Jake panted slightly as he pulled himself up onto the branch, looking down at the ground beneath him. Thankfully he wasn’t afraid of heights, as he was a good distance from the hard dirt below, and it would almost certainly hurt, if not outright kill him, if he fell now. Opening his Quest screen, he checked his progress.
Quest: Top of the World
Gaia, Primal of the Wilds, wants you to find and climb to the top of the tallest tree in the Dark Woods.
Objectives:
Find the East Oak 1/1
Progress: 19%
Rewards:
Unknown
Jake sighed as he looked at the percentage. He’d already been climbing for several hours and had barely made it a fifth of the way up. At this rate it would be well into the next day before he was at the top, if not the next evening. Sitting on the branch, he reviewed his method of climbing, looking at the rope.
The first thing he had done was find a suitably sized rock. This he had tied to the end of his length of rope, making a makeshift grappling hook of sorts. He’d then thrown the rock over one of the lower branches, lowering it until it was within reach. Then he’d tied a simple but secure sliding knot and had pulled it to the branch, then used the rope to scale the tree. He’d repeated that process several times, steadily making his way up the massive oak, but it was proving to just be too slow.
“I need to go faster,” he muttered, “But how?”
Looking around, Jake spotted a nearby branch, only about three meters away and a couple meters up, that he figured he might be able to jump to. Making sure that his rope was stored in his inventory, Jake crouched on the branch he was currently standing on, tensing his legs as he prepared to jump. The branch shuddered as he leapt, blinking mid-air as he sailed towards his target far faster than he’d anticipated. He gasped as he slammed into the branch, knocking the breath from him as he scrambled to grab a hold of it, before managing to pull himself up, coughing slightly as he tried to get some air back into his lungs.
“What?” he muttered, “Why did that happen?”
Jake knew he was fit and had a good idea of his physical limitations. He’d only expected to make the jump because he’d made similar jumps on the exercise course at the Bio-Dome before, but this was beyond his expectations.
“Is it because of my stats?” he asked, opening his Character Screen, and looking over the mysterious numbers again.
Character Profile
Name
Jake Grey
Class
-
Level
11
Reputation
Unknown
Hit Points
190
Mana Points
190
Stamina Points
220
Fate Points
9
Power
20
Intellect
19
Agility
22
Wit
21
Vitality
19
Charisma
19
Skills (12/20)
Titles
Alchemy [1]
Butcher [1]
Crafting [3]
Dodge [4]
Gathering [4]
Hide [1]
Inspect [5]
Observe [2]
Skinning [1]
Sharp Eyes [1]
Small Blades [1]
Sprint [2]
Owner of the Dark Woods (Conditional)
Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.
Frontrunner
Giant Slayer V
Pioneer
Apart from a few new Skills and extra levels, almost nothing had changed about the screen, making Jake furrow his brow. From what he understood, each stat was supposed to have an effect on certain Skills and attributes. For example, Power was obviously something to do with strength, and Vitality affected the number of Hit Points he had. Agility seemed to affect his number of Stamina Points, though Jake wondered if that was all.
Ever since he’d first levelled up, Jake had had the strange sensation that something was slightly off about his body. His muscles felt stronger, his joints more flexible and limber. Even now, after crashing into the branch at speed, the pain from the collision was quickly fading, Jake having recovered far faster than he’d expected. Shaking his head, he stood easily on the branch, barely needing to keep his balance as he looked around for another suitable branch to test the slowly forming theory in his mind.
Spotting one, he crouched again, trying to get a measure of how much strength he could use to reach the branch, hopefully without crashing into it this time. He jumped, pushing himself off his perch with surprising ease, launching himself up and over the nearby branch, forcing him to twist in the air to be able to grab the limb as he dropped over the other side.
Pulling himself up, Jake took a calming breath, having panicked slightly when he’d overshot the branch, before looking down at his body again. He was definitely stronger than before, which was both a blessing and curse. A blessing because if he could get a handle on his new strength, it would make climbing the tree infinitely easier, but a curse in that if he couldn’t, he was much more likely to end up falling to his death on the ground below.
“I guess there’s only one thing for it,” he chuckled to himself, “Time to test out what I can do.”
