Level 4: Leap Frog Falls
“Is that all of them?” Morris asked, he knew Terry could see well in the dark and trusted his more focused state after the demonstrations of the night.
Terry continued to scan the area but answered, “Yeah, at least no one else is coming out.” There had been eight bandits in total, each were at least out of the fight, two were moaning around the trauma from Morris’ staff. “How did you sober up well enough to help out?” Terry asked after a moment.
“I got a resistance spell that can only be used on myself after the Hoard level.” Morris explained simply and helped Hurk to his feet. The goblin was wide eyed after the attack and Terry could see shame from his inability to assist during the quick raid.
“Aye that is the downside, not everyone has the ability to use the booze. I often was alone more than with otters.” Koren still spoke in Terry’s head, but Terry found he could move his own limbs and had apparently regained control.
He turned from the others and continued to speak to the drunken warrior, “What was that? Can you gain control of my body normally, because I am not sure I am a fan of trusting another driver in this seat, if you catch my drift?”
Koren responded, “It is part of the bond and it only happened here because we had already been working together. Also I used your drunken state to respond, like I explained earlier. I can only take over when you need assistance and grant me that. We are connected now, I won’t always talk but as you grow with my daggers, I will be able to impart more of my knowledge to ye.”
This was definitely a mutually beneficial arrangement, but Terry did not feel fully comfortable with the prospect of someone else driving his actions. This train of thought was interrupted when a little voice called from his tent, “What happened out here?!” Rosa exclaimed.
Terry could barely make out her small form in the mouth of the tent. She did not really know how to take part in the night festivities of drinking and chatting, so she went to bed. Crawling in a small jar lined with a mini blanket she had apparently been woken by the excitement. Terry went to calm and reassure her that all was well, and questioned how to best report the attack to the authorities. She of course had knowledge of that nature and relayed instruction on reporting posts that sat along the road like watch towers, with guards to report monster sightings and bandit raids to. Morris and him decided to split a watch and allow Hurk to get a full night's rest, and in the morning they would make their way to the nearest watch tower.
The following days of travel and camping were less excitable, apart from the occasional scrap with a crowd of stalking animals Hurk was able to clear off with sounds or intimidation tactics. He had felt awful after his pitiful performance during the bandit attack and strived to make himself be ‘more useful’ in the coming nights. They did not do anymore drunken party nights deciding wisely to complete those from now on in towns and taverns. Terry did keep the rest of the spirits in his inventory.
His inventory was the most useful ability, he had to wear a pouch or bag for it to work. To engage it he just had to think of putting an object into or removing an object from the inventory. When he put objects in he put them in the bag or pouch, this process was quick or slow depending on the size of the object. There were rules, like the object had to fit in the mouth of the bag, this meant the size of the bag was a factor in storing and during his training with Selina and Mother Martin, he had seen it first hand. His favorite was removing a long broom from a messenger bag as if he were Mary Poppins.
Terry could view his inventory in his hud like a video game and even add items directly to his Hot Bar which was different. The Hot Bar was a power he and Morris shared, it worked as a storage system, but the items were teleported directly to the inter-dimensional space from the hand or body and could be re-equip at a thought. This was how Morris had equipt his staff so quickly in battle. The main difference was the amount of space, Terry only had five active slots. That is why he did not bother to put his knives there while they were traveling, he practiced drawing them from the new spots on the arm and thigh till it was very comfortable.
Terry had taken a lot of advice that he learned from Koren to heart and practiced the techniques they had discussed each night before bed or his watch. He could feel his growth during the days of travel and time of training. He saw its effects on the team as a whole as they all worked together to train and be ready for the next gateways. From this spirit of progression came a boyish trait of competition and so a wager was struck for the first level of the next gateways. They decided to each do a separate Platformer level.
It took them a week to get to the northern gnome dominated town, Kimberglade. The town was very different from the Iron Bay, it had trees for one. The terrain around the lone coastal mountain north of the Iron Bay was very feral and teeming with plant life in a vibrant forest. The road had been walled in most of the trip with massive moss covert trees that shaded them in this branch cover. This town was built within the trees and the gnomes had done the job well, rope and arch bridges for foot traffic connected nearly every platform on several levels of buildings around the outside and inside of the massive tree trunks. Terry grinned at the interesting sights of gnomes bustling here and there across bridges and platforms as they rode up to elevating planks. The wooden elevators that appeared to use magic bellhops to direct them on what level to let people off.
