by G. Akella
It all happened so fast that, for a moment, I was afraid that Ingvar's pants would drop right down to his ankles. What's with these idiotic thoughts that keep popping into my head at all these solemn moments? I reproved myself, dismissing the mental image of the warrior god stumbling around with his bare buttocks. Only then, displaying all due care and reverence, I accepted my reward—a striking girdle, its elongated sheets of smooth black metal firmly secured to a chainmail frame. The massive rectangular buckle bore an engraving of an eagle, its wings spread majestically.
You've completed the quest: Returning the Diadem.
You have gained a level! Current level: 67.
You have 3 stat points to allocate.
You have gained a level! Current level: 68.
You have 6 stat points to allocate.
……………………………………………………………
You have gained a level! Current level: 82.
You have 48 stat points to allocate.
You have gained a level! Current level: 83.
You have 1 talent point to allocate.
Class bonus: +1 to intellect; +1 to spirit.
You have 51 stat points to allocate.
You received: Ingvar's Girdle of Valor.
……………………………………………………………………………………….
You have gained a level!
You have gained a level! Current level: 102.
You have 20 talent points to allocate.
Class bonus: +1 to intellect; +1 to spirit.
You have 108 stat points to allocate.
Well, then! Justice was restored, if only partially. I stood there, the dinging accompanying all the leveling music to my ears, examining the epic scalable item, and thinking that the torture might have been worth it, after all... Here it was, my payment for two months of grinding through endless zones in total solitude...
Ingvar's Girdle of Valor
Waist; plate.
Durability: 3689/4000.
Epic scalable. An item from the Ingvar's Valor set.
No minimum level.
Armor: 204.
+102 to strength,
+102 to constitution,
+5.1% to armor class,
+5.1% to physical damage.
Weight: 2 lbs.
From the armor set of Ingvar the Warrior God.
"Thank you," I nodded, raising my eyes at Ingvar. Then, with a heavy sigh, I added, "This is a great honor."
"Of course it is, 'master mage,' he snorted. "Stand still," he reached out and touched my face.
A terrible burning sensation shot across my cheek, as if someone had poked it with scalding metal; yet, my HP bar didn't move.
You have earned a new title, Knight-Lieutenant of the Order of Punishing Steel. Now you can command groups of up to 100 sentient NPCs. You and the warriors under your command receive 5% increase to your physical and magic damage, 5% to armor class and all resistances, and 5% to the effectiveness of healing spells. Experience gained by sentient beings under your command is increased by 5%.
You've earned an achievement, Marked by the Warrior God.
Your reputation has increased. Knights of the Order of Punishing Steel and certain other NPCs relate to you with respect.
There were immediate changes to my surroundings. The names of Ingvar's companions turned from yellow to green, and I could now see their levels. Even more interestingly, on the right side of each of their faces appeared some kind of symbols, likely a warrior tattoo indicating their rank in the Order. Ulissa's cheek bore a broken diagonal line, depicting a lightning bolt, while the orc—the highest in level of them all at 566—had two such bolts. I removed my gauntlet and checked my own cheek curiously—and then it finally hit me...
Holy cow—I had just been knighted! And I could now command a hundred NPCs—how freaking awesome was that?! Sure, no one was lining up to put a hundred NPCs under my command just yet, not without further achievements and reputation. But reputation would come in time; an ability such as this, however... this was something else. I'd never heard of the Order of Punishing Steel before—it would behoove me to read up on it in the wiki, brush up on its history and study its charter.
I equipped the girdle without any problems, as if it were tailor-made for me. Amazing!!! I hadn't a clue as to what the appropriate response would be in this situation, so I simply lowered my head, balled my right fist and pressed it to my heart, thanked Ingvar for the great honor he'd bestowed upon me, and vowed not to betray his trust. My speech came out lame and cheesy, but the warrior god appeared to have liked it.
