by Alyson Belle
Without any further hesitation, I selected [Mesmer] from the tree options, hit confirm, and was surrounded by a golden shower of sparks and trumpet fanfare as “Congratulations, Mesmer!” flashed across my screen in gold text.
I flipped over to my skills menu and confirmed I now had Sexy Shadow as a class skill, Illusion Magic as a passive skill, and two new traits: Charisma Caster and Illusionist .
Chapter 4
Erlix smacked himself in the face and dragged his hand down it dramatically in a gesture of exasperation. “Let me get this straight, Goldie. Your options were to be an incredibly powerful charmer that could command multiple NPCs, a divine priestess which would unlock a whole new skill tree full of auto-granted restorative and protection spells, or being able to learn and cast spells from a school of magic that’s so weak most Wizards don’t even bother with it… and you chose the third one?”
“Erm, well. I mean, I think that’s a really unfair way to put it…” I said, suddenly feeling foolish. I hadn’t even thought to consult Erlix on my specialization choice, but now I was starting to wish I’d at least gotten a second opinion. “Illusion magic isn’t actually that useless, is it?” As a Barbarian, I’d never needed to pay much attention to the spells my friends were using, but I’d just assumed all the schools of magic would be useful and balanced.
“If you want to make pretty sparks flash in the air or make yourself look like a pumpkin, it’s fantastic.”
“But my Charisma is so high!” I protested. “I might be the most powerful Illusionist for my level on the server…”
“Your sparks will be really flashy and pretty then,” grumbled Erlix. “You really are a dumb treasure ho.”
My cheeks burned. “You can shut right up, okay? I already admitted I don’t know how to play this class. It’s bad enough adjusting to being a girl, let alone in a new class. I’m trying to do my best here. Why don’t you try being useful instead of being a jerk for once? Did you figure out where they took Jazzus?”
I was mad at Erlix, but I was also mad at myself. I still stood by my specialization choice, even with Erlix giving me a hard time about it, but making the choice in isolation had been dumb. I couldn’t afford to make any more stupid mistakes with so much riding on my shoulders. Erlix was the only teammate I had right now, and if we were ever going to get me leveled up and rescue my friends I needed to learn to work with him.
“Unlike you, I’ve been doing things that are useful for us,” Erlix said, stooping down to sniff at the floor. “Although I can’t get a fix on your girl Jazzus. Haxor is too good with his trail concealment, probably since he has some kind of Rogue-based counter-tracking thing, but I can read those dopey lieutenants from a mile away. It looks like they took your buddy Topper east, and the read from my Tracking skill I’m getting is that they’re pretty far out there.”
“How far out east? Like the Black Forest in Lorengarde?” I knew that the Tracking skill worked by letting you get a fix on a player or NPC from signs they left behind in their wake, and once you had that you could sense their direction and distance no matter how far away you were until you picked a new tracking target.
“Worse than that. You won’t like this, but I’d guess they ported him out somewhere into the Wild Fey Dominion .”
I whistled softly. “Great. They dragged him into an entirely different faction zone?” In addition to the Kingdom of Lorengarde in the South, the Dark Legion Holdings to the North, and the Elven Highlands to the West, the Wild Fey Dominion was the fourth major set of zones that players without flying mounts could access in Fantasy Realms Online. It was the most dangerous and unpredictable of the four starting factions, with some of the early game’s highest level zones, and the Fey Court NPCs who ruled it were capricious with their magical talents. People generally avoided it, and only the craziest players made up the very small PC faction that called it home.
“It’s going to make extraction tricky,” noted Erlix. Then he broke into a wide grin. “But rest assured you’ll be safe with me!”
Despite the halfling’s bravado, I wasn’t so sure. Since it was a different faction zone and players had allowed the outposts to decay—as maintaining them in unpopular zones wasn’t usually worth the effort—we didn’t have any flight paths or bind points available in the Fey Wilds. We’d need to go in on foot, and if we died, we’d lose our gear and be sent all the way back to Lorengarde. I wished I could muster up the same level of confidence that Erlix had.
