Rebirth Online 2
Page 1
Rebirth Online 2
Michael James Ploof
Copyright © 2018 Traveling Bard publishing
All rights reserved
Table of Contents
Rebirth Online 2
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Other Books
by
Michael James Ploof
Special Thanks
Chapter 1
“You ladies ready?” I asked as I stood in my Trollslayer robes before the large iron door.
We had finally fought through the crypt to the boss’s lair, and everyone was still panting from the fight in the last chamber.
“Ready and willing, Big Daddy,” said Kit.
“Hold on Loverboy,” Trinity urged before buffing us all.
Stone Skin
25% Armor
Duration - 15 mins
“And... ready,” she said proudly.
I performed the spell to conjure by fire shield, and a moment later it erupted from the back of my left hand with a roar. The shield glowed like molten metal, illuminating the big door and casting a crimson sheen on my guildmates. They all wore their Trollslayer armor as well; oil black with jade accents.
But we weren’t about to face a troll. What waited for us was much, much worse.
I steadied my breathing, clutched the wooden stake in my sweaty left hand, and pushed through the big doors. Ember immediately moved into the shadows and crept along the wall to the right of the threshold. I made a quick sweep of the crypt, noting the five hellhounds thirty yards away, lying at the base of a raised coffin. The hounds had no skin, and their slick red muscles corded as they perked to attention. Above the beasts’ heads, their titles and levels were revealed.
Guardian of Drac’Vishca
Hellhound
Level 25
The hounds were the least of our concerns, however, what we feared most was what they were guarding. On any given day the hounds would have given us all a run for our money on their own, but we had recently attained some very expensive meat that was needed to finish the quest, and I prayed to the Rebirth Online gods that it worked.
Ember had the package of rare demon meat, and as the dogs became alert to our presence, she tossed it behind the casket, whispering, “go get it you mutts!”
It worked, and the demonic dogs raced around the casket to get at the delicacy. They fought over the prize like starved animals, growling, barking, ripping, and tearing at the package. Knowing that we had precious few seconds to act, I rushed across the chamber with my guildmates in tow. Ember was the first to reach the casket, but as she did, the lid suddenly blew off its hinges and slammed into the ceiling. Trinity used her Warrior Charge and shot across the crypt, slamming into Ember and pushing her out of the way just in time as the heavy lid hit the floor. Anna, Kit, and I raced to our guildmates’ aid as the vampire shot out of the coffin in an oily mass of dark bat wings.
Drac’Vishca
Vampire
Level 30
I conjured a Magic Bolt and unleashed it with a primal cry that was full of bravado but fueled by terror. The spell hit the vampire in the chest and left a steaming hole in its wake. The vampire turned dead black eyes my way and grinned, revealing row after row of nightmarish fangs, and to my disappointment, the wound healed.
“Shit,” I said a split second before the vampire shot across the crypt right at me.
Spells from Anna and Kit streaked through the darkness and found their mark, but they had little effect on the monster. I brought up my fire shield and prepared myself for the blow as the vampire’s deafening screech filled the crypt. A split second before the vampire collided with me, Trinity was there in all her badass blonde bitch glory. She shoulder-slammed the ebony terror, and the two of them rolled away in a knot of flailing limbs and oily wings. Before I could act, Ember leapt on the vampire’s back and cocked back her wooden stake. The vampire turned as she struck, causing her to miss his chest, and backhanded her with one long, thin arm. Ember spiraled through the air and was surrounded by Anna’s healing light as Kit wrapped the vampire up in thick vines that erupted from her palms. Trinity rolled out from under the beast, and I hit the vampire with a Fireball that blew off its left arm. I hit it again and again as I stalked toward it. The sight of Ember being struck like that had left me seeing red, and I ignored my mana drain as I launched Fireball after Fireball at the monster.
When I was done, both Kit’s vines and the vampire’s skin hung ragged and shredded, but I was just warming up. As the demon tried to heal itself, I pulled the water skin of holy water off my shoulder and doused the vampire. The holy water hissed, bubbled, and burned deep through the ebony skin. My guildmates had holy water of their own as well, and they too doused the shrieking vampire. It writhed and tore at itself, and though the wounds inflicted by my Fireball healed quickly, those deep wounds caused by the holy water did not.
Trinity rushed forward and struck like a viper, impaling the vampire with her wooden stake with such force that she pinned the creature to the wall.
She stepped back, blew the hair from her forehead haughtily, and gave the vampire the middle finger as he dissolved with a withering cry. Loot flew into our bags, and a new notification popped up on my interface.
Congratulations!
You have attained level 20
“Finally,” I said, having known that this victory would most likely push me over the edge and out of the teens.
“Must be nice,” said Trinity as she pulled the stake out of the wall with a powerful jerk. “I do all the work and you level.”
