Chapter Three: Experiments, Part II
Sep 13th, 2017
Thursday
The next day was another boring school day, another monotonous day of school studies and assignments Elsie had absolutely no problem performing for the teachers, another day of keeping to herself and not bothering with anyone else.
None of the lessons ever brought satisfaction to Elsie, much less help buff her stats, due to her high Intellect and Wisdom scores. Worse, her current lesson was literature – a lesson none could ever stomach due to their lecturer, an aged, portly man named Leon Hart. The old professor had the incorrigible habit of endlessly droning on like a machine on topics completely unrelated to the topic, making many want to kill themselves to end their boredom.
When the school bell rang and Professor Leon had to cancel the lesson, none were more relieved to be out of the class and rushing to the canteen for recess.
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Elsie Wright munched on her unappetising gruel of lunch, a mish-mash of unhealthy slob that looked suspiciously like overcooked porridge mixed with garbage, looking utterly bored and unhappy.
At least it’s far better than listening to Mr. Hart’s boring lessons, Thought Elsie, Even Coach Brigette’s lessons aren’t half as boring as his. But what else do I do with my powers, now? That can’t be all I can do, right? I mean, if this is like an RPG, there’s surely got to be dungeons to explore, right?
Like a God answering his flock’s prayers, there came two pop-ups in her vision.
New Skills gained!
Create Barrier Lvl 1
Creates an Abyssal Barrier and Dungeons according to user’s preference. Stronger Dungeons may be created according to level. Higher-level dungeons spawn higher-level monsters and drop higher-level loot.
Escape Barrier Lvl 1
Allows a user to escape an Abyssal barrier if threatened. Be warned that certain barriers require certain conditions to be fulfilled for you to escape, and it is ineffective against much stronger barriers, and the one maintaining the barrier can prevent your escape, if he/she is strong enough.
Now that’s interesting, Thought Elsie, Well, might as well try out this power after school; my mum still believes I’m going to the gym, anyway.
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After school, returning home and a quick shower followed by a change of clothes, she went to a secluded spot in the nearby park, and seeing no one in the immediate vicinity, Elsie went ahead and cast Create Barrier.
Select which tier of Barrier to Create
Tier 0 -> Zombies, Skeletons, Goblins, Rats, kobolds
Tier 1 -> Unavailable
Tier 2 -> Unavailable
Tier 3 -> Unavailable
Tier 4 -> Unavailable
Tier 5 -> Unavailable
“Well, better to start somewhere,” Said Elsie, “Guess Goblins are as good an option as any.”
Selecting the option for Goblins, Elsie saw the window disappear, and at once her world shifted before her eyes, the once clear park scenery shifting and amalgamating in a mess of muddy colours. A feeling of weightlessness settled in her stomach, and she felt her feet lose their footing on previously solid ground.
Then Elsie felt herself fall through a shifting Abyss, her hands and legs wildly thrashing for any grip, anything solid to grab onto. She tried calling out for help, but her words refused to come out, as if she were in a soundless vacuum.
Then she felt her feet land on solid, grassy ground, and her eyes readjusted to the bright sunlight now filtering into her vision.
Where once she was in a park late at night, now there was only wild forestry around her, the grass thick and high enough to touch her ankles. Flora and fauna were in abundance, and where there was a night sky, there was a bright afternoon sun shining brightly over all creation.
“Holy shit, I’m actually in another realm altogether!” Elsie exclaimed, “But where are the Goblins? Surely there isn’t anything faulty with my powers?”
“Grrah!”
Before her emerged a pack of Goblins – numbering a dozen, green-skinned, scrawny beings frothing at the mouth, dressed only in loincloths and armed with flimsy stone weaponry. Their fangs were sharp, and their baleful red eyes looked at her with a feral countenance.
Level 3 Goblin
Stats:
HP: 50/50
MP: 15/15
Strength: 16
Agility: 15
Endurance: 15
Intellect: 4
Wisdom: 5
Charisma: 5
Libido: 20
“Uh… don’t suppose you guys wanna talk?” Elsie asked nervously, her hands shaking with fear.
The Goblins’ only answer was to attack, and Elsie’s thigh was grazed with a stone spear that drew blood, tearing into the nylon material of her sports pants.
-3 HP
“Ah!” Elsie gasped, stumbling backwards, “Shit, that hurts!”
The other Goblins began their ferocious attacks on Elsie, and it was all she could do to prevent herself from dying outright as more and more stone weapons grazed at her clothing. Two lucky stabs to her thigh, however, forced her to kneel down from sheer pain.