"Keep growing strong, cub. I can tell you've got potential. As for my gift," he said, watching me carefully insert vials into the girdle's twelve slots, "the full armor set is lost, but you can try looking for it."
"How?! Where?!" I gave the smirking deity a searching look.
You've accessed the quest: Recovering the Armor.
Quest type: epic.
Find Jonathan the commander of the Order of Punishing Steel in Vaedarr and question him about Ingvar's lost armor.
Reward: experience.
If only I knew where Vaedarr was, I sighed, accepting the quest. What if... I was about to open my mouth and ask the burning question, but Ingvar forestalled me.
"You would need to journey to Vaedarr on your own," he shook his head, as if reading my mind. "Ulissa will escort you back to the portal. Farewell!" With a slap on the back, Ingvar disappeared in the blue pool of the open portal.
"Welcome to the Order, brother," the huge orc bared his teeth in a smile that looked more like a scowl. Then he smacked me on the shoulder and vanished after the commanding deity.
After being tossed around like a volleyball between the warriors congratulating me, eventually only the fair-hared warrior maiden and I remained on the chasm's edge.
"Shall we?" she gave me a expectant look. "My people are waiting for me." Seeing a silent question in my eyes, she clarified, "We were in the middle of dinner. The first time in probably centuries we'd had time to actually sit down and eat in peace, but then you up and summoned us. Bel and Ingvar have some kind of an agreement, so we couldn't just ignore it. I don't know what exactly they've got going on, and I don't really care."
"How long were you waiting for me?" I fished a sandwich from my bag and took a hearty bite. My head was still buzzing, making the dreary scenery actually seem kind of pleasant. And the woman before me—why, she looked like a princess from a fairytale.
"About three hours," she shrugged. "Any way you could wait with your lunch?"
"Try and subsist on a diet of crackers for a few months, then get back to me," I grumbled in response. But then, suddenly I felt the pangs of shame under her reproachful gaze, and put the sandwich back in my bag with a sigh.
A smile flickered across the woman's lips.
"Come, hero. I really am in a hurry."
"What kind of people are waiting for you?" I asked her as we started moving.
"Over on the Darkaan border, we're sealing the final rift from the Netherworld. It's swarming with... all sorts of nasty buggers. We're almost done, though, there's hardly any real action left." Ulissa shifted her sword from the right shoulder to the left, then stopped in her tracks. She looked left and right, as if sensing danger. Seemingly satisfied, she motioned for me to follow. "We'll leave the rest to be mopped up by baronial militias and others like you."
"Others like me?" I was curious what she thought of us players.
"The two-lived," she shrugged. "Some of you merit respect, but the vast majority of you are dregs. You have the gift of resurrection, yet you hide behind militia shields." A scornful grimace distorted her face.
It made sense that Ingvar's companion would be baffled by the players' reluctance to risk their levels, but there was also the matter of the pain sensitivity raised to one hundred percent. People had come to Arkon to play a video game, not engage in masochism. And I understood them quite we
ll in that respect. Had I been given the choice to just play, I would have probably behaved the same way. Unfortunately, that was never an option for me.
Still, at that moment I felt like singing from joy, and it couldn't have been just the booze talking. As tone-deaf as I was, I'd never dared to exhibit my vocal ability even when piss-drunk. This is AWESOME!!! I'm out of that shithole! And I'll never again fall for such a dirty trick! Although... I caressed the buckle of my epic girdle. Who knows...
