Darvin’s eyebrows rose. “How good is the sword?”
“Really good for your level. We’ll have to reach level 6 and have our secondary classes if we want to have chance at beating it in a way to get the sword on our own, but it’s worth it. That sword will make you a badass until level 15 at least, but you have to be prepared to be kind of a dick to get it.”
“How much of a dick?”
Riccon gave him a stern look. “No NPC survivors.”
Darvin shrugged. “I wouldn’t leave any bandits alive regardless.”
“No, I mean no NPC survivors.”
“Oh…that is pretty dickish. Can I even do that as a Templar? Won’t it violate my class’ moral requirement?”
Riccon shook his head. “You’re thinking like a paladin. You’re a Templar. Your duty is to deliver justice at all cost. Templars can burn down a school full of children if it means killing the evil creatures inside. They’re a greater good type character, not a goody good class like paladins.”
“Cool. That makes playing the class a lot easier. But won’t I fail the secondary quest of rescuing the NPC family?”
Riccon shrugged. “Yeah, but the primary is to kill the bandits, and that’s enough to satisfy the Templars. We just have to make sure the bandits kill the NPCs and not you. I could technically kill them, but then you would be duty-bound to administer justice on me for being a murderous prick.”
Darvin nodded. “Yeah, I would, but if makes you feel any better I would only enjoy it a little bit. Mostly because you ate my yogurt from the office fridge.”
“Your yogurt is also safe as long as you don’t bring lemon. I will set you on fire for lemon yogurt. Don’t worry; I know how to get the bandits to do the slaughtering so you won’t have to. Let me see your character sheet.”
Darvin got a blank look on his face as he fumbled through the game’s UI. “There it is. You should be able to get a full read on me now.”
Riccon opened a screen displaying Darvin’s character in exacting detail.
Name: Darvin Sepret
Race: Human
Level: 1
Experience: 0/300
Base Class: Warrior
Subclass: None
Fame: 0
Infamy: 0
Attributes: As a warrior, you gain +1 Strength and an additional attribute point to use on the attribute of your choice every level. As a human, you may use your secondary attribute point you receive at every other level where you like. Must have a minimum of 10 in the primary attribute or attributes to attain a subclass. You incur a -1% penalty per point below ten to related skills and abilities and +1% bonus for every point above 10.
Primary Attribute: Strength. Secondary attribute: any
Health: 11 (As a warrior, you gain 15 HP + base Body bonus per level. Health regen: 1 HP + your Body bonus every minute out of combat. Base health regeneration: +0.6 HP every minute.)
Stamina: 72. (As a warrior, your base stamina is 12 x Body score. Stamina regen: 2 SP + Body bonus every five seconds out of combat, ½ rate in combat. Base stamina regeneration: 1.6 SP every five seconds.)
Mana: 40 (As a warrior, you Base Mana amount is 5 x Mind score. Mana regeneration: Mana regeneration: 1 MP + Mind bonus every five seconds. Base mana regeneration: +0.8 MP every five seconds)
Strength: 8 (-2% attack when using melee weapons or unarmed combat)
Agility: 5 (-5% attack when using ranged weapons. -5% to dodge, parry, and speed)
Body: 6 (-4% physical resistance. -0.4% Stamina and Health regen)
Mind: 8 (-2% magical resistance and magical attack. -0.2% mana regen.)
Charisma: 5 (-5% barter and relationship with NPCs)
Luck: 5 Helps nudge the probability of any outcome one direction or another. Higher luck increases the chances of receiving random boons.
Physical Attack: -1% long blades, -2% all other
Ranged Attack: -5%
Magic Attack: 0
Unalloted Attribute Points: 0
Basic Combat Skills: You gain 1 skill point every level. As a human with no racial abilities, you also receive an additional skill point every 3 levels instead of a racial ability point.
Long Blades: Level 1 Grade 0. You gain a 1% bonus to Attack while using long blades. Rank: Initiate.
Shields: Level 1 Grade 0. You gain a 1% bonus to your ability to block ranged and Physical Attacks. +1% bonus to armor rating. Rank: Initiate.
