Allan Young’s first time in such a vivid game setting sparked wonder in his eyes. His character sheet appeared in his augmented vision, the words hovering in mid-air.
Conquest: Player Stats
Name | @Helekith
Class | Warrior
Level | 1
Experience | 0
XP to next level | 50
HP | 100/100
Mana | 100/100
Strength |Total: 1 | Original: 1 | Level Ups: 0 | Bonuses: 0
Agility |Total: 1 | Original: 1 | Level Ups: 0 | Bonuses: 0
Stamina |Total: 1 | Original: 1 | Level Ups: 0 | Bonuses: 0
Intelligence |Total: 1 | Original: 1 | Level Ups: 0 | Bonuses: 0
Willpower |Total: 1 | Original: 1 | Level Ups: 0 | Bonuses: 0
Allan swiped away the stats and took in the beautiful view. He had never experienced augmented reality before, but he had also never expected the surroundings to feel so real.
Although, he felt he could have done with a little more clothes than a mere loincloth hanging around his waist, barely enough to cover his privates. And what was with the spear? He had no inkling of how to use that. In Real Life (RL) he was skilled with all manner of different firearms from his vast collection, but using such a primeval weapon — that was beyond his understanding.
Despite the lack of knowhow he clutched the spear’s shaft tight and looked around, marveling at the wondrous and serene lay of the land. He knew this world was fantasy, yet the realistic nature of it made him feel as though he had passed through a secret time portal to a world abandoned in the past. The green mountains, the thick canopy of a large swathe of trees that stretched for leagues on one side and the grasslands sloping down the other, the muddy roads — he felt enamored by it all. It was nothing like the view from his office window of downtown Chicago where he spent his days slaving away behind his desk. It all reminded him of his youth going on hikes and campouts with his Boy Scouts troop. He missed spending time in nature.
Birds chirped in the hour of dusk, returning to their nests, trying their best to avoid the shadows of night. They almost seemed fearful of the moon and the twinkling stars above, very much preferring the bright sun and its warm rays shining in the sky. In the twilight, the hour between light and dark, the world around looked so beautiful that he felt perfectly happy, as though he didn’t want to ever log out of Conquest. It was calm and relaxing; RL had become too toxic of late. Life as a securities attorney was mundane, and boring. It was also because of that life that he had joined the game. He needed to escape.
Of course, his best friend was also to blame. Officer James Price had often tried to get him more into gaming, but he hadn't given his advice much thought until recently when a particularly difficult case had made him want to run far away. And here he was, having escaped to another word inside Conquest, and thankful for it.
He looked around. His friend was nowhere in sight, and a sigh escaped his mouth. No shocker, though. James was always late.
Perhaps he hasn't logged in yet?
Just as he thought this, a ruffling in some nearby bushes made him cautious. He turned, pointing his spear in the direction, wondering whether he could actually handle the weapon when it actually came to it. He took a bending stance, looking almost like a primate on a hunt. Breathing hard, he moved forward, slowly.
Stick and point.
He was sure that was the rule, like it was with all close-range weapons. How could a spear be any different?
A squeak sounded and a four-legged creature covered infur lunged forward with its claws.
Threat Detected: Level 1 Rabbid
HP| 100/100
Strengths: These small rabbit-like creatures are rabid and can inflict an Instant Kill to lower-level players by biting them.
Weaknesses: [LOCKED]
He staggered, taken aback by the sudden attack, but raised his spear just in time. A delay of a mere second and the creature would have mauled him. Instead, now, its skewered corpse rested on the shaft of his spear, the bloodied point having gone through its entire body.
Impale: Easy
Instant Kill
[+5 HP]
Skill Unlocked: Impale
Delivers an Instant Kill when in close range. Chances of longer range accuracy are 25%. Greater chances for Instant Kill increase with higher levels. Requirements: Level > 1, Agility > 1, Stamina > 1, Intelligence > 1
Repulsed, he shook the corpse off of his weapon and wiped off the blood in the mud that was aplenty on the ground.
“Well, I call that a start!” a familiar voice said, coming up from behind.
