Baron had an entire day to wait before Fabio and the dwarf would be done making his armor. He really didn't know what to do. Last time he had this much free time in the city was during the 1 month ban. During that time he kept himself busy pick-pocketing unsuspecting users. He tried doing this again but there wasn't as much satisfaction in it. The money he got was meager compared to hunting. He did manage to Pickpocket a ring with a small strength increase, but it was only worth about a silver. The guards were in greater number because of the increase in players, however they were still unaware of the crimes happening right in front of them. All the users who were higher leveled and had money, were smart enough to keep it in their inventory. Every user Baron pick-pocketed only had 10 or so coppers on them.

Baron spent a couple hours walking around the market. He knew every inch of it like the back of his hand. There were a few new features that hadn't been there before. There were building with added floors, and areas which were once rundown that now looked new. With the influx of players coming to the city, the economy was booming. The NPCs that benefited the most were the unskilled artisans. Blacksmiths and tailors who made cheap, low quality products were a huge success with new players. Often times RR was the first MMORPG game people played. They had no idea the difference between high and low quality products. They would simply find the best product they could afford and buy it. NPC merchants also got an increase in business. With all the new players bringing in mass amounts of rabbit pelts, they had plenty of jobs selling items. Surprisingly though, merchants in the fur trading business were starting to suffer. The price rabbit pelts had decreased from 10 coppers to 1. With so many pelt flooding the market there was 10 times the supply than the demand. Users hadn't gotten to hunting wolf, deer, or bear pelts/hides so those markets were still stable, but it wouldn't be long before the same thing happened to them. Because of RR surprising similarities to real word economy, economists were already using RR to conduct experiments and collect data on economic systems. The hope was that RR would be the key to stabilizing every economy in the real world.

NPC nobility were the ones that benefited the most. In many kingdoms across Versailles Kings raised taxes. Every city where players could start was at the beginning of substantial growth. About 3 months had passed in game, and many cities were already starting plans to extend their walls to accommodate all the people. Certain users who chose the architect profession were capitalizing on this. Because of the large demand for their services there were architects among the highest ranked players in the game. They often had the highest familiarity with nobility as well due to directly getting jobs from them. It had made news about one week after the game came out that the first player to receive an audience with a king was an architect. He was hired to expand the city walls to encompass the slums. After that he had to build various buildings in the slums to help raise the standard of living. The video game community was in an uproar due to an architect having gotten the best quest so far. People who didn't understand the advantages of craftsman professions were dumbfounded.

Baron was walking around the market when he received a whisper from the merchant. They had registered each other as friends at the merchants request. Baron was surprised to find the merchants name was Jim after he saw the name in his friends list. They had done business together in the past but never exchanged names for some reason. Jim was contacting him with a job offer. Several merchants were hiring players to escort them to the city of Gorn. It was a city equal in size to Sai only about a 10 hour walk north. The city really wasn't that far away, but they had to follow the road that wrapped around part of the forest. The pay was 5 silver upfront and 10 more after they were successful. Baron thought about it, but since he didn't have anything to do for the next day he agreed.

Baron met up with the group by the north exit. There were 7 merchants and 12 warriors standing around 3 carts full of items. Everyone there appeared to be players by the way they talked to each other. 4 of the warriors had plate armor while the rest were wearing light leather armor. There was one female in the group who was wearing priestess ropes. She was very pretty and was having a conversation with several of the other guys.

"Don't worry Julia, even if we come across a wolf I wont let it hurt you. I've already made it to level 17 and last time me and my party went to hunt we managed to kill a wolf. It was pretty strong and a couple of my teammates died, but I was able to kill it in the end." One of the guys in plate armor was trying to brag to the female cleric. He had a long sword on his back similar in size to Baron's copper one, although his appeared to be made out of iron.

"WHAT!!???!?! Nick, you actually managed to kill a wolf. That's so amazing!" Baron thought it was odd but the cleric seemed genuinely amazed this guy had managed to kill a wolf, and only one at that. All the other guys standing around shot hateful glances at the wolf slayer. None of them liked the guy getting all the attention from the girl. Everyone's gaze shifted towards Baron as Jim stood up in one of the carts and greeted him. One of the other merchants announced they were ready to leave and everyone started getting ready.

