Chapter 1: Gamdrea

The wind bit into the girl as she rushed through the parking lot. Despite the temperature being below freezing, she was in shorts with a light jacket covering a tank top. Practice had gone a little long and she probably wasn’t going to make it before the store closed, but she wanted to at least try. Her hair was still slick from the workout and would likely be stiff from the cold by the time she rolled into home.

Snow and ice crunched under her feet as she stopped outside GameStart's front door. She jerked on the handle, only to find it already locked. She looked at her phone. 9:02 P.M. She was three minutes too late. She could see someone moving around in there but she wasn't going to be that person. She'd just have to wait another few days to play the new installment of Castle Nights. She'd already waited half a year. What was two days?

She turned to leave and had taken three steps towards her car when a voice spoke behind her.

"Can I help you?"

"Oh! Sorry, you guys are already closed right?" She said turning around, "I can come back tomorrow, you probably want to get home."

"Well, you aren't wrong, but I'll make an exception. Now what did ya need?"

"Um, cool, I'm here to pick-up my pre-order." The GameStart employee waved her in, before going to his spot behind the computer register. His name tag on the black and red uniform read Corey. After a few moments of clicking keys he asked, "Name?"

"It should be under Evie Steele, S-T-E-E-L-E. It was supposed to be Castle Nights IV."

The scroller on the mouse stopped clicking, 'Ah... uh..." Corey looked apologetic, "It looks like there was an issue with shipping, The truck transporting was in an accident and the copies it carried were damaged. You shoulda got an email.”

She looked down at her phone as if it had betrayed her, "I'm sorry, I didn't get a notification, maybe it went to junk mail. I've been at practice so I haven’t checked. Sorry for wasting your time." She turned to go.

"Wait," said Corey, "I’ve got something else you might be interested in." He glanced up at a security camera in the corner of the room. It wasn’t on. The one inside the store had been malfunctioning and had really just been for show. A bluff for would be thieves. He really wasn’t supposed to give out the spheres without that working, but what would it hurt to do this one. He’d just make sure he registered her and it would be fine. He would be able to place a name with a picture, just like corporate wanted. “It’s called Gamedrea and it is currently in Beta, and the company is looking for testers who pass the screening.”

Evie paused, "I've never heard of that. Is it PC? Or a console? And what type of screening?"

"Neither, it's a new system. You get the whole package if you pass the screening. Not everyone can play this new game, it’s all cerebral interface and everyone’s brain is different. Some people have what it takes, some don’t. I’m sure eventually everyone will be able to play but for now, it’s only people with a certain genetic availability.”

“So what, I’m going to have to do some type of brain scan?” said Evie, thinking that she had no idea such high tech games even existed.

“Ha! Not so much. It’s super simple, you just have to pick a sphere and it will tell you whether or not you can play."

Evie shrugged, “Why not. Sure." He looked at the computer screen, typed a few strokes, then nodded and disappeared into the back for a few minutes. Corey returned, setting an elegantly designed black box on the counter. He rubbed his hands together and undid the clasp, opening it and spinning it towards Evie a single motion. As he did so, he knocked his mouse across his keyboard, accidentally closing out of the program that allowed him to identify the new user. He ignored the mouse now on the floor and continued to help Evie.

Clear glass marbles rested haphazardly in the velvet lined box. There were several in there, but it wasn’t more than half full. It was weird. What kind of technology was this? How could a little glass ball scan a brain, let alone allow her to play a video game?

"All you have to do is pick one, and you'll know right away if you can Beta."

Evie reached into the case, shuffled the balls around a bit and then drew one out like she was drawing a raffle. The ball immediately turned white, before a multicolor swirl splashed through unblemished whiteness. The girl looked up at Corey, whose eyes were wide.

"What does that mean?"

“I’ve never seen one do that before, usually I see most people get shades of grays or blacks with color swirls.” He seemed to be concentrating hard on what he was seeing, his eyebrows furrowed.

“So can I beta it, or not.

Corey shook himself and began to nod and smile, "It means you're in."

"Cool so what do I do?"

"Let me get some of your details down, and I’ll need to take your picture for the company.” At last he turned to the computer to find that it had initialized an automatic update when the mouse had danced across the keyboard. “Well shit.”

“What?”

“The computer’s down. It’s updating. It’ll take forever.”

“So…?”

“Look, I wanna go home, and you wanna play this new game. Will you register online and upload an ID pic on your home computer?” Corey knew customers almost never did this kind of thing, but did it really matter? They’d be able to search her out for feedback in the game. There were many avenues to finding her if they really wanted to; it just might take them a while. Besides, it wasn’t like he was a corporate loyalist who lived and died for the company. He was just a college kid who wanted to go home and do his own thing. He had not been able to change the color of a marble and he had tried multiple times.

“Sure. I don’t have to pay for this?”

“Nope, totally free. Just register at home and you’ll get more information from corporate. They’ll probably have you sign an NDA. Anyway, need anything else.”

“I don’t think so, thanks again for helping me tonight."

"No problem, have a good one." Corey walked Evie to the door and she left, the door clanging softly behind her. She turned, thinking to wave, but the lights inside the store were already out and Corey was nowhere to be seen. Shrugging, she put the marble in her pocket and rushed through the wind back to her car.

She needed to get home, she had three early classes tomorrow and it was the start of a new semester. Calculus, chemistry and physics. Eight o-clock, nine, and ten. At least she'd get them all out of the way early and then be able to get to batting practice marked off her list. But she wanted to look up this game before she went to bed.

Pulling into the duplex parking lot, she squeezed her "Kia Sportage into the spot next to her brother's old Ford Explorer. She had a good scholarship but in the NAIA school she was going to, no one got a full ride, and housing was expensive. She was saving some money by living with her older brother, and this way her parents could also help with the rent, rather than lining the college's pockets. Of course, she had to get the permission of the college and coach, since she wasn’t a senior. But her grades and letters of recommendation from teachers helped her out there.

She pushed through the door, after climbing the stairs to the second level, “Jace?”

“Hey, there's leftover Chinese in the fridge. I left you the veggies,” her brother called from the couch.

"Gee, thanks," said Evie, "but I think I'll pass. Watch ya doing?"

"COD with some randos."

"Sounds not fun."

"Yeah, not so much." He pressed a button on his headset, "I'm out guys." Then he turned his system off and stood, stretching.

"You work tomorrow?" asked Evie.

"Yep, bright and early, can't wait til I get an actual tech job, rather than retail."

"Yeah, I've got an 8am class tomorrow, we'll probably be leaving at the same time."

"Oof!” said Jace.

"I know, but my Tuesday/Thursday class is 9:30 and 11:00 so I'll get to sleep in a little those days unless they move practice."

"Sleep," said Jace, "I remember those days." Evie could see the dark circles under her brother's eyes.

"Isn't that why you're going to bed early now?"

"You're assuming I'm going to be able to sleep well."

"I guess so."

"Night," said Jace, before he went into his room and closed the door."

"Night," Evie echoed. She went to her room and packed her backpack with her used textbooks, notebooks, a small handheld recorder, and pens/pencils for the day. That done, she set her alarms, multiple, because she was not a morning person, and she'd need all of them. After grabbing a quick shower, she finally sat down at her laptop. It was 10:32 PM.

She realized at that moment that Corey hadn’t given her the information on where to go to register. No card, nothing. Oh well. Typing 'Gamedrea’ into the search engine, she was hoping for some interesting videos or a website to get a bit more information or to at least find the website she was supposed to register on. Google returned zero results. That was weird. Maybe it had to do with the NDA, like the website was encrypted or hidden or something? She checked her email. Nothing, aside from school and practice stuff. Nothing new. Not that the guy at GameStart would have waited for the computer to reboot so he could send information to some random customer.

No sense wasting time. She had an early start the next day and she wanted to make a good impression. Time for bed then.

Pulling her wet hair off her neck and into a loose pony-even though she knew it was awful for her hair, she fell into bed. The Spring semester. Softball season. It's generally said that a college student never has enough time. Time for good grades, time for sleep, and time for social life. Usually there's only time for two of those. As a student athlete, Evie had even less of the precious commodity, with the added category, but she'd get through it and have it all. She'd find a way. With that thought, she drifted off.

