Chapter 5 – Adventuring

Daos opened his eyes with a start and sat up, looking around.

The small dormitory room in the Academy filled his vision, and he took a moment to orient himself.

Not all a dream then, he sighed and stood. Apparently, there’s no need to stretch, here. I feel refreshed. I wonder if that’s because I slept in a bed, or a safe place. Will it be different camping, or being outside of a certain type of zone?

Exiting his room, he saw a few other brown-robed Acolytes hurrying past, mumbling to one another about being late and whose fault it was. Daos noticed Meister Haffel at the end of the hall, standing like a college hall monitor as the students milled about between the grand hall and the dormitory wing.

He made his way over to him.

“Good morning, Meister Haffel.”

“Mornin’ lad, where ya be off ta today?”

“Where can I find information about the people beyond the mountains East of here?” he asked.

“We have plenty on the geography here in the Library, but for up to date information about folk ya best head to Lyr, ‘bout three days walk towards the mountains. What ya be thinkin’ bout that for, though? No way an Acolyte such as yerself can handle them mountains, yet,” he finished.

“Actually, it’s Keeper, now.” Daos smiled. Why am I feeling proud announcing my title to an NPC?

The Meisters eyebrows shot up. “Congratulations be in order ta ya then, lad! What did ya stumble upon ta earn that sought-after title?” he asked, peering up at Daos.

“I discovered, or I suppose rediscovered, Chromamancy. Apparently, I’ll be casting spells based on colors I can see, from now on. Back to my question though, you said I would find more information in the city of… Leer?” he asked, trying to remember how it was pronounced.

“Aye, Lyr is about twice the size of Fyr and twice as close ta the mountains, so they always have more information on the present state of things there than we do.”

“How is Leer spelled?”

“L, Y, R, just like it sounds, same as Fyr,” he responded, looking at Daos as though he were daft.

Right, well at least know I know this place is Fyr. “Thank you, Meister. If it’s a few days walk I best be on my way.”

“Stick ta the roads, lad. Ye may be a Keeper now, but your robe still looks umber ta my eyes. Keep your eyes open and stay safe,” he advised with a nod, before turning his head back to watch the other students going about their morning.

That’s true. I wonder when I get a blue robe?

“Hey, hey!” Daos heard behind him as he walked into the hall.

He turned around to see a mage in a blue robe jumping over to him. Jumping everywhere. Definitely a player.

“How’d you do that to your robe?”

“You mean the accents?”

“Yeah. I just had a stupid brown robe for like a month during the beta, I never got to change it at all.”

“Sir Donnan, the Clothier, can make modifications. They’re expensive, but you should check it out. Lets the robe be enchanted.”

“No shit? Thanks bro!”

Daos rolled his eyes as the player jumped away. His stomach grumbled. Right, then. Breakfast first, and set off for Lyr.

An hour later, empty stomach filled, Daos stood at the East Gate. Rebuilding was underway and looked to be moving along at a steady pace. No doubt they’d have the neighborhood back up and functional with another day’s work.

They’ve thought of the details for just about everything. If not for the pop-up menus, I’d probably forget this was a game.

He shook his head. Alright. I’ve got three days of rations from the Academy. Should be enough. Off we go.

Daos looked to the guards on either side of the gate as he left, ready to nod a goodbye but they continued staring straight ahead. A group of men were hoisting a newly crafted door onto the gate hinges as he passed through the archway and onto the packed dirt road leading away from town.

Usually you step outside a starting town in these games and its full of low-level mobs to kill for quick experience, but I don’t see a single animal or creature out here, he considered as he took in the surrounding countryside.

Grassland flanked the road from both sides, though he could see a line of trees off to the right in the distance. Beyond them, obscured by the atmosphere, sat the mountains.

It’s all so real. Maybe that’ll make it easier to put off thinking about being stuck. It doesn’t feel like a game or a digital prison, not really. Still though, it’s not reality!

He began walking, intent on letting his thoughts wander and finding them consistently returning to the issue of being stuck in the VMO world.

What do I really have, that I need to return to? What if I never return? Daos argued back and forth in his mind as he walked, playing devil’s advocate to his own desire to leave VMO. In the end, this is not reality, and I’m trapped here against my will.

“Nachi-too!” a high-pitched screech interrupted, pulling him away from his thoughts and bringing his head up. He’d been watching his feet as he walked.