"What? Did we actually spend 20 minutes waiting on a beginner like this? It's not like he'll even be any help. Why didn't we just leave?" Nick who had just been bragging decided to call Baron out. Every other player, including Baron, decided to ignore him. Except Julia who appeared concerned about the whole situation for some reason. Truthfully, the guy would have been justified in assuming Baron was a beginner. Everyone was thinking the same thing, they just weren't going to say anything. Even the other merchants who knew about the wolf pelts Jim sold were having trouble believing it. Baron was still wearing the beginner clothes and one of his weapons looked to be falling apart.

The merchants rode on the carts while their escorts had to walk. There was barely any room in the wagons because of the amount of goods they were bringing to sell. There were piles of pelts, leather, silk, and some produce. All 3 carts together was likely worth 10 gold. More than enough value to justify the protection.

There was some small talk as they walked. Mainly it was Nick bragging about his accomplishments in RR. He was starting to annoy Baron. Some of the other guys felt the same and started their own conversation. They were also talking about RR but none of them were bragging. Baron found out a lot about the group. The lowest leveled warrior was called Thayn and he was only level 8. He had just gotten out of the 1 month restriction and had been grinding rabbits ever since. When he revealed his plan to use the payment to buy knights armor Nick openly laughed at him.

"If you're only level 8 there's no point in even getting the armor because you'll never be a knight. You have to do something like I did and get to know a real knight before you even start leveling. It's the only way." After he said that the kid looked like he was almost in tears. You can't tell peoples age in RR but the way he talked was close to that of a pre-teen. One of the other warriors told Nick to shut the fuck up. It didn't go over well. Another one of the users in plate armor had to break up the fight.

After that ordeal no one really talked. A couple hours in everyone stopped for some lunch. They had about 6 more hours of walking and wouldn't get to eat again till they got to Gorn. Baron sat a couple feet from the group while a couple people talked. There were a few people like him that didn't associate with the others. One of them called Raiden caught Baron's attention. He was tall for a human and was well muscled. The man had plate and leather hybrid armor. It was more mobile than plate armor, but still maintained much of the defense. On his back was a giant one sided battle ax. The handle portion of the weapon was 6 feet long, and the blade covered two feet at the top. If you turned it upside down it would look similar to the letter J. The ax was huge and put Baron's long sword to shame. If he had to Baron didn't think he could block a swing from it.

They planned to stop for 1 hour but most of them finished their food after 10 min. Bored from all the walking Baron decided to go hunt for a little while. He stood up and addressed everyone when he said he would be leaving. It was common courtesy in case anyone had objections of thinning their ranks for an hour. To his surprise Raiden and Thyn asked to go with. No one had any objections so they prepared to set out. Right before they were about to leave Nick stood up and started walking with them.

"It's pretty boring here, I think I'll go with to kill the time." Nick started walking the direction as them but Raiden turned around and blocked his path.

"I don't think that's a good idea. The group needs a big, strong knight like you here to protect everyone in case something happens." Raiden said it in such a sarcastic tone that a couple people started laughing. Nick was about to start another fight but didn't get the chance. Raiden turned around and started walking, completely ignore Nick who had started to say something. 'I like this guy already.' Baron thought.

It didn't take the group long to find a wolf. It was still quite a ways away so only Baron noticed it.

"Hey kid, when the fight starts just sit back and let us take care of the fighting. I don't want you dying on us." Baron knew Thyn would never be able to compete with a wolf.

"Don't worry I've even hunted foxes before. I know how to not die."

"Ya but have you ever hunted a wolf?" It was Raiden who broke the news to the kid. After he said this Thyn's face went pale. He had assumed they were just hunting rabbits. Baron never said his level but he didn't look like he could handle a fox, not to mention a wolf. The kid half expected Baron to show the same shock as him, but Baron's face was the same as ever. Thyn came to the conclusion he was in a party with people who completely out classed him in the game.