------
Andy fidgeted nervously as he watched the person in front of him work. When Shadow had invited him to meet his crafter friend, Andy had expected someone similar to the short man. What he’d gotten, however, was an Amazonian looking woman, standing at least half a foot taller than Andy himself, banging away at a portable anvil in a side alley of the city.
She was dressed in the simple starter gear, with the addition of a pair of gloves, goggles and a leather apron that held a number of crafting tools. At the moment, she was using one of those tools to hammer away at a piece of bronze, carefully shaping it as she went. Andy wasn’t simply here to watch, however. He had a vested interest in the woman’s work, especially as he’d had to use one of his few remaining Skill slots to learn the [Mining] Skill to go collect the copper and tin for the bronze she was using himself.
Now he was sitting opposite her as she worked, wearing a bronze helmet, along with greaves, boots and gloves, waiting for her to finish the chest plate she was working on. The sound of her hammer was strangely hypnotising, Andy watching closely as she worked. Finally, she finished hammering, lifting the metal plate off the anvil, and setting it down to cool. Once it was done, she quickly polished it, before handing it into Andy’s waiting hands.
“Thanks, Miracle,” he said as he equipped it, not even bothering to use his [Inspect] Skill on it as he did, confident that it was of Uncommon Quality, just like the other pieces she’d crafted for him.
“Just call me Mirri,” Miracle Crafter smiled awkwardly at him, before quickly getting back to work on another item, “And remember the deal, okay?”
“Of course!” Andy grinned as he checked the notification that appeared, accepting it with a smile, “I bring you all the Crafting Mats I can get, and you make and upgrade my armour!”
“Yeah,” the woman nodded, “Thanks. You can go now.”
“Sure thing, thanks again,” Andy grinned as he stood, hurrying out of the alley, almost tripping over Shadow as the short man stood in the shadows.
“So, you made a deal with the devil?” the Rogue chuckled, as he watched the Defender stumble back slightly.
“I wouldn’t call her a devil, exactly,” Andy laughed back, “But yeah, seems like a pretty good deal as well.”
“I see that,” Shadow hummed, eyeing Andy’s new armour, “So, what’s next on your agenda?”
“Huh?” Andy blinked, before catching on, “Oh, I have a Quest to kill goblins in a nearby cave.”
“Gloomy Cave, right?” Shadow asked, Andy just nodding, “Sweet, I do as well. Want to party up?”
“Don’t see why not,” Andy grinned as he sent the invite, Shadow accepting a moment later, “Let’s go farm us some Gobbos.”
------
Jake couldn’t help the grin on his face as he jumped, kicking off the trunk of the tree as he reached the apex of his leap, pushing himself up an extra metre to easily grab hold of the next branch, pulling himself up onto it with little effort. He paused to catch his breath for a moment, looking down through the branches of the tree, the ground barely visible below him, almost amazed at his progress. It had taken a while for him to get used to his new strength and agility, but once he had, Jake found he was able to scale the tree like a literal monkey, jumping and climbing between the branches easily. It had only gotten easier the higher he climbed, the branches getting closer and closer together, even as they’d started to get thinner.
Opening his Quest Screen, he smiled at what he saw.
Quest: Top of the World
Gaia, Primal of the Wilds, wants you to climb to the top of the tallest tree in the Dark Woods.
Objectives:
Progress: 96%
Rewards:
Unknown
That meant that he was almost to the top of the tree, a quick glance upwards confirming his suspicions as he could just make out the light of dawn shimmering through the leaves that made up the thick crown of the massive oak. Standing on the thin branch with confidence, Jake crouched again, perfectly keeping his balance even on the slender branch, before he threw himself upwards, hopping from branch to branch as he climbed the final dozen or so meters to the top.
He blinked as he broke through the crown, looking around in amazement at the gorgeous view around him. The forest stretched out around him, a wide circle of vibrant green, just as he’d seen on the map when he’d first bought the land.
“Very good,” Gaia’s voice said as he looked around for the familiar statue, blinking as the branches themselves twisted into a humanoid shape, quickly forming the upper body of a woman, “You climbed through the night to reach here just in time.”
“Just in time?” Jake blinked, “Wait, this was all timed?”
