“Hm Hmmm Hmmm Hm~~”
Gii was merrily humming to himself while walking back towards the mines. He had just emptied his bank account of all the ores he had saved up until now and exchanged them with Gustav for gold. As such, he was feeling quite fulfilled at the moment.
That amount of gold should cover pretty much all my start up costs!
In total he now had about 350 gold including the roughly 100 that he had gotten for pre-ordering the game. It was more than enough for a starting player to get a basic set of armor and a good amount to order custom made equipment.
It shouldn't be long now until I can start hunting!
As Gii entered the quarry with happy thoughts jumping around inside his head, a large gathering of people caught his attention. It was unusual for such a large gathering of people, who seemed to be mostly players, to be in the quarry of all places. As Gii came up to the back of the crowd he tapped a tall blonde elf on the shoulder.
“Excuse me, is something happening?”
The elf who was wearing white leather armor and a sword on his back turned to face him with an excited expression, his response surprised Gii.
“Yea, it seems there's an event! The NPC is about to announce it!”
As if on cue, the mining operations chief Griff stepped up onto the soapbox prepared for him and began shouting at the crowd to settle down.
“Alright quiet now you lot. I have an important announcement from the kingdom.”
He waited for a moment to scan the crowd before continuing.
“Ok, first let me tell you about the situation.”
He pulled out a scroll and began reading from it.
“2 days ago in one of the Kingdoms main iron mines, some of the miners came across an abandoned mine shaft.”
“After looking through old records, our scholars have determined it to be a large gemstone mine that was abandoned by the old Listonian Empire.”
Murmurs spread throughout the crowd and Griff had to settle them down before continuing.
“As I was saying...the gemstone mine has been rediscovered and the King has declared that the Vorheim kingdom will reclaim it.”
“However, right now the Kingdom is a bit short on manpower for a job like this and so the King has Given us permission to hire adventurers to aid in the reclamation.”
At this, hushed conversations began popping up throughout the crowd. Griff tried to ignore them and continued reading from the scroll.
“That being said, the mine was obviously abandoned for a reason. While our builders were going through the mine to make sure it was structurally sound, they were attacked by various different gemstone golems.”
Blatant conversations broke out at this point but Griff just kept on continuing.
“The job of you adventurers is to clear the mines of these golems. Your reward will be whatever you can gather within the 1 week that the mine will be open for you. After that the kingdom will dispatch troops and handle the rest.”
After he finished, Griff hopped down from the box he was on and every player there saw a system message pop up in front of them.
The Event “Reclamation of the Gemstone Mine” has begun
Run Time: 1 Week
As Griff began leading everyone towards the mine, Gii stayed behind by himself. He stood with his arms crossed and a complex look on his face.
Why's this gotta happen now?
Since he had just made all the money he needed by selling his ores, this event was fairly bad timing for him. The only reason he was even going back to the mines at this point was so that he could finish up a few minor quests he still had.
Hmm...alright first lets check my stats.
Status Window Name: Gii Alignment: Neutral Level: 10 Class: None Race: Human Reputation +28 - Health: 2450 Health Regen: 0 / Sec Mana: 600 Mana Regen: 0 / Sec - Strength: 45 Agility: 38 Vitality: 49 Intelligence: 12 Wisdom: 15 Fortitude 47 Luck: 21
After analyzing his character window for a few moments, Gii nodded his head as if he had decided on something.
Alright, i'll go there for the fights and not the mining. My stats are almost at the cap anyway.
What Gii meant by the cap was that there is a soft cap on stat gain. Normally it applied to the spending of a characters stat points after leveling up. For example, if you put 1 stat point put into strength you would get 1 point of strength. However, at 50 strength the soft cap would start to kick in and it would cost 2 points for 1 strength. This is how HCO determines which class specializes in what. Mages could get 2 points of intelligence or wisdom for a single stat point whereas knights would have to spend 2 or possibly even 3 points for a single point of intelligence. Of course knights would get similar discounts for strength and agility gain.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Even though Gii had raised his stats artificially through repetitive actions, the soft cap still applied to him. This means that once his stats hit 50 it would take about twice the effort in order to get the same reward. It wasn't worth it and frankly Gii was getting a bit impatient with mining. He was planning to go hunting after he finished up his quest but this event had given him the perfect opportunity to test his strength. As an added bonus He could secure an extra income from the Gems that the golems drop.