But it didn’t matter how hard it was or what the odds of success were. I wasn’t going to gain levels or save my friends sitting around in the safety of the town. The Fey Wilds would give me plenty of opportunities for new NPCs to seduce, new gear to earn, and maybe even some quests that were easy enough for me and Erlix to tackle along the way. I didn’t mind gaining levels by being slutty at this point, but I needed to take the XP where I could get it if we were going to powerlevel me to 80.
“We may as well get going, then,” I said. “Every moment we lose is another moment they have outside the game to shut us down and kill us forever.”
Erlix frowned. “Has anyone ever told you you’re kind of a downer, Goldie?”
We gathered a small assortment of healing and mana potions and the best gear we could assemble for our level, and I insisted that we stop by the spell shop to get me a spell book and some starter illusionist spells even if Erlix thought they were useless.
“By all means, let’s spend time getting you party favors,” Erlix grumbled. “It’s not like it’s our lives on the line or anything, as you keep pointing out.”
But they couldn’t really be that useless, could they? As we walked into the spellbook shop, a tiny old crone glared at me and harrumphed from behind the counter.
“I don’t sell potions for crotch itch or shiny boob wax here, hussy,” she grated, looking me up and down. “Try the skeevy alchemist down the way.”
I gritted my teeth and reminded myself that it wasn’t personal—all NPCs were coded by horny male devs to interact with my class, gender, and Charisma modifier in specific ways, and this was just how she was set up to treat courtesans… like most other NPCs. That underestimation by default was a result of my Unintimidating trait, and it came in surprisingly handy. If I had to deal with people talking down to me and assuming I was a stupid bimbo because of how I looked, I’d just need to put up with it for now.
“I’d like to see your spellbooks and illusion spells,” I said, ignoring her comments.
She grunted and gestured toward the bottom row of books on a nearby shelf, while slamming a blank spellbook on the counter. “Basic spellbooks hold 10 spells, and advanced ones hold 20. It’s 100 gold for basic, and 1000 for advanced.”
Jeez, that’s pricey! I don’t have a ton of money on this alt… the spell book alone will take most of it.
Wizards started with a spellbook, but apparently Mesmers didn’t, so I’d need to pony up the dough if I didn’t want my specialization to be even more useless than Erlix claimed it was. I had about 200 gold left, total, so it was going to take half my finances just to be able to learn any spells at all. At least 10 spell slots would be plenty, if useful illusion spells really were as few and far between as Erlix claimed. It looked like I had 4 “active” spell slots as a Mesmer specialist that I could load from my book at any time, half what wizards got, so I wouldn’t need an advanced spell book unless I really started tripping over good spells left and right.
I bent down to inspect the shelf of illusion spells, trying to see if there was anything that might help us. As a new illusionist, my Illusion Magic skill was only level 1, and it would take me a while to get it up to the same level as my Charm and Seduce skills, which were both maxed for my level at Lv. 50. The hard cap on most skills was 100, unless you had specializations or item bonuses that raised it, and you could level most skills to a soft cap of your level plus 5. Magical skills and spells were divided into five tiers, with break points at 25, 50, 75, and 100. You needed at least
the amount of magical skill for each tier to use spells from that tier, so there was no point in even shopping for spells at Tier 2 or above right now.
Not that I could afford them! I was shocked to see that even the common, starter spells were horribly expensive at 25-50 gold each. No wonder wizards never have enough cash for new gear…
I’d have to be very frugal with my decisions here, but I was disappointed by what I found. Erlix had been right about my options not being so great.