Once they got close to the wolf they realized there was two of them. The fight would have been easy for Baron by himself, but with Raiden it wasn't even a fight. His giant ax finished one of the wolves in 3 hits. Baron's weapons didn't have nearly as much damage, but it still took him 7 strikes to kill his wolf. Baron had guessed they were at similar level, but after seeing him fight he thought there may be at least a couple levels between them. Raiden was certainly not someone he wanted as an enemy.

Thyn benefited the most from the fight. Even though he didn't participate he still got enough exp to level up twice. This was the reason people always wanted to party with higher level people. Some people considered the tactic on par with cheating.

The three hunted 11 wolves until their time was up and they had to return to the group. Thyn was the only one to level up, and he leveled up to 15. In terms of levels he went from the weakest in the group to average. Raiden asked Thyn not to say anything to the rest of the group to avoid having to answer any questions. It wasn't a bad thing they were strong, but it wasn't anything they wanted everyone to know.

As they were about to arrive at where the group had been resting they noticed there were a lot more people there than before. The three were careful not to be noticed as they approached the end of the tree line. Although Baron had some difficulty fitting they were able to hide by some bushes about 40 feet from the road. There were in fact more people gathered around the carts. There was 7 bandits searching through the supplies while 16 more were on lookout. The rest of the group was likely dead because they were no where to be seen. Thyn started to say something but Baron gestured for him to be quiet. The bandits were the same level as the ones Baron had fought earlier, but there was so many that they wouldn't have a chance in a fight. The bandits ranged in level from 15 to 28. The ones Baron had fought had been level 20 and were really weak, but a level 28 would make it a different fight. Apparently Raiden had the same thought because he didn't suggest to try to fight. They sat there for 10 minutes until the bandits finished going through the loot. Once they were out of earshot Baron started talking.

"We should follow them. If the chance comes that we can get them to split up we may be able to take them and get the loot back. If there isn't a chance we can still find their hideout and come back later at a higher level." Baron also explained how he had fought some before. After he explained how weak the level 20s were Raiden decided it would be good to follow. Thankfully the bandits didn't have as many lookouts while moving through the forest. If all 16 kept watch like they did on the road they would have noticed Baron at some point.

It took the bandits 7 hours to reach their base. The carts made it hard to traverse the forest. Their base was built into a mountain. All along the side of the mountain you could see see houses built on cliffs. There were various cave opening all around the mountain side that connected the various levels. For bandits the houses looked very technologically built. There were pulley systems made that could be used as elevators carrying food or people up to different levels. There were watch towers built at the base of the mountain guarding the entrance to a large cave. Some bandits in the tower greeted the ones bringing the carts and opened the gates for them. It was uncertain whether their was also houses inside the cave, but there was around two hundred of them visible. It was much more than the 3 of them would be able to take on even if they were twice their level.

The 3 of them waited outside the bandit hideout for 2 more hours before anything happened. A group of 11 bandits came out of the gate. The highest leveled one in the group was 24 and a couple were still in the teens. Baron and Raiden wanted to see how strong they were and decided to follow the group. Once they were far enough away from the hideout they attacked. Baron approached from the right and Raiden from the left. The bandits were caught off guard and didn't even have their weapons drawn yet. Most of the bandits had spears and clubs. Compared to Raiden's giant ax they snapped in half without any effort. The first bandit Raiden hit was only level 19. His ax buried itself into the bandits neck causing a critical hit. The bandit faded into a puff of smoke after only one strike. Baron had similar luck. After he used Unexpected Reach, the level 23 bandit he was fighting was left on the ground in critical condition. Baron turned his attention to another opponent while Thyn finished off the wounded bandit. The bandits were no match for them and the fight only lasted 5 minutes. Even the level 24 bandit fell after three hits from Raidens ax. Thyn managed to kill 3 of them. 2 were already wounded by Baron and the third was only level 16. They all took minimal damage. Baron had lost about 35% health and Raiden lost 40%. Thyn was lucky. His health didn't even drop by 10%. Every one in the party leveled up once, except Thyn who level up twice. Baron reached level 26 and Thyn made it to 17. Raiden revealed his level for the first time. He was level 24 before the fight and now was 25. This surprised Baron. He had expected Raiden to be around level 29. Baron didn't know but the highest leveled player was only at 29. The reason Raiden seemed stronger was because of his weapon. The ax had 26 damage and was above average for its level restriction of 20. Baron's long sword only had 8. Although baron was a higher level he was still fighting with a weapon suited for beginners. Baron also wasn't wearing armor so he took the full damage from every hit. Raiden and Thyn had been surprised at Baron's level. They both assumed his level was similar to Raidens. There were fewer than 1,000 players that had managed to reach level 27. compared to the 10's of millions that were already playing RR it was an amazing accomplishment. Players at Baron's level were 1 in 10,000.

