Time was running out. Roth ran with his full might, knowing full well that he was headed in the opposite direction of the Table. As much as he hated disappointing a digital cat or stopping the invasion of evil ones and zeros, life was more important.
That mysterious man’s appearance had been a wake-up call. Roth had started this journey in this MMORPG very violently when he was ambushed and tortured by his former friends. In the wake of that day, nothing had been more present in his mind than the need to run away and get back to the real world. But after a few weeks without sleeping and without seeing the light of the true sun, Roth felt it was harder and harder to stay grounded.
Roth had researched several times whether being stuck in a pod for so long would harm his health. A human mind wasn't meant to stay in immersive VR 24-7. For all the publicity the developers put into VR technology being a perfect replacement for sleep, they also advised players to never stay more than 48 hours in the virtual reality environment. Nexus Co. recommended people leave the game and eat their meals in the real world, go for walks, and even sleep. That was ironic, considering they also advertised that the sleep induced by their capsules provided as much rest as the real thing. He wondered what condition he would be in once he got out of his pod.
30 Steps!
Ratan Dash!
Whenever the speed-boosting skills came off cooldown, Roth spammed them to move a little faster. [Ratan Form] would have been handy here. It was too bad it was on cooldown. The extra dexterity and movement speed would have shortened the journey considerably.
After Drake ordered him to return to Hilsford, he judged the distance between the petrified forest and the next mid-tiered city to be five hours. The trip back to the northwestmost village of the Green Woods was three and a half hours. Between the two, the choice was simple. Roth couldn't believe it. Of the 24 hours given to him by his executioner, four were going to be spent traveling. Worst of all, he was traveling to where he had just left!
H has just transferred 5,000 gold to you.
With this, he had the necessary funds to teleport back to Hilsford. While Roth was stranded in the woods, everyone in the team was working at full throttle in the city, preparing for the move that would hopefully guarantee the guilds’ support and protection.
The key to the plan was Roth's latest upgrade to the [Flagbearer] skill. The rest was up to the connections they had built and the little group of friends his crew had put together. He just hoped that it would be enough to escape the clutches of death. As Roth left the petrified forest, he returned to the greenery he had grown accustomed to. The green didn't soothe the black of the shadow of death looming over him.
The first larva of your colony is born.
Leafies have gained +1xp.
Lea, the Leafie queen, tends to the larva.
Roth clenched his teeth. He didn’t want to feel marveled or excited about the growth of his treeant colony in the small acorn he had in his pocket. No! This was no time for oohs and aahs. This all meant nothing if he didn’t survive. This was the time to run single-mindedly toward a goal.
Checking the map, he found he was close to the road. Its bonus speed would hasten his journey. He ran past a bear and a pack of wolves and finally saw the tree line. As he broke through it and saw the road, he was stunned by the commotion. There were hundreds of people walking in line. They were a mix of NPCs and players, with the NPCs taking the center of the formation and players clad in complete sets of matching armor taking the flanks.
This was the busiest traffic Roth had ever seen on these roads, leading from the beginner region to the cities. What was going on? A few of the players guarding the flanks of the line approached, pointing their weapons at Roth and demanding information.
“You with the aliens?”
“Are you a hivie?!”
Roth recoiled, taken aback by the unexpected hostility. “No. I’m just returning to the beginner region for… a quest.” He spat out.
“Don’t cause any trouble for our quest, and we won’t for yours either,” one of the players warned.
“Wait a minute. What’s going on? Why are all these NPCs on the road?”
“You been livin’ under a rock or something? Don’t you know ’bout the regional event?”
“Well… I’ve heard about it. I’ve been running a dungeon, so I haven’t participated.”
The player studied Roth, trying to gauge whether he was speaking the truth. But as he sensed the rest of the entourage continuing its march, he must have judged that he would save some time if he just gave the answer. “You know that the aliens started by contaminating the slums, right?”
Roth nodded.
“In some cities, they managed to get to the crafting districts, too. The cities’ forces don’t let things escalate more than that. Turns out that each city has these super-duper NPCs called magisters. They step in when things get to a certain point and form a barrier around the citadel and the academic district. No one can break through it.”
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“Oh wow,” Roth tried to sound surprised.
“Cool, uh? Some who join the humans get all sorts of quests to accumulate tickets in those sealed-off areas. But the easiest way to get points is to escort NPCs to a safe place.”
“So, are all these from the cities?”
“Very few! They are mostly from the outskirts, running from the hivies. As we travel, more refugees join in.”
Roth looked at the many elderly and children among the marching crowd, and his heart sank. “Look at all those people,” whispered Roth.
“Oh yeah! All fat juicy event points.”
Roth’s nose twitched, and he twisted his lips at such a heartless statement. “Well, thank you for the explanation.”
“No worries.”
Roth ran ahead of the slow crowd. These players had a quest not too different from the one that Roth had gotten with the sheep. If that were true, there would be obstacles down the road, and he didn’t want to be caught in the middle of the crossfire. That would rob him of precious time. When he stepped on the road, he got the speed bonus he wanted.
