Name:

Grey Godborn

Level:

7

Race:

Human

Class:

Lesser Arcane Mage

Skills:

Arcane spells 7, Arcane Talent 1, Mana Battery 1

Trade Skills:

Skinning 3

Titles:

N/A

Inventory:

Small Backpack, Small Coin Pouch, Dagger, Ring of Mana,

Necklace of Power. Ring of the Divine.

Health:

105/105

Mana:

150/150 (+25)

Strength:

3

Dexterity:

4

Intelligence:

14

Wisdom:

12

Charisma:

8

Additional:

(+1 to spell damage)

I closed my Character sheet and walked up the dirt road until the forest’s dense brush broke, and a decrepit farm came into view. Surrounding it was a large field with dried-out corn stalks covered in webs. The fencing around the property was rotten and falling apart. A Large grain silo and windmill missing all but one blade loomed behind a ghastly looking farmhouse.

I readied myself and walked up the pathway to the farm. It was eerily silent as I approached the farmhouse. The farmhouse was destroyed, with a caved-in roof providing no access. “Kain, I’m here!” I screamed. No one responded. “They picked the creepiest place to set up shop, didn’t they, Romeo?” The Mana Wyrm hissed and continued to float around my head, scanning for enemies.

I continued toward the back of the farm where the windmill and grain silo stood. As I approached, two fat black rats scurried past me. My blood began to boil at the thought of Yolanda being kept prisoner in a place like this.

The windmill was tall and falling apart. Judging from the amount of decay on the wooden structure, it was a miracle it was still standing at all. A door barely holding onto its hinges was closed in front of me. “I’m coming in! I have your money!” Maybe that lie would buy me enough time to at least scope out the area before the battle took place. I would much rather try to talk it out with Kain than risk hurting Yolanda in our fight. Regardless, I Steeled my resolve and opened the door.

Two hands grabbed me from inside and pulled me in. I turned to see Kain’s chubby minion standing behind me. I went to attack, but I was interrupted.

“I wouldn’t do that, Grey.” I turned to Kain’s voice, and though the room was poorly lit, I recognized Kain and a tied-up Yolanda on the other end of the room. She kneeled next to him, her hands and feet restrained with rope. Her mouth was gagged, and Kain starred at me with a shit-eating grin.

“What did you do to her, Kain!” I screamed at him.

“Oh, you mean your little girlfriend? We just tied her up and waited for you. I don’t know why you look so upset. Did you think I would torture her? Kill her? Or maybe even violate her?” Kain ran his hand across her face, and she started to sob.

“You bastard!” I walked aggressively forward before noticing where she was sitting, forcing me to stop in place. A hatch was open beside her, leading to the basement of the structure. I looked down between the floorboards under me, and in the darkness, I could barely make out multiple large creatures running around.

“You see, loverboy. I’m not like you; I don’t get turned on by a few lines of code with a pretty face. You see, I know you already have me made out to be this evil monster but look at it from my side if you will. Finally, I spawn into the first VRMMO to ever come out. And I’m crazy excited, right? All I want to do is test out virtual reality, so what do I do? I grab the first weapon I see and walk off a bit to swing it around.”

“let’s talk abo-”

“Don’t fucking interrupt me, Grey.” Holding Yolandas hands behind her back, he pushed her face into the open hole. All the creatures ran to the opening, waiting for the meal to fall in. “If you don’t want your beloved NPC to be rat food, don’t fucking say a word...Where was I? Oh yeah. The shopkeep decides to call me a thief, and before I can explain myself, I get my head caved in! It fucking hurt you know. Yet, I put that behind me and went out to level with my friends. I was having just the best damn time I could. So I come to the church to get healed, like I am supposed too by the way. And what happens, Grey? You get us kicked out, no healing for me, no healing for my friends. Do you think that’s fair, Grey?

I didn’t respond.

“No, it wasn’t; it wasn’t fair at all. So what did I do? I went back to try again; shit, I thought I might even apologize. And you know what your little priestess did, Grey?”

He stared at me, waiting for a response.

“No, Kain, what did she do,” I answered dryly.

“She fucking attacked us, hit Mark right in the head with her staff. So we defended ourselves, tied her up, and here we are.”

“Kain, what do you want me to do. I’m sorry that happened to you. What can I do to make it right.”

He looked at me for a second before looking at Yolanda and then back to me.

“Suffer.”

He threw her in the hole.

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My instincts took over, and I ran; I ignored Kain and his henchman and dived right into the pitch-black hole after her.

The darkness lifted, Romeo’s bright blue body acting as a torch. The creatures that were ready to devour my priestess had retreated into the shadows, probably because of Romeo. I knelt down to check on Yolanda. The drop was only 7 or 8 feet, but she landed on her head, knocking her out. I looked up and saw Kain smile at me as he closed the hatch above me.

I looked around the room for the creatures as three dog-sized rats came into the light. They had glassed-over white eyes and huge razor-sharp fangs. Their bodies were skinny, revealing bones against their matted black skin. They were starving. Ready to devour anything unfortunate enough to enter the basement.

