Chapter 11.5 – A well respected Man

View Hall/Frank:

For years when he was alone, he woke up in the morning by himself.

He went to school alone and never bothered to make a lot of friends or relationship with anyone in particular.

It took him long to adjust to his new environment. He had no one to call family and no place to call home. So he just threw himself into work. It was something that didn’t require him to interact with anyone.

He didn’t have to deal with his feelings, didn’t have to think about his parents, he just had to solve equations, learn facts and understand theories.

It took him until he was in the army to open up a bit. It was true, time healed all wounds, even if scars were left. He still threw himself into work. He was the first one up in the morning, took every shift possible and if he wasn’t busy he went for some training or more studying.

But as he was forced to work with others he eventually got to know them and their stories. There were guys like him, people who lost their loved ones. Others had it even worse, abandoned, forgotten, wounded in body and mind.

Everyone had a story and not every tale was a pretty. He had an instructor, all in green he screamed at them. ”DOOOOODGE” That’s what he yelled while throwing balls, metal pieces and even knifes sometimes. He probably got hit on the head one too many times, or shot, or stabbed. Another story untold.

After a bumpy road he made it to university. He chose engineering because he liked to solve problems and riddles with his mind alone. Give him a pen and paper and he makes the world go round…in theory.

Advanced mathematics, applied mechanics, thermodynamics, computer science and a bunch of other subject he excelled in. Dedication and interest, that’s all he needed.

By then he changed himself. He now had at least some people he called friends. Even though he didn’t share a lot about himself he liked them and they liked him.

What threw him back was the betrayal of the girl he liked a lot since they were kids. Separated and reunited she changed so much.

But by then he was strong enough to handle it without drowning in sadness. He even found another thing to dedicate himself to. Novus Vita. Although he was kicked down, he stood up again and against all odds managed to achieve something great.

And his story is far from over.

View Belinda/Jane:

She never hated her life, but she always knew there had to be something else. She grew up in a decent neighborhood with a couple of friends and loving parents. But she knew she was destined for greatness.

As she grew older she learned to twist guys around her finger with her looks alone and when her father sold his company and made some smart investments they had enough money to finally get the living standards she wished for. The standards she was convinced she deserved.

After smooth sailing through her years in private schools she decided to travel to all the nice places she wanted to see. First class flights around the world, eating at the best restaurants and sleeping in the best hotels.

Her friends from private school, at least their parents, were all either absurdly wealthy or immensely influential, usually both. So with enough money it wasn’t a problem to get into the best and most prestigious university.

She just loved it, her group was the source of attention. Gazes of envy everywhere. Being with them was a reward for catering to their whims, those they didn’t like were made social outcasts.

They were the most beautiful girls and the coolest guys. She especially liked to be with Steve. He didn’t make her heart skip a beat, but when she was with him she felt even more attractive, more important.

When he said move, others jumped. His family was one of the most influential in the country and he was rich beyond believe. No one even dared to cross him out of respect or fear.

That was until she met him again. Frank. She almost forgot about him. She hadn’t seen him since his parent’s funeral as he was taken away to an orphanage across the country.

She barely recognized him, he was tall, his muscles visible through his shirt and with eyes that were almost mesmerizing. She hated to admit, she did feel intrigued.

But what she hated was that he reminded her of a past she left behind. A past where she was nothing, a past she didn’t want to return to, a past she didn’t even want to think about.

Every time he talked to her, every time he called her or even waved at her she was reminded of those days.

Even worse, he was so far below her and didn’t even care or notice. He wasn’t impressed or intimidated. She didn’t blame him for being poor, but she blamed him for treating her as she was too.

He just didn’t fit with them. Her friends, especially Steve, agreed as he was most annoyed with Frank. He was the only one who didn’t care about his stature. Frank acted even as if he was superior to Steve, looking at him with a mix of disgust and annoyance all the time.

One day they heard about Frank getting a capsule for Novus Vita and Steve had a great idea so she wouldn’t have to deal with him anymore and he could even be of some use.

They needed a sucker to curse for a while and now they had the perfect one.

All agreed with the plan. Of course Anna didn’t say anything, but that wasn’t surprising. The twins were loving it as they hated how they always were ignored and silently ridiculed by Frank.

