VD Achievement: Once Upon A Time You have accomplished a feat few have the patience for and learned the abbreviated history of your current world of gaming: Nolxar. The system rewards you for your pursuit of knowledge and you receive the following boons: Additional XP: 500. Current XP: 3,800. Points to next level: 2,200. Intelligence: +4 Identify: + 4 Title: Scholar. With this title comes additional hidden knowledge, so brace your mind! Also, this title may be seen by other scholars with the Identify skill, for the main purpose of sharing knowledge. Use it well.

Ben wanted to laugh. He, a scholar. He barely managed to survive six years of elementary school and that was only because his mother insisted time and again that he made the effort. After her disappearance when he was eleven years old, there was practically nothing to hold him there. Abi had tried for a while but she lacked any real conviction and thus Ben became a regular - albeit smarter than most - street urchin from a very young age. And now he was titled a scholar?

He did laugh then, but his laughter was abruptly cut off as his mind was suddenly savagely attacked. Crushing energy exploded into every brain cell he had, eliminating everything he knew, everything he remembered, everything he was. Pain overwhelmed him. Ben screamed, brought down to his knees by this invisible force, wishing to die, wishing for his head to actually explode just so that the pain would go away, wishing to be gone from this existence, wishing to -

The pain was gone. Ben was left on his knees, clutching his temples with both hands, gasping. The whole episode took no more than a second or two, but they were the longest two seconds of his life. And for what? What did he gain? The increase to his intelligence, identify and XP was nice, but even with the new title it wasn’t worth such an agony. Unless...

Ben checked his log again and reread the title’s description. With this title comes additional hidden knowledge, so brace your mind! Hidden knowledge… Ben closed his eyes and searched his mind and his memories. And, true enough, as soon as he committed himself to the task, he was amazed to discover that he knew! It was as if he’d mastered an entire semester for studying a “History of Nolxar” course in two seconds. Knowledge about the early days of the world was suddenly there. Stories of wars and political struggles became known facts for him. He knew names of leaders, legacies of heroes and even was familiar with catch-phrases of this world and a few ancient curse words. Ben was truly impressed with the extent of details Raxlon had put into his creation of this world. Indeed, it seemed that the renowned DM was justly famous. How many years did it take to program all of this?

He would have continued to marvel over his newfound knowledge if not for a rough hand that grabbed his shoulder and brought him out of his reverie. “What. The. Fuck. Is wrong with you, man?” Red’s voice was a strange mixture of incredulity and anger. When Ben looked up from his kneeling position he saw the warrior standing over him with a look that demanded answers. Right behind the mercenary were Shiraz and Milenna, both looking at him curiously.

“First you log in completely naked,” said Red. “Then you return from your first level up sprawled on the floor like a newborn babe and now you scream as if somebody is tearing you from the inside! I thought something was actually wrong with you at first but here you are, closing your eyes and smiling like a dumbass. So I say again. What. The. Fuck!”

During Red’s angry and admittedly justified speech both women drew closer, to flank the fuming warrior from both sides. It was Shiraz - gotta love her - that put a calming hand on the big man’s arm. “Relax, Red,” said the shadow mage quietly. “I’m sure our leader has a perfectly reasonable explanation. Haven’t you, Ben?”

Ben looked at her and was relieved to see that she didn’t seem to be suffering anymore. Her skin - while dirty and bloodied - seemed unscathed, though it was difficult to be sure in this damnable purplish light. He guessed that she and the others had leveled up as well and their health was once again restored. He also briefly wondered what would happen if they had logged out without leveling - how strange would it be to log back in when you were suffering from a serious injury? It was a thought for another time, though.

The scout pushed Red’s hand away and got to his feet, straightening to his full height - which meant he was looking at the tall mercenary at chin level. So he raised his own chin a bit and looked grimly into the dark eyes of his companion. Then he moved his gaze to Shiraz. “I have,” he finally answered. “First, though, is everyone alright? We were all kind of dying last time I saw you.” His badass grimace changed to a weak smile - which was enough to immediately change the mood. Red snorted, Milenna gave him her amazingly beautiful smile and Shiraz chuckled. Once again it was the shadow mage who answered. “It seemed we all leveled up. I can’t speak for Red and Milenna but I’m okay, except for a lingering undead poison that currently runs in my veins.” Ben started to speak but she raised her hand to calm him down. “It’s temporary and it’s not that bad. As long as we don’t get into a fight in the next ten minutes or so, I’ll be fine.”

