She was gone. He knew it, though it still hadn’t quite sunk in. Five whole years together and like that she was just gone. The house felt empty, and his eyes took it all in as he stood in the doorway. Photos remained but he saw gaps on the tables where her things had been. The marble coasters she had bought and the scented candles she’d assured him would lift their moods. The memory, once a fond thing filled with warm, now burned through his chest in agony.
Matthew Greenway, was not a man given to sadness, his usual attitude was one of lighthearted mirth. Today, however, he had returned home to a note and the absence of the woman he had loved for half a decade. She’d left, leaving only a few parting words. She’d said it wasn’t working anymore, that he’d changed. Matt couldn’t tell how he had changed but it seemed he was no longer what she wanted him to be, he was no longer good enough, and it cut through his chest like a blade.
He moved through the house in a blur, past the loungeroom and past the kitchen, even past the bedroom where they had shared so many years. He wasn’t sure where he was going until he came face to face with a door at the back of the house. It was a door he hadn’t opened in nearly two years, not since he had gotten a “real job” to impress her. The door to his office. His hand hesitated briefly on the door knob before his shoulders squared and he pushed through.
Matt’s office was a fairly simple room, only a three by three metre square and dominated by his IntelaSoft Capsule. It had been a gift from the company when he and his friend Leon had become the first players to achieve Diamond Tier and the Arch-Duke title on their full immersion Virtual Reality Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game, or VRMMORPG, Chronicles of Estrella.
A smile crossed Matt’s face as he remembered how he and Leon had done everything in their power to win a place in the game’s beta ten years ago, and fought tooth and nail to buy their own capsules before official launch. Another wave of grief threatened to engulf the young man as he remembered Leon, his friend since pre-school. They’d met as toddlers, barely three years old and been friends ever since. As they grew they did everything together, from learning to ride their bikes to taking up historical fencing, they’d even gone to University and achieved their History PhDs together. Then three years ago, Leon had gotten sick, and he was gone in three months. Matt hadn’t touched the game since, though he’d managed to maintain contact with several friends, he hadn’t been able to play without his Captain.
Chronicles of Estrella had been a low fantasy game with a strong historical element, it was what drew the friends to it in the first place. Matt was a student of 14th Century warfare, focusing specifically on the Mercenary Companies of Italy and Sir John Hawkwood’s White Company in particular. Leon preferred a later time period, focusing on the 15th and 16th Century mercenaries of the Holy Roman Empire; the Landsknechts. In the game, Leon had chosen the class of Captain, allowing him to command a mercenary company, where Matt had relied on his fencing education and become a Man-at-Arms, joining the Company and being the Marshal, Leon’s second in command.
It was the work of a few minutes to restore power to the capsule and flood the room in blue and red light as the machine whirred to life. A touch pad on the side allowed him to select his options for the dive, namely to allow his vitals to be monitored and an alarm set to alert medical professionals if something were to go awry, the technology was amazing but it wasn’t perfect. Matt quickly selected the long dive option, it was the weekend and he could afford to spend a day or two in full immersion. The top of the capsule slid open and Matt was able to lay down in the gel before a tube and mask lowered to cover his mouth and nose, after thirty seconds of calm breathing the capsule closed and the gel level rose to encompass his whole body. After a moment a slight jolt ran down his spine and his eyes closed.
Welcome Matthew, your Immersion Dive is complete.
The text appeared starkly as Matt’s eyes opened in a small white room. He mentally selected Chronicles of Estrella, and within moments he was staring at an image with facial features not unlike his own, but where his hair was dark, this man’s was platinum blonde, and he was clad in armour of a dark silver grey, over which bolts of lightning played, and two huge wings of white feathers rose from his back. Above the Creature a name hovered;
Sir Edward de Chambery, Arch-Duke:
God Tier 1
Matt smiled at his old character, one of only two god tier characters in the game, even after ten years no one had been able to achieve the ten miracles required to ascend from Diamond tier, and he still remembered the power he had felt upon his ascension. The wings had grown from his back and he had ascended to the hall of the Goddess to accept a throne. God tier was exactly what it sounded like, he and Leon had become gods of the virtual world, able to give blessings and smite in equal measure. It had meant the dissolution of the Gold Company, their guild, because God characters no longer participated on the same playing field, but still their friends had applauded and IntelaSoft had begun paying them a salary to watch over the game world. They’d been diligent and the AI who embodied the Goddess had become an odd friend of theirs, despite her virtual existence she was assuredly alive.