For a while I just followed Ulissa, glancing around me absently and thinking. The euphoria from the instant jump in levels and phat lewts had passed, leaving me with the realization that, for all intents and purposes, nothing had changed. Well, sure, having an epic scalable and level 102 sure beat not having them, and Leeque would most likely add twenty five levels or so on top of that... But what good was level 130 when my true interests lay in 200+ zones? Ingvar must have been watching all my adventures inside the vault; why else would he knight me and accept me as an officer into his Order of which he's the Champion? The wiki was conspicuously lacking any information on the Order of Punishing Steel—that last bit I only knew from the description of the deity himself. Now if only he'd given me a few warrior skills, that would have been something else! Hey, can't blame a guy for dreaming, right? No one had ever gotten their eyes gouged out for setting their sights too high. All right, let's not get greedy now—this was a pretty big boon. I wonder what kind of symbol appeared on my cheek... Wanting to check out my mug in the upper, polished section of my shield, I pulled it off my back, grabbed it with both hands and... stopped dead in my tracks.
"What now?" Noticing that I'd stopped moving, Ulissa turned toward me with a sigh.
How do you like that! As tall as me, nearly as broad-shouldered and, according to her, a commanding officer herself, the warrior maiden still acted like an ordinary girl.
"This," I turned the shield's surface to her. Looking back on the world from it was the adorable muzzle of a wolf cub—cute ears, puppy dog eyes and all—which I suspected had appeared on my shield after the higher being's farewell slap on the back.
"Be happy, Krian," said the warrior maiden after she was done laughing. "Ingvar had bestowed upon you the gift of a banner. In all the time that I've known him, this does not happen often. He must have seen something in you," she concluded in a serious tone. "Come now, cub-lieutenant, keep those buns moving. You'll admire your beauty some other time."
The shield's stats hadn't changed, but the banner art had appeared in my options, and I could now put on any items, as with any emblems in the game that could be either earned or purchased for money. Oh well, at least it's not a frog, I thought with a smirk, and started after Ulissa. The wolf cub is small, sure, but far more pleasant to look at. Of course, there isn't a hint of ferocity on that adorable muzzle, but what am I supposed to do? If a god decides to emblaze your shield with a hamster, good luck convincing others that it's actually a young tiger.
I still had to figure out what to do with my new rank, and with the Order as a whole. The fact that I'd been given the ability to command a century didn't mean anything in and of itself—the real world was full of officers with formal ranks that had never led a military unit into actual battle. Perhaps one in twenty, if that. And the game was designed to be as close to reality as possible. Still, I had been given the opportunity, and I would do my best to realize it. I picked up the pace.
"We're here, master cub," the young woman turned to me, sheathing her weapon.
Why the heck was she even lugging that thing on her shoulder? I thought. A display of female empowerment or outright feminism? Those Reapings won't spawn for a while longer, and I doubt she was worried about me copping a feel as we walked...
Noticing my silent smirk, the warrior maiden arched her brow.
"Thank you, Ulissa," leaving my thoughts unspoken, I expressed my sincere gratitude. "I would have surely lost my way without you. What is your full name by the way? In case I have some questions and need to—"
"Countess Ulissa de Cevraze," she cut me short. "Presently the knight-commander of the Order of Punishing Steel, of which you are now a lieutenant."
The sound of her voice made me want to stand at attention, but I resisted. This wasn't parade grounds, and she wasn't my commanding officer. Seeing through my struggle, the woman smiled.
"Goodbye, cub. Look for the answers to your questions on your own. I will find you myself, if need be. Oh, and another thing..." said the warrior maiden, pausing before the portal that had opened a moment prior.
"Yes?"
"You should eat more, cause I find your bony ass uninspiring," she winked at me. Then, with a chortle, she was gone behind the smoky screen of the portal.
"Everybody's always got something to say about my diet..." I sighed into the empty air.
Chapter 3
The Ghorazm Ruins welcomed me with grave-like silence, broken only by the occasional drip of water from the ceiling. The dungeon hadn't changed: the floor still held the necromancer's headless body, the walls were still lined with bones, and the air was still permeated with scents of rot and decay. The portal window disappeared five seconds after my arrival to the dungeon. Odd. I might have disrupted something with that powder. Might have been the reason for the error log, I thought. Are there still any undead around, I wonder?