A dark green goblin half his height stood in the middle of the road, pointing a spear at him. The trees he’d seen earlier were now a stone’s throw from the road. He’d been so lost in his thoughts he hadn’t noticed.

“Uh, hi… tiny goblin man.”

“Natchi-too! Greeko taliska!” it screeched again, thrusting the spear forward once and making Daos take a step back in hesitation.

“Well, nachi two to you as well, little guy! Look, I don’t have any gold, if that’s what you want.” He gripped his wand a bit tighter and tensed.

Out of the corner of his eye he caught a glimmer to his right, turned his head and saw another goblin appear from what had seemed empty air a moment before, at the same time the new goblin’s spear pierced his thigh.

Daos screamed in pain from the stealth attack as the short creature pulled its spear back.

[4 Damage Taken! HP: 10/14]

“Arcane Shield!" he shouted, barely aware that he’d done so out loud. The familiar ripple of purple formed around him.

“Natchi-too! Greeko taliska!”

“Greeko you too, asshole!” he responded, limping back another step off the road and into the grass as he pressed one hand to his thigh. He raised his wand.

Arcane Bolt!

Purple burst forth from his wand and flashed through the space between them, zipping past the goblin and dissipating in the air some distance beyond.

The first goblin remained in the middle of the road, watching as the second pressed forward, following Daos onto the grass with his spear readied.

Think, man! Wow this hurts. Color magic. Green with the grass and trees. What is green in magic? What’ s a green spell?

The goblin thrust his spear forward once more, but it sparked and rebounded off the Arcane Shield.

Okay, um Vines? Vines!

Nothing happened.

Probably not descriptive enough. What would you call a spell to grow vines…. Vines of Holding!

Daos pointed his wand at the goblin while focusing his vision on the grass between them as he thought the new title.

Green pulsed at the edge of his vision as the earth parted below the goblin, and thorny vines burst upward from the dirt to entangle the creature’s legs. The goblin shouted in surprise as it struggled against them.

[2 Damage Dealt]

Daos took one more step backward and watched as the goblin attempted to follow but was kept in place by the vines.

Not much damage, but it’s working!

He turned his attention to the original goblin still standing in the road. It screamed and began running at him.

Daos waited, hoping to time another Vines of Holding spell when the goblin was a few steps onto the grass, but his eyes widened as the purple shimmer faded from view, indicating he’d hit the time limit for Arcane Shield.

Oh, crap.

His worry was interrupted as a rock collided with the side of the goblin’s head, knocking him prone. Daos turned and watched the goofy warrior in the mismatched armor he’d seen during yesterday’s attack leap over the entangled goblin and land next to his fallen foe.

The warrior picked up the dropped spear and stabbed it through the creature’s chest. Letting go, he looked at the remaining goblin wrapped in vines, then at Daos and raised an eyebrow.

[1 Damage Dealt]

Oh sweet, the vines cause ongoing damage! Not much, but it’s better than just holding them in place. Arcane Bolt! Arcane Bolt!

[4 Damage Dealt]

[4 Damage Dealt – You have slain a Goblin Scout]

He noticed another faded message at the corner of his vision and brought it to the front.

[Congratulations! You have unlocked Linguist. This skill allows you to learn other languages with time, study, and practice. It is a utilitarian ability. Linguist is a passive skill that can affect what you hear when listening to other languages. Words you learn will be translated into [English]. Linguist: 1]

Because I spoke words back at those things? Huh, weird way to get a skill.

Swiping the message away, he let go of his thigh and found blood caked to his hand. He didn’t seem to have any ongoing bleeding and bent to wipe his hand in the grass. The pain had receded to a dull throb, just enough to remind him he wasn’t at full health.

“Thanks, man. I’d have probably been alright but they caught me off-guard.”

“No problem. What’s the craic?” the warrior asked, his voice carrying a thick Irish accent.

“Crack?”

“American, then? I said: how’s it goin’? Y’know, other than the fight.”

“I’m still getting the hang of things, not gonna lie,” Daos responded. “You?”

“Oh, grand. I was in one o’ the beta tests but have never seen this part of the world, should be a riot. You goin’ to loot him, then?” he asked, pointing at the goblin Daos had finished off.

Way to stand there like a noob, me. Daos felt his cheeks warm, reddened by his embarrassment. It’s like I’ve never gamed before. Thankfully, the warrior didn’t notice.