Evie closed her eyes,instantly drifting off. Immediately, she gained a first person point of view. She saw her own hands and body, they appeared just like they would in the real world, if a little more toned, not that she wasn’t already in shape. At the moment she wore her pajamas which consisted of a t-shirt with some anime characters sporting some Zzzzzs, and capri yoga pants. Around her, she was met with blackness before a navy blue pop up box appeared in front of her. White lettering embossed the message bubble in flowing script. It said, Welcome to Gamdrea, Chosen of Dun, Steward of Light. Please state your name. Evie couldn’t believe it. The game key, the marble with the swirls of colors, had worked on its own, without her needing to register anything. She was gaming while she slept. She didn’t really understand the science or the technical stuff behind it, but this game was next level!

She thought for a moment. Every great fantasy character had a first and last name. And she had been recruited by the Steward of Light. She always liked to use the name Catalysta when she could, or some variation, if the name wasn’t taken by another player already. This game was pretty new, so hopefully it was still available. The last name...she thought through all the possibilities. She always liked the names like Silverbow or Swiftfoot or Lionsbane or something of that nature. Well if she was on the side of the light maybe she should choose something that was appropriately aligned.

“Catalysta Angelwing,” she stated, a note of excitement tingeing her voice.

Her name appeared scrawled in cursive replacing the previous message, before fading away to be replaced by new words, The Steward is pleased with your choice of names. He finds it fitting for your role in the days to come. Because of your uniqueness to the world of Gamdrea and because you are the first female player to enter this world, you will be gifted a powerful blessing that will affect you and those around you. This buff will remain active as long as you follow the edicts of the Steward and remain true or on your first respawn. You will learn more about this buff when you fully immerse into Gamdrea. When she finished reading a paragraph it would fade to be replaced by more information.

After reviewing your mind stamp, accessing memories, and assessing physical data for your current self, to create your avatar in Gamdrea, a list of character stats has been compiled. Please review them:

Strength: 14

Intelligence: 16

Willpower: 11

Constitution: 13

Endurance: 12

Charisma: 16

Agility: 14

Dexterity: 14

Coordination: 18

Do these stats seem acceptable or would you like to reassess? Know that reassessing has as much chance of lowering your stats as it will raising them.

Well that would be a difficult question, considering she had no idea what good or normal stats would be according to the game. However, if she was comparing the stats to the old games she used to play, these were pretty good starting stats. She could always get more stat points to distribute in the future if she ended up having too few of something. Leveling almost always yielded more stat points to distribute.

“The stat scores are acceptable,” she said to the message box.

Thank you for your confirmation. More information on stats, Innate Abilities, Innate Talent, and skills will be available upon your arrival to Gamdrea. Let the light shine down upon you and may the Steward guide your feet to green pastures. May you be victorious against the dark. Welcome to Gamdrea.

Catalysta blinked and found herself inside a room that appeared to have been ransacked. An empty bookshelf lined the wall to her right, where it looked like hundreds of books had been dumped out onto the floor, haphazardly thrown without any regard to the precious bound pages. The shelves were completely empty, save for some loose pages that were scattered about, rustling in the slight breeze that wafted in from the cracked window straight ahead of her. These were probably left after the savagery of the search ripped some of the books apart. She slowly turned around and discovered that there were a couple of chairs and a wooden writing desk overturned in the chaos of the room. A heavy looking glass sphere weighed down some loose papers on the floor; not purposely, it looked like it had just rolled there. The top of the desk was blackened as if it had been burned by something and the upholstery on the chairs was ripped so that the stuffing was coming out. What looked like a couple of end table legs that had been ripped off from their base lay mixed in with the piles of literature. She wondered idly if the rest of the house was as torn up as this personal library.

She stopped turning when she saw what was directly behind her. Suspended above a table that appeared to be untouched, was a glowing blue crystal. It was a diamond, one that looked like the Hope diamond that she had seen at the Smithsonian when she had gone there on vacation. It emitted a soft light that called to her. At her first step forward she heard the sound of a harp being strummed.

Quest Found: Your Charge. You find yourself in a seemingly burglarized and abandoned house. Discover the reason behind this and search for troubles that plague the area surrounding the house. This is your charge. The Steward has put you here for a reason, find out why. Discover clues, 0/???. Solve the problem, 0/1. Reward: experience and ??? (variable).

She dismissed the quest notification, and continued forward, her hand outstretched before she stopped herself. She didn’t know what this thing was but there had to be a reason that this table looked as if it was undisturbed. And whoever searched this room would not have missed the obvious crystal floating in plain sight and STILL have destroyed those books--unless they were a monster!

Without moving, she searched the floor and the space around the crystal, staring intently, willing a trap to appear, or looking for anything out of the ordinary. The table sat on top of a rug and both appeared innocent enough, nothing out of place, except one thing. The corner edge of the rug was curled under itself. Catalysta carefully picked up the corner of the and lifted some of it off the floor to look under it. The white glow of a glyph trap escaped from the shadows beneath the rug, before it flared bright and bathed her in a flash of light. Immediately notifications flashed before her eyes, disappearing as soon as she absorbed the information.

Congratulations, you have discovered your Innate Talent, ACADEMIC. You have used your Innate Talent ACADEMIC to unlock a skill. You have learned the skill, Find Magical Trap.

You have found Polymorph trap.

You have triggered Polymorph trap.

Congratulations you have discovered your first Innate Ability, VOID.

You take no damage from Polymorph trap and your ability, VOID, has converted the mana points used in casting Polymorph trap into VOID Points. You have gained forteen VOID Points.

Catalysta felt a pleasant cooling sensation wash over her body and saw a purple gauge in the lower right hand corner of her vision fill slightly before disappearing. Well that was interesting. She really wanted to review her own character status page, but she wanted to make sure she was in a safe place first, and at the moment, she didn’t feel very safe. But, on the bright side, the crystal didn’t appear to be trapped anymore.

She reached out and grasped the glowing crystal, examining it. Her fingers tingled as she sought to identify the object. Immediately more information swam across her vision.

Congratulations, you have used your Innate Talent ACADEMIC to unlock a skill. In the future should you unlock a skill a different way, you will be notified.

You have learned the skill Analyze/Identify.

You have Identified a Manor House Crystal. This crystal was dropped by the previous owner of the manor house when he was killed by an Agent of Shadow. The Agent of Shadow discarded the crystal in hopes of catching an Agent of Light in a trap. He was unable to claim the house himself because it resides in the territory of the Light. Do you wish to soulbind the Manor House Crystal and take possession of the residency? Know that doing so will make the Manor House belong to you and will make the Manor House your respawn point. More information will be given on the Manor House interface if you choose to soulbind the Manor House Crystal.

Quest Update: Your Charge. You have found a Manor House Crystal once belonging to an owner slain by an Agent of Shadow. You suspect that the Agent of Shadow is part of the problem plaguing Fasthaven. Discover clues 1/???. Find Agents of Shadow 0/???.

Catalysta thought about previous games and housing and wondered what the drawbacks of owning a house in Gamdrea would be. Taxes? Responsibility? Potential break-ins or raids? If all else failed she could just pass the ownership on if she needed to. Surely the game wouldn’t stick her with a house that she wasn’t supposed to have. Maybe all new players started like this?

“Yes,” Catalysta said aloud, though, she would only have needed to think the response.

The crystal grew warm in her hand and then pulled itself out of her grasp, its glowing blue light blinking in a slow sequence before what looked like a fuzzy sphere of light formed around the diamond shaped crystal obscuring the original item. It said in a soothing musical voice, “Welcome, mistress Catalysta Angelwing, I have copied your essence and imprinted data into my system. I am called Aria. You are the master of the house, my will is your command, what would you have me do?”

“Um,” Catalysta started. She needed to make sure she was safe so she could figure out what she could and couldn’t do and what she needed to do, “Is there a way to make the house secure so that I won’t be disturbed? Someone set a trap in here and they probably made it to alert them when it triggered.”

Aria, the circular ball of light, flashed once, “The category of the manor house is Rare, thus it has several security failsafes to keep unwanted guests away. Do you want me to engage these failsafes?”

“Yes, engage all failsafes.” said Catalysta.

“I will engage security system lockdown. Due to the current level of the manor house and your Innate Ability, VOID, your anti-magic protection will extend to your entire house. No invader can use magic to enter the manor house. Any who enter the manor house without your express permission will suffer a health and mana drain while they are in the house. This drain will scale upwards the longer they remain in the house and will vary depending on the invader’s level, starting at one point of mana and health lost per second, increasing to two points after remaining here for one minute and to thirty points after two minutes and so on.”

