Alpha World Book One: Gamer for Life

by Daniel Schinhofen

  The receptionist was the same one he’d met before. “Welcome back sir, where would you like to go today?”

  “I was told about a goblin problem further east from the goblin fort. What would be the best destination for me to help thin out the goblins there?” He did his best to smile, but his nerves were still slightly wound up from his ordeal.

  “The Stormguard fort isn’t a bad idea, the goblin encampments are a few hours past the goblin fort in that area. There was a village out there and we can still send you there, but that would place you firmly in contested territory with no friendly people around.” Her tone gave the impression that the second option was for the foolhardy.

  “Thank you,” Alburet said. “I would like to go to the fort then. A few hours of walking are worth not being completely surrounded.”

  “The fee is one gold if you are going alone, sir. If you join the group currently waiting they can get five silver each refunded and your price would be fifty silver.” She indicated a large man in chain as she spoke.

  Alburet thanked her before strolling over to the lounge area, “Excuse me, please.” He addressed the large man the receptionist had pointed out, “I’m going to go off to the goblin area and the receptionist said you already have a group for that portal. If I join up with you, she would be refunding you each five silver.”

  The large, black bearded man sneered at Alburet, “No thanks, we’re good. Five silver is nothing. We also don't need a useless caster with us.”

  “Thanks for the consideration, fucking useless meat,” Alburet’s words were clipped and harsh.

  The large man and three others all cut from the same over-muscled mold stood up together. “Stupid casters should know their place,” the large man growled in reply.

  At that moment the portal master came hurrying over, “Gentlemen, we don’t condone fights here and your portal is ready. Please, follow me. Any conflicts started here will cause you to be banned from the premises for a day.”

  Alburet glanced at the portal master then to the four men before stepping away. “I apologize, portal master. It wasn’t my intent to cause a scene.” Even with his rage bubbling Alburet did his best to be civil, bowing to the portal master.

  The portal master nodded and ushered away the four fighters, who were openly sneering at Alburet as they trailed after the man. Alburet clenched his hands making his knuckles pop, his face hard as he watched them go. As they disappeared up the stairs, a small cough caught his attention. A very short, petite, black haired woman got his attention, “Oafs, am I right?”

  Alburet felt his anger ebb. The woman before him embodied the word cute. Her hair was a short bob cut which framed her heart shaped face. He met her green eyes before replying, “Yes. I’m sorry if I caused you any inconvenience with that scene. I need to set up for a portal, if you will excuse me.”

  The woman held up a hand, “You’re going to the east. I couldn’t help overhearing. Why not go with me to the ruined village? I was going to try and solo it but I would be happy to have another along.”

  Alburet considered for a moment, taking in the black leathers and daggers the woman wore. “What flavor of rogue are you?”

  She chuckled, “The leather and daggers, right? Assassin is my trade, to answer your question. What kind of caster are you that you use a heavy maul?”

  Alburet's lips twitched into a small smile, “Summoner.”

  Sucking in air through her teeth the woman winced, “A strength build Summoner? Oh, that has to be a rough road. You interested in joining me?”

  At Alburet's nod she sent him an invite, letting him see her name, “Thank you for being so kind, Karen.”

  “Let’s advise the receptionist that we’re grouped and get the discount, shall we Albert?” Karen said, walking to the desk.

  Alburet winced, “It’s Al-Burr-Et, actually. Yes, let’s.”

  Karen glanced back, her eyes sparkling, “Oh, so serious about your name I see. This might be fun.”

  The receptionist looked up as they approached, “Can I help you?”

  “We made a group for the destination I asked for earlier, can I get some cash back?” Karen asked politely but bluntly.

  The receptionist nodded, “Of course. Your refund will be half a gold. Your fee is one and a half gold, sir.”

  Alburet placed the amount on the desk, “What’s the cost for just one person, if I may ask?”

  “Two golds,” the receptionist said as handed fifty silver to Karen. “There is your discount. You are the next group to go, if you will just give the portal mage a moment.”

  Alburet nodded and set another gold on the counter, “For you. Both times I’ve been here you have been exemplary in your service. I will tip the mage as well, even though I know you pool and split them here.”

  The receptionist’s smile went from a polite, business-like expression, to one more real that showed off a dimple. “My thanks, sir. If there is anything else we can do for you, please do not hesitate to ask.”

  Alburet gave a small nod of his head before turning to see Karen watching him with crooked lips and a raised brow. “So you like the ladies, it seems,” Karen said with a chuckle. “I’ll have to keep that in mind if anything amazing drops while we hunt.”

  Alburet snorted softly, “We shall see.” He motioned towards the waiting area, “Ladies first.”

  Smirk becoming more pronounced, Karen turned towards the lounge, “I always thought that rule was so the guy could watch the woman’s ass as she walked in front of him.” She started walking with a sexy sway to her hips, “Am I right?”

