The Alchemist of Aetheria: A LitRPG Adventure

by Jared Mandani

  As the three scouting Wasps hugged his rock from three different directions, left, right, and top – Zack already was watching from a side, peeking from behind the neighboring rock. He kept moving clockwise, careful to stay clear of the pheromones and cobwebs alike, even though he had no idea if those cobwebs even did anything.

  Zack expected to find a Wasp to kill on his way, and yet he must have went in a spiral, for he suddenly found himself in the open, at the center of the meadow, right in front of the razor-surfaced Enraged Wasp Nest. The thing looked openly hostile, and important, and also vulnerable. It was meant to crunch pleasantly as you attacked and destroyed it, of this Zack was sure.

  “Come to daddy,” he said, grinning and flexing his gloved fingers around the dagger. He took a step forward…

  And the Nest spat a glob of rainbow-colored goo at him, completely drenching him in the evil phosphorescent pheromone slime.

  DEBUFF! Sneak Skill Disabled

  DEBUFF! Dash Skill Disabled

  DEBUFF! Acrobatics Skill Disabled

  Enraged Wasp Nest Lvl 1 reveals Pin Down!

  Pin Down: A Poison Ranged attack of an Enraged Wasp Nest.

  Area-of-Effect. Marks and debuffs the target.

  Tip of the Day: When you are covered in pheromones,

  Enraged Wasps always can see you.

  “Oh no no no,” Zack said, frantically jerking in one place, realizing he acted too human, not like a gamer should, and still being unable to help it. The sticky glittering and shifting layer of goo seemed to burn into the pelts. Zack even could swear he caught a whiff of burnt canine hair.

  Enraged Wasp Nest Lvl 1 reveals Hivemind!

  Hivemind: Binds Enraged Wasps by common purpose.

  “Some kind of collective buff,” Zack said through clenched teeth. “Just great.”

  He stopped twitching, stepped forward instead of trying to fall back, and slashed the evil nest apart in a couple quick strokes of the dagger. Luckily, the Nest was vulnerable to Melee and took extra damage from Piercing. If he were just a bit higher level, he might have even killed it instantly.

  Still, the Hivemind spell aura, a glowing hex around the dregs of the wrecked hive, was still there, active and pulsating and circling around and around. The Wasps were coming over the rocks, from everywhere, knowing exactly where to find Zack, and they were connected by some kind of glowing tethers now. Before he could think of what was to come next, they suddenly bunched together and crunched, connecting like LEGO bricks, if this thing was even possible with Wasp bodies. They formed a burly striped armored figure of sorts, bristling with poisoned stingers.

  Side Quest Updated: Wrong Kind of Bees

  Objectives:

  Destroy a Wasp Nest

  Defeat a Wasp Elemental Lvl 1

  Craft the Antidote

  “A Wasp Elemental!?” Zack felt an urge to ragequit at this. What did this even mean, a Wasp Elemental? What kind of fantasy was that? What kind of mythology?

  He could only admire the animation though. As the spiked insectoid Elemental made its way toward him, it could actually be seen as a swarm of insects pretending to be a walking figure. The individual Wasps shifted and even seemed to swap places once in a while, but it took exactly every Wasp there was to form this amazing stick figure.

  ZZING-zzip-zzip-zzip-zzip!

  I’m a moron, Zack thought, blocking a fast succession of the creature’s attacks, as it lashed out in a long combo of piercing blows ripping through the air all around him. Zack’s Copper Dagger was raining sparks like a stick of fireworks, and he was pushed back considerably.

  It would only take to kill one Wasp to stop this Hivemind thing from happening. Only one Wasp, if he wouldn’t go straight for that hive. Of course it was too easy an exploit. Of course they would set up a trap. And he bought it this time. Without checking the stats, he could feel his Stamina was drained almost completely after blocking this flurry of stinger blows, each of them poisonous.

  After the combo strike, the Wasp Elemental obviously needed to cool down, so it went a bit limp, its Wasps trading places frantically, so the figure kept reassembling and breaking apart in places. Zack instantly used this gracious moment of weakness. Unable to dash, he managed to walk away from the creature. It knew where he was, but it pretended to walk, and he could now travel faster because he didn’t have to Sneak and could cut straight across those puddles of goo, still trying to stay clear from the cobwebs.

