Ch. 12 - Spoils of War._FVR (Full Virtual Reality)

FVR

Chapter Twelve.

----------------------------------------

"Huh!?" Joel blinked several times to make sure he had seen correctly. "I'm level...Twenty-seven!? With 93 skill points!??" His first thought went to the creature, but his second thought went to the thousands of others that must have been outside during the wave.

"Did I kill them all?" It was a ludicrous thought - they would never allow such a broken thing to happen, surely? Unless... His thoughts went back to how he had received the cleansing strike, how he needed to be the last survivor of a completed wave, and how rare that must be - especially this early on. It wasn't impossible. He thought of the possibility that this was actually normal, that completing the wave meant the same reward. The creature he had just fought had been incredibly strong, so maybe this was normal progression within the game, and the levels and skill points balanced out somehow. But something felt off about that. How was a party of twenty meant to survive that wave?

"I can't even accept good news without being suspicious. Fuck I hate this game."

He thought about spending his points immediately, but without knowing if this was a one-off or not, he didn't know if he was shooting his future self in the foot. Mixed with the high skill points needed to ascend skills, and how many skills there might be, ninety-three points may actually amount to very little. Fuck, his head was aching again and he couldn't tell if it was from fatigue, the lack of information, or the cognitive dissonance.

He walked to the center of the room and picked up the horn. Its oily, jagged texture immediately reminded him of the creature. Must be an item drop. He opened his inventory, placed it inside, and clicked on it.

〘Dozrak'een horn〙

〘Taken from the Dozarach it has bonded with; the Dozrak'een pierce their skin to show their connection〙

〘Once a tribal ritual, it later became a sign of their devotion to Hel. Used for crafting〙

Crafting? The last crafting game I played was a tower defence... Fuck, okay. He tried looking for a crafting tab, but he couldn't see one on his HUD. Do I need a crafting station? He tried clicking on it and a message popped up: you do not have the tools required to use this item. Leaving it there for now, he became distracted by what was in his inventory. There were three items total: a blue potion for mana recovery, which I still need to invest into, the horn, which I'll likely fuck up somehow, and an Intermediate Equipment Choice, which he clicked on.

〘Pick one tier-two piece of equipment out of the following choices〙

〘War-Time Helmet, War-Time Cuirass, War-Time Vambraces, War-Time Gauntlets, War-Time Greaves, War-Time Armored Boots〙

"Seems rather obvious that I pick the cuirass so I can protect my vitals, but I should check the chest first. Ah! But before that..." His excitement and distraction had him talking aloud, feeling as though he were suddenly being looked down upon.

Joel picked up the longsword. It felt brazen in his hands, like an imposing force of domineering strength all on its own. Its weight was solid and well balanced, but the leather of the hilt was coarse and uncomfortable to hold. The blade itself had several jagged edges, but the durability of the steel seemed strong, as if the jagged nature was partially intentional. Joel swung the sword through the air and felt it shift smoothly, a lot more natural than the short sword. This is a two-handed sword, the same type Lor used... He tried picturing her stance and how she moved, but it was too fuzzy. A game that forces you to actually learn how to fight, the thought sent a chill through his body. He placed the sword into his inventory, and checked its stats.

〘Dozrak'een longsword〙

〘Strength +15〙

〘Critical Rate + 5%〙

〘Critical Damage + 25%〙

The extra critical stats were great, but doubling his strength from fifteen made him feel pretty happy. It must be a fairly rare early drop. His thoughts went to the cleansing strike and whether there were a bunch of items outside. I'll have to check that in a minute.

He thought for a moment about dual-wielding it with the short sword, let's try figuring out how to use one sword for now... He equipped the Dozrak'een in his weapon slot, placing the short sword into his inventory.

Joel then approached the chest. "Give me another cleansing strike or I'm fucked," he touched the chest and it swung open.

〘Unique Passive Skill Unlocked: Shield Of Resolve〙

The first thing he saw was the unique passive skill as it flashed up in the center of his vision. "Okay..." he felt underwhelmed as he didn't know what it meant, and it being a shield meant it wasn't offensive. I was hoping for something that would kill everything, but sure, shield of resolve... could be good. One by one, Joel examined the items inside the chest and added them to his inventory.