  Alburet laughed, “You very well may be right. I always say it though as I consider myself a gentleman.” He did let his eyes follow her, though, nodding in appreciation at the way the leather hugged her curves. She was one of the rare few who hadn’t gotten carried away at character creation it seemed. Alburet had already noted her small bust that was perfectly suited for her small frame, with her hips flaring just enough to give the impression of an hourglass figure without exaggerating it.

  Just as she reached the seating area she glanced back, catching his eyes track up her back to her face. “Well, you didn’t wolf whistle, so I guess I can call you a gentleman for now.”

  “A gentleman always notices when a lady is making the effort. It would have been rude of me not to take note of your charms when you obviously wanted me to.”

  “Touché,” she replied. “I think I’m going to like working with you. So how are the angels treating you at level eleven?”

  “Don’t know, didn’t take them,” Alburet remarked. “I’m good with my demons. You’ll probably love Bob.”

  “You named one of your demons Bob?” The sheer incredulity in Karen's voice made Alburet chuckle.

  “Yes. Bob the Mighty and Tiny the Fearsome are my current minions. I’ll summon them as soon as we portal.”

  “Excuse me, your portal is ready. If you will follow me,” the same portal mage from earlier stood there waiting.

  “I think this is going to be more fun than I had thought I was going to find today,” Karen said out loud before turning to the portal mage. “After you, Jeeves.”

  The mage bowed slightly and lead them up the stairs. As they passed the receptionist she turned to them, “Good hunting to you, sir.”

  Alburet tipped an imaginary hat to her with a smile as he went by. He saw the portal mage glance back with a raised brow. A moment later they were shown to a different door than the one he had used before. Inside was a rune, glowing blue. “Step into the rune and you are set to go,” the mage said, stepping to one side.

  Karen stepped onto the rune and vanished. Alburet paused at the edge of the rune. “For you, sir. The receptionist already got the exact same from me.” Alburet handed over another gold, figuring higher levels would get him more anyway so might as well see if he could get the NPCs to like him quicker this way.

  The mage accepted the coin with a smile. “Thank you for your generosity sir. Next time
you come in ask for me by name, Rolland.”

  “I’ll do my best to remember that, Rolland. Have a pleasant day.” Alburet again tipped an imaginary hat as he stepped onto the rune.

  Ruined Village

  He found himself in the middle of a burnt barroom, littered with broken furniture. “Charming place this,” he said as he looked for Karen.

  “Everything okay? It took you a bit longer to show up.” Karen’s voice came from beside him where he could make out a faint shimmer.

  “Stealth,” Alburet said, eyeing the shimmer. “I hadn’t seen how it worked until now. I was tipping the mage and saying goodbye, is all.” He noticed a blinking icon and opened it up.

  You are now Liked by the Portal Guild

  “Being nice to the NPC’s eh? Hmm, well I guess they are somewhat more lifelike here than in other games. Not sure just throwing money at them is the way to go, though. Anyway, summon the demons and let’s see what kind of trouble we can get into.” Karen said as she glided to the doorway still in stealth.

  Alburet quickly summoned the two demons, “Morning you two. We’re going to kill some more goblins today. These should be stronger and tougher for us, but we have help. If you see a short, talky female don’t hurt her.”

  “As if they could even hit me,” Karen’s voice said from over by the door.

  Bob chuckled, “Another female, master? You surely do like the fairer sex. Does this one purr if you rub her ears?”

  Rolling his eyes, Alburet didn’t reply, he just walked over to the doorway which was missing its door. He glanced out into a dirt street empty of everything but piles of burnt rubbish. All the buildings he could see were broken shells of homes or shops. Most either had no roof at all or only the barest fragments of one left. “Charming place. Bob, I found you a summer home.”

  Tiny loomed behind Alburet, “Not enough fire. I don’t see anything to kill, either.”

  Alburet shrugged his shoulders, “Fair enough.” He walked into the middle of the street to get a good look both ways. “I only see the ruins of a village and that’s it. You sure goblins are near here Karen?”

  An arrow slammed into his right side, taking thirty health away. Stumbling back, Alburet looked the way the arrow had come from to see a goblin drawing back his bow for another attack as three other goblins came pouring out of the ruined house.

  “Yup,” Karen said softly as she took off towards the house. “I’ll deal with the archer. Try to stay alive until I’m done.”

  Tiny roared as he came out of the ruined inn, imposing himself between the goblins and Alburet and taking the next arrow to his chest. “I will protect the master,” Tiny growled, slashing his axe at the three goblins as they closed the distance.

  Alburet tore the arrow from his side with a grunt before he cast Demon Skin on himself. He silently cursed himself for not having done it before he left the inn. Stepping up behind Tiny, who had the attention of the three goblins, he cast Retribution and Vitality onto Tiny. Bob started casting Fire Blast at the first target as a second arrow hit Tiny.

