One Chance
Chapter 2: Tiksal Cave
“Kuya…Kuya wake up…”
“Mmmm…don’t disturb me…”
Jay was shaken awake by someone and he just rolled over his front side to the opposite.
“OH MY GOSH KUYA THERE’S FIRE!”
He immediately bolted awake before realizing it was nothing but a ruse by his sisters a split-second later. His hand smacked his own face in folly, greeted by his sisters’ smiling faces. The curtains were already open, letting the morning sun’s gentle light stream in.
“You could have woken me up in a gentler way.”
Angela, the younger of the two disagreed.
“You know that we’ve already tried that numerous times in the past as well.”
Jay remembered all the times he was woken up in a strange way. One time they were grilling fish in his room over hot coal causing him to wake up drenched in sweat, another was when they popped party poppers right over his head, or that time when his sisters blasted a fog horn near his ear…he didn’t want to think about it.
“How about being normal sisters for once?”
“Do you really want us to be ‘normal’, Kuya?”
Natalie folded her arms smugly.
“Do you want us to find a boy at school, go home with him when his parents aren’t home, drink a little, and give up our purity? You really want us to be normal, right?”
Jay just shut his mouth. Deep down inside he wanted to pound that fantasy guy’s face in.
“Told you Nat. We get him every time, there’s no need to worry.”
“Okay, that’s enough. What do the two of you want from me?”
The twins smiled and said their request together.
“Breakfast and lunch.”
*****
He had just done preparing their lunch when his sisters got out of their rooms in uniform.
“Kuya, we saw this helmet goggle thing near your bed. Was that something from Jude again?”
Jay just nodded as he folded put some fish in their lunchboxes.
“It must be the new game that just came out, Angie.”
“You’re right. Some of our classmates have to be talking about it when we get there. So how was it?”
Wrapping their utensils in paper, he left their lunchboxes on top of the kitchen sink while he brought over the bread and the leftover heated pesto sauce from yesterday’s dinner at the day care.
“It was fine for my first time.”
National Geographic gasped together.
“Kuya…we’re so happy for you.”
“I’m tearing up.”
One reason why Jay could not wait to go over to the day care was because it was his duty. Another one was that he could not stand being made fun of by his sisters.
“Not that kind of first time. Anyway, you could still get in all things considered. It’s free to play.”
Angela bit into her food as Natalie filled up her cup of hot chocolate.
“We don’t have the helmet thing. Maybe we can just ask Kuya Jude for more units.”
“Ask him for us.”
Jay shook his head as he started on washing the dishes.
“I don’t want you to lag behind on your studies.”
The twins giggled, seeing through their brother.
“No, it’s because you don’t want us to see you screw up in the game.”
“Your brother feels complicated because of that statement.”
He left his sisters to their own devices right away as he hurried to the day care. Luckily he stuffed some frozen pizza in the fridge the night before, a simple reheating would suffice. The drinks would be apple milk and hot cappuccino.
His grandmother was already up eating egg pie for breakfast, watching the morning news.
“Good morning, Lola.”
“Good morning, Jay.”
Blaring from the TV was news concerning the game he was playing last night, One Chance. The man clad in a white lab coat could not take his eyes off the pretty reporter as she faced the camera.
“I’m here today with the official spokesperson of Earthlight, Mr. Agusto Tolentino. Good morning to you, sir.”
“Good morning to you as well, Miss Ronna.”
“Sir, while we’ve heard that the initial reports and impressions of the game were glowing, what can you say about the detracting opinions from the internet like the game being unimaginative or too casual-friendly?”
Agusto laughed heartily before replying.
“As a big game we try to be easy for the new players and hard for experienced ones. One Chance is still one day though beta testing and people will see how it works. Still, we’re happy with the performance of the game since there were virtually no reports of gamebreaking bugs or server issues, which are what a huge game like One Chance usually suffers from on launch.”
“There have been rumors that the game will incorporate a freemium model when the game commercially launches. What are your thoughts on the matter?”
“That rumor is definitely false. We at Earthlight strive to make our customers happy, and we have also stressed this during our company meetings with our sponsors. We promise our players and our potential gamers that we at Earthlight will not let payment affect gameplay. However, we will put advertisements in the game.”
He scratched his nose before continuing.
