“I knew I'd be sent back here!” Kal shouted as they downed the last Dhampir.

They'd spend the last two hours cutting through the creatures as a trio. With two companions on his side, things went much smoother. Having Nathan around to brute force his way through fights kept Kal without a scratch. Kal was surprised to see that Nathan's weapons of choice were a pair of knuckle dusters. He would allow the feral creatures to close the distance before engaging them with pummeling blows until he could finish them off with an immobilising grapple.

While their opponents were kept busy, Helena peppered them with damage from afar. She conjured blue magic projectiles and fired them out like throwing knives. The advantage of not having to draw physical daggers meant she could continue to fire out arcane blades for as long as her mana held out.

Initially, with Nathan's bulk on the front line, Kal had felt like a spare part. He and Helena fought together with practised ease. It took Kal over halfway through the first floor to find his place in the fights. They made their way into rooms, expecting multiple opponents. Kal would rap his baton against the wall to get their attention. When two came, Nathan and Kal would engage one each. Helena would focus her shots at the same opponent Kal faced. Nathan had little issue with going toe to toe with the half-undead creatures. He easily outmatched them in strength and could stall out the fight long enough to create a three on one fight. When three of the opponents approached, Nathan would barrel himself into the first Dhampir, while Kal fought the second. Nathan made enough of an impression in his short scuffle that he could disengage to the third and keep two of their enemies occupied.

The experience gains appeared to reflect their party size, but Kal still found himself netting just over a level of experience through their progression.

“I got to level nine earlier.” Kal updated the others, “how are you guys getting on?”

“Still eleven,” Nathan said.

“Me too,” confirmed Helena. “Seems like levelling slows a decent amount past ten.”

Kal hid his quiet jealousy at their progression. It was clear that even with the reduced experience gains, grouping up was much more efficient. They could handle more monsters and take them down with focused attacks. Nathan had bragged that the pair had met during the tutorial day and began the grind almost immediately upon arriving in Firsthaven.

Now that the trio all had a teleportation crystal for the dungeon they could progress to the second level. Kal held the crystal out and focused it.

Would you like to advance to 2nd level of North Firsthaven dungeon?

Yes / No

Moments later the three found themselves in the centre of an underground village. Around them was a scattering of wooden hovels. Each of their doorways appeared to have been knocked through. No light source was visible, but the area was bathed in greys as if moonlight shone down upon them.

“Looks like someone used to live down here,” Kal noted

“Or something,” Helena added summoning two arcane darts. “You want to do the honours?” She nodded at the nearest dark doorway of a hut.

“I’d love to,” Nathan approached the doorway. His bulk would barely fit through the small portal. Once he reached the structure, he knocked gently on the empty frame. He made enough sound that anything within would be roused, without alerting the whole area.

Kal gripped his baton in anticipation. The three stood for several moments in wait, but nothing emerged from the hut.

“Okay, what now?” Helena turned to Kal.

Kal paused a moment, surprised that the confident woman had deferred to him. “Let's check all the just first. Then if we find nothing we'll move on.”

“This is your little excursion,” said Helena, nothing Kal's hesitation. “We're just here for the ride.”

“And the XP,” Nathan’s voice came from inside the hut. “Nothing in here, we moving on?”

They went through the same routine with each hut. Nathan would make a bit of noise while the others waited, alert. The next two cabins yielded little difference each empty bar a few broken pieces of furniture.

“Uh, guys…” Nathan’s voice from inside the next hut. “I’m not sure what to make of this.”

Inside the shack on the floor lay a writhing young man. He moaned softly and clung to a wound at his neck. His sweat sodden clothes clung to his glistening skin.

“I guess this is how the Dhampir increase their numbers,” said Kal.

“This game’s more fucked up than I thought,” Nathan replied.

Helena, seemingly the least shocked by the bitten man, knelt down beside him. “Is there anything you can tell us about what did this?” She asked the dying man.

The man coughed out dark blood. Kal could imagine it turning black inside him. Soon his heart would be solid like the creatures on the first level.

“They took the village.” He managed, panting between words, “further into the system.”

