The next morning, Colin got up early and got several things done before heading back into Rosengard. After a run, breakfast, and a long stretch to keep his muscles loose, Colin kissed McKenna on the cheek, to which she gave him a crooked smile and kissed him back. Patting his cheek, McKenna simply said, “stop flirting. You’ve got work to do.”

Nodding, Colin gave her a sidelong smile, “oh come on, baby. Vengeance can wait thirty-ish minutes.”

Snorting, McKenna started walking away with a smile in her tone as she said, “more like three minutes, dear.”

With that, Colin’s beloved wife had gotten the last beautifully mean word in.

Taking the same spot on the couch as the day before, Colin slid the Ineffable Gaming System’s helmet on and started up the system. Same as yesterday, the game started up the syncing, and soon as the entire world faded away. Immediately, a prompt appeared as the syncing finished. Welcome back to Rosengard Online. You were killed when you were last on the game and have been forced to respawn. Unfortunately, you did not have a designated spawn point. You will have to rejoin the world in your original location in the Willows Cross High Guard Barracks. Would you like to rejoin the game as your character, DevilWalker? Yes/ No? Selecting yes, Colin closed his eyes and waited to any sort of sensation to come to him as a signal that he’d returned.

A few seconds later, voices faded in as he spawned into the barracks. He didn’t recognize the voices talking around him, but it was what he was waiting for. So Colin opened his eyes and indeed found himself in the Willows Cross high guard barracks. He was even reasonably sure that he was in the same bed he’d appeared in the first time.

Throwing off the sheet that covered him, Colin found himself in the same clothes from the day with the gray shirt and pants looking obviously rattier than before he’d died. Yet again, he’d found himself in his boots in bed and internally groaned at how odd it felt.

Getting up, he looked around and found a few people milling around the room wearing suits of half-plate armor and talking casually with each other. No one seemed to care that he’d just appeared out of nowhere or that he was in their barracks. Before, when it was empty, he barely questioned the fact that he’d appeared in there. Now that there were people that actually belonged here, Colin felt a pressing need to get out of here.

To that end, Colin stood and moved to the footlocker that was sitting at the foot of his bed. The footlocker had a screen floating above it, which made it Colin’s first priority. All goods from before your death are stowed in this footlocker. No one else can open this container for a day after you respawn except you. Leaning down, he opened the latch and lifted the foot locker’s lid to find his backpack, which he was happy to discover was full of his gear. Pulling the daggers and throwing knives from the bag, Colin returning them to their places on his person and began a complete inventory of his things. He’d stayed up langer than he meant to the night before doing research on the game’s mechanics and discovered the PvP looting rules. The looting rules stated that if his corpse was looted by a player, then there would be a note in the player’s main carrying item stating clearly what was taken and by who.

The process of rifling through his things to find the piece of paper no bigger than an ID card was easily accomplished. The blocky, emotionless script, simply read, ‘one of your EXP Booster Pills was looted by Morenstad.’

Grumbling about his bad luck, Colin read it one more time before the paper burst into flames and was immediately disintegrated. The fire against his fingers did little more than warm their tips before the destruction was completed. It was interesting to watch, but Colin was ready to move on. He had things to do if he wanted to try and get under the city to get the base class from his mission, The Forsaken Cathedral.

First was tell Eldrin about his accomplished mission and get the reward before moving on to his next objective. So Colin walked to one of the relaxing guards who was talking happily with another member of the guard. As he approached, both of them stopped their conversation and stared at him, both suddenly annoyed at his approach. “Hello, gentlemen. I was hoping you’d point me towards where the High Guard Captain would be right now?” Colin asked, trying to be both polite and succinct as possible. Best in his experience to just get out of people’s way as soon as possible.

“Who knows. Try the offices on the other side of the building or ask about him at the keep’s entrance and see if they say he’s in there,” the guy said. His manner was helpful, but his tone simply said to go away.

Nodding Colin thanked him and made his way out of the barracks. Outside was very much like what he’d seen the day before, a training field. While yesterday it was open and nobody was using it, there were now several people actually working with their choice of weapon. An Indian woman in a purple and gold sari was shooting a bow at targets at least fifty feet away from her, a white man in dingy leathers was maintaining a bubble of ice around him as another man continued a stream of flame against it, and a dark-skinned woman with a bit of an afro wearing a set of chainmail armor was practicing with a spear against straw-filled dummies. It was an exciting sight, seeing people from different backgrounds actually not fighting against each other and practicing their skills.

It certainly wasn’t a sight he’d expect to see if one believed the news.

Taking a deep breath, Colin followed the first of the two placed the man suggested and started walking around the building. Following the wall was easy enough but was stopped briefly once by a severe-looking guard who thought Colin was loitering. But once his business was explained, the guard nodded and warned him not to linger.

Now moving with a bit more hustle in his step, Colin hurried until he found a door along the side of the building with a simple plaque that marked it as the ‘High Guard’s Offices.’ So Colin grabbed the handle and opened the door and immediately leaped backward into a crouch with a dagger in hand.

Standing in the office was a pallid looking humanoid with ratty hair that hung down to its shoulders, running for the door. What garnered that kind of reaction from Colin was its red soaked irises and fangs that led Colin to believe it was a vampire.

Internally smirking at the prospect of fighting a vampire, Colin loosened his grip on the dagger and prepared to leap when the vampire froze in place. A groan escaped it as it slowed to a halt and stumbled to the floor, twitching a little to show that it still lived. Its eyes locked on Colin as it laid on the floor and actually started to growl and drool at him simultaneously.

“Ah, DevilWalker, what an interesting coincidence,” Eldrin said from the doorway, just behind the vampire. His demeanor was nonplussed by the creature in the office. Hell, Colin was sure he saw a small smile on Eldrin’s face. “Please come inside and wait a moment while I manacle this gentleman and call some other guards.”

“Sure,” Colin said as he stepped over the vampire and into the antechamber of the offices. Colin heard the clacking of the vampire’s teeth, and he was positive that the vampire actually tried to take a bite out of his ankle as he passed.

Colin took a few seconds to watch as Eldrin bent over and twisted the things arms behind its back and smoothly locked them there with a thin pair of manacles. They were pulled from his back pants pocket and were made of wrought iron with arcane symbols that began to glow a pale red the second that Eldrin closed them on the creature’s wrists.

Only then did he call for backup and closed the door as Colin watched with interest. He honestly wasn’t sure what he expected of Eldrin as the Captain of the high guard. It wasn’t as if he’d given off any dangerous vibes while he’d been helping Colin with the beginner walkthrough.

Shrugging, Colin turned his thoughts to his surroundings and nodded at the semi-modern design of the reception area.

A single desk sat front and center with paper and a set of in and out boxes for whoever usually worked there. Lining the wall around the entrance were a bunch of full iron chairs with cushions that made them look reasonably more comfortable. Behind the reception desk were a set of doors that led out of the general area and continued down into a hallway. Most likely, they led to some of the offices or supply closets that were needed. The only thing that was missing was a nasally middle-aged woman who looked at almost everybody as if they were slow thinking children.

But the room was empty, and Colin was told to take a seat. So picking a chair at random, Colin sat down and took a moment to look over his character information. He figured that he’d only have to wait a minute or three for Eldrin to come back. Name: DevilWalker Level 3 Class:none Subclass: none Health:120/120 Mana: 0/70 status: Normal

Personal attributes: Strength: 10 Dexterity: 10 Speed: 10 Build: 10 Intellect: 10 Wisdom: 10 Charisma: 10 Luck: 10

Skills: Personal Blades level 3, Tumble Level 1, Acrobatics Level 2

Well, this was weird. Colin didn’t recall seeing the prompts for the skills Tumble and Acrobatics. Then again, he probably wouldn’t have seen them. During the research that he’d done the night before, he’d learned some important facts about the system. First and possibly the most important, With only a handful of exceptions, any character could learn any skill. Their progress in that skill may be hampered some by their class and subclass choice, but they could learn them nonetheless. The second was that the system didn’t tell players if they learned or earned any new skills in the middle of combat to not break their concentration or their immersion.

Colin was glad that the system didn’t update him regularly about anything but his own damage intake during combat. He was sure that anything more would have thrown off his groove. Not that it would have mattered anyway since they’d killed him. He might need to look into having skill update prompts occur retroactively after combat, even if you die.

Focusing on the two new skills, Colin tried to mentally click them to open up more information on them. Tumble Skill level 1: You are able to dive and tumble with increasing ease and dexterity. + 1% on tumbling speed, balance, and standing speed. +0.5% attack avoidance while tumbling. Acrobatics Level 2: You are able to perform acts of bodily dexterity that make others stare in awe. +2% bonus to jumping distance, height, and landing stability. +1% bonus to stability while performing any act considered acrobatic. +2% bonus to balancing.

Nodding in approval at the bonuses the skills provided, Colin was pleased with the new skills that would undoubtedly be invaluable at higher levels. Especially if they stayed at the same plus one percent bonus while leveling. Colin wondered for a moment if these skills possibly work together to provide cumulative bonuses to his skills.

“Well, that was an event. Sorry for making you wait, DevilWalker.” Eldrin said as he opened the door and spied Colin looking at his status. He waited for Colin to close the prompt. “What did you want to see me about? How did the quest go?”

Grinding his teeth a little, Colin said, “the quest went fine up until the end.”

“Well, then. Why don’t you follow me into my office and we’ll talk there?” Eldrin asked, gesturing past the secretary’s desk.

Nodding, Colin stood and followed next to the high guard captain as they walked to the nearest door, which was appropriately marked with his name. He let me inside first, and spartan didn’t cover how sparsely decorated the room was. No pictures adorned the walls or desk, no ornaments or even loose papers littered the office, not even paperwork laid in wait on his desk as it was bare of anything. The only thing in the room was the desk that sat in the center and a small handful of chairs that sat opposite the desk with one cushioned chair sitting behind it.

“Please,” Eldrin said with a wave. “Have a seat. Would you like some coffee or maybe a Hemlock Cake?” he asked. A small huff of laughter escaped Colin, “trying to poison me now?”

“Oh, never. We’ve been able to use some magic to isolate the poison in the plant and detox them. They add a rather… interesting flavor after the poisons been removed. I would recommend trying it if you’ve never had it before. Even buffs your will against mental attacks for a few hours.”

“Do those sorts of attacks happen often?” Colin asked curiously,

“Not particularly. People or even creatures who can use those sorts of powers are thankfully rare, but who knows. Am I right? And like I said, It is tasty.” He said, obviously playing up the cakes.

“Another time, maybe. I’ll take the coffee if you don’t mind,” Colin said.

“Alright,” Eldrin said as he walked behind his desk and took the seat waiting there. He leaned forward onto his desk with his fingers interlaced and stared at Colin over them. “While we wait for the drinks, why don’t you tell me how it went and what happened at the end?”

So Colin told him the story, speeding only through the early stages of the story and highlighting the points that highlighted how Colin knew they were no good. When he got to Leg the Druid, he told Eldrin that given a choice, he wouldn’t have fought the distraught mage but wasn’t given many options. The High Guard Captain’s face soured at the mention of what these animals actually were but didn’t interupt Colin or defend himself. That implied honesty and strength of character. Both of which Colin respected.

When he finished his story, Eldrin let out a heavy sigh and looked at Colin apologetically, “I’m sorry, DevilWalker. I really wish there was something I could do to help you with them legally, but… they’re Otherworlders like you. While we can try to level charges against them and bring them to some kind of justice, it is most likely they’d attempt to defend themselves against my men. While I am confident in my men, some of them would certainly lose their lives in the skirmish. Not to mention that even if the offenders died, they would just come back to life, and little would have changed. So our rules with Otherworlds like you tend to be much laxer than I’d prefer. Unless you were seen being murdered in the city, then there is little I can do.”

Colin nodded. It was unfortunate, but he figured this would be the outcome. When there is no sort of permanent death, why would you care about doing something to another player or even to an NPC when, even if they do kill you, you can just come back to life. Those sort of rules would sooner or later remove inhibitions towards doing even the most heroic or heinous of acts. The people who’d abuse these mechanics to commit the darker acts of humanity were impossible to know. Colin could only tell himself that he would never take any life in this world for granted. Except for the lives of players.

“That’s okay,” Colin said, falling back to what he’d researched the night before about quests. “I really only came here for a few things. The first of which was to turn in that quest you gave me,” Colin told him with a smile that was calmer than he felt after telling the story of his betrayal.

