*ding*
[box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=50% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=middle width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][pc]Class has been changed to 'Prophet'![/pc][/col][col colspan=4 valign=middle width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][pc]All Stats have increased by 25 points![/pc][/col][col colspan=4 valign=middle width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][pc]New Skill Learned: Miracle![/pc][/col][col colspan=4 valign=middle width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][pc]New Stat Created: Charisma![/pc][/col][col colspan=4 valign=middle width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][pc]New Title created: Holy Wanderer![/pc][/col][col colspan=4 valign=middle width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][pc]New Bonuses have been applied![/pc][/col][col colspan=4 valign=middle width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][pc]Fame has been reset to 0![/pc][/col][col colspan=4 valign=middle width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][pc]New Class Quest created![/pc][/col][col colspan=4 valign=middle width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][pc]All Active Skills have been prohibited from use![/pc][/col][col colspan=4 valign=middle width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][pc]Luck has increased by 25 points![/pc][/col][/box]
What the hell?!
TeddyPicker's heart stopped beating as he read the messages.
Loss of Fame AND skills ban...For a moment there I thought I was going to get a break...
-Stat and Skills Window-
Stat Window
[quart=Character name,Alignment]TeddyPicker,Divine[/quart]
[quart=Level,Profession]35,Prophet[/quart]
Title
Holy Wanderer
Fame
0
[quart=Health,Mana]5480,1850[/quart][quart=Strength,Agility]228,160[/quart][quart=Vitality,Endurance]241,47[/quart][quart=Wisdom,Intelligence]150,150[/quart][quart=Perseverence,Art]74,296[/quart][quart=Luck,Leadership]30,0[/quart][quart=Faith,Charisma]60,0[/quart]
Attack
300
Defense
80
[quart=Fire,Water]25%,0%[/quart][quart=Earth,Black]0%,25%[/quart]
Magic Resistance
Holy Wanderer title provides:
+10% Movement Speed
+25% Black Magic Resistance
[box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=left width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]
? Identification – Intermediate Lv. 8 30%: Learn the true value of unidentified items, as well as hidden properties.
--Cost: N/A – Prohibited from use.
? Sword Mastery – Beginner Lv. 3 60%: Increases hit-rating and power for swords.
? Tailoring – Intermediate Lv. 4 95%: Create cloth armour and light armour with varying effects.
? Sculpting – Beginner Lv. 7 10%: Sculpt and engrave using various materials.
? Blacksmithing – Advanced Lv. 7 65%: Forge and create weapons and armour using metallic materials.
? Weapon/Armour Polishing - Intermediate Lv. 4 30%: Increase the defence rating of armour, or durability of weapons.
--Cost: N/A – Prohibited from use.
? Weapon Sharpening - Intermediate Lv. 7 90%: Increase the attack rating of a weapon temporarily.
--Cost: N/A – Prohibited from use.
? Repair - Intermediate Lv. 8 20%: Repair or re-forge weapons and armour
--Cost: N/A – Prohibited from use.
? Handicraft - Advanced Lv. 2 25%: Affects various craft and hand-related skills
? Miracle - Beginner Lv. 1 00%: Varying Divine Effects. Can only be used once per day.
--Cost: N/A – Prohibited from use.
[/col][/box]
I guess I have to be thankful that my main skills are still usable, he thought, resentfully. Good thing I don't have many active skills.
-New Quest Information-
Religious Pilgrimage.
As the chosen prophet of Ishtar, you must undertake a sacred pilgrimage. Travel into the Plains of Despair to Byr-Syria to visit the ancient lands. You may not speak to anyone during the pilgrimage.
You cannot reject this quest.
Restriction:
Prophet Class Quest, Religious Quest
Reward:
Skills related to class.
His eyes widened in shock at the insane quest. For a fleeting moment he was tempted to delete his account! The Plains of despair was on the complete other side of the continent!
Goddammit! He thought, angrily. Or should I say Ishtar-dammit? Who the hell is Ishtar?!
When he had selected his blacksmith class almost two years ago, he had promised himself he would go through whatever hardships came his way.
Admittedly, I never once thought this would happen, TeddyPicker frowned. You know what; this is all Hinder's fault!
For some reason, having someone to blame made him feel better.
**
Mark typed furiously. The basic steps of how he would complete the quest were almost recorded.
For someone like himself, an experienced game-breaker, having his plan written down helped him visualize how to overcome a situation. There wasn't a game Mark couldn't defeat when he sat down and planned all his steps.
The Prophet Class and Ishtar... an hour of searching on the forum with no results...
Ishtar – a Babylonian Goddess that governed fertility and love... and war and sex...
TeddyPicker soured at that last part. If he was the 'prophet' then it meant this 'Ishtar' was going to want him to spread her domain. He already had visions of him being the most hated user in Royal Road.
Or she'll want me to start a religious war...
Ishtar was not one of the Major Gods, and Mark wasn't even aware that other Gods existed in the game. That meant that Ishtar's following would be minute, or non-existent, and if he started spouting ideologies about a new god, all the religious factions would turn hostile. The thought turned his stomach.
