MoMagicMoProblems and I sat on the steps of the Hernberg mausoleum and sulked. I was hesitant to admit it but there was really no other way to describe our situation. We were broke, had lost our farming location, and had our confidence rattled badly. I sighed and looked around.
The cemetery in Hernberg was actually rather quaint. The town itself was drab and had a too serious feel about it, but the cemetery was a large open space with well maintained grass, lush trees, and a garden-like feel that the rest of the city was lacking. Sighing again I checked my level. It still read fourteen.
I’d been so close to fifteen. I’d been fourteen for a day before the fight and killing all those idiot fighters had leveled me. Unfortunately, Otherworld always applied your XP gains after the fight. So I’d died, lost a level, then immediately leveled back up to fourteen. I was chomping at the bit to get to fifteen. According to the forums that’s when you’d unlock your second class ability.
The forums said there were some people who were supposedly level twenty plus already,. I could have been as well but I was trying to get as much stat gain out of every level as possible. There was some arguments on the forums about which way was better but I’d made my choice. MoMagicMoProblems was feeling it even worse than I was. He was getting close to level ten and had stumbled at the finish line. I could tell he was getting restless. He liked adventuring with me, but he was itching to be out on his own for a while.
“Sorry again man..” MoMagicMoProblems said looking upset. He’d taken the loss pretty badly and blamed himself for the fight. Granted, he had made a mistake but he was a new player and it was bound to happen. Had the enemy been in a fixed position then his blizzard spell would have been perfect to mask our approach from their mage, but in the open and on defense the spell had merely wasted all his mana, while the mage had been able to back away and wait us out.
“I told you already stop apologizing. It was one fight, shit happens.” I said shrugging.
“But if I’d have done anything useful we would have won.” he said petulantly. I rolled my eyes. Ahhh, to be young and emo again.
“Yes. If you had fought the wizard while I defended you from the rest of those idiots we would have won. If you have CC’d the fighters while I chased the wizard down we would have won. If I had 20 more HP we would have won. If their mage had 20 less mana we would have won. If I’d have heard that rogue sneaking up on me we would have won. If their second caster had done anything that fight we might have lost and it wouldn’t have even been close.” I explained exasperated.
“That’s how PvP works. There’s a dozen different things that could go any of a number of ways that shape every fight. They attacked us, we fought, it was close, and we lost.” I said. “I learned a lot of things I need to work on. Hopefully you did as well. For our first actual PvP fight it could have gone much worse.” I said shrugging.
“So what do we do now?” he asked.
“Leave most likely.” I said pondering possibilities. “Even if we’d have won the fight, they would have just come back with more guys to chase us out. We’d have had to kill the boss right away and leave before they came back. We might be able to take them if we fought better, but we’d likely have to kill all of them repeatedly before they gave up on their scheme to own this area like their own little fiefdom. By the time we managed that, your apprenticeship would be over and we’d likely be at a level where we’d wanted to leave anyway. Kicking those bastards in the teeth would be gratifying but wasting weeks of my time on petty vengeance is too much like letting them win.”
“That’s only if you look at it from the perspective of self gain. Think of all the good you could do.” A sultry voice said from beside me. I noticed that MoMagicMoProblems had stopped moving completely. I sighed for the third time in as many minutes. It was hard to hold onto my bitterness listening to her but in my current mood I could manage.
“What do you want?” I said tiredly. I turned and met a pair of bright golden eyes looking down at me with an amused light. Baria stood next to me looking as beautiful as ever in her Greek goddess getup. Her golden hair reflected the light of the mid-day sun, and I had to clench my hands at my sides to keep from trying to run my fingers through it.
“I want you to kick those bastards in the teeth, as you so eloquently stated.” She said with a smirk. I turned away from her. It was impossible to resist when you were looking right at her. Her presence was like a balm to the soul. It made you just want to relax and let all your anger, fear, and frustration melt away.
“You were apparently listening to me. So you should have been here when I said how difficult and pointless the whole thing was.” My voice had lost most of it’s anger and now I just sounded sullen. We both knew she was manipulating me and we both knew there was little I could do about it. She was a goddess. She could just turn me into a toad and force me to re-roll if she felt like it.