He walked over and touched the body, unsure if he should rifle through the clothing or if he just needed to interact with it.

Loot, he thought, trying the latter.

[Gained: 3 Gold Coin]

“Where ya headed?” the Irish man asked.

“Lyr.”

“Ah, just up the road, then. Fancy a party? I’ve got a quest to turn in down that way.”

“Yeah, sounds good to me. It’s a couple of days’ walk though, I think.”

“Right then, name’s Chopper.”

[Party Invite from [Chopper] – Accept? Y/N]

“Daos,” he replied, accepting the invite.

[You have joined your first party! Unlike other games you may be familiar with, the health of your allies is not a visible statistic. You’ll need to communicate well and gauge their performance to assess the strength of your party at a given time. While partied, you will share experience, and loot will be automatically and randomly distributed. To leave a party at any time, just think “Leave Party”. Enjoy your immersion! – Edict Corporation Team]

“Well howya, then!” I may know a wee shortcut through the trees, just there,” Chopper said, pointing to the forest on the other side of the road. “Iffin’ ya want to risk the goblins, spiders, and ghosts. Said to be haunted, it is,” he finished.

“How do you know so much about the area?”

“Did ya not go through all the starting quests, then, ya?” he asked, looking at Daos as they crossed the dirt path and made their way to the tree line.

“I did a fetch quest, some trial research for the mage storyline, and then the town was attacked. Now I’m here.”

“What level did ya reach?”

“Five. I selected my Path right before I left,” Daos answered, kicking a pebble and watching it disappear into the tall grass.

“Ya really went arseways about that then, didn’t ya? I’m already level seven. No worries, though,” he continued before Daos could give it much thought.

“We’ll set ya right by the time we reach Lyr.”

**** **** ****

Daos and Chopper encountered another small goblin party that tried to surprise them as they reached the tree line but were able to dispatch them quickly. Chopper didn’t carry any kind of weapon, and instead would make use of things in the environment or grab the weapons of his enemies to fight with.

He never kept any of them though, usually dropping them after one or two strikes.

Daos netted another 5 Gold from the scuffle.

“Why don’t you have a weapon?” Daos asked, looking around at how dark and shadowed the forest was becoming the further in they went. The canopy above blocked the morning sun almost entirely. “You’re dressed like a warrior, after all.”

“It’s me subclass, the Maniac,” Chopper responded.

“That must be unique, then?”

“It is!” he replied, pride in his voice. “When I was bein’ initiated into the Fighter’s Guild back in Fyr, we had to do a wee little gladiatorial session. I had been usin’ me two swords, thinkin’ about goin’ Duelist but hadn’t made up my mind yet.

“I beat silly two o’ the other initiates, but the third had a sword long as you, and I had eyes for it.”

“What do you mean?”

“Ya never saw a cow shit an’ didn’t long fir a pancake?”

“I… What?” Daos asked, brows furrowed.

“I wanted the sword for meself,” Chopper clarified. “A grand sword, it was. In the end it wasn’t to be, but it set me on my path. He was better than I and knocked both rapiers out of me hands. I had to improvise.

“Let’s just say by the end, I was holdin’ his sword and he was on the ground. I gave it back, o’course. It was really a better match for a Barbarian or Champion class, and I didn’t want to go those routes. I also didn’t want to continue usin’ the rapiers at that point either, so I just left ‘em there on the ground. That’s when the alarm bell rang.”

Daos could fill in the rest, as he’d seen Chopper at the South Gate and witnessed how good he’d been at improvising his weapons.

“After the attack on Fyr, I unlocked Maniac. I couldna believe nobody had run ‘round crazy without weapons before me, but there ya have it. Now I get bonuses for only usin’ a particular object or weapon for one attack. Normal stats for a second, and negative multipliers if I continue usin’ it after that.”

“That’s kind of neat, I guess, if the modifiers are worth it.”

“Oh, they are,” he agreed, leaving it at that.

“Well, I unlocked Chromatyst,” Daos offered. “I cast magic based on the colors I can see.”

“Two unique subclasses paired up this early from launch, makes ya wonder jus’ how many uniques there are. Hold up, you hear anythin’?”