Why can't I play a game that relaxes me? His thought was ironic. Mark could never get into a 'casual gamer' attitude. When he had started playing games at a young age, he started with 'Play-to-Win' approach. It had stuck with him through all the years.
That was also how he had started playing Royal Road. In TeddyPicker's first reincarnation in Royal Road, part of his strategy was to impede other user's progress. He had become a part-time player killer. It was a natural conclusion that the more people die, the harder it becomes for them to complete their skill progression, and the further away from finishing the game they get. While Mark stopped counting, he was sure the amount of player-kills he had numbered in the tens of thousands, since his infamy had risen to over 12 000.
He had deleted that account and started in a decidedly different direction, choosing a craftsman profession.
Now I'm at the cusp of something I definitely won't be able to control. Again!
Mark browsed the Dark Gamer's forum now. His only option to complete the quest was to hire someone to escort him. Since his rank in the forum was 'B', he was allowed to browse user accounts lower than him. While most accounts simply had a username, some of the users who traded in paid-service requests attached a Royal Road résumé – basically their base class, level and main skill proficiency.
Since the privacy level of the site was top-notch, the little information they provided was safe with the B-grade users, A-grade users and the moderators, the S-grade users.
He searched until he found a good candidate. He began typing a message.
Looking for an escort from the Subain Kingdom to the Plains of Despair, Byr-Syria region.
Bring a suitable companion – same pay.
Details will be provided if you accept.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Pay is 10 000 Gold.
Mark found two more candidates and sent them the same message. 10 000 Gold wasn't an enormous amount, however the request was simply escort duty, and would only last for about 2 weeks in real life.
Since the level of the quest would rank about 'D' or 'C', he only needed to get players who were around the 250 level.
Now, all that was left to do was wait.
**
Ji-hoon was a low-level admin clerk at Unicorn Company. His only job, split between 3 people, was to monitor the Hall of Fame and notify his managers of any big changes.
That was the reason he was walking as fast as he could. A player had suddenly dropped out of the hall of fame ranking!
"Mr Lee, sir," Ji-hoon said, knocking on the office door.
"What is it? I'm busy."
Ji-hoon entered the office. "I won't take up much time, sir." He handed over two print outs.
Mr Lee sighed, "What am I looking at?"
"Ah, sorry sir, these are the lower ranks of the Hall of Fame – from 400 to 500 – as well as their registered quests, if they had any," he explained. "One is from yesterday, the other is from today."
Mr Lee glanced carefully. "I don't see anything. Is there a system error?"
Ji-hoon shook his head. "No sir. Yesterday a user named TeddyPicker had close to 7 000 fame. When I checked today, he wasn't on the Hall of Fame list anymore. That means his fame fell below 5 000," Ji-hoon explained.
Mr Lee nodded. While having a fame of 7 000 is noteworthy, it wasn't even close to the top ten users. A drop of close to 2 000 fame in a single day, however, meant something drastic had happened.
Or the user deleted his account, he added to himself.
"I assume you looked up the reason?" Mr Lee said, expectantly.
"Yes, sir, but there wasn't any available information," Ji-hoon paused for a second then said, "I did manage to find out that his fame dropped all the way to 0."
Mr Lee's eyes widened. A 7 000 drop in fame was devastating for a user. Not only did that affect your character in the game, it also meant there was virtually no chance of getting back onto the hall of fame, which also paid users for their video updates.
"So he deleted his account, for what reason?"
Ji-hoon shrugged. "That's all I could find out, sir."
Mr Lee nodded and waved the clerk away.
That was a curious story. I wonder what happened to this TeddyPicker user...
**
TeddyPicker was dressed in a dark maroon cloak with a hood. Thanks to his tailoring skill, it had a bonus effect to keep the user shaded. Currently he was camped out in the wilds, just off the road. Accompanying him were the two Dark Gamer users.
The first, a user by the name of Kain, was a level 270 Knight. He used a concealment charm, so TeddyPicker wasn't able to discern the exact value of his armour. The man was about thirty years old, and the armour he wore looked like it fit him well. He had blond hair and plain features, and his nose looked like it had been broken a few times.
The second user was a blond woman by the name of Grace, who looked about the same age, though she wore her age well. She was a level 290 Druidic Sage, which seemed to be similar to a cleric of some sort. TeddyPicker had never heard of the class before meeting her. But, one thing he had learned about her, though, was that she had at least Intermediate level Cooking Skill.
She prepared meals TeddyPicker hadn't even heard of. Even if he didn't speak, the other two could hear the loud rumbling of his stomach to know how he felt whenever she cooked!
Perhaps I should have taken up the cooking skill, he thought, while having a second helping of the simple stew she had made. Even this is just a rabbit stew, but it tastes so good!
Often he watched her little when they stopped, and she was about to start cooking. She simply went to the woods or forest nearby, and within a handful of minutes she returned with a dear or a rabbit or two. And live ones no less...