“Great,” said Catalysta, thinking she had some semblance of safety, “Aria please let me know if anyone enters the house.”

“Affirmative.”

Catalysta willed her character sheet up before her and studied it in detail.

Catalysta Angelwing, Level 1. Experience to next level, 0/670

Hit Points: 260/260

Stamina: 120/120

Void Points: 14/25

Alignment: Chaotic Good, Agent of Light

Class: unassigned.

Race: Human. Humans are one of many races residing in Gamdrea. As with all the other races they are neither wholly on the side of Shadow or wholly on the side of Light. They can thrive in many different environments, and are often found living amongst other races as well as in human-only settlements. Humans are blessed to be able to learn a wide variety of skills, crafts, and trades with relative ease, whereas many other races often tread down the path most traveled unless they find themselves with great talent in an unlikely area.

Subrace: Dreamwalker. As a Dreamwalker you receive five stat points per level to assign to your attribute points, instead of four per level for normal humans. Unlike normal humans, you will respawn if you die in Gamdrea. Keep this in mind as you interact with the people of Gamdrea. Every five levels you gain, constitution will automatically increase by five stat points, in addition to receiving the regular five stat points to assign to other attributes. As a Dreamwalker you have been given Innate Abilities and an Innate Talent. Some Dreamwalkers have multiple talents, multiple abilities or multiples of both categories.

Innate Talent 1/1: ACADEMIC. This innate talent allows you to learn any skill you desire. It can be triggered actively or passively depending on your interaction with your environment or your direct interest. You can learn on your own or be taught, though being taught will allow you to learn and level skills faster. The number of skills you can learn is limited only by your Intelligence.

Innate Ability 1/5: VOID level 1. This is a passive and sometimes active Mythic ability. Magic has no effect on you. Even high level spells will fail to take effect on you due to your ability. You are a black hole for magical spells. Your ability siphons off the mana used in the spell cast on you and turns it into VOID points. While this may seem like a powerful ability, all power comes at a cost. At this time, you may not use magic yourself, and may not receive healing magic if you are wounded. At this time you have no use for VOID points. That may change in the future. VOID the Ability and your Void Point Gauge level independently of each other. Your gauge will expand every time it completely fills and zeros out. Your ability will level with the amount of spells absorbed.

Current VOID Points 14/25. Amount of Mana absorbed to next VOID level 14/25. Any mana absorbed above the amount your VOID Points can hold will be absorbed back into the ether.

You have currently not unlocked any other Innate Abilities. Continue exploring and interacting with the environment to discover your other Innate Abilities.

Current Buffs:

Dun’s Chosen. For being chosen of the Steward you receive a 200% increased experience boost for enemy kills, a 200% experience boost for skill and crafting levels, a 50% increase in chances to find rare materials from monster drops, chests, or to find resources in the wild, and 25% chance to trigger special effects during crafting or skill use. Additionally, you have an increased natural healing rate of 50% and will recover from wounds much faster than those around you. This buff will disappear on your first death.

Light in the Darkness: Due to the disparity in numbers between the Light and the Dark, your status as a Dreamwalker and basic information is hidden from everyone, unless you reveal yourself to them. Any Dreamwalker you kill will remember nothing of the individual that caused his death. Revealing yourself is not recommended as it will leave you vulnerable. Choose your allies wisely. This buff will disappear when you reach level 100.

Current Skills:

Find Magical Trap level 1: When you are actively looking for magical traps, they will show up in your vision as red. With your ability VOID, you can spring magical traps on purpose and they will not hurt you, and they will fill your Void gauge, however if you are in a party with those who are not immune to magic, you might want to protect them from damage. Times used to increase level of this skill 1/5.

Identify/Analyze level 1: You can look at an item, weapon, monster, or person and be able to understand basic information about them. In order to use this skill, you must have the object of your focus in your sight for 5 seconds. Times used to increase the level of this skill 1/5.

You have no other skills at this time.

Titles

No titles.

Base Stats

Strength: 14. Your strength determines which weapons you can wield and which armor you can wear, it also is a factor in determining how hard you can hit.

Intelligence: 16. Intelligence determines the number of skills you can learn. For each point of intelligence you can learn 4 skills. Intelligence also determines the number of magic spells you can learn and how powerful those spells are. However, you cannot do magic so this function of Intelligence is locked to you.

Willpower: 11. Willpower is directly proportional to how much mana a person has. Because you cannot use mana this may seem like a useless attribute, however, willpower is also used to resist temptation, battle fear, and save against mind control, as not all mind control and manipulation is magical in nature.

Constitution: 13. Constitution is directly related to health. The higher your constitution the more you are resistant to poisons. For every point of constitution you receive 20 points of health.

Endurance: 12. Endurance is directly related to stamina. For every point of endurance you receive 10 points of stamina. Endurance also affects pain tolerance and ability to hold your breath under water. Special bonuses in endurance can be gained if you push yourself.

Agility: 14. Agility determines how fast you run or walk and how quickly you can attack or dodge. It also effects ability to wear certain armor.

Dexterity: 14. Dexterity determines your ability to do complex maneuvers or attacks with weapons, delicate tasks with crafting or skills, and the effectiveness of completed tasks and/or attacks. Some weapons also require a certain dexterity score to use.

Luck: 20. The effects of luck is unknown. It will randomly be useful from time to time. It has a mind of its own. Luck was not shown on your original creation sheet as it cannot be rerolled or added to.

Coordination: 18. Coordination is not a permanently alterable stat. It has maximum value of 20 and determines how versatile you will be with weapons. (You are very unlikely to cut your own foot off with a sword, unless someone gets you drunk anyway.)

Charisma: 16. Charisma is not a permanently alterable stat. The base number of charisma is related to your appearance. Your actions can lower or raise your charisma stat towards individual people. Those of different alignments will respond differently to similar actions.

That was wild, especially, the VOID ability, and the two buffs she had received. She’d never heard of such a thing for a new player, especially when the game didn’t even have premium accounts and wasn’t pay to win. And the ACADEMIC talent! Even with the Intelligence limiting the number of skills she could learn, she had struck gold with her character creation. She could literally pursue anything she wanted to in Gamdrea, except magic. Well she could still learn about magic, just not perform it or have it performed on her, at least not yet. That’s what the explanation implied anyway. She wondered if that included enchanted items or magical items. Despite all the good news, Catalysta sighed, that had a lot of information to wade through, hopefully all that text wouldn’t appear every time. Sometimes you just wanted to take a quick look for certain stats. Checking, she dismissed her character sheet and then immediately brought it back up. This time the descriptions and definitions didn’t show up, unless she mentally selected a word for more information. That would make things so much simpler!

She went to work setting up her interface, customizing it so that things would be easier for her to manage. First she put her health, stamina, and VOID bar in the upper right hand corner of her vision. Next she put her game log box in the bottom left hand of her vision, with separate tabs for Battle, Quests, Conversations, Analyze results, and Miscellaneous. That way both would be in her peripheral vision. She would be able to see them when she needed but they wouldn’t get in her way. Hopefully at some point she’d get some type of magical journal or something to be able to look back on different identifications she’d made.

Wait, had her Void points gone up to 22/25? She wondered how that had happened and then moved on. In order to keep notifications from distracting her, she made a queue box that they would automatically go into during battle or events, so she could review them after, and she selected an icon that would flash when there were important notifications to read and placed it in the upper hand corner, opposite her point bars. She tried to adjust the settings so redundant messages wouldn’t keep popping up to waste her time. And finally, she set her game log to record all conversations she had with characters, just in case she needed to review previous conversations for important information.

“Mistress Catalysta, invaders have entered the house and are on their way to your location,” said Aria.

“What,” said Catalysta, “How’d they get in? I thought you said the security failsafes were in place.” She looked down at herself. She was wearing a simple shirt and trousers. She had nothing to defend herself with and no armor. She didn’t even have on any shoes.

“The intruders were attacking the front door for about five minutes,” said Aria, “First they used magic, which failed as your ability absorbed it, and then they used melee attacks to bust the door in.” Guess that explained how her Void points when up.

“Why didn’t you tell me someone was attacking the house?!” Catalysta growled as she searched for a weapon, finding only the two wooden legs that had been torn off a table.

