C37 City Of Trash FINALE

The group arrived back at Eddie’s soon to be settlement. The atmosphere was ecstatic; everyone was celebrating, lifting Eddie up in the air while cheering without pause. Eddie himself didn’t know how to react, all the attention was on him which he didn’t like but at the same felt like he deserved it. All his hard work and helping the NPCs; he felt like a true gamer.

“EDDIE! EDDIE! EDDIE!” The crowd cheered as they carried him over to the center of the large basin. They gently placed him down on a small mound of trash and his boots flattened an area out for him. Eddie was smiling brightly, unaware that everyone was ready for a speech. Eddie was just wondering if he had enough money since he needed the 300 gold on top of everything else. He quickly brought up the quest info along with the other notifications.

You have leveled up Trash Chute VII→VII

Mana Cost: 13

Distance: 9(+1)-51(+3)m

Damage:9(+1)-58(+3)

Cooldown: 4s

You have leveled up Trash Wall VIII→IX

Mana Cost: 30

Defense Rating: 54(+2)-93(+4)

Damage: Undetermined

Cast time: 2.5s

Cooldown: 37s

You have leveled up Flash Of Metal I→II

Mana Cost: 50

Activation Distance: 110(+10)m

Expel Distance: 35(+5)m

Cooldown: 60s

You have leveled up Flash Of Metal II→III

Mana Cost: 50

Activation Distance: 120(+10)m

Expel Distance: 40(+5)m

Cooldown: 60s

Quest: Migration Crisis

66/20 NPCs Willing Settlers.

3/3 T1 Buildings

1/1 T2 Relic

298/300 Gold Coins

1/1 Basic Food And Water Supply

1/1 Minimum Land of 20m^2

Rewards:

+4,000 Experience

Rare Item Of Your Choosing

T2 Pre-Built Building Of Your Choosing

Title- Savior Of Lost Souls (UNIQUE)

+50 Gold Coins

A Whole Bag Of Jelly Beans(Not just a few, the entire bag!!!!!)

Time Limit: 1:03:21:2s

Eddie clicked his teeth. “Sorry, guys, I just need a teeny bit of coin.”

“How much?” Mira asked.

“Two gold,” Eddie coughed.

Mira sighed. “Alright, everyone, shower him with coppers.”

Everyone groaned and started pulling out copper coins. They started pinging them towards Eddie and he felt like a stripper. He held his inventory open and the splatter of coins in the bottom of it gave him immense satisfaction.

Eventually, he reached 300 gold.

In order to create the settlement, please place T2 Relic or higher in a central location.

Taking a deep breath, Eddie pulled out the small green seed. “Is everyone ready?”

Everyone nodded eagerly, it was time.

“Ok, ok. Just gonna place it right here,” Eddie said, squatting down and placing it just before him. He took a few steps back and waited for something to happen.

“What’s going on?” Denzel asked.

Just as Eddie was about to shrug, the small seed sprouted a vine that weaved its way in the air. Moss started to grow out from beneath it. The growth started off slow, but once it got to his height it was accelerated. It stretched far above him; the bottom vine grew bark and moss started to cover it. Once it reaches the top of the basin, a huge canopy spreads out to cover one end to the other.

Eddie was stunned as he watched the moss create pathways around the stalls and to the bar; inside the caves and towards the entrance. More trees sprouted from the moss with small fireflies that spawned within them. It was no less to say it was magical and everyone was speechless.

The beautiful moss no longer created fear, it blended perfectly with the compacted trash all around them and gave the impression of regeneration of nature- the recycling of trash. Eddie thought he wouldn’t like the moss, but he stood open mouthed as he watched it grow everywhere.

You have created a settlement!

+10,000 EXP

Title: Chief of _______

You have used T3 RELIC Seed Of Evergrowing Moss!

This seed will sprout its trees and moss throughout the entire settlement. It will grow with your settlement and add many benefits to your settlement. It can provide defense, build bridges and grow fruit. It is as alive as you are and may reflect your wishes and emotions as long as you hold the title of Chief of _______

You are now able to control income tax, export tax, trade tax, property tax. You are also able to sell off land; you still own this entire settlement and may run it like a business. You can now house NPCs permanently and see their overall happiness rating in your settlement. The moss has created a town board where you can give quests which betters yourself and your settlement.