TIER I Illusion Spells
[Camoflauge] This spell allows the target blend into their surroundings as with the Hide skill. Higher skill and stat bonuses increase chances of concealment. (35 gold)
[Charming Touch] This spell improves NPC disposition toward the caster. (50 gold)
[Agitating Whisper] This spell causes NPCs to have an unruly disposition toward anyone in range, possibly inciting them to combat. (50 gold)
[Light] This spell generates a bright, floating light slightly brighter than a standard torch for a period of up to 2 minutes. It will follow the caster and move according to their mental commands to a distance of 15 feet. (25 gold)
[Minor Glamour] This spell allows the caster to slightly alter minor features of their appearance, such as skin color, hair color, and facial features. (40 gold)
[Dazzle] This spell creates a shower of multicolored sparks like a miniature fireworks display. It will not do harm, but has a small chance to confuse or blind an opponent. (35 gold)
“These are all such trash…” I muttered.
“Gosh, I bet having a divine list of healing and protection spells you don’t need to purchase from a bitchy old crone sounds pretty great right about now, huh?” Erlix said, picking his teeth with a dagger as he leaned against the doorway to the shop. “Or, you know, having your most useful skills become even harder to resist.”
I ignored the halfling, something I was getting pretty good at doing, and let the glare from the shopkeeper take care of expressing my displeasure for him. Instead I was busy trying to puzzle out the best way to spend my last 100 gold. Half the Tier I spells were things that Lacey could do innately with her default class skills Hide , Charm , and Seduce , and the others were as good as useless. I didn’t need any help persuading NPCs to do anything . I needed firepower I could use against players. But I’d picked my spec, and I still needed to level my Illusion Magic skill in case dropped spells were better or the higher tiers offered more interesting options. I sighed and pulled out spell books for Light, Minor Glamour, and Dazzle , the three spells that were least like the skills I already had, and paid the spell vendor 200 gold for the blank spellbook plus my spell selections, trying to ignore the squirmy feeling I had in my stomach that told me I was throwing away the last of my funds on utter garbage.
Erlix watched me scribe and memorize my spells with an amused expression. “Well, go on then. Let’s have a little display of your amazing new powers.”
I’d realized that you didn’t need to actually say the skill names to use them, although I liked to sometimes. I stuck my hands out and willed Dazzle to work. A glittering burst of rainbow-colored flashes burst out of my fingertips and crackled in the air between us in a cone shape, fluttering to the floor with continued crackles like exploding confetti. As the sparks died off, Erlix began a slow clap.
“Yeah, great work, Goldie. Vierdimin is screwed.”
“Shut up, Erlix. Let’s just hit the road.”
Chapter 5
The trip to the edge of the Wild Fey Dominion was fast and easy, and Erlix didn’t miss the chance to make a quip about how it was just like me. Our wyveryns touched down in the Black Forest - Level 50, and we’d bound ourselves at the Lorengarde outpost on the far eastern edge in case anything happened to us in Fey Wilds. I couldn’t afford many more wyveryn trips that covered that much ground. The towering, ancient trees of the Black Forest made my shoulders twitchy with their stretching, twisted limbs where Willowisps darted back and forth, high above us. It was supposed to be a brutal zone, almost as bad as the The Swamp of No Hope where I’d spent my last adventure on Kromgorn, and Erlix and I weren’t strong enough on our own to battle some of the nastier monsters that lurked in the shadows there.
Fortunately, the Lorengarde outpost marked the zone entrance to the Western Wilds, so we wouldn’t have to deal with traipsing through a level 50 zone. Not yet, anyway. I didn’t know the Fey Wilds well, and there was no telling where Vierdimin’s lieutenants had taken Topper. I doubted it would be a candy-ass level 20 zone, though.
I made sure to Charm every NPC in the outpost, blowing kisses to each of them (girls included), but encountered the same problem I had back in town—there just wasn’t much XP to be gained from passive NPCs in allied towns, anymore. Too easy. I’d get a little more XP for seducing them, but it wasn’t worth the time it would take. I’d need to get out into the Fey Wilds and seduce some harder NPCs if I wanted to keep leveling that way. I tightened the leather laces holding my huge breasts securely in place, which pushed them up even higher, and tossed my hair over my shoulder. No point in getting sloppy right before I need to use my skills for real again.