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Nile woke up after sleeping for 11 hours. When he noticed how long it had been he skipped breakfast and quickly logged back in

In RR it had been 44 hours, nearly two days. When he logged in he was in the market of Sai. He was eager to get back to hunting and sent a whisper to Baron right away. 'Hopefully he didn't level up too far past me. Agghhh I'm going to have to play catch up now.'

Since Baron hadn't answered his whisper after 10 minutes he decided to go to the church. As a cleric he hadn't spent nearly as much time there as he should have. Raising familiarity with the clergy was important to get quests and raise the faith stat. It was dark but it was still easy to find the massive cathedral of the church of Lu. He dropped a copper into a donation box on the way in and received a blessing along with +1 faith. Faith was one of the easier stats to raise but you needed more than average. Simply visiting the church could lead to a rise in the stat. Doing odd jobs asked of by priests usually only reward you with faith. Because of this the stat is usually around 50 by level 20. Nile was already at level 21 but only had 27. The faith stat could be viewed as an Affinity with holy magic as well as reputation within the church. Increased faith leads to stronger holy magic. It also raises the effects of holy magic used on you. This is extremely valuable to classes like paladins that fight with clerics as support. The higher the paladins faith stat the more a heal spell with effect them or they will receive better blessings.

Nile went to the main hall and took a seat in one of the pews. The place was relatively crowded and so the only spot devoid of players was towards the front in one of the pews running along the side. Straight in front of him was the left side of the main alter where a priest had just finished his sermon. Along the wall to his back were several doors leading to various other places. The entire place was ornately designed with statues, murals, works of art, and architecture. The ceiling was over 50 feet up and was covered in sculptures. It almost resembled the Sistine chapel only with sculptures instead of paintings. It was amazingly detailed and large. It depicted the formation of the church of Lu along with important parts of its history.

Nile sat in the pew for 15 minutes pretending to pray. Suddenly the Door a couple feet to his left opened and out came the head priest and another man. Nile had met the head priest a couple of times while praying at the church. He was a very godly man who was the perfect embodiment of the churches values. The man that was with him was in full armor. It wasn't surprising seeing a man in armor at the church. What was surprising was that he was a knight rather than a paladin. His armor looked to be made of steel with gold trim and designs. The seal of Gradian was on his chest in the same gold color. Based on his armor alone you could tell he was a high ranking knight in the kingdom. Since Sai was the capital of Gradian there were a lot of knights like that.

The high priest exited first and started looking around the chapel. He appeared in a hurry as he scanned all the faces in the room. When his eyes finally met Nile's an expression of relief swept over his face.

"Ahh! Brother Nile, There is something I need you to do for me if it's not too much trouble." The head priest covered the two stops between them with the knight right behind. Nile quickly stood up and bowed in confusion. The priest did a half bow in a hurry and continued talking.

"Sir Hollis here, has come to request the presence of a priest. The king has decided on a sudden hunting trip and it is customary to receive the church's blessing first. I would usually go, but like I said it is sudden and I already have a prior engagement. All you have to do is bless the hunting party. It shouldn't take more than an hour. If you could please go it would help a lot."

