Soldier of Fantasy Book 2
Chapter 1 Jake Vows Revenge
Jake woke up and reached over to feel for Lily. She was not there. Memories of the previous day came flooding back. Jake wept long and hard. He thought of the unfairness of it all. He thought about how the system had betrayed him. The same system that had given him hope and a chance at a better life had taken everything from him in the blink of an eye. Jake couldn't help but clench his fists, anger bubbling within him. He thought about how the rich and powerful lorded it over the weak. How they schemed and ground down those beneath them. He wouldn't let it happen again. He would do whatever it took to use the treacherous System. He would be the power. “One day” he swore, “I will tear it all down.”
Just then a new quest line appeared. “Quest line available. Travel East. Deep in the heart of the desert lies a city of glass. Wonders and knowledge will be found there. Will you be the one to unlock the secrets within? Part 1. Travel to the desert oasis of Knox. Due southeast of here lies a road that crosses the endless wastes. Only the most determined and hardy traveler survives the crossing. There you may find the trail to the city of glass.”
Jake accepted the quest. He would travel to this city of glass he hoped he would find answers there. Thinking of the name “city of glass” brought to mind modern cities. He wondered if that was what he would find there. He knew traveling through the desert would be better at night. It would be cold but better than the heat of the day. So he spent the day preparing for the journey. He already had plenty of meat from his many hunting trips. He found that anything put into a storage ring would keep fresh as if no time had passed at all until it was retrieved. He needed water though and lots of it. He emptied everything he could into the larger storage ring. He dug out a large hole near a freshwater stream. The n using the smaller storage ring he collected up as many large rocks as he could. He laid down a tarp in the hole pinning it down with rocks.
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With that done he used he filled the tarp with water. Jake then collected firewood. He built up a roaring fire lighting it with a fire bolt and placed smooth dry stones in the fire. Once the stones were red hot he dropped them into the water. He continued to replace the stones as they cooled until he had a rolling boil. He let the water cool down and filled the small storage ring with water. Then he filled every container he had placing them back into the large storage ring.
Jake felt he had done all he could to prepare so he headed off. It was easy enough to find the road he was looking for. The system had made a quest marker on his quest map. He looked at the road and he wondered who made it. It was straight and flat and seemed to go on past the horizon. It was raised too, probably to keep it from being covered by blown sand.
Jake took a running leap and hovered above the ground. Controlling his momentum he kept a running pace. He had a long way to go and didn't want to burn up his energy. Hours passed this way. Just desert and more desert. He saw sand and more sand. He was bored and started to daydream. He didn't know how long this went on but something caught his attention. A large shadow fell upon him blocking out the dim moonlight.
It was a subtle shift but he noticed and looked up. Jake blinked twice not quite believing what he was seeing. Swooping down with talons extended was an owl the size of a 747 and it was heading straight for him.
Jake slammed on the brakes causing the owl to narrowly miss him at the last second. Jack summoned his rifle and fired round after round into the over-sized bird. He emptied his magazine dropped it and loaded another. As he was reloading the owl started to take off again. It was fast for something that size but he was able to empty at least another half magazine before it got out of range. He had pumped more than a dozen rounds into the thing and it was still flying.
Jake dropped down from the road to make himself less of a target. He didn't see the owl so it must have landed somewhere on the other side of the road. He crawled up the embankment and laying flat he took a peak over the crest. Due to its size, the owl's form was visible from there. It must have been wounded seriously as it was still moving but it didn't take off again. Then Jake heard something that sounded like a garbage disposal. A worm the size of a city block burst up from the ground and swallowed the owl whole. Jake quickly climbed up onto the raised road as a kill notification came in. “You have assisted in slaying a Level 56 giant owl. Half exp earned. You have gained bonus experience for slaying an enemy 20 levels above your own divided by half. Congratulations you have reached level 26. You have earned 2 general abilities.”
Jake's heart was racing. He realized if he left the road he would be worm food. He didn't know what level that thing was but he knew he wouldn't stand a chance against it.