If you guys haven't seen it in the Comments Post yet.
I changed around the Chapter Numbers.
(:
Chapter 5.2: Why on a Saturday?
After almost two days of tracking, Tork had finally followed the Jewokees to the source of the disturbance. At the moment, Mist leaned against the nearest tree, lungs heaving as she struggled to catch her breath while Tork scouted the area. Looking at him Mist saw he had on a very serious expression as he scanned the contents of the ravine below them. They were standing on the on the edge. Mist already dreaded the climb down.'
She looked at Tork.
‘Yup – that face definitely says:
“Let’s barge in there and put our lives at risk.”
…instead of…
“Let’s take the reasonable plan of action and go home.”’
There were dozens of monsters in the ravine. Dark and slimy creatures that seemed to ooze when they moved. Though the term ‘disgusting blob’ came to mind when looking at them, each was labeled ‘A Fetid Mass’. And it was fetid indeed. The forest’s greenery was completely overtaken by brown and black. The leaves had all wilted and the trunks seemed scarred – especially in the vicinity of the Masses. The stench that was coming up was the worst thing Mist had ever smelled and it stung her nose and eyes.
-“We don’t stand a chance against a mob like that. But from what I can tell they seem to be mindless henchmen. Their movements aren’t organized at all.” Tork stated, apparently finished with his assessment.
“Okay?”
Tork sighed in exasperation.
‘I’m getting pretty tired of these mood swings this dude has. One moment he’s all helpful giving me advice when I ask for it… the next he’s this overconfident jerk! It’s like he’s suffering from a multiple personality disorder.’
In the last couple of days Mist had seen it happen multiple times. One minute he would be the helpful and pleasant tracker and the next he would be this asshole. Always sighing in exasperation.
‘As if he doesn’t make me want to sigh in exasperation too!’ she fumed.
Just to annoy him, Mist sighed in exasperation as well.
Those ‘episodes’ usually didn't last for more than a couple of minutes so she waited as he explained, “That means that if we get rid of their leader, the rest will either die or be easily killed. All we have to do now is find out where the boss is.”
Mist looked around the tree they were hiding behind. Killing just one monster seemed like a very good plan to her. Much better than facing all of the other ones, even if they were only minions. Mist analyzed the rot that seemed to be spreading even as they stood there. The whole ravine was already black and brown, things seemed to be rotting in front of her eyes. She could see that it was beginning to spread to the trees on the edges of the ravine.
“The most concentrated rot seems to be emanating from that alcove in the edge of the ravine there (Mist pointed at a spot 300ft away) and it’s where most of the Fetid Masses are.”
She surveyed the area.
“But if we sink down from that tree over there.” Mist pointed at a tree that had overhanging branches over the ravine. “Then we could bypass all of the monsters and focus on the boss.”
A plan began to take shape in her mind.
“I will use my Book Immersion skills on the minions. You go after the boss. I’m not much good in a fight – so I’d just get in your way. Instead I’ll provide as much back-up as I can.” She finished and turned around to see Tork studying her – he seemed surprised.
‘Granted… I’m not very good at this game. But I’m not stupid! It’s not like I won’t be able to analyze a situation if I think about it! So you can stop looking at me like that! Your underestimation of me is your own stupid fault!’
Mist thought to herself with a little self-satisfaction at the look of newfound respect on Tork’s face.
‘No sighing in exasperation? What?’ She gave him a smug smile.
-“Let’s do it then.” Tork said as he stood up and dragged her around the ledge of the ravine.
“But.. Wait.. I..” Mist started to reply. Thinking up a plan was all right and good – actually enacting it was a whole another matter.
----------
For the fourth time in as many minutes Mist could not use her Book Immersion skill.
‘Why isn’t it working?’
Skill has failed. You have insufficient mana.
‘…’
Skill has failed. You have insufficient mana.
Skill has failed. You have insufficient mana.
‘Ugh!’
Mist glanced at Tork who sitting beside her shifting in impatience. They were situated on a branch of the overhanging tree. From where they were sitting Tork would be able to descend directly to the alcove.
‘If I can get to this useless skill to work that is!’
Skill has failed. You have insufficient mana.
“It’s not working!”
Skill has failed. You have insufficient mana.
‘What am I doing wrong there has got to be a reason for this. ‘Insufficient mana?’ That’s impossible. With the amount of mana I have – I should be able to use this skill at least fifty times over.’
