The Curse of Hurlig Ridge_World Tree Online_1st Dive
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Attempt two was better if you consider hitting the springboard, but not getting enough height, resulting in my feet clipping the platform, halting my forward progress, and faceplanting hard.
Attempt three actually saw positive progress. I hit the springboard, rotated just enough to push off with my hands. I even flipped forward just enough to land on my feet. Progress.
The next three attempts were trying for the same goal. Two out of three successes weren’t bad. I tried to add in the twist, or at least half a twist and half a flip. That part was much harder, I landed hard several times, each time requiring me to cast a ‘Lesser Heal’ on myself.
Step by step, I got it done, the game allowing me to quickly learn from my mistakes, gaining experience and actually learning from it rapidly, until I was sticking the landing on a perfectly mirrored vault.
It took some time, but with my persistence in grinding out the progress points, I got the job done.
Class Quest Alert: Training with Sergeant Butters 5 - Completed
Having put your trust in Trinico and David Butters, they have offered you training to develop your stats as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Reward: +100 Experience, Acrobatics 80/100
Naturally, I accepted the next quest in the chain.
“Good work today, I will see you back here tomorrow,” said Sergeant Butters, already looking toward his waiting men.
“I’ll be here, see you tomorrow,” I answered. I would definitely be here tomorrow, as much as I dislike grinding, doing so in these early days would pay long-term dividends.
Leaving the barracks’ training area, I decided to stop in and visit the mayor first.
“Bye-bye, back again, eh? What can I do for you today?” asked Homer, the mayor
“I have some wolf paws to turn in,” I answered.
Once again, the mayor set a bucket on the table and I deposited the 36 wolf paws for a whopping +72-Experience gained. Still, the money was nice, but I was little unhappy that I didn’t get a piece of variable gear, maybe I had out leveled that part of the quest. I needed to see about getting some slightly better gear.
That reminded me to check my system notifications, I was only a few points from the 50-Strength mark. Today’s training definitely should have done it. I actually managed to cap all four physical stats for level 5, which was awesome. With that, I made a mental note to equip the Guard’s Light Leather Belt as soon as I left the Townhall.
“Oh, before I forget, is there any kind of bounty for the condors to the south of the village?”
“Not really. The feathers sell well with the Fletcher, and Rita can make the most succulent condor wings you’ve ever tasted if you can gather them without mutilating the corpse. Have you learned that scavenging skill yet?”
“Not yet,” I said, irritated with myself for not doing so yet. In fact, I was more than irritated with myself for my lack of progress in reading those books. I hadn’t read the trap book, the survival book or the scavenging book, not to mention the town histories. These were important, but I’d been too distracted by everything else I needed to accomplish, I never seemed to have time. I think I’d have to talk to Olaf and Micaela about our nightly dinner. I would still join them for the meal but as my Charisma was almost capped already for level 5, I needed to return to my room to read after eating, not every night, just more often.
“That’s too bad. Anyway, if you’re feeling daring, there is one condor that is rather famous around these parts. The
Quest Alert: Cull the
There is a bounty for the elusive
Reward: Experience, Good Variable Piece of Gear, Collectable Trophy
Do you accept this Quest?
Yes
No
“If I come across him, you can bet on it,” I replied. I didn’t know what a ‘Collectable Trophy’ was, but a ‘Good Variable Piece of Gear’ was awesome. Good quality gear gave great bonuses, for example, my ‘Boar Charge Charm’ was of good quality. Though part of me had to wonder, just how big this condor was if it could carry away cattle.
“Wonderful, I have no doubt, you and your friends will be able to get that bird.”
I would have to arrange a time to go hunt it with Micaela and Olaf in a few days, once he got his hand-cannons sorted and gained a little proficiency with them.
“Anyway, Trini is waiting for me to continue my training,” I said, excusing myself.
“Do what you have to, my boy. Let me know if there is anything you need,” he added.