The well-built road makes it easier to travel on it. You have gained a [Swift] buff of +10% running speed.
Resuming his run, Roth couldn’t stop thinking about all those people. He felt a little bad about standing Oli up at the Table meeting, but seeing how many more people were suffering because of his inaction broke his heart. He forced himself to continue and soon was ahead of the crowd and alone on the road.
A few minutes ahead, Roth felt someone was watching him. He looked at his speed-boosting skills and, instead of spamming them, decided to save them as a precaution. With each step, the feeling grew. He spared a look at the tree line. Thanks to the [Farsight] skill and the [Creature of the Night] title, he could see the shadows and silhouettes of different players. It was an ambush. Those must be on the alien side.
Roth looked at the system clock and let out a deep sigh. He pretended he hadn’t seen anything and kept running. Once he was sure no one was watching, he got ready for the small detour.
Camouflage!
Roth’s figure blended seamlessly in the background. It looked like his new ring and earrings were no joke. He doubled back. He ran past the ambush site where players on the alien side were getting ready to attack the column of refugees and was able to find the column in time.
He deactivated his camouflage, surprising a player. Panicked, the player yapped and threw a lightning bolt at Roth.
-38
“Ouch! That hurts, man!”
Seeing one of their comrades scream and attack an invader, the nearby guards responded.
“It’s an ambush!”
Fireball!
Lightning Strike!
Hammer of Justice!
Shurikens of Hatred!
Seeing all the skills flying at him, Roth had no choice but to use one of his life-saving skills.
Peace Decree!
The field that broke out of Roth halted the column and canceled all skills and attacks.
Null!
Null!
Null!
Null!
Null!
“I just want to talk, guys! I’m not here to hurt you.”
An esper stepped in. Roth guessed that her level was in the low forties. “What do you want?”
“After the road curves, players on the alien side, hivies, are lying in ambush. I just wanted to warn you.”
“Thanks. We appreciate it.”
Before they could say anything else, Roth took his leave. “Goodbye!”
Camouflage!
Roth’s figure disappeared, leaving the players stunned.
“Loo, what class did that guy have?” one of the players asked the esper.
“I can’t tell. It’s weird. He has medic equipment but can go invisible like rogues and has a quarterstaff on his back like a warrior.”
“Anyway, it was nice of him to give us the heads up.”
“Tell everyone to be careful. This might be a good opportunity to earn even more event tickets!”
*
Roth heard the distant sounds of battle behind him as the hivies ambushed the column. Hopefully, no elderly people or children would get hurt. After a few minutes, he received a notification that surprised him.
Thanks to your contribution, the column survives.
+10 righteousness.
Roth felt a warm sensation in his chest, knowing he had contributed to those NPCs being safe. He had only taken a 10-minute detour, so hopefully, that wouldn’t make or break his mission. As Roth ran, he got a call from H.
“Hey, Roth,” came the quiet voice from the other side. Instead of making a call from a library, he seemed to be in an inn.
Roth noticed that, compared to last time, H’s equipment had received an upgrade. He now had a pair of glasses and seemed like a man who had finally been able to scratch an itch. Roth had noticed how he kept touching his nose and ears, but now those gestures wouldn't be empty anymore. “Hello, H. What’s going on?”
“We’re getting ready for you. Are you traveling?”
“Yes.”
“Can you run and talk at the same time?”
“I can. I still have two hours before I reach the teleportation gate.”
“Swell. Listen, I want to go through all the notes you have of Antioch with you. The idea is to put together a package enticing enough to have the guilds attend an auction."
“OK.”
“Send me what you have.”
As Roth circled around a crowd of monkeys blocking the road, he sent H all his notes.
“Hmmm… This is alright. But we need to make some changes.”
“Like what?” asked Roth. He was curious as to what he had done wrong. He had been as thorough as possible.
“For example, when it says here that you’re unsure if the equipment bought in Antioch can be used outside. Scratch that.”
“I don’t know, H. I mean… I don’t want to be dishonest.”
H kept talking as if Roth hadn’t said anything. “About the pets. Take out the part where you got your tickets from an epic quest. Just say you can gain tickets through quests.”
“B-but…”
“Share the details about the consumables, but don’t add the part about them not working outside the city.”
“H! I won’t lie!”
“You’re not lying. You’re just being selective in how much information you share.”
“No.”
H took his glasses off, cleaned them, and put them back on. It took him a few seconds to do so. Roth wondered if he had done it to calm himself down. “Tell you what, kid. If you want, AFTER someone buys the package, you can share all of this honest information. But put too much stuff in the sales pitch, and you might be giving too much information to the guilds. These are all bright people. If you give them enough pieces of the puzzle, they won’t need to help you anymore. Trust me on this. OK?”
Roth took a deep breath. “I agree. That sounds reasonable.”
“Look at that. You’re growing. Now, the next thing you’ll want to scratch off…”