“No,” the female form giggled, “Just in time for one of the best views in the Dark Woods. Here, let me show you.”
Jake watched as the branches shifted again, growing, and forming into a small platform just above the crown of the tree, which he gladly climbed on to. Looking around from his new vantage point, Jake couldn’t help but gasp. From his higher position, Jake could still see the forest, though now he was able to make out several clearings dotted through the trees.
Right in the centre of the forest was what he assumed was the Safe Zone, where he’d set up his camp. To the south of that was a glittering lake, the light of dawn dancing across its surface, and to the north, a small gap in the trees that was probably where the Shrine was. Jake scowled slightly as he looked towards the far side of the forest, noticing how the trees seemed to darken, a pervading sense of gloom hanging over the forest that even the bright light of the sun didn’t seem to be able to breach.
“That is where the corruption stems from,” Gaia hummed, the wooden torso moving to hover beside him.
“What’s there?” Jake asked, still staring at the darkness.
“The Western Cave,” Gaia replied, “And sealed deep within it, the source of the corruption. A powerful Devil, one that you have no hope of facing, especially as you are now.”
“A Devil?” Jake blinked, looking at the humanoid shape in confusion, “You mean like a demon?”
“Almost, but not quite,” Gaia shook her head, “Demons are at least able to be negotiated with, Devils, on the other hand, only seek to corrupt and destroy. Just as this one is doing to these woods.”
“How can I help?” Jake asked immediately, Gaia chuckling.
“You are already doing all you can,” she said, shaking her head as she reached down to a branch, peeling back a layer of bark, “But you are far from ready for the final task I have for you. For now, take this, your reward for completing your latest trial.”
Jake watched as the female figure peeled the bark back, continuing to remove it as it instantly regrew, quickly forming into a thick roll. She tore it off, handing him the material as Jake looked at it in confusion, the wooden substance feeling more like leather than bark.
“What is this?”
“Leatherwood Bark,” Gaia replied, Jake blinking as the screen appeared above the roll of material, “Keep it safe, it will be necessary for your future tasks.”
“Right,” Jake nodded as he slipped the roll into his inventory, “Now what?”
“Now I give you your next task,” Gaia smiled, “And, if you are able to complete it, another reward.”
“Okay,” Jake nodded as the new screen appeared in front of him, blinking in surprise, “Wait…you can’t be serious?”
------
Howard Steele sighed.
He had spent the last few hours combing through Neurotech’s Privacy Clause in order to try and find some sort of gap or loophole he could use in order to contact their mystery player but had found nothing. While it was a testament to the skill and competence of Neurotech’s lawyers, it was proving little more than a source of a powerful headache for him right now. Shaking his head, he sat back in his plush chair, taking a sip of the coffee his secretary had brought him not too long ago, trying to think over the problem.
“We can’t get through the Privacy Clause,” he muttered to himself, “So there’s no way to communicate with the player unless they open it from their side. But how to get them to do that?”
Groaning, he spun his chair to face the large window behind him, staring out over City Four as he mused on the problem.
“Grande New World doesn’t have traditional Game Master’s, so we can’t just send someone to the area and have them search for the player,” he said slowly, “All we have access to is the Governors of Directions, and even then, we can only make suggestions and requests of them. So how do we use that to our advantage?”
A stray thought crossed his mind, Howard suddenly sitting upright as he recalled something Abrahms had mentioned in their brief conversation. Turning back around, he quickly called the Technician, tapping his fingers impatiently on his desk as he waited for her to answer.
“Yes?” she said as the holo-screen appeared, the woman glancing at the call before returning to whatever she was currently working on.
“Gaia,” Howard said, making the technician look back at him in confusion.
“What about Gaia?” she asked.
“You mentioned that Gaia had taken an interest in our mystery player, correct?” Howard asked, Abrahms nodding, “Can’t you send it a message or request to ask the player to open communications with us?”
“I could, but how would that…I see!” the woman gasped, “Of course, there’s no guarantee it would work, but it may be the only way we could actually get in contact with this player and identify them!”
“So, can you do it?”
“Already done,” Abrahms grinned, “Now to see if they take the bait and respond.”