Sargonaut lieutenant took 37 shock damage and was killed

EXPERIENCE GAINED: 1,875 (4,155/22,875 to next level)

Carey opened his eyes to see a shaft of light beaming down on him. A pleasant mist rose around his fallen body.

What the…

Someone gave a final, ragged gasp. Carey sat up and the light around him faded until it vanished. He felt perfectly fine, fully conscious and alert, mysteriously alive somehow. His HP and SP were full.

His eyes took a few seconds to adjust to the darkness. The gasp had come from the Sargonaut lieutenant, who shook a few times before finally lying still.

Dead. But… how?

~SIDE QUEST COMPLETE~

THOLFAX’S CROSSING

Outposts Conquered: 1 / 56

EXPERIENCE GAINED: 4,720 points (8,875/22,875 to next level)

“Bea? Will?”

“Here, Carey!”

It was Min-Joon. He came running over and grabbed Carey’s hand, pulling him up. They were still in the wreckage of the fallen building in Tholfax’s Crossing. The only difference was the Sargonaut lieutenant, who was now a corpse.

“How did you guys…” Carey couldn’t help but gape at the dead Sargonaut. He shook his head to clear it. “What the hell happened?”

“Carey!”

Ara ran over and hugged him. Carey hugged her back, but it was tough to respond on an emotional level when you had a million questions running through your mind.

“You survived,” Beatrice said, beaming proudly at him. “Thanks to me,” she added with a shrug.

“But how? I thought that Sargonaut wasted me.”

“Oh, he did. But I cast ‘Aura of the Empath.’ Remember that one?”

“The spell that pools everyone’s HP? You cast it during the fight with Ruckus.”

She nodded. “That’s the one. It does more than just pool HP. It shares the effects of Healing and Stamina potions, and…”

“Resurrect Elixirs!”

“Damn right. Took a little while, as I had to get in range…”

So, that mystery was solved. If Bea hadn’t thought to loot Ruckus’s body, and if she hadn’t found that elixir, Carey would be a corpse right now, both inside the game and in real life.

He approached Bea. Hugged her. Even kissed her on the cheek. She patted his back a bit awkwardly. “Okay, buddy. That’s good, I’m glad you’re still with us.”

Will was swirling his hands, weaving a spell resembling some sort of weird neon cotton candy spun from the finest strands of light.

Carey opened his mouth to ask a question, but Will interrupted him with the answer.

“We took down the Sargo while you were out. You see, our friend, the Sargonaut, has a weakness to mind magic. I cast ‘Kenatos Hypnos’ on him and made him punch himself a dozen times for 10 damage each punch, while I cast lightning and fireball spells at him to wear him down.”

Carey shook his head in disbelief. “You guys are gods.”

Bea and Will smiled at each other. Min-joon was busy looting the Sargonaut’s body. He lifted a gleaming steel blade that seemed to be missing its grip and said, “Whoaaa…”

“Throw it here, kid,” Carey said. “That’s all me.”

Min-Joon tossed it at him. Carey plucked it from the air, deftly flipped it in his fingers, and popped it into his inventory.

(1) Slotted Short Sword Component – Steel Blade & Cross-Guard

He had the emerald and the components. Now, he just needed a crafting bench. But hadn’t the quest log mentioned something about Cluster Bombs?

“You guys,” Carey said, pointing at a mound of rubble. “Does that look like the bottom corner of a chest—or is it just me?”

Min-joon rubbed his palms together and sprang toward it. He tossed aside bits of wreckage, opened the chest, and greedily looted it. The items were distributed among the party instantly—and intelligently, you could say, as light armor components went to Carey, crystals went to Will, and Beatrice received a sparkling shawl she couldn’t stop smiling at. Ara simply watched and enjoyed their reactions. It was a massive haul.

(2) Cluster Bombs

(25) Silver Coins

(3) Simple Healing Balm

(6) Lumos Fruit

(24) Sharpened Steel Arrows

(1) Fancy Dinner Shirt

(1) Fancy Dinner Vest

(5) Beeswax

(4) Basic Twine

(10) Rags

(20) Steel Flakes

(2) Enderthal Crystals

(10) Iron Ingot

(8) Aluminum Shards

(10) Leather Strips

“Almost can’t carry anymore,” Carey said. “But, damn, this Fancy Dinner gear ain’t bad. +3 to Charisma, +12 to Persuade. We need to find a merchant and do some haggling!”

“In Tyrathon,” Beatrice said. “I’m sure there’s a ton.”

“Did you guys see these Cluster Bombs?” Will asked.

Carey whistled as he read the description. Min-joon tried to mimic the whistle but failed miserably, rolled his eyes, and sighed.