“You ordered me to inform you if anyone got into the house.”

Catalysta nearly smacked herself in the face. It was going to be one of those interfaces. She scooped up the two table legs, lofting them as makeshift weapons in each hand.

She heard feet stamping on the wooden floor outside the room before two men appeared in the doorway looking at her. One wore dark gray robes and had his hands raised towards Catalysta, the other wore light gray leather armor and had a short sword and a dagger drawn.

Catalysta focused on the melee fighter, though the mage was also in her sights. She triggered Analyze on both. Upon seeing her, the melee put away his weapons and advanced slowly. “Well, well, well, what do we have here?” The man sneered at Catalysta, “A new arrival to the town, a new girl for the boss. He’ll be overjoyed, he was gettin’ bored with this town’s bitches.” Catalysta ground her teeth as the man advanced towards her and his description popped up. She took it in with a glance.

Simeon Deathstalker, Rogue, level 5, underling of the Agent of Shadow, Dreamwalker. Alignment: Neutral, leaning evil. This underling is being tested to join the ranks of Shadow. He’s a small fry of no importance. Hit Points 360/400. Debuff active.

Magnus Arcum, Wizard, level 5, underling of the Agent of Shadow, Dreamwalker. Alignment: Neutral leaning evil. This underling is being tested to join the ranks of Shadow. He’s a small fry of no importance. Hit Points 220/260 Debuff active.

Catalysta crouched down ready to fight.

“Ah come on now,” said Simeon, “I’m not going to hurt you...much.” Simeon lunged forward, but Catalysta dodged to the side once Simeon had fully committed and couldn’t alter his course. She smacked the chair leg down on his outstretched arms with a sharp crack. A few of his health vanished into the ether, and the debuff from the house continued to eat away at his rest of his hit points.

Simeon growled, “Not smart.” He redrew his weapons.

“Hurry up, Simeon,” said Magnus, taking a gulp out of a flask filled with red liquid, “We’re losing health and mana. Just grab her and let’s get out of this house.”

“It’d go a lot quicker if you’d help, cast a hold spell or something.”

Magnus stretched out his hand towards Catalysta. She kept her face impassive; she would use this. A white mist shot towards her and enveloped her before disappearing. She stood stock still as a look of confusion crossed the mage’s face. Simeon didn’t notice the look on his partner’s face and attacked.

“No, wait--” Magnus yelled, but it was too late. This time when Catalysta dodged out of the way she spun and double thwacked the rogue as hard as she could in the center of his back, the force pushing him into the table where she had found the crystal. The rogue was breathing hard now, with the constant debuff from the house draining his health. Her battle log had several updates, but she ignored it

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

He pulled a red flask out of his pouch at his waist, pulled the cork out with his teeth and downed the healing potion, “What the fuck, Magnus?”

“I don’t know, the spell just kind of vanished when it got to her.”

“You think the boss will care if we kill her?”

“Nah, I think the boss would rather we retake the house.”

“Good, you keep at her with your spells and I’ll hit her with physical. Don’t know how high her level is or how many hit points she has, so let’s just dps her and get out of here.”

Catalysta smiled, even though it was two on one, she had the advantage here. She didn’t even need to worry about the caster and with the constant debuff, all she had to do was keep the rogue’s hands busy for a few minutes and he was toast if he couldn’t drink another healing potion. She didn’t even care about the level difference between herself and the men; they were underestimating her.

Simeon stalked in close, brandishing his dual weapons, darting at Catalysta with one then the other, testing her guard. In the corner of her eye, she saw her Void Point gauge steadily fill. He swung at her with the short sword, this time more wary of her ability to counter attack. She caught the sword on the table leg and the metal bit deep into the wood. She nearly lost the grip on the club when the rogue tore his weapon free and glared at her. She watched the expression on his face change into a smirk, before he rolled his eyes.

“Magnus, you just gonna stand there all day?” Simeon said as he glanced back at his partner. Catalysta’s eyes followed his movement, looking back at the mage as well, who wore a look of dumbfoundedness due to all his spells failing.

“Nothing’s working on her!” whined Magnus.

“Oh yeah?” said Simeon. Casually, without even looking back at Catalysta Simeon flung his dagger at her. She didn’t react in time and the blade bit deep into her gut. Searing fire ripped into her abdomen, and she gasped in shock, looking down at her shirt that was quickly reddening around the hilt of the dagger. Her health bar dipped and flashed. She glanced at her battle log; it informed her of the damage.

You have taken 97 hit points of damage from Simeon.

What the heck? She’d never played a video game that made her feel actual pain. Dropping one of her clubs she tore the dagger free with her left hand.

You have been inflicted with Bleed, you will lose 1 hit point per five seconds until your wound is healed.

And her advantage was nullified. Okay, so the same rules about removing a knife from a wound for the real world, applied here too. She would save that tidbit of knowledge for the future. The pain however, was quickly dulling, becoming more of a distraction than anything else. She doubted that would be the case for if she was back in her own world, or maybe it would if she was running on enough adrenaline.

Simeon looked at her quizzically, “You actually look surprised that I hurt you. You should realize that when you play with a Dreamwalker you lose.” She was going to prove him right. Catalyst doubled over in feigned pain, but kept an eye on her attacker at the same time.

“Hurry up,” said Magnus, “I’m out of healing potions and this damn house is draining me.”

“Right,” said Simeon, jumping forward and swinging his short sword at Catalysta in a two handed vertical chop. It was now or never. She reacted. Batting the descending sword away with her club, she hit the flat side of the blade and sent the level five rogue off balance to where his upper body was twisting away from her as his arms followed the sword. His back and neck were wide open as her powerful deflection surprised him. Her left hand, holding the bloody dagger, took the same arcing path that her right arm had as she threw her entire weight behind the strike to Simeon’s neck. The dagger plunged into the unprotected flesh, severing the muscle and arteries of the right side of his neck before the blade hit bone and jarred to a halt.

Simeon cried out as blood bubbled out of his mouth, and he dropped to his knees. She glanced at her battle log again.

You have scored a critical hit on Simeon. Simeon takes 127 hit points of damage. Simeon has been inflicted with Bleed. He will lose 5 points of damage every second until his wound is healed.

You have killed Simeon Deathstalker and sent him for respawn. He will not be able to return to Gamdrea until his next sleep cycle. He will not remember the events of his time in Gamdrea today. You have gained a total of 750 exp.

Catalysta heard the sound of a harp being strummed as Simeon’s body disappeared, leaving a puddle of spreading blood on the floor and a floating and glowing copper bag in his place.

“Oh shit,” said Magnus, knowing he was alone and without any way to attack the person who just killed his partner. He turned and started to run toward the exit. Catalysta knew she couldn’t let him get away, he wasn’t alone and she didn’t want to face his boss yet when she still needed healing. She switched the dagger she was holding to her off hand, the chances of her hitting the fleeing mage with the pointy end in a throw was low, but that wasn’t the only thing she could throw. She rushed forward, grabbing the circular glass paper weight and rushed after the mage. His hit points were low and if she could just get a shot at him.

She got to the doorway and saw that the front door was a straight shot from her. Magnus was still in her sights. She hauled back and rocketed the three pound glass ball after the mage, beaning him in the back of the head. The man let out a, “Guh,” before he dropped to the floor.

You have hit Magnus for 13 points of damage.

You have stunned Magnus for 1 minute.

Catalysta moved forward to finish the mage off, but before she got there, the battle log informed her that it wasn’t necessary.

Magnus Arcum has died. You receive 500 exp for your role in his death. He will be unable to return to Gamdrea until his next sleep cycle. He will not remember the events of his time in Gamdrea today.

Again a harp scale played for only Catalysta’s ears. Magnus’ body vanished and in its place another copper glowing loot bag took his place. She knew that if she wanted she could search through the battle log to discover the exact manner in which Magnus died, but at the moment she didn’t care and it wasn’t necessary. Her notification exclamation mark flashed, but she didn’t have time to review those things right now. She was bleeding out. Her vision was wobbling.

“Aria,” she said, her voice going up in pitch, “are there any healing potions in the Manor House?”

“No, mistress.”

“Aria, where can I find healing potions?” With no magic available to her, being healed that way was out, so she bypassed it as an option.

“Mistress, the Alchemist Bannor would have what you need.”

