I pressed my body against the outer gate of the courtyard. It resisted at first but eventually gave way with a load moan. It opened to a long cobblestone bridge over a steep cliff. Far below the sound of crashing waves echoed and danced with the wind. The smell of salt water and early dusk mist swirled around me as I walked across the bridge. The amber light of The Heart had far surpassed its apex and was beginning to descend behind the far horizon of snow mountains, and dark clouds. Passing the bridge, I was greeted with a wide expanse stretching from the high cliffs around the cathedral and far to my right, growing into a deep forest and rolling hills. Beyond the covering of trees, I could see the lights of a village.

After defeating Koushinon and leveling up I had received no word on where I was to go next. My quest log was empty, and I didn’t see any indication on where to travel to or what to do. My best bet was to make my way down to the nearest village and possibly seek out shelter for the night and maybe pick up a quest or two. I had leveled up twice from my first battle and I had a strong desire to keep that momentum going forward.

As I stepped off the bridge and onto the dirt path my vision was interrupted by a new notification. I swiped at my wrist and looked out my context menu. The icons for the mail and news were no highlighted and I was able to click on them. I was eager to see what kind of in-game rewards Gods Felled Online was going to give me. I selected the mail icon first and to my dismay there was only one thing waiting for me.

Welcome Relinquished to Gods Felled Online

“Welcome Relinquished to the official launch of Gods Felled Online! Today you will be stepping into the dark and twisted lands of The Grand Daleum to face off against the Corrupted Gods. To grow in power, obtain mythical weapons, armors and powerful spells to cleanse the land of Decay and Death. We would also like to officially announce upcoming events coming to The Grand Daleum. Starting tomorrow October 29th, we will be launching several events in the game. Double Ichor Drop Events, World PVP Challenge Events and Corrupted Raids World First Celebrations. These are just a few of the many events we will be hosting over the next couple of weeks. Including a special Halloween Event known as Grim Jack’s Harvest. A holiday event where players can participate in taking down the world boss known as Grim Jack to unlock exclusive Halloween cosmetics, furniture, mounts and currencies. Mark your calendars because Grim Jack’s Harvest starts October 30th!”

Reading the announcement letter was a trippy experience. I had almost forgotten that this game was an mmo. The boss fight had been so intense, and the death so real, that the fact this is supposed to be a game meant to be enjoyed skipped my mind. It was cool to see that they already had tons of events planned over the next couple of days. I wasn’t a part of any guild so I doubt things like the PVP and Raiding events would come in handy for me till I found a guild to join. The Grim Jack’s Harvest event sounded awesome. I am huge fan of Halloween and getting some sweet cosmetics would be at the top of my priority.

I closed out of the announcement letter and my in-game mail and selected the notifications icon. It was a breakdown of the upcoming Grim Jack’s Harvest event.

GRIM JACK’S HARVEST

“Hello, Relinquished the time is almost at hand! Grim Jack has emerged from his long slumber to search the world for souls he can harvest. You must defeat him and claim his pumpkin head before he descends upon the citizens of The Grand Daleum. Team up with friends to challenge our first holiday event world boss and obtain the following gifts. [Grim Jack’s Pumpkin] Helm, [Gim Jack’s Scythe] Special 2H Scythe, and the [Harvest Mare] Mount Cosmetic Skin. In order to unlock the special gifts and cosmetics you must slay Grim Jack and his host of Harvest Hallows to collect Scarecorn Candies. The Scarecorn Candies can then be exchanged for the Halloween event items. Grim Jack’s Harvest starts October 30th. So prepare your weapons, collect your wits, and prepare to brave the Harvest Invasions that will take place all over The Grand Daleum.”

Alright first up I need to head to the closest village and get my bearings then once I have a better footing in this world, I was going to go straight for the Halloween Event. Unique cosmetics and a new weapon. Hell yes!

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I followed the dirt path down a long hill that eventually opened up to a wide grassy knoll. Several hundred yards away was the entrance to the wind shifting woods. I probably had two hours left until it was completely dark and as best as I could tell I could reach the town shortly after nightfall. If I hurried.

