the ring.
“I’m going to teach you three abilities. Two are basic and one is special. These will more than help you on your journey.” Lokston grabs me by the shoulder and I feel an energy flow through me.
Congratulations! You have learned the basic ability ‘Attack.’ Knock them to the ground.
Congratulations! You have learned the basic ability ‘Defend.’ Try not to fall on your ass.
Congratulations! You have learned the ability ‘Lunging Strike.’ Effect: stuns opponent for .5 seconds. Cost: 50 mana. Cooldown: 10 seconds. They can’t hit when they can’t move.
We spend the next few minutes sparring with wooden weapons. There is no learning curve to my new abilities. Once I have learned them, they flow through my body with ease. Lokston presses the attack and I parry each blow with my axe, using its head as a shield. His blade lodges in the hook of the axe and I thrust, sending Lokston in retreat. I press onward, regaining lost ground. Time to test out Lunging Strike. I jump, axe raised, and come down in front of Lokston. The force of the impact immobilizes him. I attack. Even with my wooden axe, his health bar depletes by a quarter. When he rises to his feet, there is a look of surprise on his face.
“How do you hit so hard for one so weak?” he asks. I’m baffled by his question.
“I’m sorry, what do you mean?”
“Your level is weak, but there is a great strength within you.” He pats me on the shoulder. “We are done for the day. Come back and see me when you are in need of more training.”
I can’t shake Lokston’s words once I leave his shop. What did he mean that I hit so hard to be so weak?
I can worry about that later. First, I have a harpy to kill.
When I find my way back to the harpy, a tiny gravestone marks where I died. The harpy sits atop the grave marker smirking, as if goading me to attack. I fully intend to wipe the smirk off its face.
I run full speed at the harpy and it hops off of the tombstone, letting out another shrill call. It hurts my ears, but I press on. I use Lunging Strike, coming down in front of the harpy and stunning it. One swing of the axe lops off its head. The birdlike body stumbles back and forth before falling to the ground. That was far easier than I had expected. I pick up the loot from the harpy along with my pickaxe.
Item: Rusted Chest Plate. +1 armor. It’s better than swiss cheese.
Item: Dirty Boot. Some things in life aren’t worth having.
Currency: 8 copper
I equip the rusted chest plate because it’s better than nothing and toss the boot. The eight copper doesn’t amount to much, but I add it to my inventory nonetheless. It takes ten copper to equal one silver and ten silver to equal one gold.
The Mortican Mountains stare at me from the distance. It will take me at least a few hours to journey there. I’ll make the most of it and farm for experience along the way. Up ahead, I see a black bear walking through a clearing.
Black Bear. Level 4. These normally docile creatures have a powerful bite.
The black bear looks calm as it walks through the clearing and I almost decide to leave it be. The name of the game is leveling up, though, so I use Lunging Strike and momentarily stun him. The ability wipes out my mana. A quick attack drops three quarters of his health. The bear is tankier than the harpy and stronger, too. He swipes at me with his powerful paws and I lose half my health. My vision goes red, making it hard for me to focus on my attacker. I finally gather myself and it only takes another strike from my axe to send his health to zero. He drops fifteen copper and no items, but my experience bar takes another jump.
I make short work of two black bears, a harpy, and a large brown bear over the next hour before gaining another level. I put my stat point into Intellect. Lunging Strike is my best ability, but the mana usage limits its use to a max of two times per battle with my current mana pool. More points in Intellect should help with that. If I attack first, the half-second stun essentially allows me two attacks before I have to worry about taking damage.
After my latest battle with the large brown bear, my health is down to twenty five percent. I take a seat by an old oak tree and wait for my HP to recover.
Checking through my messages, I find the link to Aleesia’s stream. A small feed pops up in the top left corner of my vision where she and her merry band of dwarves engage in a tumultuous fight with a group of orc raiders.
The dwarves, though they are short in stature, fight valiantly against their orc foes. They swing their axes and hammers in violent harmony. One dwarf stands near the rear, casting spells that rip the earth apart. The princess stands behind them, firing imbued arrows that explode upon impact. Orcs burst into flame while others stand frozen, overtaken by icy tendrils that crawl across their bodies like vines. She has a variety of magical arrows. A particularly devastating arrow launches from her bow and erupts into a volley of lightning bolts that zig and zag from one orc to another.
I close the feed and look at my map. I’m still a long ways off from her current location. A golden warrior gallops past on a horse as black as coal. I should really consider investing in a mount of some kind, though I doubt I could afford one even now. Mounts are expensive and hard to come by, but would shorten my travel time immensely.