The Cluster Bomb was a black mechanical metal ball with geometric cracks and tiny holes that made Carey wonder if it could be taken apart with a screwdriver. The main explosion would do 65 damage while the smaller clusters, which would spread out and explode on their own, would do 25 damage apiece. There were ten of the smaller bombs inside the large one.

It felt like an atom bomb in the palm of his hand. Carey would have to use this baby wisely.

They found a clearing, made a campfire, whipped up a few recipes Will wanted to try out—the Puffcow Short Ribs were amazeballs—and finally took twenty minutes just to rest and relax.

Carey and Min-joon ended up with extra energy and swung through the trees in a race around the clearing, like chimps trying to impress a female. Ara clapped happily at their athleticism. Beatrice flew alongside them, laughing as she proved how much faster she could be on wings.

Will sat back against a rock and studied some new scrolls he’d found. The guy treasured his alone time. Carey could respect that.

The party entered Tyrathon, and Carey breathed a sigh of relief to find it was a bustling metropolis with signs of human activity everywhere he looked—not a gutted hole like Irados under constant attack by Cebrons.

“It ain’t six yet,” Will said as they stepped onto a main road and faced a crowded public square with a blooming water fountain in the center. “Shall we visit a merchant?”

“I think we shall,” Carey said.

Merchant stores lined the sidewalk, at least a dozen on one street alone. The competition must have been fierce—not that supply and demand were real economic factors here. Or were they? All the shops seemed to be having one or more sales, so this was either a real economy or at least a real simulation of one.

“There’re so many,” he said.

Will tapped his chin and hmm’d, reminding Carey of his Intro to Computer Science professor from freshman year of college.

“Bea, what do you say?” Will asked. “Check out armor and weapons?”

“Obviously,” she said. “You guys need to level up that beginner’s gear.”

“Maybe we should wait,” Carey said. “Wally said he had some stuff for us. Plus, I have to get my gift from the Traveling Merchant.”

“Ah, that’s right,” Will said, his brown eyes widening. “It’s a different gift depending on your race and class, but I hear it’s always good no matter what. I met with the guy in Irados back when I was Level 3. He gave me a staff that made a tiny cloud hang above an enemy and drop poisonous rain.”

“Not bad,” Carey said. “Let’s meet Lothos real quick, and then we’ll go see Wally. We have time.”

“Lothos is a nice guy,” Min-joon said. “I like Lothos a lot.”

“Me too,” Bea said, fluffing her wings. “I think that’s a good plan.”

They passed a man on a street corner who was shouting and wearing an apron with dozens of bulging pockets full of folded paper. With one hand, he waved a huge sheet of parchment covered in lines, notes, and doodles—homemade, obviously.

“Maps! Getcher maps! Find those dungeon delights, mark your dastardly destinations, seek out those outposts and go grab that gold!”

Carey stopped in front of the map vendor.

“Can I see your wares?”

The man grinned. He was missing teeth and had a patchy brown beard that indicated homelessness or a state close to it. He also smelled like rotten apples, and looking down, Carey noticed one of the many pockets of his apron was full of brown apple slices.

“Certainly, good sir. Can I recommend The Crook of Mailos Mountain? Lots of dungeons swollen with gold, so I hear, if you can survive the packs of Wyrmbeasts. Or, or, or… !” He snapped a finger in front of Carey’s face, making him flinch. “How about a map of The Rolling Falls of Revenché? Sky-high waterfalls as far as the eye can see, with all sorts of secret doors and passages behind them—all marked on my map, of course!—for any worthy explorer looking to plunder that rare metal, Tiberian Steel. They say it’s indestructible!”

“Show me what you have of Tyrathon and its surroundings, uh… good sir.”

“Certainly!”

The vendor made a sweeping motion with one hand. Maps of all shapes and sizes, on paper that varied in quality—some of the pages pristine and cloth-like, others resembling napkins with coffee stains—suddenly flew across Carey’s vision and arranged themselves in a grid-like fashion.

As he inspected everything, Carey made sure he was wearing his Fancy Dinner Shirt and Fancy Dinner Vest, which upped his Charisma by 6 and his Persuade skill by 24 points.

Will, Beatrice, and Min-joon gaped at all the maps. Ara stood aside, gazing at the city surroundings. She probably already had access to all kinds of maps through her system connection.

No, not a connection—she was the system. He couldn’t forget that.

“How about this one?” Will asked, pointing at a map of the city.

“Nine silver,” Carey said and whistled. “Not cheap.”

The vendor chuckled. “I purchased that one off a traveling cartographer who stayed in my brother’s inn. He had maps from all over the world—all five continents! But he wasn’t cheap, either. No… those damn cartographers are never cheap, the bastards.”

“We’ll take it,” Carey said, and the transaction took place automatically. A light jingle indicated the silver had been deducted from his inventory.

