Chapter Four – The Monster & the Boy Who Burnt Noodles
A/N: Skills Appearing in <<-->> are skills used with "Path of Silence" (meaning he is not saying them aloud)
Sher or Nightshade, as her avatar was called in this world, stood in the middle of the room holding a huge wooden sword. The first time Nightshade had attempted to wield it, she had nearly toppled over but after three days in game, it had already become easier. She was sure that if this was real life her hands would already be bloody and raw from the number of times she swung the sword.
She had been surprised to discover that there were multiple types of training available and that beating scarecrows, like she had seen online, was only one of them! When the instructor had led her to this room she had thought it odd that there seemed to be nothing in it; just a large empty space.
“This training is designed to teach warriors how to handle multiple opponents at once. Although... I would say it’s for more advanced warriors than you...”
*Swish*
The instructor blinked because suddenly the huge wooden sword, that he’d dubiously given the small girl, was at his throat.
“I’ll do this one.”
The instructor gulped and nodded and began setting up the magic that controlled this room.
“Just stand in the circle and, when you’re ready, say ‘start’. The training will begin automatically. ‘Reset’ will start the training over from the beginning.”
Nightshade walked to the center of the room and held her wooden greatsword in front of her.
“Start.”
The first dummy appeared directly in front of her and she swung her sword...
*Clak*
Nightshade’s first swing struck the dummy with too much force and the sword jarred in her hand. Before she could recover something hard smashed into her back driving her to her knees. The dummies hit Nightshade a few more times before freezing and disappearing beneath the floor.
The pain had been more than she’d anticipated and her sword was rather unwieldy but Nightshade gritted her teeth and got back to her feet.
“Start.”
After the third round the instructor shook his head and went back to the front of the training hall. When she finally gave up he’d reward her spirit by helping her train in the right direction...
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Carbondale... A small town just outside the reach of the City of Cara *cough* Republic of Thieves *cough*... A town once known for its coal mining...
The shop owner of ‘Light Armory’ was enjoying his morning coffee when the bell on the door of his shop announced the arrival of a customer. Gerrad was ecstatic to have a customer so early in the day... until he saw the ragged appearance of the Outlander.
The best word to describe the Outlander was... a wreck. The cloak he wore had tears (cuts) and singe marks (acid burns). Several stains that the clerk assumed to be wine (blood) could easily be seen all over it. The leather armor he wore was cracked and brittle...
‘He’s a beggar maybe?’
Gerrad perked up a bit because behind the Outlander came another young man who seemed at least decently equipped. Light brown hair and a friendly smile also gave Gerrad a favorable opinion.
“How may I be of service?”
Gerrad asked the young man, choosing to ignore the outlander.
“I don’t need your services. My friend does. I’m just showing him around.”
Knox walked forward and removed the small bag from his shoulder. He pulled out chest armor, boots, wrist guards, rings, and even a few crossbows. The shops counter and a good deal of the floor was covered in various equips.
“I need you to identify these and I will sell you anything I don’t want.”
Gerrad was standing there slack-jawed at the ridiculous amount of items before him... and then his merchant sense kicked in and he realized he could make a fortune. Gerrad began moving from item to item, identifying. The young Outlander would glance at the stats before following Gerrad to the next piece.
Knox was busy keeping track of the different items in his head. Some of them were the same which meant that he didn’t have to remember as many but it was still an annoying task. When they finally reached the last item to be identified Knox handed the shop keeper the 5 gold he asked for and began choosing which items to keep.
He moved through the pile of loot and picked three items.
Bandit Crafted Leather Armor
Durability: 50/70
Defense: 13
A lightweight armor preferred by bandits. It adds moderate defense without hindering mobility.
Requirements:
Lv 35
Str 40
Agi 35
Traveler’s Leather boots
Durability 42/50
Defense: 5
Boots worn by experienced travelers who want to move quickly.
Bonuses:
Increase Movement speed by 5%
Decrease stamina consumption by 10%
Requirements:
Lv 15
Gray Leather pants
Durability 30/30
Defense: 9
Sturdy leather pants made by a skilled craftsman, the seams are almost invisible.
