I did it guys! 6000 words and many proofreads and changes later i present you the first of 2 Chapters!

Hope you enjoy!

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Chapter 12: The Caravan

With a rustle of his cloak and the gravel beneath his boot giving off a clearly audible crunch, Makoto stepped into the light.

Many heads turned and an armed Warrior grabbed his sword a bit alarmed.

"Who are you and what do you want, stranger?"

The man asked while keeping his hand on his sword.

"My apologies for unsettling you at this late hour but I'm just a weary traveler that saw your Caravan.

I wanted to ask you if it's alright to come along, you are on the way to Shivercliff are you not?"

The man nodded, still a bit unsure about Makoto.

"Indeed we are, that is our next stop and after that we will travel east, straight to the capital.

We can take you along until Shivercliff, if you have something of value that is."

Pulling aside his cloak Makoto revealed the shimmering sheath of his sword.

"Is a better rest during the night something of value to you?"

He asked jokingly and the Warrior eased up, smiling.

After talking with one of the others sitting beside him, Makoto was handed a scroll, it was a contract that bound him by magic to not attack or steal from anybody on the Caravan.

Protection scrolls like that were the norm with hiring mercenaries or taking along foreign travelers.

They made sure everything played out the right way.

After he signed the scroll the Warrior patted his back smiling and Makoto was introduced to a few other players and NPCs that would be his travelling companions for a while.

"This is Farabello, our Mage. Zergoon, foreigner just like you and an archer as far as I know. Last but not least we have the wonderful Ceila, also a foreigner.

You will be riding together with them in Carahem's wagon, he is the Merchant sitting next to Farabello."

Makoto nodded towards the short Merchant once and then examined the others.

The Mage was an apprentice NPC, short, wearing glasses and seemed to be a bit shy.

Zergoon was a foreigner, a player, in the words of an NPC.

Although he didn’t seem to be any normal archer like the Warrior had claimed him to be, because instead of a bow he had a giant crossbow on his back.

Maybe a variation, there was other classes after all.

Makoto greeted them both and then turned to Ceila, immediately he was stunned.

It was Veronica.

She didn’t seem to have changed her appearance, but why would she?

I mean she already was drop dead gorgeous in real life so there was not much to change.

And the chance that someone created a perfect copy of her face and body seemed too unlikely.

Makoto was very sure that she was indeed the real Veronica.

"Uhm...nice to meet you I guess..."

Still unable to comprehend of how surreal the whole situation was, Makoto's greeting was a little weak.

Ceila didn't seem to mind, she glanced at him for just a second and then proceeded to stare into the flames.

"Don’t worry about it dude, she treats everyone like that."

Zergoon said with a grin.

"So what can we call you then?"

He asked, looking expectedly at him and it was at that moment that Makoto started cursing his own stupidity for not using a different name ingame.

If he said his real name out loud now, Veronica would find out for sure.

For some reason he didn’t like the thought of her knowing, it was like a voice whispered into his ear that calamity would follow if he did so.

Keep the two lives apart.

That was what he heard and strengthening his own resolve, Makoto shoved aside his feelings for now, concentrating on the here and now and instead of the weak and shy Makoto in Real Life, to be the one he was ingame.

Without even glancing at Ceila he shrugged.

The only name that came to his mind was Drake for the moment, the pretty boy he killed.

So with that name he changed the first two letters and had a fast response.

"I don’t mind, you can call me Blake by the way."

Makoto said, still sweating a bit and hoping no one would find out his real ingame name later.

"Alright, you should either log out or try to get some sleep until dawn. These NPCs won't travel during the night but it still is a lot faster instead of going by foot, trust me."

Zergoon said while making himself comfortable on the gravel beneath him, pulling out a blanket and putting it over his body.

Unsure, Makoto decided to also just lie down on the ground for a while.

This was actually the first time that he slept inside Azalon and to his own surprise it was very similar to real life.

.....

The morning sun was tickling his nose and after a few seconds his vision cleared.

All around him NPCs were sleeping on the floor, the bonfire had fully burned down in the night and only one guard was keeping an eye on things currently.

Still a bit groggy Makoto stretched and with a yawn sat up.

His mind was all jumbled up, knowing you had a pleasant dream but you can't remember what it was about is a truly strange feeling.

After the events of last night slowly sank in again, Makoto hurried to make sure that the cloak around him was still covering his face and armor.

Nobody seemed to mind that he was hiding his face or appearance, well it was probably all thanks to the magic scroll he signed.

It was insurance after all that no matter who he was, he would bring them no harm.

Zergoon turned out to be a rather talkative fellow.

He explained about Azalon and his previous experiences all morning long, Makoto decided to share some combat experiences he himself had with the guy and what he said seemed to impress the archer.

"So you actually can shave off your enemies armor, man if I knew that I sure as hell would have used it against that boss I fought not long ago.

Watersnake, lives in a swamp near the capital and man can I tell you it was a bitch and a half to kill that thing.

