The Curse of Hurlig Ridge_World Tree Online_1st Dive

by M. A. Carlson

  “Of course, you are still a warrior, just an advanced class of warrior,” he answered.

  “I have a question,” I interrupted. “Is a Vampiric Knight like a dark paladin?”

  “Yes and no,” said the sergeant. “Dark Paladin’s use pure unholy magic. They use their martial skill to increase their magic based damage. A Vampiric Knight uses a subclass of unholy or dark magic called Blood Magic. They use this magic to increase their physical based damage.”

  “And I use both,” I mumbled.

  “Exactly,” said the sergeant. “As a Warrior Priest, you have skills to increase your magic damage and magic spells to increase your physical damage. The trick for you is going to be learning to use both in tandem. Not an easy task.”

  “What is a Warrior Priest?” asked Rose.

  I had forgotten she was there. Reluctantly I answered after the sergeant gave me a nudge. “I have a unique class called Warrior Priest of Issara. Issara is a Goddess of Justice and Retribution.”

  “That is kind of cool,” she said but seemed to be reluctant saying even that much.

  “You two can chat about this later, right now there is work to be done and we have not even gotten you started yet, Bye-bye,” Sergeant Butters stated pointedly.

  “He’s right, you’ll have to tell me the story later,” said Rose. “What can you teach me, old timer?”

  The sergeant grinned. “To start, are you a defensive or offensive type? Based on the shield I would guess defensive, but it is polite to ask.”

  “Defensive,” Rose answered firmly.

  “Good, I think we will start you with ‘Shield Slam’ and ‘Shift’. I need to get Bye-bye started with his training, then we can get you underway.

  “Works for me,” she said, excitement creeping into her voice.

  “Okay, Bye-bye, just two steps left. Think you can finish them today?” asked Sergeant Butters.

  “I think so . . . I hope so,” I answered.

  “First up, the rings,” Sergeant Butter said, pointing to a pair of rings, suspended by a length of chain, hanging about ten feet off the ground. “This one is about control and strength. Watch closely.”

  He jumped up, grabbing the rings, one in each hand. He jerked his arms hard, popping up so the rings were at his hips with his arms straight. Then he let his arms drift away from his body, slowly lowering himself until his arms were perfectly out to the side, where his body moved into a rigid ‘T’ or cross. Then he rose back up again. Next, he leaned forward until he was rigidly parallel with the ground below. He almost seemed to relax as he let his head and arms roll forward, his legs swinging over him, continuing toward the ground, and back up into a handstand. He reversed direction, swinging around to the front twice before stopping in a handstand again. He reversed direction one more time, rotating 3 times, building up speed, and on the third time, he released his grip, flipping twice and landing.

  “And you’re supposed to do the same thing?” asked Rose, looking between me and where the sergeant just landed.

  “Yeah,” I answered, mentally preparing myself for my inevitable broken neck and respawn.

  “You’re braver than I thought,” said Rose, it was another left-handed compliment, but I’d take it.

  “Get to it, I will come back to check on you shortly,” the man ordered before guiding Rose back to the practice ring, leaving me to my own rings.

  “Steps, Bye-bye, just remember to break it down into steps,” I told myself. It was how I had managed through all of the other exercises, why should this one be any different?

  Mirroring the sergeant, I jumped up and grabbed hold of the rings. I pulled up to test my strength and the movement of the rings. It wasn’t too bad. I let myself hang, then jerked hard, pulling myself up until I was held aloft by the rings in my hands, being held to my sides. Next, I tried to lower myself the way the sergeant did, but it was difficult, more than I had originally assumed. I’d get close to just the right spot, my strength would give, and I’d be hanging again or even completely lose my grip and fall to the ground. It took a few attempts to get the position just right and find the control. Going back up was almost harder on my arms, after the strain to get to the ‘T’ shape, in the first place. Once I was up, I leaned forward, and immediately knew I went too far, as I ended up rolling over and ending up swinging and hanging once more.

