Bressh arrived at the washroom shortly after the thief disappeared into the pipes.

Undead workers pressed against each other to make way for the angry ax. They quickly evacuated the tight quarters of the washroom to allow the manager to examine the escape.

Bressh's spine was still tingling, screaming that the thief had his chest, somewhere. The eyeless sockets stared at the tiny hole where the thief must have escaped. He gave the wooden seat a cleaving blow, splitting it open.

The manager issued a voiceless order.

The undead workers poured into the system and flooded the pipes. They had no idea where the thief would be and had insufficient intelligence for tracking but merely searched every possible path with their numbers.

More mobs rushed through the halls of the facility, determined to surround every washroom and flush the rat out.

…

John was mostly across the materials refinement area when he heard an awful rumbling in the walls and from below, like an earthquake but without the shaking.

He hesitated for a moment and canceled his stealth. The sound spread throughout the entire room, loudest from the washroom he just escaped from. John ran as fast as possible under the weight of the chest, going for the stairs.

The was an explosion as a huge hole appeared in one of the far walls. A shrapnel storm of stone and metal pipe fragments rained down on that half of the room.

It was the magic used by skeleton workers. Like the giant furnace and refinement areas, magic was required for the factory to function. It was done by workers with higher than average intelligence drafted into basic magic classes that only taught them one spell. It was weak, but many wind blasts and fireballs could create a magnificent expansion of gases.

Rushing over their colleagues downed by the explosion, the melee workers oozed out of the pipes, chasing the light of the magic stone.

But for some reason, the light was soaring towards them.

The dimwitted assortment of bones piled over the stone like birds fighting for food.

With each attack, the stone glowed brighter and brighter until it reached its critical threshold. Magic stones were, after all, not only limited to light sources but could also serve as energy carriers. They were durable but under the overwhelming damage of the skeleton army, it erupted in a brilliant arcane burst.

Amplified by the magic formation beneath it, a purple energy burst burnt within the skeleton mob, briefly distracting everything.

John quickly fished another magic stone out of his inventory - the second of three he had found in the rabbit's hole - and held it tightly in his hand as he continued his dash.

The purple light rapidly cooled into pink then black. Regaining their night vision, the skeletons noticed the thief across the room with his little bobbing light.

Another horde of skeletons workers rushed through an entrance at the side of the room near John. They slipped and tumbled as they tried to turn to madly chase after the thief.

John interrupted his sprint and turned. The magic stone left his hand.

The blue stone was like a magnet, drawing the skeletons like paper clips. Some continued to chase after John, but it was enough. The light completely disappeared under the yellow, ugly bones, casting the room in a momentary veil. Another intense arcane combustion occupied John's pursuers.

The room ended at the stairs, metal and open to the room, something out of a fire escape. John took the stairs five at a time, rushing towards the third floor.

Behind, recovering from their daze, the skeleton army advanced up the staircase, climbing up the sides, stumbling up the steps, piling atop each other, anything to kill the pesky thief.

As John raced upwards, the steps, clear moments before, were engulfed by the monster horde. The metal staircase was never meant to hold so much. The steel groaned under the immense weight.

At ground level, Manager Bressh could be seen emerging from another hallway. The undead skull instantly locked eyes with John, and he let out a roar, riling up the skeleton army. He pushed through the waves of mobs, chasing after the intruder.

The wave of skeletons was right behind him, grabbing at the thief that always seemed to be one step ahead. A source of dim but provocative light froze them for a moment as the last magic stone appeared from John's inventory.

The thief was now at the landing between the second floor and third floor. The stone was in his hand.

John slid to a stop against the textured metal platform. His upper body twisted, and the momentum transferred to the arm.

The stone flew with admirable speed, making a beautiful arc in the dusty workshop air.

John could have sworn that he felt the wind of the rushing skeletons on his back. They leaped off the platform, through the thin railing, and over the edge. Not all of them fell for it, some rather turning to chase the thief, but the crowd was enough to drag the stragglers into the calcium tsunami. On the ground, the myriad skulls traced the stone, shoving over their peers in an effort to pursue it. The army in the air and the army on the ground closed on the lone light like the jaws of a beast.

The stairs finally had enough, collapsing as the bony overgrowth pulled it laterally. As John completed the last steps, the whole thing was wrenched off the wall, falling like a giant domino.

A skeleton that had made it up the stairs, accelerated to leap the gap. John brought up the heavy recruit pistol.

The round would do little or no damage, but the momentum was more than enough to slow the skeleton down. The shot hit it in the skull and the impulse made its head jolt backward. It smashed into the edge of the hallway where the stairs used to attach and bounced into the horde below.

Meanwhile, the metal stairs twisted as they fell, the supports failing under forces it was never meant to handle. It hit ground at the same time as the magic formations exploded, making a satisfying boom.

But the thief didn't watch it, he was long gone.

…

[RISE Announcement: A lone adventurer has acquired the first B-Grade chest]

A lively discussion erupted on the pre-release forums in response to this message that had appeared before every player in the world. A humongous stream of comments appeared on the threads considering the tiny player base on the pre-release.

