Julian returned to the fields, planning to stay until he needed to use another potion. He only needed to kill a few more rats and he should level up, but there was another reason he wanted to spend a few hours in the field.
He never tried out his skills.
He’d been so preoccupied with the quest, with the rats and their horrible smell, he’d forgotten he even had skills. It was easy to keep your cool and analyze the situation when it was a game, but this felt too real for the same rules to apply.
Viewing everything from a third person perspective was hard when you were literally experiencing it firsthand.
Not a single rat inhabited the first field where he’d spent hours hunting yesterday, so Julian turned his attention to the next one. This time, he had a plan, to test the usefulness of his skills and learn to control them. Farne showed him how to use one, but he hadn’t mentioned anything about skill mastery or skill cooldowns. He had to practice until their use was second nature.
The stakes were too high.
One misstep, one miscalculation, and he could do more than just lose a cooldown, he could lose his life.
A rustle in the wheat alerted him to the rat’s presence, and he murmured a skill name.
“Keen Sight.”
The skill flooded his body, pressure building behind his eyes and making them water. He blinked away tears, mentally starting a countdown in his head. He wouldn’t have the luxury of an icon in his field of vision telling him how long it would be before he could use the skill again. Keeping track of every second would be just as important as ensuring his attacks landed, a task that would be ten times as difficult while trying to stay alive.
When the decomposing rat burst from its hiding place, Julian’s dagger found its heart, and he watched the beast’s health drop to zero. He whistled, brows shooting up to his forehead in surprise.
“Well, that was unexpected. Ginger, is there a bonus for attacks on a monster’s weak point?”
Of course. Critical hits—any attacks to a vital point, monster or other wise—will deal twice as much damage.
He nodded. It explained the drastic change in his attack power. He’d thought the skill the least useful between the two, which was why he chose to try it out first, but it seemed Keen Sight might just become his trump card. If the skill could double his attack’s power, so long as he timed the skills use properly and planned his battles, he could take on stronger opponents with less risk.
He just needed to get really good at throwing his weapons. If he didn’t get some sort of ranged attack skill, then he would need to make his own, and based on his experiences at the carnival, that was going to be an arduous task indeed.
His aim was terrible.
He smirked. There was a lot of target practice in his future.
Julian backed out of the field and waited for his skill to recharge before charging back in. After activating Keen Sight, he then activated his other skill. A feeling not unlike a surge of adrenaline coursed through his body, and he could almost feel his limbs grow in strength. A suicidal rat dove toward his foot, presenting the perfect opportunity to test his strengthened attack. He killed the first rat, almost decapitating it with a slash, and when a second rat scurried from the wheat, Julian missed its vitals and instead aimed for its hindquarters. The difference in attack power was quite noticeable. A regular attack on a Level One rat took out almost half of its health, but with the boosted power from his skills, that same attack wiped it out in one blow. After the success of his experiment, he continued to practice, paying attention to his cooldowns. A few rats got in a lucky bite or scratch when he was too focus on counting the seconds under his breath, but the task became easier with every opponent he faced. As time passed, fewer of his opponents were able to land a hit.
Three hours later, Julian felt comfortable with his tactic, maybe even a little daring, and moved further into the field. He’d grown accustomed to using his skills, although managing more than two or three cooldowns was definitely going to be difficult. Constant battle with quick moving opponents had improved more than his mental fortitude, it also improved his reflexes.
A larger rat than the others he encountered so far-flung itself at his face and he impaled it with a quick downward jab through its neck. To his surprise, the blow wasn’t enough to kill the creature. It floundered on the ground for a moment before he delivered a killing blow. As the creature burst into sparks, a curious sensation enveloped him.
Reached Level 2
Julian jumped to open his stat screen, excited to allocate his stat points, and his chest fell with disappointment. The level up had helped far less than he thought it would. He only had two stat points.
Visions of grand boss battles dissolved from his mind while he trudged angrily across the hill to the next field. A rat sprung from his left, and he killed it without conscious effort.
How long would it take to make any meaningful progress?
