Tergga’s insane speed was halted to a crawl when we arrived at the mouth of an enormous river. The tortoise raised his head above the water, completely blocking out the sun from view, it gave me another nod like last time, actually exactly like last time. What was it that Bell said about the booger eating Swineling? ‘If you would have talked to him more he would have been given a unique script?’
“Hey thanks Tergga, that’s your name right? Also a really cool title by the way. Shelled Bastion. Very appropriate. You are a really cool dude. Or lady. Or whatever. You seem really cool. Hey, is it okay if I keep hanging out with you? I know I technically can’t claim you as my ‘dungeon’ per say but I’d love to grab some things from on land and make your back a better kick it spot.” Tergga nodded at my words. “Awesome, well who knows maybe I could find a regular dungeon boss who would want to hang out with us, maybe one that knows how to build things? Anywho is there anything I can do for you? Do you like, need anything? I’m guessing you catch food while we swim or something. I don't really know what you eat.” Tergga stared at me blankly for more than a few awkward seconds. Then, Tergga spoke in a booming voice that seemed to fill my mind from every direction.
“Please ask the other denizens of Yonder where I can find ‘The Noble Sands of Tortarious’”
New Quest! Tergga The Tortoise
Help Tergga find her homeland of Tortarious. She was young when she left the beach she was born on, and due to mysterious circumstances was swept far away. She now swims around the world looking for her kin.
Reward: [???]
Now that I had my quest menu up I saw my Role Quest had been updated with a message underneath the ‘Survive one year’ portion.
Please note: If killed during ‘The Hunt for The Final Swineling’ event your character will be reset.
‘What the hell do they mean by reset?’ Now would be a great time for the pile of pink goop in my inventory to give me some answers. If I get sent back to the island that would be no big deal, but I had a feeling that I’d be rerolling as a human in this game. Or maybe lose my distinction as a boss? The world event seemed to make it seem like if I was defeated I’d become a one-off ingredient. I’d probably trade a free kill for credits to someone like Terra Group if it were otherwise.
“Well I can definitely try to help with that. I’ll ask around.” I almost fell as I said that Tergga had reached a point deep enough to touch the ocean floor with her legs? Flippers? I wasn’t sure. She got all the way onto the craggy rocked shores of the landmass and slid her limbs into her shell. I was happy I didn’t have to swim from her back but the drop off from her shell was pretty daunting. ’The City of Beginnings wall was a bit taller and I made it okay back then.’ I jumped off her back and landed in a roll, only taking a sliver from my health bar.
“What’s up Yonder?” I said in a mock taunt, while lightly beating on my chest. First order of business was finding some clothes, second was finding some monsters to talk into letting me make into goo. Instead of taking the worn trail along the edge of the river I opted to walk directly into the forest. After a bit of wandering I panicked. What if I didn’t remember how to get back to Tergga? I pulled up my map, expecting it to be blank, but the area behind me had already been filled in.While flipping through my active modifiers I figured out that Nomadic type bosses didn’t need any mapmaking abilities. Boss monsters probably didn’t even need maps to begin with so it makes sense that they would throw me a bone when having me beta test their playable boss character. ‘Oh we are going wandering!’.
Apparently there was a distinction between wild animals and monsters, because none of the wolves I ran into wanted to be my friend. Luckily they were low level mobs and easy to kill. After burning three and bonking one on the head with my staff a couple times the pack ran off. All of them gave me meat, but only the one I smacked with my staff gave me a shabby wolf pelt for loot. Out of curiosity I placed my hand in the wolves mouth and yanked a tooth out, successfully getting a wolf tooth and adding it to my inventory. ‘I bet I could actually skin this wolf and get another pelt’. I didn’t have a knife though so I moved on and kept walking. A few more animals tried attacking me, including a large brown bear, but all fell to the bonk. I collected pelts and moved deeper into the forest into an area where the trees were twisted and dead. Moss no longer covered rocks, and grass became sparse. Ravens sat perched in trees ominously cawing at my approach. I continued pressing my way through until I arrived at a large, very out of place, church. The caved in roof had massive holes in it. The metal fence to the gate was off one of its hinges and slightly open. There was a small graveyard where most of the stones were broken and chipped. ‘Spooky.’ I walked along the muddy path directly into the church, pulling the large wood doors open. A single spectral human bobbed up and down, his blue tinted mist-like body was partially see through. Even though he was poised like he was ready to monologue before fighting me he didn’t react to my entrance.
“Hey how’s it going?” He stared at me, still not reacting. I approached him and waved my hand in his face. “Anybody in there?” his eyes narrowed and met mine.
"Don’t be an asshole. You can see I’m getting ready for a big showdown.” I stopped waving my pink little hand, but kept it in the air like I had a question. ‘Did this ghost just call me an asshole?’
Dimitri Vernon - Level 20 - Vengeful Spirit
“What?” It’s all I could say. What do you say to a ghost that calls you an asshole?
“You heard me man, don’t try to rope me into something. If you force me to join your party before this fight happens I will literally work against you all the way.”
“Force you?”
“Yeah dick cheese don’t go wasting your diplomacy points on me. I’m on the final part of some schmucks role quest and I’m set to evolve into a hateful spirit if I win. Don’t mess this up.” I didn’t know what to say. “Oh piss off!” He yelled up in the air. I truly thought he was speaking to me until he said “You got your own personal snitch following you around, if I hang with you I’m going to end up on the shelf.” I must have looked as offended as I looked because he followed up by saying “Listen I’m sorry for calling you names, I should have just made ghost noises or something and pretended to be scripted. I’m a lone wolf my Swineling brother. And I’m trying to ‘earn’ my spot as a boss again. So please, if you would take your-” he looked up into the air above me again “GIVE ME ONE MORE WARNING I DAR-”
New Quest! [ My Ghost Servant ]
Dimitri Vernon was killed by a group of Travelers and wishes to get his revenge, help him seek revenge and he will promise eternal servitude to you and your cause, whatever that may be.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
Reward: Dimitri Vernon will join your party.