〘Large Recovery Potion x1; Will Not Restore Limbs〙

〘Status Effect Potion x2; Will Restore One Status Effect〙

〘Golden Bars x4; Worth 50,000 Gold Each〙

〘Cured Wood x10; Used For Crafting〙

〘Durnovian Steel Bars x5; Used For Crafting〙

〘Durnovian Leather x2; Used For Crafting〙

〘Petrified Wood of The Great Marshes x1; During the war against Hel, the Great Marshes were set ablaze. This was the inciting incident that brought the Florrev'ines into the war against Durnovia. Used For Crafting〙

〘Managrite Ore x1; An unusual meteoritic rock, usually only found in the Serpents Head of Torridlem〙

"Lots of crafting stuff, and some very rare ore. But I still need the tools," he clicked through his menu again and tried to look for something to do with crafting, but nothing caught his eye. He did, however, see a new tab in his character page: equipment loadout 1 [+], he clicked on the plus sign. Increase equipment loadouts: 1,000 gold. "Accept." You do not have enough gold. "For fucks sake." He stretched his back and rubbed his arm again; the movement of clicking the buttons was bringing its feeling back more and more. Still feels weird.

Joel went to his inventory, clicked on a gold bar, and clicked sell. At the top of his vision, under the wave timer, was now a message that read: 50,000 gold. Not 50,001? Joel checked his pocket for that first gold piece. It really doesn't count anything that isn't properly equipped or placed into the system? He put the gold coin into his inventory, and it added to the 50,000. "Also, who the heck am I selling this to?" He raised his arms in confusion. I should know by now not to understand what the fuck is happening.

He returned to the character page, and brought two equipment loadouts for 11,000 gold.

There were now two usable equipment loadouts, and a third he had to spend 100,000 gold on. Considering I don't know the value of gold, I think it's best to save the rest for now.

"Equipment loadout one," he said aloud. With a sharp flash of light, all of his clothing disappeared, except for his underwear and socks, opening him up to the cool air. "Ah! Shit! How do I go back!?" He clicked back to the main menu and clicked on the piece of armor which showed his previous gear set up. At the top right of the page was now a button that said equip. He clicked on it, and with another sharp flash of light, his gear changed back.

"Equipment loadouts for quickly switching between sets... if used correctly, this could be really useful."

Joel altered the equipment loadouts, with 1 being his current equipment along with the longsword, and 2 having the same equipment but with the short sword.

"What was next?" Ah! The passive skill! He clicked back to his skills.

《Active Skills:》

《Dash: Beginner. Level 1. XP: 500/500. Push forwards up to 10 meters at double your agility. Cooldown: 10 seconds》

《Ascension to level 2 locked. Conditions for ascension: 5 skill points. Dozrachk'een must be slain for the first time - does not have to be slain by the player》

《Passive Skills:》

《Endurance: Beginner. Proficiency: 2.1/100》

《Shield of Resolve: Max Level. The first strike from an enemy is negated》

《Quick Reflexes: Beginner. Proficiency: 3.4/100. Slightly heightens reaction times, enabling the user to react faster》

《Unyielding Pace: Max Level. So long as you are in combat, you will be able to run indefinitely》

《Sword Wielder: Beginner. Level 1. XP: 250/250. Gain 10% strength and 1% critical chance when equipping a sword》

《Ascension to level 2 locked. Conditions for ascension: 5 skill points. Dozrachk'een must be slain for the first time - does not have to be slain by the player》

"First strike from an enemy is negated." Joel pictured the first wave again, and imagined what would have happened if the tanky guy had this skill. Joel couldn't imagine that the mace would simply go through him, so maybe it simply didn't connect. Again, there were more questions than answers, but he felt somewhat relieved knowing he couldn't be ambushed as easily now. He then looked at his other skills.

I can level up dash and sword wielder... The thought was inviting, especially if it meant reducing the cooldown or increasing the distance. Only one way to find out. He spent five points to upgrade his dash to level 2.

《Dash: Beginner. Level 1. XP: 500/500. Push forwards up to 10 meters at double your agility. Cooldown: 10 seconds》

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

《Dash: Novice. Level 2. XP: 0/2500. Push backwards up to 10 meters at double your agility. Cooldown: 10 seconds》

"Level two gives a backwards dash, but more importantly - it's a separate skill." He remembered how dashing worked by thinking of where to go, so he stood in the center of the room and dashed forwards one meter, then backwards one meter. Both skills were now on cooldown, but had worked separately from each other and knew if he wanted to dash forwards or backwards. "Perfect."

Next was ascending sword wielder.

《Sword Wielder: Novice. Level 2. XP: 0/1250. Gain 20% strength and 3% critical chance when equipping a sword》

It was slight, but something in Joel felt different. He noticed there was an excitement he hadn't had before - a feeling of progress and of success that made him feel like a fraud. But a fraud who had what he wanted.

He checked off a list as he ran back through the last few minutes. "Items, skills, next up is my class, and my stats," a thought crossed his mind of how he had gained so many stats. He clicked onto his character page, then clicked titles.

