Sebast was definitely regretting his decision. His coffee cup rested at his side, unable to help him combat the drowsiness that was slowly overcoming him moment by moment. He had long since shut out the background noise, as well as the droning of the professor as he went about his lecture. To the others, he looked like a lazy bum out to tank the bell-curve in their examinations.

Not that he cared for others’ opinions. Sleep is much more important than mindless chatter, and he has to conserve his energy for the expedition into the Splinter Mountains that would undoubtedly follow after he gets home.

Find the Spring, test out Blatta, and maybe-

“Sebast Koh.” An unwelcomed, feminine voice that sounded like cold steel rang out next to his left ear, interrupting any chance of him having a peaceful nap.

“Derrilene, you will wake him…”

“Which he should be, Beatrice. Trash like him who can’t stay awake in class should just stay at home.”

Well, if he could, Sebast would have chosen to stay at home. The only thing preventing him from doing so was dealing with his mother’s rage for skipping lessons. Now if only the two females could just ignore him and go away.

“Oi, wake up!” A soft but firm hand gripped his arm and began shaking Sebast violently.

When it appeared that the girls had no intention to leave him alone, Sebast had no choice but to force himself to open his weary eyelids. “What is it?” He spoke in a dead monotone.

Derrilene Ong, the resident ice queen of the campus, stared at him dead in the eyes with her own. Next to her, the flower of the school, Beatrice Chia, stood with an apologetic expression.

“We are in the same group.” Derrilene announced.

“We are?”

He could almost hear the jealous mutters from the rest of his course-mates now. Derrilene and Beatrice are pretty girls in their own rights, and they had fan followings of their own not only in-game but also out of it.

Cold but dignified, Derrilene exudes an aura of exclusivity, while Beatrice displayed more of the kind-to-a-fault personality that quickly elevated her to the pedestal of the class’s angel. Working with either one of them was a distant dream for most of the guys in class, much less getting to know them better.

And he just had to be grouped with both popular girls at once. Indeed, some of the guys and even girls are sending glares in his direction when they thought he was not looking.

“Yes, we are.” Something about Derrilene’s tone of her voice told him that it was definitely not voluntary. “We have an assignment to do.”

“Assignment?” Maybe he should have stayed awake during the lecture after all.

The girl simply rolled her eyes and pointed at the big screen at the front of the lecture hall. Sure enough, along the list of names displayed, Sebast could distinctively pick up his name nested nicely in between Derrilene’s and Beatrice, all of which are grouped under the name Group G in bold. Written above the list of groups in big letters was the title ‘Project Assignment (Graded - 50%)’.

Graded projects are not uncommon in university, but one that constitute as much as half of the total weightage for the module is rare. This meant that getting a good grade for the assignment is essential if one were to score well for the module and could mean the difference between a high distinction and an ordinary merit grade.

Everywhere else in the lecture hall, people were already moving about into their assigned groups and excitedly discussing about what they intended to do. All except for them, which was why Derrilene was being understandably impatient about it. Of course, Sebast still had no idea what they were required to fulfill for that particular task and Derrilene did not bother to explain. She either felt that he had the responsibility to find out for himself or seemed to hold some sort of satisfaction from keeping him in the dark for as long as possible.

Beatrice, being ever the helpful angel, filled him in instead.

“Professor Toh wants us to complete an adventure together in an online game, Ages Online if possible, and provide a detailed report of the adventure. We are also required to evaluate our teammates’ skills and contributions to the adventure. Credit will be given based on the amount and type of contribution made and the adventure itself on a case by case basis.” Beatrice rattled off in a single mouthful.

The module they are doing the assignment for is called ‘Party Dynamics in Virtual Reality’. For aspiring game designers, finding the right balance in the class professions and their corresponding contribution to party dynamics is considered one of the most important aspects of gaming design. For well-designed games, even the most seemingly useless of professions will still be able to benefit the team in some way or another, and this particular module studies how classes could be better complemented with each other.

It might have sounded ridiculous twenty years earlier, but whole papers had been published in specialized journals based on such topics. That, of course, gave people the perfect excuse to play more games.

“Just checking, you have a character in Ages Online right?” Beatrice suddenly asked in apprehension.

Sebast wanted to groan out loud. Seriously, first impressions are really hard to change. He briefly wondered what would happen if he answered no. Derrilene might flip her shit.

“Yes I do.”