“Here’s another one we should get,” Beatrice said, pointing at a map that showed all kinds of little hills, holes, and doors and Xs and Os scattered throughout the land surrounding Tyrathon—except for the western part where it was only ocean. Looking closely at the smaller representation of the map, which expanded to allow Carey a better look, he saw on the legend that each little symbol marked a dungeon, bandit camp, cave, shrine, or outpost of some sort.

“Definitely,” Carey said.

“I agree,” Min-joon said.

“We can build a house,” Will said, “spend a few days looting those dungeons and leveling up. What do you say?”

“Soon, my friend. Soon,” Carey said as Beatrice purchased the map for 27 silver—a princely sum. Outrageous, in fact.

Instantly, the maps transferred a variety of marked locations to Carey’s map display. After one last look at the vendor’s wares, the party decided to move on.

“Thank ye, travelers!” With a gap-toothed grin, the vendor waved them farewell, cackling.

“We still need to sell these gold nuggets,” Carey said.

Beatrice nodded, wings fluttering lightly. Carey had to brush one away from his face. “I say we liquidate and get gold coins,” she said. “Lothos has a pretty good store, so we should be prepared to get everything we need. He might not buy actual gold nuggets. Most merchants don’t. But it should be easy enough to find someone with a forge who can smelt them for us.”

They found a shop that sold rare stones and valuable metals. The vendor was a short, round man with a bald top, who resembled a monk from a Robin Hood movie—except for the fact he was surrounded by precious stones, minerals, and metal ingots instead of bibles or holy relics.

Carey looked closely at a shelf full of what appeared to be yellow and pink diamonds. The notification—written in red lettering—told him he could “steal” them, if he chose. But Carey had played enough RPGs in his life to know how that worked. If he tried to steal something in red, and the vendor saw him, the local guards might be called, and Carey would either end up in jail, have to pay a fine, or be forced into battle with overpowered guards. Not to mention the hit to his karma.

So, yeah—no stealing unless his life depended on it.

He took out the Enticing Perfume and sprayed it over his body, but when he went to spray it on Min-joon, it was empty.

“One time only,” Min-joon said, looking glum. “But thanks for thinking of me.”

“Sorry, pal. If I’d known, I would have given it to you.”

He shrugged. “I’ll give you all my good stuff and you can sell it for me. Would that be okay, Carey?”

“Sure thing!”

The pink-cheeked vendor gave them a good deal on the exchange, exclaiming that “Gods Almighty, you all smell delectable!” He even invited them over for dinner, which Carey assumed was just a result of his perfume and Fancy Dinner outfit affecting the man’s perception of them. Then the man surreptitiously winked at him, and Carey wasn’t so sure anymore.

He ended up selling a Torg Earring, a Flawless Ruby, and five Gold Nuggets. The total came to 160 silver and 235 copper. Not bad by any standard, and it was nice that the vendor accepted the nuggets, though he paid slightly less for them than if they’d been gold bars—and he was happy to tell them that, too.

Speaking of time, Carey needed to see Lothos as soon as possible. He used the directional quest marker on his mini-map to guide him. As they wove through streets and took a few shortcuts through alleys, he found himself looking at all the surrounding buildings and wondering what each one contained. This was a game, after all, so anything inside these buildings would necessarily be part of the program—but had the developers established routines for hundreds or even thousands of NPCs? Had they created interiors for all these buildings?

Looking through windows and seeing fully furnished interiors, Carey had to assume it was true—the amount of work the designers had put into creating this extraordinary amount of detail was staggering.

Inside his cozy shop, Lothos greeted Carey with a bear hug.

“Carey, my gods how you’ve progressed! I love the armor, my friend! And who are these fellow adventurers you’ve found?”

Carey introduced Bea, Will, Min-joon, and Ara. There were handshakes all around. Lothos showed his palm to Min-joon, and the boy slapped it.

“Good to see you again, Lothos,” Min-joon said.

Lothos grinned. “You too, m’boy!”

So this instance of Lothos—Carey’s version—must have merged with everyone else’s version. Watching as he warmly greeted Will and Beatrice, Carey knew his theory to be true. It would have been awkward otherwise, since they had each met Lothos in their own way.

The merchant waved them through his shop toward a doorway in the back, where a faint patch of light glowed at the end of a darkened hallway.

“Come, come,” he said. “Let us break bread.”

Carey studied his surroundings as they walked. The shop sold a general variety of wares very much like the traveling version Lothos carried in his pack. It seemed to have everything an adventurer around their level might need. Armor, weapons, potions, herbs, knick-knacks—nothing terribly exotic or enticing, really.

