Resurgence: The Rise of Resurgence Book 1

by Joshua W. Nelson

  I then linked the second item.

  While still looking at the item, I heard Kaitlin audibly gasp behind me. It was no doubt that she wanted this item. Sure, the armor was great, and the increase in her Wisdom would mean a much bigger Mana pool for her. But the fact that it would cost 10 percent less Mana for a spell was huge. That really stacked up over time. But it was both Druid and Ranger usable. So we had to ask Dan.

  “Well, what do you say Dan?” I asked.

  “Are you kidding me Alex? Do you have any idea how awesome Kaitlin would look in Leather Pants! I’m not going to say that I’ve pictured that in mind many a time already because that would just be weird, you know?” Dan said. Then thought about what he said. And then looked at Kaitlin and mumbled, “I just made it weird didn’t I?”

  “If I’m wearing those pants TC, you can look at my leather any time you like. Especially if you are saying I can have them.”

  “Of course I am! Congrats Kaitlin!” Dan said and then looked over at Wayne and whispered, but not really, “Did you see that bro. You should take notes man. TheClaw got mad game son.”

  After Dan and Kaitlin looted the corpse, we entered the inner sanctum of the Bandit Camp and continued our raid.

  * * *

  Two hours later we were in the center room of the inner sanctum, having cleared out all of the mobs and standing in front of the Woodland Bandit Leader. As I noted previously, the mobs were not difficult, and with Dan’s new bow, they went down even faster than before. About ten mobs before arriving at the Leader, our teammates leveled to 15. Such was the benefit of fighting the yellow mobs en masse. They ended up with tons of experience. I imagine they didn’t think they would get to 15 so quickly, so they hadn’t already purchased their level 15 spells for Jenny, Kaitlin, and Tim. And to be honest, I didn’t think they had the funds to do so anyhow. The bright point, however, was that Kaitlin was now able to equip her new pants, and they did look smashing on her.

  The Leader followed closely with the Commander in that every 10 percent he called in reinforcements. However, this time it was four Woodland Bandit Guards that came to his aide. There were no archers this time around, but we were still able to use Tim’s tactic of Charming two and having them beat the snot out of each other, while Wayne tanked one Guard and the Leader and Jenny off tanked the last Guard. The Guards had more hit points than their brethren out in the yard, and the Leader definitely had more hit points than the Commander. But that wasn’t what made the Leader such a pain to kill.

  The Leader was a healer. And though we were able to disrupt his spells time and again with Bashes from Jenny and Wayne, he still landed more than we disrupted. It also told me how this guy would be the Leader of the bandits. If looked at from a logical point of view, I mean. He had more hit points, he hit hard as a truck, and he had a bunch of plate armor on, which added to his armor class. And even if someone challenged him for his position as Leader, he could just heal himself and keep whittling down his opponent’s health. Of course this isn’t how the game worked, but you can’t blame me for thinking through these things.

  Wait? Did I just have a Dan like moment of internal rambling? That’s when I knew this had been a long day.

  The Leader went down eventually, although it was a fairly long fight, and showed us another aspect of the game with the reinforcements and introduction of a healer. I didn’t count the bandit Lester, since he wasn’t much of a challenge.

  Right before I approached the corpse of the Leader, I remembered my Force Multiplier ring. I hadn’t used it yet, since there hadn’t been a need. But what better opportunity to give it a trial run than before looting the boss of a raid, even if it is a mini-raid? So with that thought in mind, I activated the ring through the old time tested method of focus and blink. I immediately looked at my stats before doing anything else.

  Alex: Rogue, Level 16

  Str: 72 (+2)

  Cst: 80 (+12)

  Agi: 40 (+16)

  Dex: 148 (+26)

  Wsd: 24 (+1)

  Int: 4 (+1)

  Chn: 600 (+2)

  The first thing I noticed, because that is how my mind works, is that only the main skills get the 4X bonus. The bonus to stats from items and weapons does not. The second thing I noticed, and what truly made my jaw drop, was that my Chance was now at 600! I was on shaky legs as I approached the Leader. With a Chance this high, I couldn’t see how we wouldn’t get the best drops this mob had to offer.