“This place is a sight” Terry was looking out the windows around him. He had no trouble seeing out every side as everyone else was finally shorter than him.
“Yeah, gnomes have a great eye for building with the assistance of machinery and magic in difficult to claim areas. Kimberglade takes great advantage of the massive Diamond Red trees, nearly exclusive to this area of the continent.” Rosa instructed like an enthusiastic tour guide or teacher. Terry noticed many of the gnomes stood slightly taller at the praise of their ancestor work.
Morris put in as well, “This area is also very defensible with the low levels of platforms housing guards and soldiers while also acting as watch stations. The higher you go the more residential you get, protecting citizens with heights of defenses is brilliant.”
They got off on the seventh floor and got a relatively cheap hotel room at the Player’s Tavern. They were allowed to use this room at lower cost while they first completed the nearby gateway. It had two sets of bunk beds and a small table and chairs. It was decorated in scenes of fairies and fey creatures according to Morris’ beast lore knowledge.
They left their stuff in the room and then headed straight to the gateways to complete the Platformer level and see the winner of their wager. The loser of the competition, really just the last to finish, would buy the first round of drinks and after visiting the bar next door to the hotel, would have to sing in the singing competition the bar held each night. Terry was excited to see the prospect of karaoke having traveled between worlds.
Terry had only done a platformer level via his tutorial, Rosa had explained that locker rooms in platformer levels had multiple doors leading to either solo or team playable course. This gave the Players a differing experience and the possibility of different prizes and loot. It was imagined that the rewards a solo player got for completing the platformer levels were better than the rewards one received for doing the level in a group.
The Gateways to the level were a small way off from the city, they were made of wood rather than stone but nearly identical to the archways Terry had entered before. The three of them took the arch to the right that had the symbol for a platformer on its top, and were greeted with the locker room.
-
Tid had gotten a non-public facing job after the accident in his Boss level, the burns on his face were mostly healed, but the skin had a ribble-like unusual scar in places next to his left eye and down past his cheek. He had gone with another party yesterday to complete the hoard level leaving him shy of Rank 1 by thirty points of experience. He was not sure he wanted to grind up past that just yet.
He had learned his lesson about revenge and being a full time player, he had always followed after his twin happy to be the shadow and comeback to Sid’s more upfront brand of bullying. Sid had taken a different profession, one with tannery like their father, he could do that from sitting with his prosthetic leg. Sid had taken to the use of it quickly, but Tid knew his brother was depressed and disappointed with his new place in life.
Tid had taken the job of documents inspector for the front gates, it was basically a lightly paid intern at this point, but it could get him a foot in the door for guardian and soldiering professions later on.
Tid was going over visitor papers when his boss came in with an announcement for his team. This happened from time to time if an important person or lord was visiting near or to the city. The size and success of the Iron Bay’s mining and shipping operations made it a valuable ally with the capital near the center of the Diamondlands.
“It has come in that a team of high level players is making the west rounds to visit levels and act as diplomats learning about operations in coastal mines for the king.” the boss explained. Tid was impressed, once you did a continent’s 13th level you could go through any gateways you had previously gone through and complete more difficult challenges and levels. Players could gain more exp and could upgrade or get new prizes in these levels.
The boss continued, “we are informed to expedite and give the Alpha Displacement Courtesies during their stay. Tid, you'll be in charge of this party and getting their stay at accommodations set understood?” he looked at Tid expectedly and he nodded in the affirmative. “Good, work with Jity, he'll show you where they need to stay and where to make the reservations and such, he's done it all before.” he addressed him directly and as if bored with the instruction. Then continued with announcements. Afterward Tid returned to his duties before working with the gnome Jity Bottlebrush on the reservations and accommodations for the diplomats arriving in the near future.
He always wanted to meet active high level adventurers. He returned home that night excited to see these champions, hoping he could get a tale or two out of the team when they arrived.