By the time I reach the foot of the mountains, I am level eight. I invested my two new stat points into Vitality and Intellect and my avatar feels more balanced already. My inventory looks less and less like an empty closet as well. I now have plenty of rusted armor to sell when I return, along with a hefty supply of copper. The large brown bear even dropped a silver. I can’t wait to see the kind of loot I’ll be getting at higher levels.
A small hut sits near the entry to the mountain path. A gno
me peers at me from behind a counter.
“Hello, traveler!” he greets me, “would you like to bind your soul here to reawaken upon death? Y/N?”
I think about it for a moment. It seems smart. If I die, then I won’t have as far to go to retrieve any supplies I leave behind.
“I have a question first. Is there a way I can get back to the town square without having to walk?” The only downside to being bound to a location so far away is that I’m hours away from my home portal.
“I can teach you to teleport. If you look in the bottom corner near your map, you will see a purple icon, focus on that for one second and you can teleport back to your entry point of any world you are in. If you are attacked or lose focus, it will cancel the teleport.”
I do as he says and focus on the icon. My body starts to dissipate in front of me. I switch my focus back to the gnome and it stops.
Congratulations! You have learned the skill Teleport.
Now that’s a heck of a skill! I wonder if I’ll be able to use it in the mines at the end of a long day?
I bind myself to the hut and continue up the mountain. The princess and her group are close enough that I can see her icon on my map. The creatures I pass are above my level, so I try to avoid them. My only goal right now is to see the princess in person. A level sixteen mountain troll guards a nearby cave. I run past him and as soon as I do, he begins to aggro me. Once I am out of his attack radius, he turns and walks back to his cave.
The sound of metal clashing against metal and the roar of magics exploding echoes through the mountains, drawing me in. I know that I have no business involving myself in a fight with orcs two or three times my level, but I really want to impress the princess. I’ve watched her stream for so long that I feel like I know her. I don’t think for a moment that she might not know me.
I reach the crest of the mountain and see the battle raging on the other side. I toggle on everyone’s stat bars. They are all wounded. Aleesia’s health is halfway depleted, her silver armor dented in places. Specks of blood taint her blonde hair. She attacks with an elven blade that catches the light with each strike. She moves with a grace I have never seen anyone else take in battle. I count eight dwarves among her group. Two of them are female, judging by the lack of facial hair, but that is really the only thing that distinguishes them. Many of the dwarves’ health dwindle in the yellow or orange. One is in the red. Several orc bodies lay across the mountain pass. Many more have their health hovering in the red. It looks like the princess’s company will win the day.
A loud roar echoes from behind me and everyone falls silent. The battle stops for a moment and all eyes turn toward the sound. Towards me. The rumbling of giant footsteps causes rubble to tumble down the mountain and I am afraid of what is about to appear.
Aleesia’s eyes meet with mine for a moment. What’s left of the orc forces abandon the fight and scatter down the mountain pass. All the while, the ground shakes more and more from whatever creature approaches. I turn my back to the dwarves and princess, readying myself for what comes next. I receive a notification, telling me I have a new message.
You have been invited to join Aleesia’s party. Do you accept? Y/N?
I don’t think twice before accepting. As soon as I join, I am able to hear their private chat.
“What the hell is coming?” asks one of the lady dwarves.
“Calm down, there is nothing that we cannot overcome together.” The voice is Aleesia’s. I’d recognize that voice anywhere. It sounds like music and I let it wash over me. “Welcome to our party, Esil. I hope you’re ready for a fight. Though if I’m honest, you’re a little out of your league here.”
“I was born ready,” I say. It sounds a lot cooler in my head than when I actually say it.
“For the princess!” one of the dwarves shouts. His long red beard is braided and he carries a warhammer engraved with a writing I assume is Dwarvish. He spins it in his hands and it begins to glow. Everyone around me begins to cast spells and imbue their weapons with whatever magic they have. All I have is Lunging Strike, but I’m full on mana, so I wait.
A large, knotty head appears first. Giant, wide-set, angry eyes stare past me as it lumbers in our direction. I don’t know how I made it past it this creature on the way here, but I’m thankful I didn’t meet him on my own. I focus on his stats and feel my stomach turn.
Mountain Troll. Level 60. Tough skin and a minuscule intellect make these creatures tough to stop.
His gait is lumbering. Both arms drag low across the ground; one hand holds a large club bigger than my body. Drool drips down his chin and across his protruding belly. I look at the group I’m now a part of. Aleesia is the strongest, a level fifty-three archer. Most of the dwarves are in the forties, all warriors except for the one battlemage. And then me, a level eight miner. Normally, I think they could take it, but their HP is so low that the troll could take many of them out with a single hit.