  He realized he didn’t have time to loot the Nest. Which side was this insectoid thing coming in from now, left or right? What would happen when the Hivemind spell timed out?

  It will break apart of course, Zack thought, feeling a bitter taste of oncoming defeat. It will break into these Wasps again. He had no doubt of this.

  Zack had to move quickly now, so he decided to go straight for the origami remains of the Enraged Wasp Nest Lvl 1, grab whatever loot there was, then go straight for the exit route. This would still not free him from the ever-chasing Wasp Elemental or a bunch of Wasps, he knew. As long as he was glowing from their Sneak-disabling pheromone, there was nowhere for him to hide. Sooner or later, Zack knew, he was bound to face his Enraged Wasp nemesis.

  He heard the creature click-clacking its way around the rock from the left, so he ran to the right, then crossed the meadow and sifted through the Nest’s broken piñata remains.

  Items Collected:

  Recipe: Antidote

  Craft Antidote

  Alchemy Lvl 1 Recipe

  Items Required:

  Poison Gland

  Sourberry

  Potion Retort

  Think ‘Craft Now’ to Confirm

  Tip of the Day: Use the Antidote to Remove Poison, Dispel Self or Target, Remove Mark Target

  “Craft now, craft now, craft now!” Zack shouted out like a prayer, already seeing the spikes of the Wasp Elemental appearing from behind the rock.

  Item Lost: Venom Sac X2

  Item Lost: Sourberry X2

  Item Lost: Potion Retort X2

  Item Gained: Antidote X2

  Cannot craft any more Antidote

  Out of Ingredients!

  Side Quest Objective Complete: Craft Antidote

  POOF! A cloud of sparkles and smoke engulfed Zack, and the evil goo sizzled, evaporating and disappearing. Zack Dashed before the game told him the skill was restored, and stunned the Elemental again.

  “How would you like to be dispelled, huh?” he said, tossing a newly crafted bulb of glass, its contents a swirl of purple, at the stick figure made up of shifting wasps. It disappeared in a cloud of sparkles and smoke… And as the magic cloud dispersed, a swarm of stunned-looking wasps rained down on the ground, every single one of them dead.

  Hivemind Dispelled!

  Wasp Elemental was CRITICALLY hit by Zack for 56 hit points, and was killed!

  Side Quest Complete! Wrong Kind of Bees

  LEVEL UP!

  Congratulations!

  Your Alchemist is now Level 3!

  +1 to Strength

  +1 to one of the skills:

  Short Blades - Dash >Alchemy<

  “Would be hard to choose if I wasn’t just set up by Dash and saved by Alchemy,” Zack said.

  The Director AI must have felt his exhaustion, because the next ten minutes, almost an hour of Aetherian time, Zack spent in serenity, looting Wasp corpses and collecting all kinds of minor crafting resources amidst the peaceful woods and the birdsong, never disturbed by more NPC enemies or a human party.

  And yet, making his way towards the village, loaded up on Poison and Antidote to trade in, Zack still doubted if he should have invested in Dash or Short blades instead. The Melee component in this game, it was physical, while Alchemy merely involved a thought.

  “Woooooo!” He heard wolves again, this time far enough to stay comfortable. Still, the reminder thrilled Zack, even made him slightly nervous. Maybe I should have listened to mom and taken those karate lessons
after all, he thought.

  Yes, this was THAT kind of decision. Where you decide if you fight or flight. This kind defines the gameplay; so if he was to play it right, he had to invest XP so it was beneficial to his character class. It must not be some brawling part. And yet, when it comes down to a brawl, it’s sad to find out your class is a nerd without any special abilities and with so many debuffs in place, like glasses, and books in your hands, and the ugly sweater your mom equipped you with.

  He didn’t want to end up a fantasy variety of a helpless nerd in this world as well. Not here.

  Soon the pines around Zack dwindled as abruptly as they once popped up from under the ground. Right underfoot, he saw a long pumpkin patch. Zack followed it and found a shed, and then a stream with a bridge equipped with a small wooden waterwheel. Another pumpkin patch started behind the bridge, and then another one, and soon the dirt path was replaced by uneven cobblestones, letting Zack know he had finally entered Hawkspoint, a starter human village the robed welcome wagon had told him about.