“That is something I can do,” he said, giving Colin a genuine smile. “Also, since you killed that Druid as well, I can justify giving you a bigger reward for keeping those animals at bay for an extended period.” He said, opening his desk and pulling out a small pitted black box from his desk. With a tap of his left index finger, a spinning two-dimensional circle that looked like it belonged in a book of demon summoning appeared over the box.

“Is this your first time seeing a Warden Box?” he asked. Colin nodded, so he explained, “A Warden Box is a simple magic device that is really just a lockbox with a seal that prevents others from opening it. They aren’t infallible, but they are still worth the investment to get one. In my opinion, at least.”

The magic circle stopped spinning and faded away into the box, a faint CLICK from the box the only sign that something had changed. Lifting the lid, Eldrin pulled a single copper disk from the box along with a small prismatic crystal and set both on the table. The crystal was no bigger than the coin and only a little thicker with a dim light emanating from within it. Eldrin slid both to Colin, “one copper coin and a weapon enhancement for a job well done.” He said with a smile.

“Thank you,” Colin said as he reached for the two items. “But why the five coins? Isn’t that a lot for this quest? Even if the Druid was unexpected.” Then looking at the small crystal, Colin added, “and what is that?”

Smiling, Eldrin told Colin simply, “that Druid, Leg, has a bounty on his head. The goddess-” he said, pointing to his temple, “told me that Leg had been defeated. I just didn’t know who until now. To answer your other question… This is a low tier sharpness enhancement. When attached to a bladed weapon, it keeps the blade perfectly honed and adds a + 1 to normal damage.”

“Thank you, Eldrin.” He said, slipping the coin and enhancement into his pants pocket and knew that he was getting either armor or some kind clothing upgrade once he was done here. While the clothes weren’t that bad to look at, they were also a little itchy.

“You are very welcome. So, have you chosen a class yet?” The Captain asked jovially, changing the subject after Colin pocket the currency.

Stunned for only a second by the question that seemed to come from nowhere, Colin said, “kind of?” it sounded like a question, sort of like Colin was unsure of how to answer.

A single eyebrow on Eldrin’s face raised, “what do you mean?”

Deciding immediately that telling the truth might be a better option than lying to him merely because of where he’d gotten the info. Worst case scenario, he told Colin to leave because killing him would do nothing useful, given that he’d just come back eventually. Best case, he just gave Colin what he wanted with no fuss. Unlikely, but still.

“Do you know what happens to us outworlders after we die?” Colin asked. Trying to gauge how much he already knew so that he could speed this along.

Pausing to think about his answer, it took Eldrin a long few seconds to tell him. “From what I understand, dying here does not mean actual death for you in your world. When you die here, you instead go to an in-between realm while you await resurrection or respawn as I’ve heard your kind call it. Makes you all sound like monsters if you ask me.”

He thought about it and nodded in total agreement. “Well, while I was in that in-between realm, I got a message that said someone from here wanted to meet me and asked if I was willing to allow them access to my in-between. After I said yes, A demon called Arioch came in and gave me some information on a class. He didn’t tell me what it was called or what it could do, though. He only told me where I could attain it.”

“Let me guess,” Eldrin said dryly, all humor now gone. “In the ruins under the city.” This was not a guess, just a confirmation of the fact.

“Yeah,” Colin confirmed. “So, I need to ask you how to get down there.”

He suddenly looked Colin in the eyes, and the direct contact made him suddenly feel like he was trying to be intimidating. It was working a little as Colin suddenly felt like he should proceed carefully from here. No telling exactly why this subject was making him touchy.

“What makes you think I know how to get down there?” he asked Colin seriously. A blank face helping to show his seriousness far more than simple words.

“You mentioned in our first meeting while you were giving me the tour that you were checking the entrances to those ruins. Making sure no one had gotten in or something like that. Honestly, I played it off as unimportant until the demon had brought it up.” He explained with as much nonchalance as possible, trying to lighten up the man before him.

“Well, shit. I guess I did do that,” he sighed and let out an annoyed groan. “Unfortunately, DevilWalker, I can’t just let you down there. No one except for those authorized by me or the crown can be allowed down there for safety reasons. It’s risky for everyone and anyone to go down there.”

“But I am doing this willing. Surely that counts for something-” Colin started but was cut off.

“No, it doesn’t. It’s not your safety I am concerned with. If you die, you can come back. Like I said, its everybody’s safety that I am concerned with. If any of the legends about that place are true, then you, me, and everybody in this city could be put in jeopardy if you accidentally let something out of there. Hell, if you do get some sort of class down there, let’s just say that it is unlikely to be a nice class choice.” Eldrin explained.

“As long as it will allow me to not be nice to the people who betrayed me in that forest, then I will take it. All I need from you, Eldrin, is the location of the entrance.” Colin told him smoothly, doing his best to give the man the reassurance of easy work. That tactic of conversational diplomacy was a little hit and miss given that it required the person to only think of their job as work.

“I’m sorry, DevilWalker, but no. I won’t be telling you that, and do you want to know why?”

“Yes, I would like to know why you’re stonewalling me,” Colin said while trying to keep calm.

“I have been down there, and I will attest to its oddity. First, it is the only place in the world that I have seen or heard of that does not give its monsters levels. They are just blank. Sure, you can still beat the monsters to death, but it’s hard to know if that turtle your fighting is just a plain old turtle or if it has enough magic power to kill you. Second, I have seen all manner of creatures down there, from skeletons to goblins to dragons, and you never know what you’ll find in there. Lastly and most importantly,” he paused for a second to gather his breath. When he released it, he looked straight at Colin and said, “again, I cannot risk some of the monsters from the ruins somehow coming up from the entrance and into the city. Keeping those creatures down there is one of the duties of the city high guard.”

Colin thought about this for a moment. Every reason he gave colin was a legitimate reason to be wary of any location in the game. Without knowing what could be around the corner or even its possible strength once you do see, it could be a hazard to anyone who tried to conquer that place. Hell, if dragons were down there then who knew if it could be conquered at all without players at massive levels.

But Colin had his own theory. The lack of levels and the seeming randomness of the creatures down there told him something that he was hopeful about. A skill challenge of the highest sort.

From the research he’d done the night before, skill challenges were an unspoken, unwritten, and unofficial mechanic in the game. They were areas that forced characters to think more with their skills than with their weapons. It was technically still possible to complete these skill challenges with force of arms alone, but the challenge could be several levels higher than initially posted by the monsters level. These areas could be brutal, but they also could be highly rewarding to anyone who completed them.

A few seconds passed in silence as Colin contemplated Eldrin’s words. When he spoke, it was with a calm that Colin would only admit to himself was a little faked. “Eldrin, I am sure that I can handle the problems down there. If it’s everyone else that you are concerned about in the city, then slam the door behind me and lock it behind me. I am sure there is another way out, or I can just bang on it until one of your men opens it up. Please, tell me how to get down there or what it would take to convince you?”

Looking steadily into Colin’s eyes and finding only resolve, Eldrin decided to give him a chance. “Alright, DevilWalker. Here, in the city, there is a rare item called a Clairvoyant Ring. It was owned by one of the magic shops here until it was stolen a week ago, and the owner has been pestering me to find the culprit since. I know who the culprit is, but his residence is well guarded, and I do not think my guards nor I would be able to make it up to his office without some casualties. The task is simple. Get the ring and the capture Harvey Regic, the culprit, alive. Does this sound like something you’d do to be allowed access to the ruins?”

Quest: The theft of truth. Objective: A ring has been stolen by Harvey Regic, and he is currently in hiding. You have been tasked by Eldrin, the high guard captain, to secure both the ring he stole and Harvey himself to pay for this and many other crimes. Reward: Access to the Ruins under Willows Cross, unknown, and copper(Variable) Will you accept? Yes/ No

“Before I accept this mission, I have just one question, Eldrin.” Colin started slowly. “Why are you asking me to do this when you just said that you’d expect casualties if your men went in? Your men must have decently high levels compared to me. I’m only level three.”

Cracking the first smile that he’s had since the conversation started, Eldrin explained. “I honestly don’t expect you to. That is the point here, DevilWalker. I really don’t like my own men going down there for their exploratory missions, but I have orders to allow it. I am not going to send a low level outworlder who has ties with demons down there. At least not willingly. But I am fair.” He said, becoming stern-faced again. “You complete the quest, and I will let you down there. So what do you say, DevilWalker? Will you accept?”

There really wasn’t a choice in Colin’s mind. It was either complete the quest or go the only other route he knew, and he’d rather not do that just yet.