Medium Armor: Level 1 Grade 0. Improves armor rating and encumbrance penalties by 1%. Rank: Initiate.
Advanced Combat Skills: None
Abilities and Traits:
Basic perception, Tier 1: Can identify basic information about a target such as threat level and disposition. Other identifying features may be revealed with continuous study.
Primary Equipment:
Iron Longsword: Common. Quality: Average. Durability: 28/28. Base Damage: 10.
Iron Chain Hauberk: Common. Quality: Average. Durability: 25/25. Armor: 8
Iron Banded Round Shield: Common. Quality: Average. Durability: 40/40. Armor: 12. Can block some or all incoming damage depending on attack type and power. Improves base blocking by 20%.
“Good, you used your starting bonus to boost your two primary stats for Templars. We’ll both be eligible for our secondary classes by level 3,” Riccon said. “Another good thing about choosing the Templar citadel as your starting point is that you’re already primed for the secondary class as long as you swear your oath. I need to find a mage or mage shop to teach me at least one arcane skill in order to be eligible for my secondary class.”
“So what do we do next?” Darvin asked.
“I need to learn how to cast magic, and that means finding someone willing to teach me and getting enough gold together to pay them.”
Darvin grinned. “Time to grind!”
Jandar woke with a start, sweat pouring from his body as if he had been working at the forge. The vestiges of a nightmare blew away like smoke in the wind. He tried to recall the dream that had troubled him so deeply, but it was gone. He reached for Lenora’s comforting warmth before remembering that she and Jesse were on their way to Middale to visit relatives.
The apprentice smith ate a hurried breakfast before heading into the forge room to work on customer orders. He saw they were short on triple and quadruple-ought stock horseshoes, so he started the day making those. They did not take long to make, so he could get to work on customer orders later with plenty of time to complete them. Adventurers had been showing up of late, and they often needed to reshoe their horses and did not like to wait.
Jandar heard his name mixed with the sound of pounding hoof beats and looked up from his work. He recognized the lathered horse before he did the man whipping it furiously with a lash. His blood ran cold as a feeling of dread coursed through him and the wisps of a nightmare tickled the periphery of his memory.
Chapter 4: A Heavy Price to Pay
RICCON AND DARVIN ROLLED into Whitbell on a trader’s wagon since it had cost them both almost all the money they had for Riccon’s arcane training with not nearly enough left over to buy even a single horse. It had been worth it as the arcane archer subclass nearly doubled his damage output. Riccon swore the payout for the distant quest was well worth it.
Both players had reached level six while grinding and questing for XP and loot. The bandits would be a tough fight with just the two of them and the NPC, but with his subclass, Riccon was sure they would prevail.
“Where to, boss?” Darvin asked.
“We’re a little early for the quest to activate, so we can knock out a couple kill and gather quests while we wait,” Riccon replied.
Riccon knew where to go and who to ask to get the quests. They went to the butcher’s shop first. A man stood behind a counter wearing a bloodstained apron. Riccon did not need to use perception on the man to know his name was Olaf. He had done every quest in this region during his beta time.
“Hi,” Riccon said as they entered th
e shop. “My friend and I just got into town and need to earn a little coin. Is there anything you need help with?”
Olaf smiled and nodded. “As a matter of fact I do. With all these new adventurers showing up, my stock of venison and boar is getting low. If you could be bring me some fresh game I’d pay you well for it.”
Riccon and Darvin both received a quest prompt.
You have been offered the quest: Where’s the Meat? Requirement: Bring Olaf ten total units of boar and/or venison. Meat must be no more than four hours old. Reward: 3 silver and 150 XP. Repeatable.
“We’ll get right on it,” Riccon said and led Darvin to one of the inns.
They entered through the back door into the inn’s kitchen and were met by a plump, older woman bent over a stove and stirring a large pot of stew.
“What are you two louts doing in my kitchen?” Imelda demanded.
Riccon did the talking once again. “We’re looking for work and hoped you might need help with something.”