-
Terry had left Rosa in the locker with an ear piece as he entered the level. She would be able to talk to him while he was completing the course and act as a third person view from her vantage to assist. It was a considerate loophole in the levels and Terry was thankful it existed. His arena for his course was a cascading, foaming blue waterfall that fell on his left and dropped into a body of water. There were a number of platforms both moving and stationary working their way along the waterfall and he had the only objective of making his way to the bottom.
The platforms were slippery and set far apart so that jumping from place to place was the obvious option. The first three jumps were simple hops from rock to rock, Terry slipping slightly from the water covered surface. The last jump was on the same level but the distance was greater and Terry found a rope almost impossibly swinging from a pole that extended from the waterfall. Terry took a running start and jumped for the rope as it swung towards him, he was able to grip it and swing to the other side much like he had during his tutorial.
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Upon landing on the other side he was confronted with two forms emerging from the waterfall. They were slightly smaller than him, standing on long toad legs with broad chests. They had wide mouths and beady eyes that popped from either side of their broad faces. They took up defensive stances displaying webbed fingers and toes with curved needle-like claws. Their slick mottled green, gray and brown skin was like camouflage, as they stepped forward to attack, swiping out toward Terry.
He drew his knives and moved inside the swiping and thrusting attacks, trying to be aggressive in the beginning to gain an upper hand in the combat. The frog’s skin was thick and his knife slipped more than stung the enemies. The claws dug into his back as he was grappled by the standing toads.
Health: 280/300 HP
His HP had doubled after Rank 1 and he learned from Rosa it would go up by fifty with each rank after that. HP was not based on actual wounds or anything like that; it was more a matter of exertion combined with damage taken from an attack. His skin still received cuts and bruises but they healed quickly as his meters filled. Terry’s health would restore as he rested or applied any sort of healing aid or magic. It took about five minutes to gain a point of HP while resting at this point however.
Terry ducked out of the grasp of the attacking troglodyte, the slippery skin working against the hold. From the lower vantage he was able to remove the long and slim legs of the monster. It’s torso fell to the step and Terry made short work of its brother with his knives and the advantage he had found.
The diligence of his training paid off in the execution of the troglodyte and he continued with the course determined to not lose the competition with Morris and Hurk. The end of the waterfall was near and Terry's next obstacle was different from plain jumps. Terry looked down a moss and vine covered wall with a surface below for him to continue to jump and descend the falls.
“I think you have to climb that” came the voice of Rosa in his ear. “The Vines are not natural and should be strong enough to hold you, it should be slippery though.”
“Gottcha, thanks for the hint, Over!” Terry shot back, with an exclamation at the end.
Rosa replied as he got into a crotch to go down, “Oh should I be saying that so you know when I am done talking, over!”
Terry chuckled, "Sure, over.”
“Okay, over. That is strangely fun… I mean over.” Rosa put in excitedly
Terry continued to smile as he climbed down, “hey can you see if there is a black wall eating up the ground behind me, like in my tutorial? Over.”
“I am not seeing any evidence of that, the path sorta goes back on itself, like a zig-zag along the waterfall, over.” Rosa explained
Terry was relieved that the black wall had been a terrifying force in his tutorial. He descended to the next level and prepared to continue on the next wall. The vines were simple to grip and his light figure and recently trained strength gave him good purchase on the wall. As he reached the very bottom of the vine wall was met with a small drop to a platform below. He had not seen it from above because the platform extended under the wall. He dropped down and looked to his next obstacle.
The next platform was a slight jump and lower along the falls. He let out a breath and continued on.
-
Morris had a low dexterity and higher knowledge based skills to assist with creation and magic based attacks he used. As such we were not fully equipped for a platformer level. His course however did have some advantages for him, it was more puzzle themed then agility or acrobatic themed. He was currently working on a puzzle based around destroying targets to make a bridge rise to the proper height so he could cross a gap.
As the bridge came to the correct height he stepped on only to find it was already descending lower then the opposite bank. He had to continue to shoot spells at the targets to keep it at the proper height as he crossed. Morris began moving quickly to the other side of the bridge, randomly firing his Break force spell at the targets.