The three exchanged looks, realising that there would be more alive. “Think we can save them or this is just part of the dungeon?” Helena asked.

“I dunno, but I think we should give a shot at saving them. This place seems too real.”

“Also there’ll surely be some loot and experience to be had if we succeed.”

With that decided they turned their attention back to the dying man.

“Please… Kill me.” He begged.

Kal paused, eying up the man. He knew it would be the best thing to do. “We don’t know how long it takes these things to turn. We could have another fight on our hands if we leave him to it.”

“The poor guy seems to be in agony too.” Nathan had a pained expression.

Still knelt down Helena conjured an arcane dart and shot it point-blank into the man’s chest. He gasped and convulsed at the sudden piercing of magic. It took him just a few seconds to die, his face relaxing somewhat as he passed.

“That-” Nathan began.

“-Needed.” Helena cut him off. “You two would probably babble along until he turned on us. Someone had to put him out of his misery.” Helena rose from the body and left the hut before either could reply.

“She’s right,” Nathan admitted finally.

Kal stood looking at the dead man on the floor. This was a dungeon inside a video game. He had to remind himself that this wasn’t all real. But the man’s wound had seemed real at the time, his fear and pain had seemed natural enough. He guessed this was staged by whatever controlled the dungeon to set the scene.

“Seems we’ll have to get used to brutality,” Kal said as they left after Helena.

The three quickly moved through the rest of the huts. They found no more living or un-living beings in the small village. They silently moved out of the area, each expecting a Dhampir to jump out from any corner.

New Quest:

Find out what happened to the villagers.

Rescue saved villagers

Deal with Dhampir menace

Optional: Find out what the deal with the strange dungeon is

“You guys get a quest notification?” Kal asked.

“I got it, the optional part seems… self-aware,” Helena replied.

“Guys. Are we still in the dungeon?” Nathan asked, “I can’t see any roof or walls.”

“I don’t know,” Helena. “Maybe the dungeon teleports us to another dimension, or the space is so large, we’re still inside but can’t see the sides.”

“I don't feel like we're still in a dungeon,” Nathan said, looking around. They appeared to be in an open plain. A long grass swayed under a gentle breeze, above grey clouds swirled.

They headed away from the ransacked village, each sharing bits of their findings from the game systems. Helena and Nathan seemed to confirm Kal’s feeling that the world was alive. It adapted with or without player input.

“I read something on the forum,” Nathan said. “

Each npc is assigned a fragment of the central AI that controls the game. It basically allows them to have a personality and an autonomous ‘life's.”

“There.” Helena pointed. Her sudden shout stopped them from stumbling into danger on their tangent.

Several hundred feet away stood a wooden fenced compound. It looked primitive but enough to keep people out without causing a scene. The only visible way in was an opening in the barricade with four humanoid figures guarding it.

“They don’t look quite as weak as the others we’ve fought.” Kal pointed out.

“I doubt they will be any trouble for us,” Nathan replied.

“You boys are always so confident, aren’t you?”

“Has my brawn let you down yet?

“No, but your brain probably has.”

They all laughed and stopped behind an abandoned shack.

“So what’s the plan, bright spark?” Helena asked.

“Continue as we have. Nathan, you keep them occupied. Helena focus fire on my opponents, and we’ll take them down one at a time.” Kal pulled at the figures before them, trying to discern something more.

Young Dhampir

Bored, Needs Rest, Calm

“They’re Dhampir,” Kal said. “But not feral like the previous ones. Hit them from range to pull them away from the camp. We don’t want to get swarmed if more here our fight.”

They moved into range, and Helena began firing upon the monsters. Bright missiles arced out from her palms catching one of her opponents in the chest. It staggered under the barrage but didn’t die from the hits. Unlike their feral kin, these creatures quickly took the initiative dodging some of Helena’s attacks after the initial surprised passed.

Kal charged forward. He allowed Nathan to gain the lead, knowing he’d be able to take a few hits. After Nathan got into the fray, Kal targeted one of the opponents looking to flank Nathan. Kal jumped and swung his baton, he caught the nearest Dhampir unawares as it turned to face the bulky player. Kal’s hit cracked against the back of the creatures head. He ignored the damage numbers, hiding them from his field of view. After enough fighting, he'd learned to use visual tells of the fight to gauge his opponent's relative hp.