Matt smiled once more at the memories before hitting the create character button. He didn’t feel right returning to Sir Edward’s world without Leon, and so it was time for something new. As he selected the option a line of code flashed past.
Connecting to Creation…
Creation connected…
Loading in!
At once Matt was in a new room, a simple wooden shop front and behind the counter was a friendly looking woman in her mid thirties. Matt smiled broadly as he recognised the avatar of the AI, knowing full well she didn’t usually partake in character creation.
“Eleanor, to what do I owe this pleasure?” He asked, his light baritone filling the room warmly. The woman leapt across the counter to throw her arms around his neck in an exuberant display of affection.
“Matthew!” She cried, “I’ve missed you so much!” He grinned broader still as he wrapped the virtual woman in an embrace.
“It’s good to see you too.” He said in her ear. “Since when do you come to the Creation Parlour?” He asked. She stepped back giving him an appraising look, hands on hips.
“Well when I saw your account log in and you didn’t appear in the Hall of the Gods, I knew you’d be here and I wanted to see you.” She said, her exuberant tone not slowing down in the slightest.
“It’s good to see you Eleanor, I didn’t feel up to playing Edward this session, not without Leon, you know.” He said, the sadness clouding his features again. The AI nodded in understanding.
“Of course, but you’re back?” She asked hopefully.
“I want to try something new for a while, if I find what I’m looking for I’ll consider myself back, but until then let’s just call it a test run.” He answered with a reassuring smile. The woman morphed, her features remaining the same though she shrunk, until she was perhaps only a foot tall and sprouted four translucent wings as she hovered beside Matt.
“Well first things first then, let’s select a race for you.” She said, all business now, intent on helping her friend find his love of the game once more.
“Human again, the other races have never held much appeal to me.” He answered. A notification informed him of his selection and he began to fiddle with the controls to alter his appearance. He increased his height to six feet and four inches, his height and arm length were key to his fighting style and he needed to ensure they were at acceptable levels for his plans. His hair turned red and was cropped short at the temples, and a matching moustache and goatee appeared on his face, the short beard was forked in a common style from the 14th Century. Lastly he enhanced the green colour of his eyes. It served no real purpose he knew, but he never said he wasn’t a little vain in game.
“Now let’s choose a class, were you wanting Man-at-Arms again?” She asked, but Matt had been shaking his head before she’d even finished the sentence.
“No this time I’m going to try the Captain class, I’ll rely on my manual sword skills to overcome the lack of stats.” He answered. The sprite grinned broadly.
“Leon would be so proud of you.” She said before the class selection notification appeared.
You have selected Human Captain.
The Captain class relies on its command abilities rather than the typical attributes of the other physical classes. You will maintain these attributes but as a Captain will only receive half the increases items will offer. Your class will furnish you with NPC troops to build your Mercenary company, though you are allowed to recruit players.
Matt nodded to himself as he read over the information, he knew it all from when Leon had played the class but even so he felt the need to read it over. He also knew that he would increase in power with additional sub-classes as he passed certain milestones. Namely, his archetype class at silver tier and his prestige class at gold tier.
Enter Name:...
Matt thought for a moment before entering the name; Sigmund. He was ready for a more German aesthetic this time. The name was selected and it was time to be placed into a random noble family, for peasant company leaders were a rare thing in the human Empire of Allamagne in the game. It was technically possible he knew but it would set him back, as a peasant character needed to amass coin and earn an invite to the Academy of Military Arts to become a Captain class. When they’d founded the Empire with several other guilds and companies it had seemed like the right way to go, especially as it stopped the NPC nobles from revolting. A rotating image of heraldry appeared and began to spin faster and faster as a timer counted down. As the timer came to rest an image of a heater shield with a blue and red quartered field and a charging bull in gold on its face appeared. Beneath it were the words.
Haus von Wulfen
Once a powerful County on the borders of the Empire, the Haus of the family von Wulfen has fallen on hard times in recent decades. They have been reduced in title to a barony and their line is dwindling.
