CHAPTER 1
Welcome to Haven, your second life where you can be who you really are…
I listened to the words as they passed by and then pretty much ignored them. I was about to start playing Haven the VR game that had taken the world by storm ten years ago and was now the best-selling game of all time. Every year new content was made available and levels were added as well as the NPC AIs being dramatically improved. It was said that people could not tell NPCs apart from the real thing anymore. Not that people are so great I thought as I recalled my morning.
I had been asked by Shilo my ex but still a good friend to pick up a few items from the store for her. As I was opening the car door a gust of wind caught it and it made contact with the car beside mine. Unfortunately, the driver had just approached and began to berate me for damaging his car. I quickly looked at it, no damage done and turned to the man and his wife. He was still going on about me banging on his new car. I apologized and explained it was a wind gust and that there was no damage done.
The bugger just would not leave it alone accusing me and muttering to me about his new car. After letting him vent for a few minutes I noted he was just getting on a roll. By now I had more than enough of the guy and told him to fuck off. I don’t mind admitting when I screw up but this was too much. No damage was done to his car, I had apologized once and then let him grind his gears on me for several minutes to vent. But he just would not let it go so I let him know I was done. He shouted “What did you say to me” which was answered with another F-bomb. He took a good look at my face and must have realized the game was over and left with his wife all the while still muttering at me.
Yep, I was sick of people and wanted to get away. I could not afford a vacation away from the city so going virtual was my only hope for some fun, rest, and relaxation. I booked a month off from work and set up the gaming cube. Commonly known as the coffin when they first came out they were now the main way of connecting to the net and playing games, going shopping and doing anything else in life that could be done online. I was a bit of an archaic and preferred using my phone and tablet to do my job. It worked for me and that is all that matters.
The introduction to the game finally ended and I watched as my options were displayed for me to choose. Race, location, faction which could be light or dark and gender. A player could also choose a class but that was something that could be put off till level ten. There were ten starting zones, two were located in the north five in the middle and three in the south. The game world was one big continent with huge inland seas and dozens of mountain ranges. Each zone was divided into several kingdoms but each zone had a hub city. It was where most of the trainers and merchants were. These cities had lots of low-level quests and were the most popular areas to begin the game.
Players could, however, start the game in any village or town they wanted to. Haven was made for people to have fun in and challenge themselves. I decided to start my journey with the game in a small village far to the north. The upcoming patch was going live today and the hub cities were abuzz with players. The admins had posted about the guild Grief having discovered an artifact called the Tears of God. With it in hand Grief had reached out to several other guilds and now five of the largest guilds were joining forces to use the Tears to summon the lesser God Janus who was known as the Gatekeeper. Lore said once he was killed the Keys of Heaven would appear and a whole new continent could be summoned. It sounded fun and all but I suspected killing a God was not going to be easy and while the rewards from the new content would be great, Haven had so much content already that a person could not finish the game unless he played full time for years.
Selecting the village of Timberlake as my starting area I noted with appreciation that the entire north zone was pretty much empty aside from the Hub city. A few trappers, miners and the NPC villages. Cool climate, not too many quests and no one around to be dazzled by your splendor. This was my kind of place. I had decided to wait till I hit level ten to choose a class. The typical classes were available along with some hybrids. While I enjoyed being OP I did not like the idea of having a demon as a pet so warlocks were out. Mages were powerful but one good shot and game over. Warriors depended on the anger management system too much without getting really mad they could not access a lot of abilities.
Priests were kinda cool once you hit level ten you could go dark and become a DPS but they were still fragile. Way better than locks and Mages but still a snowflake. Druids were a fun class and popular thanks to an old series of books published twenty years ago about a Shammy in a VR world. Singing to summon elementals and to DPS was just not for me, that left Rogues and Paladins as well as the Thief. Hunters and Gunmen also were playable but to be honest, nothing appealed to me.
The benefits of choosing a class did not really kick in till a player hit level ten so being classless was not big deal. I would hold out and see what I liked first. Generally, I wanted something pretty self-sufficient and that meant a hybrid class probably a Paladin or Dark Priest. I was not sure that I wanted to be a follower of the Light as a Paladin as that would limit my training to the Hub cities with their major temples or I would have to go way off the beaten path to some hidden monastery. Being a Paladin was a pretty popular choice, heavy armor blessed gear and weapons lots of established chain quests. The ability to self-heal and doing darn good DPS. Always wanted in groups for the buffs and backup heals or tanking abilities.