She never stops smiling, even though she leads the poor animals to death... He took another spoonful of the stew. Well, to our bellies actually!
They'd been travelling for a week. Most of the journey had been very calm, and they'd crossed three borders already. All communications were handled in the real world, so no time was wasted while they travelled. They were making great time.
The power of horses showed its true glory. As long as they rested periodically and didn't push the beasts, they got a great amount of distance covered each day. Now, in the Kingdom of Haven, they had the great river to cross.
Without another word, they began clearing the campsite. The interval they rested lasted just long enough for Grace to cook and for Kain to water and feed the horses. Almost immediately they began packing up and clearing the campsite. They were a surprisingly efficient team.
After a few hours of travelling they reached the water-taxi station, one of the few points to cross the river. Kain stepped forward and began negotiating the fee. He came back to them.
"The price is 1 gold per person, 2 for each horse." He looked expectantly at TeddyPicker, who simply nodded and handed over the 9 Gold. The amount he had budgeted for the trip was 500 Gold pieces. Most of the time, he didn't have to worry about food; it was adding up to quite a bit of money saved.
Within a matter of minutes they were all standing on a great wooden barge, much bigger than the space needed for 4 passengers.
"Th' barge i' made fer a' leas' a hunder'd men an 'err horses," the ferryman explained, almost gleefully. TeddyPicker had to listen carefully to pick out the words from his accent.
He had an instant distrust of the man. He was smelly, despite living next to a river, and his clothes were in tatters. He seemed too happy for someone who lived in apparent poverty.
He chatted happily for the next 30 minutes, before stopping, mid-way in the river.
"All righ', my genn'folk," he said. "Han' o'er yer goodies or ye'll find yerself tryin'a swim wi' a blade in yer belly." He struck the barge hard with the paddle, and instantly 10 men sprang out of the water, encircling them.
TeddyPicker slyly edged behind Grace.
Fufufu...Now at least I'll get to see how much a 12 000 Gold bodyguard is worth, he thought, evilly.
Kain sighed, as if he'd been expecting this sort of thing. He drew a dark blade dramatically and the ten men took a step back.
Or at least they tried to. Dozens of thin vine stalks were wrapped around each one of them, growing from the very wood of the barge. TeddyPicker glanced over at Grace to see her eyes closed in concentration. With every passing second the vines got thicker and stronger. Within moments the thin stalks growth had turned into strong thick vines.
Without saying a word, Kain moved forward. With a single deadly swing, he mercilessly slew each and every one of the men on the barge. Then he turned back to the ferryman. "You were saying?"
The ferryman barely had any time to react before he found the point of Kain's blade resting beneath his chin.
"Take us across and I'll consider letting you live." He drew his sword back, and the ferryman nodded his head vigorously.
As soon as the barge reached the other side, however, Kain promptly drew his sword and chopped the poor man's head off. As his body disappeared, the two Dark Gamers mounted up, unconcernedly. After a moment, TeddyPicker followed suit.
I should remember not to cross these two, TeddyPicker thought, with a slight shiver.
**
TeddyPicker surveyed the landscape. The Plains of Despair had no markers or road signs, and he had no map to navigate with. He simply stood there watching the empty plains.
After a few more minutes Grace moved her horse to stand next to him.
"Shall I help you?" She asked, seeing he wasn't moving.
TeddyPicker nodded.
She nodded then closed her eyes. After about two or three minutes of silence a single vulture descended from out of nowhere and landed near her horse.
"Show us the nearest village," She said to it.
Kain edged his horse closer and said, "And tell it to warn us of any approaching wild beasts. I didn't come here to engage every wild monster that wants to attack us."
Grace nodded at his logic. "Warn us if a wild beast approaches."
Grace remained stationary for a few moments before beginning to move forward. Kain immediately began following her.
For whatever reason it was, Grace received spectacularly accurate directions. Within two hours of steady riding they were within sight of the first village. When they arrived, TeddyPicker dismounted and stood at the village entrance. No notification window appeared and neither did any of the villagers approach him.
TeddyPicker mounted again and shook his head. After a short while they began moving again, following Grace's vulture.
They continued for another 8 hours in this fashion, unwilling to stop in the middle of the plains. TeddyPicker was now thoroughly uncomfortable on the back of the horse. His two temporary companions had agreed to make camp near the next village. TeddyPicker was secretly glad, though he didn't say anything.
As the distance to the approaching village shortened, TeddyPicker began sensing a feeling of dread. Some sort of instinctual sense of impending doom got stronger and stronger as he approached the village.
From the distance he could see a figure waiting a short distance outside the village. A short figure.
...it can't be...
A dwarven figure.
No...
A familiar dwarven figure.
Fuck...
A familiar, red-bearded, dwarven figure.
Motherfucker...
Within a few minutes TeddyPicker stood in front of a face he had seen every day for the last few years. TeddyPicker felt like shouting, screaming, something!
"Welcome to the Dwarven Village of Byr-Noldim," the red-bearded dwarf said, greeting them. "My name is Hinder."
**
:arrow: Chapter 3