Chapter 2 – Bad Company

The complete darkness that surrounded him changed into a soothing white color and a warm light filled the ceiling of a room without walls. A gentle female voice began to talk.

"Welcome to Novus Vita, the scan of your iris and vein has determined that you are an unregistered user. Do you want to create a new account?"

"Yes please" he answered without hesitation and the female voice continued.

"Please choose your name."

"Hall" It was the first name of his father, he always liked it and he thought it would fit well.

"Please select your gender, you may choose male, female or neutral."

"Male, I want to talk about the game with other people and really don't want to be called a weirdo."

"Novus Vita contains a great number of races, at this point you can choose between twelve different ones with a variety of benefits and drawbacks."

Of course he knew them all, damn, he waited two weeks for his capsule and he read almost everything he could get his hands on, about how skills can be created by either being taught, by acquiring skill books or by performing the skill and gaining it after enough practice.

Depending on your real life abilities you could gain skills pretty fast, a great chef would get the cooking skill very fast and a skilled swordsman would acquire sword mastery with lightning speed compared to someone without an ounce of talent who never held a sword before.

Raising your skill could be done through gaining experience with it, that means if you would repeat the same move every time or cook only the simplest of dishes your skills would barely rise and after a while you wouldn't gain any experience by it at all.

That made sense to him, a chef who would always cook scrambled eggs would never achieve greatness. So if you fought difficult battles in unknown environments or learn and improve constantly, your skills will rise.

Higher stats could be gained through leveling or doing certain activities. One could even do weight training like in real life to raise the strength stat. Although training with weapons or running with weights could also raise stats and would usually rise others as well and even give experience for skills.

So naturally many posts in a variety of forums would recommend to do combined activities to raise different stats at the same time. Although the training should fit the person or the time you invested would just be wasted.

So of course he knew about the different races, but he didn't really care for the different types of beastmen, the female types were pretty cute, but that was about it.

Undeads weren't his cup of tea.

Elfs were out of the question as he really wanted to excel in close combat and most elf subraces had a penalty on using different types of melee weapons and though he really liked the female elfs, the males, well, were too feminine for his taste.

Dwarfs wouldn't fit size wise, it would just be weird to be over half a meter shorter than usual. He was interested in draconians but he couldn’t' choose them as their starting place would be in the far south and it would take months to reach Jane.

Demonic races were shunned by most kingdoms and as he wanted to sell stuff he needed entrance to as many towns as possible.

The only reason to choose orcs would be to see their capital. New Orc City, also known for its big chapels, which were built by humans before the orcs conquered the city centuries ago.

He heard it would look incredible with millions of orcs swarming around, but orcs weren't really popular with other races and he could visit their capital some other time.

Luckily there existed an incredible amount of races and subraces that were still undiscovered and if you were lucky enough to discover them, you could change your race accordingly. If others were to discover a new race though, you still had a change of acquiring it by solving a rather long chain quest.

So he was left with a simple, be it boring, choice.

"Human" He thought about the next step often in the last two weeks.

"You may alter your appearance according to your wishes" In front of him he saw himself in his underwear slowly turning on the spot to show him his backside as well as the front.

"Wow, so that's what I look like from behind, not so bad if I may say so myself." It really was more than decent, he had broad shoulders and his back formed a visible V and you could clearly see well developed muscle on his shoulder and his back.

"Could I get a little bit of red in my hair? Not too much, yes, great thanks, now make them little longer please, awesome"

His now over shoulder long hair stayed black but with the right light you could see a red glow, he really liked it.

"Great, now I'd like to have a beard. No, not that much, more stubbles, think not shaving for 5 days, exactly like that."

He thought the red glow, his black hear and his blue eyes fit really well and it was probably the first time in a very long time he really looked at himself.

He read about being able to visit barber shops inside the game to change the hairstyle and the beard, but determined it shouldn’t be necessary for at least a while.

"Now reduce the hair on my chest by let's say 30%, fortunately I don't have any on my back, but please also reduce the hair on my legs by 40%, wait just for fun, please remove all my hair below my neck....wuah nonono I look like a freaking doll, that’s horrible, please return me to the state before my last request. Puh that’s better" he nodded and smiled, happy with the result. "Ok, that’s done, next step please."

"Please choose your starting location?"

"Fostein, Bredon Kingdom" The light got slightly brighter or maybe his eyes just played a trick on him in anticipation of his new life, well that’s at least what was advertised, a new life, in any case he was excited.

"You can gain your skills and a class according to the way you choose to play, do you wish to complete the tutorial? In the tutorial mechanics on how to play are explained as well as the lore and history of your kingdom and starting location?" He was really interested, at least about the history part, but he was pressed for time. "Skip" He said with a little bit of regret.

