Jay winced, the memory of Taylor Lynn still stinging as he gazed forlornly at the door. All was not necessarily lost. He could open the door, apologize for the weirdness, and explain everything to Claire. That was still within the realm of possibility.
His heart continued to beat as he realized that path wasn’t for him. Not right now. The speed of the beats increased until he finally tore himself away from the doorway, collapsed in his car, and waited for the bodily reaction to pass him. The feeling was agonizing as it disappeared, slowly leaving behind tangible stress.
Jay could still text or call her. He could explain things that way, and even though the night wouldn’t end with a kiss, he might be able to repair the damage he dealt. But he wasn’t going to do that either.
He was hurting and having a hard time existing in the real world. So he was going to go somewhere else: back to Tumultua Online.
***
During the next two days or so, running out the clock on the Monster Parade ticket, Jay received many messages from his friends. Even Sarah checked in on him. He brushed them all away, explaining that he was busy. His version of occupied was a façade.
He spent those two days combing through the Ilran Forest and finding a pocket of monsters suitable for battle. As he ranged through the forest, he passed by many herbs, though he didn’t find any proper spots for mining in the woods. There was a veritable mountain of herbs in his inventory for whoever chose the Alchemy skill, but his pickaxe remained useless. The Herbalism skill was still in the D tier but now sported 56% progress.
The slow trickle of experience from farming these random monsters was much less than Jay accumulated running through dungeons. On the other hand, mindless farming was doing wonders for his mental health. It gave him a goal to strive for, and just enough to focus on, to avoid thinking about his experience with Claire. To avoid thinking about Taylor Lynn. He would need to text Claire eventually, but not yet.
Jay knew his friends were going about preparations of their own. Sarah had decided to join the expedition to the island. Jay hadn’t put up a fight, simply acknowledging her choice. He knew if she wanted to go, she would go.
He would hope for the best, knowing that the worst was survivable. Sarah did have one of the most powerful classes in the game, and Tumult would have to do something if Sarah’s character died on the island. He would make them.
Jay stalked the forest, searching for a final hunt. He carried several different bolts he needed to test out. With an hour budgeted for the testing, there would be another hour to make a deal with Nora on the best options.
He stumbled upon a small pack of level-appropriate enemies. Usually, he wouldn’t dare to challenge the pack of four boars, which were only one level below his own. Without special gear, he usually kept combat to one or two monsters.
The slow experience farming brought him to level twenty-two, though he hadn’t distributed his statistic points. He turned his attention to the nameplate.
Gronling Boar, Level 21: Health: 350/350.
Jay could smoothly burn through that much health, especially considering the bag of goodies he carried to test. Besides, his inventory still contained over thirty novice health potions if he were damaged.
He loaded the first clip containing a bolt that shocked nearby enemies. It was meant to be particularly effective against a horde or small pack like this one. That first bolt was followed by four regular bolts. Each of his four clips was loaded that way: one special bolt with four regulars.
Jay settled into a range of approximately 100 feet and blasted the closest boar. The creature oinked angrily. The rest of its singular snorted, and Jay instantly thought about how fitting this fight was. Everything had started with boars, so he felt a particular association with the enemy.
The sparking shock of the bolt, called a Zinger Bolt, slowly ticked the health of all enemies, including the one Jay had shot. He blasted the follow-up bolts quickly, which allowed the boars to find him. The distance Jay was at remained safe, but the boars charged toward him.
The repeater fired quickly, taking down the first boar before the enemies could close half the distance. Jay activated Rapid Fire with that opportunity, quickly switching to another clip.
He sent this bolt sailing in front of the charging boars. The bolt expanded instantly into an ice trap, causing the boars to careen into each other. He blasted one of the downed boars before they could return to their four legs but only needed two bolts. Two down, two to go. He backed away, missing one of the two shots on his third target.
He reloaded the third clip using the extra distance, firing a bolt in front of the ice trap. The bolt expanded into a puddle of mucky swamp water, which one of the two boars sunk into before Jay could kill it. That boar was well and properly trapped.
The remaining freed boar moved to circumvent the ice trap once it regained its feet. Jay turned on this enemy, firing all four shots at it. The boar’s movements forced him to run around some trees while he fired. Three of the four attacks landed, taking the boar down.
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The final boar was stuck in the muck, unable to free itself due to its weight. The ticking timer on the slimy mud declared it still had twelve seconds remaining, so Jay pulled his final clip and loaded it.
He fired the special bolt of the clip, which slammed into the last enemy, causing spirals of purple energy at the impact zone. This clip contained the final bolt for testing, which was called a Necrotic Bolt. He personally thought the name was too on-the-nose. The bolt released a necrotic plague similar to Seth’s Plague Knight abilities, which dealt periodic damage.
As the timer ticked, the necrosis quickly destroyed the boar. The bolt didn’t kill it before it was free, but it didn’t really put up a fight even once freed. It didn’t charge, limping over toward Jay. He stabbed it with his new shortsword, ending the creature’s misery. In the real world, it would have been messed up.
Inside the game, the scene was just epic.
As Jay looted the four bodies, he remembered he hadn’t employed his Analyze ability to look for weaknesses. It worked out, but he needed to focus more intensely during the Monster Parade. The event was rapidly approaching.
