The second goblin let out a gurgling hiss and tossed a rock at Gary.
So slow! Was he trying to hit me with that rock? And what is he doing now, just standing there?
Gary took the next rock knife out of his bag and got himself ready for the fight. The goblin charged wildly swinging it's claws while stumbling twords Gary.
Gary twisted his body and lightly pushed the goblin off balance. It resulted in the goblin skidding on the ground. With a clear head Gary saw -3 HP damage from the trip.
What is wrong with this goblin? It's slow and uncoordinated. Is it drunk? I'm even fighting in the shadows from the torch light. I should be the uncoordinated one. How can it be so bad?
Gary moved in with his rock knife and took a slash at the goblin's neck while it was trying to stand. He could see -28 HP from a critical hit. The knife broke.
The goblin hissed and only after it finished hissing, it slashed. He could see the goblin's HP when he focused. Down to 19. Gary tried to take the thing seriously, but it was pathetic. He took another knife from his bag.
Four knives left after this, but if I make another critical, it should be over. How can I do so much damage with just a rock?
Gary moved around the monster, letting it flail around, until he found an opening. He stabbed it's head and killed it.
The prototype soul net started working and Gary's mind was pulled, yet again, to that odd state of telling the story of the goblins life. This one wasn't much different from the last one, but Gary's opinion of it was lower. Maybe a more lazy goblin?
Ultimately, Gary decided this goblin was just not capable of keeping up with the cruelty of the world. Almost nothing else changed from the last one, but the resulting trapped soul was quite different.
Goblin Soul (Quest)
This mildly cursed item will enchant you with weakness. This goblin knew weakness and so will you. You will see what it is to be pray, but you will also know what it means to stand up to stronger forces.
-20% less damage for all attacks.
-10% less HP.
25% monster aggression.
10% luck.
Quest item. Not useable.
Well, that looks like a dud. Maybe it could be situationally useful? It doesn't really matter so much because it's a quest item and unusable, but maybe I will switch my class one day. Honestly even this dud sounds more useful than my stupid rocks. Still, I do need more daggers so I had better start working.
The first goblin didn't drop anything at all. The next one only had a few scraps of rotten meat. Gary saved it in case there was some use for it later in the game, but it was a little gross. The game's realism really made him second guess some of the actions he learned from other games.
How am I ever going to save up some cash like this? I probably can't get much use out of a dagger because will just break it, but I should get some armor. I bet I can enchant it with something like these souls I am making now.
Gary first collected a small pile of rocks and found a place without shadows to work so that he would keep control of his body. He pulled out the chisel and hammer fully expecting them to work like normal tools and simply allow him to chip off parts of the rock, but something took over part of Gary's mind in the same way as the soul net.
Rather than filling his mind with ideas that he would guide the machine with, the chisel and hammer seemed to work completely backwards and take control of his brain and push out results.
Gary dropped the chisel and hammer. The soul net was weird. It interfaced directly with his thinking, but it was simple enough that it wasn't so much different from navigating the menus, or dreaming. The chisel and hammer split Gary's brain into parts and asked them to do different things, or failed to even ask. It was a such an alien experience that Gary found it revolting. Part of him feared he was now brain damaged.
Should I skip the tools and just go back to banging rocks together like a cave man? It's probably best to at least give it a try, but that was uncomfortable.
After a little more hesitation and a lot of psyching himself up then a little more debate because he realized he could have finished a crude dagger by now, Gary finally grabbed the chisel and hammer again.
Gary was wondering if ants felt like this when the chisel and hammer broke his mind into tiny parts, but ants don't have an overview of the nest and the big picture of what they do. Gary didn't think the feeling could be explained.
The feeling his hands gave him and what he saw didn't line up like normal giving him the feeling of time travel while he worked and part of him was constantly dreaming odd dagger related fever dreams while another part of him was hyper focused on the angles presented. It took him about a tenth of the time to finish the dagger and it was clearly his best work in spite of some minor flaws, but Gary hated working that way deeply.
Decorative Granite Dagger:
Damage: 1 Accuracy: 0 Durability: 1/1 Value: 0
This dagger is made of materials unfit to reasonably work in combat and has a few design flaws.
I don't know what I expected, it's the same as any other dagger I make, but the description is quite different. I can't disagree anyway. This clearly looks like a dagger even if the handle is... totally backwards? How did I even do that? Well, it's still better than the slightly sharpened rocks I have been using and I made it very quickly.
Gary looked down to the chisel and hammer and after a minute he stuffed them back in his bag and resumed banging rocks together like a cave man and slowly making the same crude daggers as before.
One by one he got them just sharp enough to be counted as a dagger. He couldn't even tell what end was the 'blade' on some of them, but if the game called it a dagger he stuffed it in his bag to be broken later.
"There!" a player shouted and pointed to Gary.
"It's just a player, Hadrian." Another pushed down the first players hands.
Gary gathered up his things and looked to the exit.
"Hey! That's Gary_Forhan!" one of the four yelled.
Gary didn't give them any sign that he heard. He just walked to the exit of the cave. He figured that if they followed him he could probably just outrun them.