It was easy enough, he trusted her without reservation and so it was almost ridiculously simple to use him for their quest.

When she saw him dying, lying in his own blood, a look of confusion and deep sadness in his eyes she somehow didn’t feel as great as she thought she would.

*Ding*

Quest: Friends and Traitors - Part 6Chain Quest complete

After a long and perilous journey you chose to betray the one who trusted you most in this world by laying a grand curse on him and leaving him to die. Several gods of darkness are full of joy after witnessing your despicable actions.

Reward:

Blessed by Darkness, Skills with darkness attribute deal 15% more damage

Several Churches of Darkness will view you as friendly (would you like to know more? View additional information)

Rewards from the Church of the Fallen God of Betrayal Aeneas

You have leveled up!

You have leveled up!

You have leveled up!

+200 Infamy

You have gained a new title

Title: Black WidowOnly few people would have a heart cold enough to betray someone who trusts you enough to follow you to the ends of the world. You not only left that person to die, but cursed him with one of the few grand curses of this world.

+50 mana

+5 wisdom

When equipped:

+5% Resistance to light magic

NPCs are less likely to trust you

Players in your party get 0.5% less experience from killing mobs while you get their lost points

She was a little annoyed because the game treated her like she was a despicable person. In the end she just dealt with a problem in the quickest way.

She and her friends weren’t really chaotic players, they just didn’t really care what others thought. They each invested enough money in their characters to buy good cars or a little apartment and they had no gold problems.

So the increased prices the NPCs asked of them didn’t really matter. Additionally they also had a huge amount of fame because they could do quest most others couldn’t because of their equipment and teamwork which mostly canceled the infamy out.

She was still glad about finishing the quest as they were on it for weeks now.

So they left and by now she didn’t feel too bad anymore as she was happy after seeing the reactions of her teammates. With a last look at the still confused avatar of Frank she closed this chapter of her life for good.

She didn’t think he would be at their table within a few hours and trying to make her feel guilty. He even threatened Steve and what’s worse, he was intimidated by Frank, which was the first time she saw him like that.

When he pulled out the necklace it was almost like he punched her in the gut.

She completely forgot about it and when she saw it, it was like a thousand memories washed over her at once.

She grit her teeth to push them away but it took her long to regain her composure, after his words cut her deeper than she would like to admit.

When he was gone they sat in silence, Anna was the first one to leave without a word but she barely noticed. Steve started to dispute with his bodyguard before storming off angry.

What got her back on track was the students around her whispering while throwing glances at them. It was different than usual, no envy was in their eyes, no jealousy in their posture.

It was spitefulness she felt and malicious joy that someone finally dared to shake up the established hierarchy.

Where she was filled with confusion and uncertainty before, the humiliation she just suffered blew it all away.

‘I won’t forget that Frank, I will make you pay.’

But she didn’t see him the next days and had no idea what he was up to. The next time she heard something from, well more like about him made her gasp in surprise and with her mouth wide open she was left speechless.

View Bale / Steve:

He hated him. He hated him. He hated him. That damn bastard, coming into HIS University, talking to HIS girls, ignoring him, making a fool out of him. He hated him. He hated him.

All his life people had to dance to his tunes. His parent’s word carried enough power to destroy or improve the future of others and his word had enough bearing with his parents so they would grant him his wishes.

Well actually his father usually wasn’t around and just gave him his no-limit credit card as a sign of his affection. His mother was doting on him as she had nothing else in her life and so she never said no to him and since he was a kid there were no rules or regulation that applied to him.

But here that guy was. Frank, who wasn’t intimidated by him. It was actually the opposite. Steve would never admit it, but deep down he knew. Frank had something he would never have. His presence could fill a room, even if people didn’t know who he was they would turn around and eye him at least a little impressed.

That’s why he hated him. A man without a name, without influence and without wealth, while Steve had to throw around all that to gain the same reaction? Ridiculous!

That’s why he was ecstatic when they finally could get rid of him. It was glorious, Frank’s reaction when his blade cut him open made him happier than he was in a long time.

He would have loved to finish him off, but he didn’t want to mess with the banshee because he didn’t want to lose face in front of the others as he wasn’t sure what she could do and the guy would die anyway.

