One small mercy was that word had been sent ahead to the camp of our slow approach. Chief Ugola himself was waiting outside his tent, a cape of white fur with red stripes draped across his shoulders. The dude was dressed to impress.
“Welcome to our humble village!” Chief Ugola exclaimed as we drew closer.
It took all of my willpower not to fall out of Frank’s saddle as I motioned to Lucas.
“Chief Ugola, may I present to you…” My sleep-deprived mine went blank. Who was I presenting? Where were we? Who was giving a present?
Fortunately, Leesha sensed my lapse of cognitive capability and filled in the rest. “Lucas Sevenday of the Lucas Sevenday Trading Company!”
A quest notification bobbed across my double vision like an archaic screen saver.
Quest Complete: Fair Trade
You have escorted the Crystal Fen merchants to the Horuk tribe. Chief Ugola is pleased — seems like a win-win for everyone.
Rewards:
- +75 RuneCoins
- +50 Esteem with the Horuk Tribe
- +50 Esteem with the Lucas Sevenday Trading Company
- +1 Intelligence for your crafty deal-making.
Relationships:
Horuk Tribe: 105
Lucas Sevenday Trading Company: 65
Your Intelligence has increased by 1!
Character Stats
Name: Zane
Title: None
Race: Urok, male
Level: 3
Total Attribute Points: 17
Attribute Points to next level: 3
Health: 4 (80/80 Hit Points)
Attack: 3
Defense: 4
Speed: 2
Agility: 1
Intelligence: 2
Luck: 1
I vaguely recalled sliding off Frank’s back, landing badly, then somehow managing to activate rest mode before anyone could help me up.
22
Rest Mode
B: Dude! What the hell? Where you been?
Z: It’s only been like an hour for you or something, right? chill
B: You forget that I *know* that an hour for us is 10 for you
Z: Sorry. i’m just dealing with a sleep debuff right now. They get pretty nasty, must be bleeding over
Z: My bad. Everything okay?
B: everything’s fine on my end.
Z: did you take all your medication?
B: Yes MOM
B: How is the search for the token going?
B: I’m assuming since you didn’t immediately start this conversation wiht “I got one!” that you didn’t get one yet.
B: with*
Z: No luck yet.
Z: And no leads other than this quest thread I’m on. Obviously there’s no way for me to know if it’ll actually lead to a token.
Z: Up next is a cave of bandits I’m heading to. Maybe there’ll be something there. Any luck on your end?
B: Nothing yet on whatshername, but I’ve been combing the feeds and the wikis for other info. They aren’t much help.
B: There have been people reporting found tokens, but they range everywhere from quests to loot drops to crafting to exploring. you name it.
Z: Crap! people are finding them?
B: Looks like it.
Z: here I was hoping they were hiding them deep into quests.
B: The only common thread i found is that nobody is doing the same exact thing twice. If someone grabs a token from a dungeon, that dungeon will no longer have a token.
B: There have been all sorts of weird tips out there and rumors, they pretty much get debunked right away.
Z: great. guess all I can do is hope that no one else has completed the quest thread I’ve been on.
B: Have you seen anyone else?
Z: other than Leesha? no. nothing yet.
B: Don’t lose hope yet. There’s literally no rhyme or reason to it.
Z: you’re telling me
B: Just keep playing. I’m sure the devs want people to find tokens as part of the experience. so just keep experiencing.
Z: how profound
B: relax! you know the biggest finds are when people are getting curious and just having fun.
Z: Easier said than done
B: Well, at least this Leesha girl has kept her word. She hasn’t posted anything.
Z: I’m still not sure I trust her, but she’s getting a bit easier to deal with. During battle she nearly screwed me over, but it worked out.
B: Don’t be such an ass
Z: What?
B: when you get competitive, you kind of turn into a dick. Take it easy superstar. Be a friend. she’s the only one you have in-game. And you kind of depend on her, right?
Z: More than I wish i needed to but that doesn’t make me a dick!
B: … ;)
23
Bandit Moon
The first thing I noticed when I came to was the sound of beating drums and blowing horns. Second was that I’d somehow ended up in a hide tent. I looked down at the corner of my vision and saw it was around three in the afternoon in-game.
Leesha’s head poked into the tent. “You up?”
“What’s all that banging?”
“Well, if you’d get out of bed, you could come see for yourself!”
Winking, Leesha disappeared with a swish of the tent flap. I groaned, beefy Urok hands rubbing my eyes. I still felt a little sleep hungover, but it was a thousand times better than I’d felt from the debuff. I swung my legs off the cot and headed outside, grateful my headache had abated, given the constant racket blaring through the tent walls.
The camp was near-unrecognizable. When I stepped outside, I was treated to a spectacle of colors: streamers were flying along with hand-painted leather flags on poles, depicting the various Urok gods. It felt like New Year’s Eve except it was afternoon in autumn.
Somehow, during the course of my five-hour nap, they’d converted the depressing camp into a full-on merchant fair filled with more Uroks than I knew existed in the tribe to begin with — all drinking, laughing and dancing. The festivities were decidedly un-barbaric, and Urok and merchant alike seemed to be having a good time. It didn’t take my newly acquired Intelligence point to realize a deal of sorts had been struck. That, or the merchants were determined to get the tribe drunk so they could run for their lives.
