Battle Maiden

Book 1 : Into the Gates of Hell

Chapter 2 : Into the Frying Pan

*****

“How’s your study?”

A middle aged man asked while reading out of his tablet. His eyes never went toward the person he was talking to. It might have been unnecessary, as there was only one other person with him. Still it was bad manners.

“It’s progressing nicely” was the reply.

They were having breakfast. It was the only time of day they were together. Because of this, Sarah associates her uncle with the smell of morning coffee.

“Good. Let me know if you need anything.”

Still not looking at her, he took a sip of the extra strong coffee Sarah made. He was drowned with his work. He leaves home much earlier than Sarah and returns much later than her. Sometimes, he was not home for a week. Breakfast is the only time he has to spend together with his niece.

He is doing a bad job on it.

Still, Sarah did not mind. She understood the nature of his work. She was grateful toward her uncle for taking care of her. He’s the only family she has left.

“Have a safe trip.”

Sarah went as far as the front door with him before sending him off.

“Still have two hours till class, might as well go read something.”

*****

“So how’s Royal Road?”

Steve asked his twin brother who is tutoring him. He wanted a distraction.

“It’s grueling. This ‘basic combat training’ thing.”

“Huh? What’s that?”

“You don’t know? Whack a scarecrow millions of time and you get a free sword.”

That is the current understanding of Scott towards the basic training. He thought everybody knew but just decide that it’s not worth it.

“Is the sword any good?”

Steve was curious. It’s the first time he heard about this.

“It is said to be better than the one NPC’s sell. With a bonus to strength.”

“Well, good luck then. You might die of boredom before getting it.”

“I’ll die trying if I must. A girl managed to do it, my pride as a man is at stake here.”

The real reason was not his pride. Scott simply believes that by completing the same training he might meet her again. This time, he is going to ask her name. Plus, she might come back to the training hall while he is doing the training.

“A girl huh? This reminds me of a rumor. I heard that the town you started in had a good looking librarian NPC.”

“Not interested in an NPC.”

“Just looking won’t hurt. This is why you are still single.”

“Just looking is why you have 2 exes and currently ALSO single.”

BURN!

They laughed it off. Steve went back to his studying as their allowance depended on his grade. Scott went back to his room and logged on to Royal Road.

*****

For newbies who just entered Royal Road, it is important for them to get a job for the first month. They were unable to go outside because they are too weak. Most do quests, some opted for a part time job in an NPC store. Whatever it is, they need to earn money for food.

Sera was no exception. She applied for a job in the town’s library. Not many chose to do so as the pay is low compared to the equipment and item store. The thought of being surrounded by dusty books also deterred potential employee. For Sera, this is heaven. She loves books, which are rare in real life as they are slowly replaced by e-books and iBook (don’t sue me). She loves the smell of books, the feeling of flipping pages, the sound they make as you turn the pages.

‘I can read books while working, get free food from the training hall, this is going great.’

She went to the training hall when no one else is around and worked (read books) in the library the rest of her time online. Most women eats heartily in VR to satisfy what they can’t do in RL, Sera read books instead. Over the course of four month, she has read almost all books in the town library.

‘The game maker put great effort in shaping the world lore. History, ecosystem, culture, everything is very detailed and well thought out.’

‘This might be their central system AI’s doing. How much processing power does it have to achieve all this? A world that changes based on the players, AI who adapt with changes quickly, truly it’s an amazing game.’

‘If one were to build a world similar to ours in VR, will the line between real and virtual be diminished? RR purposely made the graphic distinguishable from real life, but a powerful enough computer might achieve this. Imagine not knowing whether you are in virtual reality, or in real life. I need to make note of this for my project.’

She was lost in thought as she finished reading the last book in the library. It’s titled ‘Beasts of Versailles Continent’. It contains interesting information on the common monsters found in the continent. Did you know that Kobolds are more closely related to dragons compared to Lizardman?

“Sera.”

The head librarian spoke in a soft voice calling out. Sera return the book back to the shelf and walked toward her.

“How may I help you today?”

Sera asked with a smile. The head librarian always meant business. She is not the one to engage in idle chat.

“You have read all the books in the library. It is a feat which will be rewarded.”

*Tring*

-You can now learn the skill Identify

-You can now learn the skill (???)

-Do you wish to learn the skill?-

Yes|No

Sera know what Identify was, but the second skill offered was simply marked with question marks. A secret skill. Sera did not hesitate and just nodded.

“Yes”

*Ttring*

-You have learned the skill ‘Identify’.-

Identify (Active Skill)Through studying different kind of books you have gain the ability to better study the properties of an object.

-Affected by wisdom stat

-Skill can be raised with usage

*Ttring*

-You have learned the skill ‘Judge a book by its cover’.-

Judge a book by its cover (Active Skill)Never judge a book by its cover, unless you have read many, Many books. The skill allows you to size up your opponent and find their weakness by simply observing them. However it is very risky as it may not be accurate.

-Affected by Wis and Int Stat of you and your opponent.

-Skill level can be raised through reading books.