Additionally he loved the idea of leaving him dying in a puddle of his own blood. It was his kind of poetry. His kind of justice.

The rewards of the quest were great. He didn’t really care for the infamy and the relationship with the dark churches would get him insanely good items and quest. The title was more of a bonus.

Title: A Touch of EvilYou were able to persuade someone to betray the trust of a close confidant and were able to put a grand curse on your sorrowful victim.

+5 leadership

When equipped:

NPCs are more likely to be deceived by you

-5% prices by NPC merchants

He was brimming with joy and pride but that changed to anger and shock after Frank came to their table at dinner. Steve was sure Frank, scared after what happened, would keep his distance.

But he couldn’t be more wrong, Steve was frozen up, trying not to show how intimidated he was by Frank even after he left. ‘Crap!’

“CHRIS, come here.” After regaining his composure he yelled for his security guard that shouldn’t let anyone trough.

“Chris, why the hell did you let him approach me?” Chris looked at him, suppressing a smirk. “He said he was your friend and he would just need to talk with you guys here. Don’t worry, I always kept my eyes on him so he wouldn’t harm you, you were absolutely safe the whole time.”

Steve’s head was red with rage as he noticed the people around him making fun of him.

“Go after him, do it now, bring him back and hold him while I punch the living shit out of him.”

It was unsightly as Steve let saliva fly out of his mouth, foaming with rage. Chris, the military trained bouncer who actually quite liked Frank just looked at him with pity.

“I’m sorry sir, I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

Now Steve’s eyes almost fell out of his head. “You work for me you piece of s**t, get him now.”

Chris just sighed. “No sir, I work for your parent’s and my first and foremost duty is to protect you. If you try to hurt the young man who just left here I’m afraid you won’t come out unharmed, not even with your friends here.” He looked at the twins with a face that said everything.

“Sir, let me advise you not to challenge the kid, the only thing you gain will be pain and more humiliation.”

Because Anna was long gone he was the second one to storm off. Leaving the others behind he kicked chairs and smashed glass to vent his anger.

Of course he would ignore the advice from his useless bodyguard. He wanted to confront Frank, humiliate him in front of everyone.

Steve knew Frank wouldn’t dare to harm him, not if he didn’t want to be expulsed from university.

At the same time he didn’t want Frank to be kicked out. Steve was no idiot, he knew he wouldn’t have a chance in a fight against Frank, even though he was in good shape.

Who knows what that guy would do if Steve was the cause for his expulsion.

No, he would make Frank’s life a living hell, that would be far more enjoyable that causing him to leave for good.

Unfortunately he didn’t show up for several days.

When he was online with his group again he got a message that made him roar in rage while the others lost all color in their faces and were left speechless.

*Ding*

Notification: The Deathship Has a New Captain!

Despite being betrayed, your victim did not give up and managed to crush and lift the grand curse you lay on him.

For allowing him to do so your benefits and rewards will be revoked.

You are not blessed by darkness anymore

Churches of Darkness will view you as neutral

The Church of the Fallen God of Betrayal Aeneas will hunt you until you return the rewards they gave you and a substantial amount of compensation.

Oh god how he hated him.

View Salena / Anna:

She felt terribly guilty for what they were about to do and tried not to look at the poor guy and hid her feelings. She was already used to it, so it wasn’t that hard for her.

All her life she pushed her feeling to the back and in return was called ice queen, frozen, cold.

She learned from early on from her experience that it was better this way, you wouldn’t be disappointed, you weren’t vulnerable, nobody would hurt you.

It was always the same story, she tried to make friends, but as soon as they learned who she was they avoided her or tried to take advantage of her.

Some never called her anymore, if she tried to talk with them they were fidgeting around and lied to get away.

Others were even worse, lying about caring for her but just using her name and money to bully others and try to exploit her good will.

In the end she stayed with the people who lived in her world. Rich, pretty, influential.

She often didn’t like how they spoke with others or how they acted but she never said anything because she was afraid of being alone again.

When Frank approached Jane one day she hoped he would be added to their little group. Although she stayed away from him because she didn’t know him, she was instantly interested and that was something she didn’t experience in several years.

