As he traveled north, he saw a fenced in pasture with some of the strangest creatures he had ever seen. That's counting his deviant art favorites. His targeting system revealed the creatures to be Zephers, an equine/insect type monster with six legs, hard chitin carapace, and a sleek streamline design. They looked like they could have been a type of horse at one time.
They were busily chewing up the grass from the pasture. One when he got close did one stop to watch him. Nobody watched the Zephers for a while, until one with a white shell walked forward. It looked over his hand for feed.
Nobody got the point and reached down to collect some grass for the creature. Its mandibles looked sharp, he was about to pull his hand away, when the creature gathered the grass out of his hand and licked it. The Zepher was gentle.
“Ah, you must be an adventurer. Most of your kind pass by without a word.” A NPC with a cowboy hat and leather chaps said. “My name is Jericho Hill, though most call me Jericho. I see your interested in a Zepher, particularly Inca there. She is quite the Zepher fast, enduring, and smart all the traits you want in a zepher. Though she isn’t cheap.” Jericho said.
Nobody turned to the old NPC. He seemed a bit more interactive than the others. “Do you have a quest I can do for her?” Nobody asked. He wanted a mount, that would increase the distance he could travel by a great deal.
“A quest, well there have been a few goblin raids. Those sick bastards have a taste for Zepher. If you bring me back proof you defeated their chief, then I will exchange it for Inca.” Jericho said.
“Which way to the camp?” Nobody asked.
“I would mark it on your many map, if you had one. You darn fool, have you not even been to town yet.” Nobody shook his head. “Well its that way. I’ve heard adventurer’s can get side tracked but really.” Jericho said.
“Which way to town?” Nobody asked. If he could get directions that would be great.
“Town, oh, you mean the hillside village. Just follow that trail and you should reach Hillside in four to five hours. Shorter if you run or rent one of my Zephers. Though, if you haven’t been to town, I doubt you would have the money to rent one.” Jericho said.
“Thank you for your time, I will be on my way.” Nobody said.
“Just wait a second. I can’t believe I’m doing this, but I’m assigning you the quest to slay the goblins and loaning you Inca. I expect you to do the quest the second you finish up in the village. Let me get a saddle for you.” Jericho said.
Jericho led him to the barn and gave Nobody a saddle. “So, how do I put this on her?” He had the gist of it. He had put a saddle on a horse before, how much harder could a bug horse be.
“These hooks go behind her mandibles, these straps go through front, these the middle, and these go around the back legs. You have your stirrups and your reins. Nothing too it.” Nobody, put the saddle on Inca, and slid the leather straps over her mandibles.
Putting a foot in the stirrups he climbed on the zepher. He was much taller on the horse than he thought.
New skill: Riding lv1 +2END +2DEX
“Thank you for this old man.” The NPC nodded his head.
“Don’t forget your end of the deal son. Those goblins have been tearing up my fence and even killed one of my zephers. Take care of them and we will call it even.” Nobody nodded his head.
He kicked his heel and Inca took off down the road. There was something magical about the wind flowing through his beard and the feeling the power of his mount. He tapped the reins against her right mandible causing her to turn left. A sign stood on the side of the path.
Don’t go to the village. Undead infestation, give up hope on acquiring a Job. We have reorganized at Drake Caverns east of the sign.
Nobody passed by the sign without looking, he had no idea that he was charging towards an infestation of undead.
A peculiar sight caught his attention. A mass of clouds had formed blocking out the suns. The mass seemed to slowly spread out further as time went on. It didn’t take long for zepher to start passing by farms and small shacks.
The village was getting closer, Nobody could practically taste the jobs. He kicked Inca again gaining speed on his way to town.
The land around the village was dead. Grass was brown and dying the closer it got to the village. There were no signs of monsters yet, he continued towards the village. The gates were open and unguarded.
He heard a crying child. Further up, she was walking towards a guild hall. He targeted the child hoping the system would identify her.
Susan lv9 NPC
Zepher didn’t want to get any closer to the girl. His mount knew something he didn’t. He threw a rock at her.
Target damage -30HP
She twisted around revealed a face half rotted. Her eyes were solid red, and her teach were fanged.
Susan lv9 Fledgling Vampire
Susan opened her mouth and shrieked long and loud. The noise carried through the streets and more shrieks joined hers. Nobody kicked Inca and threw another rock at the shrieking girl.
Vampire’s leapt from the windows and more ran out on the streets. He kicked his zepher in high gear. He began to gain distance on the vampires and turned a corner heading back for the gate. The tall wooden gates shut baring his escape.
He turned heading back through town with Zepher’s flank to the fast-moving vampires. Nobody had an extensive collection of rocks at this time and they were currently equipped. Like a battle ship with its cannons aimed at the advancing enemy fleet, he opened fire. Aiming didn’t matter he just wanted to make chasing him hurt.
The only reason Nobody has survived this long in the village was because of the lack of a master vampire. A master vampire controls the lesser of its race like a general. They are the difference between a disorganized mob out for blood and a regiment of trained soldiers.