Would you like to name your settlement?

Yes/No

Please don’t name it something stupid.

Eddie’s breath quivered, he had done it, he had conquered this quest and the dungeon. All in a week and a half. He had fought raid bosses, built golems, housed refugees and danced his skinny, boney ass off multiple times. But now, he was faced with the ultimate task. The task that would send ricochets through the game.

Eddie pressed a finger to his chin and made his brain work overtime.

“Eddie? Are you ok?” Mira asked. Everyone else was looking around at the amazing work the moss was doing.

“Yeah, yeah, just thinking of a name.

“Please don’t name it City of Trash,” Mira whined.

Eddie smirked as a lightbulb the size of a car appeared above his head. “Are you ready?”

“Uh, well, yeah.”

Eddie chuckled as he threw his arms up wildy in the air. “I NAME THIS PLACE, TRASHLANTIS!”

What?! That’s terr- actually pretty good. Trashlantis it is.

Small stars appeared around Eddie as he was lifted off his feet from the ground. He felt like a goddamn hero. He floated up into the air a couple inches and everyone watched.

KINGDOM WIDE ANNOUNCEMENT

A new settlement named Trashlantis has been formed in Arindought’s Trash Dump.

You have completed the joint quest: Migration Crisis

I’m proud of you, like a boomer dad to his gay son; he would say: “I love you, son, no matter who you are.” That was genuinely wholesome. I don’t know where I was going with that. Anyway, congrats Eddie.

Rewards:

+4,000 Experience

Rare Item Of Your Choosing

T2 Pre-Built Building Of Your Choosing

Title- Savior Of Lost Souls (UNIQUE)

+50 Gold Coins

A Whole Bag Of Jelly Beans(Not just a few, the entire bag!!!)

You have leveled up! 6→7

You have 2 free stat points to allocate.

You have leveled up! 7→8

You have 2 free stat points to allocate.

His trashy boots landed down softly on the compacted trash and Eddie’s hair was no longer floating in the wind. He was now back to reality.

Mira grabbed his shoulders and shook him violently. “WE MADE A FREAKIN SETTLEMENT EDDIE!!! I JUST GOT ALL OF THAT ON RECORD!!!”

Everyone celebrated under the moss covered canopy, dancing their lives away with not a care in the world. Eddie just huffed victoriously with his hands on his hips; he had done it and now it was time for him to receive the rewards.

Among the screams of excited players and NPCs, Eddie put his points into wisdom and brought up his stats before the rewards.

User: EDDI3456

Level 8 (4 Points to Allocate)

Progression to next level: 26,113(+15995)/34,000 EXP

Titles: Mage, Homeowner, Landowner, Landlord, Head Hunter, Genocidal Goblin Maniac Murder Hobo, Coward, Golemancer, Teacher, Triple Threat, Chief Of Trashlantis, Savour Of Lost Souls(UNIQUE),

Stats:

Constitution

8

Wisdom

30(+2)

Health

80

0.8 HP/S

Strength

3

Intelligence

17

Stamina

50

4 SP/S

Dexterity

4

Luck

7

Mana

300

1.7 MP/S

Endurance

5

Charisma

(-1)x-15=7

Status Effects:

Smelly IV: -11(-5) Charisma

Dirty III: -6(-3) Charisma

Classes

Professions

#1

Trashmancer

#1

Golemancy

#2

Golemancer

#2

None

#3

None

Passive Skills

Skills

Spells

T1 Trashman’s Eyes Rank II

T1 Golemancer’s Lifeline Rank I

T1 Trash Chute Rank VIII

T1 Metalworking Rank III

T1 Trash Wall Rank IX

T1 Engineering Rank II

T1 Flash Of Metal III

T1 Golemancy Rank III

T1 Weaponsmithing Rank V

T1 Cartography Rank II

T1 Armorsmithing Rank I

T1 Smelting Rank II

T1 Alchemy Rank I

Perks (Class)

Perks (Profession)

Trashmancer’s Deodorant

Classes For Thee

Eyes And Ears

“Wow,” was all that he said. He had gained over a dozen skills, eight levels and increased his stats to heights that he thought weren’t possible. “Am I..? A gamer?”

Congratulations! You have realized you’re no longer a puny little noob anymore and earned the title: Gamer

This title offers no bonuses.

