# The Wolf Queen (part 1)
(I considered naming this chapter "The Two Bitches"... but figured that would be wrong)
"If I remember correctly, the Archer's Guild should be this way..."
The last few days had passed by fairly quickly as I focused on the repairs.
The instructor had been so pleased with my my work that not only did he give me more money than I could possibly need at the moment, but also enough exp points for me to level up to Lv 2, which was not originally part of the quest rewards. My Repair skill had finally reached beginner Lv 9 as of last night, and my Archery has reached Beginner Lv 2.
"Turn left at the inn and go straight... At the third junction turn right, then right again when you pass this particular Alchemist shop and it should be right in front of ~ ah here it is."
The Guild building was built in the style of a giant 3-storied log cabin. On the front of the building there were 2 doors; one larger main door and one door further to the side. The surrounding land has been cleared of all other buildings, leaving only a few trees standing. Peeking out from the side of the building was a fence which I guess would surround a training field behind the building.
If the size if the Training Hall I just left was any indicator, the training field would probably be very large indeed.
The Archer's Guild was one of the 3 main guilds in Royal Road, after all, next to the Mage's Guild and the Warrior's Guild.
Ring!
A bell rung as I opened the main door. The main hall of the place looked simpler than I would have expected of a Guild. Other than a counter at the far end, there were some wooden tables and chairs along the walls to my the left and right, with vases of flowers decorating each table.
Standing behind the counter was a petite young lady dressed in a simple green dress with a brown apron. Her shoulder length blonde hair was tied back in a ponytail and her center-parted fringe framed her smiling face. Despite her blonde hair, her height and features would suggest that she's of Asian descent, probably Chinese or Japanese.
"Welcome to the Archer's Guild! I'm the receptionist here, how may I be of service?"
*Well, she definitely sounds like an NPC... but..*
"You're... A player aren't you..."
"I have no idea what you're talking about. I'm just a simple NPC," Even though she's still smiling, a "#" shape was already appearing on her forehead.
"Nope... you're definitely a player."
A few moments of uncomfortable silence passed between us.
"AAauUrrrgh!" She made a random angry sound as she dropped her fake smile, "Yeah yeah. I'm a player, got a problem with that. I needed something to do for the first four weeks and money to pay for the stupid training and stupid exam and landed this stupid job as a stupid receptionist. Any problems?"
"No, no. No problem here. Just wondering why you're going through the trouble of acting like an NPC, is all."
"Tsch! Because it's a shitty job where I have to serve under others and serve other people and have to put up with shit and get no respect whatsoever. Better to let others think I'm just another NPC instead of an unlucky player." (To anybody who might be reading this who is an actual receptionist, I must stress that this is the character's opinion and not mine) "And you must be the lucky bastard I was supposed to expect who got the recommendation from the Training Hall instructor. Just complete your quest and go."
She turned away from me and did some funny motion with her hands.
Ting!
Quest Complete!
The Recommendation Letter
You have visited the Archer's Guild to change your class.
Reward:
Class change opportunity
Class Change!
You can convert to a Primary class Archer. If you accept it, you can learn exclusive skills for the class that are withheld from other classes.
Do you want to convert to Archer?
"Ah, alright. Thanks."
Ting!
You have changed your class!You are now an Archer!DEX increased by +5Limitations on the Archery skill has been lifted.
(omg auto correct almost changed the "D" in Dex into an "S")
"Ne~!" The bit~_ eh I mean the lady called out to me just as I was about to turn and leave.
"Hrm?"
"How did you know I was a player? I'm pretty proud of my acting skills, you know."
"That is inconvenient for me to say."
"Just say it."
"Well.... I'm fine around NPC's, but otherwise I feel really uncomfortable around attractive women."
It's true. I may look fine, but there are butterflies in my stomach right now.
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"I-IDIOt! PER~V~ERT!"
"Oi! 'Idiot' I can understand but how does that make me a pervert!"
"I don't care! Weirdo Mustache-Otakus like you should all jump into a river and die."
