Chapter 2: A New Breed of Stupid

Baron’s new life progressed along a monotonous schedule. Everyday copied the last with nothing to break the cycle. He spent his time eating, stealing and drinking. Finding a tavern hidden in the recesses of an alley made him reminiscent of a life he once lived; not a drop of liquor had touched his lips in ten years. But now he could get drunk every night without a hangover to discourage the degenerate lifestyle.

The tavern went hand and hand with pickpocketing; location is everything for a business man. Drunk players tended to part with their coins without realization as apposed the the vigilant and sober. They would strut around oblivious to Baron’s malice. Beginners, especially those new to games in general, left money in exposed pockets rather than safe inside their inventories.

Petty theft mostly amounted to pocket change, but on occasion he came across players sporting small fortunes. The cost of food and beer was so low that he raked in an excess profit, nearly 100 coppers daily. It further reinforced a life lesson Baron learned in his younger days; crime really does pay.

Three days after the pickpocketing epidemic began in the city his skill emerged. At first he could not believe the game would condone such lawless actions, but he assumed they had their reasons. His main focus for an entire month—alongside getting drunk—had been to level the skill.

Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:Pickpocketing (Active)BeginnerLvl.753%Stealing less than 70 coppers is now nearly a guarantee. Large or valuable items are now much easier to steal. Beware, users will be hostile if stolen from. Guards may attempt to arrest you. Guards may look the other way if you have increased familiarity or fame.

Experience is gained 3.5x faster because of the user’s natural talent.

The skill turned petty theft into child’s play. Growing up on the streets, Baron learned to pickpocket at the ripe age of eleven. Whether stealing purses, wallets, or Rolex watches, he used his boyish charm to wipe the upper class clean. His brother may have taught him the basics, but Baron took it to another level. The dirty money he received from selling the odd wedding ring put him on par with local drug dealers. Of course, he never got to see any of the money. His parents would spend it on methamphetamines faster than he could steal it. At 18 he amassed a rap sheet of petty thefts, alongside drug possession and assault, a mile long with nothing but talent to show for it.

While he leveled the skill he also received various stat increases. The finesse in pickpocketing slowly raised his dexterity. It was only a point here and there but an increase nonetheless. Every time the stat grew, his fingers moved nimbler than before. A strange sense of balance appeared, like his control over each limb increased. Also, additional stat points appeared when the skill leveled up. At Beginner Lvl 7 he received a massive 25 dexterity along with 100 Infamy.

Unbeknownst to him, Baron climbed his way onto two of the Alvarez Kingdom’s leaderboards. The game, which Baron found to be called Alvarez Online, released three days prior to him first playing. Meaning that at most, players had a 15 day in game advantage. In terms of level he couldn’t compete, being only level 3 However, his wealth and pickpocketing became top tier.

Top 5 Highest Skill LevelsAmberArcheryBeginner Lvl.8 (12%)BaronPickpocketingBeginner Lvl.7 (53%)AtlasSwordsmanshipBeginner Lvl.7 (44%)RocoCookingBeginner Lvl.7 (43%)FabioBlacksmithingBeginner Lvl.7 (37%)

Top 5 Richest PlayersWeed3G 24S 74CVarious EnterprisesDante1G 12S 40CTrading Various goodsAtlas1G 9S 67CGuild ProfitsBaron0G 45S 97CPickpocketingNile0G 49S 39CTrading Various goods

Baron’s standing among those with the highest skill level represented its own form of flattery. Ranked among the likes of Amber, a gold medalist in archery in the Olympics, and Atlas, a three-time-national-youth-kendo champion in Japan, put him at the pinnacle of larceny. If they had pickpocketing as a sport he would hold every belt.

His wealth that accumulated over a month of illegal exploits barely thrust him into the list of the richest players. Still it was quite a feat to be listed among the best craftsmen, merchants and guild leaders. For Baron though, the money he earned seemed meager. He witnessed items selling in the market for thousands of gold and what he assumed were players buying them. His inexperience to MMORPGs showed by his lack of knowledge pertaining to NPCs. He had yet to understand the leveling system, nor the importance of stats and their uses. To him, his level meant nothing—a trivial ranking only there to discriminate. Baron believed he could take any player in a fight that he could take in real life.