Gemstone golems were known to be the one of the strongest types of naturally forming golems. From the beta testers testimonies, they were said to be from levels 10 to 15. Unlike the rock and iron ore golems, they formed seperate weapons made from the same material rather than use part of their body. Their regenerative powers were much lower, but in exchange they had much tougher skin and defenses.
Gii quickly brought up his friends list and tapped Gustav's name.
“uhh...hello? Gustav?”
“Yea it's me, what's going on....you got more ore for me already?”
“No actually...”
Gii explained the situation to Gustav who seemed to more or less understand.
“I see, I see....so you're going to need equipment right? Why don't you come back here and we can talk in depth.”
“Alright”
After ending his conversation with Gustav he began to make his way back to the small courtyard where he had set up his workshop. As he entered the alley that led towards Gustav he could here the sounds of the hammer and anvil echoing off the wall.
He sure is diligent
Rounding the corner and stepping into the courtyard, Gustav took notice of him and stopped his work.
“AHA! My newest customer! Right this way mister Gii”
Gustav's playful tone as he gestured toward a table with various armor on it made Gii smile. Unfortunately Gii had to put a damper on things by declining his invitation.
“Sorry, but I don't actually want any armor. Just a weapon.”
A frown came over Gustav's face then instantly disappeared.
“That's right you're a picky one aren't you? Don't worry, I'm not easily deterred! HAHAHA!!”
“Alright tell me what you have in mind!”
“I was thinking of using a Hammer.”
Gustav looked at Gii quizzically and Gii answered in order to try and explain.
“I'm fighting gemstone golems right? So I figured a sword wouldn't be that effective. Not to mention i'm not very skilled with weapons so I need something that anyone could use.”
Hearing Gii's explanation, Gustav nodded in approval. Using a weapon without the required skill like a sword or a spear would only be a hindrance in an actual fight. A Hammer was something anyone could use. Not to mention gemstone golems were weak to bludgeoning damage.
“So what are we talking about here? A one handed hammer or two?”
“..Ah, I was thinking along the lines of a sledge hammer except maybe a little lighter so it is easier to wield?”
“My thought process is that if I kill them before they can hit me then I won't need armor...haha.”
The hesitant laughter and wry smile told Gustav that even Gii wasn't completely sold on his own idea. He narrowed his eyes and looked at Gii.
“I definitely have just what you're looking for in a hammer, but are you really sure you don't want any armor?”
“I'm sure....I think.”
Gustav turned around and began rummaging through an open chest. As Gii tried to sneak a peak over his shoulder, Gustav turned around with a defiant look and his arms full of equipment. He held his right arm out in front of him and held in his hand the handle of a medium sized warhammer with the large head dangling towards the ground.
“I'll sell you this warhammer on one condition. You have to take the rest of this equipment with it. I won't have you breaking up my set now.”
Gii tried to refuse but when he looked into Gustav's eyes he could tell that there was no negotiating. He sighed and gave in.
“Alright, fine. Give me all of it.”
Gustav smiled and let out a hearty laugh.
“HAHAHA!! I knew you would be understanding.”
***
Gii had made his way to the entrance of the mine to be reclaimed. On his back was slung a medium sized steel warhammer. He brought his arms up in front of his face and looked at the leather bracers that now covered his forearms. Gustav had forced him to wear the bracers, greaves, and a belt that would covered his stomach. However he had refused to wear the breastplate because it felt unweildy.
Not to mention I can't dye it
Even though he had to pay Gustav for equipment dyes it was worth it to have a matching look. All the leather equipment was now dyed a deep green to go with the green he had chosen as his base clothes.
“Sigh~...i suppose this will have to do, Gustav is more stubborn than me I guess..haha.”
Having stocked up on some potions and food on the way, he was ready to enter the mine. It was easy to tell apart from the others not only because of the amount of people coming in and out but also because of the guards stationed outside the entrance.
He walked in the entrance and followed the people going in the same direction. Many were in groups of 3 or 4 and chatting amongst themselves. The scene reminded Gii of his days in Listonia with his old guildmates. A smile floated across his face when he thought of that. Suddenly up ahead, the people began to turn to their right.
As Gii turned into the opening an incredible sight met his eyes. A massive cavern opened up before him. There were various tunnels leading into the walls with rails and minecarts on them. Old wooden scaffolding was erected to allow travel to at least 3 seperate layers of mines. Since he was on the lowest level he looked up towards the ceiling but could only see darkness above him.