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Bless The Kings Hunting Party

King Drake of Gradian has decided on a sudden hunting trip to commemorate his sons recent marriage proposal. It is tradition for the Church of Lu to bless the royal family before they leave the city walls for any reason. The high priest usually does this, however because of the short notice he already has a prior engagement and can't attend. Go in his stead and bless the King and his son before they leave.

Requirements:

Cleric of the Church of Lu

Know the blessing spell

Be the closest to meet the high priests gaze

Difficulty: F

Reward:

+50 faith

Favor with the high priest

Favor with the royal family depending of secondary requirements.

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Nile quickly accepted the quest in fear that it would disappear. The quest was extremely easy but the rewards were on another level. His faith would more than double, and that was the worst reward. Favor with the high priest could lead to multiple quests and raise his overall reputation in the church. The part about favor with the royal family was the most intriguing. NPC nobles often gave the best quests and favor with them could lead to everything from titles and ranks to fame and fortune. The only problem was that it was impossible to know what the other requirements were. It would be like playing the lottery on whether or not you met them. The requirements for the initial rewards were specific. It's hard to believe there could be anything more.

"This here is Sir Hollis, Commander of the Kings guard. If you just follow him he will take you to his majesty and the hunting party."

Nile followed the knight as they went through the city towards the castle. Sir Hollis was very talkative and gave Nile an explanation and history of everything they saw on their path. Most of which would likely have links to a few quests. All of the guards they saw would stop and bow. Sir Hollis would greet them all by name and keep walking past. Nile gave each an awkward bowing gesture. While walking with the knight he was expected to be bowed to and not to bow to others. If he wasn't with the knight none of the guards would have even acknowledged him let alone bowed. It was a weird feeling for him.

When they arrived at the castle's entrance several guards greeted them and opened the gate. Usually you would have to wait in a line and get your identity checked before being permitted inside. Despite the guards not knowing Nile they still let him in without question. The castle was huge. Even though it was in the heart of a city it was still large enough to hold thousands of people. The courtyard area was also extensive. When the market moved to the outer city, high end shops had been built in the courtyard. The shops had the best artisans in every field. It was expensive to own a shop in the castle, but it promised wealthier customers and better working condition.

There was a group of about 150 soldiers doing drills in one of the clearings. As they walked by the instructor turned and bowed to Sir Hollis. Shortly after all 150 soldiers turned and bowed. The instructor was the first person Nile had seen the knight bow to. They stopped and talked for a few seconds. The instructor was an older gentleman who had long since retired from service. Now he was tasked with training the newest recruits. After they finished talking they started heading closer to the main tower. It was the only structure in the whole city that was larger than the churches cathedral. Their pace was forced to slow because every person they passed in the halls bowed. Sir Hollis even stopped a few times to bow. Every time he bowed Nile did too. They would only exchange short greetings before continuing on their path.

Nile was surprised when he realized their destination was the throne room. He was expecting the stables or someplace near an exit of the castle. When they arrived Sir Hollis was immediately greeted by a hug. The man who had hugged him was older, probably in his later 30's. He was heavier set, and had the most illustrious armor that Nile had ever seen. It put Sir Hollis' gold trimmed armor to complete shame. The knight was also greeted by a hug from another gentleman around the same age as Nile. Both his armor and face had a striking resemblance to the other mans. Several ladies came forward and Sir Hollis kissed there hands. Each of the ladies were wearing elegant gowns and varied in age from about 8 to 60. There were 5 other men present in armor similar to Sir Hollis. They all appeared to be Knights of the King's guard. They all acknowledged Sir Hollis with a simple nod.

"Is this the priest who will be doing the blessing? Why isn't the high priest here to do it?" The heavier gentleman asked.

"He had a prior engagement your majesty. This is Nile. He has come in his stead. The high priest sends his congratulations on your engagement my Prince. He says he is looking forward to the wedding." Sir Hollis switched and started talking to the other man in impressive armor.

"I'll be sure to thank him. Now shall we begin have breakfast now that Sir Hollis and the priest are here." Prince Drake II spoke and everyone started heading out a door.