We needed nearly 30 players to bring it down, exactly because its armor was so high.

Thanks for the tip Blake, I will remember that."

Makoto also was able to find out about a few things in the exchange between him an Zergoon.

There was for example an option in the menu to actually enable internet access, so if you had a quiet place or were traveling on the road like now you could check the forums or watch videos while being inside Azalon.

That was naturally something he checked right away and he decided to enable the feature.

Another thing he found out was that there was indeed something like a leader-board system.

It would list all players and whoever had the highest amount of exp would be at the top.

In other words, whoever had the highest level would be number 1.

Interested, Makoto checked his own name and surprisingly found himself in the upper 500s.

Later when it was already afternoon and they had nothing much to talk about anymore, he decided to use the online option and browsed through the forum.

There was a video of the currently ranked number one player, Giro, a level 17 Swordmancer.

It was supposedly a rare class and he showed it off in a video were he was the first player to ever solo an Elite Boss Monster.

Elite and Boss put together was a mix just one step below an Area Boss Monster.

In the video, Giro was dual wielding two swords and whenever he hit the giant black scorpion he was fighting, more swords appeared out of nowhere and pierced the boss until he had a very close similarity to a hedgehog.

Simply put, he was dominating the whole fight and didn’t seem to even break a sweat.

Makoto decided to remember the name Giro as he seemed like a strong player and closed the forum window.

Somewhere while watching the video, a hidden desire had budded inside Makoto.

The before foreign wish to be number 1, to fight players like Giro and come out on top, that was something that started to take hold in his mind.

Back inside the actual game he needed a moment to adjust.

Makoto decided to enjoy the pleasant ride after being aware of his surroundings again and looked to his left.

The road they were on had unexpectedly met up with the ocean after a while so he was able to travel alongside it and watch the waves while traveling.

As far as he understood it, the NPCs with them were mostly merchants going from city to city, buying and selling many things on the way.

It was a type of practice not foreign in Azalon and the bigger the group, the safer they would be from bandits or monsters.

With a nice breeze going through his cloak, Makoto decided to sort through his Inventory.

There was some loot he simply had no need or room for so he was unsure what to do until he remembered the merchants in his group.

After chatting with Carahem for a while he discovered that he could indeed trade with them and sell or buy different things.

"Alright, I will give you 1 Silver and 45 Copper for all of that, deal?"

Smiling, Makoto nodded and then shook his head again.

"Yeah, I agree but only if you throw in another loaf of bread, would that be alright?"

Canahem didn't even think about it and stretched out his hand.

"Deal!"

Shaking the man's hand the various loot inside of Makoto's inventory disappeared and 1 Silver and 45 Copper joined the rest of his money, together with a single loaf of bread.

The skill 'Devil's Greed' has leveled up!

Surprised, Makoto checked the skill for the first time in a while, the experience he gained for every trade he did was so little that it had taken him until now to get it to level 2.

Devil's Greed:Money makes the world go round so why not take more than you give?

NPC Merchants and Shop owners will feel an instinctive fear towards youSkill Type:passiveSkill Level2 (1%)Skill Effect:+1% increased deals in your favor for both buying and selling.Additional Effect:Able to Bargain more effectively.

Happy that the amount he would passively gain had doubled, Makoto waved the window away.

The rest of the afternoon went by peacefully.

Makoto quite enjoyed this change of scenery, it was something different after fighting for all this time.

Ceila never seemed to talk to anybody, she spent her time quietly and the only thing she really did was sharpen her sword from time to time.

Other than that all she did the entire day was stare at the ocean with a somewhat lost expression.

Even after steeling his heart and deciding to ignore her he still couldn’t help a glance or two every now and then.

Just watching her sit beside him filled Makoto with a strangely warm feeling.

Slapping himself mentally he forced his eyes off Ceila.

Now really was not the time for that.

The rest of the day passed in the same quiet manner.

It was only after stopping before sundown that things started to change.

Makoto was currently helping Canahem and Zergoon with the bonfire when he heard a scream right behind him.

Swiftly turning around while pulling his sword, he and Zergoon immediately got into a combat stance.

A few other players also readied their respective weapons because the scream had not been a mistake, trouble was brewing in the distance.

A horde of green skinned and armed to the teeth Goblins were approaching the Caravan, some of them had even tamed a few Wood Wolfs and rid them like a knight would his steed.

"Everyone get ready! Bandit attack!"

Zergoon shouted as loud as he could while aiming and shooting his gigantic crossbow.

A dark blur flew through the air and impaled four Goblins, the bolt just kept going and only the fourth body was enough to stop the momentum.

Makoto didn't even have to look in that direction to know that those would all be lethal hits.

Giving Zergoon a thumbs up he stepped forward.

"Never underestimate a crossbow in a defensive battle like this Blake, as you can see they are pretty deadly.