He wasn’t impressed by their wealth or power and acted like they were all on the same level. She should have known that wouldn’t work in their group. Steve whom she mostly ignored was their leader and of course he hated everyone who would threaten his standing.

Still, Frank didn’t notice or care and she was happy to see him every now and then. Even though she still hasn’t shared a single word with him she planned to every time they met and yet she always acted like she didn’t notice him, scared the others wouldn’t approve.

She thought with time things would change but when Steve and Jane talked about what they were about to do she couldn’t believe it.

Jane had something Anna herself had always dreamed about. Someone who liked her unconditionally. Anna wasn’t stupid, she knew her group wouldn’t even look at her if she was from a common family.

Frank on the other hand was different, he didn’t care about upbringing, about money or status.

Anna couldn’t understand how Jane could just throw him away. She promised herself she would tell them to stop or at least warn Frank.

But what if they threw her away afterward? What if Frank would hate her for talking about Jane like that? In the end she just did what she always does—nothing.

So when she saw Frank’s bleeding avatar on the ground, a look of confused sadness on his face, it almost broke her heart, but instead of speaking up she just left and accepted her reward in shame.

*Ding*

You have gained a new title

Title: Tales of thy SpinelessThe Only Thing Necessary for the Triumph of Evil is that Good Men Do Nothing

By going against your own will out of cowardice you allowed the placement of a grand curse on a trusting soul you thought highly of.

When equipped:

+10% bonus from leadership effects

+5% bonus from buffs

-3% resistance to fighting spirit

Anna had to swallow hard. She usually wasn’t called out on her cowardliness and the game had her all figured out. She had to get away from the others or they would see her shiver.

She never before hated herself this much and when Frank showed up at the table she was barely able to control herself so she looked outside the window, closed her eyes and tried to keep her composer.

Of course she could still hear him, she even felt his presence, intimidating and filled with justified anger.

When he returned the pendant he got from Jane she almost broke down crying. Anna had to get out, clenching her fist to hold back her tears she waited for Frank to disappear and left shortly after, trying to seem composed.

The others barely noticed her leaving and they would only think she simply didn’t care, that was the person everyone thought she was after all.

When Frank managed to break the curse they put on him, she was actually happy and although she was punished along with the rest she wasn’t sad about it, after all she thought they more than deserved it.

Still, she was curious what Frank did to lift the curse, especially because of the notification.

In these last weeks she somehow felt more turmoil than in a long time and her frozen surface started to crack.

View Alexa:

Alexa was sick of it all. She was annoyed again, like she was so often these weeks.

Although she was only 19, she already had her university degree. Gifted, that’s what people usually called her.

She hated the term, it made it sound like she didn’t put any work into her achievements.

But she sacrificed almost anything for her education and her future.

Because her family wasn’t rich, she wanted to find a job but her parents wouldn’t allow their daughter to neglect her life as a kid. So she did the next best thing, she made sure she would be able to work as soon as possible.

Alexa finished school with sixteen and then went to university on a scholarship. But because she didn’t know any important people she just got accepted into a public university, her second choice.

Actually she tried to get into the private one in the same city. Both academies were really close to each other and even shared a few buildings, but they had mostly different professors, different classes and different support and mentoring.

She hated the fact that those rich kids strolled over the campus without a care in the world while she had to study every minute to keep her scholarship and in the end they still would have a better degree than her.

After almost three years full of hard work and sacrifice she finally managed to get a degree in computer science with an emphasis on media studies.

Alexa immediately was hired by the biggest company there was. Sphinx. International, diversified, powerful. They had research facilities, power plants and factories around the world. Everything was built by their own construction companies, stocked by their own suppliers and run by their own people.

They covered the fields of pharmaceutical goods, food, car parts, computer chips, they had software engineers and build their own hospitals.

It was by far the most important employer in the world and had a massive revenue.

Yet it had an excellent reputation. Their factories, even in poor countries, had all safety measures, people had insurances, very good pay and were happy.

People were always trying to work for them and so was Alexa.

She was especially interested in their newest and probably their biggest project. Novus Vita.

Initially she wanted to work as a programmer, but they didn’t hire people to work on the game that didn’t have experience within it. Instead they hired promising people and let them get experience before putting them into their desired position.