  Tearing the maul from his back, Alburet invoked Flame Weapon with a thought and the head of the maul burst into flames. “Alright, let’s see how this does,” Alburet said, stepping around the goblins to hit the one that Tiny had aggro on. Noting the goblins all wore leather armor with chain shirts and steel caps while wielding swords, Alburet decided to go for a head shot anyway hoping the base damage was high enough to still get a critical from the blow. As the maul connected with the goblin’s skull Alburet chuckled to see the goblin wobble. Glancing at the combat text he noted the 460 damage caused by the critical. Checking the goblin’s health he found the level fourteen Goblin Searcher had 634/1200 health.

  The goblin spun on Alburet, as he had easily outstripped Tiny’s aggro with the critical. The maul was awkward for Alburet though, so he wasn’t able to deflect the incoming slash from the goblin and took another 22 damage. “Sorry Tiny, didn’t mean to grab him,” Alburet hissed through the pain.

  Tiny roared again, using his taunt to make the goblin turn to face him. “Be careful master,” Tiny said, trading blows with the three attacking goblins.

  A scream and thud made Alburet glance behind him to see the goblin who had been shooting at them lying in the street with Karen on its back, her daggers buried between its shoulder blades. He glanced at Karen’s life, showing she was only slightly injured then at the Goblin Searcher she was fighting which had 698/1200 health left. “Bob, help Karen with her goblin then help us out,” Alburet called out before swinging again on the goblin before him.

  The next Fire Blast went sailing down the street out of Alburet’s view as Bob complied. “Oh, she might be small but she is fierce. I like her,” Bob said.

  Tiny roared again, his health dropping to half as the first goblin fell. He spun to the next goblin, able now to use his shield a bit more to help mitigate the damage from the goblins. Alburet reached out, reapplying Vitality on Tiny before following it up with Haze for the constitution bonus to give Tiny a bit more health. Alburet brought his maul up and around, going for another skull shot but the goblin shifted to the side, causing the strike to hit on the shoulder. It still stripped more than 200 health away from the goblin, which was a hell of a lot more than anyone else his level should be doing he was sure.

  The second one dropped a few seconds later and as he turned his attention to the last one Bob started casting Fire Blast at it. Karen appeared next to him and dug in with her daggers. The last goblin didn’t last long under the concentrated onslaught. Tiny survived thanks to the two rounds of Demonic Vitality Alburet had put on him.

  “As I was going to say before you traipsed off into the street, the goblins here normally run in packs.” Karen said as her health regenerated now that combat was over. “We really should have died there, but Tiny did an admirable job of holding them at bay. Thanks for sending Bob to help me kill the one I Ambushed, too.”

  “Well, it worked out. I’ll be a bit more cautious from here on. I have to ask, was diving out the window with the goblin planned?” Alburet asked as they looted the corpses.

  “No, one of my daggers got snagged as he fell out the window. At that point it was let go of my dagger or ride him down. I didn’t want to lose one of my weapons so I did what I had to do.”

  Bob snickered, “So you like to ride, but not goblins out of windows?”

  Karen’s lips twisted, “Ick, goblin riding is vile. Take it from me, I just experienced it. Now if Alburet here wants a ride, I might be able to spare some time.” As she said it she twirled her daggers around her fingers before sheathing them.

  Shaking his head, Alburet replied with a smirk of his own, “I've seen what happens to those you ride. With that in mind, I’m going to have to pass.”

  “Aww, is the poor demon lover afraid of little me?”

  Bob cackled, “Oh yes, I like this one much more than the last one.”

  Sighing Alburet turned to Tiny who was at full health, “You did well, Tiny. What do you think, should we just walk down the street?”

  “I will follow where you lead master,” was Tiny’s reply but his eyes seemed to blaze with eagerness.

  “I could scout the village real fast and see what we have nearby,” Karen said as she activated her stealth and shimmered away. “Or you can be the bait again. I don’t mind and I might even nibble you myself eventually.”

  “You are feisty as hell, you know that.” Alburet said as he motioned her on, “Go find the prey. We’ll wait here for you.”

  Bob snickered, “I think she’s winning.”

  A soft chuckle came to Alburet’s ears as Karen moved off, “Be right back. Don’t go running off on me.”

  A few seconds later Alburet let out a sigh, “She can’t be real. I mean, what kind of woman is that bold and aggressive?”

  “The best kind?” Bob replied.

  Alburet’s mouth opened and a finger came up but he paused, considered, then dropped the hand and closed h
is mouth for a moment. “Okay, point. If things were different I would totally see how much of that is an act.”

  “Something stopping you from finding out while you are here?” Bob asked, a little puzzled.

  “My other life is very complicated, no relationship will work for me there.”

  “What does that have to do with this world?”

  Alburet considered the question seriously for a time, “I don’t know, actually. I hadn’t considered maybe just trying a relationship that only existed here. Moot point I’m going to say though, I doubt Karen is really interested. I would go so far as to speculate that she’s as ballsy as she is as a front to keep guys off kilter enough that they don’t try anything.”