Before I begin this chapter, I would like to give a BIG shoutout to everyone that has read Blood Shark up till now! Thank you guys for supporting and encouraging me!
Also, if possible, please leave a comment or review at the end of this chapter to help improve Blood Shark. Thanks!
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Shurki POV
The next day, or rather, the same night at 12:01, I logged into his capsule again. This time, I was greeted, rather rudely by the system.
Okay rich guy, do you want to register an account?
“Yes creator”
Alright what do you want your name to be?
“Shurki please”
Okay, your new name is “Shurki Please”.
“Wait, no. I want my name to be Shurki.”
Annoying aren’t you. Whatever, your name is Shurki now, Happy?
…..
Since you're rich, you can only be a human and all players start in the city of Ad hominem. Also, about the appearance modifier, you can’t access it because it’s a standard for people who have a legendary title to use their real appearance. Have fun!
Suddenly I experienced a gut wrenching feeling, like the ball of anticipation at the top of a roller coaster looking down at a huge drop. I suppressed my feeling of panic, reassuring myself of the surroundings by tensing my muscles. Soon, the feeling left me and instead, I was looking at a medieval store, the oak sign on top of the store said “Welcome to Legendary Age”.
Ding*
A new title has been granted to you!
Legend of the FirstYou are the first player to access Legendary Age. NPC’s will now think that you are the original of all the players and revere you.
You will find discovering skills, quests, items etc. much MUCH easier.
+200 Fame
+3 Luck
Being First Gets OldTime after time, you are the first one to things. People are getting tired of your constant superiority. Thus, to deter you from being the first, they have removed the bonus of being first.
You will no longer gain rewards for discovering dungeons.
A new title has been granted to you!
Legend of the QuickYou have obtained the titles “Legend of the Rich” and “Legend of the First”, as a result the two titles have merged. All bonus’ and restrictions will still be in place with the exception of the special bonus from “Legend of the First” where you will find skills, quests, items etc. much easier and the special restriction from “Legend of the Rich” where you are unable to learn assassin-related skills and classes.
+100 Fame
+5 Dexterity
Instinctively, I entered the store. But as soon as I tried to move, I tripped and fell. Looking back, I realized why, there was a wooden stick on the ground, right next to my feet. But why the heck was the stick on the ground and not in inventory.
When I fell down, I heard the sound of coins jingling. Patting my body, I felt a rough spot near my legs, where a pocket would be, and felt a couple circular things. Taking them out, I saw some copper coins.
The coins were about the size of my thumb but quite thick. They were a clear bronze color that had tints of green. All of the coins were brand new, without sign of wear/tear. Under the sun, they sparkled, blinding me.
On the front, or what I though was the front was a carving of Pericles. How did I know this? Probably because of the words surrounding the carving. Curiously, they were in english. The symbols and head were carved into the coin.
On the back were the symbols alpha and omega (the first and last letter of the greek alphabet). Likewise, the symbols were carved into the coin. So Legendary Age was set in the Greek age. As I was admiring the intricacy of the coin, a window appeared before me.
+2 Knowledge
Because you have examined the coin, you have determined the time of this game.
Upon gaining
10 knowledge - You will be able to view your status
25 knowledge - You will be able to view the status of others
100 knowledge - You will be able to open your stat window
Extra knowledge may give unexpected rewards!
Suddenly, a clerk came up to me from the store and asked if I would like to have a tutorial of the new world. Thinking that I already knew the basic rules of Legendary Age, I declined the clerk’s offer. Instead, I asked for where the gates to the city were.
At that, the clerk laughed at me. Instead, she dragged me into the store and led me into a room. Inside the room, there were all kinds of weapons, ranging from bows to spears to pikes. In addition, there were twenty purple footprints on the gray stone ground. Then, the clerk told me to pick one of the weapons and walk through those steps and after I had done that, I would be pointed to the gate and allowed to go outside.
Looking over the weapons, I realized that a light weapon would be the useful in passing this test. So I choose the Shang Gou, something that wasn’t intrusive yet looked deadly enough.
For those that don’t know, a Shang Gou is a pair of blades that end in curved hooks, while the handguards are hammered into outward-facing spiked crescents. If you still don’t know what it looks like: https://ducttapesoldier.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/800px-double_hook_swords.jpg?w=1200&h=
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Anyways, holding the Shang Gou, I started to trace the footsteps. But between the 4th and 5th footstep, there was a huge gap that was nearly impossible to cross. I looked at the clerk questioningly. All he did was motion for me to continue.