  I dropped to the ground this time, the pain made me think I had dislocated both of my shoulders. There was no debuff nor was there a loss of HP, just the pain of straining my arms.

  After resting a minute, I got right back to it. I went through the routine again from the start. The cross came easier this time. I got the parallel lean down and even managed to roll forward into the swing around, but I failed to stop at a handstand and kept going. I lost my grip at this point and fell rather painfully to the unforgiving ground below me. This time there was damage and broken bones to be mended. Thankfully, ‘Lesser Heal’ corrected the damage and pushed the bones back into their natural alignment in short order.

  I tried again and again, eventually, I got the hang of it. There was a considerable amount of coordination required when you are swinging yourself around. I learned quickly I had to get my grip just right on the rings. I also learned I had to keep a center line, or I’d risk getting tangled in the chains or clipping one of them, then losing my grip, which usually resulted in injury. However, by the time I had gotten the 10-points of progress, I had started to have fun with this exercise. It was kind of freeing, both giving up control and taking it at the same time.

  “Good work,” said Sergeant Butters, just after I landed my last round.

  How he knew exactly when to show up I might never know. Still, I was glad he did. “So, what’s next?” I asked, eager to finish this training.

  “Me,” he answered, confusing me.

  “What do you mean, you?” I asked.

  “You get to fight me or rather you get to survive me,” he elaborated.

  “Great,” I replied sarcastically, drawing out the word long. “Just what I always wanted.”

  “That is the right attitude,” Sergeant Butters stated grinning. Either he missed the sarcasm or ignored it.

  “Aren’t you still training Rose?” I asked.

  “No, she learned ‘Shift’ and ‘Shield Slam’ quickly. Right now, she is working with a dummy trying to learn ‘Pierce Defense’,” he explained.

  “What’s ‘Pierce Defense’?” I asked.

  “It is an attack meant to find gaps in defenses, the chink in the armor so to speak. It is a good skill for her if she is going to be a defender because it encourages the opponent to focus on her,” he answered.

  I think he was saying it was a good tank skill able to generate a good amount of threat. Which was awesome!

  Coming back to the practice ring, the sergeant donned a sword and shield. “The goal is to dodge my attacks using the skills you have been training for the last week, and if possible, to get behind me to attack. Obviously, I won’t be moving at full speed, due to our difference in skill, and the blade is blunted, but it will still hurt if you get hit. Ready?”

  I swallowed nervously but nodded anyway. “Ready.”

  The sergeant was quick to attack with an overhead swing, I could instantly see the opening to the left, I dove for the gap, tucking and rolling along the ground, twisting slightly, so when I came back to standing, I was facing the sergeant again. Except, he had already turned to face me, attacking again. This time, he swung wide from the left, toward my midsection. With hardly a thought, I was in the air, cartwheeling over the blade and landing, then backflipping away as his shield swung toward me. It continued on like this for a while with me doing my best to avoid being hit. I mostly succeeded, but when I didn’t, he’d hit me three or four times before he relented. I noticed too, both of us continued to increase our pace, the longer we sparred. I didn’t have time to think about how to move, I just moved until suddenly, I was greeted with a system message.

 
Class Quest Alert: Training with Sergeant Butters 6-10 - 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. Return to Sergeant Butters to continue your development of the skill ‘Acrobatics’.

  Reward: +1,400-Experience, Acrobatics, Collect your reward from the Temple of Issara in Root City

  “Yes!” I cheered excitedly, only catch a face full of the sergeant’s shield.

  “Why are you celebrating?” Sergeant Butters asked. “Do not lose focus during a fight, even when you do accomplish your goals.”

  “You’re right, sorry,” I said, from the flat of my back. He hit me hard, but it drove home the lesson.

  “Do not forget it. That said, congratulations, ‘Acrobatics’ is one of the hardest skills to learn and you pulled it off in just a week,” he said.

  I looked at him, he had a look on his face I couldn’t place at first. Then I recognized it, it was the same look on my father’s face when he found out about the ‘Puzzle Box’ I created. I remembered it clearly because it was one of the only times I’d heard my father say he was proud of me.