“Don’t worry sweet tits,” I said with a wink. “I’ll make it up to you later.”
“Holy shit!” said Kit, and we all turned our attention to the loot floating toward us.
One-hundred gold each deposited itself into our packs, and the only thing remaining of the vampire’s corpse, five of its fangs, rose into the air. One of the fangs floated toward each of us, and I held out my hand to accept the gift. As soon as I did, it fell into my hand, and a notification popped up in the center of my field of view.
Fang of Drac’ Vishca
100% Vampiric resistance when worn
“Oh good, I hate vampires,” said Kit.
Just then another icon floated from the ashes of the vampire. Looking like a tiny piece of pie, the icon disappeared once it reached me and was instantly deposited in my pack. I tapped on the icon floating before me.
Slice of Life
100% health regeneration when consumed
1 use
“That’ll come in handy,” said Anna.
“Yeah, a little overkill though don’t you think?” said Ember. “I mean, you can’t ever use the whole thing, no one can eat anything if they’re already dead. The programmers should have made it a 99% increase in health.”
“Why?” said Anna. “What’s the friggin difference?”
“It’s a waste of a percentage,” Ember countered.
“What does that even mean?”
Ember waved her off and rolled her eyes. “Come on, let’s get out of here before
those hellhounds are done eating.”
“Good idea,” I admitted. “I’ve got to see my trainer. How about we all hit Cecilia’s place and celebrate?”
“How about instead we go back to our place and we all level together, then we can all celebrate being level 20,” said Trinity.
The girls all looked to me expectantly.
“How can I say no to that?” I asked.
We used our portal stones to return to our new home. Since returning to the game a week before, we had purchased a small but comfortable tower in the Beartooth Mountains. Accessible only by air or portal, the tower sat on the western face, on the side of the mountain opposite the dwarf city Aeorock. The tower, affectionately named The Tower of Love by the girls, was four stories high, and overlooked the mountain range and distant ocean. Its living quarters were a reflection of each of my guildmates’ tastes, and was full of soft couches, sofas, loveseats, chairs, and thanks to Kit, about a dozen bean bags lined the circular living space. Paintings adorned the stone walls, most notably a ten by ten portrait of me and my ladies that we had commissioned from an NPC in Aeorock.
We left space in the portrait for more guild members, though we liked things just the way they were for the time being. Since my victory over Kincaid and my overnight celebrity status, women had been coming out of the woodwork in-game, wanting to join my guild, Heavy Metal Thunder. We would of course need more members if we planned on competing with the larger guilds at higher levels, but I figured that when we met the right woman, we would know it, as had been the case with each of them so far.
When Anna, Trinity, and I had started the guild it had felt right. Then Ember came along, and she fit right in. We hadn’t expected Kit, but she had come at just the right moment, skipping along down the road and singing a silly song as her tail swayed happily behind her. Cecilia was a contender for a spot, and the girls had even urged her to join the guild, but the fox furry wasn’t in this for the questing, or the fame, she was a businesswoman. Like many, she was hoping to get rich from the game once the corporation’s stocks went up and in-game gold became more than US dollars.
As a reward for her efforts in stopping Kincaid, the King of Aeorock had commissioned for her pub, the Gilded Chalice, to be rebuilt at his expense. The place was already up and running again and business was booming.
“Hey Loverboy,” said Trinity from the large four-poster bed. “You going to stare at that portrait all day, or are you going to come and play with us?”
I turned from the portrait and found the girls all sprawled about the bed naked. They were all laying on their stomachs in a row propped up on their elbows, and their beautiful asses were arched upward. My robes hit the floor and my trousers soon followed. I sauntered over to them as they smiled up at me, each eager to be the first to take me in their mouth. Somehow, they all managed to get their lips around my shaft, and they went to work on it like it was the last popsicle in a desert world. Two minutes of that left me about to pop, and the girls knew it. They pulled me onto the bed and covered me with kisses, all but Kit, who continued licking me teasingly.
Trinity began to position herself to sit on my shaft, but Ember pushed her playfully and tried to take her spot. The roughhousing led to the two girls rolling and wrestling across the bed, and Anna quickly claimed the prize that they had sought. She rode me like a cowgirl going for the gold and orgasmed quickly, her body convulsing as she clung to me. Kit took her place and playfully nibbled at my ears as she rode me. When she finally climaxed, she bit my earlobe so hard that she drew blood.
“Yeow!” I said, feeling my ear for blood.
“Meow to you too, Big Daddy,” Kit purred contentedly as she rolled over.
Ember hurriedly hopped onto my magic stick before Trinity could, so the frustrated warrior sat on my face instead.
A half hour later, another notification appeared on my interface.
Congratulations!
You’ve reached level 21
As the sun was setting, we all lay in the giant bed basking in the afterglow of our leveling. We watched the sun set over the ocean and talked about the most recent quest. It was nice to have things back to normal, and to actually get a chance to enjoy the game. We were doing good together as a guild, and we had a promising future in game.
