After almost forty minutes of intermittent running and walking at as brisk of a pace as he could manage, the wolf’s presence still burned against Julian’s back. He could feel it watching him from the trees.
Why hadn’t it attacked him?
The question had burned in the back of his mind since he first saw the creature, and now he only had more questions. If the game was going to throw a powerful monster at him, shouldn’t he have to fight it?
Would it attack the next time he left town?
Thoughts spiraling out of control, Julian arrived at the walls of Keidale in a daze, just as the sun disappeared below the horizon. His chest was heaving. He’d traveled twice as far back in the lower city, and twice as fast, yet right now, no matter how hard he tried he couldn’t move faster than a slow walk. It felt like he pressed against an invisible wall every time he tried. He knew that his depleted stamina must be the reason, but the pace felt agonizing to him.
He felt trapped, with the wolf at his back and no idea if, or when, it might attack. Two surprised guards greeted him at the entrance of the town’s stone walls before he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
“Cutting it a little close there, aren’t you?” The skinnier of the two asked with a slight grin.
“Cut the man some sack, James, can’t you see the poor guy is spooked?” The man turned to address Julian.
“You must be new. First time in Thalesium?”
Julian nodded, hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath.
“So, what’s got you in such a rush, young man? The Night Walkers shouldn’t be out for another hour.”
“I don’t know about any Night Walkers, but I’m pretty sure that wolf was contemplating making me its dinner. Don’t tell me you didn’t see it?”
Julian gestured emphatically behind him, pointing to where the wolf had been skulking in the trees.
“It was right there.”
The two shook their heads, sharing a perplexed look.
Julian stared at them with shock. How blind could they be not to see it? Sure, it was dark, and a light rain had started while they were talking. Fog rose from the ground, further obscuring the view.
Glancing back towards the hill, Julian realized the guards were right. The wolf had vanished. He turned to the two NPCs, now his turn to stare at them with a look of shock.
“On my way here, I encountered a wolf twice the size of a horse. You ever seen anything like it?” Julian blurted out.
The words tumbled from his mouth before he could stop them, desperate for answers, to get some kind of information on the thing that would likely haunt his sleep for weeks.
The two men froze.
“You saw the Red-Eyed Demon wolf?” one of them exclaimed, eyes wide with dread.
A crease formed between Julian’s brows, and he ran a hand through his damp hair, grimacing at the lingering smell of dung and blood on his hands. He really wanted a shower.
“I can’t say I know about a Red-Eyed Demon wolf, but I did see a giant silver wolf. That what you’re referring to?” Julian countered, sensing a tension in the air.
The guards exchanged another look.
“You’d know if you saw the Red-Eyed Demon,” the redhead, James, said, his tone haunted.
Reflecting on the encounter, Julian recalled the silver wolf he'd seen didn't possess red eyes; if he remembered correctly, they were blue. A very bright, icy blue.
He’d been a bit too preoccupied with running away to pay much attention to much else.
“No, I’m certain sure they were blue.” Julian said.
Relief washed over the guard’s faces and the older one sighed audibly.
“A blue-eyed wolf? Kid, are you sure you’re not imagining things?”
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
“Right, thanks for the vote of confidence.” Julian replied, his tone strained. He knew it wasn’t their fault; after all, they were just NPCs. His frustration simmered, directing it towards Enigma Realm Studios and their inadequate quality checks. Ginger assured him he was the first to have such a streak of bad luck, but he highly doubted it.
Bugs as bad as this didn’t happen just once. Hopefully, one of the other players would have some insight into the creature.
Forcing a polite smile, Julian sucked in a breath and pushed himself upright.
“You mind pointing me in the direction of the inn?”
James gestured up the road to the right.
“Make a right at the first intersection. There’s a bar just around the corner, apartments start on the second floor. Ask for Nim, she’ll take care of you.”
“Thanks.” Julian replied tersely, ignoring the shocked whispers exchanged between the two men as he departed.
If the town filled with rumors of him by morning, he really didn’t care. All he wanted to do was sleep, and wipe the memory of his first day in Thalesium from his mind.