“Great,” said Catalysta, “Is there a way I can get to him quickly and without being seen by anyone else?”

Aria glowed brightly for a moment, “Yes, the former owner of the Manor House was friends with Bannor and a secret tunnel leading from a hidden door in the library leads to the dry well behind the Alchemist’s shop. Follow me.”

Catalysta followed after the glowing ball, her hitpoints slowly draining away.

Aria stopped in front of the empty bookcases and floated through the bookcase before returning to the library. Once it returned, the bookcase slowly swung open, pushing the pile of books on the floor out of the way and revealing a stone passage lit by torches.

“Mistress, follow this path. Go straight and quickly. There are magical traps on this path but they will not harm you. Do not linger on the path and do not deviate from the straight path. Doing either of those things is dangerous for you as you are now.” That was interesting. There must be something important connected to this tunnel, but again she didn’t have time to linger on that thought, she was dying.

Before starting down the tunnel, she said in a jumble, “Thanks Aria. Please collect the loot those two dropped for me to review later and see what you can do about the mess in the Manor House.” Then she was off moving as quickly as her injuries would allow her.

She almost didn’t hear Aria’s response of “Yes, Mistress,” as the hidden door closed behind her.

Catalysta moved as quickly as she could. Her health bar flashed every five seconds and even though she was losing hit points slowly, she still only had less than ten minutes to get through the passage, find the alchemist and convince him to give her a healing potion. Every few feet, was a red glowing shape, symbolizing a magical trap laid for trespassers. Her finding them did nothing to slow her forward momentum, she just tramped through them, her VOID ability eating up the infused mana and her Find Magical Trap skill improving organically as a result.

She followed the path as Aria recommended, passing by several open patches in the wall that looked like someone or some thing might fit through. She kept moving though, doggedly seeking the literal light at the end of the tunnel. Halfway through the tunnel, the passageway opened up into a big room with six other exits. The obvious path forward for her was the one directly opposite her current position, but she didn’t fail to notice the huge door framed by two large braziers, which just shouted its importance. Even a short pause in that room was too long; she had to keep moving, and not just because her health was falling. The slight pause she had taken in her surprise at the room’s discovery had made her feel like she had eyes watching her and she had started to hear a low moaning growl filling the path behind her. There she was, a level one in an area that was probably the entrance to a boss fight or something.

She stumbled forward, the blood from her gut wound having saturated her shirt now and was spreading down her left leg, leaving drops of blood in her wake. She fervently hoped that whatever monsters were in this place wouldn’t follow her blood trail. That would be all she needed.

Getting across the room and back on her path, she finally saw rays of light off in the distance rather than the glow of torchlight. She quickened her pace as much as possible. There was only a quarter of her health bar left, and it seemed to flash in time with the notification exclamation mark.

Catalysta sighed with relief as she smelled fresh air, but that sigh turned to a groan as she saw that she really was at the bottom of a dry well and her only means out of said well was the rope that dangled down from the wellhead. She tugged on it, testing to see if it was sturdy enough for her to climb. The movement of her arm sent a stab of pain through her abdomen and she pressed the wound with her free hand reflexively. It came away slick with blood, which she promptly wiped off on a dry patch of clothing.

Now, rope climbing was not something Catalysta had ever attempted in the real world, and who would even try with a stomach stab wound. The body the game had given her, however, was far more resilient than a normal person would be. Groggily, she looked at the dagger still in her hand; she might need it later. Without a sheath, she decided to use her teeth like a pirate climbing rigging. Ignoring the new pain and an increased flashing red bar, Catalyst began walk-climbing up the deep dried well. She leaned back against the wall as needed a few times to catch her breath, but she made it up to the lip of the well and hooked her arm over the stone well wall. Gasping, she heaved herself up and over, landing with a soft thud on the grass. Her vision was all blurry and her health bar was pulsing in warning. Her stamina bar had emptied out and blinked. The dagger fell out of her mouth, slicing her cheek shallowly.

You have run out of stamina. Until time expires you will not be able to move.

A counter of five minutes ticked down inside the stamina bar. She wouldn’t be able to move again for five minutes?

“Help,” she croaked, as the world began to spin, “Please help.”

A crash sounded from far away, but she didn’t even have enough energy to look in the direction of the noise. She blinked slowly, watching the few remaining hit points bleed away. Then a fluffy looking white blob entered her vision.

“Open yer mouth, girl.” A bottle pushed against Catalysta’s lips. She wouldn’t have been able to resist if the man had been an enemy. He forced her teeth apart and poured the healing draught down her throat. She did have the presence of mind to swallow. The effect was instantaneous. Her hit point bar refilled, and the Bleed status was removed. She felt her stomach stitch back together and the bleeding stopped. That was somewhat disconcerting, though not unpleasant. The potion removed the stamina penalty as well.

She sat up quickly, causing the man who had been the fluffy white blob to scoot back to avoid getting his head smashed by Catalysta’s. She took in the back yard that was full of knee high grass where there wasn’t a plot of garden sporting various herbs that she had no name for, each of which seemed to reach out to her with a glow, letting her know it was important for something and she would benefit from examining it closer. But she’d do that later.

“Thanks,” she said, her heart racing as she took a better look at the man, or rather, the dwarf. Tall for a dwarf, it was said that Bannor, actually had some elf blood in his veins. Aside from his height, his nose wasn’t quite as wide as his the rest of his race, and in his ears had a slight point at their tips, but it was his ability to create the most delicate and intricate of alchemical potions that had both gained him fame and ostracized him from the majority of all dwarven towns. He was old now, his adventuring days long behind him, with his jet black beard and hair having turned gray and now white.

Bannor didn’t say anything, he just stared at the human girl who was trespassing in his backyard. Trespassing right next to the well that was the entrance to the hidden dungeon that was Fasthaven’s anchor point. The very dungeon he was doing his best to keep hidden from the damned Agent of Shadow and his Dreamwalker cronies.

“Um sorry, to drop in on you unannounced, but Aria told me to come to you and--”

Bannor’s eyes narrowed, “Who are ye, girl? Where’d ye come from? I heard of no new arrivals in the town. Only them Dreamwalkers can come and go in a wink. Ye here with the Beastmage? Ye one of his new lackeys?”

“The who?” said Catalysta as she used Analyze on the Dwarf, quickly taking in the information.

Bannor Luckypot, Warrior Alchemist, Level 12. Neutral Good. Hit Points 630/630. This former adventurer is one of the founders of Fasthaven. He never married, preferring instead the company of his concoctions and herbs. At one point this noble dwarf almost became an acolyte of the Steward’s church, but he chose a different path.

“Nah, something’s different about ye, but I can’t quite place it.” Suddenly a notification popped up in front of Catalysta.

Do you wish to allow Bannor Luckypot to view your description? Yes or No.

Well he had just saved her life, and he didn’t have a good opinion of the Agent of Shadow, and he was Neutral Good. This man was an ally if there was one. Catalysta chose yes.

“Well now,” said Bannor after a moment, “The Steward was listening, then.”

“What?”

“Don’t ye worry about it right now. Come inside, I need to tell ye some things.” The Dwarf pulled Catalysta to her feet, and found that she was several inches taller than him. He grunted and waved her to follow after him.

“What are ye waiting fer, want someone to see ye standing there looking like ye swallowed a live fish, when ye shouldn’t be standing there at all?”

Catalysta grabbed the dagger and rushed after him, darting through the door he held open at the back of his house. She entered into his lab, gingerly stepping over a broken pot with a pink dusty powder mixed in with the shards of glass. Her Identify skill triggered and she saw that it was powdered echinacea. That name sounded familiar. He motioned to a chair as he looked through the doorway opposite the backdoor, making sure no one unwanted was in his house, before he closed that door and looked back to Catalysta.

“So, ye’re a Dreamwalker, but one of Light.” It wasn’t a question. “About time, the Steward sent us some help, but no offense, ye’re a pisspoor excuse for ‘help.’”

“I’m...sorry?” said Catalysta

“Nah, apologies, I’m just, the last week has been rough.”

“Well,” said Catalysta, “Tell me what’s going on, maybe I can help.” This was her change to finally figure out what she needed to do to progress.

The dwarf eyed her, “Alright then, I guess I shouldn't dismiss help from the Steward, if he thinks you can fix this situation, though not much a level one with no class can do against a group of Dreamwalkers and an agent with a Legendary ability.”