“Good. Good.” Beatrice looked visibly relieved while stealing a glance at her friend. “We need to find a place and time to meet up in Agaia. The deadline is until the end of the semester so we have a month or so to plan. Derrilene and I have to help out with the reconstruction after the war, so we will not be available that early.”

“Okay.” Sebast acknowledged. That was fine with him. He had his own stuff to accomplish anyway.

“Okay, if that is all we will contact you again when we are done. Please stay around the Caerheim area if you can.”

“Right.”

Beatrice nodded at Derrilene and the two girls turned to leave. Suddenly, the long raven-haired girl stopped in her tracks.

“Oh, I almost forgot. Could you tell us your class so we can think of places we can go for our assignment?”

“I am a historian.” Sebast declared in slight pleasure as he watched the expressions on the faces of the two girls turn for the worse, and in Derrilene’s case, barely concealed loathing. Then again, they had probably expected him to be a burden anyway, because it was quickly replaced by a look of resignation as they went back to their seats

That settles that.

Just when Sebast thought he could return to his sleep in peace, another stranger took the usually empty seat next to his, uninvited. With an inward groan, he turned to the newcomer. The male is a fit and tall blonde who looked like those who would demand to get his way. With branded goods decked from head to toes, he is the stereotypical spoiled brat with an inflated ego the size of his head.

“Yes?” Sebast asked with no small amount of irritation.

“I am here to warn you.” Sebast raised an eyebrow. What is with the sudden hostile threats from strangers he had never known? This is the first time he had talked with him for goodness sake. “I don’t know what bootlicking you have done to be grouped with Beat, but you have a choice…”

Beat? Who is Beat?

“…For her sake, and yours.”

It took five full seconds for Sebast to link Beat with Beatrice. Then it became apparent – the motive of this sudden intrusion of personal space.

“I didn’t realise I need to make a choice.”

“Now you do.” That condescending attitude of his is sickening.

“And what is the choice I need to make?”

“You can go up to the professor and tell him you are switching groups with me…”

“Or else?”

“There is no ‘or else’. I lied.”

Sebast had to resist a snort. “What is your name? I need it to switch don’t I?”

“Roger. Roger Mantel.”

Sebast scanned the displayed screen again and found the name Roger Mantel right in Group F with Xiang Jun and someone else he did not know.

“So…”

“Well Roger, I don’t feel like changing after all.” As much as he found switching groups to be preferential, for some reason, Sebast felt vindictive enough to refuse so that he could crush that arrogant ego of this particular jackass.

“You… you…” Roger’s face bloated up like a red balloon at being so bluntly rejected.

“Take it up to the professor yourself if you want. Now please excuse me.”

The male bristled in rage. Sebast could see his fist balled together and ready to strike. But with so many witnesses in this lecture hall, he doubted that the bully had the balls to carry it out lest he gets slapped with a suspension for violent conduct. Without a choice in the matter, Roger slinked away.

Feel strangely satisfied, Sebast drifted back into the sleep he had wanted since morning.

…………

Blue streams of data gathered under the tree, coalescing into a humanoid form that whirled and jerked into life as her form fully materialized out of thin air.

“What’s up with you? You looked so refreshed, even though I am sure you pulled an all-nighter.” It was the first thing Aveye asked after logging into her character. She looked sleep-deprived despite having logged out earlier than Beast.

“I had a good sleep, that’s all.” Beast grinned.

They had agreed beforehand on a specific time to log in, namely after Sebast’s lessons and Adele’s morning radio session. And to get into the Splinter Mountains proper, they will have to head through Corelia for the opposite exit. Beast finished packing up the camp before handing Aveye a full dozen vials of multi-coloured liquid.

“Here.”

“These are?” Aveye raised an eyebrow.

“Buff potions. I made them just now from the loot you got by killing the monsters. They should be useful for when we are in a pinch.”

He did not say it, but his Ancient Alchemy had also reached Basic 9 from the amount of potions he brewed, thanks to Aveye’s diligent hunting. Having the radio personality around might not be too bad after all.

Making their way through the mining town, Beast could not help but notice that the crowd had lessened over the few days he had been here. With the war over, people are also leaving the town back to their original homes and businesses, returning Corelia back to what it was before the massive surge of people – a quaint quiet base for craftsmen. Coming out from the north exit, Beast could feel the atmosphere change.

For one, there was definitely fewer people around. Second, the monsters that roamed the mountainous region were totally different from that of the other end. There are no longer Rockbulls roaming the hills. Instead, they were replaced by level 60 scaly lizards that blended into the combination of pine trees and brown dirt of the surroundings. Scale Chameleons, they are called, were hard to differentiate from the natural foliage and were often static. The only way to see them is to look for the slight trembling blur of their outline when they breathe.

