She made him a bacon avocado grilled cheese sandwich, which he enjoyed very much, before he headed back down into his den to get back on ForeverQuest.

He logged back in, pleased to find that his real-life archery level had increased to 2. Cedric and Dom were also on.

The three decided to see if they could find any quest worthy of their time. Of course, they were also still pretty low level, so in reality they would really settle with anything with a halfway decent reward.

After enough exploration of the general Lomberg Area, they found an old hermit living a nearby swamp who gave them a new Quest, Dragon Slayer. They were told to find a small Purple Dragon named Claymore. Apparently, he was level 62 and lived in the Grizzley Mountains to the north.

Gary checked his map as the three started the trek to mountains up north. “So, level 62? That’s a bit high for us, right? I mean, the highest level thing we’ve killed is that level 34 Earth Zombie. Think we’ll be alright?”

“StankRoot!” Dom yelled in joy as he spotted an herb he could gather. Dom rushed forward joyously, scrambling on his hands and knees to collect the Stankroot. He dug it up frantically, like a kid digging for a candy bar. Little fireworks exploded around him as he finished harvesting the root. “Yessss! Level 3 Herblore! What up dudes, I’m killin’ it!”

Cedric rolled his eyes, but Gary nodded in approval. “Nice Dom. Keep it up. We’ll need your potions soon, I’m sure.”

Cedric quietly examined his brass knuckles, which were dented from beating up a few too many Goblin Whelps. They would need a repair soon.

Also, Cedric had informed Dom and Gary that he had started taking boxing lessons, which was a great idea, or atleast Gary thought so. Although neither fencing nor boxing were easy to learn skills at all, there were at least boxing gyms in Litchfield.

The three continued the trek to the Grizzly Mountains.

Soon, the three could see mountains shooting up in the distance. Truth be told, Gary had never seen real mountains before, given that he had never left Illinois and everything. The mountains he encountered in video games were as close as it got to the real deal.

The range stretched on for miles, peaks jagged, shaped like rocky claws. Even from here, Gary could see the road start to ascend. The path was chipped gravel, surrounded by tall pine trees. When the wind blew through the trees, they made a soft whistling noise.

“Woah,” Dom said, his mouth gaping. “Mountains.”

“Wish we had those in Illinois,” said Cedric, a little bit in awe.

Soon, Gary’s legs were burning a bit from going straight uphill. The trees slowly became more evergreen. Although they were “just in a game”, he could also sense a difference in air pressure as he climbed. The air was thinner, cleaner, and a bit colder.

At first, they didn’t see any monsters, but soon they could spot level 41 Mountain Wolves prowling around. The wolves were the size of a great dane, with heavy paws and ragged brown fur. Their off-brown color gave them natural camouflage to the terrain, making them difficult to spot unless they were moving. They were far away enough not to pull aggro, but Gary was starting to get a bit nervous. The monsters were higher level around these parts, it seemed.

Lucky for them, they didn’t get ambushed while they hiked. However, it took them forever to find the right cave. Unlike some games, ForeverQuest didn’t really tell you where your quest locations were. Games had started to baby players by leading them directly to quest rewards.

The developers at Dragon Mastery Studios had obviously decided against this. Cedric, Dom, and Gary wandered the mountain range for hours, dipping in and out of random caves, looking for a purple dragon insignia on the wall. They were told that the right cave would be marked by this sign by the quest log. That was their only hint.

After what seemed like hours of looking, they found the right mark. By the time they made it, the three were pretty low on Stamina, so they took a short break to rest. They were just discussing a fight plan when Tommy came bursting through the entrance, shortly followed by Barcel and Fred.

Barcel was holding a [Oak Longbow]. It looked as if they made him the archer of the group. Fred was equipped with rusted looking bronze armor and a giant [Bronze Warhammer]. Tommy, on the other hand, was wearing light armor and brandishing a [Iron Rapier]. All his gear was pristine for his level, a light iron helmet, fitted leather grieves, a leather and chainmail piece of body armor. Gary wasn’t sure the stats of the gear just by looking at it, but he knew it was better than his ragged leather stuff.

As soon as Tommy saw them, he sneered. “Hey nerds,” he said. “What are you up to?”

“Nothing,” Dom said sarcastically. “We just like sitting in random caves. That’s all.”

Fred smiled. “Fred likes caves! They make Fred feel safe.”

Barcel growled at Fred, almost at the same time that Tommy saw the purple insignia. He pointed and grinned. “Aww. I see you are on the same quest as us.”

Dom shrugged. “Yeah? So what.”

A malicious glint entered Tommy’s eyes. “We’re killing it first!” His crew quickly sprinted into the next chamber.

It happened fast. Gary tried to rush in right after them, but he received a notification: Only one group may fight Claymore at a time. An invisible wall bounced him backward, causing him to slide on his back for a few feet.

“Dang It!” Gary said as he slammed his fist against the ground. “They locked us out! Those jerks!”

“It’s no big,” said Dom. “Hopefully they lose.”

Cedric nodded, “Yeah, don’t worry about it Gary. We’ll get our chance.”

Gary calmed down a bit, taking a moment to breath. “Of course. Really, I guess I just let them get to me.”

Gary rested his back against the cave wall. “Maan, I sure hope they lose,” he said wistfully.