...
‘I mean – it seemed to work fine against the Jewokees. What’s different this time?’
...
‘I’m not any further away from them… well except from maybe the Fetids that are on the other side of the ravine… but its not like I am targeting them… Wait. Am I targeting them?’
Mist re-read the storyline she had used and realized she hadn’t specified her target. She narrowed it down and succeeded in her attempt.
You have successfully Immersed your opponents. They are temporarily incapacitated.
‘Thank God.’
Mist had been very worried about failing… again. Bastard Tork hadn’t receded yet and from his body language she could tell she hadn’t been that many failures away from losing his, recently earned, respect.
“There. They shouldn't be able to move for a while now. When they come to again…” Mist was speechless.
By checking her MPs she saw that they were almost completely empty. She couldn't understand it. Looking at the ravine she was perplexed until she thought she found an explanation.
‘It targeted every single one of the Fetid Masses as an individual. When I targeted the Jewokees it only took the mana of one Book Immersion. It must be because the pack is considered as a single entity – which makes sense – considering that a Jewokee by itself is so pitiful it’s almost negligible. But that means I’m in deep trouble right now.’
Mist whirled on Tork and blurted anxiously, “Go! Go now! I miscalculated and I won’t be able to use the Immersion again. You have to kill the leader in the next 3-5 minutes. If we wait for them to come around – they will know they are under attack, so we can’t just wait for my mana to regenerate to try again. So go!”
Mist sat on the branch of the overhanging tree and watched as Tork quickly lowered himself to the entrance of the alcove. Her hands gripped the rough bark, trading shallow scratches for a secure grip on the rough bark.
From what they had been able to see from the outside, the alcove wasn’t very deep so they hoped that meant that only the leader of the Masses would be in there.
An anxiety-filled minute later Mist saw Tork retreat from the alcove, being pushed back by what looked like a corpse. Many of the decaying man’s body parts were missing, including, most prominently his nose. He didn't seem to have eyelids as his eyes bulged out in a disgusting manner. The stench though was the most noticeable aspect of his being and it wafted up to where she sat. She gagged in reflex.
The fight was vigorous and unyielding. Whenever the man who was labeled as ‘The Rot’ (appropriately named: thank you dezz) swung his sword, Tork would parry with his two sabers.
‘Wow. He might be a bastard sometimes, but he isn’t half bad with those sabers of his.’
Mist watched intently as Tork fought with the dual sabers that served as extensions to his arms – they flew in graceful deadly arcs. It looked like a choreographed dance – and it didn't look ridiculous… which is what you would have expected from a man as big as Tork. Mist was captivated and a little chagrined.
The Rot would attack with his large heavy sword that moved with obvious power, Tork would use one sword to deflect the attack and the other to slash at this body. Unlike The Rot, who invested all of his power into the sword’s strength, Tork gave up part of his strength for speed. His movements were quicker and more coordinated than any of the ones The Rot had to offer.
You could see the impatience that brimmed in The Rot as each of his blows was deflected. Though it looked effortless from Tork’s side, Mist knew that it must be costing him to deflect like that. If he took any of the blows head on he wouldn't be able to defend himself.
‘But still he has so much power… And here I am… useless… All I could do was stun a couple of blobs…’
Her gaze shifted from the duel to the Fetid Masses. By looking at the apotheosis of her work, she was startled from her reverie. A few of the Fetid Masses had started to come to their senses again. Looking at Tork she thought he stood a slim chance of winning… that would be completely ruined if the globs joined the fray.
‘Oh God… what do I do. What do I do!?’
She had no mana left, at least not enough for another Immersion. It’d take at least another minute until she did. She frantically weighed her options.
‘I can’t attack. It’s not an option. There is just simply nothing for me to attack with! Right about now I could strangle that Alfin. Run away… yeah right! Like I even could. Even if he is a bastard. No one deserves to die alone.’
She considered the Fetid Masses as they were becoming more and more alert. Instead of standing in a daze like they had since her Immersion, they started moving – which looked a lot like melting in a direction and then solidifying again. She imagined the stink of them becoming more and more intense as they revived themselves. The stench was numbing her senses.
‘Maybe I should attack… even if I die. It could buy him some time… No! That’s stupid. It would be suicide. Tork said they were around level 60… what are my paltry 20 going to do against that? Provide cushioning? No thanks.’
Mist quickly glanced back at Tork’s fight.