The boar struck by the necrotic plague hadn’t left behind any meat, though there were some tusks still available. He still lacked the skill to skin animals, though it seemed like something a Monster Hunter should obtain eventually. The other three boars yielded meat in addition to the other crafting items. Jay stored all the items in his inventory with the traditional light show.
He cataloged the boar creature and marched his way back to Ilra.
Navigating the woods had become a breeze once he had attained the Survival skill. The skill was slowly progressing, though the advancement didn’t seem to matter for the effects of it. Possessing the skill caused an indicator to pop up with a thought. Jay could direct the arrow toward any known landmarks. Cities seemed to qualify, but he had even used it to relocate the Monster Hunter dungeon he had cleared with the party.
Jay easily passed into the city, finding Nora at her shop, Nora’s Curiosities. She could sell all the bolts except the Zinger Bolt. Those bolts had been made by Taylor Lynn, using the Enchanting knowledge she was taught by guild members. She had promised Jay several more would be ready before the Monster Parade.
“How many of those can you get your hands on for me?” Jay asked, happily marching up to Nora’s counter.
“Which kind?” Nora asked. Her curious book about rabbits was missing from the counter. Since the party wasn’t around to shut the place down, she was actually working.
“All of them,” Jay said. “I want all of your stock of all of them.”
Nora’s eyes bulged. “I don’t think it would be responsible for me to sell everything to you. What if other people come looking for goods? Then again, I suppose being out of stock proves their efficacy.”
The woman was still considering the problem deeply when she finished speaking. Ultimately, she checked her stock in the back, carrying out a small pile of cases.
“These come in cases of five. So, factoring that, I have thirty Muck Bolts, twenty-five Ice Traps, and fifty Necrotic. If you buy all that, it would cost you three hundred and five gold.”
“No problem,” Jay said, summoning the pile of gold. “Sold. You can’t take it back.”
Nora’s eyes bulged again, realizing she likely could have charged him more. Still, she passed the cases of bolts over to Jay. He popped them all into his inventory. His most desperate need was more clips. He still had plenty of regular bolts from resupplying before his mindless farming.
“Are you still out of five-shot reloader clips?”
“Afraid so,” Nora admitted. “I even sold you the one I use for my personal toy. Those four were all I had. They’re custom-made by a Human, but he’s local to their territory. Might be a while before another shipment comes through.”
Jay balked, the explanation making no sense. He didn’t want to challenge Nora on the point but thought it might be worth looking into the manufacturer. Angela Kitt had made it clear that she had invented the crossbow and its derivations.
“I understand,” Jay said, though his tone was a little mournful. “Anybody else come by?”
Nora shook her head, so he bade her goodbye and returned to the streets of Ilra. They were still quite bustling. Tumultua Online was steadily gaining players. Some players had moved on to other cities, but the influx of new Elf players always started near Ilra.
Jay made his way to an arena in a part of the city he rarely visited. The trade city provided shops of all different kinds, but the game was already his source of entertainment. He didn’t see the point in visiting the entertainment portion of Ilra.
At least, he hadn’t, until the massive monster event with tremendous rewards.
When Jay finally reached the rally point, he wasn’t surprised to see a few new faces. Two unknown players were there, which he assumed were the healers Lester had recruited. Lurian was there. Although, one face was much different than expected. Kylar wasn’t there.
“Casey!” Jay exclaimed, happy with the change. As fun as Kylar could be, Jay liked Casey much better.
“What are you doing here?” Jay asked. “I’m a little surprised, but I’m also glad you’re here.”
“Your sister’s participation in our expedition came with demands of her own,” Lurian, the Gunslinger, explained. “It’s worth it to have a Paladin, but Kylar is going to lose his mind. He’s already searching for another compass, though we think what you found is unique.”
“That does sound like Sarah,” Jay admitted, making eye contact with his sister. She stepped to where she wasn’t in anyone’s line of sight except his. Then she stuck her tongue out at him like a child. “And Kylar.”
“Sure does. You all ready to go?” Lester asked. “We’re cutting it pretty close on time here.”
“Potions, weapons, bolts, all check,” Jay rattled off. “I need to load my clips really fast. The only thing I’m truthfully missing is armor. But I’ll be fine without it until the guild armor is ready. My old stuff wasn’t doing much for me.”
“About that,” Lester said, smiling deviously. In a cascade of sparks, he pulled an item from his inventory. On hangers was a set of armor in the guild colors. The detailed work on the item was exquisite, seamlessly integrating the trimmed thread and material. Jay inspected the item.
System Message: Red Player’s Society Regalia. This armor set has been crafted in guild colors and has a unique cowboy aesthetic. A true labor of love, this item is imbued with powerful effects. Effect: Increases Health and MP by 200. Effect: Increases movement speed by 10%. Effect: Adds 10 Speed.
“You made it in cowboy colors?” Jay asked. Truthfully, he hadn’t wanted to tell his party about his need to find cowboy gear for the Outlaw fighting style. Something like this wasn’t outside his expectations, however. Everyone was obviously enjoying the running cowboy joke.
“We sort of had to,” Lester said adamantly, yielding a sea of nods from the other players. Even the random healers Jay didn’t know got in on the action.
Jay took the hangers. “Actually, I’m glad you did.”