“I hope our player base understands. Earthlight is not a charity, and while we will have billboards and posters in there, we strive to make it so it does not intrude upon gameplay too much.”
“Can you give us an example?”
Lola Fely smirked at the reporter’s question.
“She’s playing the game too. Look at how she analyzes the man.”
Jay could only shake his head as he was blending the chopped apples and the milk. He rarely listened to the news, but this time his attention was captured. The screen doubled and showed footage of the game on an inset.
“For example, in the big cities there are walls for posters of bounties for criminals at large and such. We will try and sneak in some advertisement posters in there as well. Some shops will also sell products with brand names on them. Of course they are bought with in-game money and it is not required for gamers to pay for them with real money. There are also plans for player-sponsor deals as well, so not only can some players enjoy the game, they can also get paid while doing it. It’s a perfectly legal way of earning while playing.”
Ronna crossed her legs at that moment.
“That reminds me, back at the press conference last month management also revealed to the public about live coverage for the game. Is the situation going on as planned?”
Agusto nodded affirmative at the question.
“Yes, we have contracted a station, this one in fact, about the plans for a reality TV broadcast of the players in One Chance. Right now it’s in the final stages and once it’s a go we will immediately search for promising players and trailblazers to form contracts with.”
“That sounds like good news.”
Ronna then smiled once again on camera and Jay finally turned his attention away when the head anchor started asking the questions.
“Are you playing this game, Jay?”
“Yes I am, Lola. It’s just 5 hours per night.”
“Don’t lose yourself into it.”
Jay looked at his concerned grandmother’s face.
“Please don’t worry. I know how to control myself now.”
*****
Extricating himself from a napping Mia was tough. He had to visit the gym first to confirm his plans with Jude. Waving a silent goodbye to the reading Lola Fely, he took his own bicycle instead of taking public transportation.
Pedaling there was easier than he’d expected.
I bet all the treadmill work I’m putting in helped with that.
It was already 2 in the afternoon when he got there. Most gyms were empty at that time since people were either eating or taking afternoon naps. Jude’s establishment was no exception.
The only person present was the guy at the counter, a street urchin Jude took in. He said his name was Jason Dominic Herrera.
Jude once found him looking at all the food being eaten during the gym’s opening party through the glass windows. He invited him in and asked him whether or not he had a home. The teen shook his head, so Jude immediately took him in and gave him a job as the janitor. The wage was food and board. Many reproached him for the decision, advising him to be careful as children can be thieves as well. To that, he only had one thing to say.
“If he decides to split with my things, I can easily beat him up.”
Jay already talked to him about it. He remembered Jude suddenly becoming somber for no reason.
“It’s irrational how much confidence you put in the boy.”
“I know how it feels to fight for your life.”
Jay looked on as the boy nodded off at the counter. The said boy shook himself awake as soon as he noticed a person standing by the door.
“It’s you, Kuya Jay. How long have you been there?”
Jay decided to be a smartass and spread his arms sideways.
“This long.”
The man at the counter did not react one bit. He took pity at the attempt and just offered a dry laugh.
“Ha ha ha.”
“Where’s Jude?”
Jason looked around and shrugged.
“I don’t know. He just said he had some business and went out with his car.”
“He brought his car? I bet it’s a girl.”
They both looked at each other.
“You…you don’t think…”
“It’s possible.”
Jude was infamous for being confident at everything except girls. His muscular body would be no match against a woman for Jude automatically turns into mush in front of one.
Just then a customer came by. Both men looked at her like she was the newest smartphone on display.
“She’s the girl boss has been crazy about. She’s been here for about two months.”
She vanished from view, presumably going to the changing rooms.
“She looks like a foreigner.”
“Yeah, she’s Korean.”
Jason clicked through the main computer to find the membership list.
“Here she is. Her name is Lee Eun Hye.”
“How do you pronounce that?”
“I just call her Miss Lee.”
Just then a car pulled up to the reserved parking space near the entrance. Both people knew it was Jude’s, and when the aforementioned person walked up to them, they had big grins on their faces.
“What?”
Jay jerked his head towards the other person in the gym, stretching in front of the mirror.
Jude took one look at her and immediately called his paper bag to attention.
“Jason, I said that I’d buy you a headset. Here you are.”
“Thanks. Why don’t you go talk to her boss?”
“Jay, your sisters called me up and said they wanted headsets of their own.”
