Alpha World Book One: Gamer for Life

by Daniel Schinhofen

  Gerald blinked but nodded, “I think they changed the fight from beta then. I thought he was hitting easier. New plan, I'm going to try and push him back, we need to try and stop him from killing the others. If we only had a Trapsmith who could free them during the fight.”

  Alburet pursed his lips then stopped casting and turned to the cell next to him. He pulled out the dagger from the prison and began to poke at the lock with it, wishing he still had the letter opener. After a few second he knew the dagger was too wide and turned back to the fight.

  “I can try,” Bob said as he flung another Fire Blast.

  “Do it,” Alburet said.

  Bob turned to the cell and studied the lock for a minute. Alburet stopped watching as he focused on the fight. A few seconds later the door opened and the slave rushed out with a cry of joy, fleeing up the stairs. “One free,” Bob said proudly.

  Quest: Save the Slaves

  Reward: A surprise at the Stormguard Keep

  “What the fuck,” Gerald said not daring to turn around.

  “Bob is unlocking the cells,” Alburet said. “Since this guy is a cream puff right now it shouldn't be an issue.”

  “He got another buff when the slave fled. Lost Slave, it gives him 10% more health.” Gerald replied, “Stop freeing them.”

  “Bob, change of plans,” Alburet said before Bob could free another slave. “We’ll free them after hopefully.

  The group went back to working the boss and when he went to 3200/4400 he rushed to the cell of the slave that had been freed, then growled and turned back to Gerald. As the boss rushed by Gerald the group stepped back, but as the boss went back to attacking Gerald they relaxed. When the next time came at 2800/4400 he again rushed to the closest cell, which was still empty, then went back to Gerald again.

  “So if you get two cells empty somehow he won't keep getting buffs,” Mary said between heals. “We have the new strategy.”

  “Good, now we just have to keep chipping away,” Gerald said.

  The rest of the fight was anti-climactic for the most part. Alburet had to recast Retribution on Gerald before the last 10% phase. When the boss hit frenzy he doubled in size and began to hit anyone in melee range, which forced Fluffball to retreat as her health took a beating. Mary was able to keep Gerald up through the frenzy, even with Fluffball not being able to help, eventually the boss dropped dead.

  A flash of light happened for everyone in the group. Alburet went to level eight as did DrFrank, the other three all hit level nine. “Level up before we move on,” Gerald said.

  The group let out a cheer and sat down to level as Bob went down the row of cells releasing slaves. “He seems way more useful than I thought he would be,” DrFrank said grudgingly.

  “Hear that Bob? The Doc gives you a good review,” Alburet called out as the imp was freeing the last slave. He finished adding his points into Wisdom and checked his new spell.

  “Yeah, but all of his patients are dead so that doesn't bode well,” Bob said as he skipped back to them.

  Alburet laughed then nodded at his spell. Demonic Haze: Mana cost: 50. Duration: 5 minutes/1 minute. On a friendly target raises Constitution by 10 for 5 minutes. On a hostile target lowers Constitution by 5 for 1 minute. May only be cast on one target at a time. To use this spell, point your finger into the air then at your target while saying the words “Infernal Mist.” (You may modify this spell due to an ability.) Alburet changed it, leaving the hand motion the same but changing the words to 'Bloody Haze'.

  Mary giggled, “Oh! I get it now. Doctor Frankenstein right?”

  Alburet closed his eyes in sympathy for Gerald, who seemed to care for the woman who didn't get the Necromancers name right away.

  “That is correct,” DrFrank said with a laugh. “I want to make a monster, after all.”

  Gerald coughed, “So, the loot is a necklace with +2 Constitution. Anyone else think they need it?” No one spoke up so Gerald took it and put it on, “Okay. We head back up then take the stairs leading up to the next floor. One pack of trash then the boss.”

  They all got back to their feet and started walking, “Hey, we’re doing really well and found a new quest to boot.” Marysue said happily as they climbed to the first floor. “Thanks all of you for coming with.”

  “Thanks for having us,” Alburet said automatically.

  “It's been good,” Fluffball said brightly. “Two levels, all my quests done, and bonus quests to boot.”

  “Wish I had been here at the start,” Frank said before sighing. “Oh well, it was nice of the dungeon quest to credit me with both kills when the jailer died. I should probably submit it as a bug just in case, though.”

  “Yeah,” Mary nodded, “that way they’ll know we didn't try and cheat the system.”

  They climbed the stairs to the second level with Alburet in the lead. A hall lay before him with two large goblins standing before the single door, Goblin Bodyguards level 11, 900/900 health. No visible weapons which concerned Alburet, so looked back at Gerald. “No weapons?”

  Gerald nodded, “They use unarmed attacks but still hit like a truck. Buff me and let's go,” he said with a smile.

  Alburet nodded, casting Retribution followed by Demonic Haze on Gerald before targeting one of the Bodyguards. He cast Fire Blast, throwing it down the hall like a missile. It splashed against the studded leather the goblin was wearing. He hurried down the stairs to Gerald at the base of the landing.

