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 around in the bushes. 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 is 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 level up.”
“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.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
If it weren’t for 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 least twenty.
We stumbled into their nest!
James slashed at one with his spear, killing it as it lunged at 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 XP]
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 XP]
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 XP]
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 a map 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 after a brief moment of static his eyes adjusted to the dim light of his backyard. It was nearing midnight.
His breath turned into fog and his body started to shiver from the cold night air. Coming out of NeuReality was a bit shocking to the system. The game creator CyberBolt had established several massive arenas in every major city in order to enhance user experience and also to lessen the risks of shock to bodily systems. But to play in these arenas was extremely costly.
A message alert then popped up in his NR enhanced 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.
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