  “Move along, traveler,” a village guard welcomed Zack as he was crossing another bridge, this one bigger and made of stone. Zack ignored the guardsman, only noticing the NPC did look like a typical RPG guard: of too high a level for such an insignificant village, with too good an armor for this small settlement lost in the mountains. Overpowered in case players brought local fauna with them into town. Strong enough to deal with any Wolf or Enraged Wasp in a blink, not giving those vile exploiters a chance to loot his NPC corpse for this very armor.

  The merchant’s place bore no special name, it was simply called “Merchant”; same as the local tavern was called “Tavern”. The level designers who had worked on this starter location most likely had to deal with droves of newbies coming from the direction of the altar, people unable to find a shop unless it would be labelled “Shop”.

  On the inside, the establishment also looked nothing special: some candles, some wood, some pointless copper pitchers and pewter mugs on display (like anyone would actually come in, admire them, and then buy them.) There WERE cool items on the racks too, and one of them, a Steel Dagger +2, looked just too good to ignore. Zack spent more than a half of his entire revenue just to put his hands on it.

  The blacksmith’s place didn’t even have an interior. The blacksmith NPC, a stout muscular fellow covered with soot, worked right on the street, either spinning his grindstone or bashing a piece of glowing iron with his hammer, not making much of a progress with either. Zack offered him a broken Leather Cap and noticed with slight irritation it cost hardly less than buying a new thing.

  However, with his repaired Leather Cap Lvl 1 on his head and his new Steel Dagger +2 on his belt, Zack felt experienced and even rich, even though his low Haggle skill resulted in a rather humble gold reward for all the weight he brought in. Anyway, crossing the central square of the fine human village of Hawkspoint, he felt like a true weathered adventurer, already wise enough to dispel Wasp Elementals and stay at range from Wasp Nests. So he went straight for the Announcement Board first.

  It merely opened the Auction; the glyphs on the board melting and becoming a boring endless list of wares players bargained for online, their prices astronomical. Next to it, there was a rating board, people’s levels and frags also astronomical.

  WANTED: XTerminatorX - Human Knight - Lvl 89 - 1425 frags . . . 1 600 000 gold

  “Who would want to kill this guy so bad?” Zack had to wonder. XTerminatorX’s avatar on the poster looked super-cool, his huge level and legendary items clearly seen. And yet, the thought of this amount of gold made Zack dizzy. Could be ten thousand bucks or more, he thought. Enough to hire a decent real-life hitman actually.

  With no jobs or realistic contracts to find, he left the board and crossed the square back towards the “Tavern”. Upon entering this small establishment, Zack was sure to meet a bunch of folks, PC and NPC alike.

  Yet the place was murky and deserted. The owner stood carelessly with his back to the door, tampering with a wooden wine dispenser, its fat barrel’s shadow danced across the ceiling, hovering in the middle of the room. Clumps of dripping tallow candles could be found everywhere. They all seemed like stubs ready to flicker out at any moment, and yet they burned forever of course, and it was about the most interesting part of the whole tavern experience.

  “Got any work, barkeep?” Zack asked straight off, ready to turn around and leave.

  “Oh, one of the Chosen!” the tavern owner said before even seeing him. “I have some work that needs to be done.”

  “That’s what I asked about,” Zack said. “Yes, work.”

  “See, some valuable goods disappear from my basement, and I’m sure there are rats involved. I’m far too old to—”

  “No,” Zack interrupted him.

  “You don’t wish to help me, oh Chosen Hero?” the tavern owner asked, his eyebrows arched in theatrical surprise.

  “No,” Zack said. “Not with rats, anyway. Not this stinking beginner tutorial Rats-In-the-Basement quest, thank you. Got any other work?”

  “I’m afraid it’s all that I have, traveler.”

  “Fine,” Zack said and left, banging the door shut even though it was a videogame, and nether his rage nor gesture didn’t make sense.

  They still push me from one beginner quest to another, he thought, fuming with righteous fury.