Requirements:
Lv 35
Str 30
After equipping his new items Knox went to the counter where the merchant was waiting.
“I can pay 600 gold for the lot! No more.”
Knox was silent for a moment and the clerk began fidgeting...
“Fine 650 gold but you’re taking the food out of my mouth!”
“500 Gold is fine. I’d like to buy a few things...”
“Just tell me what you need!”
“I’m looking for daggers. Good ones.”
The clerk pointed toward a corner of his shop where Knox could see a few weapon displays. Knox began browsing the stores collection but there was a rather disappointing selection. Most of the daggers seemed to be more for show than actual use. Several had hilts that would make the dagger unwieldy while others were poorly balanced, some had ridiculous designs that you’d probably cut yourself if you ever tried to use them.
Knox looked at a paired dagger set but he didn’t really like the curved blade... with a sigh Knox began heading toward the front of the store when he saw what he was looking for. Two daggers, side by side, with double-sided blades and leather wrapped hilts. He reached out to touch them only to be shocked by a spell of some sort...
‘Probably to prevent thievery...’
The shopkeeper who had begun to despair that Knox would find nothing to his liking, rushed forward upon seeing his interest in the daggers. The shop keeper pushed past him and picked up the two daggers, handing them hilt first to Knox.
A/N: Stats on “Paired” Daggers mean that the stats are combined. They are weapons made from identical molds meant to compliment each other.
Charax Paired Dagger
Durability: 75/75
Attack: 17
This dagger was designed tactical and combat use. It is full tang, one solid piece of steel from tip to butt, and has a wide quillons to guard the hand.
Bonuses:
+ 15 Str
+ 30 Agi
+ Increase Attack by 20% When used with its twin.
+ 2% Critical Hit Chance
Requirement:
- Dual Wield
- Lv45
- Str 45
- Agi 90
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“How much?”
“250 Gold Each but... If you buy both I’ll cut it down to 400 Gold.”
Knox just nodded. He had been willing to pay more than that. The stats on the daggers were great but in truth it was the daggers design that attracted him. Knox left the store after purchasing his new daggers and a few other things that had caught his eye. Before Knox left, the shop keeper had taught him the Identify skill which he was sure would come in handy in the future.
For his trip to the Charcoal Mine he had a few other things he wanted to purchase and with instructions from the shopkeeper Knox headed for the Alchemy shop.
_____________________
Knox dodged the spear aimed at his abdomen, letting it slip past his body to one side. The four foot tall reptile was caught off guard, as its thrust met empty air and Knox stepped inside the spear’s reach and finished it off.
You have leveled up!
The system message popped up just as Knox finished clearing a group of Salamandra Scouts. The humanoid salamanders that inhabited the Charcoal Mine were flourishing, with so few players starting off in Cara. The red reptiles had scouts throughout the country side and Knox had been lucky enough to find a quest to eliminate them.
Knox and Darrak had been fighting their way through groups of them for about two hours and they were slowly learning to work together. Darrak, with his throwing knives would keep the Salamandra from surrounding them, while Knox would use his paired daggers covered with a paralytic agent on the center of the group.
Knox guessed the Salamandra to be around level 38-45 but seemed rather easy to deal with once their strategy was established. They seemed to only have one... The scouts were fast but their HP was pathetically low and with this method, Knox and Darrak had cut their way within spitting distance of the Charcoal Mine.
“Guess it’s time to see how I’m progressing... Stats Window!”
Status WindowNameKnoxAlignmentChaoticLevel46 (0% UNL)ClassAssassinTitleNoneReputation305Health1930Mana545Strength97(+15)Agility205(+55)Vitality54Endurance76Wisdom17Intellect30Luck115Insight60Fighting Spirit45Leadership0Attack117Defense36Magic ResistanceFire5%Water0%Earth0%Black Magic15%+ 15% To Strength, Agility and Luck.
+ All stats increase by an additional 25% In the Dark.
+ Enables you to equip class specific items.
+ Enables you to learn Alchemy to the stage of master.