It was common knowledge that in mindless minion mobs, the boss’s level would be at least three times as high.
‘Or at least… that’s what Tork said.’
Looking at the development of the fight between the two ‘men’ she could see that Tork had been right in his assessment of the situation. The Rot’s blows were delivered with so much power that sparks flew when they clashed with one of Tork’s swords – even if Tork was just using them to diverge any attack.
‘If I get involved with that fight directly I will just get in his way. Tork said he was at level 162. I shouldn't involve myself in that. But I do have to help him somehow. The only way to do that is to find a way to deal with these Masses. If they overrun him – there is no way he will be able to defeat The Rot. They are too evenly matched as it is.’
Considering all the information she had at her disposal Mist quickly went through the possibilities. She was good at this. Planning had never been a problem for her, implementing those plans had.
‘If I can’t do anything to stop the globs I have to find something or someone else that can.’
She looked around.
‘If there would just be something for me to throw or manipulate in some way…’
Her scanning proved futile and she was beginning to think that the situation was hopeless when she remembered the Jewokees.
Frantically she searched the trees.
‘Where are you bloody little beasts when I need you?’
…
‘There! Now how do I get them to help me?’
Remembering her recovering MP she checked and sighed in relief, she had one last Immersion in her. She quickly pulled out a piece of paper from her belt and a quill from her hair and began to write…
…the Jewokees were infuriated. Having to wait and see while the Fetid Masses spread rot through their forest. The anger and aggression they felt towards them reached their peak. They could no longer control their rage and seeing the partially incapacitated Masses, decided it was their best opportunity to strike…
Immediately hundreds of Jewokees burst from the foliage screeching and screaming. A few of them flew by her rattling the branch she sat on. It seemed she had mobilized a clan because they moved in synchronized union to attack the globs. Looking at the other trees she saw other clans mobilize after seeing her clan strike.
‘It hadn’t taken much to incite their anger! I bet those little curs had just been waiting to get their chance at revenge.’
She thought lovingly, somehow being on the same side had morphed her contempt for the beasts into a motherly adoration.
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She watched as the Jewokees slashed and bit away at the blobs. Many were killed and Mist felt compassion for them but their numbers overwhelmed the blobs and slowly they were being exterminated. One by one. A contented smile filled Mist’s face. She was even beginning to enjoy the stink of the place. Every time one of the monsters died the stench level rose. The stink became a symbol of achievement.
‘Hehe. I think I did pretty good – if I do say so myself.’
She mentally tapped herself on the back and reverted her attention to Tork’s fight.
Mist was shocked by what she saw – somehow The Rot had gained the upper hand and was pushing Tork back. As Mist leaned into the branch in distress it gave way… and snapped. Suddenly she went from watching the exchange of blows to sailing through the air.
She was falling.
‘Crap.’
Crunch. ‘Oh.’
Mist had landed smack dab in the middle of the fight. Though considering she was currently sprawled all over Tork it wasn’t the actual ‘middle’. They were snarled together in a tangle of limbs. She painstakingly dislodged herself from him and scrambled to her feet.
‘Oh crap. Oh crap. Oh crapidy-crap-crap.’
Tork got up to his feet equally fast and gave her a ‘really pissed’ look. Chagrined, Mist was about to apologize when his expression changed to one of horror. Quickly remembering The Rot, Mist was about to turn around when something hit her back and anchored her to the spot.
Helpless to move she looked back at Tork whose gaze was anchored to her chest. Mist looked down to find the tip of a sword protruding from between her breasts.
All Mist could say was, “Oh, f***.”
You have died. You will be unable to log in for the span of 24 hours. A death penalty will be applied.
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Aphrodite had never died in Royal Road before. In the two and a half months since she had been playing she had only ever been reading. She had never been in danger of dying – so she now sat, slightly befuddled in her capsule.
‘Now what am I going to do? It’s Saturday and I’ve already done all the homework for Monday…’
For the past couple of months her life had revolved around the game. She slept less for it, studied in school for it, and did less of everything in general so she could spend more time in Royal Road. Now, having twenty-four hours to kill seemed like an indeterminately long time to her.
‘I wonder what happened to Tork… I obviously failed the quest but…I mean I just want him to live because he was part of the quest – but now that I failed – he shouldn't matter anymore… he doesn’t matter anymore!’
Pushing her thoughts aside she went into the bathroom and decided to take a long bath.