A month of a repetitive routine left Baron bored, sitting on the side of a fountain in the middle of the market. The hotter than average day quickly parched his mouth. He sat there enjoying the sun and refilling his canteen whenever the need arose. In his inventory was a stack of deer jerky, providing a snack the moment hunger strengthened its grip.

He stared into the crowd, oblivious to his surroundings, when a man came and sat beside him. He looked shady clad in a hood casting a shadow on his face. The only feature visible was a grisly beard hugging his soft jawline. From hood to boot he wore black, and bore a striking resemblance to the Major from real life. Just looking at his leather armor on top of layers of clothing made Baron sweat.

As the wind blew the man’s cloak swayed revealing the Thieves Guild crest. It depicted two daggers crossed behind a coin bag and a spiraling snake in the background.

“10 feet to the right of the blacksmith’s shop is a man standing in a group with four others. He is the one with red hair and a longsword on his back,” said the mysterious figure. When he spoke, the man’s voice projected softly so that only Baron could hear.

He found him easy enough. Though the giant standing beside the red-haired guy interested him more. The behemoth was one of the few players Baron had seen that surpassed him in size. For a reason that escaped him, the giant and barbarian races weren't very common.

“That man has an important piece of paper. I would be indebted to whomever could steal it and deliver it back to me.” After the hooded mad spoke a quest window popped up for Baron to see.

Steal the DocumentDifficulty:DRewards:2 Gold, Increased Familiarity With The Thieves GuildRequirements:Recognized as a good pickpocketA representative of the Thieves Guild has approached in hopes that you will help them get revenge. A PK guild, The Blue Blood Brothers, have killed a member of the Thieves Guild. In retribution you are being asked to steal their guild verification papers. The guild will be forced to disband without them.

*Since the Thieves Guild have many members that could easily complete this job, there is a possibility that something more is at play. The Thieves Guild have been known to actively scout new members.

Baron hesitated at first to accept the job from such a shady character, yet he couldn’t deny his overflowing greed. Two gold was several times more than he made after thousands of successful pickpockets, yet all he had to do was steal one piece of paper for the money. He relished in desire and didn’t bother to look at the difficulty or description—not that it would’ve made a difference.

Even if Baron had read the description, he lacked knowledge of PK guilds. He didn’t even know how the difficulty ratings worked, so he had to take a shot in the dark either way.

D rank quests provide difficulty even for a player at level 75; for a beginner like Baron to attempt it screamed suicidal. Players had yet to complete any quests above F+. The only reason the representative approached Baron was because of his insanely high pickpocketing. Skills progressed slow in the game, so at beginner level 7 the skill was on par with thieves in the 70s.

The mark was well known by name and reputation as Lucifer. Him, along with his guild’s co-commander Goliath, started to make a name for themselves in the city shortly after the game’s release. The PKers usually targeted weak beginners who wandered too far from the city walls, though their skills were rumored to be top tier. A group of former victims was said to have banded together a week ago in hopes of acquiring justice. They outnumbered the Blue Blood Brothers five to one, yet the PKers slaughtered them without any casualties.

At the moment several of the guild members were having a meeting to discuss the guild financials.The revenue from player killing piled up faster than any of them expected. With so much money being thrown around, the fear of a guildmate feeling short-handed and causing a civil war weighed on all of their minds. Had it not been for the fear of death that Lucifer imposed upon them, it would’ve already happened.

“Give me 10 minutes, and have the gold ready by the time I’m back,” said Baron. He got up to leave after accepting the quest. It was all too easy for him to blend in with the the crowd and appear as just another user shopping for armor. After a while of meandering he acted as if he received a message. Looking anxious and worried, he started sprinting through the crowd as if late for a meeting. The overcrowded street left no room for him to navigate. Several users started spewing profanity as he shoved or shoulder-checked them. He muttered a few apologies but got ignored. One unfortunate player ended up with scalding hot stew poured down the front of him. Baron couldn’t care less as he moved in for the kill.

By the time he reached the mark, the scene was set and his acting would catch five stars from any critic on Broadway. Like he had done numerous times already, he accidentally brushed past Lucifer as he ran by. He hadn’t taken two steps before getting slammed to the ground. The giant Goliath, whose chin sat even with Baron’s hair, had palmed his head like a basketball. The whiplash sprawled him on the floor; the back of his head slammed into the stone road. A crimson stream flowed as Baron’s health dropped to 50%.

