Alpha World Book One: Gamer for Life

by Daniel Schinhofen

  Alburet placed two gold on the bar, “Two meals if I ask for them and four drinks?”

  The bartender snatched the two golds, “Done, Summoner. I’ll have me daughter show ya to ya room after ya meal.”

  Alburet nodded as he sipped the ale, letting the rich taste fill his mouth. He sighed contentedly at the taste. He had always been fond of good dark ales which were hard to find in the small town he lived in. He was halfway through his mug when the bartender set a bowl and small loaf of bread before him. Tasting the stew, he found it to be close to beef and barley, which went very well with the ale. Before he knew it the bowl was empty and he was using the last scrap of bread to clean the bowl.

  “Seems ya enjoyed it,” Stacia said from behind him. “Iffin ya are ready for me to show ya the room?”

  Alburet nodded, standing up and placing a couple of copper next to the bowl. “I shall follow as you lead,” he said with a small smile.

  Stacia turned and walked up the stairs with the step of one who had other things to do, but as soon as she reached the second floor she slowed and her hips swayed enticingly as she led him to a room all the way at the end of the hall. She opened the door, stepping inside to light the lamp. Alburet followed her in but stopped just inside the door. He was pretty sure she was interested, considering this morning and the way she had swayed down the hall. “Very nice, thank you,” Alburet said, keeping his voice pleasant and calm.

  Stacia turned to face him with a smile on her lips, “Ya be very welcome, Sir. Is there anything else I can do for ya tonigh'?” She stressed the words sir and anything as she spoke, making sure he heard the offer clearly.

  Alburet considered for a brief moment seeing just how much she would be willing to do, but shook his head instead. “Alas, fair Stacia I have other business that cannot wait. As I’ll be staying here for the rest of the month I’m sure we will have ample time to get to know each other. A question does occur to me about,” he paused, wondering how to politely phrase what he was going to say. Not finding a way to do it he asked bluntly, “the cost of such service?”

  Stacia giggled, one cheek dimpling, “Oh, ya were tryin’ to find a polite way to ask, eh? Simply put, it depends on the man. I’ve asked for up to two gold before, and gotten it to boot. For ya I am thinking it might be best to just ask for what ya think I am worth after the deed.”

  Chuckling, he nodded, “A strategy likely to net you far more than a single asking price up front. I shall have to keep in mind your intelligence and forward thinking.”

  Dropping a deep curtsy that gave Alburet a good view of her womanly charms, she replied to him, “We live to serve.”

  Alburet tore his gaze away from her chest, “Well, I need to be going or I shall be late. I hope the rest of your night is as pleasant as you. No idea when I’ll be back but I’m sure I will see you in the morning.” He stepped out of the room as he spoke.

  A slight pout was on Stacia’s lips as she stood back up, “For ya as well, Sir.” She made sure the lamp was in the middle of the table and burning before she exited the room and closed the door. “Maybe I will see ya when ya return.”

  “One never knows,” he winked at her and quickly walked away. He let out his breath quietly as he did so, five years of nothing and now two women who seemed interested in sleeping with him. One admittedly for cash, but hell prostitution was legal in the small town he lived in, one of the few place in the country it was. He weaved his way through the bar and out the door, catching a glimpse of the bartender eyeing him quizzically. Alburet exited the inn headed for the portal guild at a fast walk to get there on time.

  Arriving a few minutes before the meeting time, he entered to find Karen lounging on a sofa. She popped to her feet when he came in, “Was wondering if you were going to stand me up.”

  “Why do I doubt anyone has ever done that to you?”

  “Because you want to get me out of my leathers?”

  “I don’t know any single straight man who wouldn’t,” Alburet replied as he motioned towards the reception desk where a different receptionist sat. “Shall we?”

  “Now that you’re here, yes,” Karen tossed him an invite and started walking to the desk with a sway. “Ladies first I believe, right?”

  Chuckling, Alburet agreed, “It is only right and proper. Besides, the view is fantastic.”

  A sensuous laugh came from Karen, “I knew you would fall for my charms.”

  The receptionist watched them silently, with a small frown on her face. “Can I help you?”

  “Two for the ruined village to the east that is overrun by goblins,” Karen answered promptly, pulling out coin.

  “That will be one and a half gold each.”

  The duo handed over their coins and retreated to the lobby to wait. “She seem a bit stand offish to you?” Karen asked.

  “I think she found our banter unsavory. She’s probably the uptight kind who thinks sex shouldn't be hinted at in public.”

  Snorting, Karen nodded, “Oh, that makes sense. So I guess I shouldn’t suggest that you slap my ass when we go by her, right?”

  Putting on a pensive look, Alburet stroked his chin, “Well, we could test my theory if we did that. However, it might also cause a small loss in rep with the guild. If you’re up for it we should though, for science of course.”

  “For science,” Karen giggled then covered her mouth as she turned slightly pink.

  “Oh, does the badass warrior chick have a giggly side?”

  “I’m so going to pound you hard when we spar later for that,” she replied.

  “Isn’t that supposed to be my line?”