"Your avatar has been created, please enjoy your time with Novus Vita." The light got even brighter and he couldn't see anything. As it faded he saw his surroundings.

He had hoped for a bright and shiny medieval town but was a little disappointed to see only a lot of pretty broken down buildings surrounding the central square.

The fountain barely held any water and the people around seemed depressed and gloomy.

The weather fit the situation perfectly. Thick, grey clouds hung deep in the sky, the promise of rain lay in the air and from far away you could hear thunder roaring.

Thanks to his time in the army he had already some experience with virtual reality, so Novus Vita didn't completely overwhelm him. Still, the grade of realism was incredible, he could even taste the moisture in the air and felt the rough clothes on his skin.

Jane and her friends were already waiting for him. She was even more beautiful than in real life. Her black hair had a flow like ocean waves and she was wrapped in blood red cloth that seemed to shine even in this dim light.

The dress was simple but effective and it took his breath away. Her slender arm held a long staff that was magnificently crafted out of the darkest wood he had ever seen and on top was a fist size ruby cut like a flame which seemed to contain a flickering light.

The other girl was similar impressive, although she couldn't hold a candle to Jane. At least in Franks mind. Her robe was black, embroidered with white gold and he even saw diamonds shining in her earrings and rings and a large golden necklace.

Two of the guys looked exactly the same, they were twins in real life and chose to also be twins in the game. Their armor wasn't that impressive, at least on first glance. It was made out of brown leather which seemed to reflect the light as if it was polished steel.

When you looked closer you could see an amazing craftsmanship was necessary to complete these pieces.

On each side they carried an arm long dagger that glowed green and practically screamed poison.

The last guy seemed to play in another league, he was even taller and broader than in real life and he changed his brown eyes to a blue tone but kept his blond, short hair.

His armor seemed to be made out of gold and silver but even from afar you could see it was strong enough to take direct hits from giants.

The gauntlets and boots were made out of the same material and were decorated with a ridiculous amount of engraved pictures of battle scenes.

Frank was even more annoyed when he saw the huge two handed sword Steve carried on his back. It looked like some kind of treasure with emeralds on the hilt and the guard shaped like wings.

With clenched fists Frank moved in their direction and Jane greeted him.

"Hey Frank, nice of you to join us. I like your hair." He blushed slightly but thanks to the red tint in his hair it didn't show. "Please call me Hall in here."

She nodded, not recognizing the name. "Yes, you are right, in here I’m Belinda, the pretty girl next to me is Salena and the twins here are Ryan and Nayr"

Frank rolled with his eyes, mirrored names for identical twins, morons. Of course he didn't say anything and let Jane, no Belinda, continue. "And I'm sure you are already burning to know about this hunk" 'I think I'm gonna puke' thought Frank.

"That’s Bale, we’re all between level 80 and 90 and have a mage, myself obviously, a priest" she pointed at Salena "two rogues and a warrior." Those classes were pretty obvious, although he was sure there was more to it. There was no way someone with their level, not that it wasn't impressive, would be able to get this kind of equipment. So they surely had some kind of rare classes at least and probably invested more than a small amount of real money to buy items.

He also really hoped to get a special class. As far as anyone knew there were the normal classes which could be gained in guilds or through apprenticeship.

Then there were the rare classes, usually gained through difficult quests or special NPCs.

Hidden classes were practically unknown, there were only a handful and nobody was really sure how to get them.

Only a rumor so far were the unique classes.

Nobody knew of a unique class so far and according to the gossip they were seriously strong.

It was even possible to change classes, at least to some extent.

One could become a warrior through the guild, then join the Knights and then rise to Paladin and then maybe get a rare class, he heard about some kind of Templar class, through a quest.

Those classes weren't necessarily stronger than the other as it was more important to find a class that suited you and the way you played.

But Frank, well Hall now, didn't want to question Belinda so he just accepted what she said and asked.

„Should I get something before we leave, maybe a weapon, some armor or at least food and water?" She shook her head.

"No, our destination is not that far away and we will protect you so you don't have to worry."

He felt kind of naked leaving the city without further preparations but he trusted Belinda so he thought he would just get what he needed after the quest was done.

There was even some hope he might get something special as a reward. He knew newbies shouldn't travel outside of cities for a while to get accustomed to the game, but he didn't want to stay in this hole that barely deserved to be called town.

"Show status window." He just wanted to take a look before he left.