The secret skill seems to be weird. The description contradicts the name. It can only be raised by reading books. Knowing how the game works, reading the same book will not give much increase in proficiency.

‘I guess I should try it out during battle.’

She realized that only once she went out of town after the one month limit had ended. She holed herself up in the city for four month, only reading books and hitting scarecrows for stress relief. To her, this world is not simply a game. It’s an outlet, a place no one knows her and none to judge her. She was satisfied with reading and occasional anger management in the training hall.

‘Maybe I should reread all the books here once more to raise the skill a bit.’

The head librarian smiled at Sera as she informs the second part of the news.

“Also, you’re fired. I finally got a replacement for you.”

“What?”

“All you did is read books, not really working. You are still welcome here to read as you like, but the library can’t afford to pay a free loader.”

“….”

‘I’ve been compromised. Never thought an NPC would find out.’

Sera now worries that her comfortable life is being destroyed. First, she was chased out by Instructor Graham, no more free food. Now she’s fired; no more free money.

‘This congratulation and reward thing is a scam!’

She recalled the training hall incident. She was chased out right after getting congratulated.

“I hope you understand. I wish you luck.”

“What about today’s pay? “

“Did you do any work today?”

Sera put on an innocent smile.

“No?”

*****

Spoon is in the training hall diligently hitting the training dummy. He is now using a great sword instead of the wooden long sword he used on his first day. His training here taught him how the skill gain works in Royal Road. After a couple of days hitting the dummy, he found out that using varying techniques and combos will increase his stat faster. He started to imitate all the moves he knows from games and animes he had seen. The drill became less boring, but not for long.

He never knew what is the requirement to pass the test besides hitting the dummy. He thought it was the numbers of blows. So he took two slightly lighter and shorter wooden swords in place of the long sword. The training hall has many varieties of wooden swords, from weight, shape and design. With the two lighter wooden swords, his blows double in speed and quantity. After a week, he realized the pattern for his stat increase had changed. He is gaining agility faster than he gains strength.

‘If I focus on speed, then agility will increase faster. Make sense, like real life.’

After realizing this logic, he exchanged his two swords with the heaviest wooden sword he could find. His strength is far behind his agilities by now. He needed to compensate.

‘What if, I swing this heavy sword with speed as a focus?’

It was easier said than done, but Spoon persisted. The heavy sword requires two hands to swing, and the momentum makes combo highly difficult. For another week he practices using this method. He is now able to swing the great sword with one hand.

“Hungry already?”

He was interrupted by a system warning telling him his satiety level is low. He opens his back pack to get a piece of rye bread which was supplied by his brother.

‘Noob should eat noob food. Here, 100 rye breads for you.’

Those were his brother’s exact word. Steve was pissed when he found out that Scott’s avatar name is Spoon, exactly resembling him, and has blue hair. As of why, Steve had a bad experience involving a blue spoon. That incident made Steve loath the color blue. The rye bread was his retaliation.

The traumatic incident of the blue spoon will, perhaps, be told another time.

“At least I got food.”

Spoon munched the bread slowly. It was too hard and dry to eat quickly. Spoon was never a picky eater. All that matter for him is the food is healthy and clean. Taste comes second.

‘It’s about time I switch back to long sword.’

While his initial reason for doing this ridiculous training was to pursue the mysterious girl, he now finds it satisfying. Watching your stats increase while remaining level 1 was sublime to him. He swapped the heavy great sword for the long sword he initially used. It felt incredibly light in his hand. He wanted to see how much he improved. He went back to the dummy.

He focused on his sword.

‘One swing. To feel the difference. Full power.’

His sword raised overhead, a slight pause at the peak. Concentrating all his strength and speed in one blow, the sword was swung down on the inanimate straw dummy.

*CRACK!*

He was surprised. Both the wooden sword and the dummy were shattered. Only the hilt of the sword remains intact in his grip.

*ttring*

A message appeared in front of Spoon.

He learned the skill Focused Strike.

Focused Strike (Active)Focus your energies for a single devastating blow. Great power but may reduce the durability of equipped weapon.

-Efficiency increase by level

-Power increase by level.

-Level of skill can only be increased through usage of skill.

While he did learn a few skills through his training, this is the first active skill he discovered. An active skill is activated through command, either verbal or action (such as pose). There are mastery skills which are passive. They give bonuses just by using the skill or weapon. Spoon had a Sword Mastery of Beginner level 4. Any sword in his hands automatically increases in efficiency.

*tttring!*

Another message popped up showing an increase in stats.

Instructor Graham’s eye widened as he watched what had happen. He already knows that the kid got talent, but to learn a warrior skill while not having the class or any guidance was impressive. Not to mention he is still level 1. This incident boosted his affinity toward Spoon.

“Congratulations. You have passed the basic training course.”

“I did? I did not remember the girl before doing any of this when she passed.”

“Not everyone is the same. Everybody can hit a training dummy. But not many have the spirit.”

‘Spirit? More like having enough patience to put up with this crap.’

“I usually observe all trainee and decide on a sword which best suited them. You however, prove to be proficient in many styles of swords. So for your reward, you get to choose what type of sword you want.”