Last Scion: You are the last male heir of Haus von Wulfen, and stand to inherit the entire Barony when your Lord Father dies. However the family shall produce no more sons and should your character perish without having sons of your own or should you delete your character the Family will succumb to its decline.
Upon completion of the tutorial, due to your position your Company will receive its own barracks and charter house within the town of Wulfen.
It wasn’t a bad bonus, typically it would take a new company time to afford its own Charter house, and so it was a help, though the drawback meant that Matt was responsible for the continued existence of one of the original families of the Empire. He frowned in thought, and Eleanor jumped on his indecision perhaps too eagerly.
“Hmm that’s not a great roll, I can make it spin again if you like?” She said, “Perhaps we can sneak you into House de Chambery?” He shook his head once more.
“No Eleanor no special treatment here, I’ll play the cards I’m dealt, it’s a solid option and it’s a border family so I can play mostly solo like I want to to begin with.” He mentally accepted the result. A new prompt asked him to design his personal heraldry. Deciding to keep it simple he went for a red fleur de lys on a plain black field. Simple but striking, just the way heraldry should be he thought proudly. He was then clad in his starter armour. A padded arming cote in what was once black wool that had faded to grey with stuffing leaking in several places, with a rough rendition of his red fleur de lys embroidered fairly slap dash on his breast. Matching padded chauses covered his legs and frayed leather turn shoes covered his feet.
Please Select Weaponry Load out:
Arming Sword and Heater Shield
Or
Longsword and Buckler
Matt quickly selected Longsword and buckler, the option to use his weapon one handed or two handed would come in handy as his damage would be gimped by his class, and the buckler was a solid option for defence and offence when used correctly. At his left hip a sheathed longsword appeared, four feet of steel extending behind him, and on his right a small wooden buckler as round as a volleyball hooked onto his belt.
“Thanks for your help Eleanor, I guess it’s time for me to take a crack at this tutorial.” He said before giving the sprite a quick hug. “We’ll talk soon I promise.” He continued.
“Good luck!” She called and waved as the room began to fade.
Entering Tutorial Instance…
Single Player Instance Established…
Military Arts Academy, Empire of Allamagne…
Welcome to Chronicles of Estrella Captain Sigmund von Wulfen…
As the code sped past, Sigmund found himself in a bunk house, clad in his padded armour and weapons sheathed on his hips. He looked around the room seeing only a few bunks with grey sheets, and a chest at the end of the bed he currently stood beside. With a thought he brought up his character sheet.
Sigmund von Wulfen, Captain
Bronze Tier, lvl 0
HP: 100/100
MP: 0/0
Attributes:
Str: 2
Con: 1
Spd: 2
Int: 1
Luck: 1
Command:
N/A (Troops yet to be assigned or recruited)
Abilities and Traits:
Last Scion, No abilities yet acquired.
Well he hadn’t been expecting much for a new character and he wasn’t disappointed. The stats were about half of what a level 0 Bronze tier Man-at-Arms would have but that was to be expected and Sigmund had no interest in slinging spells, so the lack of mana was a non-issue. A man in slightly better armour ran through the door, startling him. The man’s name hovered over his head for Sigmund to read:
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.
Instructor Bohemund of Lanta,
Level 1 Trainer
“The Academy is under siege, head to the Armoury and meet your squad cadet, you are to assign weaponry and head to the east gate to hold until reinforcements arrive!” The man yelled before ducking back through the door.
Quest Received: Hold the East Gate, Part 1:
Head to the Armoury to retrieve your squadron and assign roles.
Rewards: 10 Exp and ten subordinates.
Accept: Y/Y? (Tutorial Quests can not be refused.)
He accepted the quest before looking inside the chest at the end of the bed, he was a loot hound at heart and he knew it.
Received three Copper Royals, crude copper eating knife.
Not a huge haul, but money was money at his current level. He pocketed the coins and stowed the knife in his inventory before running out the door. The nails in his shoes clattered on the wooden stairs as he exited into a cobbled courtyard. The Academy was really a fortress, with two walls encircling several barracks buildings and an assortment of military resource buildings. The armoury was easy to spot. It was a warehouse with a hammer and anvil sign out front. Ten men stood to attention out front, they were all armoured as the instructor had been, in slightly better padded armour than Sigmund himself wore, though none of them were armed with weapons. As he approached one separated from the group.