“Actually, before I forget. I need to learn to pick a lock,” I said, a little nervous.
“To what end?” he asked sternly. I could see a sliver of doubt in his eyes.
“I have Lore as a profession. There will be times where that will mean working in dungeons and other unsavory places, which can mean locked doors and treasure chests, I will need to get open,” I answered. It was true too, but I was also eager to break into the Lieutenant’s home and office to snoop around.
“No breaking into homes?” he asked, eyeing me cautiously.
“I promise to not break into any home without a really good reason to do so.” It was a compromise, hopefully, it would be enough. “Don’t forget too, I serve the Goddess Issara. I can’t see her being too pleased with a servant of justice, breaking into a home without just cause, can you?”
Homer laughed at that. “Aye, you make a good point there. Very well,” he said, walking around his desk and scribbling a note. “Take this to Giggle-Ana, she will sell you a practice lock, picking tools and give you a crash course in lockpicking. Just . . . do not let me down, eh?”
“I won’t let you down, I promise.”
“Right then, off you go,” he said, shooing me away.
“See you later,” I said my farewell. After exiting the townhall, I traveled the short distance down the main street to the temple.
“Late again,” Trinico greeted me.
“How can I be late when we never set a specific time to be here?” I asked her, being a little obstinate, just for the fun of it. It was becoming something of a game to me now, to see what I can do to rile her up a little.
“If it takes you more than 10-minutes from the time you finish training with David to get here, then you are late,” she replied.
“How do you know when I finish training with Sergeant Butters?” I asked.
“I have my ways,” she replied, her normally serene smile shifting slightly into a smirk. “Anyway, into the puzzle room you go.”
Not needing to be told twice I followed orders. Following the previous day’s trend, the puzzles were getting more complex and much more personal in nature. Integrated NPC’s that were similar to people I knew in real life, my ex-girlfriends, my brother and his wife, my parents, and cousins. Even some of the friends that I’d lost touch with over the years.
I finished the 19th puzzle of the day when the system notified me I had run out of time for the day. Checking my progress, I was kind of annoyed that I got kicked out before I even had the chance to view the last puzzle.
Class Quest Alert: Training with Priestess Trinico 5 - Completed
Having put your trust in Trinico and David Butters, they have offered you training to develop your stats as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Reward: +100 Experience, 99/100 Meditation
“How did it go?” asked Trinico as I exited the room.
“Nineteen more puzzles solved. Just one more to go.”
“Well done, and your stats?”
I check my messages again. “All capped, that’s a lot of Charisma to gain.” I just gained +18-Charisma. That was insane.
“Maybe it is, before
you go, try to learn this spell,” Trinico said, holding out a scroll for me.
Scroll of Lesser Holy Fire – Teaches the spell ‘Lesser Holy Fire’
Would you like to learn ‘Lesser Holy Fire’?
Yes
No
“Yes!” I exclaimed excitedly.
You’ve learned the Holy spell ‘Lesser Holy Fire’
Lesser Holy Fire
Level: 1
Experience: 0.00%
Spell Damage: 4-5 per second
Spell Cast Speed: Instant (10-second cooldown)
Spell Mana Cost: 40
Spell Duration: 30 seconds
Spell Effect (Active): Burn a single target with Holy fire. (Stackable x3)
So nice! I got my first damage over time spell or more commonly known as a DOT. DOT’s are powerful, cast it and forget it, spells and this one lasts 30-seconds which was an eternity in a fight. This one would do between 120-Damage and 150-Damage base with my Holy spell damage bonus it would do 171-Damage to 201-Damage over 30 seconds. And it was stackable! If I could maintain 3 stacks of the spell that would triple the total damage. On a longer fight that would add up.
“Enough drooling over your new spell. Go, get practice with it. I want you to get at least 5 levels before you come back tomorrow,” ordered Trinico.
