Kyle was shivering from walking through the cold February air, by time he got home. He had planned on heading directly upstairs and logging into Winter’s Tale, but instead went into the kitchen and turned the stove on to make some hot chocolate first. Rummaging around in the fridge, he was once again disappointed in his mother’s taste in food, but he really didn’t feel like heading back out again this evening just to get something to eat. Wrinkling his nose, he got out everything and fixed himself a large salad for supper while the water on the stove was still heating to make the instant hot chocolate.
“Rabbit food, wheee! At least I’ll get to have fruitcake soon in game,” he thought to himself.
Soon the water was boiling on the stove and Kyle fixed himself a double glass of hot chocolate and sat down and nibbled on his food like a good little rabbit. It wasn’t a Slop Burger, but it was better than going out into the cold once again. Maybe.
Feeling warmer, but disappointed in his lackluster supper, Kyle finally went upstairs after finishing. He tossed his book bag in the corner and went to the bathroom to take his shower this evening early. When he logged into Winter’s Tale tonight, he wanted to be able to play non-stop so he could gain some precious levels and experience! Normally Kyle liked to indulge in a hot shower until he ran out of hot water, but tonight he was in and out in just a few moments.
Drying off quickly, he streaked back to his bedroom and rummaged around until he found a comfortable pair of old sweat pants and slid those on. Moments later, he had his V-RIG on and was powering it up. The moment he saw the blue and black background, he called out “Winter’s Tale, Log in” and anxiously waited for the game to fade into view.
The moment she was in game, Kyle immediately felt a burning sensation in her legs and while disorentiated from the sudden shift into the virtual environment, was yanked down and pulled across the ground. Her staff fell from her grip, and she reached for it reflexively, a second burning pain shot through her arm as a second vine wrapped around it. “HEAL!” Kyle screamed the command to restore her life as the smell of blistering elven flesh was quickly filling the air.
“What the hell?” Kyle was completely shocked and dazed by the sudden assault. By the time he was even aware that he was in game, he was already being tortured and tormented by two different Tangleroot Creepers.
“Dammit! MOMMMM!!” Kyle’s innocent little even voice screamed out in frustration against his mother. This was all her fault! She’d turned the power off last night and he’d never considered that the game would log him out right on top of the spawn spot, so she’d be insta-swarmed as soon as she logged in! “Heal,” she screamed again, as she struggled to reach the staff that had tumbled and fallen a few agonizingly inches away. The vine creeped further up her arm and shoulder and began to wrap itself around her stomach as Kyle pulled herself closer to the staff. Burning pain seared into her sensitive breasts and Kyle yelped at the sudden unexpected intensity as tears poured from her eyes and water suddenly burst around her legs.
“Heal!” The vines were doing three to four points of damage every second, but Kyle could keep her health up with her magic, as long as she kept chain casting the healing magics. Finally, Kyle managed to wiggle the tips of her fingers around the base of the staff and pull it a few inches closer. “Heal!” Smoke and steam was starting to ripple from her nighty, and the smell of silk dissolving was intermingling sickeningly with the smell of smoldering elven flesh. Another tug on the staff, and it was almost to the point where she could grab it with her left arm – her right was still trapped and held tightly by the vine which was constantly assaulting her innocent flesh with its vile acid.
“Heal!” Kyle yelled and cast another heal as she finally wrapped her left hand around the shaft of the staff and tried to pull it in closer to use. A staff is a large weapon, and hard to handle with just one free hand, and Kyle yelled out “Heal” in frustration! Desperately, she started kicking at the vine wrapped around her left leg with her right foot. Each kick sent shivers of pain up through her heel and calf, and tears almost blocked out her vision. How the heck can a game be so painful!
Even with the pain settings much lesser than what he’d experience if such a thing was happening in real life, it was still more than painful enough to make Kyle almost want to give up and just die and be done with it! The only problem was Kyle had no clue where she might respawn at, and she didn’t want to lose any of the experience that she’d struggled so hard to acquire already. “Heal! Dammit, Heal!” Kyle keep relentlessly kicking at the vine wrapped around her leg while repeating her heal spell almost non-stop. She was doing less damage per kick to the vine, than what its acid was doing to her foot every time she kicked it!
Warning! Your silken nighty has low durability (1 / 3)!
“Nooooo!” Kyle screamed girlishly. If she didn’t get herself free soon, her nighty was going to be ruined and then she’d only have her cloak left! Kyle didn’t want to be streaking through the forest! “Heal, O Jesus Heal!” Frantically she kicked at the vine around her ankle several more times, and it finally shimmered and disappeared.
Congratulations! You have defeated a Tangleroot Creeper!
You gain 20 experience.
You need 610 more to the next level.
You need 99 more kills for the Apprentice Plant Slayer achievement!
The smell of melting silk was thick in the air now, and desperately Kyle kicked herself half upright so she could attempt to beat on the other vine with the quarterstaff in her left hand. “Heal! And heal! And heal!” She was swiping furiously at the vine, with as much force and accuracy as she could manage with one hand, when a window popped up and her nighty shimmered and disappeared.
Warning! Your silken nighty has been destroyed!