One of the rats ran forward. “Magic Missle!” The blue ball struck the rat in the face; he hissed and scurried off into the shadows. The other two then began their advance. “Mana chains!” Thick chains wrapped around one, but the other got in close. I tried to dodge, but his thick teeth impaled my shoulder. “Fuck!” I got him off with a stab from my dagger and kicked him to the side. My shoulder burned. ‘Alert: You have been poisoned’ I noticed my HP dropping quickly. 78/105. 77/105. 76/105. “Damnit, Magic Missle!” I hit the unchained rat in the ribs. His bones must have been brittle from malnourishment because the creature’s entire body caved in on itself. I then focused my attention on the rat trying to break out of my chains. I fired two more Missiles at him, this time causing the rat’s body to burst open—blood and entrails flying everywhere.

‘Arcane Talent is now level 2. Infant Mana Wyrm’s Mana Strike is now level 2.’

Not seeing the third rat, I went to help Yolanda. Breaking the ropes with my dagger, I pulled a health potion from my bag. Gently opening her mouth, I poured the red liquid in. Her eyes opened.

“Grey?” She said softly.

“I’m here; I’ve got you.” I held her in my arm.

She looked me in the eyes and then to my shoulder. “Grey, your hurt; let me help.” Getting up from my lap, she put her hands on me. “Cure poison. Holy light.”

My Health shot up, not to full, but at least the poison stopped. I pulled out two more potions giving one to Yolanda and one for myself.

“Let’s get out of here. Can you fight?”

She gave me a grin. “Of course I can.”

I looked up at the hatch. The ladder was decayed and broken. There was no way we would be able to get back up from there. I doubt Kain would even let us assuming he was still up there. I pondered our options, but then, an unfortunate smell filled my nose. Smoke.

“We need to find a way out now!” The smoke began to get thicker as red flamed grew above us.

Yolanda responded by channeling a spell. “Holy guidance!” a beam of light came from her spellbook. It jumped around the room, illuminating old crates and boxes before settling on a pile of large sacks stacked against the wall. “Over there should be a way out!”

I Moved the bags aside; sure enough, there was a small tunnel. If we crawled, we should be able to fit. That was definitely a convenient spell. But why is there a tunnel in the basement? No time to think; I got on my knees and began to crawl; Yolanda followed behind me. And Romeo took up position beside me, lighting the way.

“Are you doing ok?” I asked as smoke bellowed out behind us.

“I’m having a hard time breathing,” Yolanda whispered back.

Crawling through the tunnel, I began to realize the ground was sloping downward. Where the hell is it taking us? My legs and arms screamed in pain from the crawling, and the constant stream of smoke was hurting my lungs and eyes. We had been crawling for at least ten minutes nonstop. I paused, Yolanda’s head ran into me.

“Owe, why are you stopping.”

“Listen.” The sound of running water could be heard further down the tunnel. “Were almost there. *cough cough* come on!”

I moved as fast as my body could. The dirt got wetter and wetter as my hands and feet sank deeper into the mud with every foot I traveled. A slight yelp left my mouth as I lost my traction. The tunnel’s angle took a dip and turned into a muddy slide. I could not grab onto anything around me, so I allowed myself to be carried down into the darkness.

“AHHHHHHHHHHH” *kerplunk* I landed in a small body of water. Romeo was still wrapped around me, lighting up the area. I Stood up, the water only being a foot or so deep. The claustrophobic tunnel had to spit us out into a large cavern. Big enough for at least five people to walk side by side.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHH” *BAM* Yolanda shot out of the tunnel above and smacked right into me, knocking me to the ground.

“Are you ok, Grey?” She said, getting off of me.

I got up and spat a huge clump of mud out of my mouth. “Yeah, I’m good, but why the hell is there a tunnel to an underground river? Seams really out of place for a farm.”

“It’s likely where the Cryptrats came from. They like to burrow underground in search of food.

“Crytrats? Gross.”

“Grey, this is fantastic news! If they came from here, it means there will be a way out!” Yolanda’s smile made me feel warm and hopeful.

We walked through the mud at a snail’s pace. Each step caked more and more mud onto our feet, making it harder to progress. “We have to stop; my ankles are gonna break,” I said

“I could use a break as well,” she said, leaning against the cave wall and letting her body collapse into the mud.

“Can’t you use that spell again to show the way out?”

“No, It’s a waste of mana; besides Grey, we already know the way out.” She motioned to the darkness ahead of us. “Besides, if I run out of mana, who’s going to protect you?” She said, playfully throwing a clump of mud at me.

We both sat there silently until I spoke up. “How did they capture you anyway? You should have taken them out no sweat with that insane holy magic.”

She sunk her head and pulled her knees up to her face. “They jumped me. The three of them had snuck into the church after I locked up. I managed to knock one out with my staff, but I got hit from behind. Then I woke up with ropes tied around me...I didn’t have a chance to fight back. If only I had...”

I interrupted her. “Don’t worry; I will fuck them up for what they did. I will hunt them down if I have to.”

“You and me both. But we need to get out of here first.” She smiled, and we went back to sitting in silence.