Nile was surprised they were eating. Having meals with nobility was a major honor. It wasn't something you got to do as part of an F rank quest. The dining table was in the gardens. It had a beautiful view to be expected with nobility. Nile was amazed when he was offered a seat next to the king. Usually it would have been the high priest visiting, and he would have had the highest political rank after the king and prince. At the end of the table was the king and queen. Opposite Nile was the prince and his fiance. Next to Nile was Sir Hollis with the rest of the royal ladies sitting at the end of the table. The other king's guards didn't sit down and instead stood watch by the doors.

As was courtesy Nile was included in every conversation. Mainly they just talked about the hunting trip and princes' engagement. Everyone was overly nice obviously putting on an act like you'd expect nobility to, except the king. He was constantly speaking his mind and on several occasions insulted people who were in earshot. He had a very kingly attitude. The prince almost seemed annoyed by his father's actions. At one point the king noticed the bow on Nile's back. He had forgotten to un-equip it in all the excitement.

"So Nile I see you've got a bow there. You any good?"

"Not at all." Nile said that half jokingly. Everyone at the table let out a small giggle at the remark except the king. He started dying laughing. At one point he even started pounding his fist into the table to help control himself. The joke wasn't even that funny but the king was at the point of crying.

"Not a good archer I see. HAHAHAHAHA well I guess you just need more practice is all. Why don't you come with us on the hunt. You can practice using that bow and its always good to have a priest with you in case something goes wrong. What do you say?" By this point Nile had already been surprised so many times that it should have been expected, but he was still socked silent. The king had to repeat himself before Nile answered.

"I'd be an honor to accompany you your majesty."

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Quest Update: Escort The King On The Hunting Trip

The King has taken a liking to you and offered you a spot on the hunting trip with him and the prince. Keep the King company on the trip and show him your archery skills.

Requirements:

The Kings interest

Difficulty: E

Rewards:

+75 Faith

+200 Fame

Increased favor with the high priest

Favor with the royal family (Amount depending on performance)

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Nile accepted immediately.

Sir Hollis was watching with amusement. It was a greater honor than Nile could ever have imagined. There hadn't been anyone else invited to go on the hunt. Even Sir Hollis who was the head of the kings guard and highest ranking knight in the kingdom hadn't gotten an invite. The king was prone to whims so it wasn't that surprising, however it was still a honor. Most hunting trips would involve 30 or so men along with guards and such. The event would be planned for months and the hunting grounds would often be a few days ride away. This however had been a spur of the moment decision. Since they were staying in the local forest the King had insisted on not having a guard. They had planned to only take a servant boy to carry their catch.

When dinner was finished they proceeded to the stables. The ladies who had been with them stayed in the gardens for dessert and tea. Once at the stables the king and prince got their horses. Each were stallions that appeared to be champion breeds. A stable boy brought out a horse for Nile, it wasn't a stallion but more like a barrel horse. Its legs were shorter and thicker than the stallions. Its coat was an even tan color with its mane and tail slightly whiter. It also didn't have the menacing appearance the other horses did. 'How is this horse ever going to compete with those beasts.' They had decided not to bring a servant boy since Nile was coming and he would be enough extra help. They did bring another horse to carry supplies. It looked to be a similar breed to Nile's horse. The stable boy told Nile his horses name was arrow. When he asked why such a small horse would get a name like that the boy only laughed.

Once they all had their horses Nile was asked to bless the group. To his surprise he wasn't asked to bless Sir Hollis of the other kings guard knights. Once Nile was finished they all started heading for the North exit of the city. As they rode through the city many NPCs stopped to bow. All of the users they saw were either starring in awe at the king or in jealousy at Nile. One user even tried to stop them and talk to the king. He was shouting asking to come with until one of the King's guards took him away.

When they arrived at the north gate all the guards knelled until the king told them to rise. They opened the gates and the three of them and the four horses rode away. Nile turned around once and saw that Sir Hollis, the King's guards, and the exits guards were all watching them leave. Eventually they shut the gate to the city and the hunt officially began.

All Nile Could think the whole time was how many more viewers he would get after this quest aired.