Allan took a quick bathroom break and then logged back in. He had re-spawned at exactly the same place he had earlier, so he activated his second stone to teleport to the same location in front of the gates of Samsiel. His landing however was off-balance, so he stumbled and fell in a dense shrubbery that pricked thorns at his skin. Frustrated, he disentangled himself from the thicket and fell again onto the damp earth.
The mud around was wet, indicating that rain had fallen sometime in the last twenty-four hours. Mumbling his choicest curses, he stood up and brushed the mud off his body. His eyes scoured the lush green grass around, sloping down towards the city, meeting the road that skirted a lonely mountain.
Grunting, he started to walk away from the city and down the muddy slope. He slipped, but caught himself in time. One fall and he would likely scrape his bare butt cheeks on the rough gravel. He had no intention of turning his backside red. Starting the mission off with bruises meant bad luck and he didn’t want to have any of it. He had already died two times and even though he had leveled up since he had started, he was still stuck at the same place on the map with likely the same creatures to fight. It was like he was in a loop.
As he reached the end of the slope he saw a familiar man walking on the road, though now fully armored up with a sword held at the ready. He scowled. It was James, but he seemed to have leveled up faster and gained some armor.
We started this game the same time!
Now, he was miles behind him. Regardless of the pangs of envy growing in his heart, he forced a smile and waved at him.
James waved back. “Hey, Matt!” he yelled. “Come on down.”
He nodded and ran across the length of the gravel, happy to see a familiar face.
“How are you?” his friend asked, “Haven’t seen you since you died back there.”
“Died twice, re-spawned again.”
“Well, the one thing I tell you not to do, you do it twice,’ his friend laughed. “You really are something!”
He considered thwacking his friend with the butt end of his spear, but thought better of it.
“So you leveled up!” he pointed at the armor. “Nice armor!”
“Thank you!” James stuck a pose like a supermodel showing off his muscles, “Got it during one of the quests I took a few minutes ago where I had to fight this eagle that kept coming to claw my head.”
Allan smiled. “And let me guess… it left once it understood you've got nothing in it.”
“Ha!” he shrugged the comment away. “Lame joke, but quite expected from you.”
There he goes again.
His friend could take whatever he said and turn it into a mocking retort. It seemed to be a quality he excelled at. Allan found it quite annoying. He knew others did too. But he also knew his friend to be quite helpful and generous.
“Hey, so where are you headed?”
“To the east.” he explained, “I've rid this area of monsters, but I hear there are two villages on the east side of Baraquiel that need our attention.”
“Oh?”
“Yes, we’ll move first towards the Village of Taramund and then to the Village of Aram. You ready?”
“Is it a long walk?” Allan asked.
“It would be, yes - but we’re not walking. We’re teleporting.”
“But I don’t have a stone to Baraquiel!” he said.
“Of course not!”
James accessed his inventory and with a flash of light a gray stone appeared in his hand. It looked similar to the six stones they had found earlier, bust it instead bore a different symbol.
“Wow. Thanks!” Allan accepted the stone.
“Of course! I need your help.” he smiled, “See you on the other side.”
And with that, James activated his stone and in a flash he teleported away.
System Alert!
You are now in possession of a Spawn Stone targeted to the gates of Baraquiel. Do you wish to activate this stone?
Yes | No
Allan selected 'Yes', and a greenish hue formed around him as his augmented vision erupted in a flash of white light.
The next thing he knew, another massive gate stood before him. He turned around to see that he was standing under the boughs of dark trees that offered a thick canopy. In the distance a grassland extended towards the iron palisades that formed a wall around the hay-thatched houses of a small village.
His friend stood next to him, sword held high. “There's the Village of Taramund. Time to fight!”
Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.
----------------------------------------
He was at Level 4 now, but his confidence still waned after seeing how far his friend had progressed over the past hour. The spear was a handy weapon to have, no doubt, but he really wished for a sword as unique as the one his friend held.
Maybe I'll find one I can loot here in this village.
“All right.” Allan rubbed his hands together, “Let’s do this!”
James nodded, “Eager, are you?”
They headed towards the village. It took them nearly fifteen minutes to make the trek, and dusk had settled by the time they arrived. James quietly entered the gates from the right while Allan entered from the left. Cautiously they strode, passing house by empty house. Shrieks and bellows sounded from the center of the village.
“I'll scout ahead.” His friend instructed, “You stay behind and wait for me to message you.”
“Why do I have to stay behind?!” Allan demanded.
“These are high-level monsters.” He explained, “You wouldn't last five minutes.”