“I couldn’t turn you into a toad actually. Nor do I desire to do so.” She said looking impatient. “I told you, I want you on my side. Intimidating you into being my ally, will only gain me someone who’s constantly trying to undermine me.”
She can read my mind…..
That was another unfortunate piece of news. She had helped me, but I was very skeptical of her motives. “Your a goddess, You restored my memories and got me my character back. Don’t tell me you couldn’t just zap me into a slug.”
“Yes, I am a goddess and like most deities that means I am powerful, but that power is bound by rules.” She explained. "It’s a bit like being able to move a mountain but only the granite ones, and only in a single direction. Impressive to be sure but not as useful as it would seem."
I scowled. We both knew I was going to cave but I wanted something in return. “Answer me this at least. What’s in it for you?” As she’d said, gods and goddesses didn’t go around wielding their power willy-nilly. When they interfered in the lives of mortals directly it was usually for a reason and nearly always for self-interest.
“Ever the cynic my geomancer.” She said fondly. “Normally the behavior of such players is inevitable. Unfortunate, but a dozen players making nuisances of themselves is hardly grounds for divine intervention. However, these particular nuances have crossed a line. Had you won your battle earlier the situation would have resolved itself and my involvement would have been unnecessary. You’d have likely broken their spirit and scattered their members. After their rather ignominious defeat by those delightful girls a few days ago their power-base was already frayed. Now however, we must take a different tack.”
I sighed for the fourth time. “If you like the orc so much make her do it.” I said sullenly. I sounded like a child being forced to eat broccoli but I really just wanted to leave the city and get back to making money.
“Oh come now, this is supposed to be a game for your kind; grand adventures, epic powers, romance, fights between gods. Isn’t this what you signed up for?” She asked, turning her full forced smile in my direction. “Besides I’m still waiting on the she-orc. She’s not quite ready yet and this job requires your rather special talents. ”
I raised a skeptical eyebrow. I wasn’t aware I had any special talent besides a hitting things really hard and the occasional bout of creativity in regards to the game's skill system. My eyebrow made Baria smile even more brightly, effectively scrambling my brains. “When you need something fixed you ask a woman to do it. When you need something broken you ask a man.” She flicked her wrist and a blue message window appeared in front of my face as Baria vanished. “Break them for me my hammer.” Her voice echoed in my mind as the world returned to motion.
The Corrupted KnightsThe Guild Knights of the Round Table have made themselves a menace in Hernberg. Investigate their dealings, expose their secrets, and save Hernberg from their oppression.
Level: ???
Difficulty: ???
Rewards: ???
“Woah, when did we get a new quest?” MoMagicMoProblems asked beside me as I sighed for the fifth time.
*********************************************************
“So what kind of armor do you want?” Chris asked as we loaded our plates with General Tso’s, crab rangoon, and spring rolls. We’d decided to get out of the apartment for while and had headed over to our favorite Chinese place for lunch. It was the day after my mishap and I hadn’t logged back in yet. I hadn’t talked to Chris in real life for a few days which was sad since I’d been about 20 feet from him the entire time.
“I told you medium already.” I said confused, as we made our way over to the table and sat. “Still have nothing but a cloth shirt and pants.” I said as I bit into a spring roll. Fried food was the best food.
“I know that” He said with an eye roll. “but that doesn’t exactly narrow it down. That leaves me about a hundred different styles and options.” He said exasperated.
“Ugggggggh, I came out here because I wanted to stop thinking about Otherworld. It’s just way too depressing. Can’t we talk about something else?” I said groaning.
“Alright” He said changing topics. “Who do you think’s gonna win the central this year?” He said grinning.
I put my head on the table then banged it down a few times for good measure. “How is that less depressing? Chicago is down 15 games.” I moaned piteously.
Chris laughed and took out his phone as I drowned my sorrows in fried food and carbonated ambrosia. Then his eyes widened and he leaned forward. “Oh my god I forgot to show you this, This’ll make you feel better.” He said with an evil grin.