"Wow. I mean... Cool. It is Gary! Gary, give us a dance! How much do you charge? Ten silver?" one of the players said.
It was enough to cause Gary to stop a second. If he could earn so much for just a little dance he would be happy, but they wanted a performance so that they could laugh at him. Even if Gary wanted to be laughed at for the price, and he didn't, he didn't really have the ability to give them a show. Gary didn't know anything about entertainment and they might even refuse to pay.
When he stopped and didn't turn around one of the others spoke up. "Come on. This is the Gary_Forhan I have three gold on me."
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Another quickly added some and with a little arguing one of them finally said. "Alright, that's seventeen gold coins and forty silver total for one dance. Maybe you can fight a goblin or something?"
Gary felt his pride dissolving. He could really get ahead like this. Maybe. He was just wishing for a few copper coins and here these guys come, not bothering to count silver in amounts less than ten. He hated that part of himself wanted to cling to them.
A voice in Gary's head told him to bow down to the better players and beg for whatever he can get. To service them and hope for table scraps. Gary beat that voice down and continued to calmly walk away. Or at least act mostly calm as he walked away.
"Not good enough for you? Don't be so stuck up. At least talk to us," Hadrian said.
-2 HP came from Gary's leg. He looked down to see an arrow and then back to see a player with a bow. Standing on a rock.
"Do I have your attention? We are offering you a good deal. Don't be a jerk," the player said while nocking an arrow and pulling back the string again.
Gary's hopes of not being embarrassed and is hopes of getting some money dissolved at the same time. They would force him to fight with his jittering body and then laugh at him for it. Anger filled his heart and Gary latched onto the anger like a drowning man would latch onto a life preserver. He would kill as many of them as he could before he died.
Gary pulled a dagger from his pack. Did they know he had a skill to throw daggers? He didn't have the best aim, so he decided to wait for the right moment.
"Oh? You want to fight? But I'm a teleporter with a bow and you have a dagger. This is about the worst matchup possible for a rusher like you," Hadrian said. Gary knew he just wanted to see a performance even if Gary died he wouldn't be happy and that suited Gary just fine. Gary would just make sure to take as much of the player's HP as possible before he died.
"He doesn't even have armor. This is cruel," his friend said, but Gary saw the smile on his face. This was a show for him even if Gary did win, he would have his fun. Gary made a note of the players name "PET2001Is_my_slave_name". Gary knew who to attack next if he managed to kill the first player.
Another arrow shot out of the bow. Gary didn't expect it to fly quite so fast. Almost as soon as he realized it was coming he also felt -2 HP from his foot. It was nothing like dodging a knife. Still he got into his stance and took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment while the other player nocked a new arrow.
Don't panic. Just calmly go as fast as you can.
The anger didn't disappear, but Gary's focus changed. He was aware of how angry he was now, but also aware of everything else going on.
"What is he doing?"
He noticed Hadrian didn't have any stance at all. He saw a million ways to attack if he got close, but more importantly he saw how hard it would be for him to shift and aim if Gary only moved to the left.
Seriously, who stands straight with their legs together while firing a bow? He has no ability to swivel. I still don't know how the teleportation works. I guess it's best for me to try to rush him and draw it out.
Gary did his best to avoid any place where the bow was aimed while he ran to the left. As predicted, Hadrian had to shift his feet in the middle of the fight. Gary ran for him.
There was a small blue flash from Hadrian as he disappeared and a large blue flash while he appeared behind Gary. With the warning, he turned around in time to find him frozen in place for a second. It wasn't very long, but it would prevent him from setting up an attack and firing it from another angle.
"Fast!" another player said. Gary ignored him.
He was using some of the shadows of the room, but he had avoided the light side as much as possible. He would show them real speed when he needed to.
Gary avoided the bow's aim again and ran for Hadrian. He wanted to test if there was a cool down on the teleport, but even with him charging quickly, Hadrian just vanished as soon as Gary got close. If there was a cool down, Gary didn't think he could use it.
After the next teleport, Gary took his time and moved around the room while avoiding the bow's aim. He was just trying to familiarize himself with how Hadrian moved and decided how to attack, but he could only come up with one plan 'throw a lot of daggers'.
"Where did he go?" one of the other players asked. His friend pointed Gary out.
Does this mean my stealth works on players?
Suddenly Hadrian took his bow and wacked it into the cave wall letting out a sharp crack. "Fire you stupid thing! You have nine accuracy!" he screamed at his bow.
He is expecting his bow to do the work? Just how does accuracy function anyway? Does it cause the arrows to change direction or aim for him or what?
Gary decided to test it and let the bows aim land on him for a moment before quickly pulling away. The arrows path was straight, so he thought it would only help him aim somehow.
Does that mean I am totally on my own for throwing daggers, or that it will force me to aim badly?
Either way, Gary had only one idea. The other players biggest opening was when he was teleporting, but that was also when he was farthest. The other opening was when he was getting out an arrow. Gary could only surprise the player once and he wanted to make it count for a critical, but he wasn't sure about his aim. The best he could do for that was get close, but Hadrian wouldn't let get close because he would just teleport the moment Gary closed in.
Do I really need to give away my advantage so quickly? I need to calm down more. Calm down and think quick.