Navigating the small town in a haze of exhaustion, Julian found the bar and the next thing he knew some brunette was pressing a key into his hands.
“Room 305. Breakfast’s at six, dinner too. Need me to show you the way?”
Julian glanced down the hall, nodding, and headed up the stairs to his room.
Then next morning, Julian lay on the hard bed, staring at the ceiling. Despite his exhaustion, sleep had eluded him. He’d tried calling for Ginger, planning to get answers to all the questions he hadn’t had the change to ask yesterday, yet the woman was silent all night.
A belated thought crossed his mind as he counted the ceiling tiles. If Ginger was an actual person, was he keeping her up in real life? The radio silence was strange for an AI program, but for a human?
That made perfect sense. He winced, a twinge of sympathy running through his mind at the thought. Inconveniencing another person was not a part of his plan, but if she was real, she worked for Enigma Realm Studios. It was possible she’d had a hand in his father’s incident.
Suddenly, he no longer cared if she was real or not.
Well, are you ready to start the tutorial?
Julian flinched, and tried to act like he’d hadn’t just jumped out of skin. The woman’s timing was impeccable.
“So, about this tutorial mentor-ship thing. You’re helping me since I landed outside the starter town, correct? Well, I’m in the town now, so how do I get rid of you?”
You don’t. I’m afraid we’re stuck with each other until you complete the tutorial. Unless, of course, you wish to disable tutorial mode?
Julian was almost impressed by the eagerness in her voice. For an AI she sounded pretty lifelike. Her range of emotion was almost as good as a real person’s, but there were times when her voice felt empty, scripted.
Like right now.
Either she was the world’s best actor, or she was definitely an AI.
“I think I’ll ask you to stick with me for now. No way I’m giving up a legal way to cheat, and besides, with my track record, I’ll need all the help I can get.” Julian replied, his tone resigned.
If that help came in the form of an insufferable female AI, then so be it. He hoped Ginger’s programming cost the company a large fortune.
Very well, then. It seems we will be stuck with each other for now.
She’d adopted a surprising neutral tone, and Julian wondered if the developers had intentionally programmed the response, or if he just expected her to convince him to give up the help. He doubted anyone would agree to give it up.
After all, who in their right mind would decline the opportunity to have an omniscient AI aiding them in the game? The company was practically signing their own death warrant.
Julian grinned.
Maybe he could get used to Ginger after all.
Your first quest objectives are in your menu. Just open the quest list to view them.
A notification popped into his view and he skimmed the list.
Tutorial Quests Initiated:
Novice Fighter: Find and speak to Farne, who will guide you through basic battle mechanics.
Defeat 10 enemies.
Novice Crafter: Find and speak to Silan, who will guide you through basic crafting mechanics.
Craft 10 items.
Register with a Guild.
Reach level 10.
Unlock 5 Beastiary Entries.
“So, where can I find this Farne?”
He definitely needed to learn how to fight first. His battle with the rabid hare didn’t count. In all honesty, that encounter had probably used up what little luck he still possessed. He hadn’t even checked his stats yet, something he should have done upon entering the game, not that he really had the time.
Probably better that he figure that out now. Bringing up his stat screen, Julian frowned. The game started players with less stat points than he expected. He only hoped his enemies were equally weak.
Julian - Level 1 Therian
Health: 15
Stamina: 15
Attack: 10
Defense: 5
Mana: 5
A sigh escaped his lips. It was no wonder he had such a difficulty running to Keidale. With stamina that low, accomplishing anything in a short period of time would be impossible.
The first thing he needed to do was increase his stamina. No matter how high his attack was, it did no good if he couldn’t hit his opponent .
“I think I’ll meet with Farne first. Where can I find him? Please, tell me he’s not outside the town or something.”
Julian shuddered, picturing the icy blue eyes of the silver wolf. Leveling up would be difficult if he had to worry about the silver wolf lurking in the forest.
Of course not. Now that you’ve officially started the tutorial, all quests must be completed or the Tutorial mode dismissed before you can leave the Tutorial zone.