Daos paused as Chopper raised his hand to halt them. The forest had gone quiet. He shook his head. They stood there a moment, hoping to hear some sound of life, when something white streaked through the air and landed at Chopper’s feet.

[Perception Check Failed]

“Bollocks”, Chopper swore, as cobwebbing had rooted his right foot to the ground.

Chittering sounded from the canopy above, and they looked up to see four spiders climb down through the leaves. The creatures dropped to the ground, surrounding them.

I’m surrounded by green and brown, but it’s all shadowed so how’s this going to work? Vines of Holding! He thought, pointing his wand at the spider to his right.

Again the ground parted and thorny vines shot up, but the spider skittered sideways on its legs and stepped out of the range of the vines, which closed around nothing but air and began to shrivel.

They’d sprung from the ground noticeably slower than his first time casting.

The black insect chittered angrily and opened its mouth.

Arcane Shield!

Webbing shot forth from the spider’s mouth, sparking against the purple shimmer as it collided with the shield, then fading away.

Man, I wish I hadn’t needed to do that so early in the fight. Shit. Arcane Bolt!

[4 Damage Dealt]

Sparks lit the area around him briefly as he was attacked by another spider from behind, which rebounded off the shield. Then the purple shimmer dropped.

So much for that. And it seems the shadows are making it harder to utilize the color, since it dulls them. Oh dude, I am a forgetful sonofa… Chromatic Orb – uh, Red!

A small orb, a bit larger than Chopper’s fist, appeared in the air to the right and just over Daos’s head but within sight. It glowed an even red and cast a soft light against the surrounding shadows.

Rage – Chopper!

Daos pointed his wand at Chopper as he thought the command and watched as the other man’s eyes took on a red glow.

Yelling, Chopper ripped his leg free of the webbing and grabbed one of the spiders from the air as it leapt toward him.

Daos fired another Arcane Bolt at the first spider he’d injured then risked another look at Chopper.

[4 Damage Dealt]

The Irish warrior wrestled with the creature as he took the spider’s fang attack to one shoulder. Shouting in pain, he grabbed the fang and with a roar he ripped it from the spider’s mouth. It was the size of a dagger and dripping something sickly green.

“Whooooo, yeah!” the man shouted, shoving it into the spider’s face.

[Your party has slain a Dire Spider!]

Daos turned back to the spider he was engaged with. Arcane Bolt!

[4 Damage Dealt]

The spider chittered angrily again and launched itself at Daos.

He managed to sidestep, remembering he had another enemy behind him as well. One of the spider’s legs ripped the edge of his robe.

Okay, what else could red mean? Red pulses my vision when I’m hurt, like a trigger of danger. So, danger sense maybe? Danger Sense – Party?

[You have created the spell: Danger Sense. Red flashes in your target’s vision will alert them to an attack from that direction. Duration: 5 seconds per level. Current Duration: 25 seconds]

The translucent message faded on its own, and no sooner than it had the left side of Daos’s vision pulsed red. He jumped back, tripping as he landed and sprawling backward into a tree.

Where he’d been, another web splattered onto the ground.

Sweet! We’ll get almost half a minute out of this. Hope we make the best of it. Chromatic Orb – Green!

Instead of a second orb forming, the red color toggled as if a switch had been flicked, changing instantly to a vibrant green.

Vines of Holding! Daos shouted in his head, pointing his wand at the spider he’d damaged three times already.

This time the vines shot forth from the ground faster than ever and wrapped quickly around a couple of the spider’s legs, even reaching up and over its body.

[3 Damage Dealt]

Woah, so the vibrancy of the color affects the damage and effectiveness of spells? Badass!

The spider flailed its legs against the vines but seemed rooted in place for the moment. Daos turned to the other spider that had spit the web at him just as another shout sounded from Chopper.

“Howya, gobshite!” Chopper shouted as he landed on top of a spider, piercing its backside with one of its own buddy’s legs. It dropped under the strike and Chopper’s weight and stopped moving.

[Your party has slain a Dire Spider!]

How much of a bonus does this guy get?! Daos wondered, climbing to his feet. Only then did he see how heavy Chopper was breathing. The man’s skin had taken on a pallid tone. The red glow in his eyes faded as the Rage spell ended, and his shoulders dropped.

I bet their bites are poisonous. Crap.

“You go on then, I need ta sit a spell.”

“Right.” Arcane Bolt! Arcane Bolt! Two more casts later, with Daos breathing heavily as well, the final spider collapsed.