Chris placed his phone in the middle of the table and turned it so I could see. A video started to play. ‘Otherworld Chronicles: Barbarian goes on a rampage then dies’ The video was named. As the view came into focus I saw myself and MoMagicMoProblems standing at our campsite near the Kobold Cave, but it was from the view-point of someone standing behind the wizard we fought.
Oh No……….
I thought glumly as the wizard threw his first fireball. The action continued as the barrier burst, and the view turned to fog and motion as the other caster fled along with the wizard. The camera panned back, and I saw myself come out of the fog, and get blasted by the lighting bolt, then roll back into the mist. You couldn’t see what happened for a while, but you could clearly hear the yells of the other fighters as I killed them. The fog thinned and I could see my silhouette get stabbed in the back by the rogue before finishing him with a back-breaker. I stumbled out of the mist, and raised my earth-wall as the camera flashed white. Then watched myself stumble and crawl across the intervening space between me and the wizard as I slowly died. And I could clearly hear my final “I will kill you.” before collapsing at the wizard's feet.
“Oh, God” I said aloud embarrassed beyond belief. I scrolled down. “Four-Hundred Thousand Views?” I said incredulous.
“I know right?” Chris said as I scrolled down farther to the comments.
Atox1668:Jesus, that guy totally lost it. I almost pissed myself at the end.
MOARDOTS756:LoL I know, That guy’s a monster. He nearly killed everyone. That mage woulda got pwned if he caught him.
ImTheJuggerNUT3: What I wanna know is WTH that force-field was? Did the gnome set that up?
Legolexxx92: Na, The gnome was a wizard. My friend is one. They don’t get force fields like that. Still waiting on my system. :(
KillZ4ThrillZ189: What class is that guy? The vid says barbarian but he summoned an earthwall. @legolexxx92 still waiting on mine too. :(
There were over five-thousand comments. I handed Chris back his phone and groaned again. “How is that supposed to not depress me.” I asked glumly.
“What do you mean? You're an internet celeb now. Enjoy your five seconds of fame man.” He said, then paused to pop one of those fried doughnut-things in his mouth before continuing. “You should get the Video add-on for your system and put up some more vids while you're in the spotlight. You might be able to make some cash.”
The idea wasn’t a terrible one. Otherworld was pretty much the hottest topic on the net right now, and everyone was clamoring for more in game vids. On the other hand I was on a secret recon mission. which wasn’t exactly the best time to be streaming my gameplay footage but I could just edit it out I supposed.
“Maybe some other time.” I finally said decided. Once I finished this ridiculous quest and moved off into the frontier I’d start with the video thing.
********************************************************************************************************
“Where the hell have you been!?” MoProblems yelled through the PM. “You’ve been gone a day and a half.” I was still in the graveyard. I’d logged out there right after Baria had left, not bothering to find an inn. The grounds were mostly empty today. Which was odd to me since it was the only place in the whole city I would actually wanna spend time. Well, maybe the Bathroom of the Horse and Four. The servant-girl had offered me the special service for two gold. But I had divine retribution to meet out and I didn’t have two gold. I was down to silver.
“You act like taking a day off from an online game is a bad thing. Every needs some fresh air and sun-shine occasionally.” I countered.
“I’d be less pissed off if you were actually outside doing something but I’m betting you spent the whole day playing other games and binge watching porn.” He shot back at me.
“For your information there was a new superhero show on Netflix. Although, there were a lot of sex scenes. “ I said scratching my chin.
“Fine, what’s the plan for this stupid quest then.” He asked.
“ I suppose it’s time to do what we do worst….. Subtlety. It takes a good day and a half to get back to town from our mine. So assuming those jag-offs cleared the cave then headed back this way they should get here in the next few hours. So we buy some of those really big hooded cloaks all the shady people in town wear, then hang out near the front gate and wait for the D-bag brigade to get back. Then we spy on them shamelessly.” I explained.
“From what I’ve seen so far the game doesn’t go around giving out quests unless there are monsters or NPC’s involved. I don’t think we know how deep this rabbit hole goes yet.” I finished.
“So you did have a plan.” MoProblem said relieved.