Yes sir, thinking about all that I decided being a Pally was not for me. I just did not want to be around people or be responsible for them. I looked around the small room I was in and observed a doorway with a green color, green on doorways meant exit. I closed the class selection screen and observed as my basic stats came into play. More would be added as players leveled but to start with all players had twenty-five points and five areas to invest them in.
Stats
Strength
Agility
Stamina
Wisdom
Charm
Luck A Bonus Stat
If I wanted to play solo I would have to choose my own combination of stats. All the different classes came with a preconfigured template, Warriors, for example, would get lots of stamina and strength and a bit of agility but no wisdom. I would have to be careful I did not pigeonhole myself I really needed everything but that would not be the most effective way to develop. Fortunately, Haven was so huge and much of it still unexplored, I was betting that I would find a low-level dungeon near my starting zone.
If I did I would get plenty of low-level gear to help balance out any deficits in my build. Almost all starting zones had several of these dungeons nearby, and when the game first started these starter dungeons were farmed pretty hard. Now, these dungeons were left alone, the gear they dropped was too low a level for players in a hurry to hit the endgame content and with most of the major guilds working at power leveling their new candidates, the need for these starter dungeons had dropped, but it was more work than it was worth to remove them. This should benefit me.
Quickly assigning my points I observed a set of floating dice reaching out and touching them started them spinning and once they stopped I observed I had rolled a nine.
Stats
Strength 7
Agility 4
Stamina 6
Wisdom 4
Charm 4
Luck A Bonus Stat 9
Wow, that was kinda cool having just earned a nine in luck. I had read the higher the luck stat the luckier you were in the game, hopefully, this would work for me. I was pretty much done here unless I choose a class. Deciding that I still wanted to wait until I reached level ten I walked out the green door and observed as everything went dark. Once the light returned I observed I was standing outside of the door with a number 7 painted on it. I was in a wooden hallway, that ended with a set of stairs that went down to the common room.
I could hear the noise of people talking and smell roasting meat and gravy. Taking a deep breath I appreciated the total realism that I was experiencing. Turnin I made my way down the hall to the stairs and slowly went down to the common room. It was a large room with a huge oven in the middle with a round table that surrounded it. Part kitchen part bar it was a busy place with many people eating at the tables and along the booths that edged the outer walls. It was about half full with perhaps fifty people eating and drinking. I was startled when a cute girl grabbed my arm and said, “I am sorry sir, I don’t recall your name, but I have a small booth here if you would like to have some supper?”
I noted everything seemed to freeze and a small dialogue window appeared, and I read, “Please choose your gaming name at this point. Names can’t be changed so choose wisely.”
I nodded to myself, I had heard of people who had to choose crazy stupid names to join a guild, sadly, things that were once popular faded and guilds dissolved but the names remained. Some had to delete the account and start over while others just quick playing. One player had apparently been banned for refusing to change his name. Shudafucup was asked twice and then the banhammer came down. Some people had found his name offensive and reported him. For me, I just wanted to have an average easy name. Half an hour later I realized that easy average names were gone. I was getting sick of the message, “That name has been chosen, please select another.”
Taking a deep breath in I said Octo and waited, after several seconds I read, “ The name has been accepted, please enjoy Haven Octo.” I began to relax as the movement came back to the world, and I felt the barmaid guide me to a small booth. As I sat down she smiled at me and said, “I will be right back with some beer and some of the Roast elk on fresh bread covered in Gravy. Then with a wink, she was gone and I sat still just observing the crowd. There was no way that this could not be a scene from real life, except that the place was to clean, the people did not smell and no one was being an ass.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
I could just stay here for the month I thought as my mind wondered. With the two to one time dilation, it would seem like two months. I could live with that I thought but even in a game, you had to pay for stuff. Inns cost from one silver to one gold per night and opening my bag display with a thought I noted that I had twenty empty slots and 4G99S in my wallet. 100 coppers per silver, 100 silvers per gold and 100 gold per platinum. Money was easy in Haven and each quest rewarded a percentage of XP and cash. This Inn only charged me 1 silver per night which was great, but looking around I knew that I had to head out at some point, I would just get bored here after a couple of days.
I had planned on my activities for the next few days to keep me busy, first, gather all the baby quests in the village and do them which would only take a couple of days tops and should get me to level two. Then buy some basic gear and weapons and begin to explore the woods and farmland around the village. Once I found a low-level dungeon I could claim it which would stop anyone else from entering it till I had finished it. Then farm the dungeon till I was done. Fortunately, players can set the revive point just in the dungeon which stopped PK players from kill camping them over and over. Also once the first level of a dungeon was cleared it would not respawn giving players some safety. Once in a dungeon, no one can see you and you are safe from anyone outside the dungeon.