The woman’s stern countenance softened just a touch. “I need mushrooms for my stew. Bring me back twenty edible mushrooms and I’ll pay you for them.”
You have been offered the quest: A fungus among us. Requirements: Bring Imelda twenty edible mushrooms for her stew. Reward: 3 silver, 150 XP. Potential for bonus reward. Repeatable.
“Twenty mushrooms coming right up,” Riccon said.
“Not much of a reward for those,” Darvin said as he followed Riccon toward the nearby woods.
“Not on the surface, no, but I know where we can find boars and mushrooms in the same place, not to mention the bonus reward,” Riccon said with a wink.
“I saw that in the quest. What’s the bonus reward?”
“You’ll see.”
The two headed into the woods. It didn’t take long before a small buck bolted across their path. Riccon drew back the arrow he already had knocked to the string, empowered it with raw mana, and loosed it, all in a single, fluid motion. The glowing arrow streaked through the trees and struck the deer in its side. The animal made a few more wild bounds before dropping to the ground.
You hit young deer, level 2, with eldritch arrow. Your eldritch arrow does 8 points of physical damage and 12 points of magical damage. You have killed a young deer. You gain 15 XP.
Darvin gave his partner a sour look. “I really need to get me a crossbow. Why didn’t I buy one before we left Ambercross? Oh yeah, because I gave you all of my money so you could buy your magic skill.”
Riccon grinned as he strode over to the deer and activated the loot interface. “Consider it an investment in your future. Don’t worry; you’ll have plenty to do when we find the boars.”
“At least the game doesn’t make you actually butcher animals,” Darvin said. “That would be a bit too much realism for me.”
Riccon nodded as he knelt, touching the deer with his hand. While players did not have to physically skin animals or loot NPCs and mobs, looting did take a few seconds depending on the action. A radial timer ticked around like the second hand on a clock until it made the required revolution.
You receive deer meat x 2. You receive deer pelt x 1.
They walked another twenty minutes before Riccon stopped and held up a hand. “The boars should be in a small clearing just ahead. Time for you to get some more shield practice,” he said with a grin.
“Why do I feel like I’m getting screwed on this deal too?”
Riccon clapped him on the shoulder. “It’s an investment in your future. Don’t worry; I’ll be right behind you all the way. We’ll move up a bit more and I’ll pull the group. You tank them and whack them with your sword if you get a chance, but mostly you’ll want to play defense.”
Darvin nodded and let out a nervous breath. “OK. Let’s do this.”
They inched forward until they could see the group of feral pigs rooting around in a small clearing. Darvin gave Riccon a nod and set himself for the charge. Riccon took a few steps behind him, drew an arrow until the feathers brushed his cheek, and targeted the nearest feral pig.
Riccon had three spells with which he could imbue his arrows. Eldritch arrow was the default all arcane archers learned immediately upon attaining the class. He had also managed to purchase the spells weak flame touch and weak frost touch and could apply those two spells to his arrows as well. He chose a frost arrow as his opening shot.
The arrow streaked through the few trees and into the clearing. The shot struck true and the pig released a high-pitched shriek of pain and anger. Riccon glanced at the damage feedback out of the corner of his eye while he prepared to loose another shaft.
You hit feral pig with frost arrow. You inflict 12 points of physical damage (8 base x 1.5 for surprise attack) and 6 points of magical frost damage to feral pig. Feral pig is numbed. -4% speed, dodge, block, and attack for 15 seconds. You gain +4% aim against this target while target is numbed.
Riccon let out a whoop when he saw that his frost arrow had proc’d. Not only did it apply a secondary affect to the target as a chance-based action, it also gained him a small bit of progression toward his luck attribute. He had just enough time to shoot a second arrow at the wounded pig and was elated when it too struck home.
You hit feral pig with eldritch arrow from concealment. You inflict 9 points of physical damage and 12 points of magical damage to feral pig. Feral pig dies. Congratulations, you killed feral pig. You gain 250 XP.
“They’re around level four or five!” Riccon shouted.