Throw lv4 +1STR +2DEX
Quantity and distance has a lot to do with leveling the throw skill. For instance, if Nobody took a rock and threw it ricocheted it off a building and hit his target in a back alley that would be worth multiple levels. It would hold the same value as hitting the bullseye a thousand times on a dart board from a few meters away.
Nobody was riding which made aiming a challenging, he was also throwing rocks into a fast-moving horde of hungry vampires. These vampires were rather good a dodging when locked on. So every hit gained him a leap towards the next level.
Throwlv5 +1STR +2DEX
A pattern had appeared. Inca could keep running full speed for half a day without depleting her stamina. Her six legs made hair pin turns a breeze and when needed she could walk on the village walls. This in turn boosted Nobody’s riding skill. Throwing rocks with any accuracy and riding at the same time took a great deal of skill.
Riding lv5 +8END +8DEX
Throwing lv7 +2STR +4DEX
Vampires couldn’t be killed by thrown rocks. Especially, not at his lv. As undead they were weak against fire and light. Hence why whatever turned them blocked out the light. If he wasn’t certain it was only a matter of time before Inca ran out of steam and they both died, he would consider this the most badass moment in his life. He put his rocks back in his inventory and equipped his iron dagger.
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He really had one option as far as killing these creatures were concerned. He had to decapitate them. The dagger wouldn’t cut it. That was a fact, with the current movement it would be impossible to make a array of any kind.
After several circles around the village he was starting to get a layout. There were several guild halls revolving in a circle with a white and a black cathedral just outside the guilds. Closest to the wall were houses and granaries. Just inside inside the gates were merchant carts and blacksmith forges. With the layout in mind he had a plan.
Steering Inca up a wall he turned and had her jump on one of the tall granaries. When he pointed her towards the white building she shrieked at him and turned away. He took a breath and committed them towards the black cathedral.
The first jump from the wall to the granary had been luck. Nobody hadn’t planned to make it to the black cathedral. It was further than the white one. He couldn’t stop and think or come up with a plan, it was now and in the moment.
Inca’s powerful back legs pushed off the black shingles of the cathedral and launched them towards the blue roof of the guild building. His heard beat faster as they began to lose altitude. Her front legs touched on the roof and her back legs kicked off the wall slinging them on the roof.
“Stay here Inca, I will be back soon.” He told the Zepher and opened a hatch on the roof and jumped inside.
The guild hall was a lit by blue flame. A man in a blue robe sat at his desk and raised an eyebrow at Nobody’s intrusion.
“Oh, do I have a new initiate here to join the Blue Farseas.” Behind the man was a white flag with the white imprint of a large blue bird. “You seem to be a rather powerful initiate for one without a job. Tell me would you like to join the guild. It comes with many jobs for the blue mana type.” Nobody targeted the man.
Belthezar the Grandmaster lv100 NPC
Nobody took a step back. This seemingly old book worm was possibly stronger than anything on this floor. A small smile graced the NPC’s face.
“Oh, my you certainly are a skittish one. I have jobs for any who would like to join. Just sign here and take up your first class. Once you max the class out you can choose another. Come, don’t be shy, I don’t bite.” Belthezar said.
“Do you know what’s happening outside? Can you not here the screams of the NPCs turned to monsters? Are you limited to just your programming?” Nobody demanded. The NPC turned his head in confusion.
“We are bound by our programming. Some of us are smarter than others, but we are in the end puppets on strings. I am stronger than most but that doesn’t mean that I can act freely. Now, my skittish friend, do you want to join the guild?” Nobody nodded. He needed more power if he was to defeat the vampires outside and get out of here.
“Good, now don’t be shy sign here.” Nobody signed his name and became a member of the Blue Farseas.
You may now choose a job predetermined by your stats and the guild availability.
Seeker
Description: This job is all about searching for answers. It is the most popular in the guild for its versatility. A Seeker can have a wide variety of long and short-range spells. Like all Blue mana types, the spells take a lot of Mana and have a long cast time.
Effect: +3INT +2STR per level. New skills at lv multiples of 7 and 9
Why did this job grant an increase in strength if they were fodder researchers? That didn’t make any sense.
Astral Path
Description: A pseudo psionic with the ability to search out information covertly and take it from unsuspecting minds. This job grants a multitude of mind control skills and at its highest levels a bit of telekinesis.
Effect +4INT +1END per level. New skill as lv multiples of 6 and 10
Basically, this class was all about stealing information. He could see James Bond being one. More than likely they hung out in inns all the time soaking up information and writing reports to the guild.
Wizard
Description: The classic job that any would be magic user would be proud to have. Learners of this class will gain access to every elemental spell and perhaps gain power over the cosmos themselves. Most likely you will make potions for the guild to sell.
Effect +3INT +2WIS
This one was perhaps the most depressing. Elemental spells galore but in the end the blue guild turns them into potion factories. Utterly useless against the horde of vampires outside.