The pretty barmaid approached and dropped off a large plate full of meat and gravy and a huge mug of beer. Grabbing a silver from my bag I dropped it into her hand and told her “Thanks.” Her eyes widened at the silver and then she gave me a big smile and slowly walked away. I could hardly take my eyes off her as she seemed to be much more sensual as she strolled to the bar. Shaking my head and laughing I began to eat, the taste was great and the beer was ice cold. When I was finally done I thought my gut would pop but in truth, I felt full but had no sign of the lead belly. I could grow to love eating in the game I thought. Glancing out one of the windows I saw that it was still light out, summer time in the northlands. The light be visible till around 11:00 pm Glancing at my minimap display I saw that it was now about 5:00 pm, standing up I made my way to the door and stepped out.
In an attempt to make the game as realistic as possible no NPC would walk around with an exclamation mark over their heads nor a question mark showing that the quest was completed. To find a quest you could go to a big quest board located near the center of town and touch one of the quests listed. Alternatively, a player could talk to any NPC and receive a quest if they had one. This was also the main way to discover hidden quest chains that all locations were supposed to have.
Walking slowly I nodded and smiled at the villagers as I made my way towards the center of the village. Suddenly a world chat screen opened up and I read, “The guild consortium lead by Grief has used the Tears of God and summoned the lesser God Janus in the Hub city of Centralport. The guilds have attacked with many non-guild players joining in attacking the God. A count of over a five thousand players is engaged in combat with a steady stream of players porting into the city to attempt to attack the God. One hit on Janus assures the player of a portion of the XP as well as a chance to roll on gear, which is thought to be part of the Divine tier.
Grimacing I swiped the world chat away from my view, I was not interested in the event. Finally standing in front of the quest board I observed only three quests. This first was, “Little Toby the puppy has escaped, he likes to run around the village, find him and return him to his family. 100 XP and 5 silver. The second quest stated, The Widow Olga needs assistance in her summer garden, harvest her crops and water her plantings. 200 XP and 1 silver and a belt which is hand made. Continuing on I read the last quest, “The mayor is willing to pay 500 XP and 1 gold for any adventurer who can track down the lair of the Gobbys.” I accepted all the quests and then began to walk around the village looking for little Toby.
It became apparent that the village was larger than I had thought and it took about an hour to walk the circumference. I was near one to the gates in the wooden palisade when I came across Toby, he was sleeping against the fence. Scooping him up I observed an arrow appear on my minimap and followed it till I arrived at a two story log house. Knocking on the door I greeted the man who opened the door. “Looks like I found your dog,” I said as I handed him the sleeping puppy.
“My thanks, here is something for your trouble.” I let the coins drop from his hand into mine and smiled, “Your welcome,” I replied then I turned around and left. In this game with the advanced AI that the NPC had being polite would help more than being rude. Most players did not get that and struggled when they had to develop a reputation with different factions. Some players had even been jailed ingame for inappropriate actions. When a woman says no it means no even if they are an NPC.
Walking back to the Inn I noticed several stalls were still open. Seeing a tobacco stall I approached the counter and talked with the man selling his tobacco. “Most people prefer the pipe, but several folks like the papers. What is your pleasure, sir?” Now I smoke, it is not fashionable nor really accepted in modern society but we all have our vices. I started in the military and have continued off and on since. I appreciated that you can smoke in Haven. It had been a risky decision by the developers but in the end, they had pointed out that almost every fantasy story and movie had people smoking pipes. People had protested but the ones that were really offended did not need to play.
Purchasing a bag of tobacco and a bundle of rolling papers I set off towards the Inn glancing at the hustle and bustle of the village as the evening farmers market started to come to a close. I was about to leave the small square when I noted a small tent with a table set up in front of it. Curious I walked over and looked at the table. It was covered in cheap daggers and swords. All low level and worthless, If I had chosen a class I would have received a better starter weapon appropriate for my class.
“Do my wares interest you?” I glanced over at the man sitting in the tent, he had a dark complexion and black curly hair. Shaking my head I said, “It is all low level not really worth purchasing, as it will be discarded within one level. If you have anything better I will look at it, but not for these crazy prices for this kind of junk.” I waited as we stared at one another, after thirty seconds I turned to leave, I guess you can find dickhead NPC within the game I thought. As I was about to step away I heard the merchant say, “It is obvious that you are discerning, so I will make you a deal. For one gold I will sell you this chest, I found it on my travels, and while I know a thing or two on how to open a lock I have never managed to open this. What do you say?”