  The two goblins rushed down only to met Gerald and his shield. Alburet understood the Bodyguards used no weapons, allowing their attacks to come very fast. He targeted the first one to be hit three times, landing a Sap Strength on it then the other before starting up his Fire Blast spam.

  When the first Bodyguard went down the other one went into a rage and his speed and damage ramped up. “Fuck, they had a linked rage counter,” Gerald said as he all but huddled behind his shield.

  Gerald ended up with 100 health remaining even with Mary’s heals by the time the second one dropped. Panting, he spoke, “Fuck that was intense. Like having a jack hammer attacking you.”

  Alburet bit his lip, not saying the first thing that came to his mind but Bob didn't hold back. “So like me going after the last Succubus I was with.”

  Marysue's eyes went big and round, Fluffball blushed crimson while DrFrank laughed hard. Gerald shook his head, “You might want to muzzle that thing after all.”

  Alburet shook his head, “Bob is not a thing. Bob is a he as he just clearly stated. Even if he did do so in a rather inappropriate way.” The others all began to climb the stairs. Alburet held out his hand palm up and Bob slapped it, chuckling. “Good one.” Bob held up a thumbs up as they followed the others up the stairs and into the hall.

  “Okay,” Gerald said, “last boss is right ahead of us in his office. He’ll summon adds at each quarter of his life. Kill the adds first, caster adds have priority over others. At every 10% he throws a poison cloud at a random player. Just move out of it, but note that it stays until the fight is over so when you move be mindful of it. I'm sure he’ll frenzy at the end as well, that seems to be the go to mechanic in here.”

  No one had any questions so they approached the door and paused. Gerald held out his fist, “Let's get us some loot.” Everyone bumped fists, then Alburet buffed Gerald before Gerald opened the door walking in followed by the others.

  The room was large, easily sixty feet square. The only two things taking up floor space were a desk and a large map table with figurines on it. The Commander was massive for a goblin, easily twice the size the Captain had been. Alburet focused on him to acquire the information: Guglug, Goblin Commander level 12, 1800/1800 health. Guglug was dressed in a chain shirt minus the rust and held twin swords.

  “Okay everyone, you know the plan. Let's kill him,” Gerald shouted as he crossed to Guglug, who came around the desk to meet him wielding dual swords.

  “I shall send your corpses back to your pathetic king,” Guglug roared as
he lunged at Gerald.

  Alburet tossed a Sap Strength on Guglug, hoping that it would help at least a little as he waited for the third attack so he could start his damage. Once Gerald shouted he started in along with the others. The first part of the fight was boring until he threw the first vial of poison at Fluffball. She darted, aside catching a small part of the cloud which drained almost 10% of her life in that single second she was inside the cloud.

  Fluffball was coughing hard for a few seconds as she cleared her lungs, “It burns, so be careful.” She paused for another second before rejoining the fight. The second Poison Cloud went to DrFrank, who was moving as the vial was in the air, easily dodging it thanks to the distance it had to travel and being prepared.

  The first set of adds come swiftly after that as the boss dropped to 1350/1800. Alburet was already turning to the door to see a single caster and a Shieldbearer. He weakened the Shieldbearer, making it drop its shield and allowing Gerald to pick it up as it tried to go past him to Mary. The three DPS stopped hitting the boss and focused the caster down quickly, with Fluffball taking the brunt of the damage which left her at 72% of her life.

  They turned after the caster died and killed the Shieldbearer next, who hadn’t been able to reclaim its shield, before again focusing on the boss. Mary dodged the third vial easily, but the fourth vial cost Gerald almost twenty percent of his life before he was able to side step clear, coughing the whole time as he held his shield up and didn't even try to attack until he could see again.

  Alburet was already moving when the next vial came, so it easily missed him as he went towards the door as the next set of adds came in. Two casters and a Shieldbearer this time. Alburet cast Sap Strength on the Shieldbearer again, making it drop the shield. Fluffball and Frank's skeleton were each tanking a caster, so Alburet went melee to regain mana faster as Bob burned down first Fluffball's add then turned to the other one as it dropped the skeleton.

  DrFrank cussed and began to raise a new skeleton, which took five seconds for him to complete the spell. As he did, Bob stopped casting to regain his mana and Alburet stepped in next to Gerald to renew the Demonic Retribution and Demonic Haze buffs. He quickly backed out as the boss dropped to forty percent under the onslaught of Fluffball and DrFrank's new skeleton.

  It was a good thing he was in motion as it meant he only caught the faintest hint of the poison cloud that exploded near him. Alburet gagged, dry heaving as he moved away. The air in his lungs felt heavy and harsh. He staggered for a few steps until he got clean air in his lungs, his eyes watering.

  “Dear Devs, fuck you,” Alburet gasped, wiping his eyes until he could see again.

  Once he was stable again he joined back into the damage. Frank dodged the vial at 30% health and the DPS all turned towards the door as the boss dropped to 450/1800 to catch the last wave of adds. Four casters came in and Alburet groaned. “Fuck, this is going to hurt. Bob, gonna need you to pull aggro on one.”

  “Damn it,” Bob hissed and started chain casting his spell even faster than he had been.