I looked back at the fifth footprint. It was slightly over three meters away from me. Well, what could I do? I tensed my legs, bending them slightly and shifted my weight to my front foot. But before I could leap forward, the floor gave way. Not again! I had already experienced that tight gut wrenching feeling already today.
After about 8 meters of free fall, I connected with the ground. Every muscle in my body ached, especially my left foot that I landed on. Cursing, I looked up, I saw the clerk, looking down at me. Then, the clerk reached behind and threw down a rough rope. After steadying myself, I tried to climb up the rope but after a titanic effort, I only got 4 meters off the ground before I feel again.
Laughing, the clerk called over her colleagues. On the edge of the trap, they all laughed at me. And laughed and laughed.
What was this feeling? I had never felt this before. It wasn’t rage, but I was still angry, so furious that in real life, I would be trashing everything in my way. It wasn’t sadness but tears were still rolling down my cheek. It wasn’t envy, but I would have given anything to trade places with the ones who were laughing at me.
I was in shame.
Ding*
New Legend Stat: Shame
The rich are no stranger to shame. They must endure the gawkings of people richer than them and feel the wrath of people less fortunate. But they must never show their displeasure. This bottled up rage, sadness and envy becomes something else, Shame.
For experiencing an act of humiliation
+2 Shame
New Skill: Release - Passive
Physical strength and dexterity triples while intelligence and wisdom becomes zero. While in Release, health cannot decrease, unless you take over 1000 damage (amount increases based on efficiency), at that, you will die. After coming out of release, you will die. In addition, any hostile actions taken towards you will identify them as an enemy.
Release will activate when user is below 10% health. Release will consume shame stats and it's duration is based on the shame stats it has consumed. For example, if Release has consumed 10 shame stats, you will be in a state of Release for 10 minutes.
Release has been activated. 2 Shame stats have been consumed.
Suddenly, I was climbing up the rope as if I had been doing it all my life. In no time, I reached the top and swung myself out of the trap. Slowly, I glared at the stunned faces of the various clerks. Finally, my gaze settled on the original clerk that brung me into the room. Suddenly, a voice spoke in my head, whispering in glee, “It’s my turn now.”
My body slowly became rigid. I lost control of my body, it was as if I was in someone else’s body. Then all hell broke lose.
*From a third point of view - To show Shurki’s possession* - Please comment if it was successful or if you got confused. Thanks!
Shurki’s hand stretched forward, seeking the throat of the clerk. Instantly, the clerk backed away with an inhumane agility. Shurki’s hand missing it’s target, prompted his body into action. Shurki leaped forward, his outstretched hand clawing at the clerk’s shoulder. Unfortunately, the clerk dodged his strike by dipping her shoulder and used the opportunity to score a punch to his stomach. But Shurki felt nothing.
At the punch, Shurki’s hand flailed wildly before making contact with the sleeve of the clerk. Suddenly, Shurki’s hand had curled into a fist and pulled back. Shurki was coursing through the air. His target? The same clerk. Shurki was about to hit her when his shoulders were pierced by javelins from behind. Without strength, his arms retracted from its threatening position and through the distraction the clerk was able to escape to the left, narrowly missing Shurki’s flying figure and returned to her vicious friends.
The stunned clerks finally regained conscious and instantly Shurki had multiple weapons pointed at my vitals. Looking at the weapons, he broke into a smile, a smile that would chill even the purest of hearts. And then he shouted.
No, he did not shout, rather he screamed, he roared, he bawled, a voice full of emotion. The clerks instinctively flinched. At that, his right leg struck the nearest clerk in the stomach, she wasn’t going to be standing anytime soon. Shurki smiled at her misfortune. Then Shurki felt a piercing pain at his heart. Looking down, an axe had lodged itself into his chest.
Before I could react, the voice instead my head spoke again. “You are tooo weaakkk. Worthlesss.” With that, I finally regained control of my body and welcomed the darkness that engulfed me.
“Holy Sht.” Even after I had regained consciousness, I could not move a muscle. It felt so real, so realistic that I was exhausted after the adrenaline rush. For another 10 minutes, I laid in the capsule, twitching whenever I thought about the events that transpired in Legendary Age.
Finally, I could get up and out of the capsule, although my legs were still quite shaky. The first thing that I did after exiting the capsule was to plop down before my computer and search for the experiences of others that began to play Legendary Age.
After two hours of searching, I could only find a introductory video for the tutorial for Legendary Age. In the video, the player started by doing various physical exercises such as jumping jacks and push ups. Then the player was introduced to weapons and picked their favorite weapon. Finally, the NPC gave a long speech about honor and virtues along with his good wishes.
I hate Legendary Age. I was going to make so much trouble in that game that even the gods would tremble upon hearing my name.