Ben thought that for someone with poison in her veins she didn’t look to be in much pain. He voiced his question aloud and Shiraz just shrugged. “I learned to tolerate the VD pain a long time ago. It’s nothing, really.” She gave him a strange look as if she wanted to say more, but Ben quickly looked away. This wasn’t the time to tell them that pain for him in this world was just as real as real-life pain, if not worse. Just another mystery to solve. And the sooner the better.

The scout looked around him. The Entrance Chamber to the Duergar realm - Jolk Uhm, he now knew its name was - was just as they’d left it. The Duergar Guardians still stood vigilant beneath the huge purple energy ball and the only thing different about them was the few bones that were missing - those were scattered around the chamber, where Ben and his companions had fought. Another difference was that, while all the skeletons held their weapons, the mage - Throndrefeen - was empty-handed. Remembering what had happened after the fight, Ben realized the mage’s wand - a 1-foot black obsidian stick with rectangular carvings - was now stuck in his belt. His improved identify skill triggered and Ben’s eyes widened:

Wand of Throndrefeen. Level: unknown. This Named Weapon was crafted especially for the Duergar mage Throndrefeen, who was a close advisor to King Ghol of the Ironhead Clan. Upon the entire clan’s death, the wand became a receptacle for the lingering energy of the dead dwarves and would remain that way until their souls would find their peace. Effect 1: Ball of undead power. Can fire a ball of destructive energy that gets bigger and deadlier the further it travels. Damage: for every 10 feet gain in distance, 10 points of necrotic fire damage, with a maximum damage of 100. Anyone caught in the blast but not hit directly will take half the damage. Note: after the maximum range of 100 feet without impact, the ball will dissipate into nothingness. Radius of explosion: 3 feet for every 10 feet of travel, with a maximum of 30 feet. Cooldown: 1 minute. Charges: unlimited, as long as the user remains inside the Entrance Chamber of Jolk Uhm. Outside the chamber, determined by the distance of the wand from the Sphere Of Undead Power: the starting number of charges is 10, and for every 100 feet away, this number is reduced by 1. After a thousand feet this effect of the wand would be null. Effect 2: Treasure Hunter. The wand may shine in a purple light whenever it is close to one of the Ironhead’s hidden treasures. Effect 3: unknown.

So basically he was now in possession of a weapon that could deliver 100 points of deadly damage in one blow. Ben shuddered when he thought that the one blast from Thronderfeen’s first attack could have killed them all, were it not for Milenna’s timely shield spell. Then again, the weapon was his now. The shudder was gone and a smile crept on his face. He had not one but two awesome magical death-bringers in his hands, and with the Treasure Hunter ability of the wand, there would probably be more loot coming his way soon. As for the third effect… Ben felt an itch at the end of his fingers and realized he was eager to draw the wand and try it out so he could find its secrets. He almost did, but stopped when he felt the others looking at him. “What?” He asked, almost irritably.

Milenna raised a perfect delicate eyebrow. “You were going to share with us what happened,” she reminded him. For a brief second her eyes darted toward the wand and Ben wondered how much she could tell about it simply from looking at it. He also guessed that the sorceress was most likely itching to grab the magical weapon for herself.

Ben pointedly put his hand on the wand and then turned to face them. Better to get it over with. “Well, the first thing that happened was that I triggered a hidden class ability…” He went on to tell them everything that happened since he laid his eyes on the broken pillar and noticed the ancient inscription written in Nefereeth. Of course he couldn’t tell them the whole truth, so he changed some of the facts slightly - something that came easily to him with his improved bluff skill. He didn’t tell them about his Pause The Game power, deciding to keep part of his special abilities to himself. He also didn’t share his conversation with Raxlon and the DM’s suspicion that Ben’s connection to the game was different and stronger than the others. That was simply too much information for their current level of trust.

According to the version of the story he told them, it was Ben’s scouting abilities that allowed him to translate the ancient language and later to understand and speak it. He told them everything the undead mage had told him, then continued to explain about the new quest he - they - received. He failed to mention that success in this quest would result in him getting a personal reward, but he didn’t even know if they would succeed in this quest so why raise premature and unnecessary questions? Finally, he told them that upon re-logging into the game he received the Once Upon A Time achievement, which flooded his mind with tons of information and ergo - the scream of pain. “So basically, I now know a lot more about this world. If you have any questions, I’m your man.” He bowed slightly to conclude his tale.

The responses were mixed and not entirely what he was hoping for. Red, at least, seemed to take his words for what they were. He looked impressed and when Ben finished, the warrior’s grimace turned into a grin. “I’ll be, skin! A scholar who can converse with the undead? That’s some serious upgrade from that puny nobody you were just a few hours ago. Not bad at all, bro. Not bad at all. And there’s also more loot to find? Then what are we waiting for?”