-2 HP
-3 HP
“This is not happening!” Shouted Elsie, “And I don’t even have a fucking weapon, for God’s sake!”
Desperate, her hands patted the ground for any possible weapon to strike the Goblins with, anything to prevent her from dying.
And with her hands, she felt a thick stone, jagged at one end and heavy enough to weigh like a dumbbell.
Well, here goes nothing…
She first retreated some more, until she was able to hide behind a nearby tree big enough to conceal her figure and lost the Goblins in pursuit, waiting patiently with bated breath with her hand gripping the rock like her life depended on it.
Come on, you bastards, try and get me.
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One Goblin soon made his way around the tree, salivating heavily like a rabid animal, spear held menacingly in his hands.
And with a mighty lunge, Elsie leaped towards the Goblin and tackled him to the ground, using her newfound strength to pin him to the ground. Not to be beaten, the Goblin thrashed wildly, scratching Elsie’s face with his clawed fingers.
-1 HP
-1 HP
Ignoring the pain in her cheeks, she raised the stone up high, and brought down the mighty hammer of retribution upon the Goblin, and a sickening crunch of bone and flesh registered in Elsie’s ears as blood splattered across her face.
Again and again, she brought down the stone, smashing the Goblin’s face black and blue and spilling more blood on her once pristine clothes. The Goblin ceased to move, yet Elsie did not stop.
Even when the Goblin could no longer respond, Elsie did not stop smashing in the Goblin’s face, not until the adrenaline faded from her system and her eyes registered the sight of the dead Goblin.
The shock of the murder registering in her mind, Elsie fell to the ground hyperventilating, uncaring of the other Goblins still stalking the land, and she felt the need to tear up and cry.
“Holy fuck… I actually killed something… I almost died,” Elsie said.
Only the pragmatic part of her mind winning out allowed her to regain focus, and on shaky legs and arms she slowly got to her feet, and she resisted the urge to retch here and there at the sight of the bloody Goblin corpse.
And shockingly, before her eyes, the corpse disintegrated into nothing, leaving behind items as new pop-ups showed themselves before her eyes.
EXP gained: 100 xp
Loot Gained:
$100
2x Goblin Ears
1x Stone Spear
Elsie resisted the urge to laugh at the sight of her gains; one hundred dollars from that single Goblin? With that, she’d easily become a thousand dollars richer after killing a dozen more alone. And with the weapon she gained, she stood a far better chance at survival.
“Thank god my powers work like this,” Said Elsie, “But we still got eleven more to go, and I’ve suffered this much damage from that one Goblin again. I’ll have to take them out one at a time, or at least two at a time.”
Elsie wasted no time equipping her stone spear, and spared it an Observe.
Stone Spear (Low-grade)
Damage: 10-16 HP
A crudely made stone spear flimsily held together with string, it looks ready to break from a few determined swings. Not something to rely on long-term.
“Well, a weapon’s a weapon; can’t be a beggar right now,” Said Elsie.
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Waiting in ambush, Elsie remained patient and calmly stalked the forest, keeping her steps soft and low to avoid drawing attention. With only a stone spear and a thick rock in her hands, she was cautious in picking her fights.
Using her superior strength, speed and intellect, Elsie gradually picked off the Goblins one by one, using distractions and well-aimed strikes to silence them, though her techniques were clumsy; it usually took her five to six strikes to kill a single Goblin.
Yet after suffering some damage and pain, she finally managed to whittle down the pack to three Goblins, and without more enemies on the horizon, she felt more confident than before – confident she was going to survive and live to return home.
The loot she gained helped strengthen that confidence.
EXP Gained: 800 xp
Loot Gained:
$800
16x Goblin Ears
5x stone spears
5x stone daggers
1x health potion
3x flimsy bows
40x stone arrows
Level up!
You are now Level 4
+20 HP
+5 MP
+5 Stat Points
EXP: 200/700
Elsie quickly invested her Stat points into Strength and Endurance, finding them most crucial to her survival right now. No noticeable change was present, but what she noticed was that her HP was healed back to maximum with her level up – a welcome change she embraced.
Strength: 20
Agility: 18
Endurance: 20
Intellect: 32
Wisdom: 17
Charisma: 5
Libido: 10
With that, Elsie resolved herself to conclude this fight. Foregoing stealth, she barked out to the Goblins, “Hey, I’m right here, you bastards! Wanna get a hunting trophy!? Come and get me first!”
Alerted to her presence, the three Goblins charged at Elsie, weapons brandished and eyes menacingly eyeing their prey.