Life was good.
Eventually we all pulled ourselves out of bed and cleaned up, and as I waited for the girls to get ready, I watched the latest feed coming from the looking glass mounted above the fireplace. The highest guild in the game, The Crimson Dragons, were in the process of raiding a lower-level guild’s fortress. Tensions had been escalating between the level 40 Crimson Dragons and the level 38 furry cat guild, the Purrrrsian Army. Everyone in Aeorock was anticipating the inevitable fight, one that would leave the victor with the other guild’s property and would send the losers back a level on top of it all.
“Hey guys! You gotta watch this,” I yelled toward the powder room.
Kit came skipping out, half her face covered in a sweet-smelling powder. She leapt over the back of the couch with angelic grace and snuggled up to me.
“Who’s fighting, Big Daddy?”
I put an arm around her, “The Crimson Dragons and the Persian Army.”
“It’s Purrrrsian Army,” she said musically as she sat up with intrigue.
“What’d I miss?” said Trinity as she rushed into the room combing out her long blonde hair.
Ember followed close behind, and Anna came from the kitchen with a bottle of wine, four glasses, and a bottle of beer for me.
“Thanks Babe,” I said, pulling her into my lap.
“You didn’t miss much,” said Kit, “TCD is just approaching the castle.”
A thought occurred to me and I laughed. “Wow, the programmers are really screwing The Crimson Dragons. If the Persian Army--”
“It’s Purrrrsian!” Kit turned and yelled back at me.
“Whatever,” I said. “If they’re watching this they’re going to be tipped off.
“I don’t think the Crimson Dragons care,” said Ember.
“So much for the element of surprise,” Trinity huffed.
We watched enthralled as over thirty red dragons flew through the moonlit sky. The moon was nearly full, and the video feed looked to have been altered so that the guild of dragon riders stood out easily. They rode through dark clouds with the moon at their backs, dragon scales glowing in the silver beams, and the armor of the riders shimmering like diamonds in the sky.
The viewpoint shifted to the battlements of the Purrrrsian Army’s castle, and NPC guards could be seen rushing to their battle stations. They leapt onto large dragon harpoon launchers that could be controlled with foot pedals to swivel left and right, while the weapons moved on another pair of tracks, up and down. In this manner the NPC guards homed in on the approaching terror of dragons and let loose their glowing lances.
The projectiles zipped through the air like streaking stars, but to everyone’s surprise, the dragon lances went right through the winged beasts without hurting them.
“Did you see that?” Kit gasped.
“They’re an illusion,” said Ember. “Look! The real dragons are right there above the castle!”
The view shifted upward and panned back, exposing the attackers. The NPC guards didn’t have a chance, as a moment later thirty dragons unleashed their fire down upon the battlements. Flames engulfed the castle and the guards who died to protect it, sending them screaming and leaping off the sides to fall to their death. When the flames finally subsided, the attacking guild leapt from their mounts and landed upon the charred battlements. They rushed into the castle through the arched doorways and the camera followed them inside. Smoke filled the gloomy stone rooms, and for a moment it was hard to make out what was happening, but then a wizard among the guild cast a spell and pulled wind into the castle, quickly clearing out the smog.
As soon as the smoke cleared, dozens of animated suits of armor came into view. They glowed green
and moved mechanically as they unsheathed their broadswords. The attacking guild’s six warriors rushed the group and made quick work of the enchanted suits of armor, leaving them in pieces on the ground.
The guild fanned out, searching the many rooms, towers, and ramparts of the castle, but they found no sign of the Purrrrsian Army. The guild leader told them to hold their positions as a timer appeared, ticking off the minutes until the Crimson Dragons had full control of the castle. We all waited with bated breath to see if the defending guild would suddenly appear, but for five long, tense minutes nothing happened. The Crimson Dragons could have control of the castle in less than five minutes, at which time they would own it.
“Why aren’t they even trying to defend?” Kit pouted.
“Maybe they just knew they would lose, and decided to hand over the castle anyway,” Anna suggested.
“No,” said Ember, “it must be a trap.”
A Crimson Dragon warlock suggested the same thing to his guild leader, and five seconds later the castle began to glow bright red.
“Retreat!” the guild leader yelled. “It’s a trap--”
His words were lost to an explosion that made us all jump. The camera view was suddenly engulfed in rolling flames, and when the angle changed to a position farther away, the size and grandeur of the explosion was made clear. The entire castle had completely disappeared. Rubble shot into the air as though the castle had been sitting on top of a volcano.
Kit cheered and bounded around the room excitedly, “Woohoo! Score one for the furries!”
“Well that was dumb,” said Trinity. “The Purrrrsian Army sacrificed their entire castle. What was the point of that?”