“Oh I always have a plan. That doesn’t mean it’s a good or workable plan but it is a plan. Besides there’s very little down side to this one. We’re in a sanctuary even if they catch us spying in town there’s very little they can do about it.” I said.
“Alright, I’m outside of town doing some fighting and gathering. I’ll be there in an hour or so.” He said before ending the PM.
I headed to the seedy part of the city and procured a very dirty cloak as well as a few other items on my limited funds. Then I headed back to the North gate to loiter as unobtrusively as possible. I found myself a properly dank alley in view of the gate and set-up shop. I took the small box of sand I’d bought from the magic shop and used it to make a small circle around myself. Between it and the price of the cloak I was down to coppers but I could bum some money off MoProblems when he got back.
I built my circle with Air and Water using a Sigil of Obscurity and some odd grey moss I’d found in the swamp. I’d tested it a few times. It wasn’t actual invisibility. My book said invisibility was possible but extremely difficult. Instead it had given the rune of Obscurity and said it was a useful alternative and much easier to wield. It made anything in the circle look muddy and uninteresting to outside observers. It should be fine. I was spying on a bunch of power-hungry high-schoolers not CIA operatives.
I looked around at the alley I was in as the minutes bled away at a snail's pace. Grey brick held together with grey mortar. The floor used to be grey cobble, but years of emptying chamber pots and other waste left the alley with a few inches of disgusting, if highly fertile, dirt. It was honestly like they were trying to create the ugliest city ever. I was deep in my musings about medieval sanitation when someone spoke right behind me.
“See anything Yet?”
I made a very unmanly ‘Eeep’ and spun with my fist cocked to strike. Luckily, I managed to stop the blow before I plowed it into my apprentices wide-eyed face. “Christ! Don’t do that!”
“Jumpy much?” MoProblems asked with a smirk. He must have used the friends list to home in on me. “Seen anything yet.” He added after I had calmed down.
“Nothing yet, Although they should be here anytime now.” I said as I looked back to the gate. The flow of people into the city was starting to lessen as the sun set but it took another two hours before our targets wandered back into town.
The seven of them seemed to be in high spirits as they laughed and rough-housed with each other. The ones we killed must have set a rez-point nearby. MoProblems and I had put ours in the City so we could empty our bags if we died. The seven of them strolled through the gate and down the main thoroughfare. I broke our barrier and MoProblems and I trotted after them. Both of us trying to look nonchalant without looking like we were trying to look nonchalant.
It wasn’t terribly difficult. They seemed more interested in their destination then anyone who might be following them. We arrived outside The Alley Cat twenty minutes later. The building was nearly derelict. It had once been painted a gaudy pink color but years of neglect and filth had covered all the the faintest traces of color. Only the sign was in decent condition. It must have been enchanted because the letters of the wooden sign glowed a vivid neon pink.
“Ya know…. That’s not actually not a half-bad name for a brothel.” I said to MoProblems as I cast another Obscuring barrier in an alley across the street.
“They can’t go in there.” He said resentfully.
“Why, does it offend your gnomish sensibilities? Boys will be boys after all.” I said shrugging.
“No, I mean they physically can’t. There’s no way all of them are eighteen. There’s a age restriction on stuff like that. Don’t you ever read.” He asked exasperated.
I rolled my eyes. “Of course I read. I’ve been reading at a college level since grade-school. It’s my one academic talent. Just because I act like an idiot sometimes doesn’t mean I am one.” I said fed-up. “But why would I want to read the forums. It’s either people spoiling crap I’d rather find out for myself. People lying about things to throw other players off. And other people bitching about everything.” I felt better after my rant but turns out my apprentice was right.
Sure enough their party of seven was separated at the door. Only the big fighter and the mage made it inside. Everyone else seemed to bounce off the door like they’d run into one of my barriers. There was a round of good natured jeering and swearing before the ones left behind logged off.
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“So what are we trying to discover anyway?” MoProblems asked after an hour of listening to false giggles, drunken laughter, and a number of other more interesting noises.