The next few minutes were tense. Gary could hear the sound of battle nearby--a roar of a dragon, Fred laughing maniacally, Tommy shriek as he got hit, the sound of dragon claws on metal armor. He could only hope that they would wipe.

Several minutes later, Tommy and his crew emerged from the cave. From the glib smile on their faces, Gary had a feeling they had won. “That purple creep was easy,” Tommy said. “But I bet he destroys you noobs.”

Gary fumed, trying desperately to think of a good comeback. Nothing came to him. Suddenly, “Quest Complete!” flashed over Tommy’s head in giant flashing letters. Clearly, Tommy had defeated Claymore.

Gary’s resolve strengthened. He had to win, he couldn’t let Tommy keep one upping him.

Cedric motioned them to go fight. “Come on guys,” he said. “Let’s kill this thing.”

Dom sprang to his feet and shook his hair like a wet dog. “Yeah, c’mon Gary, let’s just kill it.”

The three entered the battle chamber located deeper in the cave. The scenery remained the same, save for a few heavy wooden torches that lit the battle arena.

As the got closer, Gary spotted Claymore.

For a dragon, he didn’t look that scary, but he was still the most impressive monsters Gary had seen in ForeverQuest. Claymore wasn’t massive, he was around the same size as a large horse. He was, in fact, purple, but more of a grimy purple than anything. His claws were off-yellow, but still looked as sharp as the edge of any blade. Ragged wings rested on his back, nestled on either side of a line of purple spikes that sprounded from his head to tail. Currently, Claymore was sleeping, his heavy body heaving in gentle rhythm.

The three crept up on him, generally unsure of what to do. A sneak attack would likely be the best bet, but it almost felt unsportsmanlike to stab a sleeping dragon.

Suddenly, Cedric stumbled on the uneven cave floor, releasing an involuntary gasp.

Claymore snorted, shifted his wings, and then gently groaned.

“Cedric, you idiot!” Dom whispered angrily.

“Shut up, you're going to wake him!” Cedric mouthed back.

Gary looked Claymore in horror, hoping that he wouldn’t wake. The dragon snorted again, and opened one bloodshot eye.

With a sudden screech, Claymore got to his feet and displayed his crooked, but still lethal teeth. The dragon slammed his tail against the ground, shaking the cave with a low-tier earthquake. Gary was almost knocked off his feet in the tremor. Cedric slipped again, sprawling onto his back. Dom screamed at him again to get up.

Gary fired an arrow at the dragon’s face, but the beast was quick. It lurched, dodging the arrow, and drove straight forward into Dom, slamming his head into Dom’s stomach. The blow sent Dom flying like a ragdoll.

Cedric landed a solid punch in Claymore’s side, but the blow only did 3.1 damage.

Shoot, Gary thought. He’s not only fast and powerful, but his scales act as a natural armor.

Gary’s thought was confirmed as he landed a shot that only dealt 1.8 damage. He had been hitting over 5 on Golbin Welps!

A tail came out of seemingly nowhere and caught Gary in the midsection. A red 18 flashed in his monitor, and he experienced the wind being knocked out of him.

“You lost your wind, 1 second stun,” said Brittney.

Gary rolled around on the ground helplessly, and when he got up he saw Dom was also floored. Cedric, meanwhile, was blocking a claw slash with his shield. Apparently, Cedric wasn’t good enough at blocking, because the blow still made him lose his balance. Claymore followed with another bruthal headbutt, this one crunching Cedric in the chest, sending him slamming into the cave wall like a bag of bricks.

Claymore was currently at 85% health, Dom was at 62%, Cedric 71%, Gary 82%. Gary fired another arrow, this one sinking into Claymores thick thigh. The dragon screeched and bit at Gary.

Just in time, Gary managed to backwards-somersault out of the way. Feeling somewhat proud of himself, he got to his feet and fired another arrow.

This shot was, however, fired too quickly and off target. The arrow hit the cave wall and shattered.

Cedric quickly entered melee range again and fired a stiff left jab, connecting but only causing 1.2 points of damage.

Dom, finally, cut the beast in the tail, releasing a small gush of black blood and scoring 2.5.

Enraged, Claymore swooped around and chomped at Dom. With a sick crunch, the dragon bit Dom on the arm, ivory teeth tearing through Dom’s leather armor like it was paper.

Dom screamed and tore his arm loose from the dragon’s mouth, but Gary noticed his health dip below 20%, and the health bar turned dark red--a clear sign that he was losing health from blood loss.

Gary looked up to see Cedric getting whipped across the face with a ropey tail. Claymore smiled wickedly as Cedric stumbled backward and spit. Claymore still had 68% health.

With Dom at 20% health, Cedric now at 43, and Gary still at 82%, Gary decided to call it. “Run!” he screamed as he started to scramble toward the exit.

Dom didn’t need to be told twice, he darted out in front of Gary. For a brief moment, Cedric winced, but then he realized his friends were gone so he took off as well. Just as they were leaving, Claymore released a spurt of toxic smog breath, a low green wave that billowed over the cavern floor like smoke. Fortunately, the attack was slow moving, and the three had a head start.

Gary flew out of the cave into a bright sunny day. Dom and Cedric tumbled out with him, both breathing heavily, Dom laughing out of fear and adrenaline. Panting, he turned around to make sure Claymore hadn’t followed them.

They were good, it looked like Claymore hadn’t left the cave.

You gained 7 archery experience!