He made it to the other side more exhausted from the low mana reflected on his HUD than any exertion.
Mana: 200/400 MP
The ‘Break’ spell was adjusted depending on the strength needed to break a target, the targets took about five mana to break, it had been a long jog across the bridge and the increased pace tested his accuracy harshly and he had missed more than he liked.
The terrain he was working through was a warehouse foundry of mechanical devices and wonders, his next obstacle was revealed as four robot enemies rose around the platform he had stepped on to. They were made of three to five discs like wide tops set on top of each other. They had four arms in each direction and to complete the dredel motif they came to a point at the bottom and began spinning towards him. Their wild metal tornadoes’ arms spun on their own accord in great speed like whipping blades.
Morris had read descriptions of these particular enemies, Blade Tops were a simple robotic security system meant to lacerate an opponent. Morris equipped his armor from his Hot Bar and twirled his staff, as he fired bolts of brake at the robots twirling towards him. He got two spells off before they were too close and he used the staff twirling it in dizzying patterns to block and throw off the balance of the whirling robots.
The staff appeared to be made out of wood, but it was obviously much stronger and durable, as it bumped and dented the robots disc-like medal shells. Morris was grateful for the staff as he had trained with quarterstaff early on liking the feel and even distribution of the weapon typing. He had always known that being a Player meant fighting monsters, beasts and constructs such as these. Reading about their weakness and where they might be found in the wild was an entertaining pastime, but it was boring compared to fighting in a level.
As the fight dragged on, he found that disrupting the balance of the top bots was not as simple as striking the discs apart. Morris took a few swiping cuts from the arms of the spinning constructs. Eventually his staff worked into the weaker areas close to each point, throwing the layers off center and sending the stacked constructs into disarray. Morris figured he was taking too long with the battle and hoped the others were slowed down so he would have a chance to not lose the competition.
-
Hurk felt favored in this competition, his platforming course was perfectly suited to his strength style of fitness free running. A series of low walls to vault over and several low ceilings to crawl and duck through were ideal to this strength training style. The environment was a flat plain of grassy fields, and a drill sergeant directed him along the obstacle course level. The drill sergeant was an android set on a track alongside the course, hurling insults and motivation at the participant.
Hurk did not mind it in the least. He liked plain and simple, whether it be fighting or verbal, if you gave him the truth he liked you the most. He was reminded of Sid and Tid, wondering how the boys were doing. They’re experience had tempered their personal brand of enthusiastic bullying, but they had kept their honest assessments toward other’s flaws. Hurk had helped Tid get a job with some friends of his and Sid was working in his father’s tanning shop. He wanted the kids to excel past their deformities and become stronger for them.
Hurk came to a tall plank wall with a thick knotted rope to assist in climbing up and over the wall. He smiled and began to climb, happy with the exertion. He had every advantage in this competition and could surely win.
“Get on up there you, actually green, pansy! With arms like that I am surprised you can even bend at the elbow, trainee!” The robot drill sergeant yelled.
-
Terry had gone through about three levels of slippery stairs like platforms each a good jump apart. Every once and a while a slightly larger platform would be occupied by two or four toad-like fighters to challenge him. He had taken a healing potion after just completing the group of four on his current platform.
He could now see the end and he was thankful for Rosa’s view before he made his way down the long fireman’s pole in the center of the platform.
“There are platforms on either side with troglodyte fighters ready to jump at and after you, They could knock you off the pole and you probably need to get out of there way at the bottom to fight any that make it down. Looks like there are six of them in total, over.” Rosa warned.
Terry thought for a moment and got an idea, “I am going to use the pellet Gun to shoot them once I am down the pole. Over!” He put the rifle in his Hot Bar, so it could be quickly drawn at the bottom.
“Good plan, minimize skin contact with the pole to reduce friction and allow you to slide down the pole quicker. Over.” Rosa intoned knowingly. Her practical knowledge is exceedingly helpful, Terry thought as he prepared to slide down. He used the long sleeve of his sweatshirt to cover his hands and wrapped his thighs around the pole plummeting downward to the bottom.
