A warm beam of sunlight and the urgent need to find the outhouse woke him the next morning. Ethan felt a mixture of happiness and profound sadness when he opened his eyes. He couldn’t remember exactly what it had been about, but it involved his sister. She was also trapped in the game, their father had imparted a love of gaming to both of them and they’d signed up early to try the revolutionary game. She’d loved video gaming so much that she’d even managed to make a career in game development.

The harder he tried to focus on what he dreamed, the farther the memory got from him. He thought about sending her a message, but he knew he’d see her in Startesgarde soon enough. The pressing need of his bladder was a more immediate concern.

Ethan scanned his small room, he hadn’t paid much attention to anything other than the bed the day before but in the clearness of the morning he saw a chamber pot in the corner. He breathed in relief at not having to march all the way outside first thing in the morning.

A few moments later, his business taken care of, he began selecting his new purchases from his inventory. Armor in game was easily stored, but every piece had to be equipped as if it were real. No pointing and dragging for him.

It took Ethan several minutes to get dressed, he felt a little silly knowing he’d be walking around dressed in full armor but most of the quests would take him outside the town walls and he didn’t want to waste time.

He did take a second to review the updates to his character sheet. The necklace and axe were the most significant changes with their bonuses to Strength. The armor he’d purchased only decreased the damage he’d take from melee attacks. Not great, no but overall it was probably the best he’d ever started. With any luck, the streak would continue for a little while and he’d get back to where he had been in less than a month.

Of course, everyone else will have to catch up too…

He didn’t let that errant thought cloud his good mood though, and when he closed his character pane a prompt remained.

You have 2 unspent skill points, would you like to allocate them now?

Ethan hesitated, he didn’t want to dump points where they may not be a good fit for later on, but he also wanted to be as strong as possible. He thought back to a conversation he’d had with his sister a while ago, after his last respawn as a Paladin.

“Stats only matter to a certain extent if you’re in melee.” She’d told him. ”If you’re fighting something with a head or another critical weak point, you can still kill it with one hit. Even if you have a low Strength. Where stats really shine is when you’re in a large group setting and trying to whittle down hundreds of thousands of health. Then having a super high Strength matters.”

Fuck it. I want to wreck some shit today. Feeling excited for the day, he put both points in Strength. There wouldn’t be any visible changes at such a low skill level. If he’d put 50 points into the stat he’d have gotten more muscular but 2 points would only let him do a little more damage with his axe.

Lastly he picked up his weapons that he’d laid on his bed. Two throwing axes went into loops on his belt, he took a moment to once again admire his battle axe. Frost covered the axe head, evaporating into mist before his eyes. He was still in awe of how lucky he’d been in getting it. His harness had a ring with an opening not much larger than the handle of his axe that would hold his weapon for easy access.

Ethan turned to look at his appearance in the mirror. Even with his low level gear, he was impressed by what he saw. The iron of his shoulder armor and braces wasn’t polished, but it looked strong. It matched well with the deep brown leather armor that covered his torso and legs. He twisted around a few times, trying to get a feel for his flexibility. As a Fighter he knew he could take a few hits but he still wanted to be able to move a little. His new leathers creaked as they adjusted to the strain. Already he was glad of the soft linen undergarments he’d bought, chafing wouldn’t be an issue. Corn starch wasn’t something he’d found in The Tower.

Damn. I look good. Ethan took one last look in the mirror before heading out of his room for the day.

Breakfast at Ye Olde Dog and Pony Inn was already underway by the time he got downstairs. Jerry was behind the bar passing out what looked like eggs, bacon and toast to anyone who approached. Ethan had only seen one staff member other than Jerry and Alera but he assumed there had to be at least one cook who was working through the door behind the bar.

He took the same bar seat he’d had the night before and held up a hand to get Jerry’s attention. The friendly innkeeper nodded and went back into the kitchen, returning a second later with a plate of food for him.

“Well look at you in your finest dress, you got a big day ahead of you?” Jerry placed the plate of hard boiled duck eggs and bacon along with a mug of what looked like black coffee on the bar top in front of Ethan.

“Yeah, I’m going to hit the message board and see what fair folk of the town need some help.” He wasn’t really a morning person and tended to lean heavy in sarcasm until he’d had his first cup of coffee.

“Mhmmm, mhmmm.” Jerry nodded as Ethan broke into the first egg. “Well, I don’t know what’s posted out there, but after the help you gave me with Mihal yesterday, I’ve got another favor to ask you. I’ll be paying of course.”

Ethan dry swallowed the egg white. What a waste of the most amazing duck egg. It needs salt so bad.

“What can I do for you today?” He still hadn’t had any coffee, but Jerry’s quests had already proven to be lucrative so he wasn’t likely to turn another one down.

“Oh nothing much. I’m just wanting something different for tonight’s dinner. I’ve got plenty of chicken but I’d like to get some pork or venison. If you see any hogs or deer, I’ll pay you for any meat you bring back to me.”

Quest: Stocking the Larders

Your new friend Jerry has asked you to help by bringing in some fresh meat to the inn. He’s offered to pay you.

Notice: accepting this quest will teach you the gathering skill “Butchery” you will be able to harvest meat off animals more efficiently. Higher levels of the skill will allow you to remove choice cuts from any animal you encounter.

Quest progress:

0 lbs venison

0 lbs boar

Reward:

1 silver per pound of meat returned to Jerry at Ye Olde Dog and Pony Inn.

25 experience

Ethan hit accept as he took his first sip of the hot liquid. Butchery was a skill he usually took. He’d found that cooking in game was just as relaxing to him as it was in the real world.

“Holy shit, Jerry!” He spat out the first sip, coughing from the strength of the coffee. “It’s so strong! And so hot!”

Jerry’s laugh was starting to become a habit for anytime he interacted with Ethan .

“I don’t drink anything that won’t put hair on my chest.” He pulled down his shirt a little to show what could only be described as a forest of black chest hair.

“And I’m full.” Jerry’s unwanted display of body hair had taken away his appetite. “Only problem, is I don’t have a knife to do what you’re needing.”

He hoped that his not so subtle hint would earn him a free knife to use on the quest.

“Well I guess you’d better find someone to sell you one.” Jerry’s face had a look that clearly said ‘not my problem’. “There’s a general goods vendor by the message board you could probably get one from.”

Another quest notification filled his view.

Quest: This is a knife!

Jerry has told you where you can find a vendor to sell you some general goods that will help you on your adventures.

General Goods vendors sell a variety of useful items. They are located in all cities and most outposts.

Quest progression

0/1 hunting knives bought.

Reward:

25 Experience

Ethan nodded to himself. This is more what I expect from this town, quests showing me around and how to navigate the game.

A moment of panic hit Ethan as he came to a realization. He stood up quickly, his breakfast forgotten.

“Thanks Jerry, I’ll see you later.” He didn’t hear the innkeeper’s response as he hurried out the door and began to jog to the message board.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

Rapidly he searched the papers that hung from the wooden board, frantically searching for the one he needed. He tapped it hard and the prompt appeared.

Quest - A new weapon.

Weapons can be made by a skilled a Weaponsmith, found from dead enemies or bought from a vendor. Find someone who can sell you a better one!

Quest progress:

0/1 New Weapon Acquired

Reward:

1 silver

50 Experience

He jabbed his finger at the accept button, praying for a miracle.

Nothing happened.

Shit. Shit fuck. Fuck shit. His shoulders sank and his head dropped into his chest.

“Boy do you look like someone pissed in your Cheerios this morning.” A very familiar female voice brought him out of his annoyance.

He turned around to see a woman who looked to be a couple of years older than he was. Her light blue coat was sleeveless and open, revealing a darker undershirt. Her knee high boots rested in the stirrups of a massive white war horse in barding the same color as her armor. Long gloves the same color of her coat ended mid bicep, revealing very muscular arms. Her brown hair was nearly the same shade as Ethan’s , and cut very short on the sides with her bangs hanging down in her face. Such a high level player had no reason to be in the starting town.

“What are you doing here, Arianna?” Ethan was more than a little confused to see his sister standing in front of him. She was the Raid Coordinator for the Raid Clan. Arianna didn’t lead the entire clan, just the raid team when they were progressing. David was supposed to be going to see when he got to Startesgarde, scout teams took their reports to her and she paid for the information.

“What, can’t I check in on my little brother occasionally?” Her tone was mocking, but that was just the way they interacted. He knew she cared about him. He just stared at her.

“Fine,” she continued getting down from her mount. “One of my guildmates rerolled and saw you in the inn. He sent me a message and an invite so I came out here to see how you’re doing.”

Ethan just sighed. He hated seeing her after he’d had to reroll. Arianna only died if her clan needed her to fill a different role. And even then she’d get power leveled back to a respectful level. From her appearance, she was currently one of the Cleric classes, probably a Monk since she carried no obvious weapon.

“We had a TPK on the 26th floor boss.” He didn’t want to give her all the details, he needed to save some for David.

“Shit. What happened?” Her concern was both for her brother but also for the raid team.

“I had an idiot with us.” He quickly continued, cutting her off before she could interrupt. “I took care of the problem, it’s not an issue anymore.” He didn’t tell her what had happened with Daniel because he wanted that little bit to be a surprise.

“Good, just because you’re my brother doesn’t mean I’ll take any more dead weight.” Arianna’s face flushed when she realized what she’d said. “I mean, I know you’ll earn your spot.”

“Don’t worry, by the time I’m ready to apply to join you guys no one will be able to accuse you of favoritism.” Ethan knew he’d get his guild into the clan, but he didn’t want rumors to spread. They’d worked hard to keep their family connection secret just for that reason. Not many people knew they were siblings. Whoever had seen him must have been someone she trusted, especially for her to make the trip all the way out here. The

“So you found the boss? Want to fill me in?”

“David will meet with you tomorrow, he’ll give you everything.” He smirked. Raid info was worth 1000g, Ethan wasn’t about to give up anything for free. Not even to his sister.

“You know, Kevin says he’s close to getting back to us.” She smiled evilly back at him when she mentioned his rival. “I’d hate to have to pay him instead of you.

“HA!” Ethan’s laugh was genuine. “I saw Kevin in the 26th zone. He was going in the opposite direction. Don’t worry, David will be collecting our payment.”

Each floor of The Tower was a zone itself. From the outside, it had the appearance of a round 100 story stone tower but inside every floor was a different environment and different size. Every floor had several mini dungeons along with the main one which led to the gate to the next floor. David had a knack for knowing which dungeon was the “right” one so his team had flown through the last floors.

“What had you all pissy when I walked up?” Seeing she wasn’t getting any more information, Arianna changed the subject.

“Eh, I made a mistake.” She continued watching him so Ethan elaborated. “I found a bonus quest line and ended up with a fair amount of silver. Which I used to buy new armor and weapons…..”

“And you forgot there were quests for that so you have to buy more.” She laughed as she figured out what happened.

“Yeah, and now I’m broke. So I have to do more quests to make some cash.”

“Here, I’ll spot you.” She reached into a pouch on her belt and held out her closed fist.

“Thanks but I’ll be okay.” Ethan ignored her gesture. Even though she was his sister, he hated handouts

“Dude, do you know how much gold I have? This is nothing.”

“Oh that makes me feel a lot better.” He said, rolling his eyes. His anger was starting to return.

“Ethan, I’m serious. You’re my little brother, mom would kill me if she thought I wasn’t looking out for you.” That shocked him. His sister was actually being concerned for him. He knew she loved him, but in the game she was so important that he felt like nothing in comparison to her.

“Okay, fine.” He reached out and accepted the money from her.

Arianna gives you 50 gold.

“Wait, this is too much.” He tried to give some back but she just crossed her arms. He just sighed in resignation. When she got like this she was as stubborn as their mother. “I’m only taking this because it’s not worth the fight.”

As he pocketed the gold, an idea came to him.

“The boss of the dungeon is a large black dragon.” The words spilled out of him.

Arianna looked shocked.

“Why didn’t you let David tell me tomorrow?”

“Because I want to go home. By telling you now you guys can have an extra day to prepare for dragons. The entire dungeon is filled with them.” She stayed silent so he continued. “You’re all fighting to get us out of this place, it’s not right for me to withhold information if I can help even a little.”

Her respect for her brother magnified as he said that. They were all on the same side, there was no room for greed if they ever hoped to get out of this prison.

“Mom’s birthday is coming up. This is the only one I’m going to miss.” Ethan’s resolve was iron in that statement.

“It’s almost my birthday.” The look on her face when she whispered their mother’s favorite quote matched Ethan’s feeling from his bath the day before. A tear rolled down her check. “Ethan, I've been so busy I didn’t even…”

“I know. Just promise me that when I’m ready, I get to help us all go home.”

Arianna pulled her younger brother into a tight hug, her tears dotting his new leather armor.

“I promise. I love you little brother.” Still crying she held his face in her hands. “Hurry. We are GOING to go home.”

“I love you too big sister.” He hugged her close again, glad for the first time in a while she was here with him. Her own achievements had outshone his in game and he always felt like he was in her shadow. But at this moment, she was just his big sister again. They were two kids just wanting to see their parents.

“I’ll see you soon, tell David to come directly to me when he gets to Startesgarde. I’ll be waiting for him.”

With one last hug she broke away and climbed back on her horse. As she rode away, Ethan realized how glad he was to have seen her. But once again he found himself missing home. And afraid he’d never see it again.