  Alburet went into melee against another, as Fluffball jumped onto a third and the skeleton picked up the fourth one. DrFrank focused the one on his minion first, which meant the skeleton died just before it did. Fluffball was weaving at 25% of her life as hers dropped and she turned to the one that had put Bob down to 5% of his life.

  “Go home, Bob,” Alburet shouted not knowing if it would work. A cheerful cry met his ear along with a pop as Bob vanished.

  Fluffball growled,” You saved the fucking imp, when I'm this badly hurt?”

  Alburet nodded as he blocked another attack, hearing DrFrank casting his summoning spell. “Yes, just tap that one more time and it will fall over.”

  Fluffball smashed the caster into the ground then turned to the one on Alburet and ripped its head off. Alburet blinked at the sheer ferocity that she showed in that moment. Fluffball growled at him as her eyes glowed red before she went back across the room to the boss.

  Alburet, at full mana thanks to having gone to melee, stuck out his hand, “I summon Bob the Mighty.” A smoke cloud billowed and Bob appeared still at 5% health. “Welcome back. We need your help.”

  “Sure thing, master,” Bob said his voice happy as he turned and began to cast at the boss again.

  Mary dodged the vial at 20% and warned them that the boss would rage soon. She drank the mana potion Alburet had given her and tossed a heal onto Fluffball before going back to focus healing Gerald.

  Frank stopped DPS to pool his mana as they got closer to the 180/18000 mark. That was smart, Alburet had to admit, running out of mana in the burn phase would be stupid. The boss hit the 10% mark and began to glow red.

  Gerald stopped attacking and focused solely on defense to try and stay up as long as he could. Alburet smirked, realizing that as the boss frenzied and attacked faster that meant Demonic Retribution was going off more often and stealing even more health from the boss.

  Gerald lived through the fight, barely. The boss dropped with Gerald at only 10 health left to his name, just as Mary called that she was tapped out of mana. The rest of them sagged as the adrenaline rush left their bodies, letting out a ragged cheer at their success.

  “Good work with the adds,” Gerald said as his health started to regen on its own since combat had ended. “Wow, what a rush there at the end. I tank for that feeling.”

  Alburet chuckled, having known a few adrenaline junkies in his time and this had to be the safest way to get that feeling. “So we all get loot this time, right?”

  Mary nodded as she touched the boss which sent a pop-up to each of them, “Yes, here’s the loot.”

  Ring of the Mind

  +2 intelligence

  Alburet smiled at his pop up and touched the accept button on the panel causing a ring to appear in his hand. He slipped it on with a smile, looking at the others. Fluffball was holding up a new chain shirt with a pleased smile, Gerald was holding a new sword, Mary had a ring on her hand and DrFrank was putting on a necklace.

  “Good job everyone,” Mary said proudly. “I really do want to thank you all for the flawless run here, well minus Rocksure.”

  Chuckling Alburet replied, “Well yeah, if you discount him it was good.”

  “Tell me why you risked me over the imp,” Fluffball asked as she stalked towards him her fur still red tinged.

  “The caster had two hits left in him but his next spell would have killed Bob. Bob loses happiness if he dies and I need a happy pet for the bonuses. The caster wouldn't have been able to kill you, so I chose the way I did.” Alburet said calmly. “If it bothers you, then I’m sorry but that is what I thought at the time.”

  Pursing her lips, Fluffball considered then nodded, “Fine. We still up for grinding outside?” Alburet lips twisted up in a devilish grin and Bob fell over laughing, while DrFrank broke into a chuckle. Fluffball went red and shook her head, “That isn't what I meant.”

  “I know, but wow what a straight line,” Alburet said, bowing her to the door. “Let us sally forth.” he turned to the trio still in the room, “Thanks for the run guys. If you want DPS and I'm around just let me know. Anyone know how to friend someone here?”

  Fluffball spoke from the door, “You need a Mindstone for that. We get one when we turn in the supply quest at the keep, I think.”

  “Shall we go turn in the quest then come back?” Alburet asked.

  “That’s a good idea,” Marysue said. “We can go back as a group to speed up the travel time in case mobs jump us outside.” Everyone agreed to the plan so they headed out of the room and out of the keep.

  Alburet

  Human Summoner

  Level 8

  Strength: 5

  Agility: 13

  Constitution: 20

  Intelligence: 27

  Wisdom: 33

  Charisma: 20

  Health: 600

  Mana: 730

  Spells:

  Demon Skin-Rank 2

  D
emonic Retribution

  Summon Least Imp

  Fire Blast

  Sap Strength

  Demonic Haze

  Abilities:

  Personal Spells

  Rewards

  The trip back to the Stormguard fort was quick with only four mobs getting in the way before being killed quickly. DrFrank smirked to see Alburet running along with them instead of walking. Once they entered the gates of the Stormguard fort though Alburet stopped running, going back to his walking speed.

  He got to the rest of the group as they finished turning in their goblin heads to the Sergeant, who was handing out the silver to them in reward. Alburet snapped a salute when the Sergeant looked his way. “Sir, goblins killed sir. I was part of their unit for the most part.” He went into parade rest when the Sergeant returned the salute.