He growled low in his throat, frustration burning through his patience faster than he thought possible. Another rat charged him, and Julian smiled ruefully.
At least he had plenty of opponents to vent his irritation on.
The fourth field stood out from the others, its vastness almost twice the size of those he already passed through. To the north, a dense wall of dark evergreen trees loomed, causing Julian to eye it with caution. He felt uneasy being so close to the edge, aware that it made him vulnerable to an unexpected attack and his gaze kept flicking towards it unconsciously. A few rats lunged towards him, one swiping his leg with its sharp claws. He hissed in pain, tearing his attention down to the beasts in front of him. Once he regained focus, the rats stood no chance, and he eliminated them without effort.
He even avoided the blood spurting from the wounds.
Julian spent a few minutes clearing a circle in the wheat, hacking at the stalks with his dagger. It was a rough job, and he had to stop often as rat after rat tried to kill him. By now, he’d grown immune to their smell, but he still didn’t want any more of them inches from his face. The space he cleared would prevent any monsters from sneaking up on him.
A sudden realization washed over him, and he grew more certain his time was well spent. The last two rats he just killed were definitely larger than the others, and after the third had crept from the wheat, he realized they were definitely not as weak. They were Level Three. When the next rat attack him, he studied it more closely, realizing it was less decayed than the others. Most of its bones remained covered, and save for the murky white eyes, he could almost believe it was alive.
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He’d lost count after the fiftieth rat, and experience gain or not, fighting them was getting old now that the novelty of the game’s mechanics had worn off. The rats didn’t drop gold as he hoped they might, and he doubted the assortment of teeth and rat meat he’d obtained would be worth much.
He found it easier to control his avatar’s movements and wielded the dagger with greater fluidity, but that didn’t mean killing rats held his interest for long. Their movements had grown predictable. They almost always charged his face. If not the face, they aimed for his legs, making it easy to crush them with a solid kick into the air before finishing them off with a dagger to the neck. Sharp objects aside, it wasn’t much different than punting footballs into the air.
They were even roughly the right shape.
Wiping the grin from his lips, Julian glanced at his inventory, and seeing only one empty slot, he groaned. After all the rodents he killed, he’d only accumulated four rat fangs and three chunks of rat meat. He sighed.
Leaving now would be silly. There was only one field left, and he still had several potions left. He may as well take the opportunity to finish filling his inventory. Nightfall was at least two hours away, and he planned on using every minute of that time to gain as much experience as he could.
When Julian returned from the field, the farmer saw him approach, a wide grin on his face.
“Finished clearing up my rat problem?”
“Yep, all the fields are clear.”
“Clear? You mean you killed all the rats out?” The man’s eyes widened in shock.
“Yeah… is that a problem?” Julian asked. The other players might not be happy with him if the rats didn’t spawn very fast, but honestly, he cared very little. It was every man for themselves, and he had no interest in teaming up with anyone to progress in the game.
“No, no. Nothing of the sort. Thank you, young man!”
Will ran a hand over his balding head.
“Its just, I never expected you to get rid of all of them. I’m afraid I can only pay you for what I indicated on the quest.”
Julian’s smile froze, his mind stuttering to a halt, but he forced his lips higher in a more vivid smile. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he’d thought overachieving on the quest might earn him a larger reward.
Seeing his shellshocked face, the farmer’s shoulders drooped.
Julian tried not to feel dissatisfied. It had been his choice, after all, and the day hadn’t been a waste. He’d gained two levels and used his extra stat points to up his health.
Suddenly, Will’s eyes brightened, and he slammed a fist over his open palm.
“Wait just a moment.” He cried, dashing into the house before Julian even realized the man had said anything.
When he came out, Will clutched a velvet pouch in his hands, the fine silky material glistening in the waning sunlight.
“Here, take this as an extra reward.”
“No, I couldn’t possibly..” Julian started, but the farmer quickly cut him off.
“Please, just take it. I can’t thank you enough, young man. You’ve saved me, and my crops, for an entire season. With those rats driven out, my harvest will be the largest it’s been in years. That little trinket has been sitting around the house for years.”