NameHallPrimary ClassN/AHealth100Mana100Level1Health Regen/Sec0.1Mana Regen/Sec0.1Strength10Agility10Wisdom10Intelligence10Stamina100Vitality10Luck0--

Hall just shrugged, he didn't know what he expected as he knew exactly how his stats would look like.

"All right, I'm good to go, what is this quest about and what do you need me to do?"

Quest: Rest for the WickedInside a forgotten tower deep inside the woods belonging to Fostein resides a Banshee. The soul of a poor woman transformed by darkness and despair. Let her rest in peace.

Difficulty: E

Quest requirements: Has to be completed in a group formed by trust

Rewards: Unknown

Failure: upon death, unable to free the tormented spirit

'How the hell does the AI of the game know when you trust somebody? That's incredible, does that mean it's not only important what you do, but also what you feel? Good to know'

Although the quest description didn't tell any backstory, saving a poor soul with a group formed by trust didn't seem too bad.

Though he didn't really trust Belinda’s friends and they sure as hell didn't trust him. But Hall believed in Belinda, which should be enough. "Alright, seems good"

Quest accepted

You joined Belinda’s party

Belinda and her friends smiled as she waved to him and pointed down the road.

"There's the gate, we have to travel for around two hours and the quest shouldn't take more than an hour."

Hall nodded. "Show Inventory" He grabbed his canteen, filled it at the fountain and followed the group outside the city.

Soon enough he was panting. 'Damn, what's up with that speed and why the hell am I already tired, are those stats actually interfering with my real life performance?'

Belinda seemed to notice his troubles.

"Sorry Hall, we want to get there fast, someone took his sweet time joining us and a cook is preparing our dinner at a set time."

She smiled broadly. He didn't want to show weakness so he stepped up his pace while grinding his teeth.

‘Stupid rich kids, who the f**k needs to hire a f***ing personal chef for their f***ing dinner in a god damn cafeteria'

Cursing and killing that bastard Bale in his mind over and over again he ran after the rest.

Bale ran at the front and grinned like a demon while being completely aware that he was torturing the new guy he hated so much.

Hall at least hoped for some stat increase, but when they arrived after three hours, 'two hours, yeah right', he didn't even gain a single stat point.

He almost fell down gasping for air but grabbed the gate of a withered stone wall that surrounded a tower that was so clearly inhabited by evil that he would have laughed if he wasn't dying from leg cramps.

After a sip of water and a couple of bites of rye bread, 'tastes like cardboard, damn it', from his inventory he sat on the ground to regain his stamina.

If Hall wasn't so caught up in his own pain he would have noticed the others were breathing very heavy, even Bale wasn't unfazed and clearly angry. ‘How did that cockroach keep up, damn, he should have dropped after half an hour tops with his beginner stats'

Bale calmed himself, the quest had the highest priority and they needed Hall, but he still wanted to humiliate him.

A couple of minutes were enough for Hall to catch his breath which seemed to surprise his new team. The twins even seemed a little bit impressed.

Selena's face didn't change at all and she kept her indifferent expression. Only Belinda seemed happy. "Good job Hall, now let's go, it's time to complete the quest."

Bale opened the rusty gate with a firm push and as they walked through it a gust of wind blew toward them carrying screams with the promise of death.

"Leeeaaaaavvveeee.....ooonlyy suffferiiing awaaaaaiits youuuuu...."

Hall shivered and felt a cold touch on his neck. ‘Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap, this feels so real'. Belinda and Selena grabbed their staffs so hard their knuckles turned white and the guys took out their weapons and prepared for the worst.

The path to the tower door was barely visible and overgrown with weeds and brushwood. Crows sat on the bare branches of barren trees and picked on the corpse of what looked like a rabbit. Or a cat. Or something.

Hall averted his gaze and saw a couple of gravestones in a sea of brown plants and weeds and shrugged his shoulders. 'hm, even among death there is life, that's kind of cool'.

It really was creepy but he was so excited because it all felt so intense, incredible, amazing, he couldn't help but smile.

“Shiny!” With Halls remark the heavy silence was disturbed and Salena winced pitiful which made him grin even more. ‘Looks like Ms. Freeze here isn’t so impenetrable after all’.

After a few steps they heard a moaning and rattling in the area of the gravestones and they watched several skeletons crawl their way out of the earth. Rising their head to the sky they let out a sound similar to a tortured cat in a bathtub and somehow Hall was a little underwhelmed.

‘They look pretty cool, that’s a given, but why do they seem so…weak?’

The skeletons weren’t armed, only covered in a couple of rags and moved slowly in their direction with a speed that reminded him of a crawling baby.

Still they caused movement in the group and Belinda took charge and yelled.