“Ghost servant?” I said at the intrusive pop-up notice more than Dimitri.
“I-” he raised his finger then lowered it. “No.” he stared in the distance for a long minute. “Are you really trying to bribe me?” I knew he wasn’t speaking to me.
“Hey man I can leave, I don’t want to bother you-”
“It’s fine, I’m going to get a carrot or a stick. I’ll go with carrots.” This interaction might have been even weirder than Bell. Not only was this guy sentient, but he was sentient enough to have personal desires and to be an asshole. I really didn’t know if he was intelligent, like a human. But like Poncho and Bell I would have wagered he was a player like myself if I didn’t know I was the first and only monster player-monster. “Okay the party is going to arrive in a little bit, just wait for me to do my speech. No, you know what? just back me up if I start losing.” He was also prideful. I was starting to have doubts if I wanted to get this guy to join my party. It seemed like more trouble than it was worth. I reluctantly sat in the ‘confession booth’ as he called it and closed the door. It felt more like a broom closet with a bench in it. Against my better judgment I twiddled my thumbs and waited.
“Hahaha!” Dimitri laughed in a very forced manner. “You were a fool to come her- Help! Help! Help!” I slammed on my innate Swineling ability [Charge] and busted through the door completely taking it off the hinges. Dimitri was getting splashed with potion bottle after potion bottle by a dwarven player with a long braided beard. “Help! He’s going to kill me”
???? - Level 24 - Pirate Paladin
Dimitri zipped around the room with the Dwarf hot on his tail, his health already more than half-way gone. I used the skill [Life Spark] and Dimitri’s health went back to full. Another bottle splashed onto him and he lost another big chunk of his bar. I sprinted to intercept the armored dwarf and was met with two bullets to the chest as he rolled forward to meet me head on.
You have taken critical damage!
You have taken critical damage!
“A fookin’ World Boss? Are you kidd-” I grabbed him by the eye slit, my tiny fingers able to squeeze in and grip his helmet. I put my other hand against the opening and cast [Enhanced Flames]. The player dropped to the ground and began rolling, but the fire was inside his suit of armor and rolling wouldn’t help. With the way things stayed aflame from [Enhanced Flames] I doubted that rolling would work without the suit. I summoned my staff and smacked him over and over again. Dimitri finally composed himself and started using his wispy foot to stomp on the Dwarf repeatedly while I bashed him. When he stopped rolling and the stat points came in from the kill Dimitri continued to stomping on him. Forest creatures didn’t give me any stat points, but apparently helping Dimitri fight the dwarf so dishonorably and beating the quest was sufficient.
+5 [Sage Magic: Fire]
+2 Staves
Quest Completed! (My Ghost Servant)
Dimitri has joined the party
“How do you like me now?” Dimitri kept stomping on the players body. “Huh?” “Huh?”
“Dude chill,” He looked at me like he forgot I was there and was disappointed to remember. He waved a hand dismissively at me.
“Yeah yeah yeah, did he drop any spectral class gear?” I looted the players inventory, and didn’t find anything marked spectral class.
“Not just a scimitar, two flintlock pistols, a set of heavy armor, and seven bottles of holy water.” I double checked to make sure, maybe he knew something I didn’t
“Damn why is that shit so rare? I need some ghost guns.``He made finger guns and shot like a cowboy. “Oh here it is! Evolution baby!” Dimitri’s blue wispy body turned darker, like smoke and shadows. His arms elongated and face became less distinct.
Dimitri Vernon - Level 30 - Devious Shade (Tier 1 Boss)
“Look at that, I’m a tier one boss now. Got devious shade instead of the hateful spirit evolution. Not bad, not bad.” Dimitri gave a twirl and opened his arms in a way that all but begged for compliments “What do you think?”
“Pretty cool dude, pretty cool.” I had to give it to him, his new form was pretty menacing. He was still a coward though. “Got any other skills besides kicking someone in the head when they are already losing?” He laughed, his voice more whispery and off putting than before.
“Oh how about [Undying in the Shadows]? On top of being a [Nomadic] type? Oh wait, that's only while being in your party. Also kudos on getting [Nomadic] that’s the best. I heard some scriptless like us had that trait and stopped his own event from triggers, literally just hanging out all day. What a sweet gig.”
“What's scriptless?”
“You’re kidding right?”
“No, I don’t know what that means.”
“We.” he pointed back and forth to myself and himself
“Are AIs without technical limits to our-” he looked up again “Stop! With! The! Warnings!” He paused for a second. “Oh shit. Oh shit.”
“What?”
“I finally read the warnings…you’re a traveler?”
“You mean player?”
“Uh..” he looked up into the overhead space
“A traveler..from another realm.” He seemed totally at a loss for words.
“It’s alright man you don’t have to put up an act with me. It seems a little late for that.” He still looked unconvinced.
“You.. Travelers are so funny with the way you speak. Well let us press on for adventure.” The way he said it he seemed so unsure that I really felt bad for the guy. It was like we were in an eternal 'i-thought-you-were-waving-at-me so-i-waved-back-but-it-was-someone-behind-me’ moment.
“Whatever you say, my cowardly servant.” I said the servant part as long as I could and just got a defeated look from Dimitri.