  “I won’t, and thank you,” I replied simply. I felt somewhat uncomfortable with the way he looked at me. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t also feel good. I had really accomplished something.

  “Anyway, enough for today. Go ahead and sit in the shade for a little while. Your friends should be done training soon. I am sure Trini is going to enjoy training your new friends today,” the sergeant said, brushing away his momentarily softer demeanor.

  I was happy to take his advice. I’d been here for almost two weeks now, and for as much as I spent time outside either training or questing, I hadn’t done much just relaxing. Even when I sat by the waterfall, I was working, drawing my map. I decided right then and there I needed to do this more often. There was so much to enjoy about this world, things you couldn’t in the real world, not anymore.

  “Done already, Bye-bye?” asked Micaela, joining me first.

  “Yeah, I learned ‘Acrobatics’ finally,” I answered.

  “Congratulations, well done,” Micaela said, genuinely happy for me.

  “How about you? How did your training go?” I asked.

  “I learned ‘Hack and Slash’ pretty quickly, then I learned a skill, ‘Knob Strike’, which interrupts a spell cast and potentially stuns the target.”

  “What’s a knob?” I asked. I guessed it was the bottom of the ax handle, but it didn’t hurt to ask.

  “Oh, you see the bottom of my ax here where it flares out, so it doesn’t slip from my grip?” she asked, showing me one of her axes and pointing to the handle.

  “Yeah,” I replied.

  “That’s the knob. I had to ask the sergeant what it was too,” she added, smiling bashfully.

  “So tired,” complained a new voice joining us. It was Baby, slowly floating toward us.

  “Why so tired?” I asked.

  “So little mana left, arm so tired too,” Baby whined.

  “I take it you learned to use your wand then?” I asked.

  Baby’s demeanor shifted slightly, she was now smiling happily. “Yeah, I did, I gained fifteen skill levels too.”

  “Wow, very impressive,” Micaela complimented the little fairy woman.

  “Why didn’t you ask the sergeant to teach you a subskill?” I asked.

  “I did, but he said he didn’t know any. He said Trini, whoever that is, would be able to teach me more,” Baby answered.

  “Ooh, you’ll love Trini, she’s awesome. She’s David’s wife and the town priestess,” started Micaela. She didn’t stop there. Before I knew it. the two were gossiping at such a rapid pace, I quickly tuned out, choosing instead to lean back and close my eyes for a bit.

  Chapter 20

  “Oof,” I gasped slightly as I felt the air rush from my lungs. This was not an ideal way to be awoken from my well-earned nap. I opened my eyes to see a grinning Rose sitting on my chest.

  “Good morning!” she all but shouted. “Did wittle Jack-Jack have a nice nappy-nap?”

  “It was until your fat behind sat on me,” I retorted, my voice sounding strained as I struggled to breathe.

  “Fat behind, huh?” Rose asked threateningly. She started to stand only to drop again, harder than the first time. Then she did it again. “Still think I have a fat behind?”

  “Getting fatter by the second,” I fought through the pain.

  After three more drops, I surrendered. “It’s a fine derriere, I was wrong,” I all but gasped out.

  “That’s what I thought,” she said satisfied with her victory. This time she stood up completely and sauntered off. I couldn’t help wondering, as I watched her go if all armor was made to sway like that.

  “You’re a brave man, stupid, but brave,” said Baby, fluttering through the air, following after her sister.

  “I have to say, she’s right,” added Micaela. “Brave, but stupid.”

  “I’m starting to realize that,” I said, rubbing my chest and stomach where her armor dug in. I could definitely feel some bruises there.

  “We still waiting on Olaf?” I asked.

  “Yeah, he’s determined to learn at least one subskill before he leaves the target range today,” explained Micaela.