Then Lothos took them to a backroom lounge of sorts. The room was outfitted for customers wishing to relax and have a drink, but it was about two steps down from an actual tavern. Not that Carey minded—it was cozy as hell, with a few tables and chairs in the center, a makeshift bar along one side, and a keg in the corner. Within minutes of them sitting down, Lothos had served them ice-cold mugs of beer and plates of steaming, caramelized onion slices and what appeared to be the engorged cooked liver of some large animal.

Carey hated liver, but this wasn’t so bad. Tasted more like bacon than anything else.

Lothos hummed a pleasant tune while they ate, occasionally divulging news and local rumors. Some of what he described gave Carey the option to create side quests—mostly fetch quests that involved retrieving something of value and bringing it to someone in need.

“I almost forgot,” Lothos said, with a single clap of his bearish mitts behind his makeshift bar. “I promised you a gift if you came by. Let me get that for you.”

“I really appreciate this,” Carey said, chewing the last piece of liver and guzzling down what remained of his beer.

“Pour yourself another if you wish!”

Without thinking, Carey grabbed his mug and went behind the shoddy bar, whistling all the way, and refilled his mug from the keg. The beer should have been warm from sitting out in the open, but no—it was frosty and fizzy, just how he liked it.

He sat back at the table. Will cleared his throat, nudging his empty mug toward Carey. Bea watched him, brows raised. Min-joon studied their faces, wondering what was up.

“Seriously?” Carey said. “You want me to fill your mugs? What am I, your server?”

“You’d make such a good bartender,” Beatrice said half-heartedly. “Your movements are so agile. You didn’t spill a drop.”

“I’ll show you agile,” Carey said. “MJ, help me.”

He flipped Will’s empty mug through the air, slinging droplets everywhere. Min-joon jumped onto the chair and caught the mug, then did a little jig on the table. Carey, grabbing the rest of the mugs, tossed them toward the bar, lunged after them, landing on the bar’s wooden counter, and immediately caught the mugs by slipping his tail through both handles.

Min-joon followed, sliding expertly across the counter toward Carey, and the two engaged in a rollicking display of juggling the mugs, tossing them to each other, and occasionally flipping themselves like trapeze artists.

“Ferals,” Bea said. “Such show-offs.”

Carey jumped off the bar and went to fill two mugs. He threw the liquid—but not the mug—at Min-joon. The boy hadn’t known what to do. He simply stood there as the beer splashed all over him, soaking him head to toe.

Carey burst into laughter. Min-joon shrugged and licked the back of his wrist, frowning at the taste.

“It tastes funny,” he said. “I don’t like it.”

“Here.” Carey passed him a full mug. “Sorry I splashed you. This one’s on the house. You’ll grow to like it.”

With a flap of her wings, Beatrice suddenly leaped from the table and flew over.

“I don’t think so,” she said, taking the mug from Min-joon. “He’s way too young.”

Min-joon didn’t seem to mind being relieved of his drink. Carey brought Will his beer and sat down. They clinked mugs and drank, Min-joon and Beatrice joining them at the table, the party sitting happily like nothing had happened.

“My friend, you shouldn’t have,” Carey said, as Lothos set a large, classy box in front of him. It sounded fake, speaking that way—but Carey felt genuine affection for the man. “Seriously. I don’t know what’s in here, but thank you for your generosity.”

“My pleasure, young man. Go ahead—open it.”

“I bet this’ll be good,” Carey said, studying Will’s and Beatrice’s faces. They simply glanced at each other, smiling. They had both gone through this quest already and knew what was in store.

Carey opened the box and found an exquisite dagger with a pommel and hilt made of gold and silver strands woven across its surface, the blade gleaming like light forged into steel. It was radiant—a truly beautiful work of art.

“Incredible,” Carey said, and his mouth actually watered. “Numbing Dagger of the Psychos? Badass!”

“Psych-ees,” Beatrice corrected him.

“Ah, the Psyches,” Lothos said, crossing his muscled arms across his burly chest, “now they were nymphs you didn’t want to cross. They roamed the forests of Valestaryn and were a tribe of Ferals that specialized in illusory and deceptive fighting techniques and enchantments. A cross between magic and mere trickery, you could say. Their tactics could make them disappear into thin air while slowing the minds of their enemies.”

Carey studied the dagger’s stats. It was worth a hell of a lot of silver!

Item: Numbing Dagger of the Psyches (Enchanted) (Slotted)

Type: Steel Weapon, One-Handed

Attack DMG: 23/sec

Speed: Very Fast

Weight: 0.35

Value: 42S, 280C

Traits: Each strike possesses a 10 percent chance of causing Mind Fog on an enemy with Wisdom attribute equal to or less than 1.5x player’s WIS. Three successful strikes in a row initiates an unblockable spinning attack which deals 2x weapon’s damage rating while increasing chance to critical strike by 25 percent.

“It’s slotted,” Carey said. “Finally, I can use this damn crystal thingy.”

He inserted the Enchanted Emerald, which granted his weapon +20 water damage, +20 shock damage, and +15 percent chance to critical strike.

“Badass… Wait, what are these?” Carey transferred the dagger to his quick-access belt, which caused it to hang off his waist in a stylish manner. Then he picked up a flat, leathery thing which had also been in the case. About a foot long and the color of coffee ice cream, it appeared to be two leather gloves neatly pressed together and flattened either by pressure or time. They were far from brand-new, but they seemed to have been lovingly cared for.

“My father gave me those,” Lothos said. “Passed down from his father. My hands…” He held up both of his massive mitts. “They are too large. The gloves simply won’t fit. I’ve been wondering what to do with them. My father always told me that Valcyona herself once wore these gloves, and that is what bestowed them with their power. But I doubt that’s true.”

“There’s more.” Carey held up what appeared to be a pair of boots.

“Ah yes,” Lothos said. “If you thought these bear paws were big, then you should see my feet.”

“Dude,” Carey said. “Enough about your large body parts.”

He grinned at Lothos. The merchant blushed and buried his face in his beer mug.

“Let’s take a closer look at these bad boys,” Will said, gazing down at the gloves and boots.

Item: Valcyona’s Mysterious Leather Gloves of Mastery (Enchanted)

Type: Light Armor, Leather

DMG Resist: 18 (+4)

Weight: 0.25

Value: 84S, 875C

Traits: +20 Carry Weight bonus. Instantly grants 35,000 XP plus enough points to raise four AGL- or PER-based skills up to second-level mastery, including granting first-level mastery along the way.

“Wait a minute,” Carey said. “This could be so epic. You mean to tell me, if I use this on skills I haven’t raised to 35, I could potentially score eight masteries instead of four?”

“Seems like it,” Will said, then shook his head. “Can’t be, though. Sounds way too good to be true.”

“You mean, you guys didn’t get this item?”

Will, Beatrice, and Min-joon glanced at each other, then shrugged and shook their heads.

“No way,” Beatrice said, grabbing the boots. “I wish. I got some necklace that increased Spirit.”

“Bo-o-oring,” Carey said, to which Min-joon chuckled.

The boots were interesting, to say the least.

Item: Valcyona’s Mysterious Leather Boots of Air Jumping (Enchanted)

Type: Light Armor, Leather

DMG Resist: 21 (+4)

Weight: 0.5

Value: 58S, 465C

Traits: Climb the stairs like a ladder! “Boosts” can be ejected at will and drain either Stamina or Luminether depending on specialty. Go as high as the sky!

Handing back the boots, Beatrice slumped in her chair. “Seriously. Why would you be getting such powerful items this early?”

Carey would have asked Lothos, but the merchant had gone behind the bar to lift a sack of what smelled pungently like cacao beans.

“Beats me,” Carey said with a shrug, whispering for some reason, as though suddenly he’d become aware of dark forces closing in on the shop. “I’m not complaining, though. Looks like these boots can make you fly—or something. Will, you should have these.”

“Really?” Will’s eyes lit up.

Carey nodded. “I can turn into an owl, Beatrice has wings… You need some way of keeping up. If these boots let you jump through the air like you’re wearing a jet pack—which is what I’m imagining—then you should put them on.”

“Thanks, brah!”

+20 Karma

“Whoa, look at that,” Carey said.

~SIDE QUEST COMPLETE~

A MERCHANT’S WELL WISHES

EXPERIENCE GAINED: 2,500 points (11,375/22,875 to next level)

Carey got up from his seat. Wearing both gloves, his forearms covered up to the elbow, he flexed his fingers and made fists. The leather creaked pleasantly.

Less than a second later, the effect overwhelmed him like the rush of some euphoria-inducing drug injected into the core of his brain—and his skill points hadn’t even been applied yet!

Congratulations, adventurer!

You have received 35,000 XP!

LEVEL UP!

YOU HAVE REACHED LEVEL 9!

YOU HAVE GAINED A HALVA POINT!

YOU HAVE RECEIVED A SHELL PERK!

You may also choose four skills to advance to a rating of 70!

Carey was so excited, he had to swallow a frothy surge of beer he almost spit up. Not only had he reached Level 9, but the leftover points had taken him over 25,000 XP toward his next level—with only a few thousand until Level 10. This felt like cheating!

He exposed his menus so the others could follow along. They watched and provided advice. Will was excited, Beatrice mostly thoughtful. Something weighed on her mind, and Carey sensed it had to do with his new items. It did seem a bit odd that such overpowered gear would fall on his lap at such a low level.

He focused on the business of leveling up. After having done so eight times already, Carey knew what to do. He double-checked that his HP had gone up to 235. His Stamina was at 265, thanks to the additional +30 SP provided by his Steel Bracelet of Exertion.

He added the customary 2 points to Perception since he wanted to focus this level on his bow for sniping. This brought his base skill rating to 26 for a bunch of skills, including gathering, bestial pounce, cooking, crafting, detect/disarm traps and—of course—archery.

He had 9 skill points to distribute, which became 14 once he plunked them into archery, thanks to his racial bonus. Unfortunately, only Feral Rangers received an additional +50 percent for the class bonus in archery. But on the plus side, his archery skill was now 65—only 5 points away from a mastery. He would save that one for later, since using one of his glove’s boosts would be a waste for just 2 points.

“Archery is at 65,” Carey said, almost breathless. “Backstabbing is at 63. Another level, and I can get those masteries, too.”

“You lucky bastard,” Will said. “This must be the greatest day of your life.”

“My virtual life, certainly,” Carey said.

He couldn’t forget his Halva. He chose the one he’d been eyeing for a while:

SHADOW: You are 25 percent harder to detect by sight while sneaking

Finally, it was time to bring four Agility or Perception skills up to level 70 and score a whole bunch of masteries.

Fascinated, Will stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Carey as they scrolled through his menus. He was gesticulating while he spoke, like a boy in the world’s biggest toy store mapping the route they would take through the aisles to pick up the most toys. “How about stealth? That seems like a core skill that makes a whole bunch of other ones possible. Plus, you just scored that Halva, right? Right?”

“Exactly right, brother. I’m thinking stealth, backstabbing, and archery. The holy triumvirate.”

“Of death.”

“And despair.”

They grinned at each other. No high-five this time, but Carey considered it.

He brought stealth up to 70.

The wisdom of the ninja flooded his veins.

Congratulations, adventurer! You have now mastered “Shadow Striker” by advancing your stealth skill to 35. (Next level at 70.)

Shadows are your friend! Strikes with arrows or bladed weapons against unsuspecting enemies will be 20 percent more damaging when the adventurer is in low light. Arrows put out torches and lanterns without making a sound. You are also 20 percent quieter in low-lit interiors or when outside at night.

“I’ll take it,” Carey said, breathless.

Will whistled. “You should see Stealth masteries for magic builds like mine. It’s all about those silent fireballs and whispering lightning bolts, yo.”

“Damn, that sounds cool. I like how it customizes—”

He was distracted by the next mastery, which flashed across his vision complete with a little animation to show how it worked.

Congratulations, adventurer! You have now mastered “Whack-a-Mole” by advancing your stealth skill to 70. (Next level at 95.)

Learn to vanish from sight by ducking behind cover. String a series of attacks together while moving around the battlefield and ducking behind cover to lose your enemies. Strategically get behind them and strike!

“Eight more,” Carey mused. “Eight more masteries, potentially. This is like opening Christmas presents times a thousand.”

There were only a few AGL- and PER-based skills below 35 that would score him two masteries instead of one if he boosted them. Which to choose?

Behind him, Min-joon whispered a single word.

“Parkour.”

Carey almost hugged the boy. How could he have forgotten parkour?

“You’re a genius, MJ.”

The boy gave an easy shrug as if to say, I’m just one man.

Carey selected the parkour skill, which was currently at its minimum base skill of 31. As soon as it hit 35, then 70, he sensed a weird feeling, like an electric current, course through his body. He had to get outside. As soon as possible, he would launch himself toward the roof of the nearest building and have the time of his life.

Congratulations, adventurer! You have now mastered “Godly Runner” by advancing your parkour skill to 35. (Next level at 70.)

While running at top speed, objects in the environment that can be grabbed, climbed, and launched from will be highlighted. Just focus on your destination, trust the system, and jump!

“If that’s 35, then I can only imagine 70…” Carey began.

The next notification instantly popped up, accompanied by an animation like the others. Carey found the text more helpful and exact this time around.

Congratulations, adventurer! You have now mastered “Wall Strike Ninja” by advancing your parkour skill to 70. (Next level at 95.)

Fighting a tough enemy near a wall or an especially tall tree? Just run up the side, perform a corkscrew twist in midair, and activate any special attack—such as a Takedown—that normally requires sneaking, an elevated perch, or other physical requirements.

“They mean Takedowns,” Carey said. “I can just run up a wall and then perform a Takedown. Don’t even need to sneak up on a baddie.”

“But you gotta execute that corkscrew twist just right,” Will said. “What’s next?”

“Not sure,” Carey said, reviewing the different options. “I’m thinking a skill that’s more of a utility, now that I have all these combat skills.”

“Crafting,” Will said. “You can’t go wrong with crafting.”

“True.”

Congratulations, adventurer! You have now mastered “Craftlock Holmes” by advancing your crafting skill to 35. (Next level at 70.)