+ Enables you to learn secret skills based on your level in Stealth and Dagger Mastery.
+ Increase Attack Power of Daggers, Katars and Throwing Weapons by 25%.
+ Increases fame for successful Assassination Quests.
+ Increase Critical Hit Chance by 5% & Increase Critical Hit Damage by 20%.
“Skills Window!”
Skills Window:Nimble Body (Racial Passive) - Increase Agility by 5. An Additional 5 Agility will be added every 10 Base Levels.Fire and Darkness (Racial Passive) - An Affinity with Fire and Darkness. Boosts Fire and Black Magic Spells by 5%. Increases Resistance to Fire and Black Magic Spells by 5%.Night Vision (Passive) - Allows players to see in the dark. Decreases the effect of blind by 5%Stealth (Lv. 4 45%) – Enables you to move silently, erasing your presence and killing intent.Dual Wield (Class Passive) - Allows you to use weapons in both hands. Removes offhand damage penalty.Backstab (Lv. 3 2%) – Strike the vulnerable part of your opponent from behind. Damage increased by 250% if opponent is unaware of your presence.Dagger Mastery (Lv. 5 3%) – Increase damage and attack speed with daggers.
Increases Attack Power with daggers (+35% ATK)
Increases Attack Speed with daggers (+21% ATK SPD)
Critical Hit Chance with Daggers Increased by 2%
Critical Damage with Daggers Increased by 8%Scaling (Lv. 2 20%) – Increase climbing speed of vertical obstacles. Walls, Mountains, Fences, etc.Path of Silence (Lv. 4 52%) – You no longer need to speak when casting skills. When attacking in silence you have a 3% Chance of Silencing your enemy: Silencing Effect Increases 3% Every 50 Levels.Trap Mastery (Lv. 2 5%) – Create traps to injure, slow or disable your enemies. Higher proficiency increases damage, complexity and decreases time required to create traps.
Traps Available:
- Wire Trap
- Mana WebDisable Traps (Lv. 1 0%) – Allows you to identify and disable traps based on your level in ‘Disable Traps’. This skill is affected by Luck and Insight stats. Successfully disabling traps grants additional stats depending on the ‘Difficulty’.Rupture (Lv. 1 0%) – Rupture your enemy’s recent wounds with a dual pommel strike to the body.
Causes target to receive 15% of all the damage taken from a blade in the past 20 seconds.
If target is Bleeding, damage increased by 1.5x
If target is not Bleeding, inflicts Bleed
If target is Bleeding, causes severe Bleeding
If target is Bleeding severely, no effect
Requires two weapons to be equipped
Mana Cost: 450Pressure Point (Lv. 1 55%) – By targeting pressure points you can cause pain or unconsciousness. Unavailable on monsters and playersIdentify Poison (Lv. 4 13%) – Your body has experienced many poisons and you are now able to identify their contents. Increase resistance to poisons by 5%Identification (Lv. 1 0%) – Enables you to learn the true value of unidentified items.Repair (Lv.1 0%) - Enables you to restore durability to damaged items.Throw (Lv. 1 8%) - Improves accuracy and distance with throwning.Blessing of the Valkyrie (Lv ??) - ????
‘Hmph... I don’t know if this is good or bad for my level... Well, whatever, I just have to keep improving.’
He had been splitting his points each level trying to maximize all his stats. 1 Point would go into Strength while 2 points would go into both Agility and Luck stats. Strength for attack power, agility for speed and accuracy, and luck to boost his critical hit chance.
Satisfied with his stats for the moment Knox spoke.
“Let’s take a food break. Then we’ll continue clearing these scout groups until we reach the mine.”
Knox pulled out a piece of rye bread and jerky and munched. Then he noticed Darrak pulling out a pot, setting up a fire, the thief even had seasonings! Knox’s stomach began to complain as he watched Darrak create an impromptu feast right before his eyes!
“W-w-what... are you making?”
“Hmm... Salamander stew I guess? Not really sure how it will come out since it’s my first time trying this.”
