Chapter 30: Fast Travel
I woke in the morning with a naked Jaesmin sleeping atop me. A new smell struck me…the smell of lingering sex. The game developers must work overtime with updates but could apply their efforts elsewhere. I was trying to move and not disturb Jaesmin when I saw a familiar feline sitting at the base of the bed.
“Simba, where have you been?” I asked with indifference in my voice. I wouldn’t pine after him if he wanted to show up when he was pleased.
“Tallis, you really should read the game updates more often,” he replied snidely. I checked, and there were 413 game update notes. Yeah, it’s not something I wanted to spend my time on.
Simba continued, “Companions are now a paid option for players.” He preened a little bit. “We offer guidance in character creation and major changes to the game, but if you want us to travel with you, then you need to pay,” he spun and wrapped his tail before sitting.
“How much is your company worth?” I asked with some snark of my own.
“Just one hundred dollars a month, the same as a monthly subscription.” I would have choked if I wasn’t a virtual being. Two hundred dollars a month to play this game with a companion? I technically didn’t have any money, so I guess Simba was here for another reason.
“So why are you here then?” I asked, now curious.
“READ THE UPDATES TALLIS! You are stuck here, and I know you have free time.” He sighed as best a miniature tiger could. “The programmers have launched the class system. So, I am here to make sure you understand and select a class. Since you have not read it, I will provide details. At level one, you can choose from three classes. Each has a bonus and penalty to pool regenerations.”
Warrior, +100% to stamina regeneration, +25% to health regeneration, -25% magic pool regeneration
Mage, +100% to magic pool regeneration, -25% to stamina and health regeneration
Adept, +25% to all regenerations, +25% faster skill growth
“You are probably thinking that the mage is hindered and weaker? Well, don’t worry, their power comes from spells. A mage can learn one spell for every seven intellect points. Adepts can learn one spell for every 11 intellect points, and warriors can learn one spell for every 23 intellect.” Simba paused, waiting.
“So I have to choose a class? And that is the only benefit I receive? It is an easy choice for me. Adept. Skill growth is what drives my ability to expand my village.” I said, trying to sound sagely.
Simba returned, “Yes, the adept is the crafter class and all-rounder for combat. There is one other benefit you gain as well. You get a foci skill. Well, you get two as an adept.” He took a deep breath, “Since you didn’t read the update, a foci skill is a core skill you build your class around. It does not count toward your limit of 23 and advances 200% faster than your other skills. Warriors get one skill, mages one skill, and adepts get two at level 1.”
“What, that is amazing! No more penalties! Definitely adept then!” I yelled and woke Jaesmin. I pulled myself away from her and went downstairs while dressing. I could have auto-equipped my clothes, but dressing made me feel normal. Simba followed.
“Is that all the benefits of selecting a class?” I asked while preparing breakfast.
“Yes, at level one, that is all the benefits. When you reach level 25, you can select your profession. And then, at level 100, you can select your specialization.” I was about to ask another question, but the cat raised a paw, “Let me explain. A profession will be your true class. Fighter, Wizard, Druid, Ranger, Monk, Paladin, Bureaucrat, Sage, and many more. Each of these professions comes with three additional skills that do not count toward your cap of 23. These bonus skills also have the same 200% boost to learning speed.” He stopped and raised a paw to his mouth to lick it.
“Is there an architect profession?” I asked with eagerness in my voice.
“No,” my heart dropped. “But there can be. Professions are fluid and just need to be approved by the admins if they are not listed. You could choose to be a dancer, for instance.” This was great news, and I needed to hit level 25 as quickly as possible. Simba continued, ignoring my excitement, “The final selection occurs at level 100. That is when you select your specialization. It must be a branch of your profession, though. Going back to the dancer example…specializations currently approved are sword dancer, ballerina, ritual summoner, entertainer, seductress, and acrobat.”
“How does ritual summoner relate to dancing?” I asked curiously.
