Shortly after finding the slave camp…
When thinking about a game with endless possibilities, to walk the way you envision for yourself, Like conquer a city or build the largest guild or something like that. People that look in awe from the outside at some of these accomplishments never think about what happened before. The way those people walked to get where they’re now. Well, Nox’s ambitions are a lot smaller but still a challenge.
“Goddammit! I hate this fucking forest!” Nox screamed while dodging trees left and right, stones flying over his head and bark exploded from nearby trees as they got hit. He whirled around, grabbing and shooting his rifle in one fluid motion before sprinting again.
Those goblin fuckers, I wish I never ran into them, he thought and made a sharp left turn, sprinting in another direction. His breathing was labored and he really needed a break at this point. The search for the slavers started so well but now he only thought about survival.
----------------------------------------
After his successful class selection Brookr literally pulled him to the dwarven mess hall and called everybody that was currently in the smithy. He received handshakes, some pats on the back and even some smiles after he told him what class he had and how he even managed to get it. Dwarven pride was nothing new so they patted themselves on the back quite a bit but also told him ways to improve on the design of the rifle and even make his bullets absorb more of his mana for devastating effects.
But Brookr waved them all away, to prepare everything. Barrels of mead got rolled into the mess hall, their cook started to prepare some food and soon everybody was sitting at the tables, drinking and laughing. Nox walked towards Brookr, his gait a little wobbly at this point. Still he took the offered mug with a smile and sat down.
“So Brookr, not that I want to complain but why are you doing this for me? I’m just an adventurer you know?” He took a sip from his drink and looked at the dwarf.
“Hmpf, lad you’re a traveler but it’s an important milestone for everybody in this world to get their class, even if they end up evolving or switching it later on. Your first class is always the most important. Why do we throw this little party for you? Well, you saved me, even worked towards a class based on our invention. You didn’t realize it maybe but you align yourself with the dwarfs. That’s unusual and an honor because even if people buy weapons and armor from us, most humans fear our kind because of our military strength and discipline. Dwarven weapons, armor and soldiers are one of the finest in this realm. Only the elves could defeat us if they had the numbers and would care about the world at all, those damn tree huggers. Well lad, you have much to do in the morning. Better go to bed and sleep, you have slavers to hunt after all.” He huffed and took a long sip from his mug, foam getting caught in his long beard. He pats Nox on the back and smiles.
The young adventurer nodded, deep in thought about what Brookr said. Still he managed to stand up and walk out of the mess hall and log out around a corner.
----------------------------------------
When he logged in the next day all the effects of alcohol were gone, it was early morning in the game and he was ready to venture out after a quick equipment check. It would be bad if he ran out of ammunition in the middle of his hunt. Leaving town through the south gate he quickly found himself back in the forest, following the only way through it. He tried to retrace his steps but it was nearly impossible to find the spot where they left the trail. Still he tried to find something, he didn’t get a tracking skill when following the bear, maybe because it was so easy to spot the paw prints back then.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
After around half an hour, walking up and down the path he spotted something, a piece of fabric on a branch, it was nearly invisible but with his higher perception he still saw it. The fabric was damp, looked like it already had some mold on it but it was the usual dark brown of the starter clothes he was wearing right now. Smiling, he left the trail and ventured out in a general direction; it didn’t take him long to find the clearing; from there the journey was easy and without problems.
He left the forest behind and saw the familiar slave camp, but something felt off instantly. He saw no guard at the gates, no smoke from a fireplace or any indication there was life down there. Grabbing his rifle he made his way towards it, taking cautious steps through the gate but he sighs when he walks around a few tents. There was nobody here, no cages, no slavers, nothing. He made it way over to the fireplace, touching the wood with his fingers. It was cold and by the looks of it the camp was deserted for some time now.
Sitting down on a log he thought about why they’re gone, the easiest explanation was that they left after finding the cage empty. Fearing the young man and the dwarf would alert the city guard and why hadn’t they? In retrospect that would be the right move but Nox was a mess back then, not thinking about all the people here. Guilt settled in his stomach but maybe he could still save them. Pushing himself up from the log he nodded to himself and made his way back to the gate, with so many people there must be footprints and wheel tracks somewhere. Standing in front of the gate he knelt down, inspecting the ground. At least until the first cry echoed from the forest. He looked up and spotted a small green creature, holding a crude spear in his hand. Alright in motion he grabbed his rifle and aimed at the thing. But before he could kill the monster more of them streamed out of the forest, warming a living wall at the edge. Goblins, he thought.
A large goblin made his way to the front, this one wearing armor and a shortsword at his waist, he pointed at Nox and left out a few snarling noises. The next moment, the green tide screamed and started to run towards them, throwing spears and rocks lacking precision but had enough power to rip the ground apart. Nox found himself running away in the blink of an eye, maybe he could trick them somehow.
----------------------------------------
For nearly half an hour he ran away from the goblins, after he left the slave camp there wasn’t much he could do, taking some shots when he could but in the end it was futile. Still he had a plan, it wasn’t a good one but he wanted to try something.
Grabbing the wooden box of cigarettes from his pouch he tried to put one between his lips while running, somehow he managed that and ignited it with the fire gem, soon a bit of smoke was curling around his head while running. Nox infused it with a heavy dose of mana even if he felt the headache coming from the exhaustion. Still the result was worth it, more and more mana pumped into the smoke and soon a black and green haze surrounded him.
With his sloppy mana control he expanded the smoke so it formed a bubble around him, the moment he was out of sight he jumped towards the next tree and grabbed a thick branch, climbing up as fast as he could while still infusing mana into the cigarette.
When he reached a somewhat comfortable hiding spot between the branches he let go of the control and the bubble around him exploded in a wave of venomous fog. It didn’t take long until the first goblin started coughing and choking on the smoke. Nox smiled to himself even if he never wanted to be in that kind of position he couldn’t deny how effective it was, he leaned back, smoking the cigarette normal but kept a bit of mana infused into it. Soon some nice levels would come his way, it was just a matter of time.