  Just as Karen was about to respond a cough got their attention. “Your portal is ready,” this mage was old with the traditional long, flowing white beard, “if you will follow me.”

  Alburet stood up with a grin and motioned to Karen, “Ladies first.”

  Shaking her head Karen, fell into step just behind the mage before glancing back at Alburet and giving her rump a wiggle, “For science.”

  His face breaking into a large grin, Alburet nodded. As they passed the desk Alburet reached out and swatted Karen’s ass hard. The sound of his hand striking the leather, along with Karen’s yelp, brought the mage to a stop and the receptionist spun around, her eyes wide and her cheeks red.

  “Sorry, thought I saw a spider on her and tried to get it off,” Alburet said smoothly, “please, lead on.”

  Karen looked back at Alburet with her eyes smoldering, but she wasn’t about to give away the game. As the mage started walking again Karen glanced back at the receptionist, winking and blowing her a kiss. Alburet heard a strangled splutter from the receptionist. As they continued Karen fell back to walk next to Alburet, whispering softly, “I’m so going to make you pay for that. You didn’t pull that spank at all. I wasn’t expecting it to be that intense.”

  “I shall pay the fee and gladly,” Alburet said calmly as they approached the door to the portal room. “I can’t deny who I am, after all.”

  “So you like it rough?”

  “Your portal, step into the rune and it will take you to your destination.” The mage said as he opened the door, cutting off their conversation.

  Alburet bowed, “Ladies first, in all things.” Karen’s lips were drawn thin, her eyes gleaming, but she held her tongue and only nodded before she stepped onto the rune. As she vanished Alburet turned to the mage, “I’m sorry for our behavior. Please extend my apology to the receptionist as well.” He handed over a gold before he, too, stepped onto the rune.

  The Messenger

  As soon as he could make out the ruined barroom he spotted Karen lounging against a wall. Nodding, he quickly buffed himself with Demon Skin, then summoned Tiny and Bob and triggered his Flame Weapon ability. “Okay, I'm good to go now.”

  Pushing off the wall, Karen nodded, “Okay. Let me go scout real quick.” She stepped out the door into the sunset.

  Karen was back a few minutes later, “The house you were at
tacked from the first time has a new set of goblins in it. Only two swords with one bowman this time.”

  “Sounds good, let’s get this party started. We’ll give you two minutes to get set then we’ll go over and say hi to the neighbors.”

  Karen stealthed and left the building after agreeing with the plan. Two minutes later Alburet buffed Tiny and they left the inn, heading for the building Karen had indicated. The fight was over quickly thanks to their experience dealing with the packs of goblins earlier. As the last of the goblins fell, the sun finally sank behind the horizon. It grew dark in minutes Alburet blinked, trying to get his eyes adjusted to the quickly diminishing light level.

  “It gets really dark pretty fast, right?” Karen said from nearby, her form barely discernible.

  “Hmm. Maybe we’re done for the night?” Alburet half asked.

  A soft chuckle came from Karen, “Just wait for it.” A few seconds later the gold moon rose, bringing a soft golden light to the ruins. “There it is, Nightlight.”

  “Don’t tell me the moon is actually called Nightlight,” Alburet said incredulously.

  “It is, according to the books in game,” Karen said then waited, looking at the sky. “Besides, it does what the name says. Consider how dark it was a moment ago.”

  “Okay, point. However they really could have done a better job of naming it.” He gazed at the golden moon, noting the craters that marked its surface.

  “Oh, by the way,” Karen said softly from behind him, “vengeance is mine.” Her hand smacked into his ass hard, causing him to let out a small yelp and turn to face her.

  Tiny roared and brought his axe up, turning to face Karen. Bob looked on, laughing but otherwise doing nothing. Alburet held up a hand, “Hold, Tiny! She was owed that one from when we were in the city, so stand down. She is not an enemy.”

  “But she attacked you master!” Tiny bellowed, his eyes glowing in the dim light as his hand flexed on the axe haft.

  “As he said, it was payback for the spanking he gave me earlier.”

  “Fee paid, as agreed,” Alburet replied before turning to Bob. “That’s enough, Bob.”

  “Fine,” Bob said, still chortling slightly.

  Tiny lowered his axe, still visibly angry as he turned to Alburet. “We going to kill more?”

  “As soon as Karen decides she’s ready,” Alburet said, looking around only to find Karen gone. He checked the map and saw her down the street entering a building. A moment later his message icon lit up telling him she was ready. “Seems she already found our next target. Let’s go.” He rebuffed Tiny as they set out for the next set of goblins.

  The next four hours was a repeat of earlier in the day, with them moving from ruined house to ruined house killing all they found. Eventually Karen called it a day, “Okay, I think I’m done for now. We both leveled during this run, so that’s good enough for now. You need to be careful with that new spell, though. It hurts friendlies, excluding your minions who seem immune to it.”

  “Yeah, sorry about that. And we never found the messenger, either,” Alburet said as he stepped to the doorway to loot the goblin there. He did so he noticed a lone goblin moving down the street towards them. Focusing on it, he checked the name and level of the goblin, Goblin Messenger level 15. “Psst, Karen. You might want to stealth.”