I set out on a short jog down the path and got an update from my notifications that my [SP] was slowly depleting as I ran. I paused for a short duration to see if it would recharge and after about five seconds the numbers ticked back up. So not only did it affect how many abilities I could use and how much I could carry but also how long I could run for. Fantastic. I needed to get a mount as quickly as possible.

“Chose the Champion? Regretting it?” A calm voice spoke out from somewhere to my left.

“Whose there?” I asked.

“Can’t run very far with all that heavy armor you’re wearing. Not to mention that huge hammer you got strapped to your back. Me on the other hand. I went Brigand. I’d rather be able to dodge and run then get stuck under the weight of my own armor. Speed. That’s the way to go.” A hooded figure suddenly appeared on a nearby rock. They sat with their legs crossed and had two daggers on either hip.

How did I not see them before?

“How many tries?” They asked. Their voice high yet smooth as silk. I was pretty sure it was a girl, but I still couldn’t tell with their hood so low on their head and their arms folded across their chest.

“How many tries for what?” I asked in return.

“The Bell Ringer. How many tries did it take you to kill him? Me? I was able to take him down my first try. Didn’t even get hit once. Pretty easy fight if you ask me. I’m hoping things get a bit tougher moving forward. So how many tries did it take you to kill the freak?”

“I took him down my second try. He… He got me the first time. Smashed his head in the second.” I stepped closer and noticed that above the persons head was a blurring of light. I tried to figure out what it said but all I could manage was a series of question marks.

[?????????????]

“Not bad. I’ve heard there are players who have been trying since the servers went live. That was twelve hours ago by my count. Though time in here could be different then the real world so there’s no telling how many times those poor suckers have been killed. What’s it like by the way? Haven’t died yet, but still crossing my fingers.” The thief on the stone dropped down from their perch and landed gracefully on the path before me. They pulled back their hood and I was greeted with a kind smile, sharp blue eyes and a flurry of wild, fire-red hair. She was beautiful. Once she dropped her hood, I was able to see her name displayed above her head.

[Meren The Brigand]

“So, what was it like?” Meren asked me again. I didn’t realize that I was dumfounded being approached by a beautiful girl and wasn’t replying. “Hello? What’s wrong with you?”

“Sorry I uh… How do you look like that? I mean… not that I think you look weird. I think you look beautiful. I mean like. You’re not all dead looking.” I motioned at her looks. Meren raised her eyebrow at me. A smirk on her face and what I thought I saw, only for a second, blushing on her cheeks.

“Take a look in the mirror yourself. You’re not all dead looking either. We don’t say those, whatever those forsaken things are at the beginning of the game. As far as I can tell we kind of look like ourselves, only more… heroic?”

I look like myself? Crap I really hope that wasn’t true.

She continued pushing her question at me. “So, death? What’s it like?”

“It… well it sucks. It’s painful.” I rubbed my face, more so to look at my hands, which definitely were human hands, but also as a reflex at remembering the pain I felt when my skull got crushed. “I don’t recommend it.”

“Well duh.” Meren laughed. “I don’t think anyone would recommend it.”

“Yeah it — Wait what are you doing out here? Are there other players around?” I was sick of getting stuck on the end of a bunch of questions. It was my turn to start getting some answers.

“I’ve seen a few people. Not a lot. Like I said I’m sure a bunch of people are still stuck getting their heads crush by Koushinon’s bell. I’m on my way to Miretown. Decided to stop and see about crafting in case I got stuck in the forest. Where are you headed?” Meren’s attitude rubbed me the wrong way. It wasn’t so much how that I was suspicious of her or anything but that she was awfully cheery for a place so dark.

“I guess I’m headed to Miretown as well. Was hoping to find a place to hunker down for a bit while I waited for the Halloween Event to start. If you want, we could travel together.” I asked, heart beating furiously.

What was wrong with me? I was acting like I was in high school again.

“You sure? Cuz, you look like you can barely talk around me. Don’t tell me. You’re a huge nerd in the real world? Thought you could be a big hero in Gods Felled? Yeah, I totally have you figured out. Sure, I’ll travel with you. If you don’t end up getting me killed.” Meren turned and started walking away from me. I stood like a statue, a stupid looking etched on my face. “You coming or what?”

“Yeah… yeah coming.”