A short time passed, and I felt ready to move again. I gave Yolanda a nod, and she nodded back. As we prepared to leave, I felt a familiar feeling. The threads connecting me to Romeo tugged and pulled. I turned and looked at what he was facing. From the opposite direction of where we came from, a loud noise could be heard. There was an audible *Thump* and then a skittering sound. It repeated, getting closer and closer. I looked down, and hundreds of normal-sized rats scampered by in a frenzy. Were they running from something?

*Thump Thump THUMP* We stared in silence as an elephant-sized creature approached us. As it came into the light, I could make out two large teeth and glassy white eyes. Green goo dripped out of his mouth as he stared at us. For the first time, the system displayed the creature’s name. ‘Blight Fang: Level 10, Area Boss.’

With no time to think, Yolanda made the first move. “Divine Wrath!” She yelled as a spear of yellow light shot out from her hands, impaling Blight Fang through the chest. The creature screamed in pain as the spear disappeared, blood erupting from his open wound.

Capitalizing on her attack, I fired off as many magic missiles as I could. Five of the blue orbs hit; they exploded onto the thick skin but didn’t even phase the powerful boss before us.

He began his charge, chunks of rock and mud flying everywhere as he took up the entire width of the cavern.

“Aim for the hole in his chest! Your attacks aren’t strong enough to pierce his skin!” Yolanda yelled as she channeled a second spell.

The beast closed in, mouth opening and closing, ready to eat me whole. Before it could reach me, I fired off one more missile, this time into its open wound. The ball of plasma exploded, causing the injury to start shooting out blood again. Blight Fang wreathed in agony as Yolanda finished her spell. Another spear of light pierced right through the beast’s body, causing the foot-high river to gain an extra few inches from the creature’s blood loss. Unforchanetly my attack didn’t stop the rat, and a swipe from his left paw sent me flying. Romeo, who was by my side, got hit as well, exploding into a puff of blue energy.

“Grey!”

I lay on the ground staring at myself. Blight Fang’s swipe had utterly mangled my body. HP: 15/105. My arm was bloody with bone showing in three different places, and my left leg was contorted and facing the complete wrong direction. I guess adrenaline kicked in because I felt no pain, or anything else for that matter.

Using my finger, I pushed on my ring, causing my body to glow. HP 26/105. “Well, that didn’t help much.” I pressed it one more time, feeling myself about to pass out.

“Wall of light!”

I looked where the fight was happening and saw Yolanda running towards me; behind her was a glowing shield of transparent light. Blight Fang scratched and slammed his body against it forming visible cracks in the barrier. Yolanda jumped on me and pulled my bag off my back. She rummaged through it, pulling out the contents. She then fed me the health potions and herself drank the mana ones. The healing made my legs somewhat usable, but I could still feel internal damage. My arm still wouldn’t budge.

“Grey, I can finish this, stay behind and support me.”

Not giving me a chance to respond, she ran off toward the barrier. I ran after her, but my legs wouldn’t allow it, and I fell. “Fuck!”

The barrier shattered as a crazed Blight Fang crashed through the shield. Yolanda stood there, ready for him. In her hands, she held two disks of light. Tossing one, it sliced right through his mouth. His front teeth fell out along with a chuck of the beast’s upper lip. Yolanda dodged a paw and went to toss the second *Splurt*

Time froze for me. I saw the second disk of light slicing through the face of Blight Fang and carving right into the Rats brain. But Yolanda, my poor Yolanda. Blight Fang’s tail had shot out from under the ground, impaling my priestess. It went right through her stomach, lifting her into the air.

The world now in slow motion, I ran towards her. ‘Congratulations! You have slain Blight…’

“Notifications off!” I screamed as I threw myself onto Yolanda. I pulled out my dagger and cut the tail in half, catching her in my arms as we both fell to the ground.

“Wake up! Wake up!’ I lightly slapped her face. But there was no response. How do I heal her? There are no more potions. Her eyes opened and looked into mine. “Yolanda, tell me how to heal you!”

She spoke softly and smiled. “No more...mana...you...do...it” Her spellbook glowed, and a dancing ball of light rose from it. ‘Spirit of light’ “What do I do with this!” I then remebered the fire spirit the old man was selling. “I can become a healer!”

I took the spirit and opened my book to the very first page. Resting the book on her chest, I read the passage word for word. “I have walked the road of magic and come to a decision; may the magic realm accept my choice as I devote myself to this teaching.”

*Cough* Yolanda convulsed, and blood flew all over me. Don’t worry, Yolanda, I’m going to save you. “Accept this offering, oh mighty god of magic!” Just then, the book glowed, and a screen opened over the book.

‘Please insert offering.’

*cough* Another spit of blood came from Yolanda, and she went limp. “It’s ok I’m almost done!” Just as I was about to place the Spirit of light on the book, a message appeared.

‘Offering [Blood of the holy] Received.

What, no.

‘Checking...Please stand by.’

No stop.

‘Priest/priestess-Check

Good alignment-Check

Innocence-Check’

STOP IT!

‘Offering Accepted’

‘You have chosen Necromancer as your class of magic.’

Holy light!

Fuck! HOLY LIGHT! HEAL! Please!

It was no use. Yolanda was dead.