Sentinel
Description: The strong-arm Job of the guild. Sentinels are great at killing everything the guild points them at. They mostly slay undead or eldritch abominations to make dungeons or ancient civilizations safe for Seekers. They often run low on mana and have no stamina, but none are better at high damage.
Effect: +5INT Per level. New skills at multiples of 7,10, and 13.
This one sounded promising. If he could ride around and wait for his MP the regen then this was perfect for him. The only problem was after the dungeon. Would the real guild make him their lap dog and have him go to new and interesting places AKA war zones, constantly?
He made his decision. “I’m choosing the Sentinel.” He told the NPC and signed his name.
You have chosen the job Sentinel. +5INT
New skill MP Rage lv1 +3INT +2WIS
Passive
Description: Direct your mana towards destroying your enemies. This skill is built to increase the damage potential of your MP by condensing the the mana.
Effect: +3INT per skill lv. +50% magic damage +10%MP Regen per skill level. +50%Mana Cost per skill Level
New spell: Mana Pulse
Active
Cast time: two syllables
Description: Unleash a localized dome of mana in a 360 degree blast.
Range 5m
Effect: 50Damage
Cost 20MP
INT has reached 100 new Trait: MP Battery x2MP +50% spell damage
“I have a task for you my new Sentinel there has been an increase of undead recently slay 10 Fledgling vampires and return for a reward. Be wary vampirism has increased their resistance to pure mana.” Belthezar said.
Nobody took several sheets of paper from the old man’s desk and Belthezar’s ink well and feather. There were no repercussions for doing so. He made several fire traps and removed the foreign mana trigger. Soon he amassed 50 sheets of the trap and wrapped his rocks in the paper.
New skill Crafting +3WIS
New skill Bomb Factory +2DEX +3INT
After climbing up the latter he found Inca undisturbed by the vampires it seems they didn’t have a taste for insect meat. He kicked her and leapt towards the black cathedral with fire bombs equipped. He threw a few at the horde and then used remote detonation. Three bombs exploded the second they hit the horde.
Level up +1VIT +1WIS +4INT
Level up +1VIT +1WIS +4INT
Level up +1VIT +1WIS +4INT
Level up +1VIT +1WIS +4INT
Level up +1VIT +1WIS +4INT
Instead of making this routine two archer vampires started firing arrows. The arrows bounced off Inca’s carapace, but Nobody’s leg was a squishy target. His healing didn’t matter when he was constantly bleeding out. The vampires started growing more aggressive. They moved faster and started to climb on the walls like gravity didn’t matter.
One of the vampires took advantage of their path and slammed a Warhammer into Inca’s side. She threw him, and he went tumbling through the horde. The horde dog piled on him and he felt their teeth bite down on his leg. He yelled out in pain and felt his health begin to drain. He kicked one off and yelled out Mana Pulse.
His skin burned as mana spilled from his pours. It buffeted the vampires in the spells way but didn’t do much more. Off to the side, he saw a vampire that wasn’t a NPC walk up.
“Sup man, I thought the sign would warn off anyone from coming here, I guess you’re one of the dumb ones. That’s kind of sad when you think about it.” The guy was dressed in all black and even had eye shadow. His red eyes though natural looked tacky on his face.
This new guy’s level stood at 40. A fist smashed Nobody in the stomach making him yell out in pain.
You suffered blunt force trauma -100HP
Nobody threw up a pint of blood. “You’re kind of weak aren’t you.” The vampire pointed to one of his followers. “Lock him up in the cathedral prison. I’m going to bleed him slowly. Your master count Dark commands it.” The guy said.
Nobody felt himself get dragged towards the white cathedral. He was healing rapidly, but not fast enough to go another round with Dark. Every second brought him closer to fighting shape and Dark left he actually walked off. The door to the Cathedral closed and a massive timber latch meant to lock the door was in view.
Nobody said, "Mana Pulse." The fledgling NPC went flying away from him crashing through pews and impaling itself on a large shard of splintered wood. The explosion of mana around him calmed down as he took the latch from the timber and let it fall locking the only entrance to the white cathedral. Lol, this wasn't over, not by a long shot.
Traits Skills Arrays Spells Lvs/Jobs Transdemensional +10INT, TrailBlazer +5AGL, NPC Killer +5% damage to NPCs, MP Battery x2MP +50% Mag Dam Dodge lv3 +9AGL, Throw lv7 +7STR +14DEX, Sneak lv5 +5AGL +15DEX, Magical Trap Mastery lv5 +16INT, Remote Detonation lv2 +6INT +4WIS, Amateur Surgeon lv1 +4INT, +1LUK, crafting lv1 +3WIS, Bomb Factory lv1 +2DEX, +3END, Riding lv5 +10DEX +10END, MP Rage lv1 +3INT +2WIS Fire Trap, Electrical Trap, Mana Pulse Nobody lv20, Sentinel lv1 +5INT Health 140(3.9sec) Mana 1210(+3.2sec) Stamina 155(+1.9sec) STR 11 VIT 28 DEX 39 AGL 19 END 31 INT 121 WIS 32 LUK 16(21)