“How the should I know?” I replied. “But there’s definitely something. Didn’t you read the quest… ‘Discover their secrets’? I doubt the wizards taste in bad whisky and cheap women was what it was referring to.”
We waited and late evening turned into night. The wind shifted and the warm humid wind from the south-east was replaced by cooler-drier air as the wind shifted to the North-West. I looked up through the roof of the alley and spotted Gresk, this world's crimson moon. It was full tonight so I held up my hands to measure distance. Gresh was this world's second moon and was at it’s highest point around 10:30 when it was full.
“It’s about a quarter to ten” I said to MoProblems as I finished my rough calculations. He stared at me like I’d grown horns.
“You can figure out the time by the position of the moons, but didn’t know you couldn’t have sex until you turned 18.” He said incredulous.
I shrugged. “I spent a lot of time in a bar talking to NPC’s during beta. You can learn a lot from them. They are real people with real personalities and real lives. ” I said. MoProblems shook his head and we lapsed back into silence as we continued our stake-out.
Our quarry finally came out again an hour later looking smug. They glanced around for a bit then the wizard waved to the fighter before heading deeper into the slums.
“Now we’re getting somewhere.” I said as MoProblems and I followed. We drifted from alley to alley in a way the we hoped would keep our presence hidden. Our success likely had more to do with the pair’s incompetence rather than any skill at stealth on our part, but it seemed to work. We followed them for another couple of blocks before they turned into an alley. MoProblems and I pressed ourselves against the front of building at the alleys edge and listened.
“Are you sure this is the one?” The fighter’s voice asked. His voice was loud and the hard featureless brick I’d been complaining about all day came in handy. It absorbed little of the sound and let us hear their conversation clearly.
“Yes I Am. Three blocks East from the Alley Cat. The alley between the Butcher shop and the Wheelwright. That would be this grate here.” The wizard said snidely.
“Alright man I was just asking, relax. I’d have thought you’d be less pissy after a couple rounds with Darla.” The fighter said petulantly.
“Sorry, it’s just Argoth bosses us around like we're a bunch of damn slaves. He’s the one that set-up this deal, yet we’re the ones that have to crawl around in the damn sewer. Now help me with this.” I heard a few grunts and the scrape of something metal being moved.
“I know you're a wizard but you should work on you strength a little more. That’s just sad.” The fighter said a few seconds later.
“Just common already.” The were more sounds of movement before their voices faded into the distance.
I waved to MoProblems and we rounded the corner of the alley. We found what we expected to. A sewer-grate had been removed and sat-aside. Shrugging I climbed down the hole and into the darkness. Where I was bombarded by Pop-up messages.
Blip
Bleeeeep
You Have Unlocked A New Skill!Stealth
This skill is unlocked by successfully hiding one’s presence to follow a foe, attack a player or monster, or steal something.
Stealth represents one’s ability to hide and move unnoticed. The skill encompasses any attempts to conceal ones presence whether magical or mundane. This skill will increase by hiding oneself from observers.
You Have Left Hernberg!You have entered Hernberg sewers. This area is not protected by the cities sanctuary and normal PvP rules apply.
I waved the pop-ups away and waited for MoProblems to follow me. He climbed down reluctantly, wincing every time his hands touched the filthy rungs that had been driven into the stone. I couldn’t make out much of our surroundings in the gloom. My dungeoneering skill gave me some dark-vision but not enough too see much more than vague outlines. Foul water ran through a main channel while the walk-ways were raised slightly and made of worked stone that had obviously been neglected for decades. My boots squished disgustingly with every step and the stench here made our camp in the swamp smell like a meadow after a spring rain.
I heard MoProblems gag behind me and grinned. I gave him a pat on the back then headed after the bobbing torchlight ahead in the tunnel. We continued like that for a few hundred yards before the light vanished around a corner and we hurried to catch up, while trying not to make any noise.
We found the light again on a side-passage even more neglected then the tunnel we had been in before. The light glowed faintly from an alcove as MoProblems and I creeped closer looking for somewhere within earshot to eavesdrop. We found another alcove a few feet down and huddled inside. The acoustics weren’t as good down here as in the alley, but we could still make out the conversation inside.
