My mood didn't lighten for the rest of the morning, keeping me filled with rage, even as I dusted the wares and turned the "Closed" sign out front to "Open." I didn't know why I did it, but If i was going to be in this role for now, I might as well go all out and play the part.

"How dare he? After everything I'd done for him!"

Betrayed by the person I trusted the most... Draconisia and I had been friends and partners since Horizon Online had first been released. Then I had been a dozen or so levels ahead of him and had intervened when several Player Killers (PKers) were camping him and causing trouble. Not only did he repay me by joining my newly created guild, but he had sworn his undying loyalty to me.

"A lot of value that loyalty had..."

I didn't even understand what had happened. One moment I was sitting at my command console, making adjustments to my dark armies and the next I was laying in a puddle of my own blood, seeing the "You have died." message appear in a reddened screen before my eyes.

He shouldn't have even been able to deal that much damage to me, let alone all at once.

"Bastard," I said aloud, rubbing my temples, still unsettled by the rough lizard skin.

I checked again, and rolled my eyes as the Logout button was still no where to be found.

These devs better fucking fix this.

I walked over to the counter and placed my hands on a stack of papers that I had found when cleaning, slowly sifting through them.

One of them a few pages down stood out to me.

[Quest : A Shield for a Soldier]

[Type : Blacksmithing ]

[Message : Hello Lizardman, I know I haven't always been the kindest to you, but your skills with an anvil are unmatched around here. I keep telling the other villagers that they better leave you be otherwise they'll drive you out of Herlona and be sorry that they did. Anyways, I really need a new shield. My previous one was made of wood and became warped and rotted this winter. I'll need a new one before I'm shipped off to war and can pay plenty. Please respond if you will be kind enough to do so, otherwise I will have to seek help elsewhere. Thank you.

- Lumar

[ Rewards : 2,000 Gold, 100 Reputation Bonus with Herlona, 250 Reputation Bonus with Lumar ]

[ Accept ] [ Decline ]

The entire list was apparently a stack of Quests that I could take on as a Shop keep, most of them simply orders for items or fetch quests. This one at least looked interesting and could pass the time while stuck as a Lizardman.

It also intrigued me partially because I'd always wished I had taken up Blacksmithing on HellBlade, but had accidentally chosen Herbalism instead, something that I had ended up never using. What use was there for herbs and plants in the Dark Nation, where nothing grew but death and flame.

I checked my gold, remembering that I had 261 pieces. Still, it was nothing compared to my previous hoard, but at least the 2,000 gold reward would be a nice increase to my current situation. Not to mention a reputation bonus, which would be welcome as It looked l had my work cut out for me, as far as getting people to like me went. Not that I necessarily needed them to like me, but at least not hate me.

"Man this character is sure different form HellBlade. Getting people to hate me had been part of my goal!"

I clicked on the Accept button, noticing the notification appear in my vision.

"Quest Accepted : A Shield for a Soldier"

"Alright, now how in the hell am I going to forge a shield for this guy?"

"Lunch is ready sir!"

A woman's voice took me by surprise, as the front door of the shop swung open and she entered, carrying a tray of food that had my mouth watering regardless of what was on it.

But the food quickly left my thoughts as I looked upon her and was immediately bewitched.

The person before me was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen.

She had long violet hair that shone in the noonday sun, now pouring into the shop from behind her. She wore a merchant's apron and white blouse, that lay open in the front revealing curves that stole my attention away from the food. With eyes closed in a big, friendly and warm smile, she held out the tray in front of her.

"Umm. Hello," I said, trying to keep my cool. I assumed I should know her name, and apparently she knew my character. So, not wanting to upset her, I decided to play it cool. I walked forward and reached out a scaly hand to take what appeared to be a slice of fish. Surrounding the fish were bugs, insects, and various creepy crawlies. My first instinct was to pull away in disgust but for some reason they looked...

Delicious!

I gratefully took the fish, tossed a few caterpillars and beetles on top and tossed it into my mouth, not thinking twice about what I was doing, nearly swallowing the thing whole. I smiled a satisfied smile before I realized what I had just done.

Food in this world tasted as real as outside of the VR, and often left my regular food outside feeling bland by comparison. This, however, was not something I had ever tried, in either world.

"Oh! Excuse me, I'm sorry. Where are my manners? I guess I was just really hungry." I scratched the back of my head, my smile forced and nerves shaking my entire lizard body. Fortunately I was able to keep most of my cool, but my Composed skill was only level one.

Oh how I missed HellBlade...

"No need to be sorry! I'm just grateful that you enjoy my food so much! I'll be honest, I'm not the best at cooking non-human meals, but anything for you!"

If my cheeks weren't covered in protective scales, I would have surely blushed.

-Composed-

Experience Gained : 50%

"One step at a time..."

