A goblin crumbled to the ground in a bloody mess, a last gurgling sound made, just as Bob was done cutting the poor, unpleasant to look at creature. A similar fate awaited a few others, while Wail himself threw around fireballs at the miniscule vanguard of the approaching tide. And quite the tide it was – for the narrow corridor rumbled from a cacophony of sound and scrambling feet, while the darkness beyond the torchlight seemed to churn like a tidal-wave. A disheartening sight, without a doubt. Which is why no one was bent on staying and waiting, as the group quickly continued their retreat in a hasty, though somewhat bloody, flight. With a grind, Wail stared at the ever-approaching staircase, that so recently served as nothing more than a nerve-wrecking headache, yet now shined like a beacon of home. A gateway to a profitable future. Indeed, the idea was that while defending up a few flights of stairs – the tide of goblins wouldn’t be able to use its’ momentum to run everyone over. More likely – it would simply crumble upon itself. Easy pickings, without a doubt.

Not all was that easy, of course, for their stamina was critically low when the group finally got to the stairs, every single member panting like they just ran a marathon. Yet it was too soon to rest, thus a few more skips up the stairs and around a corner and their chances of survival rose remarkably. Which was where the rush of adrenalin started wearing off and doubt crept into their little minds. What if the little trick wouldn’t work, after all? What if the narrow accent and the turn of the corner wouldn’t be enough to completely obliterate their momentum? Surely, no creature could be stupid enough to fall for a trick as simple as this?

That’s what Wail feared. Yet the fears were quickly alleviated by reality arriving with a floor rumbling contact between stone and a wave of intermingled goblins. For they were lost to such an uncontrollable bloodlust fueled rush, that none of them were capable of stopping at this point. By themselves at least. Since those foolish enough to try and do just that would either end up being trampled by those behind or simply pushed ahead without any mercy. Good thing that sudden turn came to help.

This made it much easier for Wail and his fellow outcasts though.

Splashing around in ever-increasing ferocity and, most likely, an ever rising number of casualties, the goblins seemed to be amassing into one big blog right at the bottom of the stairs, while those lucky enough to squeeze into the staircase quickly rushed up. Though, their luck would soon turn to opposite way, as Wail and co were already there and ready to farm-away. Too busy with the unceasing advance of foes that none of them had the time to properly appreciate their work.

Eventually, good old-fashioned hack and slash was simply not enough to contend, thus Wail decided to increase their pace with some proper heat. Making sure he wasn’t about to roast his own comrades, the deranged magician cast inferno above the heads of those friendly and further down the stairs – the flames soon creating worst sort of nose-turning barbeque the world has ever seen. Truly, challenging work he was doing. One miscast and they’d be joining the menu.

You have gained a level.

You have gained a level.

You have gained a level.

You have gained a level.

You have gained a level.

…

An endless stream of experience, jack pot! Wail was trembling, sweating, grinning like a madman. It was a surprise his sweaty palms didn’t extinguish the fireballs he kept on conjuring whenever able. This was worth the one hour walk. Worth all the nerve wrecking waiting. All the bad that happened to him - while leveling up in the village. This was Wail’s moment of triumph. His companions weren’t complaining either, as they hacked away all their stamina on the poor misguided little creatures. They didn’t have much choice either. Simply put – do or die.

Time went by quickly and before anybody was aware – 20 minutes were already out the window. Though Wail was so preoccupied with grinding out levels that it might as well have been a mere moment. If only it could have lasted forever. Together with his mana supply, that is.

Sadly - the goblin morale finally crumbled, though it was quite surprising it lasted this long. Their bloodlust must have negated the morale effect - for a time. Regrettably - when all you can attack is a wall that you slam face-forward into - not much drive to continue remains. Thus the remaining goblins scattered. Leaving a corridor full of charred meat and a large pile of hacked body parts near the foot of the stairs. An unpleasant odor lingering in the air.