“So, not to be a party pooper, but the sooner we get going to the Blue Hands’ hideout, the better,” Leesha said, idly twirling her daggers. “I had my armor all fixed. I would’ve taken yours, but even being in a party with you, the game wouldn’t let me unequip any of your items. Plus I’ve already seen enough Urok skin in the last few hours, if you catch my drift.”
“No!” I said. “I don’t catch your drift. What’re you talking about? What does that even mean?”
But she only smirked and shook her head, and I let my mind settle on more useful problems. Namely, my armor.
I had no idea how easy or difficult it would be to pry the armorer away from the festivities to get to work fixing and improving my armor. One look around the party made it clear that everybody was committed to going hard through the wee hours of the morning.
Fortunately, my Esteem with the tribe was apparently worth something. Zunkur, the village armorer, was only slightly intoxicated, and when I told him I needed all my gear repaired, he was only too happy to offer his services at a decent discount as well. When all was said and done, my bill came to fifty RuneCoins. After those expenses, I still had two hundred and ten in the bank.
The actual repairs only took about thirty minutes or so, and before I knew it, my gear was back on, as good as new — or as good as my dinged-up gear could get. If there was any disappointment here, it was that I was only able to upgrade my Rusted Iron Cuirass by a measly two percent Defensive Rating, despite the fact that the text said all of my fair-quality items could be “improved by most smiths.” Either Zunkur was below average or the partying affected his skills more than he wanted to admit. B
ased on the number of times he missed the anvil with his hammer, I assumed the latter.
Helmet of the Lucky
Description: The previous owner of this helmet obviously didn’t have much luck, but maybe it all wore off onto the helmet? +5% Defense Rating +1 Luck (Permanent Increase)
Quality: Fair (Can be improved by most smiths)
Rusted Iron Cuirass
Description: A plain iron cuirass that’s definitely seen better days. Nothing like receiving a hand-me-down for a job well done. +17% Defense Rating.
Quality: Fair (Can be improved by most smiths)
Urok Warrior Moccasins
Description: Sturdy leather moccasins worn by Urok warriors and hunters alike. Fashionable and functional. +2% Defense Rating.
Quality: Fair (Can be improved by most smiths)
Chainmail Chausses and Plate
Description: Basically pants made out of mail rings with metal plates attached to protect your thighs. Because leg day matters. +15% Defense Rating.
Quality: Good (Can be improved by a journeyman smith)
Rusted Steel Pauldrons
Description: If knights played football, they’d love these. +3% Defensive Rating.
Quality: Fair (Can be improved by most smiths)
Worn Leather Gloves
Description: Just a pair of leather gloves from the medieval equivalent of a hardware store. +1% Defensive Rating.
Quality: Poor (Don’t bother trying to improve these)
One interesting aspect of the item durability in MythRune was how repairs were handled. Rather than assigning a number or percentage representing armor durability, you pretty much had to base it on how the armor looked rather than any hard-and-fast number. It helped make the world feel more realistic, but messed with the OCD of some gamers, who liked to quantify everything with spreadsheets. It took a pretty good beating to break anything, but since I had access to a smith — even a drunk one — I wanted to make sure my paltry gear was as ready to go as possible.
“You seem oddly focused right now,” I said to Leesha as we rode away from the camp and continued festivities.
“I can be strategic too,” Leesha said with a wink. “Besides, if we attack at night, we may catch the bandits off guard. And I don’t know about you, but I’m about ready to find a tournament token. I know we’re only four days into this thing, but I think the fact that we haven’t seen any other players is…”
“Encouraging?” I suggested.
She nodded. “At least that’s the hope.”
I carefully pondered my next words. I wanted to share with her what Brandon had told me about tokens being found, but the less she knew about my family and my real-world life, the better. “So I’ve got a…source keeping an eye out online for news about the tournament. He told me people are finding tokens already.”
Leesha raised an eyebrow. “How mysterious. I’m guessing you aren’t going to reveal this ‘source’ of yours, huh? That’s not very trusting, partner.”
I knew she was joking, or at least trying to, but the sarcasm struck me the wrong way.
“You’re the one blackmailing me for three million dollars, partner.”
“You know, Zane, I’m not a bad person.” All joking was gone now and she stopped her horse to fix angry Sylvad eyes on me. “It’s not like I backstab and rob people in real life. MythRune is supposed to be an escape. A place where you can be who you want, do what you want.”
“Yeah, well, ten million dollars is pretty real to me.”
She glared at me then sighed. “Okay, I’m sorry for backstabbing and throat-slitting you.”
“And shooting me in the foot?”
“Hey, I unlocked a special skill from the Skill Point I got! No regrets on that one. But I probably wouldn’t have done the first two things if I’d known from the beginning that you were actually feeling one hundred percent of the pain.”
“Yet you still shot me in the foot.”