《Titles:》《First Blood》《First Level》《Sole Group Survivor》《Conqueror of Shadows》《Friend of Vulpine Felis》《First Duel》《Celebrate The Festival of Lights》《Messenger In War》《Friend of Roland The Brave》《Deaths Door》《First To Kill Dozrak'een》《First To Kill Dozarach》《Double Kill》《Triple Kill》《First 10 Kills》《First 50 Kills》《Survivor of The Dawn》《Gravel Gatherer》《Pebble Seeker》《Stone Guardian》《Slate Sentinel》《Rock Nomad》

"Ah. That's a lot of titles," he knew from before that skill points were rewarded along with titles, so this is where I got so many points from? I wonder what kind of titles I can get...

He looked over each one and immediately knew where it came from, except for the final five. He clicked on Gravel Gatherer: Reward for reaching level 5. Then clicked on Pebble seeker: Reward for reaching level 10. Gains access to crafting. Similarly, Slate Sentinel gave access to equipment loadouts.

"Okay, so every five levels I get a title, and every ten I open up a new part of the game. I wonder why they're rock themed?" Gravel, pebble, stone, slate, rock... Is mountain last? He felt the sudden urge to search the internet for a walkthrough.

He took a deep breath and rubbed his eyes. There was a lot of information flooding his mind, but a part of him was still trapped in his previous battle. A fight so hopeless that he could never have hoped to win without an item. It was exhausting, going back and forth with his heart over his thoughts of the game. It was all mounting up, and he didn't know how much longer he could keep going. He took another deep breath, thought back to his parents and whether they had found him yet, then exhaled. Ignore it, he told himself. Just... ignore it all.

Joel clicked back to his class, and spent the five points needed to ascend it.

《Runner Class: Novice. Level 2. XP: 0/3600》

《Runner Class Shoes: Novice. Increases agility by 10. Ascend Runner Class to increase proficiency bonus》

《Parkour: You gain more grip in your hands and feet when free running》

"Okay," he took a moment to focus, then thought about what was in front of him. "Experience points don't carry over. That's shit. I could be sat here for ages with a maxed skill, but be wasting experience because I haven't fulfilled the criteria to ascend it, I'll have to prioritize hunting everything." He said the words but didn't consider their deeper meaning, then looked at his new passive skill, "parkour could be useful again... I did a little as a child. Might be fun actually."

Knowing there wasn't any equipment in the chest, Joel went back to his inventory and chose the cuirass, which replaced the equipment choice in his inventory. He then pressed equip, replacing his shirt with the cuirass, which fastened itself around Joel's chest. It had the weight of a heavy coat, which was fine, but the metal and rough fabric on his skin made him shiver. The stats gave him a +10 to physical defense and a -2 to agility, which annoyed him slightly, but it felt worth the trade. The lack of a shirt, however, was a different matter altogether.

"Well, this is stupid," he figured that he couldn't gain the stat bonuses from each, but to lose the shirt seemed like an oversight. He unequipped the armor, withdrew the shirt and manually put it on, then equipped the cuirass, solving his problem. "That works," he was now wearing both, but only the cuirass was equipped. He did the same for his equipment loadouts 1 and 2, naming them as he did.

"Pedantic bastards, why do it this way? Why not just always have normal undergarments like other video games?" He looked up to the ceiling, feeling it was the most likely place they'd be looking at him from, "eh!? Seriously everyone, why are you bending over backwards for such little things!?" Again, he had no response. He was starting to wonder if they were actually watching him, but he couldn't shake the feeling that they were.

There's no way that such pedantic people would let me level up like this if it weren't part of their plan.

With everything else out of the way, and down to eighty-three skill points, Joel returned to his character page. For starters, he put five points into mana capacity, giving him fifty mana. He paused for a few moments, trying to sense any difference. Okay, he paused, picturing magic in his mind, well, I learned that sword skill from slashing... so... "COMBUST!" ...

"FIRE!"

"TELEKINESIS!"

"MANA SHIELD!"

Well, this is awkward. He was sure that something had to trigger an ability, but he couldn't figure out what it was. "Either it isn't unlocked, or I have to find them, earn them, kill something, or fuck-knows-what to get them," with another defeated grunt, he allocated his other skill points, leaving ten points as a backup.