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Knox had seen Darrak loot the meat and hadn’t thought anything of it at the time but now with the delicious smells wafting his way he couldn’t help but lick his lips.
“You can stop directing that killing intent toward me... I’ll share.”
Darrak replied with a shaky laugh. Knox nodded and put away his food without comment but Darrak spoke up again.
“How come you don’t cook...? It’s a very useful skill, you know...”
Knox winced. He’d hoped no one would ask him that.
“I can’t cook... In fact my family has placed a ban on me; forbidding me to cook anything more complicated than a sandwich...”
“Gahahaha! Oh, come on how bad could you be?”
“...uh... The last time I cooked... I somehow managed to burn noodles...”
“Noodles... Seriously? It’s not that hard! Here give it a try.”
Darrak handed him a piece of salamander meat and a stick.
“Even some plain roasted meat is better than nothing... Give it a try.”
Knox reluctantly took the meat and began holding it over the flame. Darrak went back to watching his stew and pulled out a piece of wood to whittle, a hobby that Knox thought was quite boring.
Twenty minutes later.
“Stews ready, how about the mea... WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!”
Knox was still holding his black smoking lump over the fire with a confused expression.
“What? Did I do something wrong?”
“Uh... Just promise me you will never cook again. You will probably start a plague or something.”
Knox cautiously sniffed the charred salamander meat.
‘It doesn’t look as bad as some other things I’ve cooked... Maybe it’s edible?’
He had just opened his mouth to test his theory when Darrak smacked the salamander meat out of Knox’s hand.
“Don’t eat that! Oh my god... What sort of idiot are you?! There’s no way your poison resistance is high enough to withstand that!”
As if to emphasize his point... a small fox came out of a nearby bush and sniffed at the meat. Then fell over dead.
Fatal Blow!
Knox snapped his mouth shut and took the bowl of stew Darrak offered him...
A/N: And so the legend of a poison master is born!
_____________________
The heat from the Charcoal Mine was such that even the surrounding area was dried out and desert like. The ground was baked and cracked and the few pieces of vegetation still struggling to survive were brown and withered.
Knox and Darrak both had purchased “All Weather Cloaks” which made the wearer feel cool in almost any weather but at the same time had no defense or bonus stats. Darrak had suggested they wear them and now that Knox was experiencing the heat he fully agreed.
You have entered the Blazing Coal Mine
.
They walked into the Mine with their weapons out and were soon met by the first group of monsters; two large Salamandra Warriors and one Salamandra Pyro. Knox had done some research about this dungeon on the Royal Road forums. The monsters on the first floor were said to range anywhere from level 50 to level 75.
Their tactics were similar to normal party compositions, the Salamandra Warriors would tank the players while the Pyro would launch fire based attacks from the rear. Due to the Salamandra’s immunity to heat the Pyro could cast fire with no worry of harming its allies. Not that there was any evidence of Salamandras caring about their allies.
Knox didn’t hesitate. He dashed forward in a blur. His high agility making him look like little more than a rushing of cloth. His daggers flashed as he slipped between the Salamandra Warriors, slashing them once each, not really concerning himself with accuracy, never slowing as he moved toward his true target.
The Salamandra Pyro got off one cast of fire ball that Knox managed to avoid by rolling beneath it. His roll brought him back to his feet and he closed the last couple of steps between himself and the monster. His left hand slashed high, cutting the Salamandra Pyro’s throat, followed by his right hand slashing low cutting just below the rib cage.
Critical Hit!
Enemy’s vocal cord is destroyed, increasing casting time by 200%
.
As soon as Knox was past the Salamandra Warriors, they turned in pursuit, only to be hit by throwing knives in their backs from Darrak. Confused, the monsters turned to face this new threat only to realize their bodies were becoming increasingly more difficult to move as the Paralysis Poison on Knox’s daggers began to take effect.
Target is paralyzed. Unable to move for 30 seconds.
Darrak never stopped hitting the immobilized Salamandra Warriors with throwing knives as Knox finished off Pyro before coming to help end the Warriors. After the loot was split evenly between the two and Knox let Darrak have all the Salamandra meat he wanted.