“Damn! Damn! Damn! Heal! Dammit!” Kyle screamed in frustration and furiously beat at the remaining vine until it shimmered and disappeared. A window popped up informing her that she’d gotten her kill and experience, but Kyle simply sat and yelled in frustration.
First her shoes and now her nighty! What type of damn perverted game was this!
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
And she’d pissed herself! Who the hell makes a game where you can piss yourself! “AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!” Kyle screamed as loud as her little elven voice would let her.
“Heal, dammit,” she continued much more quietly. It was too late to do anything about it now. With tears still in her eyes, Kyle called out “Inventory” softly to check on her last remaining pieces of gear.
Item
Position
Durability
Notes
Silken CloakBack2 /5A ceremonial cloak, offering minimal protection from the elements.
Since she wasn’t holding the staff, it wasn’t listed at the moment, and apparently she couldn’t get information on the items in her cloak’s pocket that easily. All she had was her cloak now, and it was over half destroyed in that last attack. “Heal,” she muttered lightly and then corrected herself with, “Wait, I meant Dammit, dammit!”
Looking around self-abashedly, Kyle was relieved to see that no one was around to see her in her current sorry state. It’s a good thing that he hadn’t figured out how to record her adventures yet – if his grandfather ever saw her in this state, Kyle just knew he’d end up unemployed instantly.
A red and green leaf shimmered faintly where the two vines had been, and Kyle slowly picked them up and placed them in her cloak pocket, which was now starting to get rather full of leaves. Looking at how many she had – ten from yesterday and the two from today made twelve total – Kyle came up with a crazy idea. First things first, she gently took off her cloak and climbed into the creek to bathe. Walking around with your own pee drying on your leg was just nasty; and who knew what might smell or notice it out here!
Washing and rubbing over his character’s feminine parts was a true oddity for Kyle. Her breasts were soft and cushiony, and very sensitive to touch – especially the right one where the vine had been burning earlier! Even healed, it still maintained a memory of tenderness and washing it with her bare hands made it tingle strangely. The nipple perked up hard being caught between the caress of the cold creek water and her soft warm hands, and Kyle found herself squirming and blushing brightly. Washing even lower on her body produced feelings that Kyle’s male mind had no idea how to process. It was warmth and coolness at the same time. Tingling and desirable, and yet something which made him almost cry from embarrassment! Part of him wanted to explore her anatomy more, but another part couldn’t help but think he was doing something dirty and perverted! Quickly, Kyle moved on to finish washing off her legs and the rest of her body, before dunking her long hair down in the creek and giving it a quick scrubbing.
Without any soap, it wasn’t the best bath in the world; but it was the best that she was going to get for now!
Quickly Kyle climbed out of the creek and wrung as much water as possible out of her hair before sliding back into her cloak. Even though he had just eaten in the real world, she was hungry, so Kyle dug out her elven bread and took another small bite of it. “Inspect,” she commanded once her stomach was no longer rumbling.
Name
Damage
Durability
Notes
Elven Trail BreadNA17 / 20Bread baked by master elven chefs. Has a limitless shelf life and requires very little for a meal’s substance.
Those that eat a meal of this recover health and mana 25% faster, for a period up to twelve hours after eating.
The durability had reduced by one, so that basically mean she had enough for another seventeen meals. Satisfied that it was going to last for a while, Kyle grabbed up her staff and slowly wandered up and down the creek until she could find a group of thistles. Carefully, she prodded at them with her staff once or twice to make certain that they weren’t anything that was going to move and attack her, and then she slowly sat down keeping her cloak between her and the ground.
Carefully, Kyle plucked a single thorn off the nearest thistle and then pulled out a green leaf and began slowly trying to pierce the tip of it with the thistle. The leaf was quite tough and durable, and the thorn broke before doing much more than scratching the surface. Sighing, Kyle plucked another thorn and slowly twisted it back and forth in the same spot, hoping to slowly drill a hole in the leaf. When that thorn broke, Kyle patiently tried another. And another. And another.
A countless number of broken thorns later, and Kyle finally had a small pin hole drilled in the leaf. Grinning excitedly, she gently reached up and then broke off a single long hair from her head and tried to string it through the hole. With a shimmer, the leaf and hair both disappeared and a window popped up instead.
You do not have sufficient skill to craft that item!
Item(s) have been destroyed from failed crafting attempt!
“Dammit!” Kyle yelled in frustration, and then grinned slightly to herself. “Only 99 more to go, I guess. Looks like I’m going to have to learn how to craft some leaf armor while I’m killing these damn vines!”
Kyle knew it was going to be a long slow grind, but he was content to simply sit and improve her skills slowly over time. After all, what other choice did he have, considering where his character had started at. Patiently, she pulled out another leaf and broke off a fresh thorn to work it with. Not the best tools to try her trade with, but it’s all that’s available out here at the moment. Kyle just had to be patient. Who knew where the heck she was out in the wilderness! There hadn’t been any signs of any other players or intelligent creatures at all out here so far, so for now Kyle was going to just have to work at the game as if she was the only person in it – slow, deliberate grinding of skills and talents to work them up, and killing vines for their leaves and experience as she learned.
Settling in for the evening, Kyle started trying to earn his crafting skill. It was slow and boring, but at this point, he was willing to count any improvement as a success.