“Good evening Captain, we’ve arrived as ordered, I was told you would assign weapons and we were to hold the eastern gate.” The man answered crisply. Sigmund looked at his name plate.
Konrad von Leibwitz, Man-at-Arms lvl 1
“Good work Konrad, fall in.” Sigmund ordered. A new interface popped up allowing him to form a war party with the ten men, their name plates and health bars appearing at the edge of his vision for quick reference. A second interface showed him his options for equipment. The options were simple:
Men-At-Arms:
The powerful front line of any company, a man of arms is a heavy infantryman.
Arming Sword and Shield
Longsword
Spear
Archer:
A company can live or die by its ranged support, an Archer may not wear as much armour or carry as much nobility in his bearing but never underestimate their worth in a pitched battle.
Longbow
Crossbow
Sigmund quickly assigned seven men as Men-At-Arms, along with Konrad, arming five with sword and shield and two with spears. The remaining three he made archers with Longbows. The allocated weapons appeared in their hands.
Quest Completed: Hold the East Gate part 1:
Reward: 10 Exp, and ten troops.
New Ability: Assign: You can now determine the path of training new troops will receive.
New Quest: Hold the East Gate Part 2:
Your squad has been assigned to hold the east gate during the attack, reinforcements will arrive in ten minutes starting from when your troops take up position. Defend against the Goblins until they arrive without losing more than 50% of your men or dying yourself.
Rewards: 100 Exp, Tutorial Completion Reward dependant on level of success.
Accept: Y/Y? (Can not decline Tutorial quests.)
Sigmund hit accept once more, before leading his men to the eastern gate. The ironbound, oak gates were open, a fact that Sigmund knew should not have been the case in the event of an attack, but the game had to make it slightly more difficult to learn the ropes of his class.
“Konrad!” He called as the man at arms rushed to his side, he’d been one of the two armed with a long spear. “You’re promoted to Company Marshal, call out approaching foes to the front line. Shields will hold the opening, present shields and stab where you can, spears are to form at the flanks and thrust diagonally for maximum effect, Archers pick your shots, and look for enemy commanders.” He ordered, as they fell into position.
“Where will you be sir?” Konrad asked as he found his spot on the left flank, pressed against the stone of the gateway. Sigmund grinned at his erstwhile second.
“I’m going to pick a fight.” He said before ducking past the line of shields and drawing his sword, and equipping the buckler into his left hand, gripping the pommel of his longsword with the same hand while his right choked up under the hilt. He saw the sea of goblins approaching across the flat plain of cleared land outside the fortress walls. More so he saw how poor quality his weapons were, rust flaked off his sword and the buckler looked like it was barely riveted together.
Rusted Longsword:
1-5 Damage
X2 Damage when used two-handed.
Crude Wooden Buckler:
Defense +2
May cause 2 damage when used offensively.
10% chance to shatter on impact in either usage.
Sigmund grimaced knowing what he was about to try and do with his sub par weaponry.
*Trait Gained:* Tactician: Your natural command of battlefield tactics and strategy grants your men +2 Damage and +2 Defense when ordered into a formation.
Well that was a nice bonus, he thought before looking towards the oncoming foe.
Goblin Fodder, lvl 0 x25
HP: 5/5
They weren’t strong, but Sigmund knew they’d just be the first wave, intended to soften them up for the approaching warriors. Their weapons were even more crude than his own, a collection of stone knives and even simply rocks in their fists. The Captain grinned with malicious intent, they could not block his attacks. Without waiting, Sigmund charged forward, his left hand releasing the longsword into a one handed grip as he slammed the buckler into the first goblin’s nose. The blow was powered by his weight transfer onto the front foot and his strength stat boosted it slightly as well.
Critical Strike with buckler, 5 damage to Goblin Fodder.
You Have killed Goblin Fodder, 1 EXP.