Beast had to be extra careful that they did not accidentally attack one when there are several others behind it. Between him and Aveye, taking down one or two monsters was not a problem. A dozen on the other hand…

It might get a little sticky.

Since there were many of those chameleons around that posed little risk, Beast took off his only armour-classified item – the Gloves of the Conqueror – to continue training his Iron Body skill. In addition, he also unequipped Burfrest and used a combination of his 1 mana Chi punch exploit and Blatta to grind his masteries. As a result, Iron Body leveled up to Intermediate 4, Chi leveled up to Basic 9 and Bare Handed and Knife Mastery leveled up to Intermediate 4 and Basic 5 respectively. He also activated Dazed Blows a number of times, leveling it up to Basic 3.

It was a fruitful grinding experience.

Regardless, Scale Chameleons became scarcer as they scaled the mountain. Then, it was around midway up when they started to encounter a new type of monster. Picking flesh from a mangled corpse was a ball of feathers with flashes of yellow beak darting in and out of the meat. Apparently carnivorous, it took Beast a double take to actually realise that the creature was part human.

“Scree?” It must have felt the presence of intruders, for the head cocked up towards them in the midst of its meal.

Humanoid eyes peered back into his own. For a full second, nothing moved. Then, the harpy spread open its entire wingspan with a screech that reverberated throughout the mountain.

Thank the gods that Ages Online is a game for all ages.

“SCREE!!!!”

An arrowhead drove through the harpy’s exposed chest, followed by another, causing it to stumble. But the damage was done.

Several screeches echoed the original one, and soon multiple harpies began showing up from behind crevices and rocks. The bird had called its entire flock.

“Any plans?” Aveye nervously asked as ten harpies in total circled them as though stalking their prey.

“We kill them.” Beast replied, withdrawing both Burfrest and Blatta from their rest. He charged at the first original harpy with killing intent.

And struck thin air. Beast had forgotten one essential thing – this monster can fly. While he had dealt with flying types before, such as the Antroach, that was in an enclosed cavern. This time round, the sky was the limit, making him unable to reach it normally.

That was how these level 70 harpies hunt. Even if there were stronger monsters on land that may lurk around the corner, it did not stop Beast from recognizing harpies as the undisputed queens of this mountain.

Above him, the now-flying monster struck down with its talons, piercing his back and shredding flesh, making him pay for his complacency.

-345 HP!

-323 HP!

That was goddamn painful.

“Beast! Double shot!”

Twin arrows embedded themselves into the wings, causing the harpy to tumble out of the sky. Seeing an opportunity arise, Beast quickly struck out with his new dagger, rending the bird from the abdomen during its trajectory downwards.

The mortally wounded harpy flopped on the ground for a moment before becoming still.

That was when the rest of the harpies began their attacks.

“Aveye, take out their wings! I will cover the ground!” Beast shouted as he parried a talon strike with Burfrest on one hand and downed a healing potion with the other.

“O-Okay!” On command, Aveye nocked an arrow and started firing a continuous stream of projectiles at the air-borne creatures. “Arrow Vulcan!”

“Watch out!”

Recognizing Aveye to be a greater threat, a harpy swooped down from behind the archer, knocking her off her feet and disrupting her skill. Another quickly descended upon the fallen woman, ready to strike with its beak when Beast plummeted into the monster in the nick of time.

A glowing blades-attached fist smashed into its chest, dealing both blunt and stabbing force in a simultaneous blow, before it was ended with a slit to the throat with a dagger made from an insect mandible. Immediately right after, Beast flipped Blatta into a backhand grip and slashed downwards in an arc towards an incoming Harpy that had decided to swoop towards him in a strafing-esque move.

“Desperado Backlash!”

-461 HP!

A long bloody gash drew itself across Beast’s back where the talon raked past. The harpy on the other hand, ended up far worse.

It crashed into the dirt in two cleanly separated pieces.

You have leveled up!

Aveye gaped. The remaining harpies halted their attacks with an expression akin to fear. Even Beast himself was surprised by the destructive capabilities of Blatta.

“You made that?” Beast could not distinguish if the gleam in the archer’s eyes was disbelief or excitement.