The Dhampir reeled around, lashing out with a cruel curved dagger. Kal danced back and around the creature. As it turned with him, it exposed it's back to Helena's ranged onslaught. The Dhampir was intelligent enough to attempt to parry or dodge Kal's hits, but couldn't keep concentration while taking damage from two opponents. As it's health diminished, the creature charged at Kal, trying to manoeuvre to give Helena a more difficult shot. Kal used the movement to his advantage. He tripped the rushing half-man and followed up with a skull-crushing blow.

Wasting no time, Kal turned towards the brawl that Nathan had found himself in. His arms were covered in a series of sore looking, but superficial cuts. While he was doing well? It was clear that alone, Nathan would eventually go down facing three opponents. While Nathan tussled with two of them, a third lunged from behind with a dagger.

“Not on my watch,” Kal growled. He charged and dived past the melee. He collided with a solid crunch with the encroaching Dhampir. They thudded to the ground, the blade just inches from Nathan's back before being slammed away.

Kal found himself on top of the snarling creature. He focused on the dagger, gripping the creature's fist in his and repeatedly pounding it back down against the hard earth. After the fifth blow, the armed hand fell limp. Kal kept the creature pinned with an elbow at the neck and his knee holding down the other arm. Below him the Dhampir convulsed and screeched, rocking it's lower body in an attempt to remove Kal.

Kal knew it wouldn't be long before the gaunt figure would be able to slip a limb free and cause Kal some pain. He acted fast, reaching for the dropped blade. As Kal's weight shifted, the Dhampir scrambled a knee into his groin.

“Fuck!” Kal spat, cursing at the game system for including such realistic pain. Needing this fight over with he slammed the dagger down into the forehead of the creature. Kal didn't need his enhanced perception to know that the blow had killed the Dhampir in an instant. He rolled away from the thick blood pooling out from around the dagger and whimpered.

“Oof, everything okay down there?” Helena's words pulled Kal out of his self-pity.

Kal grunted a reply and brought himself to his feet. His head spun from the dull ache that spread from below his belt. He readied himself to remain the fight, giving silent thanks to the system for fading the pain much faster than it would in real life.

Now outnumbering their opponents, the trio made short work of the remaining two Dhampirs. They made sure not to go down without a fight, but they could only hope to stall.

“Baelor will make you pay for your insolence!” The last creature said with a rasp.

“We're not paying for shit,” Nathan replied as he delivered the final blow.

“Must be some kind of end boss.” Helena said before turning to Kal, “how's your downstairs coming along? Even I winced a bit watching you roll around.”

“I don't think I'll be fathering any kids in this world.” Kal laughed, “so I think I'll be okay.”

“I don't think you'd have to worry about that anyway.”

Nathan roared out in laughter. Kal laughed along too, but couldn't help feeling wounded.

“Hey, I'm just messing with you. Your avatar is quite the looker.”

Kal tried unsuccessfully to hide his grin. His avatar was just a young him. Helena didn't know this of course, but it didn't stop Kal from feeling like he'd scored a point.

“Wait, is that what you look like IRL?” Helena was incredulous.

“Once upon a time,” Kal admitted.

They stepped through the open area into the compound. Kal allowed himself to relax slightly, seeing that they hadn’t attracted the attention of any more enemies. Inside the compound, they found half a dozen huts surrounding a large pavilion.

“Let’s check the buildings one by one,” Kal whispered to the others. He crouched, taking care to reduce the sound of his footsteps. He hoped he’d active the stealth skill.

The three moved towards the closest of the huts taking care to keep the small building between them and the pavilion. They moved into the hut through a back doorway to find the space uninhabited. A few stray blankets were sprawled out on the straw floor. Nathan sifted through a pile of discarded possessions but found nothing of value.

They moved through the huts, checking each was empty before moving on. Several minutes later they found that none of the huts were inhabited. The ring of buildings surrounding the pavilion was all but empty. That just left one place to check.