  “So, what are your plans for your next totem?” I asked. We hadn’t talked progression plans, much beyond our initial class plans anyway. Heck, I hadn’t done any planning for my own progression yet, beyond getting to level 5, which I’ve already done. I supposed getting to my stat caps, but that was also already done. I suppose, now I needed to start thinking about how I wanted to play this character. I had more information after talking to Sergeant Butters, but I still didn’t have anything even resembling a plan. I know I need to learn more spells, but the priest spells I can learn are limited. I also know I need to see about learning some of the warrior spells, and yes, warriors have spells and even a few unique skills, though limited.

  “I want to make two more gourds, one for stamina and one for health,” Micaela answered in her usual excited manner. “The stamina one is tough though, I need to find a boar spirit. The HP is less tough, Butch, Sundance and Barista said another wolf spirit should be able to do it.”

  “That sounds cool. Have your spirits learned anything cool?” I asked.

  “Sundance can light on fire to either cause a burning DOT when I hit something, or I can swing him, like Baby did with her wand earlier, to throw a fireball. Butch does increased damage, almost double what Sundance does. Butch can also give a damage buff to others, called ‘Spirit of the Wolf’. I found if I use the ‘Hack and Slash’ skill, it’s best to use Butch to hack and Sundance to slash,” Micaela explained.

  “And Barista?” I asked, ever curious about her totems and what they were capable of.

  “She won’t learn many skills if any at all. She’ll mostly just keep getting stronger, replenish more mana and make stronger water,” Micaela answered.

  “Your spirits sound awesome,” I stated honestly. It was a unique take on what a shaman was, and what their totems were capable of. Heck, it was a unique take on what a totem could be.

  Any further conversation was stalled by the return of Olaf. In spite of looking as if he’d been working in a blacksmith’s shop all day with the amount of black scoring covering his arms and face, he was grinning from ear to ear.

  “I love the smell of gunpowder in the morning,” Olaf cheered loudly, as he joined us.

  “Success?” I asked.

  “Yeah, learned the ‘One-Handed Artillery’ skill, and the subskill ‘Targeted Shot’, which gives me a 100% critical strike chance on my next shot. Unfortunately, it has a 2-minute cooldown. Still, it’s bloody brilliant,” Olaf finished, grinning happily.

  “I’m so happy for you, babe,” said Micaela, standing and giving her husband a kiss on the cheek.

  I too stood but not to give Olaf a kiss on the cheek. “I�
��ll go get Rose and Baby, we need to stop off at townhall before going to see Trini today.”

  “Okay, we’ll meet you around front,” said Olaf, taking his wife’s hand and walking again.

  Rose and Baby hadn’t gone too far. When I found them, Rose and Baby were chatting animatedly about something or other.

  “Hey,” I called when I got a little closer.

  “Hello Bye-bye, everyone ready to go?” asked Baby.

  “Olaf finished his training for today. Are you two ready to head to townhall to turn in the condor head?”

  “Sure, we’ll be there in a minute, I just need to finish talking to my sister,” said Rose.

  “Okay, meet you in front of the barracks,” I said. I met up with Olaf and Micaela and we were joined by Baby and Rose a few minutes later.

  The short walk to the Townhall was made in comfortable silence.

  “Morning Bye-bye, Olaf, and Micaela,” started the mayor upon seeing us. “And good morning to you two ladies as well. I do not believe I have had the pleasure of meeting you two yet. I am Homer Simper, the mayor of this little village.”

  “I’m Rose Thorns, it’s nice to meet you,” said Rose first, shaking the offered hand.

  “And I’m Babies Breath, also nice to meet you,” added her sister.

  “So, are you two with these three local heroes or are you here by coincidence?” the mayor asked.

  “Much as I hate to admit it, we’re here with them,” said Rose, trying to keep a straight face but grinning a little anyway.

  “Well then, you are both very much welcome,” the mayor addressed the two before looking at the group as a whole. “So, how may I be of service today?”

  “Remember the you told me about yesterday?” I asked, my own grin forming.

  “Did you really?” the mayor asked, shock written all over his face.

  I nodded, and Rose produced the head from her bag.