Using her bow, she fired five arrows in quick succession, but only one found its mark, piercing a Goblin’s knee and sending him tumbling down. Elsie then equipped her stone spear and used the polearm’s length to her advantage, fending off the Goblins and piercing one in the neck, killing him instantly.
With three Goblins left to fight, Elsie was close to victory, but their vicious assault proved difficult to fend off, and it was all she could do to resist their frenzied attacks.
A feint here, a stab there, a block here, and a minor riposte, Elsie was learning the intrinsic details of combat as she went, and her training paid off; one Goblin died with a stab to the brain, another died after multiple stabs to his throat and chest. The final one died with multiple hits to the head with the stone, Elsie’s spear having broken apart.
And with the battle finally over, Elsie took a moment to catch her breath, letting the adrenaline fade from her system as she took stock of her loot.
EXP gained: 300 xp
Loot gained:
$300
6x Goblin Ears
3x Stone daggers
“Shit… that was close,” Said Elsie.
And then there was another pop-up.
Dungeon Cleared!
Rewards:
$2,500
1,000 xp
Axe of Rage
1x Steel Chainmail
1x Steel Chainlegs
1x Mail Gloves
1x Leather Boots
“Finally, a decent weapon…” Muttered Elsie, “And armour, to boot.”
Achievement gained: First Blood
Kill your first opponent.
Reward: +2 Strength, +1 Agility, +1 Endurance
Achievement gained: Dozen kill!
Kill twelve opponents of any calibre.
Reward: $1,000, 1,200 xp, +3 Wisdom, +2 Agility, +1 Strength
Achievement gained: No Weapons!
Kill your first opponent with an improvised weapon of sorts.
Reward: +1 free level up, +3 Wisdom, 2x Health potions, 2x Mana Potions, 1x Grimoire
Level up!
You are now Level 7
+60 HP
+15 MP
+15 Stat Points
155/155 HP
110/100 MP
Strength: 30
Agility: 24
Endurance: 28
Intellect: 32
Wisdom: 23
Charisma: 5
Libido: 10
“Hot damn… now that was worth it,” Said Elsie, “And I’ve never felt better.”
Looking on herself, she found her clothes ripped and torn in multiple places, stained with blood from injuries long since healed by Gamer’s Body.
“I can’t go home like this, mom would be pulling her hair out and screaming murder,” Said Elsie.
And lo and behold, another pop-up was her salvation.
New Skill learned!
Craft Lvl 1
MP Cost: 10
Can be used to craft new objects, be it weaponry, armour or other things according to user’s fancy. Can also be used to repair damaged objects to original state.
“How convenient,” Said Elsie, “But better than to look a gift horse in the mouth.”
Without hesitation, Elsie cast her spells and saw her clothes mend before her eyes, until no traces of damage remained.
Heaving a sigh of relief, Elsie then decided to exit the Dungeon, before anymore enemies could spawn and give her further trouble.
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Thankfully, Stella noticed nothing amiss and simply welcomed Elsie home, just in time for a simple and quick dinner that Elsie quickly wolfed down before rushing to her room.
Once in her treasured privacy, she looked over her inventory and inspected her items, the first being her Axe of Rage.
Axe of Rage (Decent)
Damage: 30-47 HP
An enchanted double-headed steel battleaxe, it bears inscriptions of runes in an alien tongue. Be warned that the axe is enchanted to react to the wielder’s rage; the more anger you feel, the more powerful the axe, but the less coherent your thoughts will be.
“A double-edged sword, how lovely,” Elsie said sarcastically, “But it’s still a weapon – better than the garbage spear I used earlier, and best wear that armour for protection. As for the garbage weapons, guess I just have to get rid of them.”
New skill gained!
Disassemble Lvl 1
Mana cost: 10 MP
Disassembles weapons and other objects into their base components. Especially useful if you have junk you can’t sell for good money, or to clear useless items cluttering your inventory.
With such a useful, what else is Elsie to do than to use it? Immediately, the useless weaponry – bow and arrows included – were disassembled into junk units, all stackable in one space of her inventory.
Gained 86x Junk
Useless garbage you can’t use for anything, unless you somehow convert it into useful materials.
Inventory: 5/24 Spaces taken
1x Axe of Rage
3x Health potions
2x Mana potions
24x Goblin Ears
86x Junk
Thankfully, her equipped items consumed no space in her inventory, and with her items sorted out, Elsie collapsed onto the bed, tired beyond measure from her excursion.
“Shit… to think I actually could have died there,” Said Elsie, “I guess this whole Abyss thing isn’t to be taken lightly.”
With that, Elsie went asleep, and awaited tomorrow.