‘Wow. I kind of missed this. I don’t think I’ve taken a bath since my birthday – showers are just quicker. But since I have time on my hands… I might as well.’
Aphrodite was thinking about the bad luck she had with her death coming on a Saturday of all days.
‘It could’ve at least have happened on a school-day – that way 8 hours wouldn't have been a total waste…’
‘Ugh.’
After turning on the water and adding bubbles and scents to the water she waited for the bathtub to fill. Now, remember that this chick is uber-rich – this is a big bathtub. So, Aphrodite takes her time in taking off her clothes and catches her reflection in the mirror. She is slightly startled.
Walking up to it she analyzes her face.
‘It’s still not pretty. But wow. I think I look different.’
Aphrodite had not morphed into a beautiful swan overnight but things were not as bad as they used to be. It’s not like the girl doesn't look in the mirror but for the last two months they had been quick and rushed glances as she had been in a hurry to log into Royal Road. Her appearance had never been a strong-suit of hers so she had discarded it whenever possible.
She didn't do so now.
‘My face seems thinner. Not by a lot… but it definitely is. I mean there’s no denying I’m still in the extremely voluptuous – i.e. morbidly obese – category, but it’s not as morbid. And my skin has definitely cleared up some.’
Thinking back she realized that food had taken the back burner to Royal Road. Each served as an escape for her and now that she had the game, the food became less vital. Aphrodite had only been logging off when she had really needed to go to the bathroom or had really been hungry. The first was an invariable aspect of being human but the later could be suppressed to a certain extent.
In the first couple of weeks Aphrodite had logged out a lot more in search of food. It is not easy to adapt a body to a new regimen and so it – being used to unnatural amounts of food – had alerted her frequently. As time went on though, her hunger pains had subsided. She was now eating a normal amount of food at normal intervals – when she had stopped coming in search of food, the numerous butlers had taken it upon themselves to remind their employer’s daughter to eat.
Many were baffled/shocked/amused by the change.
Going from eating the food-stock to having to be force-fed in the span of a couple of months was a little ridiculous in the entire staff’s mind. This caused many of them to wonder about the game that she played so often.
---
As a side note it might interest you to know that some of these same employees soon invested in a subscription to Royal Road and took turns playing it while Aphrodite was in school. There was a black market in the exchange of favors going on that dictated the turns. It was quite amusing to watch the comported staff completely switch gears as soon as the doors closed behind Aphrodite’s back. Her parents were rarely ever home and as you know, ‘when the cat is away, the mice will play.
---
Some of the employees had been with the family for a very long time. They had witnessed Aphrodite’s slow progress into extreme obesity and now used her gaming habits to change her eating habits. They substituted the sweets and fats with healthy proteins and veggies. She was eating better than most people because of this – explaining her cleared complexion. Things are looking up for our fat ugly duckling – but she still has a long way to go.
After taking a long hot bath, during which she was please to notice that the bathroom floor was less drenched from sloshed water than it used to be. She felt refreshed and cooked as one does after a long bath.
In her room she changed. Having time to notice things, she also realized that her clothes were no longer tight. She was used to the household taking care of her shopping for her. Aphrodite had long giving up on shopping as the sizes and tight outfits had only served to depress her to no end.
‘You try to shop when no clothes fit and the ones that do look like queen-sized bed sheets. Not my idea of fun.’
Instead Aphrodite chose to wait for someone to notice her clothes getting tighter until – new bigger clothes substituted her, now too small, outfits in her closet.
The same was happening now only in reverse. Aphrodite had long since given up on checking the sizes on her pants and shirts, obviously she was still aware of her size since a person can only delude themselves to a certain degree. Reluctantly, she wanted it to be less, but she didn't want to get her hopes up, she checked.
Her eyes bulged.
‘Wow. Just… two whole sizes in two in a half months? That’s crazy. I haven’t even done anything!’
If one considered the tightness of Aphrodite’s pants before Royal Road, one should probably go as far to say that she had lost three sizes in that time. But we digress.
After getting dressed she automatically headed to her library.
‘I guess I could do some reading. But I don’t really want to… after that battle it just seems kind of…boring.’
Aphrodite approached the capsule in the library and touched it wistfully – but left.
‘No point in torturing myself.’
‘Twenty-two hours left…’
She then went to the kitchen – old habits die hard. And since she had nothing else to do she figured she could eat something.