Due to overcoming a challenge +1 Leadership, +20 Fame, +1 Major attribute(Intellect)

-60 Reputation for exploiting and torturing creatures of lesser intellect.

No matter where he was, reality just had a way in letting Wail know how it disagreed with his resourceful methods. Poor, underappreciated Wail.

For a time, the grotesque scene would remain like so, but only until the monsters are reborn. Or in-game terms – until the monsters “respawn”. Once so, the body parts will scatter into a thousand particles, disappearing like they were never there to begin with. Unrealistic? Sure. But if such a system wouldn’t be implemented – dungeons that are shared instances would become a one-time adventure. Only those who are first would enjoy its’ glory – leaving everyone else to search for other prey. Game developers had no intentions on creating a game atmosphere that relied heavily on a competitive inter-player struggle.

Regarding the scattering bodies? If the monsters respawn after certain time intervals that are regulated by the developers – carcasses of the slain become an issue. What happens if players keep on slaughtering monsters in the same spot? Their dead bodies accumulate and pile up. There was no need to turn the world into one huge graveyard, thus another system was implemented. Accelerated decomposition. All created with the intent on providing the most appealing environment for the game’s inhabitants. All to fulfill an overly idealistic idea of a perfect world. A world fit for anyone. Some might say that’s slightly crazy. Yet, no one could deny its’ success.

Wail looked over the aftermath. Smoking piles of goo, ashes and charred bodies. Quite a sight. Wail felt satisfied. He managed to raise his level by 20. From just one encounter. It was glorious and just the beginning - the very beginning of this dungeon. Who knows what wonders awaited for him deeper?

First things first, of course. The loot. What wondrous items will the dungeon bonus bring? What rare loot will he get his hands on? Oh the suspense! Wail could hardly contain himself. Wherever his sharp, greedy gaze moved – coins glittered everywhere. So much profit! A few steps forward, to the left, bend and bingo! Wail grabbed a swords’ handle and pulled. Only to reveal a heavily damaged and half-melted sword. Upon closer inspection…

Common steel sword

Description: A sword carried around by a goblin reaver. Probably taken from a dead adventurer. Its’ quality is poor, but served well as a mass-produced weapon for military use.

Durability: 4/50

Damage: 14-35

Weapon-class: Longsword

Requirements: Level 42, 50 Strength.

Heavily damaged. Repairs required to return it to its’ prime condition.

An unpleasant premonition struck Wail. He quickly shrugged it off and bent to the right - picking up another item. A charred leather armor. Or what remained of it.

Military grade leather armor

Description: Leather armor worn by Onnion reconnaissance troops during the 10 year war. Probably scavenged from dead bodies. Poor quality due to age.

Durability: 1/30

Defense: 25

Weight-class: Light

Requirements: Level 35, 30 Agility.

Heavily damaged. Impossible to repair.

Wherever Wail looked, only ruins of loot remained. His reckless use of fire ruined everything. Dreams of wealth, better equipment. Shattered. Or charred to be precise.

Until now, Wail never had problems with burned items to this extent. Usually fires caused by the fireball spell were out once the target died. With Inferno he never really checked, since it was mostly used on large groups of critters who seemed to drop body parts and pocket money. Why the bodily parts would end up somewhat overcooked made all the sense in the world now. He did not expect such an outcome at all. Quite the blunder. He should have, but didn't. Adrenalin and excitement clouded his judgment, obscured his meticulous insight. Wail felt a shattering loss. So many useful and possibly profitable opportunities - all burned to ashes due to his sadistic nature. Due to his flawed judgment.

Regret washed over Wail like a current, dragging him down into a whirlpool of thoughts. Pulling him away from reality, within a reality. If not for Bob and his brethren in crime, who knows how long he'd be stuck there, lost in a daze. Maybe poked and made fun of by some passerby even. Truly horrible.

