A/N:
Well, I’ll be trying out some of the suggestions I got from the previous chapter here (actually only one – describing things in more detail) so yeah. I’ll try my best not to make it dry. Also, I’ll be trying something else in this chapter – adding in RL researched stuff. I hope it doesn’t make anyone lost.
Anyhow, here’s another chapter from me.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 2: Learning to Survive
With a flash of light, a man appeared in the plains of Eristard. His short, jet black hair fluttered slightly in the winds of the plains. He pulled on the shirt that was the mark of all beginners in Royal Road. The way the shirt formed to his body showed off his physique – muscular, yet not overly so. As he got used to the feel of being in virtual reality, he looked around, his midnight black eyes screaming his confusion. Many would describe Dale (or Mouse, as he was now known) as a handsome young man. However, anyone who saw him now wouldn’t be able to process that. In fact, to an onlooker, this 'handsome young man' would appear to be doing a strange tribal dance. He stomped his feet and waved his arms wildly about, all whilst screaming something that sounded suspiciously like curse words.
[p=center]
You are the first to discover the Wilderness of Eristard!
For being the first to discover this area, you receive:
Fame has increased by 1000
In addition, the first monster hunted will drop the best item it has.
[/p]
[p=center]
You are the first to discover the region of Eristard!
Far to the South of the Versailles Continent, the region has remained largely uninhabited except for the nomadic tribes that roam the vast plains of this region.
For being the first to discover this region, you receive:
Fame has increased by 5000
Experience from quests received in the area have been doubled for a week
Miscellaneous quest rewards have been increased for the same duration.
In addition, as the first to discover this region, you will gain increased starting relationship intimacy with the locals.
Caution! The monsters in this area are many times above your level. It is strongly advised that you return to the immediate vicinity of your starting town
Caution! The tribes in this area are in a a state of war. You may be recognised as an enemy and attacked on sight.
[/p]
[p=center]
You have received a Title: Pioneer of the South
For being the first player to discover a region in the south, you have received the title 'Pioneer of the South'
Fame has increased by 1000
You will be treated with great respect for being the first player to brave the dangers of the South.
Grants:
Leadership +150
STA +100
WIS +30
INT+ 30
[/p]
As the three holographic screens suddenly popped up in front of Mouse, he stopped mid-curse, his mouth left hanging open. A level one beginner with a fame level of 7000! In other games, this would immediately make him a local legend. When he had played Maplestory, he’d barely managed to amass 100 fame. And he’d already been playing for two years then. Due to what was probably a glitch in Royal Road, he’d managed to get almost a thousand fame points instantly. Mouse was speechless.
While in the midst of his rage, he’d considered taking the matter to the company that ran Royal Road, Unicorn Corp. However, the lure of 7000 fame points was too much for Mouse to resist. So what if the monsters were way too strong for him? So what if random people he met on the plains would kill him on sight? Mouse had enough experience from previous games to know the benefits that fame could bring, and he wasn’t about to give it up for such petty reasons. If he didn’t complain, they wouldn’t find out. After all, what was one insignificant player amongst millions worldwide?
At this point, Mouse started his trademark evil laughter. In real life, Mouse was a nice, polite young man. His laugh was the complete opposite of those two words and only his two closest friends had heard it before. To describe it, it would be like a cross between a lawn mower (a really noisy one, mind) and the standard Santa Claus laugh. In short, it was loud, grating, and caused pain to the listeners. In fact, anyone who heard it would have nightmares of it. Mouse remembered a time when he’d laughed too loud and the neighbour’s child had overheard. After a week of the child's endless crying, the family had moved out, claiming that the estate was haunted.
“Hohohoho.” Mouse laughed while clapping his hands and dancing about in joy.
"Now, what should I do?" As he snapped out of his euphoria, Mouse considered his options.
"Well, the monsters in this area are of too high a level for me to handle. I probably wouldn't be able to do anything against them even if ‘many times’ meant that they were level 10.” With that thought in mind, Mouse decided that he’d try to seek out some NPCs. They might be able to offer some quests which would help raise his level before he ventured out to explore the wilderness.
“The system notice did say that there were some warring tribes around the area. Maybe I could join one?” Of course, Mouse didn't mean to join as a fighter. He’d probably die the minute someone said ‘Charge’, or if someone accidentally pushed him. Who knows?
“I should probably check my stats…“ Mouse mused. “Then again, how do I open my stats window?”
[p=center]
SYSTEM MESSAGE
To open your status window, simply shout "Open Status Window" out loud. The same applies for your inventory window, quest window, and any other window you might want to open.
Disclaimer: This of course does not apply to any literal window you encounter in the game and/or outside of the game
[/p]
"Yeaaaaaah." Mouse rolled his eyes at the system message that appeared.
"Open status window!" Mouse shouted, feeling slightly foolish for shouting into thin air.
Status WindowNameMouseLevel1ClassN/ATitlePioneer of the SouthFame7000Infamy0Health100Mana400Strength10Agility10Wisdom10+30Intelligence10+30Stamina50+100Vitality10Leadership0+150
Mouse whistled. "Awesome. 7000 fame at level 1. And I even generated a Leadership stat. Hohoho" At this point, Mouse started his nightmarish laughter again.
Which abruptly died, as the sound of a shaker came from behind Mouse.
"I know this sound." Mouse whispered as his eyes widened in horror. Working part-time at the zoo during the school holidays had ensured that.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
Rattlesnake. Mouse had had more than enough run-ins with this particular type of snake. Over the course of the holidays, after which he'd sworn off part-time jobs, he'd been bitten countless times by the rattlesnakes in captivity. A snake with an especially nasty temperament, which the zoo-keepers had christened 'Viper', had been the one responsible for almost 90% of the bites he had received.