“What?” Darvin cried and let out a rather unmanly scream when the first boar charged headlong into his shield.
Most of their grinding until now had been groups of weaker creatures or mobs nearer their level in ones and twos. This was the first fight they, or at least Darvin, had been in where they were outnumbered by mobs their own level.
The boar crashed into Darvin’s shield like a mallet striking a bell and nearly knocked him down. The shield pivoted, and the boar careened past, raking a long tusk across the side of his leg.
Feral pig hits you for 7 points of slashing damage.
Darvin was glad he had put another three points into Body. It was clear he was not going to walk away from this fight unscathed. He cried out in pain, cursing Riccon under his breath for talking him into setting the pain level to 100 percent. The game awarded bonus experience for every point above 25 and penalized them for going below the default. At 100, they received an additional 75% experience for every kill.
He could reduce it at any time with a thought, but doing so would reduce the XP gained for the entire encounter. A few more hits like that and he wouldn’t give a damn about the XP. It was just a game, for crying out loud.
Darvin leapt out of the path of a second pig and slashed at it with his longsword as it ran past.
You hit feral pig with your longsword for 10 damage.
Before Darvin could congratulate himself, a third boar came in on the heels of the one he had just struck. He barely got his shield in place to absorb some of the impact before it hit him.
Feral pig hits you for 5 damage. You are bleeding. You lose 1 HP every three seconds for 15 seconds.
“Shit!” Darvin cried out in pain.
“Hang in there, meat shield!” Riccon called out, failing to keep the laughter out of his voice.
Darvin heard the voice coming from behind and above his right shoulder. He chanced a look behind him and spied Riccon loosing arrows from the safety of the tree he had climbed up.
“Oh, you suck so bad!”
Riccon just laughed and continued shooting pigs with imbued arrows. Darvin whipped his head back around and dove to the side in order to avoid the fourth pig intent on skewering him on its huge tusks. He managed a successful dodge, but he was then run over from behind by the first boar that had tried to gore him.
Feral pig hits you from behind for 8 damage. Feral pig tramples you for 4 damage. You are off-balance. -10% attack, dodge, and block for 7 seconds.
“Ow, ow, mommy
!” the Templar trainee cried.
Darvin scrambled to his feet and glared hatred at the infernal demon pigs. He waded into the animals, throwing caution to the wind and hacking with his sword and bashing with his shield.
“Take that, you goddam sadistic hell beasts! I am your reckoning! I am the baconator!”
Darvin flew into a frenzy, cursing with every swing of his blood-slinging blade long after the last pig had fallen and lay still in the grass. He stood over the hacked up remains of his final victim, panting, his face purple with rage. “Fuck…you!” He spun toward Riccon’s laughter and pointed at him with his bloody sword. “And fuck you too!”
Riccon tried, and failed, to get his mirth under control. “What? You were a magnificent bait—I mean tank.”
“I almost died. With zero pain reduction because I listened to you! Oh my god, you are the worst.”
“Take a look at your character sheet and tell me how terrible I am.”
Darvin mentally tore at his interface and brought up his character sheet.
Congratulations! You have gained level 7. You gain 1 point of strength, 1 primary attribute point and one secondary attribute point to distribute how you wish. You get 1 skill point for leveling. You get an additional skill point for reaching level 7. You gain 15 hit points plus your body bonus.
Your strength has increased by 1 through strenuous battle.
Your body has increased by 1 for withstanding a brutal beating and emerging victorious.
Congratulations! Your sword, shield, and medium armor skills have increased.
Congratulations! You have learned a new ability: Righteous Rage. When faced with overwhelming odds and finding yourself on the losing end of an asswhooping, you fly into a rage. Melee damage increased by 10%. Block and dodge decreased by 10%. Cost: 30 Stamina.
“Whoa, I leveled and learned a new skill!” Darvin said.
“Cool! What’s it called?”
“Righteous Rage.”
Riccon frowned. “Hm. Better send in a bug report.”
Darvin gave him a curious look. “Why?”
Chaos Unchained- The Mad Smith Page 5