《Joel Bailey》《Level: 27. XP: 1221/10876》《Class: Runner》《Skill points: 10》

《Title: Friend of Vulpine Felis》

《Mana Capacity: 50/50》

《Strength: 30+21》

《Magic Power: 0》

《Agility: 40+8》

《Perception: 10》

《Physical Defence: 20+10》

《Elemental Defence: 10》

《Critical Chance: 8%》

《Critical Damage: 75%》

《Status Resistance: 0%》

《Equipment Loadout 1: with longsword》《Equipped》

《Equipment Loadout 2: with short sword》

《Equipment Loadout 3: [+]》

〘Skill Unlocked: Insight〙

〘Title Unlocked: World's Eye〙

〘Reward For Title: One Skill Point〙

Insight? He clicked onto his skill tab.

《Insight: Beginner. Proficiency: 0/100. Can perceive small details about a person》

Must have been from the perception? For a moment, he debated whether he should spend more points, but decided to keep to his initial plan.

I'm actually excited to run again. A pained smile found itself on his lips as his cheeks rose with anticipation. With this agility, I'll be moving faster than anyone in the real world ever could! He pictured what it would be like to run so fast, or to use the parkour skill to climb and maneuver through the city. With the dash though, it'll be hard for me to keep up with it mentally. Joel then remembered that the proficiency of his quick reflexes skill had increase slightly, up to 0.1/100. I wonder how proficiency differs to levelling up?

He was still in deep thought when he left the room, not noticing the familiar hue that painted the walls. Not knowing where to go, he assumed that the game would push him in the general direction. As he peered out of the window, he realized it was not just his wave timer that had stopped; a surreal stillness enveloped the city at the climax of the war, where time seemed to halt, trapping everybody in a moment of serene silence; even the stars no longer twinkled.

In the distance, Roland's men were locked in a battle against thousands of marching creatures and humans that fought against them, their movements suspended mid-clash. Amidst the chaos, the radiant golden hue bathed the entire sky in a moment of spectacular glory. Its otherworldly brilliance captivated Joel with a sense of awe; it was a beautiful, pure light, that seemed to hold the world in its hands. Then, without warning, time surged forwards at a blinding rate. The men and creatures vanished, replaced with a barren land. Joel overlooked the sprawling city below as it transformed bit by bit with each passing moment; buildings became taller and more magnificent, and the city became wider and larger as it built out into the now flourishing lands beyond, where farmlands sprawled beyond the city limits, lush and verdant, teeming with life. The once grand wall now crumbled with age, replaced by newer, smaller fortifications that stretched outward as the city expanded more and more. As time continued to pass by in its relentless march, the once-golden hue began to fade into a soft crimson which deepened as the moments went on. Joel shed tears at the beauty of it all - of his own insignificance when met with the passing of decades into centuries - of the lives that passed by below him. He alone stood in witness of it all, unseen. And as the shifting dusts of time slowed after shaping the everchanging world, Joel looked down upon it all. Not at the city that once was - but at the kingdom before him.

This was because of Roland. It was a soft, inspired thought, which didn't need words. The people who had fought, and died, had done so for the freedom of others. "Tonight, we earn our freedom... Brave men of Durnovia..." Joel echoed faintly. They were brave. As he looked over at the kingdom that sprawled beneath him, Joel couldn't help but feel like the world was created by such men, and that he wasn't one of them.

"I'm not brave," he said softly, accidentally speaking the words out loud. It was less of a confession, and more of a realization. In the face of those who had come before him, how could he, Joel, consider himself brave. He thought back to the people in the first room, and to Tiberius, how their actions were braver than anything he had done. He held out a hand - the one he had lost due to the creature - and he accepted that he did not want to die. Not for bravery. Not for others. Not for a future that would not include him.

"But I don't care," he admitted, "If I can be strong here, fast, pain-free, then I'll survive by any means necessary," he tightened his fist and a heaviness fell on his eyes.

The wave timer began again as time started to move forwards at its snail's pace. With his mind set, and his spoils of war, Joel took one final look at his menu before resigning himself to a life away from his physical body.

《Equipment Loadout 1: With Longsword》

《Weapon: Dozrak'een longsword: +15 strength. +5% Critical Chance. +25% Critical Damage》

《Head:》

《Torso: War-Time Cuirass: +10 Physical Defence. -2 Agility》

《Arms:》

《Hands:》

《Legs: Brown Trousers: +1 Physical Defence》

《Shoes: Runner Class Shoes: Novice. +10 Agility》

《Inventory:》《Blue Potion x1》《Dozrak'een horn》《Large Recovery Potion x1》《Status Effect Potion x2》《Golden Bars x4》《Cured Wood x10》《Durnovian Steel Bars x5》《Durnovian Leather x2》《Petrified Wood of The Great Marshes x1》《Managrite Ore x1》

《Class:》