Erlix and I left the outpost, traveling east, and I was delighted to see the dark foliage of the Black Forest rapidly transition into a more traditional forest backdrop with startling alacrity. Western Wilds - Level 40 flashed across my HUD as I began to note a variety of fascinating plants, tiny woodland animals, and trees, all radiating vibrant, storybook-style colors. The Western Wilds reminded me of an archetypal enchanted forest, the kind of thing you might see in a fairy tale book or on a Lisa Frank trapper keeper. The leaves on the trees ranged from electric blue to hot pink, and if Erlix and I decided to do any hunting, I’d probably get to find out what fuchsia chipmunks tasted like. Most of the trunks were a pale white color, and the plants came in every color of the rainbow.
We stayed on the packed dirt road, avoiding the deceptively cheerful underbrush, because we could see mobs milling around further back in the childishly colorful trees that weren’t at all childish. Roaming spirits, unicorns with flashing eyes, and vengeful brownies that would cast lightning at you as soon as talk to you were just some of the unpleasant level 40ish surprises that lurked in wait for us away from the relative safety of the path. My combat skills weren’t good enough to deal with a threat I couldn’t seduce or charm, and I didn’t want to push my luck on how far Unintimidating would really carry me when it came to magical monsters.
As we walked, I continued to spam my new illusion spells every time my mana regenerated enough to allow for another cast. After Erlix’s clever plan had allowed me to level Seduce and Charm so rapidly by sending every NPC in Minsc to my tavern room, leveling Illusion Magic felt painfully slow. Clearly the developers had never intended a Courtesan to approach skill-building and leveling the way I had, so with our rapid-fire revolving door of dicks and sex, I’d had my skills at the max for each level within minutes of dinging. Magic, on the other hand, was something lots of classes were expected to use all the time, so building the skill up was going to take a lot longer.
Light would have been the most mana efficient spell to spam, but Erlix really seemed to be annoyed by the flashy bursts of firework sparkles from Dazzle , so that was the one I shot off every few moments, relishing my rare opportunity to tease the smarmy halfling. I’d been at it for almost half an hour and had only gotten my skill to Lv. 7, and it was already affected by the diminishing returns slowdown in advancement. There was about 30 seconds between each cast, and sometimes I waited a few seconds longer, just to watch Erlix’s body get tighter and stiffer with each step as he waited for the pop. I liked the way he flinched a little, every single time.
“God damn it, Goldie!” he finally cried. “Do you have to blow off Dazzle every 5 seconds? You did buy other spells, right?”
I put on my best ‘innocent girl’ face and widened my eyes. “Oh, wow. I didn’t know it was bothering you. But I need to get my skill up, right? I think it gives me
more points than the other ones. I’m so dumb in the first place for choosing this spec, so I want to make sure I really work hard to level it up and try to be useful.” I bit my lip in a sultry way as I finished and laughed to myself as he turned away, grumbling, and continued to stalk down the trail. I was really starting to get the hang of this whole ‘being a girl’ thing. Guys were so much easier to handle as a woman than women were as a man—the hornier they were, the easier it was to use my sex appeal to make them think and do whatever I wanted. I was surprised it had even worked on Erlix! I must be getting better at seeming like a natural woman. Nice work! But even as the thought formed, I realized it was almost as disturbing as it was exciting.
I was starting to become really comfortable in this female body, and that made me distinctly uncomfortable . The in-game bodies were modeled after real-world bodies with a stunning degree of accuracy in terms of biofeedback. Playing Kromgorn hadn’t felt hardly any different from being a man in real life, except that he was taller, bigger, and stronger than my real body. Playing Lacey was different—my reactions, emotions, and body sensations were all distinctly feminine. At first it had been disorienting and weird, but like you might expect, I’d adjusted to it, soon hardly noticing the jiggling bobble of my breasts or the swinging rotation of my wide-set hips with each step I took. Who knew what the psychological impacts of that might be? That was part of why the devs discouraged cross-gender avatars. There hadn’t been any studies done on what actually experiencing life as the other gender did to people. Fortunately, long gaming sessions had to be broken up for real-world food and bathroom breaks, which ensured that you had to return to normalcy periodically.