“In my defense, I forgot in that moment.” Leesha gave me a sheepish grin, and part of me actually believed she felt a little bit bad. “Fine, then. I’m sorry. If you promise to be less of a stoic ass, I’ll try to be less of a…backstabber.”
I nodded, which apparently satisfied her. We continued riding in a comfortable silence, until, against my better judgment, I opened my mouth again.
“It’s my brother,” I blurted. “That’s who keeps an eye on things for me.”
“There’s another one of you?”
“A smarter one,” I corrected. “During rest mode, he gives me updates on what’s been happening. What the message boards are saying, what kind of stuff is on the wikis, and all that.”
“So why is your ‘smarter’ brother out there and not in here with us?”
My mind raced, again wondering why I’d even volunteered the information in the first place. “He’s not…healthy enough to play,” I finally said.
“I see.”
I half-expected Leesha to press the subject, or at least say she was sorry for my brother’s health. Instead, she offered nothing in return. It was actually refreshing considering the number of people who offered fake condolences whenever they heard about Brandon’s condition. But it left me with plenty to consider about my Sylvad companion.
About half a mile from our waypoint, we decided it was time to dismount. While both creatures had served us fairly well and made the journey much faster, Frank had the annoying habit of honking like a damn goose at random intervals. They came unexpectedly and without any real motivation — not really the best kind of attribute for sneaking up on bandits.
We left our mounts to the west of our final location and immediately set about sneaking. While Leesha was obviously an old hand at moving silently, it was an opportunity for me to develop one of my lesser-focused skills. The disparity between us was apparent with each step we took. Leesha moved like a ghost. And I moved like Frankenstein’s monster.
“Maybe I should take the lead?” Leesha suggested after I tripped and fell into a sagebrush.
“I didn’t see it.”
“And the last two?”
“Didn’t see those either. It’s dark out!”
She gave me an annoyed look. She didn’t need to say anything else.
I sighed and nodded to her. I wouldn’t have had an argument even if I’d wanted to disagree.
Following Leesha, I did my best to copy her moves. I stepped where she stepped, I ducked when she ducked, and I tiptoed when she tiptoed. An Urok character of my size clearly wasn’t built for stealth, but I did manage to lock down another three Sneaking Skill Points along the way, bringing my grand total to 6. Additionally, stalking the bandits also counted as Tracking too — I earned two Tracking Skill Points in addition to the Sneaking ones.
When a campfire came into sight through the oak brush and trees, I hissed to grab Leesha’s attention.
“What is it now?” she whispered.
“I think I have enough Sneaking Skill Points to unlock a skill.”
I pulled up my Sneaking Pursuit Sphere and glanced at the first tier of skills.
Tier 1:
Medium Silence Level 1 — Decrease the noise caused by wearing Medium Armor while sneaking by 10%. Requires 3 Skill Points.
Heavy Silence Level 1 — Decrease the noise caused by wearing Heavy Armor while sneaking by 10%. Requires 4 Skill Points.
Weapon Silence Level 1 — Decrease the noise caused by wielding a weapon while sneaking by 10%. Requires 6 Skill Points.
Stable Breath Level 1 — You learn to take shallower breaths while sneaking, decreasing your overall noise by 10%. Requires 8 Skill Points.
As it stood, I had six Sneaking Skill Points, but a potential of seven if I opted to use my Unassigned Skill Point as well. Given our situation, it made sense to use it so I could unlock both the Medium Silence Level 1 and Heavy Silence Level 1 skills. I hadn’t planned on being much of a stealth player, but given that Leesha and I would probably always be facing larger groups of enemie
s, it made sense to be at least skilled enough that I wasn’t ruining every surprise attack. Trying not to think about all of the other things my Unassigned Skill Point could go to, I pulled the trigger on both.
You have learned the skill Medium Silence Level 1!
You have learned the skill Heavy Silence Level 1!
Looking through my stats also reminded me I had four unspent Skill Points in Combat Assessment, too. I opened up the Sphere.
Tier 1:
Basic Combat Assessment (Unlocked) — This skill color-codes your enemies so that you can know at a glance whether or not they are worth taking on. Ally levels may also be revealed for select NPCs.
Leveled Combat Assessment — This skill allows you to see what level your enemies are at. Requires 4 Skill Points.
Weak Spot — Mostly useful with bosses, this skill allows you to identify the weak point in those particularly hard-to-kill enemies — if such a weakness exists. Requires 10 Skill Points.
Party Planning — In the heat of combat, it’s just as important to know what your friends are doing as well as your foes. Party Planning allows the user to mitigate area-of-effect damage (friendly fire) to the other members of their group. Outside of battle, Party Planning doubles as a passive skill that tracks the general location of party members within a one-mile radius. Must be lead party member in order to work. Requires 5 Skill Points.
I took my four Combat Assessment Skill Points and allocated them to the Leveled Combat Assessment skill.
You have learned Leveled Combat Assessment!
Now, in addition to seeing the difficulty of an enemy in color form, I could also look up their levels, which would be helpful in getting a better idea of whether or not we stood a chance.
God Mode: A LitRPG Adventure (Mythrune Online Book 1) Page 16