I looked back with curiosity, he was holding a long and narrow chest, it could have held two swords or several daggers. The workmanship was exceptional and the chest itself was in a blue haze. A rare item. Grabbing a gold I tossed it at the merchant and then grabbed the chest. Stuffing it into my bag I made my way back to the Inn. Stopping in the common room I sat down with several NPC from the village and bought a round of drinks, and then another. It is all about earning reputation I thought as I entered my room. Taking off my shirt I collapsed on the bed and quickly fell into a dreamless sleep.
The morning arrived too early for me but much to my surprise I felt full of energy. Deciding to make it an early day I grabbed a coffee as I left the Inn, then I began to follow the arrow on my minimap as I made my way to the widow Olga's place. I knocked on the door of the small cabin and as I waited, I noted the neat yard with flowers and hedges. Around the side and in the back I could see a large garden and several fruit trees, it looked like apples and pears. The door opened and an attractive woman in her fifties stood there looking at me.
I smiled and said, “Hello, you must be Olga, I saw you were looking for help on the board in town and I thought I would see if you still needed any assistance?” I smiled at her and waited for her reply, usually, these quests would repeat but I doubted that anyone had actually done them for a long long time. This village was in the middle of nowhere, not the kind of place that people came to.
Olga continued to look at me and then said, “I have a need for my fruit trees to be harvested and my garden watered. If you can fill up two barrels, one for the apples and one for the pears then water my garden I will feed you for the day and pay you what I can, plus I will give you one of my hand made belts. What say you, stranger?”
I nodded and replied, “Widow Olga I will do all that you ask, and begin now if I may, but one question, where is the ladder I will need to harvest the fruit?” Looking around at the trees I could tell I would need a ladder. They were about twenty-five feet tall and had many high hanging fruits. I would need a ladder to harvest the top half. Following the widow Olga, I grabbed the ladder from the back of the house and a couple of small buckets. I then spent the first three hours of the morning picking all the low fruit from the bottom half of the two trees.
I stopped for a smoke around 10:30 and put on world chat, it was full of the fight with the God. He was down to half life and tiring, there were now 50 thousand players attacking him with most of the original five guilds having been spent to respawn countless times. I shuddered to think what the repairs bills would be like, the higher the level and the better the gear the more costly the repairs. I soon had the ladder out and was busy harvesting the top of the trees, after working for another three hours two things occurred. First I heard a ding and then saw that I had gained another point in agility. Swinging from the upper branches had proven to be one way to develop agility. I opened my stats and saw that the point had been added.
Stats
Strength 7
Agility 5
Stamina 6
Wisdom 4
Charm 4
Luck 9
Not bad I thought as I lowered myself down to the ladder. I was heading down as the second thing that had happened was Olga calling me for lunch. The meal was simple but good, a hearty chicken stew and home made black bread with tons of butter on it. Finishing off the lunch I made my way to the corner of her yard where a small stream cut across. I had finished filling both fruit barrels and now was the time to water the garden. I managed to fill both of my buckets up walk a few steps and empty them in the garden. I repeated the process many times that afternoon only stopping when the garden had received a good watering.
Olga had been preparing supper as I finished, roast kebabs with tomatoes and onions and lamb. It tasted even better than it smelled and it smelled pretty good. After eating my fill I turned and thanked Olga. “That was a great meal, very satisfying. Thank you for the meals and the work.”
She nodded and then handed me one silver and a small wrapped item. “Take this with my thanks,” she said. “I am too old to climb the ladders and haul the water so I appreciated your hard work. This belt is my handiwork and is a good item for you. Now I must clean up and get ready for the night.
I nodded the hint was obvious it was time to go. Thanking her once again I headed for the Inn. I was not that tired but decided to have a couple of beers and then go to bed. I hoped that I could talk to the locals and gain some information about the surrounding area, maybe get lucky and find a dungeon even. As I walked towards the Inn I once again put on world chat, the God was down to 30 percent, but things were slowing down. Half of the hub city was destroyed and people were dropping out of the fight. The God would lose but at an extremely high price that the players would have to pay. I was glad I was far away from there. The rest of the evening passed in a pleasant time of smoking drinking telling stories and gaining a little information.
Apparently, there was an old mine half a days journey to the west, and I would bet one gold that was the dungeon. The other news I heard was the Gobbys were also seen leaving the village and farms and they always headed west. I might be able to kill two birds with one stone, I thought just before heading up to bed. I glanced at the chest I had bought from the merchant, I would have a closer look tomorrow after breakfast, and with that, I was out.