"Now you have a problem with my Mustache!" (With a capital "M")
"Bluuegh!" She stuck out her tongue at me, "and by the way I'm only telling you this because it's my job but past the door to your right is a store that will sell you the basic gear you will need as an archer. So get lost now."
"Fine, fine. I understand. I'll leave right away."
*She is definitely not cute!*
When I walked into store (the store is actually in the Guild building itself. It's where the second door on the outside leads to), I took a quick look around. Around the store were armor stands displaying different kinds of leather and cloth armor. Hung on the walls were bows in different shapes and sizes, and they were most probably made from different woods as well, though I couldn't really tell.
It seems as though all the equipment here were for low-leveled players, perhaps up to level 5 or 7.
Behind the store counter was an old man.
"Greetings, young Archer," he spoke in a rusty old voice, " I assume that you're here to get started with your journey."
The storekeeper walked around the counter to get a closer look at me.
"Indeed, I have just finished my mandatory 4 weeks stay-in, and wish to get suitable gear before I venture outside of town."
"Of course, of course," as he was talking, he seemed to be taking my measurements with his eyes, "May I ask what is your level?"
"Level 2."
"Heh... A little on the low end I see," he patted me on the chest, "Seems that you already have our body armor. Let me see what else I can get you."
Simple Wooden Bow:
Durability: 25/25
Damage: 6-8
A simple wooden bow that most archers start with. It's ease of use makes up for it's lack of power.
Equip:
+5 DEX
Limits:
DEX 20+
Leather Bracer:
Durability: 25/25
Defense: 2
A leather support for the wrist meant to reduce strain when drawing a bow.
Equip:
-20% Stamina drain when attacking with a bow
+3 DEX
Limits:
Level 2
Leather Boots:
Durability: 13/13
Defense: 1
A pair of comfortable leather boots that were designed for walking.
Equip:
-10% Stamina drain from movement
Limits:
None
Cloth Headband:
Durability: 10/10
Defense: 1
A headband that keeps hair and sweat out of your eyes.
Equip:
Slightly increased Accuracy
Limits:
None
Leather Pants:
Durability: 25/25
Defense: 3
A pair of leather pants. Better than being naked.
Equip:
None
Limits:
Level 2
Basic Quiver:
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
Durability: 50/50
Capacity: 50 Arrows
The quiver that majority of archers start with. Its simple design and average capacity is popular even to the more experienced players.
Equip:
10% increased draw speed.
Limits:
Must have a bow/crossbow equiped
In addition to those, I bought an extremely large number of wooden arrows.
Wooden Arrow:
Durability: 1/1
Despite it's lack of a proper arrowhead, these sharpened wooden tips will suffice for most low-leveled enemies.
Equip:
None
Limits:
Must have a bow equiped.
"There you go... Now you look like a proper archer."
"I feel like a proper archer," I said after putting everything on, "I can't thank you enough."
"Oh think nothing of it. You know, I used to be an adventurere like you. Until I took that blasted arrow to the knee. I'd know what an adventurer would need, I've been outfitting them for years!" the storekeeper laughed, "Now run along, fame and fortune await you!"
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Ah.... the great outdoors.
This was the place where thousands of adventureres made what could be said to be their first real step into Royal Road.
The lush green field just outside the gate, filled with cute critters.
Rabbits were hopping around.
Foxes were slinking about in the brush.
Butterflies flitted about in the mid-day sun.
Young adventurers were running about with their weapons in hand. All around you you could see swords stabbing into cute fluffy rabbits. Warhammers smashing the skulls of little foxes, and animals being burnt alive my magic.Blood and brains were flying everywhere. Occasionally one of the animals would get lucky and manage to rip the throats off the~..
WAIT JUST ONE MOMENT!
ISN'T SOMETHING HORRIBLY WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE!
It's true that cute and cuddly creatures were usually the starting prey in games, but it feels completely wrong here! Did the game developers forget to take into account that this was a VIRTUAL REALITY MMO! Rabbits and foxes are animals that exist in real life, and here there are people commiting atrocities against them! Some poor kid here could be receiving some SERIOUS psychological damage here!!! Where's the Animal Rights Department! The Morals Committee?