  “Some open world you’ve got here, huh,” he said to the empty village square. “Where’s life? There’s no life. No choice. Yes, I could kill some rats for you, why not. Like there’s anything else you will let me do, huh!? You know what. No. I’ll go into the woods and be like Robin Hood. This is a rebellion.”

  A lonely traveler sat reclining nearby, at a wooden table near the tavern’s side, a mug of ale in his hands. He was dressed too cool for a starter player. Most likely some kind of guardsman, made super-strong to shield him against player exploits. His armor was made up of spiky dragon scales, and must have cost a fortune. Zack looked at him and sighed. If only there was a way to lure such an overkill NPC out into the wilds and sic his kin, the AI-driven Wasps and Wolves on him, then loot his corpse, then repeat as he respawned, and this one time he would drop this amazing armor, and then…

  “Hey! Wanna kill some Orks with me? Join me. Perfect for a young Alchemist like you” the stranger said as Zack made his way past.

  At first, Zack ignored him, then he stopped and turned around.

  “So what are you?” he asked. “Some good Samaritan NPC greeting every newcomer in case they refuse to kill rats?”

  “An NPC!” The reclining figure shook its fist. “Are you crazy, bro? Do I look like an NPC to you?”

  “Well, yes,” Zack admitted. “I mean, don’t get me wrong. You come into town, and this stranger greets you, dressed kinda… ornate, obviously wearing high-level stuff, and he trusts you on sight. And he asks you to help him with killing a couple goblins, like it’s a big deal to him in his mithril armor, and then he pays you ten coins. I mean isn’t it the way it goes?”

  “Ah, my armor,” the stranger said. “Name’s Roxxor. This is a Dragonscale Armor +225 with sky-high damage absorption. A bit clumsy for my Rogue class but that’s my secret. I only told you I’m a Rogue because I did trust you on sight. I can see you’re a noob, what have you got to lose, right, and I have this scheme, yo. Not good at Stealth, but I put almost every XP into Backstab. It’s about 500% damage boost by now. Instakill for the most of them ten levels higher than me. So I tell them I’m a Paladin, okay? Paladins are normally little snotty kids who grew up and are too aggressive to cosplay a little Hogwarts fanboy Wizard anymore. So I play a dumb Paladin kid, yo, I tell them stupid stuff, like I’m here to fight for the forces of Light and so on, so they feel safe to turn their back on me. Now this sword of mine.” He rose up to his feet and pulled a thorny crooked sword from behind his back. Roxxor swirled the blade graciously and continued, “This beauty is not human or Elven, this is in fact an Or
kish Tainted Scimitar. It only looks so cool because it’s Legendary, even Orkish legendary stuff is kinda pretty. I mean this poor loser most likely paid in crystals for it. Ha ha.”

  “So you Backstab Ork noobs somewhere near their spawn point, in safe areas where PvP is normally off,” Zack said.

  “Oh, not noobs at all, that’s the point. It works on everyone; it’s my own psychological know-how. I’m not sure if I should tell you.”

  “Come on,” Zack said. “It’s not like I’m trying another character anytime soon.”

  Roxxor was only too eager to show off. “Okay. See, the beauty of Backstab is it’s not bound to primary attack,” he said, his black thorny blade twirling between them. “Even though it deals melee damage, except for neutral zones where PvP is limited to duels you both have to accept first. So Backstab is a skill, it has its own trigger thought, and for the case when you’re around someone’s spawn point, naturally in a neutral zone, what you do is you mentally bind the same action to the macro ‘duel offer’ or ‘offer duel’, whichever suits you best.”

  “So when you stand behind someone’s back…”

  “You go on say something unpleasant into this guy’s ear, like, ‘die, Orkish crab’, and so he rage-confirms this duel just because he feels he’s being attacked, and right then your PvP kicks in, and this very moment your Backstab plays out and zaps him straight through the back of his head, and voila, instakill.”

  “I was looking for the quests in here,” Zack confessed. “But the tavern keeper only offered me this stupid thing. You know, when some old lady asks you to kill rats in her basement, then you collect ten worthless Rat Tails or something, and get bitten because it’s dark in there, and then you earn 1 XP and 5 gold. A Chosen Hero killing vermin. Isn’t it just stupid?”