Gary made a lap around the room looking for a way to get in close when it hit him. The perfect plan to get close without throwing a dagger or giving away his speed.
Gary ran to the back of the room where the other players came in from deeper in the cave. The players still standing there tensed up, but Gary couldn't afford to get them involved in the fight yet. He turned and charged at the player with the bow.
He opened himself up for a shot just long enough to let him fire, but Gary dodged without trouble and closed the distance forcing him to teleport as he pulled another arrow at the same time.
Gary took this moment to changed directions and run for the exit, but stop behind a piller of rock. There was a fairly stable shadow behind the rock so Gary hid with a hand just a tiny bit in the light to maximize his stealth. It took more force than expected to calm his breath, even if it was virtual, his mind couldn't switch gears seamlessly. Gary held his breath for a moment and forcefully breathed calmly.
"He ran! Ha ha ha!"
"Did you see him go out?" Hadrian asked, but there was only a few grumbles in response.
Gary used his strength to climb up the piller to the ceiling. If one of them came to check for him he would drop on them and stab like crazy. He didn't care who came seeing as they are happy to spot for Hadrian and give him advice.
It must be nice to have some jerk friends to jerk around with you. Now come over here.
"What the heck? Come on. Let's go after him. He probably didn't get far."
They ran for the exit while looking around. One of them even looked in Gary's direction, but he didn't see. Gary wasn't sure if it was because he was looking near the ground or because of the stealth bonus, but he didn't care too much either. As long as it worked.
When they exited the cave Gary ran after them while trying to stay in the shadows, but as they came out, the only shadows left were the ones cast by the players. Gary dove for them and said a silent thank you to the game developers when the shadows of other players also worked. He ran crouched down inside a shadow behind the players.
Unfortunately they where looking for him so one of them soon turned his way as he was running for Hadrian. The player stopped and squinted right at Gary for a moment before he let out a big gasp.
It caused the player with the bow to stop and turn letting Gary strike a critical in his neck. -21 HP
"What!?"
"Do y-AAAAAH!"
"No way!"
All the players jumped back include Hadrian, but Gary didn't want to give up the shadow of he could, so he dove out of one shadow and to the side of the bow player to catch his shadow.
Gary tossed his broken knife and pulled a new one from his bag as he took the best stance he could. A bow came swinging down at him for -1 HP. A small trade to have the shadow powering his strikes.
"He scared the heck out of me!" one player said. "I guess he didn't run away after all. What kind of build is he?"
"I don't know, what classes can give you stealth and performance and crazy speed and still let you hit so hard?" another asked.
"I don't care," said Hadrian as he swung his bow with shocking skill like a club, narrowly missing Gary "How can I get away from him? I haven't unlocked my next skill for emergency teleportation."
The player continued to back away from Gary in a panicked scramble that couldn't hope to match Gary's speed then stopped and did an attack that would make Weapon Shop Owner look like an amateur. Gary could hardly dodge it with the help of the players own shadow.
After the attack, the player fell out of combat form for a moment and went back to scrambling away.
The shocking abrupt change in fighting style threw Gary, but he stuck to Hadrian's shadow. It was his only chance to properly fight back, but it was tricky. Not only did he need to pay attention to the fight, but where the shadows of the fight fell.
There was another abrupt shift as Gary ran after Hadrian and the bow whipped around in a masterful attack. Gary fell totally out of the shadows for a moment while he dodged, but Hadrian looked even more disorientated the moment he finished.
"How can he move like that? Is he a monster? Does he have 10 defence?" Hadrian shrieked at his friends as he switched back to scrambling away.
Gary cursed his lack of backup again, but there was little else to do. He wished he could also ask them what was going on and how he could fight so well in short bursts, but they would just laugh at him. Then he noticed something about the timing. It was the same as when he was firing arrows.
Could it be some skill or something that possessed him with an A.I. to fight for a moment like the chisel and hammer?
"There's no cool down, so it can't-" one of Hadrian friends started answering, but Gary didn't want them to share information.
"I have a class that lets an A.I. fight with my arms and legs!" Gary yelled the first random idea that popped into his head.
"What? That's so overpowered!"
"There's no class like that... I think."
It honestly didn't matter to Gary if they knew it was a lie. All he needed was to disrupt the conversation. In the meantime Hadrian continued a steady rhythm of wild scrambling and deadly strikes that Gary hardly avoided.
Unfortunately, to avoid the strikes he couldn't get a hit in.
Calm down and think quickly, just like Weapon Shop Owner told you. I'm just not quick enough to hit him before he gets that possession thing. I can't let this drag on because I don't want the others to know how I fight and if he hits me enough... I guess it would take him a long time. That's it.
Gary jumped forward and tackled Hadrian sinking the blade into his belly while getting a -2 HP wack from his bow. Gary ignored it and let go of the knife and grabbed a new one and stabbed Hadrian's face.
Gary needed to do a weird roll to make sure Hadrian was on top for the shadow, but also still hold him down, but he managed. The last knife slid in Hadrian's arm as he switched to attack mode and killed him.
Gary dusted himself off and looked at the other three players gapping at him.