He turned and saw his friend’s avatar approach, also wearing a mere loincloth. At first he didn't recognize him, but then his augmented vision provided his handle: @DoomsDay16, which confirmed his identity.
“You’re finally here, and no help.” Allan said.
“I logged in just now, but I didn’t expect monsters to attack so fast.”
Allan smirked. “Perhaps this game is above you, James.”
“Never!” James scoffed. “I’ll learn the game faster than you, and that’s a bet you don’t want to have with me.”
Allan raised his hands in surrender. “Not betting against you, man!”
His friend laughed. “Coward!”
Allan’s eyes flared, but he kept quiet. He didn’t like anyone calling him a coward. But it was James, so he didn’t respond.
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“Well, what are these creatures?” he asked.
His friend shrugged. “Some four-legged monsters, no doubt. All I know is we gotta complete quests and kill monsters. We’ll know what these are when we have the knowledge stones.”
“So you do know your game!”
“Of course, I do.” James scoffed, “Who plays a game without having researched it a little?”
“Kills the suspense, doesn't it?” he asked.
“Depends on the person who’s playing.” James shrugged, “Me, nah. I love spoilers!”
“Now what?”
“We move forward, meet more monsters, and kill them!”
Allan grunted. Meeting new monsters — now that was something he wasn’t looking forward to, but he guessed he had to. Oh, the irony. No matter the picturesque surroundings and the feeling of calm permeating the air, vicious danger was everywhere.
“We move ahead,” Allan said, agreeing.
It wasn’t like he could object. He didn’t want to be alone.
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Not much had happened since he had skewered his first monster. Even though it did give him confidence, he still had shreds of doubt that he would survive in the game. Sheer dumb luck had helped him get rid of that creature. His fighting skills were less than ordinary. His training in Law School most definitely would be of no use here. It’s not like he’d be able to negotiate his way out of a duel with a BOSS. It was almost like he was an entirely new being in this game with a totally different personality who learned things as the game progressed. Perhaps he would learn the fighting styles later on.
His friend James was busily searching in the bushes around. Allan wondered what he was doing, but he turned away. It was awkward seeing his friend in a loincloth as well. He knew it was a game and all that, but still… awkward.
“Come on, man! What are you doing?” he asked, his impatience finally getting the better of him.
“I found a couple of stones.” James explained, “They were blinking, so I'm looking around to see if there are any more.”
“Stones?” he asked, confused.
“These are no ordinary stones.” his friend said. “These are spawn stones.”
“What?” he furrowed his eyebrows.
“Spawn Stones. Say for example if you die in the game, you will resurrect after a time. When you resurrect you will spawn at your last save point, which most of the time wouldn't be where you were last. So you can just use these stones or tokens to teleport to specific cities near the location you died. Each spawn stone are targeted to a specific city. These ones are for Samsiel, which isn’t far from here. Most of the cities are locked, but we will get to know more about them as we levelup.”
“Sounds like I should find some too then.”
“Yes, you should too.” James nodded, “You never know. They might come in handy. And the more stones you have, the better.”
He couldn’t help but agree.
They started to hunt for stones. After rummaging for what seemed to be a long while, they found a bag that kept blinking. Inside they found six more stones.
James handed him only a couple. When Allan scowled, his friend scoffed.
“The fear in you shows.” he tried to reason with him, “So it’s not like you’ll be at the forefront of the fighting anyway. Leave the killing to me.”
Allan was pissed, “You already found two of your own earlier. Now you’re just being greedy.”
Pointing at his four stones James continued, “These stones… er… these are just for emergency usage if the monsters make it past me.”
“Not cool, man.” Allan insisted as he held out his palm,“Hand another over. Now.”
“What are you gonna do, sue me?” James scoffed.
Allan shrugged, “I easily could…”
“Fine.” he huffed and handed him a third stone, “Just don’t die early on me - or too many times for that matter.”
Allan rolled his eyes, “Dude. Chill out! I’ll be fine.”
“Whatever.”
System Alert!