  Karen faded from view and came over to look out the door. She whispered, clearly excited to see the goblin, “That’s the one we need.”

  “Okay. Tiny will engage him, then we all pile in,” Alburet said softly, looking back at Tiny. “Let him get a touch closer first, Tiny.” He eased into the house and buffed Tiny again with Retribution, Haze and Vitality. “You’re good to go.”

  Tiny nodded, waiting another few seconds before he went sprinting out of the house with a roar. The Goblin Messenger looked up to see Tiny barreling down on it barely in time to throw itself away from the attack. Alburet and Bob came out of the ruined house just as Tiny missed. Alburet went to close the distance as Bob began his barrage of Fire Blasts. The goblin came to its feet with twin short swords and a red glow surrounding it as it attacked Tiny.

  Alburet got there a moment later, but held his attack as he waited for Tiny to gain more aggro. Tiny was being pressed pretty hard from the barrage of attacks the goblin was launching at him. Once its life dipped a bit more Karen appeared, her blades sinking into its back.

  “It will try to run at a quarter life,” Karen said as she attacked again.

  “Okay,” Alburet replied as he finally swung the maul, hitting the goblin in the side. As Karen had said, at 25% life the goblin turned to run only to find itself cut off, then cut down in short order. Alburet chuckled, “That’s a good way to end the night.”

  Karen looted the goblin, holding up a scroll and a messenger bag. “These are the quest items. Are you going to be on tomorrow?”

  “Yes,” Alburet said, wondering why he hadn’t gotten the quest as well.

  “Okay. Meet at the Stormguard fort tomorrow, say about ten in the morning? I’ll start the quest line then. If anyone else you know is on then, invite them as well. The boss this thing spawns is level twenty, so we could use some more help.” Karen said as she put the scroll and bag into her pack.

  Whistling softly, Alburet nodded, “That is going to be fun.”

  “Not really, but the rewards are normally worth it. Thanks again for the fun day and night. I would see about doubling down on the fun, but I do need some sleep.” Karen stretched her body before coming over to stand a foot in front of Alburet looking up at him. “Maybe tomorrow after we kill the boss we can have some extra fun?”

  “Sounds like a good time to me,” Alburet said with a chuckle, resisting the urge to pat her head.

  “Good,” Karen leapt up, wrapping her legs around his waist and planting a deep kiss on him. After a minute she broke the kiss, her eyes smoldering, “Just a hint of things that might possibly come.” She vanished as she logged out.

  A catcall brought Alburet back to reality, “Work it, you stud you.”

  “Funny, Bob. Hahaha.” Alburet said, looking over at the imp. “We’re done guys, so go get your rest.”

  Both demons vanished, Bob beat boxing some old style porn music, leaving him all alone in the ruined village with the moon starting to descend from its apex. Pulling out his Homestone while shaking his head to clear it, Alburet paused to look at the moon one more time. With a small smile on his lips he invoked the stone and appeared in the graveyard next to the Dead Man Inn. “Home again, home again jiggity jig…” he said softly as he put the stone away.

  Taking a single step away from where he spawned, he suddenly felt a searing pain in his back. He tried to move but his muscles locked up and the pain spread through him, radiating from the knife in his back. He wanted to howl in pain but he couldn’t form any sound. He noted two new debuffs on him, Poisoned and Paralyzed. A hooded man came into his field of view wearing a dark grey and green splotched cloak.

  “Well, this will count as one. Only two more kills to go now, two-souled. The contract says to let you know that the House of Gilden is quite perturbed with you. However, they decided to take it easy on you for your first offense, just three deaths at the hands of the Dark Nights guild. So keep this in mind, if you upset your betters they send us after you.” A hand tilted Alburet's head so he could see a masked face with two red tinted eyes meeting his. “You will have your reprieve dictated by the gods, but I will be back for you eventually.”

  Alburet caught sight of the dagger as it slid under his point of view, followed by the pain of his throat being cut before death claimed him. As soon as his life reached zero he was a ghost floating above his corpse in a washed out world, watching as his murderer calmly cleaned his dagger before vanishing with a dark chuckle. Alburet wanted to scream and curse at his attacker but was unable to as a ghost. Two minutes later he was standing in the graveyard, alive again.

  “Motherfucker,” Alburet hissed, his eyes tracking the darkness aro
und him. When nothing happened he checked a new buff that appeared, learning something new.

  God’s Will; you have been killed by an assassin or another player. Due to this you are immune from non-monster attacks for one hour unless you instigate them.

  Taking a deep breath, Alburet felt his knuckles pop as he clenched his hands. Forcing them open, he tried to center himself. Minutes rolled by until he finally got his anger under control. Once he was mostly centered Alburet entered the inn. The taproom was mostly empty, with maybe half a dozen people about.

  Stacia looked up from her spot behind the bar, giving him a bright smile, “Welcome back, sir. Be ya interested in a bit of drink or food before ya retire?”