“Try me.” Allan’s eyes narrowed.
James chuckled, “Don't need to. You've already proven twice now that you can't handle a decent fight.”
“Hey!” Allan stammered - but before he could get in another word, James had slipped into an alleyway.
“Wait up!” He yelled and tried to run after him.
Just then, a huge crab-like monster skidded in front of him out of seemingly nowhere.
Threat Detected: Level 4 Giant Crab
HP| 500/500
Strengths: Sharp pincers can shred the flesh of players, and razor-tipped tongue can stab opponents within a 5 foot radius.
Weaknesses: [LOCKED]
Its pincers clicked at him, but he fended them off with his spear.
[-20 HP]
He slashed and stabbed.
[-30 HP]
[-40 HP]
He them drove his spear through the crab-monster’s head after jumping on top of it.
Stab: Medium
Instant Kill
[+25 HP]
He surprised himself. He had never felt so athletic. But before he could celebrate his latest victory, three more of the crab-like creatures scurried around the corner.
Dang it.
Allan slashed at one of the creatures and drove his spearinto it.
Impale: Easy
Instant Kill
[+20 HP]
He quickly retracted his spear and stabbed another.
Stab: Easy
Instant Kill
[+20 HP]
LEVEL UP!
[+1 Intelligence]
I could get used to this!
The third monster attacked, but Allan was ready. He jabbed and slashed.
[-30 HP]
Its pincers threatened to rip him to shreds, but it was too late. With finesse, Allan swung his spear and slashed across the creature's exposed belly.
Slash: Medium
Instant Kill
[+40 HP]
Satisfied after killing off the trio, he jabbed his spear into the dirt and leaned on it for support as he caught his breath. In the distance he could see James on a killing spree. Many fallen monsters lay behind the path he took. Blood was spattered everywhere, but yet it appeared there was not a scratch on him. The armor shined and gleamed. He sighed. He wished he could have armor like that. Monsters lay at his feet too, but he had to strike two to three times at his enemies. James had to slash only once.
A moment later, Allan screamed in pain. Another of the crab-like monsters had snuck up on him from behind and its pincer had bit into the skin on his back. The health bar on his HUD blinked and his augmented vision had a red tinge. He tried to yank his spear out of the ground, but it was stuck.
The monster picked him up and threw him against the brick wall. The force broke the wall asunder and he fell down, red bricks falling over him. His health bar turned crimson and blinked faster. Pain surged through him. He groaned and tried to push the bricks off him.
A grunt escaped him and he stood up, shaking all over. The monster looked at him, its hazel-green eyes boring through him as if trying to burn him from the inside out. He felt queasy at its stare and rushed to fight it.
Therein he made his gravest mistake. He did not see it coming in the dark. A sword-like tongue lunged out of its mouth and stabbed him in his abdomen.
He moaned as life left him. He could have seen it in the bright of day, but in fading light he hadn't seen the black sharp-pointed tongue. His vision darkened and he found himself facing the dreaded progress bar once again.
GAME OVER
Cause of Death: Stab
“Another penalty lockout?! Arrg!” he cursed and smacked his forehead.
----------------------------------------
Allan did not have another stone that could teleport him to Baraquiel.
Who am I kidding anyway? I've got no chance against those monsters anyway. I'm better off leveling up by killing off those smaller monsters near Samsiel anyway.
As he considered the thought further, rapid leveling did sound like his best shot at surging past his friend's recent accomplishments.
Just you wait! I'll show you!
Allan accessed the last remaining stone from his inventory, and an alert appeared in his augmented vision.
System Alert!
You are in possession of a Spawn Stone targeted to the gates of Samsiel. Do you wish to activate this stone?
Yes | No
Allan selected 'Yes'. After a flash of light, he found his face only inches away from the gate that led into the city of Samsiel. He turned on his heel and could see the empty road leading up to the desolate and abandoned village. Smiling, he made his descent towards the muddy road.
A lone warrior rested on the side of the path, rummaging through the shrubbery. It was @SuaveQueen25. He made his way forward to greet her, but a message suddenly popped up in his augmented vision.
James: By now I assume you have respawned. When you log in, come to Baraquiel. The Village of Aram needs our help desperately. Come quickly.
How odd. His message sounds grave.
He flipped open the map from his inventory and saw Baraquiel on the other side of the country. He sighed. He had no stone to take him there. All he had was a long walk through what looked like a mountainous terrain. Grumbling under his breath, he left @SuaveQueen25 behind and walked away in the direction of the one city he had hoped he wouldn't have to see again until later in the game.
He better be grateful!