"So..." I began, trying to think of what to call her. Then I realized that I had been an idiot. I simply targeted her mentally and looked at her info.

Name

Leandra

Level

40

Class

Merchant

Race

Human

Buffs

Mentorship

Town NPC Bonus

Debuffs

None

Leandra... An NPC. But still...

"You were saying, sir?" Leandra said, setting down the tray of remaining food on the counter top. She then stepped behind the counter and began looking through the list of orders.

"Does she work here too?"

"Oh! A Shield for a Soldier, great choice!" She lifted the paper that I had accepted and read it over. "Too bad we just used the last of the ingots. We'll have to go get more." She put the paper down and looked up at me, eyes kind even toward my non-human self. "Want me to watch the shop? I'd go myself but my mining skill is basically nonexistent." She blushed at the admission and continued, "But I can try if..."

"No need! I will go collect the ingots... I'll only need some information. I seem to be very tired or something and my memory is a bit foggy..."

It was the best excuse I could come up with on the spot. I didn't want to explain that I had just been an Evil Overlord and all... Leandra didn't seem like the type to take that news well.

"Oh no problem!" She smiled and suddenly I got a notification. I checked it and was surprised to see that it was a message from Leandra. I opened it, finding myself smiling at the cutesy map she had drawn.

"The Red X is where the best veins are, at least that I know of. You'll want at least 20 iron ore pieces, which we'll be able to melt into 4 iron ingots. The quest didn't specify the type of shield, but for the reward value I'd say that an Iron Shield will qualify. Especially with your skill at the forge."

I could see her smiling at me from behind the map in my vision. It seemed like I was either her boss, or at least a counterpart. She seemed to ask me for permission to do things so that made me lean towards her being my employee.

I guess that was close to an underling, right? Though she was much nicer to look at than imps or harpies...

"Right," I said, noting that the marked location was about a twenty minute walk from town. The path would take me past the stables. Perhaps I could steal a horse and get there quicker. "I'll head out and get the ore, you're in charge here while I'm gone."

It was basically what she had already said, but I was testing my authority.

"Sounds good boss! Good luck!"

Well that settles it.

I smiled. HellBlade would have given up a thousand imps for an underling like this. Now if only I could get her to be more than just an underling...

No. Impossible. She's a beautiful human and I'm, well, a monster. She's also an NPC.

Besides. I had to focus. I couldn't let myself be distracted from my goal. Vengeance did not share attention and I would have it. Once I reclaimed my proper character and status, then maybe I'd reconsider.

I left the shop and as I walked past scowling villagers and parents hiding their children from me, I saw a notification pass my vision.

"Now leaving home location, shift covered by Leandra. NPC routine requires you back by nightfall."

NPC routine? Does this mean If I don't return something bad will happen?

I decided against risking it and making sure that I left with plenty of time. It was currently about 1:00 PM IGT (In-Game-Time) and that meant I had a solid 6-7 hours of light left. I should be able to complete this quest, right? Twenty minutes there, twenty minutes back, gave me most of that time for mining.

I've slain dragons and defeated entire cities with my armies of the undead. Mining a few rocks would be a piece of cake.

As I got closer to the outskirts of town, I passed some sort of pub. A crooked sign hung down from the roof with the words "Pony's Arse" carved hastily into it.

What kind of name is that?!

"What you doin' round here, get lost!"

A handful of adventurers stood on the front deck, drinking ale and playing cards. One of them that looked like a Knight class was leaning over the railing, pointing at me with a lifted mug and a drunken scowl.

"Fuckin' NPC's. I tell ya, If it wouldn't ruin my shining reputation I'd kill em all."

"Quiet Gabe, you want them to turn on us?"

"Ah, shove off Eric. They're computer programs, they don't know what we're saying."

I kept my head down, hiding the rage building in my eyes. Besides, there was nothing to be done about it anyways.

Name

Gabe (Terror-Fist)

Level

57

Class

Abyss Knight

Race

Human

Buffs

Party Bonus

Guild Master Bonus

+50% EXP Bonus

+50% Gold Bonus

Debuffs

None

I knew who he was right away, simply from his character name. Terror-Fist was a minor guild leader of D00m, a guild that was part of the Alliance of Darkness, a child-guild to the Lords of Evil.

My guild.

Or at least it had been my guild.

This piece of shit would have been groveling at my feet as HellBlade...

No. Keep your cool. Make a list and seek vengeance on all those who dare to treat you this way.

"What, you got nothing to say?" Terror-Fist shouted, splashing ale onto my side.

What was I supposed to do? At my current level I couldn't touch him, let alone the face that NPCs couldn't attack players without first being attacked.

I accessed my personal in-game journal and started a new document.

Journal

Draconisia

Terror-Fist

My list had begun.