“YES!!!” Eddie bellowed out. “I’M NOT A NOOB ANYMORE!”

Item Rewards:

Note: These items will be linked to your title: Chief Of Trashlantis. If your settlement advances into a village, these items will change and to continue to grow with your settlement. All these items are unique.

{Crumpled Can Chestpiece}

Grade: Rare

Defense Rating: 107

Durability: 126/126

Effects: Trashtacular V (-25 Charisma), Thorns II (Reflect 8% damage from all sources)

+5 Constitution, +5 Intelligence, +5 Luck

Requirements: Title: Chief Of Trashlantis

Description: Only the chief of trashlantis may wear this extremely fashionable yet powerful chestpiece. It offers the finest look in Trashlantis with its crushed can surface and has an inner coating of black trash panda fur to keep the wearer warm.

{Granny’s Copper Crock Pot Helm}

Grade: Rare

Defense Rating: INDESTRUCTIBLE

Durability: INDESTRUCTIBLE

Effects: Trastacular III (-15 Charisma), Indestructible, Return To Sender (Will always return to you upon your command),

+3 Endurance, +3 Luck, +3 Intelligence, +3 Wisdom, +3 Constitution

Requirements: Title: Chief Of Trashlantis

Descriptions: Forged in Helheim, submerged in the River Styx, this beautiful piece of craftsmanship is completely indestructible. It may only look like a typical copper crock pot but don't let that fool you. Additionally, you will become a knock off Captain America.

{Golden Trash Bag}

Grade: Rare

Durability: 7/7

Size: 20m^3 of storage

Effects: Trashtacular X (-50 Charisma), Trash Compactor II (All trash type items have their size reduced by a quarters when inside the item)

Requirements: Title: Chief Of Trashlantis

Description: A golden trash bag, it’s pretty cute.

Eddie let out a nervous breath, these items were good, perhaps too good. The chestpiece looked stunning, the golden trash bag was cute and the crock pot was indestructible. “Uhhhh,” he groaned. His eyes started to dot backwards and forwards between them- such a hard choice. He found the golden trash bag so cute like he did the normal one but it just wasn’t as useful; the negative charisma would make any NPC drop to their knees for him. He felt like crying, he wanted it so badly. The next two choices were basically a 50/50. On one side, he had something which was indestructible, then he had such a stylish chestpiece. Eddie knew nothing about fashion but he could swear it was the latest trash thing released by the companies leading the fashion industries. The stats were good, just not what he was looking for in his mage class.

“Fudge,” Eddie cursed, he wanted that damn chestpiece so much. He felt like crying. “Grrr- ah, stupid system, always giving me such hard choices… I’ll take your damn crockpot.”

The crock pot landed in his hands and Eddie took a good look at it. On the outside, it just looked like a crock pot- of course it did; but on the inside, there was some padding that looked like a perfect mold for his head. He slowly slid it on and found it was extremely comfortable.

“Uh, Eddie,” Mira said, turning to face him wearing the crock pot helm. “You alright?”

“Oh, fine, fine, cool item, right?”

Mira screwed up her eyebrows as she cocked her head to the side, Eddie was a very weird guy.

T2 Building Rewards:

Note: These buildings have been customized to fit the design of your settlement}

T2 {Crafting Cove}

Description: A cove carved into the side of your settlement that caters multiple T2 Work Stations for over 20 popular professions. This building will not only help your Players overall happiness but also your NPCs who wish to practise. You may charge per hour or entry, you decide on how much.

People required to run it: 12

Area: 43m^2

T2 {Dump Depository}

Description: A giant warehouse that works with the town board in your settlement. You may store food, materials, etc here that the players gather for your quests. Please take note that this building may lure thieves.

People required to run it: 4 (High level NPCs or players are suggested)

Area: 80m^3

T2 {Ragged Restaurant}

Description: A building that will greatly increase the happiness of your NPCs and Players. It is fitted with 3 T2 Kitchens. This building also has a high revenue. It may look like a jumbled up building but at least it has ‘character’.

People required to run it: 17

Area 29m^2 (Sits 32)

Eddie pursed teeth as he debated if he could make any of these buildings. The Dump Depository seemed very useful in the long run but he could probably just dig a large hole in the side of the basin. The Crafting Cove would be useful to make high grade items to boost the profit of the market. The Ragged Restaurant was fairly obsolete; the only meat sold was goblin or trash panda and neither were tasty.

As Eddie thought about it more, the Crafting Cover was going to be far harder to get since he would need to find or make 20 T2 stations for different professions. He concentrated on the building in the menu and a blueprint of it pinged into his HUD. He then moved it around the space and looked for the best possible location. He did it with the others but was fairly adamant that the crafting cove was going to be the best option.

Place T2 Crafting Cove here.

Yes/No?

“Yes,” Eddie said calmly.

Immediately, the wall of the basin started being carved out magically; even the moss started to head towards that direction to form pathways to it. It truly was amazing. Pieces of trash started to appear from blue cubes and form a large quarter sphere that was majority inside the trash compacted area. Everyone else turned to look.

“You got a crafting area for us!?” a player shouted.

“Uh, huh,” Eddie said with a wink to the random player.

“I’ll get the booze,” Denzel offered.

Eddie relaxed with his hands on his hips as he admired the settlement he had created. It was beautiful; the glow of the fireflies illuminated the canopy creating a space-like look. The moss left alone most of the trash which still gave the settlement a rustic look. Saying it has ‘character’ is understatement. It blended in so amazing that it looked hand crafted from thousands of years of hard work.

After the admiration, Eddie only had one thing on his mind: Akira. As people began to disperse and party in the central area of his settlement, his eyes scoured for her. Only a few minutes later, he found Akira chatting to the one person he hated most- Brody.

Eddie screwed up his face as that depression sank in.

As the Chief of Trashlantis was worrying about loneliness, Brody stood on top of a stall in the market and shouted out to everyone around to gather their attention

“Oh no,” Eddie murmured under his breath. That was it, Brody was going to declare his love for Akira. His heart beated out of his chest and his breath quickened.

“I have some to tell all of you,” Brody stated in his pompous and assholey voice. He then looked at Akira and gave her a warm smile. She returned it.

Eddie thought he was about to die, Brody was going to propose to Akira in front of everyone.

“It has been a very hard time here in the trash dump for myself and all of you. At first… I may have been unsavoury. But there’s a few things that I learned here: that it’s ok to be yourself and to cherish those around you. We’ve been through thick and thin and I feel like it’s finally time to tell you all the truth.” Brody then gave Akira a second glance and joyful tears swelled up in her eyes.

Eddie fell down to one knee as he continued to watch.

Brody took a deep breath. “I’m gay.”

There was an awkward moment of silence. Then finally, someone spoke. “No one cares if you’re gay Brody.”

“What? But-”

“Yeah,” another person chimed in. “No one cares that you’re gay. Were you being such an asshole ‘cause you were hiding it?”

Brody looked down to the floor and nodded. “I’m sorry everyone, from now on I’ll try to be nicer.”

Eddie’s world had been tipped upside down about a dozen times. He slowly got to his feet. “What does that mean?” he questioned out loud.

“I’m gay, Eddie,” Brody replied.

“Sorry, that means?”

“I like men.”

“I’m just not following.”

“I am homosexual. I find men attractive.”

Eddie opened his mouth and closed it a few times as his eyebrows danced. “You play for the other high school boys volleyball team?”

“Yes?” Brody said.

“You… Went to drama school?”

“That’s a stereotype but I may have gone.”

Then it all hit him. ‘Good friends’. Brody wasn’t in love with Akira and she wasn’t the same with him. He was gay, he was her gay bestfriend. “Wait,” Eddie said. “You’re gay, like actually gay. You and Akira are not-”

“Eddie!” Akira shouted. “He’s gay, he likes dick.”

Brody chuckled lightly camply, it oddly suited him and everyone could tell he was immediately happier with getting it off his chest.

“Oh, right,” Eddie murmured, light headed.

The party continued and Eddie sat down on a nice mossy bench to gather his thoughts. It was taking him a while to process it. Akira spotted him but she decided to let him come to her. And so, the party continued.

It was all very cheerful and Eddie did perk up eventually. That was until a terrified scream echoed out from the trash caves. “RAID BOSS! HELP!” It was blood curdling and terrifying. Everyone immediately stopped and drew their weapons.

Eddie quickly weaved his way over, finding the Sculptor carrying Margret with him. The sculpture called Margret was wearing a fancy dress that hugged her keratin figure.

“Guys, don’t worry, this is Sculptor, he’s my friend.”

Sculptor looked shy as his eyes darted to the floor, there was no way he could take over 1000 players.

“Eddie, why did you befriend a raid boss?” Akira asked. There was no sense of surprise in her tone as these things happened on the regular with Eddie.

“Hey,” Eddie argued, hands on hips. “Sculptor is not just a raid boss, he’s really a nice guy… Just keep your toenails away from him.”

“Ah, sorry, I didn’t mean to intrude,” Sculptor said. “I could hear the music coming from Goblin's Gulch and I’d thought to pop over to introduce myself.”

“Did you bring any alcohol, mate?” Grabby asked.

“No… I don’t have any at home… I did bring strippers though.”

Just then, 10 keratin goblin sculptures walked out of the trash caves. They were tall- like humans, just with pointy ears. They were also wearing barely anything. “I thought I could make them more human to appeal to you,” Sculptor added. “My apologies I-”

“No, Sculptor,” Eddie declared. “It was a nice thing for you to do.” He turned back to the group. “He’s gonna hurt anyone guys. For god sake, the guy brought strippers with him.”

“I guess he can party with us,” a random voice said.

“This is gonna make great content,” Mira gleefully stated.

Then the music started playing again and Eddie started introducing Sculptor to everyone as his strippers amused the players and even NPCs.

Deep inside the trash caves, the moss was growing through everything. It was adding its style while trying to keep the trash aesthetic of the place. It was weaving through miles of the tunnels, adding in fire flies to where there were no lights. It looked beautiful.

Then, the moss senses a presence behind a certain blocked off area. It was a living, breathing organism so it became naturally curious. It began weaving through the small cracks between the trash and eventually discovered a large, open room. It moved cautiously further in, nearing the bubbling pool of acid.

It started covering portions of the room in its moss, claiming it for itself. It got to a point where the only thing left inside was the bubbling pool of black acid it hadn’t touched yet. It circled the edges, leaving behind moss that gradually seeped into the pool.

Eddie was downing Goblin's Gunk like there was no tomorrow; he needed enough courage to speak to Akira. The courage was located in the bottom of every cup. And so, he continued to drink and speak to everyone.

Once he was feeling fairly loose, he licked his dirty fingers and sharpened up his eyebrows- it was time, time to finally get Akira back. He psyched himself up and took a singular step forward. His next was interrupted by a system message.

ERROR ERROR ERROR CODE #8534

SEED OF EVERY GROWING MOSS CANNOT CLAIM LAND.

FORCEFUL CLAIMING!

CLAIMING!

CLAIMING!

CLAIMING SUCCESSFUL!

ERROR ERROR ERROR

ENTITY ??????? SHOULD NOT BE PERMITTED INSIDE A SETTLEMENT OUTSIDE OF DESIGNATED EVENTS. ENTITY ?????? HAS BROKEN OUTSIDE OF BARRIER!

ERROR ERROR ERROR

CONTACTING IMMEDIATE ACTION FROM GAME MODERATORS

TOO LATE, ACTION IS IRREVERSIBLE!

AREA IS BEING DESIGNATED FOR OMEGA BOSS TO RESIDUE!

AREA HAS BEEN DETERMINED! OMEGA BOSS WILL NOW HEAD TO DESIGNATED AREA!

What just happened?

Then, everyone received a notification at the same time.

KINGDOM WIDE ANNOUNCEMENT

An Omega's Bosses arena has been dismantled. Omega has now become a (Field) Omega Boss and is currently residing in Arindought’s Trash Dump. The kingdom needs you, powerful players, to kill this entity.

“Oh fudge,” Eddie croaked as he tried to swallow. He had forgotten about the Omega Boss hidden inside his land.

Trashlantis rumbled and a deep mechanical howl sent shivers down everyone’s spine. Their attention was immediately taken to the compacted trash caves.

“Everybody take cover!” Eddie screamed like a girl.

It sounded like a roller coaster going through a tunnel, the wind was pressured to create a thumping sound. It started to get faster and faster. Everyone ran to hide somewhere. Eddie didn’t think this would happen, then again, how could he have known it would escape.

Everything went silent for a moment and heads began to peep up from cover. Everyone screamed when they noticed two large red eyes staring from the shadows of the caves. It suddenly shot out at a high velocity, crashing into the bar’s roof and rearing near the canopy.

OMEGA BOSS

SWIMMER OF THE METAL DEEP

Bionic Gigantic Trash Metal Serpent, Level 36

REINFORCED METAL

MAN EATER

TWICE O'LIFE

It wasn’t attacking them, it seemed to be just trying to escape. The moss canopy suddenly opened out and the omega boss slithered out of it. Gravity had no effect on it and it swam in the air like a chinese dragon.

“What the fudge is going on?!” Akira shouted. “Eddie! What the fudge?”

Eddie cleared his throat as he shrugged. “How would I know?” he lied.

“CRACK MY BACK BECAUSE I JUST SAW MAGIC MIKE!”

“Yeah it’s gone,” Viktor said. “In all of the Motherland, I have seen something so terrifying. Where did it even come from?”

“It was the cave, do you think it had been hiding in there the entire time?” Mira asked everyone.

Eddie was sweating buckets, his white lie had worked for the meantime. Everyone’s questions and worries were drowned out by Denzel’s crying. He was kneeling down on the floor and bawling his eyes out. “No! The bar! How!” The man wasn’t being over dramatic, he was distraught that the bar was destroyed. Eddie cautiously approached and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“I’ll build you a new one, Denzel,” Eddie promised.

Denzel wiped his face as he stood up. “You really meant it?”

“Yeah, of course,” Eddie said truthfully. “You’re a great bart-”

Eddie was brought into a hug so tight he couldn’t even breath. “Thanks, man,” Denzel wept.

“Y-euhah,” Eddie croaked.

“Oh, sorry,” Denzel said, breaking he hug.

Grabby emerged from the bar holding four kegs of Goblin’s Gunk. “It’s alright, mate, the booze survived.”

“Uhh, so carry on the party?” Eddie questioned as he looked around to the rest of them. “I mean, it’s gone to a different location so we shouldn’t worry.”

“How do you know that?” Mira questioned hastily.

Eddie brought up his notifications and showed everyone. “See, the moss overtook it’s arena and the system placed it somewhere else.”

“So it’s not coming back?”

Eddie shook his head. “No.”

There was a bit of dead silence for a minute as everyone was engrossed in the horror of the omega boss. It was interrupted when Frank jumped up on top of a stall. “So what are we waiting for? Let’s party ‘till we pass out!”

Everyone started laughing as the music started playing again. Eddie breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed the universe didn’t want them to party but they were going to anyway. Soon, the tension was released and the people of Trashlantis enjoyed themselves once again.

Some of the NPCs had built a small stage and Brody had got up onto it.

“Sing Livin’ La Vida Loca!” Eddie called out.

“Sir,” Frank complained. “You can’t copy the scene from Shrek.”

“Who cares, Frank, what are they gonna do, sue me?”

“Good point actually, Sir. Screw them. Let’s party, Brody.”

Brody grinned as he stripped down into a crop top and a microphone was thrown into his hand. The song started playing and the dancing ensued. Sculptor sprinkled some of his magic onto Margret and she turned to life. He grabbed her hand and spun her around before pulling her in for a smooch. A circle grew around Frank as he did the robot and was later joined by Robo who was breaking dancing next to him.

Eddie had come far for his first ever gaming venture. Not only had it passed the time but that time moved incredibly quickly as he was having fun. He was less scared of monsters and created such a magical place in a trash dump of all places. Overall, his impression of gaming had changed dramatically.

As he spotted Akira dancing by herself, Eddie threw all embarrassment and doubts into a trash can and danced over to her. She knew he was coming and dancing a little more proactively. Of course, Akira’s dance moves were nowhere near to the standards of Eddie. Every inch of his body moved to the music and people were so impressed they moved out the weird guy’s way.

“Hey,” Eddie said with a cool head nod while doing the Mexican wave.

She didn’t respond as he moved closer to him. They danced together without saying a word. They used to dance all the time together. Dance is a loose word for Eddie since he looked like he was convulsing most of the time. Nevertheless, Akira liked how he didn’t have a care in the world and threw her hands over his head and brought him in for a kiss.

END OF BOOK 1

No, for real this time.