Spoon went silent. He never really thought about this before. He was always experimenting on different moves. He likes the power of the great sword, the reach of the long sword and the speed of short sword. Choosing one is not easy, as he probably will have to stick to it for the rest of the game.

Then he remembered the girl that made him start this crazy training. He found his answer.

“I want the sword exactly like the one you gave the girl before me.”

The instructor furrows his brows.

*****

“Achoo!”

“Why are you sneezing on the food? It is ruined!”

A loud thundering voice, belonged to the restaurant owner filled the kitchen. The plump lady, hit the head of the new worker using her ladle.

-HP decreased by 15-

“Throw that food in that chute! No spoiled food is to be served in my establishment. The cost will be charged on your salary!”

“No one will know, please don’t cut my salary.”

“Do you want to get fired instead? Hurry up and do your job!”

“Y-Yes MA’AM!!”

‘This job sucks, I missed the library.’

The trainee name is Sera. Since she got fired and was short on cash, she started working in a restaurant in hope for free delicious food. She underestimated the amount of work involves in this industry. It was hectic.

‘Maybe I should quit this job’

‘After I get food of course.’

She began to sneakily eat the food she was told to throw. Wasting food is bad.

‘I should at least recover that lost HP.’

Sera stood in front of the chute, pretending to throw away the food while eating it. In a big restaurant like this, a lot of waste product generated each day. All of them, including failed cooking were thrown down this chute where it magically turns into composts. Well, not really magically; they still went through rotting process like in real world. Unnecessary details according to Sera.

To avoid suspicion, she had to stop eating half way. Taking too much time will cause the boss to get angry again. Sera lift the cover of the chute to throw away the food. As she stares down the chute, she notices a faint glimmer at the bottom.

‘What sort of food shine like that’

*Clunk!*

-HP decreased by 23-

Sera were hit in the back of her head.

“What are you up to now? Can’t even do a simple task?”

‘This is by far the most annoying NPC I’ve met.’

“My apology, I just noticed something shiny at the bottom of the chute. I was trying to find out what it is.”

Sera faked an innocent smile.

“Shiny? Somebody must have dropped some utensils in there. Let me look.”

She lit a match and dropped it down the chute. For a short while the object was illuminated by the light. The owner face turns pale.

“It’s my wedding ring I lost..”

‘Someone is married to you?’

“Well, now that you know where it is, all you need to do is get down there to get it.”

Her face brightened. She faced Sera and holds her hands tightly.

“Exactly. My body is too big to enter down the chute. You will do nicely.”

“Eh? Me?”

“Will you help me out, I will reward you handsomely. The ring is a priceless memorabilia of mine.”

*Ttring*

Quest NotificationRetrieve Mrs. Graham’s Wedding Ring. (Grade D)Requirement

-Can fit through the chute (Highly important)

-Deemed credible by the owner

Reward

-Unknown

If refused or failed, the restaurant will not serve any food to you. Ever.

Expired in 2 days.

‘Why me? Send one of your workers down. Now that I look properly, I’m the only one here a player character.’

‘I guess level D might not be too hard. Just go down, take the thing, and climb back up.’

This is coming from a girl who always aces her test. A level D does not intimidate her even though she is still level 2. She never really took on a quest before. Surviving only by leeching of the instructor of the training hall and earning money through jobs in the library. She has no idea of the difficulty of the grade of the quest.

Sera nodded her head.

‘Rewards means money, money means food. Dying of hunger is pathetic.’

“I will do it.”

-You have accepted the quest-

“Great, beware of the rats residing down there.

“Rats??”

“Bigger than normal, with all those food. Stronger too.”

“Big RATS??”

“Also beware of their bite. Generations upon generations of rats having eaten failed food product made them highly poisonous.”

“BIG POISONOUS RATS???”

“Slimy lots, those rats. Go down prepared. I’ll give you a torch to light the place up. Please hurry, who knows when the rats might eat the ring.”

“Metal eating, big slimy poisonous rats?????”

*****

Below the restaurant, lies an underground cave. It was made when the city is but a small town. Its purpose is to hide supplies from bandits during time of strife. As war ended, and the town prospered, a restaurant was built on top of it, as if saying that they no longer need to hide.

Time passed by, what used to be food storage was infested by rats. The owner, at that time, was unable to get rid of the rats. Instead, he turns the underground cave into a dumping place for waste.

‘It will never be full; the rats will eat up the thrown food.’

‘With modification, the entrance is now vertical, with smooth wall, to prevent the rats from escaping.’

This was the dark secret of the restaurant. What they did not expect, is the rat mutated from eating the rotten and spoiled food. What used to be a small colony of pest turned into a swarm of monsters.

*****

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Wrote: Tables are tricky in this forum.

Credits as always goes to Nobody8 again for pointing out grammar mistakes (he did up to chapter 3) and others who gave feedback in chat. Hopefully there are not many mistakes, thanks for reading.

Credits for the secret skill goes to my 8 year old niece, who said to me people who read lots of book should be able to judge a book by its cover.

Credits for bad naming sense all goes to me