A flaming arrow darts past me and explodes against the troll’s chest. He lets out a deep grunt of disapproval, but is otherwise unaffected. The dwarf with the warhammer charges. His hammer connects with an explosion of light and the troll stumbles to the right. When it regains its footing, the troll takes a hard stomp towards the dwarf, stunning him.
I have to protect him. I’m a part of the group, after all. I run towards the troll and use Lunging Strike. My ability has no effect and now I’m in his attack range. The only option I have is to attack. I slice at him with a hard strike and his health drops by a large sliver. I did more damage than the dwarf.
“How did you do that?” asks the princess, but before I can respond, I hear the crunch of bones beside me as the troll stomps the dwarf. I’m transfixed on the savagery when the troll swings his club and my vision goes black.
Chapter Four
I respawn at the base of the mountain. The dwarf I witnessed being pounded to a pulp must have been bound somewhere else because he is not with me. The gnome greets me with a hearty ‘hello, traveler,’ not knowing I just had my brains smashed in. I’m no longer in the group chat, dying must have kicked me out, but I can still see Aleesia’s icon on my map along with a few other dwarves.
Even though I know I will probably just die again and it’s time for me to go home and get some sleep for the night, something pulls me back up the mountain. I check my inventory on the way. My battleaxe is gone. Aside from my Worldpass and my boots, the battleaxe is my most prized possession. I can’t leave without it. I’ve also lost just about every other item I’ve earned over the course of the day, including my pickaxe. Again. The only weapon I have is a rusty spear. It’ll have to do until I can find my grave.
Up the mountain I run, my boots replenishing my stamina with each step. The small mountain troll comes after me as I pass by again and I almost laugh at its comparison to the one I just faced. The fact that I went after a level sixty mountain troll without a second thought was sheer stupidity. The smaller troll eventually turns around.
The sound of exploding arrows echoes the closer I get to the top. By the time I arrive, the troll is down to fifteen percent health. Only Aleesia and two dwarves remain. All of their HP bars dwindle in the red.
A new notification dings. It’s probably Aleesia inviting me back to her group, but I don’t check it. My grave is only a few yards away. Right underneath the troll. Blood has formed small puddles beneath its giant body. He’s low on health, but still extremely dangerous. If I can get to my grave, I might have a chance at helping them defeat it.
I take off running for the troll. Halfway there, I launch the spear and it bounces off of his rock-hard head. It’s enough to lower his health another sliver and divert his attention. When the troll turns to see the source of the irritation, I slide between his legs. I pick up my items and equip my axe, backing out of the troll’s reach. The two dwarves give me a nod for my bravery and stand by my side. The princess stands behind us, an arrow notched in her bow.
I quickly open my messages a
nd join their party.
“Thanks for coming back,” she says.
“Glad to be back. Now, let’s finish this.” I thrust my axe into the air and the two dwarves do the same. It feels good to be a part of something. “Does anyone have any spells that can stun?”
“We all do, but trolls are naturally resistant to slows and stuns,” says the dwarf to my right. She holds a small warhammer in each hand. I wish I had known that the last time, when I used Lunging Strike. “We’ll have to beat it the old-fashioned way.”
“I’ll fire a volley of arrows as fast as I can and try to blind him. I need you three to finish him off. Do you think you can handle it?” Somehow, I feel the question is directed at me.
“We can do it,” I say.
Apparently, the troll has had enough and is ready to end the fight as much as we are. It charges towards us. The two dwarves counter and I follow behind them. They each swing hard and take out a tiny sliver of health. A swing from my axe and another chunk of health disappears. I don’t know how I hit so hard, especially against something so far out of my level, but I don’t question it. I jump to the right, dodging the troll’s swing, and the club rips apart the earth next to me. I attack again, slashing my axe against its massive thigh. The troll’s health is down so low that a few more hits will kill him. I can’t believe I’m about to have helped take down a level sixty troll. The loot it is sure to give will be epic. I look back to the princess and a giant hand wraps around my midsection.
My vision goes red and the crunch of bones makes my stomach turn. The troll’s large, powerful hands crush me. He squeezes and my health drops to one bar. I can barely breathe from the pressure around my ribs. Everything is red and black. The troll squeezes again and I die.
After the blackness clears, I’m at the base of the mountain again. The gnome greets me with the same ‘hello, traveler’ as before. I check my inventory. I’ve lost my battleaxe and pickaxe again. Couldn’t I have lost a rusty shield instead? I should really be getting home, but I can’t leave those items. I’ll just run up the mountain, grab my things, and teleport back home.
Pangea Online: The Complete Trilogy Page 3