“Hurry, everyone inside the tower. Ryan and Nayr you two cover us and delay them until we finish the quest.”

Surprised by her orders Hall followed them inside.

‘Why would a couple of rogues with their daggers be a better opponent for those bone sacks than a mage or some big guy with a huge sword? Ah, whatever, I’m new and this quest is still pretty much a riddle, they will know what to do.’

When everyone except the twins were inside the tower Belinda closed the old door in a hurry and the party spread out to secure the dimly lit room.

On first glance the strongest enemy seemed to be dust. ‘hmm, I wonder if you can have allergies in this game, that would kind of suck’

Hall shook his head, concentrating on the situation at hand. He couldn’t see the ceiling of the tower as it was at least 30m tall and it seemed to have only one floor.

On the walls he could see shelves filled with books beyond old, some even rotting.

Those shelves seemed to even reach the ceiling.

In the middle of the tower there were spiral stairs going up, probably to reach the books.

The tower seemed somehow larger inside than from the outside, although less threatening.

It was around 10m in diameter and on the opposite site of the door stood an old pedestal with a single book on it.

Everyone was still looking around anxiously when the rattling of chains rang in their ears. They stiffened immediately and faced the direction of the sound.

Out of the pitch black area under ceiling approached the figure of a woman.

This was probably the banshee mentioned in their quest.

She reminded him of a ghost, only the upper body visible, a white and torn dress covered in darkness and blood, her hair was a chaos of spiraling disarray and her face was completely contorted.

The rattling sound had its source in the chains around her arms and the one stuck in her chest. Hall couldn’t see where they were secured.

What shocked him most weren’t all those things, no, what made him stop in his tracks were her eyes.

He expected them to be wild, tainted by evil and clouded by insanity. But he was wrong, everything he could see was pain. Pain and sadness.

He knew those eyes. They were similar to his after his parents died.

Shivers ran down his spine as she looked directly at him and stretched her hand in his direction. Still, he wasn’t scared. She opened her mouth.

“Flee, now, before …” A spell hit her straight in the chest and threw her against a shelf causing several books to fall down or crumble to dust.

He didn’t even notice Belinda casting a flame bolt.

“Mana cage” Salena cast her own spell which seemed to trap the banshee in a prison made of shining blue energy.

Belinda spoke to him pointing at the pedestal he noticed while entering the tower.

“Quick, open the book and read the first page while we are keeping her busy.”

He saw the pleading look in the Banshee’s eyes and had a strange gut feeling, every alarm clock in his head went off, screaming at him that something wasn’t right.

Still, after he looked at Belinda in a fighting stance he decided to follow her.

He stepped up to the pedestal and lay his hands on it the book. It felt disgusting, like dead, moist skin and looked equally appalling. It even had a repugnant stench to it.

‘This is supposed to be a book to fight evil. Damn, it’s more likely to summon an army of darkness. I just hope it won’t bite me.’

He opened it and although the book should be hundreds of years old the blood red letters seemed to be written recently. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath he started to read.

When he began, the banshee went into a frenzy and tried to break free from her cage with all her might, clawing and punching a transparent wall.

Her eyes seemed to scream at him and he could have sworn he saw tears rolling down her face.

After a couple of minutes he reached the bottom of the page. He didn’t understand anything anymore. The text he read was a story about two lovers reaching a tower. The man betrayed the woman that loved him so much, cursing her for eternity. Was it the story of Banshee?

He finally arrived at the last words. “…for trust is a fickle thing.”

In a flash of light the words in front of him seemed to melt into a new story. He skimmed over the new story in two seconds and his blood froze as he realized what it was about.

It told a tale of a young adventurer betrayed by those he trusted most in the world and tricked into walking into his doom. The last sentence flashed before him.

“Trust is for the weak, my spilled blood shall be proof”

With this he raised his head and saw a picture he wouldn’t forget for the rest of his life. The banshee, finally released from her prison, rammed into the paralyzed Hall without him grasping what happened to him.

A huge sword cut the air at the place where he just stood and leaving a large gash in his chest. The blood from the tip of the sword dropped on the pages of the book and was greedily devoured by the bone colored paper.

*Ding*

You have been cursed

Slowly dawning on him what happened he looked at the different windows popping up. His face lost all color and with disbelief in his eyes he looked at the smiling Belinda.

Back to Main Page

----------------------------------------------------------------

Author's Note:

Here's my second chapter, I really hope you like it.

Suggestions and corrections are always appreciated, as I already mentioned, English isn't my first language so the chance for mistakes is pretty high

P.S: What kind of references can you discover? :grin:

P.P.S: The third chapter is almost done, should be up either tonight or early tomorrow