Getting hold of his senses, Gii began scanning his direct surroundings. In the distance he could make out players fighting some golems. Directly in front of him was an tent that was set up by NPC's. When he peeked inside, Gii caught a glimpse of what he was looking for.
AHA! There it is!
What he saw inside the tent was a statue of a knight standing with his hands on the handle of a sword that was in the ground. It's a Resurrection Statue. It was common for events like this to have one of these near the entrance of the area because most players found it tedious to have to re-spawn in the town and make their way back to wherever they were hunting. Gii quickly registered his spawn point to the statue and began making his way to the hunting ground.
Hmm....Let's try the upper levels
The lowest levels were flooded with players and from what he could see when he arrived, there didn't seem to be that mush traffic on the highest levels. It took a bit of time but Gii has good stamina and so was able to make it up the rickety stairs without much trouble. Not wasting any time, he took out his Hammer and readied himself while entering the nearest offshoot mine.
He continued down the mine for a few minutes without encountering anything. He began to doubt his decision to head to the upper mines but quickly shook his impatience and continued walking along the corridor. However after a few more minutes of walking all of the tension left his body and a sense of disappointment washed over him.
“...A dead end?”
What was before him was a boarded up wall. Through the crack in it he could see what looked to be the remnants of a cave-in. Just as he was turning around to head back the way he came, something moved out of the corner of his eye. Instinctively he ducked his head but was unable to dodge completely and suddenly felt a sharp pain just above his right temple. Red liquid began to ooze down the side of his face
Before he could even think about his next move a green mass charged him at a frightening speed. Again, he was unable to dodge the attack completely and his left forearm was hit. Even through the bracer a deafening crack echoed throughout the cave and pain ran up his arm to the back of his neck
FUCK! What the Fu--
Before he could finish his thought blue crystalline knives began hurling themselves toward him through the darkness. Blocking his face with his left arm, 2 of the knives proved ineffective against the bracer. However, 3 more buried themselves into his thighs and another stuck into the leather of his belt.
Gii had been caught in an ambush. What he had failed to notice about the gemstone golems is that they tend to fight in teams of 3. Ruby golems acted as damage dealers and wielded a sword and a shield. Emerald golems were the defenders and boasted the highest defense, while sapphire golems played the ranged role. The three types of golems working together were why they were sometimes viewed as the strongest.
Gii had no time to think at the moment. He had barely survived the initial ambush and was in terrible condition. The green golem that had charged him had slammed into the side of the passageway and would be slow to recover. Gii looked at the red golem that was rushing towards him with its sword in one hand and shield in the other. Behind it he could see the blue golem readying another group of knives. He knew they wouldn't give him time to drink a potion.
Dammnit, they got me....but i'm at least taking one of you fuckers with me.
Gii grit his teeth and endured the pain of gripping his hammer with his left hand that he was sure was broken. Readying his stance, he waited for the red golem to make it's move.
Running towards Gii, the red golem jumped and slashed down towards Gii's head. Seeing the attack this time, he jumped to the side. Now releasing all his pent up anger, Gii swung his warhammer in a horizontal arc towards the golem. Trying to block with it's shield, the golem brought it's left hand up to meet the attack.
Whether it was because it was weak to bludgeoning damage or because Gii's stat's increase, the shields defense amounted to nothing in front of Gii's attack. The hammer completely smashed the golem's shield and the force of the attack hitting it's body caused major cracks to appear all over. The golem flew into the wooden barrier that was barricading the cave-in area. The aftermathe of the attack caused debris and dust to fill the area.
However Gii knew better than to let his guard down. In order to avoid the attacks of the other two golems, he jumped into the hole where the Ruby Golem had just been blasted and where the dust was the thickest. However, to his surprise, his feet didn't hit the ground.
“Wha!? WHAT THE HELL KIND OF LUCK IS THIS!!??”
Falling through the air, he twisted his body to see below him, but all he could see was an abyss of darkness. Suddenly amidst the darkness he could see a figure. It kept getting closer and closer until.
“You gotta be kiddi--”
-----SMAAASSSHH
Gii hit a wooden beam that was stretched across the mineshaft.
God....Dammnit...
As his consciousness faded away, Gii just kept falling further and further into the darkness.