“Rituals take a long time to prepare and execute. Dancers must perform a ritual dance to channel the magic into the ritual pattern. It is actually quite powerful. But since that choice is at level 100, you are a long, long, long way away. No need to go into the details. As you know, game leveling will be slowed upon launch. They are hoping the average player will take a month to reach level 25 and a year to reach level 100.” Simba turned and started walking away.
“Simba, can you refresh my memory of what happens at the game launch? I won’t be able to level for 30 days, right?” I asked, starting to process everything.
“Yes, no leveling or skill advancement for hard-wired players for 30 days. You will only be able to level after one of the new players has passed your current level. So, if you were level 150, you might have to wait longer than 30 days before a player reached that level. Once again, Tallis, READ THE UPDATES!” I waved him off. I would get to it eventually, or I would just have an irate Simba tell me.
“Thanks, Simba. Are you leaving? Am I now an Adept?” I asked, and my character profile pinged.
As I opened my sheets, Simba’s voice carried from a distance, “Check on the new penalties for having over 23 skills.”
Adept Class Selected, +25% to all pool regeneration, Please select your two foci skills
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Simba was gone when I looked up. I was going to miss that kitty. I opened my sheet and immediately had some red notifications. My spell list was flashing, and it said the spell limit was 4! Oh shit! I was sure that Simba would be laughing at me if he was still here. I had ten spells. Thankfully, The red notification said I could not learn the 11th spell until my intellect reached 111.
Spell tailoring was one of the more fun aspects of casting. Maybe I should have chosen to be a mage? Too late now. So I could choose two skills to supercharge. Artistry: Drafting was definitely at the top of my list. Drafting buildings with bonuses was just too good a benefit for my village. My second skill, though… I narrowed it down to Earth Magic, Masonry, or Woodcraft. I really needed my building skills, but my earth magic was also heavily related to my combat style and helped with construction. Ugh, why did this have to be so hard?! I decided I could hire people with masonry and woodcraft skills, so I selected Earth Magic before changing my mind.
My two foci skills moved to the top of my skill list, along with my reading skills, which also did not count toward my total. And just like that, I now have 24 skills, counting toward my 23 cap. My penalty was…1%. Why did Simba say to check out the updates for skill penalties? I looked for the update, and…oh. It penalized extra skills by prime number tier now. 1%,2%,3%,5%,7%,11%, 13%, 17%... So, to be safe, I should limit myself to just three skills beyond the cap. Once I hit level 25, I would acquire three more free skills when I selected my profession.
I spent the morning paging through the updates. I only got through about 5% in the few hours I spent. Jaesmin had already left to start work on repairs in town. I had too much to do. I went into town, and the square in front of the general store was crowded with dozens of people.
I approached, and the trader and his wagon returned. The townsfolk gave way and continued examining a large spread of items on tables. Some were buying, and some were selling. The trader masterfully handled everything. When I got to the trader, I asked for his attention, and the townsfolk quieted down.
I asked him about sheep first. I got the list from my interface, and he quoted me a price of 88 gold and two weeks to get it here. Almost a whole platinum for sheep? I got Elice to pay him for the sheep, as I needed them to fulfill the quest for Zion in case Mad Dog and company failed.
I also told Elice to stock our general store with goods, giving her a budget of 200 gold. I asked him about building plans. Unfortunately, he had none on him but could get them. He asked what I needed. Well, I needed plans for an auction house. He thought about it for a while and then said 300 gold, and he would bring it with the sheep.
It was painful to pay that amount as I could draft them free if I knew how, but I did not. I left before I spent any more town funds. I went to find the enchanter and see if my town portal was completed. I found her laying out complex runes in gold wire and then ‘pushing’ the wire into the stone, activating the rune. The runes were black and shimmered slightly. Sanso was nearby, working on a road to the inn and another to the other plaza near the general store.
“How are things Persephone?” I asked, not hiding my excitement about her progress. She had inscribed runes around 80% of the perimeter.