“Your Late.” An unfamiliar voice announced.
“Whatever, I got your damn blood. Just give me the gold so we can get out of this reeking sewer.” The wizard’s voice responded.
“That’s fairly rich coming from you. I can smell the whore on you even over this filth. I told you to use the Alley Cat as a landmark not become a patron. ” The other voice said imperiously.
“You lecture more than my parents.” The wizard said sighing. “Let’s just get on with it. Levi take a walk.” We heard some shuffling then footsteps headed our direction.
Not Good…..
I could see my apprentice's eyes widen as light headed our direction. I put a finger to my lips then pressed myself against the wall of the alcove. This was going to be dicey. The footsteps grew closer for a few seconds then the Fighter from earlier was walking past us a foot to my right. I let him take one more step. Then I moved out behind him. I took a hop-step for added height, clapped my left hand over his mouth and nose, and pulled down exposing the back of his head to my descending right elbow. The blow landed clean and my hand muffled his grunt as he collapsed like a puppet with his strings cut.
Blip
You Have Unlocked A New Sub-Skill!Assassination
This skill is unlocked by attacking and incapacitating or killing an unaware opponent. This skill increases the amount of damage, as well as the success rates of surprise attacks. This skill increases with use.
Discovering this Skill Unlocks the Hidden Class Assassin
I eased his body to the ground, waved away the pop-up, and quickly checked his pulse.
Still alive…... Perfect
If I killed him he’d just re-spawn and send a PM to the wizard to warn him. If I knocked him out, he’d be asleep in his system until he regained enough HP to wake-up or until the play-time he’d set his system for expired. I turned to MoProblems and spread my arms in a ‘How was that’ gesture.
The gnome responded with a silent golf-clap then pointed to the body and shrugged. I interpreted his guy-sign as ‘What do we do with the body’. Which was a good question. I looked around for ideas. The current of the main channel was moving away from where we’d come in. I smiled evilly before dragging the body out to the main tunnel as silently as possible. Then I slipped the body into the fetid dark water. The sludge was dense enough for him to float fairly well. I made sure his nose would stay above for a few minutes at least, then pushed him out into the current. His body floated slowly away into the darkness and I hurried back to where I’d left MoProblems.
I heard the clink of coins from the room down the hall. “That it then?” Asked the wizard.
“Yes, yes. You can get back to your whores now.” The man said with venom. “Although you better bring more next week. The blood of three humans and a gnome isn’t enough even if they are new souls.”
Oh Hell No!…….
Ba-Ding
The familiar sound let me know my quest had updated but I had bigger problems now. I knew exactly the kind of thing you could do with someone's blood. There was no way in hell I was letting some creepy old guy get a hold of mine. The bastards must have taken some after I died but before I vanished.
However, we were running very low on time. I turned to MoProblems made a running gesture with one hand then pointed upwards. He pointed to me and made a ‘What about you’ gesture. I just shrugged. I was going to have to get creative but I didn’t want him dying again if things went South. Baria had given me the quest after-all there wasn’t any reason for him to stick his neck-out.
I moved out to the main tunnel with MoProblems but instead of turning left with him. I turned right took three running steps and leapt the ten feet between this side of the channel and the other. MoProblems looked at me like I was crazy, but I motioned for him to get moving. The wizard would be coming back this way any second.
I ran down the tunnel for a few dozen feet then waited. Sure enough, a few seconds later the torchlight came again and I stayed still while it turned away from me continuing up the direction we had come from originally. I hurried back to the side-tunnel and gazed down it. I could just make out the other man’s torch-light. I leapt back across the channel and hurried to catch up.
I expected him to head to the nearest grate and back-up into the city but instead I followed him through ever narrowing tunnels for the better part of an hour. I used the time to inspect my quest.
The Corrupted KnightsThe Guild Knights of the Round Table have made themselves a menace in Hernberg. Investigate their dealings, expose their secrets, and save Hernberg from their oppression.
Update: The Knights of the Round Table have struck a deal with the Cultists of Ukkufu, Lord of Chaos. They are selling the blood of New Souls to the cultists to fuel their blood magic. Bring proof of their transgressions to the Hernberg Magistrate and have them thrown from the city.