“Alright, so a couple of weeks ago a couple of adventurers entered Fasthaven’s gates and started searching around, asking questions about the dungeons in the area and Fasthaven’s history. None of us thought much about it, as nothing ever comes of such questions because the monsters in the dungeon of Embodied Magic are too high level for most people seeking an easy road to gold and glory. But these adventurers were anything but normal. They walked around during the day but became like ghosts during the night. You couldn’t talk to them, you couldn’t touch them. They were there, but not there. We found out they were a new race, one me and Forwinn had never seen before, and believe me, we’ve seen them all.

Well the two bastards must have heard something they liked because they disappeared and a few days later, them’n three of their mates came around and started roughing people up for information. Started messing with the women too. So Forwinn--” The Dwarf cleared his throat as he tried to push down his sadness at his friend’s passing, “So Forwinn, tried to put a stop to it, but that piss pour excuse fer a human turned him into a pig and had him...slaughtered.” The dwarf closed his eyes and turned his head away, “They’ve been making one o’ the girls work that abandoned inn and serve him up for breakfast.” Catalylsta’s mouth dropped open. That was pretty morbid. She’d played morbid games before, but having it happen in a game like this was so real, like cold case files real.

“Didn’t you and the village try to fight back?”

“Well sure, Forwinn was the mayor after all, an’ a friend to everyone in Fasthaven--not that there ’re many of us left. Fasthaven kind of died when the Steward’s Cleric was taken hostage. Our few guards even killed one of them Dreamwalkers that was with the Beastmage, but he showed up again the next week, the immortal bastard, making their number go back up to five. Anywho, the Beastmage turned the men into animals to force everyone else to do what he wants. And those men are still animals, he threatens to kill them if their wives don’t do what he asks, and as you saw he polymorphs those who don’t fully cooperate.”

“Beastmage? Is he a Dreamwalker?”

“Nah, just a high level acolyte of Roon. He has a legendary ability that allows him to turn anyone he wants into an animal with magic. His ability overcomes all resistances and willpower saves. Do ye see why we’re trapped here and why ye’re so outmatched?”

“Maybe.” This group of enemies didn’t seem like they were very smart. If they were looking for a dungeon, how hadn’t they found it yet? She’d stumbled on something that was probably a dungeon almost immediately upon entering the game…unless it was being protected by something.

“Now ye tell me how ye came to be here.”

“Well, I,” Catalysta thought for a minute how to explain to the dwarf, surely he didn’t need to know that she came from the real world, so she left that bit out, “sort of appeared in the Manor House and found the crystal attached to it. I bound the crystal and met a wisp or something called Aria, actually I think she was the house interface?”

“Aria is the thought construct that acts as a butler of sorts, she manages the house when the owner is out and does what she can to protect the house, and yes, that is how you interact with the house interface,” the Dwarf supplied.

Catalysta nodded, “Well after I bound the house, it wasn’t five minutes before two other Dreamwalkers showed up and attacked me. I think their names were Simeon and Magnus--” Bannor took in a sharp breath, “With the help of the security system of the house, I killed them using table legs as makeshift clubs.”

“Haha!” he cried in glee.

Catalysta continued after a short lived grin, “But they wounded me, and I used the secret passageway out of the house to come out of your well, where you found me and you know the rest.”

“Well ye got some more fightin’ spirit than I thought, taking out them two. But what I don’t understand is how ye got through that tunnel in one piece.”

“Aria sent me through, she must have thought I would be fine, and I was, at least until I used up all my stamina to climb out of the wall. Thanks again by the way.”

“No problem, but still, the tunnel to my house was lined with several deadly magical traps. You shouldn’t be alive.”

“Well,” Catalysta really didn’t want to give away her secret if she could help it, so she tried to deflect but didn’t do a very good job at it, “Is a legendary ability higher than a mythical ability?”

The dwarf eyed her again, “No, mythical abilities are the most powerful.”

Catalysta smiled at the alchemist, “That’s what I was hoping for.”

“Hm,” said Bannor, “Ye’re not gonna tell me how ye got through the tunnel, are ye?”

Catalysta sighed, “Not yet, I don’t think.”

At that moment, something banged in the house, making both of them jump. Bannor put his finger to his lips and motioned for Catalysta to get down.

“Dwarf!” yelled a rough and dark voice.

The dwarf scurried to the door and slipped through, while Catalysta moved as silently as possible, picking up the dagger silently, and softly opening and closing cabinets in the workshop to see if she could hide in any of them.

“Master mage,” scraped Bannor, “What can I do for you?” Catalysta could hear the cowering in the dwarf’s words. Was that real or an act?

“It seems, there is a newcomer in the village, dwarf, one who has killed some of my men and bound the Manor House as its new owner. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that would you?”

“N, n, no, sir,” said Bannor. The dwarf was acting terrified, but he hadn’t given Catalysta away. Catalysta bit her lip to stop a whoop of joy when she found a mostly empty cabinet and began stuffing herself into it. It would be a tight fit. Just as she reached to pull the cabinet door closed, something in the workroom shattered. Had she knocked something over? No she was sure she hadn’t.

“What was that?” said the mage, “What do you have back there?”

“Nothing sir, it was probably the cat, damn thing likes to push things off the counter if I leave them out.”

The door began to open and Catalysta pulled the cabinet door closed just before the Beastmage pushed into the room past a worried Bannor.

“As you said,” the man waved to a cat that sat in the open window sill, licking an outstretched hind leg, a shattered flask on the floor beneath her.

“But what is this?” the evil man asked, pointing to the empty bottle that Bannor had saved Catalysta with. A few residual drops of red liquid made a small puddle on the wooden table where the two of them had been sitting and chatting.

“It’s an empty potion bottle,” said Bannor, his voice steadier.

“And who was that used on?”

“I was chopping up ingredients and I cut meself,” said the Dwarf.

The Beastmage observed the large smears of blood on the wood and bench as well as those on the floor from where the blood on Catalysta’s clothes had rubbed off on the floor. There were even bloody prints on a few of the cabinet handles.

“I cut meself badly,” said Bannor. He too had blood on him from when he helped Catalysta.

“I’d say so,” said the Beastmage dryly, “But, I thought you told me you didn’t have any more potions of healing.”

“I, I didn’t, I finished that one this morning.”

“I don’t believe you. Your words reek of lies. Even if what you say is true, were you not warned that any future potions you brewed were to be handed over to my retinue? It seems your first lesson was not enough.”

“No master mage, please, I won’t--”

“Enough!” The Beastmage furled out his hand and directed a red energy over Bannor’s body. The dwarf began to shrink and morph. White hair became white feathers, and his hawkish nose turned into a stubby beak as he became a white parrot. The Beastmage held out his hand and the parrot meekly flapped up to perch on his hand, before the man stuffed the bird into a waiting cage in the corner of the workroom.

Closing the cage door, he said, “Wouldn’t want your pet cat eating you.” He chuckled darkly. “You are lucky you are the only alchemist around or I would have left that creature to its whiles long ago. Perhaps another day as a bird will teach you your place.”

He turned as if to leave, “Oh, and one more thing,” He waved his hands and an encompassing red cloud of energy settled over the room, “Perhaps we can make sure your cat gets something since his master is unable to feed him.” He cast about the room and the entire house with his magic looking for anyone that might be hiding. He planned to turn whatever he found into a mouse. The red haze of magic vanished; he was satisfied. Catalysta’s Void gauge blinked in her vision as it expanded, the numbers on it seemed much larger than they had a while ago.

“I guess you weren’t completely lying,” said the man, “But you still need to be taught a lesson. I will return on the morrow with ingredients. You will create all the potions we require or I will make your tenure as a bird permanent.” With that, he left, slamming the door behind him. Catalysta heard a second door slam as the Beastmage left the house. The cat meowed mournfully, as Catalysta emerged from her hiding place and stood up. She couldn’t believe how much of a bloody mess she had made without noticing it.

The parrot in the cage flapped its wings twice, in, excitement? Relief? The cat meanwhile entwined itself around Catalysta’s legs.

“I’m sorry Bannor,” she said softly, trying to keep her voice from carrying too far. What could she do for the poor dwarf? Nothing right then. So, Catalysta finally looked into the blinking notifications, thinking maybe she’d get some answers there.