He heard more then saw the toad monsters jumping from the platforms to grab the pole above him. When his feet hit the ground he rolled back completing a summer salt and getting to his feet from the combat roll. The rifle was equipped and he fired off all the shots he could before the frogs hit the ground. He shot six times, but was only able to bring down four of the frogs. The remaining two landed and the melee began.
Terry had been fighting the entire level and so his adrenaline was already in place for the crowded brawl. He struck the first frog with the butt of the rifle before allowing it to unequip back to his Hot Bar, he dew spark and as he cut up from the scabbard on his thigh he commanded the blade’s ability, he was rewarded with fire as the toad combusted and staggered blindly to the side and off the platform to the pool below.
The second fell shortly after and he saw that two more had emerged from the falls to meet him. The third met Flicker, as Terry threw it directly from the arm holster. The one in front of it had moved aside from the throw Initially, but the backhand reverse grip of Spark soon found his throat as Terry continued moving forward in a brutal stream of attacks.
He had scored four quick wins, but a fifth and final toad emerged and was noticeably different, wielding a sword and shield. He seemed to be more skilled in combat then the other fighters, staying behind the shield and sneaking the sword out from different spots in striking and fast attacks. This was a tough match up for Terry's knives, so he jumped back and re-equipped his rifle putting Spark on the Hot Bar and throwing Flicker to buy time while reloading the magazine like cartridge of coals he had filled from a campfire a few nights ago.
He had just enough time and fired at the feet of the frog for a clear target, The frog burst into flames from the elementally charged fire shot. Terry looted the shield that was the only thing left after the combustion claimed the enemy. He put it on his back via straps and made his way along the narrow bath to a familiar sight in the distance.
Just like at the end of his tutorial he found a basin in a clearing to signify the end of the level. The pool of liquid within gave an image as he approached. It was the sword wielding frog saying in excited croaky congratulations, “ you got past me shield took it for yourself yeah, how much could it be worth something on the outside? You’ll see! Till next time my fighters. I found you quite worthy.” The words were oddly flowery, for a smelly toad beast. Terry nodded in appreciation as his HUD got a notification and he exited the level reading.
Your points of experience have increased. You have 109 points of experience. You now have 156 points of experience. You have unlocked 1 new ability and 1 special attack.
Quick draw weapon reload. Reload your rifle from your Hot Bar as long as you have ammo.
Special Attack: Tumbul Dodge. You can evade using a rolling summer salt to gain distance from an opponent. This action will become quicker by .03 sec each level as part of your button masher skill.
As he entered the locker room he saw the winner was Hurk and just as he entered the door opened and a bedraggled Morris stumbled in slamming the door behind him.
“It was just that close, buddy.” Terry smacked Morris on the back and they laughed exploding in conversation as they replaced the jumpsuits for regular clothes and Terry retrieved Rosa. This time Rosa stayed up with them as they went to the tavern for the winnings on the outcome of the bet.
The drinking became so numerous that soon Koren was a part of the party as well at least in Terry’s head, commenting on the excellent fighting displayed in the level and giving his opinion on the new special attack.
“If you were to drink in a level it could ensure that I come out to assist. There is a liquor that is the strongest, oiliest liquor on any of the continents! Or at least by what we can tell, The Club has some tribes with very particular poisons.” Koren chuckled with the absorbed Inebriation.
“Is it really smart to get drunk in a level? " Terry asked
Koren laughed in his head, "It is if you know what you're doing and if you have me on your side!"
Soon Terry took Rosa back to the room and laid her down. He then allowed Koren to lead his meditation to identify the shield he had collected. After an hour of odd drunken meditation he identified the shield.
—Uncommon—
Shield of the Common Coin
Feeding coins into the slot on top of the shield will absorb 100% of damage when blocking an attack with this shield. Otherwise this will work as a normal shield adding a bonus for blocking and absorption.
There was a slit in the top center of the kite shaped medal, it seemed form fitting for a coin. The front was detailed with a gold piece that did resemble the coins that Terry had in his purse. Terry was not sure if Morris would be inclined to use the shield, but he figured it might work well for Hurk. He smiled at the gift and slid into bed.