“Yes ma’am,” I said grinning, this was a spell I would be using on everything thing I fight, no matter how quickly my target dies, it was worth it if leveling the spell increased the DOT effect.
I was quickly out the door at that point, I decided to hold off on visiting Giggle-Ana until tomorrow since I was planning to go with Olaf to pick up his weapons.
Stepping out of the village I chose to follow the road this time, looking to have it mapped properly. I did find a poorly marked fork leading south right where Olaf and pointed it out. I continued to follow the road anyway, making sure I hadn’t missed any other forks or dirt paths.
I found one more fork in the road, this one leading north toward the Johnson Farmstead.
I made sure I updated my map with the details I’d missed. Eventually, I left the road to map the southern area I hadn’t gotten to the day before. I found the mine and mapped all around it. I had originally planned to map inside the mine, but after talking to Olaf, I found out the mine shafts were constantly collapsing or rather filling in with new ore veins.
After mapping what I could and finishing exploring the surrounding area, I moved west again. I had been making good time, very good time in fact. As such, I decided I wanted to explore that small valley or at the very least map around it, to find the entrance.
With that goal in mind, I worked my way west, zigzagging north and south, to make sure I covered all the area on my way there, just so I could map it.
When I got to the start of the crevasse, or rather the cul-de-sac end of it, I was on the southern side. It worked just as well as the north side I supposed. I would just have to keep an eye on the sky as I went.
It was unexpectedly quiet to the south. Until I came across a few dead condors. It put me on edge, only because I didn’t know if whoever killed the birds was friendly or just waiting for an unsuspecting player to kill. Still, I was a curious fellow, and this demanded an investigation.
I do love my ‘Perception’ skill. It made tracking the player responsible, fairly easy. Whoever it was, had small feet wearing heavy armor, plate or mail, I couldn’t be sure which. Because of the boots, I was also unable to determine the race.
I followed anyway. I heard the player before I saw her, at least I think it was a her. Seeing her, confirmed my hypothesis the voice belonged to a woman. She had a full set of armor covering her from head to toe, all chainmail, not plate, which was already impressive for a low-level area such as Hurlig Ridge. It was more so when I saw that she was only level 3 and battling three condors at the same time, which was actually very impressive, considering the birds all had her by a level. She continued to impress me the more I watched her work. Her sword and shield striking and defending in a well-practiced tandem, blocking and countering, as best she could, against three higher level opponents. Even with that, she was taking some punishment from the condors in return. Her health was dwindling steadily downward. While she was making steady progress on one of the condors, the other two were still in the green. Without help, she wouldn’t last much longer.
I could have just walked away to leave her to die, but that had never been my play style. Plus, she was a damsel in distress. What guy would ever turn down the opportunity to impress a young maiden? Okay, even I thought that was cheesy, but the point stood, a player was in danger of being sent to respawn. And any girl, that played as well as she did, deserved to be saved, even if she might kill me afterward.
First, I cast a ‘Lesser Heal’ on her, followed by ‘Lesser Holy Barrier’ and ‘Lesser Combat Blessing’, then dropping one more ‘Lesser Heal’ for good measure. I put my DOT on each of the three birds. Just as I had hoped, she didn’t have much threat generated against all three targets allowing me to pull two of them off her.
The first bird that approached took three ‘Holy Smite’ spells and a second stack of ‘Lesser Holy Fire’ before it got to me. When it did, I smacked it hard with ‘Shield Slam’ then I used ‘Rapid Striking’ to whittle down the last little bit of its HP, while also putting some hurt on the second condor.
I took a few scratches for that effort, but it was worth it. The next attack from the remaining condor was interrupted with my ‘Shield Slam’, which was a critical hit and in turn, left behind a ‘Stun’ effect. After that, it was fairly easy to bombard the bird with a chain of ‘Holy Smite’ and ‘Lesser Holy Fire’ casts, leaving it a smoking crater on the ground. Okay, so there was no crater nor was the bird smoking, but you get the idea.