‘I don’t know the numbers – but I’ve lost so much weight! Surely, a bite or two of cake wont hurt. Plus. I’m celebrating…’
Thinking about Royal Road she then also added ‘… and mourning.’
The cook was a little unwilling to give her cake – ‘the girl had been doing so well’… but complied. Aphrodite ate half the piece of the cake. The first couple of bites were heavenly but then, as her taste buds got used to it she seemed to stop enjoying it. Suddenly she realized she was quite stuffed already. She left the piece unfinished and headed outside.
Aphrodite’s parents had left three weeks ago. They had notified her that they wouldn't be back for six weeks – so she still had another three before they came back. She didn't particularly miss them. It’s not that the girl was unfeeling, she was just accustomed to it.
‘And it’s not like I don’t talk to them. I video-chat with them every night… I’m pretty sure I talk to my parents more than most kids talk to theirs.’
She was meandering about the tennis courts when she came about the swimming pool.
‘Oh shoot. How could I forget!? This is what I asked for my birthday isn’t it? I would feel bad, but as it turns out dad’s actual gift has gotten more use anyways so I don't feel bad… well… not that bad about it.’
‘… okay. I feel kinda bad. I’ll give it a try.’
Aphrodite headed into the pool and was hit by the smell of chlorine. She had loved the smell as a kid, she had forgotten how much. When she was younger she had actually loved swimming more than anything. Getting excited by the prospect of swimming again she rushed into the changing room (they have a very well organized staff – so obviously there was a swim suit prepared for her / along with goggles and a swim cap) and got changed.
At first her strokes were halted and rough, but she eventually adjusted... a little. It felt good to feel the water flow around her again and after about half an hour her strokes were chopping through the water at a more even pace. However. It wasn't a beautiful sight – I’m not going to lie. If you think this girl is skinny and athletic all of a sudden you are wrong. She was still quite fat. Had certain unkind people been watching, there would have been jokes about a misplaced whale.
Aphrodite was still un-athletic – especially since she had spent so much time recently on Royal Road. Her body was completely out of shape and she tired easily. She was exhausted and didn’t last more than forty minutes. She took breaks between most laps and sometimes in the middle of one – but she enjoyed herself for the first time in a long time while exercising.
After getting out of the pool she headed for the shower. Even while wearing the cap, the chlorine had seeped into her hair and she had to shampoo it three times until she felt she had gotten it all. By the time she applied the conditioning coat her arms were exhausted and she kept them upright with the support of the wall.
‘Well… this is embarrassing. I guess spending all that time on Royal Road as atrophied some of my muscles. I’m going to have to get some daily exercise to prevent this from getting any worse.’
Mostly she was also just happy about the pool. She hadn’t predicted how enjoyable she would find swimming again and vowed to put away an hour of every day to swim.
‘I’m going to have to give daddy a big kiss as thanks when he gets back.’ She smiled and finished rinsing her hair with the help of the walls.
----
Unbeknownst to her, the staff had immediately taken the chance to play Royal Road during her 24-hour ban. There was a strategically placed butler outside the doors to the swimming pool and another at the entrance to the house to run an Aphrodite intervention in case it proved necessary.
----
That night before Aphrodite went to sleep she laid in her bed and she thought about her life for the first time… in a long time. She had never had to worry about anything in her life. Goals weren’t really something she had or had to deal with. Even if she didn’t do anything - everything would be okay. But Royal Road was changing her. Dying had affected her in some deep intangible way. She knew that when she returned it wouldn’t just be about reading books anymore. She had to do something. The sense of accomplishment she had felt at mobilizing the Jewokees flowed back into her.
‘I wonder if he died...’
Aphrodite was done with being overlooked. She was going to fight for her place in the world. Meaninglessly reading her books wouldn’t cut it anymore - not after she had been the part of something. For once she had not been the overlooked fat girl in the corner. She wanted to experience that feeling again. And again. Actually she didn’t want to be overlooked ever again. Things were going to change. They were going to change for her in her life, but first - they had to change in Royal Road.
‘If I can’t change there I stand no chance here.’
‘...’
‘But first - how am I going to deal with that failed quest tomorrow?’
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A/N: Thanks to Starkin for PR!
Thanks to dezz and ramz for helping me with names.
Thanks to curvinho for helping me get kinks out of the story!
I don't know when I'll get around to posting the next one.
Suggestions, etc. always appreciated.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!