“Yeah…”

It was all they said before the battle began anew, but this time round it was different. Beast and Aveye became more fluid as a team, covering each other as they fought despite the initial kinks. With well-cordinated attacks between Aveye’s arrows and Beast’s strikes, one could say that they were faring well. On the other hand, the harpies were not very intelligent nor as cooperative.

It took two additional deaths of their comrades before the futility of the battle set in. That was when the survivors scattered and fled.

“Okay that should be enough.” Beast said as he glanced at the retreating backs of the harpies.

Aveye slumped to the ground, exhausted.

“Here.” Beast took out a serving of Herbal soup from his inventory and offered it to the archer.

“Thanks. But we are just letting them go like this? What if they come back with reinforcements?”

A smirk on Beast’s face told her that it was exactly his plan. “We can probably hunt them down later to level ourselves. Right now, what I’m curious about is the body.”

“Body?”

Beast did not reply and instead walked over to the mangled corpse that was being devoured by the first and original harpy. Upon closer inspection, it looked roughly human. There was a putrid smell lingering around the body.

“This should be an NPC that has been dead for quite some time.” He mused. Then, he plunged his hands into the bloody mess.

Aveye instinctively covered her nose in disgust. “Urgh, what are you doing?”

“Searching.”

Right on cue, Beast pulled out a bloodied leather-bound book from the corpse.

You have obtained Melvin’s Journal x1

Day 1

I just got news that I am recruited for the expedition to discover the source spring of Inpelmarr River! I am so damn excited, and they are leaving this very night! Living in Corelia, I have always heard old wives tales on how Splinter Mountains is a trove of treasures for adventurers. Now I finally have an opportunity to find out!

Mother says I am mad, but these people are renowned adventurers. I am sure nothing bad will happen to us. If anything, I will just run back down.

There was a huge break of missing and blank pages before the next entry.

Day 19

We have been journeying in the treacherous terrain for almost three weeks. Food and water supplies are running low. The spring was nowhere in sight and the party tension is high. Some are saying that the leader got us lost or something. I have no idea. I am just a lowly porter so I do not have much say in the matter. I hope we find the spring soon or just head back down to Corelia.

Day 23

Damned harpies! They keep stealing food from right under our noses! This was despite us maintaining a high vigilance for such matters. I guess it can’t be helped because we only have an archer and a mage in the expedition.

The expedition leader still does not want to give up searching. He speaks like a man possessed. I am afraid. We have reached the peaks of the mountain a few times now and there is no spring anywhere. It is just like the stream began from nowhere.

They are saying to head towards the grove of trees we found near the north peak to avoid the harpies. For some reason the harpies avoid that place like crazy. They say we will be safe there until we can decide what to do next.

The last entry was heavily smudged with blood and almost unreadable.

Day 3X

I … done with them!… Disagreement… We split… Heading back… Corelia…

They… attacking people. Harpies… took Wilbur….

They found me!...

Help! I don’t… Die…

Then the rest were illegible writing.

Beast looked at the body sadly. NPCs normally disappear into data when killed for the game system to recycle. However, this one seemed to be a special case. The game wanted to set the body here for a reason. He had a guess as to what the reason is, but it is only a guess.

Sometimes, when a generated quest is too difficult to solve, some games might compensate by adding clues to aid others adventurers in completing it. This is so that the quest would not be left hanging unresolved for an unspecified amount of time.

Regardless, Beast felt that he should do something for this Melvin.

“Let’s bury him.”

“What?”

“Would you want your body to be left here as food for the monsters?”

That silenced Aveye just fine. And the two quietly dug an impromptu grave for the poor man who died.

Dring!

For showing basic kindness to a dead man, you have received the title: Undertaker

+20% affinity to undead creatures

That… was unexpected.

Beast’s eyes boggled. Aveye did the same, and Beast recovered enough to give her a smirk that said, “I told you so.”

“If you are done giving me the look, we can continue onwards now.” Aveye huffed back indignantly.

“Right, I’m a little interested in this grove that the journal spoke about. We should be able to find it along the way to the peak.”

From what the journal indicated, there might be more than one peak on this mountain. Beast made a mental note in his mind to keep a lookout for anything that would resemble a small grove of trees.

Just as they were about to set off, unfamiliar voices drifted up from the trail they came up from.

“You sure we are only halfway there?”

“Yes. Though it is weird there aren’t many monsters around.”

“Someone must have come through before us. Heh, I need some urgent gold.”

“Don’t fool around.”

It sounded ordinary enough, until one of the unknown people uttered a word that made Beast’s blood run cold.

“We need to focus on the objective, Lortan.”