[You have slain a Dire Spider!]

He knelt next to the foul-smelling creature. Loot.

[Party loot automatically distributed for nearby defeated mobs. You receive: 2 Gold, 3 Spider Venom Fangs]

[Level Up! Points to spend: 4]

“Ey boyo, lets us take a sit through these bushes here, I see a Binding Stone.”

Daos dismissed his green orb, letting his eyes adjust once more to the shadows. He still hadn’t found a way to see any kind of Mana, but was feeling weak from all the casting and would definitely enjoy a rest while considering how to spend his points.

Following Chopper through the bushes he saw an obsidian obelisk about twice his height in the middle of a small clearing. Chopper was just taking his hand off it. He turned around and sat, leaning against the statue’s base.

Daos walked over and placed his hand on it as well.

[Bind to Haunted Forest Stone? Binding here will allow resurrection at this location and will overwrite your previously bound location. Y/N]

Yes. A pale blue tendril swept from Daos’s chest and into the obelisk.

Turning his back to the stone pillar, he sat next to his new friend.

Chopper lowered an empty glass vial to the ground and exhaled, closing his eyes. Color was slowly returning to his cheeks.

Must be an anti-venom potion of some kind. I really did not think things through before leaving town. I’m blinding myself wanting to find DeathLag and making noob mistakes. Get it together, Daos.

It didn’t occur to him in that moment that he’d used his avatar’s name for himself.

He opened his Character Sheet and considered the options. He couldn’t deal anywhere near the damage that Chopper could, even accounting for the two-level difference between them. Chopper managed to kill three of those spiders, and I had to go all out to kill one. Increasing my damage is obviously important, but I’m not all that durable, either.

Speaking of, he thought as he checked his Hit Points – 12/14. So you do heal with time, but pretty slowly. That first fight was probably twenty minutes ago by now.

After a few more minutes of consideration, he decided. One point went into Intelligence, one to Willpower, and two to Constitution. I’ll get back to damage after I can endure a bit more. I’ll never make it through this forest if I try to glass-cannon my way out. Probably should have stuck to the road, honestly, but with Chopper maybe we can do it.

His Hit Points had raised to a maximum of 24, but his current points remained at 12.

“Oh, that’s better, isn’t it?” Chopper said to the empty vial as he sighed again. “Ye bring any food?” he asked, pulling out a ration for himself. “I’ve got a mouth on me.”

“Yeah, I’ve got rations, but I’m not all that hungry yet.” His phrasing is so odd, sometimes.

“Eatin’ will help ye regenerate faster, ya? Should eat up before we head out again.”

“Fair enough.” Daos pulled out one of his rations and dug in. It was a hard, cracker-like biscuit but tasted of almonds and was a little bit sweet. “Food here is interesting. The taste system is phenomenal.”

“Those nanites Edict puts in their PODs really do wonders, ya,” Chopper agreed.

Daos watched as his HP ticked up to 13/24. Much faster, yeah. I’ll need to pack more food when I adventure moving forward. And some of those potions Chopper has. I’ll see what Lyr has to offer and won’t make this mistake again.

“Alright, ready to head out?”

Chopper nodded.

**** **** ****

Daos and Chopper sat to rest after taking out a small camp of three Goblins, one of which had been riding a spider. They were both back up to full health, having sustained no damage in the melee.

With Daos learning to toggle his Chromatic Orb to cast Rage on Chopper and then focusing his own time on rooting enemies in place with Vines of Holding, they’d created a solid system for taking down the dumber mobs.

[Party loot automatically distributed for nearby defeated mobs. You receive: 4 Gold, 1 Spider Venom Fang]

“Ye have any need o’ them fangs, then?” asked Chopper.

“Not at this point, no. I’m assuming they’re alchemy ingredients or something.”

“Would ya mind if I grabbed ‘em off ye? I have a quest in Lyr to turn ‘em in.”

“Sure, no problem.” I assume Trade – Chopper?

A trade window overlay his vision, and a moment later he could see Chopper’s side of the window appear as well. Daos could now mentally select and drag items from his inventory to the Trade window, so he moved all four Spider Venom Fangs he’d earned so far. Once there, he mentally accepted the trade.

Before the window closed, 5 Gold was added from Chopper’s side in exchange, bringing Daos’s total to 19 Gold Coins.

“Thanks!”

“Think nothin’ of it, may be able to send ya more dependin’ on quest rewards an’ such.”

“Fair enough. I didn’t pick up any quests in Fyr, so I’m looking forward to getting to Lyr as quickly as possible. How much further do you think it is?”

“Normally the road would take ye a couple o’ days. We’ll need to camp in the forest tonight but should stroll into Lyr around midday tomorrow.”

They stood and, leaving the ransacked goblin camp behind, continued southeast through the trees.

Another twenty minutes and two spider attacks later, they came to another small clearing. Chopper raised a hand and they both crouched, moving forward as quietly as possible to get a look at what lay ahead.

[Congratulations! You have unlocked Sneak! This skill allows you to move unseen and unheard. It is a passive skill that is dependent on other skills such as Dexterity and affected by environmental factors as well. Sneak: 1]

Through the bushes they saw another goblin encampment similar to the one they had cleared earlier. This time however, an exceptionally large, tan-skinned brute was with them.

An ogre, maybe? Three goblins and what I’ll call an ogre for now.

[Congratulations! You have increased Analyze. Analyze: 3]

I guess I’ll take that as confirmation. That guy is bound to be tough. I’d better leave him to Chopper and focus on distracting the others.

Daos tapped Chopper’s shoulder to get his attention. Once the Irishman was lookinga t him, he cast the spell to share his plan.

Mental Missive – Chopper. Alright, you take the Ogre. I’m going to work on distracting the three Goblins, but I’ll Rage you first. This is probably going to take a lot out of me.

He stopped when he noticed the edges of his vision getting blurry, and released the spell.

Chopper’s eyes widened as he heard Daos in his mind. He apparently caught on and nodded. Glancing at their targets and then back to Daos, he waited for the go-ahead.

Daos took a deep breath and once more ran through the plan in his mind. He knelt as low to the ground as he could, hoping he would be able to act fast enough to go unnoticed.

Chromatic Orb – Red.

The moment the red glow appeared, he was ready.

Rage – Chopper!

Chopper’s eyes began to glow, and he took that as the signal.

“Whoooo!” The maniac shouted his battle cry. Daos watched him charge forth from the bushes and into the clearing, heading straight for the ogre.

Their enemies were caught off-guard, and Daos took that moment to switch his chromatic orb color to green. Pointing his wand at the goblin closest to the ogre, then looking at the orb’s glow, he cast Vines of Holding.

[3 Damage Dealt]

Daos didn’t pause, hoping the goblins were still flat-footed form Chopper’s surprise charge.

Arcane Bolt! The purple streak of raw arcane energy shot forth from his wand and splashed into the face of the second goblin.

[4 Damage]

I wonder… Chromatic Orb – Purple!

Instantly the green sphere, off to the right as always, toggled to a vibrant purple.

Arcane Bolt!

It whizzed past the second goblin, but he had its attention now. The third creature looked between Daos and the ogre before deciding to target Daos. Together, the two untangled goblins charged.

Arcane Bolt!

[Critical Hit! 12 Damage Dealt]

Yes! The amount of color or vibrancy does matter!

The breakthrough sent a surge of excitement through Daos.

Arcane Shield!

Purple shimmered before his eyes and he dug his feet in, confident that this shield would be stronger than before. He heard an almost deafening roar from the ogre followed by a loud crash, but didn’t spare a glance as the two goblins closed in on him.

Arcane Bolt! Arcane Bolt! Arcane Bolt!

He fired off spell after spell as fast as the mechanics would allow him, all while watching sparks fly off his shield as they attempted to hit him. It was the longest his shield had ever lasted.

[You have slain a Goblin Scout!]

[You have slain a Goblin Scout!]

The shield dropped as the second goblin fell to the ground, unmoving. Daos breathed heavily and looked at the last remaining goblin. He could hear whoops of joy from Chopper who was still engaged with the ogre, and so kept his focus on this final foe who still struggled against the thorny vines.

He’s probably taken some damage already from the ongoing effect. I have enough in me to finish him off for sure.

Daos fired another string of Arcane Bolts.

[You have slain a Goblin Skirmisher!]

The edges of his vision began to blur, and he dropped to his knees, exhausted. He looked over to find Chopper now on top of the ogre’s shoulders, bashing a rock into the top of it’s head. The ogre dropped.

[Your party has slain an Ogre!]

[Level Up! Points to Spend: 4]

Chopper hopped off the ogre’s corpse and knelt next to it.

[Party loot automatically distributed for nearby defeated mobs. You receive: 11 Gold, 1 Amethyst Gem]

Chopper shuffled over and dropped down next to Daos to catch his breath.

“Might be we sleep here tonight, iffin’ you’re not loggin’ out? I’m stayin’ in, meself. Wanna test a longer immersion than I did in the beta, so plannin’ on a couple o’ days, unless the POD kicks me out for safety or some such.”

“I actually have tomorrow off work,” Daos improvised, “so I was planning to stay in until I get to Lyr.”

“Works for me. These mobs won’t be respawnin’ if we’re still here, so it should be safe enough.”

They made a fire in the goblins’ firepit as darkness fell. No moonlight could penetrate the canopy of leaves above them, so fire was their only source of light.

Level up, then rest, Daos told himself, still exhausted from the fight. He still wasn’t sure how to gauge overdoing it, other than how tired he felt. He definitely didn’t want to end up using all his Mana again and dipping into his Hit Points the way he had when defending Fyr.

Intelligence, Willpower, Constitution, and Dexterity this time. Really don’t want to keep tripping during a fight.

His HP increased to 29/29 and he looked over everything, content with his progress so far.

NAME: Daos, Keeper

CLASS: Chromatyst > Mage

LEVEL: 7

EXPERIENCE: 4,480/5,800

GOVERNING ATTRIBUTES

POWER: [5]

PROWESS: [1]

ENDURANCE: [3]

PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES

STRENGTH: --

DEXTERITY: 2

CONSTITUTION: 3

MENTAL ATTRIBUTES

INTELLIGENCE: 3

WIT: 1

WILLPOWER: 3

SKILLS

Analyze: 3

Arcane Perception: 1

Banter: 1

Barter: 1

Bashful: 1

Linguist: 1

Perception: 2

Sneak: 1

INVENTORY

EQUIPPED ARMOR: BESPOKE ACOLYTE ROBE, 18/18

EQUIPPED WEAPON: ACOLYTE WAND

ACOLYTE SPELL TOME, EQUIPPED

GOLD: 30

RATIONS: 2 Days

Amethyst Gem x1

Empty Pocket

Daos laid back to stare at the orange glow bouncing off the leaves above. He drifted off to sleep, curious if he’d wake feeling as rested as he had in the Academy.

A sharp pain pierced his chest and Daos opened his eyes to the darkness. The fire had died out, but there was a soft glow coming from somewhere out of sight.

He reached up and found the hilt of a dagger, then a hand as its owner’s head came into view. It had a dark cloth over most of its face and there wasn’t enough light to see the eyes.

Fuck.

“Nothin’ personal, mate,” a gruff voice said before the dagger pushed further into his chest, tearing a painful path to his heart. His vision went black.

[You have died]

**** **** ****

Daos appeared back at the binding stone they’d rested at the previous day. It was still dark, but the obelisk stood in a small clearing and enough moonlight trickled through that he could see he was alone.

A moment later, Chopper appeared as well.

“Well shite, there go me spider fangs,” Chopper said, kicking the binding stone’s base in frustration.

Daos checked his inventory as well. The player killers had taken all his gold, and the Amethyst gem. He only had his rations left. Thankfully, being under level twenty, he also still had his spell tome, robe, and wand because they’d been equipped.

“Think they’ll come here to grief us?” Daos asked.

“Naw, unless Edict changed the rules from beta, PKing only nets experience once every twenty-four hours per character killed. So unless they jus’ hate us somethin’ fierce, no reason for ‘em to come at us for a bit. It’s the company’s way o’ tryin’ to balance allowing PKing while avoiding the griefin’.”

“May as well try and sleep some more here, then,” Daos responded, rubbing his chest. The pain was gone and he was at full Hit Points, but remembered the sensation acutely. He sat against the obsidian pillar and leaned his head back, closing his eyes.

When he next opened them, daylight poured down, lighting the clearing and he saw Chopper at the edge of the tree line talking softly with a gray, featureless model.

An admin?

Daos climbed to his feet. Rolling his shoulders, he felt fine but not as well rested as he’d felt the previous morning in the Academy dorm room.

Chopper nodded to the figure, and it disappeared.

“Was that an admin?”

Chopper looked up, surprised to see Daos awake, then quickly looked away.

“Ya, jus’ wanted to report a glitch. We was looted last night but a few of me items are still showin’ in me inventory, even though I canna interact with ‘em. Jus’ wanted to let the admins know, ya?”

“Huh, weird. My inventory is empty.”

“We’ve a lot o’ ground to make up then, you ready to pick up the pace?”

“Yeah, let’s do it. I really need to hit Lyr and figure some stuff out as soon as possible.” Like how I’m going to find DeathLag.

They set off on the same path they’d followed the previous day.

By midday, the two of them had battled enough spiders to replenish Chopper’s quest requirement.

“I thought you said this forest was haunted?” Daos asked, stepping over the last spider’s corpse as they continued through the trees.

“May be that the haunts only appear at night?” Chopper offered, shrugging. “I jus’ know what the forest was called on the map.”

Fair enough. “How much longer do you think it’ll take to reach Lyr?”

“Should be there by evenin’. Woulda been midday had we not gotten so unlucky.”

When they encountered a lone ogre, Daos quickly discovered that his Vines of Holding spell didn’t work on the creature at all, even when amplified by a green Chromatic Orb. The vines burst forth and wrapped around one of its legs, but the beast just shook free of them.

Daos switched to a purple orb and the two of them made pretty quick work of the massive brute with raw damage output.

By the time they neared the edge of the forest it was late afternoon. Daos had 5 Gold to his name, a grim reminder of what the player killers had cost him. The gem he’d had probably would have sold well, though he didn’t truly know.

As they approached the end of the tree line, they found another expanse of grasslands stretching out to a walled city in the distance.

Wow, Haffel wasn’t kidding. That’s easily twice the size of Fyr, Daos thought, impressed. Eyeing the distance between them and the city, however, he spotted another group of goblins who appeared to be patrolling the area. He counted six of them.

[Congratulations! You have increased Perception! Perception: 3]

“Not gonna take ‘em by surprise, not with this much distance between us. I’m all for chargin’ and what not, but how do you want to play it?” Chopper asked.

“Let me try something real quick.”

Vines of Holding – Goblin he thought, pointing his wand at one of the goblins in the distance while concentrating at the lush greenery between them.

[Spell Failed. No Targets within reach]

Well, damn. I wonder how I can gauge the maximum distance?

“Charging may be our best bet, I’m useless at this distance,” Daos responded.

“Right then, ye wanna Rage me when we close in?”

“You got it. I’ll follow your lead here.”

“Woooooo!” Chopper shouted, grabbing a fallen branch from the ground and running into the grasslands toward the goblin party.

Daos shook his head and chuckled, jogging behind the warrior.

Chromatic Orb – Red. Rage – Chopper!

The ensuing battle followed their now well-practiced flow, though Daos didn’t keep his orb up the entire time. There was enough green grass around them for his holding spells, and with Chopper having the freedom to move and go wild, his normal Arcane Bolts were enough. He didn’t even feel tired when the finished off the last goblin.

I’m betting the amount of color I can see affects how easy it is to cast the spells, and the vibrancy of the color, the effectiveness or strength of them. So, with just an orb, I wear myself out fast but do shitloads of damage. Out here with all this grass, I feel like I could cast vines all day.

[Party loot automatically distributed for nearby defeated mobs. You receive: 2 Gold, 1 Garnet]

[Level Up! Points to Spend: 4]

Score! Now I can still find out how worthwhile gems are. Alright, quickly here let’s throw another point in Constitution, and drop the other three into Intelligence. Not sure what Lyr will present me with but I want to be ready.

His HP now totaled 34/34. He checked his Tome and smiled to himself.

[Arcane Bolt: 5-6 Points of Arcane Damage]

[Arcane Shield Absorption: 20 Points of Damage. Duration: 16 Seconds]

[Rage: Double Damage Output of Target. Duration: 30 Seconds. Required Color: Red]

[Vines of Holding: Chance to Root target. Ongoing Damage: 3. Duration: 30 Seconds. Required Color: Green]

[Danger Sense: Red Pulses in Vision from Direction of Danger. Duration: 40 Seconds. Required Color: Red]

They walked in silence, each content to review their stats as they covered the distanced and closed in on the city of Lyr.