I looked to the warrior who was done with her remaining target. She was looking at me with her arms crossed, her posture gave me the impression she was angry with me. At least she didn’t attack me. I suppose I should say hello or something. I was just preparing to say something witty and charming when my plan went awry.
“Incoming!” screamed a voice from above.
Naturally, I turned to look for the source only catch two feet to the face and get knocked to the ground painfully.
“Rosie, it’s a big one, get ready to taunt it,” instructed a childlike voice, I could only assume was the missile that knocked me silly. The missile that was currently sitting on my face and blocking everything from view.
“Right, I’m on it Baby, but can you heal me first. I got an extra condor with that last pull on accident, it spawned right on top of me,” said a woman, I could only assume was the warrior. An enemy repopulating in the game on top of her explained how she ended up with three targets instead of one or two.
“Mind getting off of me?” I asked.
“Kya!” screamed the child suddenly jumping away from me.
When my sight was restored, I kind of wished it hadn’t been. My vision was quickly being filled with a monstrously large condor, by far the largest bird I’d ever seen.
“Come get me big boy!” shouted the warrior woman, taunting the condor.
The smart thing would have been for me to run away and come back with Olaf and Micaela. However, seeing as the level 3 warrior wasn’t running. I figured it would look rather bad on me if I ran away now. It would have also been rather hypocritical of me if I ran after I had such delusions about rescuing the damsel in distress.
I looked at the missile to see a female fairy that was blushing a furious red color and looking anywhere but at me. She had platinum blond hair that looked to be styled similarly to Micaela, short and spikey. She had six translucent wings, that sparkled in the sunlight, two short upper wings draped over her shoulders, appearing to be connected to her poufy white dress, while the other four hung behind her, as if they were an intricate cape. Her look was com
pleted with the face of a young girl no older than 6 or 7 with dimples and a pouty scowl firmly in place.
“Sorry to barge in, but could you two use some help?” I asked it was usually polite to at least ask, but it seemed both of them were determined to ignore me.
“Baby, heal me,” called the warrior woman fiercely, drawing us back to the fight.
“Right, sorry Rosie,” said the fairy, focusing on the warrior that was getting pummeled by the giant bird. Its claws and beak striking at her without any discernable pattern, however, each strike took a sizable chunk of the warrior life.
It didn’t appear I would be getting an answer, but for my quest, I had to get this bird’s head. This was too good an opportunity to pass. I joined in, first casting ‘Lesser Holy Fire’ on the condor, then dropping a pair of ‘Lesser Heal’ casts on the warrior, to help out the fairy. Speaking of the fairy, I buffed her with ‘Lesser Holy Barrier’ and ‘Lesser Combat Blessing’, just to be safe.
Fairies are a seldom played race in the World Tree if the forums were to be believed. Because of their size, barely two to three feet tall, they had severe physical penalties. Most barely had 250-HP at level 5, if they were lucky, to say nothing of their Strength, Stamina, and Dexterity. Fairies could only wear a dress for armor, so their survivability was limited even further. Despite their physical limitations, fairies boasted massive magic bonuses to Nature magic and lesser bonuses to water magic. They were impossibly difficult to level or, so the story goes. Seeing this level 9 fairy hinted otherwise. I’d have to wait to talk to her about it after either the condor was dead, or we were.
Focusing my attention back on the fight, I cast ‘Holy Smite’ three times on the bird barely making a dent. I added another stack of ‘Lesser Holy Fire’ then cast ‘Holy Smite’ a few more times. I knew I would need to start attacking this bird from melee, my magic just wasn’t doing enough damage, even with the third stack of ‘Lesser Holy Fire’ being cast. It was time to start working on my ‘Two-Handed Polearm’ skill anyway. I cast a quick ‘Lesser Holy Imbuement’ on the spear and started attacking, making sure to renew my ‘Lesser Holy Fire’ every time it came off cooldown.