Congratulations you have earned the title, Improviser. You are able to adapt to most situations, making tools or weapons from whatever you find at hand. Not everyone can do this, you must have a keen and agile mind to develop and use things for something other than their intended purpose.

You have learned the fighting skill, Fighting Stance.

Quest Update: Your Charge. Find Agents of Shadows 2/???. New Quest: Kill Agents of Shadow 2/???

You have learned the fighting skill, Dodge.

You have learned the weapon skill, Clubs/Maces.

You have learned the skill, Ambidexterity.

You have learned the weapon skill, Dual Wield.

You have learned the fighting skill, Counter.

You have learned the armor skill, Unarmored Combat.

You have learned the weapon skill, Small Blades.

You have learned the fighting skill, Bleed.

You have reached VOID level 2.

You have earned enough experience to reach base level 2. You will not increase in level until you have allocated your attribute points. You cannot allocate your attribute points until you are in a zone under no contest or are in control of the immediate area.

So she wouldn’t level up until Fasthaven was safe again? Or maybe she could level inside the Manor House, since she controlled that. But she wouldn’t level officially yet, or couldn’t. Did that mean that the system would treat her experience gain from defeating enemies and quests as if she was a level one? In most games, as you leveled, the amount of experience gained from kills was reduced. This could be both a blessing and a curse.

You have earned enough experience to reach level 3.

You have learned the weapon skill, Throw (adapted).

You have learned the fighting skill, Stun.

You have earned enough experience to reach level 4.

You have found the magical trap Ice Spear.

You have triggered Ice Spear.

You have found the magical trap Grease.

You have triggered Grease.

You have found the magical trap Fire Whip.

You have triggered Fire Whip.

You have found the magical trap Wind Slice.

You have triggered Wind Slice.

You have found the magical trap Lighting Loop.

You have triggered Lightning Loop.

You have reached VOID level three.

You have found the magical trap Acid Rain.

You have triggered Acid Rain.

The list of traps she had found without knowing and then triggered continued on for some time, but it wasn’t what she was looking for so she dismissed them, but not before understanding why Bannor had been so skeptical of her survival through the underground tunnel. That place was heavily booby trapped with magic and she would have been dead a hundred times over without her Innate Ability.

You have reached VOID level four.

Again there was a list of more traps she had ‘found’ and triggered, so she skipped them.

Congratulations, your skill, Find Magical Trap has leveled up. Your ability to sense more deadly traps from a greater distance has increased. Amount of times used until next level 12/50.

You have earned the title: Stubborn. Your immense focus allows you to ignore wounds others would be fainting over. This trait gives you a bonus to perseverance. Where others fail, you will succeed. Be wary that you don’t miss important details in your single mindedness.

Quest Update: Your Charge. Find Agents of Shadows 3/???. Kill Agents of Shadows 2/???. Find Clues 2/???.

You have reached VOID level five.

Congratulations you have unlocked an Innate Ability skill of VOID. You have learned Void Touch. This is an active skill. When used, Void Touch will siphon off mana from an enspelled creature or object. This ability can be used to remove spells or curses from people and objects. It may also be used as an attack on magical creatures. Void Point cost: 200. Leveling of this Ability skill will decrease the Void Point cost. Times used to next level, 0/5

You have reached VOID level six.

Another litany of magical traps triggered.

You have reached VOID level seven.

You have reached VOID level eight.

You have reached VOID level nine.

Catalysta smiled, she had exactly what she needed to help Bannor. It always paid off to stay calm and review your options or stat upgrades. She looked at her Void Point gauge, which currently sat at 375/380. She could only use her Ability skill once before she would need to find a way to get more VPs. Now how to use this skill?

She reached out and opened the cage door. Bannor the parrot backed away from her, looking down at the cat, who was licking its chops. Catalysta looked down at the cat and decided that if she held onto the cat, maybe Bannor wouldn’t be afraid of her. But when she tried to pick the feline up, it shot away and bounded out the door, as a typical cat might when they didn’t want to be ‘caught.’

“Bannor, if you can understand me, fly to the bench.”

The parrot flapped its wings, testing them, before soaring out of the cage.

“Good, now,” she pointed her finger and rested its tip on the bird’s chest. She thought the words, Void Touch. Her Void point gauge went down to 175/375 as her eyes saw a black vortex form at the tip of her finger, sucking out the red mana of the Beastmage’s spell, like a vacuum cleaner. As Bannor turned back into his normal self, Catalysta’s Void point gauge filled up by 25, giving her 200/375. Apparently the Beastmage’s spell to turn people into animals cost 25 mana.

Bannor’s wide eyes stared at Catalysta in amazement, before he hopped off the bench where he had been standing. He went down to one knee, “I Bannor Luckypot, under the Steward of Light, do by swear my allegiance to ye, Catalysta Angelwing, Agent of Light, and will keep yer secrets and do all in my power to aid ye in yer journey.”

A notification popped up in Catalysta’s view.

You have saved Bannor Luckypot from his fate. You have gained his utmost loyalty. He believes that you will succeed in saving his town and avenging his friend. If he breaks faith with you the Steward of Light will smite him. Do you accept his oath? Yes or No.

Catalysta picked yes, obviously.

Bannor’s eyes were shining, “Thank ye, Catalysta, thank ye! How did ye do that?”

Well, there was no reason to keep it from him now, “I have a Mythical ability called Void,” she said, “Magic doesn’t work on me and now I can exert that ability on others.”

“Mythical ability?” Bannor said breathily, “Only two such abilities are granted in an age, and for you to have one here. Our little town must be important.” Maybe, Catalysta thought, or maybe this is how every player in Gamdrea starts out. Though if it was, she knew a lot of people wouldn’t like it because most players she knew liked to play magic characters. She’d always been a melee fighter herself, in other games. Either way the game was already pretty fun--aside from the gut pain.

“Well,” said Catalysta, “I’ve got this quest to get rid of the Agents of Shadow, so maybe after I complete the quest I’ll get more information as to why they’re here. Bet that’d help us figure out what’s special about Fasthaven. But I don’t have any real weapons or gear. Do you have any that I could use?”

Bannor stood, “Course, course! I’ve got some extra gear, what type of weapon do you prefer? Mace or sword?”

“Uh,” said Catalysta. While she had always wanted to learn how to fight with a sword, she knew that wielding a club-like weapon was more practical for her. She could already hit a fastball with precision, how different could using a bat as a weapon be? Plus she had already picked up the skill. “A mace, but how do you have weapons? They left you armed?”

“Aye, they didn’t see us as a threat, what with the Beastmage’s power and all. It’s not like we’ve got any enchanted weapons left. They did take those. Probably to sell, the greedy bloody bastards.” He paused sizing Catalysta up, “What’s yer strength, if I’m gonna get ye armor I want ye to be able to move around.”

“14.”

“Ah, strong fer a lass, are ye sure ye don’t have dwarf in yer blood?”

“I’m sure,” Catalysta said through a chuckle.

“Aye, that heritage is too noble for the likes of you!” The dwarf was joking, treating her like a sister in arms. He flung open the door and went in search of the promised gear.

Catalysta took a moment to read a new notification while she waited.

After helping Bannor you have automatically received a quest: Helping Hooves and Hands. Find the humans turned into animals and return them to normal 1/???. Find the women the Beastmage is terrorizing 0/4. Optional: return the animals to their human forms without needing to rely on alchemy.

Your Charge: Discover Clues 2/2--Complete. You were only able to discover 1 clue before you found someone to explain the situation to you. REWARD: 250 experience points and automatic map upgrade when map received.

“Bannor,” asked Catalysta as the dwarf returned from his personal armory, “did you really give them every potion you had?” Bannor was carrying a set of studded leather armor and a common iron mace. He also threw a dagger sheath on the table so she’d have some place to put the blade.

“Nay,” he said, setting the gear on the same blood stained table they had been talking over before, “If I had, I would’na had one fer ye. Why?”

Catalysta pulled on the studded leather armor, which automatically resized itself to fit her. It covered her chest down to her knees, the buckles in the back clicking into place without her needing to touch them. Wishing she had socks, but glad she now had something to cover her feet, she pulled on the boots, before putting on the gloved bracers. A notification about obtaining the skill, Light Armor, flashed, but she dismissed it, and put the mace through the loops on her back

Catalysta spoke as she worked, “Well, my ability doesn’t allow magic to work on me, so no healing spells, but that potion worked, so it’s obviously not considered magic. It would be nice to have some more just in case.”