The buckler held with the impact and the little green wretch sprayed blood from the crushed nose, and its face crumpled under the impact. Sigmund felt the crunch of bone, not for the first time marveling at the realism of the game’s immersion. His sword came up in a rising cut as he passed it behind his buckler, taking the next goblin in the neck, before descending on the same arc into the skull of the next goblin. Both blows were critical strikes due to their placement. It was possible to function with more standard controls selecting high and low strikes and blocks, but then the critical strikes became more random. Sigmund had studied historical fencing in the real world, and he was an avid student of the 14th Century master, Sir Fiore dei Liberi. Goblins died with each swing of his blade and punch of his buckler.
After what felt like his tenth strike with the buckler, the shoddy shield broke in his hand. Sigmund wasted no time in dropping the useless handle and assuming a two handed grip on his sword. It felt more like reaping wheat than a fight. He aimed each fendente cut at their necks, slicing across in a sideways motion that cleaved heads from shoulders. In two hands the blade was sufficient to one shot any fodder goblin. He disabled the combat notifications quickly and focused on reaping a high tally of lives. As he stepped through their line, and the nineteenth corpse fell headless at his feet the remaining goblins lost their will to fight and turned to run. As they turned and put distance between themselves and the mad swordsmen, arrows sprouted from their backs, burying up to their fletchings between the shoulder blades.
Your Company has felled the first wave, you receive 25 Exp.
Sigmund found himself breathing heavily, while the goblins had been easy to kill there had been a lot of them and the exertion was telling for a level 0 character. As he stopped to catch his breath, he saw their next foe. An orc was approaching him, the beast towered over even Sigmund’s six feet and four inch frame. It was clad in leather, with scraps of mail sewn into the vest.
Gragnak Heart Render, lvl 1, Tier 1 Boss
HP: 100/100
Sigmund grinned at the challenge, the orc held a sword that was half longsword and half meat cleaver, and so he dropped into a rear guard, his sword extending past his right hip with the point behind him, his legs bent slightly, to avoid giving away his reach. It was probably unnecessary against a game mob, but the NPCs were capable of learning he knew. The boss got within range, and the beast’s mouth opened to deliver what was no doubt a well scripted big bad evil guy speech, and Sigmund saw his opportunity. He stepped off his leading foot and drove the pommel of the sword forward, delivering a crushing blow to the orc’s throat.
Pommel-Strike, delivered 8 damage to Gragnak Heart Render.
*New Ability Acquired:* Pommel-Strike: The Blade isn’t the only part of a sword, by utilising its weighted pommel you have learned to deliver a crushing strike.
The Orc doubled over, dropping its blade to grab at its bruised throat.Without letting up, Sigmund changed his grip, gripping the sword two-handed by the blade itself, he swung the hilt at the Orc’s unprotected face, the squared point of the brass crossguard puncturing through its eye.
*New Ability Acquired:* Mordhau Strike: The Blade isn’t the only part of a sword, you have utilised the cross guard to deliver a powerful piercing strike.
Mordhau strike, critical, 20 Damage to Gragnak Heart Render, Blinded debuff applied.
The orc forgot its wounded throat and grabbed at where his left eye had been, an odd green hued blood leaking down its face. Once more Sigmund adapted his grip, returning his right hand to the hilt, he stepped passed and behind his foe placing his blade across the orc’s throat from behind, he used his left to grip his blade and drove the blade into his foe’s throat, reefing it back towards himself and twisting the orc over his hip, sawing across the throat all the while.
*New Ability Acquired:* Half Swording: With a deft hand you know a sword can be used many ways this strike can be used in a myriad of ways.
Half-Sword strike to Gragnak Heart Render, 30 Damage, Critical Bleed effect applied Gragnak will suffer 20 damage per second until bleeding is stopped or health hits 0.
Sigmund stepped back, releasing his hand from the blade and falling into a forward guard, pommel against his left hip and point levelled at the orc’s back. It was unnecessary, the bleed effect was enough and Gragnak fell to earth lifeless, having not thrown a single blow.
Gragnak Heart Render slain, you gain 100 Exp, 5 silver leopards, and 1 rare item for your class for striking the final blow.
Sigmund glanced at the item in his inventory.
Orc Slayer’s Maille Haubergeon:
+10 Defense
+10 Defense when fighting Greenskins
-10 Diplomacy with Greenskin NPCs.
