The falling sensation hit me again. Though it was subtler this time. Less of a scary fall and more like a gentle glide. The word “Initializing” followed by “Welcome Back” flashed across my vision. Then the room came into focus. Like the last time I appeared in a white room. Unlike last time I was now sitting behind the desk. On it lay a magazine, upon examining it I found it was an interior design magazine. Focusing on each model room made the room I was currently sitting in mirror that look. Old school castles, high tech space ships and everything in between was modeled in this magazine. I shut the book without making a selection though, that’s not why I was here.
I opened my menu and found status quickly.
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Name: Styx
Level: 1
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Exp: 0/1000
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Stats:
Str: 3
Vit: 5
Dex: 7
Agi: 7
Int: 3
Wis: 4
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Looks like what the GM said held true, no streamer advantage. Well aside from being able to play a week early. But we started at level 1. Next I checked out my skills, maybe now I could figure out how to level them. But what I found shocked me.
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Skills
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None.
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Apparently they took the skills away as well, not like I really worked hard on acquiring them but it was still a surprise. “That’s ok” I said to myself. Fresh start just like everyone else.
I walked over to the mirror and got a good look at myself. True to the GM’s word my clothing was still the black leather I had played with last session. “Well that’s a good place to start” I said “I wonder how I start recording?” As I said the word recording a message popped up:
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Would you like to start recording?
Yes // No
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The words recording, yes and no were all highlighted in red, so I assumed they were key words.
“Yes” I said aloud.
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Recording starting in….
3..
2..
1..
#######################################
As the countdown started I tried my best to stand in a heroic pose. I felt like I looked silly but I wasn’t used to streaming my full self just my upper body, whatever I’ll figure it out as I go. As the timer finished I saw a little red light appear in the upper left so I assumed the recording was going.
“Hey guys Styx here! Some of you may have seen the announcements, and have seen the video I posted about it. If not, I have been invited by Cryo-Medical to participate in the beta of their upcoming game ‘Arc of Heroes’. Unlike most games this one is a full immersion dreamscape game. That’s right! You play while you're sleeping. Sounds crazy, I know. Heck if I wasn’t here right now I’d think it was a hoax, but it's real.” I smile and do a broad sweep of my arms around the room. “As you know I typically start a game by going through the character creation, but since your subconscious designs your character it's kind of hard to show that. But this is your lobby. From what I’ve been told we each get our own. It looks pretty bland I know but the book on the desk there” I say while looking at the desk “has a bunch of options to customize it. I’m sure I’ll get there at one point but that’s not what I’m here for today. I’m excited about playing this game so let’s get things going!”
With that I open the menu once more and select login. A door appears in the wall next to me and opens to show a familiar grassy hill.
Standing on the hill in daylight I could clearly see the town we had saved below. However there were a few differences. For one there were no goblins. Secondly, there was a giant wall around the entire city. And there were guards stationed at the open gate. This was a good thing, the town seemed to be more defensive after the goblin attack. Hopefully the hole in the mayor's house was fixed as well.
Stolen novel; please report.
As I walked down the gentle slope towards the town I took a look around. There was a gentle breeze blowing carrying the smell of earth and flowers. I double checked that the recording was still going. While I wouldn’t narrate the whole thing, because talking to myself seemed like something a crazy person would do, I did want to capture footage of my entire journey. I could always add voice overs before I uploaded it anyway.
“HEY!!” someone shouted from behind me. I turned around to see Malthiel jogging down the hill towards me. I stop and wait for him to catch up.
He looks like he did in the raid as well. Tall with dark hair. His armor, now that it was easier to see in the day light, was white with blue trim. In the center of his tunic was the emblem of his channel. A large pair of blue wings with a silver crown in the center. His large axe followed the blue and white color scheme on the handle and was strapped to his back.
“How’s it going?” I say as he approaches.
“Doing pretty good, yourself?” He replies. And we start walking towards the direction of the town.
“Can’t complain. I’m excited to get started.” I responded.
As we approach the town, the guards who were slouching against the wall stand up straighter.
“Hail Malthiel. Hail Styx.” one of the guards calls out. “We appreciate the help with the goblins the other night, we’ve been given orders to tell you that you are now allowed to take up quarters in the residential district should you so desire.” he states with a crisp salute. “We are all grateful, thanks to your intervention no one lost their life in the raid, the basements and floors of the town have been reinforced to prevent such an occurrence from happening again.”
“Thank you for the offer. We will be sure to check out the accommodations.” Malthiel says. “Have a good day gentleman.”
All of the guards give us salutes as we move through the walls and into the town.
A message pops up in my message log and I take a quick look {Adare housing style added to your room catalog.}
“Well that’s neat.” I say
“Yeah being able to use some of the quest rewards outside of the game is a cool feature.” Malthiel responds indicating he received the same notifications. “I’m going to see what the houses look like here in town.”
“Alright have fun, I’m going to see about a quest and testing out combat now that we have a UI.” I say turning the opposite direction.
As I start towards the center of town I remember the skills that I had unlocked during the raid. I pick up the pace seeing if I can get some of them back. The town isn’t large, shaped like a peace sign now that it has the wall around it. As I get to the center and stop to look for a quest board I receive a notification.
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Gained Skill: Sprint lv0
I AM SPEED.
Upon Activation: +50% movement speed == 5 second duration
After buff duration: -10% movement speed == 5 second duration
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Well that’s a step in the right direction I think. As I near the market I hear shouting.
“Get out of here!”
“Go back to your hole!”
“You’re not wanted!”
As I get close to the crowd I see a child cowering. “Hey! Stop it!” I shout while pushing through the crowd. As I get to the front I notice it’s not a child but a kobold cowering in the street.
“What’s a monster doing in town?” I say to myself
“Me no monster, me jus’ different” says the kobold.
At this point the crowd had starting throwing stuff, though they were trying to avoid hitting me not all of them succeeded.
“Well whatever you are, let’s get you out of the town.” I say. Turning towards the crowd I shout “People of Adare, fear not I will take care of this creature and protect you.”
Hearing this the townsfolk stop throwing rocks and food. A few covered their childrens eyes thinking that I might just murder the kobold right here in the street.
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(Local Quest) “Take care” of the kobold!
Rewards: XP, ???
Failure: Town will lose faith in you and other adventurers.
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“How did you get in the town?” I say to the kobold.
“Big door. Very open. Scary man didn’t look at me.” the kobold said while pointing in the direction opposite of where I entered town. As he pointed his long boney finger people screamed and scrambled out of the way.
“Don’t point” I tell him “Just head back that way, I’ll come with you to make sure they leave you alone.”
“Can’t leave! Must find help!” the kobold whines.
“Help with what?” I ask? Gently pushing him in the direction of the gate.
The kobold starts walking while saying “Big worm! Queen worm! Attack village!”
“This village?” I look around quickly “I don’t see any worm queen.”
“No! Kobold Village! ME Village!” the kobold jumps up and down then starts hurrying towards the gate.
As I follow after a notification pops up.
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Gained Skill: Subterfuge lv0
Sometimes all they need is a little push.
+5% chance for things to go your way while your target is distracted.
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As we approach the south gate I notice the two guards bent over what appears to be a game of dice. They’re wearing mismatched armor and clearly aren’t paying attention to the road. I wondered if they were new or in trouble for something. I tell the kobold to wait and try my best to silently approach them. My soft leather boots make no sound on the cobblestone road as I get behind the one who was reaching for the dice. Thankfully the wall cast a shadow so that I didn’t cast a shadow over their game.
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Gained Skill: Stealth lv0
Well you feel hidden.
-50% movement speed
-10% chance of being noticed by beings unaware you're in the area.
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I grin, exactly what I was hoping for.
“Man, this sucks.” The first guard says
Yeah, why did we get stuck on this shift?” Says the other “Nothing ever happens.”
“Or maybe” I say loudly behind the first guard “you just don’t notice things happening because you are slacking off.”
The guard I was directly behind trips over himself trying to get up and falls. The other one stands up quickly before saying “Who are you?”
“I’m the one doing your job while you are playing dice.” I say.
“Wait, isn’t he one of the ones who helped defend against the goblin raid?” says the first guard as he finally stands up.
“I am Styx. I was part of the defense team. More to the point, I found this kobold in the market.” I say gesturing to the kobold standing behind me.
“We’ll take care of him right away.” Says the second guard and they both start drawing their weapons.
“Eek” the kobold shouts, quickly stepping backwards.
“That’s quite alright.” I raise my hand quickly. “I already said I will take care of the problem, but you guys need to pay less attention to your dice and more attention to your duties if you don’t want another goblin incident. My friends and I won’t always be around to help.”
As they sheath their swords I bend down and pick up the dice off the ground. “In fact, it's probably better if I hold onto these.” I place them in my pocket and turn back to the kobold. “Which way did you say your village was again?”
“This way! QUick!” The kobold starts running off.
As I follow after the kobold I wonder to myself “How hard is it to kill a worm queen anyway?”
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(Local Quest) “Take care” of the kobold! - COMPLETE
Rewards: 20XP, Set of worn gambling dice.
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Gained Skill: Gambling lv0
Luck be a Lady.
10% better understanding of gambling games.
1% better luck while gambling.
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