I can see some bloodlust under that hood of yours and its pretty freaky if you ask me so go, I will take care of Canahem!"

Zergoon said with a laugh, launching another bolt, this time killing a Goblin and its wolfen steed.

Makoto brandished his sword with a wicked smile and the blood in his veins started to boil again.

It was true that he enjoyed the quiet and peaceful day but he dearly missed this, the sweet slaughter and carnage of battle.

After getting a bit closer he was able to see the letters above each Goblin that approached the Caravan.

Goblin Marauder: lvl 14

Goblin Bandit: lvl 16

There was these two types in the horde and both had Goblins ranging from level 14 to 17, it was a pretty huge level gap for Makoto but he hoped the boost from his class would even it out again.

It didn't take long for him to cross swords with the first one and with a few quick slashes to the throat he disposed of it.

A lot of players around him also helped in the defense of the Caravan.

While battling two Goblins, Makoto was jumped by one of the tamed Wolfs and with a huge, matrix style lean backwards the Wolf flew over him.

Gripping his sword with both hands he activated 'Curse Blade' and sliced both Goblins at the neck.

Lethal hit!

One of the Goblins cleanly got his head chopped off while the other was holding back the fountain of blood that his throat had turned into.

Smearing the fresh blood all over his arms, Makoto couldn’t help but smile.

The warm liquid on his skin gave him a somewhat ecstatic feeling, his pupils started to grow big and with a mad grin he kept on using 'Curse Blade'.

The battle around him turned into a sea of blood, soaking the black cloak he was wearing red, more and more players stopped to watch the gruesome exchange he had with the Goblins.

Surely enough after a few minutes of combat, all the Goblins around him became frantic and unwilling to come near him anymore.

"Brothers! Stay away from red cloak! Demon I tell you!"

One of the Goblins shouted and many others nodded in agreement, fearful expressions on their faces.

Letting oud a sinister laugh Makoto took a step forward and in unison all the Goblins around him took one backwards.

Your gruesome and horrible actions during combat have put the 'fear' status effect on all enemies around you!

Fear: -15% stat reduction until the battle is finished.

Happy about the message he lifted his blood soaked sword.

"Come on you little shits! No need to worry, I will just send you straight to fucking hell so step up and fight me!"

Makoto bellowed with a deep voice.

Even more Goblins became fearful at his words and some even looked to their leaders but before anyone could make another move, Ceila appeared out of nowhere.

She swiftly used her sword and with only a few strikes 3 Goblins lay dead on the floor.

Her movements had a certain elegance to them, unlike Makoto's who purely existed to punish and do as much pain as possible to the enemy.

With but a few of her movements he could tell that she must have gotten those forms from some kind of martial art, probably trained in real life.

She was even faster in killing the Goblins, her every strike targeted a vital area and he could guess that every one of them was a critical hit.

Mowing down Goblins by the dozen she didn't seem to have any intention of stopping so Makoto joined her.

Two Cyclones of death spread out on the grassy field and the screams of Goblins resounded under the setting sun.

Soon enough a horn could be heard all around them and rows of green skinned enemies started pulling back.

Having no intention of letting such a good opportunity of getting experience go, Makoto started chasing them and soon enough an army of Goblins was fleeing from but a single man dressed in a blood red cloak.

After a few kilometers he stopped, short on breath as he watched the Goblins run for their lives and he couldn’t help but feel a tinge of sorrow.

They would have surely dropped a few good items...

Dejected he returned to the Caravan.

Many players and NPCs alike looked at him differently and stepped back when he got close just like those Goblins.

Only Zergoon seemed to be the same like always.

"Dude I watched you fight, that was fucking crazy. I have never seen so much blood in my entire life!

I gotta say you looked like a frickin Monster yourself there."

Laughing and patting his shoulder, Zergoon seemed to be impressed rather than fearful of Makoto's display in battle.

He also decided to distribute his new stat points, as he rose to Level 13 after the fight was over.

Fighting Monsters 4 or 5 levels higher than yourself really did give a ridiculous amount of experience.

Even Canahem seemed uncomfortable after Makoto sat down beside him.

Unsure how to win them back over he decided in to just ignore the whole thing, what did it matter if they feared a man named Blake?

In the end it was not his real name after all.

A quick look at the clock showed him that it was nearly 4 in the morning.

Makoto hadn't slept the last 3 days and he knew the dangers, well aware that he would have to walk the rest of the way he said his goodbyes to Zergoon and the others and logged out.

Or at least that was the plan until a thought crossed his mind but he dismissed it immediately.

He had wanted to add Ceila to his friends-list but if he really did she would get a notification that 'Makoto' added her.

Not 'Blake' but 'Makoto', therein lay his problem.

Saddened by the fact that after actually finding Veronica ingame he was unable to keep in touch with her he logged out.

To maybe get at least 1 or 2 hours of real sleep, that was his next goal.

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As always if you have any questions just write it in the comments and I will see you all later! [th_113_.gif]