People always told Alexa she was extraordinarily pretty. With not even 155cm height she was on the small side and with her cute face, long blond hair and pale complexion she looked like an incredibly well-made doll.

Still, she never cared for it, she was always busy with studying and had no time for stuff girls her age were into.

So when she was offered a job at the TV station SGTV 1 (Sphinx Gaming TV), Sphinx very own TV channel focused on Novus Vita, she was surprised at first.

There were actually a lot of TV stations around the world centered on gaming and considering Novus Vita was about to launch there would be a lot more.

Sphinx estimated that within half a year Novus Vita would have surpassed football in terms of players. So it they started early to build up a TV program on several channels built around their new game.

Alexa didn’t know at first that she had to work as a reporter for about a year or two but of course couldn’t refuse as it was necessary to get experience in the game to work as a software engineer.

What annoyed her to no end was the way she was treated. She was the kid in the company, just a little pretty girl without anything to say and without any way to complain if she was left out.

Several reporters were assigned to different territories. The most experienced ones were placed in the central kingdoms or in other important places with a lot of players and even more action.

She on the other hand was assigned to Bredon Kingdom where barely anyone started out and pretty much nothing interesting ever happened.

Of course she had no experience as a reporter so she started out gathering information and material, videos and stories. Others reported it, sometimes.

On one hand she didn’t mind, she had absolute no interest in appearing on TV or on becoming famous, the opposite actually. On the other hand, if she had a name in the company it would be easier to climb the ladder and get the job as a software engineer she desired.

She just had to be careful, the pretty dumb blonde in front of the camera wasn’t something she aimed for, even if it was popular among mainly male players. If this image stuck to her it would be difficult to be taken seriously.

After a few months there didn’t seem to be a reason for worry anyway. As it stood after the first months Bredon Kingdom was as unpopular as ever. No decent hunting grounds, no well-known dungeons or players, a corrupt government and not even famous craftsmen.

One of the few things she every now and then could collect was material about the actions of the Shadow Wraiths. A few assassinations and thefts.

What also made her mad was her last assignment. She traveled the kingdom with a few bodyguards from the company and visited cursed places that had an eerie atmosphere and made for great shots.

Documentaries like these were popular enough but usually didn’t run on Sphinx’s main gaming TV channel. The main travel destination was supposed to be a rumored tower deep in the forests.

Stories told it was there for centuries and no one dared to get close to it out of fear of being cursed along with the souls of the unfortunate that were swallowed by the tower.

Alexa wasn’t sure if anything of it was true, around half of the supposedly cursed places were either regular abandoned buildings or just didn’t make for good video material.

But the story of the tower was famous and it was supposed to harbor the worst curse in all Bredon.

As her luck would have it, the tower lay in ruins as she arrived. Only a fraction of the walls remained and the eerie atmosphere was disturbed by the sun that started to break through the clouds.

You could feel something was different, out of place. It was like a sprout finally grew on a barren field. Like a dead tree growing leaves again. It was quite the fascinating feeling. But unfortunately one you couldn’t record on video.

So she was disappointed and disgruntled after she made the long journey. But she couldn’t do anything about it, so she left for the capital Roselake to make a different report. She even forgot about what, that’s how excited she was about it.

By now she wished she could simply play the game, as she loved it very much, but her job just kept her so occupied.

She hoped something exciting would happen when she began her journey to Roselake. Though Alexa didn’t expect what was about to come.

Back to Main Page

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Author’s Note:

Well, this chapter is a little different, we have no story progress

It’s more of a retelling of what happened from different perspectives with a little insight on the side characters,

I decided to show a little of Frank’s/Hall’s real life at a later point

We also get introduced to a new character that will be part of a storyline to make our MCs role a little more prominent, it may not be an incredibly original idea, but I liked the reporter/tv part in LMS

Anyway, hope you enjoyed the new chapter even though it may be a little different:grin:

Next will either be a short epilogue or a normal chapter, not sure yet

I want to thank you all for your comments last chapter, they really help me to make my story better and they encourage me to continue writing

And as always, please continue to tell me your opinions, suggestions and point out any mistakes you find, I really appreciate your support and am grateful for every comment

:bye: