Maxwell

Morning came much too soon for my liking. That was usually the case in my opinion. Never mind the fact that I didn’t technically have a body that could get tired, it made me wonder why they had to implement sleep into the game in the first place. There was already enough realism breaking aspects that being able to forgo sleep wasn’t that big a deal.

Whatever the case, I begrudgingly rolled out of bed before trudging over to the washroom. Another aspect that I could have lived without. Once I was freshened up, I left to find some breakfast. The few people I found already out and about were expected in a somber mood. I could only hope that it would pass in a few days. These people might be digital, but so was I.

Out in the communal eating area, I found Rowena eating. She would be going to commune here soon. That left me on my own for the next few hours. Not that there wasn’t plenty of work for me to do. I had to go inspect Razz’s territory, find a suitable way to attract other players to my side, grow my own village, gain some levels, and much more.

Before that, I needed food. I gave the cook a nod of thanks as she handed me over a bowl of meat soup. I went and sat next to Rowena. “Good morning.”

“Morning, Max,” she replied in between bites. “What do you plan to do today?”

“I was just thinking about that. I have so much to do that I don’t want to do anything.”

“That’s not good. I have some dice if you want to leave it up to chance?” Rowena pulled a pair of metal dice that had some strange symbols craved on them. I took them to check them over. There was something about them that seemed to call to me. Giving them a shake, I tossed them onto the table.

A skull and a snake came up. Both had a letter or word in a language that I didn’t know. I grinned and handed them back to Rowena. “Maybe next time. Thanks though.”

“No problem.”

We finished our meal then went our separate ways. Stretching a bit, I got ready for the new batch of arrivals. Teleporting up to the Gate, I waited for a few minutes until there was a flash of light and the group arrived. I gave them a quick rundown, even though they had already received a briefing of sorts from the system. Returning to the village, I handed them off to the others in the village.

Once I was done with that, I teleported back up the mountain. I wanted to explore on my own a bit today. With the battle and being stuck in the village for the past week, I was feeling cooped up. I wanted to spread my wings a bit.

As a void lord, I have a bit of a cheaty way to do that. Once I reached the peak, I paused and took a deep breath. The air was biting. I had never tasted air that was this cold back on Earth. It was a new experience. I decided that I liked it.

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Clearing my head, I took a look around. The peak of the mountain had a nice layer of clouds under it keeping me from getting a good view. I didn’t mind though. There was something surreal about being on top of the world. In the distance, the next peak poked through the clouds.

I wouldn’t have been able to teleport over there a few days ago, but with my Transcendent Teleport, all I required was a picture of the location and the necessary mana. Taking in the peak, I teleported and promptly fell face first into the snow breathing heavily. I groaned as I pushed myself up. I had made it, but my mana had fallen to just three points.

“Shit.” With some effort, I pushed myself into a sitting position against a boulder. It looked like I would be enjoying the morning sun for a bit longer than I had planned. I just didn’t understand why my mana had bottomed out. Sure, it was a long distance, but not much further than Free-Mud. I had even teleported nearly fifty goblins with me at that time.

My answer came a few seconds later when the boulder I was leaning against moved. It shocked me to the point that I would have jumped had I had the energy. I turned my head slowly to find the boulder had a blue tint to it. That was when I recalled a normal fantasy fact that I had forgotten. Mountain peaks were usually home to one of the most powerful creatures in any given world.

The snow began to shift as a long serpentine neck with a head larger than my manor back in the village appeared from underneath the blanket of white. With scales of deep blue that made me want to just stare at them all day long, the creature appeared to be an eastern dragon. I was terrified, but even in that state, I noticed that each scale appeared to have a unique pattern.

The scales were amazing, but the dragon’s eyes. They made me realize for the first time what it meant to say the eyes were windows to the soul. I could say without a doubt that I had never seen anything so beautiful. I felt like I was staring into a world all on their own.

I was forced to grip my head as a voice echoed through it. It wasn’t gentle, but more along the lines of someone taking a jackhammer to my skull. The dice from breakfast came to mind. “What do we have here?”

“Just a stupid man that didn’t know you were here, O great one,” I exclaimed through chattering teeth. The strength of the cold had increased severalfold.

“Yes. You would have to be, but the strength of your magic is impressive. To break through my barrier.” That explained why it took all my mana. I’m lucky I wasn’t dead from just the teleportation.

“I meant no disrespect. Great Dragon. If you give me the chance to make amends, I will gladly do so.”

The dragon stared at me. To the point I was starting to feel self-conscious. “You have the smell of a goddess. You have met one?”

Something told me to lie would mean my death. I sucked in an ice-cold breath. “I may have encountered a woman that fell under that category for a brief period of time.”

“The wheels of providence move around you. I have a feeling that you will be interesting to watch.”

I latched onto that. “Then how about I come here and tell you stories of my adventures?”

“No.” There was a sudden windstorm that kicked up all the snow around me into a full-on blizzard. When it finally died down.

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“I’ll be joining you. Front row seats are always better than second-hand tales.”

I looked at her and just slowly took a deep breath. “Well. I guess introductions are in order. I’m Maxwell.”

“Lapis. The Frozen One.”