“Just hold it off until vacation. Go talk to her, Jude.”
The muscle man’s attempts to divert the conversation all went to naught.
“You really want me to talk to her, huh?”
Both men nodded as Jude inwardly fumed.
“I swear…if I ever see you two crushing on someone else I’ll be hounding you.”
*****
Jay and Jude were just outside the town’s border waiting for their newest member to catch up.
“What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know. Maybe I’ll return to town and find something to do while we wait.”
Jude raised an eyebrow.
“What are you going to do in the town? I suggest grinding with me a little bit to hone our strategies.”
“I’m more of a casual than you are. I’ll be fine.”
Jay started walking back to town. Jude shrugged and started hunting
Jason had just started playing One Chance and wanted to join in on the Pedro rescue quest. Since both men already knew what to do on their quest lines, they proposed that they wait until he catches up, giving tips through the
Jay chanced upon a bakery as he went into town, attracted by the sweet smell of bread wafting in from the inside. A little bell tinkled as he entered the shop.
“Welcome to the town bakery. How may I help you?”
An aunt with huge arms and red hair greeted him with a jolly voice. Looking around, Jay saw the different varieties of bread lined up on shelves everywhere.
“You know what, ma’am? I’d like to learn how to bake.”
The cashier woman was befuddled.
“You’re an adventurer. All you need to do is kill monsters. Leave the baking to us.”
“No, I mean I’m a farmer as well. I’d like to know how to bake since I might be cultivating some rice, wheat, and barley in the future.”
In real life Jay did know how to bake. He just wanted to learn how to do it the classic way, because he was so reliant on ready-made mixes bought from the supermarkets.
"Hoy Mario! Someone wants to learn baking from you!"
The cashier then called up the chef, who Jay assumed was her husband. He gladly then made Jay wear an apron and started teaching him.
Minutes passed and Jay was already kneading the dough when he realized that the amount they had was barely enough for selling.
“Chef, how is it that you can sell all that bread outside? No offense but your kitchen looks a little too small for that amount of bread in stock.”
He winked at Jay.
“There’s this curious thing called magic that helps us out with that. Here, let me show you.”
After retrieving the spell scrolls for Jay to use, he returned the dough he kneaded back to the bowl. He then covered the bowl with moist cloth. Putting a trained hand over it like he was praying over someone, he cast a spell.
“I cast <
The dough miraculously rose right away in front of their eyes; Jay could see it through the cloth somewhat. The chef continued teaching with a little hint of pride in his voice.
“With a little training, you can cast your desired growth right away. Put too much mana into it and it’ll rot. Put too little into it and the dough will deflate.”
Jay tried and succeeded on his first try much to the chef’s chagrin.
“Now that it has grown, you knead it a little more. After cutting it, you cast the second spell in the process, <
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
The cut and shaped dough swelled to twice its size.
“You cast this spell the same way you do with <
The chef cut the large pieces and rolled them in bread crumbs.
“Cover it with the wet cloth again and cast <
“So it’s <
The man nodded, removing the cloth and putting the dough in the stone oven.
“Now you wait.”
Taking it all in, Jay resumed kneading.
*****
Jude was in the western forest grinding away.
I promised to never grind and yet here I am.
Slashing the last
Just then, a little being came from what seemed to be a door carved out from inside a tree. It looked left and right, before closing the door behind him. The door magically disappeared.
It was walking away when Jude called its attention.
“Hoy, where are you going?”
The little thing stiffened and remained stationary.
“Was that you who went out of that tree?”
No response.
“I’ll kill you.”
“Okay okay, put the sword down!”
The thing responded, covering its head with its hands. Jude complied and sheathed his sword.
“What does a human want from me?”
“I just want to know who you are.”
“I’m a
He gestured at himself for emphasis.
“Can’t you see? I’m short and have stubby arms and legs.”
“But you have a mask on.”
“My skin is sensitive.”
Jude unsheathed his sword.
“Geez, okay! Humans are such war freaks! Sit down and I’ll explain.”
The dwarf sat down and Jude followed suit.
“You might have been surprised to see me going out of a tree. Plus, as you can see, I don’t have a beard.”
“What I’m more curious about is why you think living out here is a good idea. Also, I’m Jude. Who are you?”
He sighed and removed his mask.