You are in possession of three Spawn Stones targeted to the gates of Samsiel. Do you wish to activate a Spawn Stone?
Yes | No
Allan selected 'No' and tucked the stones away in his inventory.
I'll save these for later.
James pointed toward a small settlement with thatched hay for roofs, “Let’s head to those homes. Maybe we will find something else.”
Allan shrugged. He didn’t know where else to go, so he just followed his friend. Regardless of the fact that they were both new to the game, Allan had to accept the truth of the matter: his friend had logged far more gaming hours over the past several years than he had.
If it wasn’t my constantly heavy workload, I’d probably be a seasoned gamer too.
So, Allan quietly agreed with his friend’s decision. It wasn’t like he could go anywhere on his own, and heading into that settlement did seem to be the most logical next step.
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It didn’t take long to reach the settlement nestled against a lone hillock.
Settlement of Grimwell
Population: 36
Fortification Style: None
Strength: 0/0
Do you wish to proceed towards this settlement?
Yes | No
Allan selected 'Yes'. As they entered through a stone archway however, he noticed how quiet it was. There was nary a sign of life. Nothing. Not even a pin drop.
He looked to his friend, who suddenly appeared to be on high alert.
And for a good reason.
All at once, loud squeaks erupted from nowhere and everywhere at once. The four-legged creatures had returned! Only now they were surrounded by at leasttwenty.
We stumbled into their nest!
James slashed at one with his spear, killing it as it lungedat him, and then sliced his spear towards another.
Three of the creatures barreled towards him with their teeth snarling, eager to tear into his flesh. Skeptical still of handling the spear, he slashed with it anyway.
Slash: Easy
Instant Kill
[+5 HP]
Skill Unlocked: Slash
Delivers an Instant Kill when slashing your weapon at a small creatures. Greater chances for Instant Kill increase with higher levels. Requirements: Level > 1, Agility > 1, Stamina > 1, Intelligence > 1
One down. He slashed again.
Slash: Easy
Instant Kill
[+5 HP]
Two down. He slashed again, but missed the third creature as it lunged at him. The monster dug its teeth into his skin, eliciting a howl from his mouth.
[-30 Damage]
The surroundings blinked red to indicate he was hurt, though he didn’t need that. The pain felt real even though it was just a game. He shirked off the creature and then stabbed it with his spear.
Stab: Easy
Instant Kill
[+5 HP]
Skill Unlocked: Stab
Delivers an Instant Kill when stabbing small creatures. Greater chances for Instant Kill increase with higher levels. Requirements: Level > 1, Agility > 1, Stamina > 1, Intelligence > 1
The health bar on his HUD glowed red. He had no idea how to get it back to the green it was.
Elsewhere, his friend fought the monsters off with grace, his movements a perfect balance of aggression and defense. He wondered how James did it.
How had he mastered the game so quickly?
Losing his focus was a bad thing. He missed seeing another creature jump at him from the side. He lashed out with his spear, but he missed. He was too late. The creature landed on his chest. The force made him stumble backward. He fell to the ground, landing on his spine. But it wasn’t that which made him squirm in pain, but the claws that slashed his chest.
[-40 Damage]
The blood red that filled his vision deepened. Everything became blurred.
Despite his pain, the creature didn’t relent and raised its paws high and struck again. This time his vision blackened and he was returned to a blank screen.
GAME OVER
Cause of Death: ChestSlash
Allan sighed.
He tried to log back in, but instead a progress bar showed up against a colorful background depicting amap of Conquest. To the side of the progress bar, the screen displayed a ten-minute penalty countdown. He snorted and clicked on the exit button to the top right corner of the screen. Everything shut down and he returned to RL.
A message alert then popped up in his augmented vision with an unread message. He selected it.
It was from his friend.
James: You did exactly what I told you not to do. Die early.
Allan began to write a snarky response, but then thought better of it. The last thing he needed was for his future Best Man to get all pissed off and decline his request. He had been planning out his proposal tomorrow night to Lily for months, and nothing was going to mess this up – especially not a stupid squabble over a game.