While using your Intuit ability, “hot spots” containing high-value crafting ingredients will draw you to them using audio and visual cues. You can also manually tag ingredients in recipes to make them easier to identify—and miraculously find, if your Luck is high enough—in the world around you.

The next crafting mastery was not as interesting, but it was convenient.

Congratulations, adventurer! You have now mastered “Get off the Bench and Play” by advancing your crafting skill to 70. (Next level at 95.)

75 recipes added! Crafter can now create a crafting bench anywhere they need. The bench cannot be transported once placed, though it can be broken down to (most of) the components used to build it.

“What a rush,” Carey said. “Anything else? Let’s do something badass.”

Beatrice smacked a hand on his shoulder, startling him.

“Throwing,” she said. “You’re already at 35 and have the first mastery, but think of how much you could benefit from being really good at it—and with your new expertise in crafting! How many recipes do you have for bombs, molotovs, distractables, if that’s even a word—”

“Holy shit,” Carey said. “Throwing knives, throwing axes…”

“Shurikens,” Will said.

“Flaming shoo-ra-canes,” Min-joon said, and the others chuckled at his pronunciation.

Beatrice added: “Healing potions, which you can throw at your allies. Don’t forget those!”

“Didn’t know that,” Carey said. “About the Healing throwables.”

“Boomerangs!” Min-joon was hopping on one foot. “You can throw boomerangs, Carey!”

“Okay, okay. Calm down, kid.” Carey patted the boy’s shoulder, then went ahead and selected throwing. Boomerangs might actually be pretty cool, if only to retrieve out-of-reach items or something like that.

Congratulations, adventurer! You have now mastered “Makin’ It Rain” by advancing your throwing skill to 70. (Next level at 95.)

With your perception of time slowed by 30 percent, you can now toss any Healing potion above your allies, or any destructive bomb or cocktail above your enemies, and hit it with a throwable weapon to make the contents rain down. Works especially well with flammable cocktails that can rain liquid fire or poison.

“Hey, Ara, what about you?” Carey asked. “Any ideas?”

Ara’s expression brightened. “Glad you asked. I’m not allowed to give advice when it comes to selecting skills and masteries, just raw information. But here’s a tip: your damage and magical-resistance ratings are pretty low. Could be a problem for you in the future.”

“Damn,” Carey said, shaking his head. “I didn’t even think about that. Armor. I should raise my Light Armor.”

“With your enhanced crafting abilities,” Ara said, “you can now make a more powerful matching suit. And with Bea’s Transference potions—which she doesn’t seem to remember she has—all those enchantments can be safely transferred from your currently equipped armor piece to the next.”

Carey blinked at Bea in stunned disbelief. “You didn’t tell me you had those!”

“Look, TrollBoy, I have, like, a million potions in my inventory. How about you craft that armor already, while I take a look?”

“Fine, FeatherBrat.”

~SIDE QUEST COMPLETE~

MASTER OF ONE’S OWN FATE

EXPERIENCE GAINED: 7,500 points (33,520/28,500 to next level)

“Almost forgot about that side quest,” Carey said. “This is insane. I can barely keep up!”

LEVEL UP!

Congratulations, adventurer!

YOU HAVE REACHED LEVEL 10!

Carey made a tiny crafting bench appear in the center of his palm. Will helped him craft the bench by providing ingredients, most of which were pretty common, like Wooden Blocks and Steel Nails, though a few seemed quite rare—namely the Shaperocks, Sandstone Pellets, and Lava Stone. Luckily, Will was a bit of a hoarder and had those items in his stash, which they were able to access using the chest in the corner of Lothos’s lounge.

The toy crafting bench came with its own menu for setting automatic craftables and alerts. Carey ignored those for now. He scanned the area and noticed a blur of light that ran across the floor, red to show where placement was impossible, green to show where he could set down a life-size bench.

He placed it nearby, waited for it to be automatically constructed, as if a team of invisible ghosts were nailing and sawing the wood and piecing it together. Then he approached it and looked through all the dozens of new recipes he’d received.

“Crazy,” he said. “I don’t have ingredients for most of this stuff, though. Scaled Bomb of the Ocean Titans? Holy crap, it does like 300 damage!”

“And requires five scales taken from Dread Fish, which are impossible to catch unless you’re a Fishing master.”

“Damn, so much good stuff here.” Carey shook his head in a mixture of admiration and wistful frustration. “If only—”

“Relax, we’ll go to a store,” Will said. “We definitely have enough gold to afford a ton of options. Might need to shop around, though.”

Ara sighed. “I’d love to go shopping.”

“Me too,” Beatrice said. “Can we go?”

“Hold on,” Carey said. “Let me craft this full suit of chitin armor to go with my helm. Bea, any luck with those potions?”

“I’ve got six of them right here.”

“Perfect,” Carey said. “Hey, Lothos, got any chitin?”