“My name is Wantuk and I’m a halfie. Look at my hair and take a guess.”
Jude took a look at the dwarf who started getting leaves out of his pouch and rolling them.
“Was your mother an elf?”
Wantuk nodded and motioned for tinder. Jude gave it to him without a word.
“Indeed. They cast out my mother from the kingdom after they discovered she was pregnant with me.”
“That doesn’t make sense. Narra Town back there has all walks of life, even Aswangs, and you know how much humans hate them.”
After lighting his leaves, Wantuk offered Jude a smoke. He politely declined.
“Adventurers are the one good thing that has happened to this world. There’s still friction but the enmity between races has been eroding.”
“But you’re not part of that?”
“I’m not a part of that.”
They sat together in silence for a while. Jude then noticed a necklace made of wood and skillfully weaved leaf fibers.
“What’s that on your chest?”
“It’s an
“Oh, so it’s a gift. Can you make me one?”
Wantuk looked up at Jude suspiciously, eyes wide open.
“Are you going to kill me and take it?”
“No no no. I’m just looking at it. I would like one though.”
The dwarf started standing up and patting his behind for dirt.
“For listening to my story, I’m going to give you one.”
“Thanks.”
That was easy.
Jude waited outside Wantuk’s tree house until the latter came out.
“I was judging your capabilities as a warrior and decided this was the best one for you. But in turn you have to accompany me to the
< Wantuk was just heading out to recharge his Anting-anting when you caught him in the act. Now guard him as he goes to the Spring of Cassiopeia to recharge both his and yours. Rewards: 100 XP, Anting-anting ng Guwardiya (Amulet of the Guard)>> “Alright then, but I have one question before we go. Can you fight?” Wantuk brandished his wooden mallet as if remarking, ‘Can’t you see?’ On the way, Jude had an easier time disposing of the mobs than if he had spent the time just lolling around. He inwardly thanked his grinding for that. They reached the spring in a very short time. Wantuk dipped the two medals in the water. They glowed in his hands for a little before fading away. The dwarf gave Jude his share. As Jude wore it, his noticed his skills increase by one. It said < “Wantuk, where do I recharge this if I’m far from this spring?” “There are a lot of springs around, don’t worry. But be careful in the Aswangs’ land, not many springs are there.” Right away after Wantuk reassured Jude though, a large monster rose from the ground. It was a “OH CRAP! Why didn’t you say anything, Wantuk?” “I can usually meld with the trees given that I’m a halfie so I’m sorry if it slipped my mind. That’s this place’s guardian.” It was an 8 foot tall monster smoking a large cigar and only wearing a loincloth. It had hair all over its body complete with long fangs in its mouth. “This isn’t a quest…? Hey, do I really have to fight this guy?” “You can try. It’s better with a party.” “But I don’t have them with me.” “You should have brought them with you, then.” The monster was irritated by the banter and smashed his fists to where they were standing. As he lifted his hands back up, mini-craters were left behind. Wantuk and Jude both screamed silently as they saw the extent of the damage he could do. “It was nice knowing ya, Jude.” “Hey hey hey! Don’t just leave me here! Tell me what this amulet does.” “It gives you absolute protection from one hit.” “Just one?” “Just one.” Jude focused at the monster who somehow adopted an orthodox boxing stance. “You can defeat him. Here’s my tip: these monsters were formerly human. They’re cursed humans.” “Why can’t you just tell me how to defeat it?” “That would be no fun, wouldn’t it?” Jude growled as he avoided another heavy blow by the monster. If they were former humans, then I guess the back of their necks are weak. So how do I make him bow? Jude tried stabbing at its stomach to no avail. The monster was just too fast and too tough; there were no openings to take advantage of. “Of all the monsters I have to face, I had to get the one with training.” He tried slashing at the shins. Still no go for the swordsman. Wantuk then shouted something at Jude from invisibility. “Hey um, I’m bored so I’ll be waiting back at home for you.” “Sure thing, it’s not like you would stay here and watch me because we’re friends, you know.” “…Okay you’ve convinced me. I’ll watch until you die or he dies.” Jude smiled and put all his weight on his back foot, planning to use the new skill he got from grinding a while ago. “Taste my < He flew right towards the His hands flew right in to preserve his modesty, but not before Jude took advantage and sliced his nape open with another < “That was amazing swordsmanship, Jude.” “No, he