“Watch yourself, punk!” Goliath barked, his verbose hoarse and slurred.

As Baron laid there his mind turned muddy. The blow left him dazed as he tried to assess the situation. When he attempted to reach his feet a kick to the gut sent him back down. The lesser guild member’s profane verbiage assaulted him. After spitting on their victim they left; an encounter with the guards would put them in a tough place.

A devilish grin made its way onto Baron’s lips as he watched the guild saunter away, unaware of the treachery that took place. It was all too perfect. He could already feel the two gold coins as he held them between his finger. The metallic cold burned like a pure manifestation of greed.

“Shit! The fucker’s gonna die!” shouted Lucifer. He heard his voice before he saw the guild leader. Shouts of profanity came from the red-haired man as the group rounded a corner and back into Baron’s view. When their gazes met, all he saw was fire. A rage he had seen many times in life. His stepfather had it whenever he drank. The faces of his friend’s family had it during the trial. Even the major had a hint of the blaze right before landing the last hard right on Baron’s jaw.

Quest Failed

Reputation with the Thieves guild has declined.

Baron cursed the players who had cost him two gold. With great effort he barely managed to stand. The blow to his head made the world spin as he tried to balance on two feet. It didn’t help that his stomach ceaselessly throbbed from the kick he took. As the PKers approached he readied himself with a weak stance.

His fists raised to his chin and eagerly awaited the fight. He glared at Goliath who would soon taste revenge. That fire in their eyes couldn’t be tolerated. To him it embodied every misfortune in his life. He lashed out at the giant as if fighting against the accumulation of all his suffering. When the first hit landed flush against the player’s chest, fingers cracked and knuckles crumbled; he had struck a brick wall.

A throaty chuckle emerged from the giant as he manhandled Baron like a child, grabbing his neck and tossing him aside. With any inclination, it would’ve been simple to snap the barbarian’s neck. Once he lost interest in the toy, Goliath locked Baron’s arms behind his back and held him in place. The other guild members took turns, treating it like a blood sport. The man who could cause the most carnage triumphed. Teeth came loose from their fixtures, blood cascaded from his broken nose, and several ribs shattered. Baron’s health plummeted before their guild leader called a cease fire.

“You’re a new breed of stupid, ya’ know?” Insults spewed from Lucifer as he opened his inventory and took out a dagger. The simple weapon made of copper had a jagged edge from years of deferred maintenance. He took the blade and pressed it to Baron’s cheek, barely hard enough to let blood trickle down. The barbarian didn’t cringe, but wore a grin in stark contrast to his shattered image.

Looking into Baron’s eyes, Lucifer saw something eerie. Unnoticeable at first, the glare locked his gaze upon first sight. They were the eyes of a beast: sullen, yet full of emotion—a hint of love and a dash of betrayal. They shone like an inferno, paling all else in comparison.

Baron appeared beaten. His body bloodied and bruised, even more so his pride had been splintered. Hope should have taken place by a morbid longing. Any sane person would have the light in their eyes extinguished long ago. Then why was Lucifer the one paralysed with fear? He possessed the knife; He held all the cards, all the power. Yet, each blow amounted to nothing but kindling. A war waged through the glare in their eyes. The more he asserted his dominance, the more he lost ground. Every push for victory left him knocked further back.

Resolved to not lose a war with fear, Lucifer took his dagger and embedded it in the beast’s chest. The devil twisted his blade in hopes of hearing a scream leak out. It would be the sound to ensure him of the man’s mortality or justify the blatant savagery. No sound escaped the barbarian’s lips, nor did his gaze break. Even when Lucifer ignited the dagger with a skill and began to cauterize the wound, Baron’s mental wall stood impregnable.

He didn’t show any emotion or an ounce of weakness. He took the pain and used it to fuel a vow. He promised himself they would die. Each and every member of the Blue Blood Brothers had become the object of a fresh vendetta. Baron’s own soul to be avenged.

You Have Died

1 Level has been deducted along with 10% experience in each skill level and 1 stat point from each stat. The item [Deer Jerky] has been dropped.

You are unable to log back in for one in game day.

House of Wolves

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Thanks to Xetaro and Zekekai4 for proofreading this.

If you’d like to proof read this chapter you can do so Here. The more the merrier!