According to the clock, it was the middle of day three. It should be safe to come out of the dungeon—Neyl's squad should have already taken care of the winged bastard that had ambushed me at the entrance. A human being really is a fascinating creature. Half an hour ago I was on the verge of losing my wits, but now I felt chipper and fully rested. Hold on just a minute! I fished my unfinished sandwich out of the inventory. War may be war, but lunch is sacred! After devouring the sandwich, I still felt hungry. My appetite was an impenetrable wall—I'd seen way too much over the last few months to be grossed out by the scattered bones or decomposing flesh in my immediate surroundings. But enough about food! It was time to get out of here, since I had another half an hour of schlepping left to Urcahnta. I was about to start toward the instance exit when I realized what a tool I was! At level 102, I had a boatload of unallocated stat and talent points, and I'd nearly walked right into the midst of undead! Dusting off a layer of virtual dust from one of the tables, I took a seat on the stone tabletop and opened my character menu. Oh, how I'd missed it! Stats first, but that didn't require much thought. I threw 25 points into constitution and 40 into vigor, bringing both to 100, and the remaining 43 points into strength. From now on, I would add exclusively to strength until 150. Talent time! My original plan hadn't changed: I spent 10 points on Morph V, and when presented with twenty different animals to choose from, I went with the hamster.
You've learned the spell: Morph V.
Casting time: 2 seconds.
Mana cost: 5% of total.
Cooldown: 20 seconds.
Turns your opponent into a hamster. The hamster
cannot attack or cast spells. Sustaining damage
will cause the target to assume its original form.
The target's regeneration of hit points, mana and vigor
are increased by 300%. Can only be used against one target
at a time. Can only be used against humanoids and beasts.
Though some gamers might be surprised by my selection, it so happened that I wasn't a big fan of hamsters on account of an episode from my childhood, when a pair of hamsters that had been living with us escaped their cage and left little hamster teeth marks on every damned piece of furniture in the house before eventually being caught by the neighbors' cat. The next ten points went into portals.
You've learned the spell: Portal Creation I.
Casting time: 10 seconds.
Mana cost: 500 points.
Cooldown: 24 hours.
Opens a teleportation portal that only the caster
can use to any previously visited location.
The last point went into riding
skill, and I was done. I removed all of my new titles from being displayed before my name, and closed the menu. I saw no purpose in letting random strangers know that I'd been knighted. Mage apprentices had it much easier—at the very least, they drew far less attention to their person. And whoever needed to see it would see it anyway, like with the slaying of Shaartakh. The rings, earring and cloak that required levels 70-80 to equip went into their corresponding slots. Making a mental note to visit a jeweler upon returning to Nittal, I took one last look around.
The final boss of the dungeon was still dead, his headless carcass lying on the floor. It was time to test my new portal-creating ability and return to Urcahnta. My hands began radiating a bluish smoke and spread outward all by themselves, then fell back to my sides. Done! The portal I'd created looked different from those I'd seen before—sky blue in color, the window eddied softly along the edges, red dots flickering. Not that I cared for the portal's color, as long as it actually worked!
I stepped out of the portal right on the border of Urcahnta, some ten yards from the local outpost. It was raining heavily, and the soldiers were all clustered under a spacious canopy. Oh, how I'd missed this! Pulling off my helm, I let the rain wash over my face. It was pure bliss—standing there, knowing that I'd come one step closer to my goal. I didn't give a damn how many steps were left, only that my ultimate goal had become closer! A fork of lightning sundered the sky, followed by a clap of thunder. In this world, Ingvar was also the god of lightning—perhaps it was his way of sending me a text? After two months traveling through dank dungeons and lifeless cities, the fresh air—scented with ozone and wet grass—actually made my head spin. Seeing the surprised looks on the faces of their legionnaires and their captain, I put my arms akimbo and burst out laughing.
"Are you all right, Krian?" I heard the captain's voice when the downpour suddenly ended, having washed away not only dirt but also the stress of my last adventure.