Milenna, on the other hand, didn’t seem convinced. The sorceress signaled him to get closer and when he did, she took a step forward as well and leaned close to him - very close - until their bodies slightly touched and her cheek brushed his own. As always in these close proximity situations, Ben immediately tensed and lost a great deal of his confidence. He was also unable to ignore the intoxicating scent that seemed to emanate from the sorceress’s very skin. Milenna, he knew, was the embodiment of every man’s dream. And now she was at a kissing distance from him! Less than a kissing distance, actually. Ben knew he was breathing hard, but couldn’t do anything about it. Debby could learn a thing or ten from her.

When the sorceress whispered in his ear, though, it wasn’t any words of love. “We all have some secrets, Naked Noob,” she said in her best Galadriel voice. “Some are less guarded than we think…” She traced her finger along his jawline, finishing a well-practiced seduction move. “Just make sure you don’t keep the wrong secrets to yourself.” She drew away, leaving the scout wide-eyed and gulping, and turned away with a crooked smile.

Ben was still gaping when Shiraz stepped closer, although not as close as the sorceress. The sight of the redhead helped to cool him off somewhat, but just barely - she was not less beautiful and he remembered thinking that she was much more to his taste than the haughty sorceress. He was about to open his mouth and utter some kind of stupid uncalled-for apology that would forever tarnish what little reputation he had managed to gain in her eyes, but Shiraz saved him from that mega-blunder. “She’s something, ain’t she?” The shadow mage spoke quietly, her expression blank. “Just remember what I told you, Ben. Don’t take anything for granted.”

Ben didn’t completely understand and was too confused to answer, but once again Shiraz proved to be the most practical of the bunch. “You can thank me for my advice later. Now, are we going to search this chamber or not?”

By then some of Ben’s previous composure returned. He gulped again, then nodded and turned to look around him once more. The Entrance Chamber of Jolk Uhm was a mere shadow of its once glorious splendor. There was so much debris scattered around that it was hard to find a spot with a clear floor. The huge broken pillars were the most dominant things around them, but they weren’t the only things worth checking - there was the staircase and the balcony, and far away he thought he could see several darker sections along the chamber’s walls, which might or might not be other rooms or exits.

“The mage said there’s a hidden chest here somewhere,” he told the others. “In it, we should ‘find what we seek’ - which means, if I get it correctly, that there’s a clue in the chest that would lead us to the Eye of Paragmir. So, I guess we should spread out and start searching.”

He half expected a few attempts of cynical replies concerning his brilliant leadership ideas, but the others seemed to have had enough banter for now. Once again Shiraz spoke first. “I’m going to check the entrance from where we first came,” she announced. “There was another skeleton there and I don’t think it was a guardian.”

Ben nodded. He completely forgot about that. As the shadow mage went her way, Red was already on his way toward the staircase. “I’ll let you know what I find up there,” he said over his shoulder.

Ben looked at Milenna, who looked back at him. “I wish to stay with our fearless leader,” she said and shrugged in a way that made his heart beat faster again. “Sure,” he mumbled.

Ben and Milenna started to make the short way of a hundred or so feet to the end of the room. As they drew further away from the huge purple sphere the light diminished, until there was barely enough light to see by - for most people, at least. Ben barely noticed the change, as his new passive power, Darkvision, came into play. He only realized it when Milenna whispered something and a small ball of white light suddenly flared to life over their heads, illuminating their immediate surroundings and destroying the benefits of his power. Ben frowned but didn’t say anything. He was experiencing a weird sensation - wanting and not wanting to keep the beautiful sorceress by his side.

The light from Milenna’s spell shone upon more debris at first, but as they drew closer to the walls there was less of the broken stone - and more dust. Ben pointed. “Two exits over there,” he said. There was a curve in the wall, beyond which were two corridors, heading in opposite directions.

Milenna nodded. “You think we should venture there without the others?” she asked innocently.

Ben was too preoccupied with their mission - and too naive - so he completely missed her hidden suggestion. “No,” he said as he kept looking around him. “Thronderfeen said the chest should be in this chamber.”

Milenna sighed. “Of course he did. After you, then.”

Following some deep intuition, Ben decided to check the dark area beneath the staircase. As they neared the place he heard Milenna gasp and stopped. “What?”

The sorceress was looking at him with narrowed eyes. “Is your wand glowing or are you just happy to see me?”