“Alright, I will accept the quest,” Colin said with a little bit of a teenager’s annoyance peeking through his calm. “Is there anything else I should know about this guy or the people guarding him before going and dying?” Colin asked more out of sarcasm that actual curiosity.

“Yeah, two things.” Eldrin said lifting up two fingers in a V. “First is that Harvey himself is a rogue class of some sort, he deals mostly with traps and the like. Second is that we believe he has a bodyguard of some sort that has a weird magic class of some sort. My intelligence on this person is primarily a rumor, but…”

“What’s the rumor?” Colin asked.

“It’s an odd one. I heard that when one of the people who lived in the building somehow got in was captured leaving his old room. He was brought before Harvey who just had him killed for trespassing on his building. Apparently, the man was defenestrated and crumbled to dust upon landing. Oh, and defenestrated means thrown out a window, by the way.” Eldrin said with a mirthful smile and twinkle in his eye.

Rolling his own eyes, Colin replied, “I know what it means and kudos on the vocabulary word use. I agree by the way, it is odd. Any ideas what could cause that?”

Eldrin shrugged, “there are several. The first is that the man could have been affected by a mummy curse. Most unlikely since this is not a dry enough climate for mummies. Lets see, what else. The man could have been dead for months and was thrown out the window on accident, A starved vampire could have gotten a little too eager and drank him completely dry, the murderer could have been an earth mage, water mage, or fire mage. Really there are a lot of maybe given that this was a rumor. There might not even be a weird bodyguard,” Eldrin said with a little exasperation. “The only thing that I know for sure is that a man fell out of the window in a crumbling, desiccated heap.”

“I guess I will have to be careful.” colin said, standing up. “If I could trouble you for a map to the building in question, I will be on my way,” Colin said in a professional tone. He had no idea where the quest was, and without a minimap like other games, there would be no quick way of finding it without one.”

Eldrin stood up with Colin and smiled at Colin, “Will you please just wait a few more seconds. I want to see how well I timed this,” Eldrin said, looking at Colin with an amused smile.

“Wait for wha-” Colin started to ask before a slender young woman stepped into the office. She was clothed in a simple dress that looked like it could have been some kind of official uniform, and she was carrying two cups in her hands. One was a steaming ceramic mug that smelled like a dark coffee, and the other was something like a shiny steel thermos with a much sweeter brew coming from inside it.

Colin looked from the thermos and the mug to Eldrin, who was smiling as he reached for the ceramic cup. “Ah, black and strong. Just the way I like it,” he said as he settled back into his seat.

“How did you order those drinks without calling for her to do it? On that note, how did you know that I like mine a little sweeter?” Colin asked a little mystified.

“Lets just say that I have a few gifts,” Eldrin said with his mouth widening into a shit-eating grin. “Seriously, though, take the drink from Amai before I tell her she can have it.”

Looking back at the young woman for only a second to remember her face, Colin took the drink from her and took a tentative sip. “Nicely done. But was it wise to give this to me in a thermos? won’t you want it back?” Colin asked, curiously.

“Oh, I have a feeling you’ll be back soon. In defeat or victory, either way I expect you to darken my office again, DevilWalker. Amai, could you give him a city map and mark where we are here and the Clairvoyant Ring case location please, thank you.”

Amai nodded, and without a word, she walked out of the room. Eldrin just sat there enjoying his coffee for a moment while Colin did the same. He was about to break the thirty second silence when Amai walked back in with a square piece of parchment that showed up with its own prompt window. Map of Willows Cross (marked). Quality: Average. A map of the city Willows Cross with some locations written on to help.

“Thank you, Amai,” Colin said after reading the prompt and tucking the folded square into his pocket.

The young woman called Amai looked at Colin’s face and wrinkled her nose at him, “You do not have the right nor the familiarity to call me by my first name. If you would, please address me only as Miss Levesque,” she said, sounding both polite and uptight at the same time.

“You’re dismissed, Amai,” Eldrin said.

With a haughty turn on her heels, the young woman left the room, leaving Colin looking at Eldrin again, “what’s with the stick up her ass?”

Eldrin shook his head and looked past Colin, his gaze going out the door as if to see if she heard that. After a moment of her not appearing, Eldrin simply said, “it’s a family thing with her. Try not to take it personally.”

Shrugging with the simplicity of that task, Colin stood from the chair he’d been sitting in and left Eldrin in silence.