  And boy was I right.

  I linked the first two items to the groups and waited for people to look the items over. I knew, personally, who I wanted the items to go to. But I wouldn’t stop anyone from wanting to roll. There was also a third item that Jason was going to get, so I told him to let Jenny have the first one. He didn’t question my statement and immediately called out Jenny for the boots. I knew Wayne wasn’t going to stop her from taking them either.

  Jenny gave Wayne a big hug, and then another after that saying that one was for Jason. She immediately went over and equipped her new foot wear.

  The second item could be used by myself, Gary, or Wayne. I was going to pass as the regeneration to hit points didn’t do me much good. It would be awesome for Wayne, but he always had a healer. I was more interested in seeing Gary, who as the puller took a lot of hits if his Play Dead didn’t work, get this as a way to offset the beat downs if just a little bit.

  “It’s a great item, but I’m more interested in Dexterity than Agility, so I’m going to pass,” I said.

  “I’d certainly take it,” Wayne stated, “but I’m not married to the idea of it. If it is something that Gary wants, I have no problem passing. I’m still on a high over my breastplate and hammer.”

  “Man, you guys always hook us up!” Gary yelled out. “Hell yeah I’ll take it! Those hit points will come in handy when I’m face first on the ground acting like I’m taking a dirt nap.”

  Gary was all smiles after he grabbed the necklace and equipped it. Thankfully there were no hugs to be given out this time around.

  “And finally we have an item for our Cleric. I saved this one for last for two reasons. One, it’s Cleric only, so Allister is the sole person who can use it. And two, this thing is literally legendary.”

  There was a hush over the group as they waited to see what I had found. I might have drawn the presentation out a bit, but when they saw it, they would understand. And with that, I linked the last item.

  Legendary Shoulders of Clerical Healing

  Deep in the Mason Mountains, amidst the Dwarven clans, a Master Smith of exceptional abilities crafted an otherworldly set of armor for the followers of Light. Master Smith Grumblewat TwoHammers, the first and last of his name, transcended the skills of every other smith before and after him. Unlocking a mystery to imbue armor with the ability to conform to the wearer’s dimensions, TwoHammers constructed one set of armor that could be worn by any Race following the tenants of Light. But the ancient feud between Dwarf and Dragon played out to the detriment of TwoHammers, and the armor and his life were lost. The pieces were added to the collection of the Dragon and later spread far and wide by plunderers and adventurers. It was never known, but rumor had it that a Cleric surrounded by the full complement of this armor had a direct connection to the Gods.

  “Congratulations on never needing to look for another shoulder piece in the game Allister!” I said.

  This was, likely, one of the most sought after items in the game for a Cleric. The stats on it weren’t all that impressive, except for the reduction in Mana consumption. However, this was only the case at Level 15. If similar items in other games was anything to go by, not only would this item get more powerful, but it would add more stats as Jason’s level increased. That is what was meant by the fact that it was a scaleable item. It would grow and get better as Jason leveled and got more powerful. Additionally, it was marked as being part of a set. In previous games, when you owned multiple items of a set, you would get even more bonuses that compounded as
the set became more complete. For these reasons, you can see how the item would be so desirable.

  I also liked that the designers took the time to write some Lore for these items. None of the other gear we had received had a backstory, but this one did. Good on them for that.

  “Alex…. Alex, how is this possible? This is a Legendary item. Even if this server were full, there wouldn’t be but two or three of these around. I just can’t believe we are that lucky,” Dan said.

  “I used the Force Multiplier bro, so my Chance was four times higher when I looted the mob. I didn’t want to say anything and get everyone’s hopes up if we didn’t get squat. But now I know. Before we loot any bosses, I gotta make sure I have this thing activated.”

  “Still man, the odds just don’t seem that good,” Dan continued.

  “Let’s not look this gift horse in the mouth there Dan,” Jason piped in. I was happy for the assist, since I didn’t want to discuss how my Chance was 602 at the moment and not 62.

  “You know that phrase never made any sense to me either,” Dan said, changing the subject and his train of thought. Thank the gods for that small favor. “I mean; why wouldn’t you check the horse’s mouth. You need to look at a horse’s teeth to know if it is healthy. I mean we aren’t talking about some inanimate object here, like a computer or a phone. As soon as you take that thing you are responsible for it and the vet bills you would have to pay. I tell you what, you try to give me a horse Aliphatic, you can bet I’m going to put my whole head up in its mouth.”

  “I think I’ve mentioned your head being all up in another part of a horse’s anatomy on occasion. And what the hell is Aliphatic?”

  “Huh? Oh, it’s a bunch of carbon atoms strung together. It’s not easy finding words that begin with Alli or Ali. I was running out, so I read the dictionary last night to get some more.”

  “Just so you can torment me? Really?”

  Dan started singing, “That’s what friends are for….”

  * * *

  As a complete raid we returned to Port Town. My group and I could have made the journey in very little time, what with our horses, but we wanted to travel together with our larger group. Tim and I both approached Sir Kenyon and completed the quest. We received a significant amount of experience and 20 Gold each. However, the real benefit came after I had spoken to Sir Kenyon and finished the quest. Sir Kenyon turned toward the square, filled with people like normal, and spoke in a loud voice, which was also broadcasted to all players:

  Let it be known that the Kingdom has recognized the amazing accomplishments of the brave adventurers Alex, Allister, Anastasia, Naugha, Sayhey, Serenity, Slovak, and TheClaw! The Bandits responsible for impeding the efforts of the Kingdom against the Children of Loust have been bested by our noble countrymen! For their efforts, these eight will henceforth be known as The Bandit Conquerors of Port Town! Three cheers for the Bandit Conquerors!

  Like when we earned the Bunny Slayers of Port Town title, we received an additional system message via our internal systems.

  As the first to defeat the Woodland Bandit Leader in the forests outside of Port Town, you have been given the title of The Bandit Conquerors of Port Town. This title bestows upon the wearer a bonus to the player. All skills are +5 and all resistances +20. Do you wish to display your title? Failure to display the title will negate the bonus, but you will still maintain the title in your archive. Any additional bonuses from previous titles will be added to the highest title of the player.

  I looked over at my teammates, primarily Jenny and her crew, and saw that look of bliss I knew so well. My crew understood the excitement one could get from getting one of these titles. And even better, the previous title we had received stacked with our new title. That gave us a +6 to all of our skills and a +30 to all our resistances. Definitely a major upgrade.

  Once everyone had their new titles displayed, we discussed next steps. Jenny and her team needed to get their Level 15 spells, but didn’t have enough money, even with the 20 Gold they each received, to purchase the 11 spells. As we had often done with our teammates, my friends and I decided to make up the difference with the money we received from the quest. Most of my reasons for doing so lay in the forest anyhow. We were going to test whether that castle of undead was a one off instance, or if the mobs remained there at all times. One of us was going to have to travel there on our horse to verify whether or not the castle was occupied. My choice was Jason, since he could Gate back to Port town after he checked the castle. The rest of us would have had to ride there and back.

  Jason had just been the recipient of wonderful news in the form of his new Legendary loot, so I basically could have asked him to do anything at that moment and he would have agreed. So after going over my plan, I sent Jason on his way and we went off to get the new spells for Jenny, Kaitlin, and Tim. I also wanted to make sure the friendly merchant would be willing to assist our friends in selling them the summoned horse spells.

  After a short time, Jason let us know that the castle was still there and it was fully inhabited by undead mobs. I was thankful that my friends didn’t bitch and moan that we had run rotations outside of that castle for days, thinking we could lose all those mobs. It was a gamble we had to play, and they knew it.

  Our friends already knew how we were able to raise the money for the horses since they knew we all had them and we provided Tim with his robe. It was even better though to be able to give them the location on the map and send them out to make their own fortune. Selling off the spells wouldn’t be possible for them, as they didn’t have anyone who could be invisible through the Dark portions of the realm. And I didn’t really want to travel all that way to sell off someone else’s goods. They would just need to grind it out and after a few days they would have enough to buy their horses.

  We all said goodbye to each other soon after Jason Gated back to Port Town. Everyone was tired after the long day, so I didn’t think our friends would be making the multiple hour trek through the forest to get to the castle. And I knew we didn’t have any further plans or requirements that needed to be met in any hurry. With smiles all around, and another round of congratulations to everyone, The Bandit Conquerors of Port Town logged off for the night.

  CHAPTER 21

  September 13th, 2043

  Let’s just say I felt really bad for our teammates. I mean really bad. AltCon couldn’t have come up with a worse time to unveil their next batch of “quests” for the players in the game. While my group was in a bit of a limbo between finishing our last raid and moving on to our next quest, our teammates were grinding away and trying to raise money for their mounts and upgrades. But we were all being paid to play this Beta, and as such AltCon quests would have to come first.

  My group was still at Level 16, and would probably need a couple of days to get us all to Level 17. Sir Kenyon didn’t have any more quests for us at this time either, and I was betting we wouldn’t get any for a couple of levels. Jason and Dan also didn’t get new spells until level 18, so there was no urgent need to get out there and grind. So while our teammates were downtrodden by the sudden need to step away from their money making venture, my group was indifferent with the break. I still wanted to get to the Undergound, but no one knew just how long it would take before we got sent to the Capitol.

  And in truth, I was kind of looking forward to these new quests when I saw they dealt with a part of the game none of my group or larger team had touched yet. Namely, the skill set of Crafting.

  In every game I have ever played, there have always been a set of players who loved nothing more than creating items within the game. At first, these were some of the worst items on the market, as far as skills they offered went. And you would lose money along the way while you tried to get your Crafting skill raised. In fact, this is what kept most people from ever starting a Craft of some kind; you were guaranteed to lose money long before you ever started to make any. And since Resurgence was not a game that dished out money hand over fist,
every single Copper piece mattered.

  But here we had no choice. All of the AltCon quests that were issued to us, as they decided to give them all to us at once, had to do with Crafting of some kind. Based on your Class and Skills, AltCon decided which Crafting Skill each player would have to start, if they hadn’t already. For instance, as a Rogue, I was tasked with the Crafting Skill of Poisons. Dan got Fletching, which I thought was something he probably should have started doing some time ago, Jason got Cartography, and Wayne received Blacksmithing.

  Each of us were given a starter kit as part of our Crafting quest. For instance, Jason was given a basic cartography kit that provided a few templates for making maps, and the instructions on how to do so. It was odd to us that Jason would get the Cartography skill, instead of the Ranger, but we learned it was due to his high Wisdom score. Apparently, making maps was all about your Wisdom Skill. Dan was given a basic template for making arrows, I was given instructions on how to grind ingredients together, place them in a suspended soluble solution, and mix them appropriately. Wayne was given a basic cast to make an item at the blacksmith, and a blacksmithing hammer.

  I thought the guys would be thrilled to be learning something new. However, this wasn’t the case. Wayne told me that if he was swinging a hammer, he preferred it be at a mob and getting experience for it. And Jason had no desire to toll away at making maps.

  This is where Resurgence was different from other virtual role playing games I had been involved with. You didn’t simply select the materials in your inventory and click on a create button. You actually had to go through the mechanics of creating your craft. Jason and Wayne saw this as a waste of time.