caught me as well.” Jude went back to the spring to recharge. “That’s bollocks. I didn’t see him hit you…unless…” “You’re right. It was thanks to this.” Jude raised the amulet from the water and waved it. It seemed like the item blocked the hit that the monster got in. “I want to thank Cassiopeia for protecting me. Is there any way I can meet her?” “She’s a “Unless…” Wantuk raised his head. “Unless what?” Jude just shrugged in finality. “Unless nothing…I thought you had a way to meet her.” “Well, the Becoming a hero, huh? ***** Jay went back to the agreed place since Jason was almost finished with the farm quest. He was just lying down on the grass when Jude came out of nowhere and jumped over him. “Hey jump back. I won’t grow at this rate and it’ll all be your fault.” “You’re already past the age of growth.” Jude still jumped over him one more time though and lay down beside him. “So what now…we have one hour left before logout.” “Wait, I’ll send a PM.” Jay wrote a “Let’s go.” Their destination was Tiksal Cave, a dungeon near Narra Town. “What did you tell him?” “I told him that we were scouting. By the way, what’s that on your chest? It looks new.” Jay had noticed something elegant on Jude’s chest. The latter could not stop bragging about it. “It’s an Jay shook his head. “No, never mind. I’ll get one for myself.” “Judging from your response, it seems like you got yourself something new as well.” “Yep, I got these spells.” After Jay told Jude the names of the spells, Jude erupted in laughter. “HA HA HA! Are you sure those spells aren’t for your penis?” “That’s very funny, coming from the guy with no balls to approach a lady.” “Hey! No talking bad about Miss Eun Hye!” Relentless teasing peppered their conversations on the way to the cave, until at last they reached its mouth. “Jay, you remember the things we talked about?” “Yes, please don’t lecture me.” “To be safe, let’s go over them again.” Jay clutched his head in agony. As they entered the cave, their skin got chills at the staleness of the air inside. Numerous hanging things were on the roof of the cave as well as flying bats. “This seemed like a hideout of some sort.” “Is this backstory I see in my MMO? I love backstories in my games.” What Jude was referring to were the cave paintings. Numerous primitive drawings of life in the past dotted the walls. Jude took out a torch and lit it up to see them better. “Why couldn’t you have done that earlier? I was tripping on my own feet.” “Shut up.” The drawings displayed things like the ancient “So back then, the “It’s probably the Tribe Leader – Head Shaman dynamic.” “Correct. So then they used this cave as shelter and a place to store their food.” A pack of “As I was saying, they used this place to store their food.” “It doesn’t make sense why Pedro would come here.” “You want to be a farmer, right Jay? Think about it.” “Saying I want to doesn’t mean I am, stupid.” They lit a campfire and sat down, putting pieces of meat on their blades and roasting them over the fire. “Pedro was a farmer who wanted to get out to the big city…but then what would he do there? Beg?” “Jude, I have a sinking feeling he was killed by the illegal recruiters.” “This isn’t real life, dumbass.” Jude looked at the game timer. Thirty minutes were left. “Hey, we gotta hurry. At some point we’re going to find what Pedro came here for. Don’t rescue Pedro if we see him, got it?” “YES! OH MY GOD, CAN YOU REPEAT IT AGAIN I’M NOT SATISFIED!” Jay’s scream aggravated the nearby mobs causing the duo to fight back to back. “This is your entire fault Jay!” “WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE!” But they didn’t. Their teamwork was impressive; Jude took care of the heavy hitters while Jay flung his seeds around with his hoe. This caused the monsters to lose footing and trip, creating openings for the partners to exploit. Their actions resulted in the entire level being cleared. Jay looked around and saw something different in the distance. He called Jude and walked over to what looked like a treasure chest. “How can ancient people build treasure chests? This one has a lock as well, wow.” “At any rate, it seems like we know what Pedro was after. These might be precious gems too.” “How do we open it, then?” “Smash the lock, Jude. It’s common sense.” Jude smashed the lock, but not one second later and numerous skeletons spawned around them, screaming one thing. “YOU DID NOT OPEN ME WITH A KEY” ---------------------------------------- Another chapter done! Thank you for reading and if you can, please leave a review or a comment. Should I make a glossary? There might be a lot of unfamiliar terms being used and I thought maybe the readers could use some explanations.