Ben cursed inwardly. The wand was indeed giving off a faint purple light - which meant, of course, that they were nearing a hidden treasure. He looked at the woman by his side and smiled apologetically. “I forgot to tell you. It has the ability to find… ehm… treasures. I mean, only Duergar treasures. Which is - em - what we’re looking for,” he finished weakly.

Milenna just stood there, as if waiting for him to spill the rest of his secrets. When he said nothing, she blew air from her nostrils and made to reach for the wand at his belt - but Ben couldn’t allow that. He quickly took a step back and drew the glowing weapon himself. “Let’s go,” he said and started walking again. Milenna had no choice but to follow.

The wand’s second effect was true to its description. Ben had only to take a couple of steps in each direction before the light grew stronger and he knew he was on the right path. It led them to a small dark space beneath the stairs, full of thick cobwebs. Ben cursed when he saw that the cobwebs weren’t empty - there were at least six spiders loitering around and they weren’t small things, either - each was at the size of a golf ball and he could actually see their black beadlike eyes as they moved around. As he looked at the webs and the spiders, two of his passive skills triggered. The first was his Passive Focus, which enabled him to see there was a chest hidden beneath the dense spiderwebs. The second was his Identify skill, which enabled him to realize that these spiders weren’t just for show:

Hive Spiderlings: level 1 ‘Tiny horrors, sleek and black

On the ceiling, behind your back

Hairy legs and evil eyes,

Forget the gold, run for your lives!’ As the children's song says, these creatures are truly a cause for alarm. This specific type of spiderlings is unique as they work and fight as a hive. They aren’t aggressive by nature but would immediately attack when provoked and will defend each member of their group (usually 5-7 spiders) until death. They are also known to be drawn to gold and metal - which is why they are likely to be found guarding treasures. HP: 6 (1 times 6) Damage: 1-6 poison. Chance to cause paralysis or death: unknown.

Chance to cause paralysis or death! Ben quickly took a few steps away from the cobwebs - and saw that Millena had already retreated and was looking with fear and hate at the tiny horrors. The sorceress was mumbling a spell. Ben, recognizing it, frantically waved a hand in front of her face to stop her. “No!” he cried in alarm.

Milenna stopped her incantation at the last moment. “What, no? Let me burn these ugly things -“ she started to push past him.

Ben grabbed her arm. “There’s a chest beneath those webs. Made of wood. Do you want to burn it as well?”

Milenna looked meaningfully at his hand and Ben quickly removed it from her arm. Then she frowned. “You’re right, of course. I just hate spiders, is all. What do you suggest?”

Ben thought about it. The spiderlings seemed to be content hanging around their web, but he was pretty sure that they would jump to attack the moment someone tried to move the cobwebs in order to reach to the chest beneath. He went back to the identification message, thinking to perhaps find a clue in the words. The song was a new thing and it made him smile in appreciation - if he understood it right, his newfound knowledge of the world’s history was already proving its worth. Thinking about it that way made him wonder about something. That song… Ben searched his mind and found out he could recite from memory the next stanza of the old song:

‘Tiny horrors, sleek and black

On the ceiling, behind your back

Hairy legs and evil eyes,

Forget the gold, run for your lives!

A fool you be and want the loot?

Insist to make my lesson moot?

Then throw a torch or fire a spell

Now grab the coins and run like hell!’

“Mmmm,” he said.

“Mmmm what?” said Milenna.

Ben nodded to himself, having figured out a plan. “How accurate can you be with your firebolt?”

Milenna just humphed, so Ben continued. “See that other stack of cobwebs off to the right? I need you to ignite that stack and not the one with the spiders. I believe the fire will scare them enough so they’ll run away back to their nest. Then we’d be able to cut the webs around the chest.”

“You believe so, ah?” Milenna considered his suggestion and finally shrugged. “I can’t think of anything else. But I warn you - if any of these creatures lays its hairy leg on me, I will take down this whole chamber, regardless of who’s going down with me.”

Ben grinned. “A fair warning. Now let’s do it.” He drew his common dagger with the hand that wasn’t holding the wand and stood ready to leap.

Milenna took a deep breath and started her incantation again. Quickly after, a small firebolt shot from her outstretched hand and dove into the stack of cobwebs that Ben had pointed at. The flammable material ignited even before the bolt exploded against the wall behind the cobwebs. The booming sound resounded across the otherwise silent chamber. Ben kept his concentration at check, looking intently at the hive spiderlings. As the flames grew, the big arthropods took notice. All six of them stopped, turned their ugly heads toward the fire and he was horrified when the sound of a weak screech reached his sensitive ears. Then, the hive did exactly what Ben expected and jumped away from the webbed chest. What he did not expect, however, was that they would jump in the wrong direction!