The most popular of these threads was started by Solidus, the guild leader of Heritage, a huge European gaming organization. He was also huge in the online community because of his large number of posts and online presence. Solidus was typically very instructive, making guides to help beginners, but now, the tone of his text was astonishment.

Solidus: B-Grade chest already? The first two Elite monster kills are early enough. Then this…

John wasn't aware of this thread – he was busy running from the mobs – but he didn't even yet know there were pre-release forums. It was written in the pre-release agreement, the one John had never read.

Chrystocrene: Isn't this great for him? I mean, it'll put him on top. That's why we're here, isn't it?

Bumpkin: Sure, it's good for him but what about the rest of us? Elite monster first kills are fine, someone will probably get the third one soon, but I doubt that we players can get two more B-Grade chests before the official release. What will players say if their first chest is announced as the second?

Leafeas: Some really people don't consider their actions and ruin it for us all.

But John was always considering the game. He was well aware of the future. While the pre-release was a commotion when it was revealed, the anger didn't affect the game at all. People were dependent on RISE by that time. John was fairly certain that by the time players got legitimate B-grade chests, the same would be true. The RISE team might also do something about the record.

Third August: Surely the devs will do something about this. Everyone knows the pre-release will be leaked at some point, but they can't let it be this easy, right?

Reaper: They'll probably just reset the counter: easiest course of action.

Raithene: Agreed.

…

The secret passageway was located in a cupboard. It had been well-hidden, and the total darkness didn't help. It took a few minutes, but some memory and Thief's Wit was sufficient.

This ladder had once been a nice shortcut for players looking to directly enter Gyead without passing through sewers first. Its only disadvantage was the distance from desirable spawn points. But now it was securely jammed.

John had quite the climb ahead of him, in darkness too.

It would be a bit difficult to navigate the passages above without a magic stone, but the three charges had undoubtedly saved his life.

The damage of the stones, when amplified by the magical formation had been greater than expected. It was only unfortunate that it wasn't enough to kill a single skeleton. They might be clumsy, but in the end, they had the durability of a level 37 mob. The real damage resulted from the crowding and falling stairs which wouldn't give John any experience.

After the entire ruins, John had gained no experience at all. But he smiled, knowing the heavy chest was weighing him down.

The B-Grade chest wasn't worth that much. It might have been Manager Bressh's personal belongings in life, but B-Grade wasn't amazingly valuable. It would be incomparable to the drops of the boss himself; the chest was just a little bonus. The real valuable part of the ruins were the mobs themselves which could be easily farmed. Other B-Grade bosses in RISE could be guarding higher tiered chests but that would mean the value would be lost in the farming.

As for how to access these goodies, John's level one lock picking mastery would be wholly insufficient. Of course, he could pay to have an expert NPC thief open it. That, however, carried the risk of it being seized. He could go to a locksmith, but locksmiths were unlikely to open it without gained some affinity or reputation first. The price for either might be exorbitant at this point too. John could only put it off for now.

John would return to Gyead, fix up his gear, store the heavy chest, sell off the excess tainted rat and rabbit parts he forgot earlier, before turning in the quest. John wanted to purchase some magic stones too; he was reminded of how useful they were in the darkness of early RISE. He had planned on visiting the runesmith, but changed his mind. He would go when he got a better weapon. Small percentages weren't very important when the base damage was still low.

…

The cover on the window was replaced with a transparent sheet of sorts. It let the drab light into the room. It wasn't pleasant, but it was better than being in darkness. Under the window, Angelina's golden locks were bright, even in the brown atmosphere.

John tapped the open metal sheet. She was curled in a ball on the bed. "Angelina," he whispered.

She awoke with a cute jolt. But she immediately pinched her nose. "You smell bad."

"Tainted rats live in the sewers. What else would you expect?"

"You got them all though, right?" Angelina asked quietly. It was as if she was embarrassed to be imposing on a stranger. "Fifty carcasses?"

"Yes, I do," John answered, retrieving the fifty rat bodies from his inventory.

Angelina accepted them gratefully. "Thank you. By that wall please."

[Quest, Hunting Tainted Rats, has been completed]

[Good clear rating achieved]

[You have gained 10 affinity with Angelina.]

[You will gain affinity with Anne when she returns.]

The affinity was good, but the clear rating was only good. That was probably because John had taken a lot of time to hand in the quest. This was acceptable because of the chests he had gained.

But the last notification prompted John to ask a question. "Where's your mother?" John asked. "Shouldn't she be back?"

"She has a job in the morning. She'll be back in the afternoon."

John sighed. 'Back to this game.' It would probably be easier because of the affinity that he had gained, but Angelina still annoyingly introverted. "Is there anything else you need me to do?"

Jade Cookies had written that the next quest was suitable for level nines. She found the first quest when she was level thirteen, so it didn't matter for her, but John wasn't sure about it. Angelina was supposed to ask the player to venture into an area of the tainted lands for another hunting quest.

This time would be to kill an elite tainted deer.