“Extremely well. I think I will finish before dinner. I am not certain, but my best guess is that the range of this portal stone will be around 3,000 miles. Don’t worry it can be upgraded with better materials in the future, but pushing any more magic than that through it would burn it out. It does look marvelous. Go over there and what as the sunlight plays on the runes…they seem to dance.” She said with excitement of her own. I was glad she was breaking down her RBF (resting bitch face). She was right. The portal stone looked amazing at the right angle.
“I wanted to let you know I have ordered plans to build an auction house. I should get them in two weeks, so I am doing what I can to make good on my promises.” She nodded and tuned me out as she focused on her work.
After lunch at the inn, I decided to pull Sanso and Jaesmin with me to work on the brewery…well.
Roasted Chicken with Shallot and Garlic Crust, +2 to all stats for 2 hours
I made a mental note never to make Fareth upset.
The brewery was a very simple building but fairly large. I might have made its capacity a little too much for our little town. During the day, I did notice some of the farmer fields in the distance had storm clouds hovering over them…probably Manto ‘helping.’ I did notice my bonuses to regeneration had boosted my regens.
Health
8.47
per min
Stamina
8.60
per min
Magic
15.02
per min
I had invested quite a bit into my magic pool and was now reaping the benefits. Manto still outclassed me. He told me he was a little over 60 per minute with his regen, but I was closing slowly.
We completed the entire foundation of the brewery and most of the first-floor walls. As we headed back to the inn, we noticed a crowd gathered around the portal stone. A loud pop occurred, and someone disappeared. That person returned as we got closer. It was Persephone.
“Just testing it out. Popped down to Stillwater and back. Just 240 magic each way.” She was beaming at her work. I returned the smile. We could now fast travel. I walked onto the stone, and nothing. What the?
Sanso asked, “Are you trying to go somewhere? Did you touch the portal stone at the location you want to travel?” Oh, that was right; I hadn’t connected my personal network to any other portal stones.
“Can you send me somewhere?” I asked hopefully.
“Sorry, Tallis. I can supply the magic, but you need to envision the location.” He said. I guess I was going to need to Titan a workout soon.
There was already a massive celebration starting at the inn. Most of the town was cramming in there, and Fareth had numerous appetizers available for everyone. I told Jaesmin to go and enjoy herself. I had to get to my drafting table. I needed to work on plans to improve the smithy. Curraen fell into step next to me as I was walking and asked me for a minute of my time.
“Lord Tallis, I have heard that some dusk elves may be coming to Malcum. Galana said sixteen?” He inquired of me. I was worried about where this conversation was going by the concern in his voice.
“Yes, do I need to be worried?” I asked.
“No, no!” He waved his hands. “Dusk elves have a bit of a mythos to them. The dark elves live in the Endless Dark below the surface. Have you heard of it?” I nodded, and he continued. “Well, they raided the surface elves for millennia. To stop the constant surprise raids, an elven king commissioned an elven special forces unit to train to delve into the Underdark and raid the dark elves in return. These elves were the best hunters and warriors from numerous elven nations.”
He paused. “They succeeded, you know. The dark elves stopped raiding the surface. The dusk elves stood on guard for hundreds of years and acted as liaisons between the surface and Endless Dark. There was a sense of peace.” He stopped talking and thought before continuing.
“The dusk elves disappeared. It must have been maybe 500 years ago. Maybe more. I am not sure when. All contact with the dark elves also ceased, and no one knows where the dusk elves went. No one has thought much about it since the dark elves didn’t start raiding the surface again. But some of us…sun elves, that is…believe the dark elves were consolidating their power to surge back to the surface. If these are truly dusk elves…then maybe you could ask why they have abandoned their duty to safeguard the surface from the Endless Dark?”
You have been offered an epic quest. History of the Dusk Elves Accept Y/N?
Oh, that game admin is going to be so mad. I hit accept. This should be an easy layup with the Dusk Elves coming to me. But why did the quest not list any rewards? It said this was an epic quest…there should be epic rewards. I thanked Curraen for the knowledge and went home to draft my plans for the…hopefully epic…smithy.