Not a bad item, It meant most low level green skins would not be able to damage him if they hit his central mass. He quickly equipped it, taking advantage of the game’s layered armour mechanic. The maille shirt settled over his arming cote, and fit him perfectly as all boss drops did. It was good quality, even if low level, and it shined in polished splendour in contrast to the rest of his crappy gear.
*Miracle Achieved:* Congratulations! For defeating an overwhelming force almost single-handed and taking out the boss without receiving a single blow in return, you have achieved your first miracle. Achieve nine more and level to Diamond Tier level 20 to ascend to God Tier.
Effect: When outnumbered, your company receives a bonus of +5 to Attack and Defense, as you level this ability will grow stronger with you.
Sigmund smiled, thank you Leon for telling me about your first miracle, he thought proudly.
Quest Completed: Hold the East Gate part 2:
Reward: 100 Exp, your tutorial is complete. You lost 0 men and wiped out the opposing force before the reinforcements arrived. You receive an additional 500 Exp, Standard Iron Longsword, Standard Iron buckler, Your starting force will be doubled to twenty Page tier recruits. 1 Company armament voucher.
It was a good haul, the sword in Sigmund’s hand morphed into the new weapon, the rust was gone and the blade had a dull sheen to its surface. The buckler was of the same make, and like the sword’s cross hilt which was made of unpolished brass, the buckler was studded with four brass rivets. Their stats were double the previous weapons’ and Sigmund felt more comfortable having more suitable weapons, though he was eager to replace them as soon as possible.
Congratulations on Completing the Tutorial!
The notification passed as a man on a great charger approached. He was flanked by ten men-at-arms in full plate harness on equally large horses.
Sir Richard of Lakehaven, Level 20 Tier 1 Boss
Knight-Commander of The Academy.
“That was truly well done cadet, I see your training has paid off.” The man said in a deep baritone voice as he pressed his breastplate to his saddle and slid down from his mount’s back. “I dare say there’s nothing left for us to teach you here, but I do think you require one last thing.” He stood before Sigmund with a warm smile. “Take a knee.”
Without any conscious decision, Sigmund knelt before the Commander. The man drew his blade and rested it on Sigmund’s shoulder.
“By my right as a Knight and Lord of the Empire, I dub thee, Sir Sigmund von Wulfen, Knight and Mercenary Captain.” The flat of the blade struck Sigmund’s shoulders one after the other. “Let this be the last blow you receive unanswered.” He spoke again before slapping Sigmund across the jaw with the back of his hand.
You Have been Knighted by a Lord of the Realm
Rewards received: Knight’s Belt, Knight’s Spurs, Title Received: Knight-Captain.
Knight’s Belt:
This belt of brass plaques let all who see you know you are a knight of the realm and a member of the gentry in good standing.
+10 Diplomacy within Empire Borders
+10 defence
+1 weapon slot
Knight’s Spurs:
These spurs are made of gold plated steel, and are both a symbol and tool of Knighthood.
+20% mounted speed
+30% to dismount checks when struck while mounted
+10 Damage (+20 when mounted)
“A knight needs a horse too, please take mine, he’s young but learns quickly, and I have others to replace him.” The Knight Commander said before passing the reins to Sigmund.
Knight’s Destrier (Stallion):
Quality: Uncommon (As a tutorial mount this quality can and will increase as you learn and work together.)
Attack: 5
Defense: 10
Stamina: 50/50
Sigmund smiled in gratitude.
“Thank you sir, I shall treasure him.” The Knight-Commander nodded and turned away, his men leaving with him. Sigmund stroked the horse’s neck firmly. The starter mount was usually traded away for a higher quality one as soon as possible, but its ability to increase in quality was not shared by player bred and trained horses. Sigmund knew he would be keeping this stallion for a long time.
You have achieved level 1.
You have achieved level 2,
You have achieved level 3.
Tutorial Completed, you may now leave the instance and begin your journey in Estrella.
Just as it had before when he had completed character creation, the world around Sigmund began to dissolve.
Entering Estrella main server…
Village of Wulfen loading…
Welcome to the Chronicles Sir Sigmund von Wulfen.