The three approached the pavilion in a quasi formation. Nathan at the front, Kal just behind, and Helena giving some space in case things got heated.

The entered the pavilion to find corpses strewn across the ground.

“The fuck,” Nathan whispered.

A hulking figure knelt with its back to them. It was bent down over a limp body, head buried into its neckline. Several feet away from the pile of bodies was a huddled group of soon to be victims. Their clothes were in rags. Hands and feet bound to prevent any escapees from causing trouble.

“Hey!” Kal shouted out, “this stops now!”

The figure turned to reveal a bulky pale creature. It looked similar to the previous half-humans, but without any of their frailty.

Baelor, Dhampir Alpha

Kal pulled the information out of the creature. Raising his brows at the apparent strength of the being. His crimson robes were almost akin to a real-life suit. The fabric looked of excellent quality and purpose made to fit the bulk of the wearer. Black frilled lapels ran down to a shimmering gold belt. At his side was the scabbard of a long rapier, its handle made from carved bone into the shape of a fanged maw. This was no average mob.

“Ah, what a shame to be interrupted.” The creature’s voice resonated throughout the large tent with a deep rumble. “It’s a shame none of these have turned to aid me yet. They must all be too weak.” Baelor hissed out the last word. “Still I don’t think you’ll give me much trouble. Perhaps you’ll join me in the unlife.”

“Yeah, not happening, monster,” Kal replied, trying to find any weakness in the bulging muscles.

“How about we settle this with an arm wrestle?” Nathan rolled up the sleeves off his wrists.

“Such bravado. You’ll lose that attitude soon enough when you’re my servant.”

“Bring it!” Nathan erupted forth.

Kal edged forward allowing Nathan to close the distance first. Nathan pounced forward leading with a brutal left-hook. In an incredible display of dexterity, Baelor leant aside from the blow, and in the same movement drew his rapier. Kal’s surprise was only outmatched by the look of confusion of Nathan’s face. Nathan reeled around, catching the incoming blade swing on his exposed metal bracer. The blow glanced aside with a sharp ring.

Kal realised that fighting this opponent on fair terms probably wouldn’t end well for his outmatched physique. He allowed Nathan to exchange a set massive of blows back and forth. Each mostly parrying and dodging, but sometimes cracked bone and muscle against the other. Kal circled behind Baelor, hoping Nathan’s ferocity would keep him distracted. He swept his baton to catch the alpha dhampir in the back of the knee. Just before Kal’s blow scored a hit, the creature twisted his leg.

Congratulations

You have damaged your first boss!

The blow did hit, but not with the intended effect. Kal ignored the status window, concentrating on the fight. His impact hadn’t brought Baelor down, but the mass of half-human was visibly hindered by it.

“You!” Baelor snarled twisting towards Kal.

Kal jumped back as Baelor whirled around with his rapier jabbing. Kal gasped as the cold blade nicked at his shoulder. A stream of blood splashed off the weapon as Kal reared back in pain. He ignored the urged to drop his baton and cradle the throbbing wound.

As their opponent had turned his attention to Kal, Helena had taken the opportunity to fire without Nathan’s bulk in the way. Flashes of blue emanated from her outstretched hands, sending her blades of magic Baelor’s way. Though large, Baelor’s speed more than made of for it and only two of nearly a dozen shots found their mark.

Kal roared and advanced into the melee. He dived with a backhand of his baton which crunched against Baelor’s ribs. Metal knuckles followed, keeping the momentum against the lord.

Baelor screamed in pain at the hit, stumbling back at the force. He tossed aside his rapier, joining Nathan in hand to hand melee. Nathan stepped back away from the brawl. Baelor’s eyes glowed red as he snarled, losing his grip on humanity. Nathan didn’t seem much more restrained, grappling at the creature and butting his head into Baelor’s pale face. Helena paused her barrage, not sure if her hits would damage Nathan but not wanting to find out during their first boss battle.

Though Nathan was impressively strong and skilled in hand to hand, he couldn’t keep up with the supernatural quickness of the alpha. His metal aided punches began to slow and were more often blocked than not as Baelor rained down blows with head and hands. Baelor managed to trip Nathan getting on top and beginning to choke the life from him.