Julian accepted the velvet parcel, peering at what was inside—and wondering where the man got it. It looked far too valuable to be in the farmer’s possession.
“Thank you.”
“No, it is I who should thank you.”
Will smiled, deep crows feet framing his eyes and making the man appear older than he probably was. Julian questioned his reaction, happy the man had given something more, but also curious as to why. All he did was kill a few rats. Why did the man seem so pleased?
No matter which way you looked at it, his reaction was unnecessary.
Will had always been friendly to him, but now he realized the man’s earlier attitude had been nothing but a formality. What he displayed now was a genuine show of gratitude.
“If you have need of my help, please, let me know. Any merchant this side of the Gilnora knows my name. Just ask for me.”
“I appreciate it,” Julian said. A thank you was on the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed it down. Thinking of the man as a person would only hurt him in the long run. He didn’t doubt for a second that Will was the type of NPC the devs decided they should kill off later in the game. No, he would keep his distance. Getting attached to NPCs was hard enough in the real world. If he didn’t put a bit of distance in now, Julian knew he’d get attached. Despite his suspicions, he had already offered to help with the wood.
At least, that’s what he told himself. If he chose to help Will out one more time, everyone would believe him when he said he was trying to get more valuable items.
Believing that himself was going to be a bit more difficult.
He breathed out a slow, deliberate puff of air.
“Do you mind if I stay one more night? I still want to help with that wood.”
“Not at all. You’ve helped me more than I could ask for. I would be happy to have you stay the night.”
Julian reached out to shake the man’s hand, and when he did, a notification ran across his vision.
Quest Completed: Rat Exterminator
Acquired (200) Gold coins.
Will offered to join him for dinner, but Julian declined,instead heading to the guest room.
His stamina had almost been fully depleted and the thought of spending another minute on his feet was not one he cared to entertain, even if it meant food. He collapsed on the bed with a sigh, not even noticing the rough sheets. Although he was exhausted, his mind refused to stop racing, so Julian opened his menu and browsed over one of the two entries in his Beastiary log. Both unsurprisingly fell under the Common category.
Luminous Hare
A nimble creature capable of outrunning even the fastest foes. Their better than average stamina and incredible speed makes them a formidable foe, but if you can land a hit, they are one of the weakest monsters in the game.
He then checked his stats, knowing his stamina had yet to recover. The ache that permeated his body told him as much, but the stat was still lower than he expected. His health was also quite low, the bar a little over half empty. He considered using a potion, but decided against it. Now that he was safe in Will’s home and currently lounging in bed, his health and stamina should restore on their own and he wouldn’t need to drink one of the nasty things.
Once he reviewed his stats skills and items, Julian closed his eyes, leaned back into the pillows and logged out. A weightless void consumed him and the stale, musty scent of the room fell away as he disconnected from his character.
As Julian’s senses returned and he took in the VLink room, a feeling of wrongness overwhelmed him and ran hesitant fingers over his scratchy face. He’d expected his avatar to remain the same, never aging, but to his shock, stubble greeted his wandering fingers.
Had he been in the game for two days in real life as well?
A sour feeling coiled in his stomach like bad food.
What would happen if he stayed for a week?
Would he even wake up, or would he be stuck in some kind of limbo forever?
As he rushed out of the VLink room, Julian’s heart began to race and a his face took on a sickly sheen.
His mother was probably worried sick.
After his father passed, they’d never gone more than a few hours without checking in on one another.
The prickling sensation of ants crawling across his skin grew with every step he took. A receptionist blocked his path, asking if everything was alright, but he brushed past her without answering, bile rising in his throat as he imagined his mother pacing in their little apartment.
He needed to get home.
Now.
When he left the building, Julian froze for a second as the sounds of the upper city crashed into him. Blaring horns and the steady thrum of the city’s oxygen barrier assaulted his ears. He stared out towards his home and the overpopulated city, already missing the lush greenery in the game.
Thalesium truly was an escape from reality.