About an hour later and after losing much Lizard-sweat, I had reached the point on my map where Leandra had marked. The stable had refused to sell a horse to me, claiming that they were for players only though somehow the looks I was receiving from the Human employees caused doubt that that was the only reason.

I had walked most of the way here, climbing some parts and descending others. I now stood with tired feet in front of a small cavern at the base of a mountain range. Vines hung down before it, covering and concealing most of the opening. If Leandra hadn't directed me here, I doubted I would have noticed it at all. In fact, the overgrowth around made it seem as though nobody had been here in a long time.

How did you find this place, Leandra?

I pushed the vines away and slowly stepped inside.

The ground immediately began to descend and I went with it, realizing that not only was it getting harder and harder to see, but that I didn't have any spells to light a fire. My Lizard vision allowed me to at least make my way long after the light had faded behind me but eventually I reached a point where It was pitch black.

How far does this thing go?

I kept my hands upon the wall to guide me and slowly took small blind step after small blind step, not knowing really what I was doing or when I should stop and start mining.

As my hand slid along the wall, it broke something off, causing me to gasp.

A small blue crystal was embedded in the wall behind whatever I had knocked off, glowing softly but enough to give my Lizard eyes sight. I bent over and looked at the crystal closer, my long jaw dropping.

It was Orihalcum.

There's no way... It's not possible!

Orihalcum was the most precious gem in all of Horizon Online. One crystal alone was worth millions of gold and could be used to craft the most powerful gear in the game. I had never found one before now, and only knew of two others that had ever been found since the game launched, both of which resulted in TV interviews, millions of social media followers, and sponsorship deals.

The ratio of in-game currency to real money was not something to be laughed at and a lot of people made their entire income just by farming in-game gold.

I brushed off some more of the dirt and small orihalcum flakes covering the massive gem, realizing that it was bigger than I had originally expected. My eyes grew as wide as the smile upon my face. This was it. This was the key to my revenge.

There was only one thing to do. I bent down and pulled off my pack, grateful for the gentle blue glow allowing me to see what I was doing. Inside I withdrew my pickaxe from the magical merchant chamber which apparently could hold things much larger than the exterior let on.

I stood, bit my lip, and held my pickaxe at the ready.

"Here goes nothing!"

I swung.

The pickaxe hit the wall and bounced back fiercely out of my hands, clattering to the ground behind me. A small notice appeared in my vision.

[Your mining skill is not high enough to mine : Orihalcum]

"You've got to be kidding me..."

This couldn't be. All of my solutions were here, casting blue light upon my scaly Lizard face and there was nothing I could do about it.

"Fuck!" I stomped my foot hard and growled, letting out a Lizard roar. I immediately knew it was a huge mistake as the cavern started shaking, bits of rock and dirt crumbling and falling to the floor.

"No... Oh no..."

I turned to run and begin my blind ascent when I realized what was happening.

The outer shell of the walls crumbled and fell to my feet, revealing Orihalcum crystal after Orihalcum crystal. The cavern filled with bright blue as hundreds, ...no thousands of Orihalcum revealed themselves around me. I stared around in an unbelieving stupor.

The shaking stopped and the cavern calmed, allowing me enough silence to realize what had just happened.

Not only was I going to regain my former status as HellBlade...

But I was going to become a millionaire in real life. This amount of Orihalcum had to be worth a massive fortune at minimum. It was unprecedented. What would they offer me?

I brought my hands to my head and sat down, trying to regain control over my spiraling fantasies and thoughts.

This was life changing. This was earth shattering.

After catching my breath and claiming my composure, I stood, letting HellBlade take over again and begin planning. What needed to happen next?

1. Secure the area.

Nobody could know about this place, or even stumble upon it. People had been murdered in real life for far less than what was offered here. I had to secure and defend it.

2. Raise my mining level.

The Orihalcum was useless stuck in the cavern walls. I had to get strong enough to get it out.

3. Prepare to store.

I would need a safe location to transfer and store this much wealth. It wouldn't be safe in my shop, and besides everyone would see me transporting it there.

4. Regain my power

5. Vengeance.

The last two steps of my 5 step plan were self explanatory. I stood, smiling and went over to grab my pickaxe. I'd have to find some easier, basic materials to mine in order to level up my Mining. I wasn't sure how long it would take or what level I needed to be at in order to mine the Orihalcum but I had to start somewhere.

As soon as I bent over, I nearly fell, feeling suddenly overwhelmed with sleep.

"What the... What's happening?"

That's when I noticed the notification marker in the bottom of my vision.

[NPC Subroutine restarting in 10 seconds.]

"Wait, what does that mean!?"

I checked my in-game clock and realized that it was almost nightfall.

"Oh shit."

I quickly reached down and picked up a single orihalcum flake and as soon as the 10 seconds were up, I fell asleep.