Instead of scurrying back to their holes in the wall, the six tiny horrors jumped as one from the cobwebs and onto the floor - and from there, started running toward Ben and Milenna.

“Shit shit shit - “ said Ben.

“No no no! - “ cried Milenna.

The spiders weren’t just running. They leaped! Ben realized they would cover the distance in less than two seconds. Without waiting, he activated his Pause The Game! Power - and time stopped. Ben found himself looking at a scary spider leaping three feet in the air and not 4 feet away from him. He could even see something green emitting from the spider’s mouth and knew that it was poison and that this poison might be the death of him. Two other spiders were leaping toward Milenna - the sorceress’ face was twisted in a frightened shout - whereas the last three were a foot behind, on the floor.

He spent the first two seconds of his tactics power in panic, cursing his stupidity. The next two seconds he searched his skills, powers and inventory, hoping to find something that would save them. The last second, he decided on a very stupid move.

When time resumed, Ben pointed his wand at the leaping spiders. Without knowing exactly how he did it, he summoned the undead energy from the sphere - and fired. A small purple ball shot forward but didn’t get far - it exploded two feet away from the companions as it met the leaping spiderlings head-on. Unfortunately the blast was three-feet in radius, so both Ben and Milenna were hit and thrown back, flying a good three feet in the air, then landing on their backs and grunting in perfect unison.

You were hit! Scout of Sonadin hits you for 5 points of necrotic fire damage using bolt of undead power.

Ben groaned. His entire body felt on fire, both from the outside and from the inside. His thoughts in that unfortunate moment went like this: I just shot myself! It hurts, damn it. Fuck, the skin on my hand is flayed! Is that my flesh underneath? Ahaaa it burns! Is my blood boiling?! Well at least now I know what my enemies will feel when I hit them with this. Wait, did I even hit all the spiders?

That last thought caused him to ignore the pain and quickly scramble to his knees, though it hurt like hell when he put his weight on his injured hand. Ben frantically scanned the floor but couldn’t see any of the tiny horrors. A new prompt made him breathe more easily:

Your party killed Hive Spiderlings. Shared XP received: 80 (base 100 - 20 for dumb decisions) Personal XP received: 20. Total XP: 3,820. Points to next level: 2,180

Ben heard a weird sound coming from beside him and turned to look at Milenna, who seemed to be laughing and groaning at the same time. Her beautiful face was scorched and blackened and so were both her hands, but her lips were crooked in a smile.

“What’s so funny?” he asked bitterly, whizzing somewhat. He found out it was painful to talk and realized that his own face was hurt in the blast.

Milenna turned to look at him, still grinning. “I never saw such a prompt,” she said, chuckling. “-20 for dumb decisions! That’s priceless.”

Ben could only stare at her. Shame, pain and anger fought to control his mood. Shame won. “Well I guess I deserved it,” he mumbled. The pain was still intense, but at least his blood didn’t feel like it was boiling anymore.

Milenna slowly rose to her feet and offered him her hand. “You certainly did,” she said. “But I thank you nonetheless. I would rather die from your blast than be touched by one of those hairy beasts.”

Ben took the offered hand with his uninjured one and let the sorceress - who had more strength than it seemed - help him to his feet. In fact she pulled him too hard and he stumbled somewhat. The next thing he knew Milenna was steadying him with two hands on his shoulders. His face was inches from hers - again - but this time there was no haughtiness in the way she looked at him. The expression on her half-burnt face was more sincere than he had ever seen her. Her intoxicating smell was still there and her lips were full and inviting. He felt himself drawn to her and -

“Milenna! Ben! Are you OK?”

Shiraz came running around the bend of the stairway but stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the both of them standing close beneath Milenna’s hovering light ball. “I heard an explosion…” Her voice trailed away and she quieted.

Ben, his face on fire and not because of his injury, quickly stepped away from Milenna’s embrace. “I’m - we’re fine,” he said weakly. “There’s a chest, and spiders. We killed - “

He stopped his bumbling when other footsteps could be heard and then Red joined the group, coming down the stairs. The mercenary looked at the other three, making sure they were all alive and breathing. Then he took on a grim expression. “If you all finished with whatever it is yer doing here, you’d better come with me.” The warrior’s hand was on the hilt of his sword. “I found a mass grave up there. And I think - " he paused for a dramatic effect - "that I triggered a trap.”