Shouldn't they at least replace the rabbits and foxes with creatures that didn't exist on Earth???
"This... is pretty crazy isn't it..?"
Everywhere you look, there were people hunting mobs, and seems like all the good spawn points were taken. If I wanted to do some hunting, seems like I would have little luck here.
Instead I looked to the forest edge that surrounds the clearing. The forest was where most of the wolves spawned. Each one ranged from level 6 ~ 8, and while it was possible for a lone newbie to kill one or two at a time, to take on a pack of them was usually suicidal.
But of course, ranged units had a big advantage. By attacking from afar, they can bait small groups of them and avoid having to fight the entire pack at once. Not to mention that the trees can break the line of sight, making it harder for the wolves to detect the player (although they still have a keen pair of ears and a sensitive nose).
*I guess I'll try my luck in the forest then.*
Although a few players did glance at me as I made my way to the forest's edge, none of them stepped forward to interupt me or offer to party with me.
I guess either nobody wanted to party with a newbie, or they decided going into the forest wasn't worth it.
"It's odd though... I haven't seen a single soul around."
True enough, even though I've been walking around for about an hour now, I haven't seen a single mob. It was possible that they were all hunted down recently, but there aren't any signs of battles either.
And for some reason, the sky has turned dark.
It's not because the trees were blocking the sun either. When I peeked through the gaps in the foliage, it almost looks as though night had suddenly fallen.
"This is starting to get creepy..."
It reminded me of a story about a game I heard some time ago, about a mythical "Stage 0". It was supposeedly a glitch in the system where if your character walked into a certain spot on stage 1 at a certain time and a certain way, he'd enter a "Stage 0", a stage that continuously looped the scenery and could not be completed, hence trapping the player in there forever.
"I should probably head back."
Just as I said that, I spotted something out of the corner of my eyes. A break in the trees.
*Have I been walking in circles the entire time?*
But no. As I walked closer I realized it wasn't the same clearing I was in before, but rather it was a large glade, almost the size of the clearing outside the gates of Serabourg.
In the center of the glade was a single tree, and at the base of the tree was a hole that was dug into the ground. A den perhaps. Perhaps the den of a wolf?
As I approached the tree, my suspicions were confirmed as a small white wolf pup crawled out of the hole. At just over a feet tall, it looked like it would barely be able to protect itself if attacked by one of those fluffy rabbits from earlier on.
*Why is it white though?*
From what I understand, white wolves are native to the newly discovered far-northern part of Royal Road.
*Did it's parents immigrate here? Where is it's mother?*
As soon it saw me, the pup ran back into it's den and started making that loud, annoying, high-pitched bark that only pups and small dogs could make.
*I have a bad feeling about this.*
"Grrrrrrrrrr..........."
A loud growl could be heard behind me.
And when I turned around, I saw the biggest ass wolf in the world.
Standing at four times my height, around two stories tall, the giant white wolf was glaring straight down at me with murder in its.. no... *Her* eyes.
Drawn by her pup's calls, the mother wolf had come to defend it.
TING!
*New Quest:
Maternal Instinct
After many grueling months of travel, the Wolf-Queen of the north had finally made it to the lusher lands of the south to give birth to her child.
While hunting for food, she heard the cries of her pup and returned to find a human hunter approaching it.
Quest Objective:
Kill the Wolf Queen
You cannot flee
Quest Failure:
Death
Quest Difficulty: D
Quest Requirement:
Not in a party
Quest Reward:
Rewards will be based on actions taken during the quest
My Level: 2
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The Wolf Queen's Level: 25
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Author's notes:
Hello again!
My fanfic thread is finally up!
And so I celebrate with a two-and-a-half chapter release.
Why half a chapter?
Because I'm evil and want to create a cliff-hanger right here (evil laugh).
And also because I finished this portion just as my thread was created, and I'm high because of that.
Also because I want to isolate the battle portion into a thread of it's own.
It's the main char's first battle, after all.
This chapter was started a few days after I finished chapter 1, and I decided to try a different writing style as well as making an effort to write more in depth in everything.
Once again, thank you for reading my fanfic.
Any and all comments will be appreciated!