Other than the fact that the bites hurt like hell, Viper happened to be of the variety which had neurotoxic (which means that it causes damage to the nervous system) along with hemotoxic (causes damage to red blood cells) components in his venom. This meant that Mouse was often exposed to the intense pain that hemotoxin causes, along with the fear that comes about from the paralytic neurotoxins.
One time, he'd been bitten while his supervisor had gone to the toilet to take a massive dump (pardon me). He'd spent an agonising ten minutes lying on the floor, paralysed, while the devil of a snake circled him, hissing menacingly. If he had been in control of his body, he would've shat his pants there and then.
It was understandable, then, that Mouse was paralysed with fear as he heard the tell-tale signs of a rattler ready to strike.
"AHHHH!" Mouse screamed suddenly, unable to accept the situation. He'd finally escaped the snakes in real life, and they had to find him here. What's more, it would be his first death in-game. In the first 10 minutes of his VR life, no less.
*THUD*
Stunned, Mouse turned around to find...
... that a baby rattlesnake had just been knocked unconscious from it's head colliding with a nearby sapling.
Apparently, it had gotten it's tail stuck in the wild bushes that thrived around the plains. When Mouse, doing his weird dance, had entered his immediate vicinity, the baby rattlesnake had already gone on alert. The horrific sounds (or in the case of the snake - vibrations) that followed were enough for it to tag Mouse as a threat. However, Mouses' sudden scream had startled it so much that it reflexively tried to recoil - which led to it banging its head on the nearby sapling when its tail wouldn't move.
Mouse nearly burst out laughing at the comical sight. He'd thought that he was going to die for a second there. He smiled weakly at the thought that he'd been paralysed by fear of a baby rattler and moved closer to check on the snake. On closer inspection, it was a beautiful, vibrant blue. Moreover, the scales of the snake were darker towards its tail, creating a gradient of different hues of blue. It was only 5 inches long, but it would surely become more beautiful as it grew. Mouse was fascinated. He actually did like snakes (hence deciding to work in the snake section of the zoo), but Viper had prevented him from fully enjoying his work. He could kill the baby snake and hence gain some much needed EXP in this hostile environment, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. It was just too much of waste. Plus, the baby snake probably wouldn't yield much EXP anyway.
An idea hit him. Why not bring the snake along on his travels? It was just a baby, he could probably coerce it into following him. The snake would probably be able to help him in battle, as was the norm in most RPGs to date. In addition, he'd be able to admire it as it grew. He was definitely looking forward to that.
Thus, Mouse decided to bring the little snake along with him in the palm of his hand.
Bush, bush, wild grass, more bush. Another bush, another long stretch of grass... After an hour of the unchanging scenery, the snake finally stirred. Its first instinct was to dive off Mouses' hand, taking up a aggressive posture a meter away.
"Hey there, I don't mean you any harm." Mouse spoke softly as he put his hands up in what he hoped was a non-threatening gesture. The snake looked at him warily.
"I'm gonna call you Wave, alright?" Mouse continued, inching his way towards the newly christened Wave.
"You wanna come on an adventure with me?" Mouse had finally made it to where Wave was. With the months of work tending to snakes on his head, he gently picked Wave up and petted his head, an action that seemed to have a soothing effect on most of the snakes in his care.
Wave, seeming to understand his intentions, shook its head vigorously, desperately trying to wriggle out of his hand.
With a grip of iron, Mouse grabbed on firmly to Wave's tail and brought him to a nearby tree. He then proceeded to nonchalantly tie Wave's tail into a knot on a small branch.
"Well... If you don't wanna come, I'll just go on without you, I guess..." Mouse sighed and moved as if to leave. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Wave struggling frantically to free himself to no avail. After taking a few steps away, he considered Wave again. "You're sure you don't want to come?" Mouse grinned, as Wave hesitated a moment before giving a reluctant nod.
[p=center]
You have generated a new Skill!
Animal Companion (Passive) Beginner level 1: 0%
Allows you to take an animal as a companion. Only applicable if the animal in question agrees to be your companion. The animal companion will be able to fight alongside you in battle and grows along with you. 10% of any EXP you earn will automatically go to your animal companion.
Your animal companion will not die. However, it may be banished for a duration of time, after which it may be resummoned at a cost. The duration and cost will decrease as the skill level increases.
Note: The effects of death apply to your animal companion (E.g. Loss of stats, skill proficiencies and levels)
At current level: Additional 100 Health and Mana to animal companion. Resummon cooldown: 40 hours, Resummon cost: 100 Mana.
[/p]
"Show Wave stats!"
Status WindowNameWaveLevel1RaceMirage RattlesnakeClassAnimal CompanionTitleN/AFame0Infamy0Health100+100Mana100+100Strength10Agility10Wisdom10Intelligence10Stamina275Vitality10Charm10
Mouse was elated. Wave had nearly the same stats as him. He had basically just doubled his fighting capabilities. Mouse was confident that with Wave by his side, he would be able to brave the dangers of the wilderness.
With his trusty (albeit forced) new sidekick, Wave the rattlesnake, he continued on his merry way through the Wilderness of Eristard.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
End note: Yeah, I know, it's a bit far fetched. My brain isn't really working too well at the moment. Anyway, suggestions for improvement are always welcome (along with criticism) (not so much criticism but okay I'll take what I get). Please also point out any mistakes I may have missed! I hope you enjoyed this chapter (brought to you by my half asleep brain). Anyway, did anyone notice? He's Mouse, and he has a snake as a companion. I so enjoyed the irony. Alright, mindless rambling over. Goodnight folks.