“Hmm,” said Bannor, “I know you’re on a timer for how long you can be in Gamdrea today but I do believe it is important that you understand about magic…” how had the dwarf known that? Wasn’t he just an NPC? Was he aware of that? The dwarf continued, “you see ‘magic,’ in Gamdrea is a generic term, as there are multiple categories of magic and you don’t know the difference yet, and because of that your Ability description hasn’t populated with enough details. That description will be more detailed when you have more knowledge at your disposal. I’ll go ahead and explain it in depth, but ye’re right. Potions are key for you if you’re going to get us through this. I only have two more healing potions, and they are low level. I had to use the high level one I had left to save yer arse a bit ago.” Bannor handed two vials to Catalysta, who looked at them, not knowing what to do with them.

Bannor went on in a professor-like tone, not even realizing Cat’s confusion, “There are five types of Magic or Mana: World Magic, Wild Magic, Divine Magic, Infernal Magic, and Celestial Magic. If any of these magics are combined they are known as Mixed Magic. Strangely technology and science often don’t work in the presence of any magic, however, components for Alchemy often consist of ingredients derived from what are universally called magical creatures or magical plants, but we can get into that later.

World Magic is the fabric upon what Gamdrea runs on, which to me means you are not immune to World Magic or you wouldn’t be able to be here and see your level progression and personal screens. It is also how the Gramdrea recognizes skill learning and level increases and basically everything involving how individuals get stronger. World Magic is almost always part of the combination of magic--or Mixed magic--required to create magical items, which again we can dig into that deeper later. It is the base for the majority of magical creatures and plants to grow from. It provides the framework for town and settlement improvements and upgrades as well as how groundwork for crafting is laid. Now Wild Magic is purely elemental, such as water, fire, air, earth, or mixed elements like acid, poison, ice, buffs or debuffs. Wild magic can be used to augment weapons, armor, or items, but the creation of such items must always come with a component of World Magic used. Most magical creatures or plants are based on both Wild Magic and World Magic. Now Divine magic is a gift from the Steward Dun, and one must have a good alignment to use it. In order to cast Divine Magic, which would be a healing spell, a caster must combine Wild Magic with Divine Magic and each caster can channel different amounts of Divine mana. The maximum amount of Divine mana used in a healing spell is ninety percent of the mana required by the spell and the minimal amount is one percent. Generic spellcasters can heal in this way, but Clerics will always have stronger healing spells. Healing spells are not the only type of spell Divine Magic can utilize. Infernal Magic is similar to Divine except to use it you must have an evil alignment and the mana comes from Roon. I know little about this type of magic, however, I would imagine it is more rare because the Steward of Night is a selfish beast. And finally, Celestial. Celestial is the rarest of Magic. Celestial does not use mana as an absolute source of power, it depends on the individual using Celestial Magic as to what it costs. Celestial Magic comes directly from the Creator and it has been hundreds of years since the last wielder of Celestial Magic walked Gamdrea. Though not much is known about Celestial Magic, it is generally considered the strongest type of magic in existence. Most Celestial Magic is used in conjunction with World Magic.”

Professor Bannor ended his lecture as if he hadn’t just dropped a whole lot of information on Catalysta at once. Luckily for him, Cat was quick, and though she’d probably need some clarification later, the information gave her the basics of what she needed to know. Her conversation tab flashed momentarily, so she knew she’d be able to review it later and the notification marker on her character sheet reappeared as something updated, but she left it alone. She doubted she was going to face any magic that would affect her in this place, since it was her starting area. After a moment of absorbing the information, she looked down at the potions still in her hands, remembering her thought before Bannor schooled her.

“Um, I don’t have a bag or anything to put these in…”

“Aye, good point,” Bannor disappeared back into his armory, and came back with a belt, sporting a single belt pouch, just big enough to store the potions. “An’ don’ worry abou’ them breaking. Those vials are made from tempered glass. Very hard to break, so don’t throw the empty ones away.” Catalysta gave him a salute, before equipping the belt. Immediately she attached the dagger sheath to the belt as well. None of the gear she received was special; it was all of common variety.

“Alright,” Catalysta said, “would you mind staying here and making me a stockpile of potions, while I work my way around Fasthaven?”

The dwarf frowned, “I don’t know about a stockpile, I really don’t have many ingredients left to work with, but I have enough for a few health potions.” He looked away, calculating his ingredients and time it would take to create the potions, before nodding, “Aye, I’ll do that, while you work on weedling down the Shadow Agents. I’m supposed to be a bird, and I’m not the most stealthy, so, probably best I don’t go sneaking around anyway.”

Catalyst looked towards the front room where the Beastmage had entered Bannor’s house and decided she needed more information, “Is there anywhere I can look out of your house without being seen? I’d like to get the lay of Fasthaven.”

Bannor slapped his face with a meaty hand, “A map! Of course you wouldn’t have one. Yes, there’s a second floor where you can look out a window without being easily seen, and here.” The dwarf put out his hand to shake, and Catalysta returned the gesture, ready to say something, but the world system stopped her with a notification.

Bannor Luckypot has shared his map of Fasthaven with you. Individuals that you have analyzed will appear on your map. Aggressive individuals including monsters and people will appear as red. Allies will appear as blue. Non-aggressive individuals and animals will appear as white. Quest targets will appear as green in some instances. Since Bannor has knowledge of the residents of Fasthaven, this information has been transferred to your map, however, the information you can access is limited until you have analyzed the residents, animals, and enemies yourself. When entering a new area, your map will update if you view the landscape from an elevated position or if someone gives you a map. Because you received a map upgrade as a reward, once you Analyze a living organism any like creature will appear on your map.

“How do I…” Catalysta started to ask, but Bannor took her hand and placed it palm down on the table. A map appeared overlaid on the wood.

“Any flat surface will do,” said the dwarf, “Some are even able to form their maps suspended in mid air.” Catalysta stared down in awe, but that was quickly replaced with her brain analyzing the information. Fasthaven wasn’t really a town; it was more like a chateau. It was built in a square formation with a huge inn, the manor house, three or four residential buildings, a large stable, an abandoned blacksmith shop, and a couple other shops that weren’t labeled as “abandoned.” The map was full of white markers, most were likely animals as how they were clustered couldn’t mean anything else, with how low the population of Fasthaven were supposed to be. Plus they were outside the buildings, but Catalysta hadn’t analyzed them yet so they weren’t labeled. There were a few white dots inside some of the residential buildings, but again they weren’t labeled. That information hadn’t transferred with Bannor’s map. And in the middle of the inn was a giant red dot with a number four in the middle. Maybe that just meant there were only four enemies that Bannor knew of and he thought they were all in the inn? Another white dot roamed around inside the inn as well. Had to be the conscripted villager? She’d have to do some investigating and experimenting before she trusted what the map said.

“I know it isn’t much,” said Bannor as Catalysta analyzed the map, “but--”

“No, no,” she nodded smartly, “this is great. It’s definitely going to help, I just need to figure out all the ins and outs.” Pausing she asked, “Does the enemy have a map like this? Can they see were the villagers are or where I am?”

Bannor stroked his beard, “Aye, they probably, even likely have a map that shows them the inhabitants of the village, but they shouldn’t be able to see you as they don’t know you’re here. And if they’ve tagged us villagers they will see us when we move.”

“Tagged? Is that a spell?” She was suddenly worried. What if she caused Bannor to disappear from their maps because of her Void Touch? Obviously, the Beastmage hadn’t noticed that she’d broken the polymorph spell, but an important character disappearing from a map was a bit more obvious.

“No, tagging occurs if they have the Analyze skill or if the target is well known to them. Not a lot of people have the Analyze skill, at least they didn’t. It may be a higher percentage of Dreamwalkers.” He gave her a side eye, “The way your map populated, seems like you have it. Very useful for keeping track of allies and enemies.”

That was true, but it also might make her job harder if she was discovered. She’d cross that bridge when she came to it; for now she was still hidden from the enemy. She pulled her hand from the table and the map disappeared. She grinned at the hopeful dwarf as she cracked her knuckles, “I got this.” Her confidence took Bannor back a little. Who was this girl? It was a momentary thought, however, and he too was soon smiling ear to ear thinking about his home’s soon to be liberation.