Lothos brought mugs of beer and set them down. “I do. Let me get my bag.”

Carey sipped his beer while he waited. He didn’t even feel like drinking, so great was the rush of choosing all these masteries, crafting armor, and hanging out with his friends. If he could just live in this moment forever, he’d never have to drink again. Or go home, for that matter.

Lothos returned with his merchant’s bag and spread it open on the table. Carey traded 89 silver coins for (1,000) Red Scorpion chitin pieces. He approached the crafting bench—which had been awkwardly placed too close to the exit—and created the following items: sturdy chitin boots, bracers, greaves, gauntlets, a chest piece and a brigandine—all of the same family, material, and style, just to make sure he had a matching set so he could get the 10 percent boost to his overall armor rating.

Carey stripped off his armor and Beatrice poured her Transference potions on each piece. The enchantments were leeched out of the material and hung in the air each time, a floating misty orb of energy, each one different in color. All Bea had to do was pass Carey’s chitin armor through the energy to bestow each one with the enchantment.

By the end of it, Carey was wearing a full suit of chitin light armor with the same enchantments as before, but with damage resistance stats as much as 20 to 40 percent better than his previous, incomplete set of Raptodor armor. Plus, the fact that all his armor pieces matched gave him a 10 percent overall armor rating boost, 15 percent reduction in Stamina drain and a few other small bonuses, like increases in damage and elemental resistance.

Even better—his new full set of armor was a dark red and glistened like the shell of a scorpion bathed in blood. He loved it. He sold his old armor to Lothos for the relatively low price of 15 silver.

He used the crafting bench to make several other things he’d never been able to craft before, like Steel Throwing Knives and matching Hammers.

“Time for that Shell Perk,” he said.

The list of animal shell perks was modest, but he wanted every single one of them. Separated into four tabs, each represented by a symbol, the dolphin perk category represented water shells; the elk was for land creatures; the hawk indicated flying shells; and, finally, there was one marked by a scorpion which was greyed out. Carey couldn’t even select it to browse. He had no intention of becoming a Low-Karma Pestilent, so it didn’t matter.

He selected the hawk tab and chose “Glider” to upgrade his owl shell.

Nothing glamourous. He reduced his overall SP drain by 10 percent, added an ability to “Glide,” which reduced Stamina drain by 30 percent as long as he didn’t flap his wings, and—most importantly—allowed him to mark enemies from twice the distance as before. This way, he could glide slowly over an outpost and take his time marking enemies so he could snipe and stalk them in his human form.

Now, for the final piece—his Level 10.

Carey immediately sank 2 points into Perception, then added points into archery to grab the advanced mastery.

Congratulations, adventurer! You have now mastered “Take Your Time” by advancing your archery skill to 70. (Next level at 95.)

Time appears to pass at half speed when you draw your bow. Use this enhanced perception wisely and target weak spots on an enemy’s body, which will faintly pulse red.

“Bullet time,” Carey said, referring to a popular visual effect used by film directors to essentially slow time and highlight action scenes. In certain classic games like Max Payne, bullet time allowed the player to carefully land shots while diving through the air in slow motion. “I don’t believe it. And vulnerable spots are marked.”

“Maybe I should’ve been a Feral,” Will said, shaking his head in regret.

Could you blame him?

Bea crossed her arms, frowning in uncertainty. “Something’s not right. It’s like he’s activated cheats or something.”

“Wasn’t me, sister,” Carey said. “Plus, whatever’s going on, I’m not about to turn it down.”

“Just pick your next mastery already,” Bea snapped at him. “We need to see Wally, and we’re super late.”

“Your boyfriend can wait,” Carey said, scrolling through his menu.

“More like your boyfriend,” Bea grumbled. “You couldn’t keep your eyes off him.”

Carey ignored her. He’d almost forgotten he was going to bring backstabbing up to 70. With his skill points doubled thanks to the usual modifiers, he went ahead and plunked the rest of his 6 points into backstabbing. The enhanced 11-point boost brought the skill up to 74.

Congratulations, adventurer! You have now mastered “Chained Takedown Artist” by advancing your backstabbing skill to 70. (Next level at 95.)

Chain your Takedowns together! Defeat up to three enemies in a row by taking them down one by one, in a string of fatalities!

Finer print beneath read:

Must be done silently and without calling your victims’ attention. Should you fail, your enemies will raise an alarm. Enemies up to one level higher will be killed, while the rest will take damage and be knocked unconscious for five minutes. Bosses will take HP damage and nothing more.

“Can’t believe all this,” Carey said, his voice an awestruck whisper. “I’m like a new man.”

“I’m putting my foot down,” Beatrice said. “We need to go see—”

Shrieks of terror interrupted her.

Outside, in the distance, people were screaming for their lives.