While Wail was busy wallowing in self-pity - the four started gathering what remained of the loot. Without any complains, they scavenged for broken down items, coins and anything else of value. Right under Wails' nose. That's exactly what brought him back. Noise caused by clanking money and gear - rummaging bandits. Sounds of profit being lost. Seems like – even though greed was what made him stumble, it was also what made him rise once again.

Anger flashed and Wail was moments away from scorching his colleagues for such backstabbing acts. Moments away from venting on others – like a real sadist. Yet he managed to control himself, this time. Instead - he sprang to action, driven by his bottomless greed and bitter feelings towards the world. Wail flew around like a tornado - grabbing every single coin his sharp eyes could pin-point.

None of it took long, as the end result was - 45 gold, 2659 silver and 1423 copper coins. A quality haul. Not to mention an unexpected stroke of luck. Wail managed to find two undamaged rings and a strange tome. Since he could wear any number of rings - as long as they fit on his fingers, Wail instantly put them on. One of them was mainly for fighters, with endurance, strength and damage reduction bonuses. Wisdom and mana regeneration was given by the other one. Since he didn't have any rings until now - both were a welcome presence. Why would he even consider sharing? Not like he cared for others, much.

Wail tried to figure out what the tome was for and how it survived his reckless use of fire, but seeing as it somehow resisted identification attempts – the intent was put-aside for now. With interest and renewed skepticism over the thing, Wail couldn’t help but give it another once over. What a peculiar item indeed – its’ dark leather covers covered in morbid symbols of skulls and whatnot, indistinguishable writings scattered about like some doodles by a five-year-old. Heck, it even glowed in the dark, a little bit. An inkling feeling that the book was made by some fellow in his “emo” stage of life, only to be discarded after he/she grew out of it. And even still, the hoarder of a mage decided to keep it, instead of throwing it away – grubby fingers hiding the book away in his spacious bag of loot.

Containers were an interesting feature inside Alternative Reality. They had various shapes and numerous types, but all of them shared a common feature. They grew in size. Each container used by adventures had varied space inside. Though mostly numerously larger than it would be in reality. Compensating for this unrealistic feature, they tended to grow in size once certain weight thresholds were reached. Though the growth obviously had a limit. Quite often - the items inside might be larger than the bag - with the bag being large enough to place and take out, said items.

Same preferred a satchel, like Wail did. Once he placed the tome inside, which was almost as big as the satchel itself - the container visibly grew in size. Though it still did not mirror that of the book.

Currency had a separate container, but functioned in an identical manner. It enlarged like it was made out of rubber - depending on the amount of currency inside. Though it had an additional function - currency exchange. One could only imagine how big the bag should be to carry thousands of various coins. Thus the currency placed inside was automatically exchanged. From smaller to bigger. 1 gold coin was equal to 100 silver coins, and 1 silver to 100 copper coins. Result? Wail currently had 72 gold, 73 silver and 23 copper. If the player wanted to turn his wealth into smaller currency, he needed to enable a special game menu while accessing the content of his bag. Some thought of this system as cumbersome, but no one really wanted to drag around a huge bag of coins. Constantly getting in the way.

Of course - the currency exchange function only served as a temporary solution. Since wealthy individuals would acquire thousands of gold coins, if not hundreds of thousands. To help players, there was a large chain of banks responsible for the safe keeping of player owned wealth. Banks were a completely safe institution, accessible from almost every larger town. One only needed to visit the bank - for your wealth to reach safety.

For players who chose a different path in-game, for one reason or another – an additional option was implemented. With the intent of not placing too much of their own morals inside the game – developers started-up a personal banking system. Players were able to place their wealth in a virtual vault of sorts. It had unlimited storage space, but only accepted currency. Not only that, but wealth could be withdrawn only every 10 days. Only while outside combat as well – which applied when storing the gold in addition.

A complicated thing, rarely preferred by most individuals. It was there though - thus player’s wealth was safe to a certain degree. It was up to the players whether they used it or not.