Thanalion Village Plaza
Cole teleported into a village square with guards lining the perimeter. Before he could adjust to the sudden change, he was quickly stunned by a cold force. He barely started to form words before he was knocked out.
The Dungeons of Thanalion Village
*Spawnpoint Set!*
Cole woke up in a dark, musty cell. Cole observed his cell and residence. It was a messy square room lined with hard stone bricks. There were dried bloodstains all over the room and even what appeared to be some remnant of a skull in a corner. He then checked the prison bar and doors to his cell.
I won’t be able to fit through the bars, and I wouldn’t even if I could. The lock to the door doesn’t look to be mechanical, so I won’t be able to lockpick it.
He tried touching the bars and immediately let go with a hiss. The metallic bars felt like a piercing, bitter cold that bled him of... something. He couldn’t quite place his head around what it was, but it was definitely inside of him. He felt faintly drained, and his hand was slightly uncomfortable. However, the lock seemed to be made of wood, and he prodded it. It, luckily, did not have the same effect as the bars. He could feel a slight tug from the wood when he touched it, but it didn’t forcibly drain him like the metal.
After looking for something to help him escape, he reached the harrowing conclusion that he wouldn’t be able to break out. He would have to wait for his captors to release him.
As he waited, he checked his status:
Status Effects:
Tired, Confused
Veteran’s Buff: +10% Experience
Challenge Buff: +10% Skill Experience
Ah. Thank you very much game, I now know I'm confused Cole snorted.
“Hm... Character.”
Phantom Edge (Cole Sorren)
Level 0 Dark Elf
Classless
Health (HP): 57/60
Stamina (ST): 50/50 (6/minute)
Mana (M): 76/82 (16/hour)
Hm... seems normal enough. Although it is concerning that HP doesn’t seem to regenerate. And I now know that the metal drains my Mana.
He tried some other commands.
“Inventory.”
Nothing. Strange. Was there no inventory in this game? It would make his journey much harder than it needed to be.
“Stats?”
Strength (STR): 9
Dexterity (DEX): 15
Vitality (VIT): 10
Endurance (END): 6
Intelligence (INT): 17
Wisdom (WIS): 8
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
Perception (PER): 13
Charisma/Charm (CHA): 7
Luck (LUK): 14
His stats seemed normal, and he got the percentage stat boosts from the Dark Elf race.
“What about... Skills.”
Race Skills:
Minor Nightvision, Minor Shadowstealth
Base Skills:
Basic UI, Minor Inspect, Minor Translate
Minor Nightvision:
Easier to define edges in dark environments.
Minor Shadowstealth:
Easier to enter Stealth when in very dark environments. Stealthed Attacks or Skills deal 25% more damage (calculated AFTER other factors).
He tried some other common RPG terms, like “Guild” and “Map,” but they all displayed the same message:
Please finish the Tutorial Quest to access this feature.
It appeared he had to finish the “Tutorial Quest” to play the game.
But shouldn’t I have a guide? At least give me a tutorial Fairy or Pixie.
“Quests.”
Major Quest(s):
Tutorial Quest
Server Quest(s):
Survive Week One
Tutorial Quest:
Fight off the Beast Horde heading towards Ivin Village
OR
Kill all NPC’s in Ivin Village
OR
???
Time Left: 30 Days
Reward: 5 Class options, Tutorial Zone Barrier opened
Survive Week One:
Survive the first seven days without dying more than seven times.
Time Left: 7 Days
Reward: Adventurer’s Buff
Before he could try anything else, he heard light footsteps. Two moderately short Dark Elves, each of the opposite gender, opened his cell.
He Inspected the pair of guards.
NPC [M]
Dark Elf Level 14
NPC [F]
Dark Elf Level 12
The female Elf tried dragging him out of the cell.
“Ok, ok, I can walk myself you know?” Cole yelped. The woman had a surprisingly strong grip.
“You have no power here, Eternal. Shut up and maybe the villagers won’t hate you for the Calamity you have brought upon us.” The male Elf threatened.
“What did I ever do to you?” Cole questioned the biased hate. The female Elf replied with a jab to his mouth. He felt his teeth crack.
CRITICAL! -14 HP
Bleeding (Mild)
Broken Teeth (Moderate)
Fractured Jaw (Mild)
Cole cried out for a moment and decided to oblige with their demands. If that was merely a light jab, what would happen with a full-power haymaker? He didn’t want to find out.
And then he felt the pain. He finally understood the Devs weren't joking that their pain could make even the mightiest soldiers tremble. White hot streams of pain and blood flowed down his cheek. In every other fully-immersive VR game, the pain was always muted, always an afterthought. But for the first time in almost a decade, Cole felt the true feeling of pain.
Argh! It hurts!
As they continued their journey in silence, Cole noticed many empty cells through his watery eyes. There were a few fresh bloodstains here and there, likely from others resisting the Elves. Why did the Dark Elves imprison them anyways? It wasn’t like they did anything wrong.
The pair escorted Cole through the Dungeons and led him up to a stairwell. They made their way out of the Dungeons and into the village.
Thanalion Village
The village looked like an average Victorian-Era village, but with a much darker tint and an abundance of backstreets and alleys. He also noted plenty of lanterns, though he did not see fires in them. Instead, there was a glowing white crystal inside each that illuminated much of the streets.
It was then he noticed the sky.
They really took the term “Eye” of Eternal Darkness too seriously.
In the sky was some sort of eye. He was barely able to look at it for a moment before a monumental pressure fell on him.
Gaze of Moros I
The pair of Elves scoffed at him as he started wheezing. “Fool. You never look into the sky, and the Eye won't look into you."
Cole forced himself to move through the gigantic weight on his body. It originally felt like he was carrying a mountain, but as he pushed through the Gaze of Moros, it started to fade, from a mountain to a heavy backpack.
Aftershock of Moros I
The Elf led him through the village, and many of the villagers stared at him. Some scowled. Some ignored him. Others were seething with rage. One particularly curious child asked her mother who the strange looking Dark Elf was.
He was marched onto the Village Plaza, the same place where he was knocked out as he arrived. Quite a lousy first impression in his opinion, but it also seemed his opinion didn’t matter.
Cole was lined up in rows of 10. He saw other Players like him, all in varying states of pain. Few were perfectly fine and untouched, but most were bruised and bleeding. He presumed the bleeding ones resisted their forceful capture. Or maybe had decent handlers that didn’t look for an excuse to beat them up.
A grizzled elder stepped in front of all of them. In a loud voice of authority, he stated,
“You have three choices:
"You can either stay as a slave, and work for hours on end for nothing but the necessities. You will be freed in one month.
“You can go outside of our Village and face the Nightmare Beasts by yourself, provided you sign a contract.
“Or,” The elder’s eyes shone with a malicious glint, “You can join us and fight the Beast horde.”
"Now, any questions?"