“Guys…” Nathan managed to croak out from the bony grip of his boss opponent.

Kal sprung into action, no longer willing to be a spectator. He scrambled for the discarded rapier, taking it by the finely crafted hilt. Nathan seeing Kal’s plan, fought back with regained vigour, tossing and turning to try to prevent complete suffocation.

“Is that all you’ve got?” Nathan spat at his assailant, breaking his arms free and gripping the creature in place.

Kal used the opportunity to skewer the rapier through the monster’s back, aiming for where he hoped some kind of heart would be. Nathan held the bulky jerking form in place as Kal put his weight behind the weapon pushing it out the other side.

Kal grimaced and held his stance as Baelor struggled for several moments. Nathan managed to keep his grip, aided by his airway being freed by Kal’s intervention. Between the two, Baelor’s life ran out with sputtering bloody coughs.

Kal yanked the blade free, looking around to make sure there wouldn’t be any more fighting just yet. Nathan pushed the boss corpse aside, feeling at his swollen neck.

“You alright there, boys?” Helena laughed at the pair covered in crimson blood.

“Yeah.” Nathan coughed, making a weak attempt to rise. “Not a scratch.”

“Hey!” Kal scrambled to help Nathan up. “Take it easy, big guy.” He struggled under the weight of his giant form, pulling arm around his shoulders to act as a crutch.

Quest completed

Rescue villagers (70% saved)

Dhampir threat dealt with

Rewards:

Experience

Gold

“At least we know we’ve fought the right guy,” Kal noted.

“Barely got a fight out of a so-called boss,” Nathan feigned disappointment, his voice coming back still to its usual depth.

“If it weren’t for Kal.” Helena raised an eyebrow. “You’d have been beaten to a pulp by that monster.”

“I was just trying to make it a fair fight, y’know. Didn’t want to demoralise our deceased friend Baelor.”

“Were you planning on trying harder before or after your first death?”

Kal left them to bicker, admiring the weapon he still held.

Alpha’s Rapier

Well forged and maintained

The weapon of a duelling lord

The steel looked of incredible craftsmanship. Some unrecognisable language had been engraved along the edge of the blade. The hilt was comfortable, yet Kal somehow knew it wouldn’t wear quickly. Though Kal had little practice with swords, Kal felt confident holding the weapon.

“Guys?” Kal started, not looking up from the blade. “You mind if I keep this?”

“I don’t think we could take it off you if we tried.” Helena snorted, “I think we’re witnessing you fall in love.”

“Something like that,” Kal laughed. “Let’s go free this lot.”

They approached the poor, tied up wretches. Even though Kal knew this was a game, he still felt immense pride seeing the relief wash over them as they cut the ropes of each.

“Thank you, sir.” A young man, dirty brown hair clung to his face. He looked like he’d been beaten several times and probably hadn’t eaten recently.

“You’re welcome, lad,” Kal replied. He straightened, head held high. He could see the same change in Helena and Nathan. Though he doubted either of them would admit it if questioned.

They’re good people. Kal thought to himself. He knew he could trust them now.

After untying the group, it took some time for the thanks and blessings to die down. Kal couldn't find any reason to disagree with the npcs' elation at not suffering from a dead or undead fate. The sorry rabble led them on a thirty-minute walk out of the compound. They crossed through a small wood and out into a space that looked nigh-identical to where they'd began their current level of the dungeon.

The three watched as each of the ex-captives approached a swirling vortex within the air. Kal figured it was some kind of portal out of the place. Before entering each person would look at their saviours with a look of admiration before passing into the shifting air. Moments later, they would be gone, and another would follow out of their place of capture.

“I guess that’s it. Back to Frederick,” said Kal.

“I need a drink after this.” Nathan motioned at the crusty layer of blood which covered much of his torso. He’d managed to rub most of his face ‘clean’ on an old piece of cloth back at the encampment.

“My round.” Kal agreed.

“Remind me to get the good stuff then.” Helena audibly whispered to Nathan, giving a wink in Kal’s direction.