Level: ???
Difficulty: ???
Rewards: 300 fame, 20 Gold, ???
So the guild was partnering with some evil NPC’s. That explained Baria’s involvement. However , I had a bit of a problem. On one hand, I really wanted out where this guy was going. On the other hand, I needed to deal with him and take back my blood before he got there. I had no idea what level the other cultists would be, but I really wasn’t in the mood to find out. Trying to let him get close enough to his lair for me to find it while leaving me enough time to dispatch him was going to be a delicate balancing act.
Decision time came a few minutes later as I noticed another light-source farther down the tunnel.
Now or never……
I gave up all attempts at stealth and spirited at the cultist. He heard me almost immediately and spun, but I was already a step ahead. I reached out to his torch with my fire magic. I hadn’t used it in forever but this was about as simple a task as was possible. I poured magic at the fire trying to coax it away from the torch. At this distance it was tricky, but my mana was full so I burnt power widely to overcome the control I was lacking. The fire leapt from the torch like I was hoping and I let my flow of mana die. It was supposed to leave the fire without fuel. That would cause it to go out and leave the tunnel in darkness, Which would give me the advantage with my dark-vision. . It didn’t go quite as planned.
The small torch-flame devoured all the excess mana I’d saturated the air with in a single roaring conflagration of light and heat. It was like someone had tossed a flash-bang into the darkened tunnel. I smelled my hair singeing and heard the cultist cry out in surprise and pain. Flash-blind I blundered forward hoping I wouldn’t fall into the sewage. I slammed into the cultist a few steps later sending us both sprawling onto the filthy stone.
Good enough…..
The main problem with my character was I had no good ranged attacks or crowd control to help me close the gap with ranged opponents. But in the dark against one blind cultist in a wrestling match? It wasn’t even a contest. I had his back in less than two seconds. I wrapped my legs around his hips, my right arm around his neck and pressed my left hand hard into his carotid artery. Thirty seconds of progressively weaker struggles later he was out like a light.
Blip
Bliiiiiip
Bliiiiiip
[table]
You Have created a New Spell. Would You Like to Name It? Hand-To-Hand Skill has Reached Beginner Rank! New Ability Unlocked!Whirlwind Kick
A Ki-enhanced jumping spin kick.
Rank: Novice I
Damage Multiplier: 1.25
Stamina Cost: 40
Cooldown: 30 Seconds
Wrestling Sub-Skill has Reached Beginner Rank! New Ability Unlocked!Brutal Wounds
Wounds inflicted while grappling opponents gain 25% resistance to healing.
Rank: Novice I
Activation: Passive
“Name Spell, Flashbang.” I said while my eyes adjusted again. I found his fallen torch in the dark a few seconds later and burnt more magic to relight it. It took way more power to make fire than to manipulate it but I needed to practice sometime.
The torch illuminated the cultist's body and I got my first sight of him. He was a scrawny man with matted brown hair and a gaunt face. His clothes were ratty and filthy but after that fight so were mine. I dug through his cloak and found the vials of blood then smashed them against the stone floor. Wanting to be thorough I held the torch to the puddle until the blood blackened and flaked away.
I nodded to myself satisfied. I could drag the man back up to the city then turn him over to the authorities. They would torture him until he spilled the beans. Quest over, Goddess appeased, and I could get back to making money. I looked down the hall towards the other light . There was a rickety wooden door with light spilling through the cracks at the end of the tunnel. I’d be back to investigate after I cleared the quest. I hosted the man over one shoulder and started my slow walk back the way I had come.
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AN: bit of a short chapter here. I'm going to try to make Wednesday's my quasi-official release day, but we'll see how it goes.
Up over 2000k views and I made it up to 101 on the weekly fictions this week. Thanks again to all my readers!
And I have a donation button now apparently.... No one even told me I got approved...... Oh well.
Just want to note that the amount of donations I get, or lack there of, will in no way affect the quality or frequency of my releases . This is a hobby, not a job. I'd like to publish this at some point but that will be down the road and after many revisions.