“Seems our strategy works fine so far.”
“Yeah, we should be fine like this.”
As they moved deeper into the mine they fought using mostly the same tactic but occasionally they would run into larger groups.
Knox had just sliced the throat of the Salamandra Pyro in the group when a Warrior’s sword whistled toward his face. Without really thinking, Knox swung his dagger up into the sword and barely managed to deflect the blow over his head.
New Skill: Parry
Ignoring the message until the last warrior was dead, Knox was interested to see what it was.
“Show Skill Parry!”
Parry (Lv. 1 0%) – By using your own striking motion you can deflect the enemy’s blows with your weapon. At higher levels it becomes possible to even block certain sword skills.
Increase success of Parry attempts by 10%
Increase success of Parrying ranged attacks by 2%
“Huh. That’s right useful.”
From that fight on, Knox practiced parrying the Salamandra Warriors blows. He would deflect them away from his body when he could and when it wasn’t possible to completely deflect them, he’d try and direct them towards non-critical areas. In this way his parrying skill increased, even if it took them longer to finish off the groups of monsters.
_____________________
It took them a week and a half to fight their way to the entrance of the second floor, resting only in safe areas, which meant that Knox had been playing continuously for eighteen hours so he decided to log out and take a break.
Rei made himself some sandwiches (peanut butter and jelly) and then went to check his messages.
- Messaged Received 3hrs and 14 minutes ago... –
*Beep*
“Yo! Little punk, you blackmailed me into working at my store so you’d better not forget that you’ve got work tomorrow! If you’re late even once I’ll fire your ass!”
- End of Message. –
- Message Received 8hrs and 45minutes ago...-
*Beep*
“Rei, I started playing. You’d better not forget to come pick me up when I can leave town. Just in case you’d forgotten, I’ve still got those baby pictures of you running around my backyard naked... You wouldn’t want them added to your facebook would you? Fufufu. Bye~!”
- End of Message. -
Rei’s face went white after hearing Sher’s words... He’d completely forgotten about those evil pictures! If those got out he’d never live it down! Even the teachers wouldn’t be able to keep straight faces around him...
“Ugh... She’s a monster!”
Shaking his head Rei went to set the alarm on his capsule, one for the start of his work shift and the other for the day Sher would be released upon the unsuspecting Versailles continent. He named the first one “Slave Labor” and the Second one “Ragnarok” before climbing back into his capsule to take on the second floor of the mine.
_____________________
The second floor was definitely trickier than the first. With the addition of Salamandra Hunters, who hurled javelins and the new Flash Fire spell of the Salamandra Pyros, a large scale fire A.O.E. (area of effect) spell, Knox was forced to create hit and run tactics.
They’d set up their killing ground at branches of the Mine, using the corners to limit the effectiveness of both the Hunters and the Pyros. Knox would set up his wire traps in advance and then lure the small parties to the killing ground.
The Warriors and Hunters were a good deal faster than the Pyros giving Knox and Darrak enough time to even the numbers before the Pyros arrived at the battle. Even so, Knox almost died twice in the first day and Darrak suffered a severe burn that took a long time to heal.
It took them almost two day to reach the safe zone of the second floor, as they only moved forward when they had cleared out all the mobs in the tunnels ahead of them. Knox decided he needed to try something new, he didn’t have enough poison left to add it to his wire trap so he’d need to think of another way to temporarily immobilize the warriors.
He borrowed Darrak’s carving knife and began to carve the Salamandra bones into sharp stakes. His work was rough but he made sure to that each stake was sharp. Satisfied with his work he began creating his newest killing field.
The group of two Salamandra Warriors and a Salamandra hunter charged after Knox as he rounded the corner. He stepped carefully on the rocks he had set up before hand and pushed himself against the wall.
The group of monsters rushed around the corner after their fleeing prey, only to find themselves tripping over the wire that had been strung at ankle level. They put their hands out to catch themselves, only to have their hands impaled on bone spikes sticking up out of the ground!
New skill: Spike Field
Knox paid this new skill no mind as he quickly jumped onto the backs of each of the downed Salamandra forcing them onto the spikes and slashing their spines with his daggers. The last Salamandra had tried to rise only to end up with Knox’s dagger in its eye.
Knox would collect the old spikes and create new ones when they broke. The fact that he was using the japtem to create his traps was rather useful since he had an almost endless supply as well!
They used this tactic over and over for another week until finally they reached the boss room! Knox had grudgingly been logging out to attend school and his three shifts a week at ‘Very Fine Dine’ (his crappy uncle’s shop) but he was still pleased with his progress.
Knox had jumped from level 46 upon entering the dungeon to level 72 and now it was time for the boss fight! He had read on the forums that the boss was around level 85 and he wouldn’t leave his boss room so there was no way to use Knox’s traps against it.
Knox and Darrak crouched just outside the door to see for themselves... The boss was a huge red beast that had more in common with a snake than a salamander. It had no hind legs only humanoid hands that held onto a large spear.
The glowing red name above him read:
Salamandra Lord
The room was completely bare of anything besides the boss, a few Salamandra Warriors and burning coals that littered the ground; no place to hide, or set up an ambush.
“That’s gonna be one tough customer...”
Knox was a little worried about Darrak... Knox didn’t want the thief NPC to die here for some stupid training from Vennec. He’d grown fond of (his cooking) him since leaving Cara and it would be a shame for him to die here (no more food).
A/N: MMF (Mercenary Mother F*cker)
“Darrak what level are you?”
“Level 95 as of yesterday, why?”
Knox’s jaw dropped. He had expected to hear around level fifty or sixty at best...but 95?!
“Why haven’t you been helping more?!”
“It’s your training, duh... I’ll give you a hand with this, though. I’ll take care of the warriors while you kill the boss.”
‘Short end of the stick!’
Knox was still shocked by Darrak’s level so he just nodded his head.
“Actually, leave one of the Warriors alone; that one right in front of the boss. I’ve got plans for him.”
Darrak nodded and began pulling out knives. Knox decided to change the poison on his blade as well. Taking a rag from his inventory he carefully wiped the blade free of the paralyzing poison he’d been using up until now. Then he pulled a jar with a red stopper from his inventory and with the utmost care began using the small brush inside the lid of the stopper to coat his daggers.
As an afterthought, Knox decided to pull out his old daggers and coat them in poison as well. He sheathed the new daggers that he bought in Carbondale and chose to equip his old daggers for the start of the fight.
‘Just to err on the side of over kill, we’ll poison everything.’
Darrak stood up and grinned.
“Ready to die?”
“Are you asking me to cook today?”
“Oh hell no; not that!”
“Pft, well then, I’m not going to let some over grown lizard kill me...”
_____________________
Nightshade walked up to the instructor, with her wooden sword resting on her shoulder. The instructor had honestly expected her to give up weeks ago and was glad she had finally come to her senses.
“So what’s next?”
“Well, we will have to start you on an easier course to build up your basi...”
“No, what’s next after that room.”
Nighshade interrupted with an impatient look.
“You can’t possibly do a more difficult training if you couldn’t complete that one!”
Nightshade blinked.
“But I completed that one... Oh and um... You’re going to have to hire someone to fix your dummies. I kinda... broke them.”
The instructor couldn’t believe his ears and walked past her into the multi-opponent training room... and beheld carnage. Each and every dummy was shattered like it had been hit with a battering ram...
“Restart!”
The instructor gave the command but nothing happened.
“Impossible... They should be repairing themselves each time you say restart...”
“Well, yeah that’s what I meant, when I said they were broken. Before, when I broke them they’d come back together real fast... but as I kept breaking them they got slower and slower until finally... this.”
Nightshade explained with a shrug. The instructor just stared at her with his mouth hanging open...
‘This girl broke them so many times that the magic broke down? How many times would that take?! It’s insane... She’s a monster!’
“So? What’s next? It had better be something hard.”
To be continued....
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Author's notes